“Don’t get any ideas. You were right, it’s nicer than the sweats. Although these pants are baggy enough, they don’t put any pressure on my ass, which, in case you wanted to know, still hurts.”
Noah, busy getting the video conference set up, looked up at her.
“I don’t doubt it. If it didn’t, it would mean I hadn’t spanked you hard enough last night. You were still showing quite a bit of color on your pretty little backside this morning when you went into the shower.”
“Oh, she was, was she?” came Mac’s voice over the comm system before the monitor blinked on, revealing his bemused expression. He seemed to be alone in the conference room. “That was fast. In fact, a damn sight faster than I thought it would be.”
“What do you mean by that?” Zara accused. She waved her hand. “It doesn’t matter. I demand you tell this supercilious goon of yours to release me at once and take me, if not home, then to a train station, so I can get back to my job and my life.”
“Feisty, isn’t she, Noah?” Mac laughed. “I’ve heard you called a lot of things, but I think that’s the first time anyone has ever accused you of being a supercilious goon.”
“That she is. What can I say? She’s a writer. She likes words.”
“Aren’t you the guy who wanted a nice, quiet girl?” asked Mac.
Noah chuckled. “Yeah, that would be me.” He turned to her. “You know, Zara, I’m never going to hear the end of being with you.”
“Do you two assholes hear yourselves? I’m in the fucking room. And neither of you has any dominion over me. I’m warning you, McDaniel. I have friends at Scotland Yard, and they take a dim view of a British citizen being unlawfully detained.”
“That would be Michael Bestwick? He has been advised. We looped him in unofficially about what’s going on. He said to send you his best.”
“Arrgghh!” She stomped her foot.
Mac chuckled. “Croft and I may have gotten the spitfires, but you, my friend, have yourself a hell-raising firebrand. The rest of the team should be joining us in a minute.”
“She can behave herself when she wants to,” Noah said, obviously enjoying her temper. “Zara, that’s enough. Come and sit down.”
She went to move past him and hissed when his hand connected sharply with her bottom, then swung her back around and drew her onto his lap. She squirmed, and he held her.
“Settle down, Zara, or I’ll strip you, and you’ll find yourself in position at my feet.”
“You’d want them to see me naked?”
“Not particularly. I’ll make sure the video shows enough, it’s obvious you’re naked and kneeling at my feet, but nothing overtly sexual.”
Zara relaxed back into his lap, sitting gingerly. The camera at Wild Mustang Security drew back, so all of those gathered at the conference table could be seen. She was glad to see Finn in attendance as well.
“You all right?” Finn asked.
“As well as can be expected when I’m being held against my will,” Zara replied, eyes shooting daggers at Noah, who merely smiled benignly at her.
“They said some kind of team assaulted your home? Jesus, Zara, I’m so sorry. I never should have involved you.”
“Are you kidding? This story could be huge. I’ve already been able to confirm parts of what you told me,” Zara said excitedly.
“I’m surprised you’d tell them that,” Finn said, laughing.
“Didn’t they tell you? The bastards hacked my system and have downloaded all my stuff.”
Finn turned on Croft.
He really was easy on the eyes. In some ways better looking than Noah. Croft had those East Coast patrician looks, like old money or nobility. She smiled to herself as she remembered how Finn had once described Zara’s taste in men as tall, dark, and voted most likely to take a life. She wasn’t all that far off the mark—Noah certainly filled that bill. The man was likely the most dominant alpha male she’d ever encountered, yet he seemed to have a sensitive side that called to her.
“You hacked her system?”
“Sure did,” Croft said, grinning at her. “Thom’s finishing up in London but said he should have all the data compiled, including what they found at Zara’s overnight. If there’s anything significant, we’ll contact you at the same time tomorrow.”
“So, nothing really new to report?” Noah asked.
“I’m afraid not,” Mac said. “Springer had flown the coup, but Bestwick was able to get the French police to check the farmhouse where Finn was held. Aside from the dead bodies, the place had been cleaned out and wiped down. He said it was very disconcerting as the bodies were laid out neatly in a row, and the rest of the house appeared to be untouched. Bestwick said their forensic techs were a bit spooked by it. They obviously took their time clearing out.”
“What about Fariq?” Noah asked.
“He’s been pretty forthcoming. Problem is Springer knew everything and moved swiftly to consolidate his stranglehold on Fariq’s operation. Fariq seems fairly resigned to letting him have it and retiring someplace safe where he can die an old man.”
Zara listened but said nothing. They were fools if they thought Fariq would simply fade away. They may have had business dealings with him, but Zara had dined with him on several occasions. The dinners had covered different aspects of stories she was writing, as well as giving her finely-honed reporter’s instincts an incredible breadth of knowledge about what made the man tick. And tick he did… much like an explosive device. She very much doubted Fariq would have revealed that side of himself to the Wild Mustang Security people.
Fariq would not walk away without a fight. He presented himself to the world and to those who dealt with him as a sophisticated businessman, when in fact, he was a ruthless killer not above using whatever means he could find to re-establish his supremacy in the international community of arms dealers and terrorists.
The video conference ended with Noah’s assessment of their situation. He was content to stay at their current location until they checked in the day after tomorrow unless new information came to light. After that, he’d be inclined to move. Even as remote and secure as they were, no safehouse was truly safe if those hunting you were willing to pay whatever it took for someone to find you.
Chapter 8
Noah kept his eyes on Zara for most of the conference call. She’d been snarly to start with, genuinely happy to see Finn, then quiet. With most women, he might chalk up the last part to having reality sink in and fear along with it, but not Zara. She knew, or at least thought she knew, something they didn’t and had no intention of telling them. He’d let her keep her own counsel for a bit to see if she would come clean.
He hadn’t been joking when he’d said he would never hear the end of it from his team. He’d always been pretty vocal about the kind of woman he wanted—one he could go home to, take to bed, spend the evening seeing how many orgasms he could wring out of her, then kick back and have her fix him a nice meal before taking her back to bed. Well, he’d gotten the sex part right, but that was about it. He doubted Zara even knew how to cook. Zara had no intention of surrendering without a fight, but he was certain, in the end, she would. Mac was right; she was a hellion and wouldn’t easily give her heart, but Noah was determined she would be his, and he’d make her damn happy she was.