Hart Attack
Page 14
After a second bite, Cash tossed the pizza in the trash and started on leftover mozzarella sticks. He grabbed a napkin then studied the sink.
“What?” Roman asked.
Cash popped another mozzarella stick into his mouth. “Two plates?”
“Sniper boy can count.”
“Was this some try at a romantic dinner, courtesy of Paul Newman?”
“Go to hell, my friend.”
Cash moved through the rest of the food on the table. “These are good, though.” He popped a couple of Tostitos in his mouth.
“Doesn’t your wife feed you?”
Cash ignored him. “So who was the lucky lady?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Man, you broke out the crescent rolls. Of course it’s like that.” Cash pivoted, head tilted. “Is this a Beth thing?”
“No.”
“Not a thing? Or not Beth?”
Roman stared at the rolls. “If you choked and died this minute, I’d be okay with it.”
“Well, hell. Now I owe Nic fifty bucks. Fuck you very much.”
Roman’s mouth dropped. “Excuse me?”
“She said you’d sleep with her. I said you’d sooner cut your balls off.”
Roman scowled. “And why would I do that?”
“Because Mr. Overprotective can’t do shit about her CIA jobs, so you’d sooner cut off your nuts than admit to falling for a girl you can’t control.”
Roman shoved his balled fists into his pockets and glared. “There are so many things wrong with what you just said. If I cared, I’d correct your sorry ass, but I don’t.”
Cash laughed and went back to the pizza, picking off the pineapple on another slice. “Alright.”
“Alright?”
“Well, if you don’t want to talk about Beth—”
“Go home.”
“Nah, Nic’s on a raw-food kick. None of it tastes good.”
“Careful—”
“Wasn’t knocking my girl.” Cash threw his hands up. “Just sayin’. You try raw kale for dinner and see if you don’t head where there’s something deep fried.”
“Like there’s anything you wouldn’t agree to when it comes to her.”
“Trust me, if I weren’t starving, I wouldn’t indulge in your post-Beth feeding extravaganza. But I’m withering.”
Roman ignored the Beth mention. “What more do you know about Gregori Naydenov?”
Cash popped another handful of food into his mouth. “Why?”
“Beth’s still working him over. They’re headed overseas.”
Cash threw back his head, laughing. “You’re jealous. Fucking hysterical.”
“Not jealous. Dick.”
“She plans to travel around the world with the guy and suddenly you’re freakin’ Betty Crocker? Something’s going on there.”
Roman ignored the dig and considered the merits of asking what Cash knew about Beth, mainly what Nicola might’ve spilled. “How well do you know Beth?”
“Know enough to say she’s a good one.” Cash took another bite of pizza. “Great catch.”
Roman scowled. “That’s not what I’m asking. What do you know about her?”
“Are you asking about…?” Cash helped himself to a beer and leaned against the fridge. “I know more than I probably should. Marital privilege and all that.”
Roman rubbed the scruff on his chin, lost in thought about Beth’s dead husband and how much Cash might know but never said. “Huh.”
“Huh,” Cash agreed.
Minutes ticked by, and Cash drained his beer and tossed the bottle into the trash. The glass clattered in the can, and they both stared at it until he cleared his throat. “So you two… spent time together?”
Roman cracked his knuckles. “That’s one way to describe it.”
“And she…” He raised his eyebrows.
So Cash had known the girl had some issues. Roman didn’t like that for several reasons. It was personal. It was Beth. It was Beth with Roman. That about summed it up. Still, Roman said, “Yup.”
“Think she faked it?” Cash asked.
“Nope.”
“Huh.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Roman leaned back in his chair, still rubbing the scruff on his face, remembering the red scratches he’d left on her neck. “What the shit does that mean?”
“I couldn’t tell you.” Cash paused. “But I think it’s something besides knowing what you’re doing in the bedroom. Not to get too personal.”
“Yeah, dude, I think we’ve crossed that line.”
Cash nodded. “So it’s a you thing.”
“I was afraid of that.” In the pit of his stomach, Roman wanted that to be true. To know that he and Beth had something… damn cool, and the way he made her feel, made her come, that was unique to him. Only him. But that also meant way more than he wanted with anyone. He didn’t do relationships. Ever. When he looked over, Cash was mean-mugging it. “What?”
“Man, Nicola’s going to string you up if you fucked her best friend for fun.”
But he hadn’t—fucked her or done anything just for the fun of it. “Dude, what do you want from me?”
“Nothing. Other than to keep you alive. You’re a good spotter. I’d hate to have to try to keep Montana.” Cash blew out a slow sigh. “Plus, Beth’s sorta become like a sister to me.”
“Great. Now you know how it feels to have your best friend screw your sister.” Though he hadn’t slept with Beth.
Cash shook his head. “What I’m saying is, she’s a good one. You’ve known that for a while.”
“No.” Roman tore apart a roll, not eating it. “What I’ve known is I’ve wanted Beth in my bed for a while.”
“Say what you want, man. I’ve seen you chasing her since day one.”
