Operation Date With Destiny (8 page)

When they got within range of the compound—they decided to make camp.
He
didn
’
t want to be too close so they would be noticed but
he
needed to be close enough to be able to go out and do the reconnaissance necessary to
finalize
the plan.

“
I
’
m go
nna
’
to go and take a look a
round
,
”
he told Destiny as she unloaded some of the ammo from her bag, beginning to get some kind of order to the place in preparation of the attack
.

“
I
’
ll go with you,
”
she said, picking up her rifle and moving out.

He didn
’
t bother arguing—what was the point? She
’
d only go anyway. Besides—it would be nice to get her alone for a while and away from her Queen Bee duties. After the night before
,
he wanted to see that other side of her again—badly.

They walked in silence, making their way towards the clearing up ahead and he had to admit he was impressed by the ease in which she followed his lead. Not something he
’
d expect from an
accountant.

“
So where did you learn to you speak Khmer?
”
He had to ask—it was driving him nuts trying to work this woman out.

“
I was born here.
”

“
Seriously?
”
She didn
’
t look Cambodian.

“
Yep. My parents
are
both American. My father had a government job and we were posted here for the first seven or eight years of my life.
”

“
And that
’
s how you know, Pin?
”
Tupper asked
,
deliberately provoking her by using the
guy
’
s
wrong name. Okay so he was being immature—but the
dude
really bugged him.

“
Yes.
Pon
and I go way back,
”
he heard her stress the name, no doubt
,
to let him know she wasn
’
t amused by his variation of it.
“
We
’
ve kept in touch our whole life. He
’
s like a…brother. He and his family have always treated me like part of their family,
”
she said
,
quietly.

Tupper didn
’
t bother voicing his
skeptical
uh ha
. It was clear to everyone else the guy wasn
’
t thinking any
sisterly
thoughts about
her
. But he was happy that she seemed oblivious to the fact.

As they approached the compound they got down low and stayed on their
stomachs
as he surveyed the
vicinity
with binoculars, slowly. He was glad they
’
d had photos of the area—but nothing replaced eyes on the ground. Getting the whole image before you soon put things into perspective.

Yep…t
his was going to be a disaster
.
   

“
So what do you think? Is it going to work?
”

“
Are you asking what I
’
m really thinking? Or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?
”

“
Don
’
t mess with me, Tupperoni. Not now. This is too important.
”

For a minute the unexpected vulnerability in her reply surprised him. He was used to her being such a hard
ass. But finally, he
got it—yeah he was a bit slow on the uptake when it came to women, but he wasn
’
t dumb—once he worked something out
,
it stuck. She had to hide this side of herself to stay in charge in front of the others. Okay, so he knew that—but
knowing
that she let her guard down in front of him like this made him feel something unexpectedly warm and fuzzy inside—and he was definitely not the warm and fuzzy type
.

“
I told you, this would stand a better chance if I had my own men with me. But, seeing as that hasn
’
t happened. All I can say is we
’
ll give it our best shot. I need to get a better view of the place—I
’
m going to hike further up the mountain and take a look.
”

She didn
’
t answer him, just nodded and crawled back out of their position
,
silently
. He
’
d expected her to turn around and go back to camp, but she kept up with him and as selfish as it was of him to want her to do the extra hike—he liked having her to himself.

When he reached a position
where
he could see down into the place better, he sat and took out the binoculars once more. The photos had not shown this angle and he couldn
’
t believe they hadn
’
t thought to do so. On his previous mission here, they
’
d concentrated mainly on the house—or he should say mansion. It was a sprawling homestead surrounded by an outer wall and security gate. But inside the wall at the rear of the compound, away from the main living quarters was a massive shed that seemed to be a hive of activity.

