The Monte Carlo Affair: Across A Crowded Room (IATO Series Book 2) (4 page)

Mosel nuzzled her neck. “I hoped we would just stay here tonight.”

“We can come back out here later,
for dinner
.” She raised a brow and left the rest unspoken.

“Of course,
dinner
. I will be the perfect gentleman. Have I not promised?”

“And you’ve lived up to your promise.” Emily nodded her head once in agreement. “Thank you.

Mosel laughed good-naturedly and pecked her lips. “You are so refreshingly honest but such a tease.”

A practiced smile she didn’t feel surfaced.
I am neither of those things.

Guilt ate at her for letting him touch her, and for enjoying his touch. While those thoughts surfaced, something kept niggling at her like an ache from deep in her heart. Emily feared he wasn’t exactly what he seemed. She kept her emotions hidden, but couldn’t help the threat boiling from within.

If you had anything to do with my father’s death, I will personally take pleasure in ripping your heart out.

His background, true or not, was common knowledge. Homeless, a twin raised in a state institution in East Germany before being adopted by a wealthy couple who were well-known philanthropists.

There was more to him than the team had uncovered. She was sure of it. If only she had her own PC with secure access. Just so much surfing and hacking could be accomplished safely at her apartment, and she didn’t dare play around at work. The next time she met with Jason, she’d find out if he knew anything else. She’d need all the ammunition she could muster to stand her ground with Mosel. He wore down her resistance each time they met.

Chapter Three

From the balcony of his hillside home, Jason had an unobstructed view of the bay and Mosel’s yacht. He didn’t take the binoculars away from his eyes as he watched the seduction scene play out on board.

The man touched her and then kissed her.

Damn.
Jason squeezed his eyes shut. What the hell did she have in mind acting like this? She was wearing next to nothing. Why hadn’t she put on the silk thing she had with her, the one he bought when they’d been shopping?

Jason winced and groaned aloud. This plan was going to kill him. Just wait until he got a hold of her. He’d like to shake her brainless for doing her job too well. Instead, he’d take the next opportunity to drive some sense into her head. She was playing with fire. It was as if she was enjoying herself, like she was playing
him
instead of Mosel.

He’d have some questions for her all right. Hadn’t he bought the cover-up with her safety in mind? After she’d tried the bathing suit on, the result of seeing all her naked flesh exposed forced him to carry their bags to conceal his unprofessional hard-on. He’d personally shoved the cover-up in her bag before she left this morning.

Now she was out there with Mosel wearing next to nothing, flirting, and God knew what. He adjusted himself, annoyed at the direction his thoughts kept dragging his body whenever he thought about her.

Harrison lounged on the patio with his feet up on the table, a beer in his hand, and a smirk on his face. “Jason, chill out. She’s doing her job. Don’t make it harder by second-guessing her decisions.” He took a long pull on the bottle. “She instinctively knows how to be a seductive woman.”

“Shit! That’s what I’m worried about. Believe me, I’m not the one to second-guess her ability in that department.” Jason hissed. “I am concerned with how well she’s accomplishing her mission, though. I’ve never seen Mosel this infatuated with anyone. Something about it concerns me.”

“Like what?”

“For one, how will he react when I take her away from him? And I. Am. Taking. Her. Away. He may not be ready to part with her so easily at this rate, even for what doing business with me might bring to the table.”

“He’s not in this alone. No matter how much he wants her, his friends are too powerful and dangerous to screw with. He’ll back down at first to make you happy, and as soon as you’re out of the picture, he’ll be right there to pick up the pieces. He’s a professional, he won’t risk fucking this up for a woman.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Hell, look at her!”

“Emily will steer him in the right direction.”

“I’m not sure where she’s steering him, but
I’m
not happy with the direction they’re headed.”

“She knows how important it is for your cover to remain intact for the future. When she’s finished with Mosel, you’ll still have your cover, and she’ll look as innocent as a newborn,” Harrison lifted his almost-empty Heineken as if in toast. “Mission accomplished. We’ll have the chip, we can still use your cover, and she’ll be safe! Don’t forget what’s important, buddy. Don’t lose sight of the ball.”

“I know, I know, but just look at them,” Jason practically whined, as he watched the interaction. Without realizing, he admitted aloud, “I can’t stand watching him touch her.”

