Mission: Marriage: Bulletproof Marriage

The strangled sound that came over the phone line revealed the depths of Corbett’s pain. “She chose me.”

“And Viktor didn’t deal with this well?”

“No. Viktor had a psychotic breakdown. He raped and killed her.”

Shocked, Natalie and Sean locked gazes. “He what?”

“He raped and killed her and then blamed me for her death.” Clearing his throat, Corbett made an obvious effort to regain his composure. “I went to the police, but Viktor had disappeared.”

Natalie wanted to ask how and why, but Sean, apparently reading her mind, shook his head.

“Now that you know the past,” Corbett continued. “How will that knowledge help with the present? Viktor has your father, my closest friend. And Phillip somehow believes he can talk sense into a madman.”

Sean’s expression revealed how stunned he was by Corbett’s news, though his steady voice gave away nothing. “Surely you have an operative in place who can help us?”

“SIS might be a better source.”

Natalie shook her head. “No. I’m not contacting them. Until the mole is captured, I can’t trust anyone.”

“I understand. Let me make a few phone calls and see if I can set up a meeting.”

“Just warn your guy,” Sean spoke up. “Have him take precautions. We don’t want another one of your operatives to wind up dead.”

Corbett agreed, promising to phone them back once he’d arranged a meeting.

While they waited for his call, Sean went out for more food while Natalie continued working on the laptop. When he returned a few minutes later with a packet of freshly made roast-beef sandwiches, she put the computer aside. In silence, they devoured the food, washing it all down with warm root beer.

Corbett called a few minutes after they’d finished.

“I’ve got someone working on it,” he said. “My operative is trying to arrange a meeting for you with one of his sources. The guy’s been claiming to know where the Hungarian is holed up. If he talks, he’ll want cash for the information.”

Cash. The one thing they were short of.

“We don’t have any—”

“I do,” Sean interrupted. “How much do you think he’ll want, Corbett?”

“Depending on who you speak with, it could be anywhere from eight hundred euros to eight thousand.”

Sean whistled. “High-priced informants you got there, don’t you think?”

“Not for the kind of information we’re wanting.”

“Corbett?” Natalie heard the tremble in her voice and realized she was perilously close to tears. “If you hear anything else about my father—or from my father, please let me know.”

“I will.”

Natalie disconnected the call and turned away from Sean, not wanting him to see her cry. If she’d ever viewed the world through rose-colored glasses, those had cracked piece by piece, finally shattering with the knowledge that even her own father had lied to her by omission.

She’d nearly made it to the bathroom when Sean grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her. As she started to fight him, the dam broke. She cried, her sorrow fueled by frustration and rage. She grabbed his shirt with both hands, holding on as though she might be swept away by the flood of her emotions if she were to let go.

“Damn you all to hell.” And she yanked him to her, pressing her mouth against his.

Shocked, Sean couldn’t move. Couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. But this was Natalie. Natalie. Kissing him, touching him, of her own free will.

Shock gave way to disbelief, disbelief to pleasure. He tried to hold back, but the sweet sweep of her tongue inside his mouth made him dizzy and hot.

But why? Though he wanted to take it further, first he had to know.

He pulled back, unable to resist rubbing nose to nose with her the way they used to do. “Nat?”

She understood without him asking, as he’d known she would. She took a deep breath, meeting his gaze, her own dark with passion.

“I hate you for what you did.”

Part of him understood. “Only a thin line separates hate from love.”

“True.” Pressing her lips to his jaw, she touched his shoulders, sliding her hands down his arms. “As it does anger and passion.”

As badly as he wanted her, he didn’t want it like this. “Not the first time we come together. Not in anger or revenge. I want it to be more.”

“More?” She shook her head. “I could convince you, you know. I still remember everything you liked.”

“You could, but you won’t.”

She went still. “How do you know?”

“Because I’ve wanted to make love to you since day one. I could have coaxed you into it a hundred times.” His voice deepened as he remembered. “I’ve forgotten nothing, Nat.”

She started to speak, but he shushed her with a finger against her lips.

