She would never stop looking for him. She would never give up. Resolve helped her screw her head on straight. Spinning in her thoughts, she almost missed Nick’s voice.
Reeves was alive. Safe. Close by. Tears burned behind her eyes, and relief made her knees shaky. She would not cry now in front of the entire testosterone-dominated HRT team and the Jenkins brothers.
She ran to the back of the warehouse, following the sound of the voices. Darcy dodged the forklift and the HRT team that was streaming down the aisles.
One of the men pointed to the right to guide her.
She was breathless, not from the exertion, but from all the emotions bubbling that she had been holding inside—overpowering feelings that she had walled up into an impenetrable box.
“Darcy.” A very pale Reeves walked toward her, listing to the left. His hair was a mess, dark circles framed his bloodshot eyes, and his dress shirt was rumpled. And he’d never looked more beautiful.
She slowed, suddenly unsure. How would she ever explain how her feelings for him had dramatically shifted in the hours that he had been missing? The woman who wasn’t afraid of anything had been terrified of losing him. What if he didn’t have the same extraordinary revelation?
Not pausing, he pulled her gently into his arms, wrapping her in his warmth. “I was so afraid that I’d never see you again. That my life was finished when we’d barely got started.”
Darcy snuggled close, breathing in his vitality, absorbing his body heat, feeling his steady heartbeat. “I want to get started right now.”
Nick’s deep voice boomed in the high-ceiling space. “You should probably wait until he’s had some water and has eaten.”
“Or Reeves may never get started,” Lars joked over his shoulder as the brothers walked away.
“They’re such assholes.”
“They’re right.” She knew she was being selfish, but she needed to hold him after all the terror. She wanted to reassure herself that he was safe and alive. “You look pretty unsteady. Do you need medical care?”
“You’re not going to call another ambulance for me, are you?”
The glint in Reeves’s eyes and his teasing tone made everything in Darcy’s world begin to right itself.
“You’re incorrigible.” She gazed up, wanting to see every detail of his angular face, the beard stubble on his chin, the shape of his full lips. “My God, I want to kill those bastards.”
He gently pushed her hair away from her face, tenderly outlining with his fingertip the bruising on her cheek and then her swollen lips.
“Looks like we’ll both have to recover before I can kiss you the way I want to.” He bent and touched his warm lips to hers. “I never want you to have another moment of pain. I’ve never experienced icy fear as when the bastard bragged about hurting you. Not knowing how badly you were injured was worse than any torture they could have inflicted on me.”
Darcy absorbed his every word, trying to believe, to accept that this wonderful man shared the same feelings. How could the dark, sinister world she inhabited bring such joy into her life? She didn’t care how they came together. They were together. And she’d fight to keep them that way.
“Watching your convulsions was the same—primitive terror. One minute you were carefree and laughing, and then when I learned that you had been overdosed …” Her body pressed against his. She might never let him go. “I should have never involved you once I knew you were innocent.”
He rubbed her back in soothing circles, allowing her to vent her guilt.
“If you hadn’t come with me to California, you’d still be safe in Seattle, working on the ransomware.”
He scattered kisses along her hairline, across her forehead. She was losing steam from his gentleness.
He lifted her chin and looked directly into her eyes. His tone was serious, his eyes without any amusement. “You couldn’t have stopped me from coming. I would have followed you. And imagine what trouble I would have gotten into without my CIA watchdog.”
She laughed and cried at the same time, a jumble of emotions. “I hate when you do that.”
“Do what?” He waggled his eyebrows. “Leave you breathless with my charm and wit?”
“Make me laugh. Make me realize that there is more to living than catching bad guys.”
“Is this what I think it means?” He pressed kisses to her palm, making her skin hot and her stomach twirl. “You care about me, Darcy Wilson. It only took me being kidnapped for you to realize it.”
“I do care about you, you insufferable jerk. Do you have to gloat?”
