I nodded slowly, desperate to rearrange my jeans so she wouldn’t be able to tell just how badly I was tenting them. But moving at all would mean I’d be moving in her direction, and that was a bad call right now. I had a mission to get ready for, but instead, all I could think about was sliding into her hot sweet depths and spending days exploring her body.
I cleared my throat and said, “I should let you go.”
“Yes.” She waved her phone. “This is me going. I will see you later, I guess.” She turned to walk into her apartment, but then she paused and turned to look at me. And when she started walking again, she narrowly missed the wall.
I knew I was wearing a shit-eating grin. But I couldn’t help it. Lyra Wilkinson was under my skin. In my blood. I didn’t just want her, I liked her. Which was why I was so worried that I’d said yes to attending the Bacchanal with her.
But I would have to do everything in my power to keep her safe. Not going with her wasn’t an option now, so I would have to figure out how to protect her.
Chapter 9
Lyra
The mission was simple. Or was supposed to be simple. All we had to do was steal the decryption device. The problem was that it was in one of the most secure vaults belonging to one of the most dangerous men in the Northern Hemisphere. Stellan Tusk, a wealthy South African with investments in everything from oil to gold to NFTs.
He was also a very bad boy and like so many criminals before him, he was greedy. He liked to add to his wealth by selling weapons, drugs, and black-market goods. In this case, a top-secret decryption device that had been stolen from the NSA. It was a prototype and was purported to open any digital device given enough input.
Tusk was well protected. He had a personal team of six bodyguards that were never more than mere feet away from him and an additional guard force around the house of six to twelve more, depending on the occasion. The only side of his estate that wasn’t heavily guarded was the beach access route. The cliffs and caves below and a private beach with only a slim lane of stairs along the edge made it easily defensible.
The only way to get close to him was his dick. He liked women. Lots of women. All kinds of women. The more the merrier, usually naked and subservient to him, because that was the only way he liked his women, not with clothes and opinions. He met them mostly via parties, lots of escorts and party girls. His parties were invitation only, and lucky us, we’d secured an invitation.
“Status report.” Tyler’s voice was cold, crisp, and as irritating as tinnitus after a loud concert.
I ground my teeth as I scowled at Addie. “Does he have to be on this?”
She rolled her eyes. Tyler was our comms man on the mission, and I’d been clenching my jaw so tight I was sure I’d have TMJ after this.
Our five-person team consisted of Addie and I inside, Tyler on comms, Kira as our sniper, and then there was Luke, our wet works specialist, posing as a waiter. Even though we didn’t expect trouble on this mission, we were lucky because he was one of the deadliest operatives I’d ever seen in hand-to-hand combat, and no one attending the party was allowed to have a weapon.
“Jesus Christ, it’s like a buffet. Pick your mark.”
Addie laughed. “Yes, well, these things are usually like that, and hey, at least it’s not an auction block.”
I shuddered. “You know, I’m going to thank God for small favors.”
She chuckled. “Remember when we broke up that sex trafficking ring last year? Selling young women against their will. At least these women are being compensated.”
I shook my head. “God, fucking human traffickers are pure filth.” Those kinds of missions always made my trigger finger itchy.
She shrugged. “I mean, hey, if a girl wants to take charge of her own virginity and sell it herself, fine. I’m all for it. Fuck the patriarchy, sister.”
“I know. But for most of those other women, that wasn’t the case. Kidnapped, bought and sold, that shit makes me crazy.”
“Guys like Stellan here, he just brings escorts to him. All these girls were told there was a hot party and they’d get to meet a billionaire. He pays for everything, their dresses, their jewels, and they get to keep it, even if they’re not selected for the night. Wouldn’t you come back?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Over the comms, Kira muttered, “All right, he’s on his way. Lyra, you’re up. Addie you’re on support.”
I took my champagne and attempted to smile sweetly.
With firm strides, I filtered my way through the crowd.
Just outside of what appeared to be the kitchen doors, there was a balcony to the left, then a side door that led to Stellan’s private chambers toward the back of the house. Thanks to our inside man, we knew his exact movements because he’d had a tracker placed on him.
“And three, two, one.”
I opened the door and then teetered on my heels, accidentally on purpose.
“Oh, be careful.”
Firm hands gripped my elbows, and I had to tamp down a shudder of revulsion when he touched me. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. I guess I’m not used to wearing heels.”
He smiled down at me. “I haven’t seen you here before.”
“Oh, I’m new. I hope it’s okay that I came. A girlfriend invited me.”
He lifted a brow. “Which girlfriend?”
Every single person who attended the party was vetted before being approved for the guest list. One of his regular girls was one of our agents. “Oh, my friend Megan, Megan Campbell. She said it would be okay to come along. She gave my name
