Fire and Ice (Guardians) (26 page)

As with most adversaries who had never heard of her, Gavlik's men underestimated her:
 
her captor lowered his gun hand while maintaining a tight band around her waist. Maia waited until the third henchman moved behind Kiril before she unzipped her beaded purse that was strapped diagonally across her front. She reached in, grasping the grip with a finger resting near the trigger.
 

Lee's struggle with the huge Russian was short-lived. Kiril brutally kneed Lee in the gutt sending him crumpling to the floor. This gave Maia an opportunity for a clear shot.

She stomped her right stiletto into the third henchman's combat boots. As he grunted in pain, she forcefully jabbed her left elbow against his nose at the same time pulling her gun out to shoot an astounded Kiril three times in rapid fire in the neck and chest.

"Maia!" Lee yelled in horror as the third henchman raised his gun at her.

Maia's gun jammed.
 

"Stay down," Maia screamed at Lee as she threw her useless pistol at her assailant while rushing him at the same time. His gun went off and Maia felt the burn of a bullet whiz pass her face, but she didn't falter and managed to grab his gun hand with both of her hands as they wrestled for control. He overpowered her and knocked her to the floor when she lost her footing. Maia's blood turned to ice when he leveled the muzzle of his gun at her.

A shot rang out. Maia watched his head jerk back as a bullet entered between his eyes, his body buckling to the ground—dead.
 

She looked back and saw a stony-faced Jack scan the room for additional threats before lowering his semi-automatic pistol to his side. He made a move to go to her but Lee reached her first, embracing her tightly in relief.

But when he withdrew and looked down at her, there was confusion in his eyes. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Your girlfriend is not who she says she is," Colt said, laughing derisively. "She works for a private military corporation and was using you to get to me."

"Oh my God," Lee whispered, the confusion turning into accusation. "It's true isn't it. You were using me?"

"I'm so sorry, Lee," Maia said beseechingly. "I didn't mean for it to happen this way."

"You nearly got me killed!" Lee roared at her as he shook off her hand. "Don't touch me. Stay away from me!"

Lee saw Jack, recognizing him from earlier, and glared at him. "She's all yours."
 

He stalked out of the room.

Jack instructed one of the Guardians that just had arrived. "Go after Lee Isaac. He needs to be debriefed."

He walked up to a despondent Maia and cupped her face. "Are you okay?"

"No. I feel like a bitch. Damn Viktor and his ideas."

More Guardians poured into the room.

"What are the orders, Agent Pierce?"

"Take Peter Coltrane to our DEA contact."

"I'll never talk!" Colt spat out vehemently.

Maia spun around gripping Colt's throat and squeezing until it became difficult for him to breathe. "Oh, I think you will. The DEA won't torture you. They'll use coercion."

His dead eyes suddenly held a spark of fear.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

Maia turned and walked out the room.

***

Maia and Jack exited Addison Music Hall through the delivery dock located in the rear of the building. DEA agents, AGS Guardians and some Feds were milling about. A huge stash of Rave-IX had been discovered in the backroom. The Baltimore Police Department was in charge of regulating the orderly evacuation of the crowd from the venue.

The music venue was in walking distance from the hotel. Jack was able to grab an AGS jacket from one of the guys and put it over Maia's shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to walk?" Jack asked quietly as he looked at Maia's stilettos.

"Yes, I'm used to it."

"Stop blaming yourself."

"I shouldn't have allowed him to take me to Colt," Maia said. "Colt knew what I looked like. I endangered Lee's life. I got too aggressive."

"We all wanted to get Rick back. We had to step up the game."

"One life for another? I hardly think that's fair."

They continued to walk in silence. Halfway to the hotel, Jack grabbed Maia's hand and was relieved when she didn't pull away. He needed to touch her. Seeing her at the mercy of the Russian's gun had punched him in the gut with ice-cold fear. Jack was amazed at how he had been able to take the shot calmly when he was no where near calm inside. It was almost like a vacuum: all he saw was the need to eliminate the threat. He also let the episode with Lee play out. Jack realized that now Maia's cover was blown she had to live with the consequence of her deception which was hurting someone she cared about. But the end-result was that they got Colt. That should have given her some consolation, at least.

