Deliciously Dangerous (10 page)

Gina raised her palm. “That’s it? Our business is done because you say it is?”

“Yes.”

“This isn’t about the deal.”

“You fulfilled your end of the bargain. You got me the contacts.”

“That’s right, I did. I also don’t quit in the middle. I’m following through on this one. This is a rehash of the argument we had before. You’re trying an end run around me. I don’t like it.” She looked past his shoulder to the street below as a black taxi drove by, shattering the sudden silence.

“I don’t want you in the way.”

“Oh, really?”

He swore under his breath, hearing how the words sounded. “That’s not what I meant. You know me and you know I only meant that you distract me too much.”

She didn’t pursue that line of thought, but he could tell from her contemplative expression that it was only going to be a matter of time. She’d already delved a little into his life. He liked that she was curious about
him, that she’d want to know more. But he was unable to give her the real details—all of them, anyway.

But for a split second he wanted to. He wanted to unburden himself—his motives, his overall plan. But there was just too much at stake, too much danger involved with revealing who he really was, what he was really doing.

He wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her, make her understand that they weren’t actually a team here. He cringed at that word. Never had he intended to team with anyone again. His reactions, his very motivation was to shun involving another person in this terrible and dangerous game he was playing.

Yet in his heart, that’s what it was. They
were
a team. But his head knew they were something totally different. Something he couldn’t define or categorize.

Her defiant pose lasted another moment, then her shoulders dipped slightly as she pulled away from him and stood up. “Okay, Jammer. Have it your way. I’m not going to wait until the morning, if you don’t mind. I’m leaving now.” Her tone was still defensive, even if her posture said otherwise.

It was as if the light went out of his life—just died, and he felt that big chasm open up inside him. The one that Gina filled to the brim. His throat closed and he forced himself to turn away from her. He wanted to shout his pain to the full moon, but kept his mouth closed. He’d kept his mouth closed, his identity hidden, for three long years, all for one goal. He couldn’t fail to achieve that goal or he would surely become the Ghost
he pretended to be, consumed from the inside out by his guilt and his desire for vengeance.

He couldn’t rest until Fuentes had paid, one way or the other. He wouldn’t be a good companion or anything else for Gina.

“Thank you for all your help.”

“Jammer, go to hell,” she said, softly but firmly.

The door closed with a snap and he picked up his cup, only to find that his coffee was as stone-cold as his heart.

C
ALLIE PACKED HER BAGS
haphazardly, the Gina clothes flung inside in a fit of pique. Damn him. Why did he have to get all noble on her? He was supposed to be a fucking gunrunner, for Pete’s sake. Why did he care about her? Why? It made her life twice as difficult. Her eyes filled suddenly and without warning. Her hands trembled as she turned and sat down on the edge of the bed to get herself under control. It wouldn’t do to lose her cool now. She was a government agent—a Watchdog agent—and she was made of better stuff than this.

No way was she going to let this fall apart. She couldn’t. Her plan just had to be altered a bit. She was going to Amsterdam whether Jammer liked it or not.

She’d just be going there separately. Once the deal was complete, she’d figure out a way to worm herself back into the final exchange. She’d have to.

She called down to the desk to have her luggage picked up, and bit her lip. Should she try one more time to repair her undercover mission, or go a different route?

She decided to let him stew. Let him miss her, because although she wouldn’t acknowledge it before, Jammer had a serious jones on for her. It was something she could use to her advantage. She grabbed a cab to the airport and paid as she exited.

Distracted by the situation with Jammer, Callie noticed the dark sedan only when a man stepped out in front of her. He ordered her in heavily accented English to get inside. She declined.

That’s when three other doors opened and three other men climbed out. Oh, crap.

She brought down the first man with a move her brother, Max, had shown her. Although the second man got a few good hits in, she took him out with a combo Drew had taught her.

But when the third pulled a gun on her, she had no choice.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

“Americans. Always kicking the butt first and asking the questions second.”

Was this guy for real? Was he making a joke? If so, it was most definitely at her expense.

“Joost wants some leverage against the Ghost. You, I’m afraid, are that leverage.”

