Revealed

by Zoe Allison

  Vic tilted her head, assessing his expression. “You still love her, don’t you? Whoever it is? You weren’t the one to end it.”

  Sadness flashed in his eyes and he shook his head. “Never mind that now. You concentrate on your own conquest. But in years to come, just remember who got you two lovebirds together.”

  She touched his arm. He gave her a wink then strode off down the corridor and out of sight.

  Vic headed for the elevator. Gareth was sweet, though deluded about her and Valentino. A wave of sympathy washed over her as she remembered the pained expression in Gareth’s eyes. Who had he been seeing?

  * * * *

  Vale stared at his computer screen, unable to take anything in. He rubbed his eyes and tried to focus, but it was a losing battle. What is wrong with me? He couldn’t stop thinking about Victoria and Gareth. He wanted to know what was going on between them, but why? It was nothing to do with him. Every time he remembered their voices on that recording or how tactile Gareth had been with Vic at that last meeting, it made him want to double up. It had been a significant effort to keep his cool with Gareth just before he had left the room. The guy seemed to be deliberately goading him.

  Vale leaned back and tried to stretch out his neck. There was a knock at the door.

  “Come in.”

  It opened and Vale’s heart sank at the sight of Gareth standing there. He sat forward, the tension in his neck ramping up. “What do you want?”

  Gareth raised his eyebrows before entering and shutting the door behind him. He moved over to the window. “Nice view. Some office you’ve got here.”

  Vale tried to push back against his flaring temper and failed. “I assume you have not come here just to admire my office?”

  Gareth smiled and shrugged. “Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t.”

  Vale rolled his eyes.

  Still smiling, Gareth came over and took a seat across the desk. “I’ve just come to check on you. You seemed rather…upset before.”

  Vale gritted his teeth. “I can assure you that I am fine.”

  Gareth studied his nails. “You sure? You still seem a bit tense.”

  Vale normally had endless patience, but not today. “I think I would not be tense if you were not here asking me stupid questions.”

  Gareth held his hands up. “Okay, point taken. You don’t want to confide in me.” He stood. “Always here though, mate, if you need me. I’m a good listener. Just ask Victoria.”

  The sound of Gareth saying her name made something snap inside Vale. He stood, his chair flying back and hitting the wall behind. “I would like it if you left now.”

  Gareth smiled, moving toward the door. “No problem. I’ll be seeing you, and Vic, soon.” He exited, shutting the door behind him.

  Vale picked up a paperweight from his desk and threw it across the room, where it embedded in the wall.

  Chapter Eight

  It was only early afternoon by the time Victoria had left the building to head for home, but she was weary. She needed to slouch on her sofa and switch off her brain. Vampires didn’t tire in the way humans did, but they still needed the restorative effects of rest, albeit in smaller quantities.

  She was nearly home when it started raining, but she didn’t hurry. The wet didn’t bother her.

  She let herself into the flat, took off her jacket then hung it to dry. Her hair was damp, but she was planning on a shower anyway.

  Vic poured a drink and allowed herself to think about Vale again. Sometimes it seemed as if he was hiding as much as she was. She lifted the glass to her lips. Her phone started ringing. Amber was calling. She placed the phone at her ear.

  “Hi, Vic. How’re you doing?”

  “Okay. Things seem to have stalled a bit here.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Vic smiled. “Nice try. I’m not giving you any info that Vale hasn’t.”

  Amber laughed. “It was worth a go.” She paused. “Are you guys coping okay? You both sound down in the dumps.”

  A spike of anxiety caused Vic’s pulse to quicken. “Have you spoken to Vale?”

  “Yeah, I just called him. He was still at the office and we didn’t speak for long.”

  Vic hadn’t realized that Vale was still at HQ when she’d left. “He sounded down?” She hated to think of him feeling upset.

  “He’s just frustrated, I think,” Amber said. “You know what a perfectionist he is. He wants to get the case concluded.”

  “I know,” Vic said. She paused, wondering whether to say anything about the current tension between the two of them.

  “You still there?” Amber asked.

  “Yes. I was just thinking…”

  “Thinking what?”

  Vic tried to phrase her thoughts diplomatically. “I think Vale and I have had a slight disagreement. He’s being a bit off with me, so I hope that isn’t weighing on his mind as well.”

  “I can’t imagine you two disagreeing. What happened?”

  She sighed. “I don’t even know. He was being weird about Gareth.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  Vic frowned. “You don’t sound surprised.”

  Amber hesitated. “I think he’s worried that something went on between you in Berlin.”

  Worried? Why would that cause him worry? “I don’t understand why he’d be upset about that?”

  “I think I do.”

  Vic waited for Amber to elaborate, but she didn’t. “Tell me then.”

  Amber sighed. “He likes you.”

  Vic frowned. That definitely wasn’t true. “Now you sound like Gareth.”

  “He thinks so too?”

  “Yeah, he said he deliberately gave Vale the impression something had happened between us, to give him a shove in the right direction.”

  Amber laughed. “Bond is so sweet. We really should change his nickname.”

  Vic smiled. That much was true. “His navigation skills are way off, though, because Vale is not interested in me.”

