“What are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you, too.” He shouldered his way in and shut the door behind him.
“No, really, Brooks, what are you doing here?”
I didn’t need anything screwing up the next few days. Brooks being here meant his team was, too. I’d gone to great lengths to make sure I wasn’t being followed. Them being anywhere near me didn’t mean good things. For one, I hadn’t been as careful as I’d thought.
“Thought you could use some intel on the Bitoo brothers.”
“Who?” I tried to keep my face impassive even though my insides were a riot of nerves.
How in the hell did he know that name?
“Cut the shit, Tatiana. This will go much smoother if you stop playing stupid.”
I didn’t appreciate being called stupid, and had no issue telling him so.
“I’m far from stupid, asshole.”
“I know you are, Doll. What you seem to forget is, I’m far from stupid as well. Time to stop bullshitting and lay the cards on the table.”
“What cards?”
Now I was playing stupid just to piss him off. I knew what he meant, but I still wasn’t ready to give him anything.
“I know you’re tracking some tablets. Ten to be exact. Bad news for you is, six are in the hands of the US government. Four are unaccounted for.”
“How do you know that?”
“Not at liberty to say.”
“Bullshit.”
“Bullshit nothing. I saw six with my very own eyes.”
“Goddammit. Please tell me you’re fucking with me.”
If he was telling the truth, months of hard work were in the toilet.
“’Fraid not. But the good news is, we’ve tracked down the brothers. Consider this an olive branch.”
“Olive branch?”
“Yeah, you know a gesture of goodwill.”
“I know what an olive branch is. What I don’t understand is why you’d want to extend one to me.”
“We didn’t get off on the right foot. I’d like to rectify that. Thought you’d like to go with us.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I work alone.”
“Suit yourself.”
Brooks started for the door and my stomach dropped. I thought he’d argue his point, let me negotiate an exchange of information.
“Wait. That’s it?”
“Yeah, Doll. That’s it. I’m not going to force you to go with us if you’re not interested. I thought you’d want in on the op. I was wrong.”
“I want the intel,” I told him. “How about I give you what I’ve found on Militrix and you give me the location of the Bitoo brothers?”
“No dice.”
“Why not? It’s a good deal. You’re not interested in the tablets and you need the information I have on Militrix.”
“It may be a good deal, but I’m not taking it. No way am I letting you try to take down five men on your own.”
That pissed me off. His words were too close to the shit my ex-husband used to shovel at me. I’d worked my ass off to prove myself in this business. And it was no easy feat, I’ll be dammed if I stood there and listened to Brooks and his alpha male bullshit.
“Why’s that, Brooks? Because I’m a woman?”
For some unknown reason his face turned hard and the cold stare he leveled me with made me shiver. “You shittin’ me? I have to say, it pisses me off you’d try that fucked-up nonsense on me. I had no problem you taking my back at the compound. Never said shit about you being a woman and staying behind in the safety of the house.” He was right, he didn’t, none of them did. Thad had simply handed me a rifle and sidearm and never asked if I knew how to operate either. “They’re dangerous and unpredictable. They know they fucked up and lost six tablets. They also know they’re as good as dead. If not by the hands of the people they’ve double-crossed, by the hands of the three SEALs they unsuccessfully tried to kill. Lucky for the brothers, the three men they’d locked in a cellar are alive and well and on their way back to the states. Unlucky for them, they’re about to be on the receiving end of retribution. We thought you’d like to question them about the tablets before they’re disposed of.”
“Fuck.”
“Your choice, Doll. But what isn’t, is going in alone. Not a chance in hell I’ll let that happen. And it has nothing to do with you being a woman, and everything to do with wanting you breathing.”
I needed to find the other tablets and I couldn’t do that if Brooks and his team killed them before I had a chance to talk with them.
“I want in.”
“Grab your shit and let’s go.”
“My shit?”
“Yeah, Tatiana. Your shit. Personal belongings.”
