He gave another indifferent shrug and tossed back a slug of the beer again. “I’m a man of eclectic tastes. And you?”
She crossed her arms after finally sliding onto the bar stool beside him. Signals definitely mixed, he thought. “The same. Men generally stay away on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s an unwritten rule.”
Chuckling, he swiveled his head back and forth as if to check her statement and teased, “Well, color me stupid. I hadn’t noticed.”
She surprised him by laughing. When the waiter brought her drink—a glass of red wine—she laid some money on the bar and said, “Gotta go.”
With a cool nod and another sip of his beer, he replied, “See ya.”
Elizabeth strolled back to her table, making sure to add what she hoped was an enticing little sway to her walk, certain that he was watching no matter his attempts to seem disinterested.
Or maybe it was totally egotistical of her to think Aidan was here because of her. Maybe he really had just been looking for some good music, although there were a few other clubs in Leonia that offered entertainment on the weekends. Some of them were probably more suitable for someone like Aidan.
As she sat at the table with her friends, Natalie inclined her head in the direction of the bar. “Brave man.”
Elizabeth settled into her seat and picked up her glass of merlot. Peering over the edge of it at her friend, she replied, “Either brave or stupid.”
Natalie narrowed her eyes as she considered Aidan once again. “Doesn’t strike me as the stupid type.”
“He’s yummy,” added Samantha, shooting a glance over her shoulder.
Wanting to downplay his presence, Elizabeth tried to act cool. “If you like that kind of man.”
“Girl, what woman doesn’t go for that whole bad-boy routine?” Kate hooted with a nudge to Elizabeth’s shoulder.
She held up her hand as if to be counted. “Me, for one. Bad boys don’t linger and I’ve had enough of people leaving in my life.”
Her comment cast a pall over what had been a fun gathering. She immediately regretted it, heartfelt as the comment had been. Attempting to regain that earlier lightheartedness, she said, “Although I have seen him in a bathing suit. A rather brief Speedo to be exact. There’s not an inch of him that needs manscaping.”
Natalie nearly spat out her drink. As it was, she gave a noisy snort. “You’re not kidding, are you?”
Elizabeth looked over to where Aidan was sitting, arms spread across the bar, long-neck bottle dangling lazily from one hand. As their gazes met, he smiled and picked up his bottle as if in a toast.
She mimicked his actions, earning a round of snickers from all her friends.
“Right, not interested. Tell us another one, Lizzy Bee,” Natalie joked, using Dani’s nickname for her.
“So what are you doing here, when Tall, Blond and Dangerous is over there?” Kate chimed in and pointed to Aidan.
“Why, I’m dancing, of course. Anyone care to join me?” She rose from the table.
All three of her friends looked from her to Aidan before Samantha finally stood. “I’m game.”
With a glare at Kate and Natalie, Elizabeth quipped, “Cowards,” before working her way through the crowd and back to the dance floor.
The band had switched to a classic Bangles tune. Definitely danceable, she thought and once again gave herself over to the energetic beats, trying not to think about the man sitting at the bar, possibly watching her. Every now and then, as her dancing and the crowd shifted her into a different position on the floor, she would catch a peek of him. Still lounging there, sipping his beer.
She wondered if it was his second bottle or if he was still nursing the first. Then she wondered why she cared. She wasn’t one for meaningless involvements of any kind, especially with someone like Aidan who wasn’t the kind to linger for long.
Faltering to the beat, she forced her mind away from thoughts of Aidan and back to the playfulness of the music. She was just loosening up a bit when the song ended and the band announced that they had a request.
Suddenly, Aidan was at her side, holding out his hand. Samantha was moving back to the table where Kate and Natalie sat, watching with extreme fascination.
The lead singer crooned the opening bars of Gloria Estefan’s “Words Get in the Way.”
“I’m not interested,” she said, glancing down at his hand before shooting her gaze up to his face.
“It’s just a dance,” he replied, the tone of his voice low. A bedroom voice, perfect for whispering endearments. Lush with sensual promise. A well-rehearsed voice that had likely worked for him on many an occasion.
“I’m your boss,” she hissed back and peered around to realize they were starting to attract attention, which was the last thing she needed. She liked her privacy and didn’t need the village gossips wagging their tongues over her.
“I promise I won’t claim harassment.” He grinned and wiggled his fingers, again urging her to dance and rather than risk a scene, she snared his hand and joined him in the slow dance.
Bad boy that he was, he took advantage of the opportunity to come close. Inclining his head, he whispered in her ear, “Relax.”
Hard to do when she was so aware of him physically. Close, but not as close as he maybe wanted. She would give him credit for that. He wasn’t a total cad.
His chivalry didn’t stop him from keeping his hands at her waist for the longest time while she slipped both of her hands to his shoulders—those broad, leanly muscled shoulders she remembered from the other day.
Finally, he exerted just the tiniest bit of pressure to urge her closer until she barely brushed his chest as they moved to the music.
An annoying tingle of awareness awoke again. A little shiver danced through her when he bent his head and asked, “It’s not so bad, is it?”
