by Dawn Ryder
“Mercer…”
He paid her no mind, carrying her through the doorway of the bedroom and kicking the door shut before turning her loose. She backed away from him as he squared off with her.
“Don’t accuse me of having trust issues, baby, when you have similar ones.”
He was right. That admission brought her up short. She ended up worrying her lower lip as she contemplated him.
He was just so perfect.
“Do you trust me?” She needed to know.
His expression tightened, just a fraction, but it was enough to pierce the bubble of growing elation inside her.
“I trust that you’re innocent, Zoe,” he answered. “Are you still holding a grudge against me for how we met?”
“It isn’t a grudge,” she said. “At least, that’s a mighty judgmental word under the circumstances.”
“I’ll agree with judgmental.” His eyes were narrowed. “You support your family one hundred percent for the service they give but not me? I was laying it on the line to protect them.”
“I know,” she snapped. “But you … you—”
“Used sex?” He interrupted her bluntly. “Is that somehow worse than trying to scare the information out of you? Would you rather have been stuffed in the back of a van and hauled into some dank cell where you would have been broken down until you confessed? Waited to see what would happen.”
“You pushed your way into my private space.”
His lips twitched. “And you loved every second of it.” He suddenly lost his firm hold on his confidence. Uncertainty swam through his eyes. “So did I. Maybe I’m the fool for trying to hold on to that. Vitus sure thinks so.”
He let out a slow breath. “I need one of those beers.”
The door closed behind him, leaving her facing the situation she’d always assumed would arrive.
He would leave her.
Except this time, she’d pointed him toward the door.
The urge to follow him was strong. Stronger than the desire to hold on to her self-respect and reject him because of the way he’d used her, but both emotions were valid. She was caught between them, being pulled by both sides like a tug-of-war rope.
She didn’t have to end up in pieces. All she had to do was trust.
So why did that feel so impossible?
* * *
Congressman Jeb Ryland sat back in his oversized office chair. His desk was a treasured antique that dominated the office. It was situated perfectly to afford him a view of the south side of his estate. The grounds were expertly manicured, but he scowled.
“I warned you what my expectations were,” he said.
The man sitting in front of him didn’t show any reaction. He sat there, stone-faced and silent.
This was another expectation Jeb had for those who worked for him. He was the master and they’d better remember it.
“Special Agent Vitus Hale is owed a reckoning. Losing his brother would have been a good place to begin. Were my expectations in any way unclear?”
The man sitting in front of him shook his head.
“Then why isn’t the man mourning his sibling?” Jeb surged forward and flattened his hands on the surface of the desk. “He has his shield back!”
“Killing him straight out wouldn’t have been too hard. The fact that you wanted him caught with dirt on his hands made it a lot harder. Saxon has a record. A good, solid one. I took a lot of chances trying to set him up.”
“You used the wrong family,” Jeb insisted. “A colonel and a captain? Bryan Magnus has a long-standing commitment of service to his country. That was an idiotic choice.”
“It was a good one,” Tyler said, defending himself. “Saxon is no fool. He’d have sniffed out a trap if intel like that mysteriously appeared in the hands of some random civilian. You wanted too much by insisting he be disgraced. I could have taken him out and left his brother without his shield.”
“That wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough!” Jeb hissed. “He soiled my daughter. I want his family name dragged through the gutter! I want his family wiped off the face of this planet. I want his friends to see what happens to anyone who forgets who their betters are. And I want to make sure she knows what happens when she defies me.”
Tyler took a deep breath. “You’re not my better. Keep talking like that and you’re on your own.”
“Perhaps you’re not smart enough to work for me,” Jeb threatened. “I can replace you.”
“Do it. I don’t need this petty revenge crap. So what if your daughter screwed someone who wasn’t on your approved list? She’s back under control.”
“And Damascus will stay there!” Jeb jabbed his index finger into the desktop. “My daughter won’t be taking up with a member of her escort, even one who saved her life. That was his job. She’s learning the error of her judgment. Now I want the Hale brothers to learn it, too. I know you special agents have a brotherhood. When this matter is dealt with, others will take note.”
“They might also close ranks against you.”
Jeb slapped the top of the desk. “I could have left you chained in that interrogation room.”
“And I could have sung high and low to Kagan, telling him how you misled me into believing I was following legitimate orders.”
Tyler enjoyed the way the congressman’s eyes widened.
“Don’t think I’m not covering my ass with enough documentation to drag you down with me if you try hamstringing me,” Tyler insisted. “I’m in this to be a part of your administration. Don’t forget what you’ve promised me. I won’t.”
“Find another way,” Jeb ordered. “Saxon Hale likes shadow ops too much to retire from them. Concoct another operation to trap him. I want him disgraced and dead. In that order. Vitus doesn’t deserve a clean death.” Jeb pointed at Tyler. “I want that bastard Vitus to know his family is being taken out in both blood and name before I kill him. Damascus will learn just what happens when she steps outside the boundaries I set.”
