“It’s not a concern.”
Her voice softened. “I know you want to help him. All right. It’s his mission, so you’re still just backup. Don’t fuck it up, mon cher.” Her tone changed once more, this time teasing. “Tell me, how did you enjoy watching your lover seduce another man? I’m amazed our Russian friend isn’t already deep in his grave.”
Kyle grumbled. “If that’s all, we’ve got missile plans to intercept.”
Marie’s laughter came down the line. “My hard-nosed operative so spectacularly in love. It’s a delight.” Her jolly tone faded. “But don’t let it get in the way of the job. Sebastian can take care of himself. You know you can’t always be there. He needs to be able to handle himself in the field. Now find that USB drive. Au revoir.”
The line went dead, and Kyle handed the phone back to Sebastian. “Let’s hope sleeping beauty over there wakes soon. No movement from the North Koreans?”
“No. Word is they haven’t left Buenos Aires yet. A local team is on them.”
At the window, they waited. Sebastian leaned into Kyle, and Kyle was glad Sebastian was on his left. The ibuprofen he’d taken had not relieved the pulsing pain. They should be on alert, strictly business, but Kyle didn’t push him away. There was nothing else they could do for the moment.
“Did you really think I was going to sleep with that guy?”
Kyle hitched his shoulder in a shrug.
“That was never the plan.”
“Plans change. You never know. The rules of the game aren’t always the same. One day you might have to.”
Frowning, Sebastian stepped in front of Kyle. “I’m not actually going to have sex with anyone.”
Kyle caressed Sebastian’s cheek. He hoped he’d never lose this lingering innocence, although it was surely inevitable. “What if it meant saving thousands of lives?”
Sebastian pondered it. “I guess…I don’t know. I told Marie I didn’t ever want to do that.” He ran his hand up Kyle’s chest, warm over the thin fabric of Kyle’s T-shirt. “You’re the only man I want to be with. As for women…” He scrunched up his face. “I don’t know how you do that.”
Kyle laughed. “It’s almost easier. Pure acting. Just the game.”
“I think about it sometimes. The night I met you. Well, the night I met Steven McBride. Strange to think that all I worried about was pleasing my father and going back to Harvard for a second year. My world was so small.”
Reaching up, Kyle brushed his thumb across Sebastian’s lower lip. “Small, maybe. But safe.”
Sebastian snorted. “Yeah, until my father took out a hit on me. I may have thought I was safe, but I was just living in a dream world where my father was a ‘businessman.’ He was an arms dealer in bed with the mob. Safe was never an option.” He stepped closer. “Either way, I made my choice.” He kissed Kyle softly. “He’s probably going to sleep for hours, you know.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Sebastian took Kyle’s hand and sucked his thumb into his mouth, tongue swirling around it before letting go with a wet, filthy pop. “I can think of a few ways to pass the—”
As Zhernakov bellowed, Kyle and Sebastian sprang apart. They listened intently, although Sebastian couldn’t speak Russian well yet. Another voice joined Zhernakov’s, a cowering minion by the sound of it. Kyle smirked. “He wants to know why they didn’t wake him.”
Kyle translated roughly in his head. His Russian was competent, although his accent wouldn’t fool a native. But in this case all he had to do was listen as Zhernakov blathered on, berating his men and seeming in quite a hurry.
When Kyle tensed, Sebastian raised an eyebrow. Kyle answered, “He just asked…” Kyle swore. “He doesn’t have the USB drive. He’s meeting a courier…” He waited. “The next ferry to Montevideo.”
Sebastian swiped at his phone and tapped his thumbs. “Leaves in forty-five minutes. We need to beat him on board.”
They made it to the lobby in thirty seconds and hailed a taxi. The pain in his back blazed, but Kyle ignored it. Fortunately Sebastian hadn’t noticed in the dark of the park that Kyle had bled through his bandage. A couple of stitches had popped, so he’d had to wrap the wound tightly. He wore a black T-shirt just in case, but it should hold until he could see a doctor. He’d had worse, and he wouldn’t let Sebastian down. He was fine.
At the pier, they fell into line for tickets and then passport control. The ship carried hundreds of people, and the deck was crowded in the morning sunshine, children laughing and playing, their parents sipping iced coffees.
