Out of Sight (13 page)

"When is your return flight to… ?" he asked, so close AJ's eyes watered from his overly sweet aftershave and she noticed he'd nicked his chin shaving. Her natural reflex was to lean away from him, but she forced herself to stay where she was. She wondered if she would feel such a strong and violent dislike for this man if she didn't know who and what he was. The answer was yes. She would. Evil emanated from him like stink on shit. You didn't have to see it to know it was there.

"Boston," she told him smoothly.

"Wonderful. Then I insist you be my guest when your photographer returns to Cairo the day after tomorrow."

AJ gave him a cool look and sat back in her seat. She ignored the earring falling to the table, and let it lie between her bread plate and Raazaq's hand on the white tablecloth between them. "You seem to know an awful lot about our business."

"I beg your pardon, mademoiselle." He smiled, but the expression went nowhere near the black void of his eyes. "It is just that I had many hours to spend as I waited to meet you tonight."

"And you chose to use them by inquiring about a pair of strangers' travel plans?"

He gave her another smile. It sent a chill down her spine. Fazur Raazaq might think he was suave and irresistible. He wasn't. "Forgive me. Please?" He touched her hand briefly and her skin felt as if an ice cube had brushed against her.

AJ smiled at him. She, too, was a professional. Her stomach was jumping with anticipation of the sleight of hand she was going to have to perform in the next few minutes.

"Since our time here in Fayoum is so short, I would like to invite you to travel with me for a few days, a few weeks? So that we can get to know each other." He picked up her hand and damply kissed her palm. AJ forced herself not to shudder or yank her hand out of his grasp.
Ew!

"I will be traveling on a business trip," he told her smoothly, still holding her hand. "I believe the destination might interest you. I would deem it an honor if you would join me."

"I'd love to hear about it," AJ told him with utmost sincerity. While he was doing his best to charm her, she was contemplating his death.

Judging by his slight size, the poison would take about six hours before it started to work. The trick was getting it from her earring into his food without Raazaq or his bodyguards seeing her.

This time the earring slipped from her ear and fell, with amazing precision, onto the rim of Raazaq's water glass.

"Sorry." AJ shot him a half-embarrassed smile, but took a few extra seconds before she plucked the gold curve off the rim of the goblet. Picking her small clutch purse off the table beside her, she tossed the earring, now empty of poison, since it had just done its job, into her purse. Then detached the other one from her ear and pitched that into her bag as well.

"You were telling me about our trip?"

"Let's discuss the details after dinner, shall we?"

"Why not now? I'm fascinated."

"I will give you everything you want, my dear. After we have dined."

That's what she was afraid of. "You say you have family living in Fayoum?" She let her attention slip for a nanosecond to his glass. The clear liquid of the poison, slightly thicker than the water, slid slowly down the side of the clear glass, then dissolved invisibly into the liquid.

"A sister. Aziza is seven years younger than I." He played with the braided stem of his glass. "A beautiful girl, and the apple of my eye. She made a good marriage, and is about to have her first child. That is why I have delayed my business interests to be at her side at this happy time."

"Exciting." AJ picked up her water glass and drank.
Cheers, Fazur Raazaq.
"So you will be a proud uncle."
Drink up, you bastard.

"Indeed. Aziza was wise not to tell her brother the sex of her child. I didn't know whether dolls or guns were more appropriate." He stroked the stem of his glass then lifted it to his mouth.

Gun.
One size fits all, no matter the sex,
AJ thought, tempted to pick up his glass and shove it against his smiling mouth. Hard.

"Would you care to travel with me to meet her tomorrow? It's only half an hour away. She lives in a small village not far from here. Quite picturesque and charming, though the people there are poor and uneducated. My brother-in-law is a sugarcane farmer. The wealthiest man in the village."

"Thank you," AJ said casually, wishing he'd drink up so she could relax. He needed to consume at least half the glass to do the job. "We only have a day before Kane leaves. He's got some insane schedule planned for tomorrow. And I'm sure if your sister's baby is about to be born, the last thing she'd want is a stranger showing up."

Raazaq placed his untasted water back on the table as the waitstaff swept one course of their meal away to deliver the next. AJ wanted to scream.

Raazaq finally spoke to them in a spate of French. The area cleared as if by magic. "There. Now, you were saying?"

"Kane and I will be busy all day tomorrow, and then he wants to do a night shoot on his own—you know, pyramids and stuff—before he leaves. Perhaps we can do a little sightseeing then."

