Cinderella Undercover (10 page)

Somehow, in his fucked up thinking, he’d also neglected to show her love. Hell, he hadn’t been able to admit it to himself. In fact, he’d run from her. She’d become too important too quick. Rather than accept what she’d offered him with words and actions, he’d tossed her affection away and taken another assignment.

Frank hadn’t minced words. Jaron had two choices—leave Victoria or leave the only lifestyle he knew. He didn’t think he could be anything but a gun for hire. Seeing Victoria again brought home how wrong he’d been. She’d risked her life to save him. And from this moment forward, he’d spend his life loving her.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on them both. Victoria sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I just want to go home and sleep for a week.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Did Simon say anything about the mission?”

“Don’t change the subject.” He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “Victoria, tell me you’ll give us another chance.”

She stared at their joined hands. “You said when you looked to the future you couldn’t see us wanting the same things.”

“I think we do.”

“What changed your mind?”

He glanced out the cabin window and the patchwork topography stretched below him as far as he could see. “I didn’t change my mind. I finally understand what Frank wanted me to acknowledge.” Dangerous professions made widows.

Frank didn’t want to see Victoria waiting at home for Jaron’s return, only to discover he’d been killed in a remote cave by an Afghani terrorist cell. She’d lost her parents, and if Jaron intended to continue with the relationship, he had to be ready to dedicate himself to her. ES would need to come second.

Six months ago, he hadn’t been sure. Today he was. “I feel it. You and me.” He cupped her cheek, and then ran his fingers through her hair, soft like spun silk. “We have something special and not just in the sack, which is pretty fucking incredible.”

“So, what are you asking for?”

He wanted everything. “A partnership, at work and at home.”

She furrowed her brows. “Work? Our fields are nothing alike.”

“I’ll change.”

She gave a snort. “Give up your beer for champagne? You’d be miserable.” She pursed her lips. “You like it in the dirt and marsh.”

“Only if you’re with me.” He tugged her hair. “And I think you like getting a little dirty.”

She traced a circle eight pattern on his thigh. “I’m scared.”

He covered her hand and inched it higher on his leg. “No, you’re Cinderella undercover, and you’re still pissed.” He leaned forward and sipped her lips. “You’ll never know how much I regret getting out of bed that morning. I made a mistake.”

“Ex-SEAL, ES elite operative…you don’t make mistakes.”

“I swear to always admit my mistakes. You were clear and effective during the assignment. You made the right decision to leave the shelter of the trees and are absolutely brilliant.”

“Brilliant? That’s twice.”

“Of course brilliant. You love me.”

“Careful, you’re coming off an awful lot like Prince Charming.”

“You wouldn’t think that if you could feel my erection cutting into the zipper of my jeans. I’m trying to concentrate, but with your hand on my leg, all I want to do is strip you down and cram you full of my cock.”

She burst into laughter. “Prince Charming gone… and I suppose that is why I love you.” She cupped his cock, and Jaron groaned. “And I hate to see you suffering.”

“Then put me out of my misery. Kill me or fuck me.”

* * * *

Victoria swallowed the lump in her throat. After learning how Frank had interfered with her relationship with Jaron, she wasn’t sure she was ready to face the man she considered her dad. She didn’t have a choice. She and Jaron had come straight from the airstrip to Echelon Shield headquarters for their debriefing. Apparently, for the last few hours, ES had been a whirlwind of activity. Jaron was at the center of it.

Walking down the familiar white corridor didn’t give her the hum of anticipation she normally expected. Going to the director’s office usually meant an assignment or a homecoming, like now. “I think we should keep recent developments just between us.”

He didn’t respond. She cast a quick glance in his direction. He stood several inches taller, his shoulders were stiff, and his eyes were unreadable. His ability to bank his emotions stemmed from his military training. She could never guess what went on his mind.

“Do you have a problem with that? I would think under the circumstances you’d agree. Twenty-four hours ago, I swore I hated you. I want to make sure it’s not PTSD making me want to rip your clothes off and tackle you to the floor.”

He gave a snort. “You don’t have posttraumatic stress disorder, but if you did, sex is an excellent treatment.”

“I’ll wait for a medical diagnosis.”

They approached the director’s door. “We can play doctor,” he stated as he rapped on the door.

Victoria sank her teeth into her lower lip to keep from laughing. Serious meetings required a serious expression. “Behave.”

“Of course.” Jaron winked and opened the door.

He was incorrigible, she thought as she preceded him into the office.

Frank stood from behind his desk. The past twenty-four hours showed on his face. Dark circles shadowed the wrinkled skin under his hooded eyes. Gray whiskers covered his weathered face. When he saw her, the tight line of his mouth softened. “Sweetheart.” His eyes sparkled with moisture. She stepped into his arms, and he held her as if he hadn’t just seen her yesterday—or that he might never see her again.

“I’m fine,” she said, closing her eyes and breathing deeply of the familiar woodsy scents that clung to his wrinkled linen dress shirt and long wide tie. Emotions swelled in her chest. Moments like this reminded her how much he meant to her and how much he loved her.

