“Yeah, we don’t work for charity.” Hani’s friend took a step forward, hands balled into fists.
Another older gentleman stepped forward. He cradled a rifle in his arms Hani hadn’t seen before.
“We do this Farez’s way,” the man said.
Hani had handled enough guns himself to recognize when someone knew their way around a weapon. Whoever this old man was, he was intimately familiar with that gun. Hani wasn’t willing to risk a confrontation with Farez and his geriatric criminal gang.
No, Hani could go about this in another way.
“Fine, have it your way, old man.” He took a few steps back, hands up, then turned and stalked out of the home.
“What the hell?” his friend muttered.
Hani kept walking, out onto the street and down a few houses. “They’re going to fail. I want that prisoner for ourselves.”
THURSDAY. PRIVATE PLANE, Somewhere over the Atlantic.
Carla was going to murder Ashton. Preferably after they got Jared back. She wasn’t cruel. Unlike Ashton who probably thought he was being funny offering her up to Mr. Sexy Ass like some kind of hors d’oeuvre.
She’d rushed through Vaughn’s paperwork and had even given him the additional NDA to shut Ashton up, all the while dying on the inside. Since then she’d avoided direct contact while loading everything up and riding in a different vehicle to the airport.
If Jared were here, he’d be laughing his ass off to the point he’d be crying. He’d also offer to get her booze until her liquid courage kicked in.
She sank farther down in her seat.
This just sucked.
Instead of joining the others in the general seating area, she’d sequestered herself in one of the small bunk rooms, each comprised of two plush chairs that made down into two beds or one depending on preference and how much trouble it was worth. The curtains were drawn, giving her a measure of privacy. She still thought owning the jet was too lavish even for Ashton, but he put so many miles on the thing she couldn’t argue that it made sense to own instead of rent.
A cocktail would be really good right about now.
She blew out a breath and hugged her travel pillow to her chest as she stared out the window at the ocean below.
They were going to get Jared back and all of this would be a bad dream.
Someone knocked on the door.
She cringed and considered not answering. But could she afford to play that card?
She set the pillow aside and smoothed her blouse. “You can open it.”
The door cracked open a bit.
Her eyes went straight to that length of forearm revealed by rolled-up sleeves. What was it about that bit of arm sticking out of a dress shirt that made her hot inside? And why did the man have to have a killer ass, sexy eyes and sculpted forearms?
Vaughn stepped into her room, juggling two drinks and shut the door behind him. He stood staring at her, a slight wrinkle marring his brow and a frown on his lips. The clothes might be professional, but he was the kind of guy who would always have a touch of the Devil-may-care to him, a bit of roughness nothing would ever smooth out.
Why did she have the sudden urge to flick his earrings? Where was that coming from?
God damn, he was nice to look at and she was going to hell for thinking that way right now.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Ashton said you’d want this.” He handed her one of the red, fizzy drinks. An apology or a setup? Both?
“Thanks.” Carla wrapped her lips around the straw and drank. The vodka hit the back of her throat confirming her suspicion that Ashton had probably mixed this himself. He always had a heavy pour.
“I’d also like some answers.”
That was what Carla was afraid of. She cringed and gestured at the open seat.
Gee, thanks for throwing this at me, Ash!
Vaughn set the other drink in the cup holder of the vacant seat, but remained standing, taking up all the available space with his wide shoulders and sexy aura.
“What’s Ashton’s deal? What was that earlier? Are you okay?” Vaughn knelt and placed his hand on her arm rest. “If you aren’t okay...”
Carla slurped up the last bits of the drink, the sound far too loud in the enclosed space.
“Oh, my God. What did he say?” She set her drink down and covered her eyes, unable to look at Vaughn.
“I’d prefer not to repeat it. I didn’t like hearing it once.”
Carla peered between her fingers at Vaughn. How bad had Ashton gone with the shock value this time?
