Page 14 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

“I’m saying your default position of stubborn sarcasm is not ideal for getting to know someone.”

Bristling, I glare at him. “I can be nice.”

Aaden and Zee laugh.

“What? I can.”

They laugh even harder. Zee’s phone tinkles and vibrates on the coffee table. “Boss man” appears on the screen, and Zee grabs it.

“Hi, boss.” He listens for a few seconds as Uncle Charlie talks then presses the loud speaker button and places his phone in the middle of the coffee table.

“Can everyone hear me?” Uncle Charlie asks.

“Yes. Go ahead,” Aaden says.

“Natia?” Uncle Charlie enquires.

“Here,” I grunt, like I’m answering a teacher at school.

“We have another disappearance. Mary Conway. Last seen five days ago. She’s a legal secretary for a subsidiary company offering pro bono work for Reinheart and Hunter. Her neighbor reported her missing last night.”

I rub my hand over my face. “Where was she last seen?”

The line crackles with the ruffling of paper. “Last Tuesday night, she had drinks with a colleague at a local cocktail bar. She set off walking home about 7 p.m., but she never reached it. Jack’s here—I’ll send him and Joan to her apartment, as you have your meeting today.”

I groan at the mention of sitting in a meeting all day. I should be at Mary Conway’s apartment trying to piece together what’s going on.

Uncle Charlie sighs. “Natia, I know you’re frustrated, but your job is to infiltrate this from the top. Leave us to do the groundwork.”

“Yeah, Natia. Leave the hard work to me and Joan,” Jack grumbles through the phone, his disdain spilling from every word. What a jerk.

Charlie leaves me with his version of a pep talk. “I’ll update you with what Jack and Joan find. Do your job, but be careful, Natia.”

We finalize a few bits. Zee’s my official bodyguard. We decide not to take weapons to our first meeting since it may give a bad impression.“Hi, my name is Natia Waterford. Oh, don’t worry about the Sai swords strapped to my back—they’re this season’s accessories.”

Zee is the SIP’s combat trainer, and from his teachings, I’ve become an excellent hand-to-hand fighter. Through a mixture of martial arts, he’s taught me how to use my unusual strength and senses. I can feel subtle changes in air currents, helping me predict someone’s location and moves—almost like a foresight. Not minutes before, but enough to give me an advantage. But I prefer my swords—they give me the badass look.

Back in my bedroom, I dress and put on my disguise. Clothes, makeup, hair—it’s all designed to hide my real self. Now, I’m Natia, Matthew Waterford’s granddaughter, rather than Natia, badass agent for a secret government agency.

I keep my makeup natural and wear a light mocha-colored, knee-length, fitted dress. The material gathers on my hip, accentuating my curves. I team the dress with the matching ivory, silk underwear and nude heeled pumps and leave my lightly-bronzed legs bare. My grandmother’s diamond stud earrings are my only jewelry. I used to watch her get ready for parties and made her promise from the age of five I could one day wear the pretty earrings that sparkle. Smiling at the memory, I twist my hair into a classicchignon. With one last look in the mirror, I take a deep breath—game time.

Zee and Aaden stand at the door dressed in designer suits, Zee in the classic bodyguard black and Aaden in smart charcoal.

I look them up and down with appreciation. “Wow, you both clean up well.”

Zee puts one hand on the knot of his tie and does a twirl. “You’re not the only one who has a new wardrobe.” They look me up and down as if they’ve never seen me before. Zee’s gaze hovers over my breasts.

“What?” I look down at my dress, panicking that I’ve managed to stain or damage it in the thirty seconds since leaving my bedroom.

Zee gives me a wicked grin. “I remember the underwear that goes with that dress.”

Asshole.

Aaden swings the apartment door open. “Ready?”

Glancing at the ceiling of the elevator we’ve just entered, I let out a long breath. “As I’ll ever be.”

Chapter Five

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