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  “What went wrong?” He needed to set up counter surveillance of their every move to see if she was being watched. Fuck. Would there ever be a time when they wouldn’t deal with the stress of her life in danger?

  Hit teams were never sent for no reason. And to chase her into the United States was desperate—third world countries were much easier to get in and out of, and corrupt governments often took bribes.

  “What didn’t go wrong—that would be an easier question to answer.”

  He carefully removed his phone from his jeans and texted Winter that he knew where Bahman was and to stand by for the outcome. They weren’t going to be able to turn the clock back to a time before Arabella kidnapped him. They needed a plan that didn’t involve her getting arrested.

  “Start from the beginning.” With all the information, he’d definitely be able to help her with the staying alive part. He quickly glanced at his closed office door. He wasn’t so sure about jail time though.

  • • •

  Relief was creeping into Arabella’s lungs, and she could finally breathe without the looming threat on her life weighing down her shoulders, chest, and gut. There was no more lying to or deceiving Felix, and together they would come up with a plan. They’d always been a great team.

  “Four months ago, the powers that be wanted me to infiltrate the sheikh to check on his activity, because there were rumors of him stockpiling weapons and more uranium again.”

  “They didn’t have better measures in place?” Felix’s face hardened; he looked like he was holding in a string of curse words. “It’s not like my mission went so well the last time.”

  “Well, knowing what I did about your experience . . . ” She paused to find the right wording. Felix seemed onboard, and she didn’t want him going off on another tangent and electing not to help. “I decided my best chance was the oldest son, Daichi.”

  “And Darek is chasing you across international borders because you, what, hurt his son’s feelings?” Shit, Felix’s patience was running out.

  “I was in, everything was going as planned. Until it wasn’t. I found the one place, a laptop, where Darek lists all of his transactions, business partners, who supplied what and to whom.” She closed her eyes for a second. “And who was being paid off.” That was the kicker and the ultimate reason she’d had to go on the run.

  “That’s not a problem; it’s a career goal. That should’ve taken Darek out for good. And many others.”

  “His guards caught me, and I had to make a break for it. I barely got out, but I managed to take the laptop with me.”

  “Why didn’t you take it to your handler? Maki, was it?”

  “Because I think Maki is dirty.” Felix’s jaw muscle jumped at his understanding. “I wasn’t sure Darek knew what I’d taken from him.” She shook her head. It was hard to believe these were the circumstances of her life. “I made contact with Maki and a friend in intelligence to turn over the information. Darek found out, and it turned into a firefight in downtown Istanbul. I don’t know which one turned me over to him.”

  She didn’t even know if she was in possession of Darek’s complete payroll list, once again barely making it out alive. She was out in the cold, and it was a bitch.

  Felix paced a short path in his living room.

  “I’ve been on the run from Darek ever since.”

  Her entire career had been based on blending in or getting noticed—she’d been failing at the former. Felix was her last hope to get out of the situation without dying—only she wasn’t sure how to do that.

  I don’t know who to trust anymore.

  “If I give the laptop back, Darek can freely kill me as a warning and for their troubles. If I don’t hand it over, he’ll never stop looking for me. And, if I turn it over to the wrong agency or people in the United States, I’m dead too.” She took a deep breath to soothe the panic that always crept up after she contemplated her state of affairs for too long. A tremble in her voice was the last thing she needed Felix to detect.

  Felix nodded. She could practically see his calculating mind gears at work. Everything about this man was sexy. A dark shirt outlined his chest, abs, and arm muscles, and it took every ounce of self-control she possessed not to reach out and touch him.

  He ground his box-shaped jaw especially tight. “Where was your team? Why didn’t you turn the info in to them?”

