Dusted Star

Chapter Twenty-One

Cooper slipped pastthe security officer manning the front desk of Lakyn’s apartment building, grumbling to himself about the elderly man’s distraction. Taking the elevator to Reggie Parks floor, he was once again amazed by all the security blind spots. There were far too many places the ill-placed cameras missed, and anyone with any training at all would be able to usethose to their full advantage.

Timing himself, it took less than ten seconds for him to open the door and step inside. If the man didn’t give a rat’s ass about his own safety, Cooper wondered how vigilant he’d been with Lakyn’s. Stepping into the cool, dim space, the first thing Cooper noticed was the sense of emptiness. The furnishings were still where they’d been the last time he’d paid theprick a visit, but the spacefeltempty.

Any good Special Operator could tell you when they entered a space whether there had been anyone there recently. There was an energy shift when a space hadn’t been occupied for a while. You could write it off as new age juju if you wanted, but it was a simple fact—people leave behind residual energy, it fades over time, but never completely leaves. Gratefulhe’d slipped on gloves before calling the elevator, Cooper began poking around, looking for anything that might tell him where Parks had gone—it didn’t take long.

*

Cooper leaned backin the oversized, black leather office chair and stared, lost in thought as he looked out over the twinkling lights of the city. He’d never been overly fond of large metropolitan areas,but if you had to spend time in one, a penthouse suite so far above the hustle and bustle of the street was definitely the way to do it. After spending more than a decade in some of the most dangerous and impoverished cities in the world, he truly appreciated a view where people look like ants during the day and completely vanish at night was pure magic. Hell, they were so far above the city lights,he could see a star twinkle every now and then. It would be several hours before the sun rose behind the Statue of Liberty, but the steady stream of headlights on the streets below proved this city rivaled Las Vegas as a city that never slept.

Cooper had been surprised when he found a packet with Lakyn’s name on it set out in plain sight in her manager’s apartment. The man had clearly wantedto be certain it was found. Cooper had pushed it inside the black tactical jacket he wore and continued searching Reggie Parks apartment for any additional clues. The man was nothing if not neat, so it had been easy to see he hadn’t taken anything but the absolute essentials. Hell, if the building superintendent sent a crew to clean out Parks’ place, they were going to take most of it home. The man’scloset was filled to overflowing with designer label clothing that would yield a small fortune on the street. Shaking his head, he looked at a shoe collection that likely cost enough to feed a third world country for a year.If you had that much money to spare, why didn’t you let it do some good, asshole?

One of the first things Cooper noticed when he entered the gaudily decorated space was Parkshad emptied every trash bin in the apartment, a detail most people would never think of unless they’d been trained in covert operations. The one thing Parks missed was a small box he’d probably dropped in his rush to leave and accidentally pushed under the edge of the bed. The cardboard was from a disposable phone and included inserts with enough identifying information, Micah would be able tofind and track the phone. There was an empty folder labeledPassport & Documentsin the top desk drawer, saving Cooper the time looking for items he’d already been certain the man had taken. He didn’t find any luggage in the apartment and the backpack Cooper knew the man used was also missing.

He hadn’t taken time to look through the contents of the manila envelope Parks had left for Lakyn untilhe’d returned to the safe house, and what he found had both shocked and saddened him. The scuff of boots on the other side of the room pulled him out of his musings. Cooper turned his chair in time to see Kent West settling in a nearby chair.

“Awfully late—or early, depending on your perspective—to be up.” Cooper gave the other man a questioning look. Why was West up and dressed at two o’clockin the morning?

“I don’t require as much sleep as some people.” Kent’s casual shrug didn’t fool Cooper. Most former Special Forces operatives had trouble sleeping—they’d seen and done too much for their subconscious mind ever to be completely free of the memories. “It was damned handy when the twins were newborns and will be handy again when the new baby arrives.”

“Congratulations, I’m sureyou and your family are excited.” Cooper hadn’t held a baby since Lakyn and thinking about it now made his eye twitch. Kent’s soft laughter earned him a sheepish grin.

“I’d have expected better lying skills from a spook. Damn, you need to get out before you get your ass shot. At least most of our missions are rescues—quick ins and outs that don’t require much time undercover. I’ll make a noteto keep sending Sage if a mission requires duplicity, that fucker could lie to God. Here’s a tip, don’t play poker with him or his lovely wife.”

This time it was Cooper’s turn to laugh. He liked both West brothers, but there was something about Kent that made the enormous man surprisingly approachable and easy to talk to. It was easy to see how Kent and Kyle had earned their reputations as skillednegotiators—they had the good cop, bad cop routine down pat.

“Duly noted.” Cooper paused, searching the other man’s face for a clue as to what prompted this awkward conversation. After several, long seconds of silence, Cooper arched a brow in question. “What’s on your mind, Kent?”

Kent’s heavy cowboy boot hit the floor with a resounding thud, and the big man leaned forward, resting his elbowson his knees. His considering gaze met Cooper’s and he shook his head.

“I don’t usually have this much trouble understandingcrazybecause frankly, it’s easy to just chalk things up to the simple truth that most of the people we deal with professionally are just too fucking stupid to breathe and move on… but something about this mess doesn’t add up.”

“I agree. The man being hunted by the governmentsof several nations just happens to be on a small airliner that suddenly vanishes over the South Pacific without a trace? Call me paranoid, but the whole thing seems awfully fucking convenient.”

