Chapter 9 #2
She didn’t respond to that. “I chose Vegas because we have quite a number of agents embedded in the city. It’s already an international hotspot.
All intel I possess points to the fact that Typhon has major interests in two of the casinos there.
Casinos that we think are tied to his money laundering and drug trade.
He feels comfortable in that city. His contacts there will let him know the minute Delaney makes an appearance, and you will make very public appearances. ”
Sure. They’d make a splash in Sin City.
“If he really did fall for the woman, then seeing and hearing that you two are romantically involved, that you are getting married, that will potentially push him over the edge.” Jezebel’s dark gaze had turned considering.
“Maybe he’ll get so angry that he comes for you himself.
That would be the ideal response in this situation.
We want to push him. Get him to come into the open. Get him to do the dirty work himself.”
Ryan clapped. “Great. Hear that, Nash? You get Typhon coming to personally kill you.”
He ignored his brother. “I can handle the danger.” He had zero fears on that score.
“Can you handle the way you feel about Delaney?” Jezebel questioned him with a lift of her eyebrows. “Emotions make things messy.”
“Damn straight they do.” Ryan crossed his arms over his chest. “So messy.”
As if Ryan had ever let his emotions get in the way of a case. The guy compartmentalized in his sleep.
“I know that this situation could be challenging for you, Nash,” Jezebel added. Had that been a hint of concern in her voice? Maybe. Maybe not. “Your brother has already volunteered to be Delaney’s lead bodyguard. I’m sure he’ll make the sacrifice and be her groom, too.”
“I’ve got it,” Nash replied. “No sacrifice necessary.”
Her gaze shifted to Ryan. “Will you go check on Delaney?”
Ryan did not move. “She’s with your two guards. Don’t you trust them?”
She smiled. “Will you go check on Delaney?” Jezebel patiently repeated.
Cursing, he spun and headed out of the kitchen. The door closed softly behind him.
Then it was just Nash and Jezebel. Her foot tapped. “I know you sacrificed a great deal years ago. You lost your relationship with Delaney.”
He swallowed. “That intel remains in the vault. You swore on that. Whatever was sacrificed, whatever was lost—we don’t speak of it.” Because talking about the past changed jackshit. He still wound up without Delaney.
“Right.” A nod. “Do you see this as your second chance? Is that what you’re thinking?”
Sometimes, there were no second chances in this world. “You’re the one who came up with the plans. A, B, and C.”
A faint smile tilted her lips. “And you’re the one volunteering to be the new groom.”
Yes.
“But I have to know first, before we proceed even a single step, can you protect her? Will you be able to shut off your emotions when necessary and get the job done?”
“You really need to ask that question?” He kept his voice low because, knowing his brother, Ryan would be struggling to overhear their conversation.
He’d shut the kitchen door, but Nash hadn’t actually heard the sound of his brother’s retreating footsteps.
“I shut my emotions off before.” I broke her heart.
“I will do whatever it takes to succeed with this mission.” Very careful wording because…
I have my own mission.
And it focused on getting back—reclaiming—the woman he’d lost before.
But, hell, yeah, he was also going to lock away Kurt Wellington. The prick didn’t get to threaten Delaney, hurt Delaney, and escape into the night.
Nash believed in multitasking. This time, he was determined to get the woman and lock away the sadistic criminal mastermind. Really, was that too much to ask? He didn’t think so.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Jezebel praised. “Because you may be called upon to make some tough choices in the coming days. You have to remember, above all else, you are CIA. It’s not just about protecting one person. We have global work that must be accomplished.”
Not just about protecting one person.
Ah, Jezebel should really know him better than that. Because when it came to one person in particular…There is nothing I will not do for her. No risk I will not take. But he smiled at Jezebel. “You can count on me, boss.”
She grimaced. “I feel like I should be alarmed.”
Yeah, you probably should be.
“But let’s get this case rolling, shall we?” A determined squaring of her shoulders. “Time is rushing past, and we have a sadistic criminal that we need to catch. So let’s start implementing our trap.”
In other words, let the games begin.
The door to the small study opened. Delaney’s gaze had been locked on that door for the last—oh, ten minutes? Fifteen? And when she saw Nash fill the doorway, relief flooded through her.
“Everyone but Delaney—get out,” Nash ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. “Jez has instructions for you all.” He entered the room, stepped to the side, and jerked his hand toward the door.
They filed out. The two guards who’d come with Jezebel—uh, guards or agents—didn’t even spare Delaney a second glance. But Ryan did. He’d come in moments before, looking extra tense and broody.
A broody Ryan worried her.
Ryan’s watchful stare raked her. “Remember what I told you.”
Yes, she would remember. They’d just had a very fast and heated conversation. She tried to give him a reassuring smile. In response to that smile, he locked his jaw. But he walked out, too, and Ryan pulled the door shut after himself.
So that left her alone with Nash. Alone with a Nash who—like Ryan—seemed extra tense. Nash also appeared even more grim and dangerous than before. A heavy silence filled the space. Nerves crashed through her body, and she waited for him to say—
“Marry me.”
Oh, but those were words that she’d once dreamed that he would say to her. How many times had she hoped for those words? Unfortunately…“No.”
Shock flashed on his face.
“I’m going to marry your brother,” she mumbled.
And Nash’s shock was replaced with rage.