by Amber Malloy
“What about me?” A big man walked onto the patio.
“What the hell, Tank?” Walker stepped over to him and slapped his hand with a half hug.
“Since you don’t trust us, we decided to bring in someone you did,” Eden said, without bothering to look away from her laptop.
“You’re not mad, are you?” Ashe whispered, hoping to cut some of the tension.
“I’m not not mad,” Eden replied dryly. “The kids are in camp and Marta is on vacation. We have less than a week to knock this out.”
Ashe could feel the silent wave of Eden’s hostility pointed in her direction. She opened her eyes wide at Walker and nodded her head in the spy’s direction.
No, he mouthed from across the patio.
Shocked that her feminine power of persuasion held no sway with him, Ashe hunkered down and pouted, for real this time.
“Is this everyone?” Shielding his face from the sun, Vann stepped out of the safehouse with a can of beer. The Viking walked over to Walker’s wife and kissed her forehead. “Long time no see, stranger.” Ashe reached over to fist-bump the sweetest man on earth.
“For now,” Lola said. “Walker has news.”
Surprised, Ashe raised her eyebrow.
“Yeah,” he responded. “I went with Vann this afternoon and found the priest who hired the agency.”
Eden glanced up from her computer for the first time. “I couldn’t get clearance to that info. We never knew who paid for Ashe’s rescue.”
“Right. Well, you didn’t have Tank in your tool chest until, like, what, yesterday?” he replied. Ashe rolled her eyes at his smug tone.
“This morning,” Tank answered. “I got to say that you guys like to cut it awfully close.”
“Spies aren’t exactly planners,” Walker said.
As Lola gave him the middle finger, Tank stepped in front of Eden. “Do you mind?”
She shook her head and slid her laptop to him.
“Walker’s field trip allowed me to narrow down a couple of things.” After Tank typed on the keyboard, he attached a device that permitted pictures and video to play across the floor-to-ceiling window.
“Corporations hired militia to smoke out the villagers.”
Ashe sat up to study the makeshift screen. She didn’t recognize any of the companies.
“Displacing people allowed the corporations to pay them pennies for labor. Here are the three major ones at the time of Ashe’s kidnapping—a tire manufacturer, exotic gems and this one’s my favorite, water filtration.”
“Holy shit,” Ashe muttered. How the hell did we miss that?
* * * *
Soft hues of red and beige decorated their spacious suite. Ashe sat at the Queen Anne desk, resting her head on top of her knee. She studied the three companies Tank had handed them.
“Filters and purifiers were some of many products made by the Zonnegroep. The umbrella company that contracted the irrigation system was called Sun Labs,” Walker shouted over the water in the shower. “That’s why it didn’t stick out to J8.”
Digging into the company’s history, she’d uncovered a Dutch corporation with American ties.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Walker asked.
She peeked over her shoulder. The sexy man was naked from the waist up. Immersed in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard Walker turn the water off. “Not especially.”
“Got to admit, I’m loving the superhero attorney look…” he noted.
Boy shorts and a ratty tank that barely covered her stomach screamed college bum. Nevertheless, Walker’s towel tent told a different story.
“This does it for you?” She set her foot on the floor and swiveled the chair around. Teasing him, Ashe pulled her tank down, tightening the fabric across her breasts.
Walker approached her. She didn’t want to stop her research, but a distraction of the sexy-husband variety didn’t hurt.
“Everything about you does it for me.” He flipped off his towel, forcing Ashe’s eyes to take in his hard cock. “From your brains to your beauty, there’s nothing I don’t love.”
As she reached out to take him in hand, a dreamy expression graced his handsome face. While she grabbed his stiff rod, she kept her eyes on him. “Continue.” Enjoying the power she had over him, Ashe flicked her tongue over his tip.
“My dick gets hard every time I lay eyes on you,” he said in a husky whisper. “When I’m not touching you, I want to be touching you. And the way you smell… Oh—”
Ashe took another slow, sweet taste of him.
