Polar Opposites (In Aeternum Book 4) (27 page)

“No. I’m actually being flown by a friend of yours.”

His brow converged. “A friend of mine?”

“Yes, Jaydee. She’s my pilot.”

The phone nearly fell from his hand. Bailey and Jaydee in one plane? Oh, this could be bad. “Are you two getting along?”

“We’re professionals, Ivan. Surely you don’t think we’re up here in the sky rolling around like we were mud wrestlers.”

He grinned. “No, but thanks for the image. That will get me through a few nights.”

“You so need help.”

There was no bitterness in her tone and he just laughed. “Probably.” He sobered. “Are you two okay?”

“We’ll be fine. I have to go.”

“Bailey?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful.”

“You got it. I’ll talk to you soon.” The call ended.

He tossed his phone down and grunted as he allowed his head to drop back, hitting the headboard. Seriously? Jaydee and Bailey together? This could be very good or extremely bad.

* * * *

Bailey looked briefly at the receiver she’d just replaced. With a shrug, she finished making the drinks and carried them back to the cockpit.

“Here you go.” She placed Jaydee’s coffee beside her.

“Thanks.”

“Ivan says hello.”

“He was surprised I was here with you.”

Since it wasn’t a question, Bailey didn’t respond. Instead she took a drink of her juice.

“You mean a lot to him, you know.”

Bailey turned toward Jaydee and watched her. The woman wasn’t looking in her direction, all her attention was on the task at hand, but somehow she knew she was being observed and judged.

“He means a lot to me as well.”

“I don’t normally get into people’s business because, quite frankly, I don’t care. Gio says it’s because I wasn’t raised like most, so I tend to stay out of things. I don’t know. Anyway, my point is, I don’t have many friends in the world but Ivan is one of my closest. He is my family. And I will protect him in ways you can’t even begin to understand.”

“If I didn’t know better, I would think you just threatened me.” Bailey drank some more juice.

“Don’t think I did. Understand I did that exact thing. Don’t hurt him or you will answer to me.”

“Ivan’s a big boy, he can take care of himself.”

“He’s family.”

“So you’ve said.”

“You’re not worried about my threat.”

“Should I be? I don’t know you other than what he’s told me. I know your brother-in-law is Valentino. Other than that, you’re my pilot.”

Jaydee glanced at her. “What do you do for Theta Corps, Bailey?”

“I don’t discuss my work.”

“I know you don’t. You’re very secretive about everything. Just like I know you were brought in by Kevin McNeal at the young age of six after having seen your parents die. I know you have homes in Santiago, Chicago and Paris. I know the multiple forms of martial arts you’re an expert in and which pistols you prefer to use.”

Bailey was impressed.

“I know your apartment in Chile is a five minute walk from Ivan’s. He moved there to be near to you. His lab is beneath a farm outside the city. I know you went to Adast to check on a woman who subsequently vanished from the facility before it was cleaned out. I know you saved a young girl in Egypt named Safa and she is being adopted. I know everything there is and I know exactly what it is you do for a living. I know how many times and how often they send you out.”

That was just scary. Bailey tightened her grip on her glass. “Your point in all this being what, exactly?”

She turned her head and gazed at her briefly. “That I can reach you. No matter where you are in the world, I can reach you. Don’t hurt him.”

“Gotcha.”

There wasn’t anything else she could say. This woman knew what she did and wasn’t fazed in the least. In fact, she seemed quite the opposite. Her concern was for Ivan, not her. That alone got her points. Jaydee truly cared about those she considered to be her family.

“You know you’re good for him.”

Bailey hadn’t expected Jaydee to say another thing about Ivan. “I’m good for him?”

“Yes. You get him out of the lab. That man used to be in there for days on end. He’s not anymore, when you’re around. And you got him to go home.”

“So let me get this straight, I’m good for him but you threatened me.”

“Just because you are good for him doesn’t mean you wouldn’t hurt him. I merely shared with you the outcome should you do such a thing.”

“Aren’t you just a bundle of warmth and good cheer.”

Their gazes met. “Not really.” She blinked. “Oh, that was sarcasm.”

