TWELVE
Sophie struck a pose with her finger guns.
“Sophie, are you—” Con’s voice projected from two feet behind her.
She dropped her hands and whirled to face him.
“You’re not ready.”
“I don’t have enough black.” She shot a look at her open suitcase on the bed. Clothes in neutral shades of brown, white and gray spilled out. “But I did download this.”
She hit play on a music track on her phone. The theme song to a James Bond movie filled the room.
“Sophie.” His lips twitched. Then he strode to his own bag and pulled out a black garment. When he returned to her and held it out, she clasped the cloth, swearing to herself it was warm from his body even though he hadn’t even worn it.
“I’ll be just a minute.” She hurried into the bathroom and changed out of the Princeton shirt and into Con’s very large black T-shirt. The long sleeves hung off the tips of her fingers and the hem almost reached to her knees.
She tucked it into her trousers, but it only created a lumpy spare tire around her middle, so she knotted it in the back the way she’d seen her students do instead and rolled the sleeves.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, she met Con’s stare. “I’m ready.”
He gave her a once-over.
Feeling self-conscious, she smoothed her hands down her middle, and his gaze tracked the movement.
The way his eyes hooded had her insides gripping . The last time he looked at her like that, she had two fingers buried in her pussy, showing him how she pleasured herself.
“The guys are waiting.”
She eyed him. “You’re sure I can go with you?”
“Yes,” he said with a brusque edge as he led the way to the hotel room door.
Following close behind, she battled with her nerves at being asked to join him and the team for this special visit to the shipping agent. She asked Con twice why he was asking her to go along rather than just leaving her in the room, but he only gave her a few indiscernible noises.
Once they were alone in the corridor, she finally let the smile she’d been holding back take over her face.
“What’s that for?”
“I’m enjoying this. It’s stimulating. The life of a professor isn’t so exciting.”
Con studied her for a beat too long. “It doesn’t surprise me that you enjoy this sort of thing.”
“How do you know?”
“Because the way to you is through your mind.”
The breath shoved from her lungs. Surprise floated through every inch of her body. Not even her ex had figured that out. If Benjamin wasn’t the smartest person in the room, he took offense. In those early years together, Sophie had actually dumbed herself down to let him have the spotlight. Then she realized that was stupid—if Benjamin couldn’t be an adult and let her share the spotlight sometimes, that was his problem.
The next few minutes were pretty exciting by the standards of a woman who went to bed early with a book. The city at night was stunning. Con’s team was full of jokes when they could be and serious when they had to be.
Even so, by the time they stopped on a dock and Con ushered her into a boat, Sophie’s stomach fizzled with a mix of nerves and excitement. The water was a ripple of small waves created by other crafts. She gripped the side and watched the lights twinkle and streak on the surface depending on how rough the water was.
At her side, Con stood like a strong sentinel. His mere presence gave her a measure of calm. With him, she felt safe. With him, she knew nothing would happen to her.
The boat engine slowed. Black shapes came into view, and she realized they were approaching a dock.
Beyond it was the dark outline of a very impressive villa. The expansive home had a few lights on outside—their only greeting. Or so she thought. Once Con assisted her off the vessel, she spotted two men standing on the dock.
One introduced himself as Mr. Deniz’s servant. The other was his personal bodyguard.
Sophie’s stomach fluttered with a fresh hatching of butterflies.
While the members of Con’s team stood on the dock with them, the servant addressed Con. “This way, sir.”
He placed a hand on her spine to show that he was going nowhere without her.
The servant nodded to her. “Madame.”
Nobody protested when Mason came with them too.
As Con took her by the hand, her fingers tightened on his. He would keep her safe. Things would be okay.
When they entered the house through a back door, and were led down a long hallway to a spacious study decked out in expensive furnishings, another man sat there waiting for them.
Deniz.
He stood when he saw them, waving a hand to the leather armchairs and sofa. Con led the way and tucked Sophie close at his side. She felt Mason’s stare on her for a moment before Deniz turned their attention.
“My wife has been kidnapped,” he said without introductions.
A ball of dread sank like a stone to the pit of Sophie’s stomach.
“Do you know who took her?” Con asked him.
Deniz sliced a look at Sophie and then back to Con, obviously reassured that she would remain silent.
“People who are forcing me to work for them. They contracted me to ship items for them. I sent a few shipments before I realized I didn’t want to be part of their actions.”
“Who is forcing you? Can you give me a name?”
He shook his head. “I have no names, only faces.”
Con nodded. “We’ll get you some photos to see if you can identify. What were you shipping for them?”
He met Con’s stare. “In exchange for that information, I ask that you get my wife back.”
Sophie heard the break in Deniz’s voice. Looking around the room, she spotted several photos of the couple together. They were in various poses with different backgrounds, but all of them revealed the same thing—the Denizes were in love.
Con’s expression gave nothing away. “I can arrange a rescue mission.”
The man gulped, dropping his head for a moment as if to master his emotions. After several heartbeats, he lifted his head. “Thank you. They are shipping explosives and other parts to create bombs.”
“Have you been asked to do anything else?”
“Yes.” His voice tremored.
“What else?”
“I was asked to transfer money to a bank.”
“How were you contacted?”
“Email. I tried, but I couldn’t track them to figure out where they took my wife. I don’t know where she’s being held.” Again, he dropped his head. A sob shook his shoulders.
Clearly, the man was broken and desperate. It yanked Sophie’s heartstrings. She realized suddenly that she never had that kind of love with Benjamin. The kind that would send you to the depths of despair the minute it was gone.
