INTO DANGER (Secret Assassins (S.A.S.S.) Book 1) (25 page)

“This is from the lab in Nevada. And I have the du Scheum files available. We can sell this piece by piece. More negotiation power that way.” Cunningham wasn’t looking at the screen but at Marlena’s breasts. She was too busy reading to notice. Steve wanted to throat-punch the man as he watched him lick his lips.

“Parts of this are encrypted,” Marlena said. “I suppose that’s their problem, not ours.”

“I have the codes for the du Scheum files but not for the Nevada files. But I know where they are.” There was a pause. “Downstairs, in du Scheum’s safe.”

Marlena swept a sideways glance at Cunningham, then straightened. She patted her hair back into place. “Well, well, my darling Pierre is keeping something from me,” she murmured. “You know, William, I might like you after all. Pretty devious. Get rid of Stash and Pierre and you think I know where that safe is, hmm?”

“Not think. I know you know.” Cunningham’s voice hardened again. “And you’ll tell me where it is first, or we torture your boy here finger by finger, limb by limb before we kill him. You f-forget, I’ve seen you with him. You harbor a certain f-fondness for him, shall we say? Although I must admit it really disappointed me.”

Cunningham stood up and looked at the big man who had been guarding Steve, who was now standing closer to Marlena. Steve thought he saw a tinge of surprise in Cunningham’s gaze.

“Time, isn’t it, Dankin?” Cunningham addressed the bodyguard. He frowned, looking momentarily puzzled, as if things weren’t quite going the way he wanted. He jerked his head toward Steve, trying to get his meaning across.

However, Dankin stepped toward Marlena instead, one hand reaching out for her neck.

“Now,” Steve barked out, hoping Tess was where she was supposed to be. He shook the loosened bonds free and lunged, determined to push Marlena out of harm’s way.

All at once the room plunged into darkness. Someone had killed the master switch.

––––––––

T
he bedroom door smashed open. Shouts. Popping sounds. The fireflash of a weapon being discharged. A flashlight interrupted the darkness, zigzagging its way around the room.

Steve ignored them all. Right now he was after a big bruiser named Dankin, who had gone after Marlena’s throat. He’d kept his eyes on him, knowing when the switch was thrown, it would be impossible for a few seconds to locate anyone or anything.

The last thing he saw was Marlena bending over to pick up the laptop at his sudden command, as if she’d been waiting for his move. He wasn’t sure whether she saw who was coming after her.

Dankin had her by the arm. The beam from the flashlight settled on the blade in his hand. The man had switched to a knife in the dark, a good weapon to make sure he got his target where he wanted. And he was heading for her throat.

Fury like nothing he’d ever felt before imploded inside Steve, lending him the extra speed to block the descending hand. This big bodyguard was fast. And very capable with the knife.

Marlena had somehow freed herself. Through the din in the room, Steve heard her calling.

“Stash, watch out, he has a knife.”

Like he didn’t know. “Stay out of the way,” he yelled back. His eyes were getting used to the junglelike darkness.

He caught the flash of the blade again and jumped to the side. His opponent’s brute strength was evidenced by the swoosh of air somewhere near his belly. He caught a brawny wrist and swung the arm outward, turning as he did so and viciously jabbing his elbow against the man’s kidney.

With his height advantage, Dankin reached over his shoulder to attack with his other hand, clamping his fingers under Steve’s chin, reaching for the throat. Steve ignored the oncoming chokehold, bending forward and efficiently breaking the wrist of the bigger man. To his credit Dankin only grunted, loosening his hold. Steve turned away from the grasping fingers around his neck; twisting the broken wrist, he forced the man around and head-butted him in the chin.

Dankin crumpled to the floor. The lights came back on at that precise moment.

Steve maneuvered the jagged blade against the big man’s throat. “Gotcha,” he said, his voice grim with satisfaction.

“I must admit, my bedroom has never been this popular with men before.”

Steve looked up to see the head of du Scheum Industries at the doorway, surveying his room with a bemused expression. He turned his attention back to Dankin, who lay on his back, blood dripping from nose and mouth, looking back with a blank, obstinate stare. Steve put pressure on the knife just a fraction, enough to pierce the man’s skin, then released his hold. Tess said she wanted them alive for information.

