Destined for Power (15 page)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Reid woke to the feel of a warm body pressed against his. Mallory’s back was snuggled up against his chest while her ass hugged his erection. Her head lay on his bicep as his other hand cupped her breast. He wanted to wake up like this every morning for the rest of his life. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. Her eyes shot open and her hand reached under the pillow.

“I moved your knife to the nightstand. I didn’t want to be accidentally stabbed if we decided to have some fun this morning,” Reid informed her as he brushed her hair away from her face. “How are you feeling?”

“Disappointed I had to wait until this morning to have fun.”

Reid rolled her over onto her back and quickly covered her. “I would never want to keep you waiting. Although, I did enjoy sleeping with you in my arms last night.” He leaned down and caressed her lips with a gentle kiss. He was so happy, so fulfilled. All he wanted to do that morning was worship her slowly. He didn’t want to miss a single inch of her body.

Mallory stretched her arms above her and grabbed hold of each side of her pillow as Reid kissed his way down her throat, over her collarbone, and down each breast. His fingers whispered over her stomach and disappeared under the sheet. Soon after, his lips followed the same path, and he was rewarded with the sound of his name on her lips.

* * *

Mallory slid the black wig in place and fluffed the curls. She applied light makeup and a pink lip gloss to offset the “woman of the night” feel she got with this particular wig. Today was the day before the charity event. Secret Service from Atlanta and Washington were already in the building. They were checking entrances, exits, windows, sewers, and more. She just hoped Damien stood up to them enough to make sure he was in charge of the vents in the ballroom.

She looked in the mirror and saw Reid hang up the phone. “The prelim report on the plane will be complete next week. They were able to talk to Troy, and now they want to talk to me.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the FBI is also there. When do they want to talk?”

“Right now. They are in my office downstairs.”

“Then let’s not keep them waiting. Let me do the talking.”

“And who are you today?”

“Who I am every day, the woman who protects you with her life.”

Reid stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. “And who protects you? When was the last time someone took care of you?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. Instead he leaned forward and placed a kiss on the base of her neck. “It’s no more
you
and
me
. It’s now
we
. We will protect each other. We will care for each other. And we will love each other. Like it or not, you now have a very sexy new partner.”

Mallory laughed when Reid winked at her in the mirror. She’d never been a serious “we” before. Bowie was the closest thing she had to a partner. While he was good-looking and good at his job, knowing Reid was standing next to her was a completely different feeling.

“I like the sound of that.”

“Come on, let’s go take on the world.”

Mallory took his hand as they headed out the door. Since she was wearing flat, strappy sandals with a knee-length sundress, they took the stairs. Mallory dropped his hand as he opened the door for her. She smiled as she looked around quickly. She spotted the CIA and the Secret Service. The NTSB crew was the least of her worries as they headed toward Reid’s office.

A woman with red hair in a stylish suit hesitantly stepped forward before they could leave the lobby. “I’m sorry, Mr. Simpson?”

“Yes?”

“I’m so sorry to bother you, but I’ve tried to get an answer out of the person at the front desk. They said they didn’t know. I’m looking to hold a conference here next week and, well, with the restrooms closed, I’m worried I won’t be able to.”

“Don’t worry, ma’am. The renovations should be over by tomorrow. We made sure to have them done before any of our events started. If there is anything else you need answered, please contact Evelyn.”

The pretty woman smiled. “The events planner. Yes, I tried her first, but she wasn’t there. Thank you, Mr. Simpson.”

The woman batted her lashes and Mallory felt the need to slip her hand into the crook of Reid’s arm. This woman was sending him blatant come-hither looks. Reid smiled back and patted Mallory’s hand. He laughed as soon as they were out of earshot. Something about the redhead’s laugh had just sent Mallory's nerves firing warning signals.

“What?”

“You are so jealous, and it’s adorable,” Reid teased.

Mallory dropped her hand from his arm. “I am not jealous.”

Reid chuckled again, clearly not believing her. Before she could respond, they walked into his office. She recognized the investigators from when she had met them as Mallory Westin. Most were NTSB, but there were two from the FBI.

“Hello again. This is Miss Winters—”

“His counsel from Las Vegas,” Mallory lied easily.

The investigator gave a surprised look before starting the questions. “Why do you feel you need an attorney, Mr. Simpson?”

“I was here already on business and thought I would tag along,” Mallory said nicely as she drew the investigator’s attention away from Reid.

“Hmm, we have a tentative cause for the plane crash. Would you like to know what it is?”

Reid nodded even though he and Mallory already knew. She knew the second she had seen the plane and was sure the investigators did too.

“Your plane was shot down with a shoulder-launched missile.”

Both she and Reid acted surprised as they were supposed to with the situation. Mallory asked questions and discovered the real reason they were here.

“Your pilot said you were supposed to be on the plane, yet you weren’t. Why not, Mr. Simpson?”

Reid put his hand on Mallory to stop her from answering. “I needed to get home right away. As you can see, I have a million things going on in anticipation of this charity event with both presidential candidates here. I called Troy. He was flying to Seattle for Elle, so I caught a commercial flight. I have the boarding pass on my phone if you would like to see it.”

“Who knew you were leaving early?”

“Only my head of security in Stromia.”

“Where were you when the plane was shot down?”

“He was in his suite,” Mallory answered for him.

“Can anyone verify that?”

“Yes,” Mallory said before Reid could answer. “Not only is it recorded with the use of his key card, there’s also the fact that he was with Mallory Westin. It’s my understanding you met her already.”

