AB Sin is Not a Four Letter Word

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

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Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

CONTENTS

Sin Is Not a Four-Letter Word
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
About the Author

* * * *

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Published by Phaze Books

This is an explicit and erotic novel

intended for the enjoyment

of adult readers. Please keep

out of the hands of children.

www.Phaze.com

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Sin Is Not a Four-Letter Word

A novel of erotic romance by

ALIYAH BURKE

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Burke

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are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual
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Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Photography by Bonnie Lee

Edited by Loukie Adlem

eBook ISBN-13: 978-1-59426-534-1

First Edition—August, 2008

Printed in the United States of America

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[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Chapter One

They say the winds of change blow when you least expect

it. What the hell did they know? Mace Dylan frowned as the
cold January wind bit into his skin, sinking deep beneath his
clothes and into his bones like icicles.

"Range?" he muttered, knowing the people on the other

end were warm.

"Five hundred meters," a hushed voice reached his inner

ear where the device sat. There was a microphone placed
against his throat so he could whisper and be heard as if he
was standing next to them and speaking normally.

"Copy." He rolled his shoulders to get some stiffness out of

his muscles.

The wind increased in intensity, making him squint despite

the mirrored sunglasses he wore. Damn, it's cold!

"Two hundred and fifty meters." That same quiet voice

reached his ear. Normally, the feminine voice held a sensual
and teasing note to it, but right now, it was all business.

Mace blinked and imagined himself somewhere warm. A

lush female body curled up next to his, giving him pleasure.
Heat all around him instead of this damn cold.

Almost as if the woman knew what he was thinking she

sent another word along the wire. "Focus."

His light brown eyes snapped with indignation. He had

never lost focus on a job. Okay, once—but that was a long
time ago. "Intercepting." With a lithe move, he rose from the
bench he had been sitting on and headed off through the

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

park. Soon his long strides had him blending in with the other
people who moved through Groznyy, the capital of the
republic of Chechnya, Russia.

"Directly ahead. Gray hat, blue jacket, and black pants."

The voice informed him.

Like that's not what most of the people in this place are

wearing. "Got him." Amazing what modern technology can
do. The tracker that was in his wallet was releasing a signal
that was picked up by a receiver in his glasses. The man he
followed strolled easily; clearly oblivious to the transponder
he carried.

His hands were shoved in his pocket as he sidestepped to

avoid an older woman moving slowly before him. That move
put him just where he needed to be.

Mace bumped into the man he was after and reached out

to steady him. "Excuse me," he said in Chechen.

The man grunted and turned to say something and found

himself with a gun in the side.

"What the...?"
"Keep moving, nice and slow," Mace warned.
Together they walked down a side street and into a dark

building. Mace led him up the steps and into a room crowded
with five other people.

With a small grin, Mace closed the door and shoved the

man deeper into the room. As much as he hated the long
process of the stakeout, he loved bringing in a terrorist.
That's what you did when you were a member of the GDS.

The GDS, or Global Defense Squad, answered to no one.

Many didn't even recognize its existence. The GDS had access

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

to all the other agencies' files but no one had access to its
files. The squad hunted terrorists all over the world, but in
particular the ones who threatened the United States of
America.

Sonia Clarkston, his supervisor and lover, looked over at

him. Her dark blonde hair was swept back in a tight bun,
making her look her part of cold boss lady. Her tan skin shone
in the iridescent light of the room and her big green eyes
narrowed as she looked at the man before him.

"Who the hell is that?" her soprano voice demanded.

"That's not Vladenski."

Mace spun the guy around and yanked off the cap. Greasy,

straw yellow hair flopped in his eyes. His breath left him in a
hiss. It wasn't Vladenski. "What the hell happened? Who had
recon on him?" His body tightened as he tried to get his anger
under control.

No one said a word, so Mace ground out. "Well don't look

at me, I was in the goddamn park all morning. Why couldn't
someone tell that it wasn't Vlad?" He began stalking around
the room after thrusting the unknown man onto a ratty
couch.

All eyes turned to Enrique who shook his head. "Hey," he

complained. "It's not my fault. The dude's wearing a hat and
it's not exactly summer outside. He's all bundled up from a
distance he looked like Vlad. Mace never said anything about
not being able to track the signal, so why wouldn't I think it
was Vlad?" He looked at Mace, but saw only his reflection in
the mirrored lenses.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Mace noticed the shudder that crossed Enrique's body,

despite the conviction of his words. He wasn't about to offer
up any slack, he was pissed they hadn't nabbed the right guy.

Sonia stood up, all six feet of her toned body, and moved

toward the man glaring on the couch. "Who the hell are you?"

The man spit on her. Before it had time to settle on her

black suede jacket, she backhanded him with a fisted hand
and sent him flying back against the couch. "I wouldn't do
that again, if you want to keep those little dangling things
between your legs," she said in an emotionless voice.

The men in the room shifted. They knew that she would do

just that and not even blink. Mace ignored her threat and
walked back over to the man with a bright red mark on the
side of his face. Removing his glasses, he put them in his coat
pocket.

He reached out with one hand and lifted the smaller man

right off the plaid cushion. "Who the fuck are you? Don't
screw with me. I'm cold, hungry and really want to get out of
this place."

The look of defiance filled the other man's face as he just

stared back at Mace. "Nothing you do could be worse than
what he would do if I talked."

A blankness filled Mace's face. Opening his hand, he

allowed the man to fall back to the couch. "You're right. But
just think about what would happen when we put you away in
prison and leak it that you spilled your guts about Vlad and all
his dealings."

The pale face grew even paler. "You can't do that," he

stuttered in Chechen.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

A cold glint grew in Mace's light brown eyes, making them

shine. "Yes, I can. And you will be locked away with some of
the worst men in history."

Sonia leaned in and hissed, "And we'll release that you

raped one of the inmate's daughters."

The others in the room nodded their heads at that. Enrique

added, "You know they will turn you into their bitch and kill
you slowly, while you are forced to pleasure them."

"But ... but ... you are officers of the law."
Mace lifted one shoulder and let it fall. "Your point being?"
The man leaned forward and covered his face with his

hands. "Okay. I'll tell you."

Mace and Sonia grabbed metal chairs and straddled them

facing the small man. "Let's start with who the hell you are,"
Mace suggested.

"My name is Stolski, Dima Stolski. Vlad is gone. He has left

Chechnya and is on his way to find..." His eyes darted around
the room.

"Where?" Mace demanded, noticing how Stolski's jaw

clenched.

"He said he was going to find Cicero," Stolski admitted in a

resigned voice.

Sonia and Mace glanced at each other. Cicero had been

eluding the GDS for years. Many years.

The sound of choking snapped their attention back to

Stolski. "No!" Mace shouted as he lunged forward, trying to
pry the man's mouth open. "Give me the counteragent," he
ordered as he tried to get the stuff out of Stolski's mouth.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"It's too late, Mace," Sonia said as she crouched beside

him. "He's dead."

Stolski's eyes were rolled back in his head. A line of frothy

white foam dribbled from his half-opened mouth.

"Damn it. He did it; he took a goddamn cyanide pill." Mace

shoved the dead man away from him.

"Well, at least we know where Vlad is going," Sonia

grumbled as she rose. "Let's get this shit packed up, and get
out of here."

"No," Mace countered. "No one knows where Cicero is. The

man's a damn ghost. And no one has the means to get to
him."

Sonia nodded as she continued to pack up the surveillance

equipment. Mace noticed she remained quiet. It was
uncharacteristic of her. He wondered...?

Once they were on the plane heading back to the United

States, she approached him. The others were sleeping, but
not Mace; he was reading over the report he would file.

"How are you doing?" she asked as she sat beside him.

Her long fingers reached out to rest on his tanned arm. Mace
always looked so damn good with his darker coloring. He was
half Native American and half white. On him, the combination
had created a beautiful man. His skin was continually tanned,
no matter what time of year, or where in the world they were.
She was jealous of that fact. His hair was thick and dark
brown. Depending on the light, it could have hints of red or
blond in it. It was blond for this assignment. He was
gorgeous.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

She was glad they were fucking, even if she was his

superior, but there were times she wanted more from their
relationship. It was no secret around the office they were
sleeping together, but no one said a word since she never
gave him leniency on a job. In fact, most of the time she was
harder on him than the others in their team.

Mace barely looked up at her from the papers in his strong

hands. "I'm fine, just pissed that we lost Vlad." His attitude
showed that he wasn't in the mood for her ministrations.

"I know a way we can find him." Sonia removed her hand

from his arm. He was in a mood, but that wasn't unusual for
him. Mace didn't like to lose.

"How the hell are we going to find him if he is with Cicero

and we have no way of finding out where or who Cicero is?"

"There is a way," she insisted.
Dropping the papers in his lap, he turned his golden brown

eyes to the woman next to him. "And that would be?"

With a deep breath, Sonia met and held his gaze. "Sinjin."
The world dropped out from under him. Mace would have

collapsed if he hadn't already been sitting. His mouth moved
but nothing came out.

Sinjin. The one woman who had been his downfall. She

had snowed him good. He thought she was a victim like the
others, but it turned out she had played him just like she
played everyone. The day before they were to move in and
capture Cicero, he had been tipped off; and when Mace and
the rest of the GDS agents had burst in on the scene all they
found was Sinjin.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

She had pled, begged, and sworn she was innocent, but

his fury at finding a picture of her in bed with Cicero had
hardened his heart toward her pleas. So he had refused to
speak on her behalf after they arrested her. She had spent
the past six years in an isolated prison in Iceland. A prison
called Ferð Endir, Journey's End.

Sinjin had been a mercenary. One of the best. When she

had refused, for whatever reason, to give up Cicero, the GDS
had not been lenient with her. She had been wiped from the
radar. All her files had been destroyed, and for them she
didn't exist.

Not wanting to see her, Mace asked, "Are you sure that

would be wise? After what happened between her and the
GDS, why would she be willing to help out?"

Sonia watched his reactions. "She doesn't have to agree. If

she gets implanted with a chip we could track her. The reason
she is where she is, is because Ferð Endir was the only
place we knew he couldn't break her out of. But I am positive
that he is watching that place for who comes and goes."

Mace remained stoic. "So we will use her as bait. What if

she tells him of the implant?"

Sonia shook her head. "Nope, she wouldn't know of it. It

would be implanted when she was getting a doctor's visit."

"Sounds like you already talked it over with your superiors.

Why are you telling me? If this is the way you are going, it
will have nothing to do with me."

"We want to see if she will cooperate first. If she is willing

to do this, we will wipe the slate clean. She will be allowed to
resume her old life."

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"You aren't making sense. Why ask for her cooperation?

She snowed the agency last time," he bit out, the feelings of
betrayal rising to the surface.

"We are hoping she will be bitter at him for leaving her to

rot in that place. She seems the type who thrives on
revenge." Sonia crossed her lean legs and fixed him with a
stare, waiting for his response.

And the GDS will be on the top of her list to extract

revenge upon. "I still fail to see why you are broaching this
with me." He arched a brow and held her assessing gaze.

"My superiors think you should be the one to offer the deal

to her. Explain it all, what she would be expected to do and
what she would be given in return. Hell, you can even tell her
about the implant."

"What's so special about this implant?" Mace tried to slow

his heartbeat.

"It will have a failsafe." Now Sonia looked uncomfortable.
Cocking his head, Mace narrowed his eyes. "As in, you

would have the power to kill her?"

"If she wasn't holding up her end of the bargain and

threatened to blow it, allowing Cicero to get away, then yes,
she would be eliminated."

Mace shook his head. "No way. I'm not doing this. I am

not telling her that we will give her freedom all the while
knowing that the implant could kill her if someone at the
agency deemed it warranted."

"I'm afraid there isn't an option for you on this Mace. The

orders have come down. You have to do it." Her eyes
softened, almost like they had just finished making love. "I

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

know this is hard for you, but it's the best way. Cicero is a
danger to the world and needs to be stopped."

Slashing his hand through the air, Mace clenched his jaw

and stood. "I know how dangerous he is, Ma'am. I don't
understand why I have to be part of your game."

The use of "ma'am" had Sonia narrowing her eyes, the

earlier softness wiped away. Mace knew she understood he
was telling her that if he did this, there was no longer a
relationship between them. For a moment, she appeared to
consider allowing him to refuse it. Never had he reacted like
this before to a direct order.

"You are going to because that is your order. You have a

past with her and that will be a way in."

"My past with her was destroyed when I did nothing to

help her get out of that sentence to go to jail in the middle of
nowhere. I washed my hands of her six years ago!" Mace's
voice had risen, which woke up the rest of the team. They
watched with shock. Mace rarely lost his control.

