The Last Detail (3 page)

“Are you going to do something or just walk around me?” There was an edge to his voice that she hadn’t heard before. A normal person would be worried. His tone had a dangerous tinge to it, promising to get even. But for some reason she had a feeling that this man wouldn’t hurt her, not in the bedroom. Now, in a firefight…

She stopped behind him and studied his back. Damn, he was built. Sinewy muscles, golden skin. Nude, he would probably resemble an Adonis. She curled her fingers into her palms to keep from touching. It was hard to control herself, not to give in to the temptation that he presented. He would allow her this, allow her to take charge and be the one who called the shots—at least this time. She was pretty confident that he would have to show his dominant side at some point. She’d read his file. Until recently, he had been a boy-scout space ranger. He had served in the militia, won a ton of medals and always did the right thing. The reason they hadn’t picked up on his trail was that he had been so good until now. Someone who skated on the edge of the law took a while to draw attention. This one though, he had sent red flags up the moment he started stealing the secrets.

“Whatcha doing back there?” he asked, his voice no longer as dangerous. The hint of lethal sexuality was layered with his good-old-boy charm now. He had himself back under control.

“Looking,” she responded.

He chuckled and it was filled with the wicked temptation she had felt for him from the first time she had seen his hologram. He was going to be the death of her if she didn’t get him restrained and stunned in the next few minutes.

She leaned forward, bending at the waist and set her mouth against his ear. “I like a pretty man.” He shivered as she expected, but she felt it all the way to the soles of her feet.

“Yeah? I’ve never been called pretty.”

She couldn’t stop the curving of her lips when she heard the way his voice deepened over the words. “I find that hard to believe.”

She straightened then stepped closer. She could smell him, almost taste him. Masculine, not a whiff of fragrance that wasn’t from him. It was so basically male she had to close her eyes and pull in a deep breath. Remember the detail. Get him back to base. Get back to Earth.

“In fact, I can’t see how any woman wouldn’t find every part of you tempting.”

She gave in to the urge to settle her hands on his shoulders. He was warm, burning up. She caressed his flesh. She couldn’t help it. She opened her eyes and she could see him in the mirror. The two of them made a picture. Ruined and broken woman. Dangerous criminal. God, what she wouldn’t give to indulge. She knew the male agents did, but she knew she couldn’t afford that. Many of their jobs thought they could offer sex and get off the charges pending against them. She knew Dawson must not even suspect her, or he would have killed her by now. For her, if she were to do this, there was a good chance he would get that chance to kill her.

“What was that?” he asked as he studied her face in the reflection.

“What?”

“Something about your expression looked…sad.”

She shook herself out of her funk and back to the task. She couldn’t think about things that were never going to happen. After years of disappointment, she had learned not to play that game.

She smiled at him. “Nothing, just a moment of melancholy.”

Dawson cocked his head to the side. “About what?”

At first, her heart flip flopped. Just the concern she read on his face and heard in his voice had her melting on the inside. No man asked her about things like that. Not even Jared and he was the closest thing to a husband she had. At least a husband with no sex involved.

“Let’s not talk about it.”

For a moment, he looked like he wanted to argue, but apparently he thought better of it.

“So, what now?”

The seductive purr was back and it had her quaking inside. Lust flowed through her blood like lava, burning her from the inside out.

“I thought maybe we could play a little game.”

“What kind of game?” he asked.

She pressed against him. “I thought you might let me tie you up.”

His face hardened, his eyes burning with a fire that would probably consume them both if she let it. He swallowed.

“Tie me up?”

“Nothing big,” she said, moving away from him. “Just your hands at your back. I want to play a little.”

He swallowed again, then nodded. She pulled out her cuffs, the new ones Jared had just gotten her after months of nagging. She would use them this one and only time.

“I promise not to hurt you,” she said teasingly.

He sighed. “That’s not a promise I care about.”

