Barriers: Anderson Special Ops - Book 3

by Melody Anne

  She knew Hendrick had to maintain cover, but did that mean he had to sleep with the senator when Mallory’s own bed was still warm from their bodies lighting it on fire? She’d seen that picture of him outside of the senator’s hotel, not only had she seen it, but that photo had been cemented in her brain, and she’d felt a pang in her heart.

  No, she wasn’t in love with Hendrick. How could she be? She barely knew the man. But she didn’t sleep with just any man, and what the two of them had shared together had been unlike anything she’d ever experienced. She felt betrayed at what he’d done. And with how possessive the senator was being, it was clear who was telling the truth about what happened between the two of them. She’d never thought she’d be a jealous woman. She absolutely hated feeling that way now.

  “Good. We’re touching down soon,” Senator Miller said as she adjusted her makeup and fixed her flawless hair. “Hendrick says they’re having a low-key day at the pool today. I’ll see just how honest the man is.”

  She licked her lips like a predator set on her prey.

  “I’m sure he’s just hanging with the boys,” Mallory said with no emotion.

  “Why would he want another woman when he has me?” the senator asked with a cackle that had never really annoyed Mallory until lately. Now, the sound was worse than nails on a chalkboard.

  She so wanted confirmation that the senator had slept with Hendrick. Then she’d know for sure they had no chance. There were a lot of things Mallory was willing to do for her job but sleeping with the enemy wasn’t one of them. She’d known Hendrick would have to flirt and taunt the senator, but she hadn’t thought the two of them would be at a hotel together in the morning.

  She was so damn confused. Not just confused, she was hurt in her heart, something she’d never anticipated happening. She needed to talk to him — but she was afraid to do that. It didn’t help to have the senator right there in her face telling her how amazing Hendrick was.

  They landed in Vegas and the waiting limo took them straight to the MGM Grand. The senator stepped from the car and walked straight in the lavish lobby with a snobby look on her face.

  “I normally stay in The Nobu Villa at the Nobu Hotel,” the senator said.

  Mallory was in shock as she gazed at the endless marble floors of the hotel with high painted ceilings and a centerpiece with a golden lion. This was luxury, and she normally would’ve been excited to come to the city of sin where she could drink and laugh and let herself go, but this was the opposite of excitement.

  One of the senator’s aides checked them in while she stood back and listened to Anna Miller continue as if she was royalty and this peasant hotel wasn’t good enough for her.

  “I heard that room goes for thirty-five thousand dollars a night,” Mallory finally said, remembering when she’d read an article of the most luxurious rooms in the world to stay in.

  The senator waived her hand in the air as if that much money meant nothing. To her it was chump change. Mallory couldn’t imagine being so cavalier over throwing more money into a single night than many people in the world made in a full year.

  “Yes, but money comes easy to someone like me,” the senator said with a fake laugh that made Mallory’s jaw clench. “I only stay where I’m treated how a queen should be treated.” She laughed again. “Of course, being president as I will be, is even better than having royal status. Hell, that’s the epitome of royalty.”

  “I once dreamed of being a princess mermaid,” Mallory said. She’d never know what it was like to be treated like royalty, but she wouldn’t mind a taste of that. She’d once believed being with the right man could make a woman feel like a queen every single day. She’d started to think that way with Hendrick. Was that dream over?

  “Only those who take the reins can be royalty,” Anna said. “Don’t you read history? Vying for the crown has always been bloody. I’m not afraid to run my sword through whoever I need to in order to get what I want.”

  A shiver ran through Mallory because she had no doubt the senator was telling her the truth. She’d lie, steal, and cheat to get exactly what she wanted when she wanted it. Mallory decided discussing burning lots of money was a better conversation than killing people. She didn’t want the senator to talk too much and then feel the need to eliminate her.

  “You know . . . a lot of famous people have stayed at the Nobu, such as Jennifer Lopez and Justin Bieber. They might be artists with their faces all over television screens, but they don’t hold true power. Hollywood simply does the bidding of the right politicians. They’re our puppets and they happily dance on their strings when we pull them. If you want real power in life you run for office. It’s quite refreshing how naïve so many are. I quite enjoy it.” The senator was talking more to herself than giving any type of career advice to her underling.

  Mallory felt sick to her stomach. She knew Washington, D.C. had a lot of power over the people, but she still believed in freedom, still believed people made their own choices in life. The people elected the officials, didn’t they? That meant the people had the true power. But with the way the senator was talking, she was starting to change her mind on that.

  “If you don’t please the people though, they won’t reelect you,” Mallory pointed out.

  Anna laughed, this time true joy in her voice. “That’s where Hollywood comes in again, my sweet little assistant. You have a lot to learn in the world of politics. If the people start to grow restless, we just feed them what they need to hear, and voila, we’re gods again.”

  That sick feeling in Mallory’s gut grew worse. She thought back to all of those times she’d followed the advice of those she’d respected. In her youth, she’d been very susceptible to actors, musicians, and sports gods. Once she’d gone to college and joined the FBI she’d wised up to who to listen to, but had she been foolish not to pay more attention? Probably. She was getting real life lessons right now; she’d been getting them since she’d joined the FBI.

