Stealth

by Janie Crouch

  They joined the crowd, talking and mingling with different people. Sophia received multiple compliments on the dress, which she barely acknowledged. And she absolutely hated the way Smith had nodded with approval when he had seen her in it. She didn’t think Cameron noticed. He was busy thinking like an agent.

  “I wish I had facial-recognition software here, or at least a camera,” Cameron grumbled as they moved through more people. “I know there are people here that Omega should be aware are associates of Smith’s. But I’m pretty useless.”

  “I might be able to help a little bit,” Sophia told him. “Obviously I can’t remember everyone, but if you see a few people who you want to remember, I can study them and draw them later.”

  “Really?” Cameron smiled down at her. “That would be unbelievably helpful.”

  Finally something Sophia could do that would be helpful. Good. She was tired of feeling like an albatross.

  She and Cameron wandered around chatting, watching Smith and who he interacted with. As Cameron would signal to her about a certain person to remember, Sophia would do her best to memorize features. Sophia felt so much more comfortable doing that than trying to convince Smith she knew some secret information about some computer virus or whatever. Studying people, remembering features, drawing them, even days or weeks later—that she could do.

  But Sophia definitely didn’t like the way Smith would look at her whenever he could meet her eyes. As if he owned her.

  The veiled malevolence in Smith’s eyes wouldn’t be easy to capture in a drawing. Sophia hoped she never had to try. She didn’t even want to think about tomorrow when she wasn’t able to put in any sort of password.

  What had Smith said? That she would beg for death before she finally died? Amazing how that would sound so melodramatic under any other circumstances, but sounded so credible coming from Smith. Glancing at him again across the room Sophia could easily imagine he knew many ways to make someone beg for death.

  Sophia could feel nausea pooling again in her stomach.

  “You doing okay?” Cameron whispered.

  “Smith.” She gestured toward the older man with a tilt of her head. “He makes me nervous.”

  “If he keeps looking at you like that, things might get ugly around here really quick,” Cameron said.

  Sophia shivered. “I know. Can we just get out of here? Do we have to stay for the entire evening?”

  “No. We don’t have to stay. As a matter of fact, I think I have an even better plan than staying here.” Cameron smiled at her in a way that made Sophia’s insides start to melt.

  Sophia swallowed hard. The only options were basically staying here or going back to the bedroom. Was that what Cameron wanted?

  Sophia knew that was what she wanted. If there was one thing she had learned from this whole…adventure, it was that you never knew how many days you had left. Especially when someone waited in the wings looking for an excuse to kill you.

  She hadn’t made love with Cameron five years ago because she thought she’d had all the time in the world. That ended up not being true. She wouldn’t make the same mistake now, especially when tomorrow hung so very precariously in the balance.

  Sophia smiled up at Cameron. “Okay, I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

  He reached down and squeezed her hand. “All right, we should stay here a little bit longer, then we can start to make our way out as inconspicuously as possible.”

  His smile took her breath away. Sophia never thought she could feel this way in a situation like this. Just for tonight she wasn’t going to worry about tomorrow. Because she didn’t even know if she’d have a tomorrow.

  Cameron subtly started angling them toward one of the doors. They spoke briefly with a few people as they made their way out and Cameron stopped to tell Fin they were leaving. She noticed Cameron awkwardly bump into Fin when a waiter came by. Cameron apologized, but Fin stormed off to the other end of the room. Obviously Fin was still mad at them for getting him in trouble with Mr. Smith. Sophia was glad when they didn’t go anywhere near Mr. Smith to say their goodbyes; he was busy talking to other people anyway.

  Once they made it out of the main room, Sophia finally felt as if she could breathe without panic pushing at her chest. She just wanted to get back to the room.

  Cameron wrapped an arm around her and hugged her to his side. “Thank you for doing this.”

  Okay, odd. “Um, you’re welcome.”

  “We’re not going to have much time, so we’ll need to hurry.”

  Now Sophia was really confused. “Why? Are you expecting them to come barging into our bedroom?”

  “No,” Cameron told her as he walked quickly with her down the hallway. “I mean breaking into Smith’s office while everyone’s at the party to see if we can find Ghost Shell.”

  * * *

  SOPHIA HAD SOME sort of strange look on her face and Cameron couldn’t blame her. Not with the way Smith had been looking at her all evening. Cameron didn’t blame Soph for wanting to get out of there.

  Cameron had that itchy feeling on the back of his neck all evening—the one that told him things were not going the way he’d planned. He didn’t get the feeling very often, but over the years, first as a US Army Ranger then as an undercover agent, he had learned to pay attention to it.

  Things were about to take a turn for the worse.

  During this party, while everybody was occupied, was the best time to try to get into Smith’s office and get Ghost Shell. Once they had that, Cameron could get Sophia out, on foot if he had to.

  The more time he spent with her, the more he was coming to realize how much she meant to him. He wanted to get this case finished as soon as possible. And he could admit Sophia was his primary reason for that.

  He wanted to be with her outside of this lunatic situation. Cameron glanced at Sophia as they walked down the hall. The strange look was gone. Now she seemed focused and determined to get the job done. Her grit was downright sexy.