Yes, that’s exactly what it was.
“I could get to like you, Jaydee.”

“You have realized I’m not a threat to your relationship with Ivan?”

“I have.”

“Good. That way when you come back to the house you will stay the full time and not leave early.”

She reclined back. “Sure. You know, he may not want me to come with him next time.”

“You know, he and Lexy used to tell me all the time I had a knack for missing what was directly in front of me because I looked at things only one way. It almost cost me my husband. Don’t make that same mistake. That man is in love with you.”

“No,” she corrected. “He still loves you.”

Jaydee shook her head. “Not the same. He lives and breathes to be beside you. How do you not see it?”

“Perhaps because I was taken to his ex-girlfriend’s house.” Her words had an edge to them.

“He’s told you he loves you, right? Ivan isn’t shy about sharing his feelings. He’s not a man who feels it makes him weak to do that. He’s extremely confident in who he is as a person and a man. Therefore, I know he’s told you. Why do you doubt? Ivan and I were friends long before we became lovers and were friends after we stopped being lovers. He will always be my friend.”

“Yes,” she admitted. “He told me.”
In his own way just as I did to him in my own way.

“He doesn’t lie. If your problem is that I have slept with him then that’s your hang-up. There’s nothing romantic between us anymore.”

Nothing like being blunt. Well, Ivan had warned her she was straightforward.

“I suppose it is my hang-up. Something I will have to get over.”

“Yes, you will.” She drank some of her coffee and Bailey finished her juice.

The co-pilot stuck his head in and Bailey got up. “Thanks for the chat.” She slipped out and retreated to one of the seats, stopping to put her glass in the dirty dish container and closing it so it would be secure when they landed.

Bailey slept, waking when a light touch brushed her shoulder. She came alert instantly. Assessing her situation, she opened her eyes when she recalled where she was. Still, she didn’t rush to sit up. Eyes open, she found Jaydee standing near and looking down at her.

“Everything okay?”

“Of course. We’ll be landing soon, thought you might wish to clean up a bit first.”

Jaydee actually sounded offended she’d asked if everything was fine. “Sounds good, thanks.” She raised her seat and placed the blanket aside.

Jaydee walked back to the cockpit without another word. Bailey rose from the seat and made her way back to the restroom. Once the door had latched behind her, she turned on the water. Using one of the folded white cloths, she washed her face then patted it dry with a towel.

She had kinks in her neck and back, both of which would hopefully work themselves out as she moved around. Bailey checked her watch, focusing on local time. Just before six in the morning.

As she took care of her needs, she tried to decide the best place to meet her contact. By the time she had buckled herself in, she still hadn’t decided. He was jumpy and suspicious of everything—not that she blamed him for that.

Bailey stared out of the window as the Chicago skyline came into view. They landed and taxied into the executive airport.

John, the co-pilot, lowered the steps for her with a smile. A dark Suburban with tinted windows lingered just near the halted jet. Bailey shouldered her pack and went to the top step, shivering in the cold air, noticing her other bag already at the bottom.

“Bailey.”

She faced Jaydee. “Yes?”

“Good luck.”

There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Jaydee knew exactly why she was here. “Thanks for the ride.” She headed out and shivered again. She’d not properly dressed for this weather. Winter had already arrived here. The wind bit into her skin with viciousness.

The moment she hit the ground, the SUV’s driver door swung open and a tall man, wearing shades and a dark suit, entered her line of sight.

He strode toward her and hefted her suitcase in one gloved hand with ease. Then he reached out to her shoulder pack and she shook her head.

“Ms Hyde, I’m your driver, David. Are you sure you don’t want me to take your other bag?”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay. I’m to take you to your hotel.”

Behind her sunglasses, she narrowed her gaze. “My hotel?”
I have a perfectly acceptable apartment in this city, why exactly do I need a hotel room?

“Yes. Mr McNeal set everything up.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He walked away with her bag, heading to the SUV.

Bailey withdrew her phone and placed a call.

“What is it, Bailey?”

“Explain to me why I’m staying in a hotel as opposed to utilizing my apartment.”

“Don’t argue with me over the phone.”

“You’re not before me in person.”

