Chapter 6
“This wasn’t part of the deal.”
Jagger slowed to a stop behind Talia as they reached the door to her hotel room. With a crooked grin, he leaned a shoulder against the wall and crossed his arms casually at his chest.
“Come on now, Agent Foster.” His eyes followed her every movement. “Don’t pretend like you don’t love the art of negotiation.”
“Oh, I do.” Her long, dark ponytail swung over one shoulder as her unwavering stare burned into his. “But bullying me isn’t the same thing, and you know it.”
Okay, so she was mad. Or was at least was pretending to be mad. The jury was still deliberating.
Either way, the woman clearly wasn’t happy with him. But hey, what else was new?
The important thing was that soon, the stubborn agent would be locked safely away inside her room. And he could go back to his place without spending the entire night worrying.
Lyin’ to yourself now?
The image of Talia flying backward from the force of that damn bullet filled Jagger’s mind.
Okay, fine. He’d worry. But the decision to deny medical treatment was ultimately hers to make. And though Jagger hated to admit it, if it were one of the guys who’d been in her position, he’d already be home in bed.
“Bullying is such an ugly word,” he countered her claim. “I like to think of it more as…well-intended encouragement.”
Talia’s unladylike scoff was as instant as the incredulous look she sent his way.
“You made me promise—sorry—pinky promise that I’d call you if there were any new symptoms or concerns.”
“Which you did of your own free will, as I recall.”
And a little…okay, a lot of badgering on his part.
“It was extortion. You threatened me with a forced trip to the E.R.”
“So now I’m a bully and an extortionist?” Jagger’s brows rose dramatically with feigned offense.
He wasn’t offended in the least. If the boot fit, and all that. But pushing her many buttons was quickly becoming his new favorite pastime, and it also gave him an excuse to keep her talking.
The longer they stood here, the more time he had to better assess her condition. A ruse the former CIA agent fell for hook, line, and sinker.
“You said, and I quote, ‘Either I drive you to the hotel and personally see to it that you make it up to your room, or I’m tossing you back into the car and driving you to the hospital. Kicking and screaming, if necessary’.”
Okay, fair. But still—
“You swayed like a willow branch blowing in the wind the second you stepped out of the SUV.”
After leaving the port, Jagger, Talia, and the others had arrived at the building that housed Delta Team’s office. The second they parked, Talia opened her door to get out…and nearly face-planted onto the pavement.
“I’ve told you a thousand times, I simply lost my footing.”
“Lost your footing…nearly passed out…” Jagger pretended to weigh the options with both of his hands. “Guess this is one of those potato-potahto situations, huh?”
Talia rolled her eyes and looked away, holding the keycard to the electronic pad mounted to her door. When the light turned green, the beautiful brunette turned the knob and pushed. But rather than vanish behind the heavy, wooden door she stuck the toe of her boot between it and the frame.
“I’m sorry.” Those golden eyes of hers were filled with regret when they slid back up to his. “It’s been a long few days, it’s about to be a very short night, and it feels like there’s a drumline going for some sort of world record inside my head. Still, that’s no excuse for me to be rude.”
“Listen, Talia.” Jagger pushed himself off the wall, standing tall before her.
“I get that you’re this super-tough, former CIA-turned-Homeland badass, but you’re not as invincible as you’d like us all to believe.
That hit you took to that pretty head of yours was a good one.
And when you almost…lost your footing…I was worried about you getting behind the wheel. ”
“And I appreciate it.” She rewarded him with a ghost of a smile followed by a muttered, “The whole bodyguard routine to my room was probably overkill…”
“You mean walking you to your room like a gentlemen?” He slid his hands deep into his front pockets. “Well, that’s just good, Texan manners.”
“We’re in Chicago.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He shook his head slowly from side to side. “My mama would still tan my hide if she knew I let a beautiful, injured woman come all the way up here unescorted.”
The gaze he wanted to lose himself in burned with a combination of pain and…No. Couldn’t be. And yet…
I’ll be damned. Is that desire I see?
“You’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you?” The question came with a blink that erased the glimmer of attraction he’d spotted a second before.
“Pretty much.” Jagger flashed her an unashamed grin.
Why waste time being humble when he could just as easily tell the truth?
Talia’s golden gaze searched his a beat longer before she pushed the door open a few inches more. “Nice try, but I’m sure your mother has plenty of worse things to worry about when it comes to her baby boy.”