She wanted to sigh herself. In the years since her attack, she hadn’t met a man who intrigued her like this one. She was ready to toss aside the fact he was a wanted man, that he was selling secrets to the highest bidder, and would probably cost many people their lives. All that didn’t matter, and that scared the hell out of her. But the one thing she never did was fall on the job, especially not the one that would get her home.

She slipped her fingers down his arms, enjoying the feel of his hard flesh beneath her digits. God, she would never forget just how wonderful this felt. She would probably lie awake with the thought in her head for months. As she reached his hands, she sighed. Long, tapered fingers, wide palms. She wasn’t a little woman but his hand would swallow hers. Rough calluses marred the tips of his fingers. A lot of agents in his field had smooth hands, manicured fingers. This was a man who didn’t mind getting in the middle of a dirty fight.

“Having fun?” he asked.

She fought the shiver of need that welled up inside her. She had to arrest him, needed to take him in. He was dirty and without scruples if he was selling secrets. Drawing in a deep breath, she coded the electronic restraints and strapped them over his wrists. She ignored the little thrill that unfurled deep within her belly at the sight of that. She rose and looked at their reflections again. His gaze rose to hers, the fire had flared higher and it had her own arousal rising. She wanted him, and there was no getting around that. But she wanted to get back to Earth more. With more resistance than she thought she had, she turned away and went to retrieve her weapon and put it in her holster. Then she pulled out the stunner she’d brought with her.

“What the hell’s going on?” he asked, apparently realizing something else was happening. Finally.

Without turning around, she said, “Samuel Dawson, you are under arrest for the procurement of secrets and the selling of those secrets for profit.”

Silence filled the room. She could feel the seething anger start to rise within him. Even without looking at him, she knew he wanted to kill her. And he would if she didn’t go through with her next threat.

She turned to face him and was not ready for the fury that now burned in his eyes. She deserved it and would be ready to do murder if their roles had been reversed. But, she didn’t give a damn. Or she would as soon as she told herself not to at least a million times.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Zenich Industries said that you stole some technology, along with positions of their undercover agents to sell. Your supervisor turned you in.”

She waited, knowing the explosion would come next. She didn’t have to wait long.

“You fucking bitch.”

The building shook from what sounded like an explosion.

“What the hell was that?” Dawson asked.

She shrugged. “You know this place. There’s always some kind of hit.” Which was true enough. Organized crime thrived on Arcadia, and on a night like tonight there would be a hit somewhere.

“You think you can get me off this planet without problems?” He asked as he looked to raise himself out of the chair.

She held the stunner out in front of her. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I don’t have to bring you in alive, and I won’t if you give me trouble.”

He sneered at the small weapon. “You think that scares me?”

“It should. It isn’t normal. I added five hundred nanovolts to it. You might survive, but the last guy I used it on never recovered.” She saw that her threat was working, thank God. She didn’t want to test it out on Dawson. “They say that he’ll never wake up, but he does relive the pain of the hit over and over in his coma.”

His eyes narrowed. She knew he was trying to decide if she was telling the truth. She was, although the collar she had used it on was not even close to Dawson’s size.

“Good, you look like you might just be acting smart for one time tonight. I have to take you to base camp. Am I going to have a problem with you?”

His jaw flexed as he ground his teeth. “No. Not at the moment.”

“Good. Now, let’s get you up and out of here. I have my transport pod waiting for me at the depot station down the street.”

She reached out for him, but he stopped her with one word. “Don’t.”

The cold tone made her want to recoil. Hell, she wanted to leave, just give up on the mission and go back to base camp. Why was she reacting this way? God, it was stupid, beyond asinine. Instead, she shrugged and watched as he lifted himself out of the chair. He stepped closer to her.

“Tell me something.”

“What?”

“Do you whore yourself out all the time, or was I just special?”

She felt the gash to her heart and the slice at her pride. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been a whore at one time. And usually, a man calling her that would end up with his balls aching from her knee. But instead she smiled.