“Should we look for the North Koreans?” Sebastian murmured.
“Sounded like he’s meeting them on the other side, but we’ll keep an eye out.”
“He’d better hurry.” Sebastian scanned the pier. “Ah, there he is. All right, I’ll get the drive.”
Kyle fought the urge to handle it himself and keep Sebastian out of harm’s way. But no, he was the backup. This was Sebastian’s mission. He pressed a timer on his watch as the ship blew its horn and the engines rumbled to life. “You have three hours. What’s the plan?”
“Pick up where we left off last night. Wish me luck.” Sebastian disappeared into the crowd.
Kyle watched him go, reminding himself again that Sebastian could take care of himself.
Chapter Three
“Oh my God, hi!” Sebastian grinned.
Decidedly unimpressed, Zhernakov Jr. grunted. “You.” Even with what had to be a hell of a headache, Zhernakov had coiffed his hair and was dressed impeccably, his formfitting clothes showing off his physique. Sebastian wondered what Zhernakov Sr. thought of his son and the amount of time he must spend at the gym.
Sebastian squeezed past a family and joined him at the ferry railing. Zhernakov hadn’t moved for the entire journey, and the ferry was due to dock in twenty minutes. Either his plan to meet the courier had changed, or he was leaving it to the last minute. Sebastian needed to act.
Zhernakov wore mirrored sunglasses, and Sebastian caught a glimpse of himself. He almost lifted a hand automatically to straighten his tousled hair before remembering that with his surfing T-shirt and jeans, the hair contributed to the teenager look. He affected a concerned expression. “Are you feeling better?”
Zhernakov was silent for a moment, unreadable with his eyes hidden. “Yes. Better.”
“Oh, good. We’d only had one drink, and you said you had a headache. I don’t know what you took, but you were out like a light. I thought… Never mind.”
“What?” Zhernakov tilted his head. He shifted his body toward Sebastian with a slow smile and oily charm. “What did you think?”
Sebastian glanced away, blushing. “I thought maybe you didn’t like me after all.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I mean, you’re so sophisticated and I’m just a stupid kid. At least that’s what my dad says.”
“And where is your father?”
Sebastian nodded toward the direction of Buenos Aires across Río de la Plata and grinned. “He’s got meetings all day, so I’m running away. I’m going to stay out all night and come back in the morning.”
“All night? How brave.”
“I know. He’s going to kill me, but whatever. I want to have fun for once.”
“And where are you going to stay if you’re out all night?”
Shrugging, Sebastian smiled coyly. “I dunno. I’ll figure something out.”
Zhernakov tsk-tsked. “It can be dangerous out in the city by yourself. Perhaps you should stay with me. I’ll take you to a club.” He ran a fingertip down Sebastian’s cheek. “Wouldn’t want anything to happen to this pretty face.”
Sebastian shivered, eyes wide. “Okay.”
One of Zhernakov’s men appeared and murmured in Russian, too quietly for Sebastian to pick up any words, although he could guess what the man said.
Zhernakov smiled tightly at Sebastian. “I have some business to attend to. Stay here.”
“Sure.”
He waited until Z
hernakov was almost out of sight before following. He knew Kyle would be watching, but couldn’t spot him. Thankful for the crowd, Sebastian slipped down to the lower level. Zhernakov disappeared into the bathroom. Sebastian watched the door from a distance, breathing deeply to calm his racing pulse.
No one else went in, but after two minutes, a short, balding man walked out. The courier. Sebastian sprang into action before Zhernakov left as well. Inside the bathroom, Zhernakov and his two men wheeled around as Sebastian walked in. It was a small room with only two stalls and two urinals.
One of the flunkies leveled his pistol at Sebastian. Sebastian raised his arms. “Oh! I didn’t…I’m sorry.” He gazed at Zhernakov beseechingly. “What’s happening? Did I do something wrong?”
Zhernakov stared with a narrowed gaze. He gave a minute nod of his head, and the other flunky went to Sebastian and patted him down thoroughly. When the minion stepped back and nodded, the other put his gun away.
Zhernakov smiled. “My friend, I thought I told you to stay upstairs?”
