You Only Love Twice (29 page)

Ten put a hand on his shoulder. “She’s a pro. You have to
let her do her job. You can’t pull the caveman act on her. She’s smart and
quick and she can take care of herself. I did you a solid by having Weston get
you out of there.” He leaned over and touched a button on Hutch’s system. “You
two come on up. We’re good for the evening. We’ll let Murdoch sift through some
of the footage and see if we’ve got a lead on anything.”

Over the elevator feed he heard Erin say, “I’m tired. Let’s
tell the boss we’re done for the night.”

Phoebe nodded. “After dealing with that wanker, I just want
to go up to the suite and forget men exist at all. I can’t believe I left
London for this.”

He wasn’t about to let her forget. He intended to make sure
she knew he existed. He sighed and stepped back. He’d damn near fucked up
everything. “I’m sorry.”

Ten’s green eyes were icy cold as he looked him over. “Next
time you’ll be out. I’ll ship you back to Taggart and you’ll do this job from
several thousand miles away.”

He deserved that. “Yes, sir.”

Ten softened marginally. “I didn’t like the way he looked at
her either, but I’ve had years to get used to the idea that my sister has a
job. You don’t, so you better hurry up and get with the program. And we men
stick together on my team. No one’s going to mention that Murdoch here has a
possessive caveman side and a dick with zero IQ.”

Hutch grinned around a licorice stick. “It’s forever our
secret.”

Jesse nodded to let Ten know he was grateful. “Let me know
when you’re ready for me to look through the footage.”

Hours and hours of his life would be spent sifting through
the surveillance footage they’d gathered from both the security cameras and the
personal equipment they’d been wearing. He’d learned that espionage was a lot
like soldiering—hours of tedious, careful work, and then some shit exploded.

He stepped away and looked out over the balcony. The moon
hung low, illuminating the beauty of the Persian Gulf. He felt someone step up,
and there was no question who it would be. “How do you deal with it, Si?”

“Having my wife in harm’s way from time to time?”

“Yeah.”

“Mostly she’s behind a computer, but when she’s out in the
field, I have to trust her. I’m almost always out in the field. She’s got to
deal with that every day. Chelsea is smart and she won’t take chances she
doesn’t have to. You’ve got another problem entirely.”

He knew what his real problem was. “She’s already lost one
husband.”

“Exactly. I wouldn’t spend my time railing at her for
scaring you. She’s doing her job. Praise her for it.”

“He touched her.”

“And she handled it.” Simon seemed determined to be the
voice of reason. “She wasn’t alone. She had Erin to back her up, and for all of
Erin’s foibles, she’s a damn fine agent. She wouldn’t leave a teammate in the
field to save her own life. They can handle things.”

It would be easier if Phoebe was behind a desk like Chelsea,
or so pregnant she couldn’t work like Charlotte. Maybe Ian had the right idea.
Just keep her pregnant so he could keep her safe. Except pregnancy wasn’t
exactly totally safe, and then there were kids. Kids weren’t safe. Kids were
small, crazed maniacs who thought playing in traffic and eating shit they
shouldn’t was fun. Then he would spend his every waking hour terrified he would
lose not only Phoebe but his kids, too.

Nope. Tag was an idiot.

“Are you all right?” Simon asked.

“I was just thinking about family.”

“And it made you turn slightly green?” Simon laughed,
slapping him on the shoulder. “Don’t think about it. Just do it. There are no
guarantees in life except that if you waste it, you’ll regret it. Take it
all—the good, the bad, the risky. This is yours and it’s all you have. Having a
family is the most frightening thing in the world if you really let yourself
think about it. All that pain waiting out there if you lose one of them. And
still, it’s meaningless if you don’t have them. We find our families, Jesse.
Some of us are lucky to find them when we’re born, but a lot of us have to
look. So be grateful and welcome every single person who becomes family to you.
Hold them close and yes, mourn them when they’re gone, so at the end of all of
this you know you had a life.”

