Atomic Beauty (8 page)

Jace had maneuvered her legs over his arms, his hands pressing into the wall, and he fucked her harder so he could reach deep to her core. Her breasts pressed against his chest as he tilted his head in order to kiss her.

“I missed you…us.” He thrust harder, deeper, and she could feel his muscles tense as he neared the edge. His entire body trembled as his cock pulsed inside her.

“Me, too, Jace.”

He froze, and then looked straight into her eyes. “You mean that?”

“Yeah. So fuck me.”

That was all the encouragement Jace needed. He dipped his full cock in and out of her wet pussy until she begged him to make her explode.

He pulled her from the wall, in a frantic heat, placed her on the corner of the bed and wrapped her ankles around his neck.

The next time he drove inside her, her muscles quivered…climbing toward that sweet release only Jace could give her…

He pumped inside her again and again…until she absolutely detonated all around him. Her body shook as he brought her to climax and pushed her over the edge. And then she felt his balls tighten against her skin. He thrust deeper and with a primal groan, he pulled out just in time.

Both of them stayed still, neither moved an inch, as they caught their breath.

Erika slid her legs down the sides of his body and scooted up the bed until her head rested on the pillow. If she was smart, she'd keep an eye on Jace. There were still so many unanswered questions.

Instead, she relaxed into a deep sleep.

* * *

Erika woke to the sounds of Jace talking in the next room. She slipped out of bed and followed the sound to the bathroom. His voice was too low to make anything out, so she pressed her ear to the door. All she heard clearly was the name, Sam Carter. Why was that name so familiar?

She moved quietly back to the bed and slipped under the covers. A few moments later, Jace came out, scribbled a note and left.

Once Erika had secured the hallway, she moved to the note on the table. He was running out to pick up food. She opened her laptop and searched for the name on Google. He was an American businessman who'd sold his business CorMeds and relocated to Paris three years ago.

So what?

Why was that important?

The company name CorMeds didn't spark anything significant. They were a small research and development lab outside Atlanta. No alarms sounded. But then, she dealt with international cases, not domestic.

Something about the name Sam Carter niggled at her subconscious, though. Trying to connect the dots made her brain hurt.

Erika picked up her satellite phone and called her research specialist, Stacy, asking for all the information she could get on Sam Carter and his business dealings.

Her next call was to Murdock.

“Where in hell's kitchen are you?” Concern laced his irate tone and there was another emotion there, too. Surprise?

“I blew it. He figured me out before I could shoot him just like the message said. I had to disappear,” she said, tensing, hating to lie and ignoring his question.

“Since you've been compromised, you need to come back to headquarters. Or do I have to remind you of protocol?”

She wasn't about to walk away now. Not when there were so many unanswered questions, Jace was so close and she'd become a target. Plus, she had no idea who'd sent Berlin and someone else in the agency could be compromised. Her rational mind said Murdock would not have sent an assassin to pick her up. And then there was Sam Carter. “Has the lab found anything in the data I sent?”

He didn't answer right away. Silence hung heavy on the line.

“Nothing yet. It's too early to tell if there's anything useful,” he conceded. “But you've done your part and your assignment is over.”

“You wouldn't tell me if they had, would you?” she asked.

“The information is above your pay grade and you know it. I know you've been poking around in the system.” Stress strained his voice. “You're done with this mission. Come in.”

Sanctuary employed the best and the brightest in every field. If there was something in those files, they'd have a decent chance of discovering it given enough time.

She could almost see Murdock pinching the bridge of his nose as he did when his stress levels hit the stratosphere. He sounded worried, stressed and tired.

“I also don't have to remind you that unless we know what we're looking for, we might never find anything useful,” he added.

No, he didn't need to remind her of that. She was keenly aware of the fact. But she did have something else to go on. “What does the name Sam Carter mean?”

“Nothing. Never heard it before,” he said a little too quickly, and she could tell from his intonation that he was lying. Had she hit a nerve? Or, better yet, given him the missing piece so that he could find what he was looking for on the files she'd transmitted?

In her job, she didn't always get to see the whole puzzle. Everything was on a need-to-know-basis and depended on pay grade. But this mission had placed a target on her back and pay grade could go fuck itself.

If she were going to put herself at further risk, she needed answers. “He's important to Mitchell in some way and I need to find out why.”

“You need to come in. Period. Assignment done. I'll forward the name to the tech guys. See if that helps them but I'm ordering you to stand down.” The worry in his voice was outshined by anger this time.

He had every right to be frustrated with her. She'd broken protocol, failed to kill her target, and she was about to violate another direct order. But he had to know she'd do it again if it meant figuring out what had happened.

All kinds of data could be embedded in the pictures she'd sent and they'd never know it. Murdock was right. Narrowing it down, figuring out what was there without knowing exactly what they were looking for was near impossible. Having the best coders on payroll only increased the odds slightly. It was time to change things up. Maybe even stay close enough to squeeze more information out of Jace.

“I might have another play with Mitchell in a couple of days.”

“Absolutely not. This mission is over for you. I don't want you chasing any more leads or putting yourself at further risk. The best place for you is here. Your required check-in is three months past due already.” His voice rose with what sounded like frustration and panic. Was he afraid she'd get hurt? “I'll send someone else. We'll bring him in for questioning.”

“Sir, I—”

“That's a direct order, Nile.”

“I'm fine, sir,” she lied. She could appreciate his concern, but she wasn't going in and nothing he could say would change her mind. “And I'm all you have. I'm the only officer who's gotten close to Mitchell in a year and you know it.”

