Kill Shot (18 page)

“She’s right. Top floor was rented out two
weeks ago by the Darwin Corporation. The day after the package from
Frank Bennett arrived here.”

“Jack, my guess is that Kimball’s other team
is down at the end of the round-a-bout, since we’re on a dead-end
street. He’d be able to follow our tracks for longer from that
end.”

“I’m already down here and have spotted
them. It’s a two-man team.”

“Let one of them live. Give him the message
that I want to meet with Kimball.”

“You got it, boss.”

Grace touched the tiny switch on her watch
and turned off her mic. She grabbed Gabe’s hand and did the same to
his.

“You might as well tell me what you’re
hiding about Kimball, Gabe. You’re trying to protect me from
something.”

They walked through an alley and came out on
the street behind their headquarters. Gabe tugged on her hand and
pulled her close.

“What makes you think I’m hiding anything
about Kimball?”

“I can read you like a book. I know every
expression on your face. I might not know exactly what the
circumstances are, but I know when something is wrong. I’ve always
known,” she said, referring to their past. “You don’t have to
protect me. I can take whatever it is.”

He drew her closer until their bodies bumped
together, and he took her face gently between his hands. Grace’s
breath caught at the look in his eyes—a mixture of longing and want
and need. And love.

“You still love me,” he said softly.

She didn’t have the power to deny him. His
gaze captivated her, and her eyes fluttered closed as he brought
his mouth to hers and whispered the softest kiss across her lips.
He pulled back, a look of regret that he couldn’t finish what he
started in his eyes, and he ran his hand affectionately down the
length of her braid before releasing her completely.

“I’ll tell you about Kimball when we get
back to our room. I promise.”

“Our room?” Grace asked with a raised
brow.

“You don’t think you’re sleeping alone
tonight, do you?”

“No, I suppose not.” Grace took her Sig from
her shoulder holster and checked the clip. “You take point, and
I’ll be clean up.”

“I never argue with a lady.”

They both turned their ear pieces back on
and checked in with Ethan before seeing to their task. The building
was modern, a gray-bricked structure of five stories that was used
for various businesses but was for the most part unoccupied. Gabe
made quick work of the back door lock, and they slipped inside
quietly. They took the stairs instead of the elevator to the top
floor, their footsteps silent on the concrete steps.

They spoke to each other with their eyes and
hand signals only as they reached the door for the top floor. They
knew there was a man on the roof, but they weren’t a hundred
percent sure how many others they’d find. From what Jack had said
about the men who attacked him, they were professional thugs, not
professional killers. There was a world of difference between the
two.

They went in hard and fast, Grace taking the
low stance while Gabe took the high. There was no one in the long,
narrow hallway. The walls were painted a stark white that was so
bright it hurt the eyes, and the carpet was industrial-strength
burgundy. The overhead lights were fluorescent, and the one at the
far end flickered on and off.

They hurried down the hallway, guns pointed
at the floor, and flanked the lone door that divided the long
walkway. Gabe knocked, and they listened as feet shuffled across
the room and came to a stop in front of the door. The very distinct
sound of someone chambering a round in a shotgun echoed from inside
the room.

Gabe didn’t wait. He fired twice through the
door and once into the deadbolt and kicked it open. Grace moved in
fast, stepping over the body, and a man by the window reached for
his gun on the table just as she took her shot. They hurried
through the room, pocketing the men’s cell phones and searching for
anything else that might lead them to Kimball. There was a laptop
on the couch they’d send Ethan over to collect later.

“Everybody okay over there?” Ethan
asked.

“We’re good. Heading to the roof,” Gabe
said.

The rest of the floor was clear, so they
headed back into the hallway and to the stairwell that led to the
roof. Grace opened the heavy gray door and went through quickly and
quietly. She knew where the man had his equipment set up, and the
door faced away from his line of sight.

