Wyn Security Page 42

Eddie made sure his voice wasn’t too loud but carried. “We have to settle the Ragnor deal before we can do anything. I can’t relax and enjoy you fully in that little red number you wear out by the pool until that is set up. Our partners to the east are depending on it.”

  Don’t ever let it be said he’d wasted his time searching George’s client list on the laptop.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Huntington.” A sturdy white-haired man in a cream shirt and black slacks and with reddish old-man skin smiled at them.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Redburn.” He stood and smiled back. “Call me George, please. It’s a pleasure.” He shook his target’s hand, but Mrs. Redburn had already made her way into the booth. “This is my wife, Lilia.” The two women greeted each other, and Redburn nodded in Hannah’s direction before ordering an old, expensive-sounding wine from the maître d’.

  Eddie took his seat and put his arm around Hannah as if he’d done it a thousand times before and wrapped his palm around her shoulder. She didn’t pull back; she didn’t even tense under his touch. Instead she leaned into him. He glanced around the room for a second. Had he been transported to some alternate universe in which Hannah actually liked him?

  Snap out of it, man.

  He kept his focus on her; the better to avoid making it obvious he was trying for Mr. Redburn’s attention. It was easy to study Hannah. Mom’s ring flickered in the candlelight on the table as Hannah reached for the glass of wine the waiter poured. What would his mother have thought of him callously using her ring like this? She might’ve been okay with it since he was technically doing it to save Leo.

  Sorry, Mom.

  Chapter Five

  Hannah could barely breathe. Kissing Eddie had been dumb, but it was all she could think to do—that or grab a fork from the table and stab Redburn in the neck to watch him bleed out. She’d whisper Robert’s name and great things about him in Redburn’s ear for good measure as he choked on his own blood, knowing he was going to die.

  So, yeah, kissing was the better way to go there.

  “How are you enjoying your trip so far? Have you been here before?” Mrs. Redburn asked as she placed a black napkin in her lap.

  “In all of our travels, I believe this is our first time in the Pacific Northwest,” Hannah answered and turned her face up to Eddie, a small smile gracing her lips. Her instincts were carrying her through as she flew blind in the moment.

  His palm was planted firmly on her shoulder, holding her butt to the seat. Did he know what she really wanted to do to Redburn? Justice was great, but it could come in many forms.

  “We’ve been up to Vancouver.” He smiled down at her, his eyes appraising. When he seemed satisfied at what he saw, he turned back to their targets.

  “How long have you two been here?” Eddie asked.

  “All our lives.” Redburn didn’t bother picking up the menu.

  “You must go down to Pike Place Market, take a tour of the Sound, and go up in the Space Needle.” Hannah turned her focus to the slender woman with Jamie Lee Curtis–style brown hair. Did she know about her husband’s dealings, or was she oblivious to the dark side of what paid for her fancy meals and the expensive diamond studs in her ears?

  “We have a lot to pack in during our short stay.” Eddie glanced at the menu, then shut it in front of him before taking a sip of water.

  “How long will you be here?” Mr. Redburn leaned back in his seat as he waited for the wine to be doled out, then took a whiff before drinking. A satisfied flare lit up his eyes, and he nodded to the server who quickly disappeared.

  “Not long. We have business to attend to back home next week.” Eddie was playing the part well for someone who hadn’t gone undercover before. His palms weren’t clammy; there wasn’t a sweat ring forming around his face. The side of her body was pressed up against his, and she couldn’t feel a tense muscle anywhere. Who knew she’d be the one so uncomfortable with the assignment? Okay, so, yeah, she should’ve seen this coming. But she’d always thought she was stronger than to let Redburn get the better of her.

  Eddie gazed at Redburn, a silent message passing between them. According to the Huntingtons’ interrogation at the FBI office this afternoon, they’d never met the Redburns and they were the middlemen for many illegal businesses, counterfeit money being one of them. But they refused to give up the source of the counterfeiters. Eh, Murphy would get it out of them. He was great at his job and knew how much it meant to her to make this arrest.

