Chapter Thirteen
She was driving him seriously insane.
And she wasn’t even trying.
Two days she’d been “working” for him, and his brain had ceased to function. He wasn’t getting anything done. She was ignoring him. As much as she could when she was working with him and living with him. She was still in bed when he left in the morning—and after that first time, he’d found the door locked when he’d tried to go in. Both nights, they’d left the office together, but she’d been silent on the drive home, sitting as far away from him as she could in the closed space of the back seat of the car. It was as though she might catch something. And once at the apartment, she’d disappeared inside her room as soon as they arrived, only popping out when the pizza delivery arrived, grabbing the box and the beers and vanishing again. She’d refused to eat with him. He’d offered to take her out again, but she’d said no.
He kept on the reflector device at all times. Occasionally, he thought about taking it off, letting her see what he was thinking.
Travis hadn’t appeared yet. He’d gone dark, out of contact with anyone. It was puzzling, though not totally unheard of.
His phone rang. Ethan picked it up.
“The conference is set for tonight. I’ll send you the details,” his father said.
After his father had hung up, Ethan called Fergus, told him to get up there. He would have to make the plans—who would go, what security was needed. When he put the phone down, he sat staring into space. Would Sadie find the answers? Could it all be over tonight? For so long, the past had haunted him, controlled his life.
Maybe he’d find that his mother’s death had really been an accident. And he’d be able to put it behind him and finally give his all to the Conclave. Be the man he was born to be.
What would he do about Sadie?
So far, she’d failed to find her people. He’d given her full access to the files—which Fergus thought was idiotic. But she already knew so much, it seemed pointless limiting her. Only the information on those files wasn’t enough. They tended not to keep detailed records of the various projects.
Travis would have to be at the party tonight. Attendance was mandatory. He would get the information from him. But Travis was bound to question him as to why he needed it, and he had yet to come up with a plausible explanation. The Conclave was mired in secrecy. It was the way things were.
He stared at the phone. He should call and tell Sadie about the party. But she was in the next room, why not go tell her?
Christ, he was a mess.
Like a randy teenager.
All the same, he got to his feet and crossed the room before he could tell himself he was an idiot…again. He opened the door and leaned in the doorway, his eyes fixed on her.
She was in another of her “working” outfits. A red suit with a short tight skirt and a short tight jacket. She sat on the sofa, a laptop on her knees, a frown of concentration on her face. She didn’t even look up, though, he was certain she was quite aware he was there.
She was doing the ignoring him thing again, and it was pissing him off. Maybe it was time to show her that he didn’t appreciate being invisible. He strode across the room, grabbed the laptop, tossed it onto the sofa, took her hand, and pulled her to her feet.
“What the—”
He stopped her words with a kiss. He hadn’t meant to kiss her. But once he started, he couldn’t stop. His hands slid into the short silky hair at the back of her neck. Tipping her head, his mouth came down hard on hers. For a moment, she held herself rigid, and then she melted against him. Her lips parted beneath his and her tongue pushed inside. She took the initiative from him, her hands slipping around his waist, fingers digging into his back, pressing herself up against him. He went hard almost instantly. He had no control over his body’s responses.
She was driving him insane.
But knowing that made no difference. Without breaking the kiss, he slid his hands down her arms, over her hips. Bending slightly, he stroked over her thighs, then under the short skirt, pushing the material out of the way, finding the tight globes of her ass. He cupped her through the thin silk, and then lifted her, turning and taking the few steps to the desk, sitting her on the edge, kissing her some more. Her thighs parted, her legs wrapping around him, pulling him closer, and his dick pulsed with need.
Finally, he ran out of oxygen and slowly raised his head. He met her midnight-blue gaze as he pressed his erection into the softness between her thighs. Her eyelids drooped, but she didn’t protest, or try to stop him.
He flicked open the button on the red jacket, slid it from her shoulders, and dropped it to the floor. Beneath it, she wore a simple white tank top. Through the thin material, he could see her nipples, tight little peaks. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over one, and a shiver ran through her. He pushed the strap off one shoulder. Went to push the other—
The phone on the desk rang, and he went still.
Ignore it.