"We will discuss this further after dinner," he said, still using his charm. But it was clear he didn't like being thwarted.
Aw. Too bad,
she thought unsympathetically.
Things are going to get a lot worse, pal.

AJ, who prided herself on her ability to consume anything closely resembling food, smelled her dinner and found her stomach flipping and flopping uncomfortably. Tension. If the son of a bitch would just drink his water, she could settle back and enjoy her meal.

She ended up consuming the entire bottle of water on the table, while Raazaq flirted, ate his meal… and didn't pick up his glass.

Until their plates were cleared an interminable hour and a half later.

He picked up the goblet.

Oh, thank God. About frigging time. Her nerves were stretched as tightly as rubber bands.

Clear water made a wedge in the glass as he brought it up to his mouth. It all happened in slo-mo to AJ. Candlelight glinted off the rim of the crystal goblet as he tilted back his head. Rested his mouth on the rim—

"Mission aborted," Kane said urgently in her ear. "Do you copy? Mission aborted."

"Op terminated," Kane yelled urgently. He listened intently, waiting for some indication from AJ that she'd heard the order. He didn't realize he'd moved until he was out the door and slamming his fist on the elevator call button, way the hell and gone down the hall.

Screw the elevators. He raced farther down the corridor, slapped open the door to the stairwell, taking the stairs three at a time. "Do you cop—"

Shit.
He'd blasted out of the suite so fast, the receiver and headset were still on the table in the living room. Damn it! He hesitated a nanosecond. Either she'd heard him and had things well in hand, or she hadn't heard him for whatever reason, so trying again was pointless. Except that he couldn't hear
her.

This was why he worked alone now. God damn it! This was why.

She can handle this, she's okay,
Kane told himself over and over again as he burst through the door on the top floor minutes later. Two armed guards stood halfway down the corridor. He started walking. As he passed the elevator bank, he hit the call button, then continued on. The guards turned to watch his progress, but made no overt motion to stop him.

The doors to Raazaq's suite opened behind them—the elevator pinged its arrival at exactly the same moment AJ emerged from Raazaq's rooms. Kane backtracked, stepped inside the car, and held the door open with his foot, weapon raised.

Come on. Come on. Come on. Move it. Angina. Move it.

The second AJ was in his line of sight he grabbed her arm, pulled her inside, and hit the close button all in one smooth motion.

Her eyes widened. "Wh—"

"Did he drink?"

"No. I sp—"

"Talk later."

The doors slid closed. The car started down. Kane swung her against his body until the angle he held her had her up on her toes and flush against him. Her wide, startled eyes were the last thing Kane saw as he closed his own eyes and crushed his mouth down on hers.

AJ's body stiffened for a second, then her lips softened as he plunged his tongue inside the warm cavern other mouth. Her hands came up and fisted in the back of his T-shirt as she returned that kiss with enthusiasm.

He slid his hands up her bare thighs, bunching the stretchy silk in his finger and taking the short dress with them. Her breasts flattened against his chest and he could feel the hard points of her nipples, which incited him even more.

He hooked his thumbs into the thin elastic of the thong she wore and yanked it down.

"Jesus God, K—" He bit her protests away, drugged by her response as she kissed him back. Her tongue mating with his, her breathing erratic. Her arms wound around his neck as he slid the thin bits of lace down her legs.

Their bodies fell against the side wall, and she blindly reached out to hit the stop button on the panel. The elevator jarred. An alarm sounded. Neither of them noticed.

He reached down between them and unzipped his jeans over the hardness of his erection, freeing himself. She sucked in a harsh breath when he touched her intimately. Slid two fingers down the swollen furrow.

She was wet, ready for him.

He pushed her into the corner, slid his hand down the back of her right thigh and pulled her leg up, positioning her. She tipped her head back, baring her throat. He kissed the smooth skin there, filling his senses with the fragrance of her skin. She made a soft sound in the back of her throat as he thrust inside her. AJ wrapped her raised leg around his hip, using her strong calf muscles to draw him harder against her.

The feel of her surrounding him was close to pain. So exquisite, so sharp, he wanted to race to the finish. Yet he wanted to prolong it, savor the sensation, make it last.

But he dared not prolong it, no matter how much he wanted to. If nothing else, people would soon be clamoring for the elevator. Raazaq was waiting for his comeuppance, and HQ was expected to call back in less than seven minutes. He couldn't think. Couldn't stop. Hell, couldn't breathe.

He plunged into her, hard and fast, his breath ragged, his heart manic with the power racing toward him.