“
What the hell is that?
”
Tupper said quietly as he watched people come and go from inside the building and noticed armed men patrolling the area around it.
“
I thought you said the thing you wanted to retrieve was in the house?
”

“
It is.
”

“
So why do I get the feeling something pretty big is going down over there in those sheds in the back?
”

“
Probably because something pretty big
is
going down in those sheds—but it doesn
’
t concern us right now. We just need to concentrate on the house.
”

“
I kinda have to disagree with you there, sweetheart. Seems to me, that in order to get to the house we
’
d have to be aware there
’
s a lot of angry lookin
’
men
, more than a little on edge,
walking around with guns. That
’
s going to affect our plan A.
”

“
Do you have a backup
plan
?
”

“
We still got 25 more letters
—,
”
he grinned.
“
—it
’
s all good
.
”

“
We have to do this
,
Johnny,
”
she said quietly
after a few minutes, breaking the silence that fell between them after he went back to surveying the perimeter
.
The way she said his name like that, soft, sounding almost like a caress, did something to him he hadn
’
t expected.

Tupper looked at her and was surprised to see her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Instantly he reached for her, but she shook him off and quickly brushed at her eyes before moving to stand up.
“
I
’
m just tired.
”

“
Tell me what
’
s going on; I might be able to help.
”

“
You can help. Just do your job and don
’
t ask questions.
”
She let out a small sigh and lifted her gaze to his face.
“
Look, it
’
s for your own good. The less you know about all this, the better. Believe it or not I
’
m actually being nice to you here.
”

“
I
’
m glad you pointed that out cause I kinda missed it.
”

She smiled a little and the effect was like a bolt of electricity running through him. She was sexy as hell when she was angry—but when she smiled, it was like a whole
other level
of hotness.

“
You don
’
t have any reason to trust me, I understand that
,
and you
’
re taking it a whole lot better than I would be if someone did the things to you I
’
ve done, but please, just go with me on this one. What
’
s going on down there is a whole other matter and one that I
’
m not getting you involved in. All I care about is getting back what
’
s mine. That
’
s the only thing that matters.
”

“
Is anything he stole worth risking everyone
’
s lives for?
”
he asked quietly and he saw that it actually hurt her to hear the question and instantly wished he could take it back.

“
It
’
s the
only
thing I would ever go this far for,
”
she said quietly.
“
I know you had no say in any of this. I just want you to know that…
man, this is so screwed up,
”
she finally said
shaking her head and giving a sad chuckle
when she obviously couldn
’
t find the words she
’
d been searching for
.

Tupper gently lifted her chin until she looked him in the eye. There were no words to make this situation make sense. He got it. He really did. Whatever the hell it was that Tre
’
ago stole from her had to
hold more
than
just
sentimental or monetary worth to her. He could see that this wasn
’
t something she took lightly. She was a good person. This tough chick attitude was only part of who she was. One thing he knew how to do
well
was read people
,
and
right now,
everything
inside him
was screaming that he could trust her—despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Lowering his face towards her, he felt her lips tremble slightly beneath his and withheld a moan of frustration at the need rising inside him to take her right here, right now, on the hard ground at their feet.

It almost killed him
,
but he lightened the kiss and began to pull away, but was surprised when she snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him back to deepen the kiss instead.

Well, your momma didn
’
t raise no fool,
a little voice reasoned inside his head as he gathered her tightly against him.

****

She wasn
’
t sure how long they
’
d spent trying to sate the gnawing hunger  inside them—she could kiss this man all damn day, he was like a drug—the good kind. Behind her she felt the rough bark of the tree trunk and moaned as he
held
her face securely between his big, capable hands, deepening their kiss until she was unsure exactly where he ended and she began.

She felt him pressed up against her, the heat and friction sending a bolt of electricity through her. He scared her, like no other man had ever done before. Most men gave up once they encountered her prickly
defenses
. But Johnny Tupperoni was somehow immune—he just walked straight through them without a flinch
.

He moved one hand
up beneath her shirt and along her rib cage, making her shiver in
a
combination of
delight and apprehension. Her own hands ran up along the strong column of his neck, her fingernails raking  through his short cropped hair and down along his shoulders. The urge to touch more of him filled her with such a reckless need that she groaned in frustration when she couldn
’
t get his shirt off fast enough. He pulled away slightly to look down at her, his expression almost as dazed as her own felt. Then he went still and immediately she picked up on the fact that something wasn
’
t right.