Dammit. Stop thinking about that. Dwell on the important stuff.
Like the fact she’d dropped her façade and basically all but admitted to him her real name was Naya. Plus, she still needed to find out his relationship with Drei and why he was looking for him. Most important of all, her handlers couldn’t be told the truth. They would look closely at Drei and she would truly be compromised then.
Damn that stupid, sexy, crazy, sexy, reckless, sexy American! She sighed. As she’d known, he’d complicate her life. She didn’t have time for complications. Not now, when she was so close to accomplishing what she’d set out to do. Sexy. She let out an exasperated breath. She couldn’t get that dratted man out of her thoughts.
Of course she had to see him again. She needed to find out more about him and Drei because Drei had gone missing for too long. Why had there been a whole gang of people after Luke at Drei’s place? They weren’t waiting for him to show up because then they would have attacked them the moment Luke arrived with her in tow. She frowned. So, did they just show up when they somehow found out about Drei’s house? She remembered Drei’s place was quite hidden, with a long driveway, and that was how they had made a mistake by not slowing down quick enough. The sudden backfiring of one of those bikes had alerted Luke and her.
Her mind raced at the implication. Those attackers weren’t sure of where they were going. So were they after Luke or Drei? Maybe they’d thought Luke was Drei.
It was a short drive to where she usually received her instructions and debriefed. The location was typical of a black ops facility, in a business district, inside a bland-looking building, surrounded by offices. This one was particularly low-key, acting as some kind of delivery service, which, of course, was partly true, since she was a courier of sorts.
Usually, this late at night, she would go through the secured gates into the underground garage, but the car wasn’t hers and she didn’t want them to screen it. So she parked a street away instead. The walk gave her a bit of time to come up with a plausible explanation for her handlers. She would stay close to the truth, tell them about being chased by unknown assailants and had to play hide-and-seek until she was no longer followed. She would just leave the parts with Luke out of the story. They wouldn’t be happy to know she’d had sex with The Cowboy because the past year, he’d shown up at so many places she’d gone to, looking for almost the same things. Coincidence? She couldn’t tell.
So many questions about that man and all she knew for sure was how big his penis was.
She almost giggled out loud at the unexpected observation. Damn it. It had been one hell of a rollercoaster night with her going through a whole gamut of emotions, from anger to arousal to the pure adrenaline of being in danger. And all she could tell was how big The Cowboy’s dick was.
She entered the code at the side door. The desk, usually manned, was empty. She frowned. All the TV screens were on but the place was eerily quiet.
Something caught her eye. Blood on the wall, splattered in an unmistakable pattern. She ran over to the desk.
There, behind the overturned chair, was Tomas. She didn’t have to walk around to check whether he was dead; part of his head was missing. The silence in the place had turned ominous.
She turned her head and stared in shocked disbelief at the wall of TV screens. Bodies on the screens. Her handlers. A few other operatives. The guards. All dead.
Nina picked up a gun lying on the floor. She realized now she would have been dead if she’d come back early. It hadn’t been Luke those men were after. It was her.
* * *
Luke kept a safe distance from Nina. He’d activated the GPS he’d tagged her car with before she’d gotten in, thus it was just a matter of following the signal. He wasn’t going to chance her knowing he was following her yet again.
He just wanted to make sure she was safe. Now that he had time alone, away from the delectable La Niina, he could actually try to figure out this strange business with the attempt on their lives.
All these months, Drei’s place had never been invaded. In fact, he would bet money those guys tonight hadn’t even cased the place before. The way they’d driven down to the house indicated they were unsure of where the driveway would lead them. Drei had chosen the residence precisely for that paved driveway. It looked like a regular turn-off until the sharp angle before reaching the house. Those who were unfamiliar with it usually assumed it was part of a road, and the sharp turn and bump down caused one to brake as paved road turned part gravel. That was what had caught his attention and interrupted him and Nina.
His grip on the steering wheel tightened. God. Was he frustrated when they showed up. Nina had been making the sexiest moans, driving him nuts as he thrust into her wet heat. He was still frustrated. Getting side-tracked here, son.
He pushed away the teasing memory of Nina’s bared assets. Back to the shooters. He drove by Nina, who was on foot. Ha, the woman was trying to keep his car out of sight so she wouldn’t have to explain about him. He couldn’t help but smile about that.
He parked in a spot behind another vehicle. It was close enough to keep an eye on Nina, watching her as she disappeared through a side door. A delivery service front. Interesting. Should he stay and wait for her to come out? She would be in there for hours and perhaps leave with someone.
He debated about his next step, half-amused at his worry over a woman who was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. He didn’t understand his concern at all, only that slight niggle that something was wrong kept spurring him to ignore common sense.
After all, besides the point about Drei’s house tonight, he had been very sure no one had followed them to Drei’s place. So how—
That point evaporated when four figures walked past his car and headed straight to the side of the building where Nina had gone into. Luke reloaded his weapons and turn to retrieve a back pack from the backseat. His suspicions weren’t baseless after all.
