A Second Past Midnight (The Sentinels)

by Melinda Hunter

  Most days Arrigo was fine, but occasionally he had trouble running and would be laid up. He pushed through it though by keeping active with running, kickboxing and other training that kept his muscles active.

  After his shower, he readied himself to meet his new team as he dressed and shoved his nine-millimeter Beretta in its shoulder holster. Stepping out of his apartment and heading toward the briefing room, he cleared his mind of everything that might distract him on his way. That included Sana, but she wouldn't be that far from his thoughts.

  Williams stood at the head of the table while five of the current members of the Sentinel group sat at his flanks. He knew their names from their files, which was something that Arrigo had insisted on when he joined. He wanted to review all of the other team member’s history since they were such a small group and he would be working with them.

  Sana sat directly left of Williams with Jessie Tribett, former CIA, next to her. To Williams right sat Sinjin Russell, former Secret Service, Sam Keats, former CPD and lastly, Skye Smith. Skye was the newest addition to the Sentinel group before Arrigo. Skye had joined the group when Williams coerced him to drop out of his final year in prelaw. He was twenty-two, but from what Arrigo had read, he was an expert shot and wouldn’t hesitate to take a bullet for anyone on the team. The only person missing from the team was Loch Magnus and he was on assignment.

  “Kane, have a seat.” Williams extended a hand toward an empty chair. Arrigo couldn’t help but notice Sana sitting at Williams left side. Her hair was down and still damp. Arrigo would have smiled if no one else would have noticed, but right now, all eyes were on him. Including hers.

  “Arrigo Kane is joining us after serving thirteen years in the Marine Corp. Sana I’ll have you show him around and he will be your partner.” Williams glanced down at Sana and Arrigo couldn’t help but notice the don’t give me any shit look that he gave her. Again, Arrigo smiled inside. She was a hellcat.

  “Yes sir,” Sana replied without looking at him.

  Williams went on to discuss their assignments. Sinjin and Skye were currently working a blackmail case while Sam and Jessie were working reconnaissance on a batch of death threats for an oil company CEO. Sana and Arrigo would be starting together on bodyguard duty for a couple that would be visiting the United States from Japan for the next two weeks.

  With their assignments disclosed and recapped, the meeting ended. Jessie and the others started toward Arrigo to introduce themselves and he noticed that Williams grabbed Sana by the arm and said something to her. Arrigo maintained his self-control as he watched them, but he didn’t like how Williams gripped Sana’s arm. Williams spoke low enough that Arrigo couldn’t hear it and with the angle of Williams face, he couldn’t read his lips. Sana’s retort was obviously brief and Arrigo saw her head drop as he released her. Sana glared up at Williams before he walked away. A scowl blanketed her face and she stormed out of the room. The entire encounter was abrasive and strangely, it bothered Arrigo.

  Jessie, Sam and Skye all shook hands with Arrigo, but Sinjin didn’t. He left the room without a word. Interesting.

  “Good luck, buddy. She’s a handful,” said Jessie. Arrigo arched a brow and turned to him. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s one of the best, but moody.” Jessie slapped Arrigo on the back as he left.

  As quickly as he could walk, he headed to the parking garage attached to the Sentinel Headquarters. He hadn’t even gotten to find out if they were going out in his car or hers today, but he got his answer soon enough. There he found Sana leaning against a black Mercedes. As he approached it, he saw that it was an S65 AMG. He also couldn’t help but notice the tight black pants she wore and how they showed every curve of her body.

  Arrigo stared at her legs and imagined them wrapped around him once again. The night couldn’t come soon enough.

  “It’s actually worth over three-hundred thousand if you add the upgrades I had installed.” Sana stated still leaning against the car.

  “Okay, but I didn’t ask what it was worth.” Arrigo retorted. Lucky for him she thought he was drooling over the car, but in reality, he stared at her.

  “You had the same drooling expression that everyone else does.” Sana opened the drivers’ door and slid into the seat. Arrigo walked around to the passenger side and got in. The interior was black leather with piano black trim.

