I see everyone around the table sitting up a little straighter. When nothing’s simple, it often means there’s one heck of a lot of complicated underneath. “Does Danielle Smith even exist?”
A snort of laughter comes from Ryan. “I’ve heard of immaculate conception, but not immaculate birth. I think we can safely say somewhere, out there, is the mother of your child.”
“For fuck’s sake Ryan, you know what I mean.” My hand rubs my chin in frustration, not only at his asinine comment but also that there are no obvious leads. “I know the bloody woman exists, but is Dannie, or Danielle Smith, even her real name?”
“But why put a false name on a birth certificate? And why put yours on, and then not tell you about it? Why register the birth at all if you’re going to do that?” Jon’s face tightens, he’s deep in thought. “It’s been proven you are the father, so presumably she’s the mother.”
I give it some consideration, “Could she have put my name on so Mollie would come to me if she got into trouble? Could she have known even then that she might be in danger?”
“So why not warn you?” Jon’s shaking his head, “Why not at least pick up the phone and tell you to expect her? Why the subterfuge?”
“The name’s all we’ve got to go on. Working on the principle it’s her real one, can we track her movements via her passport?” Ben tosses his question at the girls.
Again, Van glances at her tablet before saying anything. “With only a name, no age or legitimate address, I can’t track Danielle Smith at all. The surname’s too common. There was no maiden name listed, so presumably she hasn’t been married before, and the place of birth was given as Dover, Kent. There’s not enough to go on.”
“She must have a passport. It had to have happened in Amahad. Or Paris. I went straight from Amahad to France. Can’t we track her arriving in Amahad? Or leaving?” I’m grasping at straws here.
“Sean, I don’t have access to every bloody system in the world. If you could remember the girls you fucked it might make things simpler,” Van snaps.
Vanessa’s vehemence startles me, and quickly I look her way, surprised at her outburst and the censure in her words, but make a rapid decision to ignore it. She’s got a point, I suppose, I’m hardly in the position to contest it. Rubbing my hand over my short beard, I think rapidly. “Chasing down a name is one thing, but if I’m going to find the actual woman, Amahad is the place to start.” Plus, Cara’s there and might be able to help. Having to stay the right side of the law as a Grade A employee, Van might be limited as to what systems she can legitimately get into, but Sheikh Nijad’s wife accepts no such boundaries.
Ben’s nodding thoughtfully. After a moment, he agrees, “That’s the place to start, Sean. Go back to the scene of the ‘crime’ so to speak.” Pausing, he chuckles at his small joke, “Something might well trigger some memories for you. It’s all you’ve got to go on after all. You’ll need to make a list of the women you were involved with at the time and seek them out. Get yourself out there as soon as you can, and take Van with you. Nafisa, can you continue digging and tracking down that name? My gut feeling is there is something very wrong. A woman doesn’t just drop off a baby and disappear off the face of the earth.”
My heart misses a beat at the thought I’m going to have to leave my child when I’ve only just found her, but whichever way I look at it, I can’t see I’ve got any other option. If I want to find Danielle, that is. Then I frown, realising what else Ben’s said. He’d mentioned Van helping me yesterday, but with my mind taken up with Mollie, I’d assumed he meant helping me search in England. But he’s suggesting she comes to Amahad as my partner? What’s the fuck’s he thinking? She’s never worked out of the office before. “With all due respect, Ben, I’d prefer Ryan to have my back.” The looks Van’s been throwing my way suggest she hates me and would happily stick a knife in me herself.
Ben draws himself up, leaving me in no doubt he’s Grade A’s senior partner. “We’re doing this as a favour to you, Sean. With you gone that’s one less man on the team, I can’t afford to lose two. Vanessa’s got to start somewhere. This will be good training for her. Ease her into working in the field.”
