The Puppeteer

CHAPTER 15



DANI CRACKED HER EYES OPEN and sighed.

“Good morning,” she grumbled, snuggling deeper into her warm bed, ignoring the annoying fact that—yet again—she hadn't woken up when Ty had come into her room.

“Morning, sunshine,” Ty answered. Dani could hear him getting comfortable in the chair next to her bed. She rolled over and faced him, pulling the covers up and enjoying the feel of the soft material on her bare neck.

“I'll get out of bed soon, I just want to stay warm for one more minute before we have to go out in that god-awful water again,” she said.

“No worries, we're not going out in the water today,” Ty responded. Dani studied Ty with a frown and wondered how he happened to be ‘in the know’ so early in the morning. She flicked her eyes to the clock and realized that, if he'd already talked with Drew, he must have been to the house earlier than usual. And he didn't look the least bit tired, even though she knew he left late last night, or rather early this morning. She took in his dark eyes and black hair and smooth jaw. He was wearing jeans, a cotton t-shirt and pair of boots. He must have ridden his motorcycle this morning. His ankle was resting on his knee and he was watching her all but devour him with her eyes. His eyes glittered and a smile played on his lips. She'd been caught ogling.

Dani tugged the blanket over her head and groaned with a mixture of embarrassment and resignation. No wonder Drew was worried about Ty affecting her work, though he had been remarkably lenient. She hadn't given a second thought to what she might be doing today, she'd been thinking how much she'd like to run her fingers through Ty's hair. Amongst other things.

“Aren't you the least bit interested in what we are going to do today?” Ty teased, as if reading her thoughts.

She heaved a dramatic sigh, flipped the covers back and turned back to Ty. “Yes, and I'm sure you'll be able to tell me.”

“We're going on a boat ride.”

“And,” Dani prompted as she sat up in bed, tossing the covers away.

“And we're going to cruise on by the compound, drop a few surveillance bubbles, and hang out for a while. We'll have to think of a reason to loiter at the edge of the bay, but I'm sure we can think of something.”

Dani heard the words and even absorbed the meaning. She wasn't worried about being caught by Getz's henchmen, she wasn't worried about dropping the surveillance bubbles—they'd figure it out. She was wondering why he wasn't making a move to kiss her, like he had yesterday.

As soon as the thought formulated, Dani laughed at herself. Ty raised an eyebrow in question. Since when did she wait for what she wanted? She swung herself out of bed, placed her hands over his arms where they rested on the chair, leaned in, and kissed him. She felt the muscles in his arms flex beneath her hands as he shifted his body forward, trying to lean into her.

The kiss deepened and became almost desperate as Dani held him in place. There was something heady about keeping his arms locked on the chair. Keeping the focus on the kiss, on the way he felt against her mouth and the way he responded to her. For a moment, she was tempted to slide her hands up his arms and her body onto his. But she ended the touch and pulled back to look him in the eye. His eyes were impossibly black now.

“In case you were wondering, that was a good morning kiss,” she said, her voice husky. She met his gaze and held it for a long time. They both knew where they wanted the moment to go. But they both knew it couldn't, not now, not when the team was waiting for them. So Dani shoved away and walked toward the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

* * *



“How's it going down there?” Ty called over his shoulder, keeping his binoculars trained on the coastline. The gentle wind picked up the ends of his unbuttoned shirt and they fluttered open, pulling the seams further apart and exposing his chest to the cool ocean air. He wore a pair of khaki shorts and deck shoes. All were high quality. All gave the impression of the leisurely wealthy.

“Good,” Dani called back from below deck. “We've covered about half of it,” she added.

“Any surprises?”

“No, it looks just like the picture Jay painted for us,” she added and Ty noted the satisfaction in her voice. Dani and Jay had taken a liking to each other, despite, or maybe because of, their similar brusque attitudes. Ty knew Dani was going to take some measure of pride in the fact that the map Jay provided to her team, the map that contained detailed information about the location of each of Getz's underwater surveillance machines, was going to line up with the underwater mapping they were doing now.

The mapping was being done at Jay's suggestion with support from both Drew and Ty. Jay was ninety-nine percent certain his original map was accurate, but Ty knew, by the way Jay watched Dani, that he'd figured out Dani was, to use an inadequate cliché, special. And like a good friend, he'd stepped up and was being extra cautious. He'd shown up that morning with access to a sixty-foot yacht and several ‘bubbles’ they could drop and use to scan the surrounding area. The scan would pick up rock formations and depths, but it would also pick up all the underwater surveillance machines Getz still had floating around his fortress.

“How close are we now?” Ty asked, his voice tighter than before. With good reason. Four of Getz's men were emerging from the boathouse in a pretty little sloop that looked like it could top about one hundred miles per hour. And if Ty wasn't mistaken, it was a gun they were tucking under one of the seats, out of sight.

“About ten feet further than we were last time,” her sarcasm echoed up the galley.

