by J. S. Scott
I’d just told him about Ruby’s history, but I wanted him to understand that she might not trust him.
He nodded. “I doubt she’ll be threatened by me. I limp, and she could outrun me right now if she wanted to.”
I hugged him, so damn grateful that he had such a huge heart. “Be careful.”
He hugged me back and then looked at Marcus. “Take care of her,” he warned his friend.
“No worries about that,” Marcus affirmed.
Jett only took a moment to pull everything together and he was out the door.
“He’ll be fine,” Marcus assured me. “He’s probably one of the smartest guys I’ve ever worked with in any capacity.”
“But his injuries are still going to be a disadvantage,” I argued.
“Less than you think,” Marcus drawled. “He might limp, but he’s pretty damn strong. And sometimes brains are more important than brawn. I need you to focus on what we’re doing. Jett will be fine.”
I nodded. “I’m ready.”
“Not quite yet,” he denied, reaching his hand into his pocket to pull out a chain and a pendant.
I didn’t stop him when he went to drape the piece of jewelry over my neck and then pulled my hair from the gold chain.
“What’s this?” I asked uncertainly, fingering the cameo pendant.
Marcus flipped the pendant over. “Since Becker is a paranoid prick, I don’t doubt that he isn’t going to let you keep your cell phone for pictures. This is a backup.”
“Are you telling me this actually takes photos?” The pendant was relatively tiny.
He demonstrated how it flipped open, where the button to take photos was, and how to use the device, and then closed it again. “It takes very good photos as long as you do exactly what I told you to do.”
“How is that possible?” I questioned.
“I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” he said in a mocking tone.
I shot him a tremulous smile. “Highly classified?” I asked.
“Actually, yes. And so is this.” He pulled something else out of his pocket.
“What?”
He slid a simple beaded bracelet over my wrist. It was plain, and like the pendant, it was nothing flashy. I was guessing it was supposed to be nondescript so as to not draw attention.
He adjusted the beads carefully as he said, “Touch the beads, but don’t twist them.”
I put my index finger carefully on the cool, artificial stones. “One of them is smooth,” I mused.
Marcus quickly explained how the pepper spray device worked. It was pretty simple. With a quick, powerful twist to the smooth stone, a high concentrate of pepper spray released into an assailant’s eyes if one’s aim was good.
“Aim well, and make sure you have an escape route,” he advised. “If you don’t move your ass, you’ll end up getting some of it yourself. Don’t do it in an enclosed area or if you can’t get away.”
I marveled at some of the nifty gadgets that Marcus had access to. “Got it,” I acknowledged. “What? No matching ring?”
“No, but I have earrings,” he mentioned casually, drawing a pair of plain black stones out of his other pocket.
I was wearing a pair of dangle earrings that matched my white shirt, but he motioned for me to take them off, and I ridded myself of them quickly.
“Do I want to know what these do?” I asked as I threaded both wires through my pierced holes.
“Press the inside button on either one of them and the signal comes directly to me,” he explained. “And you’d better use it at the first sign of trouble,” he grumbled.
“Panic buttons?” I asked.
“Don’t wait until you panic,” he advised. “Once you think he might be onto you, push the damn button. I’m going to be on your ass anyway, but I need you to signal me if there’s a problem.”
Nice as all these tiny tools might be, what really touched me was the fact that Marcus Colter looked worried.
“Hey,” I said softly. “I’ll be okay.”
His staunch expression didn’t soften as he snaked a hand around the back of my neck. “You better be. Don’t take any chances, Danica. Promise me.”
I glanced up at him, meeting his tumultuous gray eyes. My heart skittered as I saw the strain on his face. “I won’t. I promise.”
“I must be fucking crazy for helping you do this,” he rasped.
“I’m crazy,” I corrected. “You’re just watching out for me.”
“That seems to be a job I do well,” he said hoarsely as his head lowered to capture my mouth.
I couldn’t help but sink into his hard body, opening for him as he demanded my submission. I wrapped my arms around his neck, losing myself in his strength for a moment, allowing myself to feel.
I’d steel myself for my meeting with Becker as soon as Marcus let me go, but for just an instant, I needed to feel protected, and the only one who could make me feel less alone was the man who was holding me like he never wanted to let me go.
Marcus
It had been the worst kind of torture to watch Dani get in her car and drive away.
Yeah, I was following behind her in a very ordinary sedan, but I knew I had to keep my distance, and I hated it.
I should have pulled her out of this whole thing. What in the hell was I thinking?
I’d questioned my own sanity several times over the last few days. Usually, I’d use whatever contacts I could get with a threat to national security, and Becker was definitely dangerous because of his enormous funding of the rebels.
But she was no ordinary contact.
And the way I felt leaving her at all vulnerable was downright insane.
I didn’t want her with Becker. I didn’t even want her in the same city with him. Yet, I needed her to help me gain access to critical information, intel that would finally bring Becker down for good.
Jett had made incredible progress by “digging” for dirt on Becker on the dark web, but not quite enough to present to the necessary departments to take him down. Hell, Becker had so many offenses it was going to be hard to figure out who was going to handle what on government offenses. But that wasn’t my concern.
