In The Company Of Snipers: Zack Part 11

"Besides what?" Zack looked at his boss's smirky face. The man could irritate the horns off Satan.

Alex extricated a small photo from the inside of his suit jacket and handed it to Zack. A little girl of Chinese descent smiled back at him. Aside from the big toothless grin and happy face, she was a miniature version of Mei. There was only one difference.

"Is this your daughter?" Zack asked Mei, stunned into submission.

She nodded, her lips pressed tight.

Zack couldn't win. He was going undercover with Mei, to play husband to her wife. There was no sense arguing.

LiLi had blue eyes.

"You two love birds ready?"

"Shut it, Todd," Zack hissed. "Don't think because you're in the van I can't get to you."

"Copy that," Todd replied cheerfully. "Just checking on the honeymooners."

Zack's fist clenched. His earpiece might be small enough to fool Attorney Richards, but having a smart a.s.s like Todd Chandler in a man's head only made him cranky. And Zack was plenty cranky. At least Alex hadn't given Mei an earpiece. Yet.

"We're moving," Zack muttered as he climbed out of his car and walked around it to open the door for his 'wife'.

Today he was Quentin Burns and she was Amelia, the millionaire co-owners of an up and coming software firm. He'd driven his Porsche to add to their undercover backstory, but Alex had taken care of them in every other way. They looked quite the wealthy couple. Mei wore a simple black dress, a color that only made her features more severe, like that was possible. The fur-lined winter coat helped disguise her narrow frame. Ember had taken her to a high-end salon for hair, make-up, and nails. It didn't help. She looked the epitome of pampered wealth, but beauty could not disguise the starving look in her eyes.

For the first time in a long time, Zack was in a business suitwhite s.h.i.+rt, black tie, the whole clown get-up. He ran a finger under his collar, loosening the tie so it didn't feel like he was choking. This was funeral attire. He couldn't wait to get out of it.

Mei stood next to him on the sidewalk. The earth s.h.i.+fted. He should be getting used to the off balance feeling by now. It seemed to happen every time she got too close. He purposefully avoided resting his hand at the small of her back. They were supposed to be married. That gesture might make someone think they liked each other. He didn't want to blow the whole op right off the bat.

"Can I help you?" The elderly woman behind the receptionist desk peered over her wire-rimmed reading gla.s.ses. The bra.s.s nameplate on her desk declared her to be Ms. Marjorie Bradford. She wore her hair in the same fas.h.i.+on as Mei's, all knotted into a tight little bun at the back of her head, only Ms. Bradford's hair was white. Pure white. Who was she anyway, Richards' mother?

"Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Burns to see Attorney Richards." Mei stepped right up and took charge, like that was a surprise.

"You'll need to fill out the paperwork and agree to a background check." The secretary handed Mei a clipboard with several forms. "When can you return for your follow-up appointment?"

"Why do we need another appointment?" Zack asked.

"Young man." Ms. Bradford scowled sternly, not a hint of a smile in her voice. "Child adoption is a serious undertaking. It will take several appointments to work through all the legalities. Besides, we can't approve you and your wife until we know for certain that you can afford the retainer fee now, can we?"

Zack c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. "Fee?"

"Oh, yes." She nodded as if to confirm her words. "There's a one million dollar fee, upfront and non-refundable. When you make your selection, there will be an additional charge depending on the age of the girl. Didn't you know?"

"Tomorrow," Mei interrupted before Zack could phrase a proper reb.u.t.tal to that kind of robbery. "We can be back tomorrow. First thing in the morning, if it's okay."

Ms. Bradford checked her schedule. "We have an opening at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Will that work for you?"

"We'll take it."

"Whew." Todd blew out a long drawn out sigh in Zack's ear. "A million bucks? Boss ain't gonna like that."

Zack grunted. He didn't have much sympathy for Alex right now. Let him pay. It might teach him for being such a smart a.s.s.

"Honey." Mei stabbed him with those stiletto eyeb.a.l.l.s of hers. "Can you help me?" She nodded him over to one of the chairs in the waiting area, the clipboard and pen in her hand.

No endearments came to his mind, at least none he could say out loud. They sat together and began filling out the paperwork with their fake address and personal information while Agent Chandler snickered. Zack gave his earpiece five hard taps with his index finger.

"Ouch!" Todd cussed. "Knock it off. You're hurting my eardrums."

"Good," Zack muttered quietly. "Now shut the h.e.l.l up."

"Copy that," Todd replied in a much softer voice.

