Chief (Kings of Guardian Book 7) (The Kings of Guardian)

by Kris Michaels

  "Yes, sir?"

  "You will leave with us. Nobody speaks to us with such disrespect without paying the price."

  "I understand, sir."

  "I don't think you do."

  Taty handed the phone to him. He powered it down and pulled the battery, sliding his hand into his pocket. The phone slipped out while he simultaneously palmed a small metal case. He leaned forward removing his hand from his pocket in a natural movement. "What did you say to him when you went off in that rapid-fire conversation?" His hand slid down the far side of his leg. He slid forward, too, and bent at the waist to look at her as his hand slid under the front rung of the bench. Hopefully, it would look as if he was using the bench to steady himself. He felt the metal container as it magnetically pulled against the metal bench joint.

  "I explained he would be throwing away the chance of a lifetime." She glanced up at him. "He wasn't happy." Chief stood and extended his hand to help her up. She unfolded slowly with only a small grimace. His hip throbbed like a bitch. He could only imagine how Taty was feeling. She refused to wear the sling Malakai had left for her. He knew from experience her arm had to be weak and aching.

  "So it would appear. The threat at the end I understood. Don't worry, if all goes right, I'll require your bosses to allow your stay with me to continue. That would alleviate any need to explain your choice of words."

  They walked slowly toward the carriage. Just before they moved within hearing of the driver, she asked, "And if things don't go right?" She slowly turned to him.

  Chief shrugged with a casualness he didn't feel. "Let's just hope they do."

  Her beautiful face wore a look of vulnerability that pulled at his gut. He turned and guided her to the carriage, reminding himself once again the woman was a master manipulator, a liar, and a criminal.

  "This can't be right?" Jewell ran the coordinates again and looked at the map. She felt Zane's presence behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and pointed to the map. "It is the middle of the fucking Indian Ocean!"

  "Stop swearing. It doesn't become you. That's the Maldives Republic. The man is a genius. There are over twelve hundred islands. We know which one he is going to, the Bravata doesn't."

  "You aren't my mother. I can say whatever the fuck I want to say. I knew it was the Maldives. It is just a shit place for a meet because I have no surveillance there. I need to get this to my brothers." She turned and bumped into Zane. He caught and steadied her. Jewell growled in frustration. "Move out of my way, Walter."

  His hands slid down her arms before he side stepped and fell in beside her. "You need to eat. You haven't had anything since breakfast."

  Jewell snarled something crass and slammed the door open. She'd just thought she needed to eat something, but she'd be damned if she'd do it now. Zane's overbearing act had been driving her crazy for months. She'd been able to run the others off, but this man… uggg!

  She strode through Jason's office and waved off Jason's secretary's effort to stop her.

  "What the fuck, Jewell?" Jason's head lifted from the paperwork he had in his hands.

  "I want Rockford here, fired," she motioned over his shoulder at Zane, "and I have the location for the meet." Jewell flopped into the huge chair in front of Jason's desk.

  "No. He is the only one who will put up with you. I'm giving him a fucking raise, and his name is Zane." Jason placed the paper he was holding down and leaned back in his massive desk chair. "Where?"

  "The Maldives Republic." Jewell dug in her pocket for the coordinates she'd used in her office. "Here."

  "The man is a fucking savant strategist." Jason turned to the huge map of the world behind his desk. He ran the longitude and latitude the old fashioned way. "Okay, we don't have a date or time?"

  Jewell shook her head. "TBD."

  Jason turned and pushed a button on his phone system. "Sonya, please come in here."

  "Right away, Mr. King." The tiny woman teetered in moments later with her tablet. Jewell was amazed the woman didn't break an ankle on the six-inch heels she was wearing. Jason waited until she sat in front of him to begin. "Alright, we need to bring everyone in. Sonya get ahold of Jacob. Tell them to get Doc here. I'll need a rundown of all available assets, personnel, and machinery. Due to the location, I'll need specific locations and status on all air and watercraft at Guardian's disposable. Jewell, do a complete back brief on this location. I want to know if a gnat scratches its ass on that island. As a reminder, all of this is done old school. Nothing goes out on any electronics. I'll be damned if I'm giving that hacker any indication of where my family will be."