“I’ve missed you so damn much. Even though us being apart was my fault, all my fault, I want you to know that not a day went by without me thinking of you. Missing you. Wanting you.”

Her chin dipped. When she raised her head, the shimmer of tears mixed with the passion lingering in her eyes. “I’ve missed you, too,” she murmured. Her words, the lush softness of her voice, felt as much like a caress as her soft hands. “When you … died, you left a hole inside me. Everything was off balance, nothing felt right. Even the everyday things, like drinking my morning cup of coffee without you to share it with, were unbearable because they made me think of you.”

Her voice caught, but she continued. “Your arm around me, your breath against my cheek. The way you liked to sleep, spooning close behind me.”

Low in his throat, he made a sound, a cross between a groan and a growl. She continued to touch him, tentatively at first, then with growing boldness.

“Make love to me, Sean.”

“For old times’ sake?”

“For that and … for the times yet to come.”

At those words, she reached up to pull him to her, but he met her halfway. Slanting his mouth over hers, he drank her in deeply, wanting to believe, needing to believe, with his body as much as his soul.

He hadn’t dared to think of the possibility of a future between them, nor did he dwell on it now. She wanted him, and not out of frustration or anger. Whatever complicated emotions drove her were most likely emotions that he’d felt.

Mouth to mouth, he tore at her clothes, shuddering as she used her fingers to pluck open his buttons.

Naked, he pressed his bare skin to hers, wanting all of her, more of her. His arousal pressed against her belly, and she gave him a smile of invitation. Taking his hand, she led him to the bed, sinking down into the soft comforter and holding her arms out in welcome.

Slowly, slowly. He knew it would take every bit of his self-control not to rush things. Still, he fought against the urge to take her with savagery until they were both mindless with passion.

If he was lucky, that would come later. For now, he’d go slow and savor her.

“Please,” she whispered. Odd how one word, uttered so softly, could almost undo him. “Please,” she asked again. And he complied.

When he entered her, the sense of rightness nearly made him weep. Finally, at long last, he’d come home.

Forget the cottage in the Highlands with its drafty walls and remote, wild fields of heather.

This was where he belonged. Inside her, wrapped around her, arms and legs tangled together. Skin to skin, scent to scent.

One look in her eyes and he knew she realized it, too.

He wanted to devour her.

“I want …” Her eyelids drifted closed.

“This?” He moved inside her, watching her expression go from dreamy to a sort of urgent hungry passion.

“Yes, this.” Smiling seductively, she clenched her body around him, squeezing him with such exquisite sensation that he gasped.

“Ah, this.” The internal caresses swept away whatever fragile control he’d been able to maintain. He drove himself into her, deep and hard and furious, straining to possess her, even as he knew she already possessed him.

Natalie, Natalie, Natalie. His wife, the other half of his soul.

She cried out, her cry dwindling into a moan. Nearly delirious, he answered her, struggling to keep from finishing too early.

“Don’t move,” he ground out, and he held her still, groaning when she squirmed against him, finally giving up the fight and letting the barely contained beast inside him free.

She met him thrust for thrust. As their bodies moved together, more than physical sensation passed between them. Lovemaking had always been like this between them, raw and heady, sensual and cerebral.

For him, there was no other.

When he could hold himself back no longer, when he poured his essence into her, he gave her all of himself. Emotion, love—everything she’d been to him, always would be to him—he laid bare before her. His heart on a silver platter. His body, hers to arouse. And his soul, shivering in the palm of her hand, for safekeeping.

If only she’d realize the truth before it was too late.

Still holding Natalie, Sean drifted in and out of sleep. His cell rang, instantly bringing them both awake in the early-dawn light.

Caller ID showed Corbett’s number. Sean answered on speaker.

“My operative found someone who may be helpful.” As had become his habit lately, the older man didn’t bother with pleasantries. “He’s agreed to meet with you. He claims he has key information for deciphering the code.”

Sean glanced at Natalie, holding up a finger in warning. “That’s not enough. We need more. Find someone who knows how to get in contact with the Hungarian. I have a message I want to deliver.”

“A message?” The normally unflappable Corbett sounded surprised. “What kind of message?”