  “What business are you in?” Mrs. Redburn asked just as the waiter arrived to take their orders. For someone who wasn’t supposedly invested in her husband’s business, she was sure asking a lot of questions. Or she’s being a good wife and hostess.

  “Architects in San Diego. We have a firm there and many projects starting soon,” Eddie answered.

  “But we’re not at work right now, darling, so let’s not talk about it. We came up here for a reason.” She slid her glance to Redburn.

  What exactly was this dinner about? Were they supposed to pretend they were old friends? Act like new acquaintances? Were they supposed to outright discuss why they were really meeting or be coy? All of this beating around the bush was making her want to squirm in her seat. Her skin was already uncomfortable at the moment thanks to her husband for the weekend.

  Freaking Eddie was hot. With a capital H. As in his body temperature had to be running at least 101. Why was he not sweating, dammit? Look at him, buttering that bread like he wasn’t going to gain an ounce. Taking sips of the merlot with all the gusto of a vineyard owner by birth. And all in polished clothing that disguised the fact he was a know-it-all who didn’t give a shit about her mission.

  No, tonight he was playing the role of a suave lover who could sweep her off her feet, literally—take her upstairs to their room and show her what kind of a gentle man he really was. In his arms, the heavily muscled ones she’d seen in his short-sleeved polo, she’d not be alone anymore. She’d have someone to depend on.

  Not that she’d actually let him pick her up or lay her down on the bed or kiss her neck while running his hand up her leg. They were working. And she barely liked him. She was using him. She was lying to him. And he was not going to be happy when he found out.

  The only bright side was that his brother wouldn’t actually go away for life for murder. But Redburn, by God, was going to pay. Painfully.

  • • •

  Hannah was going to blow it. Eddie could feel the pent-up anger bubbling in her little frame. He’d learned only one way in the short time he’d known her to pull her out of a spiral. He tilted his head so that his nose was buried in her sweet scent, and his lips almost touched her ear. “Dance with me,” he crooned lowly.

  She batted her eyes in his direction without meeting his gaze. Still, he interlocked her fingers with his and slid out of the booth, taking her with him. There was no fight in her movement; in fact, she’d warmed to him since Redburn had walked in the door. Whoever she was channeling, it was working and he’d oblige her request to take their mission seriously. A man with a wife as beautiful as Hannah would definitely want to hold her in his arms at every opportunity.

  There wasn’t a dance floor exactly, so the small space in front of their table would have to do.

  She twirled around on the tips of her red heels, the edges of her black dress staying put to his disappointment, and raised her hands to put them around his neck. Her fingers grazed through the hairs on the back of his head, and it was all he could do not to close his eyes and give into the pleasure that heated his core.

  The way she was staring at him, lovingly, like he was the best thing in her world ... he couldn’t look away even if there was a fire behind him. Her easy, come-hither smile was all for show. Deep down he knew that, but damned if it wouldn’t be nice if this were real. The people in love in his life were more content, fulfilled in a way that he was starting to suspect he was not. Now was not the time to lament about what he did and did not have. It was time for an Academy Award�
��winning performance. If only he’d taken drama instead of tactical leadership.

  • • •

  Hannah swayed to the music and relished the fact that Eddie’s hands were on her back. She’d needed this moment to reset. Her gaze stayed on Eddie, and she could feel the tension in her upper back start to release. She took a deep breath. That’s better. This is just another operation. He’s just another bad guy. Her gaze strayed from Eddie’s over to Redburn and his wife laughing at the table. She couldn’t help herself. That man had stolen everything from her, from her brother.

  She’d never come face-to-face with Warren Redburn before, and all the dreaming about this moment had not prepared her to look into his eyes, to see a real person and not the nasty monster she’d created in her mind. She’d been in the same air space as killers before, but this killer—this cold-blooded, methodical murderer—was different. She wanted her brother back and safe. She didn’t want to pretend to be married to Eddie, and she didn’t want to be so jaded about people. Before Robert’s death, she’d been out to save the world. Now, she just tried to make sure it didn’t become a shambles like her life.

