Enemy Lover (30 page)

Once again, she closed her eyes, leaned back, and gave in to the wild wantonness that was him. And once again, she tumbled headlong into a tortuously wicked orgasm that left her gasping for air.

Marcus’s powerful body pumped heatedly into her. Sweat slickened their bodies. Marcus’s breath singed her neck. His teeth scraped along her jugular. But he did not bite her. Jax arched her neck offering herself to him. He growled low, digging his fingers into her hips, and in a wild primal rush, his body nearly lifted hers as he came.

Wide-eyed and breathless, Jax stared out across the city as her body jerked against the one behind her. And finally their wild ride slowed, and, still connected, they watched the final descent of the sun into the western horizon.

Marcus moved slightly, releasing her. If it had been up to him, they’d have stayed connected and watched the sun
rise. Instead, he watched her body quiver as she reached down to pick up her destroyed clothing. He didn’t miss her frown. “I owe you,” he chuckled.

He expected her to turn those fierce green eyes on him and say he damn well owed her. But she moved past him without looking at him and went into the bathroom. He zipped up, pulled a chair from the room and onto the patio, and sat down. Perching his feet up on the railing to the balcony, he gazed across the concrete jungle. The city sounds were loud. The weather unseasonably warm. Rarely did it get into the eighties, much less the nineties, as it had today.

He liked the sultriness of the air. Almost as much as he liked the way Jax’s body had slickened in excitement.

He smelled her when she returned, and he took a deep breath. Damn, he liked her. Too much. He reminded himself that didn’t mean he could trust her.

“Tell me about L.A.,” she said, perfectly composed and wearing the exact same style of black tailored trousers he’d ripped off her. Just like a Boy Scout, always prepared.

He stood and offered her the chair. She shook her head and leaned against the rail.

“Can we talk about you first?”

Jax looked at him, surprised. “Do I have to pass a personality test or something?”

Marcus smiled and nodded. “Something like that.”

“You can ask, but I won’t guarantee answers.”

“Why do you do what you do?”

“As in hits?”

“Yes.”

“I like the money.”

He raised his brows, not wanting to hear that answer. “That’s it?”

Jax let out a long, expressive breath and looked over the patio to the darkening sky. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t like bad guys. I especially don’t like bad guys who prey on innocents. I think the devil has a special place in hell for them, and I like to be the one to send them there.”

“What happened to you?” he carefully asked.

She shook her head and he watched her body stiffen.

“Jax,” he softly said, “we all have our demons. What’s yours?”

She turned around and faced him, her face expressionless. “I was brutally raped, then mutilated, by a human trafficker. The guys who were supposed to have my back never showed. I barely escaped with my life. When I healed, I went back for the bastard and killed him. I’m on the lam, Cross. A wanted woman. I work alone and prefer not to get involved on any level with any person, or,” she smiled, “vampire.”

Marcus uncrossed his legs and sat up. “You’ re going to have a partner in L.A.”

She smiled a big, bright, disarming smile that seemed completely out of place, considering the subject matter. Regardless, it warmed his cold, cold heart. “I guess I can make an exception for you.”

“Good, because this isn’t a one-man job.”

“Beside the fact that you’ ll want proof I can deliver.”

It was his turn to smile. “Sweetheart, I
know
you can deliver.”

She cocked her head slightly to the side and said, “Then let’s talk business.”

Marcus got serious. “Dimitri Skarskov. Russian dissident who is working his way up the ranks of L.A.’s up-and-coming Mirov cartel. They run the gamut. But Dimitri has a penchant for smuggling highly trained al-Qaeda operatives into Canada, then the U.S. He was responsible for building a cell in Fremont, a city just across the bay. He passed them off as Afghani refugees. They were responsible for the bank bombings in Oakland last year. Word on the street is he’s working on constructing another group. The Solution wants him and his pipeline eliminated.”

“How can you ensure the pipeline will die with him?”

“He’s got all the connections. It’s the reason he’s managed to evade Mirov’s fist. Mirov’s not going to move on him for fear his Middle East connections will retaliate.”

“But if he’s a part of the cartel, why would Mirov want to eliminate him?”

