Sprawled out across the entire width of the bed, she’d forced him to the edge of the king-sized bed. Damn. She took up a lot of space and was pushing him around, even in her sleep. He’d just have to reclaim his spot…
The phone buzzed again. He slowly disengaged himself from her casted right arm, which had been resting across his chest. He gently propped her wrist on his pillow before he slid gingerly out of the bed, trying not to wake her. She sighed with the movement but then returned to muted snuffles and snores.
Ryder had texted him. “Your brother wants admission to the suite.”
Lars stared at his phone. It was eleven p.m. It didn’t take a Mensa membership to know which brother.
Taking his gun from the bedside stand, he walked into the bathroom, closed the door on the shining light, and texted Ryder back. “Tell Sten to come in quietly. Danni is sleeping.”
Lars jumped into the shower. Sten could wait since he decided to show up unannounced, possibly breaking Lars’s cover. Sten was too smart to commit such an amateur mistake.
Lars slipped into clean jeans and a T-shirt with his gun snug in his shoulder holster. He wasn’t sure how Danni would want to handle his brother’s appearance. Danni’s clothes were all over the living room after last night’s sex on the couch. Lars would never hear the end of it.
He strode over to the bed. Danni hadn’t changed her position since he left to shower. Lars resisted the need to kiss her, taking care not to wake her. She needed the rest.
Lars sauntered into the living room to find both Sten and Izzy with wine glasses in their hands, admiring the view.
“Help yourself, why don’t you?” Irritation crawled up his spine. He could handle Sten’s reaction to Lars and Danni together, but Izzy would be a whole different kettle of pickled herring.
Sten turned and grinned. “Thank you. We did.”
Lars scanned the couch for Danni’s clothes as he crossed to join them. The clothes were now folded into a neat pile on the end of the couch, her underwear nowhere in sight. He was sure that Sten hadn’t folded the clothes. There would be hell to pay when all the women found out, and he had no doubt they would. Neither he nor Danni needed her friends going ballistic about their budding relationship.
Lars hugged Izzy. Facing his brother out of Izzy’s view, he gave his twin his wide-eyed WTF look.
“What a great surprise.” He could barely get the words out. The lie almost caught in his throat.
Sten’s eyes, so like his own, were bright with amusement.
“Hey, great to see you too.” Sten’s entertained tone was hard enough without the Jenkins smart-ass grin. Sten wouldn’t still be laughing when Lars put him in a chokehold and took him to the ground. Dumbass.
Sten kept grinning, knowing how pissed off Lars was that he and Izzy had shown up. “Izzy and I were worried about Danni after Reeves told us about Young’s body. Once we heard that you were in New York, we caught the next train out; made it here in less than three hours on the fast train from DC. We came to help.”
“You know Danni and I are undercover. And you showing up could totally blow up the identity we’ve assumed.”
“I know you’re in your author identity, RJ Phillips.”
“Exactly, and RJ Phillips doesn’t have a twin.”
“Yeah. That still hurts. How come your author identity couldn’t include a twin?”
Lars shook his head. Why have this conversation? There was no way to win.
“We booked the suite next to yours under false names. So no one will know that we’re here.”
“You can afford a suite here?”
“Do you get a different salary than I do from Uncle Sam? Izzy’s paying. It helps to have a girlfriend who has started getting payouts from her patents.”
Laughing, Izzy elbowed Sten.
“Hey, that hurts.”
Resigned to the fact that his brother wouldn’t be leaving, Lars walked to the kitchen. “Did you guys have dinner? I can call down to the restaurant.”
Izzy shook her head. “We ate on the train.”
Sten followed Lars to the kitchen. “I could always have another meal. The train food was pretty light.”
Lars had his head bent to the refrigerator. “It looks like we might have to order. Not much here but snacks and drinks.”
“I’ll order. And should I order something for Danni?”
“Yep. Order the same Jenkins special for her.”
Sten stepped to the phone on the side table and ordered three rare filets mignons with mashed potatoes and a salad.
