Killer Secrets (20 page)

and sheer pleasure he felt in just this. Just holding her,
teasing her.

"Maybe I will too." She nipped his jaw, but he
felt her smile.

"You probably will." He pressed her head against
him, his heart finally easing its frantic beat as he stared

outside the Hummer.

She was a match for him, he had known that all along. Was
that why he had avoided beginning a

relationship with her? Kira would never stay home, safe and
secure, while he fought, and he knew it now.

She would always be at his back whether she was supposed to
be or not and that was a frightening

realization.

He hadn't been lying when he told her he was the worst
chauvinist she would ever meet. He was.

Protecting her was a part of who he was, ingrained in him
during the years he had fought and nearly failed

to protect his delicate mother. Women were to be protected,
cherished, not placed in the front lines of a

dirty, underground war.

"You have to be careful," he told her quietly,
staring outside the Hummer rather than at her. "Diego won't

hesitate to kill you if he feels threatened." Or if he
felt she threatened Ian. That knowledge sliced at him.

"I'm trained in covert ops, Ian," she reminded
him again. "I know what I'm doing."

He nodded slowly. He had to give her that. She had survived
in the covert underworld for a decade

now. A woman couldn't accomplish that unless she knew
exactly what she was doing.

"Mistakes happen when emotions get involved," he
told her quietly. And, boy, were his emotions

involved. "Stay on guard. We're running out of time
here. We are and Sorrell is as well. He needs the

Fuentes connections to pull off the strike he has planned
effectively. We need his identity to stop it. When

things go from sugar to shit, and I know they will, I want
you safe."

"As safe as you are?"

And that terrified him.

"Safer," he whispered. "I want you
safer."

He tucked her against him once again and stared at the
black partition that separated the back from the

driver's area. They would be close to the villa now. The
villa where Diego had no doubt already heard

about the confrontation with the Misserns, as well as Kira.

The bastard had been desperate for Ian to find a woman. Not
for any softer reasons such as his son's

happiness. No, he needed a weakness he could exploit, and
Ian knew it. And now, Ian held that

weakness in his arms. One neither Diego nor Sorrell would
hesitate to use if he gave them the chance.

KIRA WAS DECENT WHEN THEHummer drew to a stop in front of
the Fuentes villa. Her dress was

no longer around her hips, and her hair was hastily
smoothed out.

If only Ian's demeanor could be fixed as easily.

Five minutes from the villa and he had grown silent, cold.
His clothes were restored and the icy façade

was back in place. She was only now realizing how much she
hated that façade.

As Deke opened the back door and helped her from the
vehicle, the villa's front door opened, and

Diego Fuentes leaned lazily against the entrance, his head
tilted as he watched her curiously.

For a man in his fifties, nearing sixty, he was in
excellent shape. His black hair was mostly gray now, his

face lined, but his silk slacks and white shirt covered a
body that was well toned. There was no doubt he

took excellent care of himself.

And she could easily see now that Ian had taken some of his
looks from his biological father. But she

had already known that. The heavy brows, the strong slash
of cheekbones, the sensual lips.

Ian moved past him, his fingers locked on Kira's arm as he
pulled her into the foyer.

Diego's smile faltered. "We need to discuss a few
things before you retire, Ian." Diego's voice sharpened

as they passed him.

"It can wait—"

"This cannot wait." Diego overrode Ian's
objections. "I will meet you in my study in twenty minutes. This

will give you time to escort your friend to your room or
wherever you intend for her to spend her nights

and to meet me in my study. I will be awaiting you
there."

Diego turned on his heel and stalked through the foyer to
the back hall, leaving Kira and Ian standing just

inside, surrounded by the bodyguards.

This was a mess. How in the world did Ian survive the daily
tension that she could sense between him

and his father?

She looked around the opulent entrance, glimpsing the
high-ceilinged main room to the right and the

dining area that opened behind it.

"It's a very nice villa." It was one step down
from an elaborate mansion. The Fuenteses definitely lived

well.

"It's something," Ian muttered. "Come on,
I'll show you to my room and then go see what the old man

wants."

The shadow of bitterness in his voice wasn't lost on her,
though she doubted anyone could have caught it

unless they had studied the shades of his voice as she had
each time she heard him speak. A mix of

regret, sadness, and fury. It gave his voice a grating
edge, deepened it. And broke her heart.

He led her across the foyer to the curved wooden staircase.
With his hand firmly at her back, his fingers

rubbing almost imperceptibly against the silk of her dress,
he led her up the stairs.

Along the hall, double doors were opened by a housemaid
with a shy smile before she retreated in the

opposite direction. Behind them, the three remaining
bodyguards trailed like ghosts.

He pushed open the doors into a wide sitting area complete
with a wide-screen television, a wet bar,

and a wide, comfortable couch. "The bedroom is in
here." He led her across the room to another set of

doors. Pushing them open, he stood back and allowed her to
step into the room. She almost wished she

had stayed in the sitting room.