"Well then I suggest you do whatever you need to in order

to get back in her good graces," Sonia had begun to shout as
well. She hated to be challenged and he knew it. "Just don't
forget that with that chip, if she strays from the plan, she will
die."

"Oh yeah, that's a great selling point, isn't it. Come help

us, the ones who put you here, and we may not kill you,"
Mace sneered, his fists clenching.

"You are my subordinate," she snapped. "Do as you are

fucking told."

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"I know my job. I'll do it, but it will be a cold day in hell

before I like it." Mace stomped off to another part of the
plane, ignoring the stares he was receiving.

Sitting down in a different seat, Mace groaned. A cold day

in hell. Well, Iceland sure as hell wasn't going to be warm.
This must be the winds of change. Shoving a pillow under his
head, he closed his eyes.

The image that floated before him was that of Sinjin. She

stood tall and proud before him even though there were tear
tracks down her face. The peach summer dress she wore
moved gently in the light wind that blew. Her hair was short
and being ruffled by the warm caress of the wind. Her dark
skin was stunning against the dress she wore and he knew
personally just how soft it was, softer than it appeared to the
naked eye.

More winds of change.
The devastation that filled her dark brown eyes cut him to

the quick as he turned his back on her pleas. He watched with
forced indifference as she was taken by two women agents
and shackled like a thug.

The metal cuffs were tight against her bare skin, but she

never took her eyes off him, the pain in them receding to be
filled with contempt. Each snap of a cuff, each rattle of a
connecting chain, turned her gaze harder and harder until it
was like looking at diamonds. Dark brown diamonds.

There were no more tears as Dirk Tenodar told her that if

she would just give up Cicero, they would cut her a deal.
When she remained silent, he warned her she would be
locked up. A warning that still got no reaction from her.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

She allowed them to put prison booties on her feet since

she had been barefoot when they burst into the house. The
whole neighborhood was out to see her shuffling steps that
took her into the waiting paddy wagon.

As Mace watched her be assisted up the steps, her dark

face swung back to look at him. If there hadn't been emotion
in her eyes before, now there was. Loathing. Then as if
dismissing him she hobbled into the back of the vehicle
transporting her to her new home. Ferð Endir.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Chapter Two

Somewhere on Hofsjökull
The large snow-cat pulled to a stop in front of a dark gray

building. The swirling winds made visibility difficult, but even
that couldn't take away from the fifteen foot high walls
topped by razor-sharp Constantine wire that was looped all
around the top.

"Homey," the man that jumped out muttered. He was met

by two men holding SIG SG550 assault rifles and no shred of
emotion on their faces. One man spun around and led the
way to the thick iron door and pressed an entry code. Slung
across his back was an FN FAL assault rifle. As he walked, in
the man who had been behind him passed him giving him a
look at the SG550 sniper rifle.

Jesus, these men don't play around. They were joined by

two other large men outfitted in similar ways as his first two
escorts. They took him down a dark corridor and one entered
another code that opened the set of thick doors.

This room was loud, smelly and crowded. The men were

yelling back and forth, insults, death threats, and when he
passed their attention fell to him. The four men surrounding
him kept him moving at a good clip and refused to respond to
the threats or the streams of urine that seemed to arch
across the walkway after they passed.

At least the men are pissing after I go by. Covered by dark

clothes, none of the inmates could see who he was, which
was how he wanted it. They moved deeper into the cold

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

compound, passing through three more doors, each one as
thick as the last.

The only noise was the five sets of footsteps as they

moved. There was no noise in this area. A sharp right at the
end of this hall brought the men in front to a halt. There was
a small screen beside a door and one man looked at it before
typing in a code. The other three men stepped back into
positions that blocked the hall, still not relaxing their guard.

"There you go," the man who had typed in the code said in

stilted English.

Stepping into the room, Mace shoved the hood back from

his head and looked around. There was no one there. His
body alert for the possibility of an attack, he looked again;
there was a cot, toilet and not much else.

At the last second, he glanced up. Over the door, hanging

into the grid of the ceiling was the woman he had come for.
She was exercising and did not acknowledge his presence.
Her long hair reached for the ground.

"Prinsessa," the guard nearest Mace snapped.

"Aðkomumaður. Visitor."

"Hver blíðuhót? Who cares?" she responded in a deep

alto voice, although her head did tip back so she could see
who her visitor was.

* * * *

Mace Dylan stood there watching her. Damn him for still

being beautiful. Doing five more pull-ups, she swung down,
grabbed a tattered towel from the small bed, and wiped her

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

face. Her eyes flicked back to the guard before they landed on
Mace.

Sinjin bit back her desire to jump at him and kick his ass

for betraying her as he had. Although she knew he had only
been doing his job, the least he could have done for her was
believe she had nothing to do with it. But he hadn't even put
in a good word for her.

The man before her was still handsome beyond belief. His

eyes, she knew, would still have the power to turn her insides
into mush, but she wouldn't let him in on that secret. Her
disgust and anger at his actions ruled over the desire she
might have for him.

Keeping her expression bland, a skill she had perfected

over the years, she stood there and held his gaze. Waiting
was yet another thing she had perfected. Where was she
going behind these fortress walls? And if she got out, how
would she get out of the area she was in? Nothing but a damn
glacier for miles around.

Mace swallowed as he looked in the dispassionate eyes

across from him. "Hello Sinjin," he finally said, unable to keep
the silence. The way she had spoken the language was like a
native.

She walked to the small cot and sat down on it, crossing

her legs as she continued to watch him. No words passed her
mouth. When he just stood there watching and staring, she
lay down with her back to him.

The guard looked between them and gestured for Mace to

leave, but he hesitated and shook his head. "Sinjin," Mace
said again. "I have a proposition for you."

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

She never moved.
"It would get you out of here," Mace dangled the offer. His

eyes roamed over the back of her form. Even wearing the
tattered clothes she did, his body still reacted to her.

This time, she rolled over to lie on her back, her arms

shoved under her head. The action pressed her perky breasts
out for his gaze.

"Now what in the world could I have to offer you? And why

would I want to leave this place?" Her voice was thick with
sarcasm as she slowly sat up.

Her brown eyes, that used to look upon him like he was

her whole world, stared blandly at him. "I mean, I am one of
many. I am surrounded by men, and being the only
woman..." she trailed off letting him get the gist of her
meaning.

He knew what she was doing. Mace recalled telling her that

she was nothing more than Cicero's whore, and slept with
whomever he told her to. Shame washed over him but he
didn't let it show.

"Surely, then, you could use some rest." The biting words

came out of nowhere.

Defiance flared in her eyes seconds before she nodded.

"You are most correct. I could. Don't let the door smack you
on the way out." She lay down again, not outwardly
appearing upset, and put her back to him a second time.

Mace was escorted out of the room by the guard and taken

to another area of the compound, where he found a phone
call waiting for him. Sonia.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

The second her cell door sealed behind the guards, Sinjin

released the breath she had been holding. Her palms were
sweaty and her body was still reacting to him. She didn't
show any outward expression, knowing full well she was
being observed.

It had taken her a while to get used to being observed. But

now, she didn't let on that it bothered her. Her mind raced
with numerous thoughts.

The mere chance to get out of Ferð Endir had her

trembling in excitement. The chance to be able to sit outside
and allow the sun to shine upon her face. To listen to
something other then lewd comments from men, smell
something clean and fresh. Even possibly the chance to hold a
child in her arms.

Oh, sweet Jesus, what did she do? Turned down the

opportunity to get out of this hellhole. A quiver shook her
body that she couldn't stop. For a brief second the thought of
crying crossed her mind, until the image of Mace rose in her
mind's eye.

A harsh chuckle exploded from her as she sat up. "I can't

believe I almost let myself cry because of you again. Good
riddance to bad rubbish." She climbed off the one-inch thick
piece of foam that she called a mattress.

In less than five minutes, Sinjin was back to her vigorous

workout. There wasn't much for her to do in prison, but she
refused to let herself grow fat and weak, so she began a
workout regimen that only escalated the stronger she got.

* * * *

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"Dylan," he snapped into the phone.
Sonia's voice reached his ear. "Is she on board?"
Leave it to Sonia to get to the point. "Not exactly jumping

on the idea."

"Have you pitched it yet?"
"You know what? She isn't exactly happy to see me. I told

you it was a bad idea to send me to get her." Mace didn't like
how Sonia sounded.

"I suggest, Agent," she drawled. "That you get your ass

back there and get her to accompany you."

"Yes, Ma'am." Mace hung up on her and faced the guards.

"Take me back to her. I need to speak to her again."

The men said something amongst themselves before

chuckling and grinning. They opened the door and as they fell
into step down the cold corridors all joy and amusement
faded from their faces. They were once again serious, having
their game faces on. The gruff take-no-shit ones.

The same guard opened the door again and Mace was

treated to the sight of Sinjin doing pushups on the floor. Her
sleeves did not hide the muscles in her arms as she worked
out.

* * * *

She was doing diamond pushups when her cell door

opened again.

Mace was back.
Sinjin didn't look up. She knew from the tingling that went

over her body that he was back. Sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

three. She maintained the count in her head, Sinjin counted
in Icelandic; it was more natural for her than English.

"Sinjin." Mace's deep voice filled her small chamber.
Sixty-four, sixty-five, sixty-six. She didn't stop; she

refused to give him the satisfaction that he could interrupt
her and divert her attention. Sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-
nine, seventy.

* * * *

Up. Down. Up. Down. An endless repetition.
"Prinsessa," the guard said.
Perspiration dripping down her face, Sinjin went down for

one more and shoved her body up fast. Following with the
momentum, she gained her feet and stood there. Shirt
soaked with sweat clung to her curves, enticing Mace's
imagination to travel down roads he knew she wouldn't want
to go. At least not with him.

Her shirt barely covered her flat belly, and he could make

out the ridges of a six-pack on it. That was new. The pants
she wore were simple cotton, gray in color and sat low on her
hips. Her feet were covered by thick wool socks.

Sinjin stood still as he took in her new look. Her hair was

braided and fell to the middle of her back. Again she looked
indifferent when their eyes met.

Mace swallowed. It was hard for him to acknowledge that

she ignored him, but responded to the guard's voice without
hesitation. "Will you hear out my proposition?"

She blinked and remained standing, silently. Sinjin barely

even brushed away the sweat that dripped into her eyes.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"Who authorized this deal you are about to make me?" Sinjin
questioned as her eyes held Mace's. Her words were tinged
with an accent.

"The GDS," Mace told her.
"And what is this deal that is going to make me wanting to

leave all this and go anywhere with you?" Sinjin walked over
to her bed and sat on it.

"I have been instructed to tell you that in return for your

assistance in locating and apprehending Cicero that the GDS
will wipe your slate clean. Give you back your life."

Flames of rage flickered in her eyes. Her intelligent gaze

flickered to the guards and back to him. "My assistance? What
does that entail?"

Mace knew it was a struggle for her to control her temper.

The Sinjin he remembered was a firecracker. "You would have
to get back within his organization and the GDS would come
in and grab him and his lieutenants once he sets up a
meeting with them. We know he has them every few months,
but we never know where. With your help we could find him
and the rest of those who go to the meetings."

A cold chill settled over her. She should have known. How

the hell can they give me back the six years they stole from
me? The only thing they want from me leads back to the
reason I am in this place to begin with. "What's the catch?"

Mace watched her face. All emotion was wiped away again

and he was faced with the blankness of someone he didn't
recognize anymore. "We implant you with a tracking device."
He observed the slight narrowing of her eyes.

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"Uh huh," she disagreed. "There is no way I will let you do

that. Cicero would find it and I would be killed. Not a real
incentive for me to help you, if your company is just going to
kill me off right away."

"That part's negotiable. I have to get you to out of here to

meet the rest of the team."

"And where would that be?" Please let it be somewhere

warm.

As if he knew he had her attention, Mace fought down a

grin. "Spain." He knew how much she loved the sun from the
time they were a couple. There had been days that she would
only come indoors to go to the bathroom.

"How do I know I ain't gonna get screwed?"
Mace had no real answer. She didn't and the fact they

were going to put that damn cyanide thing in her, didn't do
much to improve her chances. "We need your help finding
him. We know that the second you are gone, Cicero will find
out. And we all know he'll come for you."

She shivered. "So the GDS needs some bait. I want

compensation." Sinjin briefly closed her eyes. "Three million
should do it."

"What?" Mace stepped closer to her. "You want us to pay

you three million dollars?"

Like a cat stretching she languidly opened her eyes and

met his. "Consider it compensation for time spent. Not to
mention that if I do this I am seriously going to need to
disappear. Disappearing costs money." It was as if she
thought it would be done.

"I can't authorize that."

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She shrugged. "I guess you don't want Cicero that badly

then." Sinjin looked back at the guards that stood there.

