by Linzi Baxter
Mia’s voice came across the computer. "From glancing over the file, Kat is a trained killer. She thinks she is doing jobs for the United States. Instead, she’s working the director’s hit list. Last month, she tried to get out. She told him she was done. He threated to take Antonio Jr. away and ruin her. If she wanted out, she had to do one last job. I sent you the schematics of the house and neighborhood.”
The address and map appeared on the monitor. Sophie worked on bringing up any cameras we could find to see if we could figure out our blind spots.
“Holy shit.” Brock sounded like he saw an alien.
“What did you find?” I asked.
“Sophie, you never told us who your family was.”
Sophie looked confused. “My parents were professors at a college. We were nobody famous.”
Two images appeared on the screen. I recognized Joe and Lexi Johnston. They had been the wealthiest oil family around. They had died in a car accident years ago.
“Your grandparents were Joe and Lexi Johnston. When they died, their fortune went to your parents. Nothing went to Sanchez. From the look of it, your grandfather had an affair, and Sanchez was the outcome. He paid Sanchez's mom to go away. When your parents died, everything went into an ironclad trust in your sister’s and your name. It looks like Sanchez has been taking the money from your trust. If you or your sister die, it goes to a charity, and then he wouldn’t get anything.”
“Mom said our grandparents were dead. I never thought to look into them. Sanchez has a different last name, and I never looked into my mom’s last name.
Now it made sense why he needed her alive, and keeping the sisters apart made it easier for him as well. They would’ve talked and maybe looked into their background. Instead, Sophie tried to track down her sister’s location, being fed intel from a man that didn’t want her to be found. Who knows what information he was feeding Kat?
Coming up with a game plan filled our afternoon. I didn’t want Sophie to come on the mission. It would be dangerous. But she wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer. I didn’t want her going off on her own and causing more problems.
We still had a few hours before the sun went down. I had an idea about how to keep Sophie’s and my mind off what was going on. There was something about Sophie that was irresistible.
11
Sophie
The room cleared after the briefing. John and Antonio left to grab food. The tension was thick between Zane and me. I couldn’t think about anything except getting my sister back. Twenty-five years we’d been apart, and in five hours, I would see her again. Not only was I getting my sister back, but I would also meet my nephew for the first time.
Needing to create space between Zane and me, I reached for the door connecting our rooms. The hotel room was like nothing I had seen before. These rooms were meant for royalty, and they weren’t going cheap on the decor. The walls had gold-plated artwork. I ran my hand across the bedspread. It was soft and inviting. The thread count had to be higher than anything I could imagine.
The bathroom was the size of my apartment. The walls were lined with white marble. In the corner sat a tub that would fit ten people. I was having a hard time deciding between the shower, with ten jets sticking out of the wall and ceiling, or lying in the tub and pulling up a good book on my phone.
I was so entranced by the finishings in the bathroom that I didn’t hear Zane walk in. He wrapped his arms around my body. I could feel his hard-muscled chest against my back. His calloused hands ran up and down my arms, sending a shiver through my body.
When his lips touched my neck, I couldn’t hold back the sigh. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“We both need it.” It might help relieve the stress and the worry for an hour. But, I’d told myself I wasn’t going to end up back in bed with him.
I couldn’t think straight when his hand slid down the front of my jeans. Zane slowly licked the back of my ear. “Your lips might lie, but your body tells me everything I need to know. Your pussy is dripping with need.”
When his finger found my clit, I leaned farther into his touch, resting the back of my head against his shoulder. Zane dragged a finger up my body to my tight nipple. I couldn’t take it anymore.
I turned in his arms and dropped to my knees. The zipper wouldn’t go fast enough. I shoved his pants and boxers down to his thighs. The second his cock sprang free, I grasped it in my hands. It had been hard not to think about the sexual tension between us the last few days. No matter how hard I tried, the sharp arousal kept clawing at my insides.
Needing to give him the pleasure he’d given me, I wrapped my mouth around him.
Zane
The warm velvet of her mouth wrapped around my length and almost sent me over. Nothing could compare to how I felt in her mouth. I had to grab the wall to keep my balance. I lowered my free hand and twined it in her hair, controlling her speed. When those emerald eyes looked up, I was lost in her gaze. One hand moved up and cupped my balls and the other wrapped around me, pulling me in deeper. I could feel my member hitting the back of her throat.
With each drag, she went deeper, and she hummed, creating a vibration I’d never felt before. I’d had hummers from women who were skilled, but they were nothing compared to Sophie. I couldn’t take it much longer. The feeling of needing her was too strong. I grabbed her under the armpits to pull her up. Her eyes were heavy with need.
“Fuck. You’re undoing me.”
A sly smile creeped across her face. She knew what she was doing. I had her undressed in a few seconds.
“Stunning.” She was spread across the white bedding, her red hair going in every direction.
“You going to stand there all day or come take care of me?”
