“Yes, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” She paused. “Which is why I want you to stay out of sight when the electrician gets here.”
He frowned. “Stay out of sight?”
“Yes. Stay in your bedroom, and keep your door locked.”
His frown deepened as he stared at her. “Are you anticipating trouble?” he asked quietly.
Lia let out a short, grim laugh. “I always anticipate trouble. It’s my job to anticipate trouble.”
Armand didn’t smile. “And where will you be while I’m hiding in my room?”
“You’re not hiding! You’re staying out of sight until the electrician leaves. It’s just a precaution.”
“And where will you be?” Armand pressed.
“Out here with him, of course. To make sure he does whatever he’s supposed to do before I sign off on the service ticket. Once he’s gone, you can come back out, I promise.” When Armand said nothing, she let out an exasperated laugh. “You act as if I’m sending you to your room as punishment!”
A small muscle pulsed at the base of his jaw. “I’d rather remain out here with you,” he said in a low, steely voice.
“And I’d rather you didn’t,” Lia retorted. “So since I’m the one calling the shots around here—”
Armand rose abruptly from the sofa and paced over to the window, where he stood staring out at the clear, bright morning.
Lia watched him for several long moments, realizing that although she loved him deeply, there were many things she still didn’t understand about him.
“Why can’t you just let me do my job?” she asked, frustration edging her voice. “Why do I have to meet with opposition every time I ask you to do something?”
He glanced over his shoulder and met her accusing stare. His mouth curved in a crooked half smile. “You didn’t really think that was going to change after yesterday, did you?”
Lia stared at him, then couldn’t help but chuckle. “I don’t know. Maybe I did. I should have known better. You are as stubborn as—”
“A mule. I know. I’ve heard.” He smiled again, his eyes softening on her face. “If you really want me to stay out of sight while the electrician is here, I will. You obviously have your reasons.”
“I do. I always do.” She gave him a gentle, teasing smile. “But thank you for cooperating. It makes my job a whole lot easier when you do.”
“Don’t thank me just yet,” he said, turning away from the window. “My cooperation is conditional.”
Lia eyed him warily. “What are the conditions?”
He came toward her slowly, his hands tucked into the pockets of a pair of loose khaki trousers he wore better than a male runway model.
Her pulse quickened as he stopped in front of her. He reached out, tenderly brushing his knuckle across her cheek before taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“I will agree to your request,” he said huskily, “if you agree to mine.”
Lia swallowed, ensnared by the intoxicating heat of his gaze. “That depends on what your request is.”
He smiled, slow and sensual. “After the electrician leaves, I want you to slip into something more comfortable. We’re going to pack a basket and have a picnic at the lake. I already know the spot—it’s shaded by trees, so we can have all the privacy we want. After our picnic, we’re going to come back here and soak in the hot tub for a while. By the time I carry you out, you’re going to be so relaxed and ready for me to make love to you that your insides will be trembling. I’m going to build a cozy fire, lay you down on a thick blanket, then take my time caressing you, pleasuring you, tasting and exploring every beautiful inch of your body. I’m going to make love to you, Lia, until you don’t know whether you’re coming or going, until you can’t even remember your own name. We’ll stop long enough to enjoy a romantic candlelight dinner, and then we will return to the bedroom—or the kitchen, the living room, the deck or anywhere else you desire—to have each other for dessert. All…night…long.” He brushed his thumb across her parted lips, gazing at her beneath his lashes. “How does that sound?”
Lia was speechless, lungs locked, unable to inhale or exhale. Her nipples had hardened, her clitoris was throbbing and her loins felt deliciously full.
“Lia?” His voice was a deep, velvety caress that snaked between her legs. “Do we have a deal?”
All she could manage was a trancelike nod, and he chuckled softly. “Good. I’m looking forward to it.”
Not half as much as she was.
When the electrician arrived an hour later, Armand kept his word and retreated to his bedroom. Before letting the private contractor inside the cabin, Lia made him unzip his blue jumpsuit so she could pat him down for weapons. She checked his photo ID, called his employer to verify his credentials, then dialed another number to run his driver’s license and the tags on his company-issue van. While she waited for the all clear, she studied the uniformed man, mentally cataloging every detail of his appearance. She’d already learned from his license that he was a thirty-four-year-old, Caucasian male, five-eleven and one hundred eighty pounds. Beneath his baggy jumpsuit he was trim and athletic, no stranger to a regular fitness regime. His blue eyes were flat and lacked warmth, though he smiled easily enough. He had no facial hair, no tattoos, the only identifying mark being a small raised scar just below his left ear. The scar intrigued her, so she asked him about it.
He reached up, touching his skin as if he’d forgotten the scar was there. He laughed grimly. “A souvenir from an old girlfriend. I made the mistake of letting her shave me—while she was mad at me. ’Course, I didn’t know that until afterward.”
Lia, who’d been trained to read eyes, to decipher the subtle nuances and vocal inflections that betrayed human emotion, couldn’t doubt the veracity of his story. If he was lying, he was very good.
She grinned sympathetically. “Ouch. Live and learn, I guess.”
He snorted. “You can say that again.”