  “Does it make you feel bad to deceive people?” Mallory asked.

  The aide came back and handed over the key, and Anna began walking with Mallory at her side.

  “I don’t deceive anyone,” Anna said as if she meant it. “I give the people what they truly need, even if they don’t know it’s what they need at that moment. And in order to do this I need to be pampered. If I’m happy, those I serve are as well.” She put extra emphasis on the word serve as if that was an utter joke. It truly was. This woman wouldn’t serve a single person in her life.

  Mallory began to question her own sanity and lack of insight. Had the senator always been this way and she hadn’t picked up on it? Or was the senator’s hard exterior faltering a bit with her jealous rage over Hendrick?

  They made it up to a beautiful penthouse suite that featured over a thousand square feet of space, an exquisite bathroom with the deepest tub Mallory had ever seen, and views of the strip that took her breath away. Her room was close by, and she was sure even with it being smaller, it would still be spectacular.

  “Ugh. I hate that this is where I’ll be spending the night. I need to get Hendrick back to my room though, so I can stomach this place for one night,” Anna said. She gingerly placed her purse on the table as if she was afraid it would get germs. The surfaces of the room gleamed with cleanliness and expense.

  “I’ve never been in a nicer room,” Mallory said, too in awe to maintain a dismissive air.

  Senator Miller laughed. “My room at The Nobu is over ten-thousand square feet with three bedrooms, and a private deck with a Japanese maple tree. There’s also a sauna, massage room that I’ve had a lot of fun in, a massive terrace with its own bar, a Zen garden, and a multitude of dining areas including a sushi bar of course.”

  “That sounds like a mansion on top of a hotel,” Mallory said. She’d love to walk inside and see it. Did people actually live in places like that year-round? It was unimaginable to her.

  “It’s nice, but I
only reside in beautiful places. My home in Washington State is lovely, but my DC home is where I belong,” Anna told her.

  “How do politicians, who make decent money, all end up multi-millionaires?” Mallory asked. She knew the answer, but she wanted to see how far the senator was willing to take her confessions. Mallory was about to find out.

  The senator gave her an assessing look as if she was judging whether she could talk or not. She then moved to the window and looked down below her just as she did from every pulpit she spoke on.

  “We get bought,” Anna said with a chuckle. “Or at least the different lobbyist think they’re buying us. They deposit nice large sums of money in our accounts and then we make laws based on what they want. The bigger the deposits, the more willing I am to do what they so nicely ask.”

  “I thought that was illegal,” Mallory told her, making sure to keep her voice calm, as if she was simply curious, not ready to arrest the woman on the spot.

  “When you run the country, you make your own laws. What the public doesn’t know, can’t hurt them, right?”

  “But won’t they see how you live?” Mallory asked.

  “They don’t open their eyes up to know the truth. We tell them our version of the truth, have our media allies hammer it home, and then our message is sealed. Did you know if you repeat a lie enough it will become the truth in the eyes of anyone, even the truth can’t undo the lie? You just make sure your message comes across loud and clear first, and then no one can taint the waters with the boring truth. It’s too late by then.” A smug laugh accompanied the senator’s words.

  Mallory was horrified at what the senator said. How could she discuss the lives of those she was supposed to care about as if they were nothing but ants she was willing to burn in order to build a bigger mansion? She could because she had everything she wanted even if it was at the expense of those paying for her supposed service.

  “I need to change. Meet me back here in thirty minutes. We’re heading to the pool,” Anna said, clearly done with her gloating. Mallory nodded and turned away without another word. She was glad the senator was done. She wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to keep the absolute disgust from her face.

  She went to her room that was half the size of the senator’s, and still more luxurious than her bedroom back home, and she changed into her modest swimsuit before sliding on a robe. She never had been one to show off everything she had in public. Some of the bikinis people wore horrified her. But at the same time, she felt anyone had a right to express themselves however they wanted. If others didn’t like it, they didn’t need to look.

  Mallory was back in the senator’s room in thirty minutes, then had to wait another twenty. When Anna stepped from her room, Mallory couldn’t stop her gasp. What was the woman thinking to be wearing what she was wearing in public? She was running for office. Of course, with that outfit, she’d probably have no problem at all drawing in the male vote.

  Her bright red bikini showed far more than it hid, with her ample breasts staying perfectly in place beneath the small triangles that covered her nipples and not much more. The bottom of the matching material rose high on her curvy hips and showed everyone she passed there wasn’t a single hair left on her body. When she turned, the small material only went out about two inches from the crack of her behind, showing the senator wasn’t afraid of doing squats.

  She slipped on a thin robe that barely hid anything but gave a smoky appearance that would only make people look harder to see the goodies she possessed.

  “I know I look good and I’m not ashamed of showing that at a pool where it’s perfectly acceptable, even for a senator,” Anna said with a laugh.

  “I’m sorry,” Mallory automatically said as she jerked her gaze away.

  “That’s okay, I know I’m hot. Look all you want.” The way she said that sent more disgust through Mallory. Was the woman hitting on her? No way!

  The senator ran one of her bright red fingernails down Mallory’s arm before turning. “Let’s go.”

