Black Mamba

by Tierney James

  “It was my pleasure, madam. Let’s talk business for a little while before dinner. I expect you are tired from such a busy itinerary.”

  Did he really know anything about her itinerary, or only assume as much since the US State Department sent her?

  He poured both of them another lemonade then nodded at Hunter sipping a drink that differed in color from theirs. “I see my associate brought you my best Scotch.”

  Chase eyed his glass then gulped the rest of it down and gritted his teeth. “I’m not sure it was your best, but it was damn good.”

  The president laughed good-naturedly. “I assure you it was, Captain Hunter.” He motioned for Tessa to take a seat. “What shall we talk about?”

  ~ ~ ~

  Surrounded by twenty guests from various walks of life, mostly business and government appointees, President Baboloki enjoyed their admiration along with cocktails served on the candlelit veranda. Tiki torches burned along the garden paths. The irritated call of alarm from a male peacock perched in a nearby tree wove itself into the soft conversations floating on the African breezes. It seemed to chase away the heat so pressing earlier in the day.

  “Mr. President?” came a familiar voice. The leader moved to the edge of the covered veranda. “How did it go with the two State Department people from the US?”

  Baboloki stirred his drink then captured the olive at the bottom of his glass and popped it into his mouth before facing the white African owner of the Camelthorn Diamond Mines spread throughout Southern Africa. “The woman was quite lovely. Her escort impressed me as intelligent, but you never know with the Americans. Their CIA keep getting smarter and smarter.”

  “CIA?” A touch of panic in the man’s voice caused the president to chuckle.

  “Relax. They are snooping. Nothing more.”

  “For what?”

  “Seems there’s some concern about possible instability in our country. They are concerned the upcoming elections might not be fair, and I could be a dictator who has you and Parliament in my pocket.” The man opened his mouth to speak, but the president raised his hand to stop him. “Mr. Opperman, I mean no disrespect. The candidate you and the others have put forth is a worthy opponent who under normal circumstances could easily defeat me. But we both understand that isn’t going to happen.”

  Kirk Opperman pulled his shoulders back then raised his chin. “You have outstayed your usefulness to us, Baboloki. Power has made you drunk on your own inflated importance. It is time to show the country change with a new face. The world is leaving us behind.”

  “Not so many years ago, you wished for me to keep the world at bay, and I have done that for you and your greedy mining operations. You get rich while our neighbors wallow in war and poverty because somehow you allow them to have enough conflict diamonds to keep things stirred up.”

  “You have turned a blind eye to such practices, and we’ve lined your pockets with incredible wealth.”

  “And for that price I have kept tribal interference to a minimum, not to mention their demands for better health care, education, and technology. Can you imagine what would happen if the outside world reached into the Kalahari and delta regions?” The president paused as a waiter stopped to take his empty glass then continued, “It makes no difference to me if legislation would tax you at a greater rate to make these things happen. I would simply disappear with all my millions and leave you to stew in your own sludge of corruption.”

  “You seem to forget there are those of us who remember your dirty secrets, the imprisoned teachers and community leaders who dared speak out against you,” Opperman snarled. “Do not threaten me.”

  Tessa Scott and Captain Hunter entered the dining room and were ushered toward the veranda. The conversation needed to be concluded. “One more interesting note for you, Kirk.” The president let a smile spread across his face. “The lady coming through the door says she believes the Kifaru diamond has returned to Botswana.” He enjoyed the look of horror on the man’s face. “If that is true, then I suspect you are in for some extreme changes around here.”

  “You’ve got to find out who has it,” he snapped.

  “Ahh. So you need me again. Touching.” The president patted the man on the shoulder as he stepped toward his new guests. “I’m always willing to serve my people and my country, Kirk. Remember that stability in Africa comes with a hefty price tag.”

  “And an inflated ego is no match for the man who possesses the Kifaru,” Opperman growled through clenched teeth. “Introduce me,” he ordered as he joined the president moving toward the Americans.

  Chase laid a hand on Tessa’s back, sliding his hand up and down her soft, cool skin several times before she turned a narrowed gaze toward him. The strapless white dress hugged her figure enough to make him stumble into a library table when she’d joined him in the lobby of their hotel. Fortunately, she hadn’t reacted to his discomfort and admiration. She’d tied her blonde curls into a knot at the base of her neck, but a few still managed to escape to frame her face. The pearl earrings and bracelet added an elegance he appreciated on such a beautiful woman.

  He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Here they come. Do not, and I mean do not, get far from me tonight.” She turned her blue eyes on him and for a second, he lost his train of thought. Her lips were close to his since he hadn’t withdrawn from her ear. He wondered if Tessa might be teasing him when she shifted her gaze to his mouth. Then she broke the spell.

  “Get your hands off me,” she whispered sweetly. “You don’t need to mark your territory. I’ll stick to you like glue.”

  He offered a chuckle as the two men stepped closer. “That brings a whole new image to mind.”

  “You’re impossible,” she growled then faced their host, smiling. “President Baboloki, you’ve created a beautiful atmosphere for dinner.”

