“Okay. Guess I have to trust you…”
“You said last night I was the only one you trusted. So why don’t you keep doing that a little bit longer?”
She frowned. “You’re right. But I don’t trust easily, Sky. The way I grew up…” She shook her head. “It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t safe. I learned to con, as you put it, in order to stay alive and out of jail. And I got out of there as soon as I could. I’m never going back, which is why I hire out my skills. I don’t do it for the material goods, though I admit I like those a lot. I do it so I don’t have to feel the fear of being trapped in a life I don’t ever want again. And for the record, I’d sell my own mother for nothing more than the satisfaction of doing so.”
Sky stared down at the top of her head. At the Yankees logo on the cap he’d loaned her. That was more than she’d ever said about her motives. He wanted to believe her. Especially when she sounded so broken when she spoke about her family. But what if it was all a part of the con?
Easy whistled, giving him the all clear signal. “Come on,” he said roughly. “It’s time to go.”
He led the way, pounding down the stairs and over to his Jeep. He slung in his bags, slung in hers, and then went around to the driver’s seat. Bliss hopped into the passenger seat and belted herself in. Sky backed out and waited for Wolf and Easy to jump in their car so they could tail him and Bliss over to the military post where HOT was located.
As soon as they were ready, he mashed the gas and entered traffic. It was late morning by now and rush hour was over. He kept an eye on their surroundings, mostly out of habit rather than true fear someone had found them at the motel. Anybody who had would’ve burst in and done battle to get the files Bliss had stolen.
Sky didn’t breathe easily until they’d passed through the front gate of the post. Bliss looked around in silence, studying everything. Missing nothing.
He pulled into a parking spot in front of the HQ building. Wolf and Easy pulled in a few spots down. Bliss stared at the complex in front of them. It was dark, imposing, and surrounded by razor wire and electrified fences. Definitely something going on behind those concrete walls.
“What is this place?” she asked.
“Need to-know-basis, Bliss. If they want you to know, they’ll tell you.”
She turned to him with a smile. It was almost blinding it was so pretty. Made his heart throb with a forgotten longing. “You did it, Sky. You did get into Special Operations. Delta? It looks like it could be Delta. Something big and important. I’m so happy for you.”
He hadn’t expected her to say that. He started to question her sincerity and then asked himself why the fuck she’d lie about that. She seemed genuinely excited. He had to stop thinking she lied about everything. It took more energy than he had to give her. And it wasn’t important anyway. She was the past. He’d be rid of her soon enough. He had to be or he was going to go a little bit insane thinking about how pretty she looked in his cap with her hair in a ponytail, and wishing he could take it down while curving his hands around her breasts.
“Thanks,” he said gruffly. He got out of the Jeep and got his computer bags. Handed hers over just in case. Then they headed for the gate as he took his badge and ID out. “Need your license, Bliss.”
She fumbled in her purse and gave it to him. The gate guards were waiting, dressed in crisp ACUs with their service pistols strapped to their sides. Sky passed their IDs to the men and waited.
“Need to make a call, Sergeant,” one of them said before stepping into the booth to pick up the phone.
Wolf and Easy arrived as the guard came back out of the booth and cleared Bliss to pass inside. Soon all four of them were striding through the entrance and into the coolness of the building that Sky had called his work home for the past two years.
Saint stood just inside, waiting for them. He grinned. “Good job, Hacker,” he said, reaching out to shake Sky’s hand. His gaze slewed to Bliss. “Miss Bennett,” he said, holding out his hand to her. They shook briefly. “I’m Cade, though you can call me Saint if you prefer.”
Sky found himself annoyed. He didn’t quite know why. Saint was happily shacked up with Brooke Sullivan—but Bliss was the kind of woman who could turn heads. And had, if the looks the gate guards had given her were any indication.
“Which do you prefer?” she asked in that sultry Southern voice she had, making him crazy. It was like honey dripping down his spine—and he wanted it all to himself.
“Around here, Saint probably works best. Outside these walls, I’ll answer to either.”
“Then Saint it is. You can call me Bliss.”
Saint’s smile was too smooth. “Bliss. Thanks for coming to see us. I’ve got orders to take you straight to the big man himself, so if you’ll come with me…”
She glanced up at Sky, uncertainty crossing her face. “I’m going too,” he reassured her. What the fuck did Mendez want with her?
She nodded and then smiled at Saint, who was watching them both with an interested expression.
It’s not like that, he wanted to say. But he didn’t. Saint wouldn’t believe him anyway. Hell, he was beginning to not believe himself. And that worried him more than he cared to admit.
Chapter Nine
Bliss had done jobs for the CIA and NSA, among other government agencies, and she’d visited their headquarters on occasion. But she’d never gotten any deeper than the surface. Places like that—like this one—kept unauthorized people far from the nerve center of their operations.
And now she seemed to be strolling deeper into this building than she would have ever expected. She slanted a glance up at Sky. His face was blank, but she could imagine what was going on behind those hazel eyes of his. He wanted to study the programs on Martin’s computer, wanted to pull them apart and find out what they could do. Hell, she wanted that too.
