Kiss Me Harder: Unbreakable Series

by Cole, Aja

  “What did the senator do to piss him off?”

  “According to Lightwell, they were at the same event and she’d gone out to a secluded balcony for some fresh air. Came across Vince and his ex-fiancée arguing. He grabbed the girl pretty violently, threatened to pitch her off the balcony, and the senator recorded him so he couldn’t deny his behavior—then stepped in. Told him to leave and get away from her, or she’d send it to all of her contacts. Nothing happened then, but the senator got his fiancée somewhere safe, and when he couldn’t find her—he called up the senator and had a helluva lot to say, most of it threats.”

  “Does he have that kind of reach? A rich-kid lawyer causing all of this?”

  “See? That’s what I said, too,” Hayes interjects. “But get this—he’s got friends in low places. No way he handles those women himself or gets rid of them. I’m betting that’s where Nathan Lewis comes in with trafficking—and guess who has vacation homes right next to each other?”

  “Damn,” I whisper. “But where does Shadi come into this?”

  “You said she went quiet on him pretty suddenly. Maybe something went down and she threatened to expose him. He doesn’t strike me as the most stable,” Derek muses.

  “Why not give her to Lewis, too, then? Make her disappear.” I ask the question, but their earlier words about the women he chooses come back to me and I answer myself. “Because we would’ve looked for her, and we wouldn’t have stopped. He had to make it look like she just wasn’t the person we knew.”

  “I’m sorry it had to be your girl, Elias. But with a little more work, I bet we can nail this bastard for life. For everything.”

  “I think he’s a middleman.” Xander jumps in. “It’s still not sitting right with me.”

  “It’s the best we have right now. Maybe there is more to it, but this is about as solid as it gets,” Derek points out. “You know I trust your gut more than my own, Xan. But this is a damned good place to be.”

  Nodding his silent approval, Xander excuses himself to check in with someone, and the rest of us start to brief Naja’s team on the dots the guys might’ve connected.

  Everything in me hopes this is the lead that pans out, because I need to be able to give Shadi’s parents the peace they haven’t been able to find since she went missing.

  I owe them that much.

  22

  Elias

  It’s day three of Naja ignoring my presence. It’s not like she hasn’t ignored me before, but this is different.

  This feels a lot more final. I guess she’s not even really ignoring me, more like—she’s ignoring the fact that anything has happened between us, and my declarations. She looks right through me if we have to speak to each other, her eyes devoid of any kind of emotion.

  It’s shittier than her just pretending I don’t exist.

  There’s an annual charity dinner in two days for Helping Hearts, the same event the senator ran into Vincent at three years ago. We’re creating covers for it, with Roan and Naja going as a couple, along with Derek and Bali, shadowing the senator while everyone else takes up surveillance positions.

  “Too much testosterone now,” Bali grumbles. “We used to be even.”

  Our makeshift team now consists of Naja, Kane, Trevor, Bali, Derek, Xander, Hayes, Roan/Trouble, and me.

  “I don’t leave my sanctuary for just anyone, little soldier. Be grateful.” Roan’s hands fly over computer keys. On top of being certifiable, I’ve learned that computers are his babies, along with false documents and histories.

  I personally think the man is slightly unstable, and I have the small scars on my shoulder and neck to prove it, but Naja’s team seems to trust him with their lives.

  More history that I don’t know about, and that Naja probably won’t tell me. It’s pretty clear that Hayes and I are the odd ones out here. Even Xander and Derek seem to get a little more camaraderie as SEALs than we do working for the FBI. Or maybe it’s because I pissed them off with the tracking device.

  Trevor let it slip casually that it was okay, because he tagged me with a tracker too.

  It’s been pleasant all around.