  But hell, everything about her was sexy. Especially in that almost-backless dress she was wearing. Cameron hated that Smith had picked it out, but had to admit Smith’s choice was flawless.

  They quietly made their way back to the locked door of Smith’s office. Cameron pulled out a swipe card for the lock and held it up. He had taken it from Fin a few minutes ago when he had bumped into him. “Not a good day for Fin. We’re probably going to get him fired.”

  Sophia snickered. “My heart breaks for him.”

  Cameron closed the door behind them but left it cracked just a little so they could get out quickly if they needed to.

  “Okay, so what exactly are we looking for?” Sophia asked him as she made her way over to the desk. Cameron was right behind her.

  “Ghost Shell is an external hard drive. The encryption device contains too much data to fit on anything too small, so it’s about the size of a hardback book.”

  Sophia pulled out the desk chair, sat down and began searching through drawers on one side of the desk. Cameron began looking around a wall of bookshelves.

  “It’s not going to be in a drawer just out in the open,” Cameron said softly. “I saw Smith looking over at this wall earlier when we were talking about Ghost Shell. There must be a safe.”

  Cameron continued to look around the wall, but couldn’t find anything. Every minute they were in this office put them in more danger. He quickly joined Sophia at the desk and started to feel around. He ran his hands along the sides of it then under the writing surface. Sure enough, a button lay hidden in the corner. No one would ever know it was there unless they were looking for it.

  “I’ve got it.” Cameron pressed the button and watched as one panel of books began to move.

  They both saw it at the same time. A lamp that had been placed in front of the panel to make
it less conspicuous.

  “Cam, the lamp!”

  Sophia and Cameron both dived for it, but were too late. The lamp fell to the floor with a loud crash.

  Damn.

  The crash seemed deafening in the otherwise silent room. All color drained from Sophia’s face.

  “What do we do?” She looked around frantically.

  Was it possible that nobody had heard the lamp fall? In the party nobody would have heard it, but was anyone nearby? Cameron held his breath, then cursed when he heard a door open down the hall. Someone was coming, blocking their only route of escape.

  It was too late to get them anywhere safe. Cameron looked at Sophia, who was watching him with a fully panicked look in her eyes.

  Cameron burst into a flurry of activity. He pushed the button to close the panel in front of the safe, then quickly picked up the lamp that had fallen to the hardwood floor—thankfully, it hadn’t broken—and put it back on the shelf in front of the closed panel.

  He grabbed a crystal vase that rested on the desk and put it on the floor. Sophia just watched him, not understanding at all what he was trying to do.

  She looked even more shocked when he began unbuttoning his dress shirt, pulling it from where it was tucked into his pants. Then he lifted her by the waist and set her on the desk. Before Sophia could ask what he was doing, Cameron climbed on top of the desk and began kissing her.

  Cameron peeled her dress as far down one shoulder as it would go, baring a great deal of skin. He threaded his fingers in her hair and pushed her back fully on the desk. He pulled up one of her legs and hooked it around his waist and slid his hand over her breast, grabbing it roughly.

  He heard Sophia whimper against his mouth in protest of the hard kiss and felt her pull her torso away from him. Cameron opened his eyes to find her wide green eyes staring at him.

  She was frightened.

  Cameron stopped immediately. He couldn’t stand that look in her eyes. True, Cameron was trying to put on a show for whoever was about to come through that door, but this was Sophia. He didn’t want her frightened of being close to him.

  He brought his hand back up to stroke her cheek. He leaned his weight on his elbows and gazed gently down at her.

  “Sorry, baby,” he whispered, and stroked her cheek once more. “Let’s try this again, slower. Kiss me.”

  This time Cameron brought his lips gently down to hers. He teased her bottom lip with his nipping little kisses, then gave the same attention to the upper one. He heard Sophia sigh and watched as her eyes closed.

  Cameron deepened the kiss as Sophia responded. Her arms came up and wrapped around his neck. A knot of need twisted in him as he drew her closer.

  Cameron tried to remind himself that this was all an act, that any moment now someone from DS-13 would walk through the door and have to believe that the only thing going on in here was hot sex. But as he kissed Sophia again he realized that there was no acting about it.

  This time when Cameron’s hand moved onto her beautiful body again it was because he couldn’t stop himself, not because he wanted to put on any sort of show. Cameron shifted so he could get closer to Sophia. She moaned and held on to him, her fingers threading through his hair.

  Just a few moments later the door to the office flew open and the lights flipped on.

  It was Rick. Damn it. And he had his weapon in his hand.

  “What the hell are you doing in here?”

  Cameron subtly shifted so he was blocking more of Sophia from Rick’s view.

  “What the hell does it look like we’re doing, Rick? Get out.”

  But Rick wasn’t backing down. “You’re not supposed to be in here.”

  Cameron decided to try a different route. “Dude, we’re just having a little fun in the boss’s room. You know, a little danger.” He gave Rick a knowing grin. “Capiche?”

  Rick’s dark eyes narrowed. Cameron didn’t know what the younger man was going to do. If Rick decided to get Mr. Smith, things would become much more complicated.

