by Cassie Cole
I glanced back at Logan in the row behind us. He shared a private smile with me while Hunter pulled his pants back up.
My smile faded as I turned around. Logan and I had slept together. When should I tell Hunter and Cairo? Did I even need to? It’s not like they were my boyfriends.
That’s exactly what it feels like.
We’d hooked up after the club, but we’d been spending a lot of time together since then. We’d exchanged silly texts while we were apart. And now we were all back together, and it felt like coming home to a boyfriend after a summer apart.
What am I supposed to do?
We landed at another small runway outside of the Spanish capital, rather than Madrid Barajas International. A cluster of Americans in suits were waiting by a car on the runway. Logan talked to them while the rest of us gathered our stuff off the plane.
“I’ve been thinking,” Cairo said.
“About what?”
“About where I’m going to take you on our first date.”
I frowned. “Didn’t we already go on a first date? The tapas restaurant, right before having your apartment blown up?”
“That doesn’t count,” Cairo explained. “That was a group date. I want to take you out, just the two of us.”
“Sounds fun.”
“Hey!” Hunter protested. “If you get a date then I want one too.”
“I’ll go on a date with you too,” I said. “Cairo can buy me dinner tonight, and you’ll take me out tomorrow.”
“Aww man. Why’s he get to go first?”
I smiled sweetly at the cute blond SEAL. “Because he asked me first.”
“If I knew that’s how this worked…”
“You snooze, you lose,” Cairo said. Hunter shoved him playfully.
Logan turned away from the suited men, who were returning to their car. “Cairo! You’re with me. We’re going shopping. Hunter, you’re escorting Karen to the safe house.”
Cairo groaned. Hunter put his arm around me and said, “Oh baby! How the tables have turned, huh bro?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Cairo grabbed the back of my head and pulled me into a quick, hard kiss. He pulled away, winked one of his golden eyes, and then strolled across the tarmac.
“Show off,” Hunter muttered.
Logan joined us and said, “The driver has the coordinates. A CIA agent will be waiting. The code phrase is No, I never did like wearing a mask.”
“I never did like wearing a mask?” Hunter mumbled.
“Can I have my SIM card back now?” I asked.
“Nope. Now, more than ever, we need radio silence.” He made a fist and gave me one of those slow, condescending jabs across the face. Like a punch in slow motion. “Keep your chin up. This’ll all be over soon.”
I watched his muscular shape follow Cairo to their car, then Hunter and I got into ours.
We rode into the city in the back of a taxi. Hunter pulled out his pistol and held it alongside his thigh as if he expected us to be attacked along the way, but we arrived at our destination without issue. We slung our bags over our shoulder and looked at the building. It was a French restaurant.
“Is this like the cafe?” I asked. “There’s a secret bunker room inside?”
“Fuck if I know.”
A Spaniard walked by us, stopped, and turned around. “You two are tourists, yes? Here for the festival? It’s a bit like Halloween, with masks and costumes.”
“Mind your own business, bro.”
I jabbed Hunter in the ribs and then said, “No, I never did like wearing a mask.”
The Spaniard—who was a CIA agent—nodded. “This way.”
He led us around the side of the restaurant to a basement door, slanted toward the wall and leading into the ground. The kind a girl from Kansas would use to seek shelter in her basement during a tornado. The CIA agent unlocked an old padlock and opened the door, revealing a swath of darkness. We followed him into the depths, the temperature dropping with each step.
He yanked on a lightbulb cord hanging from the ceiling, filling the room with yellow light. The basement was dank and oppressive, the concrete floors covered in a layer of grime. A stained mattress was folded against the wall in one corner. It smelled like every breath I took filled my lungs with mold spores.
“No,” I said. “This is not where I’m staying.”
The CIA agent grunted. “You’re right.” He opened a door off the side, revealing a ladder which disappeared vertically into a black tunnel. “Up you go.”
Eager to get out of the dank basement, I grabbed the rungs and began climbing first. Hunter followed a moment later.
“The view in here is nice, at least.”
I was about to tell him it was almost pitch black when I realized he was staring up at my ass. I paused and swung my foot, giving him a soft kick on the side of the head.
“Ow!”
“Oops,” I said innocently.
The ladder ended in a tiny, coffin-like room. I felt around until I discovered a doorknob.
It opened into an apartment kitchen, just like the tunnel that exited into Jack’s apartment in Barcelona. A modern kitchen apartment, with butcher-block countertops and white subway tile walls. The stainless steel appliances looked more like what you would see in a brand new house in the United States, not a flat in the middle of a European capital city.
The hallway led past two bedrooms, each with a pair of double beds inside. The living room was small, but nice. However, at the end of the hall was something strange. What should have been the front door was boarded up with planks of wood. Underneath, where I could see the door inside the frame, the entire edge was sealed with caulk. I ran my finger along it, confused.
“Only way into the safe house is through that basement ladder,” the CIA guy said. “The walls are soundproofed. Nobody will know you’re in here unless you stick your head out the window and make a ruckus.”
He stared at me as if waiting for a response. “I, uh, won’t do that,” I said. Only then did he nod.
