A Taste of Liberty: Task Force 125 Book 2 (10 page)

“What double standard?  You know, Sarah, my sister is a big fan of your spunk but, quite frankly, I'm frigging tired of it.”  Vince turned and walked back toward the house.  “You do whatever the hell you want.”

Sarah mumbled to no one at all.  “Fuck you.”

What sister?

Sarah rose early and put on her bathing suit for a swim.  She walked down to the pool and started doing her laps.

“Ooh, baby!
 
Lookin
' good in the thong!  You got a little sugar for Big Daddy?”

Sarah looked up and smiled at Chris who just sat down with a cup of coffee.  “Good morning.”  When she realized Vince was sitting at the patio table watching her, she greeted him as well. 
“Morning, major.”

Vince grunted. 
“Morning.”

Chris changed over to Russian without skipping a beat.  “I'm telling you, the man has got it bad for you.”

Sarah turned to do a backstroke and answered in Russian.  “Piss off.”

“Come on, when are you guys gonna stop denying the sexual tension between you, get it on and just get it over with?  We all know
it's
gonna happen.  And if it happens before our next mission, I get four thousand bucks.”

“Nope.
  Not worth the hassle.  Not even for fifty percent of the take.”

“Has anybody ever told you it's rude to talk behind people's backs?”  Vince opened his newspaper. 

Chris answered in English.  “We're not doing it behind your back, we're doing it right in front of you,
just
in a language you don't understand.”

“That's even worse.”  Vince turned a page.

Chris switched back to Russian. 
“Seriously, babe.
  He's mad about you.”

“I don't think so, Chris.  He's got all the women he can handle already.  Besides, he knows what I do for a living.  He's not dumb enough to fall for somebody like me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?  You're a catch no matter what you do for a living!  I'd take you home to meet my mother in a heartbeat.  Just say the word.”  He pulled out his cell phone.  “I'll call her right now.”

“That's sweet, but that whole happily ever after thing isn't gonna happen for me.”  Sarah climbed out of the pool and dried off.

“That's just stupid.  You know what your problem is?  Inside that
hottie
body is a fat girl's brain.  The world is at your feet, girl.  You just can't see it because that fat girl's still doing all your thinking.”

“I don't mean to be rude, Chris, but I think I'll go take a walk to clear my head.”  Sarah put on her sunglasses and slipped on her sandals preparing to walk away.

“Be careful out there.”

“Yeah, those olive trees are really dangerous.”  Sarah gave Chris a wink and a smile before turning to go.

Sarah stepped out the front door just as Brian pulled up in a new
Maserati
Spyder
convertible.

A bright smile lit up his face.  “Hey, baby! 
Wanna
go get some breakfast?”

“Where did you get a sweet set of wheels like this?”

“Perks of the job.
  We need a car to get to the meeting. 
Can't have an international arms dealer showing up in a Honda Civic.”

Sarah walked around to the passenger side, trailing her fingers in a gentle caress over the purring sports car.  “Nice.”

“Come on,
darlin
!  Let's take it for a spin.  It needs a beautiful woman in the passenger seat.  Get in before Jason spots us.  If I take him for a ride, everyone will think I'm gay.”

“I don't know, Brian.  Jason will be pissed if he misses out on this.”

“Come on, Sarah.  I need to find me some Italian tail.”  He lowered his sunglasses and raised his eyebrows.  “You can be my wingman.”

Sarah opened the door and hopped in.  “Well, since you put it that way.”

Sarah walked out to the patio with a cup of coffee in her hand.  Her outing with Brian the day before had been a bit more than a drive.  He insisted on exploring every bar and café on the Genoa coast in his search for an Italian
hottie
.  Sarah found it an excellent opportunity to enjoy an Italian favorite,
limoncello
.  It went down like lemonade, but she was feeling the vodka this morning.

Chris was lying on a chaise, working on his tan.  He spoke in Russian.  “Good morning.  How are you today?”

“I've been better.”

He smiled.  “I'm here.”

Chris was always there when Sarah needed to talk, true to his word when she first met him as the team’s communications specialist and he delivered that corny “I’m here if you want to talk” line.

“Vince mentioned a sister who knew me, but I've never seen her.  What do you know about his family?”

“His father is Shawn
Henne
s
see
,
twenty years enlisted in the Marines then became an agency man.  His mother is Italian.  They met during a tour he did over here.  Siblings are two brothers and a sister.  Anthony is in Explosive Ordinance Disposal in the Marines.  He’s on a tour in Iraq.  I’ve never met him.  Their brother Marco died two years ago serving in Afghanistan.  His sister, Regina, was military before she married.  She chose to get out when she got pregnant with her first child.  Didn't you meet her when she was in town before we left?  Good looking woman.”  Chris raised his eyebrows and turned toward Sarah.  “Don't tell Vince, but I wouldn't throw her out of bed for eating crackers.”

Sarah's mind raced.  She felt a sudden weight in her stomach and the need to retch.

“Chris?”

“Yeah.”

“Is she about my height with long, dark, curly hair?”

“Yep.
 
Spitting image of her mother too.”

Oh, shit.  I punched Vince out in front of his sister?
 

Sarah's stomach rolled.  “That was his sister?”

“Come to think of it, she was pretty anxious to meet you.”

The depth of her misunderstanding hit her in the face like a bag of pennies.

I think I called her a bimbo, too.  And he didn't say anything because he's too frigging proud.

