Chapter 7

7

Dwarves were pounding her skull with a pickaxe, as they maliciously refused to give her water. Marissa’s eyes popped open, thankful to discover that it was all a dream. But her mouth remained cottony and she found it a bit disconcerting that Dr. Henderson was peering down at her.

“How many fingers?”

“Three.” Marissa braced herself up on her elbows. “What’s the damage?”

“Surprisingly, inconsequential,” Henderson told her, ticking off boxes on a clipboard. “Considering what you’ve been through; a mild concussion, a few stitches, and bruising. You’re a lucky woman.”

Marissa could argue his opinion. Her joints felt out of whack. Her leg was burning where the bullet clipped her, and her hands felt raw.

“Few seconds more in your car, I could’ve been doing an autopsy on a charred body.”

“You’re a laugh a minute,” Marissa muttered and winced when she took in her attire—a hospital gown. “Um, is there something else I could wear?”

“Are you planning on going somewhere? ”

“Yes. Back to work,” Marissa retorted.

“As your doctor, I strongly advise against it. But I’ve dealt with your kind long enough to know that you won’t listen anyway.” He handed her the clipboard. “Just sign under AMA.”

“Covering your bases, Doc?”

Henderson sighed. “I have to, especially with you clowns mucking around and acting like you’re invincible. Pierce is the worst offender, followed by Lockwood. Used to call them Disaster and Mayhem when they worked together.”

“I’m surprised Viktor didn’t top your list.”

Henderson paused. “Come to think of it, I don’t remember treating him.”

Marissa’s brow quirked up. “Ever?”

“You know,” Henderson said reflectively. “That man may truly be invincible.”

Kyle Yeager regarded him through his reading glasses, giving the report at hand a purposeful flick of his wrist. Viktor informed the director of black ops that if he wanted to speak to Marissa, he’d have to come to AGS, because no way in hell was Viktor taking her to Langley in her condition.

“This report is troubling,” Yeager said. “It’s a clear and present danger. If Russian and North Korean elements manipulate the conflict in Syria, we have even bigger problems. You’re saying there’s a link to Operation Smokescreen and Shadowland?”

“Yes. That’s why they’re eliminating agents involved in both operations,” Viktor replied.

“Cole was not involved in Shadowland.”

“No. But she was in Smokescreen. Shadowland was a parallel op we were running that linked North Korea to the deployment of the chemical weapons in Syria,” Viktor said .

“Shadowland was the mission where we extracted Jiro Matsuda for cooperating with the CIA,” Yeager mused.

“He gave us Min Kwon, the head of the NKUF. Taking out Min crippled the organization.”

“Are you saying they’re in play again?”

“One of their men was involved in the McCord abduction. It appears they’re regrouping and planning something nefarious. I have reason to believe that Min Kwon’s son is the new leader.”

“Stuart Kwon is a respectable businessman on the board of Exetron Oil Company in Russia. He denounced his father’s involvement with NKUF when everything came to light.”

“Have you checked attachment C?” Viktor lifted his chin indicating the document that Yeager was holding.

“Petrech Labs—”

“—is a subsidiary owned by Kwon,” Viktor said. “It’s fronting as a manufacturer of petroleum additives, but my sources tell me that they manufacture chemical weapons.”

“You think they’re the source of Syria’s chem weapons?” Yeager asked.

The door to Viktor’s office opened without warning. If it were any other person, he would have chewed their head off. But when Marissa stepped through, Viktor could only stare and wish that she was alone with him right now. She was garbed in AGS-issued cargos and shirt, looking pale, bruised, and pissed, yet still undeniably beautiful and vulnerable.

“I heard you guys started the meeting without me.”

“We weren’t expecting you to be up,” Yeager said. “How are you, Cole?”

“Been better,” Marissa replied. “What did I miss?”

“Have a seat, Ms. Cole,” Viktor said sternly. Marissa was worse than the energizer bunny. He handed her his copy of the report Yeager was holding. As she perused the information, he and Yeager exchanged some small talk about the Senate Intelligence Committee and how they’d been curtailing funding for CIA clandestine missions.