“Good. Have a nice stay. Be sure to leave us a five-star review on Google and Yelp. Close the hatch behind me.”
He climbed back down the ladder. Hunter lowered a hatch door, which closed heavily over the ladder. When he turned a wheel on the top, it sealed shut.
I took my bag and dropped it on one of the beds. It felt soft enough. This place wasn’t as luxurious as Sofia’s palace or my hotel suite in Mallorca, but it was still very nice. Which was good since it might be my home for a few more days before I headed back to my actual home.
“At least I got half a day in Mallorca,” I muttered.
“You’re gonna be cramped on that double bed.”
I turned to find Hunter grinning in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.
“Oh, I think there’s plenty of room.”
“Maybe if we snuggle up close.” His smile deepened.
“You missed me that much, huh?”
He strolled into the room. “Well, our CIA brother did say the walls are soundproof. We might as well test that claim. Just in case.”
He slowly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I smiled up into his beautiful face. He felt really good right now.
“And if the others arrive?” I said. “They’ll be stuck at the hatch, banging to be let in.”
Hunter kissed me, slow and wet and sweet. “Then they can wait.”
“And if the CLF—”
“Them too.”
He kissed me harder, pushing me back until I fell to the bed. Our clothes were off before I could even think about it. Hunter’s fingers found my sex sopping wet, and rubbed my outer lips in a circle that drove me wild.
“Been thinking about this for days,” he said as he sank into me. All of my worries disappeared as he filled me, and covered my body with his, corded muscle glistening in the light streaming through the window.
We made love slowly on the sheets, with passionate, wet, deep kisses. Hunter moved in between my legs
like a boat rocking on slow waves, and although I ached for him to fuck me harder it was the exact kind of lovemaking I needed to relax. Like a sensual massage, except instead of aromatic candles I had Hunter’s wonderful musk filling my nose.
I rolled him over so that I was on top, straddling his groin. He put his hands behind his head and grinned as I rode him into the soft sheets, savoring the way the beautiful SEAL’s body looked underneath mine. It was like a painting, with just the right amount of shading and tone. He looked too-perfect. If I wasn’t on top of him, touching him, fucking him, I would have sworn it wasn’t real.
I moved my hips faster on his manhood. I was nearing my climax, and based on the focus on his pretty face I thought he was too. I ran my fingers over his chest, making love to him with all of my senses.
He sat up, taking me in his arms while remaining underneath me. We kissed once, and then both of us were crying out with intense ecstasy as our two bodies ground together like mortar and pestle, and when I screamed I did so loudly and without fear that anyone could hear me.
42
Karen
“I’ve changed my mind,” I said.
Hunter rolled his head down to look at me. We were blissfully nude on top of the sheets, my head resting in the crook of his arm.
“Oh?”
“This safe house is much better than Sofia’s palace.”
“On account of it not being blown up?”
“On account of the company.” I poked him in the ribs, then scratched my fingernails along his side and up his chest, rolling a leg over his body so I could look up at his face as I cupped it in my hand. “A hovel with a handsome man is better than a palace alone.”
“Hah!” he said. “I’ll be sure to tell Logan that.”
I flinched. Shit. I needed to tell him about Logan. I wouldn’t feel right until he—and Cairo—knew.
“Hey,” I said in a softer tone. “I need to tell you something.”
“Is it that I’m the best you’ve ever had?” he said, fingers tracing lines through my hair. “Because if not, I’ll be ready to change your mind in about five minutes.”
“I slept with Logan.”
The fingers in my hair stopped moving.
“Are you forreal?”
“Yes,” I said in a rush. “We had some chemistry at the palace, and then I left because I was frustrated and annoyed, and he followed me to Mallorca and, well, it just sort of happened.”
Hunter sat up in bed, so I did the same. His huge back muscles flexed as he arched his back like a cat.
“Fucking nice.”
“Is…” I studied his face. “Is that sarcasm? Are you upset?”
“Hell no, babe.” He gave me a kiss and grinned. “Cairo, Logan, and I are a team. We trust each other with our lives. We already share everything: food, water, shelter. It’s not a stretch to share a girl, too.”
I sighed with relief. I wasn’t sure how he would react, but I definitely hadn’t expected this.
“Plus,” he said, “now the LC can’t lord it over us for sleeping with you after the club! No more judgmental leverage from the big dog.”
“Well, as long as my sexual activity makes your life easier.”
He kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks, babe. You hungry?”
The kitchen was stocked with plenty of food. Even perishables like eggs, milk, butter, and ground beef. The mental image of the CIA agent hauling groceries up the ladder made me laugh.
We were arguing over whether to make juevos rancheros or pasta when the phone in the kitchen rang.
Both of us jumped. It was an old style wall phone, shaped like a fat banana with a pig-tail cord hanging underneath. It was an anachronism, something I hadn’t even noticed before now.
It rang again, an ancient, chiming sound.
Hunter strolled to it and lifted it carefully, as if he expected it to trigger a bomb. He raised the cheap plastic to his ear. “Hello?”
He blinked twice, then hung up.