  “I’d have to disagree,” Amber said.

  Vic’s heart rate rose, along with her hopes. “Has he told you that?”

  Amber hesitated. “Not in so many words, no.”

  Vic’s tiny speck of hope was immediately dashed. “Well, there you go then.”

  “Just because he hasn’t said it exactly doesn’t mean I’m wrong,” Amber said. “I can tell.”

  Vic was about to ask how she could tell, because Amber’s argument so far hadn’t been convincing, but then there was a knock at the door.

  “Listen, Amber. Someone’s at the door, so I need to go. We’ll speak again soon.”

  “No worries,” Amber said. “I’m getting the last word in though, and I know I’m right.”

  Smiling, Vic hung up the call. Amber was as deluded as Gareth. If Vale was worried

  about something happening between her and Gareth it must be because of his affinity for playing by the rules. Perhaps it wouldn’t sit well with him if people broke the no relationships rule. Though he didn’t seem to mind about Amber and Hayden…

  She set her glass down and made her way over to the door, still smiling about Amber having to have the last word as usual. She opened it and her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Vale on the other side. He was soaked to the skin. His white shirt clung to him in transparent patches and moisture darkened his sandy hair. Rainwater ran in rivulets down his neck and chest.

  Vic took a deep breath. He looked like some sort of pin up from a teenage magazine, one that she would place on her wall long into adulthood.

  “Can I come in?” he asked her.

  She remembered herself. “Sorry, yes. I’m surprised to see you.”

  He came past her into the kitchen area, where he started pacing.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Do you want a towel? You’re soaking.”

  He glanced at himself, as if he had only just noticed the moisture. “Sorry. I am making your floor all wet.”

  “It
’s fine,” she said. “It’s only water. I’ll get you that towel.” She left the room and fetched a large, fluffy one from her cupboard. When she arrived back at the kitchen, he was pacing again. She paused to watch him for a second, then reached the towel out toward him. He stopped moving to take it from her and rub at his hair. It helped a little, but his shirt was still soaking and clinging to him. She tried to ignore the fact that the sight of it was causing a surge in her heart rate.

  “If you take your shirt off, I can put it into the dryer for you,” she told him. Even as she said it, she realized it was a dangerous move when she was trying not to reveal the strength of her attraction to him. But she wanted to help.

  He paused his rubbing of the towel to meet her eye. “I think it would be inappropriate for me to remove my shirt in your apartment.”

  Vic rolled her eyes. “For goodness’ sake. I’ve seen you with it off before. We stayed in the same hotel room, remember?” She realized she was trying to convince herself as much as him.

  Vale hesitated, glancing at the puddles he had made on the flooring. “Okay. As long as you are sure it is not too much trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble at all,” she told him. Vic went to the kitchen cupboard to get out her mop and tried not to look as he unbuttoned his shirt. However, it was difficult not to steal the odd glance. It was like something off a music video. She could almost hear a sultry song playing in the background as each button was popped open to slowly reveal more of his torso. She shook her head, hard.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, standing there topless with the towel around his neck and dripping wet shirt in hand. His skin was shining with the damp, accentuating the ripple of his muscles, and she had a strong urge to run her hands over his chest.

  Vic swallowed so hard that it pained her throat. “Nothing,” she said, taking the shirt from him and quickly walking away into the utility room to stuff the garment into the dryer.

  She came back through and breathed a sigh of relief. He had placed the bath towel around his shoulders, hiding most of his upper half. “Come and sit,” she told him. “I’ll pour you a drink and you can tell me what’s brought you over in the rain without a jacket.”

  He took off his shoes. “I did not notice it was raining when I left,” he said quietly. “And it was on a bit of a whim, so I had no time to call for a ride.”

  Vic poured him a whiskey, knowing that was his preference. As she handed him the glass, she brushed his fingers with hers, sending electricity shooting up her arm. She hurriedly took a seat with her own glass and gestured for him to sit across from her.

  Vale took a long drink of his whiskey. “Thank you. I think I needed that.” He flicked his caramel gaze up.

  “No worries,” she said. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

  He took a deep breath. “I need you to come somewhere with me.”

  “Where?” she asked.

  He swirled his whiskey in his glass. “You will find out once we get there.”

  “Okay…” she said. “You want me to go somewhere with you, but you won’t tell me where or why?”

  He smiled. “That about sums it up.”

  Bemused, she took a drink from her glass. “It sounds slightly crazy.”

  He was looking at her through the wet tendrils of his hair and it was doing terrible things to her heart rate. Vic felt like he could convince her of anything. He brushed his hair from his eyes. “I suppose I am asking you to take a gamble on me.”

  She would gamble everything that she had on him. “All right, I’m in. I’m assuming it has to do with the mission?”

  “Correct,” Vale said. “I had been holding out on using this resource, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”

  Vic’s pulse quickened. What does he mean? “Why me? Shouldn’t you ask Priyanka to go with you? Does she know about this ‘resource’?”

  He appeared taken aback by that question. He hesitated. “Not exactly. Partly yes and partly no.”

