In Too Deep (2 page)

“Are you from Dublin?” she asked.

“I do have family there. However, my trip this time is for business.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a lawyer.”

This was a reply that he’d used so many times he was starting to believe it himself. It was partly true. He did have a law office in Washington, D.C., but he was rarely there. If she questioned him further, he would say that he did civil law. Though he did have a degree in law enforcement, much of his education came in the form of training for his real occupation. However, Blake
was
on a business mission. Normally he didn’t take commercial flights; too risky. Today he was on this flight for a reason. And that reason was something he’d probably have to take to his grave.

The plane violently shook again. A few passengers began screaming. Blake concentrated on Analeigh, making sure she was okay. She had turned her face to the window but her eyes were closed.

Suddenly the commotion stopped. Blake and Analeigh sat in nervous silence, still holding hands, for the next twenty minutes. After a few more miles of clear flying, the pilot turned off the seat belt light. Passengers began to stand and stretch as if they hadn’t been afraid the plane was about to crash moments ago.

“Thank you,” she said softly. She released his hand and ran her fingers through her hair. “I owe you.”

“I may have to collect on that.”

She smiled. “I mean it. Maybe I can buy you a soda.”

He chuckled. “You’re on.”

For the next two hours, they chatted about their lives and got to learn more about each other. It surprised Blake how earnestly he spoke about his own life. It wasn’t a subject that had ever come easily for him. And when he caught himself telling her about his family, who had moved to the States when he was thirteen for his father’s embassy job, it caught him off guard. He wasn’t used to giving out information about himself so freely. He’d even given her his real name, not the code name he normally used in such settings. But there was one secret he still held close to his chest.

When the flight attendants began rolling out the beverage carts, they each got a cola. He settled back into his seat. His target was only two rows ahead. Blake watched the man get up and make his way to the restroom. To everyone else, the man probably looked like any other traveler, but Blake knew the man was a Russian terrorist who was also involved in organized activities that included child trafficking and molestation. Blake’s mission was to take him out before he reached Dublin. He grimaced. To do so, he’d have to leave Analeigh’s side and hoped she wouldn’t question his absence.

But why should she? They had only met hours ago. There was no connection between them except mutual attraction, right?

“Would you excuse me,” Blake said. “Duty calls.”

“Of course.”

Blake stood. He twisted around to witness the man enter the bathroom. With a heavy exhale, he made his way to where the man was sitting. His seatmates were asleep. The ones in the row opposite were engrossed in a sci-fi movie. Swiftly Blake removed the capsule of poison that was hidden in the cuff of his sleeve and dropped it in the man’s unoccupied drink as he made his way to the restrooms in the front of the plane.

That seemed too easy. Blake suspected it would be. The man never traveled with bodyguards. He used his own name but deliberately misspelled it and took crowded commercial flights to cover his activities in an attempt to throw off any government agency that might be watching. He was also a cocky bastard who didn’t think anyone would be able to kill him. This gave the man a false sense of security. Probably didn’t think the international governing community was onto him. The poison Blake used was slow acting and would make it seem as though the man had had a heart attack during the flight.

Blake continued on to the restrooms. He ducked inside the unoccupied room. While leaning against the stainless steel counter top, he counted to thirty, flushed, and then washed his hands. He reflected on his career, his training. Right out of high school, he’d joined the navy. There, he worked his way up the ranks to become a Navy SEAL. After his tour ended, he was offered a position with the agency and has worked for them ever since.

He left the room. By the time he made it back up the aisle, the man had made his way to his seat. Blake watched him take a long sip of his drink. The poison was odorless and tasteless. The man wouldn’t feel its effects until well into the flight. By then, they should be beginning their descent into Dublin. Blake nodded to his partner, Duncan Archer, who sat directly behind the man. Their boss, Brooklyn Stewart, was masquerading as a flight attendant. She nodded subtly while she passed him in the aisle.