“Why am I not surprised that the Jenkins boys don’t subscribe to a plant-based diet?”
Finished with the call, Sten joined Izzy at the center island. “We all eat healthy except when offered a chance to have a five-star meal. Too many years of eating MREs.”
“Before Danni wakes up, I want to hear how you plan to ‘help.’” Lars couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice.
“I’m here to be backup when you have to go do your author stuff. Don’t you feel better having me protecting Danni?”
“Hey, Nick’s guys are solid.” Lars trusted them. They were seasoned, well-trained Marine Raiders. But Sten was right. He did feel better knowing that Sten would be another layer between Danni and Miro. He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Maybe? Face it, bro, love can really mess up a man’s ability to stay focused.” Sten failed royally at trying to hide his grin.
“Some of us aren’t…” Lars stumbled, about to respond with “pulled around by our dicks,” but stopped when he realized how offensive it would sound to Izzy.
“Sure, whatever you say, bro.”
There were times when he hated the twins thing, where Sten knew exactly what he was thinking.
Lars didn’t like the way Izzy scrutinized his face, looking for his reaction to the “L” word. Not that it was any of her business. He didn’t think he gave Izzy an I-can-kill-you-with-my-bare-hands look when he returned her stare, but she blinked and shifted in her stool.
“I’ve been helping Reeves with the search for Miro and the Sinaloa Cartel. With my NSA credentials, I’ve been able to access DEA.” Izzy had been recruited to work for the NSA for her work on AI and its inherent security risks after her ex-boyfriend tried to frame her and sell her AI research to the Russians and the Chinese. Her ex had been indicted as a traitor and wouldn’t be seeing sunlight for a long time.
“I thought hacking was a real big no-no at the NSA.”
“My hacking days are done. I accessed DEA legitimately by first running Danni’s situation involving the Sinaloa Cartel by my boss.”
“Izzy’s the wunderkind at NSA. And her boss wants to keep her happy.” There was so much pride and admiration in Sten’s voice and the look he leveled at Izzy. God, his twin was whipped. His brothers were biting the dust one by one.
“Did you find anything?” Lars didn’t want to think about what shit his brothers would give him about his feelings for Danni when he never missed a chance to harass them about their relationships.
“Knowing you were headed here, I searched for what ties Sinaloa or Miro might have in NYC. And it looks like Miro has a cousin, a Santos Lopez, who is a member of the Bushwick Crew gang.”
“Bushwick Crew? Bushwick, like in Brooklyn?” Lars paced in front of the island in the center of the kitchen, too hyped by the new intel to stand still.
“The Sinaloa Cartel uses street gangs to police and run their drug distribution. Corporate outsourcing—their new business model. The gangs are violent and street savvy. It’s rather like using local mercenaries. The DEA believes that Lopez is running his own side business of human trafficking with the help of his older cousin.”
“And why am I not surprised that Miro’s relatives are as sick and violent as he is?” His happy mood took a nosedive. Was he ever going to get Danni away from Miro without major DEA intervention? And knowing how effective DEA had been with the war on drugs didn’t instill a lot of hope.
“I’m trying to find out more information about the trafficking ring to see if we can locate Lopez.”
“That’s why you came?” Lars looked at his brother, reading all the alarm on Sten’s face. “Miro has easy access to men in New York.”
All of Lars’s excitement about exploring New York with Danni deflated. He didn’t intend to terrify her, but he’d have to justify his decision to veto any outside activities.
“Can you wait and let me tell Danni when the timing is right? She hasn’t had any downtime or chance to regroup since this whole thing started. We moved safe houses twice and then headed here. She’s still healing from her injuries.”
“Of course,” Izzy said. “I’m here to do whatever makes Danni happy.”
“Really?”
All three turned to the sound of Danni’s voice. She was in the hotel’s lush white bathrobe, her hair falling tumultuously around her shoulder. She looked like she had stepped out of a shampoo commercial minus the cast, black eyes, and the ankle brace.