“Will you sit, please? It’s hard to breathe with you sucking up all the oxygen.” She waved him aside and squeezed her eyes shut.
Vaughn finally did as she asked and sat next to her. That didn’t stop him from leaning into her air space with that dark, brooding, I-want-to-kick-some-ass vibe he had going on.
This was so not the time to have a side piece even if the piece was as sexy as Vaughn. Entertaining that was a whole slew of complications that would detract from rescuing Jared. But had anyone ever said the arrangement was only good on this trip? If Vaughn was open to the idea, they could pick up once everyone was home and things were simpler.
Now there was an idea that didn’t have her slamming on the brakes.
What the hell?
Ashton wanted to play matchmaker, and she liked his pick. Why was she fighting it?
“Okay.” Carla cleared her throat and turned, tucking one leg under her. “Before I say anything else, I’m going to remind you that you’ve signed multiple NDAs. Should you talk about anything I’m about to say, even to your team members, Ashton will do whatever the NDA says he can.”
“Did you sign one?”
“What? Of course. Just sh.” She reached over and patted his hand on the arm rest.
Ah, vodka, her old friend. Maybe she could get through this without dying. Or maybe she could play off Ashton’s ill timed offer. That might be the best way to go. Brush it all under the rug.
Carla made herself stare into Vaughn’s eyes. They’d gone so dark they were black. She could feel danger rolling off him. Yeah, playing this off was the best way to go.
“Whatever Ashton said, he was trying to get a rise out of you. So if he said some crazy crap about, I don’t know, sex or whatever, it was a joke,” she said.
“A joke?” His brows rose and his tone deepened. “It’s a fucking joke to be all, here fuck my girlfriend? That’s not okay. I don’t give a fuck how long you’ve known each other. That shit’s not okay. A real man shouldn’t talk about his woman that way. It’s not respectful, and it makes me wonder what he’d have done if I said yes.”
Carla leaned back, eyes wide. “Wow.”
Okay, playing it off wasn’t the way to go. Scratch that idea.
“Has he hurt you? Has he done this before?”
“Let’s back up here.” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “First, Ashton would never hurt me. I’m pretty sure he’s incapable of violence.”
“All men are capable,” he said without hesitation.
“Stop talking over me. Seriously,” she snapped. He was talking about her best friend. She knew Ashton better than anyone. “Do you want the truth or what?”
“I do.”
She stared into those dark eyes of his. This was going to be fun. About as fun as a root canal.
“Ashton is gay. Jared is his boyfriend. I’m the pretend girlfriend for Ashton’s family.”
Vaughn’s brows drew down farther. “That...makes a lot more sense.”
“Seriously?” Carla picked up the other drink. “Most people don’t see it from Ash.”
“Why’s he so torn up over his assistant getting kidnapped? Pretty extreme reaction from a boss.”
“I’ll give you that.” She saluted him with his drink. “Which is why I’m trying to keep all of this quiet.”
“But—why? Why’s that a big deal?”
“Mm.” She swallowed the confiscated
drink and licked her lips. “This is going better than I expected. Okay. I can explain that. Truth is Ashton doesn’t care if his whole family knows he’s gay. They’re all very strict Muslim. They hate me. And he knows that when he comes out, he will be completely cut off. The thing holding him back is his grandmother. She’s the only one he cares about. Long, beautiful story there. She’s really a wonderful woman who had stuck-up kids. Thing is, we thought was on her deathbed back when he was like twenty when he hatched this plan for me to be the pretend girlfriend. She’s still alive and healthy, so we’re sort of stuck.”
“And now you live with Ashton and his boyfriend?”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “They’re perfect for each other. Soul mates. The whole thing.”
“And how does this relate to what happened earlier?” Vaughn asked slowly.
“Right. Yes.” She peered down into her second now empty drink. “I sometimes have a boyfriend on the side. Though I guess boyfriend is really a generous term for what it ends up being...”
