“I’m not sure that’s in our best interest,” Li said slowly. “You must realize how all of this looks?”
Igney stared right back at the man. “You must realize what will happen if your country abandons us. What secrets we know.”
Li’s jaw twitched. “You’ll have what you need. But there will be rules.”
Igney could still do this, but it would have to be fast. He preferred to work in the shadows, but right now his country needed him and he would not fail. He couldn’t. If he did his way of life, the license he had to kill, would all go away. He couldn’t live any other way, and so he had to succeed.
17.
Tuesday. MI6 Safe House, London, United Kingdom.
Ekko slid onto the stool next to Silas. It was so close to him their arms brushed as he moved. She should do the polite thing and scoot away, but she couldn’t make herself.
When she’d woken up alone, without him anywhere, she’d panicked. At least she had once her head to clear enough for her to feel anything. Then when she’d seen him covered in blood...
She wanted to be near him. To assure herself he was okay, that he was alive.
Despite not having done much during the day beyond wait, worry and ride around in a car, she was worn out. They’d moved to another location. According to Brett this place was better than the last, something about it being an MI6 safe house rather than the CIA crash pad. Whatever the difference was, it didn’t matter to her. They were safe and dinner was on the table.
Silas nudged her with his elbow. “Eat up.”
“Oh, yeah.” She picked at the lasagna without much interest. Her stomach was too tied in knots to be all that hungry.
Chayan was asleep, courtesy of the pain killers Paxton had given him.
She glanced up at the blond man sitting across from her.
Silas’ best friend.
She hadn’t talked to Paxton much beyond when he’d given her the Coke. Silas spoke highly of him. She was curious, and yet, what did she say?
“How’s your shoulder?” she asked Silas.
He nodded and swallowed his food. “Still there.”
She glared at him and he merely grinned.
Paxton snorted. “Silas gets off playing like his injuries don’t hurt, unlike the rest of us, who are human.”
Ekko found herself nodding along with that statement. So it wasn’t just her assessment of him?
Silas waved his fork at the other man. “Not my fault you’re delicate, nerd.”
“I’m delicate?” Paxton shook his head.
Ekko chuckled and propped her chin on her hand, watching the two men mock-glare at each other while grinning.
Silas leaned toward her. “So this one time we’re set-up to watch this—”
“Not that story,” Paxton snapped.
Silas laughed and gripped her knee under the table. “Hey, you can’t take it, nerd?”
Ekko narrowed her gaze at him. “What’s wrong with being a nerd?”
“Your kind of nerd is sexy. His is just, well...” Silas shook his head.
Paxton spread his hands. “Apparently watching documentaries instead of porn makes me a nerd.”
Silas sighed dramatically. “What’s wrong with a little porn?”
Ekko tried and failed to smother a laugh.
There was no more tension between the two. They were at ease despite the barbs tossed back and forth. This was the friendship of two people who knew each other inside and out.
“Seriously.” Silas turned toward her. “What’s wrong with a little porn?”
She shook her head and scrambled to recall what exactly had been said while she zoned out. “Nothing, I guess.”
“There. See?” Silas draped his arm around the back of her stool.
Paxton’s shoulders shook in a quiet laugh as he kept eating.
Brett strode up to their table. Last Ekko had seen of him, he’d been on the phone.
“These two aren’t being a bunch of kids, are they?” Brett asked her.
She sipped her water. “No more than usual.”
“Ouch,” Silas mumbled.
Brett shook his head. He was a serious man by nature, but he could also smile. “Alright, well, we have ourselves a flight out in the morning. Early.”
“What does that mean for our appointment at the UN?” she asked slowly.
Brett glanced over her shoulder. “Silas?”
Silas sighed, as if he hadn’t wanted to discuss this. “We aren’t getting a straight answer. With things in Dauria hitting the fan, everyone is very tight lipped. Worst-case scenario, we get you both to New York, we file for asylum for Chayan and you get to go home.”
A surge of disappointment washed over her. They’d fought so hard to make it in time.
“But...” Ekko turned her head and looked at a very serious Silas.
“The UN might not listen to either of you.” He drew circles on her shoulder as he spoke, his arm still around her. “But at this point, a lot of other people want to know what you and Chayan have to say. They want to know why he’s so important that you risked your life like that helping him escape on national news. I’d wager a bet that as soon as people learn what Chayan did they’ll want to talk to him. The UN isn’t the only power on your side. You have a lot of people rooting for you.”
Brett nodded. “Silas is right. You’re on almost every major news station morning, noon and night. They’re running clips of your streams, interviews you did beforehand. There’s no putting this cat back in the bag.”
Ekko took a deep breath and nodded. She wanted the United Nations to listen. Their support for the cause of Daurian freedom would matter. She knew it would.
But what happened if these protests died? What happened if another generation was silenced?
Brett leaned toward Paxton and they began talking about some detail that went over her head.
“Hey?” Silas squeezed her, whispering in her ear. “This isn’t all on you. Remember that, okay?”
She nodded.
