“I’m sorry I bothered you earlier. May I please finish packing now?” Ava kept her voice demure. There was no way she was going to be able to face Danton. These damn Doms were too astute and she had no doubt he’d magically know what had occurred in the ensuite bathroom.
Parker studied her rosy cheeks in silence. A satisfied smile splayed on his lips. She wasn’t fooling him. She might appear all docile and submissive but he’d come to know her well enough to know she was plotting something. He enjoyed sparring with her but watching her fold under his domination floored his mind.
“On one condition.”
“Name it,” she puffed immediately.
“You stay away from the ops room. I mean it, Ava. Not even a peek inside when you walk past. Is that clear?”
“As crystal.”
“Very well.” He untied her with such ridiculous ease, it left her bristling that she hadn’t bothered to try to get loose herself. “Don’t sulk, love. It’s going to give you wrinkles.”
Ava ignored him and began yanking clothes out of the closet. When she was sure he’d left, she muttered, “Wrinkles my ass. I’ll fucking sulk if I want to.”
“I heard that.”
Ava gulped and pressed her lips together. She knew the man was a super cyber expert; now she had to find out he had the powers of Superman on top of that.
“I’ll still sulk if I want to.”
This time it was said sotto voce but at least it gave her the satisfaction that she got in the last word.
Chapter Fifteen
“I began to think you went on early retirement.”
Mateo Rogers, Senior DEA Agent in charge of the Special Ops SRT team at the National Intelligence Operations Division, leaned his shoulder against the doorframe of his boss's office—Deputy Chief, Darius Spooner. Everyone had been surprised when he took a long leave of absence during a time when the President of the United States’ position was threatened.
Darius glanced up from reading an email. He had kept up to date with correspondence but since he’d been gone for so long, he was eager to get back in the swing of things. Spooner was a man of contradictions. He wasn’t loyal to his government because he believed they were shortsighted and didn’t acknowledge his potential, but he was a proud man in every aspect of his life. Maintaining his reputation as someone who was driven to succeed and was always on top of his responsibilities, remained one of his top priorities.
“It’s been a long time coming, Mateo. I haven’t taken a vacation for many years. I needed to recharge.”
“You don’t seem relaxed for someone who sat on the beaches of Jamaica for three months,” Mateo said dryly as he watched Darius fidget with files on his desk; it was something he’d never see him do in all the years he’d worked under him.
“I have a lot of work. Is there anything specific you want?” Darius didn’t bother to hide the irritation in his voice. He needed to make a dent in the stack of paperwork awaiting his attention and didn’t have time for small talk.
“I would like to schedule a meeting so we can bring you up to date with all the current projects and introduce you to the newly appointed team members.”
Darius glared at his second in charge. He was a formidable man in his own right. One of the reasons Darius didn’t like him. He was too driven, too fucking good to ignore. It was also the reason he had to be on his toes the entire time. His superiors knew Mateo was more than capable to take over should he step out of line. Proof of his competence was in the reports from the Chief of Intelligence that he’d done an outstanding job as stand-in while Darius was forced to lay low by the Russians.
“Of course. I just need a couple of hours to settle in. Set it up for after lunch.”
“Will do. Welcome back, Deputy Chief.”
Darius watched him as he sauntered back to his office. He punched the intercom button on the desk phone and snapped at his PA to ensure he wasn’t bothered until the meeting. “And that includes Mateo. I don’t have time for chit-chat with every team member.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Bring me coffee and something to eat. I didn’t have breakfast.” He was in too much of a bad mood to be concerned about his rudeness. Vera was used to his curt mannerisms by now.
“For fuck’s sake, what now?” he grumbled as he felt the vibration of the burner phone in his pocket. “The fucker knows I only started working today.” He glared at the number on the small screen, tempted to ignore the call from Mikhail Olov.
“Yes,” he snapped as he finally answered the call.
“We need to talk. Meet me at the usual place in thirty minutes.”
“I just got back to work. I can’t fucking disappear now.”
“This isn’t up for debate, Spooner. Don’t make me wait.”
“Look, I’m telling you I can’t. I’ll meet you tonight at seven.”
“Thirty minutes, Spooner, or I’ll have to inform the Director that you’re no longer part of our mission.”
“I’ll fucking be there.”
Darius simmered with anger as he realized Olov had ended the call before he even responded. It annoyed the living daylights out of him that he suddenly had to deal with Olov and not with Sergei Ivanon, the Director of Russian Foreign Intelligence. He had always believed that Olov and he were of equal rank in the operation. He had felt important dealing directly with the director when he’d been drafted as a foreign Russian spy, especially since Sergei had personally hosted him at his home for the three weeks he went to Moscow for training. To suddenly have to jump to attention every time Olov opened his mouth, didn’t sit well with him.
He switched off his computer and pushed back the chair just as Vera walked in with his coffee and toasted sandwiches. His mouth watered from the aromas floating toward him. He glanced at his watch.
“Thank you,” he said curtly. He came to a decision and reached for the plate. Olov could wait. He was hungry and if it meant he would be five minutes late arriving at the Russia House Dining Lounge on Connecticut Ave, then so be it. The bastard needed to learn that Darius Spooner wasn’t his puppet on a string.
On the tenth hour, Darius strolled into the dining lounge. He didn’t bother to search for Olov among the breakfast diners but took the stairs to his office and walked inside without knocking. It was time the Russian realized he wasn’t scared of his constant threats.
Olov regarded him from where he sat behind a large desk with narrowed eyes as he finished the conversation over the phone. It was in Russian, which meant Darius didn’t understand a word. He leaned back in the chair and looked around, scoffing at Olov’s muscle man, Juri, who stared at him unflinchingly. It was typical of the two men, always trying to intimidate him. He might have been in a tailspin the last time they saw him since it was directly after the coup had been split open when fear of exposure had crippled him but all of that was in the past. Now that he knew his cover was safe, he’d be damned if they walked all over him.
“We are ready to release the first wave of sleeper cells,” Olov said as soon as he ended the call.
Darius straightened in the chair, filled with a mixture of excitement and confusion. The sleeper cells weren’t planned for release until a successful coup had been implemented. They would assist in foiling attempts to overthrow the new President in power, thereby strengthening their hold on Congress.