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

Two blondes—one tall and svelte, and the other with curves, both dressed very fashionably—breezed through the highly secure front door. Darcy recognized Sophie Dean from the picture, and she was more gorgeous in person. Her blonde curls were cut in a style that framed her face versus Darcy’s out-of-control Orphan Annie look. Darcy patted her hair, trying to tame it. She had lost her clip somewhere along the way, and her hair required two hands to control. Her appearance was the least of her present concerns.

Lars came from the back room where he was putting together the team’s equipment. His chin was thrust forward, his shoulders tight at the sight of the women. “What the hell are you doing here? I thought we agreed you’d stay in Seattle?”

“And I missed you too.” The tall woman had to be Danni Knorr. She matched the CIA description of the woman who the Triad had kidnapped with Jordan and Sophie Dean, and was now in an obvious relationship with Lars Jenkins.

“Sophie, you didn’t clear this with Finn, did you?”

“FYI, Nick, I don’t have to clear with Finn a trip to help a friend.”

“And how do you plan to help Reeves? Huh?” Nick’s face tightened in a severe grimace. “You have all the latest intel as it comes in. How does coming here change anything except you getting in the way?”

“Lars, tell Sophie where Finn is while Nick cools off.” Danni rubbed Lars’s chest and snuggled close to him.

“Sophie, Finn is coordinating with the FBI’s HRT team for the rescue. He won’t be back for several hours.”

“Perfect. That gives us time.” Sophie grinned at Nick, oblivious to the two-hundred-pounds of seething male rage.

“I’m in charge here and not Finn, so don’t think you’ll convince me to change my mind.” Nick used his commander’s voice.

“Whoa, Nick, take a breath,” Danni said. “The house is large enough to hold a full battalion, and neither of us is planning to interfere. We’re here to help everyone handle the stress.”

“This isn’t a social event. We all have to be on our A game. Not distracted or entertained.” Nick’s face was beet red. The muscles in his neck strained. His carotids visibly pulsated.

Sophie wrapped her arms around Nick and hugged him. “We’re worried too. We couldn’t stay away. We needed to be together.”

Surprisingly, Nick hugged her tightly back. “I need to get him back before Emily finds out. She’ll be devastated.”

Darcy was shocked by the grim ex-Marine captain’s frank admission of concern for Reeves’s sister. He trusted Sophie Dean with his feelings. And then Darcy remembered that the Dean sisters had grown up with the Jenkins brothers. They were family, and as Nick had told her, they all considered Reeves part of that family. Suddenly, she felt like an interloper and backed up to sneak away from emotional entanglement, which she excelled at. Losing both her parents, she had resolved never to get too close. Involvement meant loss and gut-wrenching grief.

Danni released Lars and skewered Darcy with a whole-body perusal. Her expressive eyes tracked up and down Darcy’s person. “Not so fast. We have a lot to talk about.”

Darcy never ran from a fight. But right now, she wanted to run as fast as she could. She played no part in this touching scene with everyone who cared about Reeves when there was nothing between them except for the flaming lust. She marched into the foyer where they were huddled, her flip-flops slapping against the marble entry.

Sophie’s eyes softened in sympathy. “You poor thing.”

Not now, please not now, no kindness when her guard was down. Darcy didn’t want to face these sophisticated women who were important to Reeves.

Danni moved right into Darcy’s space. “My God, it’s good we came.” She put her hand on her hip and glared at Lars and Nick. “You let that poor woman stay in her bloody skirt.”

Darcy had done her homework on all of Reeves’s friends, looking for connections to terrorists. Danni had gone to MIT and was another of Reeves’s circle of brilliant and beautiful women. Had Danni or Sophie been one of Reeves’s friends with benefits? Darcy’s face heated with embarrassment. Reeves was missing, and she was jealous of the women in his life? Her concussion had scrambled her brains. She didn’t want to admit that Reeves Hewitt had done more to her with one kiss than any blow to her head.

“I’m fine. Thank you.” Could she turn any redder under both women’s intense scrutiny?

“You’re not fine. You have one arm in a sling and no one to help you. When Lars and I were working together on a case, I was almost run over by a van and broke my arm.”

Lars coughed dramatically.

Danni whipped around, her hand back on her hip. “We only worked together once you accepted that I could be of help.”

“Yes, honey.” Lars winked at her.

“I was in a splint for weeks. Trust me, I haven’t forgotten how difficult it was to accomplish basic life functions. I had Lars to help me. But you have no one until the Jenkins brothers bring Reeves back. They will. You needn’t worry. They never accept failure. It was probably tattooed on their butts when they were born.”

Darcy appreciated any woman who had no qualms standing up to alpha males. She and Danni had a lot in common—except for style, looks, and brains.

“My clothes won’t fit you, but Sophie’s will.”

Danni was back to perusing Darcy’s body. Her eyes took in every inch of Darcy’s chest and her curvy hips and bottom. “You can’t be comfortable in that skirt.”

“I have yoga pants that will fit. And you’ll be able to move more comfortably. But I’m not sure about the top.” Sophie moved to stand next to Danni.

Darcy winced with their blunt assessment but refused to be intimidated. She had stood up to a lot worse inspection by the brass. Although Sophie had a similarly curvy body, Darcy’s chest was much larger.

“Will it hurt too much to change your shirt?” Danni asked.

 “I