“You have it bad, my friend.” Harrison shook his head and stood up. He moved to a better angle and picked up the other pair of binoculars to improve his view of what was bothering Jason so much.

Jason intercepted him. “Never mind,” he said, taking the other binoculars from Harrison before he picked them up to look. “I don’t want you looking, she’s practically naked.”

“I think I’ve seen her naked before.” Harrison quietly chuckled, trying to hide his amusement. “Well, topless anyway.”

“It had better have been when she was a baby in diapers, or I’ll have to kill you.” Jason lightened up. Harrison loved Emily—like a baby sister.

“Okay. Then I guess I better not remind you the B team has them under video surveillance.”

“Oh, shit.” Jason dropped his head in his hands. He wanted to scream. Glued to the view, he moaned. “Where did she get that bathing suit? That’s not the one she bought when I was with her, and that one was bad enough. Can you even call that a bathing suit?” He stomped around the balcony. “Shit, look at her legs. I bought her a damn cover-up. Why isn’t she wearing it?” He paced along the wall like a caged tiger.

He turned on Harrison. “What are you smirking about?”

A full-blown laugh erupted from Harrison. “Jason, sit down and have another beer. And for Christ’s sake put down the glasses. You’re driving me nuts. The guys will make contact with us if she needs help.”

He picked up the binoculars Jason relinquished and put them out of his immediate reach. “Calm down, she’s perfectly fine. You’re meeting her in two hours, and you better either get yourself under control or ask her to marry you.”

Jason gasped. “What? What are you talking about? She’s like my kid sister.”

With a skeptical look, Harrison tossed Jason a beer, and pulled another out of the mini fridge. He corrected Jason, “No, don’t pull that shit on me. She’s like
my
baby sister. She’s never been like your sister. You’ve been in love with her since you first laid eyes on her when she was eight years old.”

“That’s just sick! I didn’t love her that way,” Jason protested, but he knew Harrison was right.

“‘Didn’t’ is the optimal word.” Harrison pointed his bottleneck at Jason. “Maybe not back then. But even then, there was always a deep connection between you two. By the time she finished high school, we all wondered what you were waiting for. Was it Avery?”

He nodded and took a pull from the bottle, remembering being barely conscious the first time he saw her. She’d made him feel better with her presence, until she grew up. He mulled that over. By the time she entered her mid-teens, he took to avoiding her completely, trying to replace his feelings for her with all the other women.

That hadn’t worked, either. All those women gave him his present “player” reputation, but none of them came close to his fantasies of her.

“Avery loved you. He knew how you two felt about each other. He trusted you to take ca—”

“Butt out.” He grunted a warning at Harrison.

“Too late for that.”

Harrison had a right to know. “Being seven years older mattered. Avery’s kindness always held me back, kept me from responding to her no matter how much she flirted. I hated that my feelings weren’t more brotherly. But you’re right, they never were. I felt brotherly toward Kate, why didn’t I feel the same way toward Emily?”

A smile threatened Harrison’s lips. “You tried to play the big brother role when she was in high school. You managed the annoying part real well when she started dating. If I remember correctly, you had a big problem with jealousy back then, too.”

“I worried that I wouldn’t be able to resist her.” If he let himself believe he could have her, desire crept in and then the guilt. Always the guilt. “Let’s change the subject for a few minutes.”

“Good idea. Before you beat yourself up over Emily and drive me and yourself crazy, I’d like to remind you there’s a difference with memories you have as a child and those you make as an adult. Remember when Avery brought you to my place to help Andrea take care of me?”

Jason mumbled an acknowledgment.

“You helped me down to the porch and asked me how I felt. I told you it wasn’t too bad, that the medication finally took the edge off. I lied. It hurt like a son of a bitch.”

“I know. You were playing all macho, big bro for me, so I let you.”

“Did I ever thank you for that? You know, for helping me get outside for a smoke? Andrea wouldn’t let me smoke in the house and I was becoming a desperate man.”

“Don’t mention it. You were always a ‘desperate man’ when it came to smoking.” Jason shook his head. “I haven’t forgotten all the times you tried to quit. You were incorrigible.”

“Yeah, especially then. With my leg elevated, I was out of commission and totally pissed. You saved me from going stir crazy. You know how much you helped us out, right?”

“Jeez, Harrison, don’t mention it. Cripes, it was a lifetime ago.”

“Yeah, well I just want you to know favors go both ways.”

