Only (4 page)

“I'm sorry but I'm late.” Kyra reached around Gena and tugged on the drawer, opening it just wide enough to slip out the unopened hosiery package.

“You're making me dizzy.” Gena lifted her hands in the air and plunked down on the bed and out of the way. And since the apartment consisted of a bed, a double chair, a kitchenette and little else, being in the way was pretty easy if more than one person was involved.

Gena leaned back with her palms against the mattress. “Are you really not going to tell me what happened last night?”

Kyra ruthlessly valued her privacy but recently opened up to Gena. Five months of tiptoeing around a friendship could do that. They didn't yet have a revolving-door policy, but close. Gena had a key and some idea about Kyra's love life plans.

Kyra wrinkled up her nose as she debated how much to divulge now. She trusted Gena but this thing with Bast, whatever it was, was so new and not defined. Hell, it might not even get off the ground, but not for lack of trying on her part. “I got one step closer.”

“Really?” Gena's mouth dropped open. “To this Sebastian guy?”

Not the biggest vote of confidence, but Kyra ignored that. “He goes by Bast.”

“One step meaning you kissed him or one step meaning you can accurately report on whether the rumors about him are true?”

Kyra stopped spinning around, looking for another gym bag, and stared at her friend. Kyra saw concern and something else lingering behind those big blue eyes. “Not you, too.”

“I own a computer and know how to use it.” Gena tapped her forehead as she talked. “You gave me his name a few weeks ago and I looked him up. Not like it was hard. The guy is all over the Internet. There are interviews with his wife.”

“Ex,” Kyra said, jumping in before Gena finished her sentence. “That's an important distinction.”

“My point is, the guy is notorious.”

Taking an extra second she didn't have, Kyra dropped the stuff weighing down her arms and sat down next to Gena. “How much do you think is real?”

“Is that your plan? To find out?”

That sounded like Bast talking. Kyra didn't like the theory no matter who said it. “I'm not looking to be a chapter in the next book.”

“Then what do you want?” Gena reached over and picked up Kyra's hand.

“Him. Every inch of him.”

The unconditional affection was one of the things Kyra loved about her friend. Her mother had died before Kyra hit elementary school and her father believed in ruling by intimidation, so openness was pretty foreign to her. Gena touched and hugged everyone. Something Kyra took a while to get used to and which still caused her to involuntarily tense at times.

Gena stilled. “Wait a second.”

Kyra's fingers went numb from the force of Gena's squeezing. “Uh, ow.”

“This is real?”

Kyra tugged her hand out of the vise grip and shook it to get the blood flowing again. “What's wrong with you?”

“I thought this was some fancy crush. That you wanted to check him out because you were curious but he didn't actually mean anything to you.” Gena got up and paced to the small chest of drawers across from the end of the bed.

Something weird happened in the last two seconds and Kyra wasn't sure what. “Wrong.”

Gena looked at her hands then the floor. Everywhere but up. “Kyra, I . . .”

“Say it.”

“I'm worried about you.” Gena faced Kyra now. “This guy seems like the type who will have some fun then move on fast.”

So, that's what friendly concern felt like. Kyra didn't hate the sensation though Gena could work on her delivery a bit. “I hope not.”

“You're thinking long term? God, Kyra. I had no idea this was more than a crush on a powerful guy you happened to know.”

When Gena continued to look as if she'd swallowed rotten fish, Kyra stood up and went to her. “Hey, you really are worried about me, aren't you? Don't be. I know the downside. I've thought this through.”

“Of course.”

Reality was she'd been taking care of herself for a long time. Wade had stepped up and rescued her from what would have been a rough life, likely pawned off on one of her dad's underlings and running the streets looking for marks. Wade insisted on helping pay for college and she worked to save the rest, even taking time off to stockpile some cash. Wade's only requirement was that she stay away from their father. Wade just had no idea how hard that was.

For the first time that she could remember, Kyra reached out and touched Gena's shoulder. “Trust me. I have this under control.”

Gena's pained expression didn't ease. “Just be careful.”

Bast put his briefcase down in the booth at his usual table and gave Elijah the okay to order whatever he wanted. Bast had one more piece of business before he could go in search of Kyra. He almost hoped she didn't work tonight because being off meant more touching, and right now he couldn't think of much else.

Then Becca motioned for him to meet her across the dining room. She leaned against the doorframe leading to the back office hallway. As usual in the club, she wore a sleek formfitting dress, this time dark blue. It hugged every curve and stopped right above her knee. The thing probably drove Jarrett to total distraction. Her brown hair flowed in waves over her breasts and that face had more than one man in the room risking Jarrett's wrath to take a peek.

What none of the men here knew was her background as a CIA field agent. She'd been trained to infiltrate, and collect and decipher information. To do whatever she had to do to get the job done, including killing, which was one of her specialty areas. Next to Eli, she was the most dangerous person in the room, and that was saying something since high-ranking government officials with the president's ear sat scattered around the room at private tables.