  “Trevor will be at the bar, noting the people that Vincent interacts with most and who they are. Kane, Hayes, Agent Samir and Xander will be up in the room, listening and watching. They’ll be reachable by comm, and we’ll all be linked. Our advantage is that they feel safe.” Naja pans around a 3D view of the main ballroom where the dinner will be. “Trouble, Derek, Bali, and me will be mingling, guiding conversations, and staying close to guests to see what we can pick up. People love to gossip and this is a powerful enough mix of people that there’s bound to be some enemies.”

  Yeah, she won’t address me by my first name either. I’d sound like the childish one if I pointed out that she doesn’t address Derek that way, so I keep my thoughts to myself.

  “I for one hope Vincent does something stupid so I have an excuse to break his nose,” Derek grumbles. “Any man who treats women the way he does is a waste of space.”

  “Only if there’s no other way to defuse the situation.” Naja frowns. “The goal is to not draw attention to any of us; remember that.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He winks at her, and I cut him a glance. I’m going to have to talk to him after this and put a stop to that kind of shit. She might not be talking to me, but that doesn’t mean anyone else can slide in.

  Goddamn SEALs.

  “Looking a little green there, Elias,” Bali points out sweetly, fiddling with one of the comms she’s checking out.

  Naja’s eyes slide to mine briefly before she looks away, continuing to speak.

  “I agree with Xander that someone else is pulling the influence strings on this. There’s a good chance he or she will be there tonight, so be vigilant. We all know how important little things can be. It might be the difference in this taking another month and this taking two days.” She pauses, and with the most emotion that I’ve seen from her towards me, she holds my gaze. “I’d like to put our family at rest, for good.”

  Even after her icing me out, her including Shadi means the world to me. I nod my appreciation, and just like that, the wall snaps up between us again and it’s all business.

  “We’re leaving here at 0600 hours.” Kane speaks, closing the folders he was going over. “Some people keep their own private airfields and shit.”

  “Hard to hang out naked on a commercial plane.” Roan laughs, spinning around in his computer chair. “All the docs are complete. You’ll get your covers to go over on the plane, and you’ll step off as those covers. I’m going to miss this beautiful dark mane.” He rubs a hand over his head and sighs. His accent gives everything more drama. “Misha and Kokka, two of my girls, will fix everyone’s ugly, don’t you worry.”

  Trevor rolls his eyes, standing. “Alright, I’m going to take my ugly mug to bed.”

  “Alone, I hope,” Naja murmurs, acting intent on the phone in her hand. With a drawn-out sigh, Trevor yanks her to him with an arm around her shoulder and presses a smacking kiss to the top of her head.

  “Yes, mother dear.”

  Slowly, everyone else says their goodnights and they clear out. When Naja moves towards the door, I call her name softly.

  “You have a question about tomorrow?” She doesn’t turn around.

  “You know I don’t.”

  “Then there’s nothing we need to talk about.” I close the gap between us with long strides, pressing a hand against the door. If she wanted to open it, she could, but she doesn’t.

  “I don’t like you shutting me out like this.”

  “Do you hear that tiny violin playing?” She ducks under my arm and moves away, putting a table between us. “I didn’t ask you to get all in your feelings. This was never going to be anything serious.”

  Her long hair is pulled back into a messy bun, strands escaping around her face after the long day of planning. Her brown eyes are wary, and her black tank top clings to her body, subtle muscles
showing themselves when she moves.

  “And why not? You seeing someone else?”

  “We can’t be together the way you want to be.” She makes a sound of frustration, hands clenching on the edges of the table. “I can’t be what you want me to be.”

  I lean over, bracing my hands on the brushed metal.

  “I don’t need you to be anything other than the woman that’s standing in front of me right now.”

  “Are you sure? There are things you don’t know about me,” she challenges, something lighting in her eyes that looks a lot like pain. She rounds the table and I meet her, trapping her in my arms before she can get too far.

  “Give me one reason why I should care when I know who you are already.”

  “Because I’m still in love with another man.” Her voice hitches on the words, and my arms fall away because I go numb as I process what she’s saying. “I promised him.” She backs away towards the door and I watch her go. “And I don’t break my promises,” she says quietly, turning and rushing from the room.

