“East Coast.” That was indefinite enough.
“New York? Boston?” she asked, still prying.
Yeah. She was a natural, but he wasn’t going to let her lead him down the garden path, not after that surprise encounter back at the warehouse. The feel of her slender body tucked into his still lingered like a luscious warm brand on his hip. Somewhere during the night, they’d entered the twilight zone of intimate, physical feelings. He needed to stop that freight train before it became anything else.
“You ever watch the Red Sox play? The Yankees?” she probed.
Right again. Bet she played a mean game of chess, too. Tess certainly knew all the moves, but he didn’t respond. The less he told her about himself from now on, the better off they’d both be when this operation ended. He didn’t need female entanglements.
“Not talking to me anymore, huh? ’Fraid I’ll figure you out and murder you in your sleep while you’re supposed to be guarding me?”
No. I’m afraid I’ll start to like you more than I already do. He kept a stiff upper lip and let her watch the scenery for a few more blocks. His hotel was just up ahead.
“It’s sure going to be quiet the rest of the day.”
Yep. Damn quiet. Shut up already.
She let out one of those lingering sighs women employed to prompt a man to ask how she was doing or what was wrong. He didn’t. Lee turned into the subterranean parking garage at the Ambassador Hotel. Appropriately named, since it was located in the heavily guarded ambassador’s section of Kabul, this hotel provided twenty-four hour surveillance and extra-tight armed security. Twice, suicide bombers had been stopped dead on their feet outside the hotel front doors—as in literally, dead on their feet. Lee had seen the intel. Two pairs of bloody feet in shabby boots had been all that remained both times. Aside from the Camp Eggers, the hotel was the only truly safe place for non-military Americans in Kabul at the moment, and he was glad for it. He could sleep the rest of the day there and maybe half the night. It also ought to keep Tess in as well as keeping trouble out.
He parked the Humvee in its assigned spot next to a sporty Land Rover. Man, those things always looked like they were ready for a jungle safari, especially painted in camouflage like this one. The Brits sure knew their vehicles.
Grabbing his gear bag from the back seat, Lee snagged his denim jacket too and slipped it on to conceal his holstered pistols. There was no need to frighten the other guests. He walked around the rear of the Humvee to the passenger side. This time, Tess made no move to kick him when he opened her door. No matter. He was still on high alert. If she’d tried it once, she’d try it again. “Time to go.”
“What did you really do to my brother?” She slid off the seat, nearly landing in Lee’s arms.
He straight-armed her and stood her on her feet. No way was he falling for that sneaky tactic again. The exotic scent of her hair still lingered in his nose. Hell. It lingered all the way down to his boots. The soft feel of her breasts hadn’t left his fingertips, either. He hadn’t meant to grab a handful in that last struggle at that disgusting toilet. It just happened.
Instantly shifting his hands off her very firm, underwire bra hadn’t stopped that other world from materializing though, that world where he and Miss Culver might actually enjoy each other in the very best sense of the word. Even now, the damnedest ideas kept sprouting up inside his stupid male brain. They all had to do with sweaty, naked bodies—hers and his.
“Sorry,” she muttered, her hair falling over one shoulder to hide half her face. She tossed her head. Dark blue eyes shadowed with early morning violet shone up at him. “Didn’t mean to touch you.”
He snapped his mouth shut and looked away. This woman was pure evil, casting a sensual spell with her web of deceit, those sexy blue eyes that were too big for her face, and all that silky hair, splashed with highlights. This op had taken a decidedly risky turn, one he’d have to be extra careful maneuvering through. He focused on the way forward.
“You don’t like me, do you?”
“Don’t really care one way or the other.” He snagged her elbow and pulled her toward the elevator, his gear bag over his shoulder and his bed calling his name. It would sure be good to shower and shave. Sweat and sand were never a good combination on a man’s skin.
“I don’t like you, either.” Now she sounded just plain childish, but it was good to know. The less she liked him, the less danger there was of anything stupid happening.
“Where is he?”
