Chapter 4 #4
“I appreciate your help on this,” Leandra said with a strong and steady voice, but her cheeks flushed.
Nick rested his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the sofa, ignoring his brother’s arched brow. Nick didn’t have girlfriends. He didn’t even have friends with benefits.
He had sex.
Occasionally.
Between missions.
It wasn’t like he went around screwing every woman in sight, nor did he ever treat them badly, only it was rare he ever went back to the same woman.
Much less showed affection of any kind in front of people.
“Have we heard from Ramos?” Logan asked, sitting in the oversized leather chair in the corner under the front window. Before he’d gotten back with his high school sweetheart, Logan had many short-lived relationships, but they always ended because Logan didn’t think he could ever fall in love.
All the Sarich boys had issues with love, only Nick’s came from experiencing the ultimate pain of having that love destroyed by a senseless act.
“We’re meeting him at his place.” Nick sat next to Leandra, trying desperately not to touch her, but his fingers twitched.
He’d spent the last ten years hiding in the military, taking every assignment and deployment he could.
He volunteered for everything, which made it easy for him to avoid relationships.
“Dylan and a few of his buddies joined our team at Ramos’ house.”
“Who’s Dylan?” she asked.
“Our little brother.” Nick tossed his arm over the back of the sofa, a movement that wasn’t lost on his brother, who cracked an all-knowing smile.
Nick hated that smile.
“When did he roll into town?” Nick asked.
“He’s been in Orlando, only I didn’t know it. Some special detail with NASA,” Logan said. “When I reached out to some buddies, one of them happened to be working the same op with Dylan. They just wrapped up and were enjoying a day or two off.”
“How many Sarich brothers are there?” Leandra crossed her sexy, muscular legs, tucking her hands between them.
Nick bit back a groan. He had no idea how he’d get through the next twenty-four hours without having a constant semi-erection. Everything about her turned him on. “Four of us. Dylan’s with Delta Force now, and Ramey is a test pilot with the Army, currently living the dream in the desert. ”
“Impressive,” Leandra said as she leaned forward to pick up her buzzing cell phone. “It’s Ramos.”
“Answer it.” Nick leaned closer. “Put it on speaker.”
“Hello?”
“Hello, baby,” Ramos’ voice echoed across the room. “How’s the sexy lady? You feeling like a little phone fun?”
Nick fisted his hand as he swallowed hard. The desire to punch Ramos scorched his skin.
“What do you want?” Leandra placed her warm hand over Nick’s, rubbing her thumb across his tight fist. Her sensitive touch only reminded him that he’d developed a sense of fierce protection toward her that went beyond duty, honor, and loyalty.
“Aww, can’t talk dirty because Nicky-boy is right there with you?”
Nick could picture his fingers tightening around Ramos’ neck, feeling his pulse slowly fade to nothing. He glanced toward his brother, who arched a brow.
“Is there a reason for this call? If not, we’ll see you in a couple of hours,” Leandra said with a cool tone, one Nick had to admire. Her strong, confident personality had to be the biggest turn on.
“Your husband was right about the leak.”
Fielding hadn’t given up his source inside Ramos’ organization, so whoever it was could be in grave danger.
Not good.
“My husband is right about most things.” Leandra continued to squeeze his hand, only he wasn’t sure if it was to calm him.
Or her.
Nick let out a long breath, trying to ignore his brother’s glare of either concern or amusement. Didn’t matter. Logan was going to have a field day with this after the op was over.
“I’m told that Fielding needs more evidence to warrant the search, so it could be a few more days.”
Leandra’s eyes went wide. “We still need to move the merchandise tonight.”
“Agreed,” Ramos said. “I was thinking it would be better if you rode with me rather than with your husband.”
Logan pointed to his wrist, then waved his hand in front of his neck.
“Not going to happen,” Leandra said, nodding in Logan’s direction. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few things to take care of before we exchange money for merchandise.”
She tapped the phone, then leaned back on the sofa. She scrolled through her email, and one caught her eye. “I’ve got an email from Nick Manovich.”
“What?” Nick asked. “That’s my alias, and I didn’t send you anything.”
She tapped on the attachment, which opened the PDF.
She resized the document, and her pulse shot up when she realized what she was looking at.
“These are the blueprints for the warehouse.” She held the phone up to Nick.
“And a list of titled merchandise, which has nothing to do with the business run out of that building.”
Nick snagged the phone from her hands. “That’s got to be from the agent working undercover.”
“I think you’re right.” Leandra pointed to the signature line which read: This is what you’ll need for tonight… a friendly…
Nick tossed the phone toward his brother, who caught it midair. “Can you get Mia to hack into Ramos’ shit and this email account, and maybe decipher the names and descriptions on that list?”
Logan nodded.
“Who’s Mia?” Leandra asked.
“My fiancé and she’s about the best hacker in the world,” Logan said with pride. “She’ll have this done in a matter of minutes.”
Nick swallowed his breath but at the same time puffed out his chest. The way Leandra handled herself with Ramos, and her determination to get the job done, had impressed Nick long before he’d snatched her from Ramos’ house.
“Mia’s a great hacker, but in battle, I’m glad I’ve got Leandra to watch my back.”
Did he just fucking say that?
“Are you implying your girl is better than mine?” Logan laughed, pointing toward Leandra, then tapped his neck. “Aren’t we a little old to be marking our territory?”
“What!?” Leandra twisted her body. “You didn’t?” She rubbed her neck, her sexy gaze locked with his .
Nick brushed her hair to the side, staring at the spot on her neck just under her earlobe where he remembered sucking as hard as he could in the throes of passion, leaving a giant, dark-red hickey. Something he hadn’t done since he’d been in high school.
“I kind of did.” Nick cupped the side of her neck, rubbing his thumb over the mark. He wasn’t proud of it, necessarily.
But he was proud of the woman who sat next to him.
“Wonderful,” she said quietly.
For a moment, Nick forgot all about his brother as he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers in a brief, but tender kiss.
“How bad is it?” she questioned.
“Let’s just say there is no way to cover it up.” Nick told himself to pull away, but his heart pounded in a way it hadn’t in years, and he’d be damned if he didn’t admit he liked it.
Or that it felt good.
“Consider it a play on being married,” Logan said, jostling Nick out of his trance. “What is up with the married cover anyway?”
“Quickest way I could think of for Leandra to bring me on as her partner.” Nick continued to stare into Leandra’s eyes, getting lost in her dark pools of warm honey, making him turn all gooey like an excited puppy.
She curled her fingers around his wrist while his hand still cupped her neck. He studied her face, wondering if she could ever move beyond the pain of her past.
He blinked. What was he thinking? He hadn’t moved on, and he probably never would.
“I think the hickey sealed that cover,” Logan said, laughing.
It sealed more than that, Nick thought.