In the Shadows (Metahuman Files Book 3)

by Hailey Turner

  Damp fingers curled over Sean’s chin as Alexei leaned down to kiss him. The firm pressure of Alexei’s mouth against his had him instinctively parting his lips, letting Alexei dip his tongue into Sean’s mouth for a brief second of wet heat before pulling away. Sean licked his lips, tasting citrus in his mouth that hadn’t been there before the kiss, and tried not to shiver as Alexei pulled his hand away.

  “Most worry, kotyonok,” Alexei said with a smirk Sean refused to think of as sexy while the taller man dripped water all over him. “Give clothes to Trevor.”

  Sean reached for his tablet to get it out of the way. “You get this wet, I’m going to be pissed.”

  “Is vacation. Not supposed to work.”

  Alexei took a seat on the lounge chair next to Sean, giving the woman they were sharing it with a wide smile in greeting.

  “Yes, we invited you to have a good time,” Chloe reminded him, smiling indulgently at them before sipping her wine. “You can work later. I’m sure Adrian has a few meetings lined up with you during your stay.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Adrian’s deep voice came from beyond the fabric walls of the cabana before finally coming into view. “I like people who appreciate hard work.”

  Unlike everyone else in the cabana, Adrian wore a dark business suit more suited for a boardroom than a poolside party. Still, that didn’t stop Chloe from hopping to her feet and twining her arms around her husband’s neck to give him a thorough greeting with her mouth. It could have been for show, but Sean had always been a good read of people. There was something to be said for the truth coming out in the middle of a crisis, and like in New Miami, the care Adrian lavished on Chloe seemed genuine.

  “I have another meeting, but it won’t take more than an hour,” Adrian said when they separated. “I’ll have you escorted to the car when I’m finished so we can go home and prepare for the party.”

  “When is party?” Alexei asked as he casually rested his hand on Sean’s knee.

  It was difficult to ignore the warmth of Alexei’s touch, but Sean didn’t shake him off. Instead, he turned his attention to Adrian, who was studying them intently.

  “And what’s the attire?” Sean wanted to know.

  “Semi-formal,” Adrian easily replied. “Just a small dinner party with close friends and family.”

  Sean filed away the mention of family. “What time should we be there?”

  “Dinner is at 9:00 p.m., but the cocktail hour begins at 8:00 p.m. Come early if you like. Some of our other guests probably will as well.”

  “We won’t be late.”

  They’d have to check in with Katie and have agents on standby back in D.C. to monitor the placement of the surveillance bugs they’d be carrying inside with them. The casino had an administration level with a C-suite corner they still needed to find a way into, but infiltrating Adrian’s home was a decent second prize. Sean didn’t think it would be easy, but they couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

  “Let me know when you’re finished,” Chloe said to her husband. She gave Adrian one last kiss before flouncing back to her lounge chair and getting comfortable again.

  Adrian smiled indulgently at her before nodding goodbye at Sean and Alexei. The older man left and conversation in the cabana picked up again. Sean was acutely aware of Alexei sitting beside him for the rest of their time in the pool area. Alexei was a warm presence that never left his side, a hand always resting on Sean’s leg if his arm wasn’t casually slung over Sean’s shoulders.

  Sean played along because that was the level of interaction Alexei had set upon his arrival. Putting distance between each other now would cause unwanted attention. So Sean let Alexei be as tactile as he wanted, trying not to think about how good it felt being tucked in close against Alexei’s practically nude body. Honestly, it was a good thing Chloe was intent on keeping the both of them involved in her conversations. It kept him distracted from the way Alexei’s fingers were rubbing hot circles against his shoulder through his T-shirt.

  Eventually, the pair of bodyguards Sean had glimpsed earlier approached the cabana and signaled to Chloe they were ready to whisk her away. Trevor appeared a few feet behind them, catching Sean’s eye. Since he’d spent more than an hour in the company of the Wolcotts’ bodyguards, Sean was curious about his observations. Special Forces operatives were a tight-lipped bunch, but they might open up to a fellow veteran.

