Mission, page 11
“Shut up.” Lars bent and rubbed his thigh before looking up, and his scowl lasered on Sten. “You’re a fucking asshole. You could have warned me.”
Lars was a crosshair away from losing his shit. He bunched his shoulders, ready to come out swinging at either brother.
“He spent five minutes with her, and he’s already looking for a fight?” Nick crossed his arms. “Man, you need to get laid.”
Sten stepped within striking distance, counting on Lars to behave like a professional…this time. “Do you need to hit me again to get your dick screwed on right? We have a mission. And our job is to take Worthy and his buyers out. Can you do the job? Is Danni going to be a problem?”
Nick raised his eyebrow in his irritating older brother superior attitude. “First Finn, then Lars, and now you? I raised you better than to act like a couple of whipped…”
Sten wasn’t anything like Lars who had a perpetual hard-on for Danni. His sudden possessive reaction to Izzy wasn’t anything more than his role as mission lead to protect his asset. She was running smack into danger and had no skills. And he shot down the gut-roiling idea of her running smack into men who’d be happy participants in revenge sex.
“Let’s get to work.” Sten ignored Nick’s perceptive stare.
FUBAR in giant red letters flashed across Sten’s brain. If Lars didn’t get his head out of his ass and Danni didn’t stop acting like a provocative tease, they might jeopardize the mission.
“I’m fine.” Lars shifted his weight to his good leg. “It just threw me to see her here.”
“You might try not rising to her bait.” Sten couldn’t believe he needed to tell Lars how to behave with a woman. His brother had a long track record as a heartbreaker. It was part of the Jenkins brothers’ unspoken creed—not to purposely hurt women, but to be upfront they didn’t do commitment. They all accepted their careers gave them short shelf lives.
Uncle Harry had beaten into them at a young age what honorable behavior was toward the opposite sex. And despite all the warnings, women always wanted more. For that reason, Sten stayed away from anything but casual sex with no strings. Last night was anything but casual.
“Have you ever considered just ignoring her? She is just one woman, dammit. Grow a pair,” Nick said.
Sten watched as Lar’s clenched jaw twitched as he struggled with the idea. “Sure.”
Nick slapped him on the back. “There you go. Once this rodeo is over, we’ll find us some tasty cocktail waitresses.”
“Gentlemen, now that the Dr. Phil moment is finished, can we get to work?” Sten sat at the table. “You finish the set-up for the armory, Nick?” It had been easy to bring the heavy artillery on Dean’s private plane.
“Everything is in place. Had to leave the DD in the SUV. Not like I could have room service bring the big-ass sucker up.” Nick sat next to Lars who had lowered himself gingerly into a chair.
“FYI, Lars, Danni isn’t staying here and shouldn’t be making many more appearances.”
Lars snorted. “She’s going to show up just to bust my balls. It’s a game to her.”
The balance between Danni’s help and her inflammatory effect on Lars had an unclear outcome. Not the way to run an op when every outcome should be anticipated and well-planned. Danni was a big support for Izzy, who’d tried to hide her tears at Danni’s thoughtfulness in contacting Emily. Izzy’s confidence and mental status was a major factor in the success of this mission. Danni provided a woman’s insight and support. Not that Sten or any of his brothers would have thought of wine and movies to help Izzy face her crazy ex. It was totally outside the MARSOC wheelhouse.
“Sitrep, Lars.”
“Once Reeves and his crew are finished with our Defcon passes and my press pass, we’re heading out to the Paris to get the electronics into the theater. The men have their assignments to cover the auditorium. They’ve all bought Defcon shirts and shit to blend in with the attendees. Nick and the men will cover all exits while I play reporter filming the event…and the crowd.”
Sten had seven members of Jenkins Security team in addition to his brothers, Reeves, and his three IT guys. This was a full heavy-metal team to take on the country’s enemies. The general and Dean wanted the best, and they always got what they wanted.
“Nick, get Reeves on comms. And do you have a man on the IT room at the Paris?”
“Rory from Finn’s SEAL team is on their door here, and he’ll go with them to the Paris. I’m sure he can handle whatever gets thrown at him.”