The woman under discussion seems to have been expecting this outcome as she’s making no protest, but she’s looking down, her hair falling over her face so I can’t read her expression. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was gloating. She’s been so eager to get out of the office her bags are probably already packed and ready. But that doesn’t make me feel any happier about her being the one by my side. I’ve always been dubious about her ability to be a CPO. Oh, I know she’s had all the appropriate training, she was proudly waving her licence around in the office a few weeks ago, but so far, her knowledge is only theoretical.
Ben must be confident she’s gained sufficient skills to be out in the big bad world, but she’s got no practical experience. And I’ve got my doubts about this slender framed redhead who looks like a strong breeze would blow her over. Still, perhaps Ben figures this is a low-risk case to get her started. I’m going to track down a woman, not go into a firefight. Just how dangerous can that be?
Interrupting my assessment of the woman who’ll be accompanying me on my search for Mollie’s elusive mother, Ben raps his fingers on the table, “I’ll get in touch with Kadar, as a courtesy. I’ll let him know you’re coming, and he might be able to smooth your way. Cara may be able to help too.”
That Ben’s on the same page about Cara doesn’t surprise me. And I’m grateful he’s offered to make first contact. Kadar is the Emir of Amahad, the highest authority in that country. I hadn’t expected to be returning so soon, and my leg chooses this moment to give a twinge, bringing into mind the last time I was in there and the injuries I sustained doing my job protecting the woman who is now Kadar’s wife.
In truth, I could do without going back, but no other alternative presents itself.
With everything decided, Ben wraps up the meeting, wishing my new partner and me good luck in our search. With one last glance at a frowning Van, I gather my stuff together and leave the room. Now I’ve got to persuade my mother to look after my baby for an indefinite amount of time. But the revelation she truly is her grandchild might prove to be just the sweetener I need. And, of course, I’m lucky she has a career that allows her to work from home.
Chapter 9
Vanessa
Sometimes the jobs that come to Grade A are planned months in advance. Other times, we have to react fast to provide a response to an immediate threat. It’s not unusual for an operative to be sent out with minimal notice, as is the case now. As soon as the decisions were made, our journey was arranged and the very next morning, Sean and I found ourselves landing in Amahad.
That Sean doesn’t want me here is obvious. He’d given it away when his face had fallen in the meeting yesterday, his jaw dropping when Ben made clear I was going to be the one to partner him. His mood had also been quite distant during the flights from England. While I’m fully cognisant of my reasons for not wanting to be here with him, I don’t understand his objection to me. That he has any at all perversely annoys me. Is it just due to my inexperience? Or is it the fact I’m a woman and he doesn’t think I can do the job as well as a man?
We’ve danced around the subject, being as polite as colleagues should be, but neither of us spell out our reasons why I shouldn’t have been the operative accompanying him to this Arab country. And in my case, I really want to avoid having to explain that I’d been given no option; that this is my sole opportunity to prove myself to Ben.
Underlying it all, despite recent revelations and the knowledge I could never mean anything to Sean, hidden just beneath the surface is a continued simmering attraction to the man however hard I try to suppress it. Damn it! The long hours of the flight when we were forced to sit together in cramped proximity, the warmth of his leg inevitably touching mine due to lack of space, ramped up my hormones all over again. Just what is it about the sound
of his deep voice that makes my pulse beat faster? What is it about those innocent and accidental touches which start my insides quivering?
Determined to do the best I can in my assigned role, I’ve got to keep buried and well-hidden the slightest indication that he has any effect on me. I know it was wrong for me to come with him, he’s got me twisted into knots, and for the life of me I don’t understand why. After Simon, I didn’t want to get close to any man again and even if I did, Sean is unattainable and just completely wrong for me. But my traitorous body seems to have other ideas when it comes to him. Why didn’t I protest more about this assignment? Ben gave me no choice.
Now in the accommodation that’s been assigned to us, I force myself to concentrate on the positives, and admittedly, there are a number of them. Leaving aside my intense relief at finding Sean’s left Mollie behind and I’m not going to have to contend with a baby on top of everything, this is my first mission and I’m staying in an honest to God real frigging palace! Well, perhaps not in the ancient building itself, but in a house in the royal compound. It all happened so fast I’ve hardly had time to catch my breath. This is what the life of a CPO is all about!
