by Amy McKinley
Good. Jamal or one of his men would think the store was safe and that I wasn’t doing anything more than shopping. “They shouldn’t be in again.” I clasped her hands in mine. “Please try not to worry, but I need you to do something for me and not to speak of it if asked.”
“Of course. Anything.”
I knew she would have my back, as her store had been in dire straits until I’d intervened. “Please gather and ring up a week’s worth of new clothes for both Lily and me, and then I need you to bring mine to the dressing room as if I’m trying them on. Then take some out and bring more, as if I’m busy shopping.”
“As if you are in there?” Her brows furrowed, and she smoothed her hair while her gaze darted around.
“Maria, it’ll be fine. No one will suspect a thing. I’m going to slip out the back for a few minutes while you have the dressing room door open.” It would block my escape and subsequent reentry.
“Let’s start with these shirts.” I gathered a few and brought them back to the changing room. She followed and chatted as if everything was normal. I hung the tops as she looked inside and then slipped away. I heard the click of the dressing room door as I snuck out the back. Jamal wouldn’t have seen the door—we kept it hidden by a large dumpster out back, and both inside and out, boxes blocked the area. There was a very narrow space I could maneuver through.
I didn’t have long. Keegan was in the recessed alcove I’d indicated yesterday. I snuck behind him with care, making enough noise for him to hear me. My heart fluttered as it always did around him. As a girl, I’d had such a crush on him. Then there was our single night together, when I’d managed to elude Ahmed while he was in meetings. Keegan had ruined me for all others, not that there would be any.
Has he found the locket yet?
“What’s wrong?” Keegan growled.
Those green eyes of his burned into me, harvesting my secrets. I shrugged, concentrating on moving languidly, but it didn’t matter because he already knew. With care, he edged my shirt away from my neck to bare my shoulder and the bruising that marred it. I stepped back, even though I would have preferred to lean into his touch. “It’s nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like nothing, Kara.”
“You of all people should understand.” I waited for his reluctant nod. “None of that matters, though. What does is Lily. Come tonight. I’ll leave the third window on the ground floor, east side and to the rear, unlocked. There will not be an alarm. The guards are on a seven-minute rotation. Eleven o’clock. Show her what I gave you, and she’ll go without a fuss.”
“What you gave me?”
Men. “I hid my locket in your pocket the day I stabbed you. Lily will know it’s from me.” Both exasperated and nervous, I shook my head. “You’re slipping.”
“I did find that, and you’d stabbed me. I chose not to retaliate.” He pressed his mouth into a hard line.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Like you could’ve.” I chuckled under my breath. “Ahmed is meeting with Hugo tonight, and I’m worried about the possibility of my father hurting Lily, or me in front of her.” I jerked forward a half step, barely stopping myself from touching him. I needed the connection, the assurance he would help us. “Get her out, Keegan. Take her to Samir.”
“I don’t like you there. Come with me when I get Lily.” He lifted a piece of my dark hair and rubbed it between his thumb and index finger.
My concentration wavered, and I swayed toward him. I couldn’t leave yet. “No. I need to make sure Ahmed is occupied, that Lily can get away safely.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Me neither, but it’s what we have to do. I won’t risk him stopping her escape or worse. Take Andrea with you too.”
“The nanny? Will she be in the same room?”
“The same wing. Andrea will help to calm Lily. I’ll tell her I need her to stay close. She’ll understand because I’ve shared with her that I’m to sit in on a meeting I’m not comfortable with.” I hesitated. I would have told her, but the worry that she would let it slip to Ahmed was real. “She won’t know about the plans for tonight.”
Seconds ticked by, and I fought the urge to shift from foot to foot. He was very intense, and I longed to lean against him, thread my fingers into the soft hair that fell in loose curls around his sinfully attractive face, and once more let him shoulder my fears and pain.