The huge, larger-than-king-sized bed dominated the room. It
was surrounded with shimmering panels of

netting, and the massive posts and thick mattress were
intimidating. But the metal rings set in the corners

and the middle of the headboard and footboard had her swallowing
tightly. She knew what those rings

were for. She had been in the fringe clubs and on the
periphery of the BDSM clubs long enough to know

how easily those rings would hold the slender chains
attached to wrist and ankle cuffs.

Across from the bed was a heavy mirrored chest, a dresser
off to another side of the room. There were

metal rings set in one wall as well.

"Interesting." She tried for nonchalant as she
murmured the word. "Did you decorate it yourself?"

A sharp laugh left his throat. "Not hardly. It came
this way. Make yourself at home, I shouldn't be long.

One of my men will bring your things when Daniel arrives
with them."

"Daniel is staying close by, Ian." She turned as
he moved to leave the room. "Make certain he's given a

room."

"We'll discuss this when I return." His
expression hardened. "And before you argue, hold the thought.

We can fight it out after I get finished with Diego. Just
try to stay out of trouble until then."

She gave him a brief, quick nod, even as her teeth clenched
to hold back the very argument he was

talking about. Daniel was nonnegotiable though. He and
Jason both would likely have a stroke if he

wasn't close enough to keep an eye on her. It had been bad
enough when she worked the Atlanta

mission and ended up shot. Damn, it had taken her months
before she was allowed to go to the

bathroom without one of them standing outside the door.

"I'll see you in a bit," he said, and before she
could react, he cupped her neck in his hand, jerked her to

him for a brief, hard kiss, then turned and left the suite.

Kira lifted her fingers to her lips, an involuntary smile
touching them at the tingling feel of that forceful

kiss. She wondered if he was aware of the expression on his
face when he had delivered it. It wasn't just

sexual. Something else had been brewing in his eyes, almost
a promise.

She turned, stared at the bed again, and let her eyes drift
closed in regret.

Betraying him was going to kill her. Because she knew that
once she did, it was going to destroy that

fragile hint of emotion she had just glimpsed. And when
that happened, she didn't want to think of the

well of emptiness she would feel.

In saving him, she just might end up destroying both of
them. Because she couldn't allow him to kill his

father. That was her mission. If Ian was running an
operation here, then her job was to keep Diego

Fuentes alive.

Twelve

IAN DIDN'T BOTHER KNOCKING ONDiego's study door. He was tired,
pissed, and the

adrenaline high had him on edge. He was more than aware of
the mistake he had made at Coronado's

where Kira was concerned. What he had done had placed her
smack in the middle of the war getting

ready to be waged between the cartel and Sorrell's
terrorist network. As well as brought her to Diego's

attention. There wasn't a doubt in Ian's mind just how ugly
and how bloody it could become.

"Do not berate me!" Diego was waiting for him. He
stood behind his desk, glowering as he stared back

at Ian.

Ian paused, lifted his brow mockingly, and pulled back the
caustic insults he had been ready to deliver.

Daddy dearest was in a mood tonight, it seemed.

"I had no intention of berating you," he lied as
he closed the doors behind him, barely glimpsing the

surprise that came and went on Diego's face when he turned
back to him. "I was curious as to what was

so important that you had to call me in here like a child
who had missed curfew." Ian forced a vein of

teasing mockery into his voice.

Diego softened marginally, the corner of his lips tugging
up almost involuntarily.

"Do you think I offended your Miss Porter?" He
suddenly frowned.

Ian shrugged. "I doubt it. She's a woman. She's
probably used to grown men acting like asses." He

barely held back the disgust in his voice.

"Ah. If she has been around you very long, then I have
no doubt." Diego snorted.

Ian hid his surprise. Damn, the old man was developing some
sharp teeth where he was concerned. It

had taken much longer than Ian had expected.

"Don't doubt it." Ian grinned, genuinely amused
this time. Kira had quite a bit of experience dealing with

some of his less charming traits over the years.

Diego grunted at that before saying, "I had several
phone calls before you arrived informing me of the

confrontation with the Misserns over Miss Porter. It was
reported that Martin Missern attempted to

strike her?" Diego's black eyes narrowed in anger.

Ian crossed his arms over his chest. "And what else
did your little spies tell you about it?"

"Damn you, Ian!" he burst out. "You live in
a fishbowl, and you know this. All watch you. Did you not

think before you reacted? Did you not know that there would
be eyes watching to report how easily Ian

Fuentes came unglued over the very delectable Miss Porter?
The heir to the Mc-Clane fortune and the

very dear niece of one of the world's most influential
men?"

But no mention of Kira as the Chameleon, or her work as an
agent.

No one knew of the work she did, and Ian intended to keep
it that way.

"You have nothing to say?" Diego growled.

"Are you expecting me to defend my actions?" Ian
asked curiously. "I realize you missed a lot of years in

my upbringing, but I'm a little old for you to counsel me
on how I deal with public threats to a woman I'm

sleeping with. Don't you?"

Diego paused, his eyes narrowing further as his nostrils
flared in ire.