Chapter One

Two Weeks Later…

W orking undercover at C.C. Towers proved to be an interesting experience, but definitely not something Inda “Bruja” Diaz would ever consider for a permanent career. Sitting at her desk, she dropped her head back, rotating her neck from side to side, and worked the kinks out. The paycheck might be decent, but being stuck behind a desk and staring at a computer screen all day was making her a little bonkers and a lot bored. Normally, she kept active throughout the day, always absorbed in a physical activity that made her work up a sweat. Running, rock climbing, sparring, those were her speed. Sitting on her ass for eight hours a day, not so much. And, honestly, she couldn’t afford to get secretary’s ass or she’d start busting seams.

Nope, being an HR assistant wasn’t for her.

The one thing that made it all very tolerable, though, was the six foot, three inch tall hunk of man who wore a suit better than any model on any catwalk. Rolling her chair over a bit, she tilted her head to catch a glimpse of her new boss, Lucas Sheridan. He was bent over, digging through the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet, and she openly admired his tight ass and long legs. Mmm. Everything about the man made her mouth water. When he straightened up, she quickly turned her attention back to her computer, and stealthily rolled back.

His glacier-blue eyes filled her head and, even though she should shut the inappropriate thoughts down, she let herself imagine what he looked like beneath the well-fitted suits he wore every day. He had a slim build, but she knew lean, well-defined muscles lurked beneath the surface. She’d seen the evidence when he’d removed his jacket a couple times, rolling up his sleeves and giving her a very clear, very tantalizing display of arm porn. His shirt had stretched taut around his biceps and he’d loosened his tie, unbuttoning the top couple of buttons, providing her a tiny glimpse of a firm, tanned chest.

It wasn’t fair. No man should look so good.

You aren’t here to ogle Sheridan, she reminded herself. Clearly, it was time for a self lecture. The whole point of getting hired there was to do some recon and spy on Chadwick Carlisle, the billionaire who owned the building and worked on the top floor when he was in residence in San Francisco.

Carlisle burst onto their radar when River Larsen, now River Hawkins since she married Zane a couple of weeks earlier, found a photograph of him smiling brightly beside Benedict and Elizabeth Salinger, along with a young woman they hadn’t yet identified. Benedict was one of the names River had decrypted from the list Zane had uncovered. The infamous list boasted the names of the ten very dangerous people who sat on The Agency throne. To date, they’d only managed to figure out five. Hopefully, that would change soon.

Not long ago, Inda’s team, Ex Nihilo, had worked for The Agency. They were the best of the best, put together from various military backgrounds to neutralize threats to the United States. Or, so they were told. They’d been brought together under code names with strict instructions to only use their aliases and avoid any interaction outside of work. That directive had seemed strange, and she should’ve listened to her intuition.

The disturbing truth came to light after an op went south and one of their own, Tanner “Mayhem” Stiles, was killed. The tables had flipped and Ex Nihilo, once the hunters, became the hunted. The Agency wasn’t who they’d claimed to be. They had no ties to the U.S. government and they weren’t the good guys. In fact, they were the exact opposite—a self-serving group of elitists spreading chaos across the globe. And they needed to be stopped.

Inda and her team were slowly unraveling The Agency, but it had more tentacles than they’d ever expected. Their reach went further, their influence deeper, and Ex Nihilo had their work cut out for them.

So, yeah, time was of the essence. They needed to bring down The Agency before it could do any more damage. Inda thought they were doing pretty well, though. They recently took out Julien and Camille Mercier—the French assassins sent after them—so that was one, technically two, fewer threats to worry about. There was, however, a very large threat that still loomed in the shadows, one that could strike at any time. One that made them all extremely nervous and had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

Cipher.

He, or she, was an expert hacker who’d managed to creep in through a back door of Zane’s computer and start downloading intel. No one was sure what the hacker had gotten during the cyber attack, but it had panicked Zane enough to reach out to River, his former partner in Black Squadron and a hacker extraordinaire. The two had evidently harbored unresolved feelings for each other, and while working together, they fell in love. As happy as Inda was for her friend, it was just another reminder that she had no one.

Ah, well. Some people were meant to find their other half. Others, like her, were destined to remain alone. Plus, after seeing firsthand how manipulative and terrible men could be, she’d vowed to remain single, independent and, most importantly, safe. Her mother’s tragic fate was an ever-present reminder for Inda of why she couldn’t allow herself to become emotionally involved with a man.

Not even a man as attractive as Lucas Sheridan. She could look, but there was no way she’d ever do more. Sheridan was a lethal combination of sex appeal and charm. One she planned to avoid at all costs.

“Leoa?” His deep voice jolted her back to the present. “Can you come in here?”

