Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Natasha looked nothing like her hacker cover tonight.
Standing inside Harper’s hotel suite, she could’ve played the role of a gorgeous woman in a Bond film, and although she was in a form-fitting, red dress that hugged her sensual curves, Wyatt wasn’t exactly playing the part of Bond.
Jeans and a white long-sleeved shirt. A casual black overcoat.
The only upgrade had been his shoes. A pair of dark loafers.
The second Natasha had stepped into the room, she’d immediately drawn the eyes of both Chris and Finn. Wyatt had to signal the command to close their bloody mouths.
Thank God A.J. the Comedian, who liked to get under his skin, hadn’t been in the room. He was parked outside Gwen’s hotel.
Harper had chosen Roman to accompany her tonight, so he was in his room getting ready.
It was probably for the best Natasha had chosen to change in Harper’s room instead of his suite.
He would’ve broken a blood vessel watching her stride out of the bathroom in that dress with her strappy black shoes.
The heels were conservative in height, not too tall so she could dance.
Her long legs didn’t exactly need the extra boost anyway.
Wyatt cleared his throat, loud enough to pierce the air, a signal to his brothers to find something else to do since they were still gawking at Natasha like she was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
“You look hot.” Finn tucked his hands into his cargo pants pockets. “You’ll get Felix’s attention for sure in that thing.”
“You sure Felix won’t recognize you?” Chris asked, standing alongside Wyatt in the living room. “Even as your alias Heather?”
Natasha had signed up for the competition, using her alias just before the deadline expired while Jessica and Harper decoded the Cyber X Twitter challenge.
“No, I’ve never met Felix.” Natasha turned to the side and peeked back into Harper’s room as if waiting for her to come out, too.
The back of her dress dipped low enough to send a quick note to his brain informing him of a detail: no bra strap.
Maybe the dress had a built-in bra? He didn’t have a bloody clue about women’s fashion, all he knew was she was stunning, and she’d have every man at the club tonight staring at her like a walking piece of art.
“Maybe you should trade places with me,” Chris said into his ear. “I can play babysitter with the admiral’s daughter.”
Wyatt ignored him, knowing his buddy was purposely trying to get a rise out of him, no doubt working double time to fill in for A.J. as well.
He checked his watch before pulling the material of his sleeve back in place. It was near eleven at night. “Surprised Felix chose a salsa club. Doesn’t really fit the hacker image I have in my head.”
“He’s an eccentric billionaire.” Natasha moved farther into the living room and away from Harper’s bedroom.
“It’s hard to ever know what to expect with him.
” She pulled her silky blonde mass of hair over one shoulder.
Her green gaze traveled across the room and connected with his, and he immediately conjured visions of her on her knees with his cock in her hand, while those red lips of hers sucked him dry.
Then his brain did a quick switch to thoughts of him on his knees, bowing down before her, parting her thighs to get to her smooth legs. Running the flat part of his tongue up the seam of her sex. He was going to have a hell of a time focusing on anything or anyone other than her tonight.
He was ridiculously attracted to her in that outfit, but he wanted to get the dress off and have her all to himself—the real her, the one beneath her legend.
He may have put the brakes on that happening last night, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to pause this thing between them.
The main door to the suite opened a moment later, and Roman strode in wearing black jeans and a black pressed button-down shirt paired with Oxfords.
His black hair was gelled and parted to the side, and his eyes journeyed across the room, right past Natasha and straight to Harper, who’d exited her bedroom a moment before.
“We ready to do this thing?” Harper had on a hot pink sleeveless dress that molded to her body and was apparently like a magnet for Roman’s eyes.
Roman didn’t make any quips to irritate him about Natasha, and he wasn’t sure if the man had even noticed her. “You look stunning.” Roman wrapped a hand tight around the back of his neck.
“Not so bad yourself.” Harper winked Roman’s way, but he was too busy examining the floor to notice.
“Instead of tailing our marks, maybe you boys could use some backup,” Chris said with a smile. “You might need help when Harper and Natasha get hit on by everyone in that nightclub.” He jerked a thumb toward the two women.
“We won’t let anything happen to them.” Wyatt kept his voice as level as possible, hoping to tamp down the new surge of desire bursting at the seams with her a vision in his favorite color. “Do we need to go over the plan one more time?”