Izzy bolted out of the stool and rushed to Danni to pull her into her arms. “Oh, my God. You scared the bejesus out all of us. I’m so glad to see you. We’ve all been worried about you. I’m to report back.”
Lars cringed. He bet the women wanted every detail. What would Danni tell them?
“It’s a great surprise to see you.” Danni towered over Izzy and met his eyes, the heat flaring between them. Was she as disappointed as he was that they weren’t alone?
Hell, he wished for Izzy and Sten to disappear, taking with them every bad news item about Miro and his cousin. All he wanted to think about was her beautiful body, naked under that bathrobe. What he would gladly give to run his hands down her smooth skin, perfectly warm in her robe. How he wanted to keep her safe and unafraid in this suite, protected from the dark and dirty world.
“How can you look radiant and beautiful with two black eyes and a purple bruise?” Izzy asked.
“You should have seen me four days ago. Lars couldn’t hide his horrified reaction.”
“You know that isn’t true. You were…” Lars realized that Sten and Izzy had stopped talking and were watching the volleys between Danni and Lars like a match at Wimbledon.
Izzy took Danni’s arm and led her to the couch. “I’m here to pamper you. I was thinking of all the ways to make you feel better. Tomorrow we could do a spa day. The spa downstairs is fabulous.”
“What a great idea. I hadn’t thought of it, but it would be perfect. I love their Phyto Aromatic Body Treatment.”
“It’s my favorite. It got me through some crazy days at work. The spa was like taking a trip to Paris and totally getting away from my job and all the stresses.”
“I forgot that you lived in the city.”
“We have to go to the Gallery restaurant here for high tea. The scones and cucumber sandwiches are the best.”
Danni laughed, her eyes alight with happiness. Lars found himself grinning back. His respect for Izzy skyrocketed based on her thoughtful suggestions that kept Danni cloistered and safe in the hotel with the team in place, while giving her a break from the suite.
“Food from the Gallery was the first thing she demanded when she arrived,” Lars joked, joining in the charade that this was a holiday and not them running for their lives.
Danni beamed, her eyes filled with mischief. “I think you enjoyed it too.”
She was such a tease to remind him that they had eaten the food in bed after their second episode of lovemaking, where he proceeded to lick the scone crumbs from her body. Heat thrummed through his body, thinking of Danni all flushed from his ministrations.
Lars realized that Sten was right. He was distracted by his intense feelings for her. He had to stay on top of his game. “You need to elevate your ankle and wrist. I’ll get you some pillows.”
Danni stuck her tongue out at him.
Lars didn’t miss the raised eyebrows that Izzy shot Sten. Was Danni ready to declare them as a couple? The timing was all wrong. This wasn’t a romantic holiday. He couldn’t allow himself to get sidetracked and miss something vital because he was mooning over her.
Lars could hear Danni’s low chuckle at something Sten said when he returned to the living room. He tucked a pillow underneath Danni’s wrist, trying hard not to lean forward and kiss her.
Her ankle was warm, and it took all his Raider control not to run his hand along her calf to reassure her that he would do anything to keep her as safe and happy as she was now. Even if it meant that he had to distance himself. “The swelling looks better, but it is definitely worse from the flight.”
Danni looked up at him, her eyes warm and open. Her nearness was too much. He cleared his throat. “I ordered dinner for you. It should be here soon.”
“Thank you.”
Izzy and Sten were engrossed in every word and touch between him and Danni. He didn’t need an audience right now when he was sorting out the maelstrom of his feelings.
Danni grabbed his hand, pulling him next to her on the couch. “Before dinner arrives, we need to talk about Miro’s cousin and how we’re going to handle this new threat.”
No fooling Danni. She was too clever to miss anything. And with Miro as their enemy, it was a good thing.
Chapter Twenty
Danni followed Lars out of the bedroom. She didn’t want him to leave without resolving the tension between them. With last night’s information from Izzy about Miro’s cousin, Lars wanted to change his schedule and remain at Danni’s side. She and Sten had argued with Lars that keeping his cover was vital. Danni didn’t want him to sacrifice his important meetings. He didn’t understand that she didn’t want to be the victim that he had to protect. The hardheaded marine couldn’t be convinced that she’d remain safe with the team.