“Micah tagged all Parks’ overseas accounts as soon as we knew his prints were on the listening devices in Lakyn’s apartment, but so far, there hasn’t been any activity since he went dark. There were somemajor cash transactions before he left the U.S., and Micah is still tracking those down, but there hasn’t been anything since. Unless the man is a whole lot smarter than we originally thought, someone is helping him. Someone with a lot of connections and a deep desire to stay in the shadows.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the understatement of the year.

*

Lakynstared outthe window into the night sky and wondered if she’d ever be able to sort out all the emotions surrounding the revelation Reggie had been working for everyone but her. In all honesty, that wasn’t entirely true, he had worked for her at least on a superficial level. She’d lost his loyalty early in her career, and she kept racking her memory for a reason. What could she have done to meritsuch deception and betrayal?

“Cariña, you are thinking so hard, you are going to givemea headache.” Juan smoothed his hand down her side, tantalizing her bare skin as his fingertips stroked from beneath her breast all the way to the middle of her thigh. Retracing the path, he wrapped his warm fingers around her hip and rolled her over until she lay flat on the bed beside him. Leaning close,he loomed over her, his stare focused and knowing.

“You’re trying to figure out what you did wrong, aren’t you?”

She felt tears fill her eyes and much to her relief, he didn’t scold her for the sudden display of emotion. Blinking away her tears, she smiled when Trac’s face also came into view. She’d been opposed to him refusing to stay overnight in the hospital, but now she was grateful he washere.

“Princess, please don’t cry, Juan’s words weren’t a criticism. We just understand how you think.” Trac’s eyes still showed the lingering shadows of pain, but he’d insisted the ringing in his ears was gone, and it would be easier to cope with the slight headache if he was away from the constant noise of the large medical center.

“Trac is right. As a submissive, it’s your nature to pleaseothers, and being liked is directly linked to caring for other people. When others don’t return their devotion, true submissives take it personally—very personally. It’s hurtful and sends them searching for the answers to a plethora ofwhyquestions. What we’re trying to tell you is you are not responsible for his behavior. Reggie Parks made the decision to sell you out. He sold out Cooper andhis country, and the irony is he is running from those who could have protected him.”

Lakyn knew Reggie would soon be facing several charges because he’d accepted money from a foreign nation in exchange for planting the bugs in her apartment. When they hadn’t yielded the promised results, the coward had tucked tail and run. Micah Drake and Phoenix Morgan’s facial recognition software and thecell phone information had allowed the Prairie Winds team to track her former agent as he made his way to the other side of the world. The men didn’t know she’d overheard the conversation they’d had while they believed she was in the shower, but she was holding those cards close to her chest for now.

“I don’t need this kind of publicity and neither do you. Your families have successful businesses…I don’t want them to be damaged by your association with me.” Both men recoiled as if she’d slapped them. Trac looked at Juan and shook his head in obvious frustration.

“I don’t think we’ve made our intentions toward this woman clear enough, brother. Perhaps she needs a few pleasant reminders of how much she means to us?” The moonlight brought out the dancing mischief in Trac’s eyes, and shefought the urge to roll her own eyes… something that had earned her more swats than she thought she deserved over the past few days.

“I agree, although I must confess being mystified by her confusion. I thought we’d emphasized the point several times during our flight to New York.” The timbre of Juan’s voice dropped, and Lakyn felt her body heat at the mere mention of their time in the bedroomof the Hughes Oil jet. They’d introduced her to the mind-blowing pleasure of ménage and given her what they called a stepped-up membership into the mile-high club. She felt her cheeks flush and wondered if they’d be able to see in in the moonlight.

“Jesus, Joseph, and sweet Mother Mary, I want to feel you between us again so badly, I’m about to lose my mind.” She smiled at the way the two ofthem so cleverly diverted her attention to more pleasant topics. He tapped the tip of her nose with the end of his warm finger and smiled. “But you, my lovely sub,arevery noisy when you come. Even with Juan’s mouth sealed over your luscious lips and the jet engines roaring outside the window, it still wasn’t enough to fully cover your tantalizing screams of pleasure, Princess. I’m absolutelycertain the walls of this penthouse will not offer us the privacy we need.” She moaned in frustration, and he chuckled. “Master Juan, I think our sub has gotten awfully greedy, what do you think?”

*

“Fuck, I hopeso because I can barely think of anything else. Sliding as deep into her silky heat as I can get trumps everything else. I want to take you back to Texas andmake love to you under a starlit sky,Cariña. Seeing your bare skin bathed in moonlight as shooting stars pass overhead will quickly become one of my greatest pleasures, I promise you. I want to introduce you to my family, so they can get to know the woman I’ve fallen in love with.” This time Juan was happy to see those mesmerizing violet eyes swimming in unshed tears because he knew these weretears of happiness.

Juan’s family would love Lakyn. Her soft heart, giving spirit, sense of humor, and work ethic would all be points in her favor—but ultimately, it would be the joy she’d brought into his life that would endear her to the loud and loving Riveras.

Trac would also introduce Lakyn to his family, but they would like her for entirely selfish reasons. Her fame rather than the womanherself would be the only thing they’d see. Juan had always been amazed that a family with so much had never seen how little it meant without love.