He was right. She hadn’t begun a protest. Other people had done that. But was she at fault for putting ideas in people’s heads? Or was this something that would have happened on its own?
Silas pressed a kiss to her temple. “Eat. Stop picking at your food and eat.”
She glared at him. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
His lips curved into that sexy smile of his. “That’s kind of my job.”
Brett slapped his hand on the table making her jump. “Get a room you two.”
Paxton chuckled and Silas presented Brett’s backside with his middle finger as the other man walked away.
“Ekko, where do you call home?” Paxton asked.
“I live in Philadelphia.” She dutifully stuck a bite of lasagna in her mouth, even if she was too nervous to be hungry.
Paxton’s brows rose and he glanced at Silas. “I see. So, think you’ll come visit anytime soon?”
She chewed slowly, the rest of her freezing.
Silas kept tracing that same circle on her shoulder, utterly relaxed.
They hadn’t discussed what came next for them. Or if there was a them to worry about. Liking each other and being attracted didn’t make a relationship. That was work. And yet a part of her mourned the idea of not taking that chance.
“I’m just asking now because I figure if Silas will let you out of bed I would try to get Coco to come meet you.”
“Sorry.” Silas chuckled. “This is a clothes-free vacation we’re talking about.”
She darted an incredulous look at him. Was he serious? About the clothes or her coming to see him?
Paxton rolled his eyes.
“Please, like you were any better,” Silas said.
Paxton stared back. “We went to the drive-in together.”
“Sure, and you two left after half an hour.”
“Coco didn’t like the movie.”
“She never saw it because you were sucking her face.”
P
axton stared at the wall, thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe...”
“You know I’m right.” Silas picked up her fork and stabbed a bite before offering the utensil back to her.
She shoved the food in her mouth to keep from gaping.
They’d discussed the fact that they were attracted each other, but Silas was talking as if the fact that there would be something between them in the future was an agreed upon fact. The very idea thrilled her.
She liked Silas. She wanted to know more about him, and not just this laughing, jovial face he presented to everyone else. She wanted more of the quiet, serious moments. The snuggling in bed. Him looking after her. Her worrying about him. She wanted all of that, and so much more.
SILAS TRIED TO NOT count the minutes.
How long before it would be appropriate for him to follow her to bed?
Brett hadn’t asked about sleeping arrangements upon arriving at their new crash pad. The others had assumed Silas would sleep with Ekko. They weren’t wrong, but were they right?
“Stare any harder and you’ll strain yourself,” Paxton mumbled.
Silas glared at his friend. It really was only fair. How much shit had Silas dished out to Paxton the last few months?
Yeah, Silas had made himself a target and he didn’t even care.
Maybe he shouldn’t have left things with Ekko as he had?
Paxton had assumed things. Things Silas wasn’t certain about. And now Ekko was thinking.
What if she decided all of this was too much?
The only thing that made this job abnormal was the lack of communication in the beginning. The rest of it? Running from people shooting at them, rescuing people, being in danger, that was normal. And it wasn’t something every woman could handle.
Had Ekko figured all that out yet?
“I’m on watch.” Paxton pushed a bottle of pain killers across the table to him. “Take these and sleep.”
“You aren’t the boss of me,” Silas said.
Paxton leveled a stare at him. “Don’t make me call Mom and tell her you decided to make yourself a pin cushion.”
“That was not my decision,” Silas snapped and jabbed his finger at Paxton. “Don’t you dare call Mom.”
Paxton nudged the bottle a little closer. “Take ‘em.”
“We should never have adopted you.”
Paxton merely grinned.
They both knew Silas didn’t mean it. Paxton wasn’t legally family, but Silas’ had adopted him in every way that mattered. That was why this shift between them had eaten at Silas as much as it had. But now, thanks to Ekko, he saw the situation clearer.
He snatched the bottle off the table and stood.
“Go fuck yourself,” he mumbled.
“You’re going to do what to Ekko?”
“Shut your mouth,” Silas snapped before he could tamp down on the sudden spike of anger. He wasn’t mad at Paxton, he was just frustrated.
Paxton held his hands up and laughed. A real laugh. The likes of which Paxton didn’t often do. He was always so stern and reserved.
Coco was good for him. Really good for him. She’d brought Paxton back from the brink in a way Silas never had been able to manage. And he was grateful for that.
Silas turned and stalked away, the anger already cooling.
Ekko was his, in a way. And yet not.
They had a lot of things to figure out between them. Was tonight the right time to talk about it? Or should they wait until they’d cleared what came next?
He tapped on the bedroom door.
“Come in,” Ekko said.
He glanced over his shoulder, ensuring the hall was empty, then let himself in.
Ekko stood at the dresser smoothing some cream over her face. She’d changed into the same camisole and shorts she’d worn to bed before. Her hair glinted blue in the light.
She was perfect.
He shut the door and twisted the flimsy lock into place then crossed to her side.
“Everything okay?” Ekko asked. “Chayan wake up?”
“Nah, Brett said he’s still out and will likely be out all night.”
“Good.” She set the tube of cream down and turned to face him, resting her hip against the dresser.