Viktor waited for the blowup. It didn’t take long.

“Daliyah Shadid was the mastermind of the Smokescreen chemical weapons?” Marissa almost shrieked as she stood up from her chair, glaring at Viktor accusingly. “You knew all along Rafiq’s mother was guilty and you led me to believe you killed her in cold blood.”

“We had another op we were protecting.”

“From us? The agents who worked with you? Trusted you?” Marissa voice was agitated, and Viktor frowned when she swayed a bit.

“Sit down, Ms. Cole.”

“Stop micromanaging me, Baran. I’ll stand if I want to.” Her green eyes were spoiling for a fight. “Was this operation Shadowland? What does Daliyah have to do with Min Kwon?”

“It’s a clusterfuck of a soap opera,” Viktor muttered. “Take notes, I’m not repeating myself because I’m not certain I could get it straight in my fucking head a second time. Daliyah’s mother had an affair with Min. They were together for a while. Daliyah and her mother lived in North Korea for a couple years, until the affair ended. Min Kwon and Daliyah’s mother had a son.”

“Wait.” Marissa sat down. “Are you telling me that Daliyah is the half-sister of Stuart Kwon?”

“Bingo.”

“That makes Stuart Kwon Rafiq Shadid’s uncle. Were the siblings close?”

“Don’t know yet.”

“Who would know?”

Viktor stared at Marissa for a few moments. His woman was going to gloat. He knew it even before he said the name. “Jiro Matsuda.”

A triumphant gleam wiped away the anger in her eyes. Marissa linked her hands primly on her lap. “Are you saying you’re contacting Mr. Matsuda now?”

“I have no choice.”

“There’s always a choice, Viktor,” Marissa replied. “You just have to make the right one.”

“The last one I made for Matsuda got his wife and daughter killed.”

“You didn’t know she had them at that time, Viktor,” Yeager said. “And the lives of hundreds were at stake. Matsuda never blamed you.”

“Daliyah had Matsuda’s wife and daughter abducted to keep him from talking to the CIA. Matsuda had evidence that the NKUF supplied the chemical weapons to Daliyah,” Viktor answered the question in Marissa’s eyes. “She was the only one who knew where they were. When Daliyah failed to check in with her men at the appointed time, they killed Matsuda’s family.”

“You shot her to get her husband—Mustafa Shadid—to tell you where the chemical weapons were,” Marissa said quietly. “You never had plans on shooting Rafiq, did you?”

“Had I known he would’ve turned into this murderous bastard, I probably would have.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

“I never look back at would haves or should haves, Marissa,” Viktor stated flatly. “I make decisions, and hope to hell I could live with the consequences.”

It was late in the afternoon when they returned to Viktor’s house. Marissa had gotten dizzy after the meeting with Yeager and had to lie down for a bit at the medical bay. She wasn’t sure if it was due to her concussion, or due to the information overload from Viktor’s impressive report. Two parallel ops: Smokescreen and Shadowland. Both coming back to bite them in the ass. Was it simply a thirst for revenge or was there a bigger threat they had yet to identify?

“You okay, kitten?” Viktor whispered in her ear, leading her to the bed and slowly undressing her. His eyes darkened with a strange emotion as he took in the bruises on her body. Her right shoulder was still throbbing and her back was agonizingly sore. Henderson said she was lucky that she rolled off the hood of a car; otherwise, she would be faced with broken bones.

“I’m craving a hot bath.”

He helped her into her robe. “Wait here. I was going to run you one anyway.”

“Viktor,” Marissa grabbed his hand and his eyes shifted to hers questioningly. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“All those years ago, I accused you of having no heart. Of being a monster.”

His jaw clenched. “You didn’t have all the facts. I get it.”

“Couldn’t you have told me afterward? I checked my clearance. You could’ve told me after Shadowland went down.”

“The damage was done, Marissa. Bottom line, you didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt.”

“How could I give you the benefit of the doubt when I didn’t know that I didn’t have all the facts?” Her voice pitched higher.

