Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“How’d Arthur handle her teenage years?” Wyatt tore his hands through his hair as he paced back and forth in their hotel room.
Natasha had her back to the wall alongside the bed, trying to figure out a way to calm him down.
He was acting like her father had the night of her prom.
Except the admiral had chosen to be in uniform when her date arrived.
He’d also had a selection of his favorite firearms on the kitchen table prepared for cleaning.
She’d scolded her father about it, not because he’d been trying to scare her date, but for not being more original.
“If Felix is The Knight’s target, maybe he deserves whatever he’s got coming,” he grumbled.
He’d guzzled the green juice. Or whatever it was that turned Bruce Banner from a scientist into the Hulk. Wyatt had gone from an experienced special operator to a bear protecting its cubs from a threat.
Maybe there was a gene for this behavior? An innate switch that got flipped when a man became a father?
She blinked a few times and decided remaining silent may not be the best course of action. “And if Gwen gets caught in the crossfire because The Knight attacks Felix?”
He stilled again, his lips a white slash of worry. “Jesus.” He dropped down onto the bed and brought his elbows to his knees and his palms to his face.
“I’m sorry.” She removed her heels, tossed her coat, and sat next to him, hoping she could talk him down from whatever proverbial cliff he was about to jump from.
“Try not to worry, though. A.J. saw them get out of the limo and go into a condo that’s rented out to Cyber X.
She wasn’t held at gunpoint, she went willingly into his place. ”
When Wyatt lowered his hands and turned his head to observe her, she noticed his skin was much paler than normal.
“The idea of them together . . .” He closed his eyes.
“He’s nearly eighteen years older than her.
If he’s using his position of power to”—Wyatt circled his index finger in the air, and if the situation wasn’t so shitty, she’d laugh that he’d used the “spin up” hand signal to indicate sex—“sleep with her, then I’m gonna kill him before The Knight can, and then we won’t have to worry about her being caught in the middle of anything because Felix will be dead. ”
He was back on his feet. A man on a mission.
He strode across the room and crouched in front of the safe, which was beneath the TV.
He was going for his gun. Great.
“You gotta calm down. You’re dealing with emotions you’ve probably never experienced before, and you’ll get through this. But take a breath, okay?” She went to his side. “A.J. and Chris have eyes on the rental property.”
“And the curtains are drawn, and they can’t see inside.” He clutched a 9mm but didn’t stand. “What if she’s in danger?”
“Wyatt, she went with him willingly. She was waiting for someone to pick her up. She knew Felix would come for her.”
“She’s too young to know what she’s doing.” He shoved the gun back in the safe and cursed, then locked it and stood.
“Gwen was smart enough to get into the competition, as well as be one of the few who decrypted the tweet sent by The Knight tonight,” Natasha pointed out.
“And that also scares the shit out of me.” His shoulders sagged.
Her gaze flicked back to the safe. “How’d you manage to get weapons over the border? I couldn’t bring mine. The Canadians are sticklers about that.”
“We have connections pretty much wherever we go. Always need an arsenal at our disposal. I’ll get you a piece tomorrow.” That tightness in his jaw went slack, but only for a moment. “And by the way, she’s apparently the only one on the planet who knows the real Link.”
Her attempt to distract him from worrying failed miserably.
But wait . . . “What? Really?” That was hard to believe.
“Right now, you should try and rest. Harper and Roman are back upstairs looking into whether or not Gwen and Felix have any prior history. Plus, Harper needs to check out the club’s surveillance footage.
There’s also the matter of tracking The Knight’s location when Felix’s Twitter account was hacked.
Lots of unanswered questions, and hopefully, we’ll know more by tomorrow. Let them look into this while you—”
“You think I can sit here and rest?” He dropped back onto the bed and brought his elbows to his knees.
“You don’t have a choice. Harper asked me to keep you in this room until we hear something,” she confessed while sitting next to him.
He side-eyed her. “I’m your hostage?”
“Tables have turned,” she said, keeping her voice light and teasing, hoping to help his mood a little, to at least get him to become less growly. “After Ibiza, it’s only fair.”
His lips lifted slightly at the edges. “I guess there are worse places I could be than trapped here.” His eyes moved over her dress, which was so snug it was hard to breathe. “I assume you’re here to supervise so I don’t make a run for it?”
“I think it’d be best if I stayed with you.” She stood and went to her suitcase. “If I change in the bathroom, you gonna leave and go kill Felix?”
Leaning back, Wyatt supported himself with his palms pressed to the mattress on either side of his body and stared at her, his eyes slowly moving to her legs and down to her red-painted toenails. “I can’t make any promises.”
“At least you’re being honest about it.”
There was a slight chance he would run, though. He was a father now, and maybe it was to a twenty-year-old, but regardless, he was new at it, and he wanted to keep her safe. Keep her breathing. And clearly, away from some manipulative billionaire who may have wanted more than her hacking skills.
“I’ll change in here.” She reached for the zipper at the side of the dress and dragged it down.
“You trying to distract me so I don’t do something stupid?” His voice was low and rough and provoked an immediate reaction in her body as if he’d brought a calloused palm over her breast. And why did that idea have to turn her on so much?
The red silk fabric began to slide down once the dress was unzipped, but she held the front in place over her chest. “No, I just don’t want to take my eyes off you.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve got my attention now.
” He cocked his head, his eyes sharp on her body, and his gaze coaxed goose bumps to pop across her flesh.
He rose and closed the space between them.
“But you have my word, I won’t leave.” He tipped his head toward the bathroom.
