Suddenly a Spy (14 page)

She dreamed of the time Rick had chased her
around their bedroom for the remote control. He’d tickled her
mercilessly when he caught her and she’d laughed so hard tears had
streamed down her face. When she caught her breath, she’d made the
discovery that he had a ticklish spot of his own.

Of course, their wrestling had turned to
lovemaking. Playful and tender and… innocent. At some point,
Veronica realized the feathery kisses being placed all over her
face were not a part of the dream.

He was there, warm and hard and real and all
around her. When he realized she was awake, he captured her mouth
with a white hot kiss that left no doubts in her mind who she truly
belonged to—body, mind and soul.

“What are you doing here?” she finally pulled
away. “I thought it was too dangerous.”

“I had to see you.”

“I kissed him,” she blurted. “Well, he kissed
me. But I kissed him back.”

“I know. I saw. You didn’t think I’d let you
go there without making sure I could help if you were in danger,
did you?”

“I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

“I know Marko well enough to know he won’t
waste any time trying to get you in his bed. Why do you think I was
so against this?”

“You’re so calm.”

“I wasn’t. I might have destroyed public
property. Okay, I definitely destroyed public property. But then I
figured that I certainly hadn’t left things on a good note with
you—and I decided I could either pout, kill Marko with my bare
hands now, or come see you.”

“I’m glad you chose door number three.”

“Are you?”

“Really happy.”

The moonlight that crept through the curtains
illuminated his roguish smile as he lowered his mouth to hers once
more. On this night, Veronica was the one who could not get enough
of him. She wanted to memorize the curve of every muscle.

Maybe she was trying to prove her love. Maybe
she wanted to sear him into her brain so the next time she stood so
close to Marko, it wouldn’t befuddle her quite so much. Maybe she
just wanted to delight in the one she’d chosen to forever be her
lover and best friend.

Later, as they lay intertwined and staring up
at the ceiling, Veronica finally processed something that had been
nagging at her for hours.

“He’s going to sell girls tomorrow, isn’t
he?”

“The gentlemen only party? Most likely.”

“Let’s crash it.”

“You forget that you’re being watched.”

“Which is a perfect alibi. If I can slip out
without his thugs knowing it, then I’m accounted for and can’t be
blamed for the raid on his house. Right?”

“But he could think you’re an informant.”

“We’ll just have to give him someone else to
blame.”

“Who do you have in mind?”

“Adrianna… I haven’t forgotten my promise to
her.”

“Trust me; she’s already paying for meddling
with you. Marko’s pretty pissed at her for not being able to find
us.”

Veronica smiled. It made her feel warm and
fuzzy inside, knowing Adrianna was suffering. But she was nowhere
near being done with her.

“You’re a cold, hard woman when you want to
be.”

“Yeah. So anyway, about tomorrow—if we get
those girls out, do you think you can get them to safety?”

“How do you plan on getting away?”

“I was thinking we could pay housekeeping to
smuggle me out in the trash.”

“Might work,” he considered her plan. “What
about getting you back in?”

“Dinner cart?”

“I’ll set it up.”

Veronica nodded. She felt better knowing they
had an immediate plan. After so much planning and waiting, it was
good to have some action on the horizon.

“I wonder how Courtney and Jeff are doing,”
her mind switched tracks.

“I’ll check in with them tomorrow,” he
promised. “I can do that easier than you.”

“How long do I have with you tonight?” she
rolled over to snuggle closer to him.

“I should have left twenty minutes ago.”

“Don’t tell me that. I miss you already.”

“From now on, let’s go undercover as a
couple, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan,” she smiled, kissing him
on his chest. “Come back to me when you can.”

She watched him dress. There were few men as
beautiful as he was. Maybe it was shallow, but she appreciated his
six-pack. She was also glad for their time in the jungle because
now she didn’t feel quite so insecure next to him.

“I’m never going to get out of here if you
don’t stop looking at me like that,” he grinned despite his words
and she knew he was pleased by her reaction to him. Whatever he
said now, he had doubted her love—if for even a moment—and it had
hurt him deeply.

