Brody's Vow (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 1) (13 page)

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why not,” he said, trying to sound casual. Her rejection stung, even if he’d been expecting it.

“I’m leaving tomorrow night and we won’t ever see each other again.”

If that’s the way she wanted to leave things, then he’d have to accept it. But he at least wanted tonight with her. He’d never experienced chemistry like this before, and she’d already gotten under his skin. “Just think about it,” he said.

She didn’t answer, instead turning her attention back out her window.

Being a Sunday night, there was little traffic on the road. The two-hour drive passed far too quickly, and then they were on the outskirts of D.C. He drove her to a costume shop they’d checked online earlier and went in with her while she gathered pieces for her disguise.

“I’ll pay you back,” she said as she carried everything to the checkout. “I’ve got cash at my place.”

He didn’t want her damn money, but withheld the words and handed the clerk his credit card. Once they were in the truck he stayed up front while she climbed into the backseat to change. When she slid into the front passenger seat a few minutes later he did a double take. She looked like a completely different person.

She had on light blue nursing scrubs that concealed the shapely curves he loved so much. A light brown wig hid her sharp black bob, and she’d tied the long waves into a low ponytail that fell past her shoulder blades.

There were no visible bruises on her face anymore. She’d used some kind of makeup to make her eyebrows match her hair, to make her eyes appear more deeply set, and she’d somehow altered the appearance of her nose too. Her cheekbones seemed sharper as well, and whatever she’d done with the pale lipstick made her full lips look thinner. The running shoes she’d borrowed from Briar completed the outfit.

The startling transformation in so short a time was impressive, but he had the strangest urge to pull that wig off, wipe the makeup away so he could see
her
.

“Do I look okay?”

He met her gaze and was confronted once again by the stark truth. She’d done this a thousand times before—disguised herself and seduced whatever information she needed out of a target before either disappearing or killing him.

He understood it, even respected it to a certain degree, but he didn’t like that she’d been forced to do it and he didn’t buy the tough act completely, because he’d seen the real Trinity over the past two days. He’d even managed to put a few cracks in the walls she’d erected around herself, giving him glimpses of the woman behind the mask.

Part of him wanted to destroy those walls completely, while another part warned that she was still a highly skilled chameleon. A lethal one. Even if he saw her again and they moved into some sort of a relationship, a part of him would always wonder if she was being truthful with him. He had to remember that.

“Yeah, you look good. I wouldn’t have recognized you if you’d walked past me on the sidewalk,” he said and started the engine.

“Well, if he’s out there, hopefully Tino won’t either.”

Yeah. Hopefully. He steered out of the parking lot. “All right. Where to?”

Brody followed her directions to an area on the outskirts of the city, to an older brick apartment building in a rougher neighborhood.

“Turn left at the next corner and drive past it,” she said, clearly in operational mode as he approached the stoplight. When it turned green he had to pause to let two pedestrians cross the intersection before driving past the building with Trinity surveying the sidewalks carefully.

He counted three hookers standing on one corner, and guys who looked like drug dealer-types on another. “Why did you pick an apartment here?” he asked, disliking the thought of her staying in such a sketchy area alone, training or not.

“People in this kind of neighborhood tend to ignore each other and just go about their business, and not ask questions.”

“See anything?” he asked, watching all his mirrors. He’d been on high alert since reaching the city, but he hadn’t noticed any sign that someone might be following them and even if someone happened to see them entering her apartment building, there was no way they’d recognize her.

“No. Turn right at the next light and double back, but take a different route this time.”

“Not my first recon job,” he said, cutting her a sharp look before doing as she said. Nothing caught his attention as he did the second pass.

He made two more after that, taking different routes, and still didn’t notice anything suspicious. Someone might have noticed him repeatedly driving past the building, but the chances were low. “Okay?” he asked her.

She nodded once. “Okay. Pull around back. I’m going to go in the side entrance. Fewer security cameras there.”

Brody parked in a spot behind the building, making sure to leave plenty of space in front of them in case they had to make a quick getaway. He killed the engine and glanced around the area, seeing nothing but parked cars and a Dumpster set against the building.

“You’ll carry the bag?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He reached into the back and withdrew a backpack that held more pistols, ammo and the tools she’d need to get into the building and apartment. He gazed up at the building’s rough exterior. “How old is this place?” He didn’t like the thought of her living here, alone. This was the rough kind of place where everyone who lived here looked the other way when something bad happened. It might be what she wanted but he didn’t have to like it.

“Ancient.” She glanced at him and he had another jolt of surprise at just how different she looked. “Ready?”

“Ready.” He got out first, circled around the front of the truck and kept his eyes on the street next to the building. Trinity stepped out. He couldn’t see a bulge beneath her scrubs but he knew she was armed with at least one pistol.

At the side entrance he kept watch while she stood in the shadows and used a tool to jimmy the locks free. The old metal door creaked as it swung open with a rush of musty air hitting him.

She paused to look around then waved him forward. He followed her up the stairs, every sense on alert, one hand at the small of his back to draw his weapon at the first hint of danger.

Together they checked to make sure each flight of stairs was clear before climbing them. On the sixth floor she cracked the stairwell door open and scanned the dimly lit hallway. Up here the air reeked of cigarette smoke and stale food. The carpet looked shabby and the paint on the walls was chipped.

Brody followed close behind her as she headed to the right and began walking down the hallway. He deciphered every sound coming from the apartments they passed, dismissing them as threats one by one. The murmur of voices inside the apartments they passed. A TV in the background. A baby’s cry.

At the second apartment from the end Trinity stopped and checked the door and frame. Apparently satisfied that all was as it should be, she made short work of the lock and pushed the door open a few inches. Brody waited, noting the tension in her body. Then it faded and she pressed the door open.

