He did not want her facing off with that douche bag Conti and trying to stave off a sexual assault while waiting for HOT to get there. Logically, he knew the likelihood of sexual assault was slim. Miranda wasn’t going to allow it. And HOT wasn’t going to fail to take the ship and extract the bad guy.
“When does she go in?” Viking asked Black.
“I’m waiting for the madam to contact me,” Black said. He glanced at his watch. “If I had to guess, I’d say around nine tonight. That’s about when he’s asked for the other girls to show up each night.”
“Six hours,” Money said.
“And it’s not dark for another five hours or so,” Cody added. “We’ll have to get into the water and over to the harbor fast.”
“We’ll make it,” Viking said.
“I’m going to need much sluttier clothes than this,” Miranda said, and Cody thought his jaw might crack from gritting his teeth.
“We’ll find something,” Victoria said.
“Exfiltration,” Alpha Squad commander Matt “Richie Rich” Girard interjected. “We need to go over it again.”
One of the IT guys pulled up a map on the computer screen overhead.
“Two vans waiting here,” Black said.
“We’re going to need to put our guys in charge of those vans,” Viking drawled. “Or this is a no-go.”
Black held up his hands. “Just trying to help. Fine, so you leave four guys with two vans. You still have fourteen operators—”
“Sixteen,” Victoria said. “You forgot Lucky and me.”
Ian Black gave her a look that wasn’t precisely friendly but wasn’t hateful either. Cody would have said there was a world of meaning in that look—and a long story too.
“Sixteen,” he corrected. “My mistake.”
“When you retrieve Conti, take him to the airport. There will be a plane waiting—but the window is tight, so you have to get there and get him on it.”
“You realize we’re going to need Colonel Mendez’s authorization before we do that, right?” Nick Brandon said.
If Black had looked at Victoria with anything approximating unfriendliness, the look he gave Brandy was downright hostile. What had Lucky said on the plane? That there would be fireworks when the Brandons got in the same room as Ian Black?
Yep, the sparks were definitely flying now.
“I’m fully aware you need his permission to take a piss. Don’t worry, I’ll wait while you precious babies call and ask for his blessing.”
“No offense, dude, but for all we know, you plan to get your hands on Conti and sell him to the highest bidder,” Viking added.
Black shrugged. “I’d agree with your assessment except there’s something else I want more.” He didn’t wait for them to ask what that was. “The ship and its contents.”
Nobody said anything at first. They were probably all trying to figure out what Black’s angle was.
“How the fuck are you going to steal an entire ship without anyone figuring out what’s going on?” Cody asked.
Black’s gaze was dark—and remarkably unconcerned. “The same way I do everything, SEAL. I’m going to pay the captain more than Conti was doing, and I’m going to offer him a deal he can’t refuse.”
“And what if the cargo is human?” Miranda demanded. She’d stood up to face Black, hands on hips, eyes flashing. She looked magnificently furious, and Cody felt his heart quicken. And other parts, which he managed to talk down before he embarrassed himself.
“If there are women on board, they won’t be the only cargo. And they aren’t what I’m looking for. They’ll be returned to their families, should they want to go, or they’ll be taken to refugee camps over the border where they’ll be safe from Okonjo’s schemes. I have no interest in human cargo other than to free them.”
“Why should we believe you?” Miranda asked. “Women are valuable in the right places, and you want the cargo.”
Ian Black snorted. “Been drinking the CIA Kool-Aid, darling? And how far has it gotten you?” He sliced a hand through the air, cutting off any debate. “I don’t care if you believe me, Agent Wood. Your faith or lack of doesn’t concern me in the slightest. I don’t deal in human beings, end of story. If you’d like to rethink your participation in this mission, I’m sure the agency would welcome you back with open arms. I can put you in touch with someone who can get you home safe and sound.”
Cody bristled at the man’s tone, but Miranda’s mouth only tightened. And then she tossed her hair. “No thanks. I’m not leaving.”