  “I’ll see you tonight,” Chloe said with a casual wave in their direction before sauntering off between her two bodyguards.

  With their target gone, Sean and Alexei said their goodbyes to Chloe’s friends and went to join Trevor.

  “The girls?” Alexei asked. He took his pair of cargo shorts from Trevor and put them on before slipping on his flip-flops. Sean discreetly watched Alexei get dressed, glad he was wearing sunglasses to hide his attention.

  “Recon,” Trevor replied in a low voice. “Need to know the area.”

  They’d reviewed blueprints and maps of Olympus at the beginning of their mission prep. The casino was a warren of hallways, restaurants, retail corridors, rooms, and gambling dens. The number of employees was nothing in comparison to the sheer number of tourists that checked in and out every day.

  Katie had voted to hack the smart-building’s AI for overwatch, but as good as she was, it was deemed too risky by the director. So they’d made do with memorizing exits and access points over the entire building, committing the layout to memory. But a map was nothing compared to getting actual eyes on the location in question. Sean was itching to do his own recon, but that would need to be done later when he could justify wandering the casino.

  Right now, they needed to head back to the suite to go over their plan for tonight before getting ready. Sean would’ve hurried them along, but he was too busy watching Alexei pull on his shirt to really think about anything else at the moment.

  “Is there any food left?” Sean asked once Alexei had covered up, much to the dismay of several men and women looking their way. Sean really couldn’t blame them.

  “Enough for both of you,” Alexei said. He slung an arm over Sean’s shoulder, pulling him close as they began to walk. “But no dessert. Annabelle ate all cake and pie.”

  “She’s gonna make herself sick one day,” Trevor muttered.

  “Doubt that. Could pull G-forces on full stomach and be fine.”

  “The internal dampeners on the aircraft help with that.”

  “Can bet on it?”

  “On Annabelle puking her guts out after flying? Hell no. That’s a losing bet.”

  Alexei just laughed; Sean could feel the rumble of the sound vibrate against his own ribs. Swallowing a little, he forced himself not to pull away and smiled at their banter. Alexei kept his arm right where it was until they finally made it back to the private penthouse elevator. Only when the doors closed did he put some distance between them.

  No one said anything on the ride up. The girls weren’t back from their recon, and the first thing Sean did once they were inside was head for the bedroom to change clothes. Alexei followed after him, closing the door behind them both.

  “Am sorry,” was the first thing Alexei said.

  Sean tossed his tablet on the bed before looking over at where Alexei stood. “For what?”

  Alexei gestured at his face, frowning a little as he stared unblinkingly at Sean. “For kiss. Not ask permission.”

  “It was for the cover.”

  “Still. Should ask.”

  The sense memory of Alexei’s mouth on his made Sean hesitate. He’d done a lot for his country, given his all in more ways than one for a mission. Sleeping with someone while undercover wasn’t his favorite way to complete a mission, but he’d done it a few times when needed. That didn’t mean he liked it. Being in bed like that was a lie, and for all that he could fake passion, he didn’t want to do that here with Alexei.

  He didn’t want Alexei to have to do it with him.

  “It got the messag
e across to Chloe. I don’t think you’ll need to do it again for her sake.” Sean paused, eyeing where Alexei stood. He tried not to think about what Alexei looked like in the pool, hard muscles glistening beneath sunlight; tried not to think about being underneath him. “I’m not mad you did it, if that’s why you’re worried. It was nice.”

  A complicated expression crossed Alexei’s face. “Just nice?”

  “It was a kiss for someone else’s benefit. I don’t know what you want me to say here?”

  Alexei grumbled something in Russian under his breath that Sean didn’t understand before shaking his head. “If that your idea of kiss, need education.”

  “I think you mean educating. And I don’t.”

  “Whatever. Will shower. You eat.”

  Alexei looked angry and Sean didn’t know why. Sean reached out without thinking about it, snagging the hem of Alexei’s T-shirt as he walked past, heading for the bathroom. Alexei rocked to a stop, staring at him with sharp gray eyes.