Silas cupped her cheek and stared down at her for a moment.
The contacts were gone. Her make-up was washed away. It was just her. The real her. The one the world didn’t see, just him.
He bent his head and pressed his lips against hers. Her mouth was soft, yielding to his touch. Already this was growing familiar. Right.
Silas looked down at her. Were her cheeks pink?
Ekko slid her hand over his good shoulder and turned her back to the dresser. “What was that for?”
He tucked some hair behind her ear. “You looked like you needed kissing.”
“Did I?” She smiled, those dark brown eyes of her twinkling.
“I think you need some more.”
He swallowed her throaty chuckle, sealing his lips over hers. She gripped his shoulders, lifting herself up.
Silas loved the way they fit, like two halves of a whole.
He lifted her and set her on the dresser. Something thumped to the floor but neither of them paused to investigate. Her lips slid over his, their tongues tangling. There was a neediness in the way she held him and he wanted to give that to her. He could. Losing himself in her for an hour or more was exactly what he wanted to do, for starters. But that wasn’t it. There was more to it.
He broke the kiss and pressed his brow to hers, looking down at her.
She had him wrapped up with her legs around his thighs, one arm hooked over his shoulder and the other around his waist. She was holding onto him as much as he wanted to hold on to her.
Did she know that? Should he say that kind of thing right now?
Ekko glanced down, not meeting his gaze. “What? Why are you staring?”
He bumped her chin. “Just thinking about how lucky I am right now.”
She chuckled and darted a look up at him through her lashes. “Because you want to get lucky?”
He grinned and laughed. Her shoulders shook and he reveled in this. The laughter and normalcy of it all.
“That’s not it.” He pressed a kiss to her brow. “It’s because I met you. I don’t want to rush things or pressure you into deciding things right now. I just want to enjoy this. Sorry if Paxton put you on the spot.”
“No, not at all,” she said far too quickly.
He wasn’t going to call her on that little lie. She could keep her secret for now, so long as she shared it with him in the future. At the right time for her.
Silas was a split second decision kind of guy. Always had been. At some point he’d made up his mind about her and just accepted it. There wasn’t any thinking involved because he’d come to the conclusion already.
He was falling in love with her.
Silas cupped her ass, tugging her to the very edge of the dresser so their bodies nestled together.
He bent his head and whispered, “Would you consider visiting me? It’s going to mean putting up with Pax and Coco, so not the most exciting trip.”
She chuckled. “Are you calling them boring?”
“Yes, yes I am. Pax will watch some documentary about animals. Coco will study. There will be lots of hushing. We would be bored.”
“Would we?” She arched a brow. “I could do with a little boredom in my life.”
“Sorry to say that’s in short supply.” That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear.
He studied her face, taking in the light behind her eyes, the color in her cheeks, how she held tight to him. She’d held up despite everything they’d been through, but she believed there was an end to it all.
“Ekko? You have to understand that this is what my life is. Usually I go into jobs knowing the score. A lot of them are dangerous. I don’t get hurt often, but it happens. That’s my normal.”
Her eyes widened and she licked her lips.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It can be. It’s a lot to handle, even if you aren’t the one in it.” He would understand if his lifestyle wasn’t for her. It would suck. He wouldn’t like it, but he’d get it.
“You seem to handle yourself pretty well.” She laid her palms against his chest, one just over his heart. “I trust you to stay safe. And the rest? Well, we can just figure that out later. After we get back. Maybe when I visit you or you visit me?”
He squeezed her to him, their noses bumping. “I’d like that.”
“Good,” she whispered a moment before he kissed her.
Silas poured everything into that kiss. They weren’t making commitments, just promises to wait and see. Well, when the time to talk really came around, he wanted to be so wrapped up in her there was no going back.
He got it. He finally got what made Paxton charge into danger for the sake of a woman he’d just met.
Ekko grabbed a handful of his shirt and hauled it up over his head. She winced as she saw the bandage covering his stitches.
“Hey?” He slid his fingers down her jaw to her chin. “Don’t look at that.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she mumbled.
He gently bit down on her lower lip. “You liked it when I told you what to do.”
“Did not,” she whispered.
“Really? Want me to prove it?”
She eased back, her eyes daring him.
He’d take that dare.
Silas slid his hands under her camisole and up over her breasts. She sighed and arched her back, seeming to forget the taunt she’d just thrown at him.
He pulled the camisole up over her head, but before she could slip her arms out of the garment, he twisted the fabric around her wrists.
“What? Hey.” She frowned at him as he let go.
Ekko tugged on her arms, but he knew his knots. She lowered her now bound hands between them and wiggled her fingers.
“You do realize you’ve probably ruined this?”
“I don’t think you’ll mind.” He grabbed the fabric between her wrists and hoisted her hands up over his head to encircle his neck.
She couldn’t hold back the smile.
He wrestled her shorts and panties down her hips. She laughed and didn’t help much, though her squirming made it easier to wrestle them out from under her and down her legs. He let them fall on the floor while grinning at her.
Dangerous Connections (Aegis Group Book 9) Page 23