“You’re wrong. We’re just business associates. He doesn’t give a damn about me.”

“That’s too bad for you, then, isn’t it,
mijn vriend.
”

“I’m not your friend.”

“That is also too bad for you.”

I
N THE MORNING
, Jammer packed up. He was feeling the loss of Gina acutely, but he pushed it aside and boarded the plane for Amsterdam.

The flight was short, just one hour and change, but once he landed in Schiphol Airport, the passport lines were long and it took him a bit to get through.

He grabbed a cab and found himself at the Sofitel. Now it was a waiting game.

When his phone rang three hours later, Jammer answered with a clipped hello. He was at the whim of a conscienceless bastard. What had he expected? Courtesy?

“Go out to the front of the hotel. There’s a car waiting for you.”

Jammer immediately left the room. Once this deal was complete, he’d be going back to Napa to wrap up all the transportation and storing details, and then off to Colombia to reap the fruits of his labor.

The only piece of information he needed from Fuentes was where and when the Defensores de la Libertad would be assembled for an easy and complete takedown.

It was fitting. An ambush for the ambusher.

At the street, Jammer looked for the car. He saw a black Mercedes parked at the curb, and refrained from rolling his eyes; just about every bad guy in every movie that involved international espionage drove a black Mercedes.

The door opened for him. Jammer settled inside and sighed when a blindfold was placed over his eyes. It was all part of the Joost dog and pony show.

He endured the ride without comment, derisive as the ones in his head were. He wanted to get in, get the goods, close the deal and move on.

Just like he’d moved on with Gina?

In the dark behind this blindfold wasn’t where he wanted to be. It gave him much too much time to think about Gina, the warmth of her skin, her witty and often amusing comebacks, her out-there personality and her wicked grin.

Finally the car came to a halt. He began to remove the blindfold, but was stopped. “Not yet.”

He allowed one of the errand boys to steer him toward his meeting place with Joost.

When his blindfold was removed, he found himself standing outside a windmill, one that was evidently used as a sawmill. He could hear the saws going in the background and wondered briefly if Joost had made an investment in a legitimate business, just as Jammer himself had.

One of Joost’s goons shoved him in the back, and they entered the main part of the mill. They passed an office without stopping, and ended up in an open area beyond it. No one but Joost was there. Jammer wondered all of a sudden where Dieter was. Dieter was never far from Joost’s side. “Jammer,
mijn vriend.
”

“Joost. Are we ready to do this? As soon as we seal the deal and I take a look at the merchandise, we can both be on our merry way.”

“Ah, Americans, ever the businessmen. There is never the time for preliminaries.”

“Preliminaries? What do you want to do? Dine together? I’m on a tight schedule, as I’m sure Ms. Callahan told you.”

“Yes, Ms. Callahan did give this information to me. She was very clear.”

As soon as Gina’s name was mentioned, Jammer got a tight feeling in his gut. Joost’s eyes took on a knowing gleam, one that did not bode well for either Jammer or Gina.

“Often we have made deals. Is this not so?”

“We have. It’s been very profitable for everyone concerned.”

“
Ja.
That is true, but profits are not all that concern me. It is the constant disrespect from your employer that has caused this concern.”

Jammer wanted to groan and rub his temple, but didn’t. It was important to remain unaffected and in control. “Joost, the Ghost has employed me to handle these situations. It’s my job—”

Looking bored, Joost raised his arm and snapped his fingers.

That’s when Jammer found out exactly where Dieter was. He came out of the office, his meaty hand clamped around Gina’s upper arm.

He could see that her lip was cut and she had a doozy of a black eye. He could only imagine how bad the other guys’ were.

“Join us, Ms. Callahan. We were just talking about your associate’s employer. Ah, but now that I see how
he looks at you, I’m convinced that you are much more than his associate.
Ja.
”

“What do you want, Joost?” Jammer asked.

His smile was anything but sweet. “You will contact your boss and you will tell him that if he wants this shipment, he can close the deal himself.”

Jammer looked at Gina. His soul had awakened the day she’d opened that hotel room door. She hadn’t slid into his life; she’d come rushing like a storm, dragging emotions from him he’d thought were buried too deep to revive. But they were there, just beneath his skin, and there simply wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her, even break a vow.