The hot velvet fist of her climax triggered his own, and his body shuddered with the force of it.

AJ's head dropped to his chest as she dragged great gulps of air into her starved lungs. Kane had her squished hard into the corner. Their bodies were intimately joined and her right leg was still firmly around his waist. The ripples of her climax were spreading concentrically deep inside her as she lifted her face.

He bent his head and kissed her again, his mouth hot and hungry. He lowered her down his body, slipping out of her as she found her footing. AJ felt heat flush her cheeks. Jesus. What had she been thinking?

Nothing.

The second, the instant, he touched her, her brain had shut down. She'd never experienced such intense, immediate arousal in her life. Everything they'd said and done to each other until this point had been foreplay. When he'd entered her, her body had welcomed his. She'd been ready, willing, and raring to go. She still was.

"Pull yourself together." He rearranged himself, tucking all the interesting parts out of sight, and zipped his jeans. With some difficulty, AJ noticed with a little satisfaction.

"I'm flattered that you just couldn't wait to do that," AJ said dryly, her voice slightly breathless as she adjusted the dress to cover what she could. "But please don't tell me you terminated the mission just to have sex in an elevator. What happened? Why did we abort?"

"Status has changed," Kane told her shortly as the elevator began its decent.

Well, no shit,
she thought.
Their
status had certainly changed. But what could possibly have happened to have HQ cancel her hit? And how could she think about business when her body was still humming?

How long could that possibly have lasted? A minute? Less? Jesus God. AJ leaned against the wall, shaken. She'd never had sex like that in her life. It was as though he'd sucked every ounce of sense out of her and replaced it with live, crackling electricity and primal satisfaction.

What do you get when you put together two Type A personalities?
AJ asked herself.
Nitro and glycerin.

He gave her a lazy look. "You're wet."

AJ blinked.
Duh!
Of course she wa—Oh. She brushed at the front of her dress. "I spilled the water." The car stopped at their floor. "What on earth were you doing up on Raazaq's floor, anyway?"
And why did you just screw my brains out without comment?
Not that she was in any way complaining. Speed sex with Kane Wright beat any kind of sex with anyone else hands down.

The doors opened and Kane took off. AJ bent to scoop her underwear off the floor then raced after him.

Sex was great, AJ. The best I ve ever had. Thank you, Kane. It was incredible for me, too. Can we do it again when you can stay longer? Sure, AJ, can't wait.
She caught up with him, almost grabbed his arm, decided against touching him just yet, and dropped her hand. "What—"

He glanced at her sideways. No one would have been able to tell by the look on the man's face that he'd just had sex faster than you could cook a soft-boiled egg. How flattering was
that?
"Wait till we're inside," he said shortly.

Once inside, with the door locked, Kane stalked to the window, nipped the curtains back, and stared, as if looking for a sniper. AJ felt her temper start to sizzle. "So?"

"Intel confirmed Raazaq intercepted a shipment of chemicals between Russia and Iraq this morning."

A chill of foreboding shimmied up AJ's spine. "What kind of chemicals?"

"Right now we're not sure what was in the shipment, nor how much of it Raazaq's people managed to get hold of. All we know is, it was stolen and he has it."

AJ started pacing. "If it's Russian, it could be either DZ-9 or Ricin." Kane walked to the brocade sofa and sat down. He lifted his legs to the coffee table in front of him, crossed his feet at the ankles, and folded his hands across his middle. He looked calm. Cool. Collected. "Or worse."

"Yeah. Or worse. Doesn't matter what it is," she said, talking more to herself than to Kane. "If that son of a bitch wants it, then we have to retrieve it before he uses it. God knows, it's not a shipment of Girl Scout cookies." She leaned down and snagged a pen off the coffee table near Kane's booted feet, twisted her hair up on top of her head, and stabbed it into the untidy mass, using the pen as an anchor. "What do we know?"

"We know the approximate size and weight of the container. Small, easily transported, and deadly."

She stopped pacing, her mouth suddenly dry. "How deadly?"

"Category four."

"Oh, shit." She rubbed the sudden chill from her upper arms. "This is bad. Really, really bad. Chemical warfare? Viral agents? Splinter governments have got excess amounts of both since the fall of the Soviet structure. The Federation government still hasn't been able to round up all the chemical agents, especially not with so many dissident offshoot factions playing finders-keepers."

"Everyone is on it. We'll know soon," Kane told her grimly.

She glared at him. "He would've been dead by morning if you'd let me finish the job."

