A tortured noise left his mouth as he attempted to stand. His chest was covered with gashes and dried blood, but even though he was visibly in pain, he managed to stay upright, leaning against Juliet for support.
Smiling, she brought his hand to her lips and brushed a kiss over his blood-caked knuckles. “Ready?”
His white teeth shone in the light as he smiled back. “Never been more ready in my life, sweetheart.”
Chapter 25
Two days later
“So I guess this is good-bye.”
Noelle stood in the center of the small hangar and put out her cigarette as she watched D approach. He wore cargo pants and a tight-fitting sweater, the edge of a white plaster cast poking out of his left sleeve.
“I guess so,” he replied in his gravelly voice, black eyes shuttered.
She shot him a knowing glance. “A permanent one, right?”
“It was gonna happen eventually.”
She stifled a sigh, knowing he was right but at the same time wishing it was happening under different circumstances.
No, fuck that. Wishing it was happening on her terms.
But from the moment Jim had arrived in Madrid, she’d known that her liaison with Derek Pratt had officially reached its end.
Ah, well. At least Juliet had gotten her man, though what her girl saw in that sweet-natured rookie, Noelle would never know. Still, there was no denying that Juliet cared deeply for the kid. She hadn’t left his side since the two of them had been literally dug out of that bunker. Even when they’d been taken to the hospital to be treated for the effects of smoke inhalation and for Ethan’s wounds to be looked at, Juliet had demanded the staff give them beds right next to each other.
The couple had been released from the hospital a few hours ago—they were currently loitering near one of the two gleaming Gulfstreams sitting on the tarmac. And they were holding hands. How sweet.
Juliet did look happy, Noelle had to relent. The former thief was laughing at something Abby had just said, while her new boy toy chatted with Morgan—whom Noelle knew was aware of her and D, even though his blue eyes were focused on the rookie.
“Let me guess,” she said dryly. “Jim convinced you what a dreadful idea it is for us to be sleeping together.”
“No.”
“No?”
“We shouldn’t be sleeping together because I was wrong.”
Noelle furrowed her brow. “Wrong about what?”
“About us.” D ran his hand over the stubble dotting his jaw. “When I said we were the same, I was wrong. I’m an emotionless asshole, but you, baby, are not an emotionless bitch.”
“I have to disagree with that.”
“Disagree all you want, but we both know it’s true. I used to think you were dead inside, just like me, but there’s still some life in you.” He shrugged. “If we keep fucking, I’ll end up killing that last shred of humanity you’ve got left.”
It took all her willpower to mask her shock. She opened her mouth to ask him what the hell he was babbling about, but he didn’t give her the chance to speak.
He just offered a brisk nod and took a step away. “See you around, Noelle.”
• • •
As Abby and Kane drifted toward the metal staircase by the door of Morgan’s jet, Juliet turned to Ethan with a frown. She’d been trying to contain her displeasure all afternoon, but as she watched him shift in discomfort for the hundredth time that day, her frustration finally boiled over.
“I’m taking you back to the hospital,” she announced.
“Nah, I’ll pass.”
“You’re in pain, damn it. You need some good old-fashioned pain meds. And I still want that burn specialist to look at your back and chest.”
“There are burn specialists in San Jose,” he replied. “I’ll see one when we get there.”
“You’re so fucking stubborn, I just want to kick you.”
“Look who’s talking. You’re the most pigheaded person I’ve ever met in my life.”
Juliet scowled at him. “Is this what our future looks like? Bickering like children?”
He flashed that boyish grin. “Well, I am a kid, remember?” He raised his eyebrows. “With that said, I’m pretty sure my maturity levels are a million times higher than yours.”
“Oh, shut up. I’m not the one who got tortured and refuses to seek medical attention.”
“No, you’re just the one who decided to hang around while a bunker was blowing up.”
“Because I love you, you big oaf! Wow. I can’t believe you’re actually complaining that someone loved you enough to want to die by your side.”
He burst out laughing. “I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Juliet had to grin. “I’ve always been somewhat of a sweet talker.”
Rolling his eyes, Ethan moved closer and swiftly brushed a kiss over her lips. “Seriously, though, the hospital can wait. I have more important things to do first.”
“Oh, really? Like what?” She placed her hands on his shoulders, careful not to apply too much pressure so she wouldn’t irritate his injuries.
“Well, in case you forgot, I promised to lock you up in a room for a week and ravish you.”
“Ah, right.” She gave a mock sigh. “I guess I’m okay with that.”
“You guess? Bullshit. You’re fricking dying for it.”
He planted another kiss on her mouth, which quickly transformed into a tongue-tangling make-out that made her heart pound. Jeez. She truly was addicted to this man.
“Get a room, you two!”
They broke apart at Sullivan’s voice. The tall Australian wiggled his eyebrows as he walked past them on his way to the jet.
Ethan’s teammate had a spring in his step as he climbed the stairs and disappeared into the cabin. Luke and Liam went in next, then D, who’d come from the direction of the hangar.
Juliet shifted her gaze and noticed Noelle standing near the hangar doors, an odd expression on her exquisite face.
