The Espionage Effect(45)
Notably absent, however, were the leaders of the world’s behemoth global superpowers, Russia, China, and the United States. Not a coincidence?
With my growing awareness, the magnitude of the event pressed in even as it countered the heaviness with buoyant excitement. I blew out a slow breath. The stakes of a game I didn’t yet understand the rules of suddenly ratcheted higher.
Then, as if to keep my whole essence in perfect balance, the darkness hidden deep inside me rose to the surface, cynical as ever. The people around me weren’t good in all aspects, many not on any level. All held positions so powerful, corruption became inevitable. None wore masks, yet in the entire majestic room before me stood the great masquerade. Behind the shellac of outer beauty, lay the ugliness of inherent evil, where loyalties went to the highest bidder and human lives were expendable currency.
The cold tendrils of my darkest thoughts grounded me, reminded me who I was, set the pretty superficial world into proper perspective again—untainted by the falsity of rose-colored glasses.
All of a sudden, my wandering gaze froze. My train of thought derailed completely.
Alec.
He entered from a hallway on the far side of the room. A large dark-featured man walked closely beside him as they spoke rapidly. The man laughed, nodded, then composed his expression as nearby guests turned his way. A wave rippled through the crowd, in movement and hushed whispers, as everyone turned with accelerating swiftness toward the new arrivals.
All except me.
Stunned temporarily immobile, I stared at Alec. All logical thought vanished.
A heartbeat later, his gaze landed on me. His eyes narrowed. A muscle in his jaw tensed. The slight movement of his arms suggested he’d slid his hands into his pants pockets. Then he tilted his head ever so slightly.
Unable to stop myself, I drifted forward. Drawn to him in a way I didn’t fully understand, the tether between us pulled taut, unrelenting. In those stretched seconds, nothing else mattered. He’d become everything. Addictive. Magnetic.
Dangerous.
A faint warning bell clanged at the edge of my awareness, but it went unheeded. Regardless of what little I knew about him, the daunting stature of the man beside him, the combined deadly power of all the rulers around me, I fell prey to him, undeniably attracted.
As the distance between us narrowed, when only twenty feet remained, then fifteen, ten, five, his imposing companion’s attention shifted toward me, lips twitching as he stared at me. Then he swung his gaze toward Alec. A full-blown smirk curled his lips as he arched a heavy menacing brow. “Well, I’d introduce the two of you, but I haven’t had the honor of meeting the goddess shining brightly among our sea of mortals.” He stared hard at Alec, narrowing his eyes. “And I get the sense you’ve already met.”
Alec never wavered his gaze from mine. Only gave the man a short nod. “She’s a guest at the Belmond.”
“We met a few days ago,” I said. A smile played at the corners of my lips as I stared at Alec and taunted him with the memory.
“Bumped into each other,” he added, playing the game.
“Crashed would be more accurate.”
“Indeed.” His face tilted down a fraction, gaze holding steady with mine.
As the tone avalanched into heavy innuendo, a hot flush crept up my neck. Amusement sparked in Alec’s eyes, as if he enjoyed knowing where my thoughts had fallen. I gave him a smug half-grin, pleased his mind had landed there too.
The man beside him cleared his throat.
Alec immediately broke the connection we had, turning toward him. “Forgive my rudeness. This beautiful woman is Devin Hill. Devin, this is Alfredo Escobar.”
The father. Our target.
I instantly chastised myself for not remembering the man we’d viewed through those high-tech sunglasses, not recognizing the physical resemblance to Miguel, and not picking up on the cues from the commotion in the room through my Alec-induced blinding haze. Then with as much casualness as I could muster, I reassessed the man beside Alec.
Tall and broad, handsome in an understated way, confident, yet unpretentious, Alfredo Escobar didn’t appear evil. He didn’t even seem unpleasant. Powerful? Yes. But in a charismatic way.
Damn. As the realization hit me, I let out a slow breath. His son seemed equally as charming. So was Anna in danger, or wasn’t she?
Who was the real villain? Rifling back through my memories, I realized Alec hadn’t clarified. He had reacted negatively to the mention of Miguel.
Could our target be both men?
Escobar reached his hand out toward me, his calculating gaze locked on to mine. Uncertain I wanted the man to touch me, yet willing to do whatever necessary to play the part in our charade, become the secret agent I yearned to be, I lifted my hand on a steady inhalation.
Flesh slid across flesh. His skin felt surprisingly warm, his grip solid. In grand gesture, he bent down and brushed his lips over the back of my hand in a kiss. Soft. Polite. Not in any way the repulsive sensation one would expect from a…megalomaniac—an astute extrapolation with the power of the world he’d amassed in one location tonight.
“Clearly our local resorts attract the most exotic of creatures.” His tone had lowered, thick accented voice gravelly. “A true pleasure to meet you.”
Engaging in proper social protocol, I canted my head toward him as he released my hand. “The pleasure is mine.” Not entirely a lie. Getting close to a man who would serve as a worthy adversary held a certain satisfaction.