I’m in a foreign country working on behalf of Grade A! Yeah! Pausing my unpacking, I flop down on the bed and look back on the last twenty-four hours.
Once Ben had contacted the Emir of Amahad, his old buddy Kadar, things started to happen quickly. Or, as Ben told us, they had once Kadar had managed to stop laughing. Apparently, he knows Sean well, and the image of him being landed with a baby caused so much amusement he’d had a coughing fit. Until he calmed down, and understood the seriousness of the situation. Then he couldn’t have been more helpful, offering us accommodation in one of the houses they keep vacant and available for foreign guests.
And he’d gone one step further. As soon we arrived, obviously no stranger to the perks of this particular abode, Sean had opened up a gun safe hidden at the back of the wardrobe in the main bedroom, and extracted weapons that had been provided for us to use. He’d passed me a shoulder holster and taken one for himself. I’d chosen a Glock and, as I’d balanced the gun in my hand, it was then that it dawned on me this is real and though I’d been trained, I hoped I’d never have to use the weapon in earnest. Shooting a paper target at a range is one thing, pointing it at a person quite another. But this is what I’ve trained for.
Flinging my arm up over my eyes, I realise being assigned to a case as an active member of the team, rather than working behind the scenes in an office, AND being assigned to work with Sean Cooper AND, at least for a few days, staying in the same house as him would have been, until only recently, all my dreams come true at once. But the reasons why we’re here, and the revelations about the man himself, have shaken me to the core. All my preconceptions of my handsome co-worker, who I’ve lusted over for aeons, have flown out of the window, and I’ve had to re-examine every carnal thought I’ve ever had about him having now discovered he’s a complete manwhore. I shouldn’t be attracted to him. Damn my libido.
Who fucks, to use his word, women without knowing their names or even bothering to find out who they are? Not just once, but quite possibly hundreds of times? All my hopes and fantasies have been smashed into dust. I’m certainly about as far from his type as you can get. Realistically I know I’m not a woman who’d be content with being just another one night stand, another notch on his bedpost. And in the unlikely scenario where I did get him to notice me, that’s all I could ever expect to be.
But it could be different with you!
Shit! My optimistic mind doesn’t want to give up. Not just yet.
I could change him…
Oh yes, and just how many women have thought that since the beginning of time? He’s beyond redemption, and I’d do well to remember that, and suppress the little glow inside every time I see him. Why can’t I control myself around him?
Hearing a voice downstairs I pull myself up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and carefully composing my features to avoid giving any indication of the direction of my recent thoughts. Whatever my disgust at Sean’s behaviour, which, contradictorily seems to do nothing to dampen his desirability, I need to act as I’ve been trained to do. I’m here to do a job, nothing more, nothing less. He’s my partner, so personal feelings―whether positive or negative― must be locked away. As Ben had impressed on me, my views on my partner’s sexual proclivities should have no bearing on working with the man. Pulling back my shoulders, I leave my room to go down to the living area where I spot the man in question with a phone to his ear. He throws a nod of acknowledgement at me but continues his call.
“Sorry, Mum…” He waits, then grimaces, holding the phone away from his ear for a moment, then sends me a self-deprecating glance which makes him look endearing and boyish. Ignoring the traitorous flip-flopping feeling down low in my stomach and giving him some privacy, I go to the small kitchen and start checking the fridge and cupboards, pleased to find they’ve been well stocked with food, and that a lot of it is the British brands I recognise.
Sean’s deep, velvety voice drifts over to me. “I don’t know how long I’ll be away. I’ve got to do this, Mum. I’m sorry to leave you literally holding the baby.” And then in a quieter, almost loving tone I hear him say, “Give her a kiss from me.” God, that gets me. A man getting gooey over a baby only fuels my perfidious body’s reactions, so far removed from my experience before. I steady myself against the worktop as I reel when a memory hits me, You did it on purpose. So, I sorted it for you. Shaking my head, I try to rid myself of the hateful words thrown at me two years ago and instead concentrate on those I’ve just overheard.