  Jewell's stomach growled. Damn, she was hungry. She popped a look at Zane. The smug ass lifted an eyebrow at her. She stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to her brother. "Roger that. We've got the next three operations ready to launch on the Bravata's assets. Do you want them to continue?'

  "Hell, yes. If we keep sniping at their ankles, they won't be looking at the fist that is about to knock them the fuck out."

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The remote island in the Maldives that David Xavier owned was the perfect spot to lure the head of the Bravata. Guardian could set up before anyone knowing they were going to the island. If the Bravata brought firepower, he trusted his team to have a plan. He just needed to keep the bait on the hook. He glanced over at Tatyana and sighed. As a Bravata operative, she was no doubt hiding too much, and he didn't want her to be the reason his mission failed. There were too many times that one plus one didn't equal two when the woman was involved. He really should just sit back and let the course of events play out, but he cared for her. It was irrational and against his every resolve, but his feelings for this woman were there. He couldn't ignore them anymore.

  "Taty, come over here please," Chief called her over to him, and instead of letting her sit beside him, he positioned her so she straddled him.

  "We need to talk."

  "About?"

  "When we started this—arrangement, you had your goals, and I had mine. The lines seem to have blurred."

  "What lines?" She settled on his lap and his cock thickened.

  He pushed the brown curls that were always flopping into her eyes from her forehead. The two things she'd been adamant about today was that he be allowed to meet with the Bravata and she would be present. He needed answers, so he took away one of the two things she seemed to want. "I have decided you will not be going with me to the meeting."

  Her body tensed immediately. A look of fear flitted across her face. "No! I must go. I know you will do what you can to keep me out of harm's way, but there are reasons I must attend."

  Warning flags flew through his mind at the vehement plea. "Why?"

  She closed down. He watched as her expression shuttered. She shrugged and looked down at her hands that were on his chest. "Please, you cannot leave me here."

  She leaned in and tried to kiss him. Chief pulled back. "Why? You've lied at every turn. You jeopardized the meeting this morning when you went off script."

  Her head whipped up at that comment.

  "Yes, I speak your language better than you assumed. You told them to use the upcoming meeting to trap me into future transactions." He grabbed her wrists and held them securely. "What do you have to gain from being at my meeting with the Bravata, Tatyana? What do you gain?"

  "I gain nothing." She wouldn't look at him. Those expressive brown eyes were focused on his chest.

  "Liar."

  She popped her eyes up and shrugged. "Think what you will."

  "I rarely do anything else. You are a puzzle. You state you want revenge, yet you do everything in your power to ensure this deal continues. Your quickest revenge against the Bravata would be to ruin the transactions. Instead, you continually ensure nothing interferes with them." Chief held her wrists firmly in his hand, and when she pulled away, he used his other ha
nd to cup the back of her neck. "No, you will stay here until I figure out this conundrum you've given me." He gave a gentle tug and brought her down against his chest. Her tense little body failed to relax into him.

  "So, if we eliminate all other considerations, you need me to meet with the Bravata, and you need to be present. Why?" He was talking out loud and didn't expect an answer. His hand traced a line down her back and returned in a mindless caress.

  "You don't know where the meet is, you are secluded, so working with someone in the Bravata to collude against the leadership is doubtful, especially as three of your closest known associates are now dead." Chief assumed the two escorts who had the routing numbers had been eliminated. It was logical. His mind cut to the seclusion bit of the puzzle. He hadn't ordered a report from his security team. Damn, he'd dropped the ball on that one, but they would have alerted him if she'd tried to make contact with anyone. "Why do you want to meet the leadership of the Bravata so badly, little one?" He continued to run his hand up and down her back. His grip hadn't lessened an iota on her wrists. The woman was strung as tightly as a guitar string. His words were hitting home. The problem was he didn't know why, but he would figure it out. He'd give Guardian three days to mobilize and set up before he reached out to the Bravata with the location and date. He'd use a dead-drop again to send the information and recordings of the telephone conversations he'd taped. Due to the time to travel to the Maldives, Guardian would have at least five days to set up. Was the mouse was following him… or was the mouse leading him? He wasn't too certain.

