Sinful Resurrection (CSA Case Files 2) (7 page)

Chapter Seven

Ryland knew how to blend in amongst the wealthy and elite
crowd.  Looking in the mirror above the bar area of the ballroom, he confirmed that his tie sat just so in the collar of his perfectly starched white shirt.  His tuxedo was hand tailored by a reclusive yet cutting edge Italian designer, the wing tipped shoes were from same exclusive collection, and his cufflinks were designed by Atelier Yozu.  His black hair was cropped close, giving him the classic handsome quality he required.

It helped that
Ryland carried himself with a refinement that appealed to women of a certain station, although he only used that to his advantage when absolutely needed.  He had no close relationships and he preferred it that way.  The job required the type of discipline that only a master craftsman could possess.  If the women he encountered could only see the black marks that his soul had collected, they would know to stay clear of the devil within.

Resting an elbow on the bar, he caught the bartender’s attention. Ordering his usual
Crown Royal XR, he patiently waited turning his body just so in order to observe the room.  The man he was meeting was situated at his three o’clock, speaking with his wife and another couple whom he knew to be just static in the scheme of things.

“Sir, your drink.”

“Did you mean to ruin my whiskey with ice or did the word neat escape your training syllabus?”  Ryland pushed it back towards the bartender.  “Again, please.”

Upon being served a proper two fingers of the LaSalle distillery’s finest blend, he finally nodded his appreciation.
Ryland picked up the crystal tumbler and took a sip of the smooth full-bodied whiskey.  He let the warmth infuse his body, although he wasn’t using the alcohol to take the edge off.  It was purely for his enjoyment.  He was actually rather relaxed, as he’d gone over the list of people in attendance and had several exit strategies should anything unexpected happen. 

“It’s a beautiful evening.”

Ryland lifted one side of his mouth in a wry smile.  He’d seen the brunette eyeing him for the last five minutes and had wondered how long it would take her to make her way over and attempt to beguile him.  She might have that sparkle in her eye of worldly experience, but she’d never played with a man like him.  As a freelance contractor for whoever paid the highest, his social circles were vast.  He wasn’t picky about which government either and figured he had more fake passports than she did jewelry.  He contemplated his time wisely as he studied her, but decided against enjoying her company for the evening.  She truly was a beauty, but unfortunately, tonight was all about business.

“Y
es, it is.”  Ryland finished his drink and set his glass on the counter.  “Enjoy the rest of your night, Miss.”

With a
curt nod of his head, he blended into the crowd and let the flow of the people direct him to where he needed to be.  Everything was going as planned, not that he thought it would go differently.  One could never be too sure. 

“It’s turning out to be a nice event,” Ryland said in a low voice, repeating the phrase that he’d been given.  He’d waited to approach his objective until the other couple had meandered off.  The trophy wife was already walking away towards her next
social target, leaving her husband to his own devices.  Ryland knew that this man worked security detail for Alekseev and in fact, made sure he knew every nuance of this man’s life should the need to take him out of the game arose.  “It’s nice to see you, Mr. Batkin.”

“And you,” Vadim said, a false smile crossing a face that had seen too many
bouts in the ring. 

He held out his hand in offer, which Ryland took, knowing that cupped in the man’s palm would
be a small USB device which contained his target’s information.  Technically, this type of drop was bad tradecraft; however, that was why Ryland had studied the guest list so scrupulously.  Batkin was an amateur by comparison and he could not be expected to practice proper protocol in such matters.  The device was encrypted with a one-time cypher key and protected by an anti-tamper apparatus that would shred the files and thus erase all data.  All he needed was a name and he would take it from there. 

“Make sure to try the caviar,” Vadim suggested.
  “It’s delicious.”

As Batkin turned to follow his wife, R
yland casually slipped his hand inside his jacket to deposit the drive and retrieve a Cohiba Reserva Selection Especiales 2003. With the USB secured, he would stay an additional thirty minutes, so as not to call attention to himself whilst relishing his aged Cuban cigar on the veranda overlooking the English style gardens.  Depending on the target and where he or she might be located would determine his departure flight.  He’d always prided himself on a job well done and this one would be no different.

He caught a streak of red
in his peripheral vision as he made his way back to the bar.  Turning, he sighted her long blonde hair.  His chest tightened. Making his way through the throngs of people that were clustered in small groups, he eventually closed the distance.  The red silk scarf draped around her neck and down the flesh of her shoulders, seemed to merge with the dress that swathed the curvature of her lower back.  She spun on her heel — a stranger.

Ryland veered
ever so slightly to his left, following his altered path toward the bar. The veranda could wait.  Nodding his head in answer to the bartender when asked if he’d like another, he placed both forearms on the padded leather lining of the counter.  The past needed to stay in the past.  The amber liquid appeared before him and he relished the spice of the Canadian rye juxtaposed by the sophisticated blend of dried fruits and honey as it made its way down to his stomach.  The item in his pocket had his mark's information.  He or she was just one of many.