“Wrong number?” I asked.
He opened the door to the not-pantry and then turned the wheel of the hatch. Moments later Cairo’s chiseled frame appeared, amber eyes glowing as he emerged from the darkness.
“Hey girl,” he said, leaning his hand against the wall. “You come here often?”
“First time, actually.”
Logan playfully shoved the SEAL out of the way and looked around. “This is a nice place. Smaller than Jack’s, but comfortable.”
I cleared my throat. “There are beds in the other room.”
I couldn’t help but think about our sleeping arrangements. Would any of them get jealous, or possessive? Demand I sleep with them? I hadn’t seen Cairo in a few days, so I would understand if he was antsy to be with me. The look he’d given me certainly said as much.
But then another, more tantalizing thought floated across my head: what about all three of them?
I tingled with the mere thought of it. I’d been with Hunter and Cairo at the same time already. Would Logan be up for joining us? Would the others?
For that matter, would I?
I’d had threesomes before, but that was the upper limit of my sexual adventure. Two guys at the same time was a partner and a buddy. Three guys at once felt far more scandalous.
It is more scandalous, I thought.
Hunter grinned at me from across the kitchen as if he knew what I was thinking. A smile which held a lot of potential.
Logan poked his head around the corner of the kitchen. “Karen. Can I borrow you a sec?”
I followed him down the hall to the front door. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it up. “This is for you.” It was a thin chain necklace, with a heart-shaped pendant hanging in the middle. I turned around so he could drape it around my neck, then flipped out my hair so the chain rested against the back of my neck.
“Logan…” I said. I was surprised and touched and didn’t know what to say.
He held up his phone. “There’s a tracker in the pendant. In case anything happens, we’ll know where you are.”
“Oh. And here I thought you were giving me a gift.” I could feel my cheeks reddening with embarrassment.
Logan’s lips twitched in a half-smile. “A woman like you deserves real jewelry. When I give you a gift, it will be much nicer than this.”
“Do you think it’s necessary? I thought this was a safe house.”
“I don’t know what to think anymore,” he admitted. “We’ve followed every precaution and protocol along the way and somehow the CLF has followed us. No more taking chances. Not with your life.”
He cupped my chin and stroked my cheek with his thumb. The look in his eyes told me I had nothing to worry about. That he would always keep me safe.
It was impossible not to believe him.
His thumb left a warm spot on my skin as he left me. “Don’t get comfortable. We’re heading out.”
“What?” I said. Cairo stepped into the hall and looked crestfallen.
“We’ve got our mission orders,” Logan announced. “You’re on your own, Karen.”
43
Cairo
I moved like a mannequin, stiff and mindless, as I changed clothes and gathered my gear. I’d been hoping for another day with Karen before we were sent out. At least a night together.
Nope. We were leaving now.
I didn’t even get a chance to give her a private goodbye. Just a quick hug while she told me to, “Stay safe.” Then I was climbing back down the long ladder into the basement. When Karen closed the hatch above us and sealed it shut, it felt like rejection.
It felt like the last time I would ever see her.
Hunter clapped me on the back in the basement. “Smell that?”
“What, the mold?”
He stood closer to me. “My pheromones.”
I didn’t smell anything, but I could tell from the silly grin on his face what he meant. “Aww man. Really?”
“Yep.”
I wasn
’t jealous of him for having some private time with Karen, but I was annoyed by the situation. I was hoping to see her more. The only reason I didn’t get to was because Logan had picked Hunter to escort Karen to the safe house instead of me.
I tried not to glare at Logan’s back as we climbed the steps into daylight.
I was brooding during the drive across town. Hunter was pumped up.
“About fucking time,” he said, pounding the ceiling of the car. “We’re getting some action!”
“Yep.”
“No more sitting on our asses! We’re gonna fuck some terrorists up!”
The vein on his neck stood out as he bobbed his head in time with music only he could hear. He was always a ball of energy, but more than ever in the time right before a mission.
“The briefing is with Madrid PD,” Logan said. “We’ll be coordinating with them.”
“Don’t care who we work with, so long as we get to kick some ass.” He shoved me in the shoulder. “Come on man. Aren’t you anxious to let Ariel out of her cage?”
“You know it, buddy,” I said.
We pulled into a parking garage behind the station and went in through the back door. There was an eerie silence in the large building. It was as if everyone had suddenly vanished. The place was deserted.
We found everyone in a central conference room, large enough to hold 200 people. A man who I assumed was the chief of police stood at a podium addressing all the officers within. The three of us slung our gear bags over our shoulders and stood at the back of the room to listen.
But there wasn’t anything to listen to, because he had just finished his speech. Everyone began filing out of the room while we walked along the wall to get to the front. The chief grinned widely when he saw Logan.
“Lieutenant Commander Carpenter?” His English wasn’t good, but it was understandable. He shook Logan’s hand. “I am so pleased to have you here. Come. You’re late, but I give you a quick overview of what you missed, yes?”
He led us to a map of Madrid. Hundreds of red push-pins dotted the map. “Where will we be striking, sir? We’re eager to hit the CLF where it hurts.”
