Every Breath You Take (22 page)

The unspoken threat was clear.

Chapter 21

“Lexie, I honor you and trust you. But I cannot believe what you’re telling me. It is impossible. Shameful even to suggest such a thing.”

Lexie sighed. She’d expected Dan Rourke’s outrage. She could only imagine how she would feel if Dan suggested to her that Peter or Brady or God forbid, Jake, was involved with Young-soo. No, not involved, rather that he was the evil man’s emissary, his hideous enforcer.

“Dan, it
kills
me to tell you this.” Lexie encompassed Brady and Tiffany in her declaration. “It’s painful to us all. To Jake as well. But we didn’t think it was fair to go after the bastard without your knowledge. You are the most honorable man on the SFPD and Mark is a close second. It is up to you if you want to bring Mark into the conversation. We have absolute trust in your judgment.”

“Even if my
judgment
says that you are dead wrong? That you are crazy to think that Tom Roberts is what did you call him?
Hayan-sek Rhyong?
The White Dragon? Jesus, Lexie. What if that’s just street chatter? Scammers trying to bilk you?”

“Obviously that’s always a possibility. But Dan, you know how reliable my sources are. They have been responsible for every big break you and I have ever had. This time, no fewer than three of them mentioned the name
Hayan-sek Rhyong.
When I heard it from my premier source, I knew we’d nailed him.”

“Dammit, Lexie. And you too, Brady. There’s a fuckin’ lot of white men in this city besides Craig Spellman and my boss. Do you truly understand the implications of your accusation? This could bring down the SFPD. Make us infamous throughout the country, hell the world. Roberts is an up and coming political star. You have to know that. Selfishly, if it has to be one of them I would prefer it be that weasel, Commissioner Spellman.”

Brady broke in. “If it makes you feel any better, all four of us feel the same way. We didn’t want it to be Roberts, but I gotta tell you Dan, Lexie is right. The signs all point in his direction.”

“But you don’t have proof, correct? And adding insult to injury, you want me to help set up a sting to out my boss who is also my friend.”

Lexie groaned. “It’s worse than that, Dan. You tell him, Brady.”

“Tell me what? Dammit, what the hell could be worse?”

“It’s like this, man. We need your insights and confidential information that only someone on the inside can get. But—and this is straight from Jake—
we
will be running the op. As always, Jake is at the head. We’re using our guys. Which means that none of your men will be involved. We’re bringing in guys so deep that even Lexie and Tiffany don’t know who they are. But—and it is a big ‘but’, Dan. We need absolute deniability.”

The burly cop’s brow furrowed into deep ridges. “In other words, if something goes to shit, the SFPD takes the rap?”

Brady nodded in acknowledgement.

“Look, Dan. I
know
what we are asking. And I hope you know we wouldn’t ask it of anyone but you. You know us well enough to know that we wouldn’t go forward if we weren’t 99% sure we’re on target. But in any op, even one this well-planned, the unexpected can happen. We’re asking you to trust us, the way we trust you. We trust you with our lives and the lives of our team. All of them including, Jake, me, Tiffany and of course, Lexie.”

The big man growled, acknowledging that Brady had hit a nerve. It was common knowledge that Dan Rourke loved Lexie like a daughter. Like the rest of the team, he would kill anyone who tried to hurt her. His next question confirmed that he was in.

“What if we prove that it
isn’t
Roberts?”

Lexie jumped in. “That would be all to the good. We are not 100 percent sure it
is
him. In fact, given what we have to work with, we are not entirely sure that the op will out
Hayan-sek Rhyong.
Even if he somehow slips through, isn’t on site at the sting, it will be clear that we’re on to him. He has to be using his most trusted men to bring in the girls. The operation is so top secret that only my premier source knew the location and the timing.”

Brady added, “As always, Lexie is correct. The White Dragon may not be at the scene. In fact the odds are that he won’t be. But he has got to be on this initiative like white on rice. When we blow up their gig, the first person who will know what went down is our
Mr. E
. who we now can call by his street name—the White Dragon. And trust me, the second person who will be screaming his lungs out is Young-soo. “

Tiffany inched forward. “You and I haven’t worked together Captain Rourke, but the three people I trust with my life all indicate that you are one of us. Your help is essential. It will be my privilege to know that someone of your caliber is our wingman.”