“He pays for the cartel protection but operates outside of it. It pisses Mirov off that he doesn’t have control of that very lucrative pipeline. But our intel tells us Skarskov is ready to share. There’s just too much of a demand. He can’t handle all of the traffic himself. We need to take him out now before he meets with Mirov two nights from now and hands over his intel.”

“Why aren’t the feds after this guy?”

“They don’t know who he is. And even if they did, by the time they got around to nabbing him, more lives would be lost.”

“OK.”

“He’s on his way out of Toronto as we speak. Tomorrow night, we take him out.”

Jax nodded. “In L.A.?”

“Yes. He lives in the Hiramoto Towers. It’s a tough nut to crack and we won’t be able to go in from the bottom. So we’ re going in from the top.”

“The rooftop?”

He nodded. “Have you jumped before?”

“Yeah.”

“The tower is sixty-five stories high. He lives on the forty-eighth floor. I’ ll drop you on the roof, then you go in from the patio. Eliminate him and grab his laptop. We want his intel as well.”

He watched her for the slightest bit of resistance. And saw none. He grinned, but his words were serious. “I’ ll catch you if you fall.”

“I won’t fall.”

“Meet me at the SFO domestic VIP terminal tomorrow at this time. We’ ll fly down together and back in the same night.”

“And when the mission is accomplished, you’ ll introduce me to Lazarus?”

Marcus nodded, questioning his own selfish reasons for bringing Jax in. It wasn’t about Lazarus, it wasn’t about her, it was about him. He wanted a way to be with her. She made him feel alive. He was being selfish with her life and with The Solution’s future survival. But he told himself he had complete control. If Lazarus threatened her, he would let her go. “Be careful what you ask for, Jax. He’s not an easy man.”

“I can handle him.”

Jax sat silent for a long time after Marcus left. Part of her had wanted him to stay, but the realistic part of her had known that would have been impossible. She had work
to do. After a quick shower she called Shane, then called Godfather. She gave him the lowdown.

“How do you feel about this, Cassidy? Is it a setup?” Godfather asked.

“I think it’s legit. This is classic Lazarus. Skarskov is a terrorist trainer. Terrorists he’s assembled and trained who have killed Americans. So long as I perform, I’m in.” She paused for a thoughtful moment. “But if Cross doesn’t take me to Lazarus after the hit, then we’ ll have to find a way to draw Lazarus out and take him down.”

“I’ ll work on Plan B. In the meantime, I haven’t been sitting here twiddling my thumbs, Cassidy. I ran with your intel. And apparently there
is
such a thing as a vampire, and regular methods of extermination won’t work.”

“I’ ll make sure I sharpen my wooden stakes.” It sounded ludicrous, but what the hell was she supposed to do?

“That might not be a bad idea. I have spoken at length with renowned parapsychologist Doctor Yuri Romanov. He assures me vampires walk among the living all over the world.”

“So I’m not crazy?”

“No. One thing you cannot allow, Cassidy, is no more exchange of blood. The doc told me if a vampire takes blood and the source is left alive, the vampire can find the source anytime, anywhere. Did he offer his blood to you?”

“No. But I bit him. And yeah, I got some of his blood.”

“How do you feel?”

“Stronger. Faster. My senses are on fire.”

She heard Godfather’s frustrated sigh before he said, “Do not, I repeat,
do not
exchange blood with him again.”

“Okay.”

“According to Dr. Romanov, there are several ways to kill a vampire or, at the very least, immobilize one for a short time. A wooden stake directly through the heart, a silver-tipped wooden bullet directly through the heart, and direct prolonged sunlight, which is more like five minutes. Then most are toast, except the very old ones or the very powerful ones; those types can withstand some sun exposure.”

“How do we know old and powerful when we see one—ask him?”

“No, treat all of them as if they can withstand sunlight to a certain degree. Lazarus claims to have a sun sensitivity, and the one time Rowland met with him during the day he was covered from head to toe. No skin showing.”

“Cross isn’t old but he’s powerful,” Jax said, thinking of their tryst on the balcony as the sun had set. “He can withstand sunlight to a point.”

