Taken by Surprise (25 page)

"We all are." Jackson followed Christa's lead, standing to pull up his sweats. He chose to remain standing rather than sit back down, nervous energy sending him straight back to the window to peer down at the highway below. "The three of us have been tight for years, along with McIntyre."

"Makes it a touchy situation. These feeling you have for Mallory, I mean."

"Yeah, it does that."

"Want some advice, Slick? Give the woman control. Even if she's not a true dominatrix by nature, every woman enjoys the security of a little control now and then. It sounds to me like she's afraid, probably of her feelings for you. She wants your bod." Christa gave a breathy laugh at that. "How could she not?"

Jackson smirked and turned slightly from the window to look at her. She'd pulled her legs onto the mattress, folding them beside her as she rested the weight of her upper body on one hand. The pose, the desire in her gaze, the amusement tilting her lips were so Mallory he felt the effect curl around his heart and cock.

"See that, right there, that's when I know you're seeing her and not me."

"Jesus, if I'm that transparent, I better start looking for a new line of work."

Christa's smile spread. "Only to me because I can see the want, feel the need, but recognize that it's not directed at me personally. Give Mallory what she wants. Play into her hand. I'm betting the strings between you are already tighter than you think. All you need to do is give her time to realize that."

"By letting her take control," Jackson muttered, then sighed. He had been fighting to maintain control with Mallory for years. Now he was thinking of surrendering it all to her.

"She scares you."

"She terrifies me."

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall when things between you start to sizzle."

"I wish you were a fly on the wall tonight at the party." Jackson turned all the way around. "I don't care what you say, Christa. It all seems too easy. Something doesn't feel right."

It didn't add up. Everything he'd learned about the Phay Cartel through FBI and DEA intel, the case files on the connected drug busts and lab seizures in recent months in Silver Springs, it just didn't compute.

"Stop sweating it, Slick. Between your instincts and mine, we'll see trouble coming in plenty of time to stop it."

Jackson wished he could feel as confident. He watched her slide off the bed, caught by the sensuality of her graceful movements, and thought he already failed at stopping trouble once on this assignment. What would prevent him from failing again?

* * * *

Rhonda expected Lucas and her mother to be under guard at a safe house somewhere on the coast. Instead, the guards had set up posts around the perimeter and inside her mother's house. Adrien assured her no one would get within ten feet of the place.

"There's been an agent and a uniform in here with them at all times." Adrien tipped his chin at the two casually dressed men in the living room she didn't recognize. One sat on the sofa as if he belonged there, slouched back with an ankle propped on the opposite knee, fingers drumming a beat only he heard on his thigh. She pegged him for the uniform, the local cop, simply by his relaxed demeanor during the endless waiting hours. The other one stood in the entryway separating the living room and kitchen. He leaned a shoulder against the frame, arms crossed over his chest. Despite the seemingly relaxed pose, he looked ready to pounce in a blink. She would put money on him being the DEA agent, assigned to the field and itching for action, looking for an excitement his current assignment sorely lacked.

Rhonda prayed it stay that way.

"There's more men stationed outside and unmarked cars at both entrances to the subdivision," Michael added, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "We've covered all the bases."

Rhonda nodded, felt the tiny arm tighten around her waist, and looked down to find Lucas staring up at her with excitement, of all things, throwing a party in his eyes.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" She took advantage of the fact that he hadn't left her side since she arrived. She knew all too soon he would get used to her being around again, forget all the fear of the last several days, and return to being a normal boy. The days of his depending on Mommy for everything, of longing for that constant contact, were numbered. Already he argued when she called him her baby, wrinkled his nose when she kissed him, dodged her affections in public.

He's growing up far too fast, but at least I'm still here to watch it happen
.

Lucas's lips spread in boyish amusement. "It's like being held in the Jedi Temple with all the guards posted outside waiting for the Sith to attack." He took a half step forward, leaning around Rhonda to speak to Michael. "Adrien makes a good Padawan, but now that the Jedi Master is back, there's no worries of the Sith getting through."