  “Relax, my beauty, we have time for both business and pleasure on this trip.” Eddie, who’d guided them not too far from their table, spoke a little louder than he needed to, but not enough that it would seem weird. They were still selling their cover.

  “I need fresh air. I was thinking of a sail, some whale watching, perhaps. We don’t get up here nearly enough.” The conversation wasn’t anything grand, and that was the point. They were supposed to be well-to-do and in love only.

  “As long as we can get out in the morning and be back in time for the purpose of our trip, I’ll move heaven and earth.” He ducked his head, and she braced herself for a kiss, her lips practically vibrating at the prospect of tangling with his. Just as she was about to close her eyes, he passed her lips and pressed his to her neck under her ear. Hot tingles spread over her shoulder, chest, and back, causing her chest to sink in a little more than usual with her breath.

  This guy was good at undercover and selling a lie. Hella good. Too good. She was starting to believe it.

  He slid his hand off her lower back and faced them toward the table, ushering her to the booth as the song ended and another of the same slow sway started. Good idea. After that act, she needed to sit before her legs gave out or her hormones took over. Who knew which would be worse?

  • • •

  If they’d been old friends, things were going well. But since they weren’t and Eddie was trying to do business and plant bugs—he still had all of his in his pocket—the night wasn’t going great. The only bonus so far was Hannah in that black dress and agreeing to dance with him.

  He had to make something happen.

  As she prepared to sit down, he slid his hand to her hip, gripped it, and whirled her toward him. He hugged her tightly to his body with one hand as the other caressed her plump cheek and he kissed her, letting loose the passion and longing she’d stirred in him tonight.

  Was this highly inappropriate on so many levels? Sure as shit was. Was it going to get the job done and make him happy in the process? Yep, that, too. He was smack-dab in the middle of a win-win situation.

  She kissed him back, pressing her pelvis up against his body, and oh man, what he wouldn’t give to continue this kiss later up in their room.

  He moved his hand slowly down and squeezed her ass. She pulled back, and her pink lips, plump from kissing him, squeezed together. “George,” she said, but her terse warning didn’t hold as much of a bite as her earlier instructions.

  “I get carried away sometimes. I apologize.” He glanced at the table in sincerity and waved his hand outward, knocking over Redburn’s full glass of wine.

  Warren Redburn hustled out of the booth, and Eddie grabbed his arm, a bug clutched in his fist. “Oh no, I’m terribly sorry.”

  Eddie grabbed a red cloth napkin on the table and started to pat down the wine dripping off Redburn’s clothes, opening the black suit jacket where he’d spied his cell phone, and planted the black dot on the back of his phone. The tiny device he’d built himself would not only allow them to hear conversations in the presence of the cell phone but also track Redburn’s movements. Both of which would be extremely helpful in building a case.

  Grunts of dissatisfaction were all the older man could muster. A waiter came running, and Redburn waved him off.

  Eddie sat back down in the booth, where Mrs. Redburn seemed amused by the last couple of minutes. “I don’t know what came over me.” He gazed at Hannah with raised eyebrows; he couldn’t afford to smile at the success of his plan. “Sometimes her beauty is too much.”

  A blush brought out the pink in Hannah’s cheeks, and he took a deep breath, searching for her sweet scent among the Italian meal they’d been enjoying. It eluded him, and he stopped himself before he leaned in and sniffed her neck. That would definitely not be appropriate.

  “How long have you two been married?” The older woman sipped her coffee, and her bright eyes stared back as she waited patiently for an answer.

  “Four years, but together for twelve.” Hannah took a bite of the chocolate five-layered cake at her place setting. “High school sweethearts.”

  Mrs. Redburn cooed, “Us, too. I mean the sweetheart part. We’ve been together for a lot longer.”

  “It’s good to see a couple who has lasted since high school. Sometimes I wonder.” Hannah arched a brow at him, and he gave her his best wide-eyed innocent look.

