by Isabo Kelly
Gina clenched her teeth together, locking her jaw in an effort not to curse. Damn it. She didn’t want to believe any of this. But how could she deny it? Her own logic was insisting Alex must be right given the facts he presented.
She turned back to her father. He looked pale and worn, the lines in his face deeper than a month ago. With a shock, she realized what he must have been going through for the last month, knowing his only daughter’s life was in danger. Had he suspected all along that someone inside the organization was responsible for this? Had he been wondering for a month if he’d wake up one morning to the news that she’d been killed?
Her shoulders slumped. She couldn’t put him through that any longer. Not now that she knew. She was going to give in to the whole scheme. Going into hiding for a month, with no work to do, knowing there was a lunatic somewhere out there threatening all the progress they’d made in the last two years, threatening her father, threatening her…it pissed her off. But unless she met the culprit face to face, she was going to have to resign herself to hiding and letting someone else take care of everything. For her father’s peace of mind, if nothing else.
“The files?” she asked her father. Her voice sounded flat.
“They’ve been encrypted and locked away. We won’t give up the work, honey. It’s too important.”
It was.
Gina sighed, finding a measure of relief in his assurances. Knowing the research would continue made it easier to admit defeat, to accept going into hiding.
“All right. When do we leave? Should I pack anything?”
The hand on her shoulder clenched, a movement so quick and subtle she could have imagined it. Then the touch was gone. Her shoulder was warm where Alex’s hand had rested.
“Pack light,” he said. “Anything you need later can be acquired.”
“I need to close out a few things in the lab first. Then I’ll head out to my apartment.”
“We’ll meet you at the lab, then and take you back to your place. After we finish up here with your father.”
She nodded and stood.
Her father rose and came around the desk. He pulled her into a tight, quick hug and awkwardly wished her good luck. He seemed reluctant to let her go and at the same time in a hurry to see her gone. She walked out of his office without looking back, but she called over her shoulder, “I’ll see you soon, dad.” She damn well would too, very soon, if she had any say in the matter.
Alex watched Gina leave, flexing his fists. He continued to feel the soft firmness of her shoulder against his palm, and he had a hard time keeping his attention from dropping to her ass. But with her father in the room, he figured that wasn’t a great way to endear himself to his new client. He’d give her credit though. The woman had spirit, a fire which sorely tempted him. All that intensity and fight was a challenge he was going to have a hard time resisting.
But he and Nate had a rule about sleeping with clients. And while very technically, Gina’s father was their client, not Gina, he was pretty sure Nate wouldn’t see things that way.
He turned back to face Mr. Xanacovich, keeping his expression neutral and professional. If he was lucky, Nate wouldn’t notice anything either. He just had to get through this job, keep Gina alive, and catch the person after her. Afterward . . . Well afterward, she wouldn’t be a client anymore. And he wouldn’t have to worry about his rule.
Outside, crossing through the open-air courtyard to the biotech labs, Alex scanned their surroundings. Neatly manicured trees and plants filling strategically placed wooden plant boxes, decorating the smooth white pathways without cluttering the open space. This time of the afternoon, only a few people walked through the area, moving swiftly between the various buildings that made up Xanac Corp’s main complex. The area provided enough privacy that Alex felt free to speak.
“Sapphire Range?”
“Best option,” Nathan agreed.
The safe house located deep in the Sapphire mountain range was about as far away from Capital as they could take Gina without actually leaving Narava. And the isolation would make finding her that much more difficult.
After a pause, Nathan said, “You gonna be okay on this one?”
Alex scowled but didn’t actually look at his partner. Shit. They’d been working together for too long. The man could read him too well. That usually played in their favor, making the partnership flow smoothly and efficiently. At the moment, though, he hated that Nate saw through him. But he wasn’t about to admit it.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about. And you know the rule about clients, Alex. It’s your rule.”
Alex let out a slow breath before answering, so he didn’t say something he’d regret later. “She’s not our client. Her father is.”
“Alex . . .”
The warning in Nate’s voice confirmed what Alex already knew. His business partner wasn’t going to buy into that technicality. “Don’t worry about me,” he said, though with an edge of reluctance. “I can keep it in my pants for the length of the job. Have I ever broken the rule before?”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“We do the job. Everything else is insignificant until it’s done.”
“I sure as hell hope you mean that.”
Alex thought back to his first look at Gina Xanacovich, spitting mad, and so gloriously stunning in her wrath she took his breath away. The heat in those chocolate eyes was going to follow him into his dreams. Only she wouldn’t be mad, and they’d both have a lot less clothing on.
He had every intention of seeing that fantasy become a reality. He’d made up his mind to seduce the sexy engineer a heartbeat after first laying eyes on her. Once the job was finished. During . . .
“I’ll be fine,” he insisted. But as they neared her lab and his heartbeat picked up at the thought of seeing her again, Alex had to fight with his own conscious. He’d never lied to Nate before. He hoped he wasn’t lying now.
