Spy Candy | ✓

Chapter 13

"I still can't believe I didn't figure out that the voice that guided me through dozens of missions belonged to the hottie living next door," Meg said before taking a sip of her Spritz Veneziano.

On the lounger beside her, Ryan—also known as Agent Huck Finn—adjusted his sunglasses and laughed. "You can't be the only competent spy working at CANDY, now can you?"

Meg turned and looked him up and down. Six foot two, ripped as hell and having a face that belonged on a Times Square billboard advertising expensive cologne. Sigh. He was absolutely perfect.

"Tell me again how you saved us," she said with an exaggerated bat of her eyelashes before sucking on the straw again to drink the fizzy concoction.

Ryan shifted his weight and the sunchair sank deeper into the soft, Hellenic sand. "How many times do you need to hear that boring story?" he asked in his perfectly British accent.

Meg patted his arm, the tanned skin warm under her touch. "It's not boring. Now, go on."

He sighed. "Fine, but this time I'm going to give all the credit to SAL because without them, you and Barb would . . .." He trailed off as his expression sank at the thought of the alternative outcome.

After clearing his throat, Ryan continued. "Anyway, since that device on your wrist is basically a glorified FitBit, SAL—as you know—was listening in to everything that happened after you were attacked. But what was even more crucial is that they had calculated the probability of an ambush even before you had touched down in Macedonia, so by the time you entered the monastery, I had gotten my orders to break cover to enter as back-up."

"Wait," Meg interjected. "You all knew that there was a high likelihood of us getting into trouble and CANDY allowed the mission to go on? In other words, my mother and I were used as bait?" The realization, which should have long been obvious, had just occurred to her.

Ryan's face went red. "Uhm, well . . .. There are certain protocols—"

Meg shook her head and waved him off. "Forget it. My anger is misdirected, I'm sure. I'll speak with Stoker when we're back in DC. Continue the story."

"As I was saying, SAL then took over my usual duties of assisting you remotely while I hopped on the chopper and waited just outside the walls to step in at the right moment."

"Good thing, too. Imagine if you'd have been back at HQ thousands of miles away like you usually are when I'm on a mission."

Ryan grimaced. "About that . . .."

Meg's eyes widened. "You're kidding! If you're not directing me from HQ then where?"

"I'm usually pretty close," Ryan admitted. "Always in-country, sometimes just a few miles away. Occasionally within the same building."

Meg pouted. Son of a bitch. Her intelligence wingman was on her tail and she'd never even noticed. In fact, she'd done a hell of a lot of things to accomplish her objectives just because she didn't think anyone was truly listening. No one that really mattered, at any rate.

"Madrid?" she asked.

"Across the street."

"Shanghai?"

"Upstairs."

"Bogota?"

"In the room next door."

Her heart sank. While five minutes ago Meg had thought she could have a more-than-friends relationship with this guy, now she wasn't so sure. He'd heard her have sex with marks for god's sakes!

"Megara, are you okay?" Ryan asked, swinging his long legs over the lounger as he sat up.

She mirrored his stance and put her hands on his knees. Switching into professional spy-mode, she shut out her personal emotions. "Yeah. Of course," she lied before standing. "Let's go for a swim. We're not in Mykonos every day, now are we?"

But Ryan grabbed her hand before she had a chance to leave. As he stood up, his rock hard body pressed against hers, their swimsuits the only pieces of clothing separating them. "I've never listened in when I shouldn't have, if that's what you're worried about," he whispered, their noses just millimeters apart.

"You haven't?" Meg asked weakly, realizing the implications of his confession.

He shook his head. "Nope. Couldn't bear it, if I had," Ryan said before his lips clamped down on hers.

The End