“Who?”
“Clint. My brother.”
Lee hit the elevator call button. “Home sleeping it off, I guess. I really don’t know. He went one way, I went the other.”
“Oh, that’s right. You hit him.”
“No, ma’am, I didn’t, but I did give him a fifth of Jack to let me drive his truck. I told him I was his relief driver, that you knew all about it. Baby brother never asked a question. He sure as hell surprised me when he grabbed the booze and hightailed it out of there like he did. That boy moves fast.”
“You were waiting for me at the palace?”
“Sure. You’re easy to follow, which is something you ought to think real hard about. If I can find you that easy, so can anyone else. You could be dead right now.”
“So you keep saying.” She grunted, missing the point of his warning completely.
“You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that,” he admitted, still waiting for the elevator. “You all but walked into a trap tonight. Someone was waiting for you.”
“Of course someone was waiting for me,” she hissed, her fists clenched behind her back. “It should’ve been Clint, but you’re wrong. I was the one who set the trap. I was the last person Sherazi expected to see there.”
“I’m not talking about Sherazi. Someone else is in this game, Miss Culver, someone who wants you dead. I’m assuming Nizari was there, too?” That was the only thing he hadn’t figured out yet. When had Nizari, the Taliban banker, gotten involved with stealing museum artifacts from Abdul Sherazi, a man known for butting heads with the ruling imam? “How’d you get the crown away from Sherazi and his men?”
She grunted. “They thought I was a young punk. I held them up at gunpoint. What else?”
He had to look closely to see if she was lying. Judging by the cocky tilt of her chin, she was proud of what she’d gotten away with. “You’re telling me you waltzed into a clandestine meeting with a known murderer who is also a sexual deviant, a thieving curator, and six guards, with just you and your little gun?”
She offered a condescending smirk with her swagger. This woman was proud of herself. Stupid, but proud.
“Then what? You ran like hell?”
“Yeah.” The air whooshed out of her and just like that, the bravado was gone. “They were right behind me. I’ve never run so hard in my life. I thought they had me for sure.”
“Where’s the gun?”
She had to be lying. He hadn’t found a gun, and he’d been all over her—well, almost. He had missed that pesky USB drive, but there was no way she could’ve hidden a pistol in her bra.
“I dropped it,” she said in a hushed voice, and he looked twice. That second confession revealed a bit more of the mystery that was Tess. She was over-confident, clever, and pigheaded. All those attributes made her dangerous, but—she had pulled off the heist of the century all by herself. And it definitely scared her. Maybe there was hope for her after all.
“How many times have you done this?” He had to know.
“Your boss was right.” She nodded, her eyes on the ceiling of the parking garage. “This was the fifth, umm, yeah, the fifth artifact I’ve recovered.”
Lee blew out a breath of disbelief and a little awe. She wasn’t telling the truth, no doubt about it, but five was an impressive number. He just had a feeling there had been more along the way. A gal didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to become a cat burglar out of the blue. No, she had to have practiced with smaller thefts that led u
p to these phenomenally huge but stupid ones.
The elevator finally arrived, the door opened, and she entered without assistance, which was nice for a change. Just his grip on her elbow was enough physical contact to set his heart pumping overtime. He didn’t need another wrestling match with the woman his body seriously wanted to get better acquainted with.
“So, umm.” She rocked back and forth on her toes “We’re sleeping together while I’m in cuffs? That’ll be fun. Kinky too.”
“No.” That deserved an immediate answer. Not only no, but hell no.
“Hmm.” She kept rocking, “Just wondering. Sounds like we’ll be in the same room if you’re supposed to guard me, though. Right?”
The darn minx bumped him with her elbow, like they were a couple of high school kids on prom night. “You’ll have your own bed, but you’ll be handcuffed to it.”
“Oh,” she purred. “Handcuffed to a bed. I haven’t done that in a while.”
The image of her in six-inch heels and a black leather corset slithered into his head. He focused on the control panel and resolutely counted the floors until the tenth. Two to go. It was still early morning. She might need a gag over those ruby red lips for the rest of the day so he could get some sleep.
