A Pair of Jacks (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

“They’ll walk us safely out of here,” he whispered. “Don’t say a word, no matter what smartass remarks they make. If I can stand my dick out there flapping in the breeze, you can handle a few rude comments. And trust me, we’ll hear them.”

Marie wanted to think Jack’s kiss was the last thing on her mind during the occurring events, however it wasn’t. She couldn’t help but wonder how a man could put that much feeling into acting. He should be on stage winning an Oscar for that performance. Her lips still felt swollen from the pressure of his mouth and she wanted to taste more of him, but the security team’s leader marched them down the hall and into the employees’ cafeteria, motioning for them to take a seat in the back.

“Is everyone accounted for now, Robbins?”

“We’ve got seventy-five names on the roster. Seventy-five people seated, sir.”

Jack cast Marie a sidelong look. If their presence made seventy-five, where were the other two people who should have been in the same spot?

“Listen up,” the leader of the team said. “Each of you signed a security agreement when you took this job. If you want to retain your employment, you will not discuss any details of what has happened here today. Is that clear?”

Everyone nodded. Marie was aware the support personnel believed they worked for a high security computer firm doing contract work for the government. Only a handful of people knew the building housed the GSA and ran a team of covert operatives in addition to the other government contracts.

“I want you all to exit the building immediately. You will proceed to your cars and leave the parking garage in an orderly manner. Is that clear?”

A few people nodded, some said, ‘
Yes, sir,’
as if answering a drill sergeant, but most remained quiet. Jack and Marie stayed in the silent group, hoping they wouldn’t be noticed by anyone who asked who they were.

“Dismissed,” the team commander said.

The room immediately emptied in a mass exodus toward the parking garage. It would be nearly impossible for a sniper to single any one person out in the clot of uniforms and flurry of activity. Marie admired Jack for his quick thinking to get them safely out of the building.

He hurried her to a dark colored SUV with tinted windows. It seemed to Marie everyone in Washington wanted anonymity. There must have been a dozen similar vehicles parked in the nearby vicinity. Jack started the powerful engine and eased his way into the string of cars cleared to leave the parking garage. One by one, the employees passed the guard station before pulling onto the street, getting caught by the light on 25
^th
. A traffic jam built as the overflow of cars coming out of the parking garage caused a minor buildup of stationary vehicles.

Jack glanced in the rearview mirror while waiting for the light to change. “They’re releasing the building one floor at a time,” he explained. “Doesn’t look like they’re too worried about hostiles being inside. The shooter was across the street, probably on the roof of the Colfax Building. Who knew you were back in Washington?”

Marie shrugged. “Xavier, Tina, the President…I can’t think of anyone else.”

Jack shot her an impatient look. “Think again.”

“Well…all the people I came in contact with. The people at the airport that processed my ticket would have known I was on a flight to the States. The cabdriver…”

“This was an inside job,” he interrupted.

“I think so, too,” Marie admitted. “And so did Xavier, but he wouldn’t come right out and say that.”

“I’m sorry about Xavier.” Jack shifted gears while he edged into the heavy traffic, apparently confident the car he was cutting off wouldn’t hit him. “I know he was your friend.”

Marie nodded, turning her face to look out the window, so he wouldn’t see her tears. His sympathy was unexpected, making her that much more emotional. She could handle her grief, but not his pity. It made her feel vulnerable, though she didn’t understand why.

“Where are you taking me until we get this sorted out?”

It seemed like a reasonable question to distract herself with. As long as she didn’t think about Xavier, she’d be okay. She would deal with the grief later, in her own way, but not here, not now, and definitely not in front of Agent Jack Benson. It was a matter of professional pride. She didn’t want him to think her weak. Or think that her job was nothing more than a whim of the president’s niece.

“We’re going to meet Jack Reno. He’s someone I trust with my life, so I trust him with yours.”

“But where are you taking me?” she repeated.

