“Gentlemen, Yuri Malentikov is a deep undercover agent. His assignment has been to try to gain access and information on the Russian Mafia’s human trafficking businesses. He sent in a distress code indicating he believed his cover may have been compromised. Gabriel and I were to pull him out tomorrow. Our meet was scheduled to be just outside Los Angeles.”
Jared cleared his throat. “Let me go get him. I’m Domestic Ops. I’ll bring him in. Right now the emphasis on the source of this situation is overseas, and that’s Jacob’s baby. I can keep my fingers in the investigation and bring your guy home.”
“We can send a team, Jared. There is no need for you to go.” Jason dismissed his brother’s comment summarily.
“I disagree. This is Domestic Operations. What happened to Anna and Faith happened on U.S. soil. It is my responsibility. I’ll take a team, but if this guy has been deep he needs to be debriefed, and like it or not, I’m the best interrogator you have at the clearance level you need. I can build a report on the way back to the ranch. He can start his reintroduction, and I’ll have firsthand knowledge of an operation that will, sooner or later, fall under my purview.”
Jason leaned back and narrowed his eyes at his brother. Gabriel was doing an excellent impression of a wallflower. Jason realized that the man was literally handing him the reins. “This operation involves far more than Dom Ops. When I have signed off on it, the operation will encompass foreign and domestic assets and could bring down four separate organizations, all of which sell little boys and girls, young women and men, to wealthy Americans, Europeans and to people of wealth and stature in Asia and the Middle East. This is global, Jared, and exponentially larger than the Morales Cartel. The victims are harvested from around the world.”
Jared leaned forward, just as animated as Jason. “I ran point on the Morales bust. I have the experience. Don’t push me out because I made some stupid comments, Jace.”
“I wouldn’t. Your noted concerns about my appointment have nothing to do with this business. I’ll send you out, but you won’t be running this op, Jared. This is mine. Every facet of Guardian will be in play on this one.”
Jacob cocked his head. “What are you talking about? What concerns?”
Jason glanced at his youngest brother. “Ask Jared. In the meantime, gentlemen, I believe we have our way forward. Jacob, I need a black door operative to make his way to the Ukraine. If the Russian Mafia is using a computer genius in the area, somebody will know. Exploit the human intelligence factor. The mafia pays, we pay more. Jared, get your ass out west. I’ll send you the file on Yuri. I’ll call the training complex and make sure they are aware we have a deep asset inbound. After you get the man settled and debriefed, get back here. I have plans for you.”
The last comment got a double take from both his brothers. They nodded and left, each heading opposite directions down the hall.
“You handled that well. It could have gotten into a pissing contest between you and Jared if you hadn’t taken him in hand. He’s a great cop. Passionate and dedicated. But give him an inch…”
“He’ll take ten miles. Yeah, I got it. Jacob won’t be an issue. I’ll keep my guard up with Jared until I can get him down to the basement.”
“Ha! An excellent idea. You’ll be fine.”
“Hell of an introduction.”
“That it is. How are Faith and Reece?”
“Scared. It took forever to get Reece to settle down. Christian hung with him last night. All three of them were sleeping when I left this morning.”
“Does she now realize what she’s signing up for?” Gabriel asked.
“I’ve been honest with her, although I have minimized the danger aspect, to me… not her or Reece. Never in a million years would I believe our families would be compromised.”
“And yet they were. But the silver lining in all of this is we now know that mission you were on was doomed from the beginning. There was nothing you could have done to change the outcome and you did everything you could to minimize the losses we took.”
Jason swallowed. Hard facts, finally. Should he be happy? He wasn’t. Two men had lost their lives. He’d never get over that.
“You’ve taken to this command gig well enough. Maybe I’ll move up my retirement.” Gabriel’s eyes held a faraway look.
“How are Anna and the kids?”
“She’s shaken up, just like Faith. Hell, she wants to go home and hug her babies. Unfortunately, the twins are at Annapolis. Our oldest has obligations she won’t leave, and the youngest is climbing the walls because of the lockdown.”
Jason had a gut feeling. “Anna wants you out, doesn’t she?”
