Driven

by Rebecca Zanetti

  “Yeah,” he whispered, cupping her still-bruised jaw. “Vaughn is getting stitches right now. I could go hit him again if you want.”

  Her smile was like the sunset between darkened rain clouds. Bright and real. True. “That’s okay. I trust that you did a good job the first time.”

  “I helped,” Raider groused from the doorway, wiping blood from his cheekbone.

  “Raider!” Nari cried, turning and giving the big agent a hug. “I’ve missed you.”

  Raider hugged her back, his angled face softening. “I’ve missed you, too. It’s only been a week and it’s not the same.”

  Angus tugged her back to him and put an arm over her shoulder. “We’ll figure something out.”

  Nari faltered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when Raider had you bailed out. I helped from here on my phone, but I couldn’t leave Opal until she was out of surgery.” She turned pale and bit her lip.

  Angus slid his finger along her lip, getting her attention. “I know. You did everything I needed you to do.” How much pressure had Quan put on her to be the perfect HDD employee? She was apologizing for something that didn’t require an apology. He leaned down and kissed her nose. “Thank you for your help.”

  She blinked, her pupils dilating.

  Jesus. Didn’t anybody ever thank her? She was so damn good at everything that she made her job seem effortless and even fun. Probably because she did have fun. But that didn’t mean she should be taken for granted, and Angus had done that very thing for a year. He sighed. “How about I take you somewhere safe and make a bubble bath for you?”

  “Now wait a minute here,” Quan said, stepping closer. “Your dalliance with my daughter almost got her and the leader of the HDD killed. It’s over. It’s time for you to leave.”

  Nari looked up at Angus. “Did he actually just say dalliance?”

  Angus tried not to laugh. “Yeah.”

  Raider looked down the hallway. “Um, gang? I have a cadre of HDD agents headed this way, and while a couple of them didn’t seem to mind your beating up Vaughn, they’re not going to like your being in the administrator’s room.”

  Angus caressed Nari’s arm, then took her hand. “Let’s get out of here.” He started walking toward Raider, who’d already edged into the hallway.

  “Nari? I’m telling you not to leave here. Listen to me,” Quan said, a bark of command in his voice.

  Nari looked over her shoulder, holding tight to Angus’s hand. “I’m glad she’s going to be okay, Quan. Have a nice night.” Then she walked out into the hallway. “I’m starving. Have you eaten?”

  “No.” Angus nodded at the agents watching them leave, and a couple nodded back. “We can grab something on the way home. I’ve had a rough enough day without you trying to cook something.” Her answering laugh was a balm to something inside him that he hadn’t realized needed soothing.

  He opened the outside door. The rain slashed at them, and he took off his jacket and set it over her shoulders.

  She sighed and leaned into him, tripping over her feet. Just how exhausted was she? “Before I forget, the guy spoke to me, and his voice was all raspy. I don’t know if he was faking it or if it was real. Did Lassiter have a raspy voice?”

  “Yes. Very,” Angus said, fury rising in him faster than a tornado. For a second he’d forgotten that Lassiter had had his hands on Nari. Not once, but twice. The bastard really wanted her, but it wasn’t going to happen. Angus didn’t care what he had to do or who he had to go through, but Nari would be safe.

  No matter what.

  They reached the Jeep and Angus sat in the back with Nari, holding her close. She didn’t even pretend not to want to snuggle into him, and it felt good. Right.

  As Raider started the car, his phone buzzed. He pushed a button. “Brigid? You’re on speakerphone.”

  “Hi. I just wanted to let you guys know that Angus’s arrest has hit the news. Pictures, profiles, and everything else. The anchors are making a big deal about the hero FBI agent going bad.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, but I figured you should know.”

  Nari sat up, her body stiffening.

  “No,” Angus said, drawing her near again. “Tomorrow. We’ll deal with the shitstorm tomorrow. For tonight we’re going to be grateful we’re alive and free.”