  It didn’t cross my mind that there’s someone else. She’s never seemed taken, just…guarded. The team never said a damn thing. She never said a damned thing.

  I stand there for a long time like the idiot I am.

  The worst thing is, I still want her just as much, and I don’t know what the hell to do about that.

  23

  Naja

  “Zip me up, mami.” Bali pads over on small bare feet and turns around, the black Badgley Mischka gown skimming her body perfectly.

  On someone else, it might be considered plain. On Bali, she might as well have stepped off a runway, even before her appearance changes. Her hair is a lightened honey blonde instead of its usual deep brown, with extensions, and her colored contacts are moss green. Kokka added light freckles to her face, and she’ll be wearing glasses tonight, even though her vision is perfect.

  “Maybe you should keep the blonde.” I zip up the back panels of the dress, hooking the closure at the top. Turning around, I wait for her to do the same for me.

  My dress is a deep green, tiered Osman gown, floor-length like Bali’s. Matching green mesh covers my cleavage and turns into long sleeves. It’s low-key but event appropriate. Black pointed flats that wrap at the ankle, understated emerald earrings, and a simple diamond band on my ring finger complete my appearance for the night.

  My hair has been made into a chestnut brown faux bob instead of my usual. Dark brown contacts mute my lighter brown eye color, and makeup has my cheekbones higher and my lips underlined and slightly thinner than usual.

  Overall, we shouldn’t draw too much attention to ourselves and if we do—we know our covers front and back, and so will the men.

  Tonight is for surveillance, not causing any commotion or suffocating Vincent in the cocktail sauce like I might be tempted to do.

  “Not this shade. Maybe a bit of a deeper blonde wouldn’t be so bad, though,” she muses, patting me lightly on my ass to signal she’s finished. Grabbing our clutches, we walk through the connecting doors to where the guys are and I curtsy playfully at their whistles and appreciation.

  “Liefje.” Roan comes forward in his smart tux, picking up my hand and pressing a kiss to my ‘wedding ring’, “My beautiful little soldier.”

  Roan is the only one I allow to call me anything like that. If another man tried it, I’d make him erase little from his vocabulary.

  Because I’m a glutton for punishment, I look to where I know Elias is and my heart thumps painfully in my chest when he’s not sparing a single glance in my direction.

  I did it to myself, and I knew exactly what I was doing, telling him vaguely about Cameron. What he can’t know is that I’m not sure those feelings I thought would never go away are still as strong as they were.

  Kane is ribbing Bali about her librarian glasses, and I pick up my comms from where they’re laid out, securing it to my ear and hidden in my hair. Bali does the same since the men are already prepped, and we do a quick test of the signals and clarity from the adjoining room. Our mics are sewn cleverly into the necklines of our dresses; collars for Trevor, Roan, and Derek.

  “Everyone comfortable with their covers?” I ask, straightening Trevor’s bow tie.

  “Yes, sweetheart. We’re professionals, you know.” Roan’s accent is nowhere to be found. Instead, his voice is all smooth American, and it still freaks me out that he’s so damn good at sliding into different personas.

  “Damn.” Xander whistles. “Nice blending in.”

  “Thank you. I’m a talented man,” Roan answers, his normally dark hair a messy dirty blond, like he’s spent a lot of time surfing on a beach somewhere. Derek is rocking a perfect fake bald cap that I’d be hard-pressed to believe wasn’t his real head if I hadn’t watched Misha work her magic.

  Trevor is a redhead now, with neatly trimmed facial hair and blue contacts. All in all, we’re a decent-looking bunch, but so damn different that it’s a little jarring to see all at once.

  Sure, we’ve done missions where disguises were needed—but mainly we’re about stealth and not being seen until absolutely necessary.

  “Senator’s here.” Hayes looks up from the camera feed that shows the hallway and the doors to our rooms, right before there’s a knock.

