She glared a bit harder. “You’re tracking my Internet activity?”
“You almost booked a trip to the Maldives. Any particular reason why?”
“You clearly don’t know as much about me as you think you do. I have training in—”
The ding that echoed in the cabin to confirm they’d leveled out caused Damen to interject, “You can use your phone now. Connect to the inflight Wi-Fi and go to CNN. Breaking news.”
“You are so infuriat—”
“Just do it, Ms. Kane,” he implored.
She seethed. As soon as the attendant stepped from behind that wall, Nikki would signal her.
In the meantime… Intrigue got the best of her and she did as instructed.
A statement from U.S. and Mexican officials was being read at the U.S. embassy…in Mexico City. A spokesperson announced a primary suspect had been located and apprehended, and that he’d acted alone to sabotage the gas lines and create the explosions—in an attempt to validate his skills and devotion to a growing, global terrorist cell.
“The statement was prepared yesterday,” Damen told her. “That it’s being delivered right now isn’t a coincidence. The governments were waiting for us to leave the country before they jointly divulged the information. Safer that way for me and my colleagues.”
Nikki captured the link and sent it to Jude, emailing: Is this real-time?
Mere seconds later, she got her answer: Yes.
Damen wore a smug expression now. He was too devilishly handsome for words. Too devilishly handsome for her own good.
Still… A foreboding feeling remained.
Causing Nikki to whisper, “What if you’re the terrorist?”
2
“I assure you, I’m not,” he said with conviction. “I swear.” He stared deep into her emerald irises, which shimmered more captivatingly than the spectrum the sun had created on his crystal-cut tumbler. Which the flight attendant replaced, handing over a fresh cocktail.
Damen reluctantly tore his gaze from Nikki Kane to graciously accept the drink.
He waited patiently as the attendant passed a wineglass to Nikki. When she moved on, he returned his undivided attention to the stunning redhead sitting next to him.
Damen took a moment to commit all of her striking features to memory. Her hair was full and lush, with thick curls spilling over her shoulders and cascading down her back. She’d swept her long bangs over to one side and they fell slightly forward to frame her temple in a sexy way. Her green eyes were enhanced with smoky makeup. Her cheekbones were high and well-defined. She had a perfectly sculpted nose to balance out her delicate features, and plump, crimson-colored lips that made his own mouth water to taste her.
The graceful column of her neck led to the sort of body men fantasized about. She had an enticing chest, currently accentuated by a tight, winter-white sweater. Because he’d followed her through the airport earlier, he knew she had a narrow waist and shapely hips. A killer ass. Mile-long legs he was dying to see bare, though they were currently concealed by skinny jeans and ankle boots.
He longed to see every bit of her stripped bare.
He wanted her sprawled across his bed with all those gleaming, dark-auburn locks fanned out around her head and her honey-colored skin glistening from the heat he sparked within her.
He wanted to sample every delectable inch of her…
But that was…not today’s mission.
Focus.
Today’s mission was getting something different from Nikki Kane.
Today’s mission was about recovering information she’d stolen from the DIA.
He tipped his glass toward her and said in Italian, “Salute.”
Her gaze narrowed on him. “Where, exactly, are you from?”