“Should’ve trusted me, maybe?” Viktor shot back. “When you threw me out of your house, I was beyond pissed. But it didn’t matter, don’t you see? You had this idealistic view of what was right and wrong. How long did it take you to figure out that there are shades of gray, huh? I busted your bubble prematurely, sweetheart. You hadn’t even had your first kill when we were together, Marissa. While I—” he jabbed a thumb to his chest “—I’ve lost tracked of how many people I’ve shot, blown up, or torn apart with my bare hands. ”

“Stop it!” Marissa hissed.

“Why? Can’t hear the truth? I kill people, Marissa. And now, so do you. Collateral damage. Know what that is? Are you familiar with it now? That not all people who die are guilty, that some of them are innocent, but they have to die to save others.”

“We try to protect the innocent,” Marissa started.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake—”

“We. Try,” she repeated. “But sometimes, it’s beyond our control.”

“Finally, she gets it—”

“Stop being so sarcastic about it—”

“It only took you eight years—”

“It did not take me eight years—”

“Took you eight to come back to me.”

“I didn’t come back to you. You came to me. I didn’t want anything to do with you again, remember?”

“You’re in denial—”

“I am not in denial. Check your ego at the door, will you? You’re not God’s gift to women, Viktor.”

“Want me to prove it?”

“Oh, for God’s sake, weren’t you going to run me a bath?”

Instead of heading to the bathroom, Viktor crouched down in front of her. The intensity of his gaze made her uncomfortable, but she couldn’t look away.

“Tell me, sweetheart, do you regret getting back together?”

“I’m not exactly sure what we are, to tell you the truth.”

“You mean—are we just fucking?”

Marissa winced at his words, but said, “Uh, yeah. Crude as that sounds. Are we just sexual partners blowing off steam because we have to work together anyway?”

“Do you feel that way?”

“I asked you first.”

Viktor’s eyes grew stormy. His face hardened, and his gravelly voice, when he spoke, was measured and controlled. “I feel things for you, Marissa. I realized that today. I don’t know what it means. I’m not sure I like it. But I’d rather have those feelings than lose you again. So while I’m dealing with it, I ask only that you allow me to blunder through it. I may not always say or do the right thing, but I’m sure you’ll have no problem letting me know.”

Despite his not-so-romantic declaration, Marissa’s heart soared with hope. “Viktor—”

He smirked. “And before I say something totally out of character, I’m going to go run your bath.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead, stood up, and headed to the bathroom.

He carried a half-conscious Marissa to the bathroom and gently lowered her into the hot water-filled tub. Her green eyes, cat-like in depth and shape, opened briefly. Her cupid bow lips tipped up at the corners in a smile, and a satisfied moan deep in her throat caused his cock to twitch. She loved her baths; Viktor knew this for a fact. And he had no problem indulging her or joining her. He lightly gathered her hair in a messy knot and cursed himself for not taking care of this sooner. Now the ends of her hair were wet. At least he had the sense to wrap her injured leg in a waterproof bandage.

Viktor had never done this before, be tender and solicitous to a woman. He’d fully embraced the BDSM lifestyle after his brief affair with Marissa. To regain the control he’d lost with her, he took submissives, and gave them what they wanted as their Dom. It worked for eight years. He was emotionally detached, and when it came to a point that the submissive wanted a more permanent relationship, he would find her a new Dom. He knew he couldn’t expect the same from Marissa. For one thing, she didn’t have a submissive bone in her body. Well, maybe sometimes when he had her on the brink of orgasm, he could order her to do whatever he wanted.

He lightly brushed her curls from her face, pleased that the steam from the water had flushed some color into her cheeks. He had been determined to keep an emotional wall between himself and Marissa, but his resolve crumbled the moment Agent Olsen called HQ to report that Marissa’s vehicle had exploded with her in it. The few seconds it took to confirm Marissa’s fate were the worst of his life. He felt like his chance for true happiness had been ripped from him anew, and he hadn’t cared to mask his panic at the datacenter.

Viktor stood up from his crouch and divested himself of his clothes to join the woman who had once again wormed her way into his life, the woman who managed to get under his skin. This morning, in the midst of not knowing whether she lived or died, he had actually vowed that if she did survive, he would never let her go and would do everything to keep her.