I wanted to bust Becker on so many levels, but the sense of protecting our country from foreign governments or terrorists was ingrained in me. What I wanted the most was to take Becker down for good. After that, I wanted the whole damn organization that had harmed Dani to cease to exist and not be a threat to our goddamn planet.
Everything I was insisted that I let Dani get access to intel. I’d been using any method necessary to impede anybody who wanted to harm the US in any way. However, as a man, I was having one hell of a time watching Danica be some kind of sacrifice.
“I’ll get her out quickly,” I muttered, still trying to convince myself that I was doing the right thing.
In theory, one person for a nation was a fair trade-off.
But that wasn’t at all how I felt right now.
If Becker caught Dani in action, or doubted her loyalty to him, he’d kill her without a second thought.
“Fuck!” I exploded, slamming my hand on the steering wheel. My only consolation was that I had various departments of the government to back me up, even though I technically didn’t exist for the CIA.
I wasn’t an employee.
Nobody had a file on me.
The information I gained was put in investigative files, and my involvement quickly disappeared.
Just the way I liked it.
However, I’d helped enough starched shirts in the government that I could still call on plenty of people for help, including the FBI and some of my fellow CIA agents.
I watched as Dani pulled into a driveway ahead of me, and I stayed back, parking some distance away and cutting my headlights.
Now wasn’t the time to second-guess myself. I needed to keep my head on straight and think like a spy.
She had every available gadget I could get my hands on to both protect h
er and help her stay undetected. Yeah, I broke out in a sweat as I watched her exit her compact vehicle in a skirt so short that she had to yank it down to cover the cheeks of her ass. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the look. But I didn’t want any other guy looking at Dani the same way.
As usual, she’d done her makeup way too heavy, but she was just as damn gorgeous as ever, and I coveted her, wanting to keep her all to myself.
As she disappeared into the luxury home, I had to admit to myself that she was the gutsiest female I’d ever encountered. She’d never flinched in trying to bring the world international news, and she hadn’t broken under the captivity of men who had tormented her in every way possible.
Now, she’d thrown herself into danger again. Maybe she was wary, but she was determined.
The moment I’d met her, I’d wanted to nail her against the wall. But the way I craved her now was at a whole different level.
Mine! She’s fucking mine.
It took all I had not to get out of my damn car and go find her, take her away from anything that could possibly harm her.
Problem was, she was the most stubborn woman on earth.
I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel impatiently as I felt my cell phone vibrate in the pocket of my jeans. I’d dressed for comfort and mobility, trying to make myself as ordinary as possible.
My eyes never leaving the house, I pulled out my phone and answered it. “Colter,” I said abruptly into my cell.
“Marcus? Everything okay?” Jett asked, his voice solemn and low.
“Just got here,” I replied. “She’s in. I’m just keeping the house under surveillance.”
“Damn,” Jett cursed. “I hate this.”
“Me, too, buddy,” I admitted. “How is it going there?”
“Good thing I’m worth billions,” he scoffed. “Gaining entry into the club is exhaustive and expensive. But I’m in. The auction starts shortly.”
“Whatever it costs, I’ll pay you back,” I told him with no reservations. Ruby was Dani’s friend, and we had to get her out of harm’s way.
“Oh, hell no. If I’m going to buy a virgin, I’m paying for it,” he replied. “I’m doing this for my sister. And maybe a little bit for Ruby, too. Jesus. She hasn’t had the easiest life.”
Dani had explained to me and her brother how Ruby had gotten into being a victim of human trafficking. “They always pick the most vulnerable,” I told Jett in a disgusted tone.
“Yeah, well, it’s bullshit,” Jett said adamantly. “What sick individuals do this shit?”
“People like Becker and his minions,” I drawled.
“They don’t just sell virgins,” Jett replied. “There’s all kinds of illegal crap happening here, and I don’t think the majority of women who are present here, are here on their own free will or working willingly.”
“The place has to get shut down,” I told him. “Just get Ruby out without looking obvious, and we’ll let law enforcement handle it. Get as much information as you can.”
“Ruby will probably have to testify,” Jett said in a regretful tone.
“She will. But hopefully she’ll be so happy to escape that she’ll do it.”
Jett hesitated before he said, “I gotta go. Take care of my sister.”
“I always have,” I reminded him.
“You have,” he acknowledged. “Probably more than she ever realized. I have a feeling you’ve always had an eye on her in some way or another. Even when she didn’t realize it.”
I wasn’t fessing up to his claim, even though it was true. “Maybe,” I answered noncommittally.
“Does she know how you feel?” Jett asked.
“What?” I asked innocently. “She’s like a sister to me, too.”
Jett snorted. “I call bullshit, buddy. But you can sort that out later if you’re not ready to deal with it. Just keep her safe.”
“I plan on it,” I responded grimly.
We talked a minute or two more, shaping up our plans for later, and then hung up to focus on our objectives.
Jett was taking Ruby back to my condo, but if everything went smooth, I’d have Dani’s ass on my private jet as soon as she was out of Becker’s place. I had people moving our belongings to the airport and onto my plane.