She could tell and she could identify with
the feeling. Adrianna had brought her that kind of doubt and it was
excruciating. Veronica held her arms open in invitation, and he
willingly scooped her up into his. She snuggled against him,
enjoying the sensation of his jeans against her bare skin.

“I love you,” she brushed a kiss on his
neck.

“I love you, too,” he closed his eyes and
held her to him. She enjoyed the peace of the moment, the smell and
the feel of him all around her. He reluctantly pulled back, kissing
the scar on her shoulder gently before placing her back on the
bed.

Then he was gone, leaving a great big hole in
her bed. She pulled his pillow to her, curling up with it and
inhaling deeply. Her iPod and his memory finally lulled her back to
sleep. This time the dreams of him were not playful ones.

Chapter Fifteen

The day that followed was one of the most
boring of her life. Being under surveillance and afraid she’d do
something stupid without Rick there as her guide, Veronica
intentionally stayed close to the hotel.

She did venture to the beach for some sun—she
liked the honeyed tone her skin had taken while on their honeymoon
and wanted to keep it. She wandered through the street markets on
her way back to the hotel. Since she didn’t know when Rick would
send for her, she opted to get ready sooner rather than later.

A dozen red roses stood waiting for her in
the room. For the first time in her life, she had to read the card
to see who they were from.

“Miss you already. Marko,” the note was
scrawled out in handwriting that was undoubtedly male. So he’d gone
to the trouble to sign it himself. Nice.

“Figures,” Veronica sighed and tucked the
card back in its stand. Rick wouldn’t be happy when he saw those,
assuming he hadn’t already. It was weird being watched like a
monkey in a cage.

Ronnie pulled the curtains tight and dressed
in all black. She shoved a black ski mask in her waistband
alongside her Makarov. She’d no sooner pulled her hair back when
there was a knock at the door.

“Housekeeping.”

Veronica opened the door and stood to the
side for the woman to enter with the large linen cart.

“I have the towels you requested,” the woman
opened the laundry hamper and walked away to place a stack of
towels next to a perfectly good stack of towels already on the
counter. Ronnie assumed she was supposed to climb in the hamper,
but would feel really stupid if not.

The woman paused and gave her a look that
asked what the holdup was. Veronica climbed in—a little dismayed to
realize there were dirty towels already in it. She curled herself
into a ball and pretended it was only water on the towels, and
clean water at that.

Ronnie tried to hold her breath on the way
back to the laundry room. When that didn’t work, she tried taking
short breaths into her sleeves to avoid inhaling deeply enough to
actually identify any of the smells in the basket with her.

When the lid finally lifted, she popped out
and gulped in the fresh air. Rick was there, trying not to laugh as
he helped her out of the hamper.

“Being a spy isn’t as glamorous as it’s
cracked up to be,” she was absurdly happy to see him.

“Ah, love, you smell awful.”

She made a face at him, which he missed
because he’d turned to thank the housekeeper again before ushering
Veronica into a boxy black SUV. Even with the tinted windows, she
felt compelled to sink back in her seat.

“You know they can’t see you, right?”

Veronica refused to respond.

“We have a little time to kill—you want some
dinner?”

“Are you suggesting we go on a date before
raiding the sex slave sale?”

“Yes?”

“Is that a good idea?”

“I came prepared,” he pulled into a parking
space overlooking the water and reached into the back seat to
produce a picnic basket.

“What’s this?”

“Just a little local fare. Oh, instead of
bubbly I brought you coffee. I didn’t want to get you snockered
before the job.”

“Good thinking.”

It felt oddly normal, sitting there in that
SUV overlooking the Black Sea and eating a picnic of kufte and
sirenka while waiting for the time to come to go make a dent in
human trafficking. They laughed and joked and acted silly. She
liked how easily he smiled, how easily he made her giggle.