Tears of empathy filled her eyes.
She squeezed Con’s hand, and he turned his gaze on her for a beat.
He looked back at Deniz. “Here’s my contact info. Write it down.”
The man rushed to grab a pen and paper.
Con recited a number, then added, “That’s a secure line.”
Deniz nodded.
“When was the last contact you had with these people?”
“Yesterday. They told me to go to the concert tomorrow night.”
Con looked over her head at Mason in a silent exchange.
Their meeting seemed to be over. Con stood, drawing Sophie to her feet with him.
They made haste getting out of there. On the return to the dock, the servant and guard escorted them. Once she stepped onto the boat again, her jitters took hold. The night wasn’t chilly, but she shook from nerves.
When they reached the car again, she was bundled into the back seat with Con. The feel of his hard thigh against hers offered comfort in ways she didn’t want to examine. She was getting too attached to him, and in such a short time. She had food in her refrigerator that would last longer than this… whatever it was. Surely it wasn’t a relationship.
“What he said lines up with what the email in that cloud says.” Mason’s voice broke into her thoughts.
Con’s body hardened against her. “It does.”
“Wait—you guys already read the email Deniz received?”
“Not us—our intelligence did. He’s telling the truth. Someone asked him to go to the concert.”
“For what?” Her insides shook more.
“We don’t know yet. Some meeting or exchange.” Con placed a hand on her knee. The warmth of his fingers spread through her, taking her nerves down a notch.
Mason twisted in his seat. “What’s the plan?”
Con looked to her. In the dim lights of the car interior and the few streetlights they passed, she saw his eyes glitter. “We’re supposed to be on a honeymoon. It looks like we’re going on a date to the concert.”
* * * * *
Con glanced at Sophie over the lit candle in the center of their table. Around them, restaurant workers bustled past tables, and behind the bar, the bartender clinked glasses as he racked them up.
Sophie toyed with a gold necklace at her throat. Her slender fingers brushed over the pendant before she let it drop. It fell between her breasts, settling over the neckline of her simple dress. Though it was a shade of tan, and some would consider it boring, it suited her in a classy, sophisticated way and skimmed her curves in all the right places.
“This is a beautiful place.”
“Mm-hmm.” He fixed his gaze on her lips. Pouty. Outlined in red lipstick. He’d like to see her wearing nothing but that lipstick.
He’d like to see his cock ringed in that lipstick too.
“I know this isn’t really a date, but it’s nice to dress up and go out. I don’t get to do this often in academia. And I spend my days in pants and sensible shoes I can hoof it across campus in. Not to mention the parkas I need when it’s freezing.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying this side of the job.”
She cocked her head, reminding him of a small bird with her curiosity piqued. “Do you enjoy this part?”
His stare hovered over her lips. “I do. I don’t get to do it much either.” His voice came out too rugged. “What’s it like being a professor?”
“It’s like hosting a party where no one shows up until there’s a test.”
He chuckled.
“Oh, you do smile.” She threw him a teasing glance.
“It’s been known to happen.”
She picked up her water goblet and sipped. “You have a nice smile.”
“I wonder how someone could let you go.”
She stilled, goblet halfway to her lips for another sip. “You mean my ex.”
Seeing her discomfort about the topic, he quickly switched the focus to himself. “In Blackout, we’re not supposed to get married. Not supposed to have families.”
But…the other team had. The guys on Alpha were married or had significant others. Some had even had kids.
His mind drifted to Kit, heavily pregnant with Gunnison’s child.
Sophie met Con’s stare. “That must be hard. Lonely.”
“Are you lonely?”
She shrugged. “Not really.”
“You said you were thinking about joining a dating site.”
“I miss doing things couples do. Like this.” She raised her glass to him, and he picked his up to do the same.
Clinking glasses with her sent a shockwave to his chest. He got turned on by ankles and his heartstrings were tugged by clinking his glass with hers. God, when did he get so old-fashioned in his tastes?
About the same time Sophie walked into his life.
She sighed and set down her glass again. “My marriage did not end well. Benjamin was threatened by me and my success. It made home life difficult. The worst was how he gloated. God, that man could gloat.” She rolled her beautiful eyes. “He always got a better assigned parking spot than me. Every year, I get stuck by this huge, overgrown bush. It’s too tight to back into, which means I have to pull in and shimmy around the branches. They snag on my clothes, so I’m always wet or covered in snow and ice. The last straw for me was when he saw me soaked from the wet shrub, and he called out, ‘You might get the awards but I get the better parking spot!’”
Bastard.
Why did the best women pull in men like that?
If Con ever saw the guy, he’d punch his teeth out of his stupid face. He kept his thoughts on Sophie’s ex to himself because she seemed uncomfortable sharing what happened to her.
“What did you do?”
“I flipped. Told him I had enough of him and his snarky remarks about me winning the awards that I deserved. I called my lawyer that day and filed for divorce. It was high time, considering he’d been cheating on me with several of his blonde grad students.”
She tossed her brown hair over her shoulder as if proving that blondes didn’t have more fun, especially with her ex.
Her cheeks grew pink as she noticed him watching her. “I’m surprised no one has ever snagged you , even if you’re not supposed to have a wife or family. You don’t seem like a man who follows all the rules.”
He cracked another smile. “You’re right about that. You don’t get to the top of this career by not taking risks now and then. But honestly, I travel a lot. I’m married to my job.”
He wouldn’t say—couldn’t say—that marriage wasn’t his thing. It was a gray area that he’d keep open for a very, very special case. Team Alpha had changed the rules for themselves.
Con could too.