Deliciously Dangerous

by Karen Anders

  “Why is that?”

  “For one, it keeps me out of prison. You can’t arrest someone who doesn’t exist. For another, it’s also very difficult to find someone who doesn’t exist. Jammer is a good cover. I’m just the Ghost’s muscle. No one usually pays me much attention.”

  “I think it’s a brilliant idea. Sure had me fooled.” She scooted past him on the stairs, remembering where his room was.

  “I can’t have anyone knowing who I really am.” He caught up to her and followed closely as they moved down the hall.

  She turned to him, her tone serious. “Who are you?”

  He yawned again and grinned at her, his smile bright in the dimness. “A tired man.”

  She let him duck the question, because soon enough he was going to have to reveal who he really was. When she snapped handcuffs around his wrists. Confusing and conflicting emotions twisted and writhed in her chest, the pressure building like a steam engine.

  “I know who the Ghost is. What are you going to do about me?” she asked, poking him in the chest. Outside they heard thunder rumble.

  They hadn’t quite made it to the bedroom and Jammer hadn’t had a chance to turn on a light. The only illumination came from the moon, which was quickly getting swallowed up by clouds outside the wide windows. He suddenly pushed her up against the wall.

  His gaze, hot and magnetic, caught her, his dark eyes glittering. “I don’t think you’re going to tell anyone my secret.”

  Callie looked up into his face and felt her heart break. She’d already told her boss he was the Ghost. Already breached his trust. But, she rationalized, Callie wasn’t Gina Callahan and she wasn’t an arms dealer. She also wasn’t deeply, hopelessly, in love with the Ghost. All she had to do was repeat that to herself over and over again until it sank in.

  “Why wouldn’t I tell anyone?”

  Lightning flashed in the distance, casting his hard, handsome face in silver. “Because you’re not a blabbermouth, and you will keep the secret because it’s to your advantage. Now you have some leverage over me.”

  “Do I?”

  Dropping the toiletry cases, he leaned down, meeting her at her level, his nose almost touching hers, his eyes a shocking gray as if the storm that gathered outside now raged in his eyes, and said, “You know you do, Gina.” He grinned an unholy grin, his eyes shining like hard granite in the shadows. “You must know you do,” he whispered, his whiskey-hoarse voice scraping her nerve endings like a rasp.

  As his lips found her throat and he began to kiss her with teasing little nips, Callie closed her eyes. She wanted to savor the feel of his mouth against hers and to compose herself, because, damn the bastard, he was right.

  “There’s a part of you that wants to keep me safe from harm, a part that wars with self-preservation and your own goals. But it’s there,” he murmured, his deep voice thick with words he couldn’t say.

  “I thought-” She broke off at the breathless sound of her own voice, cleared her throat and tried again. “I thought we were going to bed to sleep.”

  He chuckled wickedly against her neck, sliding a hand up and down her upper arm, his thumb brushing seductively against the side of her breast.

  “You’re right. I’m getting sidetracked.” His expression grew serious, intense, as he stared down at her, and a tremor went through her. This Jammer looked like a dominant male, a predator, capable of anything.

  Callie shook her head, sidestepping him as he moved away from her and retrieved their toiletries from the floor. She was amazed at his ability to go from teasing to serious, then seductive, then teasing again. It was almost more unnerving than his ability to make her want him.

  He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, the fire in his eyes softening to tenderness.

  She leaned into him as his arm slipped around her. Together they went into the bathroom to clean up and get ready for bed.

  Was that why she wanted to save him, protect him, find some way out of this tangled, impossible mission? Because Jammer treated her with the utmost care?

  They quickly undressed and crawled beneath the covers. He immediately pulled her to his side, and she moved willingly into his arms.

  “I hope you don’t hog the blankets,” she said.

  “I hope you don’t snore.”

  Callie chuckled and hit him with one of the bed pillows. He laughed.

