24. Marko

CHAPTER 24

MARKO

STILL THE SAME DAY – WAITING!

H uddled behind the false back of one of Marcie's refrigerated food trucks, sitting facing Melissa with our knees tucked up and toes touching, wasn't the most comfortable way to travel. The journey to the MP's country estate seemed endless, and I was desperate to finally stretch my legs.

By the time we got there, I was so bloody stiff I thought that my legs might snap as soon as I stood up. This sitting quietly doing nothing while we waited for the event to start and the coast to be clear, so we could slip out of the van and begin our mission, was making me anxious. The longer we waited, the more anxious I got. My stomach was doing a very good impression of a rollercoaster right now and I wished I hadn't eaten quite so much at breakfast. I'd been in plenty of perilous situations in the past and wasn't afraid for me, but I was terrified of anything going wrong and something happening to Melissa.

It amazed me how quickly my sexy little cat burglar had become so important to me that all I could think about was her. Sometimes my preoccupation with her almost bordered on obsession. No matter what I was doing, she was never far from my thoughts even to the point that I no longer spent every waking minute, and often most sleeping ones, in front of a computer. Still, I guessed that wasn't such a bad thing as my life had been very insular lately, focused solely on bringing down enemies and keeping my family safe.

However, now that Melissa had come into it, I found myself making plans for a future I hadn't even considered before. I'd always fancied travelling and while we were certainly rich enough for me to do that, I had never actually pursued that dream because frankly there had never been the time when I wasn't needed at home. Now, however, I could see myself taking a long trip with Melissa when all of this was over and we stopped the MP. After all, if our world was finally free of enemies, then I could easily take a break at last and let my team deal with the day to day running of things.

The idea became more appealing as I sat there wiggling my toes in an effort to put feeling back into my legs. Of course, I had to get Melissa onboard with that and we'd have to wait until she'd finished her college course, but I was definitely going to broach the subject with her.

"Provided she'll stay with you after all this is over." The annoying voice in my head said, reminding me that her doing so wasn't yet a done deal.

Pursing my lips, I glanced at Melissa. Her eyes were closed, lips pouting in that irresistible way. God, I loved those pouty lips. I longed to pull her into my arms and kiss her; it would've been a perfect way to pass the time. But I restrained myself. We couldn't afford distractions. We needed to stay focused and silent; discovery wasn't an option. And anyway, it would have been bloody awkward in this tight space, but I was longing to get this operation over with so I could get my woman back home and preferably into my bed.

My eyes caressed her face lovingly and my cock stirred to attention despite my whole bottom half being otherwise numb from lack of movement. Melissa really was a beauty. I couldn't help but smile as I looked at her. My sexy little cat burglar was exceptional in every way. Not only gorgeous, with a great body—which I'd explored thoroughly over the past weeks—but she also had a sharp mind, possibly even sharper than mine. And she was brave enough to tackle what needed to be done today.

Beauty, bravery, and brains. I loved her!

Wow! The words hit me with the force of an articulated lorry at full speed, knocking the breath from my lungs. I hadn't said the words to her yet, I hadn't even admitted them to myself, but I knew them to be true with all my heart.

Under other circumstances, falling in love with someone after just three weeks might be considered unbelievable, but with everything we'd shared in that short time, it just seemed inevitable that love would blossom between us.

Although I had to admit, I had been half in love with Melissa since I first saw her photograph, and even then I knew it wouldn't take me long to fall completely under her spell. In fact, if I was being honest with myself it only took me a couple of days, and the rest of the time we had spent together just solidified my feelings. The last three weeks had been filled with passion and excitement as I got to know my Little Miss Pouty Lips better. And oh, how I got to know her. Every inch of her!

And with that thought, my cock was rock hard, straining against my trousers, making my position even more uncomfortable. Geez, I needed to stop letting my thoughts drift to anything other than the task ahead.

To distract myself, I mentally reviewed our plan.

Time was of the essence, but after all the practise I had done, I knew I could easily pass through the first levels of the MP's security quickly. It was the final two levels that were time consuming, because it would take time for Melissa to make her way safely through that bloody assault course of laser beams in the vault. While she did that, I had to hack the code to open the door of his secret office. Hacking that code would take the longest for me because he changed it weekly, and none of his bodyguards ever entered his secret office; so only he knew the code.

Assuming we had no issue with that, Melissa would then enter his office, attach the small gadget I'd given her, which would let me download the hard drive from his computer, and take a quick look around for other evidence while that happened. And she had to do that and be back out within five minutes. My nerves were fraught, and I prayed there would be no issues.

Worry gnawed at me as I glanced at Melissa again. Her eyes were still closed, her breathing slow and steady. She wasn't sleeping, likely meditating to stay calm and focused. I wished I could do the same.

When this was all over and there was no more danger, I planned on telling Little Miss Pouty Lips how I felt. I believed she felt the same way about me and would agree to stay with me. It would be the culmination of what had been an intense and mind-blowing three weeks. At least I bloody hoped so. I didn't know how I'd deal with it if she didn't.

The very thought of her not wanting me permanently, like I did her, made me feel sick and my stomach churned again. I took several long, slow, steadying breaths to calm myself. That wouldn't happen. I'd worked bloody hard to win her over, and I was pretty sure our feelings matched. Soon, we'd discuss things and clear up any lingering doubts between us, and then we could plan our future together. That thought calmed my nerves, and I glanced at my watch. Not long now.

Opening my laptop, I quickly hacked into the security cameras of the MP's home and recorded clips to use in a loop later to cover us while we were inside. Then I sent a quick message to Miki to let him know the second stage of the plan was done and waited his response. As soon as Luca was in position, Miki would let us know and we would get out of this bloody claustrophobic space finally.

A few minutes later, Miki's response arrived. Finally!

"Show time," I whispered to Melissa, and her eyes flicked open.

We both stifled groans as we slowly pulled ourselves up to stand and shifted from side to side to bring feeling back into our bodies.

When I felt more capable of movement, I pulled her into me and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"Ready?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

She nodded and smiled, but I could see the nervousness behind it.

"It's going to be okay. We can do this together," I whispered, instilling as much confidence into the words as I could, not only for her sake, but for my own.

Slowly and as quietly as possible, I slid open the panel, concealing the secret compartment we'd been hiding in.

The door was pulled down, leaving just a few inches gap at the bottom, as expected. I pushed a small camera on a moveable arm under the gap and checked around the outside of the vehicle. All was clear. I nodded for Melissa to come forward with our bags.

Silently, we donned our backpacks, slipped out of the catering truck, and headed to the staff entrance.