“Thanks, I’ll hold you to that.” Jason laughed and eased back in the chair. “The house reminded me of my grandfather’s place. I liked the wraparound porch and being in the quiet country. The nippy air felt clear, good, almost too good. Being out in the suburbs away from Kincaid and the trouble scared me. What if I let down my guard, relaxed, got too secure?”

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were affected that way.”

“It was a long time ago.”

Harrison reached for the lighter he still always kept on him. “Avery used to taunt me about using a flip fluid lighter in a day and age when butane ruled.”

“I remember you laughing at him and saying, ‘There’s nothing classy about a butane, and I’m all about class.’ You were always so full of shit.”

“Shit rules the world.”

Jason stared vacantly out at the yacht, as Harrison picked the glasses back up.

“You never talk about that time when you were shot. Why now? Fess up, what are you driving at?”

“Nothing—just shootin’ the bull.” He leaned back into the chair, settling in for a long conversation, and let out a gruff laugh. “Thank God the surgery was a rousing success. The bullet that lodged in my thigh came too close to the family jewels for comfort.” Harrison winced. “Even if I could’ve told you I’d been shot, I still wouldn’t have admitted to almost getting my balls shot off during my first assignment. Especially to a fifteen-year-old I was trying to impress. I wasn’t allowed to talk about it, anyway.”

“Yeah, well back then I wasn’t big into talking much, either.”

“I gathered as much. I tried confiding in you, hoping to get you to talk. Like the time I told you Avery was my father figure.”

“You were trying to make me feel better about Avery dumping me and the others with you and Andrea. If there was one thing I was good at, I excelled when it came to reading people.” Jason’s gut clenched with the memories, and the dark poured in.

“There’s something you should know,” Harrison said. “Avery did almost the same thing for me. Rescued me from a drunken stepfather. You had questions back then I couldn’t answer.”

“Lots of them.”

“I can now. When Avery left to visit his sick wife, you must have wondered where he went, what would happen to you and the others if something happened, but you never asked. Didn’t you wonder why Avery did what he did for you? I didn’t need to hear the questions to know you had them. Andrea and I couldn’t have answered most, even if you’d have asked. Only Avery could.”

“I didn’t have to ask to get answers. Avery was a white knight.”

“True—you were a very sharp kid. So what happened?”

Jason laughed and threw a bottle cap at his friend. “I know that you’re trying to distract me, so I guess I haven’t gotten too dense.”

Harrison chuckled. “All those questions. Did Avery ever get a chance to set you straight, before...?”

“Yup, as a matter of fact he did, years later.”

Harrison nodded. “Good, because when I told you Avery would probably fill you in, I didn’t think it would take so long for him to get around to telling the details about what happened to me that night.”

“I wondered where he disappeared to when we stayed with you, that’s all.”

“I figured I owed you some sort of explanation.”

“I appreciated you telling me about Sarah, how sick she was.”

“Avery had Emily with him at the hospital that night, making arrangements to get me out and bring his wife back from the hospital in Maryland.”

“The explanation helped me understand his motives, why he took me in and adopted Kate, why he sent her to live at the farm in Maryland with Emily and his father-in-law during the last stages of his wife’s illness. He knew the next year would be rough on Emily and Kate would ground her when he couldn’t be with her.”

Avery had tried to spend as much time as possible with his dying wife and the rest of them tried to be supportive, but Jason had been in high school and couldn’t afford to get behind. At those times, he stayed with Harrison until Avery came back into town.

“Fate’s funny in some ways. We were all good for each other.” Emily was the best thing that ever happened to him. “It hadn’t been all that long since my own mother had died of cancer and then my grandfather followed six months later. You know that’s how I ended up in the system with Kincaid.”

There, it was back. The black rage. The emotional change flowed over Jason. This conversation had just turned in the wrong direction fast.

“And then with our sorry lot,” Harrison reminded him, “and Emily.”

Her name flipped the switch back. It was a palpable thing. “I just feel responsible for her.”

Harrison resumed with sarcasm, “Well go tell that to someone who’ll believe you. We all thought it was puppy love, and you’d both eventually grow out of it. When she got older, I thought for sure you’d both come to grips with your feelings. Then the bombing—” Harrison stopped, his jaw clenched. He loosened his neck, twisting his head and shoulders. “Well, hell, everyone knows how you both feel, except you two, you and Emily. You aren’t fooling anyone but yourselves.