“Give me a sec,” she told Ethan. “I just need a word with my boss.”
A minute later, she was face-to-face with the blond assassin, who looked resigned as she met Juliet’s gaze.
“Let me guess—you’ll be taking Jim’s plane instead of mine.”
“Yes. But only so I can spend some time with Ethan on his compound. And then we’re flying back to Belarus.” A lump formed in her throat. “The funeral home in Minsk is sending Henry’s body to the Harkov property—Oleg Harkov agreed to let Henry be buried next to Zoya. I think Henry would have wanted to be close to the woman he loved.” She swallowed, pushed away the sadness, then smiled at her boss. “Oh, and just in case you were worried, you should know there’s no way I’m ever leaving you to join up with Morgan’s crew. I’d die of boredom.”
Noelle let out a melodic laugh. “Good girl.”
“I’m serious. No matter what happens between me and Ethan, my professional loyalties lie with you. Always have, always will.”
“We’ll be in touch, then. I’ll contact you when I have another assignment for you.” Noelle smirked. “Enjoy your rookie. I’ve heard boys his age possess some serious stamina.”
“Trust me, I know. Anyway, I’ll see you later. Call me if you need me.”
The two women didn’t hug, didn’t even shake hands. They just exchanged a fond look and a smile, and then Juliet strode back to Ethan, who was waiting for her on the runway.
“I forgot to ask you,” he said when she reached him. “Did you talk to Stacie before we left the hospital?”
Juliet nodded. “Yeah, she’s over the moon. Her father hasn’t left her side since he got there.”
And, boy, did Stacie deserve it. The poor kid had been begging for her father’s attention her whole life. It was sad that it had
taken a kidnapping to open Leo Karin’s eyes to his daughter’s unhappiness, but the prime minister seemed to be trying to make amends. He’d even visited Juliet and Ethan in their room in the respiratory unit of St. Anne’s, and thanked them profusely for protecting his daughter from the woman who’d tried to kill her.
Karin had no clue that they’d actually been protecting Stacie from Dmitry Orlov, but they’d decided not to tell him the truth. Alexei Mironov and his PRF rebels were bragging to the country that they’d executed the defense minister, and Juliet saw no point in letting the world know that Orlov had been responsible for all the deaths the PRF had taken credit for.
Truth was, a part of her wanted Mironov’s cause to succeed. Dmitry Orlov was dead, but the entire system was full of corrupt, power-hungry politicians willing to go to any lengths to reach their goals. If the rebels managed to overthrow the government, then maybe the corruption would finally end. During his taped recording to the Belarusian media, Mironov had revealed the existence of Orlov’s torture bunkers, horrifying the country’s citizens and no doubt picking up hundreds of new followers.
“I’m glad she got her happy ending.”
Ethan’s voice jerked her out of her thoughts. “Me too,” Juliet agreed. “She deserves it.”
“So do you.” His lips quirked. “Actually, I think out of anyone, you deserve the happy ending the most to make up for everything you had to go through in your life.”
She cocked her head. “When you say happy ending, do you mean it in the fairy-tale sense or the pornography sense?”
His chest shook with laughter. “God, I love you.”
“Love you too, kiddo.” Grinning, she took his hand and laced their fingers together. “Come on, let’s get on the plane. I’m thinking if we’re stealthy about it, we might be able to have a quickie in the bathroom.”
“No more quickies,” he said firmly. “I already told you, you’re going to be thoroughly ravished.”
She pretended to pout. “But what if I don’t want to wait?”
“Tough cookies.” A broad grin stretched across his face. “The anticipation is half the fun, remember?”
Epilogue
“So you got dumped, huh?”
Noelle donned a cold look as Jim came to a halt in front of her. “Don’t you have a jet to board?”
“Ah, baby, you know I can’t leave without saying good-bye to you.” His blue eyes gleamed. “D said good-bye too, didn’t he?”
She shrugged. “The fling ran its course. Believe me, I’m not particularly heartbroken about it.”
“Well, sure. You need to have a heart for that.”
“Anyway, you’ve said your good-bye. You can go now.”
Morgan swept his tongue over his bottom lip, looking thoughtful.
The expression on his rugged face brought a pang of unease. She recognized that look. It was the one he wore when he was contemplating something of extreme importance.
“What?” she said irritably.
Rather than answer, he brushed past her and entered the hangar, ducking out of view.
She followed him. Because, damn it, she wanted to know what was going on in that infuriating brain of his.
The second she stepped inside, his mouth came down on hers in a punishing kiss.
She hadn’t been expecting it. Wasn’t prepared for it.
His lips were firmer than she remembered, his tongue demanding as it plunged into her mouth.
Noelle’s pulse drummed in her ears, a fast and frantic rhythm that brought a pang of honest-to-God panic.
Jesus, what was he doing?
Why was she kissing him back?
But the instant her tongue touched his, he broke the kiss with a harsh breath and stumbled backward.
Disbelief continued to spiral through her body as she stared into his veiled blue eyes. “What was that?” she whispered.
