By the time the plane had landed at Logan, he had all the info he needed and more. Where she lived, worked. What she liked and didn’t. Her hobbies. Who she socialized with. What she’d had for breakfast, for Christ’s sake.
He hadn’t needed to do any recon in person. Go through the phone directory, one Elle Cooper at a time and pay each of them a visit, like in the olden days. Nope. The Internet sped everything up, criminal enterprises included.
He entered the hotel, a copy of her driving license in his pocket. Now all he had to do was find Maldonado.
Jesus Christ. As if being forced to mingle with Maldonado and Exxum at a fund-raiser wasn’t bad enough, now they were being maneuvered into sharing table with them.
Fuck, no. No way in hell. Before he could make a mess out of things, Elle intervened.
“It would be lovely to dine at your table, but I’m not feeling too well,” she hastened to explain. “Alex is taking me home.”
“I have the top floor reserved,” Exxum insisted. “You could go lie down for a while and then join us here.”
“I don’t think so,” Jack answered curtly. “Gentlemen.”
Without giving them a chance to reply, Jack directed her toward the door with a hand on the small of her back, doing his damnedest to keep his stride even and not break into a run.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
What the hell was he doing? Humoring Elle and letting her continue with her life as if nothing had happened? Tagging along happily, his cock at the ready? Lowering his guard and groping her in the car, in the open? Moron. If he had been more alert, he would have noticed the fund-raiser and they wouldn’t have been blindsided.
As they made their way to the lobby, Jack saw a blond guy amid the crowd, scanning the premises. That was Nico Grabar, Maldonado’s second in command. Almost in front of them. Fuck He hadn’t spotted them yet, but it was a matter of a second or two. Jack spun Elle around and kissed her, turning his back to Nico and hovering over Elle, covering her as much as possible.
Nico looked at them and then took a second glance, frowning. Holding his breath, Jack waited for the man to pass.
Once out of the hotel, he ran with Elle to the truck.
“…you listening to me?” Elle’s angry words finally computed as he turned the engine on.
Based on her expression, she’d been trying to get his attention for a while.
Well, tough shit. He wasn’t listening to her. She messed with his head. Both his heads. And he’d start making decisions with the wrong one. First piece of evidence, this whole clusterfuck.
He was supposed to keep her out of harm’s way, and instead, he’d almost delivered her to Maldonado on a silver platter.
“What exactly happened in there? Who the hell are you?”
He wasn’t going to answer. The less she knew, the better.
“Why didn’t you tell me that Maldonado knew you?” she demanded. “And what’s Maldonado doing in Boston?”
Excellent question. And why he didn’t get a heads-up from Mullen, he didn’t know. But he was going to find out.
His silence was infuriating her. She was seething; he could see it. And the more her questions went unanswered, the worse it got.
“Who. Is. Alex?” she asked, punctuating every word.
He continued ignoring her while he sped onto the highway, the force throwing her against the window. At least his brain hadn’t melted down totally and he still kept a stash of supplies in his truck in case he had to disappear. Good, because he was done playing house. Time to do what he should have done from the very beginning and cut the shit out.
“Where are we going? Talk to me, dammit!” she all but yelled.
He used Bluetooth to call Mullen, who answered in two rings.
“Maldonado is in Boston. We’re going under,” he barked out before the FBI agent could get a word in.
“We lost him. Last we heard he was on a beach in the Caribbean. He must have flown straight from there to Boston.”
“No shit. Now he’s downtown, attending a fund-raiser.”
“Did he see you?”
Jack’s laugh was dry. “See us? We almost had dinner with the asshole.”
“Hell. Did he recognize Elle? Let me make a couple of calls. The FBI will have a safe house for you ready in no time.”
“No. Not risking another leak. I’m taking her off the radar. You do your goddamned job and arrest this guy.”
“We are doing the best we can. It would be much easier if you would let the girl be bait. Wire her up and send her to blackmail him for her silence,” he said, obviously not realizing Elle was listening. “The second we have his confession on tape, he’s toast. You know that’s the fastest avenue.”
“I said no,” Jack barked, watching as Elle processed Mullen’s words.
Outrage sharpened her features. “Jack, what the—”
“I’ll contact you later, when we’re set up,” Jack said, interrupting Elle and hanging up on Mullen.
“You bastard. Why didn’t you tell me about that option?” Her eyes were ablaze, boring holes in him. “Didn’t I have the right to know?”
“Not an option,” he let out in between gritted teeth.