Page 85 of Wicked Intentions (Wicked Games 3)
Ryan
While Tabby and Mariana stare at each other, mentally transmitting some kind of weird, girl-code shit, Connor and I share a look of our own.
His look says She okay? You okay?
My look says I’m good, but my woman’s hangin’ on by a thread.
He nods. His piercing gaze flicks over to Mariana. “All right, kids,” he booms, addressing the room. “Visiting time at the zoo is over. Say your goodbyes.”
Darcy makes her signature farm-animal snort. “C’mon, Kai, let’s roll. It’s Badass Big Guy Meeting Time. Short stuff,” she says to Juanita, “you got a restaurant picked out for lunch? And don’t say anything with the words kale bar in it, or I’ll be forced to kick your tiny Catholic behind.”
“I’m an atheist, Darcy” Juanita replies. “I only go to a Catholic school because I’m fifteen and have no legal rights, and that’s where my mother wants me to go. And I was thinking that new Thai-French fusion place on sixth. Elvis loves Thai food.”
Aghast, Darcy cries, “Atheist! Hush, you silly child, God will hear!”
Juanita turns to look at Tabby. “Is it worth it?” she asks.
“Nope.”
Juanita shrugs and flips her hair over her shoulder. She looks at Mariana and sticks out her hand. They shake solemnly, an ocean of unspoken words between them.
I can’t wait to find out what their little exchange in Spanish was all about.
Darcy, Kai, and Juanita take their leave. Connor lowers his bulk to the big captain’s chair behind his desk. Tabby perches on a corner of the desk and folds her hands over a knee, and Mariana and I sit in the two leather guest chairs opposite them. For a moment, we all simply look at one another.
“I hope I didn’t ruin your honeymoon,” Mariana says quietly.
“Are you kidding?” laughs Tabby. “You were a highlight!”
Connor swivels his head slowly to look at her, his dark brows climbing his forehead.
Tabby smiles tenderly at him. “Not the highlight, honey.”
“Don’t need to hear any details about the other highlights!” I interrupt before Connor forces Tabby to make a list of all his talents in the sack. I know I’ve got an ego on me, but Connor’s got an egosaurus. If he gets a burr under his saddle, we’ll be here all day trying to calm that bucking bronco down. “Connor, you wanna start?”
For a moment, he drums his fingers on the desktop, thinking. Then he looks up at Mariana. “Yeah. Let’s start with Vincent Moreno.”
She stiffens. I reach over and touch her arm. She clutches my hand, threading her fingers through mine and squeezing. The whole time, Connor watches us with unblinking intensity. I can see the wheels turning behind his eyes.
“What do you want to know?” Mariana asks.
“When Ryan told us your situation, we made some inquiries,” Connor says, referring to himself and Tabby.
“Inquiries?” Mariana repeats cautiously.
It’s Tabby who answers this time. “As I told you before, I work for the government. Specifically the NSA. Freelance, but at the highest clearance. We’ve also got contacts in the FBI and the CIA, and the international security and law enforcement communities. All this adds up to a very powerful network of information.”
Mariana sits perfectly still, listening, a look of intense concentration on her face. A faint tremor runs through her hand.
Her voice lower, Tabby continues. “This man you work for… He’s very dangerous.”
“No,” Mariana says without a second’s pause. “Ebola is dangerous. Sharks are dangerous. Live electrical wires are dangerous. Vincent Moreno is pure evil.”
“Yet you’re on his payroll,” Connor says curtly.
Mariana’s eyes slice through him like a hot knife through butter. A vein throbs on the side of her neck. “When the Devil tells you to jump, the only question you
ask is how high.”