He closed the distance between us and brushed a kiss along my cheek. Awareness and desire hit me hard. I wanted to press myself against him and accept what he would give. It took everything I had not to turn my head and offer my lips. But there was Samir…
“Thank you.” I cupped the side of his jaw, and his stubble teased my skin. “I’ll do everything I can to get what Hugo is bargaining for with Ahmed, but I need you to get Lily out no matter what.”
“If Hugo hasn’t sold the drones to Ahmed yet, my guess is that he will tonight.”
“I’ll handle it. Just promise me one thing.” Too much time had passed, and I needed to get back into the shop and have Jamal or his men see me leaving with bags of clothing. “If you don’t see any of Jamal or Ahmed’s men, I need you to go into this store through the back and take the bags Maria has for Lily. There are clothes in there for her to wear during the extraction.”
“I’ll get her out.” His features hardened. “Then I’ll be back for you.”
15
Keegan
After texting Jack and Hawk, I wove through back alleys until I was far enough away from where Kara and I had been. No one met my gaze, and I tried to tone down the sense of dread that urged me to break into a sprint. The afternoon sun beat down on my bowed head. There wasn’t much farther to go. Two more blocks, and I’d be at the side entrance to the small inn where we were renting a room.
I had to see the locket again. There had been something in her voice that said it was important. Jack had balled up my shirt and tossed it in the bathroom, as there was blood all over it. We’d looked at the pictures, then I’d shoved the necklace back into my pocket. Later, I’d kicked the bloody jeans somewhere. I hoped I hadn’t lost it.
I slipped through the doorway and hurried to our room. It was like stepping into a sauna. The air was thick, stagnant. Before I did anything, I opened the windows. A warm breeze stirred the air, offering some relief.
I dropped the bag of clothes Kara had arranged for me to pick up from the store then got to work. It didn’t take long to locate my jeans in the corner of the room. When my fingers met the small piece of jewelry, I dropped back to the floor. The small gold heart dangled from the chain. With care, I opened it to study the two pictures inside with new eyes. One was of Kara holding a newborn. Wisps of her black hair clung to her neck, and a smile of joy stretched her full lips, transforming her from gorgeous to a goddess.
The other picture was of Lily, and it seemed current, based on what I knew of Kara’s daughter, which wasn’t much more than she was four years old. She looked exactly like her mother with long, black hair and high cheekbones. Her eyes, though, were not Kara’s. My heart rate spiked. Samir’s had a similar shade to Lily’s, but not quite. Those eyes stopped my heart. I knew them. I’d known them forever.
What the hell is going on, Kara?
With the necklace looped over my hand, I covered my face while memories slammed home. Five years dissolved, and I was back in DC, reuniting with Kara after a lifetime.
The bar was dimly lit, and all I wanted to do was drink a whiskey and decompress after the mission we’d completed. At least that was the plan until I saw her beneath the glow of a streetlight. It didn’t take long until she was inside. An airy sundress floated around her long legs. The same long black hair spilled over her shoulders. I wanted to wrap it around my fist. I couldn’t believe she was the same girl who had curled next to me on that ratty mattress on a dusty floor smack in the middle of hell. She’d grown up. Every bit of her was curvy seduction and perfection. My blood heated as I imagined her crawling into my bed. My g
aze crawled over her full deep-red lips and that stunning face, which I’d never fully exorcised from my mind.
She made her way to the bar and placed her order. Her eyes were downcast, reading something on her phone as I stood.
“Ankara,” I murmured loud enough for her to hear me from where I sat in the corner. Not her name, but a nickname that only I’d used on occasion when I’d trained her years prior. It was something no one else knew about, just a made-up connection between us.
For a millisecond, her arm froze, her wineglass halfway to her mouth as she met my gaze in the mirror behind the bartender. She took a sip before setting the glass down then turned to face me.
“Are you here for me, Max?” Steely determination and a healthy dose of fear swam in her eyes.
“Not in the way you’re thinking.” Max. God, it’d been so long since I’d been called that. To see her again… Part of me was glad we weren’t flying back to Maine until the next day. The rest of the guys had turned in. I couldn’t sleep, and I was glad for the insomnia, as it’d brought her. “What are you doing here? In America?”