Roman shook his head. “Just have a hard time walking away from a challenge. A feisty, irritating challenge.”
“Roman, man, think about what you’re saying.”
“What?”
“Beth’s not a challenge. Shit.”
“I don’t have it in me.”
Cash’s jaw worked back and forth. “You ever going to forgive Nicola?”
“Already have.”
“Bullshit, man. She still feels the angry vibe. You get that, right?”
Roman ignored him.
“It hurts her.” Cash crossed his arms.
“No—”
“Here it is, Roman, since maybe your head’s too far up your ass to know. She did what she had to do. And no one in the goddamn world was more devastated than me. You got that? No one. You’re her brother. But she was mine. And I couldn’t say a fuckin’ thing. I was angry, so lost you can’t imagine. But she’s back, and she had her reasons, which included keeping your ass alive. Gotta forgive her. Gotta just let it go.”
Silence. Roman rubbed his chin, not sure he’d ever heard the situation put in terms like that before, and sure as hell not thinking about it from Cash’s perspective.
“Don’t ignore Beth because you’re angry at Nic.”
“I’m not.”
“Never mind.” Cash laughed. “Sometimes you have to figure stuff out on your own.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Right.”
Roman groaned, needing to change the subject. “Hell, I have to call Jared.”
“Why?”
“I volunteered to be her bodyguard on the Naydenov project.”
Cash walked over and slapped Roman on the back “You, my friend, are so far gone. And watching you deal with this?” Cash waved a hand over their frozen dinner remnants. “Makes me pretty damn happy for raw kale and a woman I can go home to.” He grabbed a mozzarella stick, took a bite, then pointed it at Roman. “Something to think about.”
Roman stared at the table long after Cash had left. Finally, the trance broke, and he shoved everything from the table into the trash can. “I haven’t even slept with her yet.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
She scrolled through her phone after stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the lobby. It stopped mid-descent.
A woman about Beth’s age boarded. “Hey.”
Beth smiled, going back to her phone.
“Do I know you?”
Beth glanced back up. “No, I’m not sure we’ve met.”
An awkward silence continued on the way to the lobby.
“It’s just that you look familiar.”
“Recognizable face, maybe.” Beth shrugged. “Sorry.”
“Oh! You were on TV. The first lady’s dinner last week, gorgeous dress. Was that Chanel Couture?”
Only in this building would someone remember the news because of a designer dress. Suddenly, Beth realized why Roman had stormed her apartment after her night out with Greg. “Oh, right. That was me. One of those once-in-a-lifetime moments.”
“Are you in politics?”
“No, just a lucky date with a politician’s friend, I guess.”
“That’s so cool.” The elevator doors opened. “Nice meeting you.”
Well, they hadn’t exactly met. But Beth had had a revelation and wasn’t nearly as confused about Roman’s outburst from that night, even if the thought hadn’t been plaguing her. The more she figured out about him, the more she—
“Evan?”
Polished and poised with an annoyed scowl on his face, her handler held two cups of coffee. “Beth. I need to apologize.”
“I was on my way to meet you. You didn’t have to come here.”
He grimaced. “Yeah, I did. I was out of line earlier on the phone. You deserve more respect than that.”
She didn’t know him very well, but this seemed out of character. “Um, okay.”
“Coffee? Lots of cream and sugar.”
He was right on the money on that one, and she’d kill for a little caffeine. “Unneeded apology accepted.” She took the coffee and smelled hazelnut. “Thanks for this. I didn’t have time and was dying.”
He turned to leave the lobby. “The town car is waiting outside if you’re ready.”
Balancing on the heels of her shoes, she felt something tingle at the back of her neck. It wasn’t danger. More like unease. “Let’s go.”
The swanky black ride idled, and Beth slid into the backseat. A driver she recognized from the Agency greeted her as Evan got in the opposite side. An unneeded apology? A ride to Naydenov? What on earth was going on? Anxiety raced through her, making her hyperaware for something big, something major.
“So you have friends at Titan Group?” Evan asked too casually.
Something Titan. She swallowed an aggravated sigh. What had they done now? “I do.”
Evan nodded. “We have lots to learn about each other.”
“I’d agree with that.” But she wasn’t going to be the first to volunteer anything.
“My boss got a call from Roman Hart.”
And there it was.
“Then I got a call from Roman Hart.”
She was going to kill Roman. Though she had no idea what had been said, it couldn’t have been cordial. Roman was a little rough around the edges, and given the parts of her conversation with Evan in front of Roman… well, there was no telling. “He’s a bit protective of me.”
“I’d say.” Evan sipped his coffee. “In no uncertain terms, he told me he’s working Naydenov with you. You know about that?”
“I think that’d be a good idea.” That was a non-answer to his question, but it was also true. “So we’re good?”
“I didn’t have much say.”
“He’s good at what he does.”
“If he’s Titan, he’d have to be. But…” Evan rolled his coffee cup between his hands. “If there’s something more there, I need to know.”
She bit her lip. “I’ve known him for a while.”
“You’re sleeping with him?”
