by Bella Juarez
“The check,” Sergei ordered.
“It was paid, sir,” the waiter said.
“Paid?”
“The gentleman that joined you for a short time, he paid it.”
“Hail a taxi for me.” Sergei stood.
Sergei threw a couple of bills on the table and left for the Russian Embassy. Natasha was taking the grandchildren to St. Sophia and to a museum today. He would investigate this young man and contact him as promised. This man seemed promising and he, for the first time in a long time, was excited about the prospect of working with another professional. He sincerely hoped Azad Jobrani was all he seemed.
Chapter Eight
Coronado Naval Amphibious Base
Headquarters Naval Special Warfare Command
Office of the Commander
September 18, 2008/0612 Zulu
Rock, JJ, and Dixie sat at a large conference table that dominated Dixie’s office. They were discussing the latest on the situation in San Antonio. Alex managed to get back to Rock and had identified at least three operatives. Only one, so far, was an active SEAL. The other two were actually in Anna’s old communications squadron. Rock was still looking for the money man. The staff member who’d signed for the package hadn’t been fully vetted. For the time being, they were lying low and watching all the people they could identify. Rock had given the SEAL in question a special project that kept him away from any classified information.
Special Warfare Group Five would be holding a Navy Birthday Ball in October. Doc was due for a meeting with the money man for his payday the day before the ball. JJ and Rock were scheduled to meet the Monday afterward to try and grab the bastard. He stood and stretched. HQ Special Warfare Group was having a formal event this weekend, and he’d talked Irene into flying out and being his date. It seemed as if five thirty couldn’t come fast enough.
To JJ the day seemed to drag. By four thirty he was antsy and could barely contain his excitement. He left and made his way to the San Diego Airport. He parked his truck and waited inside for Irene. He spotted her the moment she stepped into the public area of the terminal. It was amazing to him how he seemed to exhale every time he saw her. He closed the distance between them with three steps. He gathered her into a tight embrace.
“Oh!” Irene exclaimed with a giggle.
“I missed you so much, sugar,” JJ said, closing his eyes in relief at her nearness.
“I can tell!” Irene said with a smile as JJ released her.
It never ceased to amaze JJ how Irene seemed to sparkle when she smiled. He took her bag and they made their way back to Coronado. She had decided she wanted to return to the Hotel Del Coronado. He had wanted her to say with him at his condo. Of course, he could never say no to Irene. What sugar wants, sugar gets. They dropped off her bags, and he took her to one of his favorite seafood restaurants in Coronado. It wasn’t on the scale of anything she was used to, but the food was outstanding. Irene, being the lady she was, never complained and complimented him on his choice. They returned to the hotel, catching up on all the latest news and drama in their respective lives. He slept clutching her close.
The next day Irene went shopping for a new dress for the formal dinner they’d be attending that night. JJ sat and waited as Irene tried on dress after dress. Normally he would’ve been impatient and angry by the end of the day, but she had made it fun.
JJ appreciated the fact that she could laugh at herself, and her sharp wit gave her a wicked sense of humor. They returned to the hotel and went back to the room. She told him she needed to start getting ready and it would take some time. He left her alone with the room and went downstairs to kill some time and have a couple of drinks at the bar while she was getting dressed. He would go back to the room thirty minutes before they had to leave.
JJ sat at the bar and smiled to himself. He was content and felt complete for the first time in his life. The restlessness that made him so aggressive and dangerous seemed to melt away when Irene was close. He knew he was falling in love with her. He kept himself from saying it so many times because he felt she wasn’t ready to deal with that kind of commitment. He wanted her happy and stress-free.
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?” a voice asked, interrupting his thoughts.
JJ looked in the direction of the voice and did a double take. The woman standing next to him was stunning.
“No, it’s not,” JJ answered.
She was a tight little blonde with one hell of a figure and a beautiful face to match. She was dressed to perfection in a tight, very short black dress with five-inch heels that accentuated her long legs. She was young, way too young. Her long blonde hair hung loosely past her shoulders. JJ looked into her big blue eyes and then looked into his glass.
“Double scotch on the rocks,” she said to the bartender.
JJ didn’t want to look at her again. Alarms went off in his head. This little girl was all sorts of wrong, his instincts warned.
“Are you here on business?” she asked.
“I’m sorry?” JJ asked.
“I was just making conversation. I’m on business…and alone,” she said seductively as she slid closer.
JJ said nothing as she closed the distance. Something was really wrong here. This hot young thing is chasing after me? Who the hell is she trying to fool? She had to be a prostitute. If she wasn’t then something was really fucked up with this picture. His instincts told him to stay right where he was and figure out what she was after.
“You are…” she asked in a low, sexy voice.
“Whoever you’re looking for, baby,” JJ said, looking into her eyes.
This fine, hot, young piece of ass was perfect, too perfect. Her eyes betrayed her. She was cold and cruel. JJ smiled sweetly. She returned the smile, but it lacked warmth and was disingenuous. Everything she was doing was calculated and carefully executed. She wanted something from him, and now he was resolute to find out exactly what that was.
“What’s your name, sweet thing?” JJ asked.
