Mission: Impossible to Deny (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 7), Jacki Delecki [polar express read aloud .TXT] 📗

had upped his game, increasing his stamina and strength and improving his shooting skills. But he’d never catch up with the Jenkinses, all Spec Forces guys with world-class training and years of experience in battle. But none of the guys were master of his cyberworld.

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Imagine what Emily would say if you hurt me. I’m her favorite brother.”

“Are you talking to the head of Jenkins Security?” Darcy interrupted.

“Yep. And he’s acting like an old lady.” Reeves hadn’t moved the phone to make sure Nick heard.

“I need to speak with him.” Darcy opened her hand, expecting him to hand over his phone.

“And why would you need that, sweetheart?”

“Damn it, don’t call me sweetheart, and stop being an ass.” Her cheeks pinked.

Nick’s laughter was loud enough for Darcy to hear. “Oh, I already like her. Let me talk with the officer, douchebag.”

Reeves hit speaker and handed Darcy his phone.

“Mr. Jenkins, I’ve just gotten off the phone with Director Marwick. He has spoken with Mr. Dean about the potential threat against Mr. Hewitt. I’m to coordinate with you on a protection plan to ensure Mr. Hewitt’s safety.”

“What the hell? I’m not going into a safe house.” God, it was bad enough to have his world spinning out of control with the ransomware and now Tex’s murder and possibly Charlie’s. The last thing he needed was to have everyone hovering around him.

“No one is saying that you need to go into a safe house … yet. As I was saying, Mr. Jenkins, at this point, I don’t believe the threat is imminent, but the director would like a backup plan in place if we needed to pivot quickly. You have my full cooperation.”

Reeves watched Darcy’s lips pucker. He sighed a breath of relief. Darcy didn’t want the Jenkins agency involved any more than he did.

She said, “Is there a way that you can procure me a weapon? Reeves, who I assume is licensed, has a Glock, but I’m without a firearm. My flight was last minute, and I couldn’t get clearance to bring my weapon on board.”

“No problem, Ms. Wilson. Name it, and I can have it to you tomorrow.”

“That’s impressive. I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Nothing illegal. I’ve arranged for you to spend the night at the home of a friend of Sophie Dean. The actress isn’t in residence, but her house is highly secure and has a security team who will be able to procure your firearms.”

“I’d like a Sig P226.”

“I like a woman who knows what she needs. You have my permission to marry her, Reeves.”

“You didn’t ask my permission to marry my sister.”

Nick barked his amusement. “I informed you of my plans.”

“Mr. Jenkins, is it with you that I coordinate Mr. Dean’s jet to fly us to Palo Alto in the morning? I need to be on-site here for at least several more hours. Reeves and I will need to check out Tex’s last residence and possible connections in Palo Alto. We might have to spend the night there. And it is best to be off the radar with our accommodations.”

Reeves didn’t miss that Darcy hadn’t shared Tex’s message about Charlie’s death.

“Please call me ‘Nick’ now that you’re going to be in the family.”

Darcy rolled her eyes, her only response to men’s outrageousness. Probably how she coped with her brothers.

Reeves had a much better way for her to cope. Now, if he could only convince her to participate.

Chapter Six

After their ID check at the front gate, the overbuilt, steroids-shooting guard had escorted Darcy and Reeves to Merissa Storm’s estate entrance. Darcy stood next to Reeves in the dramatic wood and slate entrance as Jonathan, the manservant in a fitted black suit and crisp white shirt with his blond hair slicked back, welcomed them. The smell of salty sea air and the crash of the waves in the open-air waterfront villa was surreal and unsettling after the grisly crime scene.

As they all stood in front of the bank of monitors, Reeves grinned from ear to ear like a child on Christmas morning, listening to Jonathan’s description of the high-tech surveillance. This was the first genuine smile she had seen on Reeves’s face since their arrival in California. And why did she find his absorption in surveillance technology endearing? His crazy mix of alpha male on the prowl and nerdy tech geek made it difficult to reconcile her forceful attraction. Damn him for not fitting into the box she had assigned to him. It was a whole lot easier when he was a suspect.

If she thought there could be anything more between them than a few hookups, this was the moment when the gap in their worlds opened to earthquake proportions. Reeves accepted this outrageous opulence without a blink. Darcy’s comparable experience in luxury was a weeklong stay at a Four Seasons in Dubai when she was undercover as a banker to investigate a money-laundering ring. Otherwise, her only exposure to this level of affluence was from magazines or reality TV shows. It was as crystal clear as the infinity lap pool that there was no future between a cop’s daughter and the worldly man with connections to movie stars and billionaires.

Sure, they had chemistry, but chemistry only got you so far. As she had learned at an early age, most men saw her as a target. Her red hair, big boobs, and curvy behind screamed “easy sex” to men, and Reeves was no different. She had seen how he stared at her chest.

She completely checked out once the men became enraptured discussing encryption codes. Instead, she stared at Reeves’s profile. Dark stubble covered his strong chin, his hair was disheveled, and his full lips were the color of Afghan pomegranates. Somehow his rumpled look came off sexy instead of a gamer who never left his basement. He had the habit of rubbing his hand through his thick locks when he was engaged.

“I’d like to walk the perimeter.” She didn’t like entrusting either her or Reeves’s