  For now. It was all he had, and he was going to hold on with both hands.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Nari would never forget the look in Angus’s eyes when he’d barged into the hospital room looking for her. Only her. He’d fought an entire squad of HDD agents to get to her, as if she mattered more than anybody else. Her heart warmed as much as her body as she let the hot, bubbly water cocoon her. Apparently when Angus Force promised a bubble bath, he delivered.

  He walked back into the bathroom and topped off the wineglass sitting on the edge of the tub. “I saw the new bruises when I undressed you.”

  She had almost attacked him at the time, but the bubble bath had been drawn, and he’d been insistent. “Yeah. I fight better than this guy, but he’s no slouch. He brought a gun this time.” She was pretty sure it had been Lassiter, but she didn’t want to ruin the peaceful moment by saying his name again. Not here and not now.

  Angus sat with his own glass of wine, right outside the tub. “I don’t know where Jethro gets this stuff, but it’s pretty good.”

  Amusement tickled through her. “That’s a Sine Qua Non ‘Pearl Clutcher’ Chardonnay from 2012. I’m surprised Jethro let us have it.”

  Angus winced, looking at his glass. “I found it in the wine cellar. Figured he wouldn’t mind.”

  She laughed out loud, stirring the bubbles. Then she sobered, sighing as her muscles soaked in the heat. “I don’t want to spoil the mood, but my brain is going nuts.”

  He looked down at his ripped shirt and pulled it over his head, showcasing that broad, strong chest. “Okay.”

  Now her body went nuts. She shook her head to clear her mind. “I’m not a profiler and don’t know Lassiter like you do, but it’s odd he’s coming after me first, considering I’m the closest one to you.”

  Angus nodded, his torso still looking relaxed—and sexy. “I agree. He likes to draw out the suspense and would want to save you for last. Plus, the risks he has taken in getting to you are extreme. Before, he liked to work under cover of darkness.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked, spreading her fingers through the warm water.

  Angus took another drink of the expensive wine. “All I can figure is that he’s working under some sort of time constraint that we don’t know about. I’ve run it through my mind and just don’t see what it is.” He was quiet for a moment. “Or he may be misdirecting us.”

  Nari blew a bubble away from her mouth and sank deeper into the tub. “Misdirecting us?”

  “Yeah. We’re concentrating on you, while he’s stalking another target. Oh, he would’ve taken you earlier if he could have, but now we’re convinced he’s after you. He might be preparing to take Pippa. Or Brigid, who’s working out of the house and still living in Raider’s apartment until their house is built.”

  “You think Brigid is the most vulnerable?” Nari asked, making a mental note to call her friend. She might need to talk.

  “Now that you quit your outside job, Brigid is the most accessible, although she’s at HDD all day,” Angus said. “But Raider is with her to and from work, as well as at home, and he can fight. Plus, she has been training and is a good shot.”

  Nari took a big sip of her wine before broaching the next subject. “I’m tired of waiting for him to make a move.”

  “Ditto,” Angus said absently.

  “I think we should break up.” She looked at a bruise on his jaw.

  His chuckle wasn’t what she expected. “No.”

  Her gaze flew up to his face. “No? You can’t say no. It’s not up to you.”

  “We just decided to actually date, even though we didn’t exactly say the words, and you want to break up? Of course I ca
n say no. Especially when the reason you want to break up is asinine.” His tone remained slightly amused, but with a thread of steel beneath it.

  Sometimes the guy was a freaking mind reader. “Just hear me out.”

  “Sure.” He took another drink, and his muscled throat was too sexy as he swallowed. “Go for it.”

  She took a deep breath. “Obviously, Lassiter will try for me if he gets the chance.”

  “Yep,” Angus said congenially.

  “So, let’s break up, I go back to work at the HDD and we create a trap.” Her stomach ached at the thought, but at least they’d control the situation, which would be something new.

  Angus finished his glass of wine. “A trap with you as bait.”

  She swallowed. “Yes. It’s not ideal, and it’s terrifying, but if we set the trap right, we’d finally have him.”

  “He’s a genius. You don’t think he’d see a trap a mile away?” Angus asked, sounding merely curious.