“Like now. But that won’t happen. I won’t leave before I know you are ready to take over.”
“Start making your plans, my friend. I’ll need you to stay until I can get Faith to Vegas and marry her. After that, you’ve paid enough. I’ll call if I need help.” He held his mentor’s eyes so the man could read his commitment.
“Two days ago I’d have fought you and dragged my feet. Yesterday, my wife was almost killed, and I thought for sure we would end up as a molten fireball on a Dulles runway. You’ve got me until you say go. Then I will go.”
Jason hit the remote that locked the conference room door and turned the glass walls opaque. He pinned Gabriel with a stare. “Now, tell me about Justin.”
Chapter Nineteen
Faith stirred the sauce while listening to the beautiful music that played from speakers hidden in the kitchen. She had no clue what the song was, but it was definitely classical and soothing. The audio system’s touchpad controller allowed her to broadcast the melody throughout the house. One more thing to let her know she wasn’t in Savannah any longer. She glanced around the vast expanse of dark wood, granite, and chrome. Jason’s kitchen was almost bigger than her entire trailer. The cabinets looked like pieces of furniture and his appliances were hidden behind panels of some rich, dark wood. The tile work behind the massive range she was cooking on was so intricate and beautiful it could be on exhibit in a museum.
Faith glanced at the elaborate clock on the wall. The exposed movement and chimes on the quarter hour told her it was late, but Jason had called about two hours ago and let her know he had one more meeting before he could come home. Faith made Reece mac and cheese, and with a full belly, the poor little guy had finally fallen asleep. He’d been clingy off and on all day, not that she could blame him. Their world had been blown to pieces. Literally.
Christian had spent the day with them, doing his best to distract and wear down Reece and Tippy. She’d grown to respect the soft-spoken young man, even if she was a tiny bit jealous of how beautiful he was. Honestly? How does a person like that happen? There wasn’t a single thing about the man that wasn’t perfect. Faith chuckled and thought of her own issues—too many curves, mouth too big and boobs… honestly, she’d give a cup or two back if she could. She chuckled and shimmied, catching her reflection in the window. Good thing Christian had retreated to the little house in the back with a comment that he needed to study. Shaking her… assets in front of the window probably wasn’t the proper way to act. Whatever. She chuckled at her reflection and went back to making dinner for her man. Her. Man.
Faith sighed at that happy thought. Yep, she was blessed that Jason had been there to sweep them from the rubble. The love she felt for the man rocketed past her teenage dreams of a white knight savior. Jason was so much more. In short order, he’d become the center of both her and Reece’s world. Their universe actually. And why he wanted her… well, it still baffled her. The man was obviously the shut-your-mouth type of stupid rich. And smart? Lightning bugs in a bottle, she’d never met anyone who was a lawyer and could fly airplanes. That was… well it was unreal. Maybe she was dreaming. The thought made her giggle. No, she was awake, living in his house and sleeping in his bed.
Faith shook herself out of her daydream and leaned over the stove to taste the Alfredo sauce. The fancy parmesan she’d
found in the refrigerator gave almost too much salt to the dish. It needed pepper. She placed the spoon on the ceramic holder before she checked the chicken baking in the oven. The panko breading was looking golden brown and delicious. Faith smiled as she opened the massive spice rack. Being able to cook dinner for Jason, Lord above, that was a blessing after yesterday. Pushing the disturbing thoughts of yesterday away, she gave herself a firm shake. Nope, she wasn’t going to go there.
The shelves rotated at her touch and she once again realized how far out of her element she was. Back home, she had salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic salt. What the heck was Herbs de Provence? Faith opened the glass container and sniffed. She still didn’t have a clue. Replacing the jar, she continued her search. The abundance of colors, smells and packaging caught her attention and held it. The saffron was wrapped in white paper and enclosed in a glass jar. Cumin, allspice, mint, basil, thyme, sticks of cinnamon, the selection was endless. Her fingers skimmed over the little jars, searching for pepper. There—white pepper. Perfect. Faith unscrewed the top and took a step back. Oh, Shit! Hands grabbed her hips and she screamed. Pepper flew into the air.