“Why? All I need is this.” I pulled the Sig P226 from the waistband of my shorts and smiled when his lips twitched.
“You’re with us at the compound until this is over.”
“Why?” Damn, I sounded like a broken record.
“It’s safer there. Time’s wasting. You wanna hurry? We have an op to plan.”
I weighed my options and figured it would take more energy than it was worth to argue with Brooks. Besides, even if I agreed now, it didn’t mean I had to stay at the compound later. I could leave anytime I wanted. And we did need to work out a way to keep at least one of the men alive long enough for me to question.
“Give me a minute.”
I rushed into the bedroom and quickly changed my clothes. I may wear shorts in the privacy of my apartment or in the early morning hours while I knew I was going on a boat. But being in a country that frowned upon women exposing any skin, I was respectful. I yanked on a pair of pants and a long-sleeved tee knowing I would be sweating through the cotton within seconds and hoping we’d be at the compound fast so I could change back.
I didn’t miss Brooks’ long sweeping appraisal when I walked back into the living room with my backpack over my shoulder. I didn’t have time to contemplate why I liked his eyes on me, or why my insides had warmed when he had me pressed against the wall the other day. It should’ve pissed me off he had the audacity to invade my space, but it hadn’t. I grabbed my laptop case and checked my files were secure before I joined him near the door.
“Want me to take anything?”
I felt my eyes narrowing.
“Jesus, woman, you need to relax. Everything I say isn’t a slight. I was simply offering to help.”
He was right, I was overreacting. “No. Thank you, I’ve got it.”
We made our way to a ratty-assed Toyota SUV that had more rust than paint left. Kyle was behind the wheel and Max was in the passenger seat. They said their hellos but other than that the drive to the compound was done in near-silence.
Once we’d entered the gated compound Max and Kyle exited the SUV, leaving me alone with Brooks.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“You seem…off.”
I was beginning to learn nothing slipped Brooks’ notice. I found the observation disconcerting. I didn’t like how he could so easily read me.
“Just thinking what all of this means for my mission.”
“Let’s get inside and you out of these clothes and we’ll talk it out.”
My cheeks heated at his innocent comment. I knew what he meant, I was sweating like a pig, but I couldn’t help thinking what it would be like if he helped me out of my sweat-drenched tee. Not the sexiest thought, but an inappropriate one nonetheless.
Brooks’ eyes stayed glued to mine when he said, “I’d love to know what just ran through your mind that pinkened your pretty cheeks.”
His hand slowly came to my face, giving me every opportunity to back away or stop him, which stupidly I didn’t. I remained still even as his thumb brushed my cheek while his fingers dug into the back of my neck.
“There’s something about you, Tatiana Jones, that drives me wild.”
Right back atcha, Brooks Miller, was what
I was thinking but didn’t dare say. I hadn’t been able to get him out of my mind. He’d invaded my every thought. Not good, not good at all. I had to concentrate on my mission, not on his crazy-cool hazel eyes with specks of blue. Or his too-long shaggy brown hair, or the days-old stubble on his face that would feel oh-so-good scraping my inner thighs. And I really should not have been wondering what he looked like under his tight tee and cargos.
“Good God, Doll. When you get lost in your head and your eyes go soft, right before they get heavy…” He shook his head before he continued, “That look. It can make a man weak. Make him believe in all sorts of shit. Make him want to do anything to keep it.”
Weirdly, that may’ve been the best compliment I’d ever received. Men like Brooks were a lot of things, weak wasn’t one of them.
“We can’t go there, Brooks.”
“Go where, Tatiana?” He smiled.
“Wherever it is this thing between us leads.”
“So you admit there’s something.”
“I admit—” A sharp whistle had me looking out the front windshield. Thank God for the interruption. “We should go inside.”
“We’re not done with this conversation.”
“We are. We both have an op to complete. Neither of us need the complication.”