Rory, like many of the new recruits to Jenkins Security, was an operator who had been discharged because of injuries that prevented him from operating at Tier One level. The men were damn good soldiers and still had skills that few on the planet had.
“I’ll be ready in ten.” Reeves’s face popped up on the monitor.
“Update, Reeves.”
“The assholes are running nonstop programs. Nmap, Nessus, John the Ripper, p0f, Winzapper, mSpy and iKeyMonitor…every possible hacking software.”
“Reeves, we get it. Everyone at Defcon is going to hack into the Paris server, the cameras, and every device that’s in the vicinity. Defcon is a pissing match among hackers.”
“I’m working on a program in my spare time—” Reeves raised his eyebrows. “—to run the hacker handles with a face-rec software program. I’m taking—”
“Get to it.” Sten loved talking tech with Reeves when they weren’t on the clock. Right now, he needed Reeves to focus on logistics.
“With all the hacks going on, it’s making it a ‘little more difficult’—” Reeves used his hands to make air quotes “—for us to be inconspicuous by our presence on the servers. We’re having a rad time. We’ve all been to Defcon, but this takes the challenge to a new level.”
“I’m glad you all are enjoying yourselves.” Nick used his sardonic tone. “A bit ironic, isn’t it?”
“If this is where all the best hackers are hanging out, won’t you eventually get hacked?” Lars asked.
“That is low, dude. But I’ll give you a pass since I know Danni showed up.” Reeves rolled his chair back from the monitor as he typed. “Getting hacked will not happen. The challenge is to identify the real players, the Russians, North Koreans, or Bedlam, in the glut of the hacks at the three hotels where the attendees are staying.”
“Aren’t you using CC’s people?” Sten made sure that Reeves could use CC for the sudden heavy IT demand for this mission.
“Yeah. They’re monitoring the other two hotels, the conference website. Everyone has to hack the website. It’s part of the experience. They’re searching through all the attendees’ and employee’s identities. But it takes time because hackers thrive on hiding their identities deep. And we’re looking at all registrations in Las Vegas hotels. Not the folks who come for the cheap room and free meals to gamble, but foreigners who’ve booked the expensive suites and penthouses.”
“What about tonight’s speakers? Any red flags?”
“None. We’re also trying to tap into all of Worthy’s devices. Not easy. He must use burner phones and a heavily encrypted computer.”
“Depending on how Izzy’s meeting goes with him, we might have to think about acquiring his laptop,” Sten said.
“Now that sounds like a rad time to me.” Nick raised a single eyebrow.
Reeves’s bark of laughter echoed in the monitor.
“Good work, Reeves.”
Sten shut down the monitor and turned to Nick.
“Are we expecting a queue in front of the theater like the shot Reeves sent me with the registration lines that wound around the entire lobby?”
“There will be a line. It’s a first-come basis. In case you didn’t get it, Defcon cares nothing about rules or order,” Nick said.
“I don’t want Izzy to have any dead time. What’s the ETA?”
“The panel starts at eight tonight. A ten-minute drive max. Entry through the back door.”
“Shouldn’t Izzy be prepping for her talk instead of watching movies and drinking wine with the she-devil?”
Sten exchanged a look with Nick, noting that Lars needed to bring Danni into the discussion.’
“Izzy is positive that she can talk about Artificial Intelligence without any prep.”
“Send over all angles of backstage once you’re in the theater so we can position Izzy for the quickest exit. As her bodyguard, I want to be close, real close. Does Reeves have his crew checking backgrounds of everyone who works at the Paris?”
“He’s using CC. There are almost three thousand rooms at the Paris. It’s a lot of staff.”
“There shouldn’t be any trouble until Izzy meets with Worthy. But we still have to plan for all contingencies.” Sten stated the obvious to the brothers to reassure himself that tonight was only a warmup.
“Reeves hacked into Worthy’s office calendar, and it has him out of office starting yesterday until Thursday. We couldn’t find a flight manifesto for his arrival. So, he’s off-grid,” Lars said.
“I’m sure he had everything locked down tight,” Nick added.