Jack’s face tightened into an unreadable mask.
Stubborn
, Marie decided.
Control freak
. So why did she harbor this the attraction to him? The last thing in the world Marie needed, or wanted, in her life was a man trying to control her. She’d made her own decisions since her teenage years, and she wasn’t about to fall into some needy relationship at this point in her life. She slammed the brakes on her wayward thoughts.
Whoa! Relationship?
What the hell was she thinking? She’d just met Jack Benson. Xavier had been killed. Her life had been threatened. How did the word relationship even enter her mind? Obviously, she wasn’t thinking clearly. She must be suffering from some sort of stress factor.

“I’ll tell you when we get there.”

His answer pissed Marie off. She had the right to know. It wasn’t like she’d be calling anyone to tell them where she’d be staying. Not only did he have zero personality, he was a macho bastard. She would show Jack Benson what she was made of before things got totally out of control.

Two could play this game, she decided. Her hand tightened around the gun he’d given her in the elevator, but before she could level it at him, Jack yanked the SUV to the curb. He grabbed her wrist and squeezed.

“
Give that to me.
” The harsh whisper of his voice caused chills to dance down the center of Marie’s back. His face was so close, she could feel his breath against her skin. He applied more pressure and the gun dropped from her hand. “If you try something like that again, I’ll handcuff you and put you in the back.”

“You’re supposed to be protecting me,” Marie reminded him a little breathlessly. She tugged at the firm hold he had on her wrist.

Jack yanked her up against him, dropping his mouth over hers for a harsh kiss that demanded she surrender to him. When he drew back, his eyes glittered like cold blue diamonds. “I
am
protecting you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive. I don’t give a damn whether you like my choices or not. Understand?”

“I’m an agent, too.” Marie jerked her hand out of his grip, trying to pretend her mouth wasn’t burning from the pressure of his kiss. Something in the feral strength of this man robbed her of all logical thought. She should be furious. She should be insulted. Instead, she wanted him to kiss her again. How pathetic. Ignoring whatever errant hormones were eating at her brain, she tried to make a stand. “You don’t need to treat me like a civilian.”

Jack dropped the gun into the drink compartment of the console, glancing out the side window before steering the SUV back into traffic with a reckless vengeance. “I wouldn’t have kissed a civilian.”

Marie sat quietly after that, watching him from the corner of her eye. She’d been right about Jack. He was lethal. He moved quicker than she’d ever seen anyone react when she pulled the gun on him.

“What are you thinking?”

It surprised her that he cared enough to ask. She gave a shrug. “I’m thinking you’re a dangerous man, Jack Benson. You’re hard, you’re stubborn, and you’re the kind that won’t give up when you’re under fire.”

He leveled another stare in her direction. “I’m your worst nightmare, Marie. Don’t forget that.”

Despite the coldness of his words, his voice poured over her like warm honey, all the more powerful for the husky murmur and unemotional delivery. Marie knew at that precise moment she would break Jack’s iron clad will. She considered it a challenge, a personal mission, a desire. She wanted to know who he kept buried deep inside the tightly controlled soldier. And what sort of passion he held under that cold exterior.

* * * *

Jack wondered what the hell he’d been thinking when he gave in to his need and kissed her.
Damn, but she tasted fine.
Looked fine, too. Even in the maid’s uniform, she still looked like Parisian elegance wrapped in an untouchable package that invited a man to unwrap her.

Geezus
. Her mouth tasted so fucking sweet. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to feel the soft points of her breasts flattened against his chest. He wanted to feel her soft skin and hear her unconscious sigh as she responded to his touch.

The woman smoldered like a fire waiting to be stoked into a flame, and he felt hot enough to ignite her by his thoughts alone. If she only knew what he wanted to do to her, she’d be aiming that gun and pulling the trigger.