  Taty turned her face into his neck. "I need to be there, David. I do not want harm to come to you. That is the truth, and I swear it on my family's graves."

  Chief didn't respond. Hell, he didn't know for a fact that she had a family. Everything she said last night could be another elaborate lie. She lifted enough to kiss his jaw. Fuck, the woman was using sex to distract him, and she was one hell of a distraction. He made a mental note to request a report from security in the morning. Her tongue trailed down his neck before she nudged his shirt collar aside with her nose and started to suck on his collarbone. Her tongue and lips were pulling up a bruise, and his cock was beating with the thump of his heart behind his zipper. He didn't release her hands when she tugged. Instead, he pushed her away. "You can't use sex to distract me, Tatyana. I will figure out what game you're playing."

  Her face was flushed and her eyes hooded. She licked her lips and spoke in Russian, "No games tonight. I need you. That is the truth. Please, be my lover for the night? Just be with me. No lies, no pretense, no tomorrow. Just now, tonight. Just us."

  She leaned down hesitantly, slowly dipping before her eyes sought his out. Her open need lay naked before him.

  Chief released her wrists and cupped her face in his hands. "No lies."

  Tatyana nodded slightly.

  "Bedroom." He helped her to stand, her hip obviously still sore from the hard fall she'd taken. She looked over her shoulder at him as he lifted off the couch and followed her. Her shirt dropped by the steps leading from the great room. He watched as her skirt followed at the top of the steps. The soft pink lace of her bra trailed in her hand at the bedroom door. He glanced at it as he entered. She stood by the bed. A massive black and blue contusion mottled her perfectly toned outer thigh. Chief ripped off his shirt at the door and unsnapped his slacks making quick work of them. He crossed the room and dropped at her side. His lips and tongue trailed the edges of the bruise. She ran her hand through his hair as he turned her to face him. He carefully lifted the elastic of her panties away and slid them down her legs making sure not to abuse the damaged muscle. He pushed her back, so she was trapped between the bed and him. He licked and nipped her hipbone. Her shudder and small gasp filled his senses as much as the delicious taste of her skin. Mike dipped his head lower and concentrated on her sex. God the woman was a feast. Her body's reactions to his touch defined bountiful. Her shivers and gooseflesh, her excitement wetting his fingers and tongue, all called to him as much as the delicious sounds with which she filled the room. Her hands clenched his shoulders, and her thighs tightened in small convulsive jerks. She was close. He lifted slightly and found her clit. She jumped at the slight touch of his tongue and cried out. Mike smiled against her hot flesh. He flicked that bud repeatedly with his tongue and added his fingers. She ground against his hand, gripped the back of his head and demanded more from his lips. He refused, keeping the steady flicking of his tongue against her sensitive, swollen flesh.

  Tatyana bucked against his fingers. Words in a language he couldn't decipher pierced his sex drugged haze. She was begging. It didn't matter what language she spoke, the meaning was clear. Mike moved closer and sucked her clit into his mouth. The pressure and suction pushed her over. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as she exploded. He remained on his knees and held her through the orgasm.

  Chief lifted, his hip complained, but not enough that he'd change his plans. He dropped kisses across her freckled nose. She still clung to his shoulders as she recovered her breath. Finally, she chased his mouth. He kissed her deeply before spinning her and pushing her shoulders down to the bed. She folded in half, standing beside the bed, her chest resting on the tall pillow-topped mattress.

