“Uh huh. I pull the fire alarm. All I need is a few minutes. I will do it with or without your help. I mean it.”
Chapter 5
Sam
“Fine. But you ain’t going into his room, y’hear? Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” His Scooby tail wags as he stomps out of the ballroom but when he returns, his brows are less scrunched so I assume he cleared the mission with Slate.
“In and out. Got it?” He puts an arm around my waist and as he passes Vladimir, Suds winks. “I’m taking a short break with this sweet thing. Be right back.”
“Take your time.” The Russian grins lecherously, eyes roaming up and down my body.
“Thanks. Come along little darlin’. We got some serious fucking to do.” He walks me out into the hall and pushes the up button in the elevator bay.
Holy shit. We’ve been married for over a year and I never heard him use that kind of language... at least not in front of others. “What the hell?”
My laid-back husband’s voice grows short and tight, his eyes dark and menacing. “I thought we agreed, if we ever want to have kids, no more dangerous assignments.”
“Whoa… I did not kidnap myself. This is not my fault.” I poke his rock hard chest, hurting my finger in the process.
“Is it ever?” He rolls his eyes.
I ponder for at least a floor and a half and stop to answer with all honesty, “Not recently, no.”
“So tell me. Why can’t someone else at the FBI break into good ol’ Vlad’s room and look for evidence of a terrorist attack? Huh?” The elevator pings, stops, and the door slides opens for no one.
Hoping to avoid this argument, I press the shut button ten or twelve times but Suds chucks my chin.
“Saaaam?” He leans in until our noses touch trying to capture my gaze but it’s too intense so I glance down at my shiny Mary Janes.
“Umm… No one else knows. Not yet… but wait. Don’t get mad.”
“Ah fuck.” The bell overhead dings and as we exit on his floor, I try to explain.
“It’s not what you think.”
Suds literally growls so I don’t say anything until he swipes his keycard. He pulls me into the bathroom, runs the shower, and backs me to the door with an elbow on either side of my head.
“Spill it. Every-goddamned-fucking-thing.” He’s being so unreasonable. I haven’t done anything to deserve this kind of treatment. I’m an equal partner or so I thought.
“Fine. Because our last cases have gained national attention, Kessler’s catching a lot of grief for letting me go. When his new boss learned we caught the covid strangler, I’m guessing the shit hit the fan.” I squirm to get out of his reach but he pins me in place.
“I don’t see what this has to do with you breaking into Vladimir’s hotel room.”
“Hold on.” For a guy who holds the world’s record in rambling, he sure can be impatient. “So, anyhoo, the president asked the FBI to look into the possibility Russians are practicing gene splicing on humans to give them paranormal abilities.”
“Para-noid, more likely.” He scoffs. “I’m not buying it.”
“I didn’t either, at first but while researching, I found out Oblonsky’s firm owns several labs. That’s why the FBI kidnapped me. They’re usingmeto useyouto get tohim.”
“And you’re just going to do it?” Suds narrows his gaze, his jaw muscles pulsing.
My palm reaches to his neck and my fingers curl under his hairline at the back. “Honey, I wasn’t… well, until Jason corroborated my evidence. Did you know your client’s family has been breeding selectively since the sixteen hundreds… maybe before?”
“Okay, Sam. You’re creeping me out.” Turning his head, he kisses my hand, then holds it.
“Yeah, I know, but it gets worse. I think Vladimir actually has found a DNA sequence. It causes spontaneous human combustion, mind-reading, and other weird abilities.”
The moment I finish, Suds bursts out laughing. “C’mon now, Sam. Now you’re messin’ with me.”
