Rae's tired and annoyed voice came through the line. "If I were disposed to do something so stupid as to have sex with Korbin, he'd be too bloody drained to do his job. I doubt he could handle what I have to offer."
Carlos caught something that was a cross between a comment and a growl. "What did Korbin say?"
"Some nonsense about being up for the challenge. He should keep his mind on the mission, which reminds me, Gotthard wants to talk to you and Gabrielle. How's she doing on the computers?"
"So far so good, but what she excelled at was getting us in here. She was right about the tight security clearance. They wanted to boot me, but she pulled the Tynte power card and stood her ground." He smiled at her round-eyed expression.
Gabrielle's cheeks pinked with embarrassment. Cute, definitely cute. She deserved the compliment, and he hoped her success here played in her favor when time came for Joe to make a decision on her future.
"No kidding?" Rae sounded just as impressed.
"I'll touch base as soon as we know when we're leaving."
After hanging up, Carlos told Gabrielle to wait in the bathroom. He went out to his duffel and dug out a headset rigged with a splitter so he and Gabrielle could both talk to Gotthard.
Once he had two earpieces wired into the phone, he got Gotthard on the line.
Before they started sharing data, Gabrielle asked, "How is Mandy?"
"She's still in a coma, but her vitals are better." Gotthard moved on to the job at hand. "The remote access Gabrielle set up for me while she was coding the programs is working perfectly."
Carlos looked at Gabrielle, surprised she hadn't mentioned how much she'd done for BAD while in the IT area, but they hadn't had the chance to discuss much since leaving there.
"Hunter and I have been chasing lineages," Gotthard continued. "From what we can tell, Linette, Gabrielle, Amelia, and two other students currently MIA have similar markers from their ancestry. Have you ever heard of a D-ange-ruese line in your family history, Gabrielle?"
"No, but I never searched either." She stared in thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "I meant to tell you two something. I don't know if this is significant or not, but Amelia, Joshua, and Evelyn have student identification numbers that identify them as being physically challenged."
"That was in their bios, but it isn't consistent with you, Mandy, and, I assume, Linette," Gotthard pointed out.
"True," Gabrielle muttered. "Was there any other connection, Gotthard?"
"Only that so far each of you with this D-ange-ruese notation is either firstborn or an only child."
"What else have you got on the teens?" Carlos asked.
"The other two not accounted for are Joshua Williams, the son of a Massachusetts congressman, and Evelyn Abrams, the daughter of an international financial broker in Israel. According to the online schedule, Amelia is due back tomorrow. Joshua was listed as visiting friends in Germany, and his passport went through the Frankfurt airport so that seems to check out. Evelyn is listed only as visiting family in Israel, and her passport was logged at the Tel Aviv airport. But Joshua and Evelyn should be checked in by tomorrow morning. All the teens, Linette, and Gabrielle have ancestries that can be traced back practically to Noah's ark, all five are exceptional students with high IQs, and all five come from families that are above reproach. All except Mandy, who was a hellion and adopted. She doesn't fit the MO."
"What do you think this means?" Gabrielle stared past Carlos's shoulder, focused, as that brain of hers processed information.
"I don't know." Gotthard sounded as though he hadn't rested in days, which was probably the case. "We can't come up with any scenario that makes sense, and that worries us the most since the Fratelli's attack last year on the U.S. never culminated in a threat or demand. Retter found leads on the attacks on the Venezuelan oil minister, but doesn't trust them."
"Why not?" Carlos put his arm around Gabrielle when she shivered.
"Retter said the leads were too easy to find and follow, like they might be planted, but the local sentiment is real, and most believe someone in the U.S. is financing the attacks. This could be all about some plan to cripple the U.S. by inflating the fuel problems in America to a crisis that rivals last fall when gas prices shot through the roof and the stock market was crazy, but no scenario makes sense so far. I'm sending photos and bios on Mandy, Amelia, Joshua, and Evelyn next, but nothing on Linette just in case Gabrielle's laptop is ever compromised. We'd have no way to warn Linette. You'll have everything in ten minutes."
