“Negative,” she told him. “You?” When Jack didn’t immediately respond, her gaze drifted back toward the bar and locked with his from across the distance. “Jack, do you copy?”
* * *
Jack took another sip of his wine, trying to disguise the fact that the sight of Maddie had made him momentarily speechless. She was lovely beyond compare—her thick dark hair swept off her neck into an elegant arrangement, long curls having slipped out to rest against the delicate curve of her throat. The little black dress she wore accentuated the curves he’d often enjoyed tracing gently with his fingertips. His fingers tingled at the remembrance of the nights they’d shared together and of how close he’d come earlier in the day to being able to caress her in the way he so longed to.
If he hadn’t questioned her certainty about where things were going earlier that afternoon, there was no question how far things would’ve gone. But he was determined not to push her into “falling into bed” with him again, as she’d put it. They’d rushed toward satiating their yearning for one another far too quickly before, and Maddie had bolted. He wasn’t about to make that mistake again.
So why did he feel like he’d fucked up by bringing everything to a screeching halt just as they were revving up?
“I’m here, Mads,” Jack murmured, a familiar ache in the center of his chest.
Regret. Ah, yes, he knew it all too well ...
He forced a grin and raised his glass in salute. “Care to join me for a drink?”
She smothered a smile and turned away to resume her casual stroll through the crowd. “Another time.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” he assured her. “Remember where you’re going?”
“I’m good,” she assured him. “It doesn’t look like Senator Miles is here yet, so I’m going up to Hale’s room as soon as our favorite surfer-dude decides to grace us with his presence.”
“Sounds like that’s my cue,” Finn suddenly chimed in through their comms. “We’ve got you both online, so you need anything, just hollah. Safe word today isshitstorm.”
“Isn’t that two words, Finn?” Maddie teased.
Jack grinned and strolled away from the bar to do his own mingling among the crowd. “Perhaps it’s hyphenated?”
“What, you guys are correcting my grammar now?” Finn replied. “By the way, happy Independence Day, Maddie. And, Jack—condolences on our having to kick your compatriots’ collective asses back in the day.”
Jack chuckled. “Thank you, brother. But I think we got over losing to a bunch of uppity colonists quite a while ago. Probably a blessing in disguise, really, considering how much mischief you Americans get up to.”
“Ouch!” Finn shot back.
“Sorry to interrupt, gentlemen,” Maddie interjected, “but I’m entering the elevator.”
“Copy that, Maddie,” Finn replied. “Stay safe.”
Jack tried not to think too hard about the potential danger Maddie could be walking into as he wound his way through the rotunda, heading toward the ballroom, where the congressman would later be making his speech. He wanted to see if Ms. Davenport had perhaps come through another entrance and made it to the ballroom without his spotting her.
The room was already crowded with partygoers in formal attire, their conversations an indistinct mass of noise as they all attempted to be heard over the music. The scene reminded Jack far too much of the parties his parents had often hosted at their home in the city. He’d much preferred the quiet peacefulness of the manor house in the country. It was an escape from the breakneck pace of London, and the one place where he and his family were most likely to actually be in the same room together without being interrupted by his parents’ work.
Maybe someday he’d be able to take Maddie there, let her meet the staff who still maintained the place, their salaries paid by a benefactor whose name they didn’t even recognize . . .
Jack was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t see the familiar face leering at him from among the throng of partygoers until they were within a few yards of each other. A cold chill passed through him as he casually shifted his trajectory and moved toward a more heavily populated area of the ballroom to shield his movements.
“Maddie, how much longer do you think you’ll be?” he murmured.
“Almost at Hale’s room,” she said, her voice barely audible and cutting out. “Why?”
Jack slipped out of the ballroom and back into the rotunda. “We have a problem. Kozlov is here.”
He heard both Maddie and Finn curse in response to the happy news. But it was Maddie who spoke first. “How the hell did he know you were going to be at the event?”
“No fucking clue,” Jack replied, handing his wineglass off to a waiter and adjusting his tuxedo jacket slightly to have better access to his weapon. “I’m going to need to lead him away from here. The man doesn’t give a shit about collateral damage. The last thing we need is for him to take a shot at me in a crowded political event.”
“What about Claire Davenport?” Finn demanded. “We’ve got to get that flash drive, Jack.”
Jack sent a nonchalant glance around the room and saw Kozlov entering the rotunda. The man hadn’t yet spotted him, but the crowd was thinner here, so it was only a matter of time. “I haven’t seen her yet. Maddie, abort mission and meet me at the west exit of the hotel. I’ll get the car and pick you up there.”