“Shit,” he hissed.
Incredibly turned on, she shifted in her seat, adjusting the crotch of her wet underwear. “Continue.”
“The minute I saw you in that coffee shop, I knew that somehow I would have you beneath me…”
Ashe dragged her tongue across the bottom of his member.
“On top of me, and in front of me, naked. That’s why I couldn’t give you to J8—” Deciding she’d heard enough, Ashe took his cock into her mouth and sucked.
“Oh fuck!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The next morning, Walker turned over to find the bed empty. Not at all surprised by Ashe’s disappearing act, he allowed the strong aroma of coffee to tug him away from much-needed sleep.
Unbelievably groggy, he threw on a pair of sweats before he made his way down to the kitchen. “Morning,” he grumbled at Vann, who stood near the industrial cappuccino maker. “Have you seen Ashe?”
“Donut run.”
“And you just let her go?” he snapped.
“Depends… Is your security detail more or less incompetent than your partner’s?” Eden strolled into the kitchen with Morty hot on her heels. “They’re with her.”
“Fuuu— What the heck is that thing!” Vann screamed at the Maine Coon.
“Morty the Wonder Cat. Ashe stole him,” Walker said with a chuckle. “He’s kind of harmless, I think.”
“That thing is not a cat.” The furry beast ran loops around Eden’s legs with a purr.
“Hmmm, the grumpy ball of fur likes you,” Walker noted.
“Most wild things do. Isn’t that right, honey?” Eden said.
With a grunt, Vann continued to stare at the cat.
“What time did she leave?” Walker tried not to appear worried. He took a clean cup off the wire rack and grabbed the pot of coffee.
“Long enough for us to snag the searches from her computer.”
“Ohhh, coffee.” Tank walked into the enormous stone kitchen that was large enough for a baseball team. “Yeah, boss lady here told me to hack Ashe’s computer. I thought you knew?” Tank practically shoved him aside for a space in front of the pot. “That was my homework for the night.”
“Let me guess. Ashe was not going to share the test questions with the rest of the class?” Walker asked.
Engaged in a serious game of cat footsie, Eden didn’t bother to answer his question.
“She’s suppressed a lot of memories. We figured once the floodgates opened we would have to act fast,” Vann told him. “Sweetie, stop. You don’t know where that thing’s been.”
“This handsome guy is from the Cape. Right, Walker?”
He grunted, irritated that everyone seemed to know more about his wife than he did.
“There’s no way those rich white folks didn’t get this monster his shots. Isn’t that right, baby?” The damn thing melted against the woman’s bear-clawed slipper and meowed.
“What did you find?” He groaned, squelching the urge to holler at them.
“A bunch.” Tank dug into his pocket and passed him rolled-up papers. “Seems Ashe has narrowed things down for us considerably.”
As he scanned the list, his heart rate sped up. Astronomical wealth multiplied with strange sexual predilections didn’t help his outlook on finding Ashe’s kidnappers. Nevertheless, it did make him nauseated.
“Will these suspects be at the conference?” Five men from different countries, all wit
h ties to the Zonnegroep, had made the list. She’d compiled research on a few scientists, CEOs and investors that fit the time frame.
“Yep, they all have financial interest in the international trade community,” Eden said. “We’re just going to have to figure out who placed the hit on her family—”
“Before Ashe does, right?”
“Now we’re cooking with gasoline.” Eden’s endearing smile almost diminished the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Do you think the kids would like Morty here?”
“Listen to me.” Vann put his big head in front of Eden’s normal-sized one. “I know my vote doesn’t count for shit with this jacked-up squad of menace and mayhem, but we’re not taking that thing home.”
Considering, Eden used her bare foot to tickle Morty on his stomach. Walker figured Vann would lose this battle.
“But she stole him. Isn’t that what you said, Walker? Trust me”—she waved off her husband’s concerns—“Ashe is not an animal person, and the kids will love him.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me right now,” Vann growled.
