Diamonds Are Truly Forever: An Agent Ex Novel
Page 31
“Sam wasn’t all bad. He knew SMASH would hunt him down. But he was cocky enough to think he could escape.”
“Good to know. We’ll put it in our report,” Drew said. “Staci?”
She turned to him and gave him a questioning look.
“I may be a world-class liar, but there’s one thing I’ll never lie about again—I love you. I never stopped. I only let you go because I thought then you’d be safer without me.”
“I can’t live without you, either. We were both crazy, each trying to save the other, and only hurting each other,” Staci said. “My life may be shorter because I’m married to a spy. Or maybe not. But it will definitely be fuller. I love you, Drew.”
Just as Drew bent to kiss her again, a helicopter came out over the water and circled overhead. A beam of light surrounded them from above.
Emmett Nelson’s voice boomed down like God’s. “Good job, men and Staci. Good job. Mission accomplished. Drew, if you’d like your own life raft, for a little privacy Bond-style, that can be arranged.”
Noe snorted and tried to hide his grin.
Drew waved Emmett off. “Emmett has a terrible sense of timing,” he whispered to Staci.
“And an even worse sense of humor. Poor Em,” Staci said and kissed her husband, her real husband.
STINGER
Emmett Nelson smiled and leaned back against the plush leather seat of the helicopter as it headed back to Victoria. He watched the Limit Out burn as they flew over it and felt a sense of satisfaction.
“Missions accomplished,” he whispered to himself.
RIOT hadn’t gotten anything. The Gardener was dead. Sam had sold them a bill of goods and—of all the audacity—stolen it back. Which was why he was so hot on disappearing. Attitude confirmed that it didn’t yet have the technology Sam had conned RIOT into believing he could sell them. Crazy man. He wouldn’t have outrun SMASH for long.
And on the other mission, well, there was a reason the Agency advertised they had an extremely low divorce rate. Emmett never allowed divorce to happen. Never.
Now there was one more thing he needed to do for Staci—bring Jack Pierce back from the dead. That, however, would take a few more months to accomplish.
Read on for an excerpt from Gina Robinson’s next book
LIVE AND LET LOVE
Coming soon from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Willow walked back into the shop slowly, only peripherally aware of Shiloh watching her with an expression of curiosity and mild concern. Willow felt stunned, and stupid for running after a shadow. What had gotten into her?
“Wow, boss, way to chase after a guy,” Shiloh teased. Then she must have seen Willow’s face because she suddenly became serious. “Are you all right? You look pale. Like you just saw a ghost.”
Willow couldn’t stop staring at the door. Jack was dead. Or was he? She wouldn’t put anything past NCS. Either Jack was alive, or she’d just missed her new soul mate. Either way, it was a rotten deal that she’d missed him. “He just disappeared.”
“I didn’t hear a car pull up. He probably came by bicycle.”
“In those clothes?”
Shiloh shrugged. “He sounded European. They ride their bikes everywhere.”
Willow couldn’t let it go. “Did you catch his name?”
“No, sorry.” Shiloh was giving her a knowing smile now. “And before you ask, he paid with cash. No paper trail.”
Willow took a deep breath, already knowing the answer to the question she was about to ask. “Just out of curiosity, what did he buy?”
“Half a dozen Lucky Jacks.”
Lucky Jacks, suspicion confirmed. Dark chocolate salted-caramels had been Jack’s favorite. She’d named them for him. It was awfully coincidental—Jack’s laugh, walk, build, hair, and taste for Lucky Jacks. Though, to be honest, Lucky Jacks were her biggest seller. She couldn’t convict him of being Jack on the basis of his purchase. She shouldn’t even be building a case in the first place.
“Maybe you’ll get lucky, boss, and our Lucky Jacks will draw him back for more. I’d call dibs to wait on him if that happens, but I have a feeling you’d dock my pay.”
Willow shook her head and managed a small smile at Shiloh’s cheek. “We’d better get to work.”
She didn’t want Shiloh thinking she was any crazier than she’d appeared these past few minutes. She couldn’t possibly explain to her how hope foolishly sprang eternal when you loved someone, especially someone in Jack’s profession where knowledge was power and deceit as common as a Washington rainstorm. A profession where someone could pretend to be anything, even deceased.
She shivered and felt the urge to lock the back door. Now. Not that locking the door would keep a spook out. But a girl could try.
* * *
That went well, Jack thought from his hiding place in the bushes.
This mission was going to kill him. He now knew his exact reaction to seeing Willow’s shapely backside in the flesh—tight, clutching lust. Longing that made him ache to touch her. Dangerously tender feelings he thought he’d buried so deeply they’d never resurface.
Damn.
Willow was the only woman who’d ever rattled him. She said it was because they were soul mates. He wasn’t the romantic type. He’d never believed in things like star-crossed lovers. But he couldn’t deny that his connection with Willow still posed a clear and present danger to his mission and her life.
How was he going to face her at the party without giving himself away?