“Nothing complicated about it.”
Of course he would think that. To him it would be an exchange of bodily fluids. A way to blow off steam and get off. I hadn’t been with a man since my ex-husband. Not that I’d tell him that. But undoubtedly things would get complicated.
“Not interested, Brooks.”
That was a big fat lie and I knew he knew. I didn’t need his words to confirm it.
He leaned in and brushed my hair off my shoulder. “Liar,” he whispered against my ear. My body shivered despite the oppressive heat. “I know you feel it, too, Doll.”
Asshole.
Chapter 8
I was crossing lines I’d promised myself I wouldn’t. It was easy to take a vow of chastity when Tatiana wasn’t in front of me. It was a whole other thing when I was face-to-face with her. She was correct about one thing, despite me telling her otherwise, giving in would complicate things. She was also correct when she said we both had a mission to complete. Ours was supposed to have been completed by now, taking us far from Bahrain and her. But after the tangle Rocco and the guys had found themselves in, Tex had found a connection between the tablets and Omni. Lucky for me that meant Zane had given us the go-ahead to track down Tatiana. Now I was thinking it wasn’t so lucky after all. I hadn’t been in her company an hour and already I was reneging on my resolution not to touch her.
“Mind if I change real quick?” she asked the second she’d walked into the house.
I was trying. Really fucking trying not to picture her nude but failing miserably.
“Use my room. First door on the right. You can leave your stuff in there. There’s only five bedrooms. You can take mine.” Her brow quirked up and I added, “I’ll take the couch.”
Thad already had a map of Bahrain spread out on the table with several other maps of the exact location of the waterfront property where the Bitoo brothers were holed up. Declan had already marked up the points of entry and exit strategy. It was a good plan.
Tatiana came back into the room and I couldn’t stop myself from appreciating her long, toned legs. Christ. It was like they were tailor-made to wrap around my waist. This woman turned me into someone I wasn’t proud of, an uncivilized caveman. Next, I would be beating my chest and dragging her off to my cave begging her to let me worship her. I needed my head examined—quick, fast, and in a hurry.
She placed her laptop and file folder on the table and studied the maps in front of her.
“Who owns this property?” she asked.
“It’s registered to Falcon Holdings,” Declan told her.
“So you found the connection between Militrix and Falcon?” Tatiana opened the file she’d set on top of her closed laptop.
“How did you find the connection? And no more lying, Doll.”
She sighed and scrubbed her hands over her face before they went to her hair. She used the band on her wrist to fasten a ponytail. With her hair pulled up off her face she looked younger than her thirty-two.
“Purely by accident. I’m tracking an antiquities broker, Lucre. They’re behind some of the rarest, stolen middle eastern artifacts. Lucre warehouses are owned by Falcon. I looked further and Falcon owns and manages properties all over Africa and the Middle East. I dug a little deeper into Falcon and found they’re also a holding company. They own a buttload of stock in Militrix as well as several other ginormous companies.” She stopped and pinned me with her dark eyes. “Your turn. How’d you find me?”
“Tex.”
“Fuckin’ Keegan. I should’ve known. So, he tracked the Bitoo brothers, too.”
“No. That was all me, Doll. After they figured out the guys had escaped and took the tablets they’d hidden in the cellar, the four younger brothers went on a bender. Timothee, the eldest, had one helluva time getting his drunk brothers to shut their mouths. Bitching and complaining about the Americans. I followed them back to their hideout.”
“Just like that?” She looked like she didn’t believe me.
Good old fashion leg work, keep it simple and stupid. The brothers were mostly drunks. Their father had tried unsuccessfully to help them find jobs. However, they’d rather take the fast, easy illegal money than put in a hard day’s work. Unfortunately, they were going to learn the hard way there were repercussions for their actions.
“Yep. Just like that.”
“What’s the plan?”