He cleared his throat, looking as shaken up as she felt. “Just wanted to see if it was still there.”
She swallowed. “And is it?”
He met her inquisitive gaze.
And then he walked out of the hangar.
Keep reading for a sneak peek at the next
heart-pounding novel in Elle Kennedy’s Killer Instincts series,
MIDNIGHT ACTION
Available soon from Signet Eclipse.
Prologue
Eighteen years ago
The overcast sky and turbulent gray clouds rolling in from the east made for a miserable afternoon. Rain was imminent, and the chill in the air had already sent all of the café’s patrons inside. Only Noelle remained on the cobblestone patio, her gloved hands wrapped around a cup of hot English breakfast tea. She wished she’d brought a scarf, but she’d forgotten it back at the elegant town house in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the prestigious neighborhood she’d been calling home for the past ten years. Except the nineteenth-century property where she lived, with its soaring ceilings and sweeping gardens, was not a real home.
It was a prison.
She’d come to the Marais district today to escape, but deep down she knew there was no such thing. The numbing pain in her left hand confirmed it—she was trapped. Forced to endure René’s torment, at least for another two months. But once she turned eighteen? She’d be out of that house like a bat out of hell. For good. Forever.
She wasn’t foolish enough to think she could convince her mother to join her. No, Colette had made her choice. She would never leave René, but Noelle was past caring. Past begging her mother to see the light.
Pushing away her bitterness, she took a long sip of her tea. The robust liquid instantly warmed her insides, but it didn’t ease the relentless throbbing in her fingers. At least two were broken—the index and middle one, for sure—but her thumb ached too, so perhaps it hadn’t been spared in René’s vicious attack.
I’m going to kill you.
She silently transmitted the message to her stepfather, willing his subconscious to hear it. And it was no longer wishful thinking—she would kill him. She didn’t know when, couldn’t even begin to figure out how, but René Laurent was going to die at her hands. She would make sure of it.
“Is this seat taken?”
The deep, gravelly voice jolted Noelle from her bloodthirsty thoughts. When she laid eyes on the man it belonged to, her breath caught in her throat.
She blinked, wondering if maybe she’d dreamed him, but then he flashed her a captivating grin, and she realized that he must be real—her mind wasn’t capable of conjuring up a smile as heart-stoppingly gorgeous as this.
A pair of vivid blue eyes watched her expectantly as she searched for her voice.
“There are lots of other seats available,” she finally replied, gesturing to the deserted tables all around them.
He shrugged. “I don’t want to sit anywhere but here.”
She moistened her suddenly dry lips. “Why?”
“Because none of those other seats is across from you,” he said simply.
Her heart skipped a beat, and her gaze . . . well, her gaze couldn’t seem to leave his face. He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen in her life. His features were perfectly chiseled, his jaw strong and clean-shaven, his mouth far too sensual. And those eyes . . . midnight blue and utterly endless. A girl could lose herself in his eyes.
And this girl nearly did, until the beautiful stranger chuckled softly, alerting her to the embarrassing fact that she’d fallen into a trance.
Noelle cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks heat up. “I guess you can join me.” She put on an indifferent voice, but she could tell he saw right through it.
He was studying her intently as he lowered his tall, lean body onto the chair opposite hers. As he set his coffee cup in front of him, her gaze landed on his hands. Big and strong, with long fingers and short, blunt finge
rnails.
“You’re shivering,” he said gruffly.
“It’s cold out.”
“Yes, it is.”
Noelle took a hasty sip of tea, shifting awkwardly in her chair. She watched as he ran one large hand through his dark brown hair. So short it was nearly shaved off. She wondered if he was a soldier. His bulky hunter green sweater and faded blue jeans weren’t exactly military-issue, but something about the way he carried himself, something in his shrewd blue eyes, told her he was much more than a tourist or local college student.
He was also American—she definitely hadn’t missed the distinct East Coast accent lining his flawless French words.
“You’re from America,” she remarked in perfect English.
He nodded in confirmation. “Virginia, born and raised. And from the sound of it, you’re American yourself.”
“My father is.”
“Did you ever live in the States?”
“Yes. We were in DC for eight years.”
“But now you live in Paris?”
She offered a quick nod. “My mother is French. She and I moved here after my parents got divorced.”
“I see.” He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. The hiss of a lighter cut through the air as he lit up, bringing a frown to Noelle’s lips.
“Smoking is very bad for you,” she said frankly.
“What can I say? I like to live on the edge.”
He grinned again, and her heart began to pound.
As she tried to control the butterflies in her stomach, his mesmerizing eyes swept over her once more, and a thoughtful expression flitted across his face. “You’re beautiful. Has anyone ever told you that?”
Her cheeks scorched again. There was nothing lewd or creepy about the compliment, but the intensity with which he said it made her pulse race. Something about this man affected her in a strange, confusing way she’d never experienced before. She found herself wanting to reach across the table and touch him. Hold his hand, stroke his jaw, place her palm on his broad, muscular chest. The urge only confused her further, and so she avoided his gaze by peering down at her teacup.