For long seconds, she stared at him, and then she blinked, gave herself a little shake, and reached for the phone. She relaxed her legs from around his waist, then placed the palm of her hand on his chest, and shoved hard. Not hard enough to move him, though. He stood there, just to prove that he could.
A low growl sounded from the floor behind the desk. He glanced past her and stared into dark brown eyes. The Doberman lay on the floor, head raised, lip curled. Then he blinked and lowered his head to his paws.
Ethan took a step back, watching her as she listened to whoever was on the phone. Her lips were slightly swollen from his kisses, her nipples still hard.
But somehow, he was aware the moment had passed.
She ended the call, put the phone down, and considered him, her head cocked on one side. “It wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“I’m getting to the point where I really don’t give a fuck.” His gaze dropped down over her body. “How about you?”
She shrugged but didn’t answer.
“I’m guessing if that phone hadn’t rung, I’d be deep inside you right now.”
Something flashed in her eyes.
“Don’t you want to know how that feels? My cock filling you.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want. Some things are more important and it would…complicate matters.”
“What? You think if you fuck me, then you might find it a little bit harder to kill me when this is all over? You do still plan to kill me, don’t you?”
“I don’t know what will happen.” She pressed a finger to her forehead, rubbed the spot between her eyes. For the first time, he saw a flicker of vulnerability. “This was all so simple once. I wanted revenge. The Conclave murdered my sister, killed my friends. They deserved to die.”
“Except?”
“It’s never simple.”
No, it wasn’t. He knew that better than anyone. His feelings for the Conclave were so complex that most of the time he had no clue what he thought. The truth was there were good people and bad within the organization. Unfortunately, the more ruthless among them tended to rise to the top. You had to be willing to fight for your place. Time to change the subject.
“So was the call important?” What he meant was, was it worth interrupting what might be his last chance to fuck her? Because after tonight, everything would change.
“It might be.”
…
Sadie jumped down from the desk and straightened her skirt. Her legs wobbled a little, but she locked her muscles. He was right. If that call hadn’t interrupted them, they would be making love right now. It was a strange thought; she didn’t think she had ever made love before. She’d had plenty of sex but that was a different thing entirely. And even if it was just fucking to Ethan, to her it would be more, because she had heard him whisper the words “I love you” while he was deep inside her. In her dreams.
Could she still kill him? If it came down to that, she might have to. But not because Kane said the Conclave all had to die. She’d need a far better reason. But maybe he would leave her no choice. She was aware that his ultimate loyalties lay with the Conclave. If that became a threat, then could she end him? He’d worn the reflector device continuously. She’d not even had a glimpse into his head. She knew he wanted her. But she had no belief that that little fact would influence him in any material way. He didn’t care for her. Didn’t love her. Yet.
Shit, she had to put that out of her mind.
She forced her thoughts back to the phone call. It was maybe the breakthrough she’d been looking for. So far, she’d found no connection. She’d been looking from the Conclave end, investigating financial reports, companies they “owned.” The organization was vast, sprawling, spread across the globe. As he’d promised, Ethan had kept his side of the bargain and had provided her with all the assistance he could, including access to the Conclave’s files. But the task had been impossible. So she’d decided to look from the other direction. The materials needed were specific and not common—the metals combined in a process that needed certain machinery. Only a few companies were capable of providing the quantities needed. She’d looked at the contractor the colonel had used first, and found nothing. Then she’d moved on to other companies, starting with the biggest. And she was pretty sure she’d found the order. Now all she needed to do was trace who made that order and where the shipment went. With luck, she’d find Kaitlin and the others.
Crossing to where her laptop lay on the sofa, she sat down, opened the lid, and stared at the screen for a moment. She’d had the invoice sent to her, and she studied it for a moment. A tingling in her gut told her she was on the right track. She glanced up and found Ethan still there; she’d almost forgotten him. “Come look at this,” she said. He would likely know if there was a Conclave connection, quicker than going through the convoluted files. He had a brain like a computer.
He strolled across and sank down beside her. “What is it?”
“An invoice for the materials needed to build cells like the one the government used to imprison Kaitlin.” She studied the quantities, did the math in her head. “Enough for five cells.” She looked at the date. “It was made before they killed Teagan.”
“Teagan.”
