“I don’t know.”
“Kiley, talk to me. What’s going on?”
“I just think I need a change.”
“From what? From us? Does this have anything to do with Scott and the tension between you two?”
“No,” Kiley answered.
The second she saw her brother’s face she knew she’d answered a little too quickly.
“Okay, maybe.”
“Has Scott done something?”
“No.”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?”
When she didn’t answer, Keith let out a tired sigh. “I knew you had a crush on him years ago, but I thought that was over.”
“It is over.”
“Kiley, Scott isn’t right for—“
“I don’t want to get into this with you, Keith. Please. I know where you stand when it comes to Scott. I also know Scott isn’t right for me, but I just can’t…I need to get away for a while.”
“Then go on a trip. You and Paula can go somewhere when we get back, but don’t go with the C.I.A. The damn place is a death trap.”
“Surely it’s not that bad.”
“Kiley, it was the C.I.A.’s screw up with intelligence that got me and my team trapped in Turkey. They’re screw ups, plain and simple.”
“Gee, not holding a grudge, are you?”
Keith sent her a scowl over the screen, and Kiley grinned.
“Damn right, I’m holding a grudge. If I could get my hands on the agent that sent me the wrong intel, I’d slit his throat.”
Kiley’s grin widened. “Right there with ya.”
“Mmm,” Keith replied. “Try to work things out with Scott, please. I can’t afford to lose either one of you.”
“I will,” she relented.
“I’ll keep you informed on our progress here. She won’t have passports, so we’re going to swing by the safe-house in London so we can get her paperwork back in order before coming home.”
“How long do you think you’ll be?”
“Actually, I don’t think it’s going to take as long as we initially thought. We’re going for the extraction tomorrow.”
Kiley raised an eyebrow. “Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. We have a window we can’t pass up. John got wind of one of the terrorists groups here have a bombing planned and you’ll never guess where?”
“The prison?” she asked.
“Next door in the abandoned building. Some sort of warning toward the prison warden”
Kiley frowned. “Are you sure that’s accurate? And that it’s a good idea to go in with all that going on?”
“The guy’s never let us down before with his intel and it’s the perfect time. We could use the diversion. Keep your fingers crossed.”
“Be safe.”
Keith smiled softly. “Always.”
Chapter Seven
Scott sat outside the office debating on whether or not to go in. Kiley had arrived about five minutes ago. If he didn’t go in soon, the coffee he’d bought them would be cold.
He took a sip of his own and winced as the hot fluid hit his tongue. He barely slept last night for thinking about Kiley. She drove him crazy. Why did she want to leave the company? And more importantly, why did she blame him?
Yeah, they’d been fighting a lot lately, but…Why were they fighting so much? Scott frowned as he thought about it. He wanted Kiley. He knew that. He was frustrated because he couldn’t have her. Was he taking that frustration out on her somehow without realizing it?
An incoming text pulled him from his thoughts. He flipped his phone over so he could see the screen.
Stop brooding and come inside. I need to talk to you.
It was from Kiley. Scott snorted and hit the close button, not bothering to send a reply. She must’ve seen him out the window.
“Might as well get this over with,” he said to himself as he grabbed the coffees.
He found Kiley in the computer room at the back of the office complex. The room was cold and dark, something Kiley insisted on for the equipment. Even in the dim lighting, she was easy to find perched behind one of the computer screens.
She must not have heard him enter since she didn’t look at him right away. She was bent over typing something on the keyboard. Unable to stop himself, Scott let his gaze wander over her backside. The jeans she wore hugged her hips perfectly, and his fingers flexed with the desire to grab that firm ass and give it a good squeeze.
She stood up and turned to face him. He moved his gaze quickly back to her face so she wouldn’t know where he’d been staring. She jumped in surprise before relaxing and giving him an uncertain smile.
“Hey,” she said.
Scott handed her one of the coffee cups. “I’m sorry I was an ass, Kiley. Peace offering?”
Kiley nodded and took the cup from his hand. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, too.”
Scott made a face. “I deserved it.” He glanced around her shoulder to the screen. “What are you working on?”
“It’s the same program I was working on the other night. I just tweaked it a bit. Scott?”
Kiley lowered her head and stared at her cup. Scott could tell she was more than a little uncomfortable and wondered why. What was it that had suddenly come between them? Or had it always been there and he’d just been too blind to notice?
He moved to lean his hips against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for her to continue. “What is it, Kiley?”
She bit at her lower lip briefly before saying anything, and Scott had the sudden desire to replace her teeth with his. He wanted to nip at that full lower lip, to taste her as he slid his tongue inside her mouth, to feel her moan as it—
“Scott,” she said loudly.
He blinked in confusion. Damn, she’d been talking, and he hadn’t heard a word she’d said.
“God, I’m sorry, Kiley. I…” He sighed and dragged his hand through his hair. “My mind was somewhere else.”
“Where?” she asked.