I was on edge from the blowjob. I took my time kissing up her body. Her skin felt like satin under my touch. I kissed my way up the inside of her leg until I got to her clit. I clamped down and started to suck. Her body arched with desire.
When I nipped, adding a mixture of pain and pleasure, it sent her over the edge. Seeing her come apart, I couldn’t take it anymore.
I flipped her on her stomach, and in one thrust, I was buried deep inside her. She felt like heaven. The gasp of surprise was followed by a purr. With each stroke, I was filled with the need to possess her.
“Goddamn, Red.” Our movement was synced. She met each thrust with need.
Sophie called out my name as she climaxed, loud enough for any adjoining rooms to hear. Her velvety folds pulsed. I loved it. She continued to rock her hips, each thrust getting me closer to my climax.
When she started to slow down, I spanked her ass. Her muscles clenched with the hit and her movement increased. She was nearing another climax. I hurried my thrusts, meeting her needs. We both climaxed at the same time, going over the edge.
When I rolled us both over, I took her lips in mine, and the kiss was spellbinding. I pulled her body to mine. It took a while for both of us to start breathing regularly.
When we seemed to be coming back to reality, she crushed the mood in five words. “Thanks. You can leave now.”
We had just had mind-blowing sex, and she was kicking me out of her room. “No.”
Sophie wrapped the blanket around her tighter and headed for the bathroom. “We agreed to relieve the tension. Tension has been relieved. Thank you.”
“It was more than that, and you know it.”
She still didn’t believe this was more than a fuck to me. We had chemistry outside of the bedroom.
“Out.” I could see a light sheen to her eyes. She was struggling with what was between us, and I needed to give her time. I grabbed my stuff and headed toward the door.
“Sophie.”
When she looked up at me, tears were running down her face. She needed time, and I was going to give it to her.
“This is far from over.”
Before she had time to give me another one of her lame responses, I shut the door. John and Antonio had gone down t
o the bar to get food. I normally didn’t drink before a mission, but Sophie had my emotions all over the place.
The guys were propped up at the bar, eating hamburgers, when I got there. Antonio raised his brow in question. He knew I wanted to spend time with Sophie. When I shook my head, he didn’t ask another question.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asked before I even sat down.
We were the only people in the restaurant. “Burger and two fingers of your most expensive Scotch. Put it on his tab.” I pointed over to Antonio.
“Want to explain why I’m the brunt of your mood?”
Not wanting to talk about what happened, I changed the subject. “I think we should send the women back to Ft. Lauderdale right away. After the mission, we drive them straight to the airport. We can take down Sanchez ourselves.”
Antonio popped a fry in his mouth. “From the look of frustration on your face, you are already in the doghouse. I don’t think sending Sophie away and not letting her get her vengeance is going to help you.”
He had a good point, but pissing her off to keep her alive might be the correct thing to do. The bartender set the hundred-dollar glass of Scotch in front of me. Needing to feel the burn of the alcohol running down my throat, I drank the Scotch in one gulp. I pointed to the glass again.
“I won’t let you go on the mission if you are drunk. We are going after my wife and kid.”
“Not planning on getting drunk. I’m having one more. I’ll sip the next one.”
John had been quiet since we arrived. I always thought Antonio was a man of few words, but John was pure silence.
“John, do you think we should send the women back?”
He leaned forward resting his hands on the bar top. “I would do anything to protect the women I love, but they don’t always listen. Sometimes, keeping them where you can see them is better than not knowing.”
The words sounded like they were coming from experience. We’d go in tonight, get Kat and Antonio Jr., meet at the hotel room, and come up with our next game plan. John was right. If I tried to make Sophie stay back while we went after Kat, she would find a way to show up. She’d been looking for her sister for years, and nobody would hold her back.
“Here’s the question of the hour. When the mission is complete, where are you headed?” Antonio asked.
I’d thought about that a lot of over the past few days. I had more than enough money in the bank not to work another day of my life. The CIA missions were starting to get old. Maybe it was time to settle down.
“Are you hiring?”
Antonio must not have expected that response. Or maybe he did. A sly grin spread across his face. “You’re welcome to come work for me. Since you’re rich, I don’t have to pay you much.”
Asshole. With an idea forming in my mind about how to wear Sophie down, a little of the tension rolled off my back. A run would remove the last of the tension.
“Thanks for the job. Keep this between us for a while. I want to be the one to talk to Sophie about it. I’m going to go for a quick run. See you guys in an hour.”
12
Sophie
Kicking Zane out of the room was one of the hardest things I’d done in a long time. Every time we were together, the feelings grew stronger. I needed to cut ties before I got my heart ripped out. There was no way Zane would want to be with me once he found out I couldn’t have kids. Men like Zane need to continue their family line.
Thinking I could sleep with a man like Zane and not become attached was stupid. It was supposed to be a fling. Screw the man and get him out of my system. The problem was that every time we were together, he crept into my heart a little bit.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed to get my emotions under control. We were meeting in Zane’s room in fifteen minutes. But when I closed my eyes, I saw his shaken look, which turned into disappointment. I could handle anger. Disappointment made my stomach curdle.