“And you've done your job.” She'd thrown that out to see if she could get a feel for whether or not Murdock had sent Berlin to Vancouver. If she could believe his responses so far, Berlin must be working for the other side. Why would anyone from Exacto come after her?

Her association with Jace?

“With all due respect, no I haven't. Mitchell's alive and we don't know if we have anything usable yet. But, I'm making progress. Given a little more time, I can find answers. I'm asking you to give me space before you dispatch someone else. Let me stay on the mission. Besides, he'll see them coming. I have a chance at figuring this out. Anyone else will come home in a casket.” Or get in her way.

“No. Absolutely not. I forbid it.” His agitation vibrated through the line. “The best, no, the only course of action is for you to come back. Regular check-ins are mandatory for a reason. Failing to obey a direct order from your superior is unacceptable and I can't have it.”

The line went dead quiet as she left him waiting for a response. She let more silence sit between them for several uncomfortable beats.

“If I have to send someone to pick you up, I will.” Murdock blew out a breath.

“We both know you won't find me. There's a reason you gave me this assignment. Mitchell is good. I'm better. End of story.” An uneasy feeling settled over Erika as questions started to swirl. First, she'd expected a bigger reaction when she threw out the name Sam Carter. Murdock had glossed right over it. Why?

While that was still churning in the back of her mind, she wondered about his emphatic plea for her to return to the office. Then there was Berlin. What side was he on?

“I'll come in as soon as I figure this out. I'm close to getting answers and I need to finish this mission.”

Another beat of silence, and then a frustrated hiss came through the line.

“You really are as stubborn as your father.”

And as beautiful as her mother.
How many times had she heard that while under Murdock's care? She'd lost count of how many times he'd told her that both could get her killed, too.

Which was precisely the reason she planned to use both to her advantage.

“I'm being followed. I come in now and the location of headquarters could be compromised.”

“I don't like the sound of that.” The shock in his voice registered as genuine.

Another piece of the puzzle that didn't fit anywhere yet.

Her excuse was convenient and gave him an out as far as allowing her some leeway. She didn't doubt her own skills or ability to disappear when she needed to for one second. Jace may have found her in Las Vegas, but she knew it had been a risk when she'd called him and, truth be known, she'd wanted to see him.

Murdock blew out another sharp breath. “We can send in a drone. There's no reason to risk your safety. And if you won't come in, I'll send someone to get you.”

He sounded desperate. Guilty?

“He'll disappear. All our hope of figuring out what's in those pics will vaporize and you know it. As far as sending someone to pick me up? Good luck with that.”

“I know he's the best. I know you're the only one who's a match. Believe me, I didn't want you on this assignment in the first place. Come home and we'll close this case. It's only a matter of time before tech breaks the encryption,” he said. There was a sad quality to his voice now.

“Can't do it, sir.”

“You have no idea what's on the line here, Nile.”

Alarm bells sounded inside Erika's head, ringing in her ears. Why did he feel the need to remind her of the stakes? Her boss was holding back and something was off. What else wasn't she being told? And why?

Dammit, why did he feel the need to protect her?

Her dad had trusted Murdock. And this reaction most likely had to do with sending her into a dangerous situation more so than not trusting her.

Memories of assigning her father to the mission that had taken his life hadn't dimmed. She'd seen it all over Murdock's face, in his eyes and his actions for the past decade. The nights he drank until he stumbled to his room were even more heartbreaking.

Murdock had never exactly been husband or father material, which was why he lived alone, but losing his best friend had screwed with his head. The anniversary of her father's death seemed to be making him as testy as it was her. The date circled on his calendar every year was almost here. She and Murdock had lost someone special that day. His guilt had driven him to take care of her until she'd turned eighteen. His guilt had been the reason he'd worked with her, day in and day out, to make her physically and mentally strong. What he couldn't teach her, he'd paid others to. And his guilt most likely drove his actions now.

Erika knew exactly what she needed to do next.

“This is my assignment. Don't take it away from me. I'll bring him in and you can question him as much as you want.” She ended the call before he could argue.

After throwing a few personal items into her backpack, she came up with her exit plan, wiped down the hotel and waited. She would leave in the middle of the night while Jace slept and not use any of her usual methods of transportation en route to Seattle where she planned to be in two days. In the meantime, there was a place where no one would find her. She needed to stop by the family's cabin.

The tenth anniversary of her dad's death was in a few days. Her lungs clawed for air thinking about it, about him, about how empty her life had been with no family since his death. She'd lost everyone important to her before reaching adulthood.

Murdock had done his best with her and she was grateful. He'd stepped in and provided a place to land when she'd bottomed out. Erika would not forget everything he'd done for her.

* * *

Jace woke to an empty room.
Fuck
. Erika was Sanctuary through and through. Finding her was a mistake. The simple truth was that Jace had needed to see her. He'd felt a connection with her and maybe that was the reason, or just plain weakness might be the cause. It had been so damn long since he'd felt any emotion with anyone. He'd been doing this job or been on the run for so long now he couldn't remember what the hell normal was like. Showing up in Vegas was a calculated risk he'd had to take.

She hadn't pulled the trigger in Vancouver, couldn't. He'd been watching from the shower through the mirror over the sink. He'd known the minute she'd set foot in the bathroom.

Erika was the only real thing in his life and he wanted to hang on to that with everything inside him. He hadn't realized how dead inside he'd been until she walked into that bar. He'd been equal parts fascinated and afraid of her. Neither of which fit descriptions of people he'd encountered.

Jace didn't worry about matching his skills against most assassins but she was his equal in every way.

In a fight, either one of them could come out on top. Sex with her was a freakin' existential experience and Jace had long since stopped believing in things he couldn't see or touch.

She had the power to destroy him in so many ways.