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  “Yes, sir.”

  “And, while Lightfeather is quite capable of wet work, that’s a last resort.”

  “You want him to babysit me? I do not need a babysitter.” Hell was far too aware of Jaden’s attention on her, and it sent another shiver of arousal through her. Hunk or not, she didn’t want I-Ops guarding her back.

  Milos righted his chair and sat with his clasped his hands atop a black folder. “Agent Lightfeather’s job is to keep you alive until you’ve done what you’re supposed to.”

  “Yeah,” said one of the agents. “But if he offs Elijah, Tuan or the DX, that’s a bonus.”

  “Maybe he’ll off Hell,” someone said to more than a few chuckles.

  Hell gave the room the finger.

  Milos glared at her. Like she hadn’t been provoked. “You are not to interfere with Lightfeather.”

  She slumped on her chair. “What if he interferes with me?”

  “He won’t.” Milos’s interlaced fingers tightened.

  “Hell,” West said. “Just do the job you’re being fucking paid to do, all right?”

  She ignored West. “And for doing this I get?”

  “Your discharge from U.S. Internal-Operations will indicate a voluntary separation retroactive to the date of your administrative leave.”

  “What about my clearance?” Voluntary dismissal opened the door to reinstatement.

  “That, too.” Milos licked his lips. “Do we have a deal?”

  She waited a beat. “Sure.”

  Milos smiled. “I hope you like Moroccan.”

  “Love it,” she said.

  “Excellent. Because the dog will be at Mimouza tonight.” He pushed the black folder at her. It slid about half way and stopped. She leaned across the table and grabbed the edge with her fingertips. “Bring me Ng, Elijah and the DX, Hell. I know you can.”

  Her response was automatic. “Yes, sir.”

  Milos smiled again and for a minute, she was back before her life went down the toilet, when she’d been Milos Sanders’s most promising field agent. “I wouldn’t be putting my career on the line for you if I didn’t believe that.”

  “Thanks, Chief.” She pulled the folder toward her and caught West staring down her shirt. Perv. She glanced at Jaden. He wasn’t looking. “Hey, Lightfeather. When do you want to meet up?”

  Jaden shook his head. “I stick with you twenty-four seven.”

  “Great,” she said. “That’s really great.” She put the black folder on top of the others, looking at Lightfeather while she did. “Come on then, gorgeous. Let’s go bag ourselves a dog, a fang and a DX.”

  CHAPTER 2

  With a couple of hours to kill before they were due at Mimouza, she and Jaden agreed he’d drive them to her place so she could change clothes and review the files. From the outside, his sedan looked like no-big-deal. Hell was terrible at deciphering automobile logos and couldn’t tell if his was American or an Asian import, but it was black with shiny hubcaps and a low-to-the-ground body. Inside was gadget heaven. She didn’t know what half the gizmos attached to the dashboard did.

  When he turned the ignition, the engine thrummed in her ears and vibrated under her feet. Definitely not your average car. She settled herself on the seat. Her bare skin touched leather, and she flashed back to the first time she rode in one of Tuan’s cars. Tuan had a penchant for Italian sports cars, which he liked to drive too fast on Highway 1. Their first weekend away had been in Santa Barbara. She’d worn her bikini on the way back to their hotel, and she’d never forgotten the sensation of her skin against the leather seat. Funny, the things that spark a memory. She’d wondered at the time if Tuan was the one.

  In Jaden’s I-Ops issue car, she tried crossing her legs, but her foot tangled in the strap of her bike-messenger bag cum briefcase. What with a smaller tote containing all the crap she’d taken from her car balanced on her lap, she couldn’t untangle herself without looking dorky. She didn’t mind having long legs except when she was in a car built for speed over comfort. After Tuan, she’d sworn off men, but if she remembered her ancient history, long legs were a perk when it came to the opposite sex. Jaden the Incredible Hunk looked, but it was when she was flailing around trying to get settled. Crap.

  He punched her address into the GPS— he knew where she lived, wasn’t that unsettling? —and they were off, too fast. Without navigation as a subject for conversation, all there was to listen to was the motor. Or she could watch lights and dials glow on the dash. It was dark out and getting darker. Traffic wasn’t bad, not bumper to bumper anymore. Jaden seemed happy with silence so she crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window. His car was frighteningly clean. New-car smell lingered in the air.