  “You know there is no one else in the entire world who understands me the way that you do, my beauty. I would break down the gates of Hades itself to make you happy.” He kissed her temple and put his arm around her, resting it on her familiar soft shoulder.

  “And sometimes, he has to.” She laughed, which prompted a laugh from the other side of the table as well.

  Redburn returned, his jacket slung over his forearm, a red stain saturating the bottom half of his shirt.

  “It’s been a nice evening, but I’m afraid we must go now.”

  “Oh, Warren, sit down.”

  “Sylvia.” The sternness in his voice didn’t invite argument.

  “Let me pay for the dry cleaning.” Eddie stood, reaching into his back pocket for his leather wallet. The one he’d stuffed the fake bills into earlier. Damn, he was really good at this undercover shit. If he needed a new career, maybe he’d look into spy work.

  “It’ll be fine. It was nice to meet the both of you.” Redburn’s glance flicked to Hannah before moving to his wife and silently telling her to get up.

  “I insist,” Eddie articulated slowly to get Mr. Redburn’s attention as he held out two twenty-dollar bills. “I assure you, it’s my pleasure.”

  Redburn glanced down at the counterfeit money—which looked damned authentic—and back up to Eddie, a moment of happiness passing through his brown stare. “Very well then.” He took the money, rubbed it around between his thumb and index finger for a moment, and then slipped it into his pocket. “I’ll be in touch.”

  Hannah stepped out of the booth at the same time Mrs. Redburn did. “Oh my, is that a new Michael Kors bag?” Hannah reached for the light blue purse and then the arm holding it.

  “It is. Isn’t it fabulous?” Her proud smile made Mrs. Redburn’s cheeks plump.

  “Darling, we have to go shopping tomorrow.” Hannah smiled and, without even looking, she slipped the black dot into the lining of the purse, up by the zipper so it wouldn’t be noticed.

  He never would’ve suspected if he hadn’t known what she was doing. Somewhere along the line, Hannah had picked up classic pickpocketing skills. The more he knew about her, the more of a mystery she became. And impressive. She wasn’t just all talk and fluff. She was a good agent.

  Chapter Six

  “That was quite the smooth move.” Hannah ditched the red high heels at the foot of her suitcase the moment she was through their hotel room door. She was not used to
wearing anything more than her cushy one-inch heel these days.

  “Getting the money in his hand?” Eddie locked the heavy door behind them. “He didn’t seem like he was going to come right out and ask for it.” He hurried over to his laptop on the bed, opened it, and started clicking away on the keyboard. “Your ability to hide a bug wasn’t so bad either.”

  “Was that dinner strange to you?”

  “Which parts?” His screen had his full attention, and she sat by him on the bed. Their arms touched, and a shiver of pleasure snaked down her spine. They weren’t at dinner or pretending any longer. She didn’t have to sit so close to him; her body certainly didn’t need to react to contact. She backed up on the bed in a feeble attempt to get space, but all that did was put her extended legs next to his thigh. Great job, why don’t you just sit on his lap?

  Heaven help her, she wanted to straddle this handsome man with the perfect body who had been calling her stupid candy bar names.

  Voices came through his speaker, and he glanced back at her with a smile. She liked it when he smiled, really smiled, because he was happy or proud of himself. The green in his eyes was brighter, and a grin of her own turned up her lips.

  “We are up and in business.” He pressed keys again until a screen appeared with a map and a white dot.

  “Is that them?”

  “Live and in person.” He slipped out of his shoes and wiggled to the head of the bed where all the pillows were propped.

  She scooted back on her side, putting a pillow between them to make sure their skin didn’t touch again. It was going to be a very long couple of days if she was already afraid of what she might do if he ran his hands down her back, gripped her hips to press them against him, and kissed her like she was his salvation.

  “I think they were a nice couple, dear.” The strength in Sylvia Redburn’s voice came through just fine.

  “Are we listening to both of the bugs at once?” Hannah crossed her legs to bring her left foot to her lap and rubbed, putting pressure on the arch.