by Anya Nowlan
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied.
Her words were already getting away from her as she grabbed at the couch, Arlen lifting her ass up and slicking his tongue over her wet heat. She squirmed and let out a gasp that only seemed to drive him further.
Everything seemed easy and right. But Sienna knew the bliss she felt would be temporary. Sooner or later, reality would set back in. And when it did, would she be glad she slept with the man responsible for keeping her safe or feel like she’d made a terrible mistake?
Twelve
Arlen
Arlen woke to the sound of the shower turning on. He was still on the couch, naked, with only a comforter covering his body.
So that really happened, he thought, sitting up and eyeing the bottle of tequila still on the coffee table.
His head was humming and his body throbbed, but he couldn’t blame his lapse in judgment on the alcohol. They’d been a little tipsy, sure, but not flat-out drunk. It was the way her touch made him feel, that gleam in her eye when he kissed her that drove him over the edge that had been way too close to his heels for a while now. At least since seeing her for the first time.
The heat didn’t help, but he wasn’t sure if the outcome would have been any different without it.
Of course it would have. She wouldn’t have been marked then…
But he was in the middle of a mission, and she didn’t know about his heat. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. Well, at least not any more than he already was. He had promised to keep her safe. All of that was more important than the almost overwhelming urge to taste her again.
Arlen was pulled out of his thoughts when Sienna appeared in the living room, clad in only a towel.
“Can I borrow some of your clothes? I put mine in the wash,” she said, biting her lip.
Her wet hair sent tiny streams of water flowing down her tawny skin, and he couldn’t help but follow them with his eyes.
Spirits above, she’ll be the end of me.
“Of course. Feel free to rummage around in the drawers by the window,” he replied, managing to drag his gaze back up to her face.
Sienna gave him a smile and started to turn around, but stopped at the last second.
“We don’t have to make a big deal out of last night, you know that, right?”
She searched his expression.
You don’t know the half of it…
“I know,” was what he ended up saying.
In his rational mind, he knew it was the right thing to say. His tiger protested violently, though. Sienna have him a nod and a smile before disappearing back into the bedroom.
He wasn’t exactly about to tell her that she was the only woman he could ever have children with. That was a little too much after a one-night stand, no matter how resilient the woman.
Arlen waited until she was dressed before walking through the bedroom to the bathroom and showering. Sienna was already whipping up breakfast by the time he stepped into the kitchen. Her hair was starting to dry and was even curlier than before, making him want to run his hands through the locks.
“So, what’s next for the diabolical duo?” she asked, plating stacks of pancakes.
“I thought we could go over everything you saw while at Holland’s. You can describe the people that came through, give me some names. You could have overheard something that could be useful.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Sienna smiled as they both dug in.
The food was delicious and sharing the meal with her only made it better.
I could get used to this.
The thought slipped through before he could shoo it away. It was utterly ridiculous, of course. He was trying to get Sienna out of danger, not into more danger by getting involved with an assassin. An assassin on the payroll of one of the most ruthless companies in the world, on top of that.
Arlen did the dishes as Sienna grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and sat back down at the table, scribbling away.
“What are you doing?” he asked over the sound of running water.
“Writing down all the names I can remember, along with descriptions,” she answered, brow furrowing as she focused on the task before her.
She was definitely a take the bull by the horns type of woman. He smiled to himself, drying off his hands and joining her at the table. They spent the better part of an hour looking over the list, adding any snippets of conversations she overheard to the appropriate names.
Keeping the pesky notion of being able to get used to this out of his head as he sat so close to her was a constant struggle.
They had almost two pages filled when they were done. Most of the information meant little to Arlen, but the intelligence department had been gathering data about the Crimson Claws for a while now. He could make better sense of it with the background intel they had gathered.
Best of all, Arlen finally got a description of Holland. Blond-haired, curly hair, wide, angular face, thin lips and deep-set eyes with a birthmark above one of his eyebrows. He was fairly sure he’d recognize the man now, if he ever managed to get close enough to him.
Not a lot of guys running around who could come close to that description.
“This could be very helpful,” he remarked, looking the list over. “You have an excellent memory.”
“I figured it paid to keep my eyes and ears open,” she shrugged, but he could tell she felt proud.
Sienna stood up and moved to stand by the window, staring out at the city with a small sigh. She had to be feeling all sorts of cooped up. First stuck at Holland’s and now having to hide out at his place.
Arlen felt irrationally guilty for it. It didn’t matter that it was his job to do this and that he’d picked up more than one hostage in his time. He simply couldn’t look at Sienna like just collateral to the job at hand.
The reasons for that were painfully obvious at this point.
“Hey, you want to see something cool?” he asked, hoping to cheer her up.
“What, you going to show me your knife collection or something?” she teased, glancing back at him.
