Falling Fast (Falling Fast #1)

by Tina Wainscott

  Sax tilted his head. “One of us is going to have to spank women as part of our job? Seriously?”

  Sheesh. Leave it to Sax to focus in on that aspect.

  “To be convincing, possibly. As you know, the course of an investigation can lead to some pretty wild turns.” Chase turned to Knox. “I’m sending you in.”

  The blood drained from Knox’s face. He couldn’t find words for a moment. “Me?” he finally managed, all hoarse like some damned teenage boy. “Yes, sir,” he added, because the hell if he wanted to give his SEAL brothers fodder for teasing him.

  His eyes involuntarily went to Vivi, the only female J-man present. Yeah, just as he suspected, the man-hating woman who never failed to press his buttons had a smirk on her lovely mouth. She tried to hide it by taking a sip of her coffee.

  If Chase picked up on Knox’s discomfort at the prospect of the mission, he didn’t let on. “You and Vivi will pose as a couple trying to save your marriage.”

  Vivi spewed coffee across the table and leaped to her feet. “You cannot send me on a mission like that with him. We don’t even get along.”

  Chase gave her a bland smile. “That’s precisely why this works so well. The tension and conflict between you will be real. And you won’t be tempted to”—Chase swept a look at Risk and Sax—”fall for the temptations of the flesh.”

  She dropped into her seat, her beautiful face a mixture of fury and fear.

  Chase was pointedly ignoring the way Sax and Risk were trying to withhold their snorts of laughter. “Vivi, be like the SEALs and just say, ‘Yes, sir.’ ”

  Oh, man, that tilted the balance to fury, and Knox bet she was swallowing back some mighty sweet words. Finally, she said, “Fine, sir.”

  Chase turned to Sax, clearly not pleased by his thinly veiled attempt to bank his glee over Knox’s discomfort. “Don’t laugh too much, Mr. Cole. You’re going to Siberia.”

  “Siberia? As in Russia Siberia?”

  “Actually, you’ll start in Moscow and follow the trail. I have a contact from a non-governmental trafficking organization who will work with you.”

  While Chase outlined the roles Sax and Risk were to play in tracking down the source of the trafficking ring in Russia, Knox watched Vivi process their upcoming assignment. She looked as thrown off as he was, and he was surprised to find that it softened him toward her.

  With her long dark-blond hair, fringe of bangs he suspected strategically hid her eyes, and a lush body, she was a sight to behold. But she was pricklier than a cactus, frequently lamenting having to work with a “bunch of over-testosteroned pretty boys.” She hid her curves with slightly oversized, professional clothing, and she never joked with or shared a meal with her co-workers. Whenever she was in the gym working out and they all burst in, she would leave. Yet Knox had caught her watching him more than once with a hint of appreciation.

  He understood her reticence to hang with the guys. Chase had asked them to be careful about saying or doing anything that smacked of sexual harassment. He’d confided that Vivi had been harassed during her tenure as a cop on an all-male city police force in Missouri. Knox hadn’t told anyone, but he’d Googled her name and found the details of the case. They had told her to shut her “man pleaser,” and nicknamed her boobs Thelma and Louise. Her chief had frequently patted his lap and invited her to sit and spin. Reading the actual legal filing had disgusted and enraged him. Was that the cause of her prickly demeanor? That she’d donated the net proceeds of her settlement to abuse shelters touched him. But none of that made it any easier to deal with her.

  She was staring at the wall, her mouth in a tight line. She caught him regarding her and shot him a warning look. Hell, the woman was maddening.

  Chase dismissed Sax and Risk to prepare for their trip. Chad, Sax’s cousin and J-man in training, stayed on Chase’s invitation. “You may be brought in as well.” Chase clicked on his computer until an image of an ornate building appeared on the screen. “Here are the details about Bonds, the club in New Orleans. But it’s more than recreational. The woman who runs it, Svetlana Azarov, is a licensed psychologist in Russia.” An attractive woman in her forties appeared on the screen. “She came here five years ago when a corporate entity called JSC, Inc. opened Bonds. Though she’s not licensed here, she seems to use the club to practice under the guise of teaching the lifestyle.