“Viktor?” Marissa mumbled sleepily when he slipped in behind her, cradling her body between his legs.

“Shh, kitten,” he whispered in her ear. “Let me take care of you.”

“Watch it. I might get used to it.”

That’s the plan . Viktor thought. His fingers stroked her damp skin, brushing the sides of her breasts, slipping down her torso, gently caressing the skin where her thighs formed a vee. She squirmed against him but didn’t utter a sound. He brought both hands up to cup her breasts, kneading them firmly, and watching them plump up above the water. Her pink, dusky nipples were visible, and Viktor couldn’t help capturing them between his thumb and index finger to pinch them lightly.

Marissa grew restless, and a low moan escaped her lips, her legs thrashing in the tub.

“What are you up to, big guy? ”

“Relax, Iz, let yourself go.” He nibbled her ear, and was satisfied to note the goose bumps that appeared on her skin despite the heat of the water. Releasing her breasts, he gingerly massaged her shoulders. “Let me know if I’m applying too much pressure.”

She groaned.

“Am I hurting your shoulders, Iz?”

“Not sure . . . it’s painful, but it feels good. You’re poking at me.”

Viktor chuckled. “Can’t help it, sweetheart, you turn me on so much.”

“I’m half-asleep, perv.”

“Yes, and utterly delectable,” Viktor muttered. He couldn’t resist lowering his hand beneath the water, straight for her bare pussy, which was just begging to be stroked and petted. He wanted to pleasure her, make her scream. His other hand captured her breast.

“Viktor . . .” She gasped this time as he slid a finger inside her while rubbing his thumb against her clit. “That feels so good . . . I want more.”

She leaned back and twisted her neck to kiss him. He ducked and took her mouth in fierce possession, sliding his tongue across hers, all the while massaging one breast with one hand and finger-fucking her with the other. She writhed against him, and for a moment, he worried about her back, but Marissa was gone—she was in the grips of her orgasm, so he gave her more.

She was moaning in earnest now, gasping and almost crying as she tore her lips away and leaned back against him. Her thighs clenched around his hand, her nails digging into his arms as she rode the waves of her release. Her scream of pleasure almost made him blow his load, but he kept a grip on his passion to the point of pain and absorbed every shudder coming from her .

Marissa mumbled in protest when he gently eased away from her, slipping out of the tub. The water was still hot; he had enough time to take care of his hard-on. He went straight into the shower and went to work. Fisting his cock firmly, he pumped the length of his erection, stroking vigorously, and it wasn’t long before ropes of cum spurted out. One hand shot out to steady his stance against the wall as he groaned out his climax.

He heard a muffled voice coming from the direction of the tub. Marissa was awake. Her eyes hooded lazily; her smile held a hint of mischief. And though he couldn’t make out her words through the spray of water, he knew she had watched him jack off. That fucking turned him on like nothing else, and his cock, still hard from his last erection, was once again pulsing upward. Fuck.

Getting dressed was never fun when your body was recovering from a bout with an explosive shockwave. Her back felt better, the bath had definitely helped, but twisting her torso to perform the simplest task was aggravating. Marissa woke up to an empty bed and an empty loft. It didn’t take her long to find out where Viktor had gone off to, for he came back all sweaty from working out.

“Where’s the gym?” she asked.

“First floor,” Viktor replied, his eyes briefly taking in her appearance. “I don’t think you’re ready.”

“Oh, I’m planning to be lazy with my workout regimen.”

“If you need a workout, I’m more than available.”

Marissa shook her head, grinning. “I’m sure you are.”

“Coffee’s all ready to go, just push the button,” Viktor said. “I’m hitting the shower.”

She decided to make some omelettes and toast for breakfast. She knew Viktor liked his protein shakes after exercise, but eggs had protein too, right? Taking stock of what was in his fridge, she pulled out the eggs, peppers, mushrooms, and diced ham.

The omelette was happily cooking away, when Viktor strode into the kitchen; barefoot, dressed only in boxer briefs, hair damp from the shower. Marissa gaped at him momentarily before shutting her mouth and returning her attention to the pan.

