Acres, Natalie - Cowboy Boots and Unsettled Debts [Cowboy Boots 3] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) (3 page)

“I know what’s required of me. I’m sure some aspects of this job won’t be pretty, but I’m willing to do whatever is necessary. Some say I’m Juraz’s type. I sure hope so. If not, I’ll see a plastic surgeon and make sure I’m carved into the kind of woman he desires.” She paused, cut her gaze sharply toward her fellow agents, and quickly added, “Perhaps even craves.”

“Are you done?” Brock asked, trying to cut her off before she caught her second wind and gained momentum.

“Not yet,” she replied, cocking her hip. She placed her tiny hand in the small of her waist. “Let’s get this subject out of the way so we don’t have to waste time revisiting the topic again.” She studied Brantley, now seated at the back of the room. Their eyes met and held. Brock wondered if Abby already suspected Brantley would be the next man in charge.

If so, that could mean trouble. The chemistry between the two compounded in a matter of seconds, and the energy between them was thick with sexual tension.

There was longing and concern in the stare they shared. Brock wasn’t amiss in his translation of body language. For a split second, Abby looked more like a sensual woman than the badass her team perhaps wanted her to convey.

Great. This was just what Brock needed to see with his very own eyes—reason enough to cancel his European vacation. He cleared his throat. Somehow the two operatives tore their gazes away from one another.

Apparently wise to the fact they gave off the wrong vibes, Abby shifted gears. She surveyed the open and airy hotel conference room—which wasn’t anything fancy, just a boardroom with two tables, a bunch of uncomfortable executive-style chairs, and a teacart with a coffeepot they hadn’t used—and finally addressed Brock once more. “To answer your question, these guys haven’t watched me fuck for information, but they will if it’s necessary. They haven’t seen my legs spread wide, my pussy impaled by a foreign object or dick. They damn sure haven’t watched my head bob over a target’s cock while I pretend to enjoy every last inch.

“No, they haven’t seen these things, Mr. Donovan. But who knows? Maybe they soon will. I assume they’ll act like professionals, just as I will.”

“I have my doubts,” he grumbled, shooting Ace a sideways glance.

Ignoring him, she continued, “As a woman hired for the Underground Unit, I’m supposed to tell you I’m ready to gobble up the enemy, in more ways than one.

“Perhaps I should add what you really want to hear while reminding this unit that if the time comes for my value to be tested, they should let me do my job without interference.” She scanned the room again, studying the faces of her fellow operatives. “See, that’s where the real trouble lies. I can do what’s required. I’m just afraid they won’t follow protocol once I’m bent over and fucking for the kill I alone will be in position to take.”

Facial expressions tightened all the way around the room. Five operatives glared at him as if they believed Abby’s revelation was his fault.

By damn, Abby was right. She wasn’t the problem. They were. And he knew why. There wasn’t one man in that room that wouldn’t be deathly ill watching Abby Rose take another man to her bed.

Brock thought of Sydney, his lover and wife. He immediately broke out in a sweat. He swallowed hard, wiped his brow, and fought to regain his composure.

Sydney wasn’t a trained operative, but if she had been, Brock wouldn’t have been able to stand by and observe what these guys would soon witness. No way. It wouldn’t happen on his watch.

Then again, Abby wasn’t their woman. If she were, these men wouldn’t allow her to go inside on this mission. And if they did, then Brock knew precisely how this would all end.

He might as well warn his brothers, Sloane Remington, and the others. This mission was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Hell, this operation was nothing more than a lover’s quarrel on ice.

* * * *

“What’d I tell ya?” Fowler
Jennings
pointed down the long corridor leading to the hotel lobby. “He picked up on that lusty look Abby gave you. You’re toast, man.”

“I can handle Donovan,” Brantley grumbled, thinking he wasn’t so sure. “Although I’d prefer to spend my time in more productive ways.”

“Oh, you mean you don’t wanna whip ’em out and compare sizes?” A beat later he said, “Here he comes.”

“You must have balls of steel,” Brock said, stomping toward them.

“See there? You might as well unzip and strip. See which one of you carries more brass in his breeches.”

This would be interesting.

“Just what the hell were you doing in there?” Brock asked.

Fowler leaned against the wall, a smirk claiming his lips. Brantley was on his own. He first thought Fowler might have his back here, but he was sorely mistaken.

“Is something going on with you and the little vixen? Anything you want to tell me about?”

Brantley sniffed. “I can’t think of anything that would concern you, Donovan.”

Fowler’s mouth twitched and his lips tilted downward in an amusing expression. He slowly nodded his head as he focused on Brock, apparently interested in the other man’s rebuttal.

“You might want to rethink that.” A beat later, Brock blurted, “Are you fucking her?”

“What the…” Brantley felt his nostrils flare as the rage took hold. “Why in the hell would that be
your
business?”

In a matter of seconds, they were toe-to-toe.

“Want me to go over the list of reasons?” His jaw tightened. “Or how about I have you pulled off this case and transferred? I can, you know.”

“You do and you hang us all out to dry,” Fowler said, immediately intervening.

Brantley placed his palms forward and took a step backward. He gathered his composure. This was one fight he wasn’t about to engage. Brock had rank, seniority, and a war of words wasn’t worth the trouble. “Hang on there a minute, Brock. Let’s talk about this.”

Brock clenched his teeth and balled his fists. Great, just what Brantley wanted to see, a pissed-off operative of equal strength.

“You’re a senior agent with the Underground Unit. You’ve been before the committee advisors and informed of your pending status. You can’t be in bed with one of your fellow operatives if you’re in line for a leadership position!”

