Catch, Release. Carol Ericson
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to track me down?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched when she used his code name. He never had told her his real name—even after the night of passion they’d shared.
“Prospero hires the best.” He hunched forward, bracing his hands on his knees. “What the hell are you doing, Deb? How did Zendaris get you, of all people, to turn?”
She scooted back on the bed, and her breasts strained against the silky material of her blouse. Her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed—green cat eyes. They’d captivated him from the moment he’d met her at that gathering of world leaders in Zurich.
He cleared his throat. “Don’t think I’m just going to turn you over to the Boston P.D. for that armed robbery. I’m working for Prospero. You do know what Prospero does to traitors, don’t you?”
Her Adam’s apple bobbed in the delicate column of her throat. “They wouldn’t... Jack would never...”
He sliced his hand through the air and straightened to his full height. “Jack Coburn will do whatever necessary to protect the security and interests of this country.”
Sniffling, she turned her head away, tucking her cheek against her shoulder.
He’d brought Deb Sinclair to tears? That had to be a first. He’d had her moaning in his arms for one night, but nobody had ever made the first female Prospero agent cry.
Of course, it could all be a ruse.
He grabbed the silky blond strands of the wig and yanked it off her head. Her own dark auburn hair tumbled to her shoulders, catching the sunlight that flooded the room through the open curtains.
“Why’d you do it?”
She puckered her lips and blew at a few strands of hair clinging to her lips. “What are they paying you? I’ll give you half of my haul.”
Beau reached forward and she flinched, squeezing her eyes shut. Did she really think he’d hit her?
He brushed the hair from her face, his palm making contact with her smooth skin. He snatched his hand away before the gesture turned into a caress.
Why in the hell did he think he could keep this impersonal? That night with Deb had rocked his world. He’d never forgotten it, or her.
“Make this easy on yourself, Deb. Was it money? I know you never had much growing up. Jack might even understand that motivation. Come clean and give them what you have on Zendaris.”
A little smile played across her mouth. “You never told them, did you?”
Warmth burned in his chest and he crossed his arms. “This isn’t about me. You’re the one with a bag full of stolen jewels.”
She threw back her head and laughed so hard her shoulders shook. She fell back on the bed and laughed at the ceiling until tears rolled into her ears.
When she sat up, little black streaks smudged her cheeks. “Loki never told Prospero he bedded the prey, did he?”
“It’s irrelevant.” Beau ground his teeth together, knowing damned well it wasn’t irrelevant.
“Right.” She wrinkled her nose and sniffed. “I’m sure Jack wouldn’t have hired the great Loki if he’d known his assassin had already gotten intimate with the target.”
“That was a long time ago, and I agreed to take the assignment before I knew you were the quarry.”
“But once you found out I was the...quarry...you should’ve come clean. Don’t you think so, Loki?” She blinked and raised one dark eyebrow. “I bet you enjoyed that pat-down. Did it bring back fond memories?”
Her emerald gaze dropped below his belt. “Did it excite you?”
He turned his back on her with the blood running hot in his veins. He snagged the purse by the handle and dumped its contents on the carpet at Deb’s feet.
The .45 thudded to the floor—not Deb’s usual weapon. As he recalled, she preferred a Glock. Shoes tumbled out along with a ski mask and a tangle of jewelry.
Why would she want this stuff? She’d had a tough life as a kid. Maybe this satisfied some deep psychological need within her. And what did it all have to do with Zendaris?
Could Prospero be wrong? There had been the slimmest of leads linking Deb to Zendaris—that and the fact that she’d dropped below the radar.
Maybe her behavior signaled some kind of breakdown and not a traitorous move to Zendaris’s camp.
He ran his fingers through the gems. “Why’d you steal this jewelry, Deb?”
She shrugged and the top button of her blouse popped open. “I wanted it.”
“Why are you in contact with Zendaris?” Come on, Deb. Just deny it.
Yawning, she flopped back onto the bed.
He drove his fist into the pile of jewelry and hopped onto the bed, his knees straddling her hips, his hands on either side of her head. “Tell me what’s going on.”
She dropped her dark lashes, still long and lush without the mascara her tears of laughter had washed away. “I’m not telling you anything.”
He blew out an exasperated breath, which stirred the tendrils of her hair at her forehead. “I’m taking you in, Deb.”
Her body stiffened beneath him, and her eyes flew open. “T-to Prospero?”
“You’re their monster. They can deal with you.”
She bit her bottom lip but not before he saw it tremble.
“I’ll tell them everything, Loki. I’ll tell them how you seduced me that night when you were supposed to be guarding the emir’s wife.”
“Ooh, and you promised you wouldn’t kiss and tell.”
“I mean it. I’ll tell them how we made love all night long and while you were lying there, sated and naked and conked out, I went through your things. You compromised your position and the security of the people you were supposed to be protecting.”
And I’d do it all again for one more night with you.
He stared into her eyes, bright with unshed tears. “It’s your word against mine, Deb.”
“I—I’ll ruin your reputation. I’ll destroy you.”
Tough words, but her voice quavered and cracked when she delivered them.
“Maybe I don’t care. Maybe it’s time for Loki to die anyway.”
She squirmed beneath him and started to bend one of her knees for a well-aimed shot between his legs.
He dropped on top of her, pressing his frame along every line of hers as she huffed out a sigh. Her soft breasts smooshed against his chest. Her sweet scent invaded his pores.
He wanted her, even now. He wanted her traitorous lips against his. He wanted to take her lying tongue into his mouth. He wanted her deceiving hands on his body.
She thrashed from side to side. It only inflamed his desire.
He rolled from her body and stood by the side of the bed, hovering over her. “Sit up.”
“That’s what I was trying to do before you pinned me.”
“You were trying to knee me in the groin.”
“A girl has to protect herself.” She struggled to a sitting position. “You’d better think long and hard about turning me in, Loki. I’ll bring you down with me.”
“What I did was child’s play compared to your crimes.” He put more distance between them and her sweet scent that lured him to craziness. “Besides, your reputation will be so sullied, I can claim that you seduced and drugged me. Why not? Two can play hardball, sweetheart.”