Authors: Kelly Ilebode
Brushing her hair aside, she looked down the street and watched the blue lights bounce off the side of buildings. The fight was still in full swing. It would take them awhile to sort through this mess. In fact, even more people seemed to have joined the chaos. Aisling needed to use it to her advantage, knowing full well her mark would have to suffer through the same questioning. Always having not only a Plan B but C and D, she knew which direction they would head when done; she wanted to be in place well ahead of time. Hesitating, she stepped toward Stephan, wanting to say something cute or funny.
Stephan seemed to be thinking the same thing but for a different reason. “Let’s get you away from this.” Tentatively he gripped her elbow, relieved when she didn’t pull away or try to drop him again.
“I’m sorry. I need to go. If you see my friend, tell her I will call her?”
There was no time for Stephan to react. Aisling turned, walked quickly away from the bar and him and darted down a side street as the police vehicles screeched to a halt outside of the Black Rose. Stephan hurried after her, struggling to catch up, amazed at how fast she could move in high heels. When Derek called out to him, he paused, turned, and raised his hand in the air to his friend before he ran after the retreating figure, cursing under his breath as he lost sight of her when she rounded another corner.
The side street was empty by the time he reached it. Running a few more paces, he stopped and then turned in a full circle, unsure of where she could have disappeared so quickly. Walking slowly back into the direction of State Street, his mind raced. He had wanted to talk to her more before she left. Someone gripped him from behind and pulled him back; he instinctively planted his feet before he swung his arm defensively.
Aisling ducked and easily avoided the hit. “Good grief, it’s just me.” She chuckled.
Surprised again, he stared at the woman.
“Where did you just come from?”
With a laugh, she pointed to a small alcove where the streetlight couldn’t reach. “Sorry. I wasn’t sure who was following and I didn’t want it to be the Neanderthal.”
When she heard voices behind them, Aisling grabbed the front of his jacket with both of her hands and let her body fall back, pulling him with her. Both of his hands went up to stop his fall against the wall as she wound her fingers through his hair, pulling his head down to hers, and kissed him fully on the mouth.
Shock ricocheted through Stephan. His senses breathed in her fragrance while her mouth moved softly over his. Relaxing, he pushed his hand through her hair, holding her head in place, as he pressed harder with his lips. He coaxed hers apart before he slid his tongue into her warm mouth. After several heart-stopping moments, he pulled away, only enough to look into her green eyes. She looked confused, her lips opened slightly, as she stared up at him. Not wanting the moment to end, Stephan lowered his head again, this time pulling her away from the wall and into his body.
Her slender arms wrapped around his waist, gripping him tightly. Aisling felt as if she were drowning. A wolf whistle and cat calls sounded from a group who passed and saw the heated embrace. Remembering where she was and who she was kissing, Aisling yanked free from his embrace to take several steps around him, so that her back was no longer to the wall. They were alone on the street once more and she prayed the group was not her mark.
Stephan grabbed her arm before she could take off again. “What is your name?” he whispered, barely able to croak out the words. The kiss affected him more than he cared to admit.
Hesitating a brief moment, she decided there was no harm in him knowing.
Flashing a bright smile, she pushed the hair out of her face. “Aisling O’Byrne. Why are you following me?”
“My name is Stephan Petros—stay, Aisling O’Byrne. Just for a bit.”
Shaking her head, she whispered as she stepped backward, “As tempting as that is right now, I have to say no thank you, Stephan Petros. I really must go. I am late for work.”
This time Stephan didn’t chase her. Whatever her reason was for not wanting to speak to the police was her business, but at least he had her name. That was enough for now. Whistling as he walked back to State Street to find Derek, he thought that these two months of not working might be fun after all.
CHAPTER 6
Derek watched his friend jab the button as he stepped into the elevator. Stephan had barely said two words after they left the bar. Derek caught a glimpse of himself as he stepped into the elevator. The brass walls had been polished to a high sheen, reflecting the muted lighting. There was not one fingerprint on any part of it. He envisioned tiny elves jumping in, wiping down everything the moment the double doors slid shut. It was stunning and he honestly couldn’t wait to see Stephan’s apartment. This was the first time he had ever been invited, even though they had hung at his place numerous times.