A half smile curved her lips. “My father had some business, and I tagged along. Is this where you live now? Where you went after…”
“I just finished a job.” Telling her was a big risk, but I wasn’t picking up on anything that would cause a problem for me. “I go by Keegan now.”
“Mysterious.” She eased back in her seat. “New name and I’m guessing a new mission, based on the clothes you’re wearing?”
I wore my military pants. It wasn’t a stretch for her to figure it out. “Legit job. We primarily do rescue and recovery.”
“Want to get out of here?” Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and she trailed her fingers along my forearm. “And catch up? Or… go back to where you’re staying?”
I got up because there was no way I was letting her walk out of there alone tonight. From what I knew about that girl—woman—she’d had a crush on me back then, at least as much as was possible in the situation we’d been in. Unless I was reading her wrong, her interest had remained. Her head reached the top of my shoulder as we turned to go, and my hand settled on the small of her back.
It wasn’t long before we were at my hotel. There was no way I would go to wherever she was staying and risk running into her father or anyone else from my past. As soon as we were behind the door, I ran my hands along her sides until I reached the hem of her dress. There were some things I couldn’t ignore, and the possibility of hidden weapons was a very real scenario.
Her palm pushed against my chest. “Why don’t we make this easier for ourselves?” She turned, giving me her back.
I lifted her hair and moved it to the side as her heated gaze met mine over her shoulder. I slid the zipper down and revealed the gentle slope of her toned back in tantalizing increments. I eased the straps from her shoulders, and her dress dropped and pooled around her feet. A gun was strapped to her thigh, as well as a knife. She removed them and set them aside.
Goddamn. She’d filled out. I complied and yanked my shirt off. The little gasp that escaped her parted lips did a lot to ease my discomfort about how much I’d already fallen under her spell. She shimmied out of her underwear then did a slow turn, lifting her hair when her back was to me before we faced one another again—there were no additional weapons.
I divested myself of my gun and dropped my pants. Left in tight black boxer briefs, I held still for a fraction of a second. I didn’t turn as she had because I wasn’t about to give anyone my back. Removing our guns and knives only eliminated some of the worry. We were both weapons. I would have to wait and see if I’d find out just how deadly her skills were.
I crowded her against the door and bent enough to kiss the hollow between her neck and shoulder. My palm cupped her hip, and her arms went around my waist. I kept enough distance between us to do what I wanted. Threading my fingers through her hair, I trailed kisses, tugging gently on the strands at her nape for greater access. The breathy sigh she made stirred my blood hotter—this woman.
My hands slid down to grasp her toned ass before lifting her. Her legs automatically wrapped around me. Then her arms wound around my neck, and our lips met in a frenzy of need. I wouldn’t be able to wait much longer—she was a drug that I couldn’t resist, and with a strength that surprised even me, I broke our kiss. Our lips were an inch apart. I couldn’t have moved away if I’d wanted to.
Close to the bed, I laid her down. I followed and covered her with my weight, maintaining our eye contact.
“Are you sure about this?” I had to make what it was clear because she mattered. “I can’t make you any promises.”
“Shh.” A long finger rested on my lips, and a curtain of black hair fanned across the pillow. “I’m more than sure.”
A haze of lust coated my vision as I cupped her breast. She fit perfectly in the palm of my hand, and I gently squeezed while my mouth lavished attention on her other one. I tugged at her nipple with my teeth, and she arched, giving me greater access. Every inch of her body was firm and toned, her olive skin soft and inviting.
She was mine for the night, and I was going to do everything to her that I wouldn’t allow when we were together and my role was that of a protector. I wouldn’t break her trust then. But that night, she’d initiated, and I planned on fulfilling her every fantasy.
I kissed my way down her abdomen, her breathy moan music to my ears. Parting her toned thighs, I nipped the inside of her leg. She was so beautiful, writhing beneath my touch, pulling me closer to mindless desire. Our heated gazes caught and held as her fingers grasped my hair and she tugged. The sharp tingles along my scalp from her urgency unleashed my own. “I want to taste you,” I whispered.