After agreeing not to talk about it in the bedroom, they shared an incredible intimate night. Lars was tender and loving, worshiping her like a goddess. This morning, her sensitive lover had reverted back to the bulldog commando, arguing why he shouldn’t leave her side. When she wouldn’t agree, he left the bedroom with a perfunctory goodbye kiss.
He had his hand on the doorknob, about to leave. She couldn’t let him go like this.
“Lars?”
His eyes widened when he turned, and then he grinned as she rushed toward him. He opened his arms, and she pressed against him as she fiercely took his lips. And if she hadn’t had an audience, she would have wrapped her legs around him. Ankle brace be damned. After her passionate kiss declared how much she cared, she whispered, “Have a good lunch.”
His shock didn’t last long before he returned her demanding kiss with a knee-shaking one of his own. “Let’s go back to the bedroom. We never fight there.”
Sten cleared his throat. “Bro, you’re making all of these marines blush!”
Ryder guffawed. “Oh, right. We’re really embarrassed.”
She could hear the silent and a little scary Grayson chuckle.
She had just revealed their relationship without talking with Lars. Like the men and Sten and Izzy didn’t know. At this point, she didn’t care what anyone thought. And she didn’t care that her girlfriends had all texted her last night wanting to discuss whether it was wise to rush into anything. The unspoken question was after Jax’s inability to commit, was Lars the right choice? And the answer was a resounding “yes.”
“It will be great to get a massage after the travel.” She adjusted his shirt collar that had gotten crushed in her ferocious hug.
Although his face didn’t change expression, she knew he was silently replaying his arguments. “I’ll be back before you’re finished at the spa. And remember—”
She touched her finger to his lips. “Don’t say anything.”
During the last half hour in their bedroom, when she wouldn’t back down, Lars had repeated every safety precaution that she needed to take—where the cameras were in the spa lobby and if she saw anything or anyone suspicious that she was to return immediately to Sten.
Reeves had vetted all the women working at the spa before they made their appointment. Lars wouldn’t be reassured by the fact that the Carlyle routinely hosted presidents, and the staff had passed the Secret Service security clearance.
Lars gently bussed her lips. “I’ll miss you.”
“Me too.”
And he was gone. RJ Phillips, successful writer, was off to discuss possible film deals that he had been working toward. The room suddenly felt very empty without him, but she wouldn’t allow him to miss this important opportunity. Not because he had to play bodyguard.
“We probably should head out too. Our appointments are in five minutes,” Izzy said.
“You’re right. I’m ready.”
Danni and Izzy were both having massages and manicures. Danni didn’t want anyone to touch her face or her feet but having color on her fingernails would definitely help the aggravation of being in a cast. The idea that she had to wear a wig for a massage felt like they were overdoing the precautions, but she had promised Lars.
Izzy’s appearance was serendipitous. Over lunch, Danni planned to elicit Izzy’s help in finding the stalker. Izzy was a brilliant hacker who also had two functioning typing hands. The FBI and DEA were most likely tearing apart the Chinese woman’s financial records looking for evidence of the money laundering. Danni hoped that Izzy would have access to the files and could find the person who ordered the t-shirt. Danni had to trust the FBI and DEA to do their jobs, but it didn’t mean that Danni couldn’t continue her work. She always honored her commitments.
“I’m heading down.” Grayson was on lobby duty while Ryder was covering the outside periphery of the hotel. Sten would be guarding the entrances to the spa, which was on the third floor. Dylan was accompanying Lars. There had been a heated discussion with Lars protesting he didn’t need protection and insisting everyone should be guarding her. Dylan would accompany him to make sure Lars didn’t have a tail coming to and from the hotel—just in case Miro had made the connection between RJ Phillips and Lars Jenkins. No one mentioned that the easiest way to get to Danni was to take out Lars.
Mission: Impossible to Protect (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 6) Page 14