Gabrielle thanked Gotthard before Carlos cut the connection. He wished the hope in her heart wasn't written so plainly across her face. Gotthard probably had as slim a possibility of finding Linette online as Gabrielle and hated the false hope his teammate's efforts spawned.
"Why don't you see what the chef whipped up for your highness?" Carlos got a wry look for that, but she headed for the living room wearing a gray tank top and black warm-up pants, damp hair hanging loose around her shoulders.
Her lack of vanity surprised him for someone with her background. The aristocrats he'd known were more like Hunter, who spent a fortune to have every hair planned out for the day.
She was so intent on snooping through the dishes he snuck up and dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder.
She jumped and almost head-butted him.
He caught her before she knocked the food off the table. "Hungry, Miss Saxe?" Then he glanced up at the shelf where the activation light glowed on his jammer, indicating they could talk freely.
When she turned around, a chocolate-covered strawberry hovered near her mouth. She held it between two fingers, and instead of biting down she ran her tongue over the tip and sucked the chocolate on the strawberry.
He went rock hard and whispered, "If you want to eat any of that food, you'd better stop teasing me."
A wicked gleam twinkled in her eyes.
Seeing her feminine confidence return warmed him. Her ex-husband had to be some kind of idiot to have gone looking for something more than this woman. He should have his head spun around to face backward just for undermining her femininity.
If the bastard ever got close to her again, he'd get more than his body rearranged.
"I am hungry," she finally admitted after eating the strawberry and licking her fingers.
If she didn't stop licking things with that tongue, he'd run out of condoms tonight. He'd only brought his standard four.
Wasn't as if he'd expected to use them on this trip.
She laughed and pulled out of his arms. "Let's eat or I will be...what do you say? Cranky?"
"That's for sure." He couldn't believe the change from timid to relaxed. Men just never realized how easily their words and actions could break a woman's spirit or power up her confidence. Gabrielle was brilliant, heir to a fortune, and had protected herself alone for the past decade.
But what had she been doing during that time to know so much about the Anguis? Where was she getting her information?
"Here's yours. I'll take a water if you don't mind." She handed him a plate loaded with carved beef that would probably melt in his mouth, a potato souffle, green vegetables with almonds, bread, and a radish shaped into a flower.
He grabbed a cola and bottle of water from the minifridge, then sauntered over to the sofa. She bounced around the serving table, clearly delighted, as if she never dined so well. She pranced over to the sofa with a plate piled just as high as his and plopped down with the one-person buffet in her lap.
Then ate without hesitation.
When Gabrielle paused, she licked her fingers again. She lifted her head, eyes bright as those of an elf on a mischievous mission. Dimples winked when she smiled, and she covered her mouth shyly with one hand, hiding cheeks round with food.
But that she hadn't been the least bit concerned over devouring a full plate in front of him tugged on his heart.
What was he going to do about Gabrielle?
He couldn't keep her with him
, but neither could he let Joe and Tee send her to Interpol. If he went against BAD, he would have no refuge left in this world because he would be hunted as a threat to the organization.
Hard decisions were as much a part of his life as breathing. He'd make this one when the time came.
AN INSISTENT BUZZ interrupted his sleep.
Vestavia came awake, instantly assessing his surroundings as he always did even in his Miami penthouse, as he was now. He read the caller ID, then lifted the phone receiver to stop the noise before it woke Josie.
"What's going on?" He cradled the phone against his ear with one hand and used the fingers on his other to toy with Josie's hair. She slept like an angel beside him. His contact at the Ecole d'Ascension wouldn't have called unless he had an emergency.
"We've had a small glitch here, Fra Vestavia," his contact warned.
