Mind of Danger (Body of Danger #3) - Sidney Bristol Page 0,19

was she risking everything she could have just to follow some silly rules?

Restless, she turned to face Elias.

He had his head on the end of one pillow, one eye aimed at her.

He wasn’t sleeping either. Because he’d picked up on her anxiety about tomorrow?

If he asked, would she tell him? Did she really think he’d ask?

They stared at each other for several moments, neither speaking a word.

There was so much quiet understanding in him. She didn’t have to say a thing, he just knew. He’d always known, even when she didn’t. He got her in a way no one else did. Why had it taken her so long to act on it?

“I’ll help, do whatever you need me to tomorrow, okay?” he whispered.

“You don’t even know what I’m doing.”

“I know.” He closed his eyes. “I know you can’t tell me—or you won’t—and that’s fine. I trust you to know what you’re doing. I just—no one has your back. I don’t trust this Isaac guy. I don’t like sending you off alone.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t trust Isaac either. Actually, I’ve screwed him over pretty big.” She wrinkled her nose. Back to the point. She focused on his eyes. He needed to know one thing before anything else. “I trust you, Elias. Maybe more than anyone else. You’ve always been there for me, even when I didn’t know I needed you.”

“I just did my job.”

“Bullshit.” She chuckled and pushed at his shoulder. “That’s so much bullshit and you know it.”

His lips compressed into a tight line. “You were always going off on your own, overextending. I just watched your back.”

“That pissed me off in the beginning.”

“Yeah, you didn’t like me much, did you?”

“Oh, no. I did. Maybe like the first two times you hauled my ass back I was angry, but it was always more about taking my embarrassment out on you. After that, I wanted to fuck you so badly.”

She didn’t know if it was her word choice or the admission that made him start. His eyes went wider and for a moment he stared at her. She simply smiled at him, enjoying the shock value of it all.

“I had a strong rule then. Don’t fuck where you work,” she said.

He shook his head and shoved the pillow under his neck a bit more so she could see both eyes clearly now. “How can you lay all this on me then say, there’s a good chance I’ll die tomorrow? That’s not fair.”

Jo bit her lip.

She could trust him.

“I thought this would be an easy job,” she said in a soft voice.

He stilled, watching her intently while the weight of his arm lying over her waist kept her grounded.

She lifted her head a bit to better look him in the eye. “I’m not telling you any of this, okay?”

“Understood.”

“I’m working undercover for the FBI. I’m supposed to do short stints. We thought that was what this would be back in February. Get in, document what we need and get out. But, it’s not that simple.”

She couldn’t stay lying down for this.

Restless, Jo sat up against the headboard and tucked the sheet under her arms. She hadn’t bothered with clothes, but she needed that flimsy protection right now. Elias mirrored her pose, sitting close enough his shoulder bumped hers.

“His name is Giovanni Smirnov. His parents were the daughter of an Italian mafia boss and the son of a Russian oligarch. It was an arranged wedding. The parents split ages ago, but still maintain their own network. They have a working relationship, which was always the real goal. Giovanni handles the American side of things. But he’s been next to impossible to pin down. We haven’t gotten anything to stick, and the parents never come here.”

“What’s this Giovanni doing now?” Elias asked.

“The hope was, with an in we could get someone on the inside to finally get Giovanni giving orders. But the man never says, you go do that. He stream of conscious talks, and people just decide to do things based on what he says. It’s the most ridiculous thing ever. But also brilliant, because he can always say like, you’ve never said I wish so-and-so were dead in the heat of the moment? It’s not his fault if someone acts on that. But, if they do and he’s happy with the results, he rewards people.”

Jo dropped her head back against the padded headboard.

“I see,” Elias muttered. “Without anything concrete, you’re stuck there. Right?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s Isaac play into it?”

“Isaac used to be