He’d needed intimacy the night before. He’d needed to know she was there with him.
“Good morning.” The best way to deal with Ten was to brazen through. If she gave him a moment’s weakness, he would pounce like the predator he was. She nodded in his direction and then walked straight toward the coffee, letting her nose lead the way.
Ten followed, hard on her heels. “Good morning? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Nope. I’m being an optimist this morning.” It wasn’t true. She was sick to her stomach because she knew the op was almost over and so was her time with Jesse.
Unless he meant what he’d said and he really could forgive her. She wasn’t sure she could risk it. It might be better to know he still cared about her than to risk everything and lose it all. Maybe they could still see each other. She would have her work and he would have his and they could spend their free time together.
Because a week or two a year was better than nothing, right? Until he found the woman who wasn’t too damaged and he got married and had kids. Yeah, it would be great.
“Damn it, Phoebe. Do you understand what happened last night?” Ten followed her into the living area of the suite where a long table had been set with a buffet overflowing with fruit and yogurt and eggs, small pastries, and even a row of perfectly made crepes with whipped cream.
She just poured a cup of coffee. She didn’t really have much of an appetite. “I understand that Jesse had to face something most of us can’t even conceive.”
“He completely lost it.”
“Maybe, but I think in this case, it’s understandable. He heard that voice again. It was the voice that did it.” They hadn’t talked about it, just held on to each other, but it was the only thing that made sense. Phoebe had been well aware of where the camera was, but any subtle attempts to turn them had been rebuffed by the very elegant Mr. al Fareed.
Even when she hadn’t realized who he was, he’d scared her. Not in a run and hide sense, but she’d known he was a predator. Her instincts had flared the minute he stepped in her way.
It was in his face. He was actually an attractive man when she considered his features on a separate basis. He had everything it took to be quite handsome. Until she got to the eyes. His eyes were flat. Obsidian and flat, like a reptile’s. She’d seen those eyes in a crocodile or a shark. They held no hint of humanity or compassion. No humor.
Ten sighed and sank down into one of the chairs. It was easy to see the toll the last few days had taken on him. “Yeah. At least I think so. One minute I was watching you and the next he was taking off. Tell me it wasn’t as bad as it looked on the monitors.”
She wished she could. “The good news is it was contained to the back of the ballroom. He didn’t get very far in, but at least a third of the people there were well aware something odd was happening.”
“Then everyone knows.”
The gossip would spread very quickly. “Probably.” There was an upside to this particular clusterfuck. “It’s all right, Ten. Jesse needs to stay up here now. We should keep him out of the line of sight. We know who our target is. Now the rest of us gather intel on the al Fareed brothers.”
“Which one was it?”
Oh, he was so not going to love her answer. “I don’t know. His badge simply said Mr. al Fareed. Do you have pictures?”
“They’re practically twins,” Ten said with a grimace as he reached for his tablet. He slid his finger across the screen and passed it to her.
Two men stared back. The two brothers looked very much alike. Both handsome and lean. In the pictures they had, both men sported dark beards, but the man she’d met the night before had cropped his close. “I think it’s this one. Ibrahim. But I’ll be honest, it wasn’t until he started talking about war and business that I really looked at him. I was trying to play down my aggressive American side, so I tried not to look him in the eyes.”
“Probably a good play given what part of the world we’re in. I know it’s hard on female operatives, but we have to be sure here. I need you to take another look,” Ten said as though he found the request distasteful.
“I’ll make sure this afternoon. I’m going to sit in with Kamdar on a couple of the sessions. The al Fareeds are expected to attend. I’ll get you what you need and then we can build a case against him.” A case that would hopefully forever get the stain off Jesse Murdoch’s reputation. It might be the only gift she could give him.
“All right. I hate sending you back in. I take it everyone saw you walking out with him?”