“Babe… it’s…” Jason’s words stopped. He sneezed and sneezed and, holy shit, sneezed again. Faith turned. His dark suit was covered in white pepper, his face gray from the powder that she’d literally thrown in his face.
“Oh no! Don’t move, I’ll get something.” He couldn’t have heard her. His massive frame was now bent at the waist and he was still sneezing. Oh God, it looked and sounded so painful. She needed to get the pepper off him and away from his eyes. Water. Get water. But how? How? Oh, crap.
She grabbed a towel and soaked it, not bothering to wring it out. Wheezing, Jason grabbed the counter, tears forming trails across his cheeks. Faith put the soaking towel over his head and squeezed the water out, hoping the cascade would remove some of the spice.
Jason gasped at the sensation and straightened. The huge sucking gasp of air must have pulled pepper into his lungs. Jason began coughing like he was losing a lung. Faith wiped the dripping towel over his face. “You’ve got to get that out of your eyes. Come to the sink.” Eyes closed and still coughing, wheezing and sneezing, he allowed her to lead him to the huge sink.
“Bend down. You need to wash your eyes.” Jason shook his head and felt for the tap. He cupped his hands and filled them with water, drenching the fabric of his suit. He lifted the water to his nose and snorted it in.
No! Holy shit! Now he’s choking! And sneezing and coughing. He grabbed the towel out of her hand and blew his nose, repeatedly, cupped more water and snorted it through his nose again. Faith held his arm. She had no idea why. Jason gagged, coughed and leaned over the sink, his hair dripping, his suit ruined and his face as red as a chili pepper. Oh… mercy… wrong comparison. He was wheezing, but the coughing and the sneezing had slowed.
“I’m so sorry, Jason. I didn’t hear you come in. When I backed into you, I got scared!” Faith pushed the fall of hair from his face, wincing at the sight. His eyes looked like hers did after crying for hours… puffy and red. Tears pooled in her eyes. How did she manage to do—this… to him? Again!
He nodded his head and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into him. She ran an arm over his back and sniffed, sneezed and then bawled. She couldn’t hold back the sobs. “I’m so sorry.” The words kept coming over and over again. He straightened and pulled her into his arms. He coughed and she cried. He sneezed and she cried. He held her and she cried.
She couldn’t really pinpoint when the tears had ceased to be about the pepper and became a cathartic release of all the emotions of the last twenty-four hours. She and Reece had nearly died. Jason’s plane had been sabotaged. Her home, all her possessions, no matter how tattered, were gone. Hell, she didn’t have any of her clothes, or clothes for Reece, other than those delivered to the house for them today. She’d tried to be strong, to keep it together, but…
Jason’s hands worked up and down her back, and slowly the fact that he’d stopped wheezing registered. Faith’s hair was wet from his water-logged suit and the tie she gripped like a lifeline was ruined.
“I’m s-sorry,” she hiccupped.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” His voice was raspy and so very deep. Darth Vader deep.
“Yeah, right.” She pulled back and looked at him. He was a mess and she was the cause.
“Turn off dinner, babe. We need to clean up.” He pulled her in and kissed her on top of her head, immediately sneezing again.
“You go get in the shower and I’ll clean this up.”
“You need to wash your hair. Pepper.” He wiped at the tears that continued to run down his face.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute. Let me regain some of my dignity and take care of this first. Okay?” She pulled away for about a nanosecond before he pulled her back and kissed her. Hard and quick.
“We’ve all had a rough couple days. The pepper was an accident. Your little breakdown was probably more from what’s happened lately, true?” Jason lifted her chin. Oh hell, the whites of his eyes were as red as boiled lobsters. She did that. To him. The man she loved.
Faith teared up again and nodded. He smiled, sniffed and turned away to sneeze. “Come on. This can wait, we can’t.” He flicked the controls for the stove and oven off before he turned back. He coughed and wiped at his eyes as he pulled her behind him down the long hall toward his bedroom. He stopped at Reece’s door and rubbed his eyes again. Turning the handle, he peeked in the room. Faith pressed close, her cheek to his shoulder, to look in, too, and immediately stifled a sneeze from the pepper on his suit. She grabbed his lapel and stifled another sneeze. Tippy lifted his head and wagged his tail. Apparently the dog had settled in just as quickly as Reece. Jason pulled the door shut and wiped his eyes again, giving in to a suppressed cough when he closed the bedroom door.