Dangerously Hot: Chapter Five
Nina ran down the hallway and entered the main office. Pausing at the doorway, she swallowed hard as she surveyed the carnage around her. Her acquaintances—people with whom she’d worked with—laid scattered about the room, the positions of their bodies showing they’d been caught by surprise. Whoever had come in had access to the door codes and had used silencers on the guards in the outside foyer. They had bypassed a few rooms and headed for this one, as if they’d known where their targets were.
She studied the room quickly as she walked past the bodies. Except for the dead, nothing else seemed amiss. The laptops were still running. Everything on the shelves looked untouched. What were they after? She reached the inner office and stopped again at the sight of her handler’s assistant, Ana. She was lying on the floor just past the door, as if she’d rushed out and then was immediately shot down. She could tell they were fired at close range, which meant the assailants had already reached the door by the time Ana came out.
Carefully, she stepped over the body. In comparison with the other rooms, this one was a mess. File cabinets were opened, their contents pulled or thrown out. Desk drawers, boxes, shelves, files—nothing was left untouched, it seemed. They must have been here for a bit of time looking for…for what?
She didn’t have to check her handler’s slumped body to know he was dead. Blood was splattered all down the back of his head and shoulders. Hendrik had been shot from behind, so his killer had been standing there.
Her eyes widened. A photo of hers was on her handler’s computer screen. She took a deep breath and walked slowly toward the desk. The smell of blood was getting to her and she had to swallow several times. It was even worse when she finally stood behind Hendrik and saw the hole in the back of his head.
Don’t think about it. Look at the screen. Read!
It was her personnel file—name, age, that sort of thing. Nothing especially notable. She clicked the backward key on the keyboard. The screen changed to show all her login times. She hadn’t done s
o all night at that point, of course. It was then she noticed the cell phone still in Hendrik’s hand by the keyboard. Peering forward, she tapped on it to turn it on.
Nina frowned. It was the text to her. Why was her handler texting her while checking her login time? Of course, she hadn’t answered his last one, but still, he would know exactly when she was last in here. Unless…unless it was the killers seeking information about her, which would mean—
The blinking light above the office exit alerted her that someone was entering. Hendrik would usually look up at the small TV above it to see who was coming in or out, except this time, it was just a blank screen. Someone was in the place, though, and she had a bad feeling they were here looking for her, as they had been all night.
She readied her weapon.
* * *
Luke ran across the street. The men, the glint of their weapons visible in the shadows, were already keying in the code to get inside, which told him one of them was either the insider or knew someone from the inside.
No way could this bunch be part of Nina’s organization. Apart from the weapons in their hands, fixers were also notorious loners and seldom traveled in a pack. This group smelled of something familiar and deadly. The way they assembled, filed in, and held their weapons. The silent way they communicated. The kick into action without pause. It all reminded him of a covert team assassination.
Luke knew he only had a slight advantage. They didn’t know he was out here, behind them.
As they slipped in through the metal door, Luke reached the opening just in time to toss in his weapon of choice in such a situation. Then he lightly closed the door and dropped to the ground, rolling several feet away. On his stomach, he pointed his weapon at the door and waited.
“Sorry, Nina, babe,” he muttered. Under the circumstances, this was the best he could do.
He mentally counted. A smoke grenade detonated immediately, enveloping the blast-area in smoke. The effect of his homemade one would give some respiratory problems, especially at close range. He was counting on that. They should be rushing out soon. His fingers were crossed that Nina and her friends inside would take out their surprised visitors and wouldn’t be too surprised themselves. He wasn’t going to wait too long, though.
“Let’s see who’s smart enough to run back out here instead of toughing it out in there,” He waited grimly. A direct kill hadn’t been his thing for a while.
* * *
Nina risked a peek through the blinds. She dismissed the idea of waiting in here for the intruders. The prospect of not being found in this dead-end room was nigh impossible. Perhaps if she moved out and hid somewhere, she might trick them into believing she wasn’t here. It was quite clear to her what they were back for. For some reason, they were looking for her.
She took a deep breath, opened the door and carefully peered out. She could hear sounds coming from the front. There was a loud clatter and muffled voices followed. She stepped out of the room and headed for the door that connected to the main passageway.
The strange noises continued, some sort of scuffling and a few shouts. Nina frowned. How strange. It sounded like a bunch of bodies wrestling on the ground out there. Keeping her weapon ready for any surprises, she turned the door handle and opened it a few inches.
Her frown deepened. Coughing and gasping? She opened the door a few inches wider. The distinct smell of smoke wafted in. She sniffed the air, catching a familiar odor she couldn’t quite place. More coughing came from the direction of the foyer. It was hazy and getting harder to see. Almost immediately, a dark figure rushed in her direction and the glass window next to her shattered.
Nina pulled the trigger. The man fell in a loud thud a few feet away. He had on dark clothing. A face mask obscured his features. The smoke was getting thicker. Was there a fire? What the fucking hell was going on?