  “I’m sorry but I wouldn’t have a clue what it was worth as I’ve been riding around in Humvee’s for years.” Arrigo wasn’t trying to sound too smug about her statement, but he honestly didn’t know.

  “Sorry.” Sana replied quietly as she started the car.

  “No apology needed. I take it you’ve had it armor-plated and bullet proof glass installed?” Arrigo sensed that she wanted to talk about the car anyway.

  “Yes. My father had it made for me right before he died. The guys were all pissed thinking that I made more money than them.” Sana shrugged her shoulders as she drove out of the secured garage.

  Arrigo knew from her file that her parents were both deceased, but it didn’t say anything about who they were or their causes of death. A car of this magnitude was a rather strange gift for a woman to receive from her father, but then again, she was a Sentinel. He saved his questions about that personal part of her life for a different time, because right now they were working and he wanted to keep it professional. For both their sakes.

  “Where to first?” Arrigo asked. They had prep work to do before the couple arrived from Japan next week.

  “Waldorf Astoria first, then we’ll check out the destinations on their agenda.” Sana almost hissed the words at him as if he were to know where she was driving.

  “Do you have their agenda so I can look at it?” he asked. Arrigo wanted to be prepared too.

  “I didn’t bring one with me.”

  “Are we going back for it then?” Arrigo assumed that she had just forgotten it.

  “Nope. Photographic memory.” Sana sounded annoyed and Arrigo was discovering that he had a lot to learn about her type of communication.

  Arrigo didn’t believe she could have every minute of their client’s two week trip logged to memory, but he didn’t know her that well so he just went with it.

  He did know that they had about a twenty-minute drive to their destination and the silence in the car about drove him insane as they made their trip to the Waldorf Astoria. In his military operations, he had dealt with silence as a time to check and recheck his surroundings, plan of attack or rescue mission. In this case, all he could think of was Sana naked, riding him. Those thoughts invaded his mind with a desire that left him hard. It was a good thing he had on his mid-length leather coat or Sana would be able to see the bulge in his pants, if she glanced his way that is.

  Letting out a sigh, Arrigo waited as patiently as he could during the ride.

  “Can I ask you something?” Sana said softly.

  Ah, the silence is broken. “Yes, of course.”

  “I know you must have been in battles, but I was wondering what happened to your neck. Was that why you were discharged?” The inflection in her tone told him she was curious but didn’t want to dig too deep in case it bothered him.

  “I was hit with shrapnel from a car bomb and while I had three surgeries to repair the nerves and tissue, I was officially discharged because of my leg.” Arrigo didn’t mind talking about his time in Iraq because he knew he was serving his country. It was something that he had done willingly for over a decade and didn’t regret a minute of it.

  “Your leg?” Sana inquired as she wove in and out of traffic on the freeway.

  “Same bomb took a chunk of muscle from my left calf. They tried to fix it but sometimes it cramps up so bad it starts to pull the muscles and I can’t use it for a while.” Arrigo knew he would have to tell her about that anyway since they would be partners.

  “I see.” Sana said nothing else for the remainder of their ride, which only let his mind wander again.

  As they arrived at the Wa
ldorf Astoria, Arrigo felt impatient to get out of the car. He needed some air after their ride. Sana pulled up to the front. She stepped out of the car, but left it running.

  “Valet only parking. We’ll have to go over the car every time we get ready to leave. It shouldn’t be too big of an issue though. Skye has it fitted with some sort of tampering device that he made an app for on my phone.” Sana smiled as they got out of the car. He liked the sight of a smile back on her face. Whatever Williams had said to irritate her must have worn off.

  “Got it.” Arrigo entered the hotel behind Sana since she knew where they were going.

  “I have an appointment to preview the Grande Suite for the Takahashi party.” Her demeanor was professional, yet firm and Arrigo listened as Sana conversed with the concierge. Meanwhile, he surveyed the lobby. There were three exits visible.

