Chapter 11
“Don’t say another word,” Cullen cautioned Mia as they walked from the dining hall.
If it hadn’t been for her slight stiffening, he would have never known the general lied. Because he’d been watching her and not Davis. The need to get as far from the base as possible pushed at him, hard.
“Loughman.”
His steps halted at the sound of General Davis’s voice. He slowly turned around. “Sir?”
Davis rose from his table and walked toward them. Mia shifted to the side so she could watch, but she leaned toward the door as if she were already mentally outside.
There were at least thirty officers in the dining area. If Davis wanted to detain them, fighting their way out would be pointless. Even if they made it outside, there would be airmen waiting for them.
He gave a slight shake of his head to Mia to keep her still. She wasn’t happy about it, but she also recognized the situation for what it was.
Davis reached them. He put a hand on Cullen’s shoulder and released a loud sigh. “Orrin is a good friend. It kills me to know that he’s being held against his will. I’m offering my services if you need them.”
“I appreciate that, sir.”
“Orrin and I have been friends for over three decades. He would do anything to find me if our places were reversed. I’m not as free to do the same with my position. However, I’m more than willing and able to use what power I do have.”
Cullen looked into the General’s brown eyes and saw the truth in them. Davis wanted to help find Orrin. Why then had he lied earlier?
Davis turned Cullen and put an arm around his shoulders as they walked to the door. The general then lowered his voice as he said, “I’m going to look into who might have let the group in. Both of you were right. It would take someone higher up in rank to get it done.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
Davis smiled and dropped his hand. “Orrin has had my back more times than I can count. We’ll find these bastards.”
Cullen recognized their dismissal. He turned and walked out with Mia beside him. They didn’t say a word until they were in her hangar.
Only then did she run to her office door, punch in the code, and hurry inside. He waited at the doorway, watching as she opened her laptop and began pressing keys.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Erasing any correspondence Callie and I had about Orrin.”
He frowned. “All of it?”
“Of course, not. The initial email and everything following regarding the mission to Russia is still there. Just anything private about Orrin and the team after the murders.” She finished and closed the laptop as she straightened. “Davis was lying.”
“I know. I saw your reaction.”
She swallowed, nodding. “Did he notice?”
“Hard to tell. The fact he stopped us could mean that he suspects we believe he lied. Or it could be that he wanted to make himself look better, so he offered to help.”
“What do we do?”
Cullen leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb and crossed his arms over his chest. “We have a few options. We could remain and continue our investigation until you have your meeting with him.”
“On the base?” she asked wide-eyed. “You want to remain here?”
“It’ll be dangerous. If Davis didn’t authorize the group’s access to the base, then someone else did. Are they working for the Saints? Hard to tell at this point. If Davis starts asking questions, whoever it is will immediately look our way. Which means, we’ll be at risk.”
“The other options?” she urged.
“We leave and hide. Our investigation will take twice as long because we’ll be on the run. We won’t have the same access or be able to move as freely.”
She walked around her desk and leaned back against it, her hands on either side of her hips. “If we leave, we’ll be safer but hindered. We won’t be able to check out the warehouses at the docks.”
“That’ll be problematic either way. Sergei told us not to return.”
“He knows I will.”
“He also knows how dangerous it’ll be for you,” Cullen pointed out.
She raised a black brow. “That hasn’t stopped me before.”
“This group of rogue men isn’t just some of those who’ve made their home in America. Callie discovered there were some who came from Russia. This faction kills without regard, slaughters without hesitation. You saw it firsthand. The Saints have the power right now until we can get the upper hand.”
“Are you trying to talk me out of helping you?”
Was he? Cullen wasn’t sure. He didn’t like the idea of being put in such situations, but then again, his father hadn’t thought twice about it. That meant Mia had proven herself to Orrin multiple times.
Why should he question her?
“No, I’m not,” he answered. “I’m merely laying out what’s ahead.”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “How much time do we have?”
“As long as Orrin stays alive through the torture, and as long as my brothers and I keep out of the Saints’ hands.”
“It was a good thing the three of you split up, then.”
He gave a nod. It was. Though, he missed his siblings.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I went years without seeing or speaking to my brothers. Not even a text. I thought it would be odd, or even challenging to work with them.”
She smiled then. “But it wasn’t.”
“It felt . . . good.”
“Then you three went separate ways.”
And he was back to being alone. It was how he preferred things. It was easier.