On your mouth, your sighs, your taste.
“I was just hoping Keith is handling Istanbul okay, considering what happened the last time he was there.”
Kiley nodded sadly. “I talked to him earlier. He seemed fine.”
“Yeah, I talked to him too. I promised him I would make a massive effort to get along better with you.”
Kiley smiled slightly. “Yeah? I made the same promise.”
“Good, then we’re on the same page.”
Scott watched Kiley carefully. Why did she get so aggravated with him lately? Was she as frustrated as he was with the whole hands off policy from Keith?
“I guess if we get along better, you won’t feel the need to rush off to the C.I.A.”
Kiley rolled her eyes and turned to leave. “You just had to go there.”
She made it all the way to the door before Scott caught up with her. He reached over her shoulder and shut the door just as she was about to walk through it.
She spun around and her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m sorry.”
He was sorry for acting like such an ass because all he really wanted to do was grab her to him and kiss her.
She opened her mouth to say something, then shut it. “I’m not taking the job,” she said softly.
“And it’s not the first time he’s offered it to me.” She shrugged and looked at something over his shoulder. “I go hear him out, but then…” She brought her gaze back to his and the sadness he could see hit him in the gut with the force of a sledgehammer. “I always end up telling him no. Eventually he’ll get tired of it and give up…I’m guessing.”
Scott smiled slightly and touched her cheek with the pad of his thumb. Kiley’s lips parted and it was all he could do to not touch his mouth to hers.
He sighed and dropped his hand. “I promise from today on no more following you around, no more grilling you about the shit hole,” he said, grinning. “I’m here
to help you, so whatever you need just say it, even if it’s get the hell out of my way.”
“Okay,” she said, then grinned. “Get the hell out of my way.”
He nodded and chuckled. “All right.”
She moved away from the door allowing him to leave, but then stopped him. “Oh, wait.”
He turned to look at her questioningly. “You change your mind?”
“Actually, I need your help. One of the women James is talking to is local.”
Scott shook his head. “Kiley, no.”
“Why?”
“If you go talk to her, which is what I’m thinking you want to do, you could screw this whole thing up. If she’s in love with him, whatever you say, she’ll try to confirm. It could alert him that we’re onto him.”
Her shoulders sagged in defeat. “You’re probably right. I just can’t stand the thought of another woman being played.”
“That’s why you have this program running. If she takes off to Peru, we’ll be right behind her. I promise.”
“Have you talked to the authorities in Peru?”
“We don’t know the authorities aren’t in on this as well.”
“We can’t go down there and take out their cartels without giving them some sort of warning.”
“Yeah, we can.”
“Scott—“
He smiled and chucked her under the chin. “Trust me. I have all the necessary cards in play.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You went to the D.E.A.”
He shifted and leaned against the doorjamb while holding the door open with his free hand. “Is that a bad thing? They want them. We can get them.”
“So when it’s finished we just hand them over? That will never work. They didn’t get them through legal channels.”
“They’re our way in without having to go through the locals,” he said. “We’re not just rescuing someone this time. We’re bringing in the bad guys. We need someone to bring them to.”
Kiley glanced toward the ceiling in frustration.
“Did you think we were just going to go round them up and drop them off at the local jail?”
“To be honest, I didn’t know what we were going to do with them.”
“The D.E.A has been watching this group for a while. So far they’ve had two undercover agents killed trying to infiltrate the cartel. The D.E.A wants them bad, Kiley. Bad enough to give us free reign, while at the same time backing us up.”
“Which means if anything goes wrong, it’s your fault not theirs and they deny ever being involved.”
“It’s not the first time we’ve played this game with them, Kiley, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
Kiley bit at her lower lip again. Scott reached for her hand and wrapped his fingers around hers. When he tugged her forward she didn’t resist. She moved to stand in front of him, her hand in his, her beautiful gaze locked on his own.
“We know what we’re doing.”
“I know.”
“Then trust me,” he whispered.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her mouth. He absently rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, enjoying the feel of her skin beneath his touch. He wondered what the rest of her would feel like. Would she be as soft everywhere?
Her lips twisted slightly. “You’re real big on this trust thing, aren’t you?”
“Trust is important in any relationship.” He dropped her hand and turned to leave. “Especially in our line of work.”
“Touche,” he heard her say just before the door closed behind him.
Chapter Eight
Kiley walked into her house and flipped the light switch by the door, bathing the living room in light. She sighed and set her purse and keys in the chair by the door. Some people had a coffee table or kitchen table they set things on. Kiley used the chair. It was something her brother always teased her about.
Even when they were kids, she was so anxious to be rid of all the crap she carried home from school, she would drop it into the first available spot. That was usually the chair by the door and the habit stuck.
The ringing of her cell phone cut through the silent house and she quickly retrieved it from her purse.
“Hello,” she said without looking at the caller ID.