“Get to your hotel room.”

She ended the call and with an eye-roll strode to the idling vehicle. “Let’s go,” she announced as she slid onto the front seat.

The man put them in gear and drove away. “Most people ride in the back.”

“I’m not most people.” She closed her eyes, grateful her flight hadn’t been a commercial one.

She didn’t speak for the entire ride and hopped out the moment he pulled up to the hotel downtown. The driver quickly joined her and handed her suitcase to the bellhop.

“Thank you, David.”

“Call me when you need a car. I’m yours twenty-four seven as long as you’re here in Chicago.” He handed her his card.

“Good to know.” She spun on the balls of her feet and walked inside to the main counter. “I’m here to check in.”

The man standing there—Phillipe, according to his name tag—smiled at her and gave their standard welcome.

“Name?”

“Bailey Hyde.”

He typed a few keys, smiled again and handed her a key card. “Your room is forty-two fifteen. Let us know if we can be of any assistance. The elevators are that way then to your left. Enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you. It’s okay,” she told the bellhop. “I got it.”

Exhaling loudly in the elevator, she pressed the button for her floor. Once there, she walked along the carpeted corridor to her door. Key card in hand, she let herself in and froze.

“Good to see you, Bailey. Congratulations on another successful job.”

“McNeal. Why am I not surprised to see you here.” She wasn’t asking, it was a statement.

He appeared all too comfortable lounging in what was supposed to be her room. She dropped her bag and stepped forward so the door would close behind her.

“We needed to talk.”

Her suspicions flared and rose along with her eyebrows. “We?”

“Come on in,” he called out.

The connecting door opened and in walked Valentino Cassano, Anabelle Lee Jackson and Beauregard Jackson. On their heels was another man she didn’t know personally but from his photo, he was the boss not only of the trio who’d just entered but of all Theta Corps. Masters.

“We,” McNeal stated.

Shit.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ivan played with the salad resting in the Styrofoam container on his desk as opposed to eating it. The limp lettuce and floppy vegetables in it were less than appetizing. Regardless of knowing he needed to eat, since he’d not eaten anything thus far today and it was approaching eight at night, he didn’t want this.

“Boss,” Chrissy said, popping her head in the door. “Come on, have something for you.”

“Be right there.”

She vanished and he stood, lifting the salad and depositing it in the trash on his way out.

Chrissy led him down to one of their labs and opened the door. Ivan stepped in and froze as he saw what awaited him. Everyone had gathered there. Hot food lined one of the tables and on another sat a large cake.

“Happy birthday!” they cried out.

Shit, he’d been so busy, he’d forgotten his own birthday. “Thanks, guys. This is perfect. Much better than that damn salad, which was the only thing I could find here.”

“Now you know why.” Chrissy handed him a drink and a plate. “Help yourself.”

His stomach rumbled and he eagerly made his way to the food-laden table. “Who told you it was my birthday?”

“Your girlfriend.”

In the process of scooping out some meatballs, he paused. “My girlfriend?”

Chrissy propped her hands on the tablecloth next to him. “Yes, she called me and wanted to make sure you had a party, said she knew you had been working hard and would probably forget. Given she is out of town, she still wanted you to have some fun.” She nudged him. “I like her, I think we should meet her.”

A chorus of cheering rose around them.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he promised.

Thank you, Bailey. This is just what I needed.

They ate and drank until close to midnight. Even Howland showed up and shared a piece of marble cake with all of them. The time she was there, the joviality faded slightly but it rose again quickly after she’d taken her leave.

He opened cards and had a wonderful time. They cleaned up, said goodnight and everyone went their separate ways. The leftover cake and food remained behind for the night guards to eat.

Ivan rode home and found a package waiting for him outside his door. No return markings. Unlocking his door, he gazed around once more. No one was there. He slid the box inside with his foot then closed the door behind him. He picked it up, carried it to the table and left it there while he went to get a knife to open it.

Carefully, he slit the tape and folded back the flaps. Whatever it contained had been concealed by blue and gold paper. He pulled it out, ignoring the packing peanuts that fell from it, and tried to figure out what it was. Bigger than a book.