“You should be an underwear model,” she muttered.

He gripped her chin, tilted her face up, and gave her a firm kiss.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, big guy.” She smiled up at him.

“You keep looking at me like that, and I’ll take you right here.”

Yes, please .

“Not going commando today?” Marissa teased.

“I don’t feel like it, but you could change my mind.” He shot her a roguish smile that sent visions of her straddling him and riding the fuck out of his cock. What was it about this man that reduced her to her primal instincts? No woman should be enslaved by a man’s dick, and clearly, she was letting herself be led around by it.

She turned the omelette as she allowed the disturbing thoughts to fester.

“Hey, what just happened here?” Viktor asked sharply.

“What?”

“You suddenly closed off. What did I say, Iz?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. Look at me,” he ordered.

She tried to act nonchalant, glancing at him briefly and pasting a fake smile. His eyes narrowed.

Uh-oh .

“Move.” He grabbed the spatula from her and nudged her out of the way .

“What are you doing?” Marissa asked in annoyance.

“I’ll finish this. You start thinking of an explanation for why you suddenly had an attitude adjustment.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“I read people fairly well, Marissa. I lost you right before you flipped that omelette.”

Who the hell is this guy?

“Don’t you dare try your interrogation tactics with me, Viktor.”

He turned off the fire and slammed the pan to the back of the stove, causing her to jump.

“Don’t bullshit me. What the fuck happened just now?” he growled.

“Oh, so you can keep all your thoughts to yourself, but I can’t?”

“Damn it, Marissa. I’m trying here. What. Happened?”

“You. I’m addicted to you!” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. “You turn me on like no other man. My brain turns to mush when I see your . . . your freaking gorgeous body, and even if my joints are screaming in pain, I think of nothing but having you inside me . . . hav—having you sink into me.”

“And that’s a bad thing?” Viktor asked incredulously. His lips were twitching.

“It’s not funny!” Marissa wailed. “No man should have such control over a woman.”

“Yeah, sweetheart, it’s funny.” His chest was shaking with repressed laughter, which infuriated her more, but she didn’t resist when he pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on top of her head. “Would it make you feel better if I say it’s mutual?”

“It is?”

“If we didn’t have so much damned responsibilities, there’s nothing more I want to do than fuck you all day. I never get enough of you, Iz. You’re a distraction. I can’t think straight when you’re physically near, and I can’t think straight when I don’t know where you are. I want to fuck you so hard, you’d have trouble walking the next day. Sound like an addiction to you?”

“Yes.”

“We good?”

Marissa nodded.

“Good. I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

“I hate taking a leisurely breakfast. It’s almost 10:00 a.m.” Marissa said, glancing at the kitchen clock. “I told Allison we’d be tackling the data out of Damascus bright and early.” She hadn’t shared her suspicion about Matthews—that he had betrayed the agency to Shadid—and decided to table that discussion for later. There was just too much information to process from the past few days.

“Technically, you did some work over the weekend,” Viktor replied while taking a sip of coffee. “You’re allowed some leeway. Don’t worry about it.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re the boss. I’m just a grunt.”

“Are you fishing for compliments, Ms. Cole?”

“Of course not!” she replied indignantly. “When are we talking to Matsuda?”

“Christ, you’re like a dog with a bone,” Viktor muttered.

“Well?”

“We can’t contact him directly. Too risky.”

“I’ve got any number of people who can approach him. Just give me the go ahead.”

“I’m not about to let a stranger tell him that the United States government is about to fuck up his life again.”

“We just need information, Viktor. We’re not dragging him into an op.”

“That’s what we told him before all hell broke loose and Daliyah kidnapped his wife and daughter. ”

Marissa held her tongue because Viktor speared her with a “shut up and let me think” look. She diverted her impatience by drinking more coffee.

“When do you want to meet?”

“The sooner the better.”

“Ain’t it always?” Viktor said. “Her husband’s probably going to kill me this time.”

“Umm. I don’t understand?”

Shooting her an annoyed look, he picked up his phone, scrolled through his contact list and hit “Call.”

When his contact came on the line, he said, “Sophie?”