“We have company, honey,” Ty's answered. “You might want to come up and say hi.”

“How many?”

“Four. Men. And at least one jimmy between them. Probably more.”

“I'll be right up,” she called back.

Ty watched the boat approach them. He watched the four men as they watched him. He knew how he looked. Relaxed, confident, rich, and casual. In short, he looked like all the other wealthy tourists that made their way to the southern Maine coast every summer. Only he was about two months too early.

He dropped the glasses and watched as the driver throttled back the engine and the boat slowed to a quiet drift.

“Everything alright, sir?” the man behind the wheel asked. All eight eyes locked onto Ty.

Ty smiled. “Of course, it's a beautiful day, I'm not in the office, and it's not often I get to see a betty of a boat like that,” he added with a knowing nod at the smaller boat. “She's a beaut. Did you get her around here?” he asked, setting the tone of the conversation.

The driver inclined his head at the compliment. “From France,” he answered. Before he could ask Ty another question, Ty cut him off.

“Hey, honey, are you coming up? You've got to look at this boat,” he called over his shoulder, knowing Dani was going to wait until the timing was right to appear. “I'm out with my fiancé,” Ty offered with a shrug and a grin down at the men below him. “We're getting married this fall and she wanted to check out some properties up here. She used to come up here as a kid.” He looked up and down the coast with a deliberate look of appreciation on his face.

“Hey,” he spoke, as if the thought had just occurred to him. “You guys came out of that boathouse. It's a great house and nice piece of property. Any chance it's for sale or rent? We want something secluded and easy to secure for the wedding. Media, you know,” he added hoping he could get away with claiming he was something of a celebrity, even if they had no idea who he was.

The men looked confused, glancing between Ty and the house behind them. The man behind the wheel, the man Ty decided to call Groucho for his big mustache, spoke.

“No,” he said shaking his head. “You're looking for a place to get married from the water?” He wasn't disbelieving, but there was a healthy dose of skepticism in his voice. And Dani's appearance at his side was the perfect distraction.

“Hey, baby,” she said, loud enough for the men to hear, as she sidled up to Ty in a skimpy bikini and her own unbuttoned shirt. She leaned in and gave him a playful nip on his neck as she slipped her hand under his shirt and slid a gun into the waistband of his pants. The feel of the cold metal on the skin of his lower back was almost enough to distract him from the sight of Dani in a bikini. Almost.

As if reading his thoughts, Dani quirked an eyebrow at him out of sight of the men and all but dared him to do something. So he did. He buried his fingers in her hair, tilted her head up and locked his lips over hers. She opened her mouth and he invaded, like he owned it. He could say it was all part of the ploy, but he didn't have any interest in lying to himself.

He thought he might stay there forever, too, kissing Dani, until he heard a cough from below. He pulled back and watched Dani blink a few times and shift her train of thought back to her role, the role they'd decided on before leaving the marina.

She flashed him a huge smile and gave him an overtly suggestive caress before turning to the boat. She gasped. Ty bit his cheeks to keep from laughing. It was such a vapid, dramatic, non-Dani-like gasp. It was the kind of thing most people would have expected out of someone who looked like Dani. And from the rapt attention on the men's faces, it was working.

“Oh, baby,” she said, keeping her voice husky. “Look at that baby girl.” With strategic absentmindedness, she patted his chest, her eyes locked on the boat. The men below didn't take their eyes from her breasts, which were now hanging over the railing.

“Ooo, she's gorgeous. What does she do?” she asked Groucho. It took the man a full ten seconds to recover from having her attention focused on him.

“One hundred around here. More if we can get somewhere calm,” he managed to stutter. Ty tuned them out, knowing Dani was keeping them occupied while the machines clicked away below deck. His eyes surveyed the coastline. There was no sign of any of Cotter's men and he didn't expect to see any. He knew they were there though, taking in everything they could from the details of the boat to whatever they could see from the open boathouse door.

“Can I?” Dani asked, pushing away from the railing.

“Um,” Groucho hesitated and then looked at his men—who all looked at him like he was crazy to hesitate. “Of course,” he turned back to Dani and smiled.

“Ooo, you're the best,” she spoke on an excited breath. “Baby,” she said, turning toward Ty. “These nice men are going to let me take her for a spin. I'll be right back.” Before Ty could protest, she'd planted a kiss on him that was long enough and hot enough to let the four men waiting for her see just how good she could be. It was an excellent distraction technique—no doubt they'd be thinking about what it would be like to be in his place, rather than what they were doing. It also distracted him for a split second. The split second it took Dani to slip from his side. Doing his best to hide his annoyance—and anxiety—he watched her go.

Not thirty seconds after she'd motored off with a roar of the powerful engine Ty felt his phone vibrate. Glancing at the number, he answered.

“What the hell is she doing?” Drew barked. Ty sighed. He could relate.

“I'm sure you can figure that one out, sir.”

“F*ck,” Drew bit out. “I don't suppose she's armed?”