  Sana was given a room key and they went to the elevator. They rode up to the twenty-fifth floor to inspect the room and take note of any potential security issues.

  “Two-thousand, one-hundred, seventy-nine square feet. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, one powder room.” Sana spouted off the specs of the room as if she were a tour guide. “Windows on northeast and northwest and a balcony,” she added.

  Arrigo walked on through the expansive room into one of the bedrooms. He looked around for possible hiding places or other security issues, but didn’t see anything glaringly obvious. Passing through to the bathroom, Arrigo found a large shower and separate bathtub. The shower was a lot bigger than the one in his little room. It made him smile at the thought of he and Sana squeezed into the one in his room.

  Turning back to leave the room, Arrigo came face to face with Sana. With her body only inches from him, he wanted to pull her body against his, but he forced himself not to as they were working.

  “What’s so amusing?” she asked. She had obviously caught him reliving the previous night’s events.

  Clearing his throat, Arrigo tried to straighten his smile, but he couldn’t.

  “Nothing.” He finally coughed out the word. Sana arched a brow at him.

  “Why did you say they were wrong about me?”

  It took Arrigo a moment for her question to make sense to him. She referred to what he had said to her right before he had kissed her in the locker room the night before. He couldn’t lie to her.

  “I read your file. I gathered by the different reports that you’re a bit of a wild one and you don’t always listen to orders.” Arrigo swallowed hard as he saw her gaze narrow.

  “You read my file?” she hissed.

  “I read everyone’s files. It was my condition to joining,” Arrigo explained. While he knew why she was pissed, he wanted to tell her not to be, but he didn’t get the chance.

  “It’s time to go.” Sana switched back to her professional tone before turning on her heel and starting back to the entrance of the suite and Arrigo followed along.

  Over the next few hours, they visited every restaurant, museum, and shop that the Takahashi’s had on their itinerary. Or at least Arrigo hoped they had. He planned to get a paper copy of the itinerary later and review it, just to make sure they hadn’t missed anything.

  Arrigo learned a lot about Sana during their time together even though she kept the conversation to a minimum. During lunch he watched as she ordered a salad, and instead of ordering it how she wanted it, she picked off the olives that she obviously detested. He tried not to laugh as she daintily removed them as if they were pieces of rotting meat. On the flip side, he also saw how nice she was to other people. He didn’t know how many doors she had held open while they were out and about. She truly was an amazing woman and he stood by his decision that he wanted to get to know her if she would let him.

  Arrigo saw on the dashboard that it was just after five o’clock when they started back for Sentinel Headquarters.

  “What are you doing for dinner?” Arrigo was contemplating taking Sana to dinner if she wanted.

  She waited a moment before responding and he knew she must have been coming up with some type of excuse to blow him off.

  “I’m not really hungry. I think I’ll just go work out or stay in my room.” The sullen tone gave him an inkling of an idea that she didn’t want to be around him, but didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Arrigo stiffened in his seat.

  He was a Sentinel and that meant he had to hide who he was from everyone else. Especially his feelings. Swallowing down his ego, he cleared his mind and tried to quit worrying about Sana.

  Way easier said than done.

  They pulled back into the secured garage at headquarters and when the car had come to a stop Arrigo felt relieved to get some distance from the woman that he had spent the night making love to. She was most definitely infuriating.

  “Tomorrow I’ll walk you through the armory and the technology department.” With that statement, Sana had made it clear that she didn’t want to see him until tomorrow.

  “Until tomorrow.” Arrigo kept his response brief as he left the car. He gave up trying to figure her out, but just for today. He would come up with a new plan of attack for tomorrow.

  As he headed to his room, he encountered Williams, presumably leaving for the day.

  “Kane. You survived the first day with Sana I see.” Williams chuckled. But Arrigo didn’t find it funny.

  “She’s not that bad. Very productive day though. We are all set for the Takahashi job.” Arrigo tried to sound upbeat but it was hard. His mind wanted to know what had kept Sana from talking to him.