"Couldn't risk it. He's the only person who knows where the container is, and what its final purpose is." His eyes were hard, his jaw tight. Sex hadn't relaxed him any. And AJ fleetingly wondered why he'd bothered. She'd save the question for later. If there was a later. "For all we know," Kane went on, "one of his people has already passed it off. We have to confirm what he's set in motion before we eliminate him."

Made sense. Damn it. She'd have felt a lot better if that little weasel was already halfway into dying. But if he'd already arranged for distribution of whatever the hell it was he'd taken possession of, then his miserable death wouldn't help them stop what might be coming.

AJ blew out a frustrated breath. "How fast can intel get back to us on content and possible targets?"

"Twelve hours. Maybe less."

"It better be less. If it's DZ-9 or Ricin, there is no antidote," AJ said grimly, reaching behind her back for the zipper. She needed to change into more-appropriate clothing, and then start putting things in order just in case they had to bug out fast.

But she couldn't reach the damn zipper. She had to try twice, three times, before she gave up. Disgusted, she marched to the sofa and turned her back. "Get this, will you?" she asked, pointing to the hard-to-reach zipper and bracing herself for his touch.

While she waited, her brain churned. Jesus God.
Chemical warfare.
In the hands of a sociopath like Fazur Raazaq it could spell mass destruction on an unimaginable level. He had to be stopped. Now.

Kane was right. If Raazaq had died, they'd have no idea where the hell the chemicals were, or who had them. And she'd been so close to taking the rat out, too.

"Bend down."

"Hmmm?" She glanced at him. "Oh. Right."

She crouched beside him, back turned, bracing on the arm of the couch as her mind raced. T-FLAC personnel had already placed tracking devices into each of Raazaq's vehicles. Their own vehicle was ready to go. All they needed was fresh water, and they could split within seconds…

Shit. She had no experience with chemical warfare. And While Kane had been around for a long time, this was not his field of expertise, either. They were here on a wing and a prayer.

Kane's hand felt cool against her bare skin as he lowered the zipper—far too slowly. She squirmed a little as her skin heated up. She shifted on her bare feet, feeling the nubby texture of the carpet under her bare toes, and Kane's warm breath on her nape.

He was mighty damn close for zipper duty. And her body was still humming and ready for more. She craned to look over her shoulder and came nose to nose with him. She met his gaze and decided not to notice the flash of something dangerous she saw there. "Is it stuck?"

He shook his head. "I got it."

Cool air fanned her back, and thankfully helped put out the first flickers of heat he'd generated. Zipper undone, she rose to her feet. "You don't have any experience with chemical agents, either, do you?" she demanded, holding the top of the dress up.

His jaw clenched. "No. Not many do."

AJ felt a sizzle of adrenaline mixed with a healthy dose of fear of the unknown. This is what she'd joined T-FLAC for. To be a part of something so big it could affect millions of lives. To be one of the few people in the world who stood between normalcy and insanity. She'd joined up because just by doing their jobs, she and Kane would make a difference. Lives could be saved, and threats averted.

Now she was finally going to get the chance to make that difference.

"We can track Raazaq, we can get the intel of his proposed target—or targets—but neither of us knows a damn thing about containment and disposal of a dangerous chemical. We have to call for backup," AJ told him grimly. "This isn't a two-person op anymore. We need Hazmat, and we need them now."

"I figured that out on my own," he said dryly. "Backup is on their way as we speak. The minute HQ knew the situation, they dispatched an experienced Hazmat team."

He gave her a measured look she couldn't hope to interpret.

"So we wait?"

"We wait."

"Waiting sucks. The Hazmat team is coming, but soon enough?" She started pacing the room again, paying no attention at all to the fact that her barely there dress was wide open at the back. Hell, there were way too many important things to think about.
Keep calm. Focus.
Mentally, she ran down the supplies in their vehicle. Weapons, ammunition… Damn it, the flight here from the U.S. would take twenty-plus hours.

The terrorists could be anywhere and have done
anything
by the time the T-FLAC team landed in Cairo.

"We can't wait almost twenty-four hours for the team to get here. We have to have them right this second."

Kane nodded his agreement. "We will. Cairo dispatched a six-man team. They'll be here within the hour. The Hazmat team is en route from Europe. Be here by morning."

"Better," she said, thinking out loud, pleased to have Kane to bounce her thoughts off of. "But not near good enough. Raazaq said he'd only be here for a couple of days in the middle of a business trip."