  Her eyes were drifting shut as he buried his nose in her hair. Softly, she whispered, “Jammer?”

  “Yes?”

  “If I didn’t have leverage, would I have ended up like Joost and Dieter?”

  There was only silence in answer to her question. It spoke volumes.

  CALLIE WOKE TO THE MOST delicious scents, her nostrils flaring at the smell of freshly cooked eggs, mushrooms and peppers and the heavenly fragrance of coffee.

  “Caffeine,” she murmured against the downy softness of the pillow. “This had better not be a dream.”

  She heard a low chuckle and suddenly realized that she was alone in the big bed.

  “Come on, sleepyhead. It’s time to rise and shine.”

  “Just five more minutes, Mom.”

  He laughed and then said, “I’ve got omelets and coffee. I even made fresh-squeezed orange juice.”

  “Okay, then I think I’ll keep you around for a decade or so. Gimme.”

  She emerged from the covers and discovered that he was carrying a tray and had nothing on except an apron tied around his taut middle.

  “Eggs and a naked man. What more could I have asked for?”

  “How about cream in your coffee?”

  “Pour it on, buster, and give me a fork and a napkin. The fork for the eggs and the napkin for my drool.”

  “At your service.”

  “You can service me later. I’ll eat now.”

  He set the tray in front of her, and without hesitation, Callie dug in. She groaned at the first bite as she discovered that Jammer had also used a little salsa in the omelet. The combined taste of the peppers, mushrooms and salsa stimulated her taste buds until they were dancing. “Damn, Jammer, your cooking is spoiling me for other men.”

  He frowned at that. “Then I’d better stop.”

  “This is the heartiest breakfast I’ve had in a long time. Are you trying to fatten me up?”

  “You’re going to need your energy today.”

  “Why is that? Are we going to spend the day in bed?”

  His eyes flared at that, but he smiled and shook his head. “No, it’s harvest time. Don’t you want to see what we do here?”

  “Oh, I’d love to.”

  “Then finish up and have your shower. I’ll go first so I’m not tempted.”

  He turned and walked away from her, giving her an eyeful of the perfectly muscled globes of his ass. “Nice butt,” she said. He threw a look over his shoulder, grinned and shut the bathroom door.

  True to his word, Jammer drove her in a small cart down into the vineyards, where the clusters of grapes were heavy on the vine. Many people were already there, easily detaching the fruit with small curved knives.

  At least, Callie thought it was easy until Jammer put one of those curved knives in her hand and started teaching her the maneuver.

  “Leave a little bit of stem on the end, so we can handle the cluster,” he said, showing her a whole different side to him. A patient side.

  Together, shoulder to shoulder, they harvested all the way down the row.

  The sky was beautiful, the air washed clean from the short thunderstorm the night before. The temperature was perfect to be out in her black tank top and white peasant skirt.

  As she moved along, she put the grapes in yellow buckets to be picked up by the truck.

  “How did you get involved with this vineyard?” she asked, checking to make sure no one was in hearing distance.

  “It was a cover, pure and simple, a place for me to escape to when I wasn’t traveling. Who would have guessed that I would love it? Jim was great in teaching me wha
t I needed to know. At first he assumed I was one of those corporate types making an investment in a business I was totally ignorant about. I think he was surprised when I caught on and started running it. Then he was worried I would let him go, but of course I need someone here when business calls me away.”

  He turned to look at her with a perfectly content smile. She brushed a leaf out of his dark hair, returning his smile. She bent back to the vines, trying to decide how big a fool she was for letting herself get caught up in Jammer. Really caught up in him, so that she almost believed in this fairy tale.

  She gave herself a reality check. This wasn’t going to last. This beautiful place would be seized by the government. Jammer would be tried, convicted and condemned to a very long prison sentence. Callie would go on to the next mission.