“I’m not gloating. I’m ecstatic. I’ve fled torture to be in the arms of the bravest and most beautiful woman with the finest ass on the planet.” He squeezed her ass in his big hands. “These babies made escaping so sweet.”
His pleasure in touching her gutted her. No one ever made her feel needed; no one made her feel wanted for herself—a curvy, bad-ass CIA officer.
“When did the CIA mandate skin-tight pants as part of the uniform? Lucky I was rescued. With all the men watching this delicious behind instead of kicking down the door, I’m amazed they made it into the warehouse.”
“Except the door was wide open.” Darcy pushed against his hardness, pleasure blossoming under her skin. A weak but virile Reeves still got her going.
“Smart-ass. You’ve interrupted my ode to your body. I can’t decide what I like most, your freckles scattered across your nose”—he kissed her bruised and swollen nose—“or the mole next to your lip, right here.” He gently touched the spot before he kissed it. “Or this.” He squeezed her butt. “Being held captive helps put your life into perspective. My life goal is to worship you, so you never doubt what a magnificent woman you are in this incredible little package.”
Her stomach fluttered and flitted like birds in a summer breeze. Was Reeves serious, or was this the adrenaline and the desperation to grab onto life after being at death’s door? She didn’t care what the reasons were. She was trained to trust her gut. And this was genuine.
“I feel like a new man. Who needs water and rest when you have tough and gorgeous Darcy Wilson caring for you?”
“Let’s go, Reeves,” Finn shouted. “Have you molested that woman enough yet?”
“I haven’t even started,” Reeves yelled back, which was followed by loud laughs.
Taking her hand into his, he whispered near her ear, “I plan to never stop.”
And Darcy swayed into his side, dizzy with need. His deep voice and the promise in his eyes heated her blood.
Chapter Seventeen
Reeves half-listened to the Jenkins boys trash talk in the safe house’s living room after their debrief. His focus was on Darcy, who was across the room with the women—too far from him, too far to touch. She tried to smile when Danni clinked their champagne glasses together. With her face swollen, and her arm back in the splint, she had to be hurting and irritated by the limitations of having her arm pinned to her side. He had plans to help with her frustration once they ditched the friends.
Sophie and Danni were on either side of Darcy, chatting away as if they were longtime friends. At one point, Sophie adjusted the sling on Darcy’s shoulder. Interesting that his fiercely independent CIA agent smiled at Sophie’s ministrations. He still was a bit in shock that Darcy had succumbed to the women who were like a tsunami, swallowing you up in their care and concern. He would have thought that uptight Darcy would avoid being swept into his friend group. She wasn’t buttoned-up now in a black, clingy dress that hugged every one of her luscious curves—curves that he was dying to explore. This looked like the work of Danni and Sophie for the sole reason of watching him lose his sanity.
He swallowed hard, fighting his emotional response to how his close friends had welcomed Darcy. He hadn’t realized until now the women had never made any effort to include Lily. Why hadn’t he noticed? Because he had been working nonstop. He had been essential to the rescue of the Dean sisters, Danni, and his sister.
Lily played no role in that all-consuming part of his life. And it was telling that he never considered including her.
He always thought that Lily wasn’t accepted because she was a tech geek and didn’t have anything in common with the women. But CIA Darcy was the polar opposite of Sophie and Danni, and they were laughing together like best buds. And Izzy slipped into their group whenever she made it back to town.
His fierce hunger for Darcy must have telegraphed across the living room since she glanced up. Their eyes locked. He couldn’t control the raging need for this one woman who knocked his life off its axis. The connection arcing between them was kinetic, rearranging the molecules in the air around them, forming their own force field. He needed her now. Darcy’s face and chest reddened before she looked down, nodding to something an animated Sophie was saying.
There was no logic to his need for this woman. There were no algorithms or formulas for blind attraction. And seeing his friend’s acceptance of Darcy made it feel right.