  “No. Well, maybe. But if he’s investigated me at all and found out about my problems with Vaughn and the HDD, he’d think I was a hothead.” She partially sat up, warming to the subject. “So my dumping you and returning to work with the new job Opal offered me, maybe even taking a couple of risks, wouldn’t be out of character. I could look like I was being very careful, but still give him some type of opening. Especially if I moved back to my apartment, which would be a great place to lay a trap.”

  Angus thought about it, looking at his empty glass. “Well, it’s a good plan. Sure. Let’s do it.”

  She sat farther up, surprise and anticipation lighting her. “Really?”

  He turned his gaze to her, the green of his eyes the hard edge of a mysterious forest. “No, not really.” He swept out his hand. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

  She sank back down into the bubbles. “For a second there I thought you were going to be reasonable.”

  “Jesus Christ, Nari. Don’t you know me at all?” He set the glass down as if afraid he might snap it in two. “Even if you dumped me, even if you returned to work at HDD, even if you went back and decided to date that moronic and now bruised Vaughn Ealy, I wouldn’t leave you alone for a second until we caught Lassiter. Use you for bait?” He stood, looking broad and dangerous in the soft bathroom light. “Not in a million years.” He leaned down and plucked her right out of the tub.

  She yelped, plastering bubbles all over his bare chest. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking you to bed.” Then he kissed her.

  Hard.

  * * *

  Urgency drove Angus as he tossed her nude and soapy butt on the bed, following her down. The idea that she wanted to use herself as bait with the most dangerous serial killer in the world right now had Angus almost frantic to claim her. His hands cupped her soapy breasts and his head naturally dipped to her core.

  He found her and sucked her clit into his mouth.

  She gasped and stiffened, her nails digging into the bedspread. She tasted like sweetness with a hint of rose-scented bubbles, and he went at her, not giving her a chance to think. He settled in, sliding his hands down her body and popping bubbles to cup her smooth ass and lift her to his mouth.

  She moaned, her head thrashing on the comforter.

  He didn’t go slow or draw it out. Instead, he licked her clit and pressed a finger inside her wet heat. She detonated seconds later, crying out, her body undulating with the force of her orgasm. He let her come down and then placed one kiss on her clit before licking his way up her body and sucking a pert nipple into his mouth.

  Her hands were frantic in his hair, clutching and pulling. Erotic pain shot down his spine. He nipped her other nipple, and her body trembled. “Angus,” she whispered, pulling hard enough on his hair that he had to look up at her flushed face. “Now,” she said, pulling harder.

  He slid up her body, kissing her jawline and positioning himself at her entrance. This was different. She was different, or maybe he was. This was more.

  He pressed inside her, feeling like he was coming home. She held her breath and caressed his arms, down and then back up, spreading her legs wider. The second he was all the way in, he gripped her tight and thrust hard. Then he moved inside her with deep, slow strokes, prolonging the agony for both of them.

  She was here, she was his, and no way was he letting anything happen to her. He was so deep inside her that the pleasure was indescribable. He pounded harder, and the sound of flesh against flesh filled the silent night. Then he stopped.

  Her eyelids flew open. “What are you doing?” she gasped.

  “Getting your attention.” He might die if he didn’t start moving, but this was important.

  “You’ve got it,” she said, scratching his buttocks with her nails.

  He leaned down and kissed her as her internal walls caressed his dick with an insistent pull he wouldn’t be able to ignore for long. “You are not using yourself as bait.” In this most primitive of moments, the woman was going to listen to him. “Tell me you get me.”

  “I’m trying, really hard, to get you.” She moaned, rubbing her breasts against his chest.

  “Try harder,” he suggested, his voice so hoarse he wasn’t sure the words were clear.

  Her eyes opened then, dark pools of feminine knowledge. Meeting his gaze, she tightened her grip on his cock, squeezing with internal muscles he hadn’t known existed.

  His eyes almost rolled back in his head. Oh, she was dangerous. He kissed her deep, claiming her in a way he’d never be able to put into words. Then he grasped her hands and pushed them above her head, holding her in place. Tremors took her, nearly killing him, and soft gasps escaped from her pretty mouth.