“Like how you four will be dancing at some club while Finn and I will be on overwatch freezing our nut sacks off?” Chris’s typical wise-assery had Natasha’s dimple popping.
“I thought you didn’t mind the cold?” Wyatt shot back, referring to Chris’s comments just the other day when prepping for their trip to Svalbard.
Chris grabbed Natasha’s jacket off the couch and offered it to her instead of responding. She turned as he helped her into it. “So much chivalry from you men.”
“Unexpected, right?” Finn remarked with a laugh while Harper passed out comms to the guys.
“Where’d you get models like that?” Natasha took the comm out of Wyatt’s palm, and the slight touch of her fingers, small as it may have been, had him tensing. “I thought the CIA had the latest and greatest tech.”
“A benefit of working with two genius women is you get toys like these,” Chris said, giving a nod to Harper.
“You should see the pens we carry.” Finn wasn’t being sarcastic. He reached into his pocket and produced a black ballpoint pen.
New spy gadgets, huh? Got any secret kill pills or pens that double as weapons? A.J. had asked Jessica when she’d unveiled the latest tech before they’d left for Montreal.
“The pen doesn’t double as a knife, but it records all conversations up to a range of twelve meters,” Roman explained, bringing his focus up when Harper handed over his comm. “We have new software that can discern and isolate separate conversations.”
“Unfortunately, if you’re planning on eavesdropping on anyone like Felix, or even Jasper, they’ll have countermeasures in place to prevent recording devices from working.” Natasha glanced around the room.
Finn tucked the pen back into his pocket. “I figured, but you never know, maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Wyatt motioned for Natasha to exit. “Be safe,” he told the guys before leaving the suite.
He stabbed the call button outside the lift a bit too aggressively. He was keyed up about the idea Gwen might actually show at the club tonight. The best of the best hackers would probably have decrypted Felix’s challenge, but he had no idea what kind of skills she had.
Luke and Jessica had been shocked when they learned he was a father during their Skype call earlier, but it was decided Wyatt should stay in Canada and only pull out if the mission ever became compromised because of his connection to Gwen.
We trust you, Jessica had said.
But did he trust himself? He could barely stay focused with Natasha at his side. What would happen if his daughter showed up tonight?
“You okay?” she asked as they descended to his floor.
“Nervous,” he admitted. “Not sure what to think if Gwen’s there.”
She pivoted to the side and lifted her eyes to his. “It’ll mean she’s a genius. That code Felix sent out wasn’t easy to crack. It took both Jessica and Harper three hours.”
“And I’m not sure if I want her to be some hacker genius.”
“As long as she uses her talent for good . . .”
“And if she doesn’t?” Once the doors parted, he waited for her to step out, then followed her to his room and texted Harper they’d be leaving the hotel in a minute.
Natasha pressed her back to the wall of the small foyer, and the memory of kissing her in this very spot last night flashed to mind.
He checked his watch, ensuring the device in his hotel room hadn’t been tampered with and no one had entered while they’d been gone. The green light signaled they were clear and no bugs had been placed.
“Everything will be okay.” She pressed her palm to his chest and slid it up to his shoulder. “I promise,” she said softly. “I can’t keep up the chase. I’m exhausted from hunting this guy down.” Her voice dipped and her words hit him straight in the heart. “I need it to end.”
“I’ve got your back. Don’t worry.”
“You gonna let me have yours?” Her hand went to his heart, which beat like an intense drum with her so close.
“I’ll do my best to let you,” he admitted, knowing they were talking about a lot more than just going after The Knight.
It was as if they stepped into Havana once inside the club in Old Montreal.
The club was a hole-in-the-wall place, probably some hidden gem.
The decor was a vibrant mix of colors: teals, emeralds, lime greens, oranges, and pinks.
The walls, furniture, and artwork were an embodiment of the vibrant country of Cuba.
A band was situated at the front center of the room on a stage, playing lively salsa instrumentals. Between the music and the overflowing amount of mojitos, he couldn’t help but remember his last mission in Cuba in 2018.
Chris and Finn had gotten piss drunk and nearly been thrown in jail when they went partying after the mission was completed.
A.J. had joined the band and picked up a guitar and somehow managed to get everyone singing along with him to a Luke Bryan song.
Roman had gone back to the hotel for some rack time, choosing not to party.