“That’s between me and him.”

Corbett cleared his throat. “Come on now, Sean. You’re not about to try something foolish, are you?”

Before Sean could respond, Natalie spoke up. “What about my father? Have you heard anything else from him?”

“Nothing.”

The loud sigh showed Natalie’s feelings. “I’m worried. I don’t like him being involved in this at all. I’d like to get him out of there before the shooting starts.”

“Shooting?” Sean could picture Corbett’s raised brows. “What are you planning?”

“Nothing.” Her impatience came through loud and clear. “But you never know. Sometimes a hail of bullets is the only way to get inside. We can never predict what might happen.”

“I understand.” And Corbett did. He’d done his own share of fieldwork over the years. “But I’m quite certain your father is safe for now. I would have heard if he wasn’t.”

“You think so?”

“Definitely. The Hungarian would have wasted no time. He knows how much Phillip means to me.”

“True,” Sean agreed. “Still, I agree with Natalie. We need him far away from there before we go in. The possibility of him being used against us is too great.”

“Of course it is.” Again, Corbett sounded weary. “And I assure you I’m working on locating him. In the meantime, what would you like to do?”

“I want to meet with this informant.” Natalie shot Sean a look daring him to contradict her. “I’m on the edge of cracking this code, which might be a fast line toward finding his location. Whatever information your informant imparts could be the key I need.”

“Excellent. Do you have a pen?” At Natalie’s affirmative, Corbett listed the details, his voice returning once more to its normal professional crispness. “Phone in once the meeting is finished and let me know the details, will you?”

“Of course.” She punched the off button, staring down at the phone silently.

Dragging his fingers through his hair, Sean sighed.

“What do you think?”

When she raised her gaze to his, the tortured look in her beautiful eyes made him want to comfort her. Since he knew she wouldn’t welcome this, he refrained.

“Damn him to hell.” Her low voice sounded fierce. “Going after me is one thing—it comes with the job. But my father? When I find him and get him out, that Hungarian is going to pay, I promise you.”

Sean didn’t tell her what he privately feared. If their enemy was as ruthless this time as he’d been when he’d cut down Sean’s entire family, her father was already dead.

He crossed his arms. “Hopefully, this informant won’t get killed.”

She checked her watch. “We’ve got a little over an hour. How long do you think it will take to get there?”

“Thirty minutes, tops. Even in traffic.”

“Then let’s head out. I’d like to be early.”

Outside, the damp drizzle and slate skies suited his mood. They drove into the city in silence, arriving at the agreed-upon meeting place—a city park—in good time. Parking, Sean took a deep breath, noticing how pale Natalie looked.

She got out of the car first, waiting for him to lock it and walk over to join her. The air smelled like moist dirt, as though the thirsty ground was absorbing the rain.

“Are you ready?” Hunching into his coat, Sean stole a glance at Natalie, who remained ominously quiet.

With a brisk nod, she surged forward, obviously wanting to walk ahead of him.

“Together,” he cautioned, relieved when she slowed and waited for him to reach her side.

“You’re right.” She chewed her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I’m worried about my father.”

“I hope this guy will have some useful information.” He kept his tone calm and professional.

“He’s supposed to have a clue on the code. If I can break that, we’ll really have a worthwhile bargaining chip.”

“If he’s not lying.” He sighed, patting the battered briefcase he carried that held the required money. “Informants do that occasionally, you know.”

“Of course I know. Especially since this guy knows we’re willing to pay his price. His info had better be good.” Trudging into the rain, Natalie seemed not to notice the chill, or how leaving her head uncovered made her wet hair plaster to her scalp. She looked like a determined, drowning swimmer struggling to stay afloat.

He could only hope the analogy wasn’t really accurate.

They slipped through the iron gate and into the deserted park. In the summer, the area would be brimming with tourists, but on a blustery autumn day, not even the locals ventured out.

If the bad weather was an omen …

“Not promising,” she muttered. “Open spaces, with lots of trees to hide behind. If there’s a sniper, we’re obvious targets.”

“This guy’s an informant. He should be used to being careful.”

“Maybe. But this is too much like the abbey.”