Inda’s desk sat right outside Lucas’ corner office, separated by a large glass window covered in blinds. Her desk used to be lined up perfectly with his door, so she could see him inside, but the distraction had become too much. Last week, she’d discreetly moved the desk over so she wouldn’t be subjected to Dreamboat Dimples. In her defense, she hadn’t come up with the silly nickname—Harper, Ryland’s wife had—but it had stuck.

Standing up, Inda smoothed her skirt down, prayed for the strength to resist the incoming display of dimples, and walked into Lucas’ office. “Yes?” she asked.

“Are you good with computers?” He ran a frustrated hand through his brown hair, mussing it up, then sent her a helpless smile. A helpless dimpled smile that made her want to crawl across his desk, grab his face and lick those little indentations. “I’m not very tech savvy.”

“I can usually get by, but my skills aren’t the best,” she admitted, preparing herself to be hit by the sexy scent of his cologne as she walked around his desk. Leaning over his shoulder, looking at his computer screen, she let herself breathe in the ridiculously delicious smell of pine, musk and spice. Holy hell, whatever it was, it made her nether regions clench. Focus, Inda. On the job, not the man.

“Oh, I’d be willing to bet your skills are amazing.”

His deep voice came out slightly husky and she cleared her throat, ignoring his comment. Forcing herself to focus on his screen, she squinted at the display. “What’s the problem?” Besides my uncontrollable and completely overwhelming urge to get in your perfectly-pleated suit pants?

“I can’t find a file,” he grumbled. “I saved it in my documents, but now it’s not there.”

“Let me take a look. What’s the name of the file?” Leaning in closer, she reached for the mouse and noticed he didn’t move out of her way. Not even a little. They were far too close, practically brushing against each other, and the clenching happening down below became a low, steady throb.

“Doc 1,” he answered, mouth edging up, pulling her attention to his lips. Not too full, but not overly thin, either. But, damn, they looked utterly kissable. “Not very original, I know.”

Inda chuckled, gaze moving over to his angular jaw. The damn thing looked carved from granite. Swallowing hard, she forced her attention back to his screen and started searching. In less than two minutes, she found the document. But, good God, one hundred and twenty straight seconds of being so close to Lucas Sheridan was the exact kind of distraction she didn’t want or need.

Then, to her complete surprise, he lifted his hand and touched a finger to the cursive “L” pinned to her suit jacket. “That’s a pretty pin. Same first initial as mine.”

For a frozen moment, Inda couldn’t move. Their gazes locked, freaking fused together, and her heart began to pound so hard she was scared he could hear its rapid, out of control beating. This close, she realized his spectacular eyes were several shades of blue. Lighter around his pupil, almost a silvery blue, and then growing into a brighter, glacial color which was ringed in a deep sapphire.

Sucking in a breath, Inda stepped back, wobbled slightly in her heels, and cursed herself for falling under whatever spell he was weaving. She placed her hands on her hips, desperate for some fresh air, needing to rid her nostrils of his delicious scent. Damn, he smelled like Christmas morning. “There you go,” she managed to say. “All set.”

He stared at her a moment too long before responding. “Thank you. You’re a lifesaver, Leoa.”

“No problem.” She glanced down at the slim watch on her wrist, willing her heart to slow down. “I’m going to run out and grab some lunch. Can I get you anything?”

“Actually, yeah, thanks.”

Ugh, why did she ask? Waiting patiently, she watched him fish his leather wallet out of the top drawer, remove a couple of twenties and hand them over. “Are you going next door?”

She nodded, knowing the Honeycomb Café was his favorite, and so much more than just a coffee shop. They served sandwiches on warm, freshly-baked ciabatta and their desserts were to die for. And while Inda preferred the caramel mochas, Lucas always got hot tea.

“Great. Can you grab me a hot tea, honey stick and—”

“One almond scone,” Inda finished. Warning, dimples ahead! her mind yelled.

“Yeah.” He cocked his head and smiled. And it was like a sucker punch to her heart. “Wow. I’m pretty predictable, huh?”

“Just a bit.”

“Maybe I should try to be more spontaneous. How about two honey sticks? And make sure to treat yourself.”

“Such a daredevil,” she teased, turning on her heel, doing her best to ignore the way his low chuckle sent a tingle through her body. Stop drooling over your boss, she reprimanded herself, pausing at her desk to swipe up her purse.

It could only lead to nothing. She wasn’t there to find a boyfriend. The one and only thing on her agenda was to infiltrate Chadwick Carlisle’s life and find out whether or not he was a part of The Agency, and exactly how deep his influence and control went. Then she would disappear from here and Lucas Sheridan’s life forever.

◆◆◆

“So did you get to see his forearms again today?” Harper asked, reaching into the big bowl of popcorn and grabbing a handful. Ryland “Rip” Mills’ gorgeous blonde wife innocently blinked her big baby blues at Inda, trying not to laugh.

“Or did he keep his suit on and all buttoned up?” Aubrey hummed. Grayson “Demon” Ellis’ fiancée smirked. “Because sometimes that’s just as good.”