There was a glow in the man’s eyes that made Tyler uneasy. Not a simple task. Tyler was getting a bad feeling about just how unstable the senator’s sanity might be.
Not that he had any real choice. He was in too deep to fold now. So what if the guy had illusions about what his precious daughter should be doing with her lily-white body?
“It won’t be easy,” Tyler said.
“I pay you too much for easy work. You want to be one of my head people when I’m vice president? Get used to tough assignments. Get out.”
Jeb pushed a button on the underside of his desk. There was a buzz as the door to the office opened. He resumed looking out over the grounds of his home as his business associate left. His daughter Damascus came into view, running down the side steps and onto the walking path. He pressed his lips into a tight line at the running sportswear she had on.
So damn masculine. She knew he detested the sight of her in it.
She took off to the side of the house, keeping to the area she was allowed in. Two of his personal security men trotted along behind her. But she’d made sure she ran past his sight. Of course, she might have some flimsy excuse, but he suspected she was needling him. He wasn’t sure of her. Sometime between her meeting with Vitus Hale and her return she’d learned to hide her feelings from him. Now she presented a calm, collected exterior at all times.
Which was why he doubted her sincerity. The night he’d taken her back, she’d been too full of passion for it to have cooled so completely.
Another reason why the Hale brothers needed to die. There could be no going back for Damascus. His daughter needed the additional lesson of understanding what would happen to anyone she foolishly grew attached to that he did not approve of.
He’d be the master of his home.
Maybe his daughter’s cool demeanor was a wise choice on her part to accept his rule.
Possibly.
Then again, perhaps she was making sure he glimpsed her in her athletic attire because she
knew it was the only way to strike back at him. That would fit with the daughter who had so brazenly told him she was going to marry Vitus Hale.
She’d signed his death warrant with that statement. The daughter of Congressman Jeb Ryland would never be wed to a mongrel dog of war like Special Agent Vitus Hale.
Even if she had foolishly played at being the man’s bitch.
He clenched his fingers into fists as his temper surged.
At least she was keeping in shape. He had uses for that. Men who wanted a wife with connections and a good figure. Jeb planned to exploit their desires. Very soon, he’d make his move. Which only brought his temper back to a slow boil.
He’d needed his revenge now, while the media wasn’t focused on him. While the facts might be buried along with the Hale brothers.
But he wasn’t giving it up. No. Vitus Hale wasn’t going to walk away free.
Not from Jeb Ryland.
No one walked away clean after crossing Jeb Ryland.
* * *
“You’re being an idiot.”
Mercer lowered his beer and glared at Vitus.
“You are,” Vitus confirmed. “Getting drunk when the case isn’t closed.”
“It’s closed,” Mercer confirmed.
Vitus shook his head. “She didn’t kick you out. Didn’t run to her big brother to help kick you to the curb.” Vitus nodded. “Case is still … open.”
“I asked her to marry me.”
Vitus raised an eyebrow. “And?”
Mercer tipped his longneck back once more. Vitus reached over and pulled it out of his fingers.
“What the fuck do you want from me, Vitus?” Mercer demanded. “I’m sitting here, behaving like a gentleman. Giving her … space.”
Vitus snorted. And then snickered. “She didn’t fall for a nice guy. She liked all your rough edges a whole lot from what I saw. So stop being a dumb ass by turning into the poster boy for society’s idea of what relationships should be. If she wanted that, she’d have a ring on her finger and a couple of kids. That woman has her father’s need for a good challenge in her. You two will fight as much as you fuck.”
Mercer felt like his ears were ringing from that truth. It knocked him upside his head and left him staring at Vitus. It was a harsh analysis.
And so on point, he was ready to agree that he’d been a dumb ass. He stood up and grabbed a coffee mug. The pot was sitting on warm. He poured half a mugful and downed it.
“Thanks for the kick in the ass.”
Vitus lifted his beer bottle to him in response.
The walk down the hallway twisted his insides but he liked it.
Because it was go-time.
* * *
Mercer closed the door behind him silently. It was more startling than if he’d slammed it. She turned around and surveyed him, taking in the set expression on his face, the warning flickering in his eyes.
“I’m thinking,” she said.
He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it over the top of one of her bedposts.
“No, Zoe, you’re avoiding the truth.”
She propped her hand onto her hip. “Oh really?” She tossed her hair back and sent him a warning look. “Came down here just to tell me what I’m doing wrong?”
He slowly grinned, his lips parting and flashing his teeth at her. But it wasn’t a nice expression. Nope. Far from it. The guy was downright menacing now. “You wouldn’t have me any other way, baby.”
She shifted, feeling his words as much as she heard them, which didn’t make any sense.
As if her dealings with Mercer ever made any sense.
“Enough of the pushing into my space,” she warned him. “Your operation is over.”
“It’s over, all right,” he agreed. “But I’m far from finished with being in your space.”
“That’s not for you to say.”
He tilted his head to the side, offering her a partial shrug. “Oh, I think it really is for me to say, Zoe. In fact, I’m waiting for you to stop being such a good little girl. The one Tim was so sure it would be easy to pull one over on.”