“So he was serious when he said...?”
“Ashton and Jared like setting me up. One of the things they do is say something really crazy to see how guys react. It’s kind of endearing in a creepy way. Look, Ashton thought we had chemistry earlier. That’s what this boils down to.” That and she was the sad, pathetic single one of their trio with a front seat to the most beautiful and disgusting love story in history.
“Why do you do this? Keep the farce going? Couldn’t he just say he’s single?”
“Oh. Well. Yeah, but then his family would start throwing women at him.” Carla glanced back at the window. “I stay because Ashton’s all the family I have left. He’s taken care of me. I mean, how far in life is the child of a poor, single mother going to get on her own? Ashton’s given me a job. A great life. I got a degree. It’s a lot more than I’d be able to do on my own. But more than anything, I love him like a brother. Both him and Jared. I stay because they need me.”
Vaughn nodded slowly. “I get that.”
“You do?”
“I joined the Navy because what the hell was a poor kid from El Paso going to do with his life besides get in trouble?”
“Yeah?”
“Single mom. Little brother. No prospects.” He shrugged. “You do what you have to do. I don’t have room to judge. The way thing went down though? I was concerned.”
“Thanks. I’m sure Ash put his worst foot forward on purpose to see what you’d do.” She hadn’t forgotten the gleam in his eye when he’d said he liked Vaughn for her earlier.
Vaughn studied her, and she studied him right back.
In a perfect world she wouldn’t have to play pretend. Back when this had begun, she’d been relieved to no longer stress and wonder where her next meal was coming from. Ashton had taken her under his wing after two years apart and things clicked.
She was grateful that he’d helped her, for his generous heart, but it sucked being the pretty pony trotted out for events then put back up while everyone else got to have fun and fall in love. There were many less fortunate people in the world. Carla had been one of them for most of her life. She should be happy with what she had. But deep down, she wasn’t. She wanted the chance to fall in love and have her own story. But that wouldn’t happen. She couldn’t abandon Ashton, not after everything he’d done for her. So she’d suck it up and keep going.
4.
Thursday. Private Plane, Somewhere over the Atlantic.
Well hell.
Vaughn still wasn’t sure what to think now that he had more details. The truth was a lot messier than what was in his head that was for sure.
His better sense said to go. Put space between him and Carla. Complicated relationships always blew up, and he didn’t want to get caught in the middle. Time had taught him valuable lessons.
Except being in the room with her, not even touching her, was a full-body experience. It was as though every cell in every part of him was drawn to her. His hand tingled with the desire to reach over and brush her hair off her face or take her hand. It was crazy. He couldn’t explain it. Even now he had to physically force himself to lean back, keep a little distance between them, and not touch her.
He had to understand this. There was something pulling him toward her he had to wrap his head around.
“Ashton said you two grew up as friends?” Vaughn wasn’t sure what he was doing, but there were hours left to kill before they reached Egypt.
“Yeah. Sort of. My mom cleaned their house. We were two lonely kids that found each other. His parents weren’t crazy about it. I’m sure they wish they’d squashed our friendship back then.” She smiled and her eyes went warm, the blue sparkling like a Mediterranean ocean.
“Just you and your mom?”
“Yeah. I mean, my dad was around when I was little, but I don’t have any memory of him. They never married, and he was rarely in a good place. Vietnam really messed him up. I like to think he’s alive and happy somewhere.” Her sad smile said she knew that wasn’t likely to be the case. “Mom and I did okay though. There were some rough patches, but we made it.”
“Where is she now?”
“In an urn in my bedroom.”
“Shit.” He jerked back. “I am—sorry. Sorry, Carla.”
“Hey. Stop. It’s okay.” She reached over and brushed his arm with her fingers. That one touch had goose bumps breaking out from wrist to elbow and he wanted more than anything to take her hand in his. “She got sick. Lifetime smoking things she shouldn’t. Ashton made sure she was taken care of until the end.”