He stood up and took in the aftermath. There was du Scheum, and three of his bodyguards. There was Dankin at his feet, and...two dead men. William Cunningham had a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. His lifeless eyes looked straight at du Scheum, an expression of surprise still on his face, a small trickle of blood at the corner of his lips. The other bodyguard had also been shot to death. Steve recalled two more standing outside the door before, and he wondered whether they had experienced a similar fate.

And there was no Marlena in the room. He double-checked, to make sure. Nope. She’d slipped away with the laptop. He noticed the French door to the balcony was ajar.

“It was important to get Cunningham alive,” Steve pointed out as he tucked away the knife.

“It’s difficult to wage a fight in the dark,” du Scheum said as he stepped further into his room. His gaze fell dispassionately on the dead Cunningham. “I didn’t think he would be the one who stole the laptop, but then it’s always the quiet ones.”

“He had access to people inside the CIA and also in your house. Without him, we’ll never know who the moles are.” It was stating the obvious, but since Tess was probably listening in, Steve thought he’d better let her know that part of her plan hadn’t worked out. He wasn’t going to ask how du Scheum knew when to arrive. He had a feeling he wouldn’t get a straight answer.

Du Scheum shrugged. “My concern was to stop the leak on my end. The rest isn’t important.”

Not important, hell. The man didn’t care highly classified security files were being passed in and out of the CIA channels like used dollar bills in a bank. Of course not. The man depended on the buying and selling of secured information at his parties. So the more leaks, as long as they weren’t from his end, the better his power base.

Steve shoved his hands into his pockets, disgusted with the situation. He wasn’t going to bring up the missing Marlena, either. He couldn’t help feeling slightly antagonistic toward du Scheum, knowing she and the older man had a history together. “Now what?” he asked.

“We call the police, of course. I don’t hide dead bodies, Mr. McMillan.”

“They are going to ask a whole lot more questions this time, Mr. du Scheum.”

“Birman will handle it. He was protecting me, as usual.”

Steve recognized Birman, the man who had saved du Scheum the other night. They nodded at each other. “They won’t buy that. How was he protecting you?” Steve asked.

“My dear Mr. McMillan, this is my bedroom. I have every right to walk in here expecting some kind of safety. Fortunately for me, my bodyguard is always more careful than I am and spotted these men waiting in my room. He disposed of two of them. And then there is...Dankin, whom you overpowered.”

“You know him?”

“I know all of them. They are in my employ. Cunningham obviously bought their services.”

“That also means you can’t trust your own people, Mr. du Scheum. There were more than two of your employees in his pay. In fact there were two outside the door, and I don’t see them now.”

Du Scheum nodded, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Steve frowned. The man was like one of his robots. If it were his outfit that had men betraying him, he would be doing more than just standing there looking around thoughtfully. He would be tearing the place apart looking for the bastards. Instead the businessman was unruffled by two attempts on his life and perhaps a whole household of insiders working for the enemy.

Not his problem, Steve told himself.

Du Scheum gestured to Birman, who nodded and left the room. “I’ll handle the police,” du Scheum addressed Steve. “You should leave now. As for the two men you mentioned, don’t worry. With Cunningham dead, I’m sure I’ll find plenty of wagging tongues pointing to them.” He looked around again in distaste. “For some reason, the comforts of my own bedroom don’t hold any more appeal.”

“You’ll have to be doubly careful from now on,” Steve warned, ready to go once Dankin was secured.

“Thank you. Just follow my man. He’ll show you downstairs and give you access to a vehicle. Please tell Marlena I said hello, and that I’ll be expecting to see her soon.”

Not without me there you won’t
. “I’ll make sure she gets the message,” Steve replied.

Casting one final look at the surly Dankin, he followed one of the bodyguards out of the huge master bathroom.

He was given the keys to a Beamer. He had no idea how he was going to return the car, but didn’t waste time asking. One thing he’d picked up from this adventure—use the prop at hand and go from there. He drove the powerful car down the long driveway, stopping at the electronic gate, which opened slowly. He put the car in park right between the two brick gateposts, interrupting the gate sensors, and waited. He wasn’t leaving without Marlena.