“You each have your strengths,” Mia said. “The three of you are using those strengths to find your father. That’s still working together, even if you aren’t side by side.”
He held her black gaze and realized she was right. That didn’t make him miss his brothers—or Callie—any less. In fact, he wished he were back on the ranch under the wide-open Texas sky.
“We have to stay,” Mia said into the silence.
He pushed away from the door and dropped his arms. “We have some time before you have to see Davis. We use that time to dig deeper.”
“Into?”
“The general.”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “I’m not a hacker like Callie. How are we going to find out anything?”
“We talk to his aides.”
A bark of laughter followed his words. “They won’t talk.”
“Not to me,” he said with a grin.
There was confusion on her face. “You want to use me?”
“Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Or noticed how the men watched her wherever she went? He didn’t mention the last part, but he’d definitely noticed.
“I’ll try, but I doubt we’ll learn anything.”
He walked to her and touched a strand of hair. He immediately regretted it when she became suddenly still. That’s when he realized how close he was to her.
She smelled like honeysuckle and vanilla. He found it impossible to breathe as his blood pounded through his veins—and went straight to his cock.
He became lost in her eyes, falling into them without a care. The cool strand of her hair slid through his fingers like satin.
The urge to sink his hands into her lustrous midnight locks was overwhelming. He couldn’t let her hair loose so he wound it around his finger and held steady.
There wasn’t an ounce of makeup marring her flawless skin. And he liked it. What you saw was what you got with her. There was no denying her femininity from the curves showcased by her jeans and shirt to her delicate features and long hair.
The fingers of his other hand brushed against hers. Another shock went through him. The slight hitch in her breathing said she’d felt it, too.
It was in his nature to seduce. He’d had numerous women in his bed, but none were there for more than a night.
He wanted no entanglements, no strings of any kind.
The fact that he would be with Mia for several more days kept him from leaning down and taking her lips right then. Because he craved her, lusted for her.
Hungered for her.
His body demanded that he satisfy himself, but he held back. They had a mission. This wasn’t the time to give in to desires that would only cause more problems between them. There were already enough issues to deal with as it was. It would be stupid and pointless to add another.
She stood, causing their bodies to touch. He fought against the need to claim her lips. But his eyes drifted to her mouth anyway.
Her lips were parted, her pulse beating wildly in her throat. He wondered how she would taste. Sweet? Sexy? Wild?
Fuck. It killed him not to know.
“Did you have something to say?” she whispered in a deep, husky voice.
His knees almost gave out. She’d hidden her vixen side. And it made him yearn for her even more.
She lifted her face so their lips were millimeters apart. “Are you saying you think I should use my wiles on the men to get information?”
He tried to answer, but nothing came out. He ended up nodding instead.
“All right.”
What did she agree to? He blinked, searching his mind for their conversation. He’d been too embroiled in gazing at her and picturing her as he removed each piece of clothing she wore that he hadn’t heard anything.
Her eyes lowered as she tilted her head to the side, exposing the slim column of her neck. He drew in a steadying breath even as he clenched his hands to keep from grabbing her.
Cullen couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt such need. What was it about Mia that drew him? He found it harder and harder to ignore the desire that continued to grow despite his attempts to disregard it.
Long lashes rose as her lids lifted. She placed a hand on his chest, searing him through the cotton of his shirt. No longer could he deny what he felt.
Nothing mattered but tasting her, holding her.
The moment his lips touched hers, the world fell away. He began kissing her, slowly, sensuously—savoring every detail. He wanted the next few hours to be spent holding her as he continued to kiss her.
Then he realized that wasn’t possible. They were too mired in deception and secret organizations at the moment. Yet he still couldn’t pull away. Not when he wanted this so badly.
Mia was the one who ended the kiss. She cleared her throat and looked up at him. “Let’s get this done.”
The next thing he knew, she was in the doorway. He had to pull himself out of the fog of desire and shake it off quickly.
She stopped at the door and looked back at him. “What if Davis finds me?”
“Lie.”
She nodded, considering his words. “Right. I can do that. Where will you be?”
“I’m going to walk the perimeter of the base.”
“To see if there was a way they could’ve gotten in? ‘Explore all options,’ Orrin always says.”
He nodded, wanting to adjust his aching arousal. Had his father said such words? It made him comprehend just what he’d missed with Orrin.
But all that was going to change.