No, it wasn’t. If anything, it was a bit too good. She found herself pressing her cheek to his and moving an inch closer. Which brought a shudder and made her fight her way back from him to avoid her attraction.
She hated how she responded to him and took to mentally counting the seconds that passed in an effort to distract herself.
“Relax,” he urged again, smoothing his hands up and down her back. Pressed her to shift nearer.
Reluctantly she went, still counting. Finding that ineffective, she opted for another tack. “Gloria doesn’t strike me as your type, either.”
He chuckled. “Eclectic, remember? Besides, her music soothes me.”
She jerked away and eyed him dubiously. “Soothes you?”
Aidan smiled and cradled the side of her face. “Yes, soothes. As in, to relax. To let yourself go.” As he said that, he stroked the side of her face and then eased that hand to the nape of her neck and pressed her close once more.
Once there, he continued, gently whispering in her ear. “Listen to the words. What she’s trying to say.”
Despite her best efforts, she found herself doing as he asked. She let the words slip into her, let herself finally relax against him, moving her body to those sensuous beats, and he did the same.
When the song ended and the band abruptly resumed with a loud and fast number, it yanked her from the mood.
“That was—”
“Nice?” he filled in for her, a hopeful look on his face as she realized he was still holding her hand.
Too nice. “I’ve got to go.”
He released her and with a nod, she returned to her table of friends.
Instead of going to the bar, however, he followed her, his hand at the small of her back, as if to remind her of his presence. Not that she could drive away her awareness of him no matter how she tried.
At the table, she glared at him, hoping to make it clear that she wanted him gone, but he obviously either didn’t get her hint, or more than likely, the rebel chose to ignore it. “Mind if I join you ladies?”
Her three friends, or maybe it was better to say three ex-friends, shifted to make room for a c
hair he secured from another table with an irresistible smile.
Elizabeth stood there, reluctant to stay, but unwilling to let Aidan spoil her night. For that matter, she was unwilling to acknowledge that she was attracted to him. He was probably used to women falling all over him constantly. And she suspected he was All-Access Aidan to anyone who was willing.
Which she wasn’t.
Hesitantly, she took a seat next to Aidan and allowed her friends to engage him in conversation while she sat back, trying to gauge whether he was as he appeared—a happy-go-lucky guy, intent on just having fun as he drifted from place to place.
But when he leaned away from the table and their gazes locked, there was something else there. Something painful. She noted it as his glance fell on her, as if he, too, was trying to decide just what she was.
She realized then that he wasn’t what he appeared to be.
Which was fine. She wasn’t as she appeared to be, either.
The WAC closed its doors at two, Aidan discovered.
What amazed him was that after a long day of work, none of the women at the table seemed inclined to leave until that hour.
And so he stayed until the announcement was made for last call, and, after, he walked out of the club surrounded by Natalie, Samantha and Kate. Elizabeth was directly behind them as they ambled up the block.
Samantha and Kate lived along the town’s central road. He bid each woman goodnight at their doors. That just left Natalie, her arm looped through his, and Elizabeth, who had finally moved up to walk beside them. At a street directly in front of the hotel, Natalie paused.
“This is my stop,” she teased and gave him a playful kiss on the cheek. “See you later.”
Aidan waved as Natalie crossed the street, and then faced Elizabeth. “Guess it’s just the two of us.”
Elizabeth immediately protested. “There’s no need for you—”
“A gentleman always walks a lady home,” he said and offered his arm.
Ignoring him, she walked in the direction of the restaurant, but Aidan followed, matching his paces so that they were side by side. He was silent, since he knew that to say anything would just drive her further away, something he didn’t want to do given that he had made some inroads this evening.
Although he had watched her tonight much as he had watched her all week, he was still uncertain. Maybe even troubled by what he had seen. The Elizabeth he was getting to know didn’t jibe with what he knew her to be—a ruthless killer.
The Elizabeth he had discovered had been kind. Patient with the staff and the sometimes demanding patrons. Determined, but at times—and he didn’t want to admit that those times had been around him—decidedly insecure.
But of course, in his line of work, deception was a way of life.
Elizabeth had to be very very good at it, he thought, as they continued walking onward silently, moving closer and closer to the restaurant. When they reached the low stone wall marking the boundary between her property and the main road, Elizabeth stopped and faced him.
“Although I didn’t ask you to, thanks for walking me home.”
He shrugged, the buckles on his black leather biker jacket jangling with the action. “It’s the least I could do.”
She arched one eyebrow, half in question, half in challenge. “Really? And you expected nothing in return?”
Aidan chuckled and smiled at the audacious tone behind her words. “Well, maybe one thing.”
That perfectly shaped brow curved ever upward. “And what would that be?”
Chapter 7
She had tossed down the gauntlet and should have known better than to think he wouldn’t pick it up.
One side of his mouth quirked as he slowly leaned toward her until he was barely an inch away. He surprised her then by saying, “Last chance.”
His breath was warm against her lips. She imagined just how much warmer his mouth would be on hers. The voice of her daring side screamed, “Stop running, girl! Go get him!”
And so she did, closing that last little distance and covering his mouth with hers. Experiencing the warmth over and over again as he answered her kiss. Tasting him when she opened her mouth and he did the same, slipped his tongue in to dance with hers.