But what would Darcy think? She was committed to her work with the CIA, which meant foreign assignments far away from Seattle. And he and the CIA hierarchy would never be friends. After his in-your-face experience with the Sureños, he was more dedicated than ever to working with cyber-security. No one should have to suffer as he had—drugged/overdosed with convulsions. He wanted to stop every asshole. He had the skills the good guys needed.
Finn raised his beer. “To Reeves. For proving that he is truly a Jenkins with his sheer courage in rigging his escape.”
The women joined the circle and raised their glasses. After the overdose of drugs, Reeves was limiting himself to water. He raised his water bottle and met Darcy’s warm gaze.
He was still on emotional overload. The relief of his escape, Finn the Navy SEAL acknowledging him as one of the Jenkins brotherhood, and Darcy’s declaration had him whirling. He couldn’t lose it now when the macho men had brought him into their fold. The Jenkins smart-asses would never allow him to live it down if he got sappy.
He never wavered in his gaze at Darcy. “When I was locked in the room, I never doubted for a minute that you would find me, would never fail, never stop until I was rescued because of your deep commitment.” His voice cracked. “And I was one damn lucky man to have the best looking for me.”
Reeves meant the words for Darcy and, from the way that her lips parted and her skin flushed a pretty pink, she knew it too.
“Here, here.” And everyone raised their glasses.
Before anyone had finished swallowing, Danni announced, “I want revenge on the bastards who dared to hurt Darcy and Reeves.” Danni’s eyes narrowed before she put her hand on her hip and glared at Nick. “What’s the plan?”
Lars put his arm around Danni’s shoulder, pulling her next to him. “That’s my girl.”
Smiling, Darcy spoke directly to Danni. “I appreciate and second the sentiment heartily. I want to put the scum behind bars for overdosing Reeves. We’re waiting on intel before we can act. Molly and Izzy both are trying to crack the phone that Reeves retrieved from the Sureños gangbanger. They’re also searching through every database to find the Russian Galina. They’ll get back to me as soon as they get a hit. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”
“I want to use my Krav Maga on the animal who punches a woman in the face,” Danni said matter-of-factly.
Lars chuckled. “Down, tiger. Remember your promise.”
Reeves loved Danni for her passionate need to defend Darcy. But he didn’t want Danni near the vicious gang. He didn’t want Darcy near them either. But he couldn’t stop her. He had to either respect her abilities or walk away. He knew it was a game-changer in their relationship. It would be like her asking him to give up his tech life.
“I called the detective in Santa Barbara who is running the CI in the Sureños. It didn’t add up that the gang didn’t come after Reeves once he escaped.”
“They were too scared once they witnessed my superpowers, honey.” He loved how quickly her skin took on a rosy glow, and her lips pressed tightly together. She wasn’t a CIA officer for nothing. She read his intention with the promise of his superpowers all focused on her. And when it came to his need for Darcy, he just might have superpowers.
The Jenkins hooted loudly. Sophie rolled her eyes, and Danni winked at him.
Darcy cleared her throat. “As I was saying.”
God, he was getting a boner from her prim, first grade teacher tone.
“The CI made contact, and the word is the Sureños have backed out of a big deal. It seems the Sureños have an informant in the FBI who warned them that every alphabet agency was looking for them. And the Sureños, good businessmen that they are, after learning how hard the hammer would fall on their drug trade, backed off.”
Admiration for his woman filled him. After the hours of “debriefing” by Nick and Darcy, he had crashed. They fed him and gave him water while they asked endless questions. And when he thought he was done, they’d start again. He understood their reasoning to ask the questions immediately while it was fresh, before he forgot any details.
He did enjoy the shocked look on both Darcy and Nick’s faces when he described his escape. Nick had sworn him to secrecy to never retell the risks to Emily. Reeves planned to use his new incentive in creative ways on Nick.