"Okay, we'll think about it. I'll mention it, but I can't

guarantee it."

"Do you or do you not have the authority to authorize this

deal?" she challenged.

"Fine. You will have your blood money."
"That's exactly what it will be if he finds out what I'm

doing," Sinjin retorted.

"Let's go. Do you need to get your things?"
The flames raged higher. "This is the extent of my

personal possessions." With a smooth move, Sinjin stood up
and walked over to a pair of busted slippers. "Let's go get this
over with."

All she had. A tattered shirt, holey pants and broken

slippers. "Let's go. Once we get there you will have to sign an
agreement."

"Of course I will," she snorted. Sign a paper that will be

destroyed the second I walk out the door.

* * * *

Mace slanted his gaze to her. Her head reached his

shoulder. This was going a bit too smoothly. His eyes watched
as she said something to the guards standing there. One of
the ones in the back produced a coat for her. Her slender
body was near motionless as he helped her on with it.

Not liking the feeling filling him at that sight, he moved

closer and heard her say, "Thank you, þakka
þú."

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The guard smiled down at her and said, "Goodbye,

Prinsessa." The man spun around and the somber expression
crossed his face again as he led them through the narrow
corridors.

Mace walked beside Sinjin, tensing each time he heard an

inmate scream something vile at her. She never
acknowledged their words. She shuffled along, all chained up,
the coat one officer gave her draped over her skinny, yet
strong, shoulders and zipped so it would stay on.

The last door slid open to reveal swirling winds, blowing

snow and freezing temperatures. The snow-cat was running
and waiting for them.

Mace groaned as the cold air pricked his body. He hated

the cold. His gloved hand reached up and pulled open the
door. Turning to help Sinjin up, he noticed her standing
motionless, eyes closed as the winds ripped at her thin pants
and borrowed jacket.

"Sinjin!" he shouted over the howling winds. "Let's go."

Slowly she shuffled towards him. "Get in," he ordered.

"How exactly do you propose I do that? I can't take more

than a three inch step. That's almost a foot and a half."

Grinding his teeth, Mace latched onto her arms and

practically tossed her into the warmed interior of the vehicle.
He was in there with her closing the door against the bitter
cold.

"Let's go," he snapped to the driver.
The silence was intense inside the bouncing vehicle. Mace

didn't speak. Her chains were still on when they boarded the
plane in Reykjavík, Iceland's capital city.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Chapter Three

Málaga, Spain
Sinjin sat in the back of the black sedan. All the windows

were covered in dark tinting and she kept her eyes closed.
She wanted a bath, a toilet, and a clean set of clothes, but
she did not intend to say anything. It had been a week since
her last full body bath, but time-wise, it wasn't so bad.

It was cool inside the car's interior, but none of it

registered to Sinjin. After spending six long years in Iceland,
a bit of air conditioning wasn't going to concern her. She
could feel Mace's caramel eyes upon her, but she kept hers
shut.

There were four other people she didn't know in the car as

well. And her chains were still on. Another reason she sat so
still, something she had learned at the hospitable place she
had been, Ferð Endir.

Still she was far from being inattentive. Her sharp ears

picked up the muttered conversations they were having.
These people thought having music on low would keep her
from overhearing. There was one man across from her with
Mace next to him, a man beside her and the two in the front
seat.

She never opened her eyes. Her sharp mind memorized

each turn, bump and stop they took. She waited and saved
her energy for the fight she knew was in store for her.

* * * *

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Mace wasn't directly across from her. He wasn't sure it

would be a good idea for him to be too close to her. He hadn't
realized seeing her against after all this time would be so
hard. It was like the first crush you never got over.

He allowed his eyes to move over her every now and then.

His gaze took in the way the other two men kept their hands
near their weapons. A small smile tugged at the corners of his
mouth; they were so scared of her. And she was trussed up
like a Christmas turkey.

Mace took in the way she was breathing; it might have

been over six years, but he knew Sinjin and she was playing
opossum. She was memorizing the trail and listening to the
hushed conversations around her.

Looking away to the passing scenery, Mace realized this

group of people had no idea what it was getting into.

There was no file on all the things Sinjin was capable of.

She had been with Cicero for a reason; she had been valuable
to him. Both in and out of the bedroom. Closing his eyes on
that image, he ran over the scant information they did have.

It was barely a page long. Mace knew more about Sinjin

than anyone. Knew what made her happy, what made her
sad, what made her purr like a kitten in the back of her
throat.

Feeling his body react to the memories of them in bed

together, Mace shifted in his seat. The other men in the back
looked at him in confusion. He ignored them, but nearly
groaned as his eyes fell back to Sinjin and noticed her nipples
pointing through the thin material in her shirt.

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His desire took a back seat as he noticed the others ogling

her as well. Shooting them all an evil look, they backed off,
and soon there was only muted conversation coming from the
front. Soon after that, they pulled into the back of a
beachfront hotel.

"Let's go," Mace said, as he stepped out into the bright

sunny day.

Sinjin didn't move until her door opened. It was like

coming out of a fog into the bright caress of daylight. The
smell of the beach reached her and she fought off a smile.

"Sinjin," Mace's voice prompted.
She opened her eyes and maneuvered her feet outside of

the car. Mace and another man helped her up. Slow shuffling
steps took her inside the building.

Mace had his hand on her back as she moved toward the

service elevator. All five of them crammed into the metal box.
They went up to the third floor and got out. Sinjin moved
slowly in the direction Mace pushed her.

They stopped at a room and Mace knocked three times on

the door. A tall blonde woman opened the door. Her gaze was
sharp as Sinjin shuffled past her. Soon the door was closed,
and dead silence filled the room.

People found seats and in a matter of minutes, Sinjin was

the only one left standing. She stood straight and proud, but
refused to say anything. Her gaze was drawn by the sun that
glinted off the Mediterranean Sea she could see out the
window and past the balcony. So calming, so beautiful.

"So," the blonde woman spoke. "I see you have agreed to

help us out."

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by Aliyah Burke

Sinjin turned her head and looked at the speaker. "I

agreed to, assuming my end of the deal is met. And I am
going to want confirmation before I help you."

"Your end?" A plucked brow rose. "What deal did he make

with you?" Her emerald eyes landed on the man in question.

Mace spoke up, "I told her we'd be willing to compensate

her for the years she was locked away and give her a bit
extra so she can disappear after she helps us."

"I don't know about that," Sonia began.
"In that case send my ass back to Ferð Endir, because

I am not willing to be broke while he is sending his men after
me." Sinjin turned around and shuffled back to the door.

"Wait, wait." Sonia rose. "Let's not be so hasty."
Sinjin turned around. Mace had to fight back the smile that

threatened to cross as he realized that Sinjin wasn't so
passive after all. "You know what? I believe I am holding all
the cards now." At Sonia's stare, she shook her head. "No,
you don't need to act surprised. You need me. Not the other
way around."

"I could send you back," Sonia ground out.
"Go ahead, although I'm pretty sure that your bosses

wouldn't like that much considering all the trouble you went
through to get me out." Sinjin paused. "Am I right or wrong
on that?"

Sonia shot her an evil glare but kept her mouth shut.

"Thought so," Sinjin said. "So first off either tell me I get the
money or put my ass back on a plane so I can get these
damn shackles off."

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by Aliyah Burke

An agent was there in seconds using a key to drop the

heavy shackles off her limbs. Sinjin slowly lifted her arms and
rotated them around to get some feeling back into them.

"I could tell you that your assistance is needed for the

safety of the country," Sonia began, only to be waved off.

"I want a shower, someone to do my hair and new

clothes." Sinjin's gaze drifted back to the beach and she
spoke again. "Then we will discuss the deal over dinner, with
fresh fruit." Expressionless eyes looked back at Sonia.

"You will have a guard here at all times." The tall woman

issued the order.

"And?" Sinjin shrugged. "I'm about a size six." She walked

towards the bedroom area; her steps slow as if she still wore
the manacles.

Sonia ground her back teeth together. "Mace, keep an eye

on her. I'll send up some clean clothing." She issued the
command, but still she hesitated and looked back at Mace.

He stood by the open sliding door, strong arms crossed

over his chest. His eyes flickered between Sinjin and Sonia,
coming to a complete rest on Sonia. "Yes Ma'am," he said
trying not to grit his teeth.

"Good," she said. "Don't lose her."
Mace didn't rise to the bait. Since he had gone to Iceland

to pick up Sinjin, Sonia's temper had become much snippier.
Now that she saw Sinjin, he doubted it would get any better.
Sonia glared at the two of them before leaving the room.

As the door shut behind her, Mace turned his attention

back to Sinjin. She was in the bedroom, moving slowly

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by Aliyah Burke

through the comfortable room, looking but not touching
anything.

Going to the doorway of the bedroom, he leaned against

the wood and just observed. It was like a whole new world of
discovery for her. When she pushed open the door to the
bathroom, she froze.

* * * *

Sinjin felt like she was in heaven. After years of less than

stellar bathing situations, the huge walk-in shower was going
to be lovely. She still knew Mace was behind her watching,
but after being the lone woman in a prison who had video
cameras on her twenty-four hours a day; the mere presence
of one man wasn't going to bother her.

Even if it was Mace Dylan.
Grasping the hem of her old shirt, Sinjin pulled it off over

her head and dropped it in the trashcan next to her. Even if
they send me back, I will be going in new clothes. She jerked
off her socks and lowered her pants to the floor, giving Mace
a perfect view of her naked backside. Those things she put in
the trash as well. They brought me in via the back door. Well
that doesn't bode well for me. They don't want witnesses.

She didn't give him long to eyeball her. She moved into

the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Within moments,
she was standing in the glass shower with five showerheads
raining down upon her.

Mace couldn't have moved if he had to. Seeing her body

exposed like that had been a jolt to his system. All that toned

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by Aliyah Burke

brown skin sent cotton fields to locate in his mouth and
throat.

That was until he saw the scars. Her skin was covered in

them. It made his stomach churn. Shoving down his need to
go see her and ask what happened he walked back into the
sitting area and waited for her there.

He didn't move until a knock sounded at the door. Before

he caught himself, he was reaching for the gun. Standing, he
opened it to admit four hotel staff members carrying bags.

"We were told these were for this room," the first one in

the door said.

"Thank you. Just set them over there." He watched them

as they did as he said. Then they left, and he was alone with
the bags. Gathering them, he took them into the bedroom
and set them on the queen-sized bed. He left again, but not
without reluctance.

Twenty minutes later another knock came to the door.

Mace opened it to admit a hairdresser. "I'm here to work on a
woman," the man said in a heavily accented voice.

"She'll be right out. How about we set up to do this on the

porch," Mace suggested. "I know she loves to watch the
ocean."

Together they got it set up and were ready when Sinjin

joined them. She walked up to the edge of the room and
stared outside. Mace sensed her presence and turned to face
her.

She was a vision. Her skin was scrubbed clean and it

shone in the warm sun. Sinjin had opted to wear a flowing
sea green dress. It had a simple neckline and a handkerchief

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by Aliyah Burke

hem showing off her smooth brown legs. Her feet were left
bare and he could see the longing in her eyes to get down to
the beach.

"Please sit down," the hairdresser said. "Tell me what you

want done with this. And please tell me that you won't let it
ever happen again."

A brief smile flitted across her face before she turned her

eyes back to Mace. When he nodded, she stepped out onto
the smooth wood of the balcony. She flowed with an eerie
grace as she took a seat.

Leaning against the railing, Mace put his eyes on her. She

could see the crystal clear water and the beautiful sandy
beaches. If he hadn't been trained so well to observe
reactions he would have missed the slight tensing when the
hairdresser touched her.

The man said something in Spanish as he picked up her

long braid. Mace was shocked when Sinjin responded to him.
Soon, it was like he didn't exist as she carried on a
conversation with the hairdresser Paulo.

Mace was the one who flinched when Paulo picked up the

braid and chopped it off a bit below her shoulders. But he
could see her contentment with that, so he relaxed again.

Another two hours passed and her hair was washed, cut

and most important of all, clean. As Paulo finished the last
touches on her, it fell in silken waves around her face landing
a bit past her shoulders. Clean, her ebony hair shone blue
highlights under the sun's rays.

"There, you are finished. Fabulous and finished," Paulo

said.

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by Aliyah Burke

"Thank you," Sinjin said softly. She took the mirror he

offered her and looked at herself. She looked almost human
again. "I love it."

"You are a darling woman, my dear." Paulo bent over her

hand before gathering up his things and leaving. As he left,
Sonia and the rest of the team showed up, bringing with them
room service.

And so it wasn't until four hours after Sinjin arrived at the

hotel that they were ready to get down to business.