  The president lifted her hand to his lips for a short kiss then hooked it through his arm. With a gentle shove, she left Chase’s side. “This is Kirk Opperman. He owns the Camelthorn Mines throughout Southern Africa.”

  Chase shook hands, and small talk ensued for a few minutes before the president drifted away, introducing Tessa to several couples. With drink in hand, he trailed them at a respectable distance, trying to listen to Opperman while keeping track of Tessa. It would be typical of her to forget President Baboloki left a bloody trail of people who dared oppose him or got in his way.

  “I understand you believe the Kifaru diamond has surfaced?” Opperman finally got Chase to stop and focus on something other than Tessa.

  “Rumors mostly. I read the diamond has great significance to the Tswana people of this country. Why is that?”

  Opperman took out a cigarette, offered one to Chase who shook his head, and lit up. After taking several drags, he nodded. “Superstition, mostly. The original owner of the diamond found it and convinced his clan such a rare gem meant prosperity and health to the tribal people, that they would rule the country.”

  “Well, President Baboloki has ruled for thirty, or is it thirty-five years? You aren’t at war with any tribal clans. Terrorist groups have been kept at bay, and tourism has returned. Sounds like you’re doing fine.” Chase quickly located Tessa talking to a man wearing the white collar of a priest.

  “True. However, all good things come to an end, do they not?”

  “Is that Desmond Tutu my friend is talking to?” Leave it to Tessa to find a holy man.

  “Yes. I believe it is,” Opperman said before taking another sip of his drink. “And although good things do come to an end, it makes sense to see if improvements need to be explored. If the people decide they want change, it is usually best to find out why and how you can make that happen, hopefully with little conflict.”

  Chase took a glass of champagne from a tray offered by a passing waiter. After downing the drink, he examined the remaining drops. Would Tessa ever try such a delicate drink? She could use a little loosening up.

  “Our people want the changes peopl
e everywhere want: better infrastructure, health care, and technology. At the same time, some of the things we lack are exactly what brings tourism and needed dollars into this country. Adventure seekers don’t want to go on safari and see a satellite dish or microwave tower jutting up out of the savanna or delta. They want the adventure of a lifetime, the National Geographic postcard version of their dreams.” Opperman gulped down the rest of his drink and gritted his teeth. “Baboloki buys good whiskey; I’ll say that for him.”

  “Maybe I’ll try that later.”

  Tessa excused herself to freshen up. After such a delicious meal and heavy dessert, she wanted to escape the nonstop questions from strangers about her work, American politics, and her favorite television drama from Hollywood. The powder room had been created for events such as this so multiple women could use it. There was another across the hall for men. When she washed her hands, a tall black woman entered and set a basket of paper towels on the counter.

  “Good evening.” Tessa recognized the woman who had watched her from a window earlier in the day. Up close, she looked older than she’d thought. “Oh. I saw you today. Do you live here?”

  “No,” she said taking one of the paper towels and wiping down the drops of water.

  Tessa did the same. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make a mess. I had to step away for a few minutes.”

  She nodded but said nothing.

  When the woman stretched out her arm to throw the towels in the trash, she revealed a scarred forearm. She pulled her sleeve down and leveled a glare at Tessa.

  Tessa turned to face the wallpaper with its intricate design of tiny black rhinos jammed together in circles.

  “Kifaru,” Tessa said. The woman gazed at her with new interest. “Black Rhino.”

  The woman’s eyes watered. “The Kifaru killed everything and everyone I loved. It is vile. You best not mention it in these halls.” She stiffened her back, raised her chin, and left.

  Tessa turned to run after her, but paused to grab her purse. When she entered the hall, the woman was nowhere in sight.

  ~ ~ ~

  “You smell like a brewery,” complained Tessa as she and Chase walked to their rooms in the boutique hotel. She decided to discuss the encounter with the woman later. He was a handful at the moment.

  Chase stretched his arms out then, touching his nose successfully. Next, he walked an imaginary straight line and managed to pull it off until the last step when he stumbled and nearly fell. Tessa hurried to his side then pushed in front of him before relieving him of his key. When she attempted to slip it into the lock, he pressed up against her and took a deep whiff of her hair.

  A disgruntled growl escaped her clenched teeth as she swung open the door and slipped her arm around his waist. “Come on, big guy. You’re a bit tipsy.”

  He leaned into her as they passed through the door and kicked it shut with the sole of his shoe. “I’m not tipsy. I’m on the short road to being drunk.” He grabbed Tessa’s hand and tugged her after him toward the bed. “You were beautiful tonight. Did I tell you that?”

  Tessa pried at his fingers and sighed. “Yes. With each drink you took, I became closer to being goddess of the Universe, I’m sure.”

  He chuckled deep in his throat, reminding her the man was not to be trusted unless you believed werewolves were misunderstood characters who needed some TLC.

  “I like that. Goddess of the Universe. It’s good to have a nickname.” He eyed her hungrily as he loosened his tie. “Maybe you should help me get undressed and tuck me into bed since you think I need to be taken care of.”

  Tessa crossed her arms across her chest since his gaze lingered a little too long there and then huffed out a retort. “Well that is a fine howdy-do, Chase Hunter. You have to get drunk to make a pass at me. You’re despicable and a coward.” She watched him flop down on the edge of the bed.

