“Diya,” she gasped softly as he thrust in deeply, quickening the pace, then whispered close to his ear. “Short for Nadia.”
Nadia. Not Nadine. Obviously sisters. Probably twins.
He could only think in staccato now.
One spy. One scientist.
He fucked her harder, feeling her wet sheath pulsing around the whole length of him. He reached down and played with her clit, using the slick moisture as he scissored it between his fingers.
Protect. By. Pretense. He’d fallen for the whole act and—
Nadia’s body jerked beneath him, her pleasure escaping her lips as she pressed kisses against his face.
“Hon—”
Walker pushed off her a little and gave her a warning glare. Her smile was so damn sexy, he would forgive her if she called him—nope, he shook his head. Nope. A rule was a rule. Her ass rose up from the counter, leisurely enjoying his hard length still inside her.
“Sexy beast. My sexy beast,” she said.
He thrust into her hard. Again. And emitted a groan as his orgasm hit him.
“Sexy, sexy, sexy beast,” she said, in the drop-dead husky voice.
He could live with that.
* * *
Jared left his car in the woods and started hiking with his duffle bag. He had his tracker on so the rest of his team would find him as they got nearer. Parker had sent his GPS all the relevant information and fed him the details of Walker’s location.
Recently bought farmhouse, maybe a year. Being renovated as bread-and-breakfast vacation spot. His lips twisted. Well, how convenient to be near his love nest. Parker said as much and he could even see the smile in his voice.
“How likely is it my vacay time would be exactly where the bad guys have their HQ?” he complained gruffly.
“It’s only likely when Sugar put in money on a bet. You can blame her.” The tone of his voice turned serious. “Be careful. These guys don’t seem to be taking any chances. My system is detecting quite a lot of interference, meaning they’re prepared against hacking. I’ve pulled satellite images and there are patrolling men who make the rounds every forty-five minutes.”
Jared adjusted the bag slung over his shoulder as he walked uphill. “So, are you saying you can’t hack into their systems?”
Parker’s answering snort was all he needed to know.
His main goal was to get as near to the farmhouse as he could and assess the area while the others caught up. If need be, depending on whether he felt Walker was in any imminent danger, he would initiate attack. It would be tough going in as a one-man army, but he was a Ranger, used to fighting at night. He had Parker’s eyes and Lexi’s hacking skills on his side, telling him where to go and what was being said. With luck, Walker would come out alive.
“Hopefully, you won’t have to go at this alone, Bossman,” Parker said. “The others aren’t far.”
“No, it won’t be a one-man assault team,” Jared agreed. “That GEM agent-sister of our scientist has trackers all over the place so her people aren’t far off, keeping tabs on positions too. I only wanted to contact my guy inside to let him know, so as to avoid friendly fire.”
“This Jed McNeil?”
“Yeah. If he’s running his team of commandos, those Russians don’t stand a chance. They’re deadly.”
The COS Commandos rarely showed themselves, especially as a fighting force. They had been handpicked to be in a top secret program called VIRUS. Jared only knew of this because he knew Jed. He was his trainer as part of that program.
COS Command Center stood for Covert Subversive Command Center. Triple C or COS, for short. The basis of the specialized team was fashioned after the Studies and Observation Group from the 60s. SOG was the most secret elite US military unit to serve in the Vietnam War, composed entirely of volunteers from ace fighting Special Forces.
He’d volunteered during his time but because of his field experience and age, he’d been called for duty for other elite team operations. When he returned, Project Virus had already started, and he’d been tagged to be one of the trainers. The other trainers for the men were from various elite teams. Jared had seen the tests and the experiments these men had willingly gone through, so he could personally attest to how tough Jed McNeil was.
“There’s a good chance McNeil has gotten my message and has passed it on. They’ll be looking out for me.”
“But how would they know it would be you? What if they’re shoot, then ask kind of people?” Lexi questioned.
Jared smiled grimly. “Because I trained him and know that mind of his. I know the fucker would track me himself.”
He stopped and peered into the darkness. A shadow dropped in front of him and quick as his next breath, initiated attack. Jared anticipated and moved defensively, taking the other man’s cue as he parried and counter-attacked. The dance was familiar, a mix of the martial arts systems of Krav Maga and Ninjutsu, a form he’d helped develop in the old days. Only, his opponent appeared to have added a bunch of new stuff.
He knew Parker and Lexi were aware of something happening and trying to get satellite feed. They kept quiet to allow him maximum concentration.
His opponent’s moves were extremely fast. Hand grab. Wrist snap. Leg forward, power push and snap back with elbow. Counter jab and then back-to-back parries. He knew he was just being tested. He made one direct hit, which the other man stepped away from enough to allow contact without much damage. The shadow did a back flip and then gave a deep bow.
Jared returned the bow. “Hello, Jed,” he greeted.