Sonia stood before her as Sinjin walked back into the

room. "Grab some food and we will get this over with."

"Well, you're a cheerful one. What, Mace cut you off?"

Sinjin snapped, not in any way going to take crap from a
government agent.

"What?" Sonia sounded offended.
"Please. You look like the type of woman Mace would

fuck." Sinjin picked up a plate and put some fresh fruit on it.
Sinjin picked up a strawberry and put it in her mouth.

Her dark eyes closed in ecstasy as she bit into the

succulent fruit, a low moan escaped. All the male heads in the
room swiveled as one towards her. Sinjin didn't know how
enticing she looked at that moment. She was a sexy woman.
Sinjin had a way of attracting men with just her natural
charisma, if she ever did try to use her looks to sway them ...
may God have mercy on them. Mace cleared his throat and
the men looked away while Sonia glared at him. "Let's get
down to business here," she snapped in an even fouler mood.
She filled a plate as well and sat down, crossing her long
tanned legs before her.

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by Aliyah Burke

With one last look at the outside, Sinjin moved to a place

where she could see everyone. She sat her plate on her leg
and began to eat. "Let's."

Mace was sure to sit away from Sinjin, but he had a good

view of her. He watched Sonia and waited until she took a
bite of her sandwich. "I told her she'd get three million
dollars."

Sonia almost choked. "What the hell were you thinking,

Agent Dylan!" she screeched. "We don't negotiate like that."

Sinjin ate a grape before she said anything. "Please, we all

know the GDS has access to that kind of blunt. That's my
price and I am not doing this damn thing until I see the
money in my account. Take it or leave it."

Sonia chewed quietly for a moment. "How do you know we

have access to that?" Just how much do you know about the
GDS?

"I know all about your slush funds. You call them susicivus,

which amazingly enough means, extra. Not very inventive."
She ate a cherry and allowed the rich juice to drip down her
throat. "Your total is close to ten billion, well that's what it
was before I got locked up, it's probably more now. You
should be grateful I am asking for a mere three mil."

The others in the room were silent as they glanced

between Sinjin and their boss. They had heard rumors about
such things, but to hear Sonia be called on it was shocking.

"Done," Sonia snapped. "You will get the implant before

you go anywhere."

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by Aliyah Burke

"As soon as I see the funds in my account you can implant

your tracking device." Sinjin ate more fruit. "I will give you
the account number and then you can show me your doctor."

Twenty minutes later, Sinjin watched as a man walked

towards her with a metal case. Setting it beside her on a
table, he opened it and pulled out a syringe. Mace felt, more
than saw, her shiver.

"Where do you want this thing?" Sinjin questioned.
"In your shoulder," the man said.
"Can you get to it?"
"No, we will need to..." he stopped talking as she unzipped

her dress and moved the material to one side.

"Get it over with," she commanded.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Chapter Four

"I can't believe she unzipped her dress in front of

everyone. Does the woman have no morals?" Sonia hissed in
disgust as she paced around Mace's hotel room.

He had been shocked as well, and it had taken a glare

from him to get the rest of the men to look away from her
tempting brown body. "I'm sure she does have morals."

Sonia spun toward him and stalked up to his hard body.

Her height put them close since he was six-three. "Do you
have feelings for her?"

"We have things to do," he evaded. "My personal feelings

aren't pertinent to anything."

"Did you fuck her?" Sonia asked as her fingers trailed

down the front of his white shirt. Mace had dyed his hair back
to its original color, dark brown.

"I'm not going to discuss this," he stated. Mace moved

back from her touch.

"Look, I know you are mad at me for making you go get

her, but that doesn't mean we have to stop sleeping
together." She closed the distance he had put between them.

"Don't become possessive. I don't like that. It's over

between us. It was a bad idea from the beginning. You are
my boss."

"But it was so good between us," she tried coaxing him.
Mace shook his head. "Nope." His eyes flickered over to

the table where there were computers set up. One was of
simpler design that just showed a dot and a basic map of its

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by Aliyah Burke

location. The one next to it showed a woman in a dress as
she walked along the beach. "She's left the hotel," he said,
knowing that Sonia would want to watch her.

As expected, Sonia dropped the issue of them remaining

bed partners and walked over to the computer monitors.
"What is she doing?"

"What you paid her to do. Putting herself out there so

Cicero makes contact."

"We will take shifts to keep an eye on her movements."

She spun around and walked through the connecting door to
the other hotel room. It was going to be a long stay.

Mace walked toward the picture of Sinjin as she walked

along the water's edge. Even from where he was, he could tell
she was happy. The sun shining on her, to be able to be
outside. When Enrique walked in the room, Mace went out to
the balcony. The fourth floor view was enchanting and it
helped that he knew Sinjin's room was directly beneath him.
He gazed at the beach and before he knew what happened he
was walking out the front door of the hotel and to the beach.

Sinjin was in paradise. The screams of the children were

like a symphony to her ears. The warmth of the Spanish sun
made her toes curl in contentment. The warm water of the
Mediterranean as it lapped at her feet brought tears to her
eyes. The distinct smell of the ocean soothed her worn soul.

With a mind of their own, her legs took her into the clear

water. She stopped when the hem of her dress trailed in the
water. Facing away from the shore, Sinjin looked at
something only she could see.

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by Aliyah Burke

Her skin prickled as she stood there. With a slow motion,

she turned around and let her dark eyes scan the area. She
snorted as she picked out the large form of Mace Dylan as he
sat at a beachside stand, holding a drink and watching her.

Walking out of the water, Sinjin smiled gently at a child

who had run full bore into her before she headed back for the
hotel. She knew Mace well enough that he would be around
soon enough.

When she was right, she was right. It didn't take more

than ten minutes before the connecting door between her
room and another was opened and in walked Mace, followed
closely by Sonia.

"What the hell were you doing?" Sonia demanded as she

stood in the middle of the room glaring at Sinjin.

"Walking along the beach," Sinjin said easily. No amount

of screaming could take away from her enjoyment of the day.

"For what reason?"
"So Cicero would know I'm here." Sinjin walked behind the

couch that was in the sitting area of her hotel room. "I need
an account with spending money in it. I have to go shopping."

Green eyes snapped with anger and disgust. "We paid you

three million. Use that."

Sinjin shook her head. "That's for me. I need money to

spend while I am doing this. Don't worry; I'll save the
receipts so you can write it off as a business expense."

Groaning, Sonia asked, "How much?"
"Make it a good amount. I won't spend excessively, but I

do need to get some things." Running her fingertips over the
back of the couch, she met and held the angry green gaze.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"True to form," Sonia hissed.
"What does that mean?" Sinjin demanded as her own eyes

flashed dangerously.

"Just that money is your vice. You can be bought, which is

why you ended up in prison in the first place."

"I'm not going to defend myself to you. You know nothing

about me, so stop trying to pretend you do." She waved one
dark hand before turning her back and heading for the
balcony.

"What am I supposed to think when you drop your dress in

front of a room of men?" Sonia snapped, hatred spilling over
into her tone.

The woman that turned back around to face Sonia was in

no way the one that had shuffled her way into the room, in
chains. An eerie fire burned in the back of her gaze as she
stepped towards the blonde in the room.

"Until you know what my past six years were like, I would

suggest you keep comments like that to yourself. I wasn't
allowed to have shame. I had a camera on me twenty-four
hours a day. Eating, sleeping, pissing and showering, I had
men watching me." Her jaw clenched as she moved closer.
"There were eyes watching as I was beaten, raped and
abused, so for me to drop my dress for a man to shove a
needle into my back is nothing. I'm still being watched by
eyes so it's the same thing. Don't presume to know a damn
thing."

Her angry eyes flickered over to Mace who was standing

there. "Keep your bitch in line, or I won't be responsible for
what happens to her. Now get out of my room, and let me do

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

my damn job." She crossed her arms over her chest and
glared at them both until they left. She locked the door and
shoved a heavy chair in front of it.

Sinjin went onto the balcony and lay on the chaise that

was out there until a knock on her door woke her. Opening it
she saw a staff member holding out an envelope. "This was
delivered for you, Señorita." He smiled at her before leaving.

Opening the manila envelope, Sinjin grinned as she looked

upon the five credit cards that were in there. Time to shop.
Heading back to the bedroom, she grabbed a pair of mules
and put them on. Slipping the cards inside a purse she had,
Sinjin made sure she had her keycard and went out the door.

Mace stewed on the balcony as agents moved around the

rooms. There were eyes watching as I was beaten, raped and
abused, he couldn't get that out of his head. What had she
gone through there? What had he done by not speaking up on
her behalf?

Shoving abruptly away from the rail, he moved through

the room. "I'm going down to the beach."

Enrique waved as he kept his eyes focused on the monitor.

"Good. She's down there, still shopping. Mostly window
shopping but she did buy some things. She is sitting down at
an outdoor café."

"I have my cell if you need me." Mace left without a word

to Sonia who watched him intently.

Mace sat at the bar sipping a drink. He could see couples

playing in the water and kids running back and forth. The
bartender left him a basket of pretzels to munch on. His
tortoise shell eyes glanced over the mingling people.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

As he was sliding his gaze to the left, he caught sight of a

sea green dress. Sinjin. Immediately all his attention was on
her. She had knelt down and was talking to a small child.
Mace watched as the child threw his arms around her neck
and hugged her. He also witnessed the emotion that crossed
her face at the innocent touch.

The wind picked up blowing her dress higher and giving

anyone a nice look at her toned legs. Gesturing for another
drink, Mace forced himself to stay in the chair. This was going
to be the hardest assignment he had done.

His fingers involuntarily clenched around the glass in his

hand as he noticed a handsome man walk up to her. "Watch
your reactions," a low voice whispered in his ear.

Mace tore his gaze away from his vision and saw Thomas,

another agent, settle in the seat beside him. Thomas didn't
pay him any attention, acted as if he didn't even know him.

Mace turned back to the beach and found his eyes back on

Sinjin. She was alone as she moved up the beach and to a
free table in front of the bar where he was. Immediately a
waiter was at her side to take her order.

A different waiter walked up to her and delivered a drink

and pointed in a direction over her shoulder. Sinjin looked,
took the drink and offered a toast to that person. Mace
followed her line of vision and saw multitudes of handsome
men who all seemed to be watching her.

Who was she communicating with? Downing the rest of his

drink, he stood and walked away, heading back into the hotel
and his room.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Pushing open the door, he remained silent until he got to

where the agents were watching her. "Did you see who she
acknowledged with that drink? Can you scan that crowd of
men for one who may have responded?"

"What, do you think Cicero contacted her?" Sonia asked as

she leaned over the chair as a man played back some video
feedback.

"She got a drink from someone and turned to acknowledge

them. But I couldn't pick out which one." Mace pointed at the
screen. This group, play it in slow motion and look for a man
to nod.

Sonia found the man. "There, that one." The man at the

keyboard quickly highlighted his face and had it running
through Interpol and GDS's database. "Good work, Mace,"
Sonia said.

"I'm gonna go crash." Mace was exhausted. This reunion

with Sinjin had sapped more than he believed it would have.

"We got this," Sonia said, for once being sensitive to his

needs.

With a wave, he headed off through the adjoining door and

collapsed onto the soft bed, in just his shorts.

He didn't have a restful sleep. Dreams of Sinjin being

arrested was the most prevalent in his mind. And when that
had run its course, it was followed by her dying in his arms,
courtesy of the cyanide 'failsafe' that was injected in her
beautiful body.

Mace woke in a sweat and found that Sonia was pressed

against him, sleeping only in her thong panties. Her hand was
down his pants, just resting above his cock.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Unfortunately his body responded to her nearness and

Sonia woke up. Her kisses silenced his protests as he thrust
his cock deep into her willing pussy. She might have been
good at getting him to sleep with her again, but she never
made him lose sight of the fact that he wasn't using a
condom and so he pulled out before he came within her.

Rolling away from her, he shoved his shrinking cock back

into his shorts. "Damn it, I told you we were finished."

"Your body seems to have different ideas," she muttered

as she licked her lips and eyed him up and down.

"Stay away from me, Sonia. I mean it." Mace stomped off

to the bathroom where he showered, and trimmed his goatee.

She was gone when he got out. Sonia hadn't gone far

however; she was in the room they had set up for operations.
Her green eyes moved hungrily over him as he entered, but
she remained silent.

* * * *

Sinjin stood before the store's selection of products and

chewed her lower lip. Being out of prison was wonderful, but
at the same time she was still in one. Her movements were
still tracked and she was still being watched.

Looking at the lotions displayed in front of her, she sighed.