The Becca Bast knew preferred cargo pants and T-shirts to fancy dresses but she knew how to play the game and fit in. They'd had a rocky start since she once sent Jarrett to jail, and that shoved Bast's trust of her past the breaking point, but he'd grown to like her. She stepped up and fought for Jarrett instead of leaving him about a month ago. She put his safety before her own, and Jarrett loved her so much he couldn't see straight. That last reason was good enough for Bast to give her a second chance.

He slipped in next to her and surveyed the room. “I'm not used to the early crowd.”

“It's almost seven.”

He winked at her. “Like I said, early.”

A smile lit up her face. “Thanks for stopping by on such short notice.”

She'd called as he left the office. Her request for a meeting worked perfectly for cover with his plans to track down Kyra. “I'd planned to eat here tonight anyway.”

Becca nodded in the general direction of Bast's regular table. “I see you brought Elijah.”

“Is that a problem?” Bast knew all about Elijah and Becca's rough history. He'd heard them yell at each other more than once, but that hadn't happened in weeks.

“Not for me, though I think he still hates me.” Her smile didn't falter as she said it. “I'm impressed with how you cleaned him up. The dress pants and blazer are nice touches. He no longer looks ready to kill someone every second. That's progress of a sort.”

“If you say so.”

Word was Becca and Elijah butted heads even when they worked together at the CIA. Then there was a day more than a month ago when Bast walked in to find them locked in battle, with Elijah pulling a gun on Jarrett and Becca pulling a few weapons of her own. The whole scene still made Bast chuckle, but only because Jarrett defused it and no one actually got shot. Which was nothing short of a miracle.

Bast watched now as Elijah tried not to look over at the bar and the man behind it. Eli paged through a folder and glanced at his phone. Did everything to look disinterested in his surroundings, which Bast knew not to be true.

After a short time working together, Bast realized Eli constantly soaked in information. Probably part of his training but a really helpful gift. Bast doubted Eli could turn that off just because he sat in the club.

It was a real shame none of those skills Elijah collected had to do with being a people pleaser. “I've discovered Eli is not a big fan of humans in general.”

“Except Wade.”

Bast's gaze shot over to the man in question, the same man sneaking peeks in Elijah's direction. The two men went to great lengths not to notice each other. Never mind that each had stopped cold when their gazes met a few minutes ago. No way had that attraction died.

Bast exhaled. “Right, except Wade. Not that Elijah admits to his feelings on that score.”

“The lovesick staring gives him away.” Becca leaned forward and looked around Bast at Wade. “Both of them. They're making me nuts with this.”

“Is this why you called me here? Are you matchmaking?” Not really his expertise, but if she wanted to try, Bast figured he could help. If only to stop the pathetic displays of masculine stupidity.

“Actually, I wanted to talk about club security,” she said.

Now that subject sat well within Bast's comfort zone. “Did something happen?”

“This is more of a coverage question.”

He listened but his gaze kept sweeping the room for any sign of the sexy blonde who had his nuts in a grinder. “Go ahead.”

“You know how I wanted to make sure the staff was protected as much as possible from the wandering hands of members and any potential problems leaving the club at night.” Becca had insisted on greater protections for the women who worked at the club, the same ones who already thought Jarrett did a good job watching over them. Making them an even bigger priority won the immediate loyalty of all. Becca then insisted Jarrett cough up the funds to do whatever she wanted.

Bast doubted the convincing was all that hard. “Sure.”

“We increased security and added the locked walkway to the employee parking lot to prevent run-ins with drunks stumbling out of nearby bars.” She turned so she faced Bast. “See, the thing I forgot to share with you is how I installed all of these extra cameras. Some you wouldn't even notice if you were looking at them because they're hidden. One of those tricks from my old job.”

He was smart enough to listen to the alarm bells ringing in his head and treaded carefully. “Okay.”

“I'm wondering if, as a result of these cameras, I have a problem.”

“How so?”

“Liability.”

Not what he expected her to say. Then again, he wasn't totally sure where she was going with this. Becca didn't rush into anything and talked all of her plans over with him and Jarrett first. So, whatever she was poking around here involved something else and Bast didn't know what. “You lost me.”

“Well, there's no warning to people that they're being taped.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned a shoulder against the wall. “So, let's say a member with access to the staff parking lot stops one of our female attendants and kisses her. Shoves her up against the wall and basically climbs all over her.”

Son of a bitch
. “Listen, I think—”

“Nuh-uh.” Becca waved a finger in front of his face. “Interrupting me right now is not a good idea.”

It was the way she said it that had his jaw snapping shut. “Go ahead.”

“You know the type of touching I mean. Complete with putting his hands up her skirt and only stopping a short step away from carrying her to his car and screwing her there.”