  Chief shucked his boxers; his hard, angry cock slapped his stomach. He grabbed the nightstand drawer and retrieved a string of condoms, ripping out the first in the line. He suited up and drove home. Her searing hot core closed so fucking tightly around him. God, the feeling of this woman was divine. Chief held her hips and gazed at where they joined. He closed his eyes when he'd seated himself completely within her. His hands traveled up her spine. "Lift your leg." He helped her fold her leg up on the mattress and then followed suit with her other leg. Still impaled on him she was now high enough. He pulled her up, so her back was against his chest. She'd be too short to hold like this if he hadn't had her on her knees on the bed. He tugged her close, her back now to his chest. Her arms reached back to circle his neck. He let his hands discover her body. She pressed back with her hips as he thrust forward. Fuck, he wasn't going to last if she kept that up. He dropped his hand and massaged her sex in concert with their movements. She lost her rhythm and folded forward. He caught her and lost any thought of control. Her moans and shuddering clenches enticed him into that void, one where he couldn't stop even if he tried. He grabbed her uninjured hip and pounded into her heat, demanding his release. Chief roared through his orgasm. He fucking couldn't do anything else. He caught himself on straight arms to keep from falling on top of Tatyana and shuddered when he pulled out. After dealing with the condom, he helped her find the middle of the bed and flipped covers over both of them. He rolled onto his side and folded her into him—his bandaged hip be damned.

  His hand petted her arm. He wanted to be able to tell her the truth, to warn her to run away or to keep her locked up so she couldn't be found. Fate had conspired to fuck him royally. Chief listened to her steady breathing as she faded into sleep. Somehow he'd screwed up and fallen in love with his enemy. He gazed out the floor to ceiling windows. The one woman strong enough to stand by his side stood on the opposite side of the divide between good and evil, and there was no way to bridge the gap. His heart might not recover from this devastation.

  Jasmine King glanced at herself in the full-length mirror. Not bad. She could rock this flight attendant's uniform. Granted, the color wasn't her favorite, but the scarf was nice enough.

  "Shit, darlin'. Tell me you have a nurse's uniform in that closet, too, and you'll knock two of my top ten fantasies off the list." Chad came up behind her and pulled her back into him.

  "Not so fast cowboy. This is for work." Jasmine turned her head to the side asking for and receiving a scorching kiss. God, her man could kiss.

  "Work? What work?" He asked between panty-melting kisses. Jasmine turned in his arms. "Remem
ber that Russian threat?"

  Chad straightened. His face hardened, and he nodded.

  Shit, this probably wasn't going to go over well. "I'll only be gone a week or so."

  Chad dropped his arms and took two steps back. Oh, he was pissed. She could see the anger radiating off him. Damn it she should have laid some groundwork, but she wasn't given much time, and those kisses fritzed her brain.

  "What exactly do you think you will be doing?" He ground his teeth as he asked.

  Jasmine held up her hands in supplication. "Support only. I'm on board the aircraft our inside guy is flying to the meet on. Dixon and Drake are flying it. If shit hits the fan, we are to provide an escape route."

  "Have you told your brothers?" Jasmine's stomach fell. No, she hadn't told anyone yet.

  "Not yet," Jasmine admitted, "but flying this early won't be an issue."

  "I'm not worried about you flying, Jazz! What happens if you get into it and something happens?"

  "I won't let that happen!" She would never jeopardize their baby!

  "Neither will I. If you don't tell Jason, I will." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.

  "Do not throw an ultimatum at me." Jasmine squared off with him.

  "I have just as much say in this as you do. That is my child you're carrying."

  "No shit? Here I thought I got pregnant from an alien insemination!" Jasmine flung back. "Look, I have to go. These bastards have attacked my family, for fuck sake they attacked us, and now that we have a chance to take them down, I am going to be there. This child will not be safe unless we eliminate that threat. They know who we are, Chad!"

  "So you just made the call without discussing it with me?" His anger hadn't abated one bit.

  "No! They just found out about it yesterday. When I was last in Washington, Guardian was still working the lower level targets. This was overnighted to me. I just got out of the comm center not more than an hour ago. I was going to tell you, but you were writing music in the den. I'm not leaving until tomorrow night. I'll fly from here to LaGuardia, and then I'll jump on a plane and fly to wherever you're going. I'm going to be making food, serving drinks and keeping an eye on Chief's escape route. I swear I wasn't going to just leave! I wouldn't do that."