Derek didn’t live in a luxury condo at the Ritz-Carlton Towers in downtown Boston. Not that his apartment wasn’t nice—it was—but this was on a whole different level. There was no doorman at his apartment building to open the lobby doors and welcome him in or greet him. No desk in the front lobby to verify every person who entered. Not that Stephan had to either, as Derek watched with some amusement as the security detail practically jumped to attention when they crossed the marble floor to reach the elevator. Stephan acted as if he were oblivious of all of the bowing and scraping. His behavior just confirmed to Derek that Stephan was just a regular guy like everyone else, behind the brooding façade.
Several minutes later, Derek was settled on a soft Italian leather couch, whiskey in hand, and glanced admiringly around at the décor. It was better than he thought it would be. The tasteful furniture spread around the room was contemporary, very elegant, and if he was to guess, very expensive. Derek was curious as to what happened with the redhead, but had learned early on in their friendship that Stephan would speak in his own time. He did get the dark-haired woman’s name—Miranda Johnson—and was even able to snag her phone number. He was definitely going to hit her up over the next couple of days to ask her out for coffee.
“I want to be you in my next life.”
Stephan glanced at Derek as his friend took in the décor.
“High price for your soul. Don’t think you could hang. You’re too much of a goody-two-shoes.”
Stephan poured a generous amount of whiskey into his glass before he took a seat opposite Derek. Aisling’s green eyes flashed in his mind. He wondered who she was, what she was doing right at that moment, and whether she was thinking of him.
“How’s your drink?”
Laughing, Derek shook his head. “It is perfect. Dude, c’mon, talk to me—what happened back there? You two disappeared so fast and you were practically skipping when you came back.”
“I don’t skip.”
“Okay.”
Stephan lit a cigarette and leaned back in the chair. A sigh escaped his lips.
“She is out of your league.” Derek chuckled.
Stephan glared at Derek.
“Really, she broke the guy’s wrist. Can you believe it? That tiny thing…”
Stephan smiled for the first time. “He deserved it, I am sure. She dropped me pretty fast too—in those heels, no less. You got the other woman’s name?”
“Miranda. Yes, got her number too. She was hot.”
“Too tall for you.”
“Horizontal, we are all the same,” Derek retorted.
“That’s crass.”
“I’m going to call her in a couple of days, see if she wants to go out for coffee or a drink.”
“I think you should call tomorrow,” Stephan stated.
“You would think that. Need a number, do you?”
Both men laughed.
~~~
Aisling was still seething when she entered her apartment. She had no regrets breaking the man’s wrist considering how he had grabbed her so tightly before he reached around to squeeze her ass. The moment she saw someone throw the punch, she knew she had her chance and quickly yanked the guy outside. The problem with men like that was they didn’t know when to stop, and quite frankly, if it made him think twice about manhandling another woman, the evening was a success in her eyes. Quickly undressing, she threw on her favorite gray sweats and tee shirt, before she padded back into the living room, barefoot. Even though it was after two a.m., she wasn’t the slightest bit tired and was ready to work.
Logging in to her computer, she searched through her files, found the one she wanted and clicked on the tab. Stephan’s face filled her screen. He was younger in the picture, but the same cool eyes stared back at her. She liked the way he looked tonight at the bar—even more so in the alley: older, confident, very sure of himself. Stephan had shocked her by attempting to come to her rescue. There was no way that he could have known that she didn’t need anyone’s help. The simple gentlemanly gesture of him making the attempt made her think that there still might be hope for men, but she doubted it. He was probably an asshole like the rest of them.
Aisling had not expected him to follow her. And she wished that she had stayed hidden, but she hadn’t. When she heard others coming, her first instinct was to play it out that they were a couple in a heated embrace. Her cheeks flamed red, remembering how incredible it felt to kiss him. When he pulled away, she was relieved, but he had to go and get the second kiss in and well, that kiss melted her to the core. She couldn’t get away fast enough, and this time it wasn’t because of her job. Internally cringing at the lapse of judgment in giving out her name, there was no doubt in her mind that she would hear from him very soon.