"As in?" Vestavia asked quietly. Josie snuggled close and burrowed into the pillow. His gaze strayed to the solid-gold pocket watch that rested on a rectangular onyx pedestal on the nightstand. A birthday gift from Josie. She'd found the antique treasure in Switzerland last year.
"Our computer systems have crashed," his contact at the school continued. "No one on our IT staff has been able to resolve the problem so we brought in outside help."
"Who?" Vestavia ignored Josie for a moment and stared out the window where stars winked in the black sky over the ocean.
"That's the good news. It's an alumni we've been in communication with for over a year about a custom program she's written that will upgrade all of our systems without needing so many fingers involved."
"So she's cleared to visit the school?"
"Absolutely. I've personally reviewed her records. She was a quiet little geek of a prominent family. Actually she was one of the D-ange-ruese line, but her mother's death was suspect so you struck her name from consideration. Her father is a respected member of the French government and rumored to be our next prime minister."
"I'm not crazy about it," Vestavia grumbled. His man inside the Ecole d'Ascension was completely trustworthy, and the school had been a favorite Fratelli hunting ground for many generations due to its security and exclusivity, but this broke protocol. "Keep an eye on her and inform me immediately about anything unusual."
"Of course."
"What is the status of the three students?" Vestavia asked, swinging the conversation back to his utmost concern.
"Everything is in order. They are all listed as off campus with permission, except for the last one."
"As soon as the last teenager is picked up, you'll receive word to adjust her records to reflect a voluntary leave."
"I had a call from one parent this week."
Josie stirred awake and moved over to stroke Vestavia's hard cock. He tensed, then managed to answer, "Which one?"
"Someone on staff at the Fuentes estate checked to see that Amelia's leave was approved by the school. I assured them it was, that she's an exceptional student, and that Amelia indicated when she left that she'd be visiting a friend in Germany. They accepted that without question."
"The next girl will be the last one, and everything must be in place by this Thursday," Vestavia emphasized. "The U.S. economy and infrastructure will be put to a real test by next Tuesday for the presidential elections. We'll see if this country is the superpower it contends." He hung up as Josie's skilled hands pushed any lingering stress from his body. With the success of this next test, he'd have the North American Fras agreeing to anything he suggested.
But he still had to find the mole and Mirage. An informant could be anyone close to a Fra, which included women.
Josie was the most capable woman he'd known in the order. He sucked in his breath when her lips closed around him and hoped like hell she wasn't the leak.
NINETEEN
GABRIELLE SAT CROSS-LEGGED on the bed with her laptop propped on a pillow in her lap. "Do you want to see the files again before I delete them?" she called softly toward the half-open bathroom door between her and Carlos. The bedroom door to the living area was closed and music played in the other room, but they were both careful about saying anything loud enough for the listening device to intercept.
The door opened and he walked into the bedroom buttoning his cuffs.
Correction. He swaggered, dressed in a black cotton business shirt and black pants, looking sexy, deadly, and every bit the man who had used two more condoms last night.
The man she intended to escape.
She played a dangerous game with her sanity every time she touched him, knowing she'd have to walk away. But if that was the price to pay for this stolen time with Carlos, so be it. Didn't she deserve a little happiness, no matter how temporary? She'd take what he'd give her now over nothing.
Gabrielle quaffed the longing she'd suffered all night, the burning desire to stay with him. Her verbal deal with Joe was as flimsy as the air it had been written on. Smart advice would be to prepare herself for the inevitable and start visualizing walking away from Carlos, disappearing without a word once she'd gained his trust.
"Why? You worried about leaving the files on your laptop?" He tucked his shirttail in his pants and finished buckling his belt. When he lifted his gaze to hers, he smiled.
How could she walk away from him? "Yes, Gotthard set up access for me at a data-vault facility where I can upload and download files from the school or my laptop. I want to send them there before I close this."
"Good idea. How much longer do you really need to get the school's computers up and running?"
