His hold on her stiffened. “Does he have proof?”
“If he does, he didn’t share that information. He was given proof the list was genuine, though.”
“What kind of proof?”
“I’m not sure exactly. But I do know he was communicating on the dark web with my nemesis of the past three years, the Mariner.”
A sharp breath sawed through his lungs. “Your nemesis?”
“Yes. The arsehole fancies himself an internet broker for secrets and violent crimes. He’ll do anything for the right price. I’ve had to intercept or retrieve many of the items he’s sold. Fortunately, we are always able to take down the buyers. But the Mariner is very slippery. No one has been able to track him down. Yet. But I will get my hands on him. Just you wait.” She grinned at him. “And when I do, he’ll be one sorry twit.”
Ben jumped off the futon and began pacing the small room, his ire building with every stride. “You were the agent sent in to intercede?”
Taken aback by his tone, she stiffened her spine. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
His eyes were wild with a mixture of anger and incredulity when he turned to face her. “For crying out loud, Quinn, those people are the worst form of scum.” He squeezed his head with his fingers. “They are terrorists who wouldn’t think twice in abusing and torturing you or killing you.”
“I am more than capable of taking care of myself. Or do you need another demonstration similar to today’s?”
He swore violently before gripping her shoulders and pulling her up to face him. “Damn it, Quinn. Just the thought of you getting within an inch of any of those bastards makes me homicidal. They have no morals. I don’t even want to think about how they would have dealt with you if you got caught.”
“Well, then, isn’t it a good thing I don’t get caught?”
Ben snorted. “You came damn close in Tunisia six months ago!”
The breath stilled in her lungs. “How do you know that?”
His fingers relaxed on her arms before he rested his forehead against hers. She could feel his fierce pulse still hammering his temple.
“You said you couldn’t wait to get your hands on the Mariner. Well, sweetheart, you’ve not only had your hands all over him, but your mouth, too.” His tone indicated he was just as shocked by the turn of events as she was.
“I don’t understand,” she managed to stammer.
Except she did. This place. His skills. The close contact with the Secretary of Homeland. She had sensed he was more than he appeared to be and she’d been right. The Mariner was a provocateur. And a very good one. She’d never once picked up a clue he was one of the good guys.
“We’ve been working together,” she whispered in amazement. “All this time and we never knew it.”
He brushed his lips across her hairline. “Yeah.”
Another realization dawned on her. She stepped out of his embrace.
“Then you’ve already seen the list.”
Ben shook his head. “I haven’t. And I’ve never been asked about it. Not by Ronoff or anyone else.”
“Someone is pretending to be you.”
His expression grew steely. “No, someone is pretending to be the Mariner. No one but you and the Secretary know we are one and the same.”
A warm feeling of pleasure surged within her at the thought of knowing his most guarded secret. He eased them back down onto the futon.
“It’s probably the same person who is selling the list,” she said. “We need to find out who that is.”
He lifted her chin with his fingers. His honest hazel eyes bored into hers and the pleasant feeling grew stronger.
“I like that you used the term ‘we,’” he remarked, his voice husky. “I need you to know you’re not alone, Quinn. Not anymore. We’re in this together now. Trust me.”
She traced her fingers along his arm. “I haven’t trusted anyone in a long, long time. Not since you.”
He shifted her so she was straddling his lap. Her hair formed a curtain around them when she pressed her forehead to his.
“Was it real back then?” His whispered words fanned her cheek. “Us? Was what we had real? Or was it just a role you were playing?”
It took everything she had to meet his eyes. The apprehension she saw within them stole her breath.
She cupped his cheek firmly. “I wasn’t playing a role.” She pushed the words out through her tight throat. “Never with you. What we had was real. I told you before, you are the only thing that was ever real in my life.”
A fission of unease crept up her spine as she watched his eyelids slam shut. Desperate for him to believe her, she anxiously willed him to say he did. With a sudden clarity she realized just how important his trust meant. How much she needed him. And not just to get out of this mess with Alexi. Even if she survived that, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t survive the rest of her life without Ben being a part of it. A major part.
Just as she was about to beg him to say something, his fingers gripped her head and pulled her in for a demanding kiss. She welcomed the invasion, answering with greedy kisses of her own. His hands found their way beneath the T-shirt she wore, branding her skin with his fingernails. Releasing a soft cry, she nipped at his jaw.
“This is as real as it gets.” He panted against her ear. “You and me.”
“Yes,” she breathed before sealing her lips over the pulse point on his neck.
“We already know we make a great team,” he murmured as his lips traced her collarbone. “Secretary Lyle practically ordered us to put our heads together to flush out the traitor, get my AI back, and destroy Ronoff for good.”
A lusty laugh escaped her throat. Leaning back on her haunches, she stripped the T-shirt over her head. “Given that we are after the same person, I guess I can get behind that assignment. As long as we put more than our heads together.”
His answering grin was a bit wicked. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
They proceeded to work out the details of their partnership with their hands and their mouths until both of them were slick with exertion and sated with pleasure.
*
Quinn’s soft breathing fanned Ben’s chest, her body covering his like a favorite blanket. Unlike the night before, her sleep was peaceful and deep.
The sign of a well-satisfied woman.
He, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to get his brain to shut down. Not that he wasn’t feeling very fulfilled himself, because he was. And it was more than that. He finally felt complete again after so many years of trying to put together the pieces of his shattered heart. Quinn was back where she belonged. With him.
Better yet, wrapped around him.
But he wasn’t foolish enough to think they could sail off into the sunset and have the happily ever after they’d planned all those years ago. Not yet anyway. She was a strong, independent woman who let her career define her. He had a sneaking suspicion she didn’t believe she was deserving of his love. The very idea nearly broke him. He gently stroked his fingertips along her spine, so steely yet so vulnerable. Protecting her had just become his number one priority.
And that meant finding the damn traitor. He was more convinced now that Secretary Lyle was correct. Whoever was selling the list of names had to be masquerading as the Phoenix. Worse, the asshole was impersonating his alter ego, as well. All scenarios pointed to the person behind the sale of the supposed list of names being an integral player in the US counter-intelligence community. And there was no telling what information they would attempt to sell next.