Special Forces Seduction Page 4

She needed this op as a final farewell to this life, a successful mission to give Lydia closure and to say goodbye to Finn. Giving her sister peace of mind would ease Hyde’s guilt. Losing Finn in her life would be devastating. She hadn’t known a man as smart and brave as he was. Their relationship was intense and exciting. Back home in Montana, she wouldn’t find a man to replace him. Finn was one of a kind. “If you like this, I have some equally fabric-challenged clothes packed.” The West Company had provided her a suitcase containing everything she needed to behave like Alexandra Morgan, the dim-witted girlfriend of a major drug cartel leader operating on the East Coast in the United States.

  The West Company had provided Finn a solid background, identity and large bank account as Finn Moore, as well. His persona would hold water as long as Reed Barnett didn’t press or dig too hard. The experts at the West Company were good, but nothing was perfect.

  Hyde lolled her head in Finn’s direction. He was wearing a pair of red swim trunks and a navy T-shirt and he looked delicious. Her libido kicked up a notch. Flirting with him, touching him and being close was playing the part, but it was close to reality and what she wanted to do with him. She looked away, wishing she could confess the truth. The most intimate and passionate moments in her life had been spent with Finn. Her attempts to keep boundaries were challenged by how devastatingly handsome she found him. He walked into a room and he turned heads.

  Hyde wasn’t in her twenties anymore. She wasn’t supposed to chase the handsome bad boy and hold on to the mistaken belief that dating him would lead to love and marriage and a family. She knew better, and every conversation with Finn cemented it.

  How many more years would Hyde make a suitable mother? If her biological clock stopped ticking, would someone be crazy enough to let her adopt a child when she had no partner, no stable job and no home?

  If she wanted a family, she had to make changes. A change in her career and a change in her personal life were in order.

  Finn folded his arms over his chest. “Feel like going for a swim?” He tensed and glanced down the beach. They were no longer alone.

  Hyde didn’t break character. “A swim? Maybe later. Why don’t you come here and help me put on sunscreen?” She leaned forward in her chair to get a better look at who was approaching. Finn didn’t seem alarmed, but she was curious.

  Reed Barnett appeared, walking with two bodyguards. He was wearing a khaki-colored suit and pale green linen shirt. It was the first time she had seen the drug lord in person. His hands were tucked in his pants pockets as he strolled, talking to his guards and pointing at something in the ocean. Regardless of his casual behavior, he would not disarm her.

  “Mr. Moore,” Barnett said, coming close and extending his hand to Finn. “I was alerted you and your beautiful lady had arrived on my island. Welcome to both of you.”

  If he was rattled at Barnett’s appearance, Finn didn’t let it show. “I had planned to take advantage of your hospitality and enjoy the beach before our meeting tonight.”

  Barnett looked out across the water. “It’s an incredible place. I don’t get out here as much as I’d like. Work keeps me busy. You know how that can be.”

  Finn had made contact with Barnett through an operative from the West Company who was deep undercover in Barnett’s drug ring. Finn was masquerading as a drug lord with extensive ties along the East Coast. Their communication had been indirect through the West Company’s channels and their contact had indicated Barnett had a new drug he wanted distributed through Finn’s networks to gain greater reach.

  “New business is worth it. I like taking time off between big projects,” Finn said.

  Barnett asked a few more leading questions, trying to pry information from Finn. His answers were vague. The less they gave away, the easier it was. Barnett was assessing Finn and her, looking for a crack in their armor.

  “Thank you for inviting us to your island. A couple of days out of the country is great,” Finn said.

  Hyde rose to her feet and walked toward Barnett, hating that he looked at her chest first before meeting her eyes. Wasn’t even her best asset.

  “Finn’s right.” Hyde came close to him and slipped her arms around Finn’s waist. His arm went over her shoulders and the movement was so natural and unplanned, pleasure swirled through her. “This place is great. Even better than when you took me to Fiji. It was quieter, but this is so private.” They had never been to Fiji, but it was on her list of places to visit.

  Barnett studied them. He wouldn’t find any reason to doubt their story or their carefully crafted backgrounds. She and Finn were the best, and their attraction to each other played well into the characters they were pretending to be. The surge of desire was real and strong enough that it caught her off guard.

  “Please alert my staff if you need anything. I’ll see you at dinner. It’s formal, but she can wear that,” Barnett said, pointing to Hyde’s bikini and smirking.

  She smiled like an empty-headed twit who took his words as a compliment. Hyde was careful to do nothing to put Barnett on the defensive or to raise his suspicions.

  The closer she got to Barnett, the easier it would be to take him down.

  * * *

  Barnett sauntered down the beach away from Finn and Hyde with his guards on either side of him.

  “I could shoot him in the back and he’d never be the wiser,” Hyde said.

  Finn’s arm was still draped across her shoulders. He was enjoying the sensation of her soft skin against his. She had been cagey since he’d arrived in Montana, and she hadn’t explained what had changed between them. Every other time they’d met, they’d had red-hot sex. She hadn’t seemed interested. He didn’t suspect she was involved with anyone else. Hyde would have been up front about that.