The elevator pinged and two men entered at the ninth floor, both Afghan businessmen. Lee pulled her into his side and back against the rear wall to hide the cuffs. That wouldn’t do.
She rubbed up against his thigh. “I’m still hungry.”
He stepped a half-foot away, just enough to give her space and to squelch the heat rising in his gut. At the tenth floor, things had to change in order to step around the men and exit the elevator. Lee pulled her along with him. Keeping her flush to his side, he stayed between them and her to keep the cuffs out of view.
Instantly, she capitalized on the move, leaning in way too affectionately. “Hmmm. I like this, honey.”
“Knock it off,” he muttered as he nodded to the gentlemen. One of them spiked a brow, casting a curious look toward Tess. Lee cleared the door, exited the elevator, and took a sharp left, tugging her with him. He needed distance from this woman. Just one more step and—
She stuck her boot between his feet and tripped him. Damned liar.
He only fell to one knee, but she’d bolted by then, and she’d gotten away. She had a good head start down the hall. For one second, he actually enjoyed the view of her backside pumping energetically away from him. The girl was an athlete, no doubt about it, but dumb. Even with handcuffs, she believed she was invincible. She thought she could escape. Still, half the fun was in the chase.
Pushing off the floor, he sprinted after her. Man, she was quick. Clearing that hallway, she turned left into the next. At the same corner, he had to think fast in order to vault over the cleaning cart in his way, still watching her ass move faster away from him than he’d anticipated. He should’ve remembered. This gal could run. Well, not today. He was going to catch her and—
A cleaning woman backing out of one of the rooms collided with Tess. She tried to right herself, but down she went, and the poor woman with her. The morning’s exercise was over, and Lee’s heart was pumping for more than one reason.
“Are you okay?” he asked the cleaning woman while he helped her to her feet. She smoothed the hair out of her eyes and readjusted her veil and her clothing, muttering what Lee didn’t know. At least she didn’t sound too angry.
Quickly, he snagged Tess by the elbow and hoisted her to her feet. Of course she barreled into him and knocked him over, falling on top of him when she lost her balance. “Let me go,” she growled, banging her head into his hip as they sprawled on the floor.
“No, ma’am, I will not,” he groaned. This time he didn’t extend the courtesy of letting her walk to his room. He circled her waist with one hand and lifted to his feet with her tucked over his hip. She was facedown and backwards, her cuffed wrists where he could keep an eye on them. Her backside, too.
She squirmed, trying to turn in his arms and kicking both feet. “You can’t keep me handcuffed forever.”
“Yes, I can.” He blew out a big breath, taking long strides down the hall. The last thing he needed was to have to explain to hotel security why he was carrying a struggling woman to his room like this.
“Help!” she called out. “Help! He’s—”
Smack! He brought his hand down hard on her backside. “Quiet you.”
“Ouch, you hit me!”
“Yes, ma’am, I did,” he muttered, turning the corner with an armful of sass. Finally at his door, he pulled his key card from his shirt pocket and slid it through the magnetic lock, still wrangling the obnoxious woman on his hip. Before the door opened, he caught the puzzled look from his Afghan neighbors just leaving their room.
Tess turned to them, but he never gave her a chance to speak. Lee slapped her ass again and grinned at the friendly folks while he did it. “Newlyweds. Just playing. You know how it is. Sorry if we disturbed you.” To prove his point, he gave her another loud spank.
“Knock it off,” she declared angrily, “and we’re not playing.”
The gentleman pantomimed another spank with his hand, his face split in a mischievous smile, so, for good measure, Lee grinned and landed another one to Tess’s very wiggly bottom. That made four. She deserved a lot more for the trouble she’d caused.
“Help me,” she squealed, but Lee was home free. The neighbor chuckled and walked away with his wife, the door lock blinked green, and Lee angled Tess feet-first into his room. But he wasn’t done with her. She had a lesson in counter-terrorism coming, and he meant to give it to her. He dropped his key card to his nightstand and headed straight for the bathroom with her thrashing like a damned fish.
