Tarik Kadir plopped down in the seat next to hers. Her senses started reeling. She could actually feel heat emanating from his body, even considering his place at the table was well over two feet away. She scooted her chair a little farther to the side, but it didnt help.
Glancing at the ex covert agent out of the corner of her eye, she found him staring back at her. Besides being insufferable, the man was also a rude bore.
He flashed her a crooked grin from behind his benign-looking black-framed glasses. Was he in some sort of disguise this morning? She knew for a fact that the man did not need glasses for his eyesight. Last night in a tux hed been delicious to look at. Like the billionaire playboy sheik he was rumored to be. But this morning, the hand-tailored button-down shirt and soft suede jacket made him look unpretentious and conservative.
Bull. Did he really believe anybody would miss the aura of controlled power or the watchful intelligence hiding underneath the traditional cut of his coal-colored hair or in the eyes behind those ridiculous fake glasses?
You still waiting for a thank-you for saving my life? she asked while trying hard to sound unaffected.
I dont waste much time on fantasies. The look he gave her was so full of erotic meaning it sent her pulse racing and made her mouth go dry.
She tried to inch farther away but found herself hugging the wall as Ed and General Wainwright seated themselves across the table.
The generals forehead furrowed as he began, Well, Special Officer OReilly. It seems your crack plan for capturing the Nigerian turned into a royal cluster f He stopped, looked slightly flustered about almost using the crude military expression meaning disaster, and then cleared his throat. Either of you two have anything more to say about what happened last night?
Everything wouldve worked out if he hadnt stepped in.
If the DOD had listened to me about the Taj Zabbar building weapons of mass destruction in the first place, we couldve worked this sting together and nothing wouldve been lost.
Theyd both spoken at the same time and their words were more or less blown away in the confusion. Exasperated, Jass folded her arms over her chest and sat back.
The general pinned her with a steely gaze. Did it once occur to you to ask what item couldve been big enough to induce the Nigerian to come out of the shadows and attend last nights sale?
I figured it was big drug deal or maybe U.S. counterfeit currency plates, sir. Rumor has it the Nigerian has been raising funds and buying into moneymaking schemes all over Europe. Jass was becoming more uncomfortable by the second.
The general waved his hand dismissively. My fault. I shouldve seen this coming when I approved your plan.
Next he turned on Tarik. You thought you recognized Special Officer OReilly in her disguise. Is that right?
Tarik nodded once.
And yet you went out on the balcony to rescue someone you knew to be a competent officer and turned your back on the briefcase containing a nuclear device.
Tariks face paled and his jaw became impossibly hard.
The general surprised him by flashing a grin. I guess were all treading in deep water over this screwup. Lets see what we can do to make it right.
Jass didnt like the sound of that. She had no intention of ever doing anything with the infuriating sheik Kadir.
Tarik could see the frustration building on Jasss face. He knew what that was like. Hed been trying for months to convince the DOD, and General Wainwright in particular, that the Taj Zabbar were a serious and growing danger to the world. Up until this morning, he hadnt succeeded.
He forced his attention back to the general. I just finished speaking to my brother at Kadir headquarters, sir. The briefcase has disappearedalong with the Elder bin Khali Taj Zabbar. Well pick him up again, though it might take some time. But Darin did get a line on that other matter you asked about. He took a breath. Seems our technical unit has been hearing the same rumors over the social networks that your units have, and were fairly sure the Taj Zabbar will be involved in that upcoming auction, too.
Then that gives us a place to start fresh together.
The general tilted his head to address Jass. We caught a break when another DOD split task force captured an al-Qaeda operative in Pakistan last week. The Pakistanis have been interrogating the man and yesterday obtained a major piece of intel.
Tarik watched as Jasss expression went from resigned and frustrated to hopeful and eager. She was arresting to look at with her exotic mix of cultures. Not classically beautiful, but expressive and fascinatingly intense when she thought she wasnt being observed. A man couldnt avoid keeping his eyes trained on that face. At least, not this man.
It seems our Russian from last nights auction had another partner, the general continued. Someone still operating in the wind who supposedly has one more auction scheduled for next week.
Another briefcase bomb? Surely not. Thats
The generals hand chopped the air to stop her words. No, another bomb wouldve been impossible to sneak out of Russia, even for a genius like Karolek Petrov. But it seems there is one more item up for bid thats worth paying a kings ransomat least for terrorists.