Chapter 5

Janus

It didn’t take me long to get to Athens after finishing up those documents and getting all of the information from Leviathan about who had burned me.

I admit that I’m still having a hard time wrapping around the revelation of who it was.

It was bad enough that I had been thinking about her when it all went down, but then for her to be the one who compromised me?

Damn it, Dani!

I’m back to thinking about that night in South Sudan three years ago and how she’s the only woman who ran out on me before I had a chance to do it to her.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up with the hopes of waking her and talk her out of her damned stupidity—only to see that she was gone.

I’ve tracked her loosely since then—at the time, I just wanted to make sure she’d be okay. I thought she was a soft, vulnerable doll that didn’t know what she was getting into. Turns out, she knew how to handle herself and knew how to get in and out of a dangerous situations with her story—and her cute arse—intact.

Getting into Dani’s room was easy.

I went straight up and knocked. I was ready to unload all of my frustration on her at that point, but when I realized she wasn’t answering, I let myself in. The master key was easy to copy.

I make myself a drink and hang out at her desk, lightly going over a few of her articles by her computer. I’m tempted to open it and see what she’s working on, but really, I don’t need anything from it.

I’m not here to gather Intel or eliminate a target. I’m here to ask her what the fuck I ever did to her to make her call the goddamn GSG9 on me.

It can’t be sour grapes after all this time. Besides, she ran out on me.

I’m sipping my drink when I hear the jostling of movement in the bathroom as the water shuts off.

I sit back and put my feet on the desk next to the computer. My eyes lock onto the bathroom door—waiting impatiently for her to step out.

She’s humming to herself when she steps out, wrapped in a thick white towel. She doesn’t see me immediately as she’s drying her hair with another towel.

She tosses the towel to a nearby chair and shakes her hair out, turning away from me. I clear my throat lightly.

She spins around like she’s been stung, not leaping away or screaming, just turning to face me, feet planted firmly and fists clenched. The towel comes undone at the top and starts to slide.

She grabs it with one hand, raking me over with her eyes.

“Janus?”

“That’s me.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, obviously.”

“I don’t mean here. I mean, why are you in my room?”

She straightens, holding the towel across her breasts.

I take my feet off the table and sit up.

“I like to make personal visits on people that burn me. You might call it a job requirement.”

I stare her down coldly, not a spot of humor on my face. Burning a guy is not a trivial matter. I was lucky I didn’t have any overly sensitive information at the time.

I was foolish enough to trust her once with the location of that safe house in Berlin. I thought she and I could spend time there together.

I’m not taking this breach of trust lightly.

Even if she is standing in front of me in nothing but a towel with her arms crossed over her breasts, hair wet and curly around her face, skin glowing in the late afternoon sun.

It’s quite the sight, but not enough to make me forgive her.

It’s a good start, though.

She huffs slightly. “I needed to get your attention.”

“Seriously? There are better ways of getting a man’s attention.”

“But not better ways of getting yours. I need you.”

That brings an easy smile to my face. “Oh, yeah? This is gonna be good. I’m not doing private body guard work right now.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” She relaxes a bit, eyes going big and pleading. “I have evidence of a human trafficking ring here in Greece. My boss is trying to pull me out, but if I can get a foothold here, then I can stay. I can’t just walk away. Not from this.”

“What sort of evidence?”

“Witness statements. Photos. I’ve been meeting with family members of refugees, talking about how their children have disappeared. Family members. I have ideas and leads that point me toward where they’re operating, but I’m getting stonewalled by the Greek officials. So, I think they must be on the payroll.”

“Interesting.”

I hold my lip under my teeth as she leans over the couch, grabbing a couple of folders that she brings over to the desk.

She leans over me as she opens them and starts pulling out papers and photos. One hand holds the towel at her chest while she flicks through pulling out files. Her scent is warm and hot and sweetly fragrant, the heat of her recent shower dissipating into the air in a heady, floral scent.

I never thought I would see her again. I really thought our paths would never cross again.

Now she’s so close, I can smell her and almost taste her. For an instant, images run through my mind, making my fingertips tingle.

There’s been no one like her before or since Sudan.

The electricity of her touch. The depth of her gaze. Her fierce passion.

I can’t deny I’m having trouble thinking rationally right now—all I want to do is throw her on the table and fuck her.

“Here are some pictures of missing girls. Lots of children. The refugees arrive by truck or boat to several different locations. They are told that they will be moved into camps and workplaces. Usually, they just truck them straight to private buyers. Look at this.”

She places a photo in front of me. There’s a crowd of young children, all dirty and in torn clothes. Most of them don’t have shoes. They’re crying as they are herded into a van.

“Some were orphans when they came here. Some had their parents killed or abducted upon arrival. From what I can tell, they’re all sold to private buyers to be pets or slaves.”

I look over the photos carefully.

Orphans being used as slaves is bad enough. Turning them into orphans to make them slaves is even worse. I can feel myself getting quietly angry—not a good combination with the lust that’s rising as surely as her warm scent.

“So, what do you want me to do?” I ask carefully, looking at the pictures and not at her.

“I need to figure out if the authorities are in the pockets of the traffickers, for starters. But I also need to find out where they’re operating and learn who’s in charge. Even better if you have any contacts around we could use to break the ring. Do you? Could we do that?”

I look up at her. She’s standing over me, almost forgetting to hold the towel up. Her eyes are alight with fire, and her face is intense.

She cares about the people more than she cares about the story. That’s what makes her so good.

The enthusiasm slowly bleeds out of her face as I stare back impassively.

I’ve got a riot of emotions inside me right now, and that’s not a comfortable place for me. I don’t want to help someone who burned me, no fucking way.

But I also don’t want kids being orphaned and used as slaves.

It’s a hell of a thing she’s walked into here. It’s like South Sudan all over again.

“Why did you burn me? Seriously?”

She looks away, face falling. When she looks back up, her eyes are soft and apologetic.

“I’m sorry, Janus. Truly, I am. I couldn’t think of any other way to contact you. I honestly didn’t think you would be there.”

“I suppose I have to admire your resourcefulness. Come to think of it, I don’t know a better way to get my attention. But don’t share my private locations with any agencies ever again. Ever. Understand?”

She nods lightly, straightening up and heading back towards the bedroom.

“So, does that mean you’re going to help me?”

I graze my eyes over the photos again.

I look up and nod.

She smiles. “Excellent. Let me get dressed, and I’ll buy you some dinner downstairs. Then we can talk about everything.”

“Sounds good.”

I’m trying to focus on the situation, but all I can think about now is what’s under that towel. Especially since she was close enough to touch only five seconds ago.