A Pair of Jacks (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  A Pair of Jacks

  When Marie Maxwell's cover as an international smuggler is blown, the Parisian operative is called back to Washington D.C. to be placed in protective custody. Jack Benson and Jack Reno are a pair of renegade federal agents assigned the difficult task of keeping her alive.

  Although agency rules forbid romantic involvement between covert personnel, Jack, Marie, and Reno can't reign in the passion they feel for one another. Isolated from the world at Ghost Moon Ranch in Wyoming, both men realize they are falling in love with the sophisticated Parisian.

  Marie has her hands full dealing with the two headstrong agents and her attraction to both of them. Knowing their relationship is as dangerous as the assassin hunting her, will she choose her career, or will she lose herself to the all-consuming fire they ignite within her? Ultimately, Marie discovers love, and the pleasure in holding a pair of Jacks.

  Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre/Western/Cowboys

  Length: 26,440 words

  A PAIR OF JACKS

  Blaze Ballantine

  MENAGE AMOUR

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

  A PAIR OF JACKS

  Copyright © 2009 by Blaze Ballantine

  E-book ISBN: 1-60601-545-1

  First E-book Publication: July 2009

  Cover design by Penny Ash

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2009 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A PAIR OF JACKS

  BLAZE BALLANTINE

  Copyright © 2009

  Chapter One

  “Damn it. I can take care of myself, Xavier.” Marie Maxwell dropped into a chair opposite the man who had been her case officer for the last three years. She recently returned from France where she’d been running a deep cover intelligence operation in Europe. “Tell me this is a bad joke.”

  Xavier Jenson shook his head negatively, his light hazel eyes regarding her with a mixture of amusement and concern. “I assure you, Marie, this is not a joke. I have orders from the White House. You’re to be protected at all costs. The President suggested I assign Jack Benson to your personal safety detail. He’s on his way here as we speak.”

  “The President is a pain-in-the-ass,” she retorted. She could say things like that about her uncle without fear of retribution. “I don’t need a babysitter. Yuri Yanukovich hasn’t caught on tumbled to me yet.”

  “Maybe,” Xavier said noncommittally. He straightened an imaginary wrinkle in his conservative Brooks Brothers tie while carefully avoiding direct eye contact by looking everywhere but at her. Marie wondered what he was trying to hide.

  “Trust me, I would have known,” she insisted. “I wouldn’t be alive and sitting in this chair if Yuri knew I worked for the agency. I’ve posed as an international smuggler for the last three years, and I’ve helped Yuri transport roughly two million dollars' worth of contraband into countries all over the world. He doesn’t know I’m an agent.”

  Xavier finally impaled her with a stare, signaling he’d had enough of her protests. “Then explain this call we intercepted.”

  Marie knew whatever happened next wouldn’t be good. She steeled herself for the bad news, and Xavier pushed the play button of an unseen sound system. Yuri’s guttural voice filled the room from speakers placed in strategically concealed locations throughout the office. The effect was chilling. It sounded like the man spoke from inside her head. Marie stifled a shiver of apprehension.

  The transmission picked up Yuri’s conversation in the middle of a sentence. “…she ships through a distribution center located in Paris. I think it’s an attempt by the agency to crack my organization. I’ve been toying with her, sending shipments of no real importance. I’ve shipped only enough to keep the GSA patiently waiting for more serious charges until I can finish our deal with the Iranians.”

  “How does she get these shipments out of the country?” an unidentified male voice asked.

  “It’s brilliant, really,” Yuri answered. “She’s built quite a reputation as an antiques dealer. The wealthy clientele to her gallery keeps her from being scrutinized too closely, and the fragile nature of the cargo keeps the crates from being examined as thoroughly as you might expect.” Yuri chuckled. “No one wants to be responsible for destroying a three thousand year old vase. Especially one slated for a prime minister.”

  “Pardon me, but are you sure she’s not being watched, Yuri? We can’t afford a failure at this point. If you were to be arrested for some minor…”

  “Not to worry,” Yuri interrupted. “Ms. Maxwell is selling illegally smuggled antiquities to heads of government all over Europe. Custom officials tend to look the other way in her case.”

  There was a long pause before the unknown voice spoke again. “Perhaps she is legitimate.”

  “Perhaps,” Yuri agreed, “but I’d rather not take a chance with this shipment.”

  “Then what do you suggest we do, my friend?”

  “I won’t divulge my hand right now, Victor. I’ll continue shipping with Ms. Maxwell until our contract is complete, and then I’ll take care of the situation.”

  “Is she a pretty woman?”

  “Quite,” Yuri answered.

  “Pity,” the unknown voice said before disconnecting the phone.