“She was one of the ones recaptured by the government. She was injured, not fatally, but they killed her to try and get Jake to give himself and the others up.” That had been Kane’s fault. While he hadn’t told them specifically to kill someone, he’d said to use whatever means necessary to bring Jake and the others in. “What do you think? Is it your lot?” She was battling down the excitement. She hadn’t really, totally believed that they were still alive. She’d hoped, but it had been so long. This was the first tangible evidence that they survived. That there was a reason nobody had heard a whisper from any of them.
He gave a slow nod. “The company is owned by a Conclave member. I don’t recognize the shipping address, but it’s easy enough to check up. I’ll get someone on it.”
She shook her head. “No. Don’t do that. Don’t alert anyone that we know anything. Or they’ll move them, and we’ll have to start all over again.”
“You don’t trust me?”
She gave the reflector device a pointed look. “I don’t trust anyone whose mind I can’t read.”
“So what will you do?”
“I’m not sure yet.” Actually, she knew exactly what she needed to do and that was pass the information to Jake. He could get them out of there. Once they were free, then she could decide what her next move would be. She peered at Ethan. He was staring straight ahead, deep in thought. Then he turned to her.
“It seems I’ve kept my side of the bargain. You’ve very likely found your friends.”
Not until they were free. She still didn’t know if they were even alive. This proved that they had intended to keep them alive, and explained why they’d had no contact, but who knew what had happened since their capture.
“And tonight,” he continued, “you’ll get the opportunity to keep your side. And then, this will be over.”
She stared into his eyes. “The annual conference?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I’ll keep that to myself as long as possible. Which I’m quite aware, is not very long. Fergus is setting up my security.”
So presumably, all she had to do was get close to Fergus and she could pick out all the details. They hadn’t managed to get hold of any more of the reflector devices. Fergus was not happy. “Are you going to tell me exactly what you want me to find out? I know it’s something about your mother.”
Shock flashed across his face, then was gone. “Of course, you would have picked that up.” He got to his feet. “I’ll tell you more before the party.”
“Is it a fancy party?”
“Very fancy. That’s when you’ll get the chance to meet everyone.”
“And pick their brains. How many of you are there?”
“Right now, thirty-two inherited members.”
“Should be doable. But I won’t be able to read your father. Not if he’s wearing the reflector device.”
“Or presumably Travis, for the same reason. We’ll worry about that if you get nothing from the others.” He considered her for a moment. “You’ll need a dress.”
“Maybe Fergus can take me shopping.”
His lips twitched. “He’ll enjoy that. But I can get some sent in.”
“No. I fancy a shopping trip. There’s nothing else I can do here.” She was itching to get out and contact Jake. She knew how much this would mean to him. How responsible he’d felt for losing the others.
“Max.”
She reached out to the dog in her mind, and he responded immediately. He rose to his feet, his claws clicking on the tiled floor. He came to stand in front of her, nudging her with his nose and whining softly.
“I think he needs to go out,” she said.
“How convenient.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll take our guards. I won’t back out on my part of the deal. If the information you’re looking for is there tonight, I’ll get it for you.”
Would he let her out? If not, she’d have to find a different way to contact Jake. And if worse came to worse, she’d phone, but all her calls were monitored, and she could talk more freely if she could reach Jake, mind to mind. If he were still insistent on attacking the Conclave at the party, then she needed to know. And that wasn’t a discussion she was willing to have with Ethan listening in.
“Go then.”
She got up, picked up her jacket from the floor—a stark reminder that he’d kissed her only minutes ago. She could sense his gaze on her as she fastened the jacket and headed to the door, Max by her side.
“It’s strange,” he said as her hand reached for the door. “I have no clue why, but I trust you. You’re one of only two people that’s true of.”
She turned and looked at him. “Don’t,” she said, and then she left the room. Her guards slid into position behind her as she exited the elevator on the ground floor. No doubt Ethan had informed security. She took no notice of them as she made her way out of the building. As Jake had promised, there was always someone close to her at all times. She couldn’t contact them from within the building, but once outside she picked up Ryder’s presence immediately.
“Tell Jake I need to talk to him.”
“I’ll call him immediately.”
She thought for a moment. She would hopefully have more information that afternoon, especially if she could get close to Fergus. She’d hold Ethan to that shopping trip, though, shopping had never been one of her favorite things. But it would be an excuse to get out again. “This afternoon. Say around two.” Where did people go shopping for dresses? “Harrods.”