Suddenly the plane dropped in altitude. Immediately the fasten seat belt sign lit up. The pilot ordered everyone back to their seats. There was a flurry of activity while people did just that. Analeigh’s eyes were widened by fear. Blake slid into the empty middle seat that had once separated them. After fastening his seat belt, he gathered Analeigh into his arms and held her against his chest. The front of his shirt became wet with her tears.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t be so afraid.”

Cupping her cheek, Blake tilted her face to his. “Don’t ever apologize for how you feel. I know this is scary for you and I’m right here.”

She smiled. “I’m glad you are. I don’t know how I’d survive this flight without you.”

To his surprise, Analeigh leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Her soft, sweet mouth took his mind off of the vibrating plane. Instead of him comforting her, her kiss became his refuge. That soft place to land that he’d been searching years to find. His cock strained against his zipper, begging for freedom.

The plane’s war with the turbulence had ended, but the war within Blake had just begun. He leaned away first. She seemed startled, as if she hadn’t realized what she’d done. Pulling away from him, she rested her back against the window. When she parted her lips to speak, Blake covered them with his index finger.

“Don’t apologize,” Blake said. “I’m not mad. Just ticked off that you beat me to it.”

Analeigh reached up to remove his finger from her lips. “Maybe you can buy the next round.”

Blake smirked. He simply pulled her back against him and devoured her mouth. With his assignment over, he could focus on the real mission at hand: making Analeigh his.

Chapter Three

The plane seemed to level off, yet Analeigh’s lips refused to give up the sanctuary she found in Blake’s languid kiss. She wasn’t about to pull away. If she was about to die in a giant fireball when the plane fell from the sky, she wanted no regrets.

He tightened his arms around her to bring her closer to him. Analeigh suspected his body was also something she could get lost in. The pilot announced that he’d be turning off the seat belt light again after a few more miles of clear flying.

Closing her eyes, Analeigh swept her tongue against his and ran her fingertips over the stubble that covered his chin. She wondered if she was just another girl in another port. Would he remember her after this flight? Would she, and did she want to, remember him? There was something in the way he kissed her. The way he was so patient with her through her phobia that told her he could be more than a fling. The way he caressed her back with such strength that her panties were beginning to disintegrate. And, yes, she wanted to know more about Blake.

He tore his lips from hers. When he leaned away from her, his eyes blazed with passion, making his steely gaze even more so.

“Why are you single?” she blurted out. “I’m amazed that a guy like you exists in the world.”

He chuckled. “My career has left me with no time except to hunt. And I haven’t found a prize worth spearing with my rod.”

She giggled at his analogy and caressed his solid thigh. Moments later, she settled her into his arms and leaned against his chest. Once the seat belt lights were turned off, she removed hers to wrap herself in his arms while they watched an action movie on his tablet. By the time the movie ended, meals had been handed out, then collected. Three hours and half a romantic comedy later, the lights in the cabin were turned out for the night. It struck her how this felt more like a date than two strangers flying over the Atlantic Ocean. They had changed seats. Blake had his back against the window while she lay in his arms. Her soft fleece blanket was draped over them. She closed her eyes. But when she felt him moving around, she opened them. He had shut off the movie and placed the tablet in the seat pocket.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. That movie was getting boring and I’d rather just hold you.”

Analeigh snuggled against him. “That’s fine by me.”

Blake fell silent. Minutes ticked by. “What if we don’t see each other after today?”

She glanced up at him but couldn’t make out his features in the darkness. “Is that the plan?”

“It may have to be. In my line of work, I can’t afford to get too close to a woman like you.”

Analeigh straightened her posture. She moved out of his arms. “What does that mean?”

He lifted his hand to cup her cheek. “It means that my work puts me in danger and I’ve created some enemies. These people might use you to get to me.”

“What kind of danger can a lawyer be in?”

“You’d be surprised. I’ve already told you more than I should.”