“Who says I’m in bed with anyone?” Brantley fired back, deciding he wasn’t about to put up with Brock Donovan’s shit unless reprimand was justified.

Besides, Brantley knew the story behind Brock’s hookup with Sydney Kane. He’d been hired to protect her and ended up seducing her. To make matters worse, Kane was the daughter of one of the Underground Unit’s founding fathers.

“Are you fucking her or not?”

“Talk about double standards,” Brantley grumbled.

“You didn’t answer the question. Are you tapping that thing or not?”

“What are you talking about?” Brantley asked, taunting him.

“You are,” Brock accused.

“You’re way off base here. If I were in Abby’s bed, she wouldn’t have been staring across the room at me. She would’ve been on my lap, which by the way is precisely where her cute little submissive ass belongs.”

“Submissive, hell,” Fowler remarked.

Brantley resisted laughing out loud. Fowler and the others shared his exact sentiments. The only pleasure any of them would take away from this job was seeing Abby play the willing submissive, assuming her little act didn’t go beyond foreplay.

Brock jabbed his forefinger at Brantley’s chest. “You listen to me and you listen well.” He shot Fowler an abrupt glance. “Our unit is on leave. I want to go out of town without being called back to the farm. Your team is as qualified as any—”

“More,” Fowler interrupted. He caught a stern glare from Brock, and he quickly added, “You didn’t ask for my two cents, but I’m giving it anyway. We’re professionals. We don’t need you or anyone else telling us all the ways this mission could fall apart.”

“Mind your own business, Jennings,” Brock said firmly. “Let’s take a walk, Brantley.”

Fowler snarled. “Don’t leave on my account. I have somewhere I need to be.” He walked away whistling. When he was almost out of sight, he turned around and shouted down the hall, “Hurry up, Brantley! Abby gets impatient when we keep her waiting!”

Double doors opened and slammed behind him. Brantley rubbed the wide bridge of his nose with the back of his hand, a lame attempt to hide his grin.

“You two think this is funny?”

“No,” Brantley replied.

Brock crossed his arms. “What’s your relationship with Abby?”

“We’ve worked together for five years. What do you think?”

“You care about her?”

“Of course I care about her,” Brantley replied, walking over to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the parking lot two stories below.

“Are you pursuing her?”

Brantley faced him. “That is none of your business.”

“The hell it isn’t! Juraz Mendete is my business. His new resort will be right in my backyard. I don’t need to tell you the danger he can bring to my family. Do I?”

“What’s this really about?”

“Was Abby involved with Conrad?” Brock asked.

“Hell no.”

“Are you sure?” Brock pressed. “If she and Conrad were having an affair, she could cut ties and go independent.”

“She wasn’t sleeping with Conrad,” Brantley assured him. Her relationship with their former leader was personal, but it wasn’t romantic. Still, he wouldn’t discuss Abby’s private life with Brock or anyone else. Besides, he and Ace had the Abby situation under control. If she didn’t follow orders, they would remove Abby from her post promptly.

“You sound certain,” Brock said, frowning.

“I am.”

“But you’re hiding something.”

“It’s Abby’s story to tell. Not mine. If you want answers about Abby’s relationship with Conrad, talk to Abby.”

“Whatever you’re hiding, or protecting, make sure you stay on top of the situation.” A beat later, he changed the subject. “You’re in. The Northern Underground Unit can’t have a team without a leader in place. You’re the guy.” A strike later, he stuck out his hand and said, “Congratulations.”

Brantley gulped. He wasn’t sure how to respond. He’d been interviewed for the position, but he didn’t necessarily want the new title or the responsibilities.

The only reason he accepted the interview offer was to prevent Abby from securing the promotion. Underground Unit leaders were often the first targets once a geographical cell was identified. Prior to Conrad’s death, his team had escaped notoriety. They’d walked around in plain sight pursuing their marks without targets on their backs.

Times were changing. The Northern division had been exposed but not entirely infiltrated. Once the members were properly identified, operatives would be at high risk for termination. And the leader of the pack would carry a heavy price on his or her head.

Brantley processed. He would wear that tag. Better him than Abby.

Glancing down at Brock’s outstretched hand, he finally accepted the shake. Brock gripped his fingers in a firm clasp. “Listen to what I’m saying to you, Brantley. We can’t afford screwups. I can’t do much to stop this if you and Abby are already involved, but if you aren’t, you stay out of her bed until this assignment is over. Are we clear?”

“Understood,” Brantley responded, thinking that was probably for the best anyway.

“I mean it. If you’re fucking her, you won’t be able to stand it when Juraz climbs in bed with her, and that’s where we want her. We need her right there beside him when he retires for the night. We must gain inside information before we dispose of him.”

Brantley yanked his arm back and dropped Brock’s hand. “I’m capable of handling this.”

“See that you do. You’re in charge now. Act like it. Superiors don’t sleep with their subordinates.”

“This one might,” Brantley muttered, watching Brock walk away after his parting words. Staring down at the parking lot once more, he observed Abby as she spoke with other members of their team.

Abby was young, beautiful, and street smart. She was sexy, good God was she ever sexy. And whether she realized it or not, she belonged to him.

Unfortunately, several of the guys already had dibs on her, too.

Yep. Brock had plenty of reason to worry.

Brantley reached a decision as he observed the other agents forming a semicircle around the female operative they’d all come to adore. As the newly appointed leader, he would protect his agents. He’d implement security measures and take extra precautions to guarantee Abby’s safety even if it meant placing himself in the line of fire.