He stuck his head out and whistled. From the left a shadowy figure dropped down from the high wall, landing with catlike grace. The back door of the vehicle opened and the interior light came on. The person had a black hood on.

The door next to him opened then and another figure jumped in. Steve put the car in gear and drove off. He glanced at the woman’s profile to his right, then looked at the rearview mirror. Tess had already pulled off her face cover.

“A nice car would get a guy some fine chicks,” he mocked, baring a wolfish grin at both ladies. He was having fun, after all.

Marlena was scowling at him, obviously not at all liking his presence near her. Steve felt his temper rising again. Well, too bad. She would just have to get used to it.

***

W
hat was Stash doing working so closely with Tess? What had she told him? Marlena didn’t like the idea of them together at all, not one bit. And why did he have to look so damn hot? She wanted to lean forward, kiss that mouth, and forget about her problems, but since he was one of them, kissing him would definitely not solve it. She focused on the woman in the backseat instead.

She turned to look at Tess, studying for a long moment the woman with the jet-black spiky hairdo in black leather from head to—she peered over the seat—toe. She was even wearing black gloves. Her gray eyes were glinting in amusement as she sat back there, seemingly content to be silent for now. She slanted a glance at Stash’s leather jacket, then unzipped her own black one.

“I feel like I’ve just joined a black leather fashion show,” Marlena drawled, choosing mockery over demanding questions. “Nice get-up, T. Joining our rock band?”

“Too many catfights over the sexy male lead,” Tess drawled back, taking up the whole backseat with a deceptively relaxed sprawl. “Not that it matters, of course, since I always win.”

“Always?” Marlena raised an eyebrow at the challenge. What exactly did Tess mean by that remark? Did she mean Stash?

“Always, darling.”

“And since when have you developed a liking for catfights?” Marlena didn’t bother to curb the hint of temper in her voice. She was suddenly feeling very territorial.

Tess’s smile gleamed in the semidarkness, feral and knowing, like a cat with a bird in mind. “Who said I had?”

“Then why get into one now?” Marlena countered.

“Darling, I’m not the one hissing.”

“I want to know what you’re up to, T. You know my reasons for working alone. Maybe your working within a group the last couple of years has influenced your decision making, but don’t forget, this is still my contract.”

Tess shifted position, twisting one of the rings on her finger. Her tone of voice was sleepy, as if she’d heard all this before. “Who called me for information? I was perfectly content in New York, darling. Besides, you seem unhappy I’ve found someone new to work with.”

Marlena felt like baring her teeth and snarling. Instead she stared with narrowed eyes at Tess, trying to read her friend’s devious mind. Tess’s manipulating techniques were legendary among their peers, and Marlena had spent years fencing with her, but since Tess’s stint with that group of men, she’d gotten even worse. Or better, depending on where one was standing. It didn’t matter. Tess was up to no good. Those half-closed slanted eyes shone with mischief.

“Ladies,” Steve interrupted the standoff, his voice rich with male amusement. “Can’t we just get along?”

Marlena didn’t want to talk to him. He’d found out who she was, then abandoned her. Now he showed up with Tess, obviously having spent some time with her. Never mind she herself had decided she was going to forget about him. That was then; this was now. If he wanted to play kissing games, it had better be with her.

“What were you doing, letting yourself get caught?” she demanded, shifting her anger to the real object of her irritation.

Steve gave her a sideways glance. “Saving your ass.”

“Saving my ass? I didn’t need you to save my ass!”

“Yeah, right. What about the knife-wielding bodyguard? You think he was just attempting to give you a haircut?”

His voice was a notch lower, but she ignored the danger sign. “I can take care of myself.”

“Ha, you weren’t looking his way. Your mind was on how to get the laptop out of there.”

Her mind had been on several things actually. “I was wondering how to get you out of there!” She remembered the moment of panic when she realized the attacker had a knife and that Steve was going to get slashed. She had hesitated long enough to make sure he was going to be all right before securing the laptop.

“I’m here now,” Steve pointed out.

“You weren’t here yesterday.” The words tumbled out. Marlena knew she sounded illogical, but she couldn’t stop herself. Where was he when she truly needed him?