“Come on,” she said. “Looks like the coast is clear.”

But he heard the note of suspicion in her voice. She was still on edge. He stayed behind her and shut the door after them, then helped her sweep the place.

Empty.

Relaxing slightly, he tailed her into the bedroom, aware of the unease coiling in the pit of his stomach. They’d gotten in without a problem. He just hoped getting out would be as smooth.

****

Tino jackknifed into a sitting position on his couch when the new ringtone went off on his phone. Those notes could only mean one thing.

He grabbed it from the coffee table, heart thumping, and checked the app he’d installed to verify. Yep. Someone had just triggered the motion detector at the apartment Trinity Durant had stayed in prior to becoming Eva Gregorivich.

He shot to his feet and rushed to the hall closet for his go bag, already making the call as he stepped out into the hallway and raced for the stairs. “Someone’s there,” he told the man. “Where are you?”

“Outside across the street. I saw a couple people go through the side door a few minutes ago but it didn’t look like her so I stayed here.”

“A couple?”

“Yeah. Man and woman. She was wearing nursing scrubs.”

He was already out at the curb, heading for his SUV. “Did they show up in a vehicle?”

“Yeah, I marked the plate number down. I’ll text it to you.”

“Good. Now get in there and check it out. I’m on my way, should be there in six or seven minutes.” Anticipation roared through his veins in a heady rush. He now knew just how good Trinity was with disguises. Had to be her. Who was the man with her?

“You think it’s her?” his Mob contact asked, sounding dubious. Tino had brought him into this because the man needed the extra money and had done jobs like this one before.

“Someone just triggered the motion detector, and yeah, I think it’s her.” There was no reason for anyone else to be entering that shit-bag apartment, and he knew the landlord hadn’t rented it out to anyone else yet. “Don’t let them leave. Take him out if you need to, but remember I want her alive. Text me what you’ve got so far.”

He ended the call and tossed his go bag into the front passenger seat, thought about the set of instruments he’d packed in preparation. Scalpels and pliers, other neat tools that he could play with while he interrogated her.

He’d get the name of whoever had hired her, and find out why they’d gone after Salvatori. Once he fed that to the Big Boss, the pressure on him would ease.

Tino’s heart beat faster as he sped down the street, already imagining what it would feel like to have her helpless and at his mercy. In another few minutes he’d get the bitch and make her pay for what she’d done to him.

First he’d fuck her, then he’d administer the suffering she had coming.

And when he’d grown bored of her cries and pleas, he’d end her. Then he’d dump her body in a public place as a warning to the CIA or any other government agency that the Mob wasn’t to be fucked with.

While Brody stood guard from the bathroom doorway, Trinity lay down on the cracked linoleum floor and rolled to her back to access the secret compartment she’d made inside the cabinet beneath the sink. With her Leatherman tool she pried away the piece of wood holding the board in place and set it beside her.

Reaching up into the gap, she felt around until she located the envelope she’d stashed here a few months ago. Then she retrieved the rifle components and magazine she’d hidden with it.

Sitting up, she checked to make sure everything was still in the envelope, including the passport and other ID for the identity she’d booked her upcoming flight under.

“All good?”

She looked up at Brody, felt that increasingly familiar jolt of desire and longing when she met his eyes. He’d asked her to spend the night with him. At his place. Part of her desperately wanted to seize the opportunity. The other part knew it was a bad idea. She was already way too attached to him as it was, and sleeping with him would only make it worse.

Then again, she was leaving in the morning, would likely never see him again, so what harm would a few hours in his bed do?

Yeah, even she didn’t believe that lie. She knew damn well she’d wind up even more attached, but her gut said it would be worth it. “Yes.”

Scooting onto her back to replace the board and strip of wood inside the cabinet, she could feel his gaze on her. An almost electric tingle spread over her skin, tightening her breasts and igniting a throb between her legs.

She hadn’t enjoyed sex in a damn long time, but she instinctively knew she would with him. He’d already proven how unselfish he was, how willing he was to give her pleasure, ease her pain. If the man was half as good in bed as his kisses suggested, then yeah, she’d do a hell of a lot more than just enjoy it.

She slid out of the cabinet and climbed to her feet, shutting the door with her foot as she faced Brody. Damn he was sexy standing there guarding her, his body and skills honed by years of training and discipline. Ever since graduating from the Valkyrie program she’d worked alone and preferred it that way, but she had to admit it was nice to know that she had Brody here to watch her six on this one.

And she couldn’t help but wonder if those formidable skills translated into the bedroom, and was pretty sure they did.

She knew all about sex. What moves to make to get a man into bed. How to drive him insane with pleasure and make him beg until he was completely powerless to her and her skill, craving the release she could give if she chose. While she remained completely unaffected.

What she didn’t know was what it felt like to be on the receiving end of that sort of scenario. Or what it would be like to have a lover who knew her and cared about her. Someone who wanted to give pleasure as well as receive it, and share an intimacy she’d never allowed herself to experience before.

Watching Brody now, it was a tantalizing idea. He’d touched her gently, kissed her with both passion and tenderness that melted her brain and curled her toes. The thought of his mouth and those big, talented hands sliding over her naked body sent a shiver of arousal through her.

She shoved the distracting thought aside. They weren’t out of danger yet and she still hadn’t decided whether she wanted to stay the night with him or not. “All set.”

His dark eyes assessed her for a long moment, asking that very question, and she knew he was every bit as aware of time slipping away. Her time with him was almost at an end and she had to make the decision soon.

“Okay.” She handed him the envelope, then the rifle components. He put everything into the bag and slid one strap over a broad shoulder.

His phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen then answered, doing an assessing sweep of the apartment from the doorway. “Hey. You still in D.C.?”

Wyatt
.

A pause. “I’m with Trinity. She’s flying out tomorrow night.”