  He shifted and punched the gas to merge into a gap in traffic. Hell grabbed the dashboard as her tote went sliding off her lap, spilling the contents on the floor. At least six cars hit their horns. When her heart was back in her throat, she exploded. “Clue, Agent Leadfoot! You probably think people are always honking their horns, but they aren’t. They’re trying to tell you that you drive like a goddamn— Oh Jesus! Look out!” She clutched the emergency brake. Horns blared. “Would you please slow down?”

  He shifted again and tailgated a car getting onto the freeway on the expiring yellow. “I didn’t want this assignment,” he said without looking at her.

  She picked up her keys and her cell. Her heart banged against her ribs. “You didn’t have to say yes.”

  “Yes I did.”

  “Gee, too bad.”

  He merged into freeway traffic. “Let’s be professional about this.”

  “Don’t worry,” she said politely. “I think you’re being as professional as you can.”

  Something on the dashboard beeped and several lights flashed. Jaden punched a button, swore, and pushed another series of buttons. “Take notes, honey.”

  Sixty-five. “If I live, sure.”

  “Fuck you,” he said as he switched lanes and cut off a truck.

  “You wish.” Eighty-five. Ninety. Her exit was coming up, and he wasn’t slowing down.

  He merged again without checking the rear view mirror. “Sure.”

  “Drop dead, you freak. Arghh!” She covered her eyes with both hands as she saw her approaching fiery death. “I thought you wanted— ”

  “What?” He cut off a semi.

  “Fuck you!”

  A killer smile appeared on Jaden’s face. “Absolutely.”

  They got off the freeway and spent the last five minutes of the drive in utter silence. “Street parking only,” she said when the GPS gave the last turn. He found a spot within a block of her building and parallel-parked exactly like the maneuver got diagramed. Smooth as silk. Hell couldn’t parallel park worth a damn, and people who could made her feel inadequate. He should at least not be so damn hunky.

  “Look,” he said after he turned off the ignition. “West is a fucking asshole. You shouldn’t let him get to you.”

  She let her head fall against the back of her seat. “Why are you being so nice when I’m being such a bitch? This just stinks. My life’s been in the tank ever since I met Tuan.”

  His big brown eyes lingered on her face, and she felt the pull, right down to her toes. He looked sympathetic. And totally gorgeous “I don’t give a shit about Tuan Ng.”

  “Aren’t you curious?” Oh, God, was he going to turn out to be a nice guy? “Everyone else is.”

  “Just one thing.”

  Hell stared at the roof of Jaden’s car. She didn’t hear any of the usual prurient scorn in his voice. “What?”

  “He ever come see you at your place?”

  So much for thinking they might actually be friends. She turned just her head. But for the glowing dashboard lights, the interior was dark. A shiver of intimacy danced along her spine. Agent Lightfeather was exactly the kind of guy she went for, all dark and dangerous. She’d had the same reaction to Tuan, and for much the same reasons. Lightfeather would be very bad f
or her. “Why? You want to know how many times we did it and in which rooms?”

  His expression didn’t change. “If he did come to your place, he knows the layout, and my job gets a lot harder. I’d like to know before we go in.”

  “Yeah, he knows the layout.” She turned on the seat to face him. Light from the street lamp struck the side of his face and made his eyes glitter like a cat’s. “There’s no way he knows about this.” She laughed softly. “Unless his mole was at the briefing.”

  He tossed his keys on his palm and made a fist around them. He had long fingers. “Anything else I need to know?”

  Man, he was gorgeous. And nice. It made her feel sad. “Yeah.”

  Jaden went into covert agent mode. “I’m listening.”

  “I wasn’t expecting company. Consider yourself warned. My place is a mess.”

  He laughed, and her pulse skipped. He had a nice smile, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been anywhere near a guy with a nice smile. She missed that. Being around a guy with a nice smile. “That’s okay,” he said. Man, his smile was pure magic. She could feel the heat all the way across the interior of the car. “I’m a slob, too.”