“Nah, I left most of them back home. Come on and grab your jacket.”
“Isn’t going outside a bit dangerous for me right now?”
“We’re not going outside, exactly,” he answered, grinning and pulling her along.
Sienna giggled as he pulled her out of the apartment and up the stairs, forgetting about his strict rules of conduct for a moment. He climbed the steps slowly, giving her plenty of time to catch up.
“Are we going to the roof?” she asked, excited and slightly out of breath.
“Yup,” he answered as they reached the last flight of stairs.
Sienna looked at the padlock on the door leading to the rooftop.
“I don’t think we’re supposed to be here,” she commented quietly, looking around. “And I don’t see a key on you.”
“I may have done this before.”
Arlen yanked at the bottom of the lock. It released easily and he removed it from the door, slipping it into his pocket.
“And I may have tampered with the lock,” he added conspiratorially, giving her a wink.
He pushed the door open and they stepped outside, wind whipping at their clothes. The day was cool, but sunny, and the skyscrapers glimmered in the light. Sienna walked closer to the edge before sitting down on an air vent, eyes glued to the view.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured.
Arlen took a seat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. It was an immediate move and only when he’d done it did he stop and wonder how that could have registered as okay in his head. But it did and he had to roll with it.
“I still prefer Texas, but I guess it isn’t that bad,” he commented.
They sat there for a while, Sienna looking at the view and he looking at her. She rested her head against his shoulder and took a deep breath, as if breathing the moment in. The city unfolded in front of the
m, thousands upon thousands of people just going on with their everyday lives.
Sometimes Arlen wished he had a normal life, as silly as that seemed.
He was a tiger. Sooner or later he would grow bored of a regular nine to five and miss getting to rip throats out for a living. He was good at his job and The Firm was good to him. They’d taken him in when he was lost and didn’t know what to do after his Navy career was over. It was the best he could ever hope to do. And he was a valuable asset. He knew that.
Sienna shivered slightly against him.
“You ready to go back down?” he asked, rubbing his hand down her back.
“I’m ready. Thank you,” she replied, smiling at him. “I needed this.”
Arlen pushed down the urge to kiss her and they stood to leave. He placed the lock back on the door after they closed it behind them and then made their way down to the apartment.
“I’m guessing you don’t have a hairbrush lying around here somewhere,” Sienna called out as she walked into the bathroom. “That wind really did a number on me.”
“Nope, sorry,” Arlen chuckled, running a hand over his closely-cropped hair.
All humor had left her face when Sienna returned, holding the burner Holland kept calling in her hands.
“It was blinking…” she said, holding the screen up to his face.
I want her back, the text message read.
Well you’re not getting her.
Thirteen
Arlen
Arlen took the phone from Sienna’s hand and placed it on the counter. He gently grabbed hold of her shoulders and looked at her, waiting for her to meet his gaze.
“This doesn’t change anything,” he said when she finally did.
“Why is he going to so much trouble? I just don’t understand…” she muttered, a wrinkle between her brows.
“It’s a pride thing. You were his, and I took you from him.”
“I’m not anyone’s!” Sienna protested, slapping his hands away.
“I know that,” he replied softly. “That’s just the way he thinks, probably.”
He knew she was just scared and angry, but the way she reacted still stung. Of course he didn’t see her as an object. Had he given her the impression he did?
Not that marking her as his without her knowing, without him really knowing, was much better. All the more reason why he couldn’t tell her what the consequences of their night together were.
“I’m sorry,” she said, one hand on her hip and the other rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. “I let myself forget what I’m mixed up in and it all hit me at once.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
Sienna stood in the doorway of his bedroom, shuffling on her feet anxiously. He kept his distance now, though all he really wanted was to have her in his arms and make her feel better by any means necessary.
“I just need to be alone for a while, if that’s okay.”
“Of course. I’ll be here. I need to send in the information you gave me anyway.”
Sienna gave him a brittle smile before stepping into the bedroom and closing the door behind her.
The last thing Arlen wanted was to leave her alone with her thoughts when she was clearly upset and afraid, but he had to respect her need for space. The best way he could help her now was to send everything he’d found out to Foster and hope against hope The Firm gave her a new identity when this was all said and done.
But that means you won’t see her again either…
It brought a cold clump to his stomach. If The Firm cared enough to give someone a new identity, no one that person had associated with before was allowed to know about it. Not even the agents that had worked with them.
That meant she’d be lost to him forever. The thought drove a violent spike of pain right through his chest.
He could hear the TV in the bedroom turn on and a low murmur of voices erupt from behind the door. So at least Sienna wasn’t brooding in silence and focusing only on how bad things were. Good.
He had barely hit ‘send’ on the e-mail to Foster when his personal cell rang.
“Foster, I just shot you an e-mail,” Arlen said in way of a greeting.