“Silver can neutralize a vampire. It burns them. Throw a silver net over one and you have him. I have Foreman working on silver-tipped wooden bullets and stakes. As I said, it must go directly through the heart. Not to the left or the right, a direct hit, Cassidy. Or you’ ll only piss him off. You’ ll have everything you need with instructions by the time you leave tomorrow. I want you miked.”

Jax shook her head. “No. Cross’s sense of hearing is like sonar. I’ ll attach my GPS chip to my bra or something. You’ ll be able to follow me. I’ ll have my cell as well. I’m sure I’ ll be miked to Cross. He’s taking me in, I get to do the dirty work.”

“I’ ll have a dossier on Skarskov to you in an hour.”

“I’ ll be looking for it.”

As she hung up, Jax took a deep breath and looked up as Shane entered her room. “I could eat a horse,” she said.

“Let’s go,” Shane said.

No sooner had their steaks been served than Jax’s cell rang to the tune of
Godfather Part I.
Shane snorted and shook his head. “Go ahead,” she said, eyeing her steak longingly.

“We’ ve got a major problem,” Godfather said.

Jax scowled and looked up at Shane.

“Shoot,” Jax said.

“Skarskov is undercover FBI.”

“No shit.”

“He’s been under for almost two years and is about to blow the lid off of the Mirov cartel.”

“I guess we need to find a way to eliminate him and save him at the same time,” Jax said, spearing a chunk of rare filet. She plunked it in her mouth and chewed. “Any ideas how we’ re going to do that?”

“I’ ll find a way and get back to you. When do you meet with Mercer?”

“As soon as we’ re done with dinner, Shane and I are heading down to the marina and waiting for him.”

“Keep me posted,” Godfather said before he hung up.

Jax looked across the table at Shane and voiced what had been on her mind since they’d left the Rowland estate. “I think Sophia Rowland is involved with a vampire.”

Shane rolled his eyes. “Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”

“How the hell do you think I feel saying it?”

“I’m still not convinced. This is all whoo-whoo stuff.”

“Well, get convinced. Godfather spoke with a parapsychologist and there is truth to the urban legends. On top of that, don’t forget I’ ve experienced it firsthand. Cross
is
a vampire. He’s souped-up strong, fast, he can disappear, he can smell me a mile away, and”—she shivered—“he drank my blood last night.” She swept her hair from her neck and showed him her bruise.

“There’s nothing there.”

Jax hesitated. “So it healed. But I’m telling you, Sophia Rowland smelled weird. Like blood and dominant male, and not the senator’s scent.”

“How did you get Cross’s blood?”

She cut off a chunk of rare beef, plopped it in her mouth and chewed. “I bit him. Twice.”

“Jesus!”

“I didn’t know what would happen. I was just trying to piss him off, egg him on. It worked. I feel different. Like he must feel but not nearly as strong. But I
am
stronger than I was. Faster. My sense of smell is better. I could smell that dog Maksim’s hard-on for Grace. The perv.”

Shane looked at her expectantly. “Do you think Maksim planted the picture?”

Jax chewed another piece of beef thoughtfully. “No. He’s just hot for the senator’s daughter and he really wants to win the election.”

“I can’t wait to take a crack at Mercer.”

“We can’t just ask him if he’s behind the pictures,” Jax said.

“No, but we can begin by asking him if he knows LeVech. We can ask him where he was last night. We can—”

Jax’s cell phone rang. “Cassidy.”

“It’s Naomi. I have an IP addy for you.”

Jax smiled. “Go ahead.”

“San Francisco City Hall. I’ ve narrowed the computer down to the second floor. Same floor as the mayor’s office.”

“Bingo! Thanks, Naomi.”

Jax hung up. “Shit, I didn’t think it was true, despite what Sophia said. But the email came from Mercer. Now, we ask why.”

Shane shook his head. “What an idiot. But it still doesn’t mean he sent the picture.”

“No, but it means, just as you said, he’s an idiot. Who knows what an idiot would do?”

As they drove to the marina, Shane updated Dante, who thankfully had no fires for them to put out.

After two hours,
Foreplay
motored leisurely into slip number forty-two.

Minus the mayor.