“Alexandria, but my friends call me Lexie.”
“Well, Lexie, just what kind of business are you in?”
“I work for Jobrani Exports in New York.” Lexie bumped shoulders with JJ and giggled. He thought with disgust how evil it sounded. So unlike Irene’s little bubbly giggle. “I shouldn’t drink scotch. It makes my clothes come off…” Lexie said huskily.
JJ chuckled as he leaned into Lexie’s shoulder. “How about another one?”
Lexie smiled and pushed her glass forward. JJ ordered her another scotch. Lexie ran a long, perfectly manicured finger up and down his arm as she looked seductively in his eyes. He didn’t move as the bartender gave her another full glass of scotch.
“Why are we playing games, daddy?” Lexie asked.
“I don’t know, baby. What do you want, sweet thing?”
“I want to be a good girl for you, daddy.”
“How do you plan on doing that, little girl?”
“Can I lick your lollipop, daddy?” Lexie asked sweetly.
Fuck no! I don’t want my dick anywhere near you! All sorts of bells and whistles were going off in his head. There was something so wrong. Every fiber in his body wanted to turn around and walk away, but his sharp instincts told him to hang on and find out just what the hell she wanted from him. He chuckled and looked deeply into her eyes. Lexie leaned in and rubbed her breasts against JJ’s arm. It took everything in him not to pull away because her touch was slimy and felt dirty.
“It’ll take more than that to make your daddy happy, baby,” JJ said seductively.
“Oh, I want my daddy happy. I’ll do whatever it takes,” Lexie said like an eager child.
JJ had to keep himself from rolling his eyes at this little game she was playing. If she thought for one second he was taken she was really stupid. Nevertheless, he played along. He had to find out where this was going.
“We’ll see, baby,” JJ said.
“We can go to my room, daddy, and I pr
omise I’ll make you a happy man,” Lexie said, leaning forward. She placed a seductive light kiss on his lips that made JJ’s skin crawl in disgust.
“Daddy’s waiting,” JJ said.
Lexie stood and walked away from the bar. Movement caught JJ’s attention as he passed a table. He glanced to the right when he saw a newspaper lower and shuffle. He almost stopped dead and faced the man behind the paper. It was a familiar face but in this location it was all wrong and didn’t belong here. He turned his attention to the woman walking in front of him and narrowed his eyes.
The face he’d seen belonged to the same person who had signed the waybill for the missing package. JJ followed Lexie out of the bar and figured out exactly what the hell was going on with each step he took. His battle-honed senses were on overload. This little bitch was up to something, and it had danger written all over it.
* * * *
Irene looked around the room for her makeup bag and remembered her purse had fallen off the small bench seat in James’s truck. He’d left the keys on the table in the room. She dressed quickly in shorts and a T-shirt. She picked up the keys and the room card as she left for the parking lot. She stepped out into the hallway. When she got to the elevator doors, movement out of the corner of her left eye caught her attention in the hallway and she turned to look in that direction. Irene felt her heart stop.
James was with a young woman who had just put her hands in between his legs. The woman laughed seductively and kissed James. He was unable to see Irene because his back was slightly turned away from the elevators. But she knew it was James. She’d know him anywhere. The door to a room opened and she watched in shocked disbelief as he shoved the young woman inside, closing the door behind him.
Irene felt as if she had just been stabbed. The emotional pain that shot through her was so intense it was physical, and it nearly knocked her to her knees. The elevator door opened and closed again before she moved. She went to her room and picked up her phone. She quickly found the number she was looking for and called it.
“Yes, I need your first available flight to Corpus Christi, Texas,” Irene said calmly.
* * * *
Lexie? Alexandria? Jobrani? JJ’s mind was turning as Lexie’s hand rubbed up and down his cock. Her mouth was on his neck and he was thinking as quickly as he could. His mind replayed what she had said and how she had said it. He wanted this little slut as far away from him as he could get her. He frowned as he tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together. His eyes widened at his conclusion. He grabbed Lexie’s long blonde hair and yanked back hard. Pulling her away from his body, he looked at her coldly.
“You’re a long way from home, little girl,” JJ said in perfect Russian.
Lexie didn’t need to say a word because JJ instantly saw the flicker of recognition in her eyes. She’d understood his statement. The surprise in her eyes at hearing a statement in her native tongue gave way to pain as he yanked harder. She started to fight. He reared back with his free hand and punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious. He worked quickly as he took out his pocket knife, unplugged one of the lamps, and cut the cord. He hogtied Lexie and left her on the floor. He called Dixie and informed him of what had happened.
JJ began searching the room while Lexie regained consciousness. It didn’t take him long to find the syringe already loaded with some sort of poison, a very nice Russian-made handgun, and a few other toys that nice little girls shouldn’t be playing with. Now he knew exactly what he had on his hands, a highly trained Russian assassin. The sharp knock at the door was quicker than he’d expected. When it swung open, Dixie was there with two uniformed sailors.
“What the fuck happened?” Dixie demanded as he took in the scene.
“Get her out of here,” JJ said with disgust. The two sailors untied Lexie. She fought them violently, but they managed to restrain her once more. “Watch that one, boys. She bites.”