  “I’m not mad,” Sean said, needing to make sure Alexei understood that. For some reason, the idea of Alexei being angry over the kiss at the pool left Sean feeling sick to his stomach.

  Sean didn’t move, even when Alexei reached out to brush his fingers over Sean’s cheek, the touch a warm graze over healed broken bones before skimming past his temple. A shiver ran down his spine from the touch. It took effort to let go of the cloth tangled in his fingers.

  “Ladno,” Alexei said in a deep voice before retreating to the bathroom.

  Sean exhaled heavily after the door slid shut between them, running a hand over his face. He didn’t know what Alexei had just said, but he didn’t sound angry. The last thing Sean wanted was for Alexei to think he’d forced something on Sean that he didn’t want. If he were honest, Sean hadn’t minded the kiss at all, for reasons that had nothing to do with the mission and everything to do with his burgeoning attraction to Alexei.

  “Fuck,” Sean muttered quietly.

  A traitorous voice in the back of his head agreed.

  If only.

  7

  Snake Eyes

  The Wolcotts owned a luxury home in the exclusive Diamond Ridge community where the lowest asking price was twenty million dollars. It was one of many mansions in an enclave catering to the rich nestled in the southeastern corner of Las Vegas. The satellite pictures and hacked blueprints didn’t even come close to showing the wealth of the place. The two-story, nine-bedroom, ten-bath home sat on a two-acre property covered in a lush green lawn and artfully planted palm trees and flowerbeds. Alexei took one look at the brightly lit lawn against the desert sunset backdrop through the biodome and snorted.

  “Waste of money,” he said.

  “Tell me about it,” Annabelle said as she pulled into the drive crowded with other luxury cars and SUVs.

  Madison twisted around in the front passenger seat and eyed where Alexei and Sean sat in the middle. The concern in her large brown eyes was impossible to ignore. “Comms are down. They got electronic jammers running the perimeter.”

  Alexei made a face. “Like New Miami.”

  “Yeah, but we can’t follow you in.”

  He glanced through the window at the cluster of drivers and bodyguards milling about on the edge of the courtyard, far away from the porte cochère that was the main entrance into the stylish home. The circular garden of shrubs and flowers planted behind a low stone wall in front of the entrance helped act as a roundabout for the cobbled drive, though with the way everyone had parked, no one was moving anytime soon.

  Annabelle disliked being boxed in, so she deliberately backed up a few feet to give them more maneuverability in the event of an emergency. The satisfied expression on her face told Alexei it was finally safe to get out.

  He unbuckled his seatbelt, meeting Annabelle’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “You know if we need you.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Sean muttered as he got out of the SUV.

  “If we hear gunshots, we won’t be the only ones coming in,” Trevor reminded them. “So find an exit and don’t engage if shit goes down. Make it out front. We’ll cover you.”

  Alexei gave him a thumbs up. “Da.”

  “Right, let’s go make some fake friends,” Madison said as she shoved open her door. “You guys have fun schmoozing.”

  Alexei made a face as he got out, tugging at the hem of the suit jacket Sean had said was non-negotiable. Alexei had won the tie fight though, which he was still pleased about, even if Sean wasn’t. But it fit his personality for the cover, and the gold chain hanging around his throat framed by the shirt’s open collar wasn’t out of place on him.

  Sean, on the other hand, wore a perfectly fitted light gray suit that still had Alexei staring when no one else was looking. When he’d first seen Sean walk out of the hotel bedroom, Alexei hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off Sean now that he’d seen some of what was hidden beneath.

  The slim-cut suit pants emphasized Sean’s long legs, while the narrow tailoring of the suit jacket showed off a trim torso. The pale blue button-up shirt was tucked in, without a vest over it, and the skinny tie matched his suit coloring perfectly. The light-brown oxfords Sean wore were brand-new, with the surveillance bugs they needed to smuggle into the house hidden inside the heel. The small cavity was expertly created, all the space filled in with protective material around the surveillance bugs to hide them from scans.

