Page 7 of Fire and Ice

"I'm your brother's bodyguard."

"So, after ..."

"I can't believe this!" Maia hissed. "Really, Mr. McCord this is highly inappropriate conversation. Besides, I don't date or do relationships."

"Did I say anything about a relationship?"

"So you just want to fuck?"

Jack smirked again.Really this guy is impossible, Maia thought, her temper rising just as she felt a gush of warmth between her legs. Oh God, hell no, she was not attracted to Jack McCord.

"You want me too."

"You. Are. So full of yourself."

Jack cupped her other elbow, drew her closer, and lowered his head to the side of her ear and whispered, "Don't you want to be full of me?"

Maia's eyes widened. Men didn't usually talk dirty to her. Most would be too intimidated. She looked up into Jack's slate-blue eyes, which were almost black in the flickering light. She could either dig her hands into his hair, drag his head down and shove her tongue into his mouth or she could pull away.Two can play this game, she thought. Summoning years of practice, Maia's eyes fluttered to half-mast, she licked her lips and stared at Jack's firm lips dreamily. She was pleased to hear his breath hitch before she smiled sweetly and said, "No."

Maia tugged her arms free and strode off to where Brett, Mike and Derek stood in a huddle. They had all had their eyes on her and Jack. Derek looked disapproving, Mike was thunderous and Brett was well, Brett. She needed to brief them on the new safe house, a bunker type structure not too far from Castle. Thank God there were less than seven hours before the whole mess was over. She was going to take up Viktor's offer of a break and head to Bora Bora.

"You can run, Miss Pierce," Jack called after her, and she could swear he murmured, "but you can't hide."

***

Raul Vergara was convicted on all counts of money laundering, narcotics trafficking and police bribery. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The list of transactions and names was released to respective agencies such as the DEA, FBI, Internal Affairs and the Department of Justice. The NPPD had taken a direct hit and sadly it would take time for the local police force to regain the trust of the public. The US Marshal's East Coast division was also getting an overhaul. A few politicians in DC had resigned their posts as investigations uncovered their involvement in the drug trade.

Mike Callahan, New Park City DA had become the city's local hero. AGS was working its butt off to make sure he stayed alive. He sure had made a lot of enemies.

Brett McCord had been whisked off to a family estate, parts unknown.

Numerous arrest warrants had been issued. Vergara's men had scattered and started moving into smaller towns to hide the merchandise waiting until the heat cooled down. Millions of dollars in drugs had been confiscated, but there's still a sizable amount floating around.

And there's the matter of the Russians.

Jack and Derek emerged from a meeting with the DoD representatives. Needless to say their clients were pleased with the next stage of weapons testing.

Colonel Hugo Dalton was head of Advanced Weapons Acquisition and their main liaison at the DoD. His group worked closely with specialized units within the military to assess the changing landscape of covert operations.

A new lightweight carbine and an untraceable tracking device were on the fast-track to testing and production.

"New toys for the big boys," Colonel Dalton declared jovially before stepping into the elevator with his colleagues to report back to the Pentagon.

Jack smiled wryly at Derek. "Now that was an easy sell."

"Yeah."

"Drinks back at my office? We can head out to dinner later to celebrate."

"Man, we need to stop dating each other. No hope of getting back with Isabella?"

Isabella had been Jack's girlfriend for eight months. Lasting longer than most of his other arrangements, she was gorgeous, sophisticated, good in bed and most of importantly, had not demanded much attention until two months ago, that is. Jack hated getting played. Apparently, Isabella had made it her life's mission to become Mrs. Jack McCord and studied Jack's past relationships to this end. Jack liked his independence so she had played it cool in the beginning. But when she realized Jack was not getting any nearer to committing to any future with her, she had started delivering ultimatums. Jack had not wasted any time in dispatching her ass three weeks before.

"I never go back, you know that. When I'm done, I'm done."

"Jack, you can't go on like this. You need to move on from Claire."

A flash of pain jagged through Jack's indigo eyes. Claire had been Jack's fiancée, and had been killed twelve years before in an accident that also took the life of his sister, Anna. It was a hellish time for everyone. The accident was in fact a revenge hit ordered by enemies Jack acquired during his time as a Navy SEAL. His missions were top-secret, but there were rumored to be leaks in the CIA and names involved in some covert ops were released. There was an inquiry initiated by the McCord family, but it was dropped due to lack of evidence.

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