  She had to keep that firmly planted in her head. She would play her part to the fullest. But standing in the bright sunlight, she dreaded the moment when she would reveal who she was. She dreaded the look in his eyes and the expression on his face from learning he had been so deeply betrayed. She wished she could avoid that, but was too much of a Watchdog agent to let anyone else collar the Ghost.

  The grapes were taken to the crush pad and they started to unload them. The physical labor felt good, and Callie was interested in every aspect of the production of wine.

  Jim started running the grapes up a conveyor belt that took the clusters into the de-stemmer, a machine that also cut the grapes in half and made pulp out of them. She watched as the grape pulp was pumped into what Jim called a “bladder press” that squeezed out the juice.

  By the time this process was complete the sun was dipping in the sky. Callie was sitting on the edge of the loading dock, resting, when Jammer came up to her and said, “Want to help me out?”

  “With what?” she asked. His expression was full of mischief.

  “A tradition.”

  “Really? What type of tradition?”

  “Stop asking questions and come on.”

  He slipped his hands around her waist and very slowly let her slide down his body.

  “Does this tradition involve something hard?”

  “Yes, in a way.”

  “Lead on.”

  He brought her around the end of the crush pad to a wooden vat set up next to the building. A short set of stairs was pushed close to it.

  She walked up the little flight of steps and looked inside the vat. It was filled with tons of grapes. “You want to what? Crush them?”

  “Exactly.”

  She laughed. Jammer went over to a CD player and pushed a button. Beautiful Italian opera poured from the speakers. Callie laughed again.

  “Jim, if you would do the honors.”

  Jim came over with a bucket and indicated that Callie should remove her sandals and dip her feet into the water. Jim gave them a quick scrub and then it was Jammer’s turn.

  “Everything’s been de-stemmed so you won’t hurt your feet,” Jammer explained.

  Callie stepped down into the vat, finding the grapes warm from the sun’s rays. She tucked her skirt into her waistband and started to walk on the grapes.

  “Squishy. So this is something you do every year?”

  “Yes. Jim says it makes the wine better to have some grapes crushed the old-fashioned way. Who’s to argue?”

  “It’s fun,” Callie said as she started to move a little faster, pumping her legs up and down.

  Jim poured each of them a glass of wine. Callie sipped and crushed, releasing the juices, the sweet smell of the grapes permeating her senses, heightened by the wine.

  Around and around they went, until the grapes beneath their feet turned into pulp. Juice started to fly up as they continued to wade through the mush, the haunting Italian music a perfect backdrop to a perfect day.

  At one point, she looked over at Jammer. His clothes were rumpled, his hair a tousled mess, and he had a hint of beard stubble shadowing his jaw. She’d seen him in a suit; she knew how well he cleaned up. But her heart lurched at the carefree look on his face. This was the real man under Jammer’s sexy and tough facade.

  The real man who turned toward her and got caught by her eyes as if she’d reached out and touched him. She reveled in the knowledge that Jammer couldn’t see her without wanting her. An ache spread inside her, a tangible thing that took on a life of its own.

  Everything that touched her was warm-the grapes beneath her feet, the waning sun, Jammer’s dark eyes. Her breath hitched and stammered in her lungs as he drew close to her. The music swelled into an arching crescendo that brought tears to her eyes.

  He captured her face between his palms, his expression mirroring the ache that had spread to every part of her. His eyes locked on to hers so intently it was a physical connection. There was communication between them though neither spoke.

  He just held her gaze for the longest moment. Then he took her hand and pulled it up to his mouth. He kissed her wrist and palm.

  Then without a word, Jammer led her out of the vat and across the yard into the house, through the back door.

  They walked up the stairs to the bedroom. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought she was going to swoon.

  He stopped in the doorway and pushed her hair from her face, framing her cheeks with his palms. “You are an amazing woman. All those intriguing layers. Peeling them away every day would be an unending joy for me. Delving into your soul and discovering every inch of who you are, inside and out. I love your confidence and your sense of humor.”

  “And when that wears off? When it grows old?” she asked.

