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“Ethan Thomas,” Gabe said. “Or Dragon, as he was introduced earlier.”
Grace shook her head and said, “You’re kidding me. Isn’t Ethan Thomas that kid the agency was trying to recruit just before I left? The one who hacked into the Pentagon from his basement in Hoboken?”
“The one and only,” Gabe said.
“Good grief, he’s an infant. What is he, fifteen? Is ISF a babysitting service?”
“Funny,” Gabe said. “But he just turned eighteen. And he’s the best. Which is why he’s giving me headaches and not the deputy director of the CIA.”
Grace shook her head in disbelief. “You have an agent that probably has to check in with his mommy every week. I don’t see how that headache is to our advantage. How’d you get him away from agency clutches?”
“I told him he could either go to prison, or he could work for me as a kind of community service. The CIA didn’t know what to do with him. He has a bit of an attitude problem, and he wasn’t all that excited about agency protocols. I guess I was the lesser of two evils. All I had to do was buy his mom a new house and promise he’d get to keep hacking. The kid is brilliant. You’ll get used to him. Eventually.”
“A glowing endorsement,” Grace said. “Can’t wait to meet him in person.”
Gabe nodded to another guard at the front door and scanned himself in—first the thumbprint, then the retinal scan.
“Your thumb and retinal imprints are already in the system, and your new identity badge with photo ID is on your kitchen counter. Do me a favor and wear the badge whenever you leave the premises. You don’t want the security guards to get antsy.”
Grace stopped him from going inside by putting a hand on his shoulder. Gabe froze in his tracks, the heat from her fingers burning into his skin.
“You took a hell of a chance,” she said. “And you were pretty confident I’d come back with you. Why?”
He shifted his body so they stood facing each other. So close that he could feel the heat of her body through the thin silk of her shirt against his chest.
He leaned down so his lips barely touched her ear and whispered, “Because I know the one thing you can never say no to.” He smiled in triumph as she shivered. Her fingers clutched the fabric of his shirt. He pulled back and he could see her pulse thumping wildly at the base of her neck.
“What’s that?” she asked, her voice barely audible.
“Danger.”
Even saying the word made her pupils dilate and her breath hitch. Gabe bit back a groan as the urge to take and conquer beat at the base of his skull. She was his woman. She’d always been his. He knew that on the most primal level.
“The more dangerous the better,” he said. “Isn’t that right? Remember when we were on mission in Siberia and had to hide in that cave? Land mines and grenades were going off all around us, and you couldn’t keep your hands off me. We were explosive together.”
The pull had always been strong between them. But they still had things to deal with. Her hands pushed against his chest, and Gabe backed away, giving her the space she wanted.
“Let’s just make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself,” she said shakily.
Gabe smiled tightly and motioned for her to precede him into the building. “Chicken,” he whispered behind her back, laughing when her back stiffened. He realized just being in her presence, having her in his space, made him more relaxed than he was the two years he’d spent without her.
“Welcome to ISF,” he said, showing her the main floor.
Dark hardwood floors gleamed with polish, and a Persian rug in muted colors lay in the middle of the room. Fresh flowers sat on a round table in the center of the rug. To the left of the entryway was a large, glass-enclosed conference room. A mahogany table that sat twelve dominated the room, and empty bookshelves lined one wall. There were no scattered papers. No electronics. And no people anywhere in sight.
“This is a bit of a formal area,” Gabe said, pointing to the conference room. “We tend to do briefings upstairs unless all agents are in-house and we need the space. All of the upper floors are for personal use by whoever’s in the country at the time, or when I add new agents.”
“Are you planning on expanding?” she asked.
“I’ve got some ideas,” he said, shrugging. “I don’t plan on working in the field forever. I’d like to slow down a little in my old age.”
“I hear those assisted-living places are pretty posh,” she said. “I’m sure you can while away your golden years playing pickle ball and seducing the nurses.”
“If I remember right, you were never a fan of me seducing anyone but you.”
“Different time, different place,” she said. “The nurses are all yours. What are those rooms?”
He sighed softly. “The whole right side of this floor is offices. They’re mostly empty except for mine. You’re welcome to one if you’d like.”