  “Back in her homeland, she worked with couples who suffered sexual dysfunction and intimacy issues. Supposedly, she’s very good and very dedicated to her work. She left Russia under a cloud—or, more precisely, the cloud her husband created by involving himself in illegal activities. We have to assume that she’s involved in the trafficking operation if the surrogates are, in fact, slaves, but you will ascertain that. I want you both to learn some rudimentary Russian, but use it only when necessary. Mollie is working on your identities.” Chase pressed a button on the conference-phone console. “Mollie, we’re ready for you.”

  Chase’s personal assistant entered the room a minute later, her demeanor both professional and, Knox swore, a bit sympathetic. She’d probably seen the bristling energy between him and Vivi.

  She slid into the chair next to Knox and opened a blue plastic folder. “Chase says it’s always better to keep your first names when going undercover, so you are Knox and Vivianne Cuthburt from Miami.” She handed them each a driver’s license with their current DMV picture. “You’ve been married for two years. No kids. You tried to get pregnant, but no luck. The fertility doctor ran some tests and couldn’t find any reason for it. You were upset, Vivi, but Knox—” Mollie let the words drop off as she must have realized they were staring at her. “Just filling in the backstory. As a suggestion.” She pushed two glassine envelopes between them, each containing a ring. “Wedding rings.”

  Vivi eyed the envelope for several seconds before picking it up as though it contained a scorpion.

  Mollie patted a camera case. “I’ll need several shots of you two. Chase has several what he calls ‘ghost profiles’ on Facebook. Someone posts on them from time to time, to create a chronological timeline. Our IT expert can then change out those images. I’m now in charge of choosing picture and posts to do this, so I’ve been working on the Cuthburts’ profiles. If you’ll follow me, I’ve scouted some locations on the island for photo ops. Vacations, dinners you’ve made together, romantic getaways, that sort of thing. Some will show you in the honeymoon phase, but succeeding pictures will illustrate the growing distance between you.” She was glowing, obviously well suited to this job. Or maybe it was being with Julian that had put that perpetual happy sheen on her face.

  Hell if three of his SEAL comrades hadn’t found that same sheen after permanently hooking up with their ladies. Knox hadn’t felt that way even when he was married. Then again, he’d married Courtney under all the wrong circumstances.

  Knox and Vivi followed Mollie out to the lush grounds of Chase’s personal island. Man-made, it had been the domain of a crime family until they were arrested and shut down. After it had sat abandoned for several years, Chase picked it up for a song. Now it was a sanctuary for him and the agency, its lush nature in opposition to the facility that contained a first-rate gun range.

  Mollie led them to one of the garden spots and gestured toward the cozy arbor. “Sit together. I’m going to tag some of these as being at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens.”

  Knox dropped onto the wooden bench, feeling odd surrounded by the bright pink, papery flowers of a bougainvillea vine. Vivi sat a foot away, posture straight as a board.

  Mollie brought her hands together. “Closer. You are married, after all.”

  After a moment of hesitation, Vivi scooted five inches closer. She leaned another inch closer.

  Mollie frowned. “Ya know, I think we’ll work on the troubled-marriage ones first, ease you in.” She snapped several photos. “Yes, perfect. A couple who are disconnected, forcing smiles they don’t feel. Now, take her hand, Knox. Even a distant couple will put f
orth the façade, especially if they’re trying to make things work.”

  Vivi eyed his hand, then hers as he clasped it in a firm grip. His fingers slid against hers, and damn if her palms weren’t as soft as silk. Which made him wonder what the rest of her felt like.

  He stopped those thoughts and gave Mollie the “I’m trying” smile.

  She took several shots and lowered her camera. “Great. Let’s take some individual shots, since there are usually more of those than the ones you ask someone else to take.”

  Vivi looked more relaxed posing by the huge banyan tree and swinging on the white swing beneath a large live oak. Her body arched, and she actually smiled as she sailed up into the leaves. Her long hair flew behind her, then came down like a curtain. But it was her smile that snagged him, even if she wasn’t facing the camera. Or maybe because she wasn’t; it was real. And gorgeous.