“No,” she groaned, still trying to ram his leg with her head.
“Can’t you be good just once?” he asked politely. Her last chance.
“Can’t you let me go, you jackass?”
“Hoped you’d say that.” He turned on the bathroom light and flipped the shower on. One faucet for cold. One for hot. He deliberated using both for half a second, but warmth and comfort weren’t an option. He cranked the cold spigot.
“Don’t do this!” She arched her back. Pulling the shower curtain aside, he dropped her on her pretty little butt and into the cold spray. She scrambled to her knees and barreled into him with her shoulder, still fighting with everything she had and still not getting it through her hard head. She couldn’t win. No way. No how.
“You’re an asshole!”
“So you say,” he muttered, “and you, my dear, are a pain in the ass.” Straightening his arm, he easily restrained her beneath the cold water, making sure to keep her inside the tub while she sputtered, struggled, and cursed. There was no sense getting water all over the floor.
“I hate you! Let me out of here.” By then, she looked like a wet dog, her hair streaming over her face and black mascara smudged around her eyes. Make that, she looked like a wet raccoon. Only her ruby red lips weren’t smudged. Probably waterproof. Hmmm.
He would’ve done what she wanted if she hadn’t taken another kick at his thigh. He pushed her off balance when her boot came up, and down she went again, sputtering all the way, her hands still behind her back and the entire bathroom floor getting soaked.
“You’ve got to,” she wheezed, “let me … up, damn you.”
“No, Miss Culver. I don’t got to do any such thing.” He crouched alongside the tub, still holding her under the cold-water treatment he knew would finally knock some sense into her.
“B-b-but you’re drowning me.”
“Am not. You can breathe just fine. You’re just getting a cold shower. That’s all. I’m not hurting you; I’m just teaching you a lesson.”
She spat at him and coughed, shielding her face from the water while he made sure she caught the brunt of it. Darn, she was a pain. At last she bowed her head, water dripping off her nose and chin, her hair running like black silk over her back and
shoulders. Damned if the tips of her nipples weren’t displayed like marbles through her sodden black blouse. He averted his eyes, not doing this for sport, only as the last line of discipline in a long damned day.
“Had enough?”
“I’m going to kill you when I get out of here!” she spat as she lurched over the edge of the tub to ram him with her head. Crazy woman would’ve knocked him over if he hadn’t been on guard.
“Guess not.” He snagged her shirt collar and turned her around, forcing her face-first into the spray where she’d get a mouthful and maybe a little sense in the meantime. Silly woman had no chance. She was shivering plenty. It was just a matter of how long she wanted to challenge him.
“I hate you,” she sputtered, her eyes squeezed tight against the steady spray. “I. Hate. You!”
“Yeah well stand in line,” he muttered. “You’re not the first. Won’t be the last.”
“But I...” She sagged, all that beautiful hair draped in a drenched curtain around her face, and the fight finally gone out of her. He hoped. “I really hate you. I’m fr-freez-z-zing.”
“Are you done acting like a prima donna?” He let the cold shower continue for another minute until he was sure she’d had enough. Of course, there was no telling.
“Please.” She sighed, spitting water. “Let me out of here.”
Lee cupped her chin so she had to look up. She had a way of not answering a direct question. “I asked if you’re done acting like a prima donna?”
She shook her head, but didn’t open her eyes.
“Look at me, Tess,” he ordered, his fingers firm on her jaw and his thumb on her chin.
She lifted her eyes, blinking to see him through the stream of water sluicing over her forehead. “What?”
“I asked you a direct question. I expect an answer.”
“I’m done,” she answered quickly, shivering and covered with goose bumps, those delectable nipples on point.
“Are you going to need a come-to-Jesus meeting every time we disagree? Because I promise, I can do it.”
Lee (In the Company of Snipers Book 12) Page 8