Even though she had been allowed the opportunity of getting
clean, she still didn't feel feminine. In the past, she had loved
her scented lotions. One whole shelf in her hall closet had
been full of extra lotions. Floral, exotic, musk, citrus, and
others all intrigued her.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

They used to make her feel so beautiful. To know that

when she walked past someone, she would leave the lingering
scent of her lotion. She didn't like to wear perfume, but
lotions she loved.

New clothes and a new haircut didn't make her feel like a

woman. She stopped feeling feminine a long time ago.
Displaying too much was a sure fire way of attracting the
wrong attention.

"I always liked the smell of dark amber, patchouli, and

vanilla on you," a deep masculine voice murmured into her
ear.

A large man stood next to her, not touching, but filling all

her senses. "Well, in that case. I should pick some more up."
Sinjin said softly, noting the dark glasses on his face. Didn't
matter; she knew who it was.

A smile tugged the corners of his mouth. Tugging on the

bill of the nondescript ball cap he wore, he nodded. "Good.
Tomorrow at slip seven, nine o'clock."

"I'll be there." She reached for the lotion that he had

mentioned and put it in the basket on her arm.

"I know." Then he was gone.
Sinjin grabbed a few more lotions and went to the counter

to pay. She had goose bumps all over her body. With a smile
to the cashier, she left the store and headed back to her hotel
room.

She watched the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea from

the sanctuary of her balcony. Sinjin had already gone through
the clothes that had been sent up for her and picked out her

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

outfit for the next day. Everything else had been put away in
the drawers of the dresser. None of it was going with her.

Her lotions were set up in the bathroom. For all intents and

purposes it looked like she would be back. The purse was by
the door waiting for her to leave again.

Once it was dark, she worked out until her body begged

for a break. The game was about to begin. She took a quick
shower and dressed in a tank top and boxer shorts. Sinjin
closed her eyes as the soft mattress held her body tenderly.
She burrowed deeper into the cloudlike feeling and was
asleep in seconds.

Mace slipped into her room via the balcony. He had

watched the dot, like he could actually see her once she had
gone into the store. It stopped for a while and then before
she left the building the credit card showed activity. She was
just shopping.

She had returned to her room and didn't leave for the rest

of the evening. They knew she had made contact and were
getting ready to up the surveillance once she was actually in
Cicero's presence.

But as two o'clock rolled around, he was filled with a need

to see her. Every instinct that made him a good agent told
him it was a dumb idea. Those instincts were overruled by the
one that made him a man. So he climbed down the balcony to
hers.

The protector in him was furious she had left her door

unlocked, but he knew how much Sinjin loved her freedom.
The past six years must have been horrible for her. And he
was partially responsible.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Silently he moved to the edge of her bed. The room was

totally dark. He could hear deep even breaths and he reached
out a hand to touch her.

"If you touch me, Mace Dylan, I'll kill you." Sinjin's hateful

voice filled the room.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Chapter Five

A light was turned on, casting a gentle glow around the

entire bedroom, highlighting the gold colors in the decor.
Mace had to fight to keep a groan from escaping as he looked
at the delectable woman in the bed.

Her eyes were anything but soft or gentle as they looked

at him. In fact, the loathing and disgust that poured from
them had him taking a step back. He was at a loss for words.

"What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?" she

demanded.

Mace took in the mussed hair, the tank top that clung so

tenderly to her frame and the muscles that seemed to ripple
throughout her without taking away from her femininity. "I
wanted to talk to you," he finally managed to get out.

"For what reason? You did your job, you got me here. We

have nothing else to say to one another." Her words were
sharp and unforgiving.

Licking his bottom lip, Mace realized she was right. Unless

he wanted to open up old wounds, they had nothing left to
say to one another. Torn between deciding what to do, he
just stood there.

"What?" she snapped.
"Nothing," he admitted. "Goodnight." Mace walked to the

door of her bedroom before he halted and turned back to face
her. Her dark eyes were still shooting daggers at his back.

When she raised her eyebrow, he ground his teeth. "You

know I didn't think that would happen."

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Sinjin froze for a moment before she blinked. Mace

expected her to blow up at him, but he was wrong. When her
eyes opened again, they were expressionless. She looked him
up and down before doing as she had in the prison, turning
her back on him. Not a single word passed her lips.

Damn it, Mace! Way to go you idiot. Mace reached a hand

out in her direction before he realized it was pointless. She
was closed down and he wouldn't be able to reach her.

* * * *

Sinjin fell back asleep. She was determined to enjoy her

first night in a real bed. The feel was incredible. Her body
woke her at four. Acting from habit she jumped out of bed,
fully awake, and made the bed. She was standing before the
bedroom door before she realized she wasn't in prison any
longer.

Her internal clock wouldn't let her go back to sleep though,

so she decided to go for a run along the beach, as opposed to
running in her small cell. It didn't take long as she was
inhaling the smells of pre-dawn by the beach. With a real
smile she began to jog.

* * * *

"She's on the move!" a sharp voice interrupted his sleep.

Mace was awake and stumbling out into the room set up to
monitor Sinjin.

"Where is she going?"

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by Aliyah Burke

The man at the computer, said, "I don't have a visual yet.

But it looks like she is moving along the beach, at a pretty
good clip."

"Well, hurry up with the visual," Mace snapped, still irate

from his earlier encounter with her.

"I'm going as fast as I can, man," the man argued back.

He was exhausted as well.

"I know. Sorry." Mace walked over to the ever-full coffee

pot and poured himself a mug of the thick brew, he only
drank it black, Sinjin taught him that you could taste if
something was in it if you didn't add anything. Soon he felt
almost human as he waited for the images to clear up and
show him Sinjin.

Sonia came in the room rubbing the sleep from her eyes

as well. She remained silent as she got some coffee herself
and stood beside Mace and watched the screens. After a
moment, she spoke, "Do you think she's trying to run?"

"No. She knows she has a tracker in her. Plus that is a

very straight line for someone to be trying to escape."

"Here it comes," Rodney said, interrupting them. All sets of

eyes focused on the monitor hooked to the satellite feed. The
image cleared up and it showed Sinjin, running along the
beach.

"She's jogging," Rodney pointed out the obvious. "It's four

in the morning and she is jogging." He shook his dark head.
"Doesn't she know that's dangerous?"

Sonia looked at Mace with a question in her eyes. He

shrugged. "I don't know, Sonia. Don't ask me."

"You know her, Mace." Sonia stated.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"You know what, I knew her before she was arrested and

shipped off to that godforsaken place for six years. I don't
know her anymore!" Mace slammed his coffee mug down and
stomped off.

Leaning on the balcony railing, Mace tried to come to

terms with the feelings he had swarming angrily inside him.
Running a hand over his face, he groaned as Sinjin's
seductive face came into his mind's eye.

"What have I done?" he asked the air around him. "I

should have known better than to get involved with her
again."

"Are you saying you've fucked her?" Sonia's voice came

from beside him.

"I haven't fucked her," Mace said. We had something much

more special than just fucking. "I highly doubt being in bed
with me is on her list of things to do."

"She doesn't know what she's missing then," Sonia's sultry

voice whispered. When Mace scoffed, she leaned on the
railing next to him as the morning light began to filter
through the dark skies. "Tell me what happened between
you," she said.

Sonia hadn't been there when the whole thing had gone

south, so all she knew was what was in the report. Mace
chewed on the inside of his cheek. "It is my fault she was
sent where she was. I wouldn't speak on her behalf. I didn't
say that I didn't think she was the one who had tipped him
off."

"Why?"

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"I had found a picture of her and Cicero in bed together. I

was furious and jealous, not a good combination. Dirk
Tenodar threatened her to try to get her to break, but after I
called her Cicero's whore, she stopped trying to defend
herself. She was silent for the rest of the time that they
shackled her and loaded her into the paddy wagon."

"Go on," she prompted.
"Her gaze remained on me, as if begging me to speak on

her behalf, but I didn't say a word. Not one word. And
because of that and the fact Dirk was so angry for missing
Cicero, he had her shipped off to Ferð Endir, expecting to
wipe her from everyone's memory." Mace shifted his weight
from foot to foot.

"But then after you transferred to my unit, I bring the two

of you together again," Sonia finished for him.

"Pretty much."
"Is that why you picked Spain as a place to brief her? Was

it a favorite spot of hers?" For all her reputation of being a
hard-ass, Sonia didn't like to see people she cared about
hurting. And Mace was one she cared about.

Facing his boss in the increasing morning light, Mace

nodded. "She loves begin outdoors. There were days I would
have to drag her inside to bed, or she would just sleep out
under the stars. She was one with nature, loved all the
seasons."

Sonia ignored his admission of sleeping with Sinjin and

stated, "Being in prison must have killed her."

Eyes closing against the wave of shame, Mace rolled his

head on his neck. "I can't imagine what she went through.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

And then what she said yesterday..." he trailed off, not
needing to point it out again.

"I'm sorry I had to drag you into this Mace. But if I can

collar Cicero, it would be amazing."

Humorless laughter left him. "Always about the career

aren't you, Sonia?"

"I don't have anything other than that," she admitted.
Standing at his full height, Mace looked down at his boss.

"I did and I let work get in the way. Wanna know a secret?"
He touched her arm gently. "It wasn't worth it." That said, he
disappeared into the hotel room.

Sonia remained outside for a moment while she digested

his words. For all the times they had screwed each other, this
was the first time that he had opened up to her like that. She
was touched, but she also knew that she would never again
be in Mace Dylan's bed. Her green eyes caught sight of Sinjin
as she walked up the sidewalk to the hotel and that was when
she slipped back inside the room.

Sinjin bypassed the elevator, opting for the stairs instead.

She went up quickly and soon stood underneath the pounding
sprays. When she was done, she dried off and applied her
newly acquired lotion.

Standing in the room naked, Sinjin looked over the clothes

she had chosen for the day. She picked up the pale yellow
bikini top and put it on; and followed it by a high cut bikini
bottom in the same color. From the bed she picked up the
deep purple sarong and wrapped it around her waist, tying it
on her left side.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Critical eyes stared back at her in the mirror as she dried

and flat-ironed her hair. When it fell around her shoulders in
silky waves, she moved away from the reflective surface, not
entirely sure there wasn't someone watching her behind it.
Damn I'm suspicious.

By the door was a pair of thong sandals that she slipped

on her feet. Her big toe slid through the loop of black material
covered with sparkles. From the table by the door she picked
up the watch that she purchased the previous day and slipped
it on her right wrist.

Picking up the purse she had readied last night, she

deliberately left the keycard by the door, propped against a
sealed manila envelope, and walked out. It was almost seven-
thirty and she was going to eat some breakfast before taking
a walk.

Her steps never wavered as she walked out of the lobby

and headed to a small café that served breakfast. Claiming a
table outside, Sinjin enjoyed her orange juice and coffee
before her huevos rancheros arrived.

She never stopped eating as she saw another agent walk

into the establishment and take a table near to hers. Sinjin
focused on the book beside her plate, a book of crosswords,
as she ate.

It was eight-thirty as she paid for her meal, using a credit

card from the GDS and leaving a hefty tip on it for her server.
The crossword book went back in her purse as she struck out
down the walkway and headed towards the docks.

She easily found her way onto Pier 12 and Slip 7. She was

there as her watch beeped for nine o'clock. A man was there

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

to meet her. There were no words as she stepped onto the
deck of the cabin cruiser.

Within moments, they had pulled away from the slip and

were heading out into the Mediterranean Sea. Sinjin stood
facing the wind, sun, and water sprays that might make it up
to where she was.

* * * *

There was unrest up on the fourth floor as the satellite

image of her on the boat came into view. No one knew where
she was headed and they couldn't follow her yet. Mace
narrowed his eyes as they looked at the direction the yacht
was headed.

"It looks like it's heading for Ceuta," Mace said. "What the

hell would she be doing going to a Spanish port at the tip of
Morocco?"

"Perhaps that is where she is going to make contact with

Cicero," Sonia offered as she took a break from talking to the
person on the other end of her phone.

"We don't have anyone in Morocco," Mace stated, disliking

the situation more and more.

"I know that, Mace," Enrique said as he pulled the image

back a little to see if she appeared to be in any danger.

Sinjin walked over to the side of the boat and looked at

the water passing by them. She looked up at the sky, as if
she knew where the satellite was, took her purse off, and
tossed it into the sea.

"Did you see that?" Enrique gasped. "What the hell did she

do?"

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Mace shook his head with admiration. "Got rid of the other

tracking device." He looked at Sonia. "She knew those credit
cards had a tracker on them. One Cicero would have found."

"I didn't know, Mace," Sonia defended. "I wouldn't have

put her in more danger."

Not believing her, he shrugged. "Moot point now, for they

are sinking to the bottom of the Med." Good girl, Sin. Stay
one step ahead.

"Wipe that damn smirk off your face, Agent," Sonia griped.
"I can't help it; she's smarter than you gave her credit for

being." If anything his smile grew larger.