“Didn’t think so.” Black spoke to the room in general. “Call your commander and brief him.” He headed for the door and stopped just before he walked out. “Let me know when you’re ready to move, pussies.”
Lucky and Victoria had procured a short skirt and high heels from somewhere. They’d also produced a cut-off tank top that clung to Miranda’s breasts and exposed her midriff. She looked at herself in the small sliver of mirror they’d brought to her room and wondered if Conti would recognize her and how long it might take if so.
She’d teased her hair and put on the makeup they’d given her. She used the green to highlight her eyes and hopefully throw Conti off. She also emphasized her mouth, making her lips fuller with liner and poutier with deep red lipstick. She had the same nose, of course, but there was nothing to be done about that.
She looked longingly at the 9 mil she’d taken from the weapons room, but there was nowhere to put it. Her clothes were too skimpy for a holster, and she wasn’t going to be allowed a purse. She was going in with nothing but her personal-defense training and a bio-tracker device that she’d applied at the back of her neck beneath her hair. Not that those things wouldn’t be enough, but a gun was always a nice touch when dealing with a sleazebag like Conti.
She finished everything and headed to the front of the compound. Conti had called, as predicted, and asked for a girl at nine thirty, which meant that HOT had a little more time to get into place. She didn’t need to go anywhere just yet, but she wanted to see Cody. The teams were about to leave so they could slip into the harbor and prepare to infiltrate the ship.
When she emerged from the building, her gaze immediately went to him. He was standing with a couple of his teammates and they were clad in wetsuits. Her heart thumped at the sight of the man who rocked her world. The wetsuit clung to his form, showing off his incredible body to perfection. His dark hair was wild where the wind had whipped it up and toyed with it.
His blue eyes were like laser beams when he lifted his head and saw her. She could read everything in that gaze—anger, frustration, desire, regret. It made her shiver. He said something to Cash and Alex Kamarov—she was getting better at knowing their names—and strolled toward her, all rippling muscle and lazy grace. His gaze raked her from head to toe as he came to a halt in front of her.
“Wow,” he growled, and the pit in her belly hollowed even more at the sensual tone of his voice.
“Wow yourself,” she said.
“You look hot, Miranda Jane.” He pitched his voice low so no one else could hear even though they stood apart from the rest.
“So do you, Cody—wait, what’s your middle name?” It occurred to her that she still knew so little about him. Knew so little and wanted to know so much. Wanted to know everything.
“Callum,” he said, and she smiled.
“Cody Callum McCormick. That just trips off the tongue, doesn’t it?”
He shrugged. “That’s what Maggie thought.”
“Maggie?”
“My mother.”
The mother he’d told her was an alcoholic like her own. She still remembered how comfortable she’d been with him that night. Far more comfortable than she’d ever been with anyone else besides Mark—and that had taken months, not just a few hours like it had with Cody.
“It’s also my grandfather’s name—the Callum part, that is.”
“Well, you look hot too, Cody Callum McCormick. I’ve never seen
a man in a wetsuit before. It’s very appealing.”
“I’ll let you peel me out of one after this is all over.”
She grinned. “I’d like that.”
His gaze darkened. “Be careful tonight. If Conti recognizes you… Well, it’ll turn bad quickly if he does. As if trying to get under that tiny skirt isn’t bad enough.”
“I know what I’m doing. I won’t take chances. I promise you that.”
“You aren’t planning a death scene, are you? Because I’d sure like to know it this time.”
She smiled softly. “Not on purpose. And not if I can help it either.”
He looked troubled. “That was a rotten trick, but I’ve been thinking about it, and I understand why you felt like you had to do it. But trust me when I tell you that you don’t have to lie to me. I’ll protect your secrets like they’re my own.”
“I know you will.”
He took a step closer to her, wrapped an arm around her and tugged her in close in spite of their audience. “We’re going to get Conti and we’re gonna find who set you up. You’ll get your life back. No more running or living in the shadows. No more target on your back.”