Damn it, she was right. They could only hope this meeting didn’t mirror the other.

“There,” she whispered. “Straight ahead.”

Near the gazebo, a man waited, collar turned up against the rain. He wore a dark slicker and stood, head down, hands crammed into his pockets, pretending not to notice their arrival.

Not a good strategy for staying alive. Still, Sean cautiously approached, cursing his rapidly increasing sense of apprehension.

“Are there ducks in the pond?” Sean asked, using the prearranged phrase.

The man looked up. His eyes were such a bright blue they had to be colored contacts. “Ducks in the pond, ducks in the sky. They even fly in the rain.”

The right answer. Still, Sean knew better than to relax. The informant, with his bright, darting eyes and facial tic appeared strung-out. His rumpled clothing and mussed hair indicated he hadn’t slept in days. The musty odor emanating from him confirmed it. Meth addict.

Natalie moved closer to Sean. A reflex action, made without thinking, no doubt, but such a small thing pleased him.

The informant noticed. “I’ve been down for a while,” he said, scowling. “This job ain’t easy, you know.”

Being a snitch was a difficult—and messy—way to earn cash. Only desperate men attempted to take on such a job. If word got out, death awaited. If you were lucky, they’d put a bullet in your head and you’d die swiftly. Not so lucky, and who knew what limbs they’d remove? Sean had heard of one informant who’d become an organ donor—while still alive.

No, being a snitch wasn’t for the faint of heart. Most had a drug habit or some other overwhelming compulsion that needed feeding. From the looks of this guy, it was the same old story.

“What do you have for us?” Sean didn’t bother to conceal the impatience in his tone. Sometimes junkies looking for their next fix tried to exchange false information or, worse, no information, for cash, then run.

No way in hell was he letting that happen. The stakes were far too high.

Perspiring profusely, even though the damp air carried a chill, the man held out his grungy hand. “Money first.”

Right. “I’m not paying you until I see what you’ve got.”

“Oh, all right.” Instead of handing over information, the informant took off running.

Damn it. His gut instincts had been right.

“Setup!” Sean pushed Natalie to the ground, tensing as he waited for the sound of gunfire or an explosion.

Instead, there was only the gentle sound of the rain and the distant murmur of traffic.

“He didn’t have anything.” Sean didn’t bother to hide his disgust. “If he was going to go to all this trouble, I would have thought he’d have had more of a backup plan. Either way, he’s long gone now.”

Ignoring his outstretched hand, Natalie struggled to her feet on her own. “Look.” She pointed.

What he saw didn’t really surprise him.

Their informant stood at the edge of the path, maybe fifty feet away, watching them. When he saw them looking, he crooked his hand, telling them to follow, and proceeded walking, back toward the business area where they’d parked.

“This guy’s an amateur. He wants us to follow him. To where a trap awaits, no doubt. How much more obvious can he be?”

“But Sean, if they were going to spring a trap, this would be the perfect place for it.” She waved her hand at the deserted park. “No witnesses, no innocent bystanders to get in the way. Maybe he’s legit.”

“And pigs can fly. Come on, Nat. You know better.”

“Look, they have my dad.” She set her chin in that stubborn way of hers that he knew so well. “I’m going to take any chance I can to find him. I’m following the guy.”

“Fine.” Grudgingly, he conceded. “But we keep a good distance between us and him and bail at the first sight of anything dangerous, agreed?”

“Agreed.” She moved forward.

Keeping back fifty feet, they followed.

When they reached the sidewalk, they saw the man enter a small coffee shop.

They exchanged a look.

“What do you think?” Sean asked. “Do we follow him?”

“We have so far. We should be safe in there. And maybe he does have something useful to tell us.”

“Somehow I rather doubt it.”

“Me, too, but you never know.”

“Let’s go then.” He took her arm and they crossed the street.

Once inside, they saw he was already seated, sipping from a paper cup of coffee. He motioned them to chairs.

“We’d rather stand,” Sean told him.

He shook his head. “Not an option.”

“Listen here, buddy,” Natalie began furiously.

The informant opened his coat.

What they saw made them both freeze.