  Vic’s pulse sped further. How could Priyanka not know everything? She was Vale’s boss and everyone’s boss, except Mr. X’s. “Does Mr. X know?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Vale said.

  How did Vale have clearance above the boss’ deputy? Vic finished her drink and stood, her interest well piqued. “I’ll check on your shirt, then we can get going.” She went through to the dryer, stopped it and lifted out the clothing. It was still damp. She went back through to Vale. “It’s better, but still not completely dry.” She handed him the shirt.

  “It is fine,” he said. “It will dry off soon, I am sure.”

  Vic glanced out at the ongoing downpour. “I doubt it.” A thought occurred to her. “Hold on,” she said and left the living area for her bedroom. She rummaged through her bottom drawer, lifted out a man’s long-sleeved top then brought it back through to Vale. “I think this’ll fit you.”

  He met her eye and took it from her, sending electricity sparking along her skin again. He pulled the new top over his head. Vic had to drag her eyes away from the muscles in his torso contracting as he drew it down his body.

  “Is it okay?” she asked, still not looking at him.

  “Yes, thank you,” he said.

  “I’ll hang yours up to dry and it should be ready for when we get back. How long do you think we’ll be?” she asked, heading back into the utility room and hanging the shirt on her clotheshorse. She had to suppress the urge to lift it to her face and breathe in his scent.

  “A couple of hours or so,” Vale told her from the living room.

  Vic emerged again. “Okay,” she said, her intrigue growing by the minute.

  They put on their shoes and left for the street level.

  Outside, a vehicle was already waiting for them. Vale must have had a gut feeling that she would agree to go with him. However, it wasn’t a car. It was a motorbike.

  “Nice wheels,” Vic told Vale. “I assume you’ll need to drive because only you know this secret destination.”

  He smiled and pulled on his helmet. “Indeed. You can take control on the return journey, however.”

  Vic put on her helmet. “Cool.”

  The rain had lessened. They climbed onto the bike and Vale started it. Vic tightened her arms around his waist, pressing her torso against him and telling herself the way she was holding him was for safety only. Except safety doesn’t matter when you’re an immortal vampire. She silenced her treacherous thoughts and let herself concentrate on the feel of him. She was going to make the most of these moments, because when this mission was over, she might not see him again for a long time. However, she still paid attention to the route they were taking, because she was more than curious about their clandestine destination.

  Vale rode south out of the city and Vic watched the tightly knit buildings gradually spread out into urban housing before the interval between homes became longer and longer and they were mainly surrounded by fields. She wasn’t sure how long they’d travelled because she was still taking in the way it felt to press up against Vale’s back and the sensation of her knees brushing the his thighs. She could feel the contours of his torso through his shirt. Vic tried not to move her hands over his chest in case he realized her inappropriate thoughts.

  She shut her eyes briefly and listened to the whistle of the wind, but the lack of distraction from her surroundings made her all-the-more aware of his scent, so she opened them again. The longer the journey went on for, the more she didn’t want it to end.

  The sight of a large building surrounded by a barbed wire fence subdued her ruminations. Vale slowed the bike as they approached the gate. He came to a stop and reached his hand up to a panel at the side, pressing his thumb against it. The gate slid open. They moved through the perimeter and up a lengthy road toward the facility.

  Vale parked the bike. Vic climbed off and started to undo her helmet, but he stopped her. “No,” he said. “Keep it on. It is better if we stay anonymous in there.”

  Vic fro
wned inside her helmet. He had clearance from Mr. X to enter here with his thumbprint but didn’t want anyone inside to see his face…or hers? What is this place?

  They climbed the stairs to the front doors and Vale pressed his thumb against another panel. The doors slid open, and upon entering, they encountered a row of spear-wielding Organization agents. None of them batted an eyelid as Vale and Vic walked past, still wearing their helmets.

  A long white corridor led them to an elevator. Vale punched a button representing what appeared to be ten floors up, which confused Vic because the building was only a couple of stories high.

  Vale took off his helmet, so she did the same. He studied her expression. “The building has stories underground, rather than above,” he told her. “It is like an iceberg.”

  “Can you tell me where we are now?” she asked.

  “You would not believe me if I did,” he said. “That is why I am showing you instead.”

  Vic was intrigued. She should probably feel scared, but this sort of thing excited her. In any case, she trusted Valentino one hundred percent.

  The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. An artificially lit corridor stretched out in front of them, studded intermittently with doorways. Vale led her into the hallway. Roughly halfway along, he stopped at one of the doors to press his thumb to a keypad. It swished open to reveal a workspace overlooking a large lab. Down in that area, various technicians were working on bits of machinery. Vic had no idea what they were up to.

  Vale took out his phone and dialed a number. “Zaina, hi. I am in the gallery. Yeah, she asked me to come check in.”

  Vic watched him as he spoke. Zaina was the head of the weapons department, so she had to assume they were developing arms. She glanced back into the lab, where a formidable woman wearing a hijab was striding through the area, headed for the stairs that led up to where they were standing.

  Vale pocketed his phone.

  “What are we doing here?” Vic asked.

  “I just need to check on something,” he said.

  Zaina reached the top of the stairs. “We weren’t expecting visitors. What can I do for you?”