Get yourself in line, Jack. She’s not a fucking gift for you to open. She’s an assignment.
Remember you’re dealing with President’s niece. Above all, she’s the kind of woman who requires high maintenance attention. She is definitely not for a simple cowboy from Wyoming
.
You’re responsible for her safety. Nothing more.

Jack figured with her mom being the President’s sister, her dad would have to be successful at whatever field he worked in. He didn’t have a prayer of a chance with Marie Maxwell, but that didn’t keep him from wanting her naked under him, moaning his name.

He shook his head in frustration, trying to clear his thoughts.

“What are you
thinking
, Jack?”

“Trust me. You don’t want to know, Marie.”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

Jack sighed, wiping a hand across his face. No way would he tell her the truth.

“How the hell did you get into undercover work being the President’s niece?”

Marie hesitated. “It’s a long story. You sure you want to hear it?”

He nodded, changing lanes to head westward out of the city.

“My mom and the President were half-brother and sister. He didn’t know about me until after my mom died. I was already in government work before a background check revealed my connection to him. We had a somewhat…dysfunctional family.”

“You didn’t know you were related to the President of the United States?”

Marie grinned. “Can you believe it? I was an Army brat. My mom was career military. We moved from base to base when I was a kid. I never met my grandparents. We pretty much stayed on the move in foreign countries.”

“What about your dad?” Jack asked with a little frown. He couldn’t picture Marie living anywhere but an upscale neighborhood. He wondered if she was telling the truth or giving him a cover story. Easy enough to check out, he decided, questioning why it mattered to him. He hoped she trusted him enough to tell the truth, because it would make his job a whole lot easier.

Marie turned her face away, biting her lip before she answered. When she did reply, her voice was quiet and unemotional. “There wasn’t a daddy in the equation, at least none I can remember. I stopped asking about him when I was six years old. Mom refused to tell me anything, and when I got older, I realized it was because she didn’t know who he was.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

Marie shrugged. “You might as well know if you’re going to protect me, Jack. By the time I graduated high school, I found out I was a surprise package from a weekend leave in Mom’s early years before she made the rank of Major and settled down.

“We talked about it a little back then. She confessed she was a party animal in her younger days. My grandmother kicked her out of the house because she couldn’t control her. With no place to go, Mom joined the military. She excelled at it, so she stayed.”

“And she never took you home to visit your grandparents?”

Marie shook her head. “By the time I came along, my grandmother had been remarried several years and had another life. She had a second set of kids.” Marie folded her arms, leaning back in the seat, turning her attention to the traffic surrounding them. Jack noticed the rigid set of her shoulders even though she tried to look relaxed. Obviously, the subject of her family made her uncomfortable. “I guess Mom thought we wouldn’t be welcome.”

“You must have been lonesome.”

Marie’s eyes grew distant as she thought about it. “Yes and no. You can’t really miss what you’ve never had. Mom and I had a different relationship. She acted more like an older sister than a parent. We didn’t have any of that mother/daughter tug-of-war going on when I hit my teenage years. She told me I was responsible for myself, and if I made the wrong choices, I’d have to live with them. She gave me the wings of freedom, but I never flew too far from the nest. I had nothing to prove. She’d given me a vote of confidence by allowing me to run my own life. I guess I felt I owed it to her to live up to the challenge.”

Jack tried to imagine the details Marie had left out. He couldn’t envision her living the life of an Army brat. She looked, and acted, like finishing schools and old family money. He wasn’t sure he believed her, but it would be simple enough to check her out when he had a free minute. “You said she died?”

“In Iraq.” Marie studied her fingernails. “Friends were fleeting when I was growing up and I learned not to get too close to anyone. That way it didn’t hurt so much when we moved on to the next assignment. But she did teach me skills that were useful in other places. Xavier was a friend of my mother. He sort of adopted me after her death. That’s how I got into the agency.”

Jack watched a silent tear track down Marie’s face. He reached over to wipe it off her cheek with the back of his hand, using his thumb to dry the moisture on her chin.