  “Oh my.” She sweeps into the room in a stunning violet gown, far more elegant than our other encounters. “You all are very good at changing appearances.” Her eyes linger on Trevor and I suppress a sigh. Something tells me they’re going to happen whether I object to it or not.

  “We should go down. Trevor needs to get to the bar, and we need to mingle during pre-dinner cocktails and the auction bidding.” I smooth my dress, feeling the small knife I’m carrying.

  Even surveillance can go wrong sometimes.

  Forcing myself not to look at Elias again, I make my exit with everyone else and remind myself that I’m here to do a job tonight, not wonder what could’ve been in a relationship that can’t be.

  * * *

  “A vacation house in Big Sur doesn’t sound too bad,” I speak quietly to Roan, my hand in the crook of his arm. He writes down a bid for Natalie & Robert Johnson and we stroll away casually, moving through the milling guests.

  Tori is across the room, speaking with two women who are the hosts for tonight. Donovan and Bianca have been accosted by a talkative couple who seem to not know what inside voices are. To her credit, Bali hasn’t stuffed a mushroom cap into the woman’s mouth to stifle her loud laughs.

  Trevor is slinging drinks at the open bar like he never stopped working the bartender job he had during his brief stint in college.

  “Vincent just arrived with his current girlfriend in tow. He’ll be entering through the east doors.” Kane’s voice comes in over the comms and Roan and I turn smoothly, engaging a nearby man in conversation. A few well-placed questions and he’s talking about himself more than he cares about us answering.

  I watch Vincent enter, a forbidding expression on his face as he leans near his date’s ear and speaks quickly. Seconds after, his expression smooths out and he pastes on an open smile, greeting someone who comes up to speak to them.

  I excuse us from the man whose name I don’t even remember.

  “Just let me accidentally knock his teeth out,” I murmur, squeezing Roan’s arm as we get closer to where Vincent and the woman are talking with a few people.

  “Careful, sweetie. Your claws are showing.” He laughs, and we order drinks from Tyler at the bar.

  “If you can get Vincent away from his date, get her here. I’ll give her a slightly stronger drink and you can see what she lets slip,” Tyler murmurs as he pushes our drinks across the slick wood.

  “Will do.” We stroll away. “Bianca, you catch that?”

  “On it.” I hear, and across the room, I see her extract herself from the conversation with the couple, leaving Donovan to fend for himself. She channels the dramatic energy of the woman they were talking to and whisks Vinc
ent’s date away, pretending they’re old friends and she just has to get her a drink so they can catch up. She does it so quickly that Vincent doesn’t even have time to get pissed off. I can see his jaw clenching from here before he begins speaking to someone else.

  “I’m bored already.” Robert smiles politely at a passing server, looking longingly at the exit. I laugh at the sad look on his face, knowing he’s wishing he could wreak a little havoc.

  “Listen, after we—” I stumble forward when someone bumps into me, then automatically turn around. “Well that’s one way t—.”

  “Shit,” I hear Roan whisper behind me, even as it sounds like there’s a high ringing in my ears.

  “I am so sorry.” The man holds his hand out, a charming smile on his face. “Christopher Brooks. And you are?”

  I swallow hard and shake his hand numbly, hearing Roan speak for the both of us.

  “Trevor, what’s happening down there?” Xander’s voice startles me, and I know Trevor’s silence reflects my shock, staring at this man.

  The man in front of me is the spitting image of Cameron, our teammate, and the man I fell head over heels for.

  24

  Elias

  Trevor doesn’t respond to Xander’s question, and Kane and I share a glance. We can’t catch everything that’s being said because the mics pick up deliberate sound. I’m ready to head down there when Roan starts speaking in a hushed voice.

  “Search Christopher Brooks and you’ll see what’s going on down here.” There’s an odd note to his voice, and Kane types the name in, exhaling a heavy breath like he’s been punched in the gut.

  I look over at the pictures on his screen, and I just see a decent-looking black man, with different women in the pictures. Actually, he looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t place him.

  “Who is Christopher Brooks?”