Code Red (6 page)

“Is it wise to unmask us?” Marcia sounded
surprised.

“In this case, yes. It should be done in
person, and I think she’ll trust you. I’d screw it up on the phone
and probably piss her off.”

“All right. We’ll see you soonish.”

And he did see them. They arrived a few hours
before the opening reception, and Red changed in his apartment. Her
movements were deliberate, her face somber, but she never mentioned
Marcia’s confession. So he brought it up.

“You understand why you’re here?”

She nodded, rubbing her right thumb in the
palm of her left hand. “Marcia explained that a Russian agent
escaped after murdering Max, and he may be after the two of us. You
want me closer to you. But I have to return to work. I can’t live
here indefinitely.”

“If he knows you’re with me, he’ll make a
move this weekend.”

“I still don’t understand why it’s safer
here.”

“I have about twenty men and women backing me
up. In Ohneka, it’s you and Marcia.”

She gripped her hands together but maintained
a calm expression. “Oh. And we have to go to this party.”

“It’ll announce our presence. One of his
friends will be there and communicate with him. I’m sure of it.”
Kieran didn’t mention how many moles he’d contacted, the tapped
phone lines or Internet connections, everything he’d done to find
Dmitriyev before Dmitriyev found either of them. All of which had
led to this.

Red took a deep breath and visibly
relaxed.

Her dressed-up appearance challenged Kieran’s
concentration, his focus. The woman had transformed from a natural
beauty to a goddess created to drive men wild. Every caress, every
kiss had made his body respond with a growing intensity that
nothing could alleviate except finally being with her. His mind,
however, had to overrule his body. She was off-limits until she
wasn’t a work assignment, until he could claim her forever.

He’d hired a car to take them to the party,
and when they arrived every man from the valet to the ambassador
openly admired her. The woman looked amazing in blue jeans and a
sweater; in a black cocktail dress cut high enough to show off her
long legs, and low enough to hint at breasts the perfect size for a
man’s hands, she could bring the entire dinner party to their
knees.

Her red hair flowed down her back,
advertising her presence to Dmitriyev or his associates. Who else
had hair like
this?

“I feel out of place,” she whispered as they
entered the main reception area.

“You are out of place here, Red. Because not
one other woman here looks as beautiful.”

She released the bottom lip she’d been biting
at. “Really?”

“I swear.”

After dinner, he introduced her to a
colleague from Homeland Security, Deirdre Timmons, who had helped
him out on numerous occasions when he needed access to Russian
diplomatic channels in the swaps he’d organized. She’d sometimes
tried to make their business relationship something more, but
Kieran had no interest. Not in a colleague. The closest he’d ever
come to crossing that boundary was Jess.

Deirdre barely acknowledged Red, hugging
Kieran too close and kissing him on the lips. Red didn’t appear
amused by Deirdre’s display, but neither was Kieran. He pushed her
away a bit too sharply.

Deirdre placed a manicured hand on her hip
and tipped her chin up as though accepting a challenge. “I haven’t
seen you in weeks. I’ve missed you. I hear they won’t let you go
until after this assignment. I hope it ends quickly—for your
sake.”

“It was nice seeing you,” Kieran grunted.

He steered Red away while trying to keep his
expression steady, but he could feel her glare.
Shit.
“I am not seeing Deirdre,” he promised. “Nor
have I ever.”

“I know that.” But Red, fists clenched and
brows creased, turned on him. “Am I the assignment? Am I the reason
you can’t retire?”

Where the hell had this anger come from? He
guided her toward the door. If she was going to cause a scene, he’d
take her somewhere private. They’d already broadcast their presence
to Dmitriyev, especially with Red’s flame-colored hair, so their
task here was for all intents and purposes done. Maybe they could
even head home.

“It’s more complicated than that.” She was
part of the assignment, of course, but the assignment wasn’t
stalling his retirement. His need to protect her was the real
roadblock. Without the resources of the agency, they’d be sitting
ducks.

When they arrived in the parking lot, Red let
her temper fly. “I really believed in you. Did any time with me
mean anything other than work? Maybe a few kisses on the side?”