He was right where she thought he’d be,
looking through the scope on his camera, looking for them. There
wasn’t a weapon in sight. They’d decided shots fired on a roof in
the middle of London wasn’t a great idea, so Grace motioned to
Gabe, and he snuck up behind the man like a bandit, snapping his
neck cleanly with a twist of his hands.

“Clear,” he called out to Jack through the
mic.

Gabe picked up all the surveillance
equipment and left Grace with her hands free for her weapon in case
they met anyone else on the way down.

They reached street level when they heard
Jack through their earpieces. “Clear on my end,” he said. “My new
friend is already on his way to give Kimball our message.”

“Good. You and Logan are staggered to leave
for Iran within the next twelve hours under your new identities.
Grace and I will stagger our leave with yours in the next sixteen
hours. We’ll meet you at the rendezvous point at three p.m.” Gabe
clicked his earpiece off before Jack or Ethan could comment. “Let’s
go.”

Grace laughed as Gabe grabbed hold of her
hand, and they traced their steps back the way they came. “You’re
in an odd mood.”

“We’re about to start the most important
mission of our careers, and I’m about to make love to a beautiful
woman. That’s pretty much all I’ve ever wanted out of life.”

“Oh, really? So any beautiful woman would
do?”

Gabe kissed her deeply, and when he broke
away, they were both gasping for breath. “Only you, Grace.”

***

Gabe was acting different. Grace couldn’t
put her finger on when it started exactly, but she had to get
things back under her control. She wasn’t ready to face what would
happen if she ever did lose control, and as good as it felt to be
with Gabe again, she wasn’t really ready to face that either.

The grief boiled inside her, threatening to
spill over the edges with every passing day. She’d been able to
keep it under control since Maddie’s death because she had a goal
to focus on. She could grieve after Tussad was dead.

But Gabe’s unspoken compassion and his need
to share the burden with her made her want to break down before the
right time—before her plan was complete. She couldn’t let him get
past her defenses like that. As long as she called the shots during
whatever was going on between them—she didn’t want to call it a
relationship—then things would be okay.

He’d been right when he’d said she still
loved him. She always had, and she knew she’d never be able to
stop, no matter how much time or distance was between them. But
just because two people loved each other didn’t mean they needed to
be together. Sometimes the pain outweighed the love.

She and Gabe met Jack on the street on their
way back to headquarters. He took one look at them and shook his
head. “I’m going to get a beer. You two have fun.” He veered off in
the opposite direction, and they checked in with the security gate
and made their way through the front door.

They kept a respectable distance between
them once they were inside the safety of the building, not knowing
if anyone was watching. Tension vibrated between them, and Grace
ached to get her hands on him. They waited patiently for the
elevator, not making eye contact as the doors opened. By the time
they made it to the sixth floor, her heart was pounding so hard she
was sure Gabe could hear it.

“My place. I have something for you.” Grace
grabbed his hand and led him to the door of her apartment. She
hadn’t stepped foot inside his private rooms since she’d been here.
She didn’t want to see how he’d been living since they’d parted
ways. She didn’t want to notice if he still left the cap off the
toothpaste or if he still kept his bread in the refrigerator.

“Chicken,” he said. “What happened to
our
place
?”

“Why can’t our place be my place?”

He shook his head but followed her into the
room. There was nothing personal lying around. It looked exactly
the same as it had when she’d first stepped through the door. She
never kept pictures or mementos of her former life with her.

“Let’s talk about Kimball,” Gabe said.

Grace looked down at her watch. “We only
have a limited amount of hours until we have to get back to work,
and you want to talk about Kimball now?”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What’s
going on here, Grace?”

“I always thought you were so smart. Can’t
you tell when someone’s trying to seduce you?”

“Well, it’s been awhile. I’m a little
rusty.”

“Maybe I can jog your memory.” She took him
by the hand and pulled him toward the bedroom.

“I don’t know,” he said. “You might have to
try really hard.”

The smile Gabe gave her sent shivers down
her spine. His eyes challenged her to do her best, and she decided
then and there that Gabe wouldn’t know what hit him.