"What happened to Cosmo, the fairly oddparent?" Rhonda asked. Lucas had made the instant connection between Michael's last name and the Nickelodeon cartoon when they met, dubbing Michael his fairly oddparent. Michael had settled into the role for a while before everything turned upside down.

"A kid only gets fairly oddparents if he's unhappy." Lucas shrugged. "I'm not unhappy anymore, so mine had to go away. Now I've got the Jedi Master back to teach me everything."

Michael released Rhonda to scoop Lucas into his arms. "When I get back, my young Padawan, there are some things you and I need to discuss."

Lucas wrinkled his face. "I thought Adrien was your Padawan."

"Adrien is about ready to take the trials to become a Jedi himself. When that happens, I'm going to need a new Padawan."

"That's me." Lucas gave a definite nod.

"That's you." Michael's voice sounded thick with emotions Rhonda could see him desperately trying to hide. He glanced at her, and all the love, all the fear, all the apology and pain they experienced in the last few weeks showed bright in his eyes. "As my future Padawan, you know there are certain tests you must pass, right?"

"Right. Are you giving me one now?" Lucas bowed out his chest and thrust his chin in the air. "I'm ready."

"You're first assignment is to keep your mother safe while I'm gone. Think you can do that?"

Lucas's smile dimmed a fraction. "Is that all? I've been doing that for years."

"It's a bit trickier now and far more important."

"Because of the Sith out there trying to get to her like they did Timmy that time. That's why the guards have been here with me and Grandma, to make sure the dark side doesn't get to me."

"You're just like your mother, son. You know far more than you should."

"A Jedi has to be mindful of the forces around him at all times."

"I think you've got our roles reversed. I should be the Padawan and you the Jedi Master." Michael laughed, shook his head. "Can you give me a second with your mom?"

Lucas's expression went instantly serious. "Is she safe with you?"

The question nearly stopped Rhonda's heart. Dear gods, she had tried not to let him see how Michael's walking away had hurt her. She knew his sudden absence in their lives had made an impact on Lucas, even hurt him not to have that friend around. It had been part of the reason for her anger toward Michael. How could she not realize Lucas had picked up on her pain, too?

Michael swallowed visibly, reached for Rhonda, and drew her against him. "She's safe with me. I promise."

"Okay, but only for a few minutes. We're about to play
Battlefront
on the PlayStation. I'm going to let her be a stormtrooper so she can run around blasting all the Wookiees." He wiggled free of Michael's embrace and bolted across the living room.

"I've got a lot to make up to that boy," Michael told her softly as he pulled her in, enveloping her against the hard planes of his body.

"You've got a lot to make up to both of us." Rhonda tipped her head back, swallowing the urge to nip the five o'clock shadow already darkening his jaw. He had showered and shaved as soon as they got to the house, then changed into his trademark Armani suit and transformed back to the Michael she knew best.

"This isn't me walking away again." He brushed his lips to hers, lingered there long enough to have wetness slickening her pussy before he eased back.

"I know. Finish this, Michael."

"I will, but I need a partner to do it, Rhonda. I need you to keep me safe."

She didn't ask how. She already knew. By keeping herself safe, staying here under the protection of the agents and cops he had put in place, by not being a distraction.

"Just make sure it's enough." A niggling in her belly screamed he needed more. He thought her part in this ended the moment he got her to safe ground. She wasn't so sure.

Her gaze flicked to Adrien, who glanced at her on his way out the door. The promise in that quick look assured her she could count on him to watch Michael's back. But who, she wondered, would watch Adrien's?

* * * *

Adrien stopped short as he closed the front door behind him. His heart gave a single vicious slam in his chest as his gaze landed on Cameron leaning against the porch pillar, thumbs hooked in his pockets, ankles crossed. His shoulders seemed broader than Adrien remembered. His bare calves beneath khaki cargo shorts looked sleek and powerful. The FBI agent oozed sex from every pore. Adrien found himself no more able to resist it now than he'd been all those years ago at the docks. The difference between then and now, however, came in his ability to disguise his attraction. He had managed masterfully before. Given the spark and heat simmering in the blue gaze holding his, he figured he failed miserably now.

"Let's take a walk." Cameron pushed off the pillar, not waiting to see if Adrien would follow as he took the four steps leading down to the yard two at a time.