Analeigh paused to process his words. Did that mean there could be no future between them? A part of her wanted to question him about it, but what was the point? At least Blake was being honest with her. She couldn’t be upset about that.

A commotion a few seats ahead of them drew her attention. When she leaned into the aisle, she saw the flight attendants gathered around a man. One of the attendants was checking his pulse. The woman shook her head as another rushed to the front of the plane, Analeigh assumed, to alert the pilot.

“What’s going on?” Blake asked.

“I think something’s wrong with one of the passengers.”

Blake stood. “I’ll check it out.”

Analeigh stepped into the aisle to let him pass. She bristled as she watched him speak to a pretty attendant with deep cocoa skin. Just the sight of him talking to another woman sparked jealousy, and it startled her. Really, she had no right to be upset. Blake turned and moved back toward their seat. He retook the aisle seat while she scooted into the middle seat.

“The man is gravely ill,” Blake said. “We may be making an emergency landing in London.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“They don’t know. Only that his pulse and breathing are very faint. He might not make it to the airport.”

Analeigh shook her head in sorrow, unable to imagine losing a loved one in this manner.

“That’s such a shame,” she said.

“Aye. Reminds me of how precious life is,” Blake said as he turned toward her. “I wish we had more time together.”

She smiled. “So do I.”

Blake leaned toward her to touch his lips to hers. When he pulled away, he gathered her into his arms. Analeigh closed her eyes and found herself drifting off to sleep.

Six hours later, Analeigh awoke as the plane was taxiing to the terminal at Heathrow International Airport. Blake was gone. In a panic, she searched the aisle for him, thinking he had gone to the bathroom, but she didn’t see him and the unoccupied lights over the restrooms were lit. Where could he have gone? And why didn’t he say good-bye? Her heart sunk as the EMTs rushed onto the plane to attend to the passenger. The grim expressions on their faces told her that the man had died.

Analeigh ran her hands through her hair. Maybe she’d been right the first time. A man like Blake was too good to be true. She was probably better off that things had ended this way. Settling back into her seat, she braced for the last leg of her trip and tried to forget about her handsome savior.

Chapter Four

Blake hated leaving things with Analeigh this way. He wished he’d had the chance to at least tell her good-bye, but there wasn’t time. His mission came first. So, when she fell asleep, he slipped out of her embrace. After gathering his duffel, he went to meet his boss, Brooklyn, at the back of the plane. Brooklyn Stewart stood five feet seven inches to his six-foot frame. She had dark chocolate skin, long ebony hair, and dark eyes that held many secrets. The uniform she wore—navy blazer, white shirt, and navy pencil skirt—hugged every curve.

He’d known Brooklyn for nine years. She’d been an agent in a different division before becoming his supervisor. In the fifteen years that Blake had been with the agency, he had worked with her many times.

“Good job, Blake,” she said, her British accent punctuating each word. “Once we land, a plane will be waiting to take us back to D.C.”

He pressed his lips together. Going back to D.C. wasn’t an option in his mind. Duncan had moved from his seat and now joined them near the rear exit. Australian-born and raised Duncan Archer had started at the agency on the same day as Blake. They were partners and friends, closer than any blood brothers could be. Duncan, with shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes, sent his gaze from Blake to Brooklyn. He was dressed in a dark hoodie, blue T-shirt, and jeans. A backpack was slung over his shoulder.

“How long before we land?” Duncan asked.

“Five minutes,” Brooklyn replied. “We should get ready.”

As the plane began its descent, the three moved to the front of the plane. Blake hesitated. He glanced at Analeigh, whose face was now pressed against the window. Should he wake her? No. It was better this way. Having only just met, he doubted she had felt a connection to him. There was a pang of longing in his heart, however, that confirmed the same couldn’t be said for him. Still, he moved up the aisle as the plane made its way to the terminal. Once it stopped, Brooklyn opened the door. The emergency personnel rushed by them to the man’s seat.