  “They didn’t give me a team for this mission, just a handler I’d worked with a couple of times before. I guess I should be glad I’m not dead. They must not have paid Maki to nark on spies. Things have changed since you and me.” She looked away, past him to his gun lying on the counter. It hadn’t escaped her notice it was positioned perfectly to pick up and shoot her if necessary. There was no more “you and me,” and she was going to have to face that truth along with the one that said she wasn’t getting out of the mess this time, even with Felix’s help. “They knew who I was. Within a day, they were tracking my real name. I don’t know who all he has on the payroll these days, but they are earning their money. Since I got out of Istanbul four months ago, I haven’t accessed the files because at first I suspected the laptop was embedded with a GPS, which is why I took the battery out. But it’s also heavily encrypted. After the log in timed out I haven’t been able to get back in. Darek is a clever SOB. If—when—I turn it over, it’s my ass on the line.” She shook her head. “I have to clean this up, or I have no future.”

  She never should’ve involved Felix. Coming to Seattle was another bad call in a list that was ever growing. She needed to get it the hell together. For the last month she’d merely been on the run, leaving no time to make a plan to get rid of the laptop and restore her life.

  Felix was silent. And still. He just stood there looking at her . . . no, through her.

  She grabbed the gun she’d stuck in the back of her pants. “I thought about wiping out the whole family, but that’s more than 100 people if I really want to be free from revenge, so . . . ” She winked and pivoted to get the last bits of information out of Parsa that she could before Felix took over her kidnapping and turned it into a playdate with the police. Not that she’d actually let him take her along for that joy ride.

  “Stop.” He was at her side. “What has worked on him?”

  Oh-kay. This is new. “I let him sit for a while in the dark, but you showed up sooner than I thought you would, so our little party has only been raging for about a half hour now. I got the jug of water out once, and ever since then he’s been chatty.”

  He swore under his breath and she surrendered her gun to his outstretched hand. The contact of his rough-skinned fingers was fleeting, but, God help her, she wanted more. “Not a word in there.”

  “He keeps saying that he’s not in with Darek anymore and that he is trying to find protection.”

  Felix switched on the light, and Parse’s head snapped up. She’d left him gagged with a gash on his brow. She knew he was a part of the asshole-for-hire network—but she might feel a little bad if it turned out he wasn’t as evil as she’d thought.

  “Mr. Bahman.” Felix took off Parsa’s gag then leaned on his corner desk and crossed his arms over his sculpted chest.

  She rested her shoulder on the door frame and crossed one foot over the other. This ought to be good.

  “I’ve told her everything I know.”

  “Why don’t you tell me about your work with Darek?”

  “As I’ve said before”—he looked to her as his upper lip curled before turning back to Felix—“I don’t work for Darek anymore. After she stole from him, he became very paranoid and shut down operations to regroup. He found out I’d been skimming. I was lucky enough to escape to the United States. I’m trying to make a deal with either your government or one of his enemies. Whoever can give me the best deal. That is who I was meeting with today. Well, the enemies anyhow.”

  She’d heard this song and dance twenty minutes ago and wasn’t sure she believed him—it was an easy way not to have t
o give up any real information. It seemed Felix was trying to decide as well, going by his intense, dark gaze. But, damn, if that were the case, they’d met a lot of people today the government would be interested in talking to at length.

  Felix turned back to the guy bound to a plush office chair. She’d probably owe Felix a new chair when this was all said and done. Parsa had knocked himself over a couple of times already, staining the chair with his blood, loosening the arms, and possibly breaking one of the rollers.

  “Be specific”—Felix’s tone was steady and one she might not even dare mess with— “about your work with Darek.”

  She had brought a shit ton of problems with her and entangled Felix’s life with them in the process. His tone was appropriate.

  “I was making deals on Darek’s behalf—telling him a higher price and the buyer a lower price and pocketing the difference.” Parsa went over the same thing he’d already told her about gun deals, land deals. Name anything nasty, and he’d arranged it.

  “What is Darek doing about finding her?” Felix’s head tilted her way.

  “I don’t see how this is going to make a difference. My information is months old. I could just lie.”

  “Then lie and see what happens.” The muscle in Felix’s jaw jumped as he stood and towered over the slender man.