Undeniably nervous, Adrien loosened his tie as he double-timed it down the steps, fell in beside Cameron. "This whole place is under the scrutiny of about a zillion pairs of eyes right now, you know." Okay, so a zillion stretched the truth by a considerable margin, but he figured his point hit home.

"Yeah, I know. I helped put half of them out there, remember?"

"Some people are already catching on, taking guesses. Jackson is one of them."

"I expected that, especially after working closely with you these last few days. He knows me better than I know myself. Your boss, Michael, I think he's caught on to something, too." Cameron shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I never cared about that."

"What do you care about?"

"You." Cameron's answer surprised Adrien into stopping. "Me." Cameron raked a hand through his surfer boy blond curls. "The whole playboy thing isn't an act with me, Adrien. I keep things on the down-low with men. Hell, I don't think anyone has ever caught on to my attraction to other men. I guess it's not what people expect, so they don't see it. It's there, though. Thing is, I like it, the playboy life. I led you on, and I'm apologizing for that."

"No, you didn't. Not really."

"I feel like I did. A part of me wanted to. Not lead you on, exactly, but keep you around." Cameron moved closer, getting in Adrien's face and igniting a fire of arousal that singed the oxygen around them. "If I could make myself settle for any one person right now, you would be that one."

Adrien saw the truth of Cameron's words in the man's eyes, felt it in the longing pulsing between them. He also saw the battle raging deep inside this man, the secrets even all those long nights of phone conversations between them had never scratched the surface of uncovering.

"I'm so damned attracted to you I can't think about you without getting hard."

Adrien barked a startled laugh. "Well, now, that's, um, putting it bluntly."

Cameron grinned, a killer curve of his lips that sent a visceral bolt of electricity shooting through Adrien. The smile disappeared all too quickly. "It's telling the truth. I want you, but I only want to fuck you. You deserve more than that. You
want
more than that."

Adrien nodded. "You're right. I do." As his thoughts shifted to Thaddeus, he knew exactly where to find what he both deserved and wanted, waiting patiently for him to stake his claim.

Chapter Thirteen

Veng Kim Phay made himself an easy mark by coming to Silver Springs. He knew that even as the chopper rose into the air, as he gazed down at years of work that he might very well never set sights on again. Oh, he intended to return to the compound he had built in the throes of the Cambodian forest. Twice, he'd proven himself capable of escaping in the nick of time. Yes, they sent him scrambling years ago. Still, he got away. This time, he'd sent them scrambling. He needed only to let the stupid Americans think they'd gotten the upper hand, allow them to get cocky, to get close, and he would win again as he always did.

Until now.

Veng Kim had never expected to fall in love with Rhonda Ramsey, but he did so almost on sight. Her strength and self-confidence awed him. Her tenacity, though he never cared for the trait in a woman before, fueled his desire and filled his heart. He would've preferred she come to him of her own will. He believed he had been close to seeing that happen before that bastard DEA agent had stolen her from him.

No matter, he told himself. He would take care of Michael Cosmos soon enough. It galled him to think he might be forced to cut his losses where the SEALs were concerned. Even a man with his pull, his connections sometimes found himself in the position of having to step back, to let some vengeances go. He had more important matters to tend to before the cancer completed its consumption of his body. Once a man found love, true love, he took it with him to the grave.

Veng Kim intended to do exactly that. He thought at first to offer her all he owned, access to the world his family had built, the empire willed to him. It would be a temporary gift, of course, until the boy could be raised to accept the fate of the Phay name. Veng Kim would never turn over the family business to a woman. But the boy, yes, the boy could be taught, raised by Vireakboth, a man who acted as Phay's second, unknown to all, a man Phay trusted above all others. Vireakboth would teach the boy the ways of the family.

He thought better of that now. He would take Rhonda with him instead. He would see this business finished with Michael Cosmos, ensure Vireakboth was in place to take the boy and the family business until the time came to hand it over. Phay would then secure his eternal love right there with him in the grave already plotted in his homeland.

He reached for the phone and dialed the number that would see his love safe until they met again.