“I’ll make you a deal,” she said.

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

She pushed him so he stood in front of one
of the four posts on the bed. She ran her fingers over the rigid
muscles of his stomach and chest and felt the power rush through
her as he shuddered under her touch. She pulled off his T-shirt and
dropped it on the floor at his feet.

“Have I ever told you how much I love your
body?”

“It’s been awhile.” His voice was husky, and
she could see the pulse pounding in his throat.

“If you promise to stay right here and not
move, I’ll do that thing you like.”

“I’d be crazy to turn down a deal like
that.”

“But you can’t move. No matter what. If you
do, I’ll have to stop.”

“What, you think I can’t keep my end of the
bargain? I’ve been tortured by worse than the likes of you,
sweetheart.”

“I guess we’ll find out. Do we have a deal?”
She circled her fingernail over his hard nipple, and he sucked in a
breath.

“We have a deal. Do your worst.”

Grace took his hands and lifted them up over
his head, wrapping his fingers around the post at his back. “Leave
your hands there. Remember, you promised not to move.”

She skimmed her fingers back down his chest
until they rested over the button of his jeans. He quirked a brow
at her in a dare, and she unsnapped the button, keeping her gaze
steady on his. She pushed the jeans and his underwear down to his
feet.

“Step out.” Her voice was low and husky, and
the sight of his obvious arousal enhanced her own. She wanted to
move faster, but she held herself back, determined to make him
crazy by the time she was done with him. It was time he got a taste
of his own medicine.

Grace left him there, naked, aroused, and
bound only by his word, as she made the preparations she wanted.
She gathered candles and placed them throughout the room. When she
lit them, a glow filled the area with soft light.

The first rumble of thunder echoed outside,
and she couldn’t help but smile. She’d always done her best work in
the rain.

“I hope you’re planning to come back over
here soon,” Gabe said. His hands were exactly where she’d left
them, stretched above his head, gripping the post so his muscles
strained.

“Eventually.” Grace took her time unbraiding
her hair. She knew how the sight of it had always turned him on. It
tumbled around her shoulders and down her back, and she ran her
fingers through it. His eyes were hot as they followed her every
move.

She went back toward him but stopped about
ten feet away. “You know I’m going to drive you crazy.”

“You’ve been doing that the better part of
ten years. Give it your best shot.”

She smiled at the challenge and lifted her
shirt slowly over her head. Her breasts strained against the
confinement of her bra, but she waited to take it off. She
unbuttoned her pants and wiggled out of them so she was left
standing in the emerald green bra and panties she’d found in her
drawer. She’d known without asking that he’d picked them out
himself. He loved it when she wore green.

“Christ, you’re beautiful.”

“Did you pick out underwear for all your
agents or just me?”

“I had a special interest in your
underwear.”

“I never thanked you.”

“No, you didn’t. I’m not sure I want you to
keep it. Maybe you should take it off.”

“Maybe I should.”

Grace skimmed her hands over her thighs and
closed her eyes, feeling the change of textures between her skin
and the lace. She followed the dip and swell of her curves, her own
breath hitching in anticipation at what was to come. Her nipples
were sensitive against the fabric of her bra.

Grace opened her eyes and looked straight at
Gabe as she unhooked the front clip and her breasts spilled out of
the cups. She let the scrap of lace fall to the ground, and reveled
in the wild need that came into Gabe’s eyes. His hands squeezed the
post, and his arm muscles bulged and strained until she thought he
might snap it off completely.

She didn’t remove the panties, but cupped
the weight of her breasts in each hand, tweaking her nipples
between her fingers and feeling the tug and pull of desire deep
inside of her.

“You’re killing me, Grace. Don’t make me
beg.”

She kept her gaze steady on his as she moved
one of her hands down her torso and dipped her fingers inside her
panties. The curls that covered her desire were moist, and her
fingers slipped through the delicate folds. She couldn’t help but
moan as her fingers hit the sensitive bud of her clitoris.