Page 20 of Killer Secrets (Tempting SEALs 5)

She stopped momentarily to talk to Joseph Fitzhugh and his son Kenneth. The English-born industrialist and his son dabbled in politics occasionally and contributed heavily to several of the charities Kira was involved in.

Thankfully, she had never had to fend off Kenneth's advances, though he was always charming, almost sociable.

She returned to her chair, aware of Daniel taking his place once again at a table behind her and watching her as her uncle, Jason McClane, entered the dining room.

"Kira, sweetheart, the plane finally landed."

Jason stopped in front of the table, accepting the chair the waiter pulled out for him and lowering his massive body into it.

Six and a half feet of pure, powerful muscle and Kira imagined she heard the chair groaning under the burden.

Jason McClane wasn't a small man. He wasn't a subtle man. The Texas native and multinational business owner did everything on a very large scale. Except his work for the Department of Homeland Security.

He was her handler and, in turn, he had his own handler. The Chameleon was actually two people, herself and her uncle. Neither was officially listed with any law enforcement agency, but the information they brought in was invaluable.

"I hear you've chosen a place to play," he teased her, his gray-blue eyes sharp and knowing.

"The Villa de Angelic." She leaned forward as though overly excited over the purchase and the property. She was still trying to regain her equilibrium after being in Ian's arms. "And you're going to love it, Uncle Jason. It's so me." And so very close to Ian.

He chuckled at that. "I've learned to trust

your taste, sweetheart," he announced. "So have you ordered yet?"

"I was waiting for you." Her affection for him wasn't feigned.

"And now I'm here. We'll enjoy our lunch and then check out your Angelic Villa."

That evening, well after the sun had made its stunning exit from the sky in a multihued splendor of brilliance, she and her uncle smuggled her weapons into the newly leased villa and stored them in the false bottom of the locking cedar chest at the foot of the filmy-curtained king-sized bed. But first they had made a complete sweep of the house for electronic bugs.

Kira sighed wearily as she straightened, glanced at the clock on the bedside table, and calculated her chances of catching up with Ian that night at one of the clubs. Considering the amount of time it would take to get ready, they weren't good.

"Daniel will be staying down the hall," Jason told her as he stored the little electronic black wand used to detect the listening devices into a secure section of the overnight bag she kept by her bed.

"Will you be staying in Aruba?" Kira kept her voice soft as she moved to the curtained balcony doors and looked out toward the stone fence that surrounded the Fuentes estate. She could see the upper floor of the villa, and if her source was right, she was staring directly at the window to Ian's bedroom. It was the single most important reason for the acquisition of this particular property.

"I have to fly out day after tomorrow," he told her softly. "I'll take one of the guest rooms and set up the security while you go let yourself be seen tomorrow. I'd be interested to know which players we have gathering here."

"Too many if those I saw in the clubs last night were any indication." She sighed, watching as the bedroom light in the other villa flipped on then seconds later was dark again. "Ian has a bull's-eye on his back, Jase, and if I'm not mistaken several of the players based here believe America would give them a quiet nod of approval if they took him out."

"Ian made the decision himself," Jason pointed out, apparently satisfied that there was nothing compromising in the room, then moved to where she stood by the balcony doors.

"You're fascinated with him," he stated, stopping behind her to grip her shoulders and pull her back against him. She felt his lips at the top of her head and his steady affection surrounding her.

They were each other's rocks, and had been for twenty years now. Their shared past had shaped their shared present and all the choices that had brought him there.

"What would Daddy have thought of him?" she suddenly asked. She hadn't wondered in years what her parents would have thought of anything.

"He would have respected his strength," Jason answered simply. "But he would have worried about it as well. Your man isn't known for his tender ways where women are concerned, sweetie."

No, Ian was known for tying them down, torturing them with demanding caresses and warm spankings. He was known for his sexual demands and his determined lusts. He wasn't known for roses and champagne or poet's verses.

"I'm not exactly known for my tender ways where men are concerned either," she pointed out teasingly.

"No. You're not." There was an edge of sorrow in his voice. "Your father would have gutted me for drawing you into this life and your mother would have never forgiven me."

Kira leaned her head back against his chest and clasped his hands at her shoulders.

"Momma told me once that you were destined to do great things," she told him, remembering how much her tiny mother had adored her overgrown brother. "She loved you as fiercely as she loved me."

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