His words were a splash of cold water in the face, and fear shivered up my spine. I vividly recalled the dead rat I’d found on the doormatinsidemy apartment that morning. The threat was obvious. It meant someone knew that I was up to no good, that I was going rogue. I’d assumed that whoever was threatening me wasn’t part of the government, or I’d already be whisked away to some black site, never to be heard from again.
I thought I’d been paying attention, despite his distracting presence, but clearly, it hadn’t been enough. Even after he’d told me about the watching eyes, it still took me a good minute tocatch them. But he was right. I was under scrutiny by several eyes in this room. Guards, undercover and in uniform. How had I missed it? It was chilling to think I’d been so fixated on this theft that I’d forgotten the most basic parts of my training.
But what choice did I have? I still had to go through with this. It was my only chance, mylastchance before they got to me. Even if I didn’t steal the data tonight, I doubted they’d let me get close enough for another shot. If I wanted to know the truth and reveal it to the world, stealing the data tonight was my only option.
How had this stranger, this soldier in a tux, known what I was up to though? He had as much training as I had in this game, or he wouldn’t have seen what I’d missed. Did he know, even before we spoke, what my plan was? The way he talked, and the language he used, made it obvious that he was a soldier to the bone.
“I can see your mind working,” he said when I had yet to respond to his statement. “You’re trying to balance the risk and the reward. Figure out if you can still get away with it. Don’t. You’ll be dead before the night is over. Don’t you want to see the new year?” His exotic eyes flicked from my face to the countdown display on the other side of the dance floor.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said with a dry mouth. When in doubt, deflect; that was my mantra. Usually, playing dumb was just the ticket, but Ian was too clever for that. He gave me an amused smirk that said it all, he knew I was lying, and he thought it was cute that I even tried.
“Yeah, you do, darling,” he said, spinning us to a stop at the edge of the dance floor. His hands glowed against my sides, spanning my waist far too much to be civilized. He was abigguy, tall, broad-shouldered, and if his hands and feet were any indication… No, I didn’t even have to guess on that front. Standing as close together as we were, I could feel the outline of his cock press against my stomach. A hot brand, shamelessly hard, and he didnothingto even hide it.
“Stay away from the general,” he warned me, his voice turning commanding in a way that made me want to bristle. I was never good with authority, that’s why I did well in the spy game when thinking outside the box saved lives. It had driven my handler absolutely wild, but that was all par for the course.
“No,” I said, “He’s a friend. That would be rude.” That made him laugh, of all things, shaking his head at me, gray eyes glittering while they crinkled charmingly at the corners. I stepped out of his arms and to battle the urge to ball my fists, I crossed them over my chest in a closed-off posture. “Excuse me, I have better things to do.” I didn’t bother to make up a reasonable lie for leaving, he didn’t need one.
He didn’t stop me when I stalked away, but I could feel his eyes linger on me all the way across the room. It should have felt threatening, and I should have been more worried about whohewas and why he was there. It felt like a caress instead, it almost, but that was crazy, felt like protection.
That was why his betrayal later that evening hurt when I should have been expecting it.
Chapter 4
Killian
The stubborn female wasn’t going to back off, of that I was certain. I could see how she circled the room to work her way slowly back toward her target. She was good at what she did, casual and calm as she struck up conversations with those she crossed paths with. She took a meandering route too, nothing suspicious about it, but the watchers still watched.
That was to my advantage actually, they were so focused on her, that they did not watch for other threats. Being confused for her boyfriend by the general also gave me the perfect excuse to approach him again. I needed to strike first, so my stubborn Daria couldn’t get herself into more trouble.
I was closer to him, and as luck would have it, he wanted to talk to me as much as I wanted to talk to him. Soon I was standing side by side with the male next to a dazzling exhibit of golden statuettes. We were pretending to admire it, but really, both of us were staring straight through the glass case that housed the artifact and at Daria on the other side.
“So, you and little Daria,” the general huffed from next to me, his arms resting in an at-ease pose at his side that didn’t fool me. This male felt like my mate was a daughter to him, and I was about to get interviewed about my intentions. It was good to know my female had a male watching out for her that way, even if I had a feeling that she and him werenoton the same side.
“Yes, sir,” I responded, “I’ll take good care of her.” I couldn’t stop the reflex to glance to the nearest undercover guard watching my female. If it were up to me, I’d blow my cover and take them all out for threatening my female. Completing this mission and then getting her out of here was going to have the be the next best thing.
“I see, and how did you meet?” he inquired, and I fed him some lines about meeting at a party, about a connection at first sight. As close to the truth as I could keep it, I wasn’t about to tell him I was talking aboutthisparty. Small talk was a skill I was good at, and I drew him into a comfortable conversation about his hobbies in no time.
A handshake, a slap on the shoulder, even under the watchful gazes of his two nearby bodyguards. That was all it took to slip the data chip pinned to his uniform from his collar and exchange it for the decoy. In moments I had what I had come here for, the pin burning a hole in my pocket.
When I slipped away afterward, I was certain no one had caught what I’d done. No one except my mate. It was her sharp eyes that tracked me from the large room and its festivities. It was she who slipped out after me and chased me to a private alcove. Perfect. I had her exactly where I wanted her to be, at my side, safe.
Chapter 5
Daria
That rotten bastard. He’d stolen the pin! I should have known he was after the same data I was, but his soldier’s posture had fooled me into thinking he was an undercover guard, one whose lust for me had inspired him to warn me that I was being watched by his colleagues.
How wrong I was, but how could another operative know what data was on the general’s pin? It had been a sheer fluke that I’d gotten my hands on the memo about this information hand-off Darryl was doing tonight of all nights. Had it leaked even further?
I slipped from the party with unease as my cloak. I was as good at being the center of attention as at sliding into shadow when I didn’t want to be seen, but tonight that didn’t make me feel better. Those watchers were good, and they were focused far too much on me. So much that they hadn’t realized what Ian had done. Granted, his switcheroo trick had been almost perfect.
He was talking in a low voice to someone just around the corner. His tongue twisted around foreign words in a language I didn’t recognize. It sounded vaguely Gaelic, but that’s where the familiarity ended. I spoke six languages fluently, and a dozen more I knew well enough to understand the basics. I should have recognized at leastsomething.That I didn’t was a shocking revelation, but it made so much sense at the same time.
“Callum,” he barked at that moment, clearly a name. Scottish by root even, just like Ian could be… A rapid flow of more words followed, but he ended with. “No, I’m doing this my way. Back off, brother.”
I had two choices now. I could turn that corner and confront him, demand the answers I was after, and demand the data he’d stolen. Or I could slip away unnoticed and try again, maybe try to follow him.
“I know you’re there, Daria,” Ian said before I could decide. He didn’t move, didn’t step around the corner, and that felt like an olive branch. It was beyond me how he’d known I was even there. I’d removed my heels to silence my steps, and I purposely didn’t wear a scent.