Electronically filing Stephan’s folder, Aisling spent several hours updating her reports, closing out the jobs she had finished, sending updated emails to her current clients and final invoices where applicable. She hated the paperwork, and considering she worked for herself, she really didn’t need to keep such precise records, but that was who she was. Every minute detail could be important and might be valuable in the future and could save her precious time. Filing the last bit of paperwork, she sat back and ran both of her hands through her long hair with a contented sigh.
Right now, she had only one open job. With tonight’s work, she may be done, depending on how stubborn the daughter of her client was. She pulled up the latest file to peruse the contents. The evening hadn’t panned out the way she had wanted, but no job ever did, it seemed. It should have been simple. Approach the mark, rub herself up against him a few times, crack a few jokes to make him smile, allowing Miranda to snap a few pics, and then forward them on to the daughter so she could dump him. Daddy would be happy, daughter sad but would get over it, and boyfriend could live for another day. The only problem was she didn’t get the pictures because of the idiot at the door. Her work was made that much more difficult because some guy couldn’t take no for an answer.
Logging in to another computer, Aisling brought up the security camera of the parking garage, hacked in and rewound back to the approximate time she needed before she hit record on her software. Once copied, she exited out of the garage’s security undetected to focus on her copy. She smiled at the more than ample amount of footage of her and her mark seeming to be in a tight embrace. She had clung to him a few extra minutes, acting all cute. He really had been the perfect mark, even turning his face just right so the garage lighting showed every detail of who he was. There would be no mistake on the girlfriend’s part and, to her relief, very little editing except for deciding where to splice the film. She felt no guilt or remorse at the deception. She was paid to do a job and she always did it well. Her client list was long and her special gift of turning herself into whomever was needed—convincingly so, she thought with pride—was how she came up with her underground name. Early on, one of her first clients had sent a long email thanking her for a job well done. Praised her for her chameleon-like abilities. She liked the name so much she started signing all of the documents “Chameleon.”
Aisling stared at the video, now paused. Not once did her face come into view.
Damn, she was good.
Her temple slowly started to throb as a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She had been contemplating taking a break for a month or two, and this might be just her opening to do that. Clicking back on Stephan’s file folder, she stared at his face when it popped back onto her screen and contemplated getting in touch with the handsome Greek.
A loud noise could be heard coming from the hallway. Silently rising, she grabbed her gun on the desk and made her way to the door to peer out of the tiny hole. A couple stumbled down the corridor, very obviously drunk out of their minds. Aisling waited until she could no longer hear them before she relaxed her stance and placed the gun back on the desk near her. She felt no embarrassment at having taken precaution for the noise. She had made that mistake once; she would never do it again. That one time she had let her guard down almost cost her her life. The scar on her shoulder, the only remaining visible sign of getting shot, seemed to tingle with the memory.
Shaking her head to get rid of the image, she returned to stare down at the computer. She coolly closed Stephan’s folder again, glad the memory was there to remind her that she couldn’t trust anyone.
CHAPTER 7
(Stephanous Petros: eight years old) Stephanous refused to make any sound as Sister Katherine smeared the ointment over his back and shoulders even though the pain was the worst he had ever felt. Hishands, balled into fists, hung heavy from his side. Sister Grace’s hand became heavier each time she felt the need to beat him.
“She really isn’t a bad person, Stephanous. She wants the best for all of the children here. You cannot let the hate eat away at you.” If Sister Katherine expected a response, she was not going to get it. Worry creased her brow as she caught the cold stare and shivered. She had to save him somehow, before this place killed everything good inside him.
Stephan flicked on the lights in his office on State Street before he turned on his computer. He stared out the window as he waited for the machine to boot up. The Boston skyline was slowly lightening as the morning sun rose on the horizon. After four hours of sleep, he woke, ready to find as much as he could about the fiery redhead. With no guilt, he entered her name into his system, using several different spellings. He would narrow down the search once he felt the name was a match. Choosing two from the list, he wasn’t surprised when a profile match, with picture, finally flashed in front of him.
Aisling O’Byrne, twenty-eight, native of Dublin, Ireland. Moved to United States officially 2011. Mother Abigail O’Byrne (deceased). Father Patrick MacKenzie (living).
Emerald eyes stared back at him through the computer screen. She was exactly as he remembered—stunning. Glancing quickly through the checklist of what other information he wanted to obtain, he jumped when a voice started to reprimand him.