  “There was a bounty out on her with the caveat she must be taken alive because he wants to make sure he gets everything back she stole. Copies included.” Parsa’s dark eyes found hers. “It won’t end well for you if they catch you.”

  Her body went cold. Nothing she didn’t already know, but chilling to hear nonetheless. “Did you recognize me today? Did you tell anyone?”

  “No. I wasn’t paying attention to you. I was worried about my own issues. If I had, I wouldn’t be here, and you’d be the one tied up.”

  Felix stepped out of the room and motioned with his head for her to follow. His brute demeanor was a strong freaking turn-on.

  His phone was in hand then up to his cheek.

  “Who are you calling?”

  He returned her gun—like she really would’ve killed her hostage in Felix’s apartment. Their skin didn’t touch this time, and she tucked her gun into her back waistband.

  “Winter. We need to contain this.”

  Contain this? She didn’t want to know Parsa’s history or how much of a douchebag he was. She wanted to know where Darek’s team was so she—correction they—could attack them first. Until she got that information, she was not giving up Parsa.

  “Come to my place to get Bahman. You may want to call Alex and let him know we have a potential informant for the CIA.” He raised a brow at her. “And also information to be served up at a later date. It’s his lucky day.”

  Oh hell no.

  “You can’t be serious.” She didn’t keep her voice down or the disbelief from shining through.

  Felix glanced at her then to the office door before disconnecting with Winter.

  “Over my dead body you are giving him away that easily.” She crossed her arms, the cold steel of her gun pressing into her lower back.

  “You want to go to jail?”

  He was serious.

  “No. I want to stay alive. He knows more than he’s saying.”

  “Then he’ll tell Alex or the CIA and we’ll stay in the loop.”

  “I don’t have that kind of time.”

  “He doesn’t know anything more about your trouble, and that’s what we need to focus on.”

  While they were going to sit and twiddle their thumbs, Darek’s men were getting closer. Who knew who Parsa’s bodyguards would tell now that they were free. If Darek hadn’t tracked her to Seattle by now, he’d get the hint soon.

  • • •

  The knock on the door came twenty minutes later—eighteen minutes after Felix had untied Parsa and fifteen minutes after Arabella had decided not to talk to Felix anymore.

  “Hey,” Felix greeted Winter at the door.

  “Hi.” She walked in, surveying the room. Winter’s glare landed on her, but Arabella didn’t change the set to her jaw. She wasn’t happy with Felix, and Winter was a close second for enabling him. “You better hope we can make this right.”

  Yeah, she already held that hope firmly in her throat. Her life was circling the drain. She didn’t want to bring Felix, Winter, and the security business down with her. Despite her actions today.

  Arabella stood in the living room, away from the bank of windows, Parsa sat on the couch, and Felix guarded the front door. This was the first time she’d ever disagreed with Felix’s tactical approach, and it didn’t feel good.

  “Did you call Alex?” Felix asked and set down his beer.

  “Yeah. I’m going to take Mr. Bahman to Alex’s downtown office. He’s meeting me there. He called a pal of his in the CIA who is coming in.”

  Felix had shared with Parsa the plan to get him to the CIA so he could tell his story in return for a new identity or whatever. Felix was failing to see that the dealmaker and moneyman she’d taken wasn’t exactly an innocent person—he’d negotiated business deals as well as hits before on the family’s request. She’d spent the last fifteen minutes mentally testing ways to overpower Felix and detain him long enough to get out of there with Parsa. She couldn’t choke him out quickly enough before she got seriously hurt in the process, she couldn’t lock him in any room that would hold him long enough for her to escape, and she really didn’t want to shoot him. But now her time had run out. She’d been too slow on the draw to kidnap Parsa a second time.

  Maybe her subconscious had wanted this to happen the entire time. Maybe she was sick of running and needed someone to help her. Not just anyone. Someone she could trust. But it seemed the tables were turned, and she was the one no one trusted.