"I don't know what to put here," Mei whispered, pointing to the line where she was supposed to indicate the age and gender of the child they wanted to adopt. The frightened mother was back, and darn it anyway, Zack's heart dropped right on cue. How did she do that? One minute he didn't want to be anywhere near her, and the next he was ready to kill anyone who intended to hurt her. She had him so twisted, his brain hurt trying to keep up.

"Female. Six years old," he said brusquely. "That's who you want, isn't it?"

It must have been the hard reality of having to write LiLi's age and gender down on paper that shook Mei. She lowered her head andd.a.m.n it anyway, he felt like an a.s.s again. He'd made her cry.

"Do you want me to do it?" he asked, more gently.

She shook her head and dashed the weakness away. The rest of their phony financial information took no time at all. Zack cleared eight figures yearlyon paper.

"There." Mei handed the completed forms to Mrs. Bradford. "We're ready to see Mr. Richards now."

"Oh, you won't see him today. My goodness, no." She shook her head, her face wrinkled like a dried prune. "What do you think tomorrow's appointment is for? Be sure to bring the money. Small denominations. No cas.h.i.+er checks."

"But I thought," Mei choked. "I thought...."

"Let me get this right." Zack secured Mei inside the crook of his arm before she fell apart and blew the op. "You want us to bring the money before we get to meet Richards?"

"I need to see it. Yes." Ms. Bradford sniffed like that was obvious.

"But we're here now," Mei argued.

"But he isn't," Ms. Bradford retorted.

"But you said-"

"It's okay," Zack intervened. "Tomorrow's fine."

"But I thought-" Mei couldn't finish.

"Come on, Amelia." He turned his anxious wife toward the door. The last thing they needed was for Hagatha to make an appearance and destroy what little good they'd accomplished. "We have plenty to do today. Tomorrow is fine."

She finally spit it out once they were on the sidewalk. "I thought we'd be able to see some of the children."

"Would've been nice." He opened the car door and waved her in.

"All he's doing is selling babies," she whispered as she folded her long legs into the pa.s.senger seat. He tried hard not to notice how elegant those black silk stockings looked in his car. The high heels Ember had selected for Mei didn't look so bad either. What is it about high heels on long slender and very attractive legs? They made Hagatha look good again. Of course the rest of his body noticed.

"What'd you expect?" He needed to keep some emotional distance between them. "The man's as crooked as they come. He's not exactly running a family friendly business."

"But...." She fastened her seatbelt as Zack shut her door. She was crushed. He got that. He just hadn't expected to feel the same way.

"Todd." Zack called his surveillance crew. "Today's a no-go. Tell Alex to put a million together. You heard the lady. Small bills. We'll be back in the morning."

"Already advised the Boss. Said no problem. Swing by the office in the morning-"

"We're swinging by now."

"Copy that." The seriousness of the op must have gotten through Todd's hard head. He'd stopped teasing.

THIRTEEN.

"I've been thinking about what you asked about LiLi's father and his parents." Mei swiveled in her seat to face him. "Do you think Christopher's father might be behind it?"

"Alex is checking that lead." Zack studied the traffic in his side mirror before he pulled away from the curb. The pleasure of driving his car instantly soothed him. There's nothing like four on the floor to make a man forget he's on a blind date with a woman who doesn't even have a nice personality going for her. "Did you know your boyfriend moved to England to pursue a graduate course in oncology?"

"No, I didn't, but...Excuse me? Alex is checking what lead? Are you checking on me, too?" Mei's voice went from mildly pleased to openly hostile as the questions poured out of her mouth. "You guys didn't believe a word I said, did you?"

Zack grunted. "You really want me to answer that, Miss ICE agent? Or are you Miss Metro PD right now? Or maybe you work for the local paper? The FBI? h.e.l.l, I don't know. Tell me which one of you I should believe."

Mei did something he hadn't expected. She chuckled, a very little coughing, choking kind of a chuckle. It wasn't a laugh by any means, but it was different. "I guess I'd have double-checked my story too, huh?"

"You think?" He forced his eyes to the road. Mei was quicksand, and he was tired of not being able to catch solid footing around her.

"So. What have you found out about him and his parents? Are they involved? Did they do it?" She leaned onto the console, bullying him for answers. Mei was ten kinds of impatient, pushy, demanding, and, oh yeah, impatient all over again.

"Man, you never quit do you?"

"Would you?" She bristled.

"We're checking, okay? For h.e.l.l's sake, give us time to do our job. You might not believe it, but everyone in my office is on your side, and some of us are working exclusively on your case. h.e.l.l, I got married, and I don't even recall popping the d.a.m.ned question."

"I really do appreciate everything you are doing to help me," she muttered.

"Don't worry about it." He bl.u.s.tered as if angry. "It's all I dreamed it could be."

"But it's not enough."