The man had been wired with explosives.

“That’s right.” He smirked, but there was no amusement in his face, only tired resignation. “So I suggest you do as I say.”

If he triggered the bomb, he’d blow up not only himself and them, but everyone inside the coffee shop.

Of course, they couldn’t allow this to happen.

“What do you want?” Sean asked.

The man looked at Natalie. “The code. Hand it over.”

Maintaining eye contact, she looked puzzled. “What code?”

“Don’t play stupid. We know you have it.”

Just like that, she abandoned the pretense. “There are only three or four people who know about that. How’d you find out?”

“Looks like you told a snitch,” he sneered. “Someone like me. Maybe you’d better take another look at your friends. Hand it over.”

She spread her hands. “I don’t have it with me.”

The man actually snarled. “Then take me to wherever you’ve hidden it.”

Sean knew that Natalie did have the flash drive in her backpack. And there was no way in hell he was letting her go off alone with this walking bomb.

“Give it to him,” he told her, earning a sharp look of disgust.

The man looked from one to the other, finally settling his gaze on Natalie. “Better do as your man says. Unless you want me to blow this place sky-high.”

Natalie didn’t move. “Go ahead.”

The man blinked. “What?”

“I said, go ahead. Detonate your bomb. I don’t care. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t just shoot me and be done with it.”

Good question. Sean crossed his arms, waiting. He knew there was no way she’d let this man take out so many innocent civilians. For now, he’d follow along with her plan, whatever it might be.

Goggling at her, the informant shook his head. “Are you crazy or what?”

“No, I’m not crazy. But I’m not giving you the info. So, either detonate your explosives, or not. I don’t care either way.”

The lie in her voice was plain to Sean, but the stranger didn’t know her. Beginning to sweat, he looked at Sean.

“Talk some sense into her, man. You don’t want all these people to die.”

That remark told Sean that Natalie’s plan would work. The informant didn’t want to be blown to bits either.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to die either,” he said. “Come on, Natalie. Let’s get out of here.”

Together, they walked toward the exit. At the door, Natalie turned and faced the still-stunned man. “Tell whoever sent you that I won’t be bullied.”

The stranger followed them outside to the back alley, muttering under his breath. “Come on, man, they’re going to kill me.”

Sean shrugged. “Better than killing yourself. Go crawl back into whatever hole you came from.”

“Wait.” Natalie stepped forward. “Are those even real explosives?”

The man shrugged. “I don’t know. They gave me six hundred pounds to put this thing on. Promised me another grand if I brought them the info.”

“Where?” Sean demanded. “When and where were you supposed to meet them?”

Sweat rolling down his face, the man blurted out an address.

“I know the area,” Natalie said. “Bad part of town.”

“Of course.”

“I don’t get it,” Natalie continued. “They only ask for the coded message. What good will it do them?”

“Maybe the Hungarian has his own code specialists.”

Her eyes went wide. “Of course,” she breathed. “That’s why he doesn’t need me. He must have already broken the code.”

Chapter 11

Stone-faced, the informant said nothing.

“Tell them this. I know they need whatever part of the message I’ve got. I haven’t cracked the code yet, but I will. And when I do, I’m going after whatever it reveals. If they want it, they’ve got to negotiate a hell of a lot better.”

The man nodded and took off running.

Once back in the car, Natalie began to shiver. She didn’t know why—she hadn’t been that cold. But the steady rain had soaked through her coat, granting the chill easy access to her skin.

“I’ll crank up the heater as soon as the motor warms,” Sean promised. “When we get back to the inn, you need to jump into the shower.”

“And make it hot.” She shivered again. “As hot as I can stand it.”

His gaze darkened, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he turned his attention back to the road.

Once back in their room, she took the first shower, careful to lock the door behind her. Only when she was dressed did she open the door.

“Your turn,” she told him, toweling her hair. “All that warmth feels wonderful.”

He nodded. When he entered the lavatory, he left the door ajar. As soon as she heard the shower start up, she gently tugged it closed. She hated that she had to force herself not to glance inside, knowing that the sight of Sean’s naked, water-slicked body would be more than she could resist.