At Jammer’s inactivity, Joost snapped his fingers again, and Dieter pulled a gun from inside his leather jacket and placed it against Gina’s temple.

“There’s no need for threats, Joost. I don’t have to call my boss.”

“Why is this?”

“He’s already standing right here.”

“You?”

“I am the Ghost.”

C
ALLIE JUST STOOD THERE,
Dieter’s gun still pressed against her temple.

She heard the words. Saw them come out of Jammer’s mouth. But she couldn’t comprehend them. They were a foreign language she had never heard before.

Jammer was the Ghost.

The man she had sworn to bring to justice was the man she’d been sleeping with all this time. But surely Jammer was only saying that because he thought Gina was in danger. It couldn’t be true.

But as their eyes met across the room, she knew it. Knew he was telling the truth.

“
Ja.
This is a surprise, but it is as I suspected. Why the ruse?”

Jammer shrugged. “To stay under the radar.”

“Like the Batman?”

“Yes, like Batman,” he agreed.

Callie tensed, readying herself for action. She had every intention of surviving this encounter. She was going to arrest the Ghost no matter who he was. She
met Jammer’s eyes and no words were spoken, but it was as if they could speak to each other’s souls. He was prepared to act, as well. She knew Jammer wasn’t leaving here without securing those weapons. The pressure tautened as Joost studied him. Just when Callie thought everything was going to dissolve into chaos, Joost’s barking laughter broke the silence.

The man threw up his hands. “Then all is forgiven. I love the Batman. Dieter, let her go.”

The cold metal disappeared from her temple, but Callie couldn’t move.

“Gina, come over here,” Jammer said softly. “Now.”

She got her feet to function and she went to him.

Then he did something that made her heart jump. He stood in front of her, effectively using his big body as a human shield. Up close, she could see how pale the skin was on the nape of his strong neck, the coiled muscles that belied how worried he was for her safety, and her emotions went wild. She was mad and touched at the same time. She just didn’t know what to do with it all. Her throat got tight and that only set off her anger again. Could she really blame anyone but herself? She had told herself what she was doing wasn’t exactly a good idea. Sleeping with Jammer had been an irresponsible indulgence. His charisma and her inability to control the desire she felt for him were her downfall. And here it was in living Technicolor.

This man who was coolly negotiating an arms deal was the elusive villain numerous agencies would kill to get their hands on.

She mentally slowed her breathing, realizing that she was going to hyperventilate if she didn’t get control of herself.

The jumble of emotions she felt only added to a terrible confusion undercutting her confidence. Callie was furious that she hadn’t seen this herself, and at the same time had a heartfelt need to wrap her arms around him and hold on until this confusion ended. But then anger burned through her. Oh no, this made everything ten times worse.

Mercifully, Jammer finished with Joost quickly. All in all, the exchange had gone a lot better than they’d anticipated.

In parting Joost said, “I commend you for your choice in a woman. It will take a strong man to handle her.”

“No one handles Gina, Joost.”

Even with all the tension, and the fact that she had come very close to death, Callie smiled. It wasn’t long before they were in the Mercedes and at the Sofitel.

Inside, she expected Jammer to yell at her, curse her for not returning to the States as he’d asked. It would have been reasonable. It would have made sense.

So when the hotel room door closed and he leaned against it, saying nothing, she took the offensive. “This is your fault, you know. They got me at the airport. I tried to fight them off, but one of them got the drop on me. I had no choice. It seems that Joost planned this to force you to contact the Ghost.”

“My guess is that your plane ticket wasn’t for someplace in the U.S.”

She faced him squarely, her eyes locked with his, his
handsome, impassive face giving nothing away. “No. But, again, your fault. If you hadn’t cut me out of the deal halfway through, I wouldn’t have been at the airport by myself. I intended to finish the negotiation and in the process make a new contact.”

“Business. That’s always what it is for you?”

She marched up to him and grabbed him by the lapels of his suit. She needed to do something physical or she was going to come out of her skin. The stakes had risen and the situation she found herself in had just gotten that much worse.