He took a long breath, forcing his emotions deep because he
was going to do everything he could to have those troublesome, frightening
children with Phoebe. Neither one of them had good parents, but it didn’t
matter because he did have a family to rely on. When he had questions, he could
ask Simon or Jake or Alex. His children wouldn’t be alone like he’d been. They
would be surrounded by cousins who would occasionally have to help fend off
office attacks if their Uncle Ten and Uncle Tag couldn’t get along.

He just had to convince Phoebe it was worth the risk.

“It doesn’t look like our night is over.” Hutch pointed to
his computer screen as Jesse turned back around. “Who is that, boss?”

Ten stepped up behind them. “Can’t tell. Do we have a better
camera angle?”

Hutch hit a couple of buttons, grimacing. “Nah. I don’t have
anything that picks up his face. Phoebe and Erin were moving toward the
elevators when he stopped them.”

Jesse moved to his side, trying to get a good view of the
feed. At least she was back in the ballroom. There was less chance of something
bad happening to her with the entire conference crowd surrounding them.

On the camera feed, Phoebe was talking to a man in a thawb,
the traditional Arab robe. It was long and covered every part of the man’s body
with the exception of his hands. His head was covered in a keffiyeh. He was
standing right in front of Phoebe, but Jesse couldn’t see his face. Phoebe’s
was clear on the camera and there wasn’t a hint of distress. She seemed calm
and pleasant.

“Can you get audio?” Ten asked.

Hutch nodded and Phoebe’s voice came over the line. “Thank
you so much for asking. I am well. There was a moment’s distress, but it’s all
been handled.”

“I saw you leave with the American. He was not in his right
head.” The voice was dark, rich. It sent a shiver down Jesse’s spine. It made
his stomach curl.

“He was drunk.” Erin stood beside Phoebe. “It was
embarrassing. We couldn’t find his friends so we got him upstairs.”

“Did you?” That deep voice asked. “Clever girls, but you
should be careful here. Next time, ask a man to help you. You shouldn’t be
required to see that part of the world. It could also give the rest of the
attendees the wrong impression of your character. They might not understand
that you were trying to help. They would only see two women alone with a man
who is not their husband.”

Jesse forced himself to stay standing. It was right there,
the impulse to hide, to make himself as small as possible so no one noticed
him. He could hide from that voice. It didn’t have to find him.

“Thank you, Mr. al Fareed.” Phoebe gave the man a polite
smile and elbowed Erin, who looked like she wanted to say something.

Don’t say anything. Don’t talk. Don’t argue. Just
survive.

The man’s head bent slightly, as though acknowledging her
gratitude. “You are with the Loa Mali contingent?”

“Yes, sir.” Phoebe’s accent was crisp, and he liked the fact
that it was one more bit of armor she could put between her and the man in
front of her. “My friend and I are in public relations and marketing for the
king.”

“He’s an interesting man.” Al Fareed bowed slightly. “And he
has interesting friends. Be careful. It would be a shame for nice women like
yourselves to get caught in a war.”

“A war?”

“Business is always war and war is always a matter of
business. Don’t ever forget that. And stay away from the Americans. They drink
too much. Men, I’ve found, are nothing but dogs to be trained. That one needs a
tighter leash. Good evening.”

He stepped out of the frame, his face never turning to the
camera.

“Jesse? Are you all right?” He heard Simon talking, but it
sounded far away.

Before he really knew what he was doing, he found himself
running. There were shouts behind him, but he paid them no mind. He wasn’t
going to listen to that voice in his head. That voice led him nowhere. There
was a new voice that shouted for him to take action.

He ran out of the suite and headed for the stairs. They
would be so much quicker than the elevators. His team might catch him waiting
for the elevators. They wouldn’t understand. The devil had to be caught. The
devil wouldn’t be caught with cameras. He could manipulate those. He could only
be caught by someone who knew him.

His mind raced as he flew down the stairs. One flight and
then two and three and four. He lost track of how many. All that mattered was
getting to the ballroom and unmasking the devil, showing him for the true evil
he was.

His eyes caught on the door that led to the ballroom and he
burst through it.

Sound and lights hit him. He was suddenly surrounded and in
a sea of white.

His breath shuddered, but he forced some calm to slip over
him. There were a few business suits, but mostly the entire room consisted of
men in thawbs and keffiyehs. What color had the headdress been?

Red. It had been red, right?