Declan ran down the mission specifics, outlining what Tatiana’s role was, and surprisingly she hadn’t argued. Max, Thad, and Declan would be point going in first. Kyle would cover the team, and she and I would enter after the team cleared the building.
“I need at least one of them alive,” she told Declan, then added, “and if they have the four tablets, I’d like those, too.”
“That’s the plan,” he reminded her. “But if those tablets are as valuable as Tex says they are, I would expect they’re not going to give up easily.”
“They are,” she confirmed. “Even if only four are left, they’ll bring in a good price.”
“Where’s the money track back to?” Kyle surprisingly asked.
We knew the answer, so either he was testing her candor or he wanted to know what she knew.
“The seller is the Lucre group. I already told you.”
“Right,” Kyle mumbled.
Her eyes narrowed on him. “Apparently, you didn’t like my answer. So, what are you asking exactly? Do I know what Lucre does with the money? Yes, I do. They fund different terrorist organizations. Presumably to keep discord in different tribal areas of Africa. It’s easier to pillage and smuggle artifacts when there is conflict among tribes.”
“Are you familiar with Omni?” I inquired.
“Yes, I know the name. There’s been conspiracy theories about the group for years. Why?”
“Not so much theories, Doll. The man behind Lucre, Prince Mohammad Al Issa, is indeed a member of Omni,” I told her.
There was a flash of anger before she schooled her features and smirked. “So you weren’t really here to check the transoceanic cabling contract?”
“We were. But in conjunction with Omni,” Declan informed her. “It seems your tablets are a better lead.”
“What?” Her hand went to her hip and her posture stiffened. “Now you think you’re going to take over my op?”
“Not necessarily. We’re offering you a…partnership. We can all work together,” Dec continued.
“No fucking way. I’ve worked too damn hard for you guys to come in now and take over. I have my orders and I fully intend to deliver. I already told Brooks, I work alone.”
She was a stubborn little thing, there was no reason for her to turn our offer down. “We don’t wa
nt the tablets. Or at least not the way you’re thinking. Our only goal is to take down Al Issa.”
“Which fucks me.”
“How so?” Kyle asked.
“I need him in business. I already told you Lucre is one of the largest smuggling operations. They sell. I buy. Then I can track whatever terrorist organization they’re funding, pass my intel off, and the group is shut down or monitored. If Al Issa is taken out, Lucre crumbles. And, I’m fucked.”
“Dismantling Omni is more important,” Declan argued.
“Says who? You?”
Declan and Tatiana were engaged in a standoff, and Kyle looked pissed.
Declan broke the silence. “This was your idea, Brooks. You deal with her.”
With a shake of his head, he left the dining room with Kyle following.
“Deal with her?” she spit out.
“Doll, you really need to chill the hell out. I don’t know who fucked you over, I’d assume Monroe. But we’re not the enemy. The giant chip on your shoulder is—”
“You keep saying that as if you know me.”
“I keep saying it, because it’s true. You’re making this personal when it’s not. No one is trying to fuck with you. You’re so ready to be offended you jump to conclusions.”
“It may not be personal for you, but it is for me.”
“And there’s your first problem. The minute you allow a mission to become personal, you’re compromised.”
Tatiana was shooting daggers at me. Her pretty brown eyes were on fire and she didn’t look the least bit interested in what I had to say. But if she had stopped a minute and let go of some of her hostile attitude, she would’ve seen I wasn’t wrong.
“We’ve shared with you what we know and what we’re doing in Bahrain. Why don’t you come clean and tell me who you’re working for? Maybe we can come up with something that works for all of us.”
“Who I work for isn’t important.”
“I’m trying to help you, Tatiana. What the fuck?”
“I don’t need your help, Brooks.”
“Um. Doll, you obviously do. You had no idea six of the tablets had been confiscated. And you couldn’t find the Bitoo brothers. Without us you’re fucked. Mission fail.”
Brooks (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Gold Team Book 1) Page 5