  “Let me off this desk.” Sophia pushed out from under him. “I told you we should just go back to the room, jackass.”

  Sophia wiggled completely out from under him and straightened her dress over her body, but not before Rick caught a glimpse of some tantalizing flesh, Cameron was sure. She looked over at Rick without flinching. “What’s the matter with you, never seen a woman before?” she snapped at him with a jutting chin. She turned to Cam. “Can we please go back to the room now? I don’t like having an audience. At least, not him.”

  Cameron watched as Sophia began to walk toward the door. Whatever suspicions Rick had were obviously lost as he looked at Sophia with cruel lust in his eyes.

  Rick grabbed her arm as she walked by. “Maybe you and I will get our turn soon.” Cameron could see Sophia wince, but he didn’t intervene.

  Fighting a man with a gun in his hand would not work out well for any of them. Plus, it would be completely out of character for Cam Cameron. Instead, Cameron leaned down and put the vase he’d set on the floor earlier back on the desk.

  “Yeah, I don’t think so.” Sophia all but spat the words.

  Rick grabbed her other arm and pulled her up against him fully. “We’ll see about that.”

  Cameron walked over casually. “All right, Romeo, that’s enough. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  Rick smirked, but he stepped back so they could get through the doorway.

  Cameron wasn’t sure what Rick’s weird smile was all about, but he wasn’t sticking around to find out. They had dodged a bullet, literally and figuratively. Cameron grabbed Sophia’s arm and they made their escape.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  As they reached their room, Cameron signaled for Sophia to wait right inside the door. The bug was still there. It was time to get rid of that thing.

  He just hoped that Rick would keep his mouth shut about seeing them. Cameron supposed it was possible. The way Sophia had shunned Rick, he probably wouldn’t want to announce that to anyone very soon.

  Frustration gnawed in Cameron’s gut. They had been so close to finding Ghost Shell. If they had just had a few more minutes—and if that stupid lamp hadn’t fallen—he could’ve cracked the safe. Then he could’ve gotten Sophia, and the device, out of here.

  Which was what was best, Cameron knew. But after what happened on the desk, Cameron was torn between wanting her to go and wanting her to stay.

  Basically just plain wanting her.

  He wanted her still. It was physical, definitely, the desire he had for her. But after the way she’d totally kept it together over the past forty-eight hours, it was more than that. Cameron found himself realizing that Sophia had courage and backbone, things he never knew she had. He suspected she never knew she possessed those qualities, either.

  And her strengths were so very attractive to him. Everything about her was becoming more and more attractive to him.

  And the way she had kissed him back on the desk… There was definitely an attraction and it was definitely affecting both of them. And Cameron planned to do something about it.

  But first they needed to talk. That definitely could not happen with the bug still in the room. Cameron walked over to the tray. Sophia stood just inside the door, seeming unsure as to what she should do.

  Cameron took the tray and set it on the floor out in the hallway, closing the door again behind him. He signaled for Sophia to remain quiet as he got out his Omega equipment and made sure no other bugs had been placed in the room while they were gone.

  None. Finally, a break.

  “Now we can talk.” Cameron didn’t speak at full volume, but at least they didn’t have to speak in low tones.

  “Won’t they wonder about the tray?”

  “I’ll tell them there w
as a funny smell and it was bugging me.”

  Sophia smiled crookedly. “Okay.”

  “Are you all right?” Cameron walked over to her, stopping just short of touching her.

  “Do you mean in general or after what just happened?”

  “Both, I guess. But specifically I was referring to what happened a few minutes ago.”

  Sophia shook her head. “You mean Rick? I guess I shouldn’t have egged him on. But I couldn’t help it. That guy gives me the creeps.”

  “Yeah, no kidding. Rick definitely has a cruel side.” Cameron saw Sophia shudder. “But I was actually talking about what happened between you and me. On the desk.”

  Sophia took a step back from Cameron, then turned and walked over to the bed, sitting down on the edge. She didn’t speak for a long moment. “Don’t worry about it, Cam. I understand.”

  “Well, explain it to me, because I don’t understand.” Cameron didn’t like the way she was looking down, as if she was too embarrassed to make eye contact with him.

  “At the desk, you were undercover. You thought fast. It was a good plan, and it worked. It seemed to fool Rick.”

  “Sophia—”

  “I get it, Cam, I really do. It was like earlier when I came out of the bathroom and you kissed me. Again, smart, quick thinking on your part. You probably saved our lives.”

  She looked up at him then, and shrugged her shoulders wearily. Cameron most distinctly did not like what he saw in her eyes: wariness, embarrassment, resignation. He walked closer to her, but she held out an arm to stop him.

  “There’s no need to keep up the pretense now, Cam. There’s no bug in the room or creep coming down the hall about to catch us where we’re not supposed to be.”

  Sophia stood up. “I’m going to take another bath, okay?”

  Cameron had heard enough. He strode purposely over to Sophia and threaded both his hands into her hair. He tilted her head back so he could look directly into her eyes. A shocked sound came out of her throat at his sudden movement.