“I checked on your brother today. He and
Courtney are both fine. Although they seem to be spending a lot of
time together. Supposedly in the name of plotting ways to send
Adrianna on wild goose chases, but I have my suspicions.”

“Poor Courtney. She’s succumbing to his
charm. I had such great hope for her, too.”

“You never know. Maybe it’s the other way
around. Maybe she’s actually settling him down.”

“Men don’t change.”

“I did.”

“Temporarily, and you apparently hated our
nice, sedate life.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he frowned. “I was
a touch restless, perhaps.”

“Last night, you said next time we did this
we’d pose as a couple,” she broached the subject that had been on
her mind most of the day.

“I’m not going through this hell again; I’ll
tell you that.”

“But, there will be a next time?”

“To be honest, I thought you’d wash out in
the jungle.”

“But I didn’t.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Come on, you have to admit I’m pretty good
at this spy stuff.”

“You’ve had a few lucky moments.”

“Does it hurt your manhood a little?”

“We’ll see how tough you’re talking after
tonight. You know the drill?”

“Do you?” she tossed back saucily. They’d
gone over it repeatedly, but a part of her was still nervous. She’d
be happy when this was behind her.

“Hey, Ron…”

“Yeah babe?” she looked up at him. He
hesitated a moment and then leaned in to kiss her.

“Promise me you’ll be careful,” he still held
her head in his hands.

“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid
trying to protect me.”

“Of course I’m going to protect you.”

“At some point you have to trust me to
protect myself.”

“Can we just agree to have each other’s
back?”

“Deal,” she kissed him on the cheek. “Now
let’s go break into my boyfriend’s house.”

“Was that really necessary?”

Veronica laughed in response and situated the
ski mask on her head, wearing it like a hat until she absolutely
had to pull it over her face. Their banter did wonders for her
nerves. She got the impression he knew as much, and the pair
good-naturedly picked at each other until they reached their
destination.

He parked about a mile from Marko’s and they
jogged the rest of the way, sticking to the trees and out of site.
Rick hopped the stone fence lining Marko’s property with relative
ease and turned back to offer Veronica a hand. She ignored his
offer and scaled the wall with little effort. She planted a quick
kiss on his cheek before sliding the mask the rest of the way down
her face.

With a chuckle, he pulled his own mask down
and then dropped to the grass. The pair stayed close to the wall
until they reached the nearest camera, where he scaled the wall
with his tools in his mouth. Her heart pounded in her ears as she
waited for him to bypass the security system.

He signaled he was done and they were soon
off again. A pair of Dobermans headed their way curiously. Rick
unsheathed a knife, but Veronica stilled his hand. Instead she
knelt as she had the night before and pulled her mask back. The
larger of the two began to wriggle like a puppy when he recognized
his new friend. She gave him kisses and scratched his sides.

“Can we go now?” Rick asked, his perplexed
look matching that of the other dog.

“So you saw the kiss but not me making
friends with the guard dog? That’s awfully selective of you.”

“I guess I kind of blacked everything else
out after I saw that kiss,” he hissed.

She rolled her eyes and repositioned her
mask. The pair moved forward, only to be joined by Veronica’s
friend.

“Babe, he can’t follow us.”

Veronica did the first thing that came to
mind—she grabbed a stick and tossed it for the dog. He retrieved it
and was back before they could cover half the distance to the
house. She tossed again, further this time only to have both dogs
dart after it. They returned it with a bit of growling and
roughhousing that felt much louder than it actually was.

“Nice.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

He grabbed the stick and tossed it over the
fence they’d initially come across. Both dogs tore in that
direction, barking madly at the wall.

“Much better,” she shoved at him as he swore
under his breath.

Two men appeared at the back door, looking to
see what the dogs were barking at. Veronica and Rick pressed
themselves against the wall, waiting for the men to turn away again
when everything seemed in order. Rick and Veronica moved as one,
each immobilizing a guard without a sound.

They closed the door behind them on their way
into the house so as not to have a repeat performance with the
dogs. Together, they made their way through two more sets of
guards, much the same as the first.