Jack was shaken and stirred—a bad, and potentially lethal, combination for an assassin spy. He had a targeted-killing to carry out. He needed to keep his head in the game.
Given what he did for a living, people would accuse him of having no conscience. Hell, he didn’t issue the killing-commands. He merely carried out orders.
But the way he saw it, he had plenty of conscience. If he failed this mission, the Rooster would assassinate more of his fellow agents over the course of his career. He and RIOT would attack the G8 emergency summit, killing diplomats and innocent civilians. Women. Children. Old people. Young people in their prime. People with nothing more than living their everyday lives on their minds. People who had no chance of fighting back or defending themselves.
Jack was their self-defense. They were on his conscience.
He dashed from the bushes, slid into his car, and took a bite of caramel. He’d rather be licking it off Willow’s body, like he used to. Now that was heaven. He shouldn’t have ordered his favorite. That was careless. And yet, he was touched. She’d named the candy after him—the Lucky Jack. He wished he could have been sarcastic about it, but he was damn lucky. He’d survived that blast and lived to see Willow one more time.
He took another bite and stuck his keys in the ignition. The engine turned over. He put the car in drive.
She’d come charging out of the store looking for him. Looking disappointed and frustrated. She suspected something. The Sense reacting to him? Or was he still, new looks and all, just a little too familiar, even from the back?
Yeah, he’d seen her gawking at his ass and assessing his walk as he strode away. That’s what rearview sunglasses were for.
He grinned at a memory of Willow. She always claimed you could judge a man by the way he moved. She loved a cocky walk. His had a limp in it now.
None of it mattered. They couldn’t be together again.
First he had to meet his “cousin.” Then he planned to head over to Kennett Orchards and u-pick a box of apples as he scoped the place out and looked for his opportunity to strike. Jack was trained in a hundred different ways to kill. He just needed to know how to pick his poison. Literally.
ALSO BY GINA ROBINSON
The Spy Who Left Me
Praise for Gina Robinson’s
THE SPY WHO LEFT ME
“Punctuated with Bond-worthy downhill car and bike chases and near-death surfing parties, Robinson’s clever concoction of lust and longing is a refreshing
tropical cocktail.”
—Publishers Weekly
“At times laugh-out-loud funny, Robinson’s foray into the world of James Bond has its poignant side, assuring that readers will be back for more.”
—Booklist
“This first Agent Ex novel is good, old-fashioned fun. Full of laughter, intrigue, and, of course, steamy spies, it’s a great weekend escape. Robinson knows how to balance a book with lighthearted romps and serious romance.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Mystery, mayhem, sexy spies, and lots of laughter. Gina Robinson writes a damn good book!”
—Award-winning author Christie Craig
… and her other sizzling spy novels
SPY CANDY
“Sassy and delightfully entertaining.”
—Beverly Barton, New York Times bestselling author
“Gina Robinson … will leave you craving more.”
—Gerri Russell, author of To Tempt a Knight
“4 stars! Robinson delivers with this excursion to spy camp! With the perfect amount of suspense and humor, this story will stay with readers long after the book is over.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“Gina Robinson’s debut novel has everything you’d want in a terrific story: intrigue, action, great characters, and realistic dialogue.”
—ParanormalRomance.org
“A really fun book … from a great new author … delicious in so many ways … I can’t wait to see what Gina comes up with next.”
—CraveMoreRomance.com
“Robinson’s first romance is a hilarious thrill ride filled with plenty of spy references and spoofs that will keep the reader delightfully entertained and looking forward to her next book.”
—Booklist
“Lots of action … plenty of hot, sexy, yummy guys … The next time I am in the mood for something filling that I can sink my teeth into, I am going to read a Gina Robinson book. Gina Robinson is on fire.”
—ManicReaders.com
SPY GAMES
“Fast, snappy, and cute.”
—Susan Andersen, New York Times bestselling author
“4 stars! Robinson delivers an entertaining story of stalking, spying, secret identities, and hidden agendas.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“Gina Robinson will take you off on a journey that will excite you and keep you on the edge of your seat.”
—TheBigThrill.org
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gina Robinson has always been a storyteller—just ask her parents. An avid book lover, she grew up reading romance, mysteries, and suspense novels but, somehow, ended up majoring in Electrical Engineering at school. After marrying her college sweetheart, she began to write—software—for several large defense contractors. Eventually Gina gave up the glamorous engineering life for the equally glamorous life of a stay-at-home mom, somehow finding time to write a novel about villains with guns, handsome strangers, and mail-order brides. The book won several awards for unpublished manuscripts but, so far, remains unpublished. Her first published novels, Spy Candy and Spy Games, received rave reviews, establishing Gina Robinson as one of today’s most exciting new authors of romantic suspense.
You can visit her website at www.ginarobinson.com
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DIAMONDS ARE TRULY FOREVER
Copyright © 2012 by Gina Robinson.
Excerpt from Live and Let Love copyright © 2012 by Gina Robinson.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN: 9781466814578
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / June 2012
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.