Jack was concerned that the fallout might make Maia question the prudence of emotional entanglements. The thought sent a panic through him and he felt compelled to remind her of what they had.
 

"How did you all know where I was?" Maia's question broke through Jack's introspection.

"I had Scott track your cellphone."

"I'm surprised they let you back there."

"Aah, we kind of forced our way in."

"What?"

"We outdrew their security and subdued them."

"Oh my God, McCord! You're going to give Viktor an apoplexy."

"No, you give him enough of those yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

They reached the lobby of the hotel. Jack wrapped his arms around Maia and lowered his head to her ear. "Invite me upstairs," he demanded suggestively, deliberately tickling her neckline with his warm breath.

"No."

"You owe me."

"Owe you for what?"

"I have a taped audio from your room. Lee got pretty far," Jack said darkly as he remembered the incident from the earlier evening.

Maia flushed red. Since it was late at night, there was an open empty elevator already waiting to be boarded. Jack didn't wait for her reply as he dragged her into the empty car and punched the number for her floor.

"Jack..."

"And then back at Addison Music Hall, Lee wouldn't stop kissing you, rubbing himself all over you," Jack went on feeling a masochistic need to rile himself up with jealousy. "It took all my self-control not to yank him off you and rip him apart."

"You said we'd deal..." Maia reminded him.

"Exactly."

When they reached Maia's room, Jack took Maia's keycard, opened the door and shoved her inside.

Once inside the threshold, Jack pressed the hard length of his body against her soft pliable one, immobilizing her with possessive intent.
 

"We'll deal by having me fuck you so hard you'll be feeling me inside you for days afterwards," Jack vowed brusquely as his lips swooped down on hers in a crushing, almost punishing kiss. Maia tried to push him away, aware that she was about to be ravished right where she stood, but he gripped her wrists and pinned them against the wall, using his body to grind into her further.
 

"I've been imagining ripping this dress apart all night," Jack whispered thickly. He released one of her hands and bunched her neckline together before tearing it from her body, revealing the silky expanse of naked breasts.

"Jesus," he groaned hoarsely as he captured one pink nipple with his warm mouth, almost nipping at it savagely, Maia moaned in response. He began to suckle voraciously, using one hand to push the soft orb up to accept his hungry lips while her other nipple was deftly rolled between the fingers of his other hand. Her soft mewling prompted him to release one breast and cup the junction between her thighs. She was drenched in arousal.

"You're ready for me, babe," Jack murmured as drove first one finger and then a second finger into her warm moist heat, his thumb spreading the slickness around her sensitive cleft. She was riding his fingers and thrashing her head, aching wildly for release.

"Jack, ...Jack...please..."

"I will fuck you until you scream," Jack promised as he yanked the scrap of silk out of the way and then worked to unbutton his cargo pants and lower his zipper, springing his erection free. He was rock hard. Jack felt like exploding before he had even slipped inside her.
 
Growling low, he grasped her ass and lifted her up.

"Wrap your legs around me," he ordered and Maia complied without hesitation. Before she could fully secure her legs around his hips he had surged up inside her, impaling her fully on himself.
 

"Oh my God, Jack!"
 
Maia cried, bracing her arms around his shoulders to hold on.

His shaft plunged and withdrew from her at a furious pace, pounding mercilessly into her, her back slamming against the wall with the force of his possession.

"You. Are. Mine. Mine!" Jack growled, the ferocity of his thrusts punctuating his words like a brand.

He drove into her until he felt the grip of her sex contracting around him as she reached her peak. She cried out his name almost in a sob, which finally took him over the edge as well.

"Maia, fuck! Oh shit!" Jack yelled raggedly as his blinding release tore him apart. He continued pumping until he was spent and then they both collapsed on the floor.

"Holy shit," Maia whispered, almost echoing his words. "Did that just happen?"