“Hey, girlfriend,” Sharon said cheerfully from the other end. “Got any plans for tonight?”
Kiley grinned at her outrageous friend. “Nope. Are you calling to give me some by chance?”
“Yep. A bunch of us are getting together and heading over to The Den. Up for it?”
“Of course. What time?”
“One hour.”
Kiley glanced at her watch. “That gives me just enough time to shower and change. Meet you there.”
One hour later, Kiley was dressed and ready to party. This was just the thing she needed to get her mind off Scott. Maybe she could drown her lust in alcohol, and if she was lucky, some gorgeous hunk she would never see again.
Kiley slid from behind the steering wheel of her car and stood. As she did, she swept her gaze over the crowd, looking for her friend. Sharon spotted her and waved from across the parking lot. Waving back, Kiley quickly made her way over to join her and three other girls gathered on the sidewalk just outside their favorite club.
Her friend looked incredible in a deep green mini-dress and three inch black stilettos that showed off her long legs and accentuated the muscular tone of a runner. Her long, brown hair was down around her shoulders and her brown eyes sparkled with mischief. Sharon was a great friend. Kiley could always count on her to be there for her, but Kiley also knew that trouble followed Sharon.
Not because she welcomed it or looked for it, but just because she seemed to have some of the worst bad luck in the world.
“There you are,” Sharon said as she embraced her in a hug. As she pulled away, she waved her hand toward the other three. “You remember these girls from the party planning business, right?”
Kiley looked at them and nodded. “Yeah. Hi, guys.”
Lydia, Theresa, and Angela. They were Sharon’s employees and had started tagging along to some of their nighttime haunts.
They all said their hellos and headed to the door. Inside, the club’s low lighting cast the room in a reddish hue. Designed to look like an old, eighteenth century bordello, the club had a very unusual vibe.
They grabbed one of the corner tables and quickly ordered a round of drinks. Kiley needed this.
She needed the numbing effect to help her not think about Scott. Hopefully, if she drank enough, maybe she wouldn’t think about anything at all.
Just as she was about to lift the glass to her lips the waiter had set in front of her, she spotted the last person in the world she wanted to see over by the bar.
Scott.
He stood with two other guys, drinking beer and talking about God knows what. As she stared, several women walked past him, giving him looks that very clearly said what they wanted.
Kiley frowned as Scott began to talk to one of those women.
Why should she care, right? She took a huge sip of her drink then started to set her glass down but changed her mind. Lifting it, she started to take another.
“Hey, is that Scott?” Sharon asked as she raised her hand to wave.
Kiley grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand back down. “No!”
Sharon gave her a confused look. “Why not?”
Kiley shook her head. “Just—“
She saw Scott walking toward them and inwardly groaned. Too late. He’d already spotted them. “Damn.”
Sharon frowned at Scott, then her. “What’s going on, Kiley? Are you mad at him or
something?”
“Or something,” she mumbled and gulped down another huge sip of her drink.
God, he looked good—jeans, t-shirt, wide shoulders, narrow hips, beer in hand, smile on his handsome face. Sighing, she lifted her glass to down the remaining contents.
Lydia grabbed her elbow and whispered, “Slow down,
hon.”
Kiley could already feel the effects. Warmth spread through her limbs. Fog penetrated her brain to leave her feeling slightly disoriented and way too loose with her tongue.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she snapped as Scott came to stand by their table.
Scott raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Someone’s a mean drunk.”
“I’m not drunk,” Kiley argued as heat flooded her cheeks. “I’m just surprised to see you here.”
“I came with the guys,” he waved toward the bar. “The dark haired guy, Shawn, wanted to know if I would introduce him to the platinum blonde…” He gave Lydia a pointed look.
Lydia smiled slightly and replied, “Married.”
Scott’s scrunched his nose into a pained expression. “Shawn will be disappointed to hear that.”
“Well,” Lydia said with a chuckle. “Tell him I appreciate the interest.” She looked at Kiley and her grin widened. “Makes me feel good to know I can still attract a cute guy.”
Kiley returned her smile but when she turned her gaze back to Scott, her smile faded. “I guess you can go back to your friends now.”
Scott lifted his lips into the devilish grin Kiley recognized. She doubted he was going anywhere.
Matter of fact, he proved her right by grabbing a chair and turning it around. He straddled his thick thighs over the chair, then sat down.
“Sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me,” he purred.
“Then I guess it’s exactly as it sounds.”
Sharon moved her gaze between the two of them, her intelligent brown eyes not missing anything. Kiley knew after this little performance, Sharon would be all over her for what was behind it.
“We hang out all day together,” Kiley reasoned. “Do we have to hang out at night together, too?”
“I don’t know,” Scott replied as he studied her so intently she felt the urge to squirm. “Might be kinda fun to hang out at night. Besides, if I recall, we had dinner together at night recently.”
“That was a peace offering and if you don’t leave, you’re going to need to bring me another one.”
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