Inda rolled her eyes and took a sip of her wine. Civilians. They didn’t understand that she had a job to do, first and foremost. Staying focused was key. She had to ignore the chemistry making her hormones go wild. “Lucas Sheridan might be eye candy, but I’m way too busy trying to track down leads to The Agency to pay him any attention.”

“Oh really?” River’s voice held a sing-song tone that made Inda dread whatever was coming next. The woman was far too perceptive. “Because the last thing I remember was you mentioning something about being able to bounce a quarter off his, and I quote, ‘very biteable ass.’ Or, did I get that wrong?”

Kill me now. Luckily, the men on her team weren’t paying attention to their female chatter. While the guys were on the other side of the room, drinking beer and yelling at some football game on a different TV, Inda and the women were sitting on the large, curved sofa, watching The Bachelor in the corner of the common room.

“I don’t remember,” Inda lied, batting her lashes and draining the rest of her wine.

“I don’t know, ladies,” Harper said, “but I think Inda is full of it.”

River smirked. “She’d like to be full of it. Full of Sheridan’s big, long, hot—”

“Oh, my God. Stop!” Inda’s jaw dropped.

The women burst into giggles, attracting the men’s attention. Ryland, Gray and Zane always kept a close watch on their significant others. Aubrey blew Gray a kiss and the big, gruff man pretended to catch it. He was nothing like the gloomy, depressed, guilt-ridden man Inda had first met. Aubrey’s love had brought him into the light.

“Don’t feel guilty,” Harper added. “He probably pictures you naked all the time.”

“Wonderful.” Inda shook her head. “You guys are relentless, you know that?”

“Just because you’re part of Ex Nihilo and working hard to rid the world of evil doesn’t make you any less of a woman,” Aubrey stated.

“And like men, women have needs.” River tossed a piece of popcorn into the air and caught it in her mouth. “ Sexual needs that shouldn’t be ignored.”

Inda’s cheeks warmed. “Maybe it’s been a while, but I can handle my needs just fine, thank you very much. And I certainly don’t require a man to do it.”

“True,” River agreed, “but snuggling up against a big, warm, male body is pretty fantastic.”

Inda couldn’t disagree but, at the same time, she didn’t have the luxury to go out and start dating. She had a job to do—and that didn’t involve going googly-eyed every time her boss appeared. Besides, she didn’t care for the dating scene. It was nothing but a bunch of mixed messages between people trying to get laid or on the rebound. There was also the very real possibility she’d run into the same kind of men her mom used to date. Controlling, mean, abusive men. And that wasn’t a chance she was willing to take. She’d barely escaped from that dark place once.

By eleven o’clock, the game was over, the wine drunk and Inda watched as her friends wandered off to their private quarters with their men. Nik “Saint” Valentine and Braxton “Pharaoh” Graves were still single, so at least she wasn’t the only one.

Saint, a former Russian spy with connections to the Bratva, went out onto the balcony and lit a cigarette. The dangerous man was covered in black ink and smoked like a chimney. A habit he’d once told her he’d picked up while locked up in a Russian prison. He was a broody, moody, sarcastic SOB and Inda loved him like a brother.

Braxton, completely opposite in looks to Saint, had a head full of light brown curls which he kept tamed down, and a more serious nature. But that didn’t make him any less dangerous. Brax was a former Delta Force commander, and their fearless leader was stubborn as hell once he set his mind on something. Calling Pharaoh focused was an understatement. The man was more tenacious than a pitbull.

“Hey, Bruja,” Brax murmured, pausing next to the sofa.

“What’s up, Pharaoh? Did your team win?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t care about football. Now hockey, on the other hand…”

“Who’s your favorite team?”

“The Boston Bruins, of course.”

“Of course.” She chuckled. Men and their sports teams. Pushing up off the couch, she headed toward her small apartment. “Well, have a good night. Unlike the rest of you, I have to get up early and go to work.”

“Let’s hope we get a breakthrough soon.”

“Fingers crossed.” Unfortunately, that would mean the end of seeing Lucas every day, and Inda didn’t want to think about that. Not yet, anyway. Her daily interactions with Lucas had gotten her juices flowing again and, like River said earlier, women had needs, too.

Once Inda reached her little apartment, she locked the door, stripped out of her clothes and took a long, warm shower. Sexy thoughts filled her head. Specifically, the fantasy of Lucas Sheridan pulling back the shower curtain, standing there in all his naked glory, and then joining her.

With a groan, Inda flipped the water off and reached for a towel. After she dried off, she decided to forgo her pajamas, and slipped into bed naked. The cool sheets did little to soothe her overheated body, so she reached over, pulled the nightstand drawer open and grabbed her vibrator. She might not be able to fuck Lucas, but she could pretend while she eased the ache, if only temporarily.