  The surveillance bugs weren’t active yet. Once he and Sean were inside, they’d have to locate a blind spot out of the way of guests and security feeds, and release the nanite-driven tech into the house. They would go dormant for twelve hours after being released in case the Wolcotts initiated an electronics security scan after the party. The surveillance bugs were military-grade and capable of being missed by most civilian security systems on the market, but with Adrian’s brother being ex-Special Forces, they weren’t sure how long the bugs would last.

  “Ready?” Sean asked, pulling Alexei out of his perusal of the house.

  He nodded and kept pace with Sean as they headed for the front door. Alexei glanced around as they walked, taking in the area. A hint of movement in the yard near the wall had him narrowing his eyes. Looked like the Wolcotts had their own personal security standing guard tonight.

  Knowing that, and not wanting anything out of the ordinary to be reported back to the guards’ employers, Alexei wrapped an arm around Sean, pulling him in close. Sean didn’t fight him, and Alexei turned his head, lips brushing over the shell of Sean’s ear to hide what he said from prying eyes. This close and Alexei could smell the shampoo Sean must have used in the shower, like coconuts, the smell lingering in his lungs.

  “Have PMC security on perimeter,” Alexei said, pitching his voice low, for Sean’s ears only.

  Sean barely blinked. “It’ll be fine.”

  Alexei liked the way Sean never seemed to back down from a problem. His stubbornness toward completing the mission was admirable, but Alexei really wished Sean would learn to duck. He had a feeling he shouldn’t let Sean out of his sight during the party.

  A maid stood at the front entrance, taking everyone’s scanprint to confirm their invitation. Sean pressed his left hand to the tablet and Alexei followed his lead. The maid smiled briefly at them before gesturing at the hallway other people were walking down.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott are awaiting your arrival on the back patio,” she informed them.

  “Thank you,” Sean replied, already heading farther inside.

  Alexei looked around curiously as they walked through the house, unable to stop comparing it to Jamie’s penthouse condo back in D.C. Whereas Jamie’s home was lived-in and comfortable, the space richly furnished but not ridiculously over the top, the Wolcotts had gone all out in showcasing their wealth at home. He had to wonder if that was just what people did in Las Vegas, considering the over-the-top atmosphere.

  Cream-colored tile covered the floors in the main hallways. Walls pain
ted the same color were the perfect backdrop for artwork and other decorations. Area rugs lay beneath tables and chairs, the designs pairing well with the color scheme. As with the main stairwell in the front foyer, the small steps leading to a spacious rear bar area were also made of marble.

  A bartender worked behind a fully stocked wet bar, creating whatever drink a guest wanted. Alexei would’ve loved a beer right about then, but Sean was determinedly striding toward the backyard, which meant he could only follow. The old-style French glass doors were propped open, allowing for an easy exit into the massive backyard and the warm night air.

  The large area was lit by floating lights that brightened the area with a warm-toned illumination. It fucked with Alexei’s night vision something fierce though, making him scowl a little as they made their way to the cluster of people holding court near the pool everyone else orbited around.

  The pool was definitely the star attraction, built into a slight incline to give it two levels. The patio stretched the length of the home, running up against a strip of freshly cut green grass. The biodome and filtration fans regulated the temperature within Las Vegas to an acceptable warmth that wasn’t overwhelming, but it also deprived the city of actual weather. The lack of a breeze seemed weirdly out of place.

  Several round tables were already set up on the large patio stretching the length of the house, the white linen tablecloths draping all the way to the ground. Alexei got a quick look at the multiple plates and flatware at each spot and his heart sank. Seemed like he was going to put Jamie’s etiquette lessons to good use tonight.

  Sean elbowed him discreetly in the side as they skirted the two-level pool with its hidden grotto behind a gently flowing waterfall. “You have murder eyes going on right now,” Sean murmured in a low voice.

  Alexei dutifully wiped the scowl off his face and blinked his eyes a couple of times, going for a bored expression instead. He could play at being nonthreatening for a little while if that’s what Sean needed. Though how long that would last was debatable once Alexei caught sight of the Wolcotts holding court amidst a group of guests. One dinner guest, in particular, made Alexei wish for a gun.