The Protector (25 page)

She released the bunched-up skirt, then touched herself intimately. Every move was calculated to excite the male eye, as if she had done it many times before. She smoothed her hands sensuously up her body, arching her body as she squeezed her breasts together, then up the back of her neck, fluffing her hair languorously.

“Very nice. Come closer.” Stefan uncrossed his legs.

Still in her stilettos and wearing only her garters and fishnet stockings, she stepped out of her skirt and moved in between his thighs. “Do you like the proposal?”

He pretended to study her seriously. She really was an attractive woman, one who knew how to use her beauty to get things done. In this corner of the world, she had grown successful using the only means she had—her body. A woman like her was an asset for the Triad brothers. He wondered whether she had any feelings beyond those of greed and sexual gratification.

He picked up the cell phone he had set down on the arm of the chair and hit a button. He watched the smile of triumph spread on her face. Then she dropped on her knees between his legs. He sank deeper into the chair and conducted business, watching with hooded eyes as the woman unbuttoned and reached inside his pants. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he looked at the computer on the desk. He finished his instructions and slid the cell back into his breast pocket. Alissa continued to fondle him, but he didn’t doubt she had been listening to the conversation. Laying his hand over the drink next to him, he surreptitiously dropped the pill he had palmed.

“Let’s drink to the success of our new business,” he said.

She looked up, her lipstick smeared. “You’re interrupting a transaction,” she said.

He sipped his drink, then pushed the other glass to her lips. “Every good business meeting ends in a drink, don’t you know?”

She obediently drank as he watched. He finished his.

“Now,” he continued, reaching out to settle his hand on her breast, bouncing its weight as his thumb rubbed her nipple. Her lips parted with a sigh. “Let’s move onto the desk and see the rest of the contract, shall we? Let me see whether you will give me what I truly want.”

What he wanted was a password.

Jazz had never hiked with a woman this long before.
He had to admit it, he had had doubts about Vivi’s stamina, but she had once again proven him wrong. They had traveled at a fast clip the past four hours and she had stopped only once, to take off the soggy and muddy socks he had given her.

“I’d rather go barefoot,” she’d told him.

“You might cut yourself,” he’d warned.

“I’ll take the risk. Besides, we’re far away enough to signal T.”

It was getting very muggy again. He watched Vivi wipe away perspiration on his sleeve, leaving a smear of dirt on her cheek. He offered her a drink from his small canteen, then pointed at the canopy of trees nearby.

“As soon as we’ve activated your locator, we’ll head over to the shade and wait.”

“Sounds like a brilliant idea.” She smiled. “If I weren’t so tired, I’d race you over there. Besides it isn’t fair that you have shoes.”

Most women would complain about the heat, but Vivi had not only kept up with him, she had injected humor into the situation. He grinned at the sight of her blackened feet.

“I offered to carry you,” he reminded her.

“For four hours? You wouldn’t be quite this perky,” she lightly mocked back as she handed back the canteen.

He made a face. “Please. SEALs aren’t perky.”

She grinned, then eyed a specific area of his body. “If you say so,” she said. Without warning, she started taking off the black shirt. She unhooked the front of her bra and worked a finger inside the cup, giving him glimpses of her nipple. When she looked up, her eyes had a definite twinkle. “It’s getting perky again.”

Jazz’s lips quirked. “That’s my personal locator,” he informed her.

She laughed. “Do you think, while we wait, Perky can help me find something?”

Oh yeah. Definitely.

Whoever T. was, she was remarkably quick. Within an hour, the unmistakable thumping drone of a helicopter was heard in the distance. Jazz reluctantly lifted his head.

“You know, we should have activated that thing in your bra a little later,” he complained, half meaning it. Part of him wanted to spend more time here, talking with and touching each other. It had given him a chance to get to know Vivi better, and he didn’t want it to stop.

“Ummm,” Vivi agreed. “Do that again.”

“Babe, the copter will be here any second now.” The thumps were getting louder. “We need to signal them.”

“Okay.”

They ran to the clearing where they had planted the locator. Vivi shaded her eyes and pointed toward one direction. Jazz pulled her behind a tree. Just in case. One never knew. The bird flew fast and low over the trees, casting its shadow, first over the trees, then on the bare earth as it approached them. It seemed to know exactly where to land. Within minutes it set itself down and a man appeared in the doorway and waved.

“It’s Cumber. Let’s go,” Jazz shouted over the noise, hold
ing out a hand. Vivi placed hers in his and they ran together toward the waiting helicopter.

Vivi climbed in first, with Cucumber’s help, then Jazz followed. He gave the big guy a thumbs-up.

“Up and away, buddy!” Cucumber shouted to the pilot. “Everything all right, sir?”

“A-OK. How did you get on this bird?”

“Orders. All we were told was that Miss Verreau had been located. I was sent just in case you were with her since I was the only one who saw you running off toward the truck. All of us assumed that you and Miss Verreau were together.”

“How’s our team?”

Cucumber gave another thumbs-up. It was too noisy to go into detail, but it was good to know his unit was intact. The big man handed them bottled water.