“I just had to pee. I didn’t mean to interrupt or anything. Are you, like…gangsters or something?” He kept his tone breathy.
“Or something.”
Sebastian raked his gaze down Zhernakov’s body and bit his lip. “Wow.”
With a flick of his head, Zhernakov dismissed the men. “What is your name?”
“Eric.” Sebastian drew his brows together, feigning hurt. “Don’t you remember?”
“Forgive me. That headache last night was a…doozy, I think you Americans would call it.”
Sebastian smiled. “Uh-huh. Sure, no problem.” He took a few steps toward Zhernakov and glanced at one of the empty stalls. “You said last night…” He shook his head. “Never mind.”
“What? What did I say?”
Sebastian lowered his voice. “You said you’d teach me how to kiss.”
“Did I?” He laughed, sounding truly amused for a moment before pitching his voice low. “And do you still want to learn?”
Nodding, Sebastian licked his lips.
Zhernakov waved his arm toward the stall. “After you.”
Heart pounding, Sebastian squeezed inside. He thought of being with Kyle the night before. How different it had been! Instead of excitement and lust and affection, Sebastian felt nauseous. His throat was dry, and he struggled to stay focused. All the training in the world wasn’t the same as the real thing.
He leaned in toward Zhernakov, all sloppy eagerness, but Zhernakov pushed him to his knees with a firm hand and a sly grin. Sebastian blinked up. “I thought you were going to teach me to kiss?”
“First you’re going to learn how to take my cock.” His smile disappeared, and he tightened his fingers painfully in Sebastian’s hair as he unzipped his trousers and pushed them down his hips to release his cock and balls. “Then you’ll beg for it in your tight ass.”
Nodding, Sebastian reached up. In one movement, he surged to his feet and grabbed Zhernakov’s genitalia with one hand, twisting and pulling while slamming the blade of his other hand up into Zhernakov’s throat. Despite the blow to his throat, Zhernakov howled loudly—too loudly—in agony and smashed Sebastian’s head back against the wall, sending a burst of pain through Sebastian.
Hesitate and you’re dead.
Trying to remember all he’d learned, Sebastian wrenched free and kicked viciously at Zhernakov’s knee, sending him crashing to the faded tile floor. There was little room to maneuver in the stall, and Sebastian slammed his knee down against Zhernakov’s windpipe.
He registered the bathroom door opening and one of the flunkies shouting for their boss before there were sounds of a struggle beyond the stall. But he kept his focus on Zhernakov, whose face became redder and redder as his free arm grappled for Sebastian, the other trapped below him on the floor. Zhernakov managed to get hold of Sebastian’s throat, but Sebastian held his breath. He put all his weight into his knee where it pressed against the other man’s airway—right in the right spot to knock him out but not kill him.
Finally Zhernakov lost consciousness and his arm flopped down. Sebastian stayed put for a moment, gasping shallowly and concentrating on keeping control. I can do this. I’ve got this. He forced a deep breath into his lungs and patted down Zhernakov, searching for the USB drive.
His fingers found a telltale rectangular bulge in a small pocket sewn inside Zhernakov’s light jacket. Zhernakov would be out for another few minutes, but there was no time to lose. He checked his watch. The ferry docked in two minutes. Perfect. He listened carefully and peeked through the crack in the stall door.
At least one of Zhernakov’s thugs was slumped on the floor, and Sebastian could hear only harsh breathing that sounded like Kyle. He edged open the stall door. Sure enough, the other minion was also knocked out on the floor, and Kyle stood with one hand braced against the wall, his boot on the man’s neck. He held his duffel with his other hand.
Kyle tried to smile but didn’t quite make it. “Got it?”
“Yeah.” Sebastian held up the stick before slipping it into his pocket, the brief rush of elation at succeeding washed away by a wave of concern. “You’re pale.” He stepped over the unconscious men and reached for Kyle, putting his hand on Kyle’s back. It was wet, and he lifted his hand to see blood dripping from his palm. “Jesus!”