Silence filled the room as they watched the boat moor at

the free port on the coast of Morocco. Sinjin walked off the
boat and stopped. Enrique had the angle so they could see
more than just Sinjin and everyone in that room could see the
man that walked up to her.

He was tall and moved with a fluid grace that told them he

was in wonderful shape. His clothes were white and his shirt
was opened to the bottom of his ribcage. Dark hair moved in
the breeze off the sea.

Mace clenched his jaw as he saw one darkly tanned arm

reach out towards Sinjin. He smoothed out his expression
when he noticed the sidelong glance that Sonia gave him.

The man touched her hair as he said something to her.

Mace wished he had audio on her. But all he could do was
watch, watch and be jealous.

* * * *

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Sinjin was amazed at how handsome Cicero was. His skin

was a deep bronzed color from his hours outdoors in warm
climates. He had a striking affect on people when they first
met him. One eye was brown and the other was a very pale
blue. It was Waardenburg Syndrome but he didn't care. That
it threw people off gave him an advantage.

His hand ran lightly over her hair before settling on her

cheek. "Hello, my Sinjin."

"Cicero," she replied softly.
"I am so sorry about what happened." His hand began to

trail down her arm.

"Not your fault." Her stomach churned at those words.

"How did you find me?"

"Where else would you come once you got out of that

place? I know how much you loved Málaga." He grabbed her
shoulder and pulled their bodies closer. "I've missed you," he
whispered as his mouth covered hers.

Sinjin didn't hesitate, just reached her arms around his

neck and responded to the kiss. Strong hands grabbed her
butt and lifted her off the ground. She obliged by latching her
legs around his waist.

* * * *

It was a while before Cicero let her down, looking smug.

Mace had become a statue as he saw with his own eyes that
Sinjin cared so intensely for the other man.

With disbelieving eyes, he saw the man they were now

certain was Cicero, say something to everyone. A cheer went

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

up and even Sinjin laughed as they walked off the pier and
into a building where the observers lost visual.

Mace looked at Sonia who had a blank expression on her

face. The door opened and a man dressed in a staff uniform
walked in. "This is for you Mace," he announced.

Taking the tan envelope, Mace opened it as the rest of the

room looked on. Inside was another sealed one and he took
that out and did the same thing. He pulled out a single sheet
of paper filled in handwriting he recognized. Sinjin.

Mace:
By now you will realize that I have no intentions of

returning to this hotel. Before you get all crazy, I figured this
would happen. We will end up on Cat Island, near Port Howe.
He will have people there within the next day or so. If you
plan of having someone there I would get there ASAP. I know
you don't have any reason to trust me, so fine, don't. I don't
lie, not that that would change your mind.

Tell your bitch that I didn't appreciate the tracking system

in the cards, and I hope she likes the gift I ordered for her.
Don't try to contact me. I will leave all necessary information
in the email address posted below.

The only one who has access to that account is you, Mace.

I'm sure if you think on it hard enough you will come up with
the password to the account. I will keep an eye on it and if I
see an unauthorized visit, I won't do a thing, except
disappear.

We both know I can.
~Your Sin

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Chapter Six

Cat Island
The compound was huge. Cicero knew how to live. He had

given her the run of the place, just as she knew he would.

The weather was perfect. Sinjin was outside in a ripped

black sleeveless shirt and a pair of jungle cammies. Her black
hair was shoved up under a green soldier's hat. Slung across
her shoulder was an R6, a variant of the R4 assault rifle; it
was one she used when she was in Namibia. Cicero had kept
it for her

She wore muted black combat boots and had two sidearms

in her personal arsenal as well. On her left thigh she had a
Beretta 9mm and on her right thigh she had a Glock 20.

"You look happy, my dear." Cicero stood beside her.
Flashing him a smile, Sinjin tugged on the brim of her cap.

"I have missed this more than you could imagine, and to
think you kept Nebula." Nebula was what she had named her
assault rifle.

"I knew how fond you were of this one, and I knew that we

would be together again." He brushed his lips over hers,
smacked her on the ass, and shoved her towards the range
he had set up.

There were a few other men at the field waiting for her.

Soon it was full of the sounds and smells of gunfire. Sinjin
went through all three weapons that she had on her body
before she called it quits.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

As she holstered the last pistol, she turned to face Cicero.

"God, that felt good!" Five people headed over to the full-
sized body targets. Sinjin looked at her target and shook her
head.

"Damn, six years out and I still got it." She raised her rifle

to the sky and let loose a chilling war cry that the others
around her echoed.

* * * *

In a hotel room in Nassau the people looked at the

computer monitor. Although they couldn't hear anything, they
could easily interrupt there was a celebration of some sort
going on.

Sonia Clarkston shot her green eyes over to Mace's face. It

was unreadable as he watched Sinjin on the screen. "I think
we need to have a talk, Mace. How the hell did she get so
adept at using weapons? There is nothing in her file about
this."

Mace snorted and walked over to a wicker chair in the

room. He slumped down in an ungraceful motion. "There is so
much more to Sinjin than you know."

"Tell me about it," Sonia ordered as she sat down on the

couch across from him.

"What's to tell? She's more than you believed her to be.

And now you can't figure out her next move." Mace slumped
down further in his seat.

"Why is there nothing in her file?"
Mace chuckled dryly as he set one booted foot on the

opposite knee. "There's nothing there because that woman is

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

a genius. She can crack just about any computer code; I'm
sure she's been in the government's files and fixed up her
own to only give the basic information."

He rolled his neck and leaned his head so he could see out

the balcony and towards the thick green foliage. "Whatever
she took out will only be known by her, since there was no
hardcopy evidence." Mace looked directly at Sonia. "You have
no idea what she is capable of."

"What aren't you telling me, Mace? I need to know so we

can be prepared for all scenarios."

"What difference does it make? You have the failsafe

switch. You can just kill her once she's done her job." He
looked away and back outside.

"Was she in the army? Armed forces?"
"You could say that. Sinjin grew up with a gun in her hand.

I bet she could shoot before she could walk. She's a merc and
a damn good one. Sinjin had tutors growing up. Not the
typical tutors; she got the top of the line training."

Sonia sat forward and looked around noticing the others in

the room were listening avidly. "Continue," she said.

"Well, she was taught to shoot by a marine sniper; I don't

think there's a weapon she can't use or a tank she can't
drive; she learned hand to hand combat from a martial arts
expert. She can do field medicine with her eyes closed, field
strip her gun blindfolded and upside down. Or she can sit
down at a computer and make herself as wealthy as she
wants without leaving a trail. Make herself disappear."

He shifted on the chair. "She spent her youth being

dragged around the world as her guardian did his mercenary

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

work. I don't know who he was, for she never told me. Sinjin
grew up shooting people instead of going to the prom, or
getting her first kiss. She was taught to kill; taught the ways
of a world where it was kill or be killed. Trust was not
something she had. And I bet she still doesn't."

Mace stood up and headed for the door. "If you fuck with

her, she will make you pay. Sinjin is vendetta wrapped in a
sinful package. Don't let her looks fool you, she is deadly." He
walked out of the room to head for the beach.

Sonia sat there after he was gone. If all that was true,

then why would she have let herself get caught, why wouldn't
she have run? Unless she was set up herself. Not liking how
this was developing, she took out her phone and placed a call.

After he came back, Sonia broke in. "Have you checked

the e-mail yet? Has she said what the meeting was about? Is
this the one we want?"

"I haven't checked yet. I'll do it now."
Sonia followed him over to another computer and stood

behind him as he pulled up the email account. "Do you know
what the password is?"

"No, I don't." Mace didn't want to do this with her leaning

over him. "Can you give me some privacy to figure it out?"

"Come on, Mace," Sonia ground out. "Are you serious? You

mean to uphold her wish of being the only one who can get in
there. How the hell is she gonna know?"

"Look. I don't want to fuck this up and have her give

Cicero a warning because she felt like we didn't do as she
said." And I am not betraying her again. Betray? Could that
be the password? "Now leave me alone, Sonia."

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"She is working for us, not the other way around. We

shouldn't be taking orders from her."

"Sonia," Enrique butted in. "Dirk is on the line for you.

Something about how the hell could you order so many sex
toys and put it on the company's bill."

Her tanned face paled before it grew red. She strode over

to him and jerked the phone away. "What the hell are you
talking about, Dirk!" she screeched.

Mace laughed. "Good job, Sin. Good job." His words were

quiet, but heartfelt. He turned around so his back was to the
wall and he could keep an eye on the rest of the people in the
room.

He typed in betray.
It came back password incorrect.
Betrayed.
Password incorrect.
Betrayer.
Welcome to your mailbox, Mace.
Mace sat back and shook his head. She was impressive.

There was one note in there. Clicking on it, he waited while it
opened. It read:

Sale
For a moment, he just stared at the note. Simple and to

the point. Even Sonia screaming in the background didn't
take his attention from the one word. Sale, he took that to be
a very bad sign.

Closing the e-mail, he leaned back in the chair. His mind

began racing. He needed to talk to her. This could bode very

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

poorly for the United States. Running his hand over his face,
Mace groaned.

"Well, what did your sweetheart have to say?" Sonia's

scathing voice asked.

"Just that the meeting was going to be a sale." Mace

glanced at her face; it was still flushed. "Everything okay?" he
asked.

"No!" she hissed. "Want to know what your precious Sinjin

did?"

Mace waited patiently for her to say something else.

Whatever she did, Sonia wasn't happy at all. "All I heard was
sex toys."

Her jaw clenched. "Dirk said a large van pulled up to the

building and out got ten men, dressed in black. They were all
carrying boxes. Apparently they set up a table and took all
these toys out of the boxes with names on them and said that
I had ordered them to bring these toys, for those specific
people, and give them a demonstration." Her body quivered
with anger.

Mace sat still as he fought to keep the smile off his face.

He had a sneaking feeling that there was more to it than that.

"Then, as if that wasn't enough, she had boxes of studded

dildos delivered to my superiors. Fake pussies as well.
Swings, cuffs, and all sorts of things like that."

By now, Mace was having a hard time keeping a straight

face. Sonia noticed and glared at him.

"But then the bitch sends to the head of the GDS, a blown-

up photo of me naked. Apparently with an invitation to do
again what we had shared so many times before. But she

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

sent it to his home with little kind presents for his children
and wife as well." She threw up her hands and slapped them
down on the table where Mace sat. "I could lose my job and
he could lose his wife because of this."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Mace asked, as he

gave into the urge to laugh. "You are the one in charge of the
operation, not me."

"Tell her to fix it, or so help me God, I'll make her sorry,"

Sonia vowed. "I am not going to lose my job because of her."

Biting back his instinctive response, Mace shrugged. "Don't

know what to tell you. She feels you betrayed her first. If you
didn't sleep with him then I don't know why you would be so
worried. Regardless, I'm not smart enough to stop her
activities on the computer. You opened this can of worms,
you and your supervisors, you deal with the aftermath."

Sonia shot daggers at him. "I want to kill her right now."
Forcing all emotion to leave his face, Mace said. "That

would ruin your chance to get your huge promotion as a
result. But if you feel the need to kill her, then by all means
do so."

"It just kills you to see her back with Cicero doesn't it?"

Sonia stood back upright and looked at the impassive face of
her subordinate. "You know we tore up her pardon. Dirk
doesn't want her out in the public."

"I need to get some air." He needed to get away from the

images on the screen.

Mace shoved back from the table he was at and was on his

way to the door when Enrique said, "Damn, that woman is full
of passion. And outside at that."

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Mace rerouted his direction and went to the monitor. He

arrived just in time to see Cicero laid her on her back and slid
between her toned legs. Neither of them was wearing any
clothing and it didn't take an idiot to figure out what was
going on.

Sinjin was laid across a cement outcropping. No one could

turn their heads from the way she writhed beneath Cicero and
his masterful touch. During one moment, it was as if she
almost came up off the stone beneath her body. Cicero's
hands were there to push her back and then he leaned over
her pressing his mouth to hers.

Mace felt sick to his stomach. "Turn it off," he commanded.
It was shut off in a second. The menace in his voice

prompted the others in the room to do exactly what he said.

Turning his body toward the door, Mace was faced with

Sonia. He could tell she was excited, her earlier rant
forgotten. She had always loved watching porn before she
had sex. She got off on watching others.

Her eyes sent him a blatant invitation, but Mace walked

past her as if she wasn't even there. Opening the door, he
paused with his hand on the wood and said without turning,
"Leave it off. Let her have some privacy." Then he was gone,
the door shutting behind him with a decided thump.

