A Cold Dark Promise (Cold Justice #8.5)(25)
“No, I didn’t. I don’t think Alex expected the cavalry to turn up like this today, either. My assignment was to look out for you, which is why I hate the idea of you confronting your ex now.”
She flinched. The idea of being just a job hurt.
“Hey,” he said, reading her correctly. “Didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy being your protection.” He moved a tendril of hair across her cheek and behind her ear. She shivered, and he mistook her reaction for fear. “Not all men are scumbags, you know.”
“I do know.” She hunched her shoulders and took another bite of her sandwich, wishing she didn’t have these tangled feelings for her bodyguard. How clichéd could she be? How pathetically desperate and needy to be attracted to this guy.
“I still feel like an idiot for marrying Ahmed and I don’t trust myself now not to make another colossal mistake.”
He pressed his lips together, and she couldn’t help but imagine them on her skin.
“How about when this is all over I teach you some basic self-defense moves? That way if you do ‘make a mistake,’” his voice roughened with what might have been disapproval, but she didn’t think it was aimed at her, “you can at least try to fight back.”
She took a sip of water. Wiped her mouth with the back of her trembling hand. Her eyes met and held his. “I doubt I’ll see you again once this is over.”
“What if you did?” She read more than professional interest in his gaze now. “What do you have to lose if all I do is teach you how to make someone hurt so bad they can’t even scream?”
What would it hurt? Nothing, she realized. It would feel good to know how to fight back. It was about time she built something constructive out of her fear. The real risk was spending more time with Reilly—taking a chance on being someone’s friend was much scarier than taking a lover.
If she had Taylor back, being able to defend herself and her child would be a good thing. If she didn’t…she forced that thought out of her mind.
“I’d like that.” She looked down and realized that although she’d thought she couldn’t eat a bite, she’d actually polished off the whole sandwich and most of the water. He’d got her to think about something besides confronting her ex and finding her daughter. She smiled slightly.
“That’s settled then,” he said. As if the future was guaranteed.
And the idea of seeing him again after this was all over…she didn’t like how excited that made her feel. Like a teen catching sight of her crush.
“Thank you.” She touched his hand, and he stilled for a moment. “For everything.”
Reilly took the plate and cup from her and stood. She found herself looking up his flat stomach and broad chest, all the way to those calm, intelligent eyes that were the same blue as the Aegean Sea. He reached out and slid his hand gently along her jawline. One side of his wide mouth kicked up. “Let’s go get your kid back.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dressed all in black and carrying a waterproof sack on his back, Alex soundlessly climbed the rope up the side of the Fair Winds and slid over the rail onto the deck. Tinkling laughter came from the stern where Masook and his guests sat enjoying nightcaps. Intel on the other guests suggested they were potential investors in Masook’s legitimate construction business that the Saudi was trying to expand, probably as part of his cover for being here. They appeared innocent regarding Masook’s illegal arms dealing—on the surface, anyway.
All except Salamander.
The fact Alex wanted to put a bullet between Salamander’s too-close-together eyes was beside the point. Salamander’s death wasn’t his objective today, and Alex had plenty of experience compartmentalizing his emotions.
Whatever Masook was selling must be worth a lot of money if Charles Salamander had dared to risk leaving Morocco.
Alex paused in the shadows and glanced toward the Ascension. Noah Zacharias was keeping watch on both Alex and the Russians. The man sent a click to Alex’s PTT headset to indicate the coast was clear.
There were two guards on each deck. Alex headed up a ladder to where the helicopter crouched like a big, fat hornet. First, he took out the guard at the prow, dragging the unconscious man out of sight, binding him, and removing the guard’s earpiece and inserting it into his own ear. Alex dropped the guard’s gun quietly into the water and headed back toward the copter.
The second guard stood watching the quay. Alex waited until the sentry moved out of sight of the Russian vessel moored on the other side of the Fair Winds. Alex didn’t doubt the Russians would be watching this boat to keep an eye on the biological weapon, and to gather any potential Kompromat on people aboard. Alex had no desire to appear on their radar.
He put the guard in a sleeper hold. Then zip-tied his wrists and ankles together, slapping duct-tape over the man’s mouth. Alex removed comms and weapons before quietly dropping them into the water with a silent apology to the fish.
They’d discussed the best way to disable the helicopter and had gone with Logan Masters’s suggestion, which Alex attached carefully to the tail rotor, before setting the detonator. He wished he could be a little more blasé about using explosives.
He shrugged out of the light-weight, black, zippered jacket, revealing a white shirt, black bow tie and cufflinks. He wore black dress pants and pulled black dress shoes out of his bag and slipped them on his bare feet. He’d borrowed the clothes from Frazer who’d obviously been channeling James Bond when he’d packed for this mission.