  Xavier turned the sound system off, sitting back in his chair. “You did a good job, Marie. We know he’s going to ship weapons to the Middle East soon. That gives us somewhere to begin looking. We have more intelligence on the process than we did at the beginning. The operation should be considered a success, not a failure. You need to remember that.”

  Marie had trouble dealing with the fact it was over. They still had so much to learn about Yuri’s organization. She’d invested too much time and energy in this assignment to let it slip away from them at the threshold of success. She pushed Xavier a little harder, hoping she could make him cave in to her wishes.

  “He’s not certain I’m agen
cy. I could go along with him,” she suggested, knowing her voice sounded a little desperate. “I could do something that will convince him I’m legitimate. Xavier, we knew this was going to be a long-term assignment to win his trust. We went into this with the knowledge it would take months, or years, before he trusted me enough to ship weapons through my service. If I drop out now, he’ll be positive I’m GSA. Maybe he’s testing us. I could…”

  Xavier held up his hand to cut her off. “There’s more. Someone hacked into classified files at the agency. The only documents known to be compromised were those dealing with current maneuvers in Europe. We can’t take the chance you weren’t made. If Yuri is positive you’re involved in trying to infiltrate his operation, he won’t quit until you’re dead. Worse, if he finds out you have a connection at the White House level, it could produce international ramifications that would cause embarrassment to the United States.”

  “I know.” Marie fully understood the political backlash her identity could generate, especially during an election year. “This had to be an inside job, Xavier. Our little unit is so classified, most of the people working in this building don’t know we exist. Outside of a handful of people in Washington, who knows the Global Security Agency is anything more than a myth?”

  “You know what they say, Marie. If two people know a secret, no matter how classified, it’s no longer a secret. In Washington, D.C., that goes double,” he paused before adding, “and your uncle has enemies who would like to see him lose his bid for reelection. I’m sure you know that.”

  “So you think it’s an inside job, too?”

  Xavier held out his hands palms up in the universal ‘who knows’ gesture. Marie knew he wasn’t about to commit himself. The man was on a fast track up the political ladder. She doubted he would ever let a misguided word slip from his mouth to come back and haunt him later.

  Marie glanced down at the stylish and expensive Parisian clothes she wore. Giving up the designer rags would be one aspect of the job she’d hate to lose. During the years of her assignment, she’d grown accustomed to the best of everything. Like every other day in her most recent assignment, Marie had dressed with the intent to impress.

  Jean-Luc of Paris designed the ivory pantsuit Marie wore. She fingered the single strand of pearls, so warm against her skin, remembering the auction. They’d once belonged to Princess Grace, but Marie’s Parisian lover had insisted she was worth any price. The hint of a smile played across Marie’s lips as she thought of Philippe. He really had tried to buy her love, but try as she might, affection seemed to be the most passion she could conjure up for him. At their parting, he remained a good sport, insisting she keep the pearls to remind her of his generosity should she find herself in need of a lover in the future.

  To complete the look, Prada pumps dangled from her toes, and Marie carried a handbag that would cause a Saudi prince’s eyes to bug out at the cost. Sometimes undercover work had its perks. With the exception of her pearls, Yuri had purchased the complete ensemble for her, just as he’d paid for her operational budget. He wasn’t aware of that, of course, but his funds were channeled back into the Paris operation to be used in whatever manner Marie deemed appropriate to keep up appearances.

  It was inevitable that it would all come to a crashing halt. She just hadn’t expected it to be so soon. It wasn’t like she hadn’t enjoyed living the lifestyle for awhile, but it wasn’t her. She’d never let herself get too comfortable in the role. “I’ll have to change my looks in case any of Yuri’s men happen to cross my path here in the States.” She smiled wistfully at Xavier, reaching up to pat the elegant chignon she’d styled her platinum hair into. “I wanted to cut it anyway and go back to my natural color.”

  “I’m sorry. I know you’ve worked hard at this.” Xavier stood up from his desk to fix them both a drink. He poured himself a scotch and Marie a measure of American Honey Bourbon. She took a sip, enjoying the hint of vanilla and citrus flavoring that made the strong liquor unique. Xavier stood at his window, looking out over the city, while they both reflected on the time and effort lost on this assignment.

  Marie wondered where she would be stationed next, hoping it would be somewhere less pretentious than Paris, but not as volatile as Africa.

  Xavier’s secretary, Tina, buzzed into the office announcing Jack Benson had arrived. Xavier set his drink down, turning to face Marie again. “Jack’s a good man. Hard as nails, but I can’t think of anyone I’d trust more. Don’t give him a hard time.”

