do anything for you, baby, you know that. It's just…" She managed to look beautifully flustered while shooting Kyle a smart-ass glance, "Well, how can I say this without hurting his feelings?
What I do remember was just so…" Red beaded earrings tinkled against her shoulders as she shrugged.
"So, well, boring, ya know?"
Kensington swallowed the wrong way, choked. Kyle slapped him on the back and stifled a laugh. He remembered one "boring" night when Delanie's legs had damn near vise-gripped him in half as she'd climaxed. So hard that heel-shaped bruises had decorated his back for days. Her eyes said she remembered it, too, but she didn't look away. Instead she composed herself and gave him a vacant, unconcerned stare.
Kyle noted the personality change when she was with Montero. He didn't like it, but she was good.
Damn good. Little girl , he thought with regret, resignation, and faint admiration, you have no idea just who you're playing with .
Kyle held her gaze.
She blinked. Her gaze skittered around the room.
That's better, sweetheart, look away. If Montero doesn't scare the hell out of you, then I will . He wanted her scared and running. No matter who had to do the dirty deed.
All his attention appeared to be on his food, but he observed the other two men covertly. This was an ingrained part of his life, like muscle and bone. He was a man with many skills. Because he'd been so much younger than his contemporaries, and always too young to participate in school activities for most of his life, he'd learned to sit back and watch. It was what also made him good at what he did.
While his peers played football and romanced the cheerleaders in high school, Kyle obtained his medical degree. He'd streaked ahead of his much older classmates at med school to become an epidemiologist.
He'd wanted to help fight the occurrence of disease in large populations. To detect the source and cause of epidemics and to find cures. The last damn thing he'd ever thought he'd be doing at this point in his sterling career was manufacturing and weaponizing the smallpox virus for Montero.
Montero had approached him just over four years ago. Kyle had been his first pick. And he knew why.
He was top of his field. The best. The youngest. The brightest. And Montero wanted the best money could buy.
Kyle had done small jobs for the government and a small, elite antiterrorist group called T-FLAC since he'd left high school. He also had brothers in the business. He'd gone directly to his oldest brother Michael for direction, then contacted his superiors at T-FLAC.
T-FLAC had mobilized immediately. Within twelve hours, Kyle had agreed to spearhead Montero's plan to manufacture the smallpox virus, and every legitimate law enforcement agency around the world Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
was in.
England joined forces, then France, then South Africa, then Israel. Small European countries followed in quick succession, offering money, manpower, or tactical options. They all came to the table determined to vanquish Montero once and for all. No small tentacles were to be left to flourish after his annihilation.
No one was prepared to risk a smallpox epidemic let loose on the world. There were perhaps seven million doses of the vaccine available worldwide. Not nearly enough to combat what Montero had planned. Every step of this maneuver had been choreographed backward and forward every step of the way.
Kyle was excited, invigorated, and scared shitless. A million things could go wrong.
There was too much riding on this assignment, too many people depending on him, to allow for any distraction.
Circumstances had always mandated he be a loner. He'd never felt it more powerfully than he did here and now. In five days this place would be crawling with good guys. But until then he was it.
Conversation was stilted as each course was consumed, and the next set before them. Montero had coerced the chef