“I won’t have you making yourself uncomfortable because of me.
” His tone remained deep and husky. “You should change in there.”
“I . . .”
“Please.” The throaty word sounded like a drop-to-his-knees prayer begging her not to undress in front of him.
“I have some experience with having to cycle through changes of clothes in a stealthy manner,” she said with an easy smile, hoping to come out of this moment without her knees buckling, or the invisible forcefield they’d attempted to create between them disintegrating.
“I wasn’t planning on showing you any skin. ”
“Trust me, you could be as stealthy as Houdini, and I’d still get hard as a rock.
” His blunt honesty had her sucking in a sharp breath, and doing her best not to look down to see if there was any truth to what he’d just admitted.
“I won’t go,” he promised, his words clinging to her as if he’d touched her instead.
She clutched the dress, ensuring it stayed in place and lightly nodded. “I’ll be right back, then.”
She snatched a change of clothes with her free hand and hurried into the bathroom. Once she was alone, Natasha let the red dress pool around her feet and braced the counter. What am I thinking?
The familiar drum of desire she’d experienced with him in the past reverberated in time with her heartbeats, the pace gaining speed.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d stayed in the bathroom to collect herself and button up her emotions, but when she returned to the bedroom, Wyatt was on the bed, arms tight across his chest, and from the looks of it, asleep.
Her lips tucked in, emotion leaking right back out at the sight of this muscular man passed out on top of the covers, so worn out from everything he’d been through.
She quietly discarded her dress and thong in the laundry bag and tiptoed to the other bed to sit in her gray sweats and black tank top. After waiting a few minutes to ensure he was deep asleep, she removed his loafers and snatched the gray throw blanket from the other bed to cover him up.
He stirred a little, his legs hanging off the edge of the bed, but he didn’t wake.
The idea of grabbing her laptop and working crossed her mind, but before she had a chance to decide what to do, Wyatt’s mobile began vibrating on the nightstand.
Harper’s name flashed across the screen. She clutched the phone and hurried into the bathroom to answer, keeping the door only slightly cracked.
“Hey, he’s asleep,” she whispered.
“Wow, you actually managed to get him to calm down.”
“I think all his angry pacing and yelling wore him out.” She stole a glimpse of Wyatt through the cracked door.
“I don’t want to wake him, but he should know Gwen left Felix’s place. She got into a cab instead of his limo. Back at her hotel now.”
“She look okay? Were there any sounds of struggling or, um, anything?” She cringed at the idea of Gwen and Felix sleeping together.
“No. She wasn’t there long, then Felix walked her out to a cab. No hug or kiss goodbye.”
Huh. “Are we misreading the situation, then? Or did they fight and not make up?”
“Not sure yet, but Chris is staying on Felix, and A.J.’s parked outside Gwen’s hotel.” She paused. “I did find a connection between Felix and Gwen.”
She went farther into the bathroom and leaned her hip against the vanity counter.
“Gwen took a flight to Seattle two weeks ago, paid for by Cyber X.”
“So, she had a job interview?”
“Hotel was also paid by the company, which they do for all potential candidates, so it adds up. They posted three summer intern positions online three weeks ago.”
“And maybe he didn’t think she was qualified, so she decided to enter the competition to try and prove herself to him that way,” Natasha suggested. “But their behavior toward each other at the club would suggest there’s more going on.”
“Even if there is nothing romantic between Gwen and Felix, there was definite tension, and if The Knight had eyes on the place, he’d have noticed.”
“So, he might target Gwen if he thinks she’s connected to Felix somehow.” Her shoulders slumped.
“We can’t rule out the possibility, but Jessica and I were talking, and Gwen might prove to be an asset.”
“Because she has some connection with Felix?” Her stomach roiled. “Or as bait for The Knight?”
Assets were the bread and butter of a CIA officer’s life. But was Harper really suggesting using Wyatt’s daughter to get to The Knight?
“No, we’d never risk her life. But it looks like she’s more connected in the hacker community than we realized.”
“Wyatt said she even knows the real Link.”
“So, it’s possible she knows something. Maybe she has a clue as to what’s going on with Felix, and why he’s a target.”
Natasha understood what Harper was suggesting, and if it were anyone else, she’d be first in line to make a deal with Gwen. But Gwen wasn’t just anyone.
“Turning people is what I do.” What I’m good at.
Usually good at, at least. She’d failed a few times, like trying to turn Farid back in Algiers.
“But Wyatt won’t do anything to put Gwen in danger.
And I don’t blame him.” She released a long sigh.
“I’ve been going after this SOB for years, so trust me, I want to pursue every possible avenue to get him before he can kill more people, but Gwen’s off-limits. We should focus on keeping her safe.”
There’d been a time when she would’ve sacrificed almost anything, including her own life, to catch him. But she cared about Wyatt, and she couldn’t possibly further endanger his daughter. She’d never come back from a choice like that.
“I know. I shouldn’t have brought it up. But you admit The Knight’s not playing the same game this time.” Harper’s voice softened. “She might be able to help.”
“Or she knows absolutely nothing, and we inadvertently paint a target on her head by pulling her into this.” She looked heavenward.
“I can’t ask her to be a source on the ground.
We can bring her in to protect her and see if she wants to share what she knows, but I won’t put her in harm’s way.
And that’s still Wyatt’s call. This is his daughter, and it’s only a matter of time before he loves her like he was the one who raised her.
” If he doesn’t already love her. She lowered her head at the sound of the door creaking, and her breath hitched when she turned to see a pair of blue-gray eyes. “I’ll call you back.”