Once the files were uploaded, she used a secure deletion program to overwrite the files on her local system multiple times, removing all traces of their existence from her hard drive. She'd have to be just as thorough covering her tracks when she vanished, but not until she knew Babette was safe.
Gabrielle closed the laptop. "I could be finished in two hours. I put all the necessary parts in the data vault before we left Georgia. All I have to do is launch the remaining parts of the program. And once I leave, if Gotthard needs anything more from here, he's set up to use a remote access without being detected by the IT staff." She stood and walked over to him. "What's that odd look all about?"
"You did all that yesterday?"
"Of course. I didn't know how soon we might have to leave, but I can make it still appear as though I need another two days if necessary."
"You are one hot techno babe."
The grin he gave her hugged her heart. Her stomach fluttered with a sudden happiness that left her weak in the knees. Forget about later or tomorrow for now. The only guarantee in her life was each minute she drew a breath.
"You better get dressed if you don't want the principal to call you into his office for being late," Carlos warned.
She rolled her eyes. "LaCrosse doesn't really worry me so much anymore, but there's no need to be late. So I'll get dressed." Untying the robe, she let it fall to her feet.
Leaving the only scrap of clothing she wore beneath the terry robe. Black lace panties.
"Holy mother of-" He covered his eyes with his hand. "We only have one condom left."
She sighed loud enough for him to hear. "Fine. I'm dressing." At the closet, she slowly flipped through the few choices she had. And wiggled her butt a couple times just to see if he was watching her.
Vain, yes, but she'd never had this kind of male attention.
She felt his body at her back as one hand came around to her breast and the other slid down her abdomen, weaving a finger beneath the lace of her panties and touching the spot as if he had it marked from last night.
Her knees did buckle this time.
He caught her and murmured, "I warned you to get dressed."
"I was...trying...to-," she gasped.
He lifted her back against his front and moved around until he sat down in the armed chair with her in his lap.
"Grab the chair arms and don't let go," he whispered.
She did, shivering at the promise in his vo
ice. One condom left or not, he wanted her.
He hooked her legs with one arm, lifting them toward her chest, and slid her panties off. Tossing those aside, he lowered her legs and pushed them apart with his knees. His lips grazed her neck. The hand he held her with now toyed with her breasts. Her nipples became taut, aching buds.
When his fingers between her legs started moving, she arched at the shock that ran through her. Her knuckles tightened. She gripped the chair, every muscle in her body clenched. Her nails dug into the plush upholstery.
He whispered something erotic in Spanish, but she was lost to anything except the sensations that washed over her and vibrated between her legs. All her focus was on his fingers. He'd take her so close to the edge then pull her back, then dip one finger inside her and start it all over again.
His fingers abandoned her breast. She wanted to cry out, but his next move banished any complaint when both hands glided over her naked skin to part her legs gently. He used fingers of both hands, caressing the sensitive area he'd exposed. He teased her folds, but this time without any hint of stopping.
She started climbing higher, reaching for that pinnacle, her body bowed up for release.
He plunged another finger inside and massaged a spot deep within her.
This time she exploded with a force like she'd never felt before. She called his name, begged him not to stop. The power of her release shook her to the core. When the tremors subsided, she lay gasping and limp in his arms.
He held her wrapped within his protective embrace.
"What..." Take a breath. She took two. "Did...you...do to me?"
He snuggled his face into her hair. "You smell like something I want for breakfast. I'd say we located your G-spot." The laughter in his voice was pure male arrogance, but she had to give the devil his due.
She hadn't even known she had a G-spot, so he'd earned the right to sound cocky.
"I'm really late now." Late and not interested in computers. She wanted to climb back into bed with him wrapped around her. Worse, she wanted to stay with him.
If only there was a way, she would.
"Good thing or we'd use that last condom. If we don't finish up here soon, I'll have to get even more creative."
That sounded like a great idea once the feeling returned to her lower half.