After a long gulp of refreshment, Jazz looked down at the landscape. From up here, the view was spectacular, showing miles and miles of pristine forest. Yet one never knew what could be hiding in there, especially near the river.

He turned when Vivi touched his arm. She moved closer and shouted into his ear.

“Thank you for saving me.”

He nodded. “My pleasure,” he said, and winked.

The chopper landed at a private landing strip Vivi recognized as belonging to a former asset. She told Jazz all she knew about the owner. He was now retired, and his rules were simple. No questions asked. “Rentals” were payable in cash wired to a dummy offshore account. In return, the well-equipped and tightly guarded compound was highly prized among certain circles. Two cars, with tinted windows, were waiting when they got off the helicopter.

“Why aren’t we going together?” Jazz asked, making the right assumption.

“I have to meet with my chief first. Besides, I need a bath.” She wrinkled her nose. “You, too.”

His smile did funny things to her insides. “I didn’t hear any complaints earlier.”

“That’s because I’m too much of a lady,” she teased. She noticed Cucumber’s growing interest in their conversation and coughed delicately. “I’ll see you very soon, Lieutenant. Thank you once again for coming to my aid.”

She turned away before she succumbed to the temptation of kissing him goodbye and briskly walked toward the car that drove up slowly, indicating that it was for her. The back door clicked open, and she slid inside. The air-conditioned interior brought immediate relief.

“Everything okay?” T. asked, sitting at the far end. “You look terrible. Did Dilaver hurt you? If he did, I hope that absolutely gorgeous naked torso out there canceled the bastard.”

Vivi cocked an eyebrow. “You sound worried, Chief.” She was going to ignore the comment about Jazz’s body.

“Your kidnapping was an unexpected turn of events.”

“You did calculate the off chance of it happening, though, or you wouldn’t have given me the locator,” Vivi pointed out. T. sometimes seemed psychic when it came to preparation for the unexpected. “So why the worry, Chief?”

“You’re a friend, Viv. And I know Dilaver.” T. tapped the divider between the front seat and the back, letting the driver know they were ready to go. “I was glad when I heard Lieutenant Zeringue had gone off after you. Here, have a drink, darling.”

Vivi turned to catch the last sight of Jazz talking to Cucumber as the car turned. “Dilaver caught me by surprise,” she admitted. She only did it because this was her chief; she hated acknowledging any weaknesses to anyone, but it would have come up during debriefing anyway. “The situation was sticky but I got out of it without killing him. It would have ended our operation if Jazz had canceled him.”

“Not necessarily. I have contingency plans.”

That didn’t surprise her. “But it would have been problematic,” Vivi said.

T. smiled slightly. “One less Dilaver in this world…” She shrugged offhandedly.

Vivi relaxed against the leather seat of the car, wincing slightly. The skin on her back felt dry and stretched, and the scratches were beginning to sting. “You have taught me that a known enemy is better than an unknown one. A new Dilaver would be less predictable in our calculations, if there is such a thing as a predictable killer.”

“What happened to your back?”

Vivi sighed. She had hoped T. wouldn’t notice. “I fell and the ground was rocky,” she said carefully. Maybe changing the subject would help. “Update me on the operation—how are the girls? Tell me about Masked Man.”

T. studied her for a long moment, then as if she was satisfied that Vivi wasn’t really injured, she nodded. “I’m sending a Medic to check on you before debriefing. The operation was a success. None of the girls was injured and they are now in a safe house. As for our prisoner, there’s quite a bit to tell, the most interesting of which is his identity.”

“Who is he?”

“Our man claims to be one of the Triad brothers. Not the big three, but one of them, anyhow. He gave me a lot of interesting information that I still need to verify but he wouldn’t disclose anything about Sia-Sia till you return. He can be an asset to us.”

“Do you really believe what he’s telling us?” Curiosity filled Vivi. Why was he so adamant about keeping that information from her when he could have told her all this time? “He’s still playing games.”

“Of course. That’s why I kind of like him. Fearlessness is good for an asset, yes? And a warped sense of humor.” T. lightly touched Vivi’s arm. “I just want to keep you prepared, darling. Just in case Sia-Sia is already dead. That would explain why he chose not to contact you until I showed up. Right now he might just be having a last bit of revenge for your setting up that trap.”

Vivi silently agreed. Sia-Sia could very well be dead all these years. But at least she would know for sure.

“I can’t wait to talk to Masked Man,” she told her chief. “Does he have a name?”

“He calls himself Armando Chang.”

At a GEM safe house at the edge of town, T. gave Vivi the keys to the upstairs apartment. Hot shower. Glorious sudsy soap. A thick fluffy bathrobe. T. sent up some food with a medic, who efficiently cleaned the deeper scratches with iodine to prevent infection. As expected, the shower relaxed Vivi even more, and she splashed her face with cold water.

She studied herself in the mirror. There were shadows under her eyes. Her lips looked and felt bruised. She hoped T. wouldn’t notice
that
. T.’s ability to probe everything out of someone was downright uncomfortable, and if Vivi could help it, she would rather leave out certain events from the night before.