Her throat was tight as she put her hands on his chest. She wanted to hold him tight and never let go. Such a strange feeling, but it was what it was. She was getting used to it. Maybe too used to it since she had no idea if he felt the same.
“I hope you’re right. I’m tired of running—and tired of chasing.”
“You mean Mark’s killer?”
“Yes. I wanted justice for him—and I still do. But if I can’t find who ordered him killed, then I’ll live with that and know I did the best I could.”
Cody squeezed her to him. It was meant to be a comforting hug, and yet it caused little explosions to go off inside her. Like always. Whenever this man touched her, she came alive in ways that were still surprising to her.
“Life is for the living, Miranda. It’s not meant to be spent constantly engaged in the past.”
“For a big brawny guy, you sure are smart.”
He snorted. “Yeah, don’t let the muscles fool you. There’s a brain in here too.”
“I want to kiss you,” she said. “But I don’t want to get this lipstick all over you.”
“I don’t fucking care about lipstick,” he growled before crushing his mouth down on hers.
Vaguely, she heard hoots in the background. But that didn’t stop Cody from kissing her senseless, or her from clinging to him like she wouldn’t be able to stand on her own if he let her go.
“Gotta go, Cowboy!” someone yelled.
He broke away and stared down at her hotly. His mouth was red from the lipstick, but he still managed to look sexy as hell.
“You’d better wipe that off,” she said, “or the guys will never let you live it down.”
He dragged the back of his hand over his mouth and grinned when he looked at the color there. “You need to fix your mouth, honey. Somebody kissed off all your lipstick.” He started walking backward, away from her.
“Take care of yourself, Cowboy,” she said, her stomach churning as she thought about what he was getting ready to do. She wasn’t frightened for herself, but if anything happened to Cody…
“You too, sunshine. I still need more.”
She knew what he meant. “I do too.”
He climbed into a waiting van along with the other SEALs and Alpha Squad. Then they roared into the street and sped away. Miranda’s eyes stung as she watched them go.
“Be safe, Cody,” she whispered.
28
Miranda watched the ship growing bigger as the car she was riding in sped toward it. The harbor lights shone on a dull red hull. The top of the ship was black and white. The lights illuminated men on deck too. She tried to count them but it was impossible to get an accurate number as the car got closer and the top deck disappeared from view. She’d lost track at five.
The ship wasn’t the biggest one in the harbor, but it was still pretty big.
The driver stopped and turned to her. He pointed at the gangway leading into the side of the ship and spoke in broken English. “You go. They wait for you. When you done, Miss Dira send car.”
Not that it mattered, but Miranda asked anyway. “How will she know I’m ready?”
“She send car in morning. You wait.”
“And if Mr. Conti is finished with me at midnight?”
“You wait.”
Miranda rolled her eyes as she climbed from the car. Yeah, not waiting. Not hardly. Ian Black had driven her to Miss Dira’s brothel himself. She’d asked him point-blank why he was helping HOT if he’d been disavowed—and why they were accepting his help, even if they didn’t accept it without some suspicion. Trust but verify.
He’d looked at her with that enigmatic gaze, and she’d known she wasn’t going to get anything out of him. He was a brutally handsome man, the kind that made women of all ages swoon. But he did nothing for her. Nobody but Cody did these days.
“Have you ever played with one of those Chinese finger puzzles? You stick your fingers in and then you can’t get them out, no matter how hard you pull?”
She shook her head. She knew what those were, of course, but she’d never played with one. And she didn’t know what the hell that had to do with the question she’d just asked.
“I’m still pulling, Miranda,” he’d said.
She hadn’t even been surprised that he knew her name. At that point, she’d expected it. “Maybe you have to stop pulling then.”
He’d grinned. “Yeah, well, maybe I will one of these days. Right now, I’m not ready to stop.”