“Stephanous Petros! You were not to set foot into this office for two months!”
Sheepishly, Stephan rose as Alicia rounded his desk. “This is personal, Alicia. I am not here on company time.”
Her head cocked to one side, she stared up at Stephan. She turned to face the computer screen and immediately relaxed in relief. “Well. Look at that. She is very beautiful.”
“Indeed. I met her last night.”
“You know, dear, the proper way to have asked her on a date would have been to get her phone number, then calling; not look into her history. I think you have been in this business far too long.”
Stephan laughed loudly. “It was not from lack of trying, but she was in a bit of a hurry. And I am not really picking out every detail, just where she works.” A hand over his heart, he blinked at Alicia innocently. “I promise.”
Dubious, she shook her head. “I hope so, Stephan. I have seen your ‘I promise’ look before, and it’s not that.” Alicia’s tone became serious again. “This would not be a good way to start any relationship.” Reaching past him, she hit the Enter button, much to his surprise.
“What? I also want to know where she works. This is the first time I have ever seen you have any interest in someone. I am curious. Hopefully she is normal, and not an exotic dancer or any such nonsense.”
Remembering the woman he kissed, Stephan smiled ruefully. “God, I hope not.” Based on the way she snapped the man’s wrist, he highly doubted it. “She didn’t strike me as the exotic dancer type.”
At the beep, they both turned back to the screen, both bending at the same time, to read the file.
“Medical coder. Well, that’s interesting.” Alicia sounded a bit disappointed. She had wanted someone more worldly for her favorite man.
All of Stephan’s senses tingled. He doubted very much that Aisling was a medical coder, but who was he to doubt what her line of work was? Strangely, there was no address, but only a telephone number. Writing down the information that was listed, he quickly logged out of the file, wanting to leave before Alicia asked any more questions.
“Now what?”
Stephan smiled. “Now I ask her out and then find out what she really does for work.”
“Smart guy!”
As she walked toward the door, he remembered that he still had to fill her in on his conversation with Sakis regarding the Boulos family.
“Alicia! A moment?”
“Of course.” Alicia returned to the desk, curiosity rising as he gestured for her to take a seat at one of the chairs.
“Do you remember someone named Nadir Boulos?” Stephan asked.
Alicia’s eyes narrowed at the name as she pulled from her distant memory. “Of course. He is the son of Odalis Boulos. I never spoke with him directly but heard of him through Odalis.” At the surprised look on Stephan’s face, Alicia laughed softly. “Odalis and I became quite close during the negotiations when the company was first in the designing stages. He—”
“Stop.” Stephan held up his hand. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing and didn’t want to misunderstand what the assistant. “How close are we talking here?”
Alicia’s cheeks flushed a bright pink color and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. For the first time, Stephan saw past the tailored suits and coiffed hair to the woman behind the façade. His mouth hung open.
“No shit!”
“I am not a prude, young man, and it was a long time ago.” A wistful look crossed her face, but only for a moment, before returning to its normal business façade. “Why are you asking me about Nadir?”
His fingers drummed on his desk. Stephan had a hard time wrapping his brain around what he was hearing, but quickly refocused. “Nadir has made a request of Sakis that he doesn’t want to say no to. Or I should say, he won’t say no to. He has asked me to follow through with the delivery.”
Falling back in her seat, a stricken look crossed Alicia’s face. “No!” They had worked so hard to become legitimate and the thought of taking a step back into the underworld was not something she was going to do easily.
“I understand your reluctance, and am not asking for your help, but Sakis wanted me to let you know what was going on just in case.”
“Are you really okay with this?” Alicia asked.
Stephan thought hard about her question. It was a fair one in light of their history. “To tell you the truth, it doesn’t make me happy, but this is business and he has a history with the Boulos family—or I should say that we all have a history.”
Nodding her head slowly, Alicia agreed that saying no was out of the question. Still, it saddened her to think that they were being drawn back into something that they all wanted to put behind them. Maybe the reality was, once you were in, you were never completely out. Sitting up straight, she squared her shoulders. “Of course. I will help in any way that I can. What can I do?”
