Hot Shot (A Hostile Operations Team Novel)(#5) (18 page)

She pulled her robe tighter and walked toward him.

He glanced at the table and back at her. “Just getting prepared.”

“I doubt Stavros will let you arrive packing heat.”

“His men will find some of them. But they won’t find them all.”

She didn’t bother to ask. “Have you heard from the others?”

“Stavros has fortified the compound. Security there is five times as tight as it was three years ago.”

Her heart thumped. “And what’s that mean for us?”

“It means it’s taking more time to get into position than we anticipated.”

Gina’s mouth was dry. “We’re running out of time.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

She bit her lip and tried not to let her fear show. “What if he insists I come alone?”

Jack got to his feet then. There was something comforting about the way he towered over her. But he didn’t reach for her. He stood there and gazed down at her, his body radiating leashed energy. “Don’t borrow trouble, Gina. Let’s just take it one thing at a time.”

“I should shower and get dressed.”

His gaze slipped over her body, back up again. Her nipples tightened and her core melted at that look. But he wasn’t about to let his icy reserve crack again. “Yeah, you should. We need to be ready to move.”

She could feel his eyes on her back the whole way, and when she reached the bathroom, she shut the door and stripped out of the robe while the shower heated. She watched the door in the mirror, wondering if he would come through it like he had on the plane, but it stayed firmly shut. Gina showered alone, her hands slipping over her soapy flesh, gliding over her nipples and between her legs, reminding her of Jack’s touch. She closed her eyes and bit her lip—and skated her thumb over her clitoris again and again until her body shuddered and she had to bite back a moan as she came.

She dressed in a shirtdress and heels before twisting her damp hair on her head and pinning it up. Then she returned to the living area of the suite and found Jack standing with his back to her, his hands in his pockets while he gazed out at the city below. He was wearing a jacket with his jeans and she knew he had a shoulder holster. God only knew where else he was packing a weapon.

He turned when he heard her heels on the tile and her heart skipped. He was so incredibly handsome and so remote. Had he really held her close and made love to her only a few hours ago? Had he let down his guard long enough to gasp his pleasure in her ear?

It didn’t seem possible, and yet she knew it had happened. Heat blistered her cheeks as she thought about pleasuring herself in the shower just now. But Jack didn’t know she’d been thinking about him and making herself come.

As if that made it better.

His brows drew down. “You look flushed. Everything okay?”

“I just took a shower. I’m hot. But everything’s fine.”

“You should have used cooler water.”

It wouldn’t have helped, but she didn’t tell him that. “I’ll remember that for the next time,” she snapped.

He shook his head as if she were a silly child. “You ready for this, babe?”

She lifted her chin. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Then make the call.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THERE WERE PERIMETER ALARMS rigged around the property, starting about a mile out and getting denser as they got closer to Metaxas’s compound. Billy Blake had them pinpointed on his computer, but disarming them took time. Time they didn’t have.

Nick Brandon remembered the spot where he and Hawk had hidden before, but he couldn’t reach it. In the aftermath of his brother’s death, it seemed as if Stavros Metaxas had systematically hunted out every possible perch and rendered it moot with infrared equipment and alarms. There was no way to get close enough to take a shot. Not without a week’s notice anyway.

“They’re on the way,” Matt said.

“Did Metaxas let her bring Hawk?” It was Lucky who’d spoken. She didn’t usually go on this sort of op with them, but she’d insisted on this one because she figured Gina might need a woman along. For what, Nick didn’t know.

“He agreed to it. But that’s not really a surprise. He’s bringing them into a fortified compound. One man is easy to disarm.”

Iceman snorted. “Guess he doesn’t know Hawk.”

“Truth.” But Matt didn’t look happy. He gazed at the computer screen on the table in the yacht’s main cabin and frowned. “He’s never gone in after his own son before.”

No one said anything, probably because they couldn’t imagine what that was like. Nick’s gaze flickered over the team. To his knowledge, none of them had any kids.

“Guess we’re going with Plan B,” Lucky said, and the guys all looked at her. She whipped her T-shirt over her head to reveal a pink bikini top. Her breasts were spectacular, Nick decided. And then he decided he’d better not look or Big Mac would kill him.

In fact, Big Mac was glaring at them all as Lucky shimmied out of her jeans and stood there in one smoking-hot bikini. Her skin was scarred along her arms and back, but it didn’t detract from her beauty in the least. She was tanned, toned, and hot enough to make water steam.

“I’ll be lounging on deck like the rich bitch I am,” she said with a grin. “Fetch me a drink, would you, sweet cakes?”
 

That last was directed at Kev who miraculously didn’t get pissed. “I’ll do better than that. I’ll rub oil on your back.”

Ryan Gordon wasn’t called Flash simply because of the obvious superhero reference. He was also pretty reckless at opening his mouth—flashing his teeth—when it would be better to keep it closed.

“Man, how in the hell are you going to manage that without losing focus? This ain’t your honeymoon, bro.”

Kev’s eyes narrowed. “You want to keep those teeth of yours, jackass?”

Ryan held up both hands. “Hey, if you can do it without getting distracted, you’re a better man than I am.”

“Already fucking knew that,” Kev growled.

Lucky put her hand on her husband’s arm. “Seriously, you’re getting pissed over this? First, he has a point—you do get distracted easily when, uh…” She cleared her throat. “Second, Flash, darlin’,” she said, turning her smile on him and mimicking her husband’s accent. “You remember what I did to Al Ahmad?”

Jeez. Nick’s balls tightened involuntarily, as did every man’s in the cabin. They all knew what she’d done to the terrorist.
 

Flash automatically cupped his hand over his groin. “Lucky, with all due respect, you’re the last woman on earth I ever want near my package.”

“Damn straight,” Kev said.