“Anything to get the job done, slick.” With that, she motioned to the door with her stunner. “Let’s go.”

As his captor pushed him down the street, Sam mentally cursed himself. The one mistake he made, the one woman he knew he shouldn’t have anything to do with, but he had been too intrigued, too needy. Now she had a weapon that could fry him pointed at his back and he was being taken somewhere that would mean certain death. On top of that, she had confiscated his laser dagger. It was his favorite weapon, dammit.

Someone had set him up. Probably his supervisor. That retribution would come later. First, he had to get rid of the bitch he was with right now.

Denton and Reid needed to be warned. If their names had fallen in the hands of someone out for money, they would be dead by the end of the night.

“Hurry it up, Dawson. Big man like you should move faster.”

Hearing her voice made him want to snarl. Dammit to Hades, he wanted to use that fucking stunner on her himself. Unfortunately, the sick fuck that he was, he still wanted her. He was still aroused, still couldn’t forget the way it had felt to have her hands on him. Damn woman was going to drive him insane.

“What makes you think I’m dirty?” he asked, knowing that if he could distract her, he might be able to overpower her.

“Well, the accusations come from someone at Zenich Industries.”

“And?”

“And nothing. I just got the collar, and they put a lot of credits on your head. I needed them.”

There was something in her voice when she said it that struck him.

“How many?”

She sighed. “Five thousand.”

He stopped and turned. She almost ran into him.

“Don’t try anything, Dawson.”

“I’m not. But what could I have stolen that would be worth that much?”

She shrugged. “I’m sure you know what you took. Although the agents’ names alone would probably be enough. Don’t think you can distract me. Let’s get moving.”

He did as ordered as he pushed the problems with the price on his head away. He had to figure out how to get away from her so he could clear his name. Then he could investigate the set up. The street was deserted. The idea that either Reid or Denton would come to his rescue wasn’t an option. They knew when he went to bed with a woman they wouldn’t see him for at least the night, if not a day or two. So he had to create some kind of diversion to escape.

They turned the corner that led to the bar when he heard the first siren.

“Fuck,” Lou muttered.

The red and blue lights flashed as they neared where the bar was. Or where it had been. The whole front of the thing had been blown away. The multitude of law enforcement officers had both of them stopping in their tracks.

Neither of them said a word for a second or two as they watched the activity. Then someone noticed them. A reign of laser fire hit the building beside them. Adrenaline and fear pumped into his system as he felt her fingers wrap around his biceps.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

He glanced at her. “You don’t want to turn me over to the LEOs?”

She snorted. “And give up my credit? No fucking way.”

“Mercenary?”

She nodded. “You bet your cute ass.”

They slipped down the street away from the club and they came across a hunter he had seen before. Hendrix was a step above scum, although from his dingy clothes and the sunken expression on his face, he seemed to have slipped down with that scum.

“Going somewhere with my collar, Campbell?” Hendrix asked. Sam felt Lou’s hand tighten on his arm.

“I think you have that wrong. He’s mine.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought you didn’t go for men.”

Even as pissed as he was at Lou, Sam didn’t like the way Hendrix was looking at her. There was a predatory gleam in his eyes that sent a chill through his blood.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like men.”

“You turned me down.”

She snorted. “And what does that have to do with whether or not I like men?”

It took a second for her barb to hit home. The leering expression in the man’s eyes dissolved into anger and he pointed his gun in her direction.

“He’s mine.”

She sighed, the sound of it filled with irritation. He knew that she was losing her temper.

“Don’t push me, Hendrix.”

“You think you’re so smart. Of course you’re one of the best trackers. Why the hell do you think Flores sent you out after this one?” He tossed a sneer in Sam’s direction. “He’s not going ever pay you what he promised.”

She said nothing and Sam glanced in her direction. She was a bit taken back by that comment but she rallied. Straightening her arm, she aimed her stunner at her adversary’s groin.