Sonia narrowed her eyes as she noticed the men did as he

bid. If she demanded they turn it back on, they would wonder
why, since her tracer one was still on. So instead, she took
herself into the bathroom and finished herself off, coming on
a moan of Mace's name.

* * * *

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Mace walked aimlessly through the indoor shops in

Nassau, not seeing much of anything. His mind was swirling
with his mistakes, mainly the one he committed six years ago
when he didn't try to help Sinjin.

Why didn't she run? He thought back to that day. If she

had been the one to tip him off, she should have gone with
him. Vanishing from the face of the earth wouldn't be a
problem for her.

If she hadn't tipped Cicero off, then who could have? His

sharp mind ran over the members of that team. Would any of
them be able to be bribed? A man like Cicero had an
unlimited cash flow. Had any of them been in need of money
for their families?

With a groan he walked towards the back of a store to

check out some scarves that his mother may like. No matter
where he went in the world, he always got his mom a
souvenir.

Browsing through the silken scarves, Mace felt a presence

beside him. The way his body responded told him it was
Sinjin but that couldn't be? She was on the next island?
Wasn't she?

"Don't acknowledge me," a throaty voice whispered. Yep, it

was Sinjin.

Flipping to the next colorful scarf, Mace muttered, "Okay."

His body was on full alert as the subtle scent of her lotion
wafted over him. It was light and smelled of the sweet scents
of summer.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"There is a traitor among you. Watch your back." Sinjin

said as she allowed her eyes to roam over his body. How she
would love just one more chance to be in his arms and his
bed.

A traitor? Cutting his eyes hard to his left, Mace opened his

mouth to say something, but there was no one there.
Spinning around quickly, Mace searched the store for anyone.

His gaze landed on a figure who was wearing a wide

brimmed hat and dark glasses. Without giving thought to his
actions, he moved swiftly and grabbed a hold of the woman's
arm. "Wait!" he commanded.

Wide eyes looked up at him with fear. It wasn't her. It

wasn't Sinjin. "Sorry, Ma'am." He turned again, but saw he
was the only one in the store. Where the hell did she go?

He met the amused glance of the storekeeper who just

started laughing at him. Mace stomped over to him. "Where
did she go? That person who was back by where I was
standing?"

The old man cocked his head to the side. "I have not seen

anyone by where you. The only other person in her was that
woman you grabbed."

Mace swore as he spun around and headed out the door.

I'm losing it. He headed back to the hotel room more
confused than ever. As he pushed open the door, everyone
looked at him.

"Everything okay, man?" Enrique questioned. "You look

like you've seen a ghost."

Giving him a strained smile, he nodded. "I'm okay. What is

she up too?"

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"Not much. Moving around a bit on Cat Island, but staying

within the compound. A few more vehicles have arrived."

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Chapter Seven

"Aaawwwww!" Sinjin screamed to the sky. Her back

arching and shoulders began lifting off the cold slab.

"Easy baby, easy." Cicero pushed her back down and

covered her mouth with his. Pulling back, he whispered by
her ear. "It's almost over, Sinjin. Almost."

With one hand, he wiped the tears away from her cheeks.

He sat back up, keeping up the motion as if they were making
love.

In truth, it was all a charade. That morning, Sinjin had

intercepted an email from Dirk to Sonia, which mentioned
that the pardon had been torn up. She waited and caught the
return where Sonia said she wanted to press the button that
would release the cyanide in her implant and kill the bitch
that had sent all that stuff to people.

So, Sinjin had gone to Cicero and told him what was going

on. That they wanted her to set him up, that she had a
tracker in her and they were planning on either killing her or
sending her back to prison after they were finished with her.

Cicero was calm until she told him about the cyanide in

her. Thus they were outside on a slab that was hollowed out.
Inside was a doctor who was cutting out the implant from.
Cicero told Sinjin that he had figured it was something like
that. Then he kissed her tenderly and said he would take care
of it all.

The tears streaming down her face were because Sinjin

refused the local to deaden the feeling.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"It's over, darling," Cicero told her as the man below her

bandaged her up. "It's over." He reached behind him and
grabbed his shirt to slip on her shivering body. "Let's get you
inside."

Eyes blurry with pain, Sinjin didn't protest when Cicero

slipped on his pants and picked her up in his arms to carry
her. She remained silent as he lay her scantily clad body
down on the couch. On her belly, so her shoulder wouldn't
touch anything.

Moments after he covered her with a light blanket, he

opened a door and the doctor walked in. The man moved to
where Sinjin lay, pale from the pain.

"Next time perhaps you will take a local, no?" he quipped

as he knelt beside her.

"I am not letting anyone else put a tracker in me." Her

attempt at bravery brought smiles to both men's mouths.

"You are one hell of a woman, Sinjin. I've missed you."

The doc eased the shirt off her shoulder and peeled off the
bandage. He put it in a small plastic bag and dangled it in
front of her face. "These are your trackers. Keep it with you
always."

"Of course," she whimpered.
His dark eyes flickered between her and Cicero. "There is

something else." He paused for a moment. "The fools in
Nassau aren't the only ones watching. Someone else has
been. I think they will move before she gives the go." One
more smile at Sinjin and the doctor rose and let himself out of
the room.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Sinjin stayed lying where she was. "Why didn't you kill me,

Cicero?"

"I wouldn't kill the best lay I ever had." His voice was

cutting.

"I'm sure there are plenty of women who would gladly take

my place. To be on your arm and have all the things you toss
their way," Sinjin said, her voice still laced with pain.

"The fact that I can have any of them is the reason I like

you so much." His large frame left his chair as he hunkered
down beside her head. One strong hand threaded itself in her
hair. "The only thing you wanted, Sinjin, was weapons and
lotions. That intrigued me. Still does. But why do you think I
would kill you? You didn't give me up, or you wouldn't have
ended up in the one place I couldn't get you out of."

"But I came back, with a tracer." As she lay there on the

couch, Sinjin felt tired. "They let me out with the sole purpose
of finding you."

"I know. A lot of people want to find me." He smiled, his

teeth brilliant against his tanned skin. "I have something to
tell you, baby."

Closing her eyes, Sinjin let his voice flow over her. "What's

that?"

"They aren't going to wait for you to tell them about the

meeting. When it goes wrong, they will lock you and that man
of yours up and throw away the key. If they don't kill you
both first."

Her eyes sprung open as she jerked up on the couch.

"What? Who's planning on hurting Mace?" She ignored the

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

flare of pain below her shoulder blade from where the tracer
had been removed.

He arched a brow and held her gaze. "And here I thought I

was your man."

"I don't have a man," she snapped, disgusted with herself

for her slip-up.

"Don't be mad at him. He never helped you because I left

a picture of the two of us in bed for him to find. I wanted him
to stay away from you. I was so sorry that you were caught
in it. I wanted to bring you with me, but..."

"I know. You have to protect yourself. I never held that

against you, Cicero, never. It was Mace who betrayed me."

"Somewhat, but not totally. In fact, he probably saved

you. If he had spoken on your behalf, the traitor would have
gotten rid of him as well."

"What are you talking about, Cicero?' Sinjin laid her head

on the arm of the couch and was careful to keep distance
between her and the back of it.

"How much do you remember of your childhood?'
"Not much. Lot's of different places. Lots of different

people. Lots of weapons."

"Do you remember your name?"
"Sinjin. Are you feeling okay?"
"Sweetie. Most people have more than one name. Do you

remember yours?"

Her brows furrowed as she tried to pull something familiar

out of her head. Nothing worked. "I've never had anything
other than Sinjin. Cicero, why are you asking?"

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"I think there is something you should see. Are you feeling

up to coming with me? Or do you want to wait a bit?"

"I can do it, just help me up." As he did, she touched his

face. "You need to tell me what danger Mace is in."

"It will all become clear." Walking slowly beside her, Cicero

said, "You look damn good in my shirt and nothing else."

"You look good in nothing," she retorted.
He led her over to a wall, pressed a panel, which slid

another panel open. "In here."

Not much about Cicero surprised her anymore and this

secret room was totally him. "Will you just tell me what's
going on, Cicero? Please?"

"No. I think you need to read this for yourself and then we

will talk about your Mr. Dylan."

Her eyes were on the screen as she saw a file that said

SINJIN but she still said, "He is not my Mr. Dylan, thank you
very much. I haven't ever been his."

Cicero burst out in laughter. "Oh, baby. Do you really think

I don't know all the times you snuck into his bed? The heights
of ecstasy he took you to as you lay with him between your
legs. I know I never got reactions like that from you."

Sinjin turned her head slightly and glared at him. "I don't

feel like talking about this with you."

"Don't you want to know why I didn't burst in there that

first day and kill the both of you? You know I didn't let
anyone share you."

Ignoring the screen for a moment, she looked at him.

"Why didn't you?" Sinjin was curious.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"Because of the look on your face when you were in his

presence. It was the first time I had ever seen a look of
innocence on your face. He allowed you to feel like a woman."
Cicero put his face close to hers. "That is why I didn't kill him.
And why I am going to break my most sacred rule and help
you save his life." Gently grabbing her chin, he forced her to
look back at the computer screen. "Read."

So she did.

* * * *

Mace climbed into his bed and pulled up the sheet to his

waist. He lay on his back, put his arms over his head and shut
his eyes. The windows were open, allowing the warm, balmy
breeze to flow over his body.

Maybe one day his life would be calm enough to move

somewhere like this. He could bring his mother and get her
out of the cold northeast. This was the kind of weather he
enjoyed. Now if he just had a person to share it with.

"Mace?" Sonia's voice reached his ear.
His body tensed, but he didn't move. The bed dipped as

she placed her weight there. "Go away Sonia. I told you it
was over between us."

"I don't want to be alone," she said in a voice that used to

work on him. Tonight, no such luck.

"I don't care. Sleep with one of the others. Just leave me

alone." Mace swallowed as she shifted again.

"You really were serious weren't you? About us being

finished."

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"Totally. Now goodnight." Mace breathed a bit easier as

she got off the bed and headed out of the room. The door
closed behind her with a gentle click. Sonia wouldn't want the
others to know she had been turned down.

Soon he was sleeping. Lulled into a peaceful world where

the one woman who had wormed her way into his heart
wasn't despising him.

The sharp cold of steel against his neck woke him, as did

the gloved hand over his mouth. Mace froze even as his mind
raced with a way to get out of this.

"Silence," a raspy voice whispered.
He relaxed, not even realizing that he had tensed even

more. He waited for the man to drop his guard.

"Listen to me and listen well, Mace." That voice ripped his

eyes open. It was Sinjin. How the hell did she get here? No
one told him she was moving. The mere fact that she was in
his room and the rest of the team didn't say anything
astonished him.

She spoke again. "I'm going to remove my hand from your

mouth. If you say a single word, I slit your throat. Nod if you
understand." He did and she removed her hand.

The room was dark as pitch, but he remained silent. His

heart rate increased, just by being in her presence. "You are
coming with me, Mace." As he took a sharp breath, her low
voice reached him, lined with steel, reminding him just how
unmovable she could be. "Don't argue. I am saving your life.
Move as quietly as you can, get dressed and then get ready
to go."

"Can I turn on a light?" he asked in a hushed voice.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"No. There is someone on your team who wants to kill you.

Get your shit and let's go." Sinjin fingered her knife, her ears
listening for any noise outside the door. She had locked the
door before she had woken Mace.

Hearing, but not totally understanding, the ferocity in her

voice, he did as she bade. "Ready," he murmured.

Sinjin moved close to him, her vision enhanced by the

night vision goggles she wore. "Good." Her response was just
as muted as his. Fast as a striking snake, she grabbed one
strong arm and sliced her blade across it.

"Shit," he snapped.
Sinjin grabbed part of the sheet and pressed it to the

wound. She dropped the sheet back on the bed, and then she
dressed the wound within seconds. "Let's go."

"That hurt."
"What good is a kidnapping without blood?" She vaulted

effortlessly onto the open sill.

Mace reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "I want

some—"

There was a knife pressed against his crotch before he

could finish that. "Don't touch me!" she hissed.

Immediately he backed off. "I just wanted some answers."
"Now is not the time, Mace. We need to go." She paused

briefly. "Now."

Mace followed her out the window. She handed him a pair

of night vision goggles and gave him two seconds before she
was moving out. For a moment, he let his gaze move over
her body. She was totally covered, even in the heat. Her hair

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

was confined and covered by a cap. Still, her movements
were flawless and impressive.

He had seen her in action before and it seemed that the

time she spent incarcerated didn't do anything to take away
from it. She kept them along the edge of the thick foliage that
lined the path as they moved towards a destination only she
knew.

Once they reached bridge, she took the goggles off, for

there were lights around. Her hat came off next and was
shoved into one of many pockets on her. As Mace took his
goggles off as well, he ran his gaze over her again.