Lars leaned back in his chair. “Do you think Izzy can handle this op? Facing off with Worthy, a sick psycho, a fucking traitor, and her ex isn’t how I would have planned this op.”
“Izzy can handle this. The woman has more going on than you think.” Nick crossed his arms over his chest.
Sten couldn’t hide his shock. Nick was solid on assessing assets, and Izzy got the seal of approval from his brother. Now, if he only could have as much confidence in the op that put Izzy into the crosshairs of her cunning ex.
17
Danni closed the door with a wide grin and winked at Izzy. “How entertaining.”
Izzy was speechless. She had a million questions about Danni’s ex, her relationship with Lars, and what mathematical model she was using in her work. Instead, she followed Danni into the middle of the master suite, which provided another spectacular view of the strip.
Gone was the hip-swaggering, hair-flipping seductress. Danni marched in long, determined strides, making it difficult for the height-challenged Izzy to keep up.
“We don’t have a lot of time before Robert arrives. I want to teach you a few moves. Have you been trained in self-defense?”
From this first meeting with Danni, Izzy felt she was three steps behind. Uncharacteristic, since she usually was speeding ahead of everyone else.
Izzy stood with her mouth open. “But you…just now…Lars?”
“We really don’t have much time. Cliff Notes: Lars does it for me. But after my conniving, cheating fiancé, I’m never going to fall for another bad boy. Maybe, when my ovaries are drying up…maybe…just maybe, I’ll get serious about one guy.”
Danni wagged her delicate finger at Izzy. “And as a warning from one woman who was played to another, the Jenkins brothers are not relationship types. Keep your expectations low for anything but sex.”
Why did it sting to hear Danni voice reality?
She and Sten agreed that they wouldn’t become an item. She hadn’t missed the stares of the women in the lobby as she walked next to him. And why should that bother her? She wasn’t in the right headspace for a relationship. The entire military community—probably the FBI, CIA, NSA—were aware of her dating choices. And once Charles was convicted, the whole world would know. She hated that Sten and his brothers knew the deets on how she had bought every one of Charles’s sociopathic lies. And, despite all of her academic accolades, she looked stupid.
Looked stupid? Who was she kidding? Was stupid.
Danni sat on the striped damask couch and unzipped her boots. “Honey, I can see you’re beating yourself up. You’re not the one who lied and stole. You did nothing wrong.”
Izzy crashed on the couch across from Danni. “It doesn’t feel like it. I had no idea. I believed everything.”
“Nothing is wrong with you because you were taken in by a sociopath. You’re a normal human being, and you’re not batshit crazy. Once this is finished, we can spend hours giving each other motivational talks to boost our self-esteem.” Danni jumped up from the couch in her bare feet. “I know you do yoga, but do you know any self-defense moves?”
“I thought you were here to help me choose clothes?”
“I am. But I’m also here to help you take care of yourself. You have the best team guarding you, but you still need to be prepared to defend yourself. When I was kidnapped with Jordan and Sophie, their ability to fire a weapon saved our bacon. I vowed then that I would never feel vulnerable again.”
Danni pulled out a rubber band from her back pocket and twisted her long hair into a high ponytail.
“And yes, Jordan has pointed out that I might be overcompensating a bit after my cheating fiancé.”
Izzy nodded in total understanding. She never again wanted to experience the bone-crushing betrayal and vulnerability as she had when she discovered Charles hacking her computer. “I’ve been watching self-defense moves on YouTube since I fled New York, just in case.”
“You have no experience with guns, right?”
“None. I’d be terrified to fire a gun.”
“Okay. Let’s get to it. Tell me what you’ve learned, and then we can practice.” Danni raised her hand as she moved to stand in the middle of the room. “Come on.”
Embarrassing heat crept up her neck and onto her face as she stood. She wasn’t an athletic woman. That was the reason yoga worked for her. “The tape emphasized to go for the most vulnerable areas of your attacker—their eyes, face, and groin.”
“Always fight back, no matter how terrified you are. Scream, punch, kick, and, if you can, run.” Danni pushed her short skirt further up her thighs and positioned her legs apart. “Give it your best shot as if you were being attacked.”