While the Morgans fought it out over a ball of fur, Ashe entered the kitchen with a large box of donuts. Decked out in yoga pants and a sports bra, the entire package caused a semi to spring to life in his pants.
“Brought treats before I go on a run,” Ashe said. Tank snagged the box from her hands. Rising onto her tiptoes, she kissed Walker’s lips. “Good morning.”
As he wrapped his arms around the beauty, he passed the list back to his partner.
“How attached are you to this mountain lion?” Eden asked.
“Don’t even think about stealing my cat,” Ashe said before she kissed him again.
When Ashe pulled away from their embrace and turned toward the coffee machine, it gave him a good shot of her shredded skin, a glaring reminder of why they needed to see this thing through. Walker took a swig of his coffee and once again wondered how to fix everything.
Chapter Twenty-Three
J. Cole blared in her ear buds. Having lost her security detail two miles back, Ashe freely jogged the lakefront. She wanted to get the layout of the museum without the interference of J8. She pulled out her cell from her running band to take pictures. After looking at her compiled list of names, she studied the area near the museum. Ducking into the lower level, Ashe scoped out the exits. Suddenly yanked off her feet, she nearly dropped her phone.
“What the fu—”
“Guard,” Walker whispered near her mouth. “Favor your right ankle now.”
“This is a restricted area. You two can’t be here.”
Ashe went down on the ground, clutching her leg. Surprised to see Walker, she played along.
“Sorry. We just wanted to be off the trail. She sprained her ankle."
“It doesn’t matter. You have to—”
“Got her.” Walker smiled before he effortlessly picked her up.
“Do you need me to call an ambulance?” The guard’s tone softened once he realized she’d hurt herself.
“Nah, she’s pretty klutzy. We should be able to make it back to the house for some ice. Thanks, man.” As he carried her out of the enclave, Ashe moaned into Walker’s shoulder.
“No problem,” the guard said.
She kept up the act up until they’d made it curbside then Walker let her down. “Hop until we clear the museum cameras,” he told her.
Following his instructions, she bounced on one leg for the next few minutes.
“Are we good?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.
“Not sure, sweetheart. You managed to ditch my crew to perform what? Recon? I’m guessing that was the reason for the donut run.”
Walker had her dead to rights.
“Is that why they sent the big boss to come get me?” Finally clear of the museum, she dropped the injured act and walked normally. For the next block and a half, neither one of them spoke.
A late morning crunch of joggers went by the lakefront. Ashe had almost forgotten how much she enjoyed the energy of the city.
“They know about your searches.” Walker finally broke the silence as she took in the sailboats docked in the lake.
“That was quick. I thought it would take more than a day for them to catch on. I guess that’s why they get paid the big bucks,” she joked.
Walker shoved his fingers through his hair with a groan. “Okay, so who is it? Now that I’m positive that you know.”
“What do you mean? I did the search and I have it narrowed down to—”
“Ashe”—Walker reached over and caressed the side of her face with his hand—“trust me when I say I will never underestimate you again. It took me a minute to get it. I’m usually not this damn slow, but”—he glanced toward the ocean and took a deep breath before he turned back to her—“it’s like one of those weird role-playing games. Eden is the ‘marry me, girl next door’—”
“What does this have to do with the gala?” she asked, confused.
“Lola is the sexy, distracting vamp,” he continued, “and you’re the fantasy girl. The worst vixen in this moshed-up bunch.”
“How could I be the worst?” Ashe chuckled nervously but knew Walker pretty much had her pegged.
“Because no one ever gets that fantasy girl. She will always keep you off balance.” As that unreadable mask he always held melted into a resigned expression, Walker leaned down to kiss her.
“You make it sound like a bad thing?” she said, once he’d pulled away.
“Whatever you’re thinking for tomorrow, don’t.” He held her face close to his. “You’ve got to trust me, baby.”