  She pivoted on her heel and moved to the interior door to her adjoining room. The squeak of bedsprings drew her sideways glance back to Chase who stalked like a lion toward her. At the touch of his hand on her shoulder, she fell back against the door, weak in the knees, and staring up into his dark eyes.

  “Don’t be like that, baby. Stay and talk to me a while. You know, like we used to do before you went to—well—” His hand brushed her cheek, but she jerked her face away.

  “Afghanistan?” she interrupted. “Everything always comes back to that, doesn’t it? Is that why you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder for months?”

  “I wanted to give you some space. Some time to heal.” He leaned into her, a lopsided pout on his mouth. “Here we are in Africa. Alone and—”

  “Drunk.”

  “Not quite, but close. Watching you tonight with Baboloki drove me crazy. I don’t trust the guy, and he kept checking you out. You and that sexy dress of yours.” He slid his hand down her arm but she quickly knocked it away.

  “What about the Captain Hunter code—no married women or Enigma agents?”

  His voice lowered. “Rules were made to be broken.”

  “Ugh!” She shoved at his chest with more strength than she believed possible. He stepped back.

  Tessa reached behind her for the doorknob and twisted. A gush of warm air hit her in the face from her open windows. She froze, as a shadow moved toward the sheer curtains that lifted like ghostly fingers. A shattering noise preceded the man’s escape to the outside, and she screamed Chase’s name.

  Chapter Five

  Chase raced for the window but stumbled over clutter on the floor, giving the intruder precious seconds to escape into the night. The light spilling in from his room illuminated Tessa standing inside the door with her hands covering her mouth. He turned on the bedside lamp and took a quick survey of the room. With everything in disarray, he came to the obvious conclusion they’d either been robbed or someone wanted information. Chase guessed the latter.

  He stumbled back to Tessa who trembled, stripped of her snarky attitude. She fell against him and circled his waist as he wrapped his arms around her. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he inhaled the fragrance of her warm hair as the touch of her fingers spread out against his back. Her rapid heartbeat reminded him he’d nearly lost her once and had no intention of ever letting that happen again.

  When he tried to step back, Tessa pulled him tighter and shivered. Even though she pretended to be brave, she considered spiders a serious terrorist threat to women everywhere. This time he ran his hands down her arms before stepping back to arm’s length.

  “It’s okay. Thank goodness you didn’t go in the front door. You do understand we share a room from here on out. Right?”

  She nodded like a scared little girl.

  “Good. Let’s figure out what they wanted, but I think I already know. Then we’ll call the front desk. Do you mind fixing me some coffee? I’m not all that clearheaded.” She nodded and stepped back into his room and soon heard her pouring water into the single cup coffee maker. A few minutes later she brought him a cup.

  Chase eyeballed the room again while the steam from the coffee curled upward toward his nose. He rested his lips on the rim of the porcelain cup, waiting for the brew to cool enough to sip the black goodness. “Better check,” he mumbled.

  Tessa moved to the desk where she kept her laptop and notes. “Gone. They were after the source of the Kifaru.”

  “They didn’t waste any time taking the bait. But to come here—I didn’t expect they’d be so brazen. Somebody is a little too anxious to find our guy.”

  Tessa returned to his side, hugged her body. “I hope we haven’t put Handsome in danger.”

  “He can take care of himself. We need to make sure the people of the outer villages don’t suffer from Baboloki’s insecurity.” He took a drink of the coffee. “Nothing like a little adrenaline to sober a guy up.” He dropped a narrowed gaze on Tessa who put on a good show of calm. “You okay?”

  “Of course.” She turned to go back in his room, but he cut her off.


  “Call the desk. Sound hysterical. I promise to be the irate partner. We’re not staying in these rooms tonight.”

  Tessa lifted the phone and dialed the front desk.

  The coffee woke Chase up enough that he felt wired. He stepped to the sofa in the second-floor room where Tessa slept and watched her for longer than he should have. She tossed and turned while he contacted the team and Director Clark back in the States to catch everyone up on the day’s events. Jet lag never got easy, and Tessa seemed to suffer from that as well. After he insisted she take some Benadryl, it didn’t take long for her to fall into a deep sleep.

  The air-conditioning held the room to about seventy. He liked it cooler but it kicked off when he tried to lower the thermostat. Tessa drew up her bare legs and snuggled into the pillow she’d taken from the full-size bed. He covered her with the blanket. The white dress left too much skin exposed.

  There remained the effect on his body from her helpless gratitude toward him. She’d stayed at his side when he flew into a rage at the desk manager, demanding different rooms. When the man announced only one other was available, she’d looked up at Chase with gratitude.

  “Let’s share.” She’d slipped her hand in his and squeezed before turning back to the anxious manager and security guard. He drew her close and kissed her temple. This cooled his heels almost instantly. The manager sighed, offered his apologies several times, and rubbed his hands together. Tessa sniffed back a tear and laid her head against Chase when the hotel security guard offered to walk them to their new room. Her acting ability remained top-notch.