  She liked it when he trapped her hands. Interesting.

  Yet he needed more. So much more. He stared into her eyes, looking for the answers to everything. Why was it this one woman who drove him crazy?

  “I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself, Nari.” He said the words with conviction and started to move again, letting the pleasure blind him. He’d thought to fuck the fear and desperation out of both of them, but those thoughts disappeared faster than the bubbles had.

  Instead he could only feel her. See her. Want her.

  He thrust harder and faster, letting himself be taken over for the first time. His hands were firm on hers, and she curled her fingers through his, effectively splintering something inside him and putting the pieces back together around her.

  She cried out and her fingers tightened as her body shook beneath his. The orgasm was powerful around him, and he powered into her harder, deeper, hotter until the zaps of fire licked down his spine and exploded in his balls. He dropped his head to her neck and let the passion have him.

  Coming down, he struggled for breath above her. Gently, he moved his mouth along her neck to kiss her sweet mouth, releasing her hands as he did so. “In case you wondered, the answer to you using yourself as bait is a negative.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  It felt good to have the team back together. Nari chewed happily on one of Pippa’s perfect croissants at her cheerful kitchen table while the rest of the gang read through case files around her. “I still think I should be the bait,” she said, reaching for her mimosa.

  “No,” Angus said absently from his position on the sofa.

  Brigid looked up from across the table. “Hey. I thought I should be bait because I’m probably the easiest to get to.”

  Angus nodded, again not looking up from his file folder. “Good analysis. I figured the same thing.”

  Raider’s head shot up from the adjoining chair. “You think Brigid should be bait for a serial killer?”

  “Hell no,” Angus said, finally lifting his gaze. “Not in a million. After you do a quick dive to investigate the HDD agents we’ve worked with to see if there’s anybody who had a chance to leak information to Lassiter, I think you should take a leave of absence or something and put yourself completely under the radar. Even though HDD is secur
e, you have to go to and from, and it’s not worth the risk.” He bumped knuckles with Raider.

  Nari snuck Roscoe a piece of a bacon roll as Kat licked her ear from his perch on her shoulder. She patted his head. “I missed you too, sweetie.” He meowed softly.

  Wolfe came in from the other room. “Kat’s in a good mood lately because it’s cold outside and I have to wear jackets. Still fits in the side pockets and roots around for old Goldfish Crackers from last year.”

  Jethro finished typing on his laptop next to Brigid. “I’m ready to discuss the quoted passages in the newest notes.”

  Nari sipped her mimosa. “They sounded similar to the other ones.”

  The Brit pushed back his chair from the table. “They’re different. All of Lassiter’s previous passages, even the ones from years ago, dealt with death in one form or another. Self-delusional narcissistic mentions of death, dying, and being the bringer of the end.”

  “What a nutjob,” Dana muttered, next to Angus on the sofa.

  Malcolm leaned against the counter and kept filching cookies as Pippa set them to cool on a mat. “What’s different about these?”

  Jethro’s brows lowered. “The first is from a text written by a wronged lover—guy by the name of Georges Rermante. ‘There once was a starry night upon which the darkness of lovers fell.’” Jethro shook his head. “There isn’t much about him except that he was torn between duty and love, and he chose duty at the end because of betrayal.”

  Angus shook his head. “Why can’t Lassiter just come out and say what he wants to say?”

  Jethro shrugged. “The next is from a poem by a master in chess in the nineteen hundreds. ‘On first glance, the game can only be played according to the limitations on each piece, unless you’re the master of the game.’”

  Nari accepted a warm cookie from Pippa. “Sounds like he’s the master and it’s the same narcissistic theme.”

  “At first glance,” Jethro agreed. “But when you delve into the life of the chess master, a guy by the name of Norm Litehnshaw, you see more. He fell in love with his brother’s wife and turned quite mad. Oh, he was probably nuts in the first place, but she became all he thought about, and he lost the ability to play chess. He lost everything until he killed her.”