* * * *

  Jax heard her soft footsteps coming down the stairs.  Not even the carpet could stop the creaking that the old wooden floors let out with each step.  He’d been catching some sleep on the couch when the light noises had reached him.  He immediately palmed the weapon lying on his stomach, but then carefully eased it into his shoulder holster, leaving the fastening open. 

“Trouble sleeping?”  Jax heard the audible gasp and knew that she had stopped a foot from his location.  “It’s almost three-thirty in the morning.  We’re secure, if that’s what’s keeping you awake.”

“No, I just needed a drink of water,” Emily said.  She kept her voice low, almost as if she were afraid speaking too loud in the dark would alert someone or something.  “There is another bedroom upstairs, you know.”

“I wouldn’t be much protection to you if a threat made its way in here, now would I?”  Jax tightened his jaw, wishing he had curbed his sarcasm.  It wouldn’t do to maintain this tension between them.  Who knew how long this protection order would drag out and he needed to sustain her trust if the situation became dangerous.  “I’m going to need you to be ready to move on my word.  Make
sure the bag you were given is packed and ready to go.”

“What is it that you’re not telling me?”

“The Attorney General was killed in an automobile accident yesterday morning,” Jax replied, figuring at this point it was useless to keep it from her.  She probably would have heard it on the radio last night had she not gone directly to her room after their last row.  It’d been for the best, as he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep from touching her.  He sat up and placed his boots on the floor, running a hand through his hair.  “Connor feels, and I agree, that Alekseev has hired an independent contractor.”

“Jax,” Emily said, hurrying around the couch to stand in front of him, “has anyone checked in with Schultz?  He needs to go into hiding.”

Jax didn’t answer right away, too drawn to the fact that she was wearing a thin pink T-shirt with a pair of matching sweat pants.  Jessie had packed the bag and probably hadn’t given a thought to the modest nightwear, but the way Emily was standing in the moonlight had given it a totally different appearance.  The swell of her breasts was prominent through the lightweight fabric, although shadows in front of her kept him from seeing if her nipples were hardened.  He had no doubt they were, considering how cool the house had gotten at night.

“Jessalyn isn’t my concern,” Jax replied, knowing that he wasn’t going to get any more sleep this night.  Morning was right around the corner anyway.  He squeezed the bridge of his nose, hoping to erase the exhaustion that was starting to set in.  Standing, he walked around the couch and into the kitchen to put on some coffee.  “You are.  Connor will give us the heads up if we need to leave sooner than planned.”

“Schultz is the only other person who has the evidence that I put together.” 

Jax flipped the switch, bathing the kitchen in light.  Emily had followed him into the kitchen.  Since there were no stools at the counter as the area was so small, he saw that she leaned her elbows down on the
granite as he walked to the cabinets.  He went about making the coffee, giving himself something to do besides taking in her appearance.  He’d noticed that she’d wrapped her hair in some tie, so that the mass of blonde strands sat atop of her head.  She wore not a trace of make-up, which caused her to look years younger, but made the dark smudges underneath her eyes all the more noticeable.  It didn’t take away from her beauty. 

“As I said, Jessalyn is a big boy who can fe
nd for himself.  He’s got the Secret Service at his disposal.”  Jax reached for two mugs, turning to see if she wanted coffee as well.  “Coffee?  Or are you going back to sleep?”

“Coffee,” Emily answered, although Jax could tell that she wasn’t really with him.  Her eyes stared off into the distance, making him wonder exactly what was going on in that cunning little mind of hers.  He was about to turn back toward the counter when her gaze came back into focus.  “We, uh, might need to go to New York.”

“Excuse me?” Jax asked, knowing he had to have heard her wrong.  He set the mugs down with a thud and turned around to face her.  “I could have sworn you said New York.”

“I did.”  Emily rubbed her face as if that would clear away her fatigue.  He could have told her that it wouldn’t work, along with whatever suggestion she was about to make.  “Even though I handed over the evidence, I wasn’t
going to take the chance of it disappearing into the wrong hands.  There are multiple places where I hid the proof of Alekseev’s side deals.”

“That’s not what the Attorney General was after him for,” Jax said, pointing out the obvious.  Was she now ready to give up a little more information?  “You and Jessalyn made it sound as if the government wanted to take Alekseev in front of the
Security Council on the charge of murder.”

“They do.”  Emily paused and Jax waited, not knowing how much she would reveal.  She would eventually come to realize that she’d place her future in his hands.  Until then, he’d have the patience needed to see this through.
  It sucked, but that was his fucking plan.  “In order to obtain a summit with the Security Council, the Attorney General was going to present to them what I found and then hopefully, plan a hearing in which I would testify.”