Saint led the way to a conference room. There was only one layer of security they went through to get in, so she didn’t think she’d quite made it to the nerve center yet. But the room was secure, of that she was certain. There was a large table in the center, flanked by twelve chairs, and computers at each station. An overhead projector displayed a logo on a screen on the opposite wall. It was an eagle perched over a globe, with crossed rifles and a ribbon with skulls and crossbones. Inside the ribbon was written the words Where None Dare. Above the eagle, the words Hostile Operations Team were emblazoned across the screen.
Hostile Operations Team? She’d never heard of that before.
“Have a seat. The colonel will be here soon,” Saint said.
Bliss turned to Sky again, but he didn’t say anything. He held out a chair for her and she sank onto it. Then he sat beside her. She appreciated the gesture, though she’d actually expected him to move a few seats down.
Wolf and Easy were still with them, and Saint took a seat too.
“What’s the Hostile Operations Team?” she asked Sky. “Is that like Delta Force?”
“A little bit,” he said, glancing at his teammates. “We’re Special Ops. You were right about that. Our missions are secret and sensitive.”
“Is it computer related?” She darted her gaze between the silent faces. She was trying to sort it out, but the truth was she expected she’d have heard of the Hostile Operations Team if it had been computer related. She did so much varied work that surely it would have crossed her stream at some point.
“No more than any other spec-ops unit. We’re a combat unit, Bliss. You know about the SEALs that killed Bin Laden, right? How they dropped into Pakistan and entered the compound in secret? Then shot him?”
“Um, yes.” Who hadn’t heard about that? It was a huge moment for the nation to exact revenge on the man who’d planned the 9/11 bombings.
“That’s the kind of thing we do. We go where none dare, and we do what’s right.”
“You do that too? It’s not just a computer job for you?”
He nodded. “I do. All the time.”
Her throat tightened. She thought of Sky dressed in tactical gear, a weapon in his hands, bursting into a terrorist enclave, and she wanted to faint. But why? She didn’t love him anymore. How could she? He hadn’t loved her in return, not really, and Bliss wasn’t so desperate for a man’s affection that she’d continue to throw herself at the same one over and over. She knew when she wasn’t wanted and she moved on.
But thinking of Sky in danger? Apparently that bothered her. Go figure.
“So I guess you got what you wanted after all,” she said, her throat feeling tighter than she’d expected.
“I did. More than I wanted, actually.”
He didn’t say anything about Major Tucker and the fury the Army had rained down on his old detachment after Tucker’s transgressions came to light. She knew he’d expected his career to end, but here he was, part of a supersecret badass group she’d never heard of. It warmed her heart in ways she couldn’t fully understand even while it scared her.
The door opened and a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair walked in, another man with dark hair right behind him. They were both handsome, both a little older than the men she’d met so far. They were also wearing military uniforms.
Chairs scraped as Sky and the others started to stand, but the first man to enter the room—Mendez, according to the name tape over his left pectoral—held up a hand. “As you were.”
The chairs scraped back into place. Mendez came around the table and thrust his hand toward her. “Miss Bennett. I’m Colonel John Mendez. Thanks for coming in today.”
She put her hand in his, her heart revving just a little higher. He didn’t affect her the way Sky did, but he definitely affected her. He was wearing a platinum wedding band on his ring finger. Lucky woman.
The other man introduced himself as Lieutenant Colonel Alex Bishop. Another handsome soldier, this one without a wedding band. Her skin tingled at his touch too. Her heart beat just a little faster than usual. Was it fear? Or the testosterone pouring from all these big, strong, competent men?
Hell, she was competent. She was no shrinking violet, for pity’s sake. She could take care of herself and had been doing so since she’d been a teen. So why the fluttering heart and overwhelming urge to melt into a puddle? It wasn’t like her at all.
She turned to Sky in order to ground herself. His hazel eyes were soulful, his chiseled features somber. He looked like he expected the world to disappoint him at any moment. Had he always looked that way, or was she the one who’d put that expression there?
It saddened her to think it was the latter. She’d caused him pain, but what he didn’t seem to understand was that he’d broken her heart too. He insisted on believing she was heartless when in fact she had too much heart where he was concerned.
Heart was weakness, as her momma always said. Sky was her weakness then.
His expression softened for just a moment. A split second of beauty that filled her with hope and warmth. Was he lending her his support in this room full of strangers?
Even if he hadn’t intended to do so, that’s precisely what she felt. She lifted her chin and met Colonel Mendez’s gaze with confidence.
“You have an impressive résumé, Miss Bennett,” he began. “You’ve done a variety of work for government agencies and some private contracting too. You get the job done.” His gaze slid to Sky for a split second. “I understand you were once married to my operator. Any hard feelings?”
A flash of heat crawled up her neck. What the heck was she supposed to say? The man’s dark eyes bored into her and she knew the answer. The truth.
“A few,” she said. “We didn’t part on good terms.”
Sky shifted beside her.
“But you went to him when you were in trouble.”
“I trust his integrity.”
Mendez nodded. His attention turned to Sky. “How’re you feeling about this situation, son?”