  “Kindred spirits, my man.” She stuck out a hand. “Friends?”

  He took her hand in his. “Friends.”

  Jaden let go right away, so it wasn’t the physical contact that made the car feel like it had just shrunk. Wow. Jaden Lightfeather really got to her. His smile absolutely did her in, and he was sitting there smiling at her and after all those months trying to get over the disaster of Tuan Ng, her libido wasn’t on vacation anymore. As dangerous men went, he was a nice guy. He leaned forward. She didn’t lean back because if she leaned back, he wouldn’t kiss her, if that’s what he had on his mind. But maybe she leaned toward him. Whichever way it went, the distance between them disappeared.

  At first, he didn’t do anything except hold her, and being held felt way better than she expected. But then he moved his head and his lips brushed her cheek, and then her lips. Almost like an accident. Only not. She hadn’t kissed anybody since Tuan, and she was out of practice, which didn’t seem bother him. His mouth opened over hers, and he leaned closer. Much closer. Jaden Lightfeather, she discovered, was worth kissing. He was a fabulous kisser. Sensational, in fact.

  She slid an arm around his neck. He was a much, much larger man than Tuan. His nape was warm, feverish, and very soft. He adjusted his position and continued his slow, soul-stealing kiss; like he had all the time in the world and all he wanted to do with it was kiss her. Hell melted, inside and out. Ignoring the gear shift, she plastered herself against him, bringing his head closer to hers. Tongues met, hands began to wander. He groaned in the back of his throat.

  After a while, he leaned back. “Let’s go inside.”

  “Definitely.”

  He reached behind his seat and grabbed a dark duffle bag. The motion involved a fluid turn-and-snatch during which his shirt pulled tight across his chest and any number of muscles flexed. While she sat trying to get her hormones under control, a waft of cooler air came at her because he’d opened his door. Damn. She was still staring at his seat when he closed his door.

  Hell cradled her messenger bag and tote and opened her side. Jaden was already on the sidewalk. Oh, perfect timing. She had her legs sprawled, one in the car, the other on the sidewalk in that awkward transition required by full hands, heels and tight pants. He slung his duffle over a shoulder and reached for her bags. Light reflected off his earring. He took a long look at her leg, from her black leather boot to her thigh.

  The attack was silent and blindingly fast.

  One minute Jaden was standing there all gorgeously ethnic poker-faced and the next, something had him around the neck. Everything in his arms hit the sidewalk. Jaden tumbled backward.

  In Crimson City, only one thing moved with that speed and stealth. A fang. She scooped his car keys off the pavement then snatched her bike bag by the strap to fumble inside for her gun. Her little .32 wasn’t going to do more than slow the vampire down, but a few seconds could make all the difference. The vampire was on his feet with Jaden clasped in a pre-bite arm lock. She pulled the safety and shot the fang in the knee. He stumbled and gave Jaden the time he needed.

  Wham!

  Jaden slammed the fang face down against the trunk of his car. The tactic, taught to every agent at the Academy, put sharp teeth at maximum distance from fleshy targets. A fight with a vampire wasn’t about strength or speed, it was about leverage and keeping calm. The fang struggled but Jaden’s defensive lock reduced him to helpless cursing.

  Another shape emerged from the shadows. Hell recognized her immediately; Fabienne, Tuan Ng’s enforcer, a six-foot tall Caucasian woman in stilettos, black leather pants and a black suede bustier. Hell happened to know she was a natural blonde who dyed her hair black. Her full lips were the same cherry red as her nails, she had an iPod strapped around her upper arm and way better eye makeup than hers. Fabienne looked twenty-two but she was a lot older than that.

  “Good evening, Hell. So wonderful to see you again.” The enforcer’s warmth was totally fake. Her straight hair fell hung to her shoulders in a dead-black river. “Be a love and tell your friend to let my friend go.”

  “Get in the car, Hell.” Jaden had one hand braced on the man’s neck while the other twisted the fang’s arm alarmingly high up his back. His arm muscles bulged, but he sounded calm.

  “Or,” Fabienne continued. “I’ll have to tell my friend to kill your friend.”