  Mallory had known the senator had some odd sexual exploits her team had to ensure were covered up, but she hadn’t known quite how twisted the woman was. How did she hide her dark side when she lived in the public eye? It was crazy.

  Mallory and the senator, along with a couple of bodyguards who were always silent, stepped out the doors onto the six acres of area dedicated to an outdoor oasis. The pool area featured four pools, three whirlpools, and cascading waterfalls. Along with all of that there was a lazy river, cabanas, chairs, and trees everywhere, giving the illusion of privacy and being on an island.

  They moved past laughing guests, and a few people getting poolside massages.

  “Oh, I need a massage. It’s been an entire week,” Anna said with a sigh. “I think I’ll order one for this afternoon . . . or just have Hendrick give me one. He has incredible hands.”

  Mallory had the strong urge to stick out her arm and shove the senator into the pool they passed. She knew she’d be fired, and probably arrested immediately. But it was almost worth it to ruin her perfect makeup, and to simply shut up the incredibly clueless, snobby woman.

  “I think it’s been over five years since I’ve had one,” Mallory said, clenching her fingers together to keep herself from enacting her petty moment.

  “That must be why you’re so high strung. I’ll remedy that quickly,” Anna said as she called her aide close. Mallory was also her aide, but apparently not on this trip. Apparently on this trip, she was the senator’s wingman and talking companion. She was where she’d been wanting to be — and she hated it.

  Massages were scheduled within minutes of Anna’s aide calling. When a person carried as much power as the senator did, they could have anything they wanted on demand. It was truly crazy.

  They moved around the pool a bit, unable to find Hendrick and his friends. The senator quickly grew impatient and told her bodyguard to find him. When he came back, he gave her the news with no expression on his face. Mallory wondered if he was a spiritless oaf only doing his job or if he had to grit his teeth as much as she did. She’d probably never know.

  The men were at a cabana — and they weren’t alone.

  Senator Miller changed direction, never hurrying her step. A woman like her wasn’t in a hurry. The rest of the world was supposed to wait for her, not the other way around.

  When they turned a corner and found Hendrick’s Park Bungalow Cabana hidden back from the rest of the people, they both froze. Hendrick and another man, a very pleasant looking, very muscular, dark skinned man, were inside . . . with women sitting on both of their laps. The gentleman with Hendrick was laughing at something the woman on his lap said, and she brushed her chest against his massive chest, causing his arm to snake around her and pull her a little closer.

  The woman on Hendrick’s lap took that moment to trail her pink nail down his chest, reaching the waistband of his shorts before he reached out and clasped her fingers. Mallory didn’t move. The senator wasn’t frozen like she was.

  “Hendrick,” the senator said with ice in her voice. “Are you enjoying your . . . boys’ . . . day?” she asked, hesitating on the word boys as there were clearly hot women with him.

  Hendrick jumped, the woman nearly falling from his lap. He steadied her as she rose and glared at Anna, and past to where Mallory was slowly stepping forward, not knowing what else to do. Hendrick looked from Anna to Mallory and back again. Then he smiled sheepishly.

  “Yes, we’ve been having a great time,” he said with a shrug. “What are you ladies doing here?”

  “I wanted to spend the day at the pool with you,” Anna said, quickly dismissing the woman who’d been with him as if she was a peon who didn’t deserve a moment of her time. “I wasn’t expecting any other females to be present. I knew you’d like the surprise visit.”

  She spoke so haughtily the woman who’d been glaring seemed to register danger. She didn’t say another word be
fore she hastily retreated. Probably a wise idea.

  “I know this looks bad,” Hendrick said, still not seeming worried. “But my boy, Jon, went on a mission to see how many women he could fit in the cabana. Carl and Steve all but ran for the hills when the ladies started showing up. Tyrell and I were getting them all back out, so Jon went to find more. You literally just stepped up as I was trying to remove Candy from my lap.” It was a very simple explanation, but Mallory wasn’t buying it. From the stiff set of Anna’s shoulders, she wasn’t either.

  “Candy . . .” Anna said so ruthlessly it made a shiver travel down Mallory’s back. “. . . just happened to fall on your lap?”

  “Well, no, she climbed on, but I didn’t want to be a complete asshole,” Hendrick said. His eyes flashed to Mallory for only a second before going back to the senator. This gave her time to really study him. Mallory was confused. He looked as if he was trying to appease the senator, but he didn’t seem enamored with her.

  Was that his act? Was he trying to make her more interested in him by playing it cool? Or was he really doing a job and only keeping the hook in her while he still tried to bust her? She was so damn confused.

  “All of this is true, except for me trying to get the women out of here. The more the merrier, I say. Come in both of you, and we can all have some fun,” Tyrell said, a smile that burned genuine resting on his lips.

  The senator ignored him completely. “We need to talk, Hendrick,” Anna said. She moved forward and brushed her finger down his chest. Mallory wanted to puke. This was twice in five minutes she’d had to watch women trail their fingers down his impressive body. It should be her fingers, and only her fingers, doing just that. She had the urge to grab Anna by her hair, drag her to the pool, then hold her under the water.