“Ladies, Jesus,” Matt interrupted. “Can we focus here? Sorry, Lucky,” he added, but she was used to their banter by now and simply nodded. “All right. Lucky’s going to lie on deck and make us look like party boys on a joyride. The rest of you know what to do…”

* * *

The helicopter set down on the same pad where Jack had shot the engine out of another one three years ago. Palm trees and pines swayed in the breeze the rotors whipped up, and the Caribbean sparkled just a few yards away. The same long dock was still there, but there was no yacht tied up to it this time.

Jack glanced at Gina. She’d put on red lipstick and giant sunglasses and looked every inch a star. But the corners of her mouth were tight, little grooves cutting into her skin on either side of her lush lips.

He wanted to squeeze her hand and then he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her, but neither was appropriate any longer. He was her bodyguard, a hired gun meant to give her peace of mind when she came face-to-face with Stavros. Except they both knew there was no peace of mind here.

If Stavros wanted, he could have Jack killed and throw his body to the sharks. Jack hoped that wouldn’t happen, at least not before he got a look at his son. He’d tried to keep Eli’s existence in the abstract for as long as possible, but now that he was faced with the prospect of actually seeing the kid he’d fathered three years ago, his nerves were stretched tight.

Not that he would let that affect him. No, he was a special operator for a reason—he was cool under pressure and he had a deadly accurate aim in all kinds of conditions.
 

A man in a white jacket and black pants came forward and opened the helicopter door. Another man stood with a tray that contained a single champagne flute and a red rose.
 

Jack didn’t pat the gun on his ankle or the one tucked under his arm, but he wanted to just the same. And then there was the one he’d put on Gina. She hadn’t seemed comfortable with the idea, but she’d watched him with those big green eyes of hers while he’d tucked it into the thigh holster he’d strapped onto her pretty leg.

“This thing won’t go off, will it?” she’d asked when he’d stepped back and let her dress fall.
 

“No. But don’t pull it no matter what. It’s for me, not you.”

She’d propped her hands on her hips. “The damn thing’s between
my
legs.”

He’d grinned. “I know. Guns and pussy. Two of my favorite things on earth.”

Only he knew why she’d sat there with her legs slightly apart during the helicopter ride, and it had made him hard to think about it. The gun should be on the outside of her thigh, but he couldn’t take that chance with Metaxas, so he’d put it on the inside. He kept picturing the grip rubbing against her panties whenever she moved, and it turned him on. Though really the gun was too low for that or she wouldn’t be able to walk. Still, what an image.

Gina exited the helicopter with the butler’s help and Jack joined her. He stood respectfully behind her, his gaze sliding over the grounds of the compound. There were men on the roof, men in a guard shack on the perimeter, and cameras everywhere. Metaxas had erected a concrete wall on either side of the compound, but he’d left the water approach open. Of course, because it was pretty.

And because he didn’t expect anyone to come in that way since it was obvious and easily defended.

“Champagne, miss?”

Gina took the glass with a smile and Jack felt a knot of panic harden in his belly. But she didn’t drink it. When the man tried to hand her the rose, she waved him off and Jack was forced to take it instead. He wanted to throw it down, but no sense antagonizing Metaxas just yet. Besides, it made him look like a trained lapdog and that could be an advantage.

The man led the way toward the house. Before they passed inside, two men with machine guns stepped out. They insisted on patting Jack down—and relieved him of his weapons as expected—but they didn’t touch Gina. Jack let out a breath as they passed into the darkened coolness of the house.

They were shown to a long room that overlooked the lawn and beach. Gina set her untouched champagne down while Jack gazed out across the blue Caribbean. He didn’t see any boats bobbing on the water, but he knew HOT was there somewhere.
 

“Ah, Gina, how lovely to see you again.”

Gina spun around as Stavros walked into the room. He wasn’t quite as tall as Athenasios had been, or as broad, but he was unmistakably a Metaxas with his dark slashing brows and curly hair. And he was just as dirty as his brother had been, trading illegal weapons for cash and not caring how many people got hurt because of it.

“How dare you?” Gina spat, and Jack felt the first prickle of alarm slide down his spine. She stalked toward their host, her body vibrating with fury, and Jack wanted to snatch her back against him and pull a gun on Stavros before he could hurt her.

But Jack didn’t move, and Stavros didn’t look anything other than amused.
 

“You took my baby off a street, Stavros! You traumatized him! I want to see him right now.”

Stavros’s face darkened. “You are in no position to demand anything!” He leaned toward Gina, his teeth bared. “You thought you could keep Athenasios’s baby a secret from me? From the family?”

Gina, God, don’t say it. Don’t.

He knew she was seething, that she wanted to tell this man again that Eli wasn’t a Metaxas, but they’d talked about this. If Stavros learned that Eli wasn’t his brother’s, he would have no incentive to keep any of them alive. For now, he wanted the kid—but if there was no family connection between them, what was the point?

Yeah, she’d shouted it at him over the phone in Vegas, but he clearly hadn’t believed her. And why would he? If she insisted now, the game might change.

She dropped her gaze and went for demure. Jack breathed a sigh of relief.
 

“I did it to protect Eli,” she said.

“
I
will protect him now,” Stavros said angrily. “And I will protect you.”

Gina’s head snapped up. “I don’t need your protection. I have my own.”

Stavros’s gaze flicked to him. “This is your protection?” He snorted. “I let you bring him because it made you feel better, but my men have disarmed him. What kind of protection is that?”

“I don’t need your protection, Stavros.”

“And I think you do.”

She lifted her chin. “From what? Random stalkers? Overly enthusiastic fans?”

Stavros reached out and ran a finger along her cheek and Jack stiffened. He kept his expression neutral, his eyes on a fixed point on the wall. But he saw everything, and he wanted to strangle this man for daring to touch her.