“A whole hell of a lot more.”

“I’m such an idiot.” She yanked away from him
and stormed to his car. “You’d think I’d learn, but no.”

“I can explain,” he said.

“You can explain why you lied to me?”

“I wanted you to be safe. Initially, I didn’t
tell you about the threat because there was no real threat against
you. Why worry about something that doesn’t exist? As soon as the
situation turned, we told you. Well, we sent Marcia.” Frustration
stormed through him. She wouldn’t listen, and he sucked at
declaring how he felt. “Damn it, I have one task left in this lousy
job, and trust me when I say I want the whole thing to be
over.”

“Me too. Just take me to pick up my things. I
want to go home.”

***

Jess wasn’t jealous. She was embarrassed. She
had wanted never to be fooled again, and here she was being strung
along by an out-of-towner. Unlike Robert, and perhaps even more
humiliating, Kieran didn’t want to sleep with her. Instead, he
needed her to finish a case so he could run away to his beach
somewhere. Alone.

“I’m not here for sex,
Jess,”
he’d said.
“I’m here for
you.”
But he’d been doing the minimum to stay in close
proximity. Lying to her, pretending to be interested. She was a
task to finish, not a woman to love.

They drove toward his house in silence, and
she mentally walked through what Deirdre had said about Kieran
retiring. They wouldn’t let him go until he finished this one
assignment. So, instead of letting her remain protected in the
middle of nowhere indefinitely, he’d brought her here and put her
life on the line, all to hurry up and collect his pension.

He maneuvered down the long driveway to his
house, which was hidden away in an acre or two of woods. He exited
the car first and trotted around to open her door, held out his arm
to help her up. Damn gentleman. The perfect man. Just not for
her.

“Come inside.” He glanced back at the car.
“We can talk in my kitchen.”

She pulled her hand back and took out her
phone. “First, let me call a cab.”

“I don’t believe that’s necessary.”

“It doesn’t matter what you believe.” How
could she stay? And for what? To put herself in danger so he could
be free of his job?

In her haste to dial, angrily punching at her
phone, she dropped it. Bending down, she heard a shot ring out.
Then Kieran dove on top of her, forcing her all the way to the
ground. He pulled out his gun then deliberately aimed it into a
tall stand of pine trees.

A large stone had wedged itself into Jess’s
back, and her elbows were bruised. A shiver of ice raced through
her body. She swallowed a deep breath that lodged in her throat,
barely making it into her lungs, and when he twisted, her face was
buried in Kieran’s chest.

“He’s here.”

“No kidding.” She spoke into his chest and
fisted his shirt until her knuckles ached.

Another gunshot rang out, this time from the
back of the house. Jess thought the bullet hit one of the pine
trees. In response came a hail of gunfire from the first position,
and Jess heard a female voice cry out. Kieran twisted and took that
moment to fire. Then came silence.

They stayed curled up for several minutes
before Kieran urged Jess to crawl along the ground to his front
porch, still placing himself in front of her. He stood up once they
were around the corner from the first shooter’s position.

Jess tried to stand, but her legs had lost
mobility and her body shook uncontrollably. Kieran clasped an arm
around her waist and practically carried her into the house.

“Go to the kitchen and get on the floor
behind the island until I return,” he commanded. He pulled out his
phone and started talking to someone as he walked away, but her
brain couldn’t process what he was saying.

“Don’t go.” Her voice sounded weak and
jittery, and she had no control over the tears smearing her
vision.

“Wait here,” he repeated.

He left her alone, and all she could do was
hug herself and cry. This was way more adventure than she’d ever
wanted. It seemed like every time she wanted to leave Ohneka,
someone died. She couldn’t deal with that. It was so much easier in
her small town with its small town issues. Maybe she wasn’t made
for the bigger world or the worry and heartache that came from
reaching outside of what she knew. Or for the men who so easily
told falsehoods to get what they wanted.