She stifled a yawn. She would probably be less tired if she hadn’t had marathon sex. No rest for the wicked, she told her reflection in the bathroom, and frowned severely. That stupid dreamy smile popping up on her lips had to go. This wasn’t the time to think about—she sighed—how her man didn’t wear any underwear.

A knock at the door jolted Vivi out of her daydreaming. She briskly wiped her hands on the towel, determinedly pushing wayward thoughts out of her mind.

“Come on in,” she called. T. handed her some clothes. “I guess you won’t mind if we burn whatever that’s left of your jungle clothing,” she said dryly. “It was very nice of Jazz to give you his shirt.”

Vivi avoided meeting T.’s keen eyes as she pretended interest in the jeans and shirt. “Yes,” she said, keeping her answer short for now.

“He must really care about you. It isn’t easy to run after a speeding truck and hang on to the back for hours.”

Vivi mumbled something as she pulled the shirt over her head.

“So did he help you get over your abhorrence of military men?” T. drawled.

Keeping her face bland, Vivi lifted her hair out of the shirt. T.’s eyes glimmered with suppressed laughter, daring her to tell a direct lie. “He’s different,” Vivi finally admitted. Then she shrugged. “But he’s still leaving after the operation.”

“Darling, don’t be so negative.” T. headed for the door. “Let’s meet Mr. Chang downstairs.”

The thought of Jazz leaving was painful. Vivi shook her head. What was the matter with her? She was in the middle of an assignment. And she was also this close to finding Sia-Sia—maybe. To distract herself, she purposely brought up the list of things that needed her attention. Dealing with the Masked Man. Debriefing. Then tomorrow she had to deal with Juliana’s cut-off list. There was so much to do.

“Is he violent?” Vivi asked when they paused outside a room.

“No. In fact, I left the door unlocked today.” T. knocked.

“Don’t you think that might encourage him to escape?” Vivi asked.

“Come in,” a voice said from inside. T. smiled at Vivi. “Having seen his remarkable disappearing skills, I had a hunch he could have escaped whenever he wanted.”

She followed T. into the room. Armando Chang was lounging on the sofa watching television without the sound on. He had the remote in one hand, clicking it rapidly.

“Hello, Tess,” he greeted. His smile disappeared. “Hello again, Vivienne.”

Vivi didn’t hide her surprise. “You’re the waiter at the hotel!”

He was younger than she had thought, too—probably mid-twenties. He nodded. “Yes.”

She turned to T. “Did you know?”

“Yes.”

“That very day? When we were lunching?”

“Well, I tested him when I first bumped into him—it was before your arrival, darling—and he refused to trip. So I tested him again at the table. He was a pretty good actor but his reflexes were a bit faster than normal.” T. smiled at him. “That’s meant as a compliment.”

Armando Chang’s lips quirked. Like Vivi, he was of mixed blood, his features an exotic mixture of East and West. He had deep-set black eyes, with a strong nose and jawline. His high cheekbones accentuated his masculine yet sensual lips. He appeared quite at home on the sofa as if he hadn’t been thoroughly vetted by T. That in itself was noteworthy because T. didn’t just interrogate. She could, if she chose, exhaust a mind.

“How long have you known about me?” Vivi asked.

He directed those intense dark eyes at her. “No apologies for kicking me in the groin?” he countered, mockery in his voice.

She arched a brow. “I don’t like people walking in and out of my apartment without my permission. All these little hints that you keep throwing at me—my patience is wearing thin.”

Armando turned to T. “She isn’t like you, Tess,” he remarked. “She gets personal.”

T. sat down at the far corner of the room. “Careful there,” she warned lightly. “She’s one of my best students.”

“In that case, my apologies,” he said smoothly, not sounding the least bit sorry. He turned back to Vivi. “Please be patient with me. I’ve been watching and waiting for so long that sometimes I forget to be more direct. I do have information for you.”

Vivi crossed her arms. “For a price, of course.”

“No need to be cynical,” Armando chided. “Everything and everyone has a price, sooner or later.”

“And you call me cynical?” Vivi decided she didn’t like the man. Or trust him. She didn’t like people that set prices on themselves. “What’s yours?”

“I already told you.”

She frowned. “T., are you going to tell me what is it Mr. Chang wants? I’m too tired right now to play guessing games.”

T. sat back, looking as if she were about to enjoy some spectator sport. “Armando claims to be one of many Triad siblings,” she told her. “The three main brothers that we know about are full-blooded relatives. However, it appears that their father’s other wives have given them many half siblings. Armando is the son of the youngest wife. He gave me a name to check up and I’m still on it. His offer to GEM is quite generous. He’ll tell us as much as he knows about the Triads, from the drug dealer rings to piracy on the high seas. Being the youngest half-brother, he has limited power and is privy to very little of the family trade secrets, but while his father was alive, he had been given a Western education and groomed for certain overseas operations, Or so he claims.”