by Lexy Timms
“Welcome to the club,” he panted out.
“I need a drink.”
Chapter Twelve – Nicole
Somewhere above continental USA
Just like that, they were finished. He was out of her and had his jeans pulled back on. He helped her down from the counter and stepped over the toilet so she could reach down to pick up her jeans. She got dressed and he made her leave the restroom before him.
Walking back to her seat, Nicole could imagine the other passengers’ eyes following her every step of the way. No one had been watching her before, but she was sure someone had heard something.
After she sat down, Nick made it back a minute or so later.
“I’ll get you another drink. You’ll nap well after that,” he told her.
She kissed him on the cheek.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“Take your pick.”
He got her another drink, and she drank it slowly this time. She’d had enough, certainly. This last one was just to calm her nerves.
She slumped down in her seat and looked over at Nick. “I need to know how to look you up when I get back,” she said.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“If you’re that good in a tiny bathroom, I can just imagine what you can do in a bed. Hand over your info so I can call you.” She was fading fast.
“When we land, I’ll put it in your phone,” he told her.
“Good. I don’t know when I’ll make it back, Nick, but I definitely want to see you when I do.” She blinked slowly, and before she knew it, she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
The next thin she knew, she heard the sounds of passengers bustling around the cabin. She sat upright and looked around. Half the people around her had disembarked. Nick was gone, nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank for a second, but then she figured he had to leave. Maybe he tried to wake her up and gave up. Maybe he had a connecting flight.
It was too bad she didn’t get his number before she passed out.
Too damn bad.
She could use another dose of Nick…geez she never even asked him his last name.
Oh well.
She pushed her way out of her seat and into the aisle.
“Sorry,” she apologized to someone she bumped into.
She remembered she had put her backpack under her seat and turned to reach down to grab it.
It was gone.
She looked in the overhead compartment, then down under the seats again.
Someone had run off with her stuff.
No, no, no…
That asshole had run off with her pack!
Everything was in there, including her wallet, money, passport, and the thumb drive with all the TDE-5X specs and the Terratech visitor log info from Saturday morning.
That fucking prick.
She’d been had, plain and simple.
Nicole stood in the aisle and watched everyone exit as her world imploded all around her. Those passengers continued about their daily lives. For her, it could be all over now.
Chapter Thirteen – Nick
JFK Airport, New York City
Nick watched Nicole sleep. She was smart, he could tell, but she had a lot to learn. She had told him way too much. Then she let her guard down and let him take her in the bathroom. Worst of all, she fell asleep and let him take everything she had.
Three drinks and one good fuck and his mission was accomplished.
If she had any Terratech data on her, he had it now. He had her passport so she was stuck in the US. Her wallet was in her bag too, so she was shit out of luck.
He thought this would have been more of a challenge. Now all he had to do was turn over the data and walk away and never see her again. He hoped it was that simple. In his opinion, he had neutralized the threat, so hopefully the Company wouldn’t ask him to eliminate it completely. That would be a shame.
He shook his head and cursed.
This was the first time he actually hoped he wouldn’t receive those orders.
Dammit.
One good fuck and he was off his game.
He wasn’t supposed to care. Caring was dangerous in this business. Yet here he was, thinking he could tie this up with a bow without having to kill her.
The Company didn’t pay him care, or to think, for that matter. He got his orders, and whatever they were, he made it happen.
End of story.
Maybe in another life, they could have had more than just a moment on an airplane, but in this lifetime, the best thing for him to do was make sure she didn’t get on that plane to London and then disappear from her life. He’d never met someone who was so experienced and so innocent at the same time, so savvy yet naive.
Nicole slept through the landing, and as the passengers began to disembark, Nick grabbed their bags and headed up the aisle, leaving her to sleep off her drinks in peace while he got as far from her as he could.
Inside JFK, Nick ducked into a restroom and checked out her bag. He pulled out her wallet and passport. He dug through her backpack for any other clues. There was nothing else in her bag, so he dumped the contents in the restroom trash can, and took the empty bag to another stall, rolled it up and slid it behind the toilet tank before returning to the terminal.
A text came in that told him to meet the other operative and hand over her passport and the data at a gate in another terminal. Nick hurried to stay ahead. He couldn’t afford to bump into Nicole now. He needed to get to the gate, make the exchange, and disappear before she came along to find him. By now she would know he had conned her. She would be looking for him, he was sure.
A quick survey of the airport map showed him where to go.
He couldn’t shake the image of her sleeping next to him, though. Orders were orders, but he left her in the lurch in one of the most unfriendly cities in the country. She was in way over her head, and she got under his skin.
Now he was talking himself out of what he had just finished doing.
Thankfully, he found the other operative waiting at a remote gate. He sat beside the man, and without looking, let the passport drop to the floor. The other operative leaned over and picked it up, sliding it into his pocket.
A clean drop.
“Anything else?” The man asked. “I was supposed to collect something more.”
“It wasn’t with the rest of her things. She must have it on her.”
“You need to retrieve it.”
“Okay.” It would be tougher, but Nick had no doubt he could do it, by force if necessary. Hell, he loved a good challenge. The trouble was, he had stripped off her clothes in that bathroom, so where else on her could it be?
“Take this too.”
The operative placed a small suitcase between their feet. Nick knew what it was. A weapon and ammunition. Goodies he couldn’t travel with, which needed to be furnished in every city. It was just unusual they did the handoff here. Something wasn’t right.
“Nice.”
“Your handler will send new instructions when you get the data.”
Without another word, he got up and he walked away, blending in with the crowd. Nick ducked into a corner. They’d armed him, right here at the airport. That meant either they expected trouble or he was about to get orders to eliminate Nicole Hunt. She was hot, but if he had to, he would do it.
He didn’t want to do it, though. He preferred to let her live another day. Nick returned to a part of the terminal where she might be. His new assignment was to get the data, and hopefully nothing more.
To Be Continued…
Continues in Badass Part 2, coming soon.
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&nbs
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