Mission Made For Two (12 page)

Smiling, she stroked his cheek in return and gazed into his brown eyes.  “You overwhelm
me,” she whispered.

He kissed her cheek.  “Good.  Now let’s go look at fish.”

~***~

Jake
watched through his binoculars
as Sierra and Diaz walked onto the beach
.
 
They carried their masks, snorkels and fins. 
He’d known when Diaz had kissed her and his stomach had churned.  Again, he berated himself for letting himsel
f sleep with Sierra last night. 

Being physically and emotionally
involved clouded judgment.

His hands tightened around the plastic in his hands as she stopped and stripped off her shirt.  The tiny triangles of her bikini didn’t cover much, not that she was large breasted, but she had enough even from this distance his mouth watered.  He could just imagine Diaz’s reactions.

Next she wiggled out of her shorts, and Jake wanted to dive in the water, swim up there and make her cover back up. 
Ridiculous of course.
  But he was having a very difficult time looking at this as just ano
ther job.  Her body was
sculpted and fit
, beautiful
. 
And it was his, damn it!  That thought flashed in his brain before he could stop it.

Just as he’d told her last night, h
e’d known she was trouble from the first time he’d
l
aid eyes on her. 
His hard and
fast rule about not getting involved with another
agent had flown right out the window
last night
when she’d taunted him
about putting the job first
. 

There had been a time that was true.  When he and Katherine had worked together, that’s exactly what he’d done.  The relationship they’d developed hadn’t changed that, he’d pushed for information. He’d caused what happened to her as surely as if he’d set that warehouse on fire himself.

Diaz held her arm as she slid into her flippers, then his hand moved up her bicep and caressed her shoulder.  Jake clenched his teeth together.

He should have knocked Sierra over the head and tied her up somewhere and taken care of things the way he’d planned.
He sure as hell shouldn’t have trusted that she might not do exactly what she did.

H
is plans
may have
ha
d some holes in it.  Like bei
ng out numbered eleven to one,
But
h
e was pretty sure he could get inside the house undetected. 
Though always calculated without another pair of eyes to keep track of the guards.

When he’d worked in Special Forces for the Marines, he’d always had back up.

After Katherine, he’d had back up from time to time, but he didn’t work with a partner.
 
Hadn’t wanted to be responsible for someone else again.
 

Though, he was willing to admit that Sierra was
probably one of the most well-
trained, street savvy
people
he’d worked with male or female. Not that it alleviated his worry.

Sierra and Diaz
were
chest deep in the water now.  Sierra dove under, her movements as graceful as a
Mermaid
.
He settled on the padded bench seat against the rail. 

This was going to be a
long afternoon.

Luisa poured a glass of
red
wine and se
t it in front of Sierra.  She
waited until Diaz had his before lifting it to her lips.  The afternoon had gone smoothly. 
After
snorkeling
, they’d ridden jet ski
s,
and Sierra now knew how she’
d get out of here tonight
if all went according to plan
.
Diaz
left the keys in the machines, content that his guards had things under control. 

With Jake backing her up, she s
hould be able to make it to one of the machines
and get to
his
boat.  Diaz’s boat was anchored out in the deeper water and by the time his men could get to it, minus one
jet s
ki
, of course, she and Jake would be gone.
 

She and Diaz
we
re back out on the veranda
.
  Goose bumps pricked her arms from the breeze blowing off the ocean.
  The temperature had dropped at least ten degrees since sundown.

This truly was a fabulous location. 
A shame that Diaz wouldn’t be enjoying it much longer.

“Well?  What do you think of the wine?” Diaz reached across the table and
covered
her left hand
with his
.

Sierra wasn’t much of a wine connoisseur.  The wine was good, but then it didn’t taste much different to her than a ten dollar bottle. 
“It’s very good.  A girl could
c
ertainly get spoiled here.”
 

Diaz leaned closer, his hand stroking up her arm. 
After her shower, s
he’d slipped into a different dress than the one she
’d worn earlier
.
This one was the same color as her fake eyes and while it had spaghetti straps
,
wasn’t as racy as her other attire.  It had more of a loose island feel.  She figured she better not get him too worked up. 

“You are a woman I suspect a man could get used to spoiling.”

She chuckled and
shook her head. “You always kno
w exactly what to say, Dominic.  Have you ever been married?”

He put a hand over his heart and leaned back in his chair. 
“Heavens no.
  I am a confirmed bachelor.”

Sierra pointed a finger at him and took another swallow of wine. “Be careful.  That line always gets a man in
t
rouble.”