Jack was ecstatic that Maia had felt the same as he hugged her to him. "Yeah, babe it did."

"Uh, no one heard us did they?"

"Your room is wired only to my computer. Now whether they can hear us in the hallway is a different matter."

Maia covered her face with her hands as she remembered Jack slamming her against the wall. "Oh my God, I am so embarrassed."

Jack rose up over her and pulled her hands away from her face. "You are adorable."

"Ugh, don't call me that. Super-agent here, remember?"

"Hmmnnn..." Jack mumbled as he began kissing her again. "Let's move to the bed."

"No. You are not sleeping here."

"Why ever not?" Jack scowled down at her.
 

"I'm working. This is already against protocol and I'm working with you on this assignment."

Jack nodded reluctantly before he knifed off of her and gave her a hand up.
She looked thoroughly fucked
, he thought in satisfaction.

Maia picked up her torn underwear. "Seriously, why do I even bother with these?"

Jack felt himself get hard again as he regarded her, thinking of her nudity under her torn dress. Maia caught his look, opened the door, and covered her bare breast with her other arm while trying to avoid the cameras in the hallway.

 
"Oh no, Mr. McCord, it's out you go," Maia said firmly.

Jack smiled and gave her a kiss on the nose before leaving.

***

A phone was ringing. Maia lifted her head from the pillow to look at the clock. It was 5am. It wasn't her smartphone, it was her room phone that was ringing. Who the hell would call her on her room phone?

Lifting the receiver from the cradle, Maia murmured sleepily, "Hello?"

"Princess?"

Maia sat up, all sleepiness melting away. "Lee? Is everything okay?"

"No. I've been unfair to you."

"Well, I haven't been totally honest with you."

Lee was silent for a while. "I'm in the lobby. I didn't want to show up at your hotel room and have you thinking I'm after a booty call. Could you ... can you come down and talk."

"Lee ..."

"I hate the way it ended between us. I just want to understand so I can move on."

Maia felt guilty. She did owe him that.

"I'll be right down."

She spotted Lee immediately. He was wearing the same clothes she had last seen him in. His face looked haunted, his jaw was bruised, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Maia's heart clenched. She had done this to him.

He walked towards her and hugged her tightly, kissing the side of her forehead.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry what I said to you," Lee whispered.

"You have every right to hate me," Maia replied.

Lee heaved a deep breath. "Can you walk with me? Along the Inner Harbor?"

"Of course I could. I'll just let the guys know where I'm headed."

"Guys?"

"The whole place is on surveillance."

Lee's eyes widened. "Uh, your room?"

"Just the hallway," Maia assured him, not wanting him to know of the taped audio Jack had of their little romp.

"But you got Peter, right? All the danger is over?" Lee asked.

"Not yet. We're still after this Russian—Colt's boss. I can't really tell you much," Maia responded as she typed a text message to the surveillance team.

Lee nodded as they exited to the street.

"So I went through all of what happened in my head," Lee began. "You were trying to keep me out of it. From the very first night, you discouraged me."

Maia wanted to come clean. "The original plan was to get your attention. You were the main draw at Addison Music Hall. This Russian drug lord already knows who I am and he hates me, I mean really hates me. If he knew I was close to his cash cow, that would make him nervous."

"You used yourself as bait?" Lee said angrily. Same reaction as Jack. Men!

"I can take care of myself."

Lee grinned. "Come to think of it, what you did last night was pretty hot."

"I almost got you killed," Maia reminded him.

"No, if I recall you were pulling me back. You knew something was wrong, didn't you?"

Maia shrugged and then shivered a bit.

"Cold?" Lee murmured. She nodded as he wrapped his arms around her.

"So the reason you turned me down at Bali, was it because you thought I couldn't handle your job?"

"It's not that. I just didn't want a relationship. You could be used against me by my enemies."

Lee laughed humorlessly. "That's a shitty life to live, Maia."

"It's the life I chose."

Lee stopped walking and put his hands on Maia's shoulders, gazing deeply into her. Maia winced at the sheer agony in his eyes.