* * *
Luke waited in deadly calm. Two of the dark-clothed men rushed out of the door, one firing his weapon in several directions. Like his, the man’s gun was equipped with a silencer, so no loud shots rang out. Several thuds hit the ground near Luke, raising dirt and dust like killer raindrops.
He didn’t hesitate. He took both out with two shots. He eyed the smoke coming out of the door. Come on. Two more.
Then he heard one distinct shot. No silencer. He ran to the entrance. A second shot fired.
Only two? Surely Nina’s people would be mowing these men down like nobody’s business. Where was everybody?
“Nina?” Luke yelled out.
A familiar figure stepped out of the smoke. A neckerchief was tied around her face like a cowboy. She pulled it off and wheezed a little. His relief at finding her safe was palpable. Those shots—
“Did you get any of them?” he asked quickly.
“Two. Another smoke grenade, Cowboy? Where the hell do you keep getting them?”
Luke exhaled. “In my special cowboy backpack, of course.”
“How sexy.”
She was the coolest female he’d ever come across. A keeper. He hauled her into his arms and kissed her possessively.
Dangerously Hot: Chapter Six
Kissing him was fast becoming an addiction. Nina wanted so much more. She didn’t say anything as he practically commandeered her away from the place back to his car. Then she carefully pulled off the laptop she’d hurriedly strapped on. She had wrapped bubble wrap and a belt around it and slung it across her back like a bow to keep her hands free. She glanced out the window, wondering where Luke was taking her to now.
Note to self. Must teach this man to ask first, then carry her off. Really, he should just change his name from Cowboy to Caveman, the way he kept taking off with her so damn possessively.
Mmmm. Her stomach clenched at the image of Luke taking her possessively. She had it bad.
“We need to talk,” Luke said, as he drove off.
“Oh, talking,” she said dismissively. “Questions again? How about, how many freaking cars do you own? Why were you following me again? And yeah, the most important one—those guys…were they after you or after me? Because it suddenly looked like it was me those same bastards were trying to kill.”
Those intense green eyes slanted at her briefly. “They showed up at Drei’s place at a weird hour to catch someone by surprise. Since my decision to go there was…spur of the moment…I had a suspicion all along that it was you, babe.” He smiled slowly at the narrow-eyed look she was giving him. “I really didn’t mean to kidnap you. Things happened unexpectedly.”
“That about sums up tonight,” she pointed out in a dry voice. She gave him a quick rundown of what she’d seen inside and continued, “It still started with you. I’ve been thinking, too. If you hadn’t interrupted me tonight, I’d have gone straight back to meet with my people and might have…”
She shrugged, unable to finish. Those people were mostly her acquaintances but she’d known them for long enough to have shared some jokes and even gone out to dinner and drinks on occasion. She would have been sitting in Hendrik’s office when the shooters came. She might have run out behind him to see what was happening too and lying on the floor right now.
“I’m sorry about your friends.”
She shrugged again and looked down at her hands on her lap. “I wouldn’t call them friends. Because of our jobs, we hardly know anything intimate about each other. But the sight of them like that….”
Again, she couldn’t finish. She hadn’t seen so many bodies before, ever. She’d accepted the dangerous aspects connected with her job, but tonight’s carnage was more than anything she’d ever experienced.
“I understand how you feel,” Luke said, quietly. “You just have to take it a day at a time and let the memory fade.”
She recalled the look in his eyes. “You speak as if you’ve lots of experience in this kind of thing,” she said.
“I killed two people for you tonight,” he reminded her. “I think the least you could do is share some information with me so we could f
igure out what’s happening.”
True. He was looking for Drei and Drei had been helping her when he disappeared. So, actually, they were both looking for a friend.
“Okay,” she finally said. “Drei was helping me get certain items to free my father.”
“Your father?” He sounded surprised. “I thought he was under protection in England?”
Nina shook her head. “Not any longer. An unknown group of terrorists have kidnapped and hidden him away somewhere. They communicated with MI6 that they’re interested in negotiating an exchange deal and full usage of an MI6 contractor in Estonia for a year.”
“But you weren’t a contractor. You were in chicken farming.”
“True. There was no way the English would give full access as well as pay for one year’s service of a contract agent either, so they refused. My father gave them the name of a La Niina, a fixer with a reputation of getting difficult negotiations done quickly. La Niina was the code for my family when we were allowed to move to the States, so MI6 contacted me to work with them. I go undercover and make records of all the jobs I’m requested to do so we could figure out the items the terrorists were after. We all knew it was going to be a big job because they were willing to wait a whole year to implement whatever they’re planning.”
“But why would your father do that?”
“If I tell you, you have to reply to my question in good faith. What is Drei to you and why are you looking for him? And don’t lie. You knew the location of Drei’s house and where he kept his precious bike. Not many people do.”
Drei was very private about that place. He had a business address for most of his contract jobs and another house he “lived” in, a huge converted medieval monstrosity he called his “party house.” It was a noisy place, with many questionable characters walking in and out of it all the time. It had quite a reputation in Tallinn.
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