Dan guffawed, a slight smile crossing his ruddy face for the first time since the beginning of the discussion. He glared at Brady in mock anger. “Christ, Schaefer, you and Gardner really do play dirty. You knew you could snag me by pushing the blonde in my face. But throwing in a redhead, a Major, no less? You’ve got me groveling on the ground, panting like a puppy dog begging to have his ears scratched. Without a doubt, you two plus that slippery-assed Councilman are the dirtiest and most dangerous men I know. But when it comes down to it, add in the two girls and you also are the most formidable team I’ve ever worked with. Know that my goal is to prove my boss’s innocence. But, hell, as always, I’m in for the whole deal no matter how it turns out.”

Lexie leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Not to be outdone, Tiffany hugged the Captain and kissed the other cheek.

Tiffany murmured, “What do you think, Lexie? Have we set our sights too low? I’m thinking a
true
big guy—an Irishman at that, is what we both could use.”

Lexie giggled. “Trust me. Jake is more threatened by Captain Rourke than even Brady or Peter. Tell you what, Dan. If either of our hotshots gets out of hand you may have a pair of eager admirers on your doorstep some night looking for a
real
man.”

Rourke chortled. “Can you girls promise to be quiet as church mice? My wife is a light sleeper.”

A deep voice broke through their raucous laughter as Jake and Peter entered the room.

“Now I know why I picked up that extra set of restraints from the Sweet Nothings shop. They were a bargain, Brady. Given your inclinations
and
that feisty redhead, I picked up an extra set for you. Now that the ‘girls’ have a backup, we’ll have to start tying them to the bed before we go to sleep.”

Lexie allowed Jake to drag her into his embrace but gave him a saucy grin.

“Not fair, big guy. You already have enough toys. I get the second set of restraints to use as
I
see fit. And if you think you have a good imagination…”

~~~

After the laughter died and Jake hauled out Master Wan’s best Jameson in honor of Dan Rourke, he motioned the group to the conference table.

Master Wan poked his head through the doorway and grinned. “I thought I heard laughter coming from this room. Now I see why. That Jameson is a surefire winner, especially when the Captain honors us with his presence.”

Rourke bowed in return at the gracious man’s welcome.

“I don’t know how you keep your cabinet stocked, Sir. Every time I meet up with these yahoos they are filching from your stash.”

Master Wan mused. “You’re right, Captain. The problem is that this group is either celebrating a victory or planning a dangerous operation that could fail as easily as it could succeed. The fact that I have to continually restock my cabinet is evidence that the celebrations are as frequent as the operations are dangerous.”

He gazed at Captain Rourke and nodded. “I understand from Lexie that this cadre of first class warriors is asking a great deal of you. If it helps, please know that I was party to the discussion in which they all agreed that you were an essential part of the mission. Thank you for your support.”

Jake caught Dan’s gaze. “That is an understatement, Dan. We couldn’t do this without you. And Goddamn, we know what we’re asking. Thanks, man.”

Rourke flushed, and he didn’t hide the moisture in his eyes. Everyone at the table knew the big Irishman was a softie and gave him the dignity of looking away. On more than one occasion, particularly when yet another young woman was brutally killed, Rourke had shamelessly cried. To his admirers, it confirmed that he was one of a kind.

“Lexie, have you told everyone the latest?”

“No, Jake, I wanted to wait for you. We couldn’t create the plan without you. Besides I wanted to make doubly sure that the news I got was correct.”

Responding to the questioning expressions from the team, Jake nodded to her and then turned to the others.

“Lexie called me an hour ago with some startling news. According to her source, the delivery is scheduled for tomorrow night. Instead of five days to plan our op, we have less than twenty-four hours.”

Brady spoke for the group. “Holy fucking Christ on a bicycle!”

Jake and Peter both laughed. “We’ve worked together too long, Brady. That was pretty much what both Peter and I said when we got the news.”

Four hours later, the glassy-eyed group went over the plan one more time. As always, Jake insisted that every member of the team totally buy in. If anyone balked, he reopened the discussion until they had consensus. The process was time consuming but worth it. Issues that had seemed to be no brainers at the outset got stronger or were eliminated altogether when one of them challenged it. Jake had promised himself he would rein in his concern about Lexie’s role. But it was the hardest damn thing he’d ever done. Seeing the strained grimace on Brady’s face, he knew his partner was struggling with the same issue.

Jake knew that this was a test of his principles as well as a test of his love for Lexie. He’d always insisted that every member of his teams had an equal say, that every person on the team had equal value. Absolute egalitarianism. The challenge was to find the tasks that used each member’s unique abilities and to work around those abilities.

When the arduous discussion and give and take were over, Jake declared the final decisions. As he assigned jobs, the look on Lexie’s face was one he would never forget. She was glowing. In that look, he saw that she knew how hard it was for him to place her in one of the most dangerous roles. But like everyone at the table, he agreed it was where she belonged. He sucked in a deep breath of air and grinned at her.

“See, Darlin’. Even a badassed North Carolina alpha dog can be brought to heel. Hope you know what it cost me. To do anything less would be a betrayal of everything I believe in. But don’t think for a minute that every guy on the team isn’t as freaked as I am that the two most dangerous roles on the mission will be played by the Blonde Barracuda and her fiery redheaded partner.”

Jake rose to his feet and raised his glass.

“To success. And to Mee-Yon, Bong-Cha, and Sun-Hi? We promise you. We will bring the fucker to his knees and settle for nothing less than ultimate success.”