Darcy had gone pale and silent. He tried to reassure her, but he hadn’t succeeded. She barely uttered a word during his description, promising that they would discuss it further when alone. He looked forward to her passionate reprimand. He had hoped to spend his first hours out of captivity naked with Darcy. Instead, he slept for hours while she was doing her CIA shtick. It seemed convulsions and cocaine tired even fast-firing brains.
“We need the link between the Sureños and the Russians.” Reeves was clearheaded now. And he needed to get back in the game. He should be offended that they hadn’t asked him to run the phone and Galina, but he accepted Darcy’s demand that he rest, or he would be of no value to the team when they really needed him. He did make her promise if he rested that she would join him in bed tonight. Win-win for him.
“Once we’re finished here, I’ll have Molly and Izzy bring me up to speed.”
“I was about to tell the group before Danni made her sentiments loud and clear.” Nick gave Danni his “I’m in charge” look, which never had any effect on Danni. Especially since Danni and Emily had become very close, and Nick would pay if he mistreated Emily’s friend.
“I wasn’t loud, just succinct in my need for bloody revenge.”
Nick shook his head. “Richard called me a few minutes ago after speaking with the CIA director. The ransomware hackers have placed the embassy information for sale on the dark web. Now the focus is how to trap who is behind the sale.”
Reeves moved to be next to Darcy, knowing that she would be upset that she hadn’t yet received the information before Richard. “Honey, it’s not personal. It’s the politics of how these government agencies run. Richard is very close to the president and his chief of staff.”
“How can I be effective if Dean is getting information before I am?”
“Yeah, it sucks. Bureaucracies just work that way.”
Her phone, which she’d tucked into her sling, buzzed right on cue. “It’s the director. I need to take this.” She didn’t look at anyone but walked toward the French doors to the deck.
Chapter Eighteen
Reeves only heard “Yes, sir” before Darcy walked onto the deck. He looked at Nick. “Do you have any idea what’s going on? Did Richard mention anything?”
Nick shrugged. “I might have put a bug in Richard’s ear about Wilson’s outstanding performance and suggested that we were interested in hiring her.”
Reeves grinned. “Nice thinking. Good to know that you’re more than a pretty face.”
His mind exploded with the possibilities of sharing their work and life. Would Darcy even consider leaving the CIA to join Jenkins Security? It was a real stretch and not the ki
nd of career decision a careful woman like Darcy would make without time and space. She wouldn’t want to be pushed.
“Very funny, jackass,” Nick countered.
“Now that he’s a brother, we get to hit him, right, Nick?” Lars deadpanned.
“No marks. Emily would be upset.”
Reeves spaced out on the Jenkinses ragging on each other and watched Darcy through the glass windows. She paced, allowing brief glimpses of her pert profile with her hair clipped back. She wasn’t doing much of the talking, and he couldn’t tell by her body language whether she was receiving kudos or being reprimanded. It was going to be almost impossible to withhold his opinion on the treatment she received at the hands of the CIA if she had been criticized over his kidnapping.
Absorbed with Darcy, Reeves missed the moment when the subject turned to weddings. Everyone was in the “engaged and planning” stages of their weddings. At one point, Reeves had suggested to Danni and Sophie having one big Jenkins bash. His suggestion was met with absolute horror by the women. Not one would consider the logic of the idea.
Darcy had ended her call and walked into the room. Her lips were not locked shut. That was a good sign, wasn’t it? Except for the enigmatic look that he couldn’t read.
“Any news, Darcy?” Sensitive to others, Sophie had noted the change in Darcy’s demeanor.
“Nothing on the case. I’m a little stunned. The director basically offered me the assignment in Libya that I’ve always wanted after Richard Dean mentioned that he was interested in offering me a job. Was that your idea, Nick?”
“It never hurts for the boss to hear how good his underlings are doing.”
“Thanks. It’s my dream station.”
“Why Libya? It’s not a friendly place for women.” Sophie had a global foundation supporting refugee women and was very knowledgeable about the issues women faced in various countries.
Mission: Impossible to Deny (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 7) Page 13