The realization dawned on her that Walker wanted her, scars and all, not just the fantasy. Locked into his hard gaze, she shook off the urge to lie.
“My parents signed a concept contract with the Zonnegroep. They needed to complete the mechanics of the invention within a certain timeframe. Otherwise, neither party had an obligation to hold up their end of the bargain.” Shifting her weight uncomfortably from foot to foot, Ashe fought back the urge to vomit. “I was a teenager at the time, so I don’t remember all of the details, but…it’s starting to come back.”
Time didn’t stop for pain. The happy people she admired for their blissful ignorance swarmed the crowded trail.
Grabbing her by the arm, Walker pulled her to the side. “You’re doing fine. Go on.”
“Last night I found the man who recruited my parents for the water irrigation project, Fredrick Snell. The contract died, and Sun Labs no longer had any rights to the invention. Snell lost his commission. He was then demoted from the Zonnegroep branch in America to Sun Labs in Sierra Leone.”
“Shit,” he hissed. “I read the list. That guy is the new CEO of Spring Life, Sun Labs’ direct competition.”
“He presented a shitty knock-off of my parents’ invention to Spring Life’s board of trustees. Instead of a permanent solution, they put a Band-Aid on a longstanding problem. They collected rain water from a bucket system installed on top of the houses. After he killed my parents, the asshole brought the idea to Spring Life.”
Close to tears, Ashe sucked in a ragged breath and shoved the flyaway curls out of her face. Refusing to let the monsters from her past win, she fought for control of her emotions.
“Come on.” Putting his arm around her, Walker kissed the top of her head before he guided them back to the trail. “We’ve got work to do.”
* * * *
J8 put together a composite of Fredrick Snell. The factory worker’s son had started his career in the mailroom. He hadn’t stopped his corporate climb until he’d reached the executive ladder’s top rung.
All roads pointed to the career-driven man as their main suspect.
Unfortunately, they only had circumstantial evidence. J8’s immediate crew worked on the thread that connected Snell’s rise in the corporate world. While they pieced together Snell’s involvement in the Marcille family’s murder, everyone else got ready for the internat
ional summit.
Walker flipped his tuxedo jacket over his arm and opened the door to the suite. He hated wearing suits, but Eden wanted him on standby in case things went bad. Since he was stuck in one of the vans J8 had stationed outside the event, he didn’t see why he needed to be nervous and uncomfortable.
Dim light in the room silhouetted his wife’s fabulous body. Admiring the silky champagne gown that hugged her every curve, Walker straightened his cufflinks. “If you lose communications with us, go to the mummy exhibit. Aims will reconfigure the unit.”
Ashe stood in front of the mirror, fastening her listening device-slash-earrings onto her earlobe.
As she swiped light-colored gloss over her lips, she threw her perfectly crafted braid over her shoulder. “Only if you promise not to use that as an excuse to pull me out of the event.” Ashe rubbed her lips together and met his eyes in the mirror.
Stunning isn’t a strong enough word to describe this woman.
Ashe was one of the most brilliant, captivating beauties he had ever laid eyes on. Until this very moment, he hadn’t realized the recipe of her allure. A touch of sorrow, anger and bloodthirst mixed together had turned his wife into a dangerous weapon.
A tiny voice of foreboding dread demanded he call the whole thing off. “Sweetheart, if you don’t follow my instructions to a tee, we will pull you out so fast it will make your pretty little head spin.”
“Wow, Mr. Knight, that’s the type of threat that would make my mother proud.”
“It’s good to know I wasn’t the only one on the receiving end of those.” Walker stepped into the room to get a better look. Three strands of pearls hung in a low droop in the back of her dress, highlighting her tattoo. That, along with her intricate braid, made the sex kitten dazzling. He kissed her shoulder before adjusting her spaghetti strap.
“We want Snell to see you, but don’t try to engage him.”
“What if he tries to engage me?”
Walker turned her around to face him. “Pretend you’re Taylor Swift at the Grammys.”