“Her body and brains,” Ty answered as he watched the boat disappear into the boathouse.

“I'm going to kill her. And then I'm going to hand her over to my mother who will kill her.”

“Yeah, well you'll both be getting my leftovers,” Ty answered. “Of course, even with just her brains and body, she's better armed than most of America,” he pointed out. It was true, but it didn't make him feel better.

“What?” Drew's muffled voice came through. It was obvious the director wasn't speaking to him so he remained silent, focused on watching the boathouse. Willing the boat and Dani to reappear.

“She's got her camera glasses,” Drew came back on the line.

“Huh?”

“Her sunglasses. Cotter says they have a camera in them. She's going to get pictures of the boathouse.” Drew paused and Ty heard him take a breath. “She's so goddamned sharp, but I'm still going to kill her.”

And that was the end of the conversation as Ty heard the distinct click of Drew hanging up. He thought about how much he had in common with the man when it came to Dani. She'd seen an opportunity and grabbed it by the horns. Not only was she buying time for the monitoring machines to finish the scan of the bay, she was going to get pictures of the inside of the boathouse. And whatever else Getz had in there. But despite all this, Ty knew he was going to have a rough time fighting the urge not to shake her when she climbed back on board. Which, he noted with a sigh of relief, would be soon.

The little vixen was on her way back.

Wearing a huge grin.

The four men in the boat probably mistook it for joy at driving their boat. Ty knew better. She was feeling proud of herself for having suckered them and gotten pictures of the inside of the boathouse. And she was going to gloat about it.

“By the look on her face, I can see what our first purchase will be when we head to Monaco next month,” Ty spoke to the men as they pulled up and he reached out to help Dani back on board.

“She did take the name of the maker,” Groucho answered with a slight nod and smile.

Ty pulled Dani up and wrapped an arm around her waist, anchoring her against him. It was a little too late, but still, he needed the feel of her next to him. They stood that way for a while, watching the boat turn, waving to the men, looking for all the world like a harmless, rich couple out for a day of sightseeing.

When the boat full of Getz's men turned back into the boathouse, Ty took Dani's hand and tugged her down below deck. The minute they were out of sight, he pressed her against the wall and kissed her. He didn't care that, through his touch, she would know how worried he'd been when she climbed aboard that boat. He didn't care that she could feel the tremor in his body when he thought about what could have happened to her in the boathouse. And he didn't care that the adrenaline coursing through his body was making him rough and demanding.

The moment he touched her, the only thing he cared about was the feel of Dani against his skin. His hand moved from her bare waist to her thigh, urging her leg around his waist. He needed to feel her, all of her. And when her leg wrapped around him, he pressed against her even harder, feeling her whole body against his. Need surged through him when a little sound escaped her and she pressed back against him, moving her hands from his neck, down his chest and to the button on his shorts. Her mouth was just as demanding against his. The dam had broken and everything they'd been keeping in check broke through in their every touch.

Or tried to. Her hands were on his zipper when his phone vibrated on his hip. They both froze and, for a long moment, their gazes locked. Ty was breathing hard, as was Dani, and he could still feel the heat pouring off of her. The boat rocked beneath them. The phone vibrated again.

Using more will power than he thought he possessed, he pulled back and answered the call.

“She's fine, we're pulling up the monitors,” Ty said. “Dani held them off long enough that we've got a map of the whole bay now.” He was surprised at how casual his voice sounded considering that not one minute earlier he'd been that close to burying himself inside Dani again.

“And it matches the map Jay gave us.” Dani had moved away from him and was looking at the information on the computer screen in front of her.

“We'll head in now,” Ty said, ending the call. He turned to find Dani watching him. A curious expression on her face.

“What?” he asked.

“For a moment there I thought you were going to tell me to never do what I did again. Leave, alone, unarmed,” she clarified. Ty studied her face and knew she was trying to figure out what it meant that he hadn't. He knew it could mean anything from her knowing he trusted her to the possibility that he didn't care.

He let out a deep breath and moved closer to her. Reaching out, he stroked his fingers along her cheek, all that he trusted himself to do. “Believe me, I wanted to. But that would have been pretty stupid. I know you have a job to do, a job you do well, a job you've been doing for years before we met. I hated watching that boat disappear into the house. I hated not being able to see you. I think it took a few years off my life. And I wish you'd taken me with you. But I know why you did it and I even respect how you did it. You saw an opportunity and took it. I'd be hard pressed to tell you not to do it again.”

Dani watched his eyes and then offered him a tentative but genuine smile.

“Of course, if you ever do something like that when we're not trying to stop a terrorist attack or bust up a major drug distribution chain, I can all but guarantee my reaction will be very different,” he smiled back, stroking his thumb over her lower lip and then replacing it with his own lips.

“We should head back in,” he said, pulling away. “It's not what I would like to do right now, but I do have a surprise for you when we get back.”

“A surprise? I love surprises.”