Sky hesitated. “The information Bliss st—obtained—is important, sir. We have to study it, and we have to find Martin’s laptop.”
Mendez’s mouth quirked. “Not what I meant, Hacker. How are you feeling about working with your ex-wife?”
“Honestly? Conflicted. Bliss is good at what she does—you have that correct, sir. But she’s not trustworthy. She lies.”
Indignation swelled inside her, but she kept her mouth shut. This Mendez was shrewd. And he wanted something. She would wait to see what it was before she leaped in with both feet. Even though her blood boiled at the unfairness of Sky’s accusation. She’d lied, yes, but in the line of duty.
Mendez tilted his head to the side. “You’re divorced. There are bad feelings. Is it possible you’re projecting those feelings onto this situation?”
“Sir, she can palm your wallet without your feeling a thing. She can hack your system and skip around your hard drive without raising a single alarm. She’s damn good at subterfuge. That’s why it’s hard to trust her.”
Mendez’s gaze returned to Bliss. “Is that true?”
Bliss swallowed. The only way forward with this man was to be honest. She knew that as well as she knew that her name was Bliss Bennett and she was twenty-seven years old. “Yes. I’ve been palming wallets since I was six. A late start, according to my mother. I’ve been hacking since I was ten and got my first computer. Another late start, but that’s according to me.”
“Are you trustworthy?”
“If you’re paying me, yes.”
Mendez barked a laugh. It startled her. She had no idea what was going on here, but she suspected it was a test. Sky wanted her to fail. She could tell that by the hard set of his jaw.
She was just as determined to succeed.
“All right, Miss Bennett,” Mendez said. “Here’s the deal. You’ve been working for the CIA—I want you working for me. Exclusively. You’ll get paid, though I’m not going to bullshit you and offer you twice the money they did. You’re good, but Hacker here is equally as good. I have more people like him too. But I don’t have you, and I want you to be a part of my team. What you’ll get is the ability to work on this project, protection from those who are after you, and the satisfaction of operating for the good of your country. Every day you’ll know you’re doing something important.”
She calculated what Jones had paid her and thought about the money she could earn in the corporate world. Mendez seemed to know what she was doing because his next words chilled her.
“Decide now, Miss Bennett. If the answer is no, you’re finished. We’ll protect you because you’re in danger—but you won’t get the chance to be a part of the finest group of men and women this nation can offer. You won’t be a member of HOT, and you’ll say goodbye to Sergeant Kelley right now. Someone will be assigned to you, and you’ll be quite safe. That much I promise you.”
“For how long?” she croaked out.
“How long will you be safe? Until this is over and we’re sure you’re out of danger.”
Bliss swallowed the knot in her throat. “No. How long will I be a part of HOT?”
He seemed to approve of that answer. “If you’re as good as you appear to be on paper and you don’t fuck up by being untrustworthy—as Sergeant Kelley seems to believe you will—then you can stay as long as you like. I need the best of the best in this organization. I believe you’re one of the best.”
She glowed with heat from his praise. “And if I want to leave at some point?”
He shrugged. “There’s no commitment. But you’ll be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement—and if you break it in any way—any way at all—you’ll do jail time. That I guarantee. What we do here is top secret, Miss Bennett. If you compromise our mission… Well, I won’t be lenient.”
Bliss clamped her lips together. Sky was watching her, but his expression was unreadable. If she said no, if she turned down this opportunity, she wouldn’t see him again. This was it.
Her heart bumped. She didn’t want this to be it. Her heart—her stupid heart—wanted more. More of him.
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“Sky?”
His brows drew down and he looked fierce. “You do what you have to, Bliss. But if you fuck up in any way, I won’t save you. Sign on the line, do the time. Walk away now and you can go back to selling your skills to the highest bidder just as soon as we catch Martin’s killer.”
He expected her to say no. She could see it in his eyes. His opinion of her was so fixed that he didn’t think she had it in her to be patriotic—or to sacrifice even a penny in the pursuit of justice.
He was about to learn, damn him. She would show him.
She turned to Mendez. “Give me the paper. I’ll sign.”
“So let’s see what you’ve got,” Mendez said while Sky was still trying to pick his jaw up off the floor. Bliss had agreed to join HOT? The colonel had offered her a job and she took it?
Had life just turned inside out? Would hamsters be driving cars for real and not just in commercials when he walked outside?
“Hacker?” Mendez prompted and Sky jolted.
“Yes, sir?”
“Martin’s program?”
“Sir, yes, sir,” Sky said, pulling out his laptop and plugging into the AV system that would allow him to display the contents on the overhead projector.
It took only moments for the files to pop up. Lines of code filled the screen in different windows. “There are a few different options, but they all appear to be computer worms, which means they’re designed to replicate without human interaction. We don’t know which one is the one he was trying to sell or what it’s supposed to do yet. But Martin’s postings on the dark net claimed he had something that could take down entire power grids. Probably the malware would move quickly once released in the wild. This is presumed to be a zero-day attack because it hasn’t been seen before.”
HOT SECRETS: A Hostile Operations Team - Book 13 Page 8