“Later.”
Moving over her, I hovered between her legs, dipping to her neck as her fingers curled around me, guiding me inside her warmth. Our bodies fit perfectly together, and it was a reminder of what we’d had when we were young, with unfulfilled sexual tension that became a live wire between us. We finally had our chance, and we were both desperate for it.
At her touch, my control snapped, and I thrust home. She moved to match my rhythm, and I invaded her mouth with my tongue. Her nails bit into my skin as she demanded more. I would give her anything—anything I could.
The first time was fast and desperate.
I took my time with her the second time and the third. Slipping my hand between us, I circled her swollen nub, teasing her until she arched and cried out. Only then did I allow myself to give in, to follow her into oblivion. A shudder jolted my body at her heat, and my hands curled, needing her with every fiber of my being. Once with her would never be enough.
A door slammed behind me, and I jumped to my feet. The dingy room in Caracas came back into focus along with Jack and Hawk. I swallowed past the lump in my throat, the feel of Kara’s skin still on the tips of my fingers and flooding my senses.
“You okay?” Hawk moved around Jack and came closer.
I shoved him back, still trying to make sense of reality, as it had come crashing into the one from my night with Kara. I opened my palm and let the locket dangle between us. No, I was not okay. We’d used a condom the first time. Not the second. She hadn’t told me. The fact that she had indirectly, years later and via a picture, did little to quell the sense of betrayal that paved the initial way.
Lily is mine.
Few lights were on as Jack, Hawk, and I maneuvered through the neighborhood where Ahmed resided. His home was offset from all the others. With his political connections, that wasn’t surprising. Men with machine guns stood at their posts along the third-story balcony while guards walked the perimeter, passing us in seven-minute intervals.
We were early. They would not expect us to enter where we planned to if we were to attack. Kara and Lily had the east wing, and we weren’t breaching that section, as it would be heavily guarded. To throw them off, we crouched on the adjacent side of the home, but not Ahmed’s wing.
That would also have been expected. Within the surrounding foliage, we got comfortable to wait until it grew closer to the time Kara had specified.
Before we’d left, each of us had triple-checked our bags. We all had med kits equipped for any emergency, including triage. Saline, antibiotics, and surgical tools were a necessity when we couldn’t get to a hospital or doctor. And given the risk Lily would face when we escaped, we’d ensured that we were prepared for every possible scenario.
My emotions were a bundle of uncertainty where Lily was concerned, but it was no place to entertain anything other than a high-level focus on getting the job done. I had to think of her as any other rescue mission, not my potential daughter. Locking down the questions, I scanned the area, including behind me, accounting for the rotating guards and any potential unknown variable.
Jack tapped his wrist. We were going in. Under the cover of darkness, we ran across the lawn as the rooftop guard on our side turned to scan the opposite area. There would be only a handful of seconds. At top speed, we barely made it. If we hadn’t, Hawk would’ve taken care of the threat with the precision of the sniper that he was.
Pressed flat against the stucco, we waited several minutes for the rooftop guard to finish his rotation above then moved to the designated window. There would only be one minute until the perimeter guard rounded the corner. Hawk squeezed my shoulder, and I did the same to Jack, letting each know we were good to go. Jack took off at a fast pace, and we followed. On the side of the house that Kara and Lily occupied, we neared the entry point.
I counted off the windows and found the one Kara said would be open. The guys knew we were to take the nanny with Lily if she was there. It was risky enough trying to get the little girl out—so many things could go wrong.
In record time, we climbed through the window and closed it, so no one was aware of our entry. The hallway was dark, and we would have to navigate to her room. I was surprised we hadn’t run into a problem with at least one of the guards. However, they were on high alert and congregated more toward the front of the house, where protests or potential threats were known to happen, as we’d witnessed the day Kara stabbed me.
