AllFreeNovel
Share Us
TJ knew he should probably send his uncle a death stare, buthe was kind of right. Lou was like a blanket. He wanted to wrap himself up inher and she smelled like fabric softener, and damn that was sexy to him.
He hadn’t realized how much his family would help him bypointing out how nice Lou was. He understood why she’d slid onto his lap, andit wasn’t all about wanting to be there. It was about wanting everyone else tothink she could be there.
He would use that. He’d meant what he’d said. He could beruthless when he needed to be. He’d always carefully hidden that part ofhimself, preferring to be Lou’s golden boy heroic type. It was precisely whyhe’d never mentioned all the assholes he’d warned off her. He was Lou’s friend,the one she could count on to always do the right thing.
Now he needed to access the bad boy she brought out in him.
He let his hand find her knee, running up her skirt, butcareful to keep the motion slow and hidden.
“I’m sending a full dossier to each of you,” Tasha said.“But it’s not anything that will set the world on fire. It’s a fairly typicalcrime story. He’s from a lower-class background. Mom died, and Dad abandonedhim. In and out of prison in his youth. There are a couple of Italian mafiagroups that work in Germany, and he became associated with them.”
“From what we can tell, he moved from running drugs to guns,and when his mentor died, he moved in to lead the operation. The Italians actuallytook down most of the family he worked for a few years back, leaving somethingof a power vacuum that Friedrich was happy to fill,” Big Tag continued. “So thequestion is why do they want TJ? All I got out of the guard is that he wants togo home and something about another arms dealer the boss wants information on.”
“He’s called The Jester,” TJ murmured, staring at the wayLou’s neck curved into graceful shoulders. How had he never simply spent hoursstaring at her? He’d watched every movie she’d ever asked him to when he couldhave been watching her. “From what I can tell, he’s a new presence in the armsworld, and our friend either didn’t like the competition or he wants to hirethe fucker.”
“Yes, that is the name the guard used. The Jester. Dumbass,”his uncle agreed.
His dad cocked a brow his uncle’s way. “Really? It’s betterthan The Broker?”
Oooo, he was glad his AuntCharlotte wasn’t here. She’d gone by The Broker when she’d been the world’spremier information collector. She and her sister, Chelsea, had ruled thatworld for several years.
“Nah, The Broker was brilliant. It’s self-explanatory,” hisuncle countered. “You know exactly who you’re dealing with when they introducethemselves as The Broker. And it’s sexy. What is The Jester supposed to mean?Does he think he’s funny or something? Is he like trying to be The Joker butdidn’t want to deal with copyright infringement?”
His mom was saying something snarky and the others werewatching the byplay of the older generation, and that meant he could move alittle more. He got his palm between her thighs. Warm skin. Soft skin. He’dspread her wide the first time, but now he wondered what it would feel like ifshe’d wrapped her legs around his neck and been surrounded by the soft core ofher sex.
“Lou, next time find someone with more information, please.”
Lou shook her head like she wasn’t quite following theconversation. “What?”
His uncle had been the one who’d dragged her attention away.His uncle’s eyes narrowed as though he knew something was going on but couldn’tquite figure out what it was. “I said the guard was low level. He didn’t havemuch information. I got everything out of him I could, but next time, find mesomeone higher up. The dude who’s guarding shit usually doesn’t know much.”
“Well, it’s not like I had a lot of choices. He was the onlyperson I saw on my way out,” Lou replied, wriggling slightly. Yeah, that feltgood. “And honestly, that was beyond the parameters of my mission. I wassupposed to get TJ out. I did. Why didn’t you ask Kala to chase down the CEO ofthis organized crime thingee?”
She was so cute when she was flustered, and there was zerodoubt that she was flustered. It was there in the breathy quality of her voiceand the way her chest hitched as his hand climbed up her thigh. And the factthat she’d used the word thingee. Lou tendedto be precise. She was a smarty pants of the highest order.
He was the dude who wanted to get into her smarty pants, andsuddenly that seemed like enough. He spent his whole life backing other peopleup. Why couldn’t he back up the person he loved most of all?
He’d spent all this time thinking he was a grunt and notworthy of her, but didn’t the smarty pants of the world need comfort too?Didn’t they need someone who took care of them and gave them the affection theyclearly deserved? What would another smarty pants do right now? Probably spendhis time paying attention and trying to look…smart. That’s what they did. Whenhe thought about it, another smarty pants would actually clash with what Louneeded.
He was almost to the apex of her thighs when she put a handon his arm.
Damn it. So close.
She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes and then removedher hand.
When he let his fingers slip under the band of her panties,she spread her legs slightly.
Yeah, this was what they needed. She would almost certainlypull away after, but he would pursue her with far more willpower than he’d everused to push her away.
“I made it to what I suspect was the main office. No one washome,” Kala admitted. “Coop and I tried the computers, but most of them hadbeen bricked. We only got one to give us data, and I think it’s the one thatcontrolled CCTV. They had good protocols. Once we burned the jammer, theimportant people took off. I would bet there are tunnels nearby that aren’ttracked by CCTV.”
Kenzie nodded. “Yes, I found some records of excavation atthat site right before World War II. This whole area was ground zero for theNazi movement. It was heavily bombed later in the war, so it makes sense thatthey had underground shelters. The tunnels would have led back to the village afew miles away.”
“It would have made sense to know that before we went in,”his uncle pointed out.
Kenzie frowned. “Sorry. I was trying to figure out what wewere going into, not where they would run.”
His mother’s eyes rolled. “Yeah, says the dude who pushedthese kids to plan and execute a delicate rescue op in less than forty-eighthours.”