  Knox wanted to watch her longer, but the photographer workhorse rushed them on to another location near a pond where he was the main focus. “I’m going to superimpose the red bridge into the picture,” Mollie said. “So stand there and look handsome.”

  He almost laughed at the directive. “And how, exactly, do I do that?” All he could imagine was doing silly poses, à la Mr. Universe. Nope, he wasn’t doing that.

  “It’s all right if you feel awkward. That’s what pictures are about, right?” Mollie winked. “Especially since you and your wife are having problems. Look somber, if that feels more natural.”

  Somber. The guys sometimes called him a stick-in-the-mud because joking around didn’t come naturally to him.

  Knox picked up one of the flat stones in the planting area and skipped it across the water. He’d done that as a kid on the pond on his family’s ranch. He remembered working hard to perfect the skill. After his sister drowned, he’d lost all interest in bodies of water. But now he needed something to focus on, so he snagged another rock and tried again. It skipped nicely across the smooth surface. He caught Vivi watching him from the corner of her eye.

  “Perfect.” Mollie tucked a strand of her light red hair behind her ear as she perused a checklist on her iPad. “Now, for the happier-times pictures.”

  She led them to the pool area, where a lounge chair was positioned so that the large rock waterfall was in the background. She’d even thought to drape a beach towel over the corner of the lounge. “Swimsuits are in the cabanas. Go change, and we’ll assemble a pseudo-vacation photo album.”

  “You thought of everything, didn’t you?” Knox said, though it didn’t sound totally like a compliment.

  She grinned, her green eyes shining. “Yes, I sure did. There are two sets, since we’ll be perpetrating two different timelines.”

  At least she hadn’t chosen the skimpy swimsuit favored by Europeans. Now, if Vivi had been choosing the outfits she might have picked something like that. Or maybe a pair of flowered swim trunks, like the ones she’d tried to foist on Sax for his last op. These were snug, but not tight, the blue trunks going halfway to his knees. He caught himself wondering what Mollie had chosen for Vivi. He’d never seen her in anything that remotely hinted at her figure. He knew she had no problem dressing the part of seduction for a recent undercover role. Risk said she was smoking hot, and Julian had agreed. But that was all hearsay as far as Knox was concerned.

  Vivi took a few more minutes to emerge, and when she did…“Welcome to the Triple Damn Ranch,” a cowboy voice intoned in his head. The bathing suit was modest by some standards, but it still showcased a bunch of curves and long, tanned legs.

  “You’re staring,” Mollie whispered out of the corner of her mouth as she smiled at Vivi. “You look great. I was worried about the sizing, figured you’d want more coverage.”

  Vivi plucked at the straps. “Size is perfect. I personally would prefer a little more coverage, but I appreciate the high waistline.” She ran her finger along the top edge of the bottom, straightening a kink.

  Knox was still staring. She had incredible boobs, perfectly proportionate to hips that flared nicely. Her waist was small, and even in the modest bathing suit she reminded him of one of those old-fashioned pinup girls. He shifted his gaze elsewhere before Vivi caught him. “Where do you want us?”

  Mollie gestured toward a spot by the edge of the pool. “Let’s do one of those corny standing-together-in-front-of-the-waterfall shots.” As soon as he and Vivi reached the spot, Mollie ordered, “Knox, pull her into your arms.”

  Vivi actually stiffened. Damn, did she dislike him that much? “It’s just a job, Vivi,” he said, stepping closer. “Make believe I’m a guy you like.”

  She swallowed, and for the first time he saw a glimpse of vulnerability before she slid on her hardened mask. “I don’t know one guy that I like.”

  Ah, maybe this wasn’t personal at all. “Are you gay? Knowing that would help me understand you better.” And would soothe his bruised ego, too.

  “I’m not gay. I just don’t like men.” Mollie’s uncomfortable silence only added to the tension. Which probably helped prompt Vivi to say, “I’m a little—a lot—prejudiced when it comes to gorgeous, confident guys. And when they come in a group I’m really triggered.”

  Well, she was honest, anyway. “Because of what happened when you were a cop?” Knox asked.

  “Yes. That’s it.”

  But he sensed that it wasn’t only that, with the shadow that crossed her blue-gray eyes. There had been no allegations of assault in her legal complaints. But clearly something really bad had happened.

