Chapter 7

7

STELLA

C onnor hadn’t been kidding when he told me how good he was at multitasking that first night. He’d spent today giving me more orgasms than I would’ve thought were humanly possible while still running his club and working to find my dad.

Barely twenty-four hours had passed since I arrived in Riverstone, but the man had already worn me out. So much so that I let out a whimper of relief when his phone dinged with a notification, and he rolled away from my exhausted body. Even after the long, hot bath he’d run for me, I still felt where he’d been…just like he’d promised.

“Fuck. This can’t wait. I gotta go to the clubhouse, baby.”

Pushing up on an elbow, I asked, “Is it about my dad?”

“Yeah.” He gave me a quick, hard kiss before adding, “Those strings I pulled seem to have yielded results.”

“Thank goodness you already have those ties to The Company.” Shaking my head, I heaved a deep sigh as he stood and tugged on his jeans. “I was kicking my own butt over not accepting their conditional job offer once my security clearance came through a few weeks ago.”

Connor stopped midway in pulling up his zipper. “What the fuck?”

“During my drive here, I got to thinking about how if I was already working for them, I might have had someone I could reach out to about my dad’s situation.” At his look of disbelief, I added, “But probably not because I wouldn’t know who to trust that quickly.”

“No, I mean what fucking job offer from The Company?”

“Oh, um…I was kind of recruited at the start of my senior year.” I swallowed down the lump in my throat at how angry he seemed at that information. “With how many languages I’m fluent in, my familiarity with firearms, and my black belt, the guy who approached me said I would make the perfect agent.”

“Your dad didn’t mention anything about you being interested in following in his footsteps in his letter,” he growled.

I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Everything moved so quickly, I didn’t really have time to talk to him about it. But I was waiting to fill him in before I accepted the offer.”

“I hope you don’t have your heart set on working for those motherfuckers, baby.” He yanked a shirt over his head before tugging his cut over it. “Because I’d hate to deny you something you really want, but there’s no way in hell that’s gonna happen.”

My dad had raised me to be independent, so I probably should have been offended that a guy who’d only known me for a day was telling me how to live my life. But Connor wasn’t just any guy—I was already falling for him. And as much as my father had given me the tools to take care of myself, he’d still been incredibly protective of me. My mom, too. Even after they divorced.

Instead of bothering me, I took Connor’s reaction as a sign that his feelings for me were developing as fast as mine were for him. Hoping to ease his mind, I murmured, “I haven’t committed to anything yet.”

“Wouldn’t have mattered if you did,” he grunted, shoving his foot into a boot. “I woulda just pulled more strings to get you outta it.”

Speaking Neanderthal was apparently the way to my heart because butterflies swirled in my belly over how protective he was even though it was unnecessary. “Then I guess it’s good that I wasn’t set on being an intelligence officer. It just seemed to be the logical thing to do with my particular set of skills. Something I have my dad to thank for.”

He sat on the oversized chair in the corner of the room. “And I’ll be having a word with him about that when I track him down.”

I appreciated that he’d said when and not if. His confidence eased a lot of my worry. “You should definitely do that.”

“I’ll also give some thought to how we can put those skills of yours to good use.” Bending over, he laced his boots. “You’ll be a fuck of a lot safer with my whole damn club at your back than you would be working in an organization full of false friends who wouldn’t think twice about stabbing you in the back if it meant they got a leg up the food chain.”

In his letter, my dad had hinted at Connor being betrayed while he worked for the CIA, but he had understandably not given me any details. It hadn’t been important then, but a lot had changed in the past day. “Is that what happened to you?”

He nodded as he stood back up and walked toward me. “You could put it that way, yes,” he answered, standing at the edge of the bed.

I felt Connor’s agonized look deep in my soul. Scooting to the edge of the mattress, I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek against his six-pack abs. “I know there’s probably a lot you can’t share with me because the information is classified. I get it more than most would because of my dad. And I’m good at keeping secrets, so anything you do tell me will be kept between you and me.” Tilting my head back, I flashed him a mischievous grin as I lifted my hand and wiggled my little finger. “Pinky promise.”

He shook his head with a laugh, the tension easing from his shoulders. “Why do I have the feeling that your childish pledge means a fuck of a lot more than most people’s solemn vow?”

“Probably because I’d take your secrets to the grave, same as I would my dad’s.”

“Fucking hell.” His chin dropped to his chest, and he squeezed his eyes shut. “I hate that your father landed smack dab in this mess, but I’m also grateful because it brought you to my doorstep.”

“Or gate, as the case may be. For an entire half an hour before Blaze talked you into letting me in.”

My teasing accomplished my goal of breaking the tension.

“Best damn thing he’s ever done for me, and I’ve known him for most of my life.” Connor bent down to brush a kiss against the top of my head before sitting next to me on the edge of the mattress. Interlacing our fingers, he set our hands on top of his thigh.

I bumped my shoulder against his. “And if it helps any, going through the interview process with the CIA means I have security clearance. Only confidential so far, but at least it’s something.”

“The level doesn’t matter,” he assured me. “I already trust you more than just about anyone, including the people I used to work with who had top secret clearance.”

I squeezed his hand. “That means a lot to me.”

“Not used to sharing, but you’re the exception to just about every rule, baby.” He didn’t give me the chance to properly celebrate that confession before he explained, “A little more than six years ago, I was on the hunt for a traitor who was selling a NOC list. It was a clusterfuck that needed to be contained. And fast, because people’s lives were on the line. Many of whom we couldn’t even warn because their covert role meant limited contact with their handler.”

It sounded like something out of a movie, but I’d picked up enough from my dad over the years to understand that sometimes reality was often stranger—and worse—than fiction. “Did you figure out who the seller was?”

“Yeah.” He heaved a deep sigh. “But not before he provided one of the names to a potential buyer. A sample was how he put it. One that resulted in a death that I should’ve been able to prevent.”

“Connor, no.” Twisting around, I pulled him close. “You are not responsible for other people’s actions.”

“Hard to think that way when I was the reason he was undercover in the first place. Felt as though I failed him twice over.” Running his fingers through his hair, he snorted. “Your dad was the one who kept me focused on the goal. Made sure we got our man.”

I was so happy to hear my dad had been there for him at such a dark moment. “He’s good at stuff like that.”

“All these years, I thought we caught the guy, and I was okay with paying the price—giving up a career I loved—if it meant the identities of those other operatives were protected. Especially since he ended up in the ground. But apparently, he was only a well-insulated middleman. We were wrong, and your dad is suffering the consequences of our mistake. Along with who the fuck knows how many operatives who’ve been betrayed since I left.”

I pressed my lips together, thinking about what my dad might be going through right now while I was safe with Connor. And falling in love for the very first time. The only thing missing for me to be truly happy was my dad. “You’re going to figure out who’s involved, and then you’ll take them down.”

“Damn fucking straight,” he agreed.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m surrounded by an electric fence and won’t be going anywhere.” I gently pushed against his back. “Do whatever needs to be done to get the bad guy and save my dad.”

“I don’t think it’s possible for me not to worry about you, baby. But I’ll do my best.” He stalked into his closet and grabbed another leather vest identical to the one on his back. Shoving it into my hands, he growled, “And you can help me out by promising to wear this if you leave my living quarters. I trust my men, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to make a super fucking clear statement to each and every one of them that you’re off-limits. This’ll do the job for now.”

“You got it, Prez.”