  “Life offers no guarantees. You know that as well as I do. But we are who we are, flawed, tough because we have to be, and doing exactly what our hearts dictate. It’s not a matter of getting it out of my system. It’s more a matter of integrating it into my life, so I can live that passion every day.”

  She stared up into his eyes, feeling the force of every word, the complete honesty. But it did them absolutely no good.

  Their relationship had been doomed from the very beginning.

  She wouldn’t be on this mission if she wasn’t committed to apprehending criminals and protecting the citizens of the United States.

  She’d mistakenly thought this assignment would be a piece of cake.

  She’d been so wrong.

  Body shaking, lips trembling, she held that intense gaze, held on to it tightly, and smiled. But she didn’t get to say anything-his cell rang.

  It took Jammer a moment to let go of her, a moment to pull the mantle of the arms dealer back on. The music abruptly ended outside as Jammer put the phone to his ear.

  “Fuck!” he said, and closed his eyes.

  Callie waited while he conversed, pacing up and down. When he’d finished he threw the phone. It hit the pillows on the bed.

  “What?” she asked softly, gently putting her hand on his arm.

  “I think I’m so damn smart. I just shot myself in the foot.”

  “How?”

  “The shipment that Joost and Dieter promised me just got confiscated by the U.S. fucking Navy.” He ran his hands through his hair and locked them behind his neck. He leaned against the open bedroom door.

  “Oh God. Where?” Callie felt her mission spinning out of control-and taking the Ghost out of her reach. She had evidence of some buys he’d done, but nothing that tied him to selling weapons to a Colombian drug lord, which would seal his fate. She pushed away her soft feelings. Something would have to be done. She was not going to fail in her mission.

  “ San Diego. Two planes flew my order to a small airport. The cargo was supposed to be combined with my complete shipment and then flown on to Colombia. But SEALs were there training and they entered the wrong plane. My plane. Now the weapons have been moved to the navy base. They’ll trace them back to Joost, but not to me. I’ve conveniently taken out the only man who can supply me with what I need for this deal with Fuentes. Damn, Eduardo is going to be livid. He might even cut me out of t
he deal. I can’t have that.”

  “Since we can’t replace those weapons, then we have only one choice.”

  Startled, Jammer turned to look at her. “What are you saying?”

  “We break into the naval station and steal our weapons back.”

  11

  JAMMER STARED AT GINA for a moment. “Are you serious? A naval base?”

  “I have contacts. I can get us in and pilot the plane.”

  He saw the wheels turning in her head. Of course she would have contacts. Gillian Santiago was a very resourceful woman who had been appointed by the president; if the Watchdog director couldn’t pull strings, no one could. “So can I,” he said, warming to the idea.

  “Then I say we start planning on how we’re going to do this. Let me make some phone calls and see what I can find out.”

  He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. “Why are you doing this?”

  “My cut is tied up in this deal, Jammer. I don’t work for nothing.”

  For the umpteenth time he wondered how deep her feelings for him went. If she was in turmoil about arresting him, she never showed it. But in bed, he knew she wasn’t playacting. “Ah, business again.”

  Her eyes flashed. “That’s right. I have to keep my eye on the bottom line. I’m going to shower first because I’m very sticky,” Gina said as she ducked into the bath room.

  “I’ll start making my own calls.” Jammer dialed the director. At least this time he wasn’t waking him up. Stanford answered on the first ring. “Yes,” he said.

  “I have a major problem.”

  “What is it?”

  “My weapons have been seized by the U.S. Navy. I have a warehouse in San Diego housing the bulk of the shipment. All of it is scheduled to be flown out tomorrow. Unfortunately, there was a fluke incident at the airport and SEALs entered my plane instead of the decoy one they were training with. They ended up confiscating both planes.”

  “Let me do some digging. Sit tight and I will get back to you. I know someone over in the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms department. He should be aware of what is happening.”