  “I’ll behave,” she promised, finishing her drink and standing to greet her new, and unwanted, bodyguard. She told herself it was only a matter of time. Surely, she could handle a couple of weeks. By then, Yuri would make his move. Never a patient man in the best of circumstances, he also had to deal with time constraints. By the nature of his line of work, he would be forced to solve his problems quickly and permanently. He’d come after her soon.

  The double doors of Xavier’s office opened slightly, and a muscular man wearing a dark suit stepped through onto the plush beige carpeting. Despite the fact he did nothing more than step inside the room, Marie could tell Jack Benson was coiled energy. She felt it radiating off him like a force field of power. His blue eyes missed nothing as they examined the room, and her, with a seemingly dispassionate interest, before settling on Xavier.

  “Good to see you again,” he said to Xavier, and Marie’s heart speed up. Honest to God, the man had the sexiest voice she’d ever heard. It was low and husky, pitched barely above a whisper.

  “Good to see you, Jack. This is Marie Maxwell. She’s been undercover in Europe three years. Her assignment to infiltrate the Russian crime syndicate was nearly completed when someone breached our security barriers and downloaded all our European operations files. We have to assume Marie has been compromised along with all the other ops we were running. Our agents have been called home, and safety precautions are being taken. As you know, the President has asked that you personally handle Marie’s case.”

  Jack held out his hand to her and Marie took it, curious to feel his skin against hers. She wasn’t surprised to find his fingers were callused from work and martial arts conditioning. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too.”

  He didn’t mean it, of course, neither did she, but they were both playing nice for the time being.

  “Like a drink, Jack?” Xavier went back to the bar to pour himself another one, no doubt trying to numb the loss of his European theater. Marie didn’t blame him for being upset. Everything was up in smoke with no way to get back in. GSA would have to start over again, building new contacts from the street up. It would take years to rebuild the system of street intelligence they’d lost.

  “Not while I’m working, sir.”

  Marie figured Benson as former military, special ops of some kind, by the look of him. He had that alert, hard-edged control men develop when they live under constant danger.

  With his short, tousled brown hair and stern face, he wasn’t a man Marie would call terminally handsome, but he was utterly masculine, and therefore attractive because of the testosterone he exuded. By the way her body reacted to him, she wondered if it leaked out of his pores under the suit he wore. Jack Benson had rugged, alpha male down to perfection. She could understand why her uncle picked him for this mission.

  Like a caged animal waiting to be released, powerful muscles rippled under the layers of clothing he wore. It crossed Marie’s mind that she’d like to see him undressed before she managed to give herself a mental slap back into the reality at hand. Jack glanced over at Marie as if he could read her thoughts, and she gave him a challenging smile that he didn’t return. Okay, so his personality sucked. He was still a sexy man.

  Get a grip, Marie.

  ‘He’s not that sexy.’

  Yes, he is.

  ‘He’s dangerous.’

  Ohhh, yes, he’s very dangerous.

  ‘The badass action hero is not your type.’

  No,
but he could be.

  Pouring himself another small measure of scotch, Xavier gave a little shake of his head as if he needed to let his anxiety go, then he turned to face Jack and Marie, holding his glass up in a toast he didn’t get to verbalize.

  One minute he was standing, the next, blood sprayed the room and he fell forward, spilling the scotch. The tumbler rolled out of his lifeless fingers, stopping just a short distance from where he fell. Then all hell broke loose.

  Jack put himself between the window and Marie, positioning his body to take any stray bullets while he rushed her out of the room. He didn’t pause in the reception area. Instead, he hauled Marie toward the elevators, half lifting her off the floor with one arm while he pushed her along in front of him at a run. His right hand held a black plated automatic pistol that he’d carried in a concealed holster under his suit jacket.

  “Xavier’s down. Get the hell out of here, Tina,” he yelled to Xavier’s secretary while sprinting for the elevator. “Take the stairs and go. You know the drill. I’ll be in touch.”

  A man dressed in a conservative suit rushed out of his office when he heard Jack’s shouted warning. He headed for the elevators at a dead run, sliding across the floor in his slick bottomed dress shoes. From the panicked look on his face, it was obvious he wasn’t a field agent. At least not one used to dealing with operations that involved personal danger. The man cut in front of Jack, blocking his view of the elevator and surrounding area.

  “Take the stairs,” Jack ordered with a look of annoyance on his hard features.

  “No, I want out of here now.” The man’s voice came dangerously close to sounding like a spoiled child’s whine. “What if there are gunmen in the stairwell? I have a right to use the elevator. I’m getting on whether you like it or not.” Positioning himself squarely in front of the doors, he glared arrogantly at Jack, mustering up what Marie imagined was his best bureaucratic attempt to look threatening. She thought it might work with the clerks and secretaries in the office, but she doubted the glare would carry much weight for Jack Benson.