Undercover Accomplice. Carol Ericson

at him. “Stay right where you are.”

      Jeffrey cocked his head and a lock of his brown hair slipped free from the gel and made a comma on his wrinkled brow.

      Had she made sense? She tried to form another word with her thick tongue, but she couldn’t get it to cooperate.

      She resorted to sign language, raising her middle finger. Would he get the picture now? “Whatever.” He plopped back into his chair. “Just be careful.”

      She swung to the side, banging her hip on the corner of the table, jostling all the empties. Putting her head down, she made a beeline for the door.

      Once outside, she gulped in breaths of the cold air but couldn’t seem to revive herself. Walking should help. She put one foot in front of the other and weaved down the sidewalk. Oncoming pedestrians gave her a wide berth, and a few made jokes.

      Oh, God. Was she a joke? A drunk joke? She placed a hand flat against the side of a building and closed her eyes.

      She hadn’t been this drunk since college days, and she didn’t intend to make the same stupid mistakes she’d made back then.

      She shoved a hand into the pocket of her leather moto jacket and fumbled for her phone. Jeffrey had been right about one thing—she should call a taxi.

      After she pulled the phone from her jacket, it slipped from her hand and bounced twice on the sidewalk before landing in the gutter.

      She dropped to a crouch and stuck her hand over the curb to feel for the phone. The effort proved too much for her and she fell over onto her side.

      Good thing her son couldn’t see her now, passed out like a wino in the gutter.

      She flexed her fingers toward her phone but lead weights had been attached to their tips—and her eyelids. DC Metro would pick her up and she’d lose her job for sure.

      “Sue? Sue? You’re coming with me now.”

      An arm curled around her shoulders and pulled her upright. Jeffrey. He’d followed her out to finish what he’d started.

      She arched her back, but her gelatinous spine sabotaged the act and she collapsed against Jeffrey’s chest.

      He had her.

      “It’s all right. I’m taking you to my hotel.”

      Her lips parted and she uttered a protest, but just like everything in her life lately, the situation had already spiraled out of her control.

      Her mind screamed resistance, but her body had already succumbed.

      SUE STRETCHED HER limbs and rubbed her eyes, the silky, soft sheets falling from her shoulders. Then the memories from the night before tumbled through her mind in a kaleidoscope of images.

      She bolted upright against the king-size bed’s headboard, yanking the sheets to her chin to cover her naked body.

      Had Jeffrey raped and abandoned her at the hotel? Was his name even Jeffrey?

      The bathroom door crashed open and a large man stopped cold on the threshold. “God, you look beautiful even after the night you had.”

      Sue’s mouth dropped open as she took in the man at the bathroom door, towel hanging precariously low on a pair of slim hips.

      The man she’d betrayed and who still haunted her dreams…and it sure as hell wasn’t Jeffrey.

       Chapter Two

      The look on Sue’s face shifted from shock to disbelief, to horror, to pain and to a whole bunch of other stuff he couldn’t figure out. And that had been his problem with Sue Chandler all along—he’d never been able to figure her out.

      Those luscious lips finally formed a word, just one. “You.”

      He spread his arms wide. “In the flesh. Did you expect me to leave you in the gutter, like you left me?”

      “As I recall, it was a luxury hotel.” She patted the pillow next to her. “Somewhat like this one—and all I did was check out.”

      “Details, details.”

      She pointed at him. “Your towel is slipping. Not interested in seeing that package—again.”

      The years hadn’t softened Sue Chandler one bit. He held up one finger. “Give me a second.”

      As Sue turned her tight face away, he crossed the room to his suitcase, tugged a pair of briefs from an inside pocket, dropped his towel and pulled on his underwear.

      “There.” He turned toward the bed. “Decent.”

      Her gaze flicked over his body, making him hot and hard, as only Sue Chandler could do with one look from her dark eyes.

      The twist of her lips told him she’d noticed the effect she had on him.

      “Maybe not decent enough.” He yanked open a dresser drawer and pulled out some jeans. He stepped into them, feeling less cocky under Sue’s unrelenting stare, but he had the upper hand for once.

      “Now, are you going to tell me what you were doing last night stumbling along the streets of DC close to midnight?”

      “I live here.” Her jaw hardened. “What are you doing here and how did you happen to find me?”

      “You’re not exactly hard to find. You work for the CIA and live in DC, and I knew you weren’t on assignment, not after…”

      “You know about my kidnapping?” She drew her knees to her chest beneath the sheets, clasping her arms around her legs.

      “Several special forces knew about it and were actively planning your rescue.” He tilted his head to the side. “But you didn’t need rescuing.”

      “Don’t go throwing any parades. The kidnappers were not that bright.” She blinked. “Is that why you’re here? Have you been following me?”

      “Whoa, wait.” He tossed his towel onto the foot of the bed. “I followed you from your place to the bar last night. That’s it. I just arrived yesterday.”

      She sank back against the stacked pillows. “Why’d you follow me? Are you here on official duty, or something? I’ve already been debriefed by the Agency.”

      “Official duty? Really? What would a Delta Force soldier have to do with the kidnapping of a CIA agent?”

      “Don’t try that ‘Who, me?’ stuff with me, Mancini. You didn’t seek me out to profess your undying love. You had three years to do that—and not a peep.”

      He reached into the closet and jerked a shirt from a hanger, leaving it swinging wildly. “You’re not gonna pin that on me. I got the message loud and clear that you were moving on. Did you expect me to chase after you?”

      Sue opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. Then her eyes widened and she gathered the covers around her body. “I’m naked. How did I get naked?”

      “I took your clothes off—sorry.” He gestured to a pile of clothing in the corner of the room. “Yours were dirty. I didn’t think it was sanitary to put you to bed in filthy clothes.”

      “How thoughtful.” She snorted. “I fell on the sidewalk. I’m sure you could’ve brushed the dirt from my slacks and left my underwear alone.”

      He cleared his throat. “You vomited all over yourself when I got you to the room.”

      “Oh my God.” She covered her mouth with both hands. “I don’t know what happened last night. I—I apologize.”

      “Nothing I haven’t handled