She listened into her cell phone another moment, then nodded and disconnected the call. “All clear, Mr. Westfield. Thanks for your patience.”
“No problem. I understand. Call me Zach.”
She gave him her most charming smile. “And you can call me Lia.”
The flicker of interest she saw in his eyes gave her the opening she needed. As she stepped aside to let him enter the cabin, she asked, “Would you care for something to drink?”
“No, thanks.” He swept a cursory glance around the cabin. “If you could just show me where the circuit-breaker box is located, I can get right to work.”
Lia had no intention of turning her back on him, so she just smiled and said, “Keep going. You’re heading in the right direction.”
As he continued toward the rear of the cabin, he casually remarked, “I’ve never taken a service call out here before. This is a nice piece of property. The feds really know how to live it up.”
Lia gave a low, indulgent laugh. “But of course. The only problem is that we’re so far removed from civilization that things can get pretty dull. I’m always looking for ways to liven things up a little. Know what I mean?”
He glanced over his shoulder at her, and she could tell by his expression that he was trying to figure out whether she was too good to be true.
Lia smiled flirtatiously. “Turn right at the corner. The circuit-breaker box is located next to the laundry room.”
As he opened the box and began his inspection, Lia made her move. Leaning close to him, she murmured, “So this is your first time out here, huh?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He winked at her. “But I will definitely have to make sure it’s not my last.”
Lia chuckled throatily. “You do that,” she purred, boldly and deliberately sliding her hand beneath his jumpsuit collar to touch the back of his neck. He tensed a little, but did not move away.
They didn’t tell me the agent was so hot…Damn…Never been with a black woman before, but I’d definitely make an e
xception for her…Beautiful…Maybe when I take care of him I can get a piece of this action…No one said I couldn’t do her before I kill her…I need to run out to the van and pretend to get my tools….
Keeping her sultry smile in place, Lia slowly withdrew her hand from his neck, chilled by the thoughts she had intercepted. Just as she’d suspected. This man wasn’t an electrician. He was one of Alexandre Biassou’s hired assassins.
Their location had been compromised.
Zach, or whatever his real name was, smiled easily at her. “I need to run out to the van and get my tools.”
“All right,” Lia said, her voice betraying nothing.
Before he had taken two steps, she pulled her 9mm and pointed the gun between his shoulder blades. “Don’t move,” she said, low and controlled.
He froze in his tracks.
“Put your hands in the air where I can see them. Slowly.”
As he moved to comply, her finger tightened reflexively on the trigger. She took a cautious step toward him. “Who are y—”
He spun quickly, knocking her gun hand to the side and up. The Glock spat a round into the ceiling, and wood and plaster dust rained down on them as they struggled for control of the weapon. From somewhere inside the cabin, Lia heard footsteps pounding on the floor, rushing in their direction. A heavy male fist slammed into her right cheek. As pain erupted inside her head she released the gun, and it clattered across the floor. Her assailant seized her viciously by the hair, one arm locking across her shoulders like a crowbar. Lia spun around in his arms, ramming her elbow into his solar plexus. He reared backward, clutching his throat. Before he could recover from the blow, she swung her right leg in a roundhouse kick that connected with his chest and sent him crashing into the wall. As he slumped to the floor, she went for her backup piece strapped to her ankle. Still gasping for air, he scrambled on his hands and knees, diving for the fallen Glock at the same time she drew a bead on his forehead.
“Freeze!” she shouted hoarsely.
In defiance, he raised the gun and took deadly aim. Lia fired, hitting him in the shoulder before he could squeeze the trigger. Half a second later, another shot blasted a hole through his chest. He let out a gurgled scream, then crumpled to the floor.
Stunned, Lia wheeled around in time to see Armand lowering his weapon, lethal fury burning in his eyes as he stared down at the fallen mercenary, then at her.
Swearing hoarsely, he tucked his gun into the waistband of his trousers, then cupped her face between his hands, his frantic gaze sweeping across her disheveled hair and bruised cheek. “Are you all right?” he demanded.
She nodded quickly, shaking off his hands as she turned and hurried over to the motionless body on the floor. Blood was oozing from the deep wounds in the man’s shoulder and chest, and one leg was jerking spasmodically.
Lia holstered her weapon, then quickly knelt beside the body and pressed her finger to the carotid artery. She could barely detect a pulse.
“Damn it!” Acutely aware of Armand watching her, she bent close to the man’s slack mouth, keeping her finger on his fading pulse.
“Who sent you?” she demanded urgently. “Who are you working for?”
Failed…Quick…silver…Don’t…wanna die…
“Who are you working for?” Lia repeated, knowing she was running out of time. “How did you find us?”
Quick…silver…Don’t…Quick…silver…
“What does that mean?” Lia shouted as blood bubbled from his mouth.
“What are you doing?” Armand asked. “He’s not saying anything—he’s dying.”
“Yes, I can see that!”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the mercenary’s eyes rolled upward, his leg stopped moving and his head lolled limply to the side.
He was gone.
Lia pounded his chest in outraged frustration. “Damn it!”
Armand stepped forward, seizing her arm and pulling her roughly to her feet. “That’s enough, Lia. He’s dead.”