“And I’ve sent you one. You might want to take a look at it.”
Arlen clicked on the notification that popped up in his inbox. The message line was empty but there was an attachment.
“What’s this?” he asked, clicking on it.
“Oh, you’ll see,” Foster replied, being a lot more mysterious than he normally was.
A picture popped up on his screen. The face was familiar, yet it took him more time than it should have to place it.
“Hang on. Is that Sienna?” he asked softly, careful to not be overheard.
The picture was obviously at least a couple of years old, but that wasn’t why he had trouble recognizing her at first. Sienna’s hair was impeccably straight and impossibly shiny, and her gorgeous features were all but hidden under a heavy layer of makeup.
Instead of full cheeks and a dewy complexion, this version of her had a thin face and skin that looked like plastic.
She was wearing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and an expensive-looking pendant hung around her neck, depicting some sort of symbol Arlen hadn’t seen before.
“It sure is. When I told Spade you were with a girl called Sienna Marquez, I could almost hear a bell go off in his head,” Foster replied.
Spade was the head of the intelligence department for good reason. The man was a true treasure trove of less than savory information and had the uncanny ability to find dirt on almost anyone. And act on it, if need be.
“Who is she?” Arlen asked, feeling his stomach turn hollow.
If Spade had her on his radar, then she must be a lot more than just a massage therapist.
“You ever hear of the Marquez family out of New Mexico? They made their fortune in the early nineteen hundreds, cashing in on the oil boom. They’re not much for being in the public eye, but are well-known in the more wealthy circles.”
“No, I haven’t heard of them. How wealthy exactly are they?”
He dreaded the response. With wealth, came trouble. And with trouble, came danger.
“Wealthy enough to offer Spade a million bucks for their only daughter’s safe return. They said she’d skipped out a few years back, some rebellious phase,” Foster replied, stunning him for a second.
“A million dollars? They do know I’m not holding her hostage, right?”
“Yeah, but Holland was. And for a lot more than just a million.”
Arlen hadn’t known one phone call could offer up this many surprises. Sienna hadn’t said anything about being held for ransom, she had seemed genuinely confused by Holland’s insistence on having her with him. Could it be she really didn’t know what his real motivations were?
“What did Spade say to her parents?”
“What do you mean? That we’d hand her over, of course. And gladly take the money.”
“Return her to her parents in exchange for the money, right,” Arlen echoed numbly, standing to pace around the apartment. “Like she’s some sort of vase or lost kitten? She might have a reason for staying away from her family. She’s a person, and she’s capable of making her own decisions,” he hissed, growing quieter the more he wanted to yell.
The force of his response caught Foster off guard. Arlen had never thought he’d be disrespecting a superior officer like that, but he couldn’t stop himself. He could hear the man tapping his pen on his desk on the other side of the line, like he was known to do when he got agitated.
“This is not your call. We have already made the deal. Someone will be by shortly to pick her up. Now tell me which safehouse you’re at.”
Arlen had always been good at following orders, but this one he just couldn’t abide by. His tiger thrashed against his skin, spurring his disobedience on. Foster was a decent man and a competent supervisor so Arlen did feel bad for getting him in trouble,
but the feeling was eclipsed by the protectiveness he felt when he thought of Sienna.
She was under his protection. His. At least as long as she needed him to keep her safe.
“No. I am not handing her over without her consent and if you send someone to take her by force, that someone is going to be sent back in a body bag. Shadow Squad will have to scrape them off the walls by the time I’m through. Feel free to relay that message to Spade.”
Foster started to sputter something in response, but Arlen hung up, only barely managing to not toss the phone across the room in a fit of rage.
He remembered how evasive Sienna had been about her past and family. There was obviously something behind that and he needed to figure out what, fast. The cell couldn’t be tracked. At least that would buy Arlen and Sienna some time. It wouldn’t be long until Foster sent someone to comb through the safehouses.
And after telling the man off like that, the visit might not be entirely polite, either. He’d have to be careful when broaching the subject with Sienna, make her feel safe, first. A soft rustle came from the bedroom and he braced himself for what was bound to be a difficult conversation.
They were running out of time.
Here goes nothing.
Fourteen
Sienna
Sienna had pressed her ear to the door as soon as she heard Arlen’s voice coming from the other side. She could have just opened the door and asked Arlen who he was talking to… But to be completely honest, and despite how much she wanted to, she couldn’t quite trust him yet.
And it seemed she was right not to. His words echoed through her mind, filling her with terror.
“Return her to her parents in exchange for the money, right.”
From what she could gather, he was talking to his boss or someone who worked at The Firm. He’d promised to keep her out of Holland’s reach, but her family was a whole other ballgame. She wasn’t foolish enough to think Arlen would place his job at risk for someone he barely knew.