I didn’t want her anywhere in the area when all hell broke loose.
Dani
I would be lying if I tried to convince myself I wasn’t afraid.
But while I was trying not to flinch under Becker’s intense scrutiny, I did have the security of knowing that Marcus was outside, waiting for a signal if I should get in trouble.
I was determined that this man I’d been tailing for weeks wasn’t going to slip away from prosecution. He was a traitor to my country, and pure evil in every other respect.
I tried not to show my aversion to him as he roughly stroked my cheek. “I’ve been waiting for this night, Dani.”
I’m sure he had been. The night that he’d left me black and blue was still fresh in my mind every time I looked at him. Women were nothing more than disposable trash to him.
“Me, too,” I murmured, not being totally untruthful. I was, in fact, waiting for him to get his ass nailed against the wall.
I was grateful for the tools Marcus had given me since Becker had taken my keys and my handbag the minute I walked through the door and stashed them somewhere unknown. He was paranoid, but it had been a move I wasn’t expecting.
“I need to go freshen up,” I told him as I rose from my place beside him on the couch. I had to find my way around his home, and just being so close to the man who had cuffed me so hard I still had a faint outline of black-and-blue marks on my face made me slightly nauseous.
“Hurry up,” he insisted in an annoyed tone. He stood up and took off his suit jacket as he added, “I’ve got plans for you.”
I smiled weakly as I shuddered, not even wanting to know what his plans might be.
“Be right back,” I answered sunnily.
He jerked his head to the left. “The bathroom is at the end of the hall. Stay out of the other rooms.”
“Okay,” I answered meekly as I turned away and scurried down the hallway.
I closed the door to the toilet loud enough so he could hear it, and then leaned back against it.
Damn! How was I going to get anywhere when he was watching me like a hawk?
“I can do this. I can do this,” I whispered over and over like it was my mantra.
Problem was, I’d seen the ugly, violent side of Gregory Becker, and it had scared the hell out of me. I’d seen the same expressions when I’d been brutalized by my kidnappers.
Lifeless.
Dead.
Emotionless.
Where there was no conscience, there was no hesitancy to hurt, maim, or kill.
I had no doubt that just like my jailers in the Middle East, Becker enjoyed causing people pain and misery. In fact, I was pretty sure he excelled at it.
I pushed myself off the bathroom door, catching my reflection in the mirror as I moved. My white blouse was nearly transparent, but I was wearing a white sports bra underneath. I looked like a hooker trying to attract a man with layers of makeup and bright-red lipstick. The frightened expression in my eyes just wouldn’t do. No matter what, I wasn’t cowering down to Becker. I was playing a role that would get me what I wanted.
I turned my back on the mirror, my mind racing. I thought I’d seen what looked like a home office on my way to the bathroom. It made sense that it was located on the ground floor.
The home was beyond pretentious, the décor opulent but decorated with gold, a fact that told me that he felt like he had something to prove. Everything I’d seen so far was downright gaudy and over-the-top.
I flushed the toilet to make it sound like I’d actually used it, and to drown out noise as I gently twisted the doorknob and opened the bathroom door enough for me to escape.
I didn’t hear anything from the living room as I slipped into the o
pen door I’d seen on my way to the bathroom. Moonlight bathed the room in dim light.
I rushed to the desk and flipped on the small desk lamp, listening for any trace of footsteps coming down the hallway.
Quietly, I opened all the desk drawers, looking for any sign of paperwork.
Dammit! Nothing!
I was ready to give up when I spotted a bookshelf next to the desk. My heart was pounding as I saw a large ledger that seemed out of place right next to some of the classics.
I pulled out the large, untitled book, and then opened it on the desk.
Bingo!
It was a book of transactions, illegal money being sent through various shell companies and offshore accounts to hide the income from his darker businesses. I didn’t think; I just started using the tiny cameo Marcus had given me to get records and names of the companies.
I moved as quickly as possible, snapping as much information as I could in a short period of time. The amounts and dates weren’t as important as capturing the names of the companies and the accounts.
I was amazed by the fact that Becker hadn’t even bothered to try to hide exactly where the money was coming from. It listed the human trafficking, prostitution, and drug deals right in the ledger.
Maybe he was too arrogant about covering his tracks. He’s obviously done it for years. Nobody has even dug deep enough to follow the money.
I was just replacing the large book when I heard footsteps.
“What in the fuck are you doing in here?” Becker said, his tone furious.
I moved my hand slowly. “I was just admiring your book collection. You have some great classics,” I lied, thinking quickly about how to cover myself.
Dammit! I’d almost made it out before he came after me.
“I told you not to go anywhere except the can,” he said in a surly tone.
I cringed as he moved to my side, the fury in his expression terrifying.
“What else were you doing? Bitch, are you spying on me?”
“Of course not,” I answered in an innocent tone. “I just like books.”
“So you just happened to stumble in here?”
“Yes.”
“Bullshit,” he exploded. “I hate liars, and you’re not telling me the truth.”