“You’re not wrong.” He chuckled. “That poor woman had her first gray hair before I’d even turned five.”
“Gee, I can’t imagine why.”
Warmth spread through Jagger’s chest from the sliver of humor he found in her tone. “Ah, so she does have a sense of humor.”
Talia’s dark brows dipped inward with what he hoped was a playful glare. “You know, just because I don’t find you as cute and amusing as you find yourself doesn’t mean I’m void of a sense of humor.”
“It’s okay. I get it. But I mean, you may as well just admit it.”
“Admit, what?”
“That you secretly think I’m amusing.” He leaned in closer with a hushed, “And a little cute.”
Talia laughed, only a little. But damn if it wasn’t the most beautiful sound.
“Goodnight, Brooks.” She turned with a smile to open the door more fully. “And don’t forget, we’re meeting to debrief at nine sharp, which means—”
“I’ll be downstairs in the lobby by eight-thirty.”
“You’d better be. Since it’s your fault my rental’s still parked at your office building’s garage and not in the lot outside.”
“Don’t worry.” He smirked, giving her a two-fingered salute. “I’ll be here, waiting with bells on.”
“Don’t need the bells, Jagger. I just need you.”
Those golden-brown eyes that seemed to suck him in grew wide and round as soon as the words were out. Like him, she’d realized how easily they could be misinterpreted. And with her very next breath, the typically put-together agent rushed to set the record straight.
“For the meeting,” she blurted before the rambling started in.
“You know, to recap the mission. Because I have to make sure nothing is missed, and that every T is crossed and every I is dotted. And our statements all have to be aligned so that when the people I answer to start in with their questions, I can—”
“Take a breath, darlin’.” Jagger let the endearment slip. “I knew what you meant.”
A chagrined smile appeared on lips he was trying desperately not to kiss.
“Right. Okay, well…thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime. And hey, don’t forget. First sign of problems with your head, chest, or anything else, it’s nine-one-one and then me.”
Holding up three fingers as if she were trying to sell him a box of overpriced cookies, Talia crossed her heart with her other hand with a convincing, “Scout’s honor.”
Knowing she needed to get inside and get to bed, Jagger stopped stalling and forced himself to say good-bye.
“Sleep well, Agent Foster.”
“You, too, Brooks.”
She held his stare a moment longer before disappearing behind her door.
Jagger waited to hear the lock engage before heading back down the hall. As he walked, his mind became filled with all sorts of racing thoughts.
The op. Her getting shot. Watching her body jerk and fall.
And then there was the other thing. The part where he secretly envisioned himself kissing the woman senseless every time she was near.
If she’d invited him into her room, Jagger had no doubt that Talia would be in his arms this very minute. He’d be holding her. Tasting her. And then, when she was ready, he’d have made her his.
The erotic scene played before his mind’s eye as his steps carried him farther and farther away. When he was halfway between her room and the floor’s elevators, Jagger heard her calling his name.
“Jagger!”
At first, he thought it was all in his head. A figment of his hormone-driven imagination. But when he heard it again, he realized the sound was growing closer from somewhere behind.
Jagger stopped mid-stride and turned around to see Talia practically jogging down the hallway toward him. A rush of hope filled his heart like a giant, hot-air balloon. But then—
“Did you happen to see anyone else around when we first came up here?”
The balloon deflated, spilling out every last drop of the hope he’d been feeling.
“Nope,” he answered honestly. “The elevator and hallway were both empty except for the two of us.”
“Oh, okay.” A forced smile appeared on her strained face. “I-I just thought I’d check.”
“Something wrong?”
“No.” Talia’s response came a little too quickly. “Sorry to keep you. I’ll, uh…I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jagger studied her closely, sure there was something she wasn’t saying. But it was late, and she was beyond exhausted. And frankly, so was he.
“If you’re sure you’re good.”
“I am.” That smile of hers never wavered. “Thanks again for tonight.”
“Anytime, partner.”
He watched and waited in the middle of the hall as she hurriedly walked back to her room. After a quick, almost hidden glimpse over her shoulder in his direction, the mysterious woman vanished again.
She was keeping secrets, that one. Not all that surprising, given her past and current professions.
But the vibes he’d picked up didn’t feel job-related at all. No, whatever—or whoever—Talia had been searching for just now had nothing to do with work. And as Jagger drove himself home in the dead of night, the worry he’d tried so hard to avoid began to settle in.