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Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

It took less than twenty-four hours for Martin Vassin to make contact and apologize for the "miscommunication" between Max and his men, and then invite Max to Las Vegas to be a guest in his hotel so they could meet face-to-face without the added hostility of other parties. Max had told him he'd need twenty-four hours to decide and had hung up the phone on a very surprised Martin Vassin.

In reality, he'd needed an extra twenty-four hours so Atticus could start putting his backup plans in motion—because Atticus always had backup plans—and so they could gather the necessary equipment and supplies for their trip. Max's plane was flown into Austin and refueled, and he and Jade had taken off and were almost to Las Vegas before Max called Vassin back and told him they'd be landing in the next ten minutes. He wanted Vassin scrambling and as flustered as he could get him. And Jade was going to help him do that.

"This dress is ridiculous," she said, smoothing down the short black dress she wore. "No bodyguard would wear something this stupid. And how am I supposed to run in these heels? I feel like a giant. We're the same height."

Max's mouth quirked at the continued complaints, and he put his hand possessively on her lower back as they left the plane and made their way to the waiting limo.

"And I've got no place to put my gun."

"I'm sure you'll find some place—creative," he suggested and then helped her into the limo as she struggled to keep her skirt from riding above her waist.

The driver closed the door behind them and they were silent while the luggage was loaded into the trunk. The vehicle finally started moving, and Max waited until they'd turned from the airport onto Wayne Newton Boulevard before he took a device out of his pocket to scan for bugs. He wasn't surprised to find one under each of their seats.

Jade opened her handbag where he knew she'd stashed her weapon, and probably a few other goodies, and she came out with the small rectangular device that would emit the frequencies needed to make the bugs unusable.

"I guess ten minutes wasn't enough time to take him off guard if he's already got listening devices in his limo."

"What do you want to bet they're permanent?" Max said. "He's the type of man who wouldn't trust friends any more than enemies. But you're probably right—I bet they're scrambling to get our room outfitted as we speak."

"What did Atticus have to say? I was putting on this ridiculous getup while you were talking."

It never ceased to amaze Max that the only time he ever saw Jade really uncomfortable was when she had to play a traditional feminine role. She was naturally one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen—her skin flawless and the bone structure of a queen—but she tried to downplay her looks. She never wore makeup and it was rare he saw her in something other than jeans and T-shirts.

"You're beautiful."

"What?" she asked, flustered by the compliment, and then she tried to joke her way around it. "Atticus called to say I'm beautiful? That doesn't sound like him."

"I just wanted you to know that," he said, ignoring her discomfort. A flush tinged her cheeks and she looked out the window at the passing traffic. "But I think you're beautiful whether you wear something like this or my old robe. And you need to learn to accept a compliment. Just because I tell you you're beautiful doesn't diminish how you do your job. There's no one else I'd rather have at my back. Now say, thank you, Max ."

Her lips quirked in a half smile. "I don't think so. But if you play your cards right I'll be thanking you profusely later. Now what did Atticus say?"

"They've still got no leads on the girl. He's called in a few favors from a former SEAL team because he doesn't want to leave us without backup if we need it. We've got to keep things rolling with Vassin until they can at least get an idea of where she's being held. Atticus said Vassin hasn't been in touch with Senator Henry in more than two weeks, and the senator is frantic."

Jade bit down on her bottom lip while she thought it out. "It's not good for him to stop communication. It could mean Vassin has reached the end of his use for the senator and his daughter."

"That's what Atticus thought as well. We need to find her fast. Vassin has a home here in Las Vegas. We need to try and get an invitation. Maybe we'll get lucky."

The limo turned onto Sands Drive and then made the slow creep to the massive front entrance of the hotel. It took up the entire block, and towers speared into the sky at each corner while huge angels that had been carved into the sides trumpeted over the street. There was nothing subtle about the elegant veneer—the electric excitement and the undercurrents of desperation could still be felt even in the finest establishments. Max glanced at Jade and caught her surprise as she saw where they were.

"I didn't realize Vassin had done so well for himself. I was expecting a dive off the Strip."

"Illegal arms dealing is a profitable business. And Vassin only owns about thirty percent of the hotel. But word is he's got the capital to snap up more shares when they come available."