CHAPTER THREE
Gina stared out at the mountain range rising up around the ship as it dropped slowly to a smooth, gray landing pad. Blue-white snow sparkled blindingly in the bright sunshine, making her squint. “The Sapphire Range? Why would you build a safe house here?” She looked toward where Alex piloted the small on-and-off planet vessel.
“Have you seen anyone else around?” he asked without taking his attention from the instrument panels in front of him.
She shrugged, conceding the point. Only the hardiest of human colonists had ever tried to inhabit this area of the planet. Most stayed near the temperate coastlines and the lush green ranges of the interior of the three main continents. If she were going to set up a safe house, she had to admit, she would have considered this desolate area of Narava’s southern hemisphere, too.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t packed for the snow. “I’m going to freeze my ass off out there.”
A low noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckled floated back to her from the pilot’s seat just as the ship lightly touched down.
“Don’t worry,” Nathan said as he passed her on his way toward the rear cabins. “We’ve come prepared.”
She scowled forward at Alex’s back until he turned in his seat. “How prepared?” she asked.
“I intend to make sure you stay very warm.”
She narrowed her eyes. Was that innuendo? She couldn’t tell. His expression gave nothing away. But his voice… Ah, that voice. He could recite the periodic table, and she’d read innuendo into it.
Before she could embarrass herself, Nathan came forward with an armful of parkas, passing her one and Alex another before slipping into his own.
She snuggled the soft, thick material around her neck, and took a deep breath. “Okay. Show me my new home for the next few weeks.”
The minute the ship’s loading ramp started to drop, the frigid air rolled in to slap Gina in the face. “Damn,” she murmured, and pulled her coat up over her nose and mou
th.
From directly behind her shoulder, closer than she’d realized he was, Alex said, “You should feel it when it’s really cold here.”
“No thanks.”
This time she was sure that soft, deep sound was a laugh. A laugh she could feel brushing along every inch of her skin.
To her surprise, he leaned in and reached into the pocket of her coat. “You’ll want to wear these,” he said against her ear.
A little breathless, she glanced down at the gloves he held out for her.
“It’s not far to the airlock, but the gloves will be more comfortable.”
“Thanks,” she muttered, hurrying to pull on the thick material. His scent, a light, musky cologne she could place, curled around her even when he straightened away. She wanted to roll her eyes and fall back against his big body, to wrap herself up in that sexy voice of his.
But in front of her, Nathan pulled out a blaster just as the ramp hit tarmac, and she decided now was the exact wrong time to consider anything besides survival. She’d spent a lot of the last day trying to forget the details in the grisly note outlining her death. Nathan’s weapon was a sharp reminder that she wasn’t here on holiday.
She risked a glance back at Alex , not surprised to discover he had a blaster in hand too.
“I thought no one knew about this place,” she said, nodded at his gun.
“No one does. This is just a precaution.”
“You’re not wearing gloves.”
He glanced past her and nodded at the short walk to the building. “It’s not as cold out there as it can get. I’ll survive to the airlock.”
Since she didn’t want him to read anything into her concern, she faced forward again and followed Nathan out of the ship.
They hurried down the ramp and fast-walked to the smooth, gray metal door of the airlock. From the landing pad, it was impossible to tell what the complex looked like, but from the air, she’d seen a jumble of metal boxes stacked on a rare flat expanse of snow. The “house” was constructed of a gray material that blended well with the surrounding landscape. She wouldn’t have even noticed it if Alex hadn’t pointed it out during their descent.
Inside, corridors lit by motion sensor lights led them deeper into the house. She kept track of her bearings, not wanting to be stuck in a place she couldn’t find her way out from if she needed to.
“While you’re here, it’s better if you remain inside,” Alex said, as if he’d read her mind.
“Why?”
“Beyond the weather? The house is fitted with a shield to help deflect any sensor sweeps. A human walking around outside without the protection of the shield could be located by a satellite or a high flying craft scanning the area.”
“If no one knows about this place, why would anyone bother to look here for the safe house?” She heard the sarcasm in her own voice but couldn’t stop it. Thinking about the danger she was in kept triggering her temper right along with her fear.
“It’s a precaution,” Alex said, his own tone neutral.
She wrinkled her nose. She was trying to pick a fight for no other reason than that she was scared and angry and didn’t want any of this to be happening. “Fine,” she said when she thought she could keep the sharpness from her tone. “I’ll stay inside. Too damned cold out there anyway.”
The two men led her into an area that looked comfortable enough, if not exactly homey. There were soft rugs in neutral colors covering hard gray floors, no decorations to disguise the gray walls, but there was a fully fitted out library, a kitchen, sitting room complete with multiple screens, and a nice sized bathroom.
Nathan peeled off to some errand of his own while Alex showed her to a small, functional bedroom.
“It’s not fancy,” he said, watching from the doorway as she explored the space. “But the bed is comfortable.”