Chris must have seen the look on Sarah’s face.  “You should talk to him, Sarah, alone.  Get this sorted out.”

Sarah sprung out of her chair, leaving her coffee behind.

“Thanks for the
intel
, Chris.”

“It's what I do.  This and golf are all I've got.”

~~~

Sarah burst into the chapel.  Vince was the only one there.  He spun around, Sig in hand and aimed at Sarah's head.

Sarah raised her hands and stopped in her tracks.  “Whoa!”

“Jesus, woman!
  Can't you ever enter a room without exploding into it?”  He switched the safety on the handgun and tucked it into his waistband.

Sarah dropped her hands slowly.  “I think you've just given me the motivation to work on that.”

She walked up to him and stopped within arm’s reach.  “I need to talk to you.”

“Is it
mission
related?”

“No.”

He turned away and studied some photos on the table behind him.  “Then we don't need to talk.”

“Vince.”  She paused to swallow her pride and nearly choked on it.  “I need to talk to you now.”

His shoulders seemed to soften as he turned to face her.

“I'm sorry.”

“What did you do now?”

“All of it.”

“I don't know what you're talking about, woman.”

“I didn't know he was an arms dealer.  I didn't know she was your sister.  I thought…”

Oh, hell.  This is going to be hard.

“You thought what?”

He's going to make me say it.

Sarah swallowed the bitter pill and spoke quickly to get it out before she chickened out.  “I thought it was personal and you didn't want me to date while you did.  I didn't know she was your sister, and I was jealous.  Okay, there it is.  I'm sorry.”

Sarah swallowed the frog that nearly choked her during her apology and turned to go before the tear welling up decided to drop.

Vince's strong hands landed on her shoulders and she stopped.  She swallowed hard as the tear rolled.

Vince wrapped his arms around her and she melted into him when she felt his breath on her neck.

Vince sighed. 
“Damn you, woman.”

Sarah turned around and looked into his soft brown eyes.  “I'm so sorry.”

He smiled.  “There hasn't been room in my life for any other woman since you exploded into it.”

Sarah swallowed another tear and hugged Vince.

I don't want to let go.

“I think about retirement all the time, Sarah.”  One hand held her close to him while the other enmeshed itself in her hair and gently cupped the back of her head.  “I've been thinking about it ever since I first saw you.”

Sarah looked into his eyes.  “I didn't mean what I said.  I love the pearls.  I do.”

Vince's lips were within a breath of hers.  He smiled and cut her off mid sentence with a whisper.  “Shut up.”

His lips touched hers. 
Gently, softly, lovingly.
  He pulled her close.

Sarah's heart beat hard and fast.  She gasped for breath but didn't want the kiss to end.  Her fingertips tingled as she ran them over his shoulders.  Her body ached for him, and she embraced the moment.

It may be all we have.

Vince's phone rang and the moment was gone. 

He looked into her eyes and apologized with a whisper.  “I’m sorry.  I have to take this.”

She took a step back.

He opened the phone. 
“
Hennessee
.”

“Victor.  Good to hear from you.”  Vince stepped back, but his eyes never left Sarah’s.  “Tonight is just fine.  Yes, I do know the place.”  He grinned.  “No, that won't be necessary.  I've got one.  Yeah, this one's more than enough.  Okay, we'll see you then.”  Vince closed his phone and slid it into his pocket.  “We're on tonight.”

Sarah was curious about the strange conversation.  “What did he ask you?”

A devious smile spanned Vince's face. 
“If I needed a female guest for my entertainment.”

“He didn't ask in quite those words, did he?”

“Nope.”
  Vince winked at Sarah.  “Now get Jason to drive you into Milan.  He’s been itching to drive that
Spyder
.  Go buy yourself something slutty.  You and I are going out for drinks and dancing tonight.”

Sarah turned to leave and spoke over her shoulder as she walked away.  “I should probably be offended by those instructions, but Jason has been saying the same thing to me every Friday since our last mission.”

Sarah waited while Vince left the slick, black
Maserati
with the valet outside the nightclub.  She eyed him as he walked toward her.  His smooth movements and the black silk suit were a stunning combination. 

Damn, those Marines clean up nice.

She didn’t break her stare when he checked her out from head to toe.  A thrill shot through her when he smiled.  She threw her shoulders back and tossed her hair over her shoulder.  “Passable?”

He took her arm.  “Yeah, I'd definitely make a pass at you.”

She smiled and raised an eyebrow.  “Well, what are you waiting for?”

“We’re on the job. 
Business first, then pleasure, Sarah.”

Sarah grabbed Vince by the lapels and kissed him hard. 

He enveloped her in his arms and returned the kiss with gusto.

When he released her, she took a deep breath and willed her body to calm down.  “And what a pleasure it will be.  I'll be here all night, unless I get a better offer.”

He beamed at her as though he were about to say something but thought better of it.  Vince tipped the doorman and said something Sarah couldn't hear over the sound of the music.  The doorman nodded and motioned to a man inside who led them into a VIP room upstairs.

Vince appeared ever the gentleman.  He offered Sarah his arm as they climbed the stairs and she followed his lead. 

Hard to believe he was once a U.S. Marine.  Well, maybe not so hard. 

As they reached the second floor landing overlooking the dance floor, Sarah had her first good look at the real, live Victor Bolshoi.

He lounged on a banquette, leaning back, as a shapely redhead straddled his right thigh and ran her hands under his silk jacket.  He smiled as she nibbled on his ear.