  “Jaden?” Hell said.

  If either fang was trying mind games on him, they weren’t working. “Get in the car, Hell.”

  “Stephano, my love. Go ahead.” Fabienne smiled in that ghoulish way she had that exposed one fang in her cherry-red mouth. “Hell, darling,” she said. “Tuan wants a word with you. Why don’t you come with me while Stephano and your very impressive friend get better acquainted?”

  Stephano was another of Tuan’s enforcers and, like Fabienne, favored the black leather look. He also had way better eye makeup than Hell. Jaden jerked Stephano off the car with an ease that spoke volumes of his strength. Stephano looked like he was having trouble breathing. Whatever Jaden was doing to the vamp, it was effective.

  “Stephano!” Fabienne snapped.

  “You know what?” Jaden said to Fabienne. He looked furious enough to convince Hell he could take down a fang bare-handed. “If you don’t get out of here right now, I’m going to kill Stephano and let you tell Ng to leave Helen Marshall the fuck alone.”

  “Jaden,” Hell said. “They’re vampires. Unless you have a stake or U.V., you can’t kill them.”

  “Wanna bet?” he snarled.

  Fabienne put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “She’s right, handsome.”

  “I know for a fact a fang can die.” He smiled at Fabienne, and Hell discovered Jaden had a nasty smile to counter the nice one. “How about you try and stop me from killing your friend?”

  Fabienne moved, and that ought to have been the end of everything. No human could out-move a fang. But it wasn’t. With a hiss, Fabienne launched herself at him. Jaden did something with his hands, and Stephano hit the ground without a hint of self-preservation when he landed. Fabienne’s momentum ought to have bowled him over, but he evaded her. Or maybe Fabienne, who never made a mistake, missed. She hit the side of his car instead.

  Hell heard a click and there was Jaden, bent over Fabienne with the barrel of a gun making a dent in her forehead.

  Fabienne snarled, fangs exposed.

  “Uh, uh, uh,” Jaden said. “U.V., sweetheart.”

  Hell hadn’t seen him take out a gun, ultra-violet payload or otherwise, but there it was, pressed to the middle of Fabienne’s forehead.

  Jaden smiled again, the nasty smile, and said, “Tell Tuan Ng to leave Helen Marshall alone.”

  Fabienne nodded, a single, cautious movement. “I’d be delighted.” With her chin, she nodded toward Ste
phano, motionless on the concrete. “And my friend?”

  “Don’t bother,” he said, and the way he said it made Hell shiver.

  Fabienne rose, hands raised. She had on three-inch stilettos, and Jaden was still taller. The gun barrel didn’t waver.

  Jaden clicked the safety back on the gun when Fabienne left. “Some days I love this town.”

  Her heart started beating again. “What are they feeding you over there in covert?”

  “Raw meat.” He flashed his killer smile. “Get in the car, Hell.” She did. She handed him the keys when he slid into the driver’s side. “You all right?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She still hadn’t gotten over the way he’d handled Stephano and Fabienne. She’d never seen anything or anyone make Fabienne turn tail.

  “You sure?” He touched her cheek. “You look pale.”

  Hell ran her hands through her short, dark blonde hair. “I’m fine.”

  “Give me your cell phone.” Jaden held out a hand and wriggled his fingers.

  She dug the phone out of her purse and handed it to him. “Okay, but what for?”

  He opened his door, leaned out and put her phone on the pavement.

  “What are you doing?” Her voice rose. She lunged and clutched his arm, but trying to budge him was like trying to move a boulder.

  With the door still open he put the car in reverse. There was a crunch as the car lurched. He leaned out the open door and looked down.

  “Hey!”

  He threw an arm across her chest, shifted into first, popped the clutch and ran over it once more. After another glance at whatever was left, he slammed his door.

  “Bastard!”

  Jaden reached over, put a finger under her chin and pushed up. His earring sparkled again. “Now nobody can track you via your cell.”

  “I hate you.”

  He laughed and leaned in to kiss her, mouth open and not as gentle as before. For half a second she intended to push him away to make the point that phone destroying covert agents didn’t get any, but she never did. Ohmygod, the man kissed like a dream.