Page 28 of Deadly Alliance

Deep inside her, Shane felt her squeeze tight around him, almost pushing him over the edge. He didn’t want it to end now. Not fucking ever, but Emme had other ideas. The way she met every one of his thrusts felt like a race he wouldn’t be able to win.

Surrounded by her, with her taste in his mouth and her moans filling his world, Shane fell. Heat shot through his lower spine, his balls tightened, and he lost vision as his body bowed in explosive pleasure. From a distance, he heard Emme’s cry and it settled his heart knowing she was sharing his pleasure. It took a few minutes to realise their current position on the floor of the shower. Not willing to get back to reality yet, Shane shifted to cushion her with his body, listening to her breathing as Emme relaxed in his arms.

* * *

Emme wasgrateful that the team didn’t say anything about her and Shane. She knew very well that everyone had guessed why it had taken so long for Shane to emerge from the shower. And maybe they’d even heard their ruckus. Instead, they gave them a wide berth. Zack, who’d arrived with the others in the meantime and was informed of what had occurred, only gave her a deadly glare and ordered pizzas.

Now with boxes scattered over the conference table, along with piles of paper, laptops and cables, it was time for a debrief. Emme sat as close as professionally acceptable to Shane as her heart squeezed in anticipation. This sounded a lot like a mission wrap-up and she wasn’t ready for it.

Zack leaned back in his chair. “Lucky for us, there wasn’t any more traps inside the room he rented. We grabbed everything we could find, including a computer and at least three passports.”

Dee pushed her plate aside. “I’m gonna start on the computer with Will, but I’ve already cross-checked the passports with where he used them and so far, nothing matches any of the previous victim’s locations. Either there are other passports somewhere else, or we have the wrong guy.”

Will groaned, pulling at his hair. “Don’t say that! Please! We have the bad guy! He’s in a cell, right here. Emme identified him—he called her Beatrice before he tried to take her. All the pieces fit. Game over.”

Silence stretched around the table.

Emme sighed. “Will is right. Even if we can’t make Bolton talk, all the facts point to him.”

Lance shook his head. “We don’t know why he is so fixated on Beatrice. At least a younger Beatrice. That’s crucial.”

“I can take another pass at him.” Zin proposed, but his tone wasn’t convincing.

“I’ll take a pass myself.” All eyes turned to Beatrice in one synchronised motion. Emme would have laughed if the expression on the woman’s face wasn’t deadly serious.

Nobody dared answer apart from Zack. “Bea, I don’t think it’s such a good idea. He doesn’t know you’re involved in this operation. Why out yourself now?”

Unfazed, the Purgatory leader locked eyes with Emme’s boss. “We have him. This is a secured location and when he sees me, there is a high possibility he will open up. I’m his holy grail.”

Shifting in his seat, Shane didn’t appear happy about it. “No offence, Beatrice, but Zin and I worked him for hours, and we didn’t get anywhere.”

The motherly way she looked at him made Emme bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. “Sometimes a woman’s touch can do wonders.”

Zin hummed in appreciation. “I’m willing to learn new tricks anytime, Beatrice.”

Beatrice turned to the mountain of a man, getting to her feet. “And I’m always willing to teach someone, Zin.”

Lance coughed to disguise a laugh and Owen shook his head as if he knew what was about to happen. Emme’s gaze was glued to the scene.

Zin rolled his eyes and followed suit, towering over the red-headed pixie. “I don’t need a lesson, but I’ll play bodyguard.”

Beatrice offered her hand as if to seal the deal, and she heard Dees sharp inhale just as Zin took it. It was fascinating to see Zin’s face drain. Beatrice was doing something with her fingers, but from where she was, Emme couldn’t see what was happening. When Beatrice touched his elbow with her other hand, Zin’s knees buckled. Emme saw Zack shake his head as if he had already seen it happen before.

After a string of curses in Russian from Zin, Beatrice let him go. Zin bounced back, anger on his face, but it was quickly replaced by calculation. “How did you do that? Do it again. Show me.”

Her clear laugh echoed in the room as she tapped his hand. “When we have a few minutes, I’ll teach you.”

“Thanks for the lesson, but I don’t think your little trick is going to achieve anything with our guy, Bea.” Shane leaned forward as he spoke.

“You are right. Because of the RTI, we know it’s not the right thing to do. I want to see him up close, jog my memory. I don’t know why, but this entire situation keeps circling in my head and not in a good way.”

For the first time since she’d met her, Emme saw tiredness etched deeply on the woman’s face.

“I might be reading too much into it. I’m probably biased because of everything that’s happened. Let’s tie up all the loose end properly, make sure we’re in the clear, and if every one of you is satisfied, I will be too. Shane?”

Emme touched Shane’s hand as the man took a deep breath as his boss’ request, obviously weighing her words very carefully. Ignoring everybody in the room, Shane took Emme’s hand in his and squeezed.

“I want it to be done too. And to be sure we have the right guy. Let cross all the T’s, dot all the I’s and go home.”