“No.” Not a lie. Maybe it was a good thing she wasn’t, because she could still pass a poly if needed.
“Want to sleep with him?” he pressed.
“If you don’t want the truth, don’t ask the question, Evan.”
“Shit.” He grumbled. “Don’t complicate this job.”
“Right. Don’t mess up the CIA’s fancy art project. Got it.”
He rubbed his nose, sniffing. “Alright, let’s read you in. Roman Hart is on loan from Titan for an undetermined amount of time. Due to his… bulk and good-natured attitude, acting as an archaeological assistant won’t fly.”
“His bulk?”
“The guy looks like he could deadlift this town car, so he isn’t going to fit in any cover but one.”
“And that is?”
“Body guy, bodyguard, whatever you want to call it.”
That was exactly the role she thought Roman should play.
He continued, “Naydenov will understand that you are extremely valuable to the Smithsonian, and between his pseudo-grade-school crush on you and your specialized archeology background, he won’t be able to say no to your security requirements. Besides, look at some of the women that man dates. Private security for that class of woman is expected.”
Out of everything Evan had said, the pseudo-grade-school crush stayed with her. She got that vibe from Greg too, but she was ninety percent sure that he wouldn’t act on it. It seemed like he didn’t come across many well-versed women that he considered equals. Speaking of which…
“I have enough of a working knowledge to BS my way through a few conversations. But—”
“Have no fear. Here’s everything you need to know about that time period, their artifacts, relics, et cetera, et cetera. I’ll warn you, boring crap.”
She nodded, agreeing with Evan for maybe the first time. “Yeah, I’ve got the most riveting jobs the Farm has to offer.”
“Don’t let the benign nature of this fool you.”
She sipped her coffee, deliberately choosing to embrace the hazelnut scent and ignore the eye roll that she was dying to give. “Not fooled.”
He handed her a thick folder. “Memorize everything in here.”
This was like being in college all over again. Memorizing useless facts. Logan had drilled her when they studied for finals. God, had it been that long? Almost ten years since they’d graduated together. She’d spent most of her senior year clipping out pictures of wedding dresses and assuming—correctly—that he’d propose after graduation. They’d had a fabulous storybook wedding, almost to the point of being clichéd, right before the Army whisked him off to war. Huge church, big dress, tons and tons of tulle, bridesmaids, and pictures.
She inwardly groaned. Why had she been thinking about him so much recently? She’d gone weeks, months maybe, without thinking about him like this. What was the point? He was gone. She’d tried to move on but couldn’t. That told her it was wrong to try, that she should never forget, that Logan deserved better than a forgotten memory. Hell, he certainly deserved a wife that should have seen what was going to happen and saved him.
“Beth?”
“Hmm?” Her eyes darted to Evan. She had totally been caught in a daze. “Sorry, what?”
“You’ll learn everything in there?”
Of course she would. “Yes.”
“Good, because believe it or not, this op is the real deal.”
Her phone rang and she silenced it. It started again. Silence. Then a text came through. She looked at it this time. Nicola. What in the heck? She opened it.
Nicola: There’s been an accident. Can’t find Roman.
***
&nbs
p; Roman bent over, sweating in his home gym. Weights had been hell, but they’d been needed. He’d gone too many days without pushing himself. The treadmill had been another necessity that had damn well nearly brought him to his knees. But it was done. Hurt like he couldn’t believe, but felt good all the same. Sometimes embracing the pain was needed. Especially if it helped clear his mind.
“Roman?”
He shot off the bench, every muscle aching, and spun to face Beth. “What are you doing here?”
“You weren’t answering after I’d been knocking, so… I picked the lock.”
He clenched his jaw. Something was wrong. “Why?”
“You weren’t answering your phone. Jared and Nic tried to get a hold of—”
“Where is she?”
“Tracking down Cash.”
“Why?” he growled, stepping forward. “What’s wrong?”
Beth shrank back a step then steeled herself. Chin up, shoulders back. “There was an accident.”
His blood froze, icicles crawling in his paralyzed veins. Who was out on a job? They’d lost a chopper filled with men weeks ago, and that had been terrible. But it had to be someone closer if this deserved a drop-by. “Who?”
“Montana.” Her lips pressed flat. “Someone jumped the median. Hit him head on. It was instant. I’m sorry.”
What? Roman had just seen him. Just… the guy was too young. Too promising. Anger burned deep inside, just like it always did when someone he knew died. He’d been that way ever since Nicola had died, and it became even worse after he found out that she hadn’t actually. Some people were sad at death. Roman’s reaction was always anger and aching. He’d barely known Montana. But the man had been fierce. Respectable. Shit. This was why he let no one in. Ever.
“Roman?”
He thought of Montana’s older brother. Roman knew that kind of hell. He wanted to shake his head, to tell the guy anything that would soothe that awful kind of loss. But there were no words. That, he knew all too well.
“Alright, good to know.” He turned and looked at the heavy bag. It would hurt, and that was perfect. “Fine. Thanks for dropping by, babe.”