  “I’m in shock. I did tell her to try to avoid picking a fight with you. I swear she does it just to keep me up at night.” Williams sounded exasperated. Suddenly, Arrigo remembered the morning.

  “You actually told her that?” Instantly, Arrigo was pissed. She had been putting up a front all day just to try to keep out of trouble. He hated the idea of her being someone that she wasn’t.

  “You don’t know Sana. She’ll pick a fight with a wall just to prove she can win. Ever since Adam left, she’s been worse too. I know I’m probably disclosing a bit too much here, but as her partner you’ll need to know what you’re up against.” Williams went on to tell Arrigo that Adam St. James had been her only friend and left two years ago. It had crushed her. She looked up to him and he took care of her as if she were his little sister. Williams tried to pair her up with the other guys, but no one could stand to be with her. To sum it up, she was dominating and bitchy.

  “Do me a favor. Let her be who she is. I can’t work with her if I don’t know the real Sana.” Arrigo tried not to sound condescending, but he didn’t like her being abnormal. “I need to know how she thinks and you know personalities are my specialty,” he added.

  “I don’t think you know what you’re saying. I have to keep her on a tight leash or she’ll tear you’re head off.” Williams’ brow furrowed and his half smile turned to a frown. Arrigo clenched his jaw at Williams’ comment. Sana was not an object to be owned or controlled and it made him want her even more. She needed to be loved and cared for, but she also needed to be free to do as she pleased.

  “Trust me, I’ve had years of hand to hand combat experience. I think I can hold my own.” Arrigo smiled at the idea of fighting Sana.

  “It’s your head, and you can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Williams slapped Arrigo on the arm once and walked away.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon if you survive.” Williams called out as he left.

  Arrigo understood now. He knew by her file that she was a fighter and that she had some behavioral issues, but in this line of work, he expected nothing less. Taming her would be a mistake, too. He wanted his hellcat wild.

  The revelation left a smile on his face and he wanted to find her, but would that be too desperate? Arrigo went on to his room to change and ponder the situation. Once inside he removed his coat and gun, hanging them both on the coatrack. It took no more than the few seconds to walk into the tiny kitchenette to decide that he was going to find he
r.

  She deserved to be herself.

  Still wearing his white long sleeve shirt and jeans, he headed for her room. No answer. She had said she was going to work out so he went to the gym. There he found her, alone.

  His breath caught at the sight of her beating the heavy bag. She wore only a black sports bra and tight black shorts. She didn’t even have on any shoes. The white cables running from her ears let him know she was listening to music again. He wasn’t going to startle her this time, even though the idea of her throwing him to the ground enthralled him. Maybe he would risk it. Methodically, Arrigo approached her and his need to be inside her made his body hard. Luckily, his shirt was un-tucked so he could hide the evidence of his desire for her.

  “What do you want?” Sana snapped as she turned to him unexpectedly.

  Arrigo smiled. He had expected this. She couldn’t keep it bottled up for too long.

  “I want to talk to you,” Arrigo stated firmly.

  “I’m off work and don’t want to talk to anyone.” Sana retorted. She kept punching the bag and he wanted to grab her and stop her to get her attention, but he knew that would just piss her off.

  “Fine. Then I want to fuck you.” Arrigo stood there with his arms crossed waiting for her response. Expecting her to take a swing at him, she actually stopped punching the bag, but just stared at the floor. With her body still facing the bag, she turned her head just enough that he could see her scowl.

  “You don’t want me.” Her sullen tone had returned and it made his heart ache. She had that low of self-esteem that she honestly didn’t think he would want her? She was gorgeous. She was courageous. She was intelligent and she needed loved just like everyone else.

  “You really are dense if you think that.” He knew the insult might get her to acknowledge him.

  “I am not stupid!” she screamed. Faster than he could dodge, she spun into a kick that nailed him right in the gut. Arrigo doubled over at the pain.