The ever-intrusive and yet polite Mr. Fromm clears his throat. “Mr. and Dr. Wulf? The ambassador requests your presence.”
“Give us five.” Axel groans, shoots me an evil grin, and kisses me. “Make it ten.”
“I’ll let them know. If you like, I left some clean clothes for you.” A short blast of orgasmic delight later, we dress in military sweats.
Hands intertwined, we follow the assistant down the hallway to the conference room where Slate holds open the door.
As we pass, I tap his arm. “I haven’t thanked you and the team yet for coming to my rescue and I-”
“You’re welcome.” Smiling, he nods as if he hadn’t just cut me off.
But I still have unanswered questions and may never have another chance to ask them.
After we follow him inside, I choose the wing-backed chair next to him and lean into his ear. “You jumped over a lot of red tape to save me. How?”
His brows raise, and the hint of a smile forms on his lips. “You may have made a favorable impression on the president last year.”
Realizing I won’t get anything more from the taciturn man, I lean back, fold my arm over my chest, and mutter, “Let the games begin.”
The other two squares must’ve packed up and gone home. Now, only the FBI director’s scowling face looms from the projected screen.
“Are you and your wife feeling morerested, Special Agent Wulf?” Ignoring Quail’s sarcasm, my husband folds his hands and places them on the polished oak.
“Yes, sir. And thank you for your concern, sir.” Axel’s face gives nothing away and for once, I appreciate his almost supernatural abilities.
The head of all the FBI glares at us, much like the wizard before the curtain revealed him to be a charlatan. “I’d like to know how one of my men, who is supposedly on vacation, ends up with a goddamn group of mercenaries in Belarus!”
I’m about to jump up to defend my man until his knee bumps mine. His arrogant smile tells me not to worry. Staring directly into the conference room’s camera, he lifts his chin and squeezes my fingers.
“Well, sir, this is how it went down. My wife and I were engaged in marital relations when suddenly, Interpol’s Brittany Babcock pounded on our honeymoon cottage’s door. She claimed she found a rat in Thomas Ledbetter’s organization who wanted me to meet up immediately.”
“You didn’t find this strange?” His unfair accusations make it hard to stay quiet, especially because Axel’s defense appears weak.
Instead of getting angry, my man shrugs, his voice flat. “Sometimes, breaks in an important case happen at the most inopportune times. I determined the risk was minimal.”
Axel glances at me when I growl under my breath. Not for the first time, I wonder what might have happened if I hadn’t’ve followed them to the tiki bar or if I had ignored Danbury in the hotel.
Feeling the need to change the direction of these proceedings, I stand. “Director Quail, did you find the guy who shot me?”
Brows raised, the head of the FBI motions to someone standing off-screen. After a suited twenty-ish man whispers in his ear, he nods and returns his attention to the virtual meeting. “Delaware State Police arrested a local thug for attempted murder. Not able to make bail, he remains behind bars. He claims a woman hired him.”
And all this time I thought the assassin was Danbury or Ledbetter’sidea. “Fucking Brittany.” I say this under my breath, at least I hope so.
“And Dr. Wulf?” Thankfully, Quail is across the Atlantic and can’t see my knees shake.
“Yes?” I’m pretty sure I know what he’s going to say next.
“I assume there is no proof to his claim you shot him with a weapon which gave him a heart attack?”
“Correct.” I love how he worded the question, so I don’t have to lie.
His giant head takes up the whole wall. “We will address this breach in security later. Right now, I’d like to return the focus to Danbury. Wulf?”
My husband scrubs his hand across his beard. “Well, after I spoke with Ms. Babcock, I agreed to meet with her informant, but he failed to appear.”
“Because your wife followed you. Isn’t that correct?” He scowls at me, and my face heats. Holy crap, I pray my actions don’t get my spouse fired.
As always, Axel shields me. “My better half had concerns for my safety. Considering what happened, she did well to act on her suspicions.”