  Not your business.

  “Did Chase tell you?” she asked. “About my lawsuit?”

  “Only because he asked us to be mindful of our actions and words. We’d never be disrespectful, but sometimes words meant in fun can be misconstrued.” He’d heard his comrades flirt often enough.

  Then he realized that she’d called him gorgeous, or, at least, lumped him in that category. Well, wasn’t that nice? Course, she hadn’t meant it as a compliment.

  She adjusted her swimsuit top and stepped close to Knox. “Let’s do this.”

  Knox slid his arms around that nice, small waist, pulling her close. She stiffened again, then seemed to forcibly relax into his embrace. Her arms went awkwardly around his shoulders.

  Mollie frowned. “I had Barbie dolls that looked more natural than you. Sorry, just sayin’. You have to look convincing in case they get suspicious and check. Believe me, I know how scary it is to be in a situation where the enemy suspects you’re not what you say you are. I could have died, quite literally.”

  Mollie had put herself right in the midst of an outlaw motorcycle gang in her search for her sister. Knox had a ton of respect for her, especially considering she’d only been an ordinary citizen.

  “Vivi, put yourself back in that role when you were trying to lure my sister’s ex to Chase’s plane where Risk could interrogate him,” Mollie said. “You were a hot babe with a broken-down car, totally relaxed in the role.”

  Knox said, “I heard you pulled it off quite well. And if you could do that with some biker dude, certainly you can do it with me.”

  “That was different. He was—”

  “Was?” Knox prompted when she let several seconds lapse. Did she see him as lower than a gang banger named Brick?

  “He wasn’t anyone I’d had interaction with.” She took a deep breath and put her hand on his back as she stood next to him, facing the camera. Her fingers tensed on his bare skin, and he felt the edge of her nails dig in slightly.

  As Mollie took pictures while they moved into different positions, she said, “Couples lean in toward each other subconsciously. They have an ease between them.”

  “An ease,” Vivi repeated, as though she’d never heard the word before in that context. “I can do ease. I can do this,” she whispered.

  A different mask slipped into place. Vivi’s face transformed to a sexy smile, and she shook out her hair and pressed closer to Knox. He could feel her stomach against his pelvis,
her boobs brushing his chest. She smelled good, a faint scent of flowers that he wouldn’t have expected on her. He inhaled, drawing it in and trying to guess what the flower was.

  As she gazed lovingly up at him, she said, “Now who’s all stiff?”

  God, he hoped not. Oh, she meant stiff in body, not cock. He’d shut down any sexuality in his psyche, but his body didn’t always get the message. With her lushness pressed up close, her sweet gaze, her lips glistening from her tongue running across their surface, damn…getting an erection would only prove that he was another “over-testosteroned pretty boy.”

  “Yes, perfect,” Mollie said, angling into different positions to capture them.

  Despite his efforts, his body was responding. It had been way too long. He didn’t want to explore the anomaly: Why was Vivi even inspiring such thoughts? And wayward body reactions?

  He slipped into the same role that she had, pasting on his smile and dipping her suddenly, making her whoop in surprise.

  “Yes, work it, work it!” Mollie said, snapping the shutter repeatedly.

  He scooped Vivi up and pretended to begin to throw her into the water. She fought him, a sweet scream coming from her mouth. Her fingers tightened on his shoulder and arm.

  “If I go in, you’re coming, too!” she threatened, and he actually considered going through with it.

  There was a spark of humor in those narrowed eyes, and damn did it make her look beautiful. It might be worth getting wet just to have some fun.

  But Mollie said, “Those were great. Now we’ll move to the chaise longue for some individual shots.”

  They then took more pictures down at the boat in their second set of swimsuits to replicate another outing. Mollie scanned through the pictures on the camera. “I have enough to make some albums. Let’s call it a day.”

  “Good,” Vivi said. “I’m so ready to call it a day.”

  “Remember, you and Knox need to brush up on your Russian. You might as well do it together, since you need someone to practice it with. See me before you leave. I have a learning system and some of the key phrases you might use to communicate with the women.” Mollie flashed them both a bright smile. “Thank you for playing.”