How was she going to reconcile her damn feelings for this man when she had to snap those handcuffs on him, face him in court? When he’d just done something so shocking, so unselfish, for her?

She represented the law. There had to be justice and accountability, but nothing was simple when emotions were involved. Why couldn’t he have turned out to be an asshole instead of a man she admired? It wasn’t about the danger now or the illicitness of their affair; it was about her strong attachment to him, stronger than she wanted to admit.

He was the Ghost!

“What else is there, Jammer? Or should I call you the Ghost? That was a nice tidbit of information to drop on me!”

He seized her by her shirtfront and pulled her close to his face. His eyes were hard as diamonds, his mouth full and tight. In them she saw his fear and something else she couldn’t name, wouldn’t name. It would have knocked her back if he didn’t have such a tight grip on
her shirt. “I wouldn’t have had to drop it at all if you had just done what I asked. You have no idea how much this complicates my life, how much is at stake. But you were more interested in business then preserving your own life.”

“Look, I can take care of myself. I would have come up with something to get myself out of that jam. But you’re the one keeping secrets, it seems.”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

She froze inside at his look—almost as if he knew she was undercover. But that wasn’t possible. If he did know, he would have taken her out of this charade from the beginning.

His mouth covered hers, hot and demanding her to respond. She couldn’t help herself. The compulsion to soothe his fear and panic came from a deep well in her; until this moment she hadn’t known she possessed that much emotion. The sacrifice he’d just made for her spoke volumes.

“I can’t lose you. Not that way.”

His words made her throat cramp, and it hit home hard that one day she was going to be without him. It almost made her want to defect to the dark side. Made her frantic to think of a way to get herself and him out of this situation. But she knew there was nothing she could do. She was ensnared in a trap of her own making.

She was much too dedicated to the vow she’d taken to serve and protect the United States, and rationally, she knew it was panic forcing her to think about treason. She would do what had to be done. No matter how much it hurt.

And it was going to hurt so bad.

“Then let’s not waste the time we have.”

J
AMMER DIDN’T KNOW WHAT
he was going to do about Gina. There was no going back to the way he’d been before he’d met her. Her words slammed into him and sent his body into lock and load. So easily.

Her hands slid around his neck. Her face was pensive, soft with desire, her eyes dark with secrets and the pain that came with them. He wished that he could take that look from her eyes, but he couldn’t. He’d already crossed the line. It was going to be bad enough when he had to clean up the mess he’d made. He teetered on the edge of revealing to her who he really was, and the dangerous and clandestine game he played with a powerful and dangerous foe, but he curbed it. It would jeopardize the outcome. Gina had to stay in the dark for now. She was as safe as he could make her.

She pulled his willing mouth down to hers. He tried for tenderness, for less than what he was feeling, but it wasn’t possible, not with Gina. Not with the excitement she generated with just existing.

He couldn’t live without her, without this, he thought, closing his arms snugly around her, one palm molding her curves and the other slipping under her shirt. She opened his pants, boldly driving her hand inside, and a bubble settled over them, encased them in heat, her kiss setting off the wild lick of flames down his body. Gentleness vanished and they were tearing at each other, at their clothes.

He grabbed her back, his mouth trailing hotly down
her throat. He paused long enough to strip off her shirt, toss it with his before his lips closed over her nipple. He drew it into the heat of his mouth as if trying to devour her, his tongue circling and flicking.

Gina shimmered with desire and he drank it in, the scent of her, the way she tasted him as if she never would again, her lithe, sexy body flexing as his hands roamed over her roughly, almost desperately.

He pushed her jeans down; she tried kicking them off without stopping the kiss. Then in a frantic scramble they stripped, and she was back in his arms, his hand sweeping down her body and between her thighs.

“Oh, Jammer,” she breathed, and with her arms around his neck, she hopped up and clamped her legs around his hips.

“What have you done to me?” she whispered, her voice carrying pain.

He worried her mouth, cradling her behind, and pulled her to him. His erection slid wetly against her center, and Jammer loved the way her breath hitched.

“The same thing you’ve done to me,” he growled.

She nibbled his ear, his throat, and they both trembled with anticipation of him pushing inside her.