It was hard not to fall into bed with the man. His muscles had muscles. His scruff. His tongue. I had to shake my head to get rid of the images of Zane that kept coming back, leaving my body in a permanently heightened state.
Glancing at the clock, I saw I was running behind. The X-rated images of Zane had my brain going out of control. I wanted to kill him and keep him all at the same time. I knew I would never get to have him in my life permanently. For starters, his family was one of the most prominent families around. I grew up in foster care and spent my time hacking into criminals’ computers. Prestigious families like Zane’s expect to have biological kids. That choice was taken from me years ago and I chose not to burden others with my pain.
Since Zane’s room was next to mine, we had a connecting door. Every step toward the door made it feel as if my feet were sinking in quicksand. I knew I needed to face Zane. He was helping me get Kat back. But, when I reached for the door handle, the door swung open with an angry Zane on the other side. Damn, that man was hot even when he was angry. It seemed as if he could read my mind, as his angry scowl turned into a cocky grin.
“Sophie, it’s about time you join us.”
I was a couple of minutes late. The man knew I was on the other side of the door. If it was an emergency, he could have knocked or come over. Not justifying his answer with a response, I rolled my eyes and brushed past him into his hotel suite.
Antonio looked up from checking his gun and nodded.
Needing space from Zane, I sat next to Antonio. With a motion of Zane’s hand, the big bad Antonio vacated the spot. Traitor. Zane’s muscular scent was intoxicating and made it hard to concentrate on the mission, and getting Kat back was one of the most critical missions of my life.
The tension in the room was high. I wanted Kat back, and Antonio was going after his supposedly dead wife. Zane cleared his throat. It was time to start the briefing. He started the discussion with a recap of the new information regarding Sanchez. I was still numb from the news that he was our legal guardian and was using us to access our alleged trust fund.
When Zane finished the briefing, he asked Brock, “Do you or your team have anything else to add?”
I was embarrassed to be around Brock and his team. We had spent years hacking and taking people down. I considered myself one of the best hackers around. I wasn’t being cocky. I was good, but for some reason, when it came to my life, I didn’t investigate or use the tools around me.
At the sound of Brock’s voice, I looked up at the screen. He was chewing a piece of licorice. I swore the man had stock in a licorice company with how much of it he ate. “We’ve been monitoring the house using satellite cameras, and we borrowed the feed of one of the neighbor's cameras.”
Zane leaned back in the chair and ran his hand over his scruff. “Any changes.”
“The house next door has two guards in it. I got a facial recognition on them. They are guns for hire, so they could work for either Yermushin or Sanchez. They don’t have any other surveillance on her. I got the camera feed they have pointed at her house. I took the feed and made a loop. When you head their way, I will switch over to the feed I created.”
I could tell Zane was thinking about something. He had a look of determination. “Once we have Kat, you need to erase the footage and any tampering you did.”
I had to hold back a chuckle. The look on Brock’s face was priceless. Zane hadn’t worked with him before. He was good and would’ve covered his steps.
Brock’s voice turned deadly. “You work in the field. I work behind the computer making sure you don’t get killed. I know how to do my job. Never question my work.”
Zane held up his hands in defeat. “Sorry, man. I’m used to working with analysts or on my own.”
“Don’t worry about it. I planted a virus in the system. No one will know the footage is different. The drives will automatically DOD wipe, and the data on the drives will not be able to be retrieved.”
Mia chimed into the video conference. “The guards ordered takeout. We had
one of our contacts in New York drop sleeping pills in the food. They will be out cold for the next few hours. You need to be gone.”
“Let's head out in fifteen minutes. I need a moment with Sophie.” The room cleared, and our connection to Brock went black.
Zane’s dark eyes leveled me with an intensity that almost knocked me over. I could tell he was still fuming about me kicking him out of my room earlier. His desire for me also shone in his eyes. He raked his eyes over my body, and I knew it wasn’t to make sure I was wearing proper clothes for the mission.
“I wish you would consider staying back.” There was a hint of hope in his voice.
There was no way I was staying back on this mission. I had been away from Kat for too long, and if he tried to keep me away, I would just find an alternate way to go.
“I know.” I shrugged my shoulders, not caring about what he wanted. “I’m going anyway. Would you stay back if it was your brother?”
Zane walked over and wrapped me in his arms. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I know you feel what is going on between us.”
I couldn’t think when Zane was so close. I pushed on his chest to get room. I needed to get my mind off Zane. When he was close, all I could think about was being with him, and that could never happen again.
“The only thing between us is lust.”
“Bullshit.”
“Zane, there can never be more, and we need to stop this before one of us gets hurt.” I knew it would be me that ended up heart-broken. It was already tearing me apart to push him away, and if we spent much more time together, it would be even harder.
He ran his hand though his scruff, letting out a growl. “Whatever is holding you back, we can get through it, whatever it is. Once we get Kat back tonight, we will sit down and figure it out.”
