Project Super Soldier Spy.
Secret hospital.
Injured veterans research.
Skin grafting. Brain entrainment. CIA exoskeleton experimentation.
Jared mulled over the information. How were all these connected?
“You have that look on your face when we have sex,” Sugar interrupted his thoughts. She sauntered over, looking fresh and delicious in his shirt. “Total concentration.”
Jared grinned. “Are you insinuating I think of sex as work?”
Sugar bit the side of his jaw affectionately. “No, you’re strategizing. Trying to figure out the best way to get what you want. That look. It’s such a turn-on.”
He winked at her and pulled out a seat. “It’s a talent. I plan to strategize you all week.” The phone started buzzing. He amended, “Most of all week.”
Sugar popped a bite into her mouth, then licked her lips lusciously back at him. “Promises, promises.”
Jared put the phone on speaker. “Parker,” he greeted, still looking at his wife.
“Jared, you would not believe me. I have Nadine Kincaid standing in front of me. Pointing a .38 at me.”
He frowned. He hadn’t expected that.
“You don’t sound too concerned,” Sugar chimed in from the other side of the table.
“Well, no, because she gave me five minutes to tell her where her sister is. Lexi’s coming up with my laptop. Here, you talk to her. We’re on speaker phone.”
“Ah. Sister,” Jared said, his mind busy.
“That explains the fuck-me leather,” Sugar murmured.
There was a snort from the other end of the line. “I told her she wasn’t going to get away with wearing that outfit,” a voice said. “You better tell me where she is or your buddy here is going straight to the authorities.”
“Well, the problem is, she did get away with it, Dr. Kincaid,” Jared said. “We and her kidnappers all thought that was you this morning. Right now, one of my men and your sister are being taken somewhere. Parker’s wife, Lexi, is coming up with a video feed to show you our tracker.”
“What?” Nadine Kincaid sounded less sure now. “Who are you? Someone from the FBI? You told me my story about being followed was just paranoia because of the disappearances. That’s the reason Nadia decided she was taking care of this herself.”
“Nadia,” Jared mouthed silently to Sugar. She got up and walked to the counter where they had another laptop. Aloud, he said, “I’m Jared Westin and I run Titan Securities, Dr. Kincaid. I assigned someone to keep an eye on you. Of course, he’s now protecting your sister.”
“Oh.” A pause, which was followed by a chuckle. Then downright laughter.
Jared frowned. “Dr. Kincaid?”
“I’m sorry,” Nadine Kincaid said, still laughing. “I’m just picturing Nadia’s expression. Being protected is the last phrase I’d associate with my sister, Mr. Westin. Hold on, your friend here is saying something. I guess he wants to show me this video feed or something.”
“Yes, we’re tracking the vehicle that has taken your sister and my man. We were going to monitor and come up with an extraction plan when they stop traveling, but your being here changes things somewhat.” Jared looked up when Sugar snapped her fingers. He walked over and looked at her screen. “Ah. Just to let you know, my partner here has indicated we have a name—Nadia K—in our system. Is that your sister?”
“I’m not going to answer any of your questions until I know you’re with the right people. I don’t like that the Feds are telling me one thing and then doing another.”
“Maybe it’s for your protection,” Jared said, even though he didn’t actually believe his words. After all, they’d omitted some relevant details regarding their scientists’ disappearances to him too. “Look, I only want confirmation so I could call the correct people connected to your sister. If she’s a lone operative, that’s one thing, but if there’s an agency coordinating this operation, we don’t want to accidentally trip them up.”
He read the few details under Nadia K’s name. Not many, not even a picture. Just some information on certain operations to which she’d been tied. His frown deepened.
“Your sister, Nadia,” he said, “has recently be connected to COS Command Center. Or Triple C, as some operatives call it. Just say yes or no, please. I’ll make the call to confirm there’s planned extraction or undertakings that my people might interrupt if we step in.”
There was another silence.