“Seriously, Alicia, nothing except for letting me know everything you know about Nadir so that I can prepare for the unexpected. I will, of course, do my own investigation, but it is always good to get information from other sources.”
“Hm. Let me think. Nadir’s mother died shortly after his birth. Odalis raised his son himself, with little help from anyone else. The only issue that I remember ever arising was when Nadir fell in love with a woman Odalis didn’t seem to like. He felt that she was using him for his money and was worried that she would somehow trick him into marrying. Not sure what changed his mind, but they eventually did get married with his father’s approval, if you could call it that. I had attended the ceremony and was struck how small the wedding was. Odalis was never happy with the pairing. I would be curious to know if he ever changed his opinion on her. All this being said, he adores his son and always has. Because of whom Nadir chose for a wife, I believe, is why Odalis chose to wait so long before handing over the reins of the family business. From what I understand, it still is not completely turned over.”
Stephan listened intently to every word Alicia shared with him. It was always good to know the personal side of a family. He would have to look into the wife a bit more. It was unusual for a son to go against the wishes of their father in their culture and even though Odalis eventually approved the marriage, Nadir’s punishment was obvious to Stephan. He would not be head of the organization until Odalis passed.
~~~
Across town, Aisling heard her computer beep the second she stepped out of the shower. She wrapped her towel around her body, not even bothering to dry herself off. Punching in a few keys, she scanned the notification in surprise. Chewing on her bottom lip, she contemplated her next move. He was searching for her and the rush of relief surprised her—she actually wanted to be found. With a few keystrokes, she gave him the capability to reach her. Her move made, she dressed as she anticipated what his next move would be. Aisling felt giddy with the thought of seeing him again. She liked that feeling. Glancing at the picture of her mother, she could almost hear her shrill voice: “No good will come of a relationship with any man, mark my words. You must find your own path and pay your own way. Love is nothing but a fantasy that will eventually break your heart. Make no time for that, my dear.” Aisling had always agreed with her mother when it came to men, but she sure loved the game and right now, Stephan was her pawn.
Aisling sighed as she thought of her deceased mother. She had done exactly what her mother had taught her, her entire life. She made her way, formed her own business, and became so successful that she didn’t have to work another day in her life if she didn’t want to. The problem was she wanted to work because the money she made, surprisingly, left her feeling extremely unfulfilled. Yes, she was able to take care of her mother, buy her the home she wanted in Ireland before she died, and she had the financial security that if she chose, she could travel and do whatever she wanted and never worry the money would run out.
But the real thrill came when she was deep undercover. No longer Aisling, but pretending to be a top-level executive at the CIA or a dancer at a casino in Vegas. She had never been arrested; hell, she never even had a traffic ticket. Aisling always lived carefully, so no attention could be drawn to her. Her file was clean as far as anyone knew. Which was why she had no problem giving Stephan her real name. If he looked her up, he would see that she had a mother and a loser father. He would also see that she was smart, had majored in languages at University of Massachusetts in Boston and that, though never valedictorian, she held her own, always hovering at the top of the class. Aisling knew she could have been valedictorian, but choosing anonymity instead afforded her the ability of fine-tuning her craft of blending in.
What he wouldn’t be able to find out was that she was a phenom at technology, which stemmed from years of her bright mind being bored and an obsessed mother. Her first hack into a bank in Scotland, at the age of twelve, was where she wiped out her father’s bank account. That feeling of power consumed her until she learned everything she could, eventually making her way through the bowels of the Internet into top government agencies. At the time, she did it for practice and knowledge. She had no intention of disrupting the political landscape.
What she did find, inadvertently, was how the wealthiest in society seemed to control the governments. She decided they were the people who she wanted to work for. When she became the Chameleon, she knew she had found her calling. She also became aware that no matter how much money someone had in their bank account, their lives were no better than how her and her mum had lived without money. The rich and powerful had an insatiable need for control—she gave them that control, which in turn filled her own bank accounts. Last night, with Stephan, what she hadn’t counted on and what she couldn’t get out of her head was how much she liked the way she felt in Stephan’s arms. And if taking a break from work gave her the juice she needed to make her feel better and get out of this funk, why not use a gorgeous and dangerous specimen like him?