“I know!” she exploded, whirling on him. “Why did you shoot him?”
Armand looked incredulous. “What the hell do you mean? He was going to kill you!”
“I needed him alive so that I could interrogate him! That’s why I only shot him in the shoulder. You weren’t supposed to kill him!”
Armand stared at her, then hauled her into his arms and held fast. “I almost lost you, damn it,” he whispered fiercely into her hair. “I don’t care about anything else. I almost lost you!”
Lia closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to absorb his strength, his comforting warmth, as the adrenaline slowly ebbed from her body. He was right. She’d nearly been killed. But that was the nature of her job, and she’d survived much worse. The sooner Armand got that through his thick head, the better off they’d both be.
Drawing a deep, steadying breath, she pulled out of his arms. When he reached out and gently touched her bruised cheek, she winced. He swore, his eyes simmering with leashed violence.
“I’m fine,” Lia reassured him. Mustering a wan smile, she added, “Besides, there’s nothing more you can do to him. You’ve already killed him.”
Armand glanced down at the dead man, looking as if he wanted to unload a few more rounds into him. “I shouldn’t have left you alone with him,” he growled.
“Yes, you should have. He came here to kill you, and he might have succeeded if you had been too busy trying to rescue me. Which, by the way, is becoming a rather bad habit of yours.” Lia started down the corridor, pulling her cell phone out of her back pocket and dialing Janikowski’s cell number. Her call went straight to voice mail.
“Nancy, this is Lia. I know you’re out of pocket for a few days, but I really need—” She stopped abruptly, struck by a sudden, awful suspicion that made her go cold all over. “I need to talk to you,” she continued in carefully measured tones. “Please call me as soon as you can.”
When she turned around, Armand was standing there, watching her with an unreadable expression. “You didn’t tell her.” It wasn’t a question.
Lia shook her head. She crossed quickly to the living-room window and peered outside. Finding the road leading to the cabin empty, she signaled to Armand to step out onto the porch with her. She didn’t speak until she’d checked the outdoor light fixtures, pine floorboards, a pair of Adirondack chairs, and the undersides of the wooden balustrade that ran the length of the wraparound porch.
Satisfied that there were no listening devices—at least out here—she turned to Armand and uttered the words she never thought she would hear in her lifetime. “I think there’s a mole in the Secret Service.”
Armand said nothing, his jaw tightening as he stared at her, waiting for her to continue.
Lia wished she didn’t have to. “There are only a handful of people who know about your arrival in the United States to testify at the hearing. At least one of those individuals is working with Alexandre Biassou. That man inside the cabin was sent here to kill you. He couldn’t have known where you are, or gained access to this property, without the assistance of whoever hired him.”
“So the question is,” Armand said grimly, “who hired him?”
“I don’t know,” Lia muttered, her mind racing a mile a minute as she paced the length of the porch. “I wish to God I knew. I haven’t been able to reach my supervisor. I was told she’d be out of the office this week.”
“How convenient.”
Lia didn’t respond. The same thought had already occurred to her. “We have to get out of here,” she said suddenly, stopping in front of Armand. “Whoever sent that man here probably planted listening devices inside the cabin. Which means he, or she, heard everything that just happened.”
Including what happened between us yesterday, she thought with a sick feeling of shame and betrayal. The idea of one of her colleagues—someone she trusted—eavesdropping on her and Armand making love made her feel more violated than anything she could or would eve
r experience in her life.
But Lia had more pressing matters to worry about. Like getting Armand out of there safely and finding out who the damn traitor was.
“We have to get out of here,” she repeated, more urgently this time. “We don’t have time to sweep the cabin for bugs. I know we’d find them, so there’s no point in even looking. When we go back inside, I want you to pack your things and be ready to leave in five minutes. Do you understand?”
“What about my family?” Armand demanded. “If Biassou found me, he may have found my family, as well!”
“Listen to me,” Lia said, cupping his face in her hands, forcing him to meet her intent gaze. “I know you’re worried about your mother and siblings. Truth be told, I am, too. But my first and foremost priority is to get you out of here alive. As soon as we reach a safe location, I will call Agent Rollins to make sure your family is okay, and I will warn him and the other agents to be even more vigilant than before.”
Armand clenched his jaw, his nostrils flaring. “That’s not good enough,” he ground out. “I want to know for sure that they will be safe. I want them with me!”
“That’s not possible. Not yet. Look, we have to get ourselves to safety before we can be of any use to your family. There are six agents assigned to their protection detail. Believe me when I tell you that your mother and siblings are better off staying where they are than going on the run with us. Now please,” she said imploringly, gazing into his tormented eyes, “if ever there was a time I needed your cooperation, that would be now. Please trust my judgment, Armand. Please.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, leaning his forehead against hers. She could feel the tension radiating from his body, sensed his internal struggle. She held her breath, hoping he would make the right decision, praying he wouldn’t make this situation more dangerous than it already was.
After a lengthy silence he raised his head and looked at her, his eyes glittering with steely resolve. He had reached a momentous decision.
“You’re the boss,” he said roughly. “Now let’s go.”
Secret Agent Seduction Page 18