“No shit, Master Chief,” one of the young sailors said.
JJ finished up with Dixie. Dixie started checking immediately on the man JJ had seen in the bar as he was leaving with Lexie. Dixie informed the CIA they needed to watch for a second person of interest. They agreed to discuss the matter at length later on after Lexie had been interrogated. Meanwhile, Dixie would arrange for Lexie’s handover to the CIA.
JJ glanced at his watch as he reentered the bar. He looked in the direction of where the face he’d seen earlier had been. The newspaper was there, but the man was gone. He guessed Lexie had taken too long to contact him. It’d been almost an hour and a half since he had taken his first sip at the bar. He returned to the room he and Irene were sharing. When he stepped inside he frowned.
“Irene? Why aren’t you ready, sugar?” JJ asked.
“I’m not going, James,” Irene said.
JJ almost took a step backward. Irene’s voice was ice cold. It shocked him to hear her sound so lifeless. “I don’t understand. What happened, sugar?” He walked closer.
“I’m leaving. I’m going back home,” Irene said flatly. JJ stopped. Something was wrong, very wrong. He stepped closer and reached for Irene. “Don’t touch me!” Irene snarled. “Don’t ever touch me again!”
JJ withdrew his hand as if she had physically snapped at him. He was trying to wrap his mind around what the hell had happened to make her suddenly hate him…
“Irene…” JJ began slowly. “What’s wrong?”
“Are you serious? Are you telling me you don’t know?” Irene asked in an eerily calm voice.
“I don’t know, Irene.”
“Who was the blonde woman you were with a little while ago in the hallway?”
Oh shit! When the hell did she see that? JJ wondered with sudden horror. He knew there was no explaining away what Irene might have seen. Lexie was all over him in that hallway. Even if he could tell her the truth, it would’ve still been hard to believe. Because of the nature of his business, he couldn’t tell Irene what was going on no matter how desperately he wanted her to believe the situation wasn’t what she thought.
“Irene, I know you saw something that looked really bad. But you have to believe me when I say it wasn’t what it looked like,” JJ said quietly. He was praying she would listen and trust him.
“I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid,” Irene said, shaking her head.
“Please, sugar, please believe me. I can’t tell you what happened. But you have to believe it was nothing like you think.” JJ reached for her hand.
“Don’t touch me!” Irene snapped.
JJ drew back quickly, as if he’d just touched fire. He knew by the look on her face and her cold, almost dead tone of voice, it was over for her. There was a knock on the door. He went to open the door almost relieved at the interruption in the tension. It was a porter from downstairs.
“Someone called for a cab. It’s here,” the young man said.
“We’ll be there in a minute,” JJ said.
JJ closed the door and turned to Irene, who was standing and reaching for her bag.
“Irene, please don’t do this. You have to believe me,” JJ said.
“James, don’t ever contact me again. Good-bye.” Irene walked out the door.
JJ had never felt so helpless and lost. He sank slowly to their bed and sat down, staring at the wall for a long time. The last time he recalled feeling this way, he had gotten the call that his mother had died. His soul felt like something had just been violently ripped away. He packed his few belongings and left the Hotel del Coronado, wishing the place would burn down behind him.
* * * *
Irene leaned her head back against the seat as the plane departed San Diego. She closed her eyes willing herself not to cry over James. This was all her fault. She had given in to her flesh instead of listening to her head. She knew from the start this man was too good to be true.
David, with all of his faults, had never betrayed her trust in him. Irene felt the silent tears roll down her cheeks. She took the tissue and angrily w
iped them away. She had managed to rent a car so she could drive herself back to Victoria from Corpus Christi once she arrived. She wanted to get home and forget James Jones ever existed.
* * * *
“Dixie, I don’t give a shit what anyone says. I know what I saw,” JJ insisted.
“He has a very reliable witness that says he’s been in Virginia on leave for the last five days, and that witness puts him inside the house at the time you say you saw him,” Dixie said patiently.
“He wasn’t in fucking Virginia. He was at the Babcock & Story Bar in Coronado!” JJ argued.
“JJ, I fucking believe you! But unless you can prove that his mother is lying, I am not about to fuck with the son of a sitting congressman who is on the House Defense Committee and the chair of the Defense Intelligence Subcommittee! Bring me physical proof that man was in Coronado because I’m not accusing a highly decorated SEAL of treason without proof! Especially when his mother, the congressman’s wife, says he was in the house in Virginia!” Dixie insisted.
JJ couldn’t remember another time when his life seemed so bleak and hopeless. He’d been biting everyone’s head off since Irene had left. He hadn’t tried to contact Irene because he was so wounded at the way she left and her complete lack of trust in him. His entire life had suddenly taken a nosedive for the worse.
“That cocksucker was not in Virginia!” JJ yelled.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? There’s something more to this. You’ve been on a fucking tear for a week. Now, what the hell is really going on here?” Dixie asked. JJ glared at Dixie not answering. “I can’t help you if you have no proof other than what you think you saw,” Dixie said as JJ remained hostile and silent. “Master Chief, you either back off this accusation or I’m cutting you loose.”