After what seemed like an hour, sirens from
two or three different vehicles sounded at the house. The front
door opened, but Jess stayed hidden in the kitchen, frustrated that
she was unable to remember anything Marcia had taught her about
self-defense. Footsteps approached. She clenched her teeth together
to try to still the tremors rocking her body.

“Red?”

Her body calmed at Kieran’s voice, and her
mind cleared a bit of the panic that had held her to the floor.
“Are they gone?”

“Dmitriyev’s dead. Marcia was hit by a
bullet—in the chest, but it hit her Kevlar. She should be all
right. An ambulance took her to John Hopkins.”

Jess shook her head. She needed to leave,
needed to escape all the blood and carnage and lies. Backing away
from Kieran and his fake façade she snarled, “You’re just like
Robert. A liar.”

“No. He lied to protect himself. I lied to
protect you.”

But his eyes didn’t seem so warm and friendly
anymore. They glowed with deceit and deception.

“Why didn’t you just tell me I was an
assignment?”

“Because you aren’t my assignment,” Kieran
snapped. “You’re my future. But I’d rather have you alive and hate
me than allow you to die and earn your respect.” He blinked his
eyes shut for a long slow breath, as though holding himself
back.

It would be great to believe she wasn’t
simply an assignment, but she couldn’t afford to be so naive
anymore. “I want to go home.”

“A cab is waiting for you.”

“You called me a cab?”

Kieran leaned on the island, his hands in his
pockets, his expression tired. “You said you wanted one. I was
hoping you’d stay.”

“Right,” she said. “The assignment is over.
No need to pretend to like me anymore.”

“Aren’t you listening?” With one step, he was
in front of her. He moved his hands toward her and then pulled them
back, balled into fists, and dropped them to his side. “If it
wasn’t for you, I would have retired and moved to the beach months
ago. You changed everything for me.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you now.”

It was too much. Jess rushed from the
kitchen, grabbed her suitcase, and ran to the cab. It didn’t matter
that she didn’t have a plane ticket or that she was wearing a muddy
black dress. Nothing mattered. Kieran certainly didn’t matter.
Because, apparently, she didn’t matter to him.

CHAPTER SIX

Another cold month in Ohneka. Jess would
leave this town and her boring life, but she needed that darn
degree first. She’d already sent applications for positions
everywhere.

Nothing was worse than being alone in a town
where people offered a place at their holiday table to keep her
from eating alone. Yes, that was nice, but their hospitality
underscored how pathetic her life had become. Once she could quit
her job and begin entirely new somewhere else, she’d be happier.
She was sure of it.

With fifteen minutes until the bank closed,
she started restocking her workstation. She knelt on the floor to
pull out more envelopes from a box under the counter.

“I’d like to change some US dollars for
Canadian ones, please.” The voice sounded familiar, smooth like the
best Scotch whiskey sweetened with a hint of caramel. But that was
impossible. She’d stopped waiting for him to arrive weeks ago.

“You’ll have to meet with the manager. He
handles all the foreign money transactions.” She lifted her head to
see Kieran standing at her window. His hair was longer and lighter,
but those green eyes still captivated her.

Was he here to apologize? She couldn’t handle
that. She’d almost pushed his memory back with Robert’s, to the
depths of her mind where things stayed hidden and away from her
heart. Almost but not fully. No matter how much she wanted.

“It’s official, I’m retired.”

His grin radiated confidence. His eyes almost
liquefied her instincts, the ones reminding her that she was
official business to him. So, what was he here for?

“Congratulations,” was all she said.

“You don’t seem too interested in my return.”
He reached for her hand, but she held back, scared that her heart
would lead her back into hell.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming
here?”

“I thought I’d surprise you.”

“I don’t do surprises too well. I need more
peace and stability and fewer combat situations.”

“I’ve flown all the way out here to see you
for a chance to explain what I didn’t explain at my house. Can we
at least go to dinner?”

Dinner and another flirtation that went no
place? She couldn’t do it. Her heart couldn’t handle him returning
to town for a little companionship before he headed off to warm,
sunny beaches. Because that’s what he was going to do. She couldn’t
believe otherwise.