Free Sweet Revenge by Christy Reece Page B

reveal everything?
    “If I’m not ready, it won’t be my fault. It will be yours. I’ll do everything you tell me to do.” She gave him a stiff nod and added, “Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr. Savage.” Then, turning her back to him, she headed toward the stairway.
    “Uh, Jamie.”
    Without turning, she snapped out “What?”
    “I don’t smoke.”
    Watching her shoulders stiffen even more in outrage almost made him forget his anger. She was just so easy. And so damn beautiful.
    As she disappeared from sight, Dylan turned away and blew out a ragged sigh, disgusted with himself. He’d kissed her … holy hell, he’d kissed her. He could lie and tell himself it was the shortest and least romantic kiss on record. He’d barely felt the warmth of her mouth before he’d pulled away. But when she’d surprised him with her kick and then looked so horrified that she’d hurt him, he’d reacted with pure instinct. Two weeks of keeping his distance by doing nothing more than growling orders at her had been totally demolished.
    Now he had to reestablish that distance, because if he didn’t, the next time he touched her, he wouldn’t be able to stop with a quick, chaste kiss.
    The buzz of the cellphone in his pocket steered his mind back to his mission. A few days ago, McCall had said there might be some information soon. He pulled the phone out but before answering, he ran up to his room and closed the door. When he spoke, Dylan’s words were an indication of his mood: “I hope to hell you’re calling with some news.”
    McCall snorted. “Sounds like your day has been as good as mine.”
    “Don’t tell me you have no news.”
    “Oh, I have news. Unfortunately, none of it’s good.”
    “What?”
    “Reddington’s gone off the grid.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Just that. The man can’t be found.”
    “How the hell does a man with so many businesses and contacts just disappear?”
    “Money helps, I would imagine. My sources tell me he’s gone home, to wherever he keeps his family stashed. We knew he had a secret hideout … Jamie got that information for us. Problem is, so far, we haven’t been able to find that location.”
    “So if he’s gone, I guess that means he’s not kidnapping and selling human beings.”
    “There is that, but unless we catch him in the act, or find a way to get inside his organization, we’re stuck twiddling our thumbs.”
    “And we’re sure he’s not trading?”
    “As sure as we can be about a man we can’t even find. Word is, he’s going low-profile until the heat’s off. We knew he’d probably curtail his auctions for a while. I just didn’t expect him to disappear, too.”
    “As much as I hate for him to resume business, if he doesn’t, it’s going to be a damn sight harder to get to him.”
    “Yeah … but he won’t give it up. It’s too profitable, and my sources tell me he likes it too much. We just need to be ready when the time comes. How’s the training going?”
    “Let’s just say I’m going to be walking funny for a couple of days.”
    “She got the drop on you? I didn’t know anyone could do that.”
    Dylan snorted. “It helps when my opponent looks like she couldn’t swat a mosquito.” He added grudgingly, “She’s got good instincts.”
    “You find out what she’s hiding?”
    “No. We’re not exactly on speaking terms yet. Getting her to open up with me is going to take some time.” He shrugged and added, “Still not sure she knows anything significant.”
    “Maybe, but if she’s got anything, it’s more than we have right now. At least with Reddington shutting down for a while, you’ll have the time to find out.”
    Dylan looked out the window at the white blanket of snow that still covered the ground. The sudden desire to get some fresh air made him cut the call short. “Yeah … that’s true. Listen, let me know if anything changes on your end. I’ll see what I can find out here.”
    “Will