Fighting (43 page)

My
hand was almost
twitching
to grab my table knife.  I slid my hands out
of his reach.

"You're
bound by Brooks' code of ethics and it's holding you back from greatness.  I
could set you free," he said.

"Don't
you have a code to live by?" I asked curiously.

"Yes. 
Don't get caught."

"What
about Brooks?  And the others?  Why are you only talking to me?" I asked.

"Because
I like you.  You're very good.  I didn't for a second think that you were at
that party for anything other than wanting to play dress up with your boytoy
until after I ran into you in that hallway and stole a fake statue.  And I know
Brooks; you must be good if he has you on his team."  He paused and
narrowed his eyes in consideration.  "You and I are more alike than you
think.  I believe we would work very well together," he said.

"What
about James?"

He
lifted his chin slightly and said, "You'll need to shed that dead weight,
but the others are welcome to join us.  Except for Brooks, of course."

As
in, he wanted Ethan out of the way.  I had yet to outright reject him again,
but I was done with that now.

I
stared at him blankly and said a touch sarcastically, "Of course we're
going to work for the son of a bitch who tried to have all of us fucking
killed."

He
looked a tad displeased as he rearranged his drink on the table, moving it over
two inches and mopping his finger through the condensation.  "Obviously,
things didn't go as planned.  You were supposed to have been taken hostage and
left at the mercy of your captors."

But why
. . . ?  Then the truth dawned on me. 
"You set us up so that you could save the day," I said, stunned at
the absurdity of it.

"It
was a brilliant plan, actually, but of course if you want something done right,
you need to do it yourself.  I'll remember that next time.  Anyhow, I was going
to save your lives and then you were going to
want
to work for me."

"You
can't social engineer yourself into our lives."

"Of
course I can.  You know that as well as I do."

"Wolf
in sheep's clothing.  Didn't work out like you'd hoped," I said. 

"Unfortunately. 
But I'll get you to convert."

"Tough
tits," I said.  His lips compressed with distaste.  Score.  "I've
already been recruited and I'm not easily persuaded."

"Yes,"
he agreed.  "You're very loyal.  That's so rare to find these days,"
he said with admiration.  He ran his index finger over his bottom lip.  "I
cannot deny that it's a big factor in my enthusiasm to covet you."  He
leisurely took a sip of his water and looked at me in contemplation.  "If
the prospect of working with an actual professional like myself doesn't entice
you, perhaps you could be convinced to jump ship for more money."

"True
loyalty can't be negotiated and I can't be bought."

"Anyone
can be bought," he argued.  "For the right price."

"If
you believe that, then you don't value loyalty as much as you think you do. 
You don't want me.  You don't even know me.  You're infatuated with the
idea
of me.  A novelty that will fetch you shiny toys and priceless works of art
and then suck your dick every night.  I'm here to tell you that it doesn't work
that way.  At least not with me."

His
eyes lit.  "Watch your mouth."  Then his eyes flicked down to my
mouth.  "It could work that way," he said suggestively, his voice
drenched in lust.

"It
won't," I countered immediately.

He
stood up and didn't look away from me as he walked around the table to sit
beside of me.  He faced his entire body toward me and rested a hand very close
to mine but I stubbornly held my position.  I was
this close
to stabbing
him with my fork, which was like four happy, tiny, evenly spaced knives.

"We
could be great together.  An unstoppable team.  I'm not the bad guy here.  I
just operate on a different set of rules," he said.

"You
don't get it.  I don't do what I do for greatness.  We help innocent people. 
You steal from them," I said.  "It's an entirely different
ballgame."

"Yes. 
I'm in the big leagues, where you belong."

"If
you want a female sidekick or fuckbuddy or trophy, go shopping down at the
local women's prison," I suggested lightly.  "I'm sure there are a
least a few criminals locked in there who are already conditioned to being
someone else's bitch.  They actually
want
to be saved.  You'll have
better luck there."

He
blew out an impatient breath.  "This isn't one sided.  I know you want me,
too."

I
couldn't hide my reaction.  I fought against laughing and asked, "The fuck
did you say?"

He
appeared upset, like the very idea of my rejecting him was ludicrous.  Or maybe
he just didn't like being laughed at.  Freaking narcissist.

 "I
saw the way you were looking at me at that party.  You were interested,"
he accused me.

God,
I was so done with this ridiculous conversation.

"I
was being polite," I said a touch impatiently.  "James was nowhere
near us, so it was the perfect opportunity for me to double-cross him without
him ever knowing, but I rejected you.  In fact, now is another golden
opportunity for me to cheat, because he can't hear our conversation, but I
choose him.  I will
always
choose him," I said vehemently.

I
was beginning to realize that I wasn't the best at following through with good
intentions.  So much for not flaunting.  Oops.

His
left eye twitched but he soldiered on anyway.  "Some women require more
persuasion before they drop everything and run away with a man.  You're one of
them.  I can respect that."

"Respect?"
I sneered.  "A woman says no and you still force yourself on her.  You
know what that's called, right?"

He
looked downright angry for the first time since we had been sitting together. 
He very subtly overextended his spine and pushed his shoulders back, demanding
respect from me. 

"I'm
giving you a week to reconsider my offer.  Even if you don't want to be with
me, you could work for me.  You're missing out frolicking around with Brooks
and James the way you have been.  You have so much potential.  Do you really
want to waste it?"

Why
did that exact question have so much more of an impact when Brooks asked me
that?  Oh right, Brooks wasn't a douche bag.  And he didn't use the word
frolic
. 
Pretentious asshole.

"What
happens after a week?  What happens if I still say no?" I asked.