“Yeah, well, I schooled him, didn’t I?” she shot back.
“You did. Your dad and brother aren’t the only ones with grit.”
Mercer was smiling at her now, the expression one of approval. It warmed her because she knew without a doubt he wasn’t a man to hand out praise to the undeserving. Or unworthy. The feeling spreading through her was great because it was something she’d earned.
“So, when are you going to stop trying to crawl back into the shell of your old life?”
The question brought her up short. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”
He unfolded his arms and closed the distance between them, slowly stalking her. Her insides twisted, but she stood her ground and it felt damn good.
“I was sitting out in the kitchen, giving you space … like a nice guy.”
She wrinkled her nose at the phrase. Mercer chuckled. “Yeah, that’s when Vitus hit me upside the head with a richly deserved ass kick.” The amusement faded from his face. His eyes filled with yearning. It reached out across the space between them, feeling like a live current connected to the swirling need driving her insane. Everything was so incredibly impossible and yet pathetically simple.
“You don’t want a nice guy, baby.”
I don’t.
The admission was just there, bubbling up from inside her. She looked away because she was pretty certain he’d read it right off her face.
“And I love the way you come out of your shell for me,” he continued, his voice deepening, becoming husky.
Sexy beyond belief.
He was reaching for her, his fingertips stroking across her jaw and lifting her face so their gazes could fuse again.
The connection was restored. Full-strength current surged between them, making her feel like she was coming fully alive. It was fucking intense and she gritted her teeth to avoid purring.
“Where’s my bitch?” he demanded.
She shook off his touch, rising to the challenge in his voice. “Be careful what you wish for, Mercer.”
He opened his arms wide. “Hit me with your best shot, baby. I’ll let you know if I’m impressed.”
“Oh, you will be,” she warned, sticking her finger out and poking him in the chest. “I can handle you, Mr. Special Agent Man. Untamed or not. Don’t think you’re going to steamroll over me. I am not a good little girl.”
“You’re sitting in your room like one.”
Her eyes narrowed. He was smirking at her. Expectation surged through her veins as she recognized the look in his eyes. He was lowering his attention to her lips, making ready to kiss her. She wanted him to. Craved the connection and the mind-numbing reaction she knew would follow.
But that was letting him take control.
She stepped back. He raised an eyebrow in question.
“You’re not going to kiss me senseless.”
He bared his teeth at her. “Yes I am.”
She stepped back and shook her head. His eyes brightened, practically glowing with anticipation. Her belly twisted in response, a surge of confidence flooding her as she drank in the way she made him look so hungry.
Her.
She did that.
To him.
That’s right …
It was a heady feeling, an aphrodisiac.
“I want you naked,” she declared. “Stripped down to skin.”
“Is that a fact?” he asked smoothly. “What makes you think I’m going to jump?”
It was her turn to flash him a grin. “You wanted a bitch. Well, that means I’m going to be mouthy. Very mouthy.”
He offered her a sound that was half grunt, half chuckle. It was very male and loaded with promise. Her clit started throbbing in response, the heat surging up from her core as he backed up and ripped his shirt off.
“Like this, baby?”
She nodded, making a little sound of enjoyment u
nder her breath. “But it could be so much better.”
“Let me see if I can improve my performance…” He kicked his shoes free and popped the waistband button on his jeans.
Her mouth went dry, her attention on his fingers as he worked the buttons on his fly. Time slowed down, her heart accelerating. He finished and his cock sprang into sight, already swollen. She reached for it, curling her fingers around the stiff staff and enjoying the slide of his soft skin against her palm.
But he pulled back, leaving her with only the sight of him again.
“Not enough, is it, Zoe?” he asked as he shucked his jeans completely. “Just watching isn’t enough.”
“No. It’s not.” She didn’t really think about her response. It was pure reaction.
As always.
She reached down to grasp the bottom of her tunic top and pull it up her body. When she cleared her head, she caught sight of Mercer watching her. Every inch of him was hard. Every detail still striking her as untamed.
But he was looking at her.
She let her thoughts scatter, let all the reasons just dissipate into a vapor as passion filled her. He was her haven. His embrace the place she needed to be to prove herself and take solace. It was explosive and the embers kept her warm when they were both spent.
Fuck tomorrow.
She was living in the moment.
* * *
Kagan felt his company arrive. The veteran agent didn’t look up because he didn’t need to. Servat settled down near him, scanning the area in front of them.
“You’re looking for me,” Servat said.
Kagan nodded. “And you know why.”
Servat was silent for a long moment. A gust of wind blew a scattering of dried leaves past his feet.
“We all have orders,” Servat said.
“Who told you about Tyler?”
Kagan’s poise slipped just a bit, exposing his temper.
“You weren’t really going to leave him chained to that table,” Servat said, defending himself.
Kagan turned to look at him. “Who?”
Servat held his tongue for a long moment. “General Presson.”
Kagan pressed his lips into a hard line.
“It’s a complication,” Servat continued. “Tyler is being moved out of your sphere of activity. Your orders still stand.”