  Hyde was internationally well-known and had a good reputation in their field. The number of successful missions she was rumored to have completed and her skill set was unmatched for someone her age. It didn’t make sense to retire without a good reason. No one seemed to know why the legendary Hyde was unreachable. He’d heard a few rumors she was dead and others that she was undercover for a government agency.

  Since they’d met, Finn had kept tabs on Hyde. He liked knowing she was safe. Her well-being was important to him and he needed her in his life. Accepting that she was a spy, as she had been from the first day they’d met, had become harder over time. When he’d heard whispers about a female spy being injured and he couldn’t reach Hyde, he’d worried. He hadn’t confessed that information to her. It would offend her, like his worry implied she couldn’t take care of herself.

  The last time they had been together, she had said nothing about quitting the business. It was a huge decision and Hyde wasn’t impulsive. Why hadn’t she mentioned it to him? Closeness and sharing personal details weren’t central to their arrangement, but Finn thought of them as more than lovers. They were friends, too.

  Hyde shrugged out of his touch. He didn’t care for that, but let her go. He’d learned to hold his desire for her in check.

  “Feel like a swim?” he asked again. The dark throb of need pulsed in his blood. Exercise would take the edge off.

  Hyde pulled an elastic band from her wrist and wrapped it in her hair. “Sure.”

  She moved toward the water, not looking at him, saying nothing more, and Finn caught her around the waist. He brought his mouth close to her ear. “Don’t be in such a hurry to get away from me. Someone could be watching.”

  Hyde met his gaze. Holding her this close and looking into her eyes, anyone watching would think they were lovers. She was holding her back rigid and arching away from him, her hands braced on his chest.

  “You can’t use that as an excuse every time you want to touch me,” Hyde said.

  “Why are you against me touching you?” Finn asked. He released her, but she didn’t move away. H
er chest was inches from his.

  “If I were against it, it wouldn’t be happening at all,” Hyde said. She ran her hand down the side of his face and cupped his chin.

  He loved her strength and her confidence. She had never played the damsel in distress. “You’re right about that.”

  “Did you see someone?” Hyde asked. “Surveillance inside our villa?”

  “The jungle behind the villa provides places to hide and watch. I didn’t see any cameras or microphones in the villa, but I need to check more thoroughly.” He had been unpacking and when he’d seen Hyde out on the beach, he’d wanted to be with her. That had felt more important.

  She slid her hand down his chest and let it rest on his abs. He was already turned on and the gesture excited him more. “I wish this swimsuit gave me a place to tuck a weapon. Can I assume you have a weapon somewhere on you?” she asked.

  “I have a covered blade in my pocket,” he said.

  She reached to his hip and smiled. Though it was a warm smile, the heat didn’t race into her eyes. She was playing the part now, not flirting with him. “I could be the only woman in the world who finds it hot that you’re armed.”

  “Then you’ll love the holster I brought for you. Fits your inner thigh, so it can’t be seen under a dress.”

  She smirked. “I already have one of those.”

  He drew her closer. Her breasts were pressed to his chest and her flat stomach against his. Every tiny movement brought sensation to his core and amplified his lust. “This one has a quick release on the snap and room for an extra round.”

  She made a sound of delight. “How did you get one of those?”

  They weren’t available on the open market. “The West Company’s R and D department.”

  She smiled, and this time, the smile reached her eyes. “If I could get Connor or his wife to owe me a favor, I would request a tour of their weapons closet.”

  Finn had seen the R and D department at the West Company headquarters. He had participated in a field test for them and had been given a tour. “At this point, it’s not a closet. It’s an entire floor of one of their secret facilities.”

  Hyde’s eyes grew wide. “You’re toying with me.”

  He shook his head. “I am not. I’ve seen it.” He loved her passion for her job. Walking away from it didn’t fit. He was missing something key.

  Hyde pressed her hands together in front of her. “I know you can’t tell me what you saw, but wow.”

  “Connor West had you in mind for a few upcoming ops. You could have asked for something new to accompany you on those ops.”

  Hyde pushed against his chest and walked closer to the water line. The waves were gentle and low. “I know. He called me. But awesome toys aside, I had to say no.”

  That fast, she was distant again. He had pressed her too hard.

  They waded into the water. It was warm and felt great on his feet. “You might change your mind,” Finn said.

  “I doubt that. When my clearance comes up for renewal in a couple of months, I’m letting it lapse.”

  Not renewing her security clearance was a quick way to scratch her name off the United States’ black ops-for-hire list. Finn had never seen the list and he didn’t know who had access to it except likely the president of the United States, the vice president, a couple of senators and Connor West. Some of the best and the brightest were rumored to be on the list. Experts in absolutely everything at the government’s beck and call.

  If Hyde’s clearance expired, acquiring another at the same level would take months, if it was granted at all. She wouldn’t be eligible for special projects.

  “After working for years to get where you are, you’re letting it go.” He couldn’t get his head around it and he believed she would regret this decision.

  “There are more important things than work.”

  Suspicion crept over him. Though he would never accuse her of being a turncoat, getting off the list and quitting the spy game made her a free agent. “Are you planning to go mercenary?”