“You’re not leaving my side until this is over, Gina—Oh damn, you feel good.”

“Finally you see it my way,” she said, her breath coming in gasps.

“Trouble is your middle name.” From behind, he dipped his fingers deeper.

“I’ll have it legally changed if you stay this close to me.…Oh, gosh, don’t stop doing that.”

“I can’t,” he whispered as he sank to the carpet, stroking her, and she grew more breathless, thrusting against him as she followed him to the floor.

She managed to say, “The bed.…” Her hand closed over his erection, eliciting a dark, heavy groan.

“Can’t stop.” He pushed into her palm, his mouth rolling over the flesh he could reach.

She rose up on his thighs, guiding him, teasing him mercilessly as she rocked on his erection. Her smile was sinful, her fingers gliding over the tip of him. He couldn’t wait any longer, and leaned her back onto the carpet.

He entered her and for a moment held still, her hands on his face, her gaze locked with his. Emotions swelled, tightening his chest, his heart pounding so hard he swore she could feel it. The image of Gina with a gun to her head suddenly flashed in his mind—he’d almost lost her. The terror of it made him realize his need for her went beyond this frenzied desire, beyond his mission.

“This is so good, I don’t want it to end,” she whispered, and arched up to shred him with a kiss.

Jammer quaked with the savageness of it, her impatience, and without will, he moved. Gina pushed back, her heat flexing around him, a tight, firm lock on more than his body. He laced his fingers with hers, as if being joined together wasn’t enough. She smiled up at him as he withdrew and sank into her again. She rolled her hips in a devastating maneuver that almost made him come. When she quickened, he knew he wouldn’t make it, and then it didn’t matter. Her mouth was on his, her body pumping with his, and she stopped kissing him
long enough to whisper, “I think you can
handle
me quite easily.”

Jammer chuckled and scooped her off the floor, onto his lap. Her eyes flared at the slick, wet length of him and she rocked, using her weight to drive him to the floor. She laughed at his startled look and said, “Well, maybe not.”

His response was cut off as she rode him, leaving him completely, only to shove back, her blue eyes wicked and full of her power. She knew what she was doing to him. Unhinging him.
She had him. She truly had him cold.

Energy rocked and pulsed—around them, between them. He could almost taste it on her mouth. Jammer sat up, their motions primal and raw. She was on the brink, her body flexing around him, clawing him.

“Gina, oh, damn.”

“I know.”

He flipped her on her back and his hips thrust uncontrollably. The explosion ripped, pushing them across the floor. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, but Jammer swallowed her cries as her slick, wet muscles pawed him, drew him with her. Tumbling into pleasure. He watched her ride the eruption, savored the sight of pure satisfaction shimmering through her. Gina left nothing to chance, taking it all and glowing with ecstasy.

He wasn’t sure how long they lay there on the floor, panting and trying to breathe around the pleasure. He looked up into her eyes, then away, afraid of what she would see there. All this time, every step, action, kiss and embrace, had led him right here. To this moment.

He closed his eyes tight and sighed heavily, thinking about what he would have to sacrifice for a low-life bastard who didn’t deserve the time of day. Fuentes would get his just deserts, but Jammer still wouldn’t be free of the past that haunted him.

He would have to sacrifice Gina.

He opened his eyes and she was staring up at him like a woman dazed. She lifted her hand to his mouth, touching his lips as if she could absorb him into her body.

He would have been able to endure that look, even that touch, but what undid him was the tremble in her fingers. With a soft exhalation of air, he groaned, the agony of wanting almost too much for him to bear.

He grabbed her wrist and placed several kisses against the palm of her hand. She cupped his face, running her thumb over his mouth once more, then delved into his hair and urged him down to her mouth.

Her lips trembled, too, and he kissed her softly, gently, cherishing her response.

He got off her and picked her up in his arms. She smiled at him. “My Prince Charming.”

For her sake, he laughed, because that’s what she wanted him to do. Walking over to the bed, he cradled her against him as he pulled the covers off and sank down with her into the softness.

Then he curled around her and held her against him because he needed to. He knew he had a phone call to make and pressing problems to deal with, but he was going to take this time.