One of the men stirred, and Sebastian slung his arm around Kyle’s waist, bringing Kyle’s arm around his shoulders. The ship was shuddering to a halt, and Sebastian led the way out of the bathroom, pausing to drag a yellow cleaning sign in front of the door. Most passengers were on the upper deck, so the stairs were fortunately empty.
Kyle staggered, and Sebastian tightened his grip. “A couple of stitches, huh?” Irritation warred with worry.
“Maybe a few more.” Kyle grunted as they reached the upper deck and joined the throng of people disembarking.
Sebastian was grateful they’d already gone through passport control before boarding, and fought the urge to scream for everyone to get out of the way. Kyle leaned against him, swaying slightly. A few people frowned in their direction, but Sebastian ignored them, concentrating on getting Kyle to safety and making sure Zhernakov and his men didn’t follow.
Finally they made it off the ferry, and Sebastian spotted the signal from the driver of a waiting car. Kyle was clearly in pain as he clambered into the backseat, pressing his lips together. Sebastian climbed in after, and the driver zoomed off.
Sebastian saw no sign of Zhernakov as they left the pier behind. He rooted through Kyle’s duffel and pulled out a fresh wad of bandages to press against the wound beneath Kyle’s stained shirt. Kyle winced but didn’t complain. He’d bled onto the seat cushion, but Sebastian thought ruefully that the driver had likely seen it all before.
Once they left Montevideo behind, Sebastian was able to relax, at least for the time being. The windows were open in the old car, and Kyle leaned back against the seat, eyes closed. It would take an hour and a half to get to Colonia and the safe house—and doctor—there, and Kyle was breathing evenly, so Sebastian let him rest.
He’d give him hell later.
Sitting backward on a chair, Kyle kept his gaze on the harbor as the doctor restitched his wound with steady hands. Sebastian watched from a few feet away, leaning against the door to the patio, arms crossed. Their little villa was nestled in a hillside, sweet-smelling flowers climbing the walls and old palm trees casting shade as the sun inched toward the horizon.
When the Association doctor finished and packed up his equipment quietly and efficiently, Sebastian saw him out. Kyle braced himself.
“Seventeen.” Sebastian stood in front of Kyle’s chair, arms still crossed. “For future reference, seventeen and ‘a couple’ are not the same thing.”
Kyle sighed. “I know. I just—”
Sebastian held his hands up, eyebrows raised. “Didn’t think I could do it on my own?”
“Wanted to see you.”
Exhaling noisil
y, Sebastian shook his head. “I wanted to see you too, but not bleeding out.”
Kyle gave him a look. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“It could have been! You just had a blood transfusion, might I remind you.”
“Yes, and I’m feeling much better now.”
“Not the point. Don’t lie to me like that. If you’re hurt, I want to know. We’re supposed to be…” He huffed, laughing just a bit. “I don’t know, actually. We never really gave it a name. Gave this a name.” He motioned between them.
Part of Kyle was surprised Sebastian had to ask. He thought it had been obvious. “Partners. In work. In everything.”
The rest of Sebastian’s anger seemed to drain away, and he gazed at Kyle with tender eyes. “So that means we’re equals. That means you don’t lie to me.”
“Okay. You’re right. I just…” He blew out a long breath. “I’ve never felt like this before. Not for anyone. I hate the thought of you being hurt.”
“And I feel the same way about you.”
“I’ve been doing this for more than a decade and—”
“And you’re a big tough guy, yeah, yeah.” Sebastian knelt in front of the chair and squeezed Kyle’s knees. “But I hate seeing you in pain. You were in no condition to be taking on two goons. I know this was all supposed to be easy and you shouldn’t have had to do anything. Just…you can’t protect me all the time.”
Kyle covered Sebastian’s hands with his own. “When you were training, it was fine. In Hong Kong, I was there. But this…I know it was foolish. I should have let another agent be your backup. But I couldn’t stand the thought of not being here if you needed me.”
Sebastian smiled. “That’s because you’re a huge control freak. But I love you anyway.”
“Lucky for me.” Warmth bloomed in Kyle’s chest, and he brushed back Sebastian’s unruly hair.
“You bet your ass you’re lucky. Now come on.” He tugged on Kyle’s hand. “Maybe I’ll kiss it better.”
The Chimera Affair: Gay Romance Page 22
