His fingers played with the hem of the short dress, feathering against her thighs with a rasp of heat. She wanted to feel them moving beneath the dress. Her thighs parted further, a desperate moan in her throat as she arched against him.
One second she was in his arms, the next he was pushing away from her, his lips pulling away reluctantly.
“No.” She fought to hold on to him, only to be left staring up at him, trembling with fear and need.
“John, Travis, and their wives are waiting on the other side of the suite. Once we’re clear of the hotel and in position, they’ll get you to the limo waiting outside.”
She gave a hard nod.
“Our friends in the other suite are awake,” he told her. “Once you’re out, staff will come in and release them, aware of only the fact that we’ve checked out. We’ll follow them from there.”
She nodded again.
It was bad enough her nerves were back enough that she had begun throwing up again. She hadn’t done that since the night before the operation to reveal the identity of Sorrel. The night before she had killed him.
“Come on, baby.” Catching her fingers, he moved for the door. “Let’s get this done.”
* * *
Letting her go was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. Jordan watched as the team surrounded Tehya and rushed her from the back entrance of the hotel to the limo the senator had sent to collect her.
He couldn’t forget the look in her eyes. The fear had been so deep, so dark, he’d wanted nothing but to give her exactly what she wanted. To find a way to bring her with him.
Bringing her with him would have compromised the entire plan. They needed her safe, but they also needed her escape witnessed by the man Jordan was currently watching as well.
He’d figured the men that had come inside weren’t alone.
“Lilly called as they were hitting the doors,” Noah said as they watched the black Suburban from the cargo van they’d driven to the surveillance position. “She said Tehya was crying.”
“Enough.” The order was short, but not as icy as it could have been, because the thought of her crying affected him in ways he didn’t want to look too deeply into.
“She’s a friend,” Micah spoke from behind him. “Having her safe and secure is all well and good, but leaving her without a future because her heart was ripped out wasn’t in the plan when you told us what was going on.”
Jordan could feel his teeth gritting as he turned to Nik where he sat in the driver’s seat. “Where’s your two cents?”
Nik’s expression didn’t change as he continued to watch the other vehicle and the driver in it. “Inflation sucks,” he drawled. “The price is a buck fifty now.”
Trust Nik to be the smart-ass in the group.
Propping his arm on the side of the door, Jordan rubbed the skin above his upper lip thoughtfully.
“Have you managed to ID him yet?” he finally asked the others. It was better to change the subject rather than continuing the course of the subject of Tehya.
“I have him,” Noah said. “Another of those damned Sorrel soldiers turned mercenaries after his death. Wayne Trevits, former MI-6 agent discharged for theft and attempted sale of military weapons. He was sentenced to life in prison, but escaped after a year. He was with Sorrel for ten years before the op that took Sorrel out. It looks like Sorrel’s boys have decided to go after a little vengeance.”
That was definitely what it looked like, Jordan admitted.
It had all the signs of a group of Sorrel’s former employees banding together to make Tehya pay for his death. Everything they had found led them in that direction.
“Maid’s in the room,” Micah announced, obviously watching the laptop displaying the room. “Ahh, there she is. Little old lady with gray hair and big brown eyes,” he grunted. “And she’s not moving to let them go.”
Jordan waited.
“Ah, there she goes. She just pulled the radio from her pocket. She’s calling security.”
Jordan was prepared for that. He’d checked the staff out while they were there and reread the files once the plan was in place, to see who would be walking in on the little party Jordan had arranged.
He hadn’t wanted anyone to get hurt, but he’d been certain this maid would choose the option of calling security versus releasing them on their own.