Smoke and Sin (The Perfect Gentlemen 4)

And then she tried to scream because a hard arm snaked around her waist and a hand clapped over her mouth.

“Hush, Augustine,” a deep voice whispered in her ear as a hard body blanketed her from behind. “We’re not alone and if you walk out that barn door, I’m afraid someone’s going to die.”

Pure fear sliced through her. She knew that voice. Matthew Kemp was holding her immobile, trapping her. Silencing her.

“Drop the phone. If they see the light, they’ll know our position.”

Yes, Roman would find her, and that seemed like a good idea. She clutched the source of the light. Kemp could either let go of her waist or her mouth if he wanted to make her drop the phone. Then she would run or scream.

“Don’t fight me. I’m not the bad guy,” he whispered. “I was sent here by my boss to watch out for you. I’ve had a tracker on your phone for days. Unfortunately, I think my competition has had a tracker on Roman’s, but I couldn’t get to it without someone figuring out I’m working this problem from a different angle. Drop it, Gus. They’re going to come in here any minute.”

She held fast.

He sighed. “We don’t have time for this… I suspect Darcy Hildebrandt is working for the Russians, and if I’m right, she’s out there with Roman right now. She’ll use him to force you to give up the tapes.”

Kemp knew way more than Gus had imagined. If Darcy worked for the Russians, who was his boss? Zack? Maybe the president had been using his own detail to do some dirty work and kept it quiet for discretion. Gus hadn’t considered that…but it was logical. And his accusation about Darcy suddenly helped her understand the woman’s bizarre behavior. No one smiled that much. Ever.

Unless it was all BS.

She let the phone drop into her purse, the flashlight still on, but hidden by the heavy leather of the Louis Vuitton bag.

“Very good. We need to move out of here. I’ve got a way out the back, but we have to be quick.”

Dropping her phone a few inches from her reach was one thing. But letting Kemp haul her away from here—away from Roman when he might be in danger—was not happening. She kicked back at his shin.

Kemp groaned. “Hey, stop. We have to move and fast. I told you Darcy is here, and she won’t be alone. She’ll have at least two men with her. I’ve got to get you to safety. That’s my main job, along with recovering those tapes.”

She shook her head. She wasn’t leaving Roman. If that crazy bitch had him, Gus had to save him.

“Come on.” The agent started dragging her back, into the dark.

Gus kicked at him, fighting and writhing in an attempt to break his hold.

Something large banged into the barn door, and Kemp shifted with a curse, forcibly hauling her with him into the deepest shadows.

“Be still,” he hissed.

“Keep moving, Roman. Don’t make me tell you again. I know she’s in here. I saw her.” Darcy sounded nasally and arrogant.

Gus stopped struggling in Kent’s grip. So, he’d been right about Darcy. It looked as if he might be right about everything else. But there was one thing only she and Roman knew: Connor was on his way. She had to somehow keep Roman alive until Connor could get here. He would handle things for sure. She just needed more time.

How did she buy them some?

“I don’t know what you saw, but Augustine told me she was going to the house. That’s where the tapes are.” Roman’s voice was strong and perhaps a bit too loud, as though he was trying to ensure that she heard him, despite wherever she might be hiding.

“I sincerely doubt it,” Darcy replied. “But just in case, Gene, go and check the house. Once you’re done, get the car ready. We’ll need to leave here in a hurry. Leon, stay with me. I still think she came in this way.”

“Excellent,” Kemp whispered in her ear. “We should still be able to get out, but we’ll have to ease back very quietly. There’s an exit in the opposite corner we can get through.”

She shook her head.

“Don’t be stubborn. Calder will be fine.”

She shook her head more adamantly.

“See, she’s not here,” Roman insisted. “You’ll find her at the house.”

“I’m sure you’d like me to believe that, but that whore of yours is hiding here. How does that make you feel? You know, I did my homework on the whole nasty lot of you. I was rather surprised to see a man like you would accept Maddox Crawford’s seconds.”

Gus wanted to punch Darcy’s pretty, uptight face. She would do it exactly the way her father had taught her, too. He’d told her to envision her fist plowing straight through the object she was punching. Yeah. Gus would love that about now.

Because Darcy was doing some punching of her own, albeit verbally. The woman knew exactly where to hit Roman—right in his considerable pride.

“I was definitely surprised you were willing to tell me—or anyone—that you’re sleeping with her,” the bitch went on. “I admit, I thought the way to get this deal done was to have sex with you myself. You have a reputation for being a finicky lover, so I did my best to be cheerful, if a bit reserved and compliant at times. But I should have known that every man loves a whore.”

Gus winced. Darcy’s words would hit Roman in the gut because he saw them as true. It would surely make him blow, since image was very important to him. And if he lost his cool, they would all be in trouble.

“First of all, Mad took care of her when I couldn’t, and if he got some comfort out of it, then who the hell am I to blame him? She’s the most beautiful woman in the world, and I’m damn lucky Mad wasn’t smart enough to put a ring on her finger. Second, the reason I’m so finicky about women is that I’ve already had the sexiest one I know. So why would I want anyone else, especially you? That was never going to happen. I could barely remember your name when my Gus was around. And third, if you call her a whore again, I swear to god I’ll forget I’m a gentleman who doesn’t hit females.”

Of all the words she’d expected to come from Roman’s mouth, that speech was the least likely.

There had been no shame or doubt in his voice, only pride and anger directed at the woman taunting Gus. Roman hadn’t sounded like a man who wanted to keep his lover under wraps. He’d sounded like a man in love.

He’d sounded like a husband. r />

Darcy scoffed. “I expected better from you. Leon, check the barn. She’s hiding in here somewhere. And be careful. Women like her tend to know where to hit a man.”

A shaft of light blinked into existence. She could see the stream emanating from a flashlight. It began a slow rotation around the space.

Kemp’s arm clamped tighter around her as he tried to huddle as far from that light as possible. “They’ll kill us all once they get those tapes in their hands. If I let you go so I can get to my gun, will you promise to behave?”

If Kemp was willing to take out a few of the enemy, she would play along—as long as he didn’t lump Roman in that camp. Then if Kemp decided to cross them and possibly to blackmail the president, Connor could put his skills to good use.

“Yeah,” she breathed.

“Why are you doing this, Darcy? You have to know my government won’t look kindly on yours trying to blackmail the president of the United States.”

There was the shuffling of feet and a slight wobbling of the floor as that light continued to move around the room. Leon was being very thorough in his search.

“I’m sure my government would be horrified, but MI6 doesn’t pay what it used to,” Darcy replied. “That’s right. I am a spy sent to make a general report on the president and his team. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Except I serve two masters, and the one in Moscow pays so much better. Once I hand over whatever you’ve been looking for to my contacts, I’ll never have to work again.”

“No, you won’t,” Roman shot back. “Because you’ll be dead. Everyone who’s gotten into bed with the Russians is. Follow the yellow brick road and what you’ll find is a trail of bodies, many of whom thought they were going to Oz. I assure you, your contact will take the package you hand him and put a bullet in your head. It’s the way the Bratva deals with outsiders, even helpful ones.”

“Not a sound.” Kemp lifted his hand from Gus’s mouth slowly, as though waiting and ready to pounce again if she screamed out.

But she knew better. Shrieking now would only have bullets flying everywhere. Roman would be in the middle of that. Besides, she didn’t want Kemp’s tight hold again. She wanted her arms free so she could find her own gun. Then she’d feel better.