This time he didn't wait. She might carry a gun, but he had limits on how much of his personal life he wanted batted around. “I know what you think you saw.”

“I saw you stick your tongue down Kyra's throat as your hands disappeared in her underwear.” When he started to talk, Becca cut him off with a slice of her hand through the air. “I can only assume from that behavior that you've forgotten I used to kill for a living and that Wade will rip through you like paper.”

“Trust me I am aware of all those possibilities.” And was kind of sick of hearing and thinking about them.

“Then what's with the sudden bout of idiocy?”

The nasty words rushed up on him. The biting retort about the choices she'd made in her love life and how much she'd fucked up her relationship with Jarrett before she set it right.

But he skipped the personal jab and reined in the anger threatening to explode inside him. Because that's what he did. That's how he operated. He maintained his control and generally won his arguments. “Frankly, this isn't your business.”

“I disagree.”

“We're not debating the point.”

“Interesting approach.” Becca eyed him up. “The tough talk. Not how I thought you'd handle this.”

“What did you think I'd say?”

Her stance relaxed a bit. “Denial, whining. It's amazing what some men do when cornered.”

“None of that is my style.” This time he cut Becca off before she started talking again. “And Kyra is a grown-up.”

“One I happen to like very much.”

“Me, too.”

Becca snorted. “Obviously.”

The conversation had passed the point of annoying him. “I mean as a friend.”

“You tongue all your female friends?”

He decided to ignore that since it was a legitimate shot in light of the parking lot kiss. “Admittedly, what happened shouldn't have happened in public, or at least not in direct line of a camera. For that I apologize. But when it comes to my love life, to whatever role Kyra plays in it, this conversation is over.”

“Maybe I disagree.”

“Unlike my ex, I do not kiss and tell. Ever.”

“Don't mess with her, Bast.” Becca's shoulders fell as she rested a hand on his arm. “If you play around and string Kyra along, even Jarrett is going to come down on your head.”

“Did you tell him what you saw?” Not that it mattered. Bast didn't need to run his love life by Jarrett for permission, but he did want to be the one to tell his best friend before any gossip reached him.

Problem was Bast didn't even know if there was something to talk about yet. Becca rammed into the middle of what amounted to one kiss. A fucking spectacular kiss, but that was all. Bast could still turn this around and walk away.

Not that he intended to do that. Not after a long night thinking about Kyra.

“Jarrett's been busy dealing with a member who's on the verge of bankruptcy and wants to throw around what little money he has here instead of on his family.” Becca rolled her eyes as she said it. She worked with Jarrett and Wade and managed many of the business's aspects now, but she'd been clear that she found many of the members to be hypocritical windbags.

Bast didn't disagree.

“People make bad decisions all the time. That's what pays my fees.” If people started acting smarter, he'd have to find a new career, and he had zero interest in that.

“Which brings us back to the Kyra situation.”

Not in Bast's mind. He glanced around, making sure Wade and Eli stayed locked in a non-staring contest rather than noticing him. “Like I said, that subject is closed.”

Becca squeezed Bast's arm then let go. “I admire the fact you're sticking up to me. It's a little stupid since I could kill you in about two seconds, but you haven't cut me any slack from the beginning. I've always liked that about you. That and your loyalty to Jarrett.”

With that Bast could feel the tension leave the room. The tightness winding around them eased and they returned to the relaxed conversation he'd grown to enjoy with her. “Is that all it took to win you over?”

“Who says you have?”

For the first time in a few minutes, he felt like smiling. “I think you're softening. It's the glasses, right?”

“More like the big brain.”

“Thank you.”

“Your don't-mess-with-my-sex-life position gives me hope you're not playing games with Kyra.”

He sobered. “I'm not.”

“Whether you are or not, Wade is going to kill you.”

Bast looked over in time to see some man approach Wade at the bar. The guy looked familiar and Wade sure seemed happy to see him. Or as happy as Wade ever looked. “Absolutely, yes. I'm sure that's going to happen.”

“Thanks to your swift negotiating skills I'm alive and not on the run. I'm here with Jarrett at the club and in his bed instead of in witness protection somewhere. I get that you helped save me from a life in hiding and appreciate all of your work. If I didn't, you wouldn't be breathing right now.”

This was the Becca Bast had come to know. The woman Jarrett loved—smart, independent and fierce. “It's always good to reach an understanding.”

“But now I'm wondering if what everyone says about you is correct.”

He almost hated to ask. “And that is?”

“That you're almost always the smartest man in the room.”

Overeducated people ran all around DC. Those first few times with those early clients, he'd been in the right place at the right time with the right degree to take advantage of career opportunities. Since then he learned how to stay in the fray and be there to clean up the mess. And DC's powerful did like to make a mess.

“That's a vast overstatement.” Bast had heard the comment often enough and always ignored it.

“For your sake, let's hope not.” She winked at him then disappeared into the private hallway.