“Now?” Izzy squeaked.
Danni lunged for Izzy’s arm as Izzy instinctively backed away and then kicked as demonstrated on YouTube, aiming for Danni’s groin.
Danni grabbed Izzy’s ankle in mid-air and tossed her onto the thick white carpeting. Izzy yelped in surprise as she hit the ground.
Danni, smirking, offered her hand to Izzy. “Not as easy as YouTube, is it?”
Izzy might not be athletic, but she did have a competitive streak. Danni’s smirk reminded Izzy of always being on the losing end with her sisters. Izzy jerked Danni’s hand, throwing her off-balance and pulling her forward. Danni shrieked loudly as she tottered before purposefully dropping to the ground in a dramatic and graceful fall. She laughed out loud, making Izzy laugh in turn. “Nice job.”
Sten and Lars burst into the room with their guns pointed. Both scanned the room, pausing to assess Izzy and Danni sprawled next to each other across the rug, then lowered their guns.
“What the hell is going on?” Sten demanded as he holstered his gun behind his back.
Danni jumped to her feet and pulled down her skirt from riding high on her thighs. “Sorry, boys, for disturbing you, but Izzy plays dirty pool.”
Scrambling to her feet, Izzy couldn’t suppress a giggle at the absurdity of the situation. “That wasn’t dirty pool. It was sister street-fighting.”
Danni chuckled in her deep throaty way. “Okay, I give you high marks for chutzpah and for moving away from your attacker.”
“Izzy, how much have you drunk?” A scowling Sten stepped closer and slowly inspected her face. “You’ve less than four hours before your talk.”
“Great job helping out, Danni. Getting Izzy drunk.” Lars leaned against the door jamb, crossing his ankles.
“Drunk? You think we’re drunk?” Danni’s voice shot from amused to nuclear in a nanosecond.
Lars snarled something. All Izzy could hear was the word skirt.
Izzy grabbed Danni’s arm before her new friend took off for another confrontation. “We haven’t been drinking. Danni has been helping me with self-defense moves if…” Izzy didn’t want to say, “if you fail to protect me.” “Just as a safeguard. A back-up.”
Sten’s gaze darted between the two women.
“That’s a helpful thought, Danni.”
“Geez, thanks, Sten.” Danni flicked her ponytail over her shoulder.
Izzy tugged on her top that had crept up with the movements. Sten’s eyes lingered on Izzy’s exposed skin, his gaze heating in the same way as last night when she had pulled her t-shirt over her head. Was this really the same day that she had awoken naked with Sten? A burning blush enveloped her body, thinking of Sten’s morning hard-on. The man was impressive. And she wanted to pull him against her and feel all that hard male after Danni’s warning about not expecting anything but sex from the twins.
“I didn’t see in your file that you have defensive training.”
Sten tucked her errant hair behind her ear. His touch ignited electric sparks that danced across her skin.
Izzy had to restrain herself from not reaching out to touch him, to run her hand along every hard ridge hidden underneath his t-shirt—every inch of his smooth chest that she had been happy to explore and lick last night.
“I don’t. As Danni has just proven.” She grinned at him and was absorbed by the hunger in his gaze. She leaned closer…to his strength, heat, and musky male scent.
“You’ve got great instincts. That was the right response.” Danni’s voice startled Izzy who had been locked in a pheromone-trance with Sten.
Danni was no better since she was in a mating stare-down with Lars who hadn’t moved from the door. His intense carnal need pervaded the room.
Izzy had difficulty not responding to the Jenkins’ raw virility, although just moments before she and Danni were bemoaning their bad choices in men.
A shrill voice echoed down the hall. “Danni, where are you?”
A tall blond man dressed impeccably in a tight-fitting long-sleeve black shirt and black slacks scooted around Lars and crossed to Danni. He was Hollywood handsome with a perfect molded jaw and cheekbones possibly surgically enhanced and a graceful élan in the way he moved. And, unlike Izzy’s all-black goth attire, his was elegant, Italian elegant with an understated gold belt buckle and Italian black loafers with gold buckles.