Give her a kiss from me. There’s a hundred and eighty-degree difference between Sean and the man who hurt me so badly. Sean’s accepted his responsibilities. But as a warm feeling begins to fill me, it’s doused just as fast as I remember that baby has got a mother, and finding her is the reason we’re here. That woman has more claim to him than I could ever have.
A knock at the front door draws me out of my reverie. Having finished his call, Sean moves faster than I, going into professional mode as he checks out the security system finding out who it is before undoing the lock. Shit. I would have forgotten that! Giving myself another mental reminder that we’re on a job, not here on holiday, and I could do worse than mimic him as I to learn how to slip automatically into the role that I’ve been trained for. There’s so much for me to get my head round. What if we’d been on a real case with a threat lurking around every corner and I’d just thrown open the door?
At Sean’s cheery greeting I swing around, and am shocked when I see who enters. The last person I expect to pay a visit is Emira Zoe, Emir Kadar’s very obviously pregnant wife. What have we done to deserve a greeting from such an eminent person? Then, as I watch, I’m surprised at the level of familiarity with which she greets my partner, throwing her arms around him and giving him a loud smacker of a kiss on his cheek.
I recognise her, of course, from photos we used when Grade A was helping to rescue both her and Sean from their kidnappers. But wow, she’s changed so much since then. Her very bearing is regal now, her clothes the height of fashion. And here I am, standing to one side, feeling dowdy, annoyed that I’ve not been introduced and forced to listen to their exchanges of, How have you been? and It’s so good to see you. My body tenses at the easy relationship there is between them.
Then, when I hear Sean ask, “When you going to leave that husband of yours for me, Zoe?” however joking the tone, I hate the woman on sight. I’m jealous! Once again, my colouring betrays me as my pale cheeks flush red and my freckles blaze, and then I want the earth to open up and swallow me, when I notice the second woman who’d entered behind the Sheikha and recognise the smirk on her face. My cheeks burn redder. She knows!
After far too long, my co-worker releases the emira and lets her step back from the circle of his arms, eyeing her from head to toe at arm’s length. “You’re looking
great, Zoe!”
Zoe’s looking around her examining the room, eyes gleaming with mischief. “This brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Suspicious, I want to know what she’s referring to, and just how close she’d been with Sean. Has she been one of his one night stands?
Sean gives a laugh as his answer to her question, and then, at last, he greets the other woman and, finally remembering I’m here, turns to make the introductions. “Vanessa, this is Sheikha Cara Kassis, who’s married to Sheikh Nijad.” As he indicates the second woman first, I step forward and shake her hand. I’ve worked with her before, but only in the virtual world and have never met the renowned hacker face to face.
“And,” Sean continues, “I also have the pleasure of introducing you to Emira Zoe Kassis, Kadar’s wife.” Well, it might be his pleasure, but it certainly isn’t mine! Especially when he continues to gaze at the woman in question with a fondness in his eyes, “We shared this house when Zoe first came here.”
Just as I was wondering what else they’d shared, Cara steps forward, speaking enthusiastically, “You ought to see the harem now, Sean. Zoe’s done absolute wonders with it!” Her words help me recall the details, Zoe originally came to renovate the harem, and ended up marrying the emir.
“How are the plans going, Cara?” Sean shows his interest.
“Well! We’re taking our first bookings at this very moment, and have a magazine shoot coming up. We’re hoping the publicity will put Amahad on the map and attract more tourists.” Cara turns to me, at least she’s noticed I’m being left out of the conversation and that I haven’t a clue as to what they are talking about. “We’ve kitted the harem out as a venue for hen parties.” I’m grateful to her for the clarification and, as she continues, for her invitation. “You’ll have to come and see what we’ve done while you’re here! I’d like to know what you think.” She looks me up and down, before adding, “You’re the demographic we’re aiming for.”
Identity Crisis (Blood Brothers #4) Page 7