“I’ll start the shower.” Faith headed into the enormous en suite, set the taps and turned to watch as Jason stripped. God, even covered in pepper dust, with wet hair and swollen eyes, the man radiated power. He glanced over his shoulder toward her. The fact that she was staring was evident. His eyebrow lifted in question.
“You are so sexy,” she whispered, barely loud enough to be heard over the shower.
Jason dropped his boxers and Faith’s eyes fell too. Okay, sexy on steroids. His long, thick cock twitched and stiffened as he stalked toward her. He backed her toward the room-sized cavern that held four showerheads, three full-body vertical sprays and a rain shower curtain that literally formed a visible barrier between the shower and the rest of the bathroom. As Jason pushed her through the water wall, the warmth drenched them both as they were enveloped by pulsing jets.
Faith swept her hair back and let the water wash the pepper away. Jason’s hands steadied her as she tipped her head back. His arms circled her, gently supporting her. Faith lifted her hands and ran them up his strong, muscled arms. A sense of peace and rightness swirled around her with the steam from the hot water. With him, she was safe. In his arms, she was home. Despite her past, she’d found home. The niggling of that horrid history pushed against her happiness. She’d been given away and used. Her body had been a bartering tool, and her life had been hard, but right now, here in Jason’s arms, she felt beautiful, wanted and adored. Please, if this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.
Faith opened her eyes and stared into the beautiful green of Jason’s. Well, the red, puffy, pepper-irritated green. Regardless, the emotion they held made her knees weak.
“I didn’t get to kiss you earlier.” He pulled her in and brushed his lips against hers.
“Because I almost killed you with pepper.” Faith pushed his bangs out of his eyes and trailed her hand down his cheek.
“It takes more than a little pepper to take me out.” His tongue swept her lips and she opened for him, welcoming his caress. His hands traveled her body and hers mimicked his movements, feeling the hardness of him against her.
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Jason pulled away and grabbed the body soap. “We need to wash. If Reece wakes up and we aren’t there, he’ll be scared.” Jason coughed again.
“I’m sorry.” Faith had to apologize.
“For what?” Jason quickly spread the bath gel over her body, his touches sensual but not meant to build any sexual tension.
“Where do I start? How about I’m sorry you had to come to Savannah to rescue us. I’m sorry that we are homeless and you have to take us in weeks sooner than we’d agreed. I’m sorry that someone blew up my house. That someone tried to kill you and your boss. I’m sorry I threw pepper in your face and I’m sorry I fell apart and cried like a baby.”
Jason pushed her gently under the rain head and proceeded to wash himself. His eyes found and held hers. “I would have gone to the farthest reaches of hell to bring you and Reece back to me. I didn’t want you to go back to Savannah in the first place, so that is a non-issue. Someone blew up your trailer, princess… you can’t apologize for that, nor can you even dream of apologizing for what happened to the plane. As for the pepper? You can make it up to me. Feed me dinner, then make love to me—in our bed, in our house, with our son sleeping in the next room.” He rinsed quickly and cut off the water.
“I really like that.”
He cocked his head in question.
“Our son.” She smiled at him and felt her heart warm at the smile he returned.
They dried and dressed quickly. Jason wore sweats and a skintight t-shirt. Faith looked at the new clothes that had been delivered for her. Nothing like she normally wore at night.
“Here, put this on.” Jason handed her a t-shirt. Faith slid it over her head and laughed. It was a shirt dress falling to the middle of her thighs. “What is this? A triple XL?”
“Yep, but it’s a little tight on me.” Jason curved his biceps and kissed the bulge.
“You did not just do that! You didn’t just go all Ahhhnooold on me?” Faith giggled through the hand she’d slapped over her mouth.
Jason (Kings of Guardian #4) Page 14