“So what you’re saying is that because the Attorney General was murdered, we have no idea how far along they were in the process.”  Jax rested his hands on the counter behind him.  “It shouldn’t matter.  Jessalyn wouldn’t have just handed over everything on a silver platter.  He would have kept his own copies for just this reason.  I guarantee this investigation is progressing as planned.”

“And if what you’re saying is true, Schultz and I have a bounty on our head.”  Emily pushed off of the island and walked around it, accidentally brushing her hand against his arm as she reached for the coffee pot.  If he hadn’t been looking close enough, he would have missed the way her lips parted.  It wasn’t as if he doubted what she felt for him on a physical level, he just wished it mattered enough for her to be truthful.  “I know what we have to do.”

“What you need to do is let me do my job,” Jax said, crossing his arms and steeling himself against whatever concoction she was dreaming up.  “You asked for me.  You got me.”

“I coaxed Schultz into placing my protection under your hands, because no matter what you may think, you’re the only one I trust to do so.”  Emily didn’t bother filling up the mugs.  She slid the pot back on the burner, tilting her face up at him in determination.  He was already shaking his head in dispute, knowing whatever it was she was about to suggest would only put her life in further peril.  “We need to go to New York, get the evidence I hid, and take it to the media.  I need the international press to run this story and end this cat and mouse crap once and for all.”

Chapter Eight

“You’re what?” Connor asked, his tone quiet while keeping the intensity of his words. 
Jax hated when he did that.  “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

“What would you have me do, Connor?” Jax asked, taking his free hand and rubbing the back of his neck.  This entire situation had been fucked from the beginning, and by that, he meant two years ago.  “Even you said it was a matter of time before
they find us.  She’s a sitting duck.”

“You take her out in public and you might as well paint a
fucking bullseye on her back.” 

“Has Jessalyn been i
n touch?  Have the investigators ruled the Attorney General’s accident a murder?  Have Crest’s contacts heard any chatter regarding an independent contractor?  No?  Then as I said, we’re sitting on a time bomb.”

“I need a few days to get the team together,” Connor replied.  “You can’t do this on your own.  I’m pulling Crest in.”

“Fine.”  Jax knew he had no choice at this point.  They worked better as a team, but he hoped like hell that Connor took point.  This was life or death…Emily’s.  Connor was the only one who had never let him down. “Twenty-four hours and then we’re heading out, with or without the team.”

“Taryn says she needs to speak with you immediately, but I keep putting her off and saying that no one has heard from you.  She said it was personal.” 

“Tell her that you’ll relay whatever she has,” Jax instructed, adrenaline rushing through his body at the thought that Taryn might have found out what Emily had been trying so hard to hide.  Knowing she was intentionally keeping something from him was a constant dagger to his side.  “I need that information.”

“Fine.  She’ll be more useful to us here at the office, so I’ll get in touch with you if it’s significant.  If you don’t hear from me, we’ll be set up in and around Cloquet, ready to follow you out.  Driving is the safest method, as we don’t know what this contractor has at his or her disposal.”

“Think the worst, hope for the best,” Jax said, disconnecting the call.

“Thank you,” Emily said softly, causing him to look toward the doorway.  She seemed wary, as if she didn’t know how he was going to react.  The first emotion he felt was satisfaction that she couldn’t get a read on him, but then he felt remorse for having lost the memories that there was one person in this world who had understood him more than anyone
on such an intimate level.  Now that was gone.  Had he really expected anything else?  “I know you don’t agree with me, but maybe this is what should have happened two years ago.  Going public does have its upside.”

Jax sat down in the worn leather chair, feeling just as d
amaged.  Over the past few days he couldn’t help but wonder how things would have turned out had he handled the initiating situation differently.  Hearing her voice on the other end of the phone all that time ago, trying to give him all the facts in a three minute conversation had sent his world reeling. 

“I think about it…the choices we made.” Jax said, placing his elbow on the armrest and resting
his head on two of his fingers.  He studied her, sensing an acceptance that hadn’t been there before.  She’d made a judgment and was at peace with it.  Was he?  “Every minute that has gone by, I second guess my decision.  There were people I knew who could have helped you.  I could have figured out a way not to go to Iraq.  I let you convince me of the danger and set our lives on a course to be determined by another’s sins that have now been resurrected.  That made me weak.”

“You are the strongest man I know, Jax,” Emily said, shaking her head in denial for what he knew was the truth. 

“I pushed my limits, Emily.  I played in clubs night after night trying to replace your image in my head.”  Jax closed his eyes, remembering the day he landed back on American soil after his combat tour.  He recalled the days and nights leading up to ultimately coming to the realization that she was never coming back.  “Months and months went by and even though I had you promise me you wouldn’t reach out, it didn’t stop me from hoping.  And every day after that, little by little the likelihood faded and all I was left with were those memories.  I knew it had to be that way and I’d come to accept it.”