“It’s fine,” she answered without looking at him. The idea of Alex and a bed in the same room set off danger signals, so she kept her attention on the gray walls, the serviceable metal furniture, and the dark maroon curtains covering the small windows. Despite being inside, she still felt a chill in the air, which made her especially grateful the bed was decked out with a thick, cream and blue duvet.
Alex watched her pace around the small bedroom, and it was all he could do not to step inside, close the door, and take her into his arms. The bed was more than big enough to accommodate them and all the plans he had for her, plans he’d been much too preoccupied with during the flight here. He had her scent now, after allowing himself the pleasure of leaning in close on the ship to hand her her gloves. It was a subtle but odd mix of spice and floral that seemed to perfectly define the woman. He wanted more of that elusive scent, filling him up as he explored her contradictions. He’d had a hard time resisting one quick little taste of the skin beneath her earlobe, too. But between the cold and Nathan’s presence, he’d managed to control himself. Barely.
She tempted him more than he’d guessed possible. He’d never had this kind of problem before. And he wondered what it was about her, exactly, that had wrapped him up so tightly.
Her bravery maybe? Watching her face the threat to her life without breaking was impressive. He wouldn’t blame her for falling apart. He’d read the threatening letter . It was gruesome and detailed, the stuff of nightmares. Yet she hadn’t fallen apart.
Oh, he could see her fear, though she tried to hide it. She wasn’t immune to the seriousness of her situation. He felt it was the way she stood strong, trying to mask her worry, that had him wanting to comfort her. Her energy and strength were as captivating as anything else about her. Maybe more. She was stunning, yes. But he’d worked for beautiful women before. And not once had he had such a difficult time keeping his hands to himself.
Gina sparked more than just lust in him. She set off every protective instinct he had on a level he’d never experienced before. It pissed him off that someone, anyone, could make this strong, intelligent woman scared. And that triggered something deeper, something a lot more dangerous than mere desire.
He’d spent most of his career protecting people and things, guarding against attacks and threats. Yet for some reason, with this one woman, he wanted to protect her not because he was getting paid to, but because he needed to.
Nathan was going to kick his ass if he realized just how far gone Alex actually was already.
He watched her pull her parka tighter around her neck and said, “There are warm clothes in the closet.” When she turned, he pointed toward the barely discernable door.
“Thanks. I’m going to need them.”
Her comment reminded him of what she’d said on the ship about freezing her ass off, and he couldn’t help considering that very ass, despite it being completely covered by the coat at the moment. She had a lovely backside, perfectly shaped. Exactly the right size to fill his palms. He swallowed to wet a suddenly dry throat. “Help yourself to whatever you want.” Including me, he thought before he could censor himself.
His gaze moved over her body, and his imagination jumped to detailed thoughts of stripping her naked and making sure she was too hot to notice the chilled air. Being in a room with a bed just a few steps away wasn’t helping his control. Neither was the fact that her scent was starting to fill the small room. Even from the safety of the doorway, the spicy floral mixture reached out to tease him.
There was no denying he wanted her, more than he’d wanted any other woman in a long while. But there was more than just lust mixing in his gut when he looked at Gina. It was going to get them all killed if he wasn’t careful. Keeping her safe meant keeping is mind on the job, his hands to himself. And his dick in his pants.
Doing all that required he get out of this bedroom. Now. “I’ll leave you to settle in and get comfortable.” He left before she could say any more.
CHAPTER FOUR
Alex and Nathan stayed at the safe house for a day and a half, making sure the building was secure and no one had followed them. During that
day and a half, Alex was nothing but professional with Gina, and his professionalism drove her nuts.
She should have been relieved. The last thing she needed at the moment was to jump into an affair with a virtual stranger. But something about Alex fascinated her, despite the dangerous situation she found herself in. She caught herself watching the way he and Nathan organized the security of the house, started the search for the person behind the threats and deaths, and generally worked together like they could predict the other’s thoughts. She smiled when it occurred to her they reminded her a little of an old married couple, the way they functioned so seamlessly, often without having to say a word.
Beyond watching him work, Gina kept searching out Alex, looking for excuses to see him or talk with him about some random concern. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush, which was so embarrassing, she kept trying to pick fights with him. Not once did he rise to the bait. Damn him.
Sometimes, she thought maybe there was more to what he said when they spoke, to the way he looked at her when she wasn’t supposed to notice. He did hunt her down almost as often as she went looking for him. And once, she’d noticed Nathan scowling at Alex while he spoke with her, like Alex was acting odd. Yet nothing ever came of those moments. Alex continued to deal with her like a client and nothing more. Her combination of annoyance, relief and embarrassment from all this played havoc with her notoriously bad temper and did not leave her in a very good mood.
His lecture on the house rules and security procedures didn’t help any. He was so damned calm, never losing his own temper, even as she lost hers when his lecture took on a condescending tone. Yes, she knew not to use the external communications system, no she wouldn’t try to contact anyone, yes she would keep the place sealed, of course she’d keep the internal alarms online. How old did she look, five? He remained unaffected and reasonable the entire time—an attitude which infuriated her.