“I’m not sure I understand a damn thing you just said. But I get the point. You’re stuck in something and there’s no way out just yet.”
“Maybe there is a way,” he said. “Maybe I’m not willing to take it.”
They’d arrived at the brothel then and a tall, dark-skinned woman walked out to greet them. Her name was Dira and she was gorgeous. She’d taken one look at Miranda and decided she was going to be a French hooker who’d just arrived in Jorwani. Miranda didn’t bother to ask how she’d supposedly arrived, but she got the idea it wasn’t completely willingly.
Disgusting thought, but there it was. Now she stepped up the gangway and walked onto the ship as a man motioned her forward. He gave her a rough pat-down, squeezing her ass as he did so. When he reached her breasts, she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as he felt her up. She could elbow him in the stomach, whip around and knee his balls—but that wouldn’t get her where she needed to go. So she endured the groping and then meekly followed along as he led her into the bowels of the ship.
It was a confusing warren of passages. She thought about Cody and his team trying to find her in this metal monstrosity, and she hoped to God the tracker device worked this deep in the ship. Lucky had told her that HOT might not get a signal from her until they were on board.
Miranda peered into dark corners and passageways as they walked, trying to get a hint about the cargo that Conti was so keen on—and that Black wanted.
But there was nothing she could see, nothing that indicated what was so important to either man. If there were women on this ship, they weren’t being kept anywhere close to where she was headed.
They were still belowdecks when the man stopped at a door and rapped on it. A rough voice that she recognized told him to enter. He swung the door open to reveal a suite that looked like something from a cheesy porn set.
Dear God, Victor Conti was disgusting. The room was shadowed in pink light—a plus for her since it wouldn’t illuminate her face too much—and incense permeated the air. Conti was lying back on a large bed with black satin sheets, the burgundy smoking jacket he wore barely concealing his formfitting black briefs. She decided that was done on purpose. He’d very clearly arranged himself in such a way as to show off his assets—or what he considered his assets.
Bile rose in her throat but she swallowed it down.
>
“You can go,” he told the man, who bowed and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. At least it wasn’t locked.
A fine sheen of sweat rose on Miranda’s skin. It was disgust, pure and simple. But she had a role to play and she was going to play it. Because HOT was extracting this dirtbag tonight thanks to her willingness to stand here with a tracking device.
“What’s your name?” Conti asked.
Miranda only smiled. She’d been told to pretend she didn’t speak English. That worked for her.
Conti swore as he climbed to his feet. “Ah yes, Dira said you spoke no English. Fresh off the boat from France, she said. But she also said you’d know what to do.”
He came over and walked around her very slowly, studying her. Then he reached out and took her chin between his fingers and turned her face this way and that.
Her heart pounded, but she worked to keep her face smooth and calm.
“Very pretty,” he said. “Very pretty.” He started to untie his robe. “I want to see that mouth wrapped around my dick, pretty girl.”
Come on, Cody and the gang. Don’t make me do this.
She grabbed for the tie of his robe and slipped it open. Conti’s eyes gleamed. “Yes, baby, that’s what I want.”
But she didn’t stop there. She made a game of it, pulling the sash all the way from the robe and holding on to it. She could tie him up with this thing. But how soon should she do it? If she disabled him now, what if HOT didn’t show up for another hour? Fuck, she hated being out of the comm loop, but there’d been no way to keep her in it.
She just had to trust that they were coming.
The SEALs slipped into the Zodiac boats that would take them to the harbor. Cody slung his pack onto the floor in front of him and waited impatiently to be under way. Some of the Alpha Squad operators were coming with them and planned to split off to find the cargo while the SEALs secured the ship and went after Conti. Though SEALs were typically considered to be the combat swimmers, in reality all Special Operators went through combat-swim training—which meant the Army guys were perfectly capable of keeping up on this mission.
HOT SEAL Rescue (HOT SEAL Team - Book 3) Page 17