Zack bit his lip to keep his big mouth shut. Nothing would ever be enough for this woman. He got that. He understood. Really, he did. She wanted her daughter back, and until then everyone around her was going to be miserable. He just didn't want to be her very own personal whipping boy.

"I'll never get married," she said quietly.

That came out of the blue. He ended the conversation before it started. "Me either."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm smarter than that," he shot back.

Two blocks down the road he spotted the tail, a black Lincoln sedan following at a respectable distance, but following nonetheless. He made a quick right turn and parked curbside. Oddly, a baby boutique happened to be in the right place at the right time.

"Since we're adopting, let's go shopping for some baby stuff." Before she got a word out of her mouth, Zack was out of the car. While he ran around it to open her door, he rang the boys in the surveillance van. "Hey, Todd. You still there?"

"Whatcha need?"

"I'm two blocks north of our last location. Think I've got company. Got a black Lincoln on my six. Check it out?"

"You bet."

Mei's eyes were wide with questions when he opened her door, but he cut her off. "Humor me. We've got someone watching. Let's make it look good."

He pulled her up and out of the car. Unexpectedly, her high heels did not handle the curb very well. She fell into his arms, a nice surprise.

"You're going to have to do better than that," he whispered as he swung her onto the sidewalk, enjoying the feel and weight of her delicate body.

Mei hugged him with a trifle more affection, her hand on his arm while glancing down the street.

"No," he ordered, his index finger to her chin as he redirected her gaze toward him. "Don't look at them. Just me."

So she did, surprising him yet again. She really could be obedient.

Zing. He looked down into those mysterious dark eyes, suddenly holding Mei the way a husband would hold a wife. Tenderly. Gently. For a fraction of a second she looked up, her eyes two dark pools of secrets he didn't know yet. Her breath caught. So much worry and pain shone in those dark pools, and something else. Trust. She'd finally found someone she could trust. Him.

Zack gulped at the revelation. All at once, it was important to untangle the hard knot at the back of her head, to feel the silk of her raven hair falling through his fingers. More than anything else, he wanted to see her smile again, to hear her really laugh. Standing there on the sidewalk of Rosslyn, Virginia, Zack just wanted Mei to be happy.

Heat radiated from the delicate fingertips on his chest. The scent of cherry blossoms washed over him like an invitation. The tiniest glimmer of hope materialized.

As she leaned in slowly, her chin tilted upward. The distance vanished between them. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressed against his chest. Her right thigh warmed his left thigh and he was very aware of her hip. The busy street noise faded. His lips brushed hers, just asking, just wis.h.i.+ng. So soft and willing. She relaxed against him with a sigh, her hands circling his neck. Tenderness for this woman exploded in his heart.

Zack pulled her off the ground, his lips pressed harder to hers. He hadn't planned to kiss her, but she needed to be kissedto be loved. It felt right. Mei kissed him back, her arms tight around his neck and her feet no longer touching the sidewalk. A soft, sad sound escaped deep from within her throat. This woman needed so much more than one kiss.

Her tongue skimmed his lips, and he let her enter, another pleasant surprise that just possibly she might want him the way he was beginning to want her. The busy city fell away. One minute they were kissing, the next she was hammering his mouth, demanding more, her tongue pus.h.i.+ng against his with rampant hunger. Their teeth collided. She laced her fingers around his ears, pulling him into her and biting his lower lip. It seemed she poured all her loneliness and pain into her kiss, like if she gave it away she could be strong again.

A ragged moan lifted out of her. He let her win, let her take what she needed. The ferocious fire of her hunger roared through him. The memories of all those other chicks in his life vanished in the heat and pa.s.sion of this one real woman. At last she pulled back, panting into his still open mouth, breathless with the daring thing she'd done, her fingers clutching his collar.

Dark eyes sought his. Regret flickered. Anger, too. He prepared for a slap. It didn't come. Instead, she burrowed under his chin, breathing hard, and he let her. This fierce, mean woman was in his arms, trembling, her heart pounding against him like it belonged to a scared little girl. Her slender body hugged into him. His fingers traced the sharp edges of her spine and shoulder blades. Alex was right. Mei was starving, and not just for food.

"I like this," he whispered, his own heart pounding a noisy beat. She wasn't the only one who was scared. He'd overstepped the invisible line between agent and client, and he'd done it with the Wicked Witch of the West.

She didn't speak, and he was glad. There were no words for the tender moment. Like a happily married couple, they stood there in each other's arms. He absorbed the feeling that had sprung up between them, stroking her cheek when he pushed a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. She had delicate ears, a soft curl of skin that looked more like fine bone china beneath his rugged fingertip.