“Did she know about you two? Your mom?”
“We never told her, but she knew. She spent too much time with us to not know. She taught me a lot about doing what you have to. Surviving. There are worse things I could have done.”
Vaughn wanted to ask what Carla thought her mother would say about her relationship with Ashton. But the facts were it wasn’t his business. Clearly Carla and Ashton were close. Their relationship was more like blood family. They gave and took with no clear boundaries.
They weren’t asking him to be part of that. He was the one reading into Ashton’s offer. This was about pleasure, nothing permanent.
But he had rules about this sort of thing.
Except Carla was a fake girlfriend.
That blurred the lines.
“Okay, no more sad topics.” Carla slapped her hand on the arm rest. “I want another drink. You?”
“I can go get us—”
“Don’t bother.” She waved her hand and leaned forward.
A small fridge was built into the wall in front of them below the TV. She produced a beer, more small bottles of vodka, soda and some sort of flavoring.
“What don’t you have on this plane?” He shook his head and accepted the beer.
“Please don’t ask that question. If you actually find something Ashton will figure out how to make it happen and the last thing, this jet needs is more bells and whistles.”
“Me playing flight attendant was a trick?” He clinked his beer with her glass. He’d been played, set up and delivered.
“Yes.” She sipped her drink then shuffled cups around until she could set it down. “I’m sorry about all of this. I have no idea why Ash is pushing this right now. Please, feel free to pretend it never happened.” Her skin tinged pink. Because of the alcohol? Or her friend’s proposition?
“I’m not pretty enough?”
“What?” Her eyes widened.
“Seems to me you’re the one not happy with this deal.”
“I didn’t...”
“If you’re not attracted to me, it won’t hurt my feelings. You wouldn’t be the first beautiful woman to turn me down.” He sighed and spread his hands.
“Oh my God, stop.” She smacked his arm and laughed, her cheeks rosy now.
“Seriously, if I’m not good looking enough—”
“Does this work for you?” She leaned toward him. “Is this the part where I’m s
upposed to list off your assets? How good you look?”
“That could be fun. I’ll go first. You have great legs.”
Her brows drew down, and she opened her mouth. Staring at him, she held that pose for a moment. “My legs? That’s where you went first?”
“Well, yeah. It seemed crass to start with the more obvious—what did you call it?—assets.”
“Okay.” She crossed her arms over her chest, blue eyes twinkling. “I like your eyes.”
“My eyes like what they’re seeing.” He allowed his gaze to travel down her body. The shirt was loose, hinting at the curves underneath while her pants hugged her just right, showing off the shapely legs he’d admired. “I am an ass man, and as an expert in bottoms, yours is pretty fine.”
“Fine? Just fine? Do you know how much cake I ate to get an ass like this? I had to research the exact amount of cake to squats to maintain this thing.” She smacked her hip. “My ass is awesome.”
He held up his hands. “Hey, I had maybe three looks and no hands on experience. I can only make a basic judgment call here.”
Carla laughed and picked up her drink. “I’m so not tipsy enough for this.”
Vaughn could feel himself slipping into her spell. If he’d met Carla under different circumstances, he’d have been totally into her. Physically she was the curvy package he dug, and yes her ass was fantastic. It was this little time he’d spent around her, the confidence, her sense of humor, that was doing him in. This connection, like he’d been missing her all along.
Yes, the idea that this was an arranged deal bothered him. He didn’t much care for being served up like some treat Carla was being rewarded with. But so long as they were consenting adults, did it matter?
He leaned on the arm rest. “I think we’re going to have to do some research to continue this conversation once we’re better informed.”
“Once we’re better informed?” She quirked a brow at him. “That’s presuming I want more information.”
He grinned. “Burn.”
She laughed again. He liked the sound of it, so uninhibited and full of joy. As she should be.
Dangerously Deceived (Aegis Group Lepta Team, #3) Page 4