He pulled back. “I can see that.” Pointing to the chairs, he said, “Have a seat. We need to talk.”

“Is it the assignment?” Jaron asked. “There were bugs in the programming.”

Frank returned to his seat and rested his forearms on the desk. “That is one part of the assignment that seems to be working perfectly. We’ve been able to access Evenson’s inner network. Hopefully, it won’t take long to gather the information we need. We’ll get you out of this as soon as we can.” He sighed and leaned back. “I want you to watch each other’s back until we work this out. The alternative is unacceptable. So just stay low.”

Jaron leaned forward, his elbows braced on his wide spread knees. “I don’t follow.”

Frank glanced from Jaron to Victoria. “No one told you.”

“Told us what?” she asked.

“Oh, shit.” Frank raked his aged hands through his tufts of silver hair. “We’ve got problems. Federal problems. Seems that security guard you shot on the beach was FBI…dirty FBI. He is—was—in Evenson’s pocket. He’s dead.
Whitt
, you and
Tory
are at the top of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s top ten most wanted.”

Jaron bolted from the chair. “Fuck me!”

“No, fuck us.” Victoria stood and put her hand on his shoulder. “Calm down. Let’s figure this out.” She turned to Frank. “What do we do now?”

Jaron paced the room. “Tell me you have a plan,” He said to Amine as he punched his right fist into his left palm and swore. “Damn it.”

“Jaron, it’s not your fault.” She stepped in his path and put her hand on his sternum. “You couldn’t have known.”

“It wasn’t a kill shot.”

“Shit,” Frank stated. “I know that.”

“Then what’s the problem?” she demanded.

“A man’s dead,” Jaron barked. “I shot him.” He thumbed his chest. Then he turned to Frank. “I took him out, but I didn’t kill him. They’ve set me up.”

“They’ve set
us
up.” Damn the consequences of Frank discovering she loved this man. Jaron needed her. She stepped into his arms and hugged him around the waist. “We’ll work it out together.”

Frank coughed. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you getting along.”

Victoria looked over her shoulder. “Why?”

“Because I need you two to lay low. Might take a few weeks, maybe longer to gather the information we need to shut down Evenson. But with the work you two did, we will get the information. It’s just a matter of time. And as soon as we have the evidence, we can bring you back in.”

“Back in from where?” Jaron took a step away from her but kept his arm around her shoulders.

Frank took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I need you to watch out for each other. You’re going deep undercover. I can’t lose either one of you.” He sniffed, moisture welling in his eyes and blinked several times. Then he picked up a file and flipped it open.

“What are you saying?” Victoria crossed to the desk. “What is this?” In her gut, she didn’t need him to acknowledge what was clear. On top of the file, there was a passport with her picture and another with Jaron’s. There were also birth certificates and driver’s licenses. Pressure tightened her throat. She couldn’t drag in a breath. “Are you out of your mind?” Her head snapped up, and her gaze locked with Frank’s. “You’re joking.”

“Never about your safety, sweetheart.”

Jaron picked up his passport and laughed. “You old fox.” He beamed at Frank.

“This isn’t funny,” she stammered.

“If there was a silver lining to this whole fucking nightmare, this is it.”

“I’m trusting you to take care of her.”

Jaron nodded. “You have my word.”

Victoria ran her finger over the name on the passport. She and Jaron were now Mr. and Mrs. Parker. So much for taking their relationship slow. Granted, she’d never hated him. She’d just hated that he’d left her. But in her wildest fantasies she’d never imagined this. Living together, eating together, sleeping together, working together—
marriage
? They’d be playing at more than being married. They’d be joined at the hip. She worked behind enemy lines and spoke foreign languages fluently. This assignment went beyond her skill level. She didn’t have a drop of domestic blood in her veins. She used sex appeal as a means to the end. Little woman—she gave a snort—not!

But maybe not everything about the new assignment had to be problematic. A small smile played on her lips. They would be spending every waking moment together until ES cleared their names. It might take days, weeks, maybe months to get back to where they once were—well, where she was. In love and totally committed to Jaron. And they’d have the benefits of a great sex.

“Neither of you can go home,” Frank continued. “You now have a nice condo in Las Vegas. Stay through the winter, get in some golfing, and we’ll see where we stand after the holidays. But don’t get too comfy. You’ll still be working.” He winked at Jaron. “You’ll need a tux for those high roller functions in your future.”

“Speaking of wardrobe,” she said. “I’m going to need new shoes.”

Jaron groaned. “I wouldn’t mind seeing you in some black thigh-high boots.”

“Get outta here, you two. I don’t want to hear shit like that.”

Once outside the office, Jaron pivoted to Victoria. “Are you really okay? I know this isn’t what you wanted.”

She touched his cheek. “For an intelligent, highly resourceful, ex-Navy SEAL, this isn’t one of your moments of brilliance. You, my arrogant, handsome, stubborn, yet sexy man are exactly what I want.”