Did every fucker in the room have to be wearing some damn
form of red on his head?

His heart rate ticked up. He was here. The Caliph was here
and he was wearing a mask. How the fuck was he supposed to find him when they
all were wearing the same masks?

And there it was. That was the same keffiyeh he’d seen in
the video feed. Red and black. He’d found him.

Jesse reached for the Caliph’s elbow, pulling him around,
ready to stare into the face of his own nightmare.

“Can I help you?” an elderly man asked, his brown eyes
softening with concern. “Are you all right?”

Not the Caliph. Not even close. Jesse stepped back. “Sorry.”

His heart sank and he stumbled a bit. He wanted to shout.
Thought about it for a half a second. He could shout out and finally be done
with this.

“Jesse?”

He stopped in the middle of the room. Phoebe. His hands were
shaking. His heart racing. He wanted to walk away from her so she didn’t have
to see him, didn’t have to know how this affected him and made him turn into a
reactionary moron who hadn’t even thought about the consequences of running in
here like a madman.

He looked up and hundreds of eyes were watching him. He was
supposed to be a ghost, someone who clung to the sidelines and no one noticed,
but he’d just made himself a massive target. He’d placed them all in danger
because he couldn’t control himself.

He turned, knowing he had to get them out of here. She would
be furious. He plastered a smile on his face that utterly belied his need to
scream and roar and berate himself. “Hey, I was looking for you.” Yeah, they
would believe that. “Heard you had some trouble.”

Erin was standing beside Phoebe with a frown on her face.
“We took care of it. Looks like you’re having some trouble, too.”

“Back off,” Phoebe said under her breath. “We’ll deal with
this upstairs.”

He turned and suddenly was taken back to that moment he’d
been placed on an airplane to go from Ramstein AFB back to the States after
he’d been found. He’d been in the hospital for weeks, and then they’d come for
him. Five MPs. They’d been there for his “protection” his CO had claimed, but
that hadn’t been how it felt.

He’d felt like a prisoner, like a man no one trusted.

As Simon and then Theo took up places on either side of him,
he knew what it felt like again.

He walked forward toward the elevators, his gut in a nasty
twist. He’d fucked up and it was going to cost him everything.

They got into the elevators and the silence was damn near
devastating.

Phoebe’s head went down, avoiding the cameras this time. “I
know. Ten, I will handle it. I don’t care. Yes, I’ll let him know.”

“Jesse,” Simon began.

Phoebe turned, her eyes flashing. “You will wait until we
get upstairs and then you will wait until I’ve had my talk with him. Is that
understood?”

So Phoebe was going to deliver the dressing down. Yeah, that
was the icing on the cake. That was the final fucking blow. He was going to
lose his job and her in the same moment.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he began.

“Be quiet,” she ordered.

The doors opened again and they marched out toward the
suite. Ten was standing there waiting when they walked in.

“Do you have any idea what you just did? Every security team
here is trying to figure out who you are. You have put every single one of us
in danger,” Ten said, his voice as cold as ice.

Phoebe got right in her brother’s space. “I told you to
stand down.”

“You don’t run this team,” Ten shot back.

“I don’t care. He’s mine and I will take care of him. You
and everyone else will back the fuck off. I’m going to do this in private.
We’ll deal with fallout later and that is my final say. Unless you want to fire
me, you will let me deal with this my way.”

Ten scrubbed a hand through his head and stalked off.

Phoebe’s hand found his. It seemed a little cruel of her,
but he was numb. He allowed himself to be led off. She walked right to the
bedroom they’d shared. She wouldn’t be sharing with him anymore. She led him
inside and then turned and locked the door.

Jesse stared ahead, not wanting to look back at her. “I know
I fucked up.”

She moved around to stand in front of him, and there were
tears in her eyes when she reached for him, her hands cupping his face as she
stared up. “I will not let him hurt you. Do you understand me?” She wrapped her
arms around him and suddenly he was held tight. “I won’t ever let him hurt you.
God, Jesse, he’s here. I talked to him, didn’t I? That’s what Ten said. It was
the only reason you would do that. I won’t let him get near you. I promise.
You’re safe, Jesse. You’re safe.”