“Harrods?”
She could hear the disbelief in his thoughts. “I’m going shopping.”
He snorted. “Have you ever been shopping?”
Actually, she did everything over the internet. “No, but there’s a first time for everything.”
“I’ll tell him.”
“Thanks. And Ryder…I think I’ve found them.”
She had a personal shopper. Ethan had arranged it, although probably not Ethan himself. She somehow doubted he knew any more about shopping than she did. No doubt one of his many staff had made the arrangements. She was a woman of about thirty, and was a mine of totally useless information, which Sadie planned to expunge from her mind as soon as she walked out of this shop.
She was in the changing room, trying on long dresses—her personal shopper had been sent detailed notes of what she would need—when Jake made contact.
“You’ve found them.”
“I think so.”
“Tell me.”
She went over the details of how she’d traced them, gave him the address of the facility where she presumed they were being kept.
“What do you think?” she asked as she finished up.
He was silent for a moment, but she could sense the suppressed excitement, buzzing from his brain. “I think they were there at some point. Whether they’re still there is another matter.”
He was being cautious, and she couldn’t blame him. “But this explains why we’ve not heard from them.”
“I just…Christ, I want to believe they’re alive but…”
“You’re scared to build up your hopes. But at least now, there’s something to build on.”
“You’re right. So what happens next? I want you out of there.”
“Just give me a sec.”
She unzipped the long purple dress she was trying on and wriggled out of it, then picked up the next one, a simple black dress that miraculously transformed into something totally special when she slipped it over her head and smoothed the material over her hips.
“Are you still there?” Jake asked.
“I’m trying on dresses.” She crossed to the mirror and stared.
“Really?”
“Yeah. And I look fucking good.” The material clung to every line of her body. She turned and peered over her shoulder. It dipped at the back, almost to the swell of her ass.
“Why are you trying on dresses?”
“Because I’ve got a party to go to.”
“The Conclave.”
“Yeah. It’s their annual conference tonight. They’ll all be there.”
“I don’t think you should go.”
While she thought about her answer, she slipped the dress from her shoulders so it pooled on the floor. Leaning down, she picked it up and tossed it over the back of the chair. She had her dress. She didn’t bother with the others hanging up around the changing room. “Why?” she asked. “Because you want to blow them all up, and I might get in the way?”
He was silent for a minute. “You know this is our chance to finish this thing.”
“Is that you or Kane talking?”
“Kane. But he has a point.”
“We don’t kill indiscriminately. Besides, if he’s worried about secrecy, then it’s not a problem. The Conclave has him beat—secrecy is their middle name. No one knows what anyone else is doing. I can check that tonight, but if it’s the case, then we take out this Travis guy and we’re clear.”
“No, we’re not.”
She knew exactly what he meant. There were others in the Conclave now who knew of their existence. Ethan, his father, Fergus—who right now was in the next room with her personal shopper, totally pissed off. Jesus, it was messy. She tried to think about killing Ethan, but couldn’t get her head around it. Or Fergus. Ethan’s dad she wasn’t so sure about. Maybe she could kill him.
“Sadie?”
“I don’t think Ethan is a threat. And you don’t want to kill innocent people any more than I do.”
“No, you’re right.” But she could hear the frustration in his thoughts. “I’d still rather you didn’t go.”
“I can pick up some valuable information. Besides, I still have to keep my side of the deal.”
“You owe him nothing.”
“We made a deal, and he’s kept his side.”
“If they’re still alive. So can you give me the details—location, numbers…?”
She gave him everything she’d pulled out of Fergus’s head as she pulled on the red suit again, finally asking, “So what will you do?”
“We’re going to get them out if they’re alive. Tonight. But I’m going to send someone to watch the party. If you see any sign of trouble, you get out of there.”
“I will. Cross my heart…”
He snorted. “You’ve never been any good at doing what you’re told. So how are things with Weiland?”
What was she supposed to say to that? Hot? “Fine.”
He snorted again. “Have any more of your dreams come true.”
“Not yet.”
“You’d tell me if you saw anything you think I’d need to know, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then I’ll see you tonight. After the party. Be careful.”
“I will.”