~~~

Closing their bedroom door behind him, Jake reached for Lexie and dragged her back into his arms.

“C’mere, you.”

He rubbed his beard stubble against her soft cheek eliciting a cry that became an impassioned moan.

“Goddammit, Lexie, if this isn’t proof that I trust you, I don’t know what is. Christ baby, I’m already shaking in my boots and it’s fifteen hours until we pull the switch.”

Jake shoved her roughly up against the wall and nipped at the sensitive place beneath her ear. “Do you understand me, Lexie? I’m keeping my end of our bargain although it’s killing me. You gotta know that, Darlin’.”

Trembling at the sensations skittering over her, Lexie buried her face against his chest and struggled to catch a breath.

“I do, Jake. Honest, I do. I know how hard it is for you. I know how much you want to protect me, shelter me. Thank you. Thank you for believing in me. For trusting my skills, my intuition.”

She reached up and bracketed his face between her hands and looked deep into his eyes. “I love you, Jake. More than I thought I could love anyone.”

Feeling his fearsome arousal pressing against her groin, she wiggled her hips trying desperately to satisfy the erotic urges flooding over her. God, she loved this man
and
she wanted him.

Jake growled a deep animal sound. He grasped her under her arms and slid her up the wall. Resting her on his knee, his voice was rough, harsh with desire.

“Here, baby. Is this what you want? What you need? Do you want to ride me, Lexie? Ride me hard? Like that, Darlin’? Oh yeah!”

Lexie grabbed his hair and yanked his head down eager for his lips on her neck, her chest. Jake groaned and ripped open the front of her shirt. With a deft movement he unsnapped the clasp on her bra and freed her breasts.

At the rush of cool air against her fevered skin, Lexie whimpered and arched her back, aching for his mouth on her breasts. When he bent low and captured one throbbing nipple in his mouth, she cried out. “Yes! Please, Jake. Suck on me. God, yes! Like that!”

Groaning, Jake moved from one taut nipple to the other, licking, sucking then gently biting each sensitive nub. Lexie shrieked at the slight erotic pain, and begged for more.

Pressing her against the wall with his strong thighs, Jake worked the buttons on her pants and slid his hand between her legs. Reaching inside her soft folds, he muttered, “Christ, baby, you are so fucking wet. Damn, Lexie, do you know how hot this is? How much it turns me on? That you get wet in minutes, hell, in
seconds
when I start to make love to you? How it excites me that you’re as hungry for me as I am for you?”

At her pleading wail, he groaned. “Yeah, honey. I hear you. I know what you need. What I need. And baby, I’m gonna come
so hard
inside of you that you won’t be able to tell where I end and you begin.

“But, first, Darlin’, I need to taste you!”