She felt Reid’s shoulders vibrate as he restrained his laughter. The investigators closed ranks and whispering ensued. Reid cast a glance at Mallory, but she shook her head. There was no evidence supporting that Reid had anything to do with shooting down the plane.

“This luxury hotel was a major project, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. It took longer than I thought it would. But I’m very happy to report we are solidly booked from the grand opening on with a few of these private events before then.”

“This probably cost you hundreds of millions . . . and your jet, wow, that was worth sixty million dollars. Good thing you have it insured.”

Mallory shook her head when Reid went to talk. “If you are trying to hint that Mr. Simpson is having financial difficulties, then think again. Or better yet, don’t think it until you’ve provided us a shred of evidence supporting that theory.”

Another investigator stepped forward in what she was sure was a two-pronged attack. “For the safety of the presidential candidates, we are waiting to release the results until after the charity event. The Secret Service and FBI have been apprized that we believe someone targeted your plane on purpose. If not for the insurance money, why would anyone want to do that?”

“I don’t know,” Reid said as if pondering the question.

The investigator stepped forward and handed Mallory and Reid his card. “If you think of anything, please let us know. We will be in touch soon.”

The investigators filed out of the office on that ominous threat. Reid waited until they were in the lobby before closing the door and sitting down with a sigh. “Great. Not only do I have people worried their events can’t be held because of the restrooms, now I have the FBI thinking I somehow had a hand in the plane crash.”

“Don’t let it bother you. We already know who was at fault, and we will take care of it.”

Reid grinned and pulled her down into his lap. “Look who is saying
we
now.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Mallory grumbled before kissing him.

“Phone,” Reid managed to say.

“Huh?”

“Your phone is ringing.”

Mallory reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. “Lloyd. What did you find?”

“Hello, poppet. Nothing good, that’s for sure.”

“How so?”

“Well, I looked into Black and Jonak for you. I wasn’t the only one asking. My source told me another person had asked just a couple of days ago.”

“Why are people looking into them?”

“It wasn’t just people. It was two very specific people. After promising my source a very expensive bottle of brandy, he told me it was their fathers. And what they found didn’t make them happy.”

“What did they find?”

“That Black and Jonak have been taking jobs from Prince Liam and the French president on the side. They haven’t been paid in cash but in property in Stromia and French weapons.”

“A different country and different suppliers from their businesses and their fathers,” Mallory said more to herself than to Lloyd.

“They have gotten themselves into a very sticky wicket.”

“Very sticky. Thank you, Lloyd. I don’t want you to look into it anymore. I don’t want their fathers to get wind of it.”

“You don’t have to say that twice, poppet. Whatever you are tied up in, be careful.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“Ha!” The phone call ended with Lloyd’s deep chuckles still ringing in her ears.

Reid looked concerned as he waited for her to tell him the news. Mallory let out a long breath. “It looks like we all have daddy issues.”

“What?”

“Liam and his father, Black and Jonak and their fathers, me and my father . . . this whole thing is about gaining freedom, power, and control from them.”

Mallory conveyed her conversation with Lloyd to Reid as she paced. “I don’t understand what Liam has to do with this. It seems like he had no dog in this fight. Why would he hire out his goons for a United States problem?”

“Would your contact know?” Reid asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll call Ahmed and find out.”

Reid came over and slid his hands up her arms to her shoulders before placing a kiss on her forehead. “I have a meeting next door. You can use my office to call. I’ll be in there most of the morning. Let’s meet for lunch?”

“Fast food. Remember, don’t eat or drink anything from the hotel,” Mallory warned.

“I don’t think you need to worry about me forgetting that.”

Mallory watched him grab a leather portfolio before heading through the connecting door. She dialed Ahmed and waited for him to pick up. Once he did, she filled him in and waited as he processed it all.

“I have an idea. I’ll get back to you.”

“You’ll get back to me? Wait!” But it was too late. Ahmed had already hung up the phone. Sometimes dealing with other government agents sucked. No one trusted anyone and they never told the full truth.

Mallory strode from the room and went to find Damien. She might as well get all the bureaucratic bullshit out of the way.

“Miss Winters!”

Mallory groaned as Evelyn hurried over. Mallory hadn’t had enough coffee yet to deal with someone so perky.

“Oh, I’m so glad I caught you.”

Mallory smiled. “What can I do for you, Evelyn?”

“Well,” she said conspiratorially, “I was hoping you would join me for coffee and some old-fashioned girl talk. When I saw you, I just knew we’d be friends.”

Stab her in the eye with a fork—she was done. Mallory plastered on her fake deb smile. “Sounds like fun.”

Mallory couldn’t fit a word in as they walked to the hotel restaurant. “I got Reid, I mean, Mr. Simpson, to put in a full coffeehouse. We even hired the best barista in Atlanta. You’ll just die when you taste her cinnamon spice latte.”

She had been right. Mallory knew this would kill her. “Yum,” she smiled at Evelyn who hurried off to place the orders. Mallory took a seat at the window table and had never been so relieved to see Damien.

“Mallory,” he said as he approached the table.

“Shh. It’s Miss Winters.”

“Whatever. How are you feeling?”

“Great. Thank you. Any news before our perky event planner gets back?”

“No. It’s been quiet except for a few people needing to use the restroom. Are you sure this is going down tomorrow? I’m getting major pushback from DC. They don’t understand my involvement and definitely don’t like that I’m issuing orders.”