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

Red, blistering rage exploded behind Reeves’s eyes. “This was all for money? You killed Charlie and Tex for money? You sold out your country to the Russians for cash?”

“To be precise, I didn’t kill either of them. Charlie killed himself, and Tex was killed by the Sureños. And you’ll never connect me—you’ll never connect me to anything. You might be smart, but I’ve always been smarter.”

“But you don’t deny you sold out your country.”

Wainwright shrugged. “I wanted to watch Richard Dean, the billionaire who consults with presidents, be accused of being complicit in treason because of his connection with you. I must say the plan was magnificent to use ‘your’ game to make millions and bring about Richard Dean’s downfall. How many DOD contracts do you think Dean would win after the accusation? It doesn’t matter if they were false. He’d be tried and found guilty in the public eye.”

Reeves had no response. Nothing. He was empty of emotion.

“Let’s go, Wainwright. I’m sure we’ll find something for you to spend time on behind bars.” Darcy moved in.

Reeves didn’t like that they had nothing to restrain Wainwright. He didn’t trust him, and he sure as hell didn’t like how close Darcy was to the villain.

And suddenly, it happened in a blur. Wainwright extracted a knife from his long sleeve in a surprisingly deft motion. Coming from the side, Darcy struck the knife out of his hand with one swift and forceful kick. Wainwright didn’t stop but charged Reeves.

Reeves leveled his Glock. Darcy fired faster, hitting Wainwright in his lower leg.

Wainwright dropped to the ground, writhing as the blood flowed on the rug.

Darcy kept her gun on Wainwright. “I’ll need you to check him for any other weapons. I’m a little hampered here.”

“Not too hampered. Nice shooting, babe.”

Darcy shook her head. “Are you all right?”

The door burst open. Finn and Lars exploded into the space with their guns raised. Looking at their aggressive and intimidating entrance, Reeves was glad they were on his side.

Finn dropped to the floor and searched Wainwright as the man moaned and demanded medical care and his lawyer.

“Took you long enough.” Reeves’s hands and knees were a little shaky as he put his gun back. Darcy was right. Shooting at the practice range was not the same as shooting a person. But Reeves knew he would have shot Wainwright to protect Darcy.

“We’ve been a little busy since we didn’t know if you and Darcy were on the elevator.” Lars lifted his eyebrows. “Nick was beside himself, thinking he’d have to explain it to Emily.”

“Nick and I bet that Darcy wouldn’t have gotten on the elevator. Lars wasn’t as confident … you being Army and all,” Finn added.

Darcy stepped over Wainwright, tucking her gun away, and walked to Reeves. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her out of the office away from Wainwright, away from the pain that one pathetic person had caused. Reeves didn’t fool himself that this drama was finished. It would take time, time with Darcy to heal himself and find a way to put this insanity in some kind of perspective.

He tightened his hold on her. “Just like in Snakes Ahead, you covered me. How lucky I am to have a superhero as my partner.”

“And you stopped the bad guys from crossing the bridge to get to me. You know I’ll always cover you, Reeves.”

“As I will you, XChoco.”

Epilogue

One month later

Darcy plopped back on the pillows, breathlessly in awe of her lover. “Unbelievable. How do you do it?”

Reeves, his chest glistening in sweat, on his knees astride her, loomed over her. “First, you have to be naked. And then, I take my …”

Darcy grabbed and twisted his chest hair. “Smart-ass. I’m not talking about mechanics.”

He leaned forward and pushed the curls away from her face, his chest abrading her already sensitive nipples from their latest bout of lovemaking. After their night of riotous sex, she would need extra time to flat iron her hair to get it into a clip for her meeting today.

“How we feel about each other makes the difference.” His lips quirked up in the corner, and his eyes lit with amusement and challenge.

He got off on teasing her. There were times when she didn’t think his teasing was endearing. Like now.

“You’re going to make me say it first, aren’t you? Just so you can lord it over me?”

Neither of them had taken the next step in their relationship and said the three magic words. Reeves was waiting for her to go first. For a genius, he could be slow on the uptake. So, she wasn’t great at sharing her feelings. She demonstrated how she felt by her actions. And taking a leave of absence from the CIA to consult with Jenkins Security should be proof enough of her feelings for the gorgeous man now skewering her with an intense stare.

“I’m keeping to our agreement that we would take our relationship nice and slow. No pressure. We’re in the middle of a trial run, testing whether Jenkins Security and Seattle is the right career choice for you.”

“You know, you can sometimes be an idiot.” She wrapped her legs around his waist, grabbed his shoulders, tightened her hold, and flipped him on his back.

Reeves, anticipating her move, showed no resistance. He laughed. “You need to find other ways of expressing your frustration, honey.”

On top of him, she rubbed against his growing erection. “You don’t like my way?”

“I love your mating methods.” He pressed against her, distracting her from the conversation. “You can do this. You’re the woman who shot Wainwright. You’re a tough ass. Star CIA officer.”

Capturing Wainwright was a career changer for her. She now had options with the CIA and more control over her next assignment. She was a superstar at the agency at this moment. She knew from experience it wouldn’t last.

The CIA director had given her a six-month leave of absence after exemplary work on the ransomware case. It was