  Parsa stood, ignored her, and nodded at Felix. After Winter gave Felix a look that obviously meant “this isn’t over,” the boss lady and Parsa were out the door.

  Felix stood there, watching her. Arabella felt naked—he was seeing right through her. The day, the last four months, caught up with her, and she couldn’t take the pressure any longer.

  It was over. All of it. The job she used to live for held no satisfaction, the place she called home was foreign, and the man she married just sold her out.

  Chapter Five

  Felix trashed his empty bottle as Arabella sat on the recliner. They couldn’t avoid talking about all this shit, and if he stared at her much longer, he wouldn’t want to talk. He’d want to do things with his lips, hands, and dick. Which was pretty fucked up, considering she’d just made him look really bad.

  “Why did you get a job at Wyn Security behind my back? You’re slipping if you thought that wasn’t going to be suspicious.”

  “You weren’t supposed to find out until the next day or two.” She sat back in the recliner and crossed her legs. “After you’d come up with a plan to get Darek, of course. None of mine have worked, and him and his men are getting too close.” She took a deep breath and her shoulders sunk. “I got sloppy. I was running scared.”

  “Why didn’t you just come to me?” He ached to reach out for her. The fact that she’d thought he wouldn’t be there for her hurt more than her deception. The manipulation was tactical—that part he actually respected—but what he couldn’t wrap his head around was that she chose that angle first.

  “I couldn’t take the risk you’d say no. You’re my last option.”

  He closed his eyes. “How could you think I wouldn’t help?”

  “Because of the last time we saw each other.”

  And there it was. The fuck-up of all fuck-ups once again bit him in the ass.

  She wouldn’t look at him now—the carpet suddenly had her attention. He didn’t blame her. His chest ached and his throat burned. It didn’t take much to set him off about that mission gone wrong.

  More than two years ago, they’d been assigned to work Safar, a middleman, out of Al Khubar, Saudi Arabia. Arabella had an in
with a contact, so she was able to get the introduction. She was supposed to work Safar for information on who was supplying him weapons, where he was passing them on to, and how.

  Officials suspected that Safar was helping to supply weapons to Darek and militia groups who were a direct threat to oil pipelines in the area.

  Despite Felix’s forceful objection, Arabella really had been best suited for the mission. Her deception of non-threatening behavior was always impressive, and he couldn’t remember a time she wasn’t able to make a mark feel comfortable enough to spill his guts. But it wasn’t always pleasant for him to witness. He fucking hated watching her groped, breathed on, and sometimes kissed—those were the times he could barely stop himself from running in and decking the assholes. This mission had been no different. Undercover work was not the same for women as it was for men in Middle Eastern countries. She couldn’t go in with a man, or he’d been seen as the contact, and she was at a lot more risk given their general views on women. He couldn’t be in the same room with her if she were to apply her best skills, but Felix and his team had been her support for intel gathering and backup. They set up nearby and took shifts roaming the area to be close if something went wrong.

  The mission was going smoothly. She’d managed to get close enough to Safar to find out where the weapons were going, but when she stumbled upon a shipment coming in—one his team should’ve known about—Safar’s overly ambitious henchmen assumed she was there to screw them over, and shit went downhill from there.

  Felix’s team had grabbed their weapons and run as his worst fear was realized. Over the comms, he’d heard some of the questions they were asking her, the hits to convince her to talk, and then her line had gone dead. He’d gone in guns blazing. He had no idea how many people he shot that day—he just knew if it wasn’t Arabella or his men in his crosshairs, he fired. But Safar and his men had moved her out of the compound quickly. They’d been clearly ready for a raid.

  He’d called it in, needing backup and satellites to track her. When the call came to stand down, that Safar had been traced to a ship in the Persian Gulf, he’d had no choice because he didn’t have a boat or the equipment to track her himself. Felix and his team swept the compound for any other usable data, returned to their ops base long enough to load up their gear, and then moved out to the station in Riyadh.