  She made a face of disgust. He was off the mark.

  “I would never do that. What I have in mind entails Saturdays and Sundays off work, nights and holidays to myself and a steady paycheck. Reading the news about attacks and bombings and knowing someone else is handling it. No more calls at midnight to go wheels up.”

  “A small paycheck for boring work,” he said.

  “The paycheck doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’ll embrace the mundane.”

  When they were ribs deep in the water, Hyde dove under. She surfaced ten feet out. Finn chased her. He slid his hand around her hips and lifted her against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He tread water for them. “Do you remember when we rented a room at the resort in Palm Springs and pretended to be spring-breakers?” They had stayed in the penthouse of a popular hotel. He and Hyde had loved being in the middle of that chaos. They had been close enough to hear the music, the lingo and the craziness, and far enough away to escape when they’d wanted privacy.

  “We are too old for that now. I can’t chug a beer from a funnel without getting reflux.”

  “It was two years ago.”

  “A lifetime,” she said. She pushed off his chest and swam backward away from him.

  If he could remind her of the closeness they’d shared, she may confide in him. They were friends first. He had told her things he hadn’t told another human being. “What did you do with the bracelet I gave you?”

  “I have it. In my pack. It fits my cover.”

  Was that all it was? Or did it still mean something to her? He had surprised her with the bracelet in Bora Bora, a diamond tennis bracelet in a platinum setting. “It was my grandmother’s.” He had been given it after his grandmother had passed away. She was the one person in his family who had understood what he did for a living and approved. The rest of his family wanted him to quit and go into politics, like his father and brother. The bracelet had a high sentimental value to him.

  Hyde pushed her wet hair off her face. “The bracelet is a family heirloom?”

  He nodded.

  Hyde’s brows were furrowed in confusion. “I thought it was a piece you picked up at the local market.”

  He had let her believe that. She wouldn’t have accepted it otherwise. “I wanted you to have it. You’re strong and brave like my grandmother was. If she had met you, she would have liked you and wanted you to have it.”

  “Finn, I can’t keep a precious item like that.”

  It was important to him that Hyde have it. He didn’t look too deeply into that thought. “You already accepted it. I would like if you wore it tonight.”

  Hyde touched her bare wrist as if considering it. “I could do that. But I want you to think about it. If you change your mind and want it back, please ask.”

  He wouldn’t want it back. It looked great on Hyde and it belonged with her.

  * * *

  Hyde and Finn drove a sand buggy to Reed’s house. It was huge and opulent, the four-story building boasting numerous balconies and dozens of gleaming windows. Storm shutters carved with elaborate scrollwork were pinned to the sides of the windows, and the front of the house was adorned with Roman-style columns and graceful archways. It must have taken an army of engineers to safely place such a large building this close to the water.

  Inviting them to his home and this island, Barnett had an agenda. He had numerous politicians, police chiefs and judges on his payroll. He blackmailed people he couldn’t pay off. Everyone had something to hide. Dig deep enough, and anyone looking would hit pay dirt. He’d want to know Finn’s weakness.

  Barnett was the master of getting dirty, getting the people around him dirty and then slaughtering anyone who threatened to expose him. His list of friends was long, but his list of ene
mies was longer. Many people would like to see him dead.

  But many people would also line up to step into his shoes. Finn wanted Barnett and his organization torn to the ground and the roots ripped up. He wanted Barnett to pay dearly for killing Simon.

  They were escorted to the dining room. The walls and ceiling were painted with images of Victorian angels in the clouds, and the white floor tile was blinding. The room wasn’t what Finn had expected.

  Hyde squeezed Finn’s hand. She was wearing a light blue dress, which looked painted on. Cut low in the front, it clung to her hips and thighs. The bottom of the dress was uneven, drawing attention to her strong calves. She was playing her part, and it was distracting to have her so close and know she wasn’t available. The one thing he and Hyde had always done well was sex.

  Why was it off the table? Hyde was different, but Finn couldn’t figure out why. They were frequently apart and Finn missed much from her life. She had seemed to enjoy being close to her family. Had they convinced her to quit her life on the road?

  “Don’t frown, you look pissed off,” Hyde said. She set her free hand on the crook of his elbow. Every muscle in his body flexed in awareness, and his lust elevated to nearly unmanageable proportions.

  He leaned to kiss her cheek and they stared into each other’s eyes. Heat snapped between them and Finn wouldn’t buy this was an act. She played hell with his libido and it wasn’t a one-way street.

  Barnett was seated at the head of the table, no one at the other end. The brunette to his right had her body on display in a barely there orange gown. She was staring adoringly at Barnett. She looked like she was ready for a pageant, her hair curled and styled and makeup coating her face. Barnett was ignoring her, but she seemed unperturbed by it.

  She had to be his latest fling. Finn didn’t understand why women flocked to Barnett. His face was slim and his nose curved at the tip. He was wealthy and dressed well, but beneath his sophisticated demeanor hummed a quiet rage. Didn’t women sense that and want to avoid him? Barnett had an explosive temper. He could turn on a dime. Anyone who had spent time with him would see it and rightfully fear it.