“Jax —”

Finally looking at her, a certainty descended on him like those inevitable waves washing across the beach covering the sand.  When this was over and he’d done his job, he would make sure that she was safely tucked into middle America to live out her life.  His fate had been carved out long ago; he just needed to accept it.  The words wouldn’t stop coming, but he wasn’t repentant in any way for sharing them with her.

“I was taking chances that didn’t need to be taken.  I knew if I’d gone back into the field, I
would be putting Connor’s life and that of my team at risk.  So I took Crest up on the offer of civilian life.”  Jax shifted in the chair and leaned forward, wanting to stress to her the importance of what he was about to say.  “I used to imagine what it would be like if you walked back into my life.  This…once in a lifetime reunion.  But never in a million years did I think you could stand in front of me with such obvious deceit.”

“You need to trust me,” Emily said, taking a step into the room
but stopped before she came any closer.  “Just as I’m trusting you.”

“You’re not trusting me and I’ve also already explained my take on that.”  Jax finally stood, mentally exhausted from exposing himself in such a vulnerable fashion.  He wasn’t a man who opened up easily.  He doubted it would happen again.  “You have faith that I can keep you alive physically.  The rest is just
fucking lies.” 

Jax was surprised when she quickly closed the distance between them.  She came up on her tiptoes and palmed his face.  Her blue eyes flickered back and forth on his, as if trying to ga
uge his sincerity.

“You make it sound as if you’re giving up on what we had,” Emily whispered.  She then leaned in and pressed her warm lips to his.  As much as he tr
ied to fight the gentle yet desperate kiss, he found his hands closing around her waist and holding her in position.  She was the first to pull away.  “I’m doing this to make sure we get what we had back.”

“I
adjusted to a new way of living.  Without you.”  Jax let his hands fall and then stepped around her.  “Your attempt at clinging to something that’s no longer there changes nothing.”

* * * *

Emily watched the monitors, catching sight of Jax as he made the rounds outside.  His tall frame was easy to follow and she found herself thinking back to their conversation last night.  Should she come clean with him now?  Would that change things or put him in a more perilous situation?  It would probably place her in a more difficult position, but it wasn’t like she had anything left to lose…except Jax, of course.  She could admit that his threat last night regarding having her tied to the bed at his mercy didn’t have some influence over her decision.  If anything, it made her want to fess up every detail just to see if he’d carry out his promise.  It triggered memories from their time together and Jax’s image on the screen faded as it was replaced.

He leaned over her, flashing that devilish smile, and disappearing from view as his lips descended onto her neck.  His moist tongue traveled up to her ear.

“There is nothing more arousing than having you at my mercy,” Jax whispered, sending shivers across her naked flesh.  Her wrists and ankles were bound to her bed, almost creating an X, although her ankles felt farther apart than that.  Her bare pussy felt the air as it drifted from his movement.  He too was unclothed, yet she couldn’t get a good look at his body from the way he was situated above her.  “You’re vulnerable, exposed, and held still, yearning for my touch.  You’ll be overloaded with so much pleasure that you’ll scream my name over and over.”

A beep from the kitchen pulled her back to the present.  Emily quickly spun in the chair, facing the doorway.  Her ha
nd had gone directly to her hip where she’d gotten used to carrying her service weapon, before she recognized the sound of the coffee maker.  She emitted an audible sigh of frustration, grabbing her hair around her face and pulling it back.  Twisting it, she fashioned the blonde strands into a loose knot to keep it under control.  She grimaced at the color but knew she’d have to wait to turn it back into its natural state.

Emily glanced at the monitor, seeing that Jax was making his way back to the house.  Somehow, he must have known she was watching him, for he looked directly at the camera.  She had searched the house for any sign
of video equipment and hadn’t spotted anything to alert a person of surveillance. 

Jax had been right.  She had no doubt that he was the person who could pull her through this alive.  Emily recalled when she had first seen him playing pool with Connor in a bar across from the United Nation’s offices.  The way his biceps moved upon pulling the pool stick back to the way he methodicall
y took his time before shooting.  Hell, she’d been hooked.  He and Connor had taken a week off before his next combat tour, having completed several months of mandatory preemptory unit training to visit the various kink clubs in New York for fun.  That one kiss had him changing his plans.  They’d spent the majority of his leave at her apartment with him teaching her things that had helped keep her sane on those many lonely nights since.  Emily had wanted the kiss today to do what it did back then, but now realized how futile that was.

First and foremost, she needed to get a grip.  Emotionally, Emily knew that she would have to wait to convince Jax they could continue where they left off until this was all over.  She had confidence in her connections that once Alekseev
was sent back to his own country and any remaining contracts on her head neutralized, she could live her civilian life out in the open.  The same question remained…would Jax want to be a part of it?