He looked Jade over again slowly, and if he didn't know exactly how dangerous she was, he wouldn't be able to tell by looking at her now. She looked softer, and the touch of makeup made her eyes bigger and more alluring. Most of Vassin's men still wouldn't believe she was capable of being a bodyguard, even though the four men who attacked them knew the truth. It wouldn't be long before Vassin learned just how deadly she was.

Jade turned off the white-noise device and put it back in her purse as the limo stopped in front of the hotel, and she pulled down her skirt and wondered how the hell she was supposed to get out of the limo gracefully. It was a lot easier in her opinion to run through the jungle in BDUs than to brave an hour of wearing high heels in polite society. She felt like a fraud any time she had to play the part of sophisticated lover. What did she know? She was an orphan from Nowhere, Louisiana, though she'd worked hard over the years to get rid of any accent that might give her away.

The door opened and she waited until Max got out of the car before she scooted over, and she breathed a sigh of relief that he was thoughtful enough to block the view as he held his hand out to help her.

He didn't try to keep her hand as they followed the bellman into the lobby. Max knew her habits better than anyone, and he'd never tie up her hands in case she needed to get her weapon free. Just like she knew to always stay to his left in case he needed to get to his.

Max broke away as someone in an expensive charcoal suit and red tie met him with an outstretched hand, and she kept watch, looking for signs of Vassin or any of his men in the crowded lobby.

The hotel was too big to see all of the possible hiding places, but she spotted two men in the main lobby who had the look of professionals, though they were both dressed as tourists. She spotted another at the restaurant across the way, sitting at one of the outdoor café-style tables, eating lunch and drinking coffee. He was better at the fa?ade than the others, but the way his eyes kept skimming across the crowd gave him away. That and the bulge she spotted beneath his sport coat.

Jade kept her eyes sharp as the man in the suit led them through a door marked Private and then to a wood-paneled elevator that opened with a key card. The suit handed Max an envelope with two identical cards and then they were all rising to the top fast enough to have the bottom drop out of her stomach.

"A lovely room," she said to fill the silence once they were left alone in the penthouse that had been assigned to them.

The main area was wall-to-wall white carpet so thick the heels she wore sank deep into the pile. A long glass dining table that sat ten was on one side of the room and a cardinal-red circular couch like none she'd never seen before sat on the other end. The entire back wall was nothing but glass and looked out over the Strip, but she could see for miles out into the desert beyond.

"I have to say, I prefer the penthouse in my own hotel," Max said, taking the bug sweeper from his pocket and moving from room to room. "This one is a bit obvious for my tastes. Vassin seems like a man who would overcompensate for certain things in his decorating." He let out a low whistle when he came out of the bedroom. "That bedroom is the perfect example." He waggled his eyebrows. "We'll have fun in there later."

Jade stopped her task of gathering the two tiny listening devices she'd just found in the living area and looked up to see if Max was serious.

"I didn't realize you had a hotel," she said, taking the devices to the table to join the others they'd found.

"Of course I do, love. Seven of them. What kind of self-respecting billionaire doesn't have hotels to diversify his holdings?"

He looked completely serious, and it was sometimes hard to remember that behind the gutter fighter was an honest-to-God businessman. He'd never talked about it while they were at the DEA and most of the other agents they worked with had no idea about his background or that his family was one of the wealthiest in the world. He was just so normal and down to Earth, and she knew he'd be doing the same job he was now whether the money was there or not.

But thoughts of what he'd told her earlier, about how he should always remember where he came from and what the Devlin name stood for, only cemented the idea that she and Max would never work out. She was so out of her league she could only shake her head at the absurdity of it all.

"In fact," he said. "We should take a couple of weeks off and head to Australia. We just opened a new hotel there and I need to check to make sure everything is running smoothly."

Jade watched as Max shook his head at the collection of bugs they'd found throughout the penthouse. More than a dozen sat lined up on the little bar that divided the kitchen and dining room, and she took the neutralizer out of her purse and set it next to them, wondering what to say. Max set the bugs on the floor and then systematically crushed each one beneath his heel before dumping them all in the garbage.

"Why don't we focus on the job here before we start making other plans," she said, nerves prickling along her skin. "One day at a time. I figure you more than anyone else would know that's the best way to live."

"Yes, except for the fact that I happen to love you, even though every time I say it you get that look on your face that you have right now. Is the thought of me loving you that repulsive, or are your feelings for me that nonexistent?"