He laughed.  Luisa chose that moment to bring them food.  Diaz had told her what kind of fish it was, but Sierra couldn’t remember.  It smelled delicious, but she was already getting keyed up for tonight. She’d be lucky to force any of it down her throat.

She glanced toward the water, knowing Jake could see
and hear
her.  Maybe after they got through this mission, he’d change his mind about working with a partner. 
Maybe he’d change his mind about working with her.

Diaz said something and she realized she’d missed it. She looked at him sheepishly when he got her attention. “I’m so sorry. I was caught up in the beautiful scenery. Please forgive me.”

“Of course,
querido
.
  I take it today hasn’t been a hardship.”

Quickly, she shook her head. “No.”

He chuckled. “Good.  Then you will stay longer?”

Sierra licked her bottom lip.  Now was the time to set the tone for the evening.  She just prayed that he would still be interested in playing the game.

“I…I don’t know, Dominic.”  She kept her head tilted down and looked at him through her lashes.  “Today was wonderful.  But…I’m not sure I’m ready to sleep with you yet,” she said in a rush
, being as coy as she knew how to be
.

She looked up into his eyes, trying to read the effect her words had on him.  He took a sip of wine,
then
set his glass on the table.  “I can be patient,
querido
.  So you will stay here with me, per
haps for the extent of your visit to the island
?”

Sierra smiled.  “It has been a
while since I’ve met an actual gentleman.”

His left eyebrow rose.  “American men have no finesse.  They miss the fine art of courting.”

She had to fight not to laugh.  She had a feeling he did very little courting.  But he did have some very nice
lines,
she had to give him credit for that.
  “I would l
ove to be your guest,” she lied through her teeth.

He nodded. “You won’t regret it.”

But you will
. 

Now
secure
he wouldn’t push her for more tonight, she was able to relax
a bit
and think about her mission later tonight. 

~
***~

Sierra lay
, listening to the
quiet
house.  After
she and Diaz had
eaten, he’d suggested they walk on the beach.  Every caress grated on her nerves. She was impatient to get things started.

Not a good trait, but it felt like things had been dragging out f
or months.
Ever since she’d rescued
Jake
in South America
.
 

She slid out of bed, and walke
d to her bag.  Retrieving the communication equipment, she put the small device in her ear.  “You still awake, Harding?”

“Just watching the stars.
 
Glad
you managed to avoid sharing a bed with Diaz.
”

A touch of jealousy tinged his voice
.  There might
be hope for him yet. 
“Told you I could handle myself.
 
I’m in the room
beside his.  You got those fancy thermal goggles ready?”

“Looking at your hot
bod
right now,” he said.

Sierra chuckled.  “You sweep a girl off her feet.  So, can you tell if Diaz’s room is occupied?”

“He’s prone on the bed, has been for two hours.”

“
Perfect.
”  Sierra reached in her ba
g and quickly
grabbed
her clothes
.

“
You should be all clear inside right now.
There’s one guard in the back and one in the kitchen.
The other’s are in their rooms.
”

She slipped
on a
pair of black pants
,
a black tee shirt
, and a pair of sneakers
.  After yanking a black stocking cap ove
r her blonde hair, she clutched
the small bag with the safe cracking equipment in it
, added a
pen
flashlight
, her wallet that held a passport, credit cards and
cash
and slung it over her shoulder
.

“I’m heading out
.
” 
Cracking
her door, she peered into the hall
. 

Empty
.
 

Her trek down the stairs was uneventful.  Sierra’s
heart beat
fast, but
steady
, a familiar rush of adrenaline flowing through her blood.

A noise at the foot of the stairs made her pause.  Then she realized it was the low sound of a television coming from one of the rooms on the back hallway.  Good.  Hopefully, the guards were preoccupied with that for the moment. 

A shaft of moonlight
shining through the high windows
,
hit th
e floor
square in the middle of the room.  It provided enough illumination for her to see without the flashlight. 

“Everything still clear?” she asked Jake as she neared the other hallway.

“All clear
.”

Sierra skirted the corner and stopped in front of the portrait.  Carefully, she removed it from the wall and
set it
on the floor.  Then she
placed
her bag
at her feet
and retrieved the flashlight and the equipment Jake had provided.

Attaching the small black box to the safe beneath the combination lock, she
switched
it on and began
rotating
the knob slowly.  The digital numbers whizzed around,
then
flashed when she hit the right number.  The process was a
b
it t
edious
.  Perspiration gathered on her neck as she found the last number.

The safe clicked open.  “I’m in,” she whispered.

She shined the light inside.  “Holy crap, he’s got enough
mo
ney in here to buy an island.
”  Sierra started pulling out bundles of bills.
Some of them American dollars and some Pesos.