Their lips were the only points connecting them and she found herself reaching up, laying her hand on his leather-clad shoulder to ground her since her head was beginning to spin. And then suddenly, he yanked away.
“I’m sorry,” he stammered, although he wasn’t quite sure why he was apologizing. After all, this was what he’d been after all week long—a way to get closer.
Even in the dark, the rush of color to her cheeks was painfully obvious. “Sorry? You’re sorry?”
Again she was throwing him for a loop. “Yes, I mean, no. I mean, I know you didn’t want it to go that far,” he offered as an excuse.
She crossed her arms and cocked her hip. That eyebrow crept upward again as her sherry-colored eyes burned with annoyance. “Already running, Aidan?”
“I think we’ll probably both be thankful in the morning that we stopped when we did.”
With a nod, and without waiting for her reply, he hurried away.
He rushed into the suite eager to see what Elizabeth would do once she was within range of the cameras Lucia had set up in her cottage.
A purely professional interest, he reminded himself, but as he caught sight of Elizabeth in her bedroom, he knew it for the lie it was.
Sitting beside Lucia, he watched as Elizabeth reached behind her and undid the zipper on the back of the basic little black dress that hugged her slim curves. The fabric loosened, and then with a dip of her shoulders, the dress slipped off and pooled at her feet on the floor, leaving her standing in nothing but lacy black underwear. Very feminine, highly revealing underwear.
He swallowed hard.
“A woman doesn’t wear black unless she wants someone to see it. Especially black like that.” Lucia nudged him with an elbow.
“She didn’t know I’d be there.” He continued watching, waiting for the undergarments to drop, as well, but then Elizabeth grabbed something from the edge of the bed.
She headed to a door at the far end of the room and Aidan reached for the monitor controls to switch the view, only Lucia batted away his hand.
“I didn’t bug the bathroom. There’s no way out of that room besides the window.”
Chagrined, he replied, “You’re right.”
Lucia punched a few buttons at that point and a view of the back of the cottage popped into place on one monitor. The light from the bathroom window was visible, a bright beacon against the dark stone of the cottage, but not much else.
“She can’t go out that way without us knowing,” Lucia explained, and then yawned.
“Maybe we should take turns the rest of the night?” Aidan suggested. “I’ll take the first watch.”
With a knowing grin, Lucia bid him goodnight.
Aidan settled in, anxious to see Elizabeth again while he replayed over and over that enticing kiss and the confusion surrounding it. He was embarrassed that he had lost his objectivity, forgetting why it was that he was kissing her and actually enjoying it.
Maybe he just wasn’t as cut out for this part of the spy business as he thought. He could handle the surveillance and fighting after his many years as an army Ranger, but the rest…
That had been Mitch’s specialty. He had been the kind who could charm even a snake-oil salesman. Not that his friend’s charisma had been enough to save his life. The Sparrow was apparently immune to it, although tonight…
Had it been his imagination that Elizabeth had responded?
Had she fooled Mitch in much the same way before plunging the knife into his gut?
His mood different, he looked at his watch, wondering what she could be doing in the bathroom for so long. And then he caught a glimpse of motion in another of the monitors at the furthest end of the table. He squinted at the picture; it was so dark, he was barel
y able to discern much beside the general height and body shape of the individual.
Cursing, he grabbed the monitor controls and flipped a switch that turned on the night vision for that camera. The picture improved, not that he would be able to get much information about the suspect. At first glance, the black-clad figure was built much like Elizabeth, but the identity would be impossible to confirm thanks to the ski mask covering the suspect’s face.
The Sparrow? he wondered and glanced back to the monitor in the bedroom where there was still no sign of Elizabeth.
How had she gotten from the cottage to the cellar of the restaurant? A tunnel between the two buildings?
His gaze fixed on the black-clad figure, he watched her move to the safe. With a few quick spins of the dial, she opened it and removed a moderate-sized foot locker from the bottom shelf. Placing the foot locker on the floor, she undid yet another lock and flipped open the top of the locker. The angle on the camera made it possible to see what was inside—an assortment of knives and bottles.
Don’t touch the knives, he repeated Elizabeth’s warning.
Elizabeth—the Sparrow—reached into the bottom of the foot locker and extracted a holster and gun. She took the time to check the clip and firing mechanism on the gun—a Heckler & Koch Mark 23. He recognized the weapon immediately.
The HK Mark 23 had been specially commissioned by the Pentagon for its Special Operations Command. A friend within SOCOM had raved about the gun and insisted both he and Mitch should check it out. Their friend been right. Both he and Mitch had loved the double-action .45-caliber gun that could be fitted with a silencer. His friend’s pistol had disappeared on the night he’d been killed.
More and more evidence was piling up against the Sparrow in Mitch’s murder. He had to remind himself that his friend’s death was not the reason for this assignment. His goal was to find Prince Reginald’s murderer. But maybe one of those bottles in the foot locker held a poison similar to the one that had killed the prince.
Aidan observed the Sparrow holster the gun and slip on the holster, quickly get the foot locker back in the safe and close it once again.
More Than a Mission Page 5