The words were angry, and the blue of his eyes seemed to become brighter, sharper, as he stared her down and waited for an answer. She'd known this was coming. He'd tried to bring it up on several occasions, and she'd always changed the subject and ignored the hurt she saw in his eyes.

"And how many women have you said those words to?" she asked. "You know what, never mind. I don't want to know. It's none of my business." Her own anger and ineptitude made her lash back at him. "Why can't we just leave things as they are?" She turned away and paced back and forth in front of the bar, while Max stayed completely still. That was never a good sign. Max was always in constant motion.

"I've never said those words to any woman. Not ever. And it pisses me off that even now you don't believe me. I understand if you need time to adjust to what's happening between us, though to tell you the truth it feels like we've been adjusting for years. Yes, I want a future with you and all the things that go with it, but that can wait until you're ready. What I can't understand is that you don't seem to want me to love you at all. Explain that one to me."

"Why the hell aren't you happy that you're getting every man's fantasy? You get to mess around without the nagging and commitment."

His mouth tightened in a straight line and his nostrils flared at how casually she'd debased what had happened between them, and guilt ate at her insides for deceiving him. But she couldn't tell him the truth. Not yet. Though she knew the time would come soon. No one but her and her doctor knew she'd never be able to conceive again. Jade had made sure that secret hadn't gone into any files or reports to Atticus or Max. She didn't need any more of their pity.

And as much as he'd like her to believe that he really did love her, part of her was skeptical. She was a nobody with no background or pedigree, and she had nothing to offer him. Once he got past the sex he'd realize his version of love and hers were two completely different things.

Max's muscles were tense with anger. "So just to be clear." His voice cut like a knife and she would have flinched if she hadn't been holding herself so rigid. "Everything between us up to this point has been nothing but sex. We shouldn't try to cloud the issue with emotions or attachments or talk of the future in general. It's just sex." His voice got softer the more he spoke, which she knew was a dangerous sign. "Just like it would be with any other warm body."

"You're overreacting," she said. "I'm just saying we should enjoy it while it lasts and not dwell on anything else. You're the one trying to make things more complicated."

"Why, because I like to have feelings for the person I'm making love to? I'm not a robot. And we've been through too much together for you to tell me to my face that you don't care for me. Which means there's some other reason for your resistance and you're hiding something from me."

She felt the blood drain from her face, and fear made her words harsh and regretful. "Or maybe you don't know me as well as you like to think you do. Take what you can get, Max. Or you can take nothing. It's your choice."

A knock sounded at the door, but neither of them moved to answer it as they measured each other and where they stood. Jade couldn't take the waves of hurt she felt coming from him, and she finally turned on her heel and headed to the door that led out onto the balcony while Max went to deal with whoever their guest was.

The wind was hot and arid and slapped across her face as she made her way to the half wall that separated her and the three hundred feet to the pavement below. Jade watched the lights and traffic of the city, the movement and flashes of color dizzying at such extreme heights. Despite the heat, her skin was chilled and she wrapped her arms around her torso to ward off the cold.

She heard the patio door open behind her and felt Max's stare.

"That was a messenger delivering an envelope from Martin Vassin. We've got tickets to the heavyweight championship tonight. Front row seats. We're supposed to meet to discuss our options."

"Do you think he'll show?"

"Doubtful. He's playing the watching game for now. He needs time to evaluate what he sees and determine the best way to manipulate us. It's what he's best at." She felt him come up directly behind her, though he didn't touch. She was waiting to see what he'd do with the anger she could still feel lashing at her skin.

"Wear the gold-sequined dress tonight. We don't need to be subtle, and it's best if he doesn't take you seriously."

"Maybe we'll hear from Atticus that they've found the girl and we can take him down without having to jump through his hoops."

"What's the problem, baby? You've already scratched your itch and now you're ready to run back home?" His hands touched her waist and scalded straight through the fabric to her skin.

"That's not fair, Max," she said.

He turned her to face him and she could see the anger banked in his eyes, though his touch was gentle. But then his lips were on hers and she forgot how to breathe. Her fingers dug into his arms and the world spun around her, as if she'd jumped from the balcony in a free fall. She always wanted him. That was her pain and her punishment. Even now, in his anger, she was ready to lie with him willingly.

He pulled away before she could get her senses back under control. And then she heard the patio door open. "We need to leave in twenty minutes. Be ready."

And then he was gone and she wondered how things had gotten so complicated. Because the only time she'd ever hurt as badly as she did now was when her husband had died.

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