needed to get Lexi out of there faster than Parker could get his arms around her. Backup plans upon backup plans.
Jared: Russians got the news, bait’s taken. Render Rossi will be at the Belvoir Hotel.
Parker: Good. Let’s get Lexi safe.
Titan had agreed to work hand in hand with the task force. Lexi would come home under Titan’s command. The task force needed a live wire to pick up a transaction between the Russians, and then they could scoop up several arrests. Easy. They’d clean the streets of mobsters, and Parker would walk out with Lexi. No gunfire. No burning buildings.
Once the deal was done, assuming all went well, there would be no need for Winters, Rocco, and Delta team—those Delta guys were more trigger-happy than he’d seen on a team in a long time.
Parker inhaled deeply. Yeah. Okay. Alright. Lexi in this situation made him nervous. Hell, standing in this part of Titan HQ was unfamiliar to him. He looked around at the room he’d been in only a few times. Mirrors. Wardrobes. Drawers. It was an entire room dedicated to subterfuge.
“What am I doing in here?” he mumbled. Computers and electronics, he knew. This stuff? Parker rubbed his face. Not a clue.
Beth, Roman’s wife and a CIA consultant, was on the fast track to Titan HQ to help him perfect his look.
Give him anything he could hack, and he was good to go. A database that was unbreakable, or a security system that no one could get through? Yeah, he was in there. He’d gone undercover more times than he could count.
Yet this was different. His world was on the line.
So far, he’d donned a pair of khaki pants, a button down, and a jacket. Not too shabby looking, thank you very much. His black hair worked, and he popped in dark-colored contact lenses, making his eyes burn. “These things suck.”
Blinking to stave off the blinding pinch, he tried to get the thing on the right part of his eyeball just as Beth walked in.
“More contact solution.”
“Hey, yeah. Shit. Okay.” He put another squirt in, gave a few more blinks, and it slipped into place. She was right. “Thanks.”
“Alright, let’s see what we’re working with here.” Her gaze started at his eyes, slowly made its way to his shoes, then went back up. “Holy shit, Parker. You made the greedy mad scientist freakin’ hot.”
He blushed and grumbled, futzing with his shirt. “Not the goal, Beth.”
“But still, you nailed it.”
“What now?” He turned for the mirror. Yeah, he looked like Render Rossi. But something was off, and he had no aesthetic expertise to know what was missing.
“Sit down,” Beth ordered. “Like you didn’t know you had good looks.” She grabbed a tube of hair gel, forced him into a chair, and proceeded to muss his hair.
“This isn’t what the picture looked like, Beth.” He watched as she expertly made a disaster out of his hair, yet it looked fine.
“If you show up looking exactly like the picture we have on file, and you’re a hair off, it’s a dead giveaway that you’re a freaking stand-in for the real deal.” She mussed his hair all over again and took a step back to admire her work. “ But if you’re sporting a new look, it’s fine.” She stepped to him again, moved one piece of hair, and stepped back, stared, then wiped her hands on a towel. “Complete. Done. I’m a hair guru.”
“And modest about it too.” But she was right. Beth could do hair. “Roman’s hair could look a lot better if this is the kind of power you possess.”
She laughed, still staring at her work. “You know what, professor?”
“Hmm?” He rolled his eyes.
“I’d do you.” She folded her arms across her chest. “In a purely professional, just-kidding manner.”
He rolled his eyes, again, but harder. “Focus.”
“I am. Jeez. No one ever questions the hot guy. Trust me. That’s a tip from a CIA pro.” She turned for her purse and pulled out a glasses case. “Talk about nerd porn.” Beth snapped the case open
Jared: Russians got the news, bait’s taken. Render Rossi will be at the Belvoir Hotel.
Parker: Good. Let’s get Lexi safe.
Titan had agreed to work hand in hand with the task force. Lexi would come home under Titan’s command. The task force needed a live wire to pick up a transaction between the Russians, and then they could scoop up several arrests. Easy. They’d clean the streets of mobsters, and Parker would walk out with Lexi. No gunfire. No burning buildings.
Once the deal was done, assuming all went well, there would be no need for Winters, Rocco, and Delta team—those Delta guys were more trigger-happy than he’d seen on a team in a long time.
Parker inhaled deeply. Yeah. Okay. Alright. Lexi in this situation made him nervous. Hell, standing in this part of Titan HQ was unfamiliar to him. He looked around at the room he’d been in only a few times. Mirrors. Wardrobes. Drawers. It was an entire room dedicated to subterfuge.
“What am I doing in here?” he mumbled. Computers and electronics, he knew. This stuff? Parker rubbed his face. Not a clue.
Beth, Roman’s wife and a CIA consultant, was on the fast track to Titan HQ to help him perfect his look.
Give him anything he could hack, and he was good to go. A database that was unbreakable, or a security system that no one could get through? Yeah, he was in there. He’d gone undercover more times than he could count.
Yet this was different. His world was on the line.
So far, he’d donned a pair of khaki pants, a button down, and a jacket. Not too shabby looking, thank you very much. His black hair worked, and he popped in dark-colored contact lenses, making his eyes burn. “These things suck.”
Blinking to stave off the blinding pinch, he tried to get the thing on the right part of his eyeball just as Beth walked in.
“More contact solution.”
“Hey, yeah. Shit. Okay.” He put another squirt in, gave a few more blinks, and it slipped into place. She was right. “Thanks.”
“Alright, let’s see what we’re working with here.” Her gaze started at his eyes, slowly made its way to his shoes, then went back up. “Holy shit, Parker. You made the greedy mad scientist freakin’ hot.”
He blushed and grumbled, futzing with his shirt. “Not the goal, Beth.”
“But still, you nailed it.”
“What now?” He turned for the mirror. Yeah, he looked like Render Rossi. But something was off, and he had no aesthetic expertise to know what was missing.
“Sit down,” Beth ordered. “Like you didn’t know you had good looks.” She grabbed a tube of hair gel, forced him into a chair, and proceeded to muss his hair.
“This isn’t what the picture looked like, Beth.” He watched as she expertly made a disaster out of his hair, yet it looked fine.
“If you show up looking exactly like the picture we have on file, and you’re a hair off, it’s a dead giveaway that you’re a freaking stand-in for the real deal.” She mussed his hair all over again and took a step back to admire her work. “ But if you’re sporting a new look, it’s fine.” She stepped to him again, moved one piece of hair, and stepped back, stared, then wiped her hands on a towel. “Complete. Done. I’m a hair guru.”
“And modest about it too.” But she was right. Beth could do hair. “Roman’s hair could look a lot better if this is the kind of power you possess.”
She laughed, still staring at her work. “You know what, professor?”
“Hmm?” He rolled his eyes.
“I’d do you.” She folded her arms across her chest. “In a purely professional, just-kidding manner.”
He rolled his eyes, again, but harder. “Focus.”
“I am. Jeez. No one ever questions the hot guy. Trust me. That’s a tip from a CIA pro.” She turned for her purse and pulled out a glasses case. “Talk about nerd porn.” Beth snapped the case open
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