He
glanced at Gary but didn't answer.  I reflexively looked over as well and
glimpsed a gun sticking out of Gary's waistband when he adjusted his suit
jacket.  On purpose, I'm sure.  I wanted to roll my eyes and remind Gary of the
first time we met, when I introduced him to my knife and turned his own gun
against him. 

Before
I fell into that temptation, Fletcher cupped my jaw and turned me to face him
as he leaned in to steal a kiss.  My pulse quickened in horror but I didn't
show weakness.  In a flash, without breaking eye contact, I reacted.  The
glasses and plates jumped noisily on the tabletop and he stopped just short of
my lips as his eyes flashed wider.  He gaped down at his hand that was still
resting on the table.  My table knife was protruding from the wooden table
between his thumb and index finger, close enough to press against his skin but
not cut it.  My hand was wrapped around the handle so tightly, it was
trembling.

Gary
made a show of putting a hand to his weapon and advancing aggressively, but I
didn't look away from Fletcher, knowing Ethan had my back.

"A
warning," I told Fletcher quietly.

"I'd
back the fuck up if I were you," Ethan said venomously from over my shoulder. 

I
wasn't sure if Ethan was talking to one or both of them, but they both
reacted.  I couldn't see him, but I was sure he was gripping his own concealed
weapon.  Gary halted in his tracks, no doubt recognizing Ethan as well, but
stubbornly didn't back away.

With
Fletcher still close enough to breathe on my lips, I pressed the knife that
Gary missed against his crotch and whispered slowly, "You
will not
touch
me if I don't want you to."

He
glared but leaned away and I reluctantly sheathed my throwing knife.  The
cutlery rattled as I yanked the knife out of the table.

"Ah
James, how wonderful to see you again," Fletcher said grimly.  "I
didn't think Lucy brought you with her."

"Let's
go," Ethan said, ignoring Fletcher's comment.

"Later,
Gare," I said.

I
turned my back on them and swiftly walked away.  Ethan followed, walking
backward to keep an eye on both of them.  As soon as we rounded the corner, he
turned around and walked beside of me.  He punched the elevator call button and
two seconds later, the doors opened to an empty elevator cage.

As
soon as the doors shut, he grabbed my shoulders and turned me toward him. 
Without a word, he lifted my shirt and removed a tiny audio bug that was
clipped to the top of my bra cup.  He dropped my shirt and disconnected the
battery, so it stopped transmitting, and tucked it into his jacket pocket.

I
looked at him in shock.  
How did I not know that was there
?  "You
bugged me?" I asked.

"Yes."

"You
heard that whole conversation?" I asked.

 "We're
in the elevator, on our way to Spencer," he reported.  Then he pocketed
his ear bud and shoved me against the wall.  "Every word," he
breathed against my mouth. 

He
thrust a hand into my hair and jerked my hips against his as he kissed me hard
enough to bruise my lips.  I didn't need any persuasion to match his
enthusiasm.  Just having him close was enough to set me on fire.  He ran greedy
hands all over my body, fanning the flames.  He shoved one hand down my pants
to grab my bare ass, and I knew then that I'd always fucking love it when he
did that.  I yanked at his shirt impatiently, nearly forgetting that we were in
an elevator that could be crowded with strangers in seconds.  I settled for
pressing my fingertips against his shoulder blades and dragging them down
toward his ass. 

Our
kiss was frenzied and out of control as our lips and tongues devoured each
other.  I lifted a leg and pressed it against his hip, trying to crawl up his
body.  He caught on to the idea and added his other hand to my ass and lifted
me up.  I wrapped my legs around his waist as he pushed me against the wall and
I felt him hard against me.  I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, trying
to meld our bodies together.  My head was slightly elevated above his and I
kissed him more aggressively, savoring the taste of him like it would be my
last.

The
elevator bell rang and the doors slid open.  He didn't immediately drop me, but
he did break our kiss.  We were both out of breath and panting on each other,
but neither of us released the other.  His eyes burned and his jaw clenched,
and I didn't know whether he was angry or just really turned on, but either
way, he was hot as hell. 

Someone
coughed awkwardly and said, "Excuse me, but you're in front of the
buttons."

"I'm
shooting the next person who interrupts us," Ethan growled at me.

The
stranger sucked in a quick breath, obviously having heard him.  He gave me a
dark look that promised that we weren't done and gently lowered me to my feet. 
He withdrew his hand that was still in my pants slowly, so that his fingertips
curled against my skin like he didn't want to let go.  He glanced at the panel
and saw that we were on the ground floor, so he grabbed my hand and we zipped
through the lobby and to the street. 

"Sorry
I left you frustrated.  Again," I said.

He
smirked and pulled me closer as we walked across the street to Spencer. 
"You effortlessly make me hard every day, babe.  Sometimes all you have to
do is smile at me a certain way or hell, bend over.  This is nothing new, it's
just more . . . intense."

My
eyes flashed but I couldn't respond because we reached the coffee shop and
Spencer, who was waiting on a couch but jumped to his feet as soon as he saw
us.  We flew to the back of the shop and exited out the back door and into an
alley.  Ethan took a wand shaped device from Spencer and ran it all over my
body to look for bugs or tracking devices that Fletcher could have planted on
me.  It made a high pitched squeal when he hovered it over my shoulder.

"Son
of a bitch," I swore.

Ethan
handed Spencer the wand and rolled the top of my shirt down to reveal a tiny
tracking bug.  He lowered his hand to drop it on the pavement and crush it with
his foot.

"Wait!"
I cried out. 

I
took the bug from him and ran back into the coffee shop.  I spotted the first
woman leaving the shop and hurried after her.  I bumped into her so I could
plant the tracker on her and apologized profusely and then I turned and rushed
back to Ethan and Spencer.