He noticed there were no visible weapons on her, but he

knew she was packing heat, somewhere. Mace fell into step
beside her as they walked out onto the pier and headed out
towards a boat.

She kept them in the shadows, but if there was anyone

watching them, Sinjin was savvy enough that it didn't appear
that way. Once they reached the end, she turned them down
the left pier. Not a word passed her lips as she stopped before
a light craft. Her hand gesture waved him forward.

Mace stepped onto the boat and hesitated as he saw two

men with fully automatic weapons pointed at him. One of the
men jerked his head toward the cabin and so Mace followed
and went in there.

Once the door had shut behind him, he felt the engine

start and the boat began to move. The feel of another
presence startled him and he scanned the room, only to
freeze. Sitting comfortably on a lounge chair was Cicero.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

The man laughed as astonishment flashed across Mace's

face. Cicero was a very handsome man. He looked to be
around mid to late forties. His hair was streaked through with
silver, but that only added to his distinguished looks.

His skin was deeply tanned, but not wrinkled. Here was a

man who took good care of his body. Mace's stomach heaved
as he imagined this man and Sinjin together.

"Well, well. You seem to be a bit speechless, Mace Dylan,"

Cicero's voice filled the room. He had an accent that Mace
couldn't identify. "It is an honor to meet the one man who
came closest to capturing me."

"What do you want?" Mace braced himself as the boat

banked to the right.

"Me?" The broad shoulders shrugged easily. "I want you

dead ... alas, it is not my call. Not this time."

Mace's ears picked up on a loud conversation that was

going on outside the door. "Why am I here? They won't
ransom me and they won't make any promises."

Cicero merely stared at him while he swirled his drink in

his hand. "Take a seat." Mace did and as he waited, he
rubbed the arm that Sinjin had cut. "She took blood?" Cicero
asked, something lighting up his dark eyes.

"She sliced my damn arm," Mace snapped.
"It had to look like you put up a fight and didn't go with

her willingly," Cicero explained as if Mace were a five year
old.

"I didn't go willingly!"
"Didn't you?" Cicero questioned softly.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Mace didn't know how to respond. Part of him had been

thrilled to follow Sinjin but the agent in him knew it was
wrong on all counts. No matter how he looked at it. It was
willingly. Instead of admitting it, he remained silent.

The door opened and in walked Sinjin and a man Mace

didn't recognize. He thought they had photos of most of the
men around her. But this was a new one, even for him.

Sinjin wore a pair of black BDUs that sat low on her hips.

Pressed against all her lovely sienna skin was a camouflaged
tank top. Her hair was shoved up under a green soldier's cap
and there were black combat boots on her feet.

She had a pistol on each thigh, and slung over her

shoulder was the assault rifle he recalled her using when she
was shooting outside. Dangerous and sexy were the words
that came to mind as he looked at her. Her face was an
unreadable mask of indifference.

"Drink this," she ordered as the man that had come with

her handed him a glass of murky brown liquid.

"No," he refused. A refusal that changed the second she

aimed a sidearm at him.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Chapter Eight

It was foul-tasting but that unwavering SIG-Sauer aimed

at the middle of his forehead was more persuasive than he
wanted to admit. The second he swallowed the last bit the
gun was lowered.

"Good," Sinjin said.
"What the hell is going on?" Mace demanded as a wave of

nausea moved over him. The room got blurry and he realized
he'd been drugged. "Damn you," he slurred as the three
forms of Sinjin moved closer to him. That was the last thing
he remembered as he slumped forward.

Sinjin allowed him to fall to the floor. "Damn, Sinjin, that

was cold." Cicero said. "Jaunt, take him up on deck."

The huge black man lifted Mace as if he weighed nothing,

slinging him over his shoulder. The trio maneuvered their way
back up onto the deck. The smaller boat was pulling up along
side a large yacht.

Sinjin grabbed a boathook and helped bring the two crafts

together and they tied them off. She remained on the smaller
one as the man called Jaunt carried Mace like a sack of
potatoes onto the 100-foot vessel.

Her eyes turned to Cicero as he too boarded his larger

boat. "What?"

"Just wondering what you are going to do once he wakes,"

Cicero said, amused, before walking away from her glare.

Jaunt climbed back onto the vessel with Sinjin. "Take care,

Sinjin. Until we meet again," he said with unusual affection.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"Thanks for everything, Jaunt." She gave him a brief smile

in the faint lights from the yacht and untied the mooring lines
holding them together. As Jaunt began pulling away, Sinjin
jumped onto the yacht and waved once before disappearing
from sight.

* * * *

Bam! The bedroom door snapped off its hinges as the

result of a heavily booted foot shoving against it. Three men
in dark suits burst into the room, weapons drawn only to halt.
The room was empty. One man searched the closet just to be
sure.

"He's not here," one man ground out.
"Where would he go?" another asked the furious Sonia

Clarkston.

"What the hell are you doing? This is my mission. And why

are you after Mace?"

Suit number one pushed her out of the way and growled,

"That is none of your damn business."

The rest of Sonia's team was immobilized in the other

room, having been gathered and put together. A different
man had a gun on them. "Call Dirk Tenodar, he'll straighten
this out."

"Our orders come from Dirk," a man sneered. "Now tell us

where he and that bitch are."

"I don't know where Mace is, but the tracker is on for

Sinjin." Sonia didn't understand what was going on.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"Mr. White, find where she is." The man next to Sonia

issued the order and another man nodded abruptly before
going to the computer and looking it over.

A man stuck his head out from the bedroom; Mace had

been in. "I found blood on the sheet."

The tall one who seemed to be in charge swore, "She

kidnapped him. How the hell did she get here if she has a
tracer on?"

"Maybe she didn't kidnap him. Maybe she just sent some

guys to do it for her. Especially since she knew we could track
her. But you won't be able to see her until the sun comes up."
Sonia grew very concerned for Mace. Blood? What the hell
happened to him?

"Mace is a traitor. He was planning on helping her escape.

He told her about the pardon," the man beside Sonia said.
"I'm Mr. Smith, and I clean up GDS mistakes. Mace Dylan and
Sinjin are just that. Mistakes."

Sonia sank into a chair. The news was a bit much. She

vaguely remembered Enrique protesting and defending
Mace's integrity. But each time he did, someone had a
counter. She cradled her head in her hands; this was not
boding well for anyone.

"She is on the water, moving toward the Keys," Mr. White

said as he sat down and brought up the satellite image
screen. All they saw was a large boat, cruising at a
comfortable pace. The early light of the day allowed them to
see her as she moved out onto the deck.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

All the men felt the stirrings of lust as the satellite

revolved giving them an unobstructed view of her. There was
nothing like a woman who could handle a weapon.

They watched as she lifted up a sign and held it up to the

sky. "Zoom in on that, Mr. White." The man did as instructed.
As they closed in on the sign, the words became legible. It
read:

GDS, YOU TRATIOROUS BASTARDS.
I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU.
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION!
By this time all the agents were crowed around the screen.

"What the hell?" Enrique asked the question they were all
thinking.

They watched as she lowered the sign and waved someone

forward. A tall burly man, face protected from recognition,
dragged a struggling Mace Dylan into view. The room fell
silent as the woman on the screen slashed her hand through
the air. The man holding Mace let him go.

The room full of agents watched in soundless horror as she

dispassionately drew her sidearm and shot Mace Dylan in the
forehead. He fell back onto the hard deck, blood streaming
from the single hole in his head.

"Kill her," one man said. A different man typed a code into

the computer and pressed the return key. All waited for the
capsule to take effect.

The woman looked up as a sinister look came across her

face. Together she and the man with her heaved Mace's
heavy body over the side of the yacht. Then she looked back

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

up to the sky, reached in her pocket, and dropped what she
pulled from it onto the deck.

One booted toe stuck out and stepped on one. Suddenly

the flashing red tracker mark on a computer monitor
disappeared. A sinking feeling gathered around the group in
the room as they realized what they were witnessing.

That same boot hovered over the other object, she took

one last glance upward, waved, flipped them the bird, and
stepped down crushing the tracker inside the deployed
cyanide pill. The other monitor went black, removing her from
view.

The room erupted into a fury of activity as they tried to

bring up a satellite that could zero in on her position. The
marker that had been placed inside Mace was moving slightly,
but considering he was sinking overboard, they didn't
overanalyze it.

Sonia began to cry. The rest of her team was silent as they

realized that this whole plan had gone wrong. Mace was dead,
and his killer was out there with no way to find her.

* * * *

Mace slowly opened his eyes. It felt like he had a hangover

from his college days. His stomach rolled as he sat up.
Images of Sinjin holding a gun on him while he drank some
vile concoction swam before his eyes.

"Bitch," he muttered under his breath.
"And you're still a bastard." Sinjin's reply was

instantaneous.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Jerking his gaze up, he saw her lounging against the far

wall. Dressed the same as she had been, yet he knew better
than to think she was relaxed.

"What the hell did you do to me?"
"I told you, I saved your life." At the suspicion that filled

his gaze, she added, "I didn't want the GDS to kill you, that
privilege is all mine."

"You are serious, aren't you?"
Her dark hand dropped to caress the black matted material

that covered the R6 at her side, fingers trailing over the
tattered camouflaged scarf on the butt. "Dead." Sinjin looked
down at the gun she touched and then back up to the man
across the room from her, waiting for him to say something
else.

"So why am I here in this bed? Why don't you just kill me

and get it over with?"

Dead eyes stared back at him. "Don't push your luck. I

don't want to kill you early."

Deciding it best not to provoke her, Mace changed

directions. "What that stuff you gave me to drink?"

"It was a mixture designed to diffuse the tracking chip

they put in you."

His light eyes flew open. "What? Who put?"
She shifted her weight. "The device that your agency put

in you." At the wide-eyed look he gave her, she answered his
unasked question. "There wasn't any cyanide in yours; they
saved that lovely little item for me."

"Are you telling me that the GDS tagged me?"

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"Yep." Sinjin grabbed a straight-backed chair, turned it

around, and straddled it. Her strong and bare arms sat upon
the back.

"I don't believe you," he snapped.
"Big surprise," she stated blandly.
"I never got a shot, I was never injected."
"Why do you think I had you drink something? It was fed

to you, not injected into you." Sinjin stretched out her hands,
looking at the tips of her fingers that were exposed, even
though she wore gloves. The tips had been cut off for
increased sensitivity. Her nails were plain.

The betrayal Mace felt made him close his eyes. He had

been with the GDS for thirteen years and this was how they
repaid his years of service. The seeds of anger began to grow
in his belly.

As if reading his mind, Sinjin commented, "Doesn't feel

good, does it? Having someone you trust betray you."

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "It wasn't like

that."

"Enough." She silenced him with a wave of her hand. "I

don't have time to do a pity party with you. We have to kill
you."

Those light chestnut eyes got bigger. "Why do we have to

kill me?"

"So you can get on with your life and not be in any danger

from them. Listen to me." Sinjin barely took time for a
breath. "This is what we are going to do."

Mace watched her as she explained the situation. He

couldn't believe it and yet somehow he knew it would work

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

out in the end. When she got up and put the chair back in the
exact place she had gotten it from, he noticed the gauze on
her shoulder.

The second she stopped talking he butted in, "What

happened to your shoulder?"

"I had the tracers removed, after I found out about the

cyanide in mine." Her tone was emotionless.

"When?" Mace had seen how deep the needles had gone

in, they didn't want to take the chance that she would cut a
slit and squeeze them out.

"Yesterday. After I was at the range."
"So when you and he were on that rock?" Mace

questioned, not realizing why it was so important to him. Oh
please, Mace. Admit the truth to yourself. You were jealous
imagining her with him again.

"The doc was below me on the rock, cutting them out. It

hurt like hell." She spun around and walked to the door.
"Someone will be here for you in a bit."

"Wait," he said. "Are you telling me that you haven't made

love with him?"

Sinjin looked him in the eyes and said in a straightforward

voice that cut him to the core. "I have not made love to
anyone in over six years. Why would I? I've been raped
repeatedly, I'm not out to have any man's hands on me." She
blinked as if it were no big deal. "Don't forget the plan." Like
smoke, she was gone.

Mace was disgusted with the situation, with the GDS, but

mostly with himself. "I will find the ones who did this to you. I

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

swear it." He smacked a fist into his other hand and winced
from the pain that shot up the arm she had sliced.

"You always were direct with your marks, Sin." Mace got

up and began to pace his room. The one time he opened the
door, he was met by two heavily armed guards who stared at
him. Mace went back into the room, not sure that they would
be in on the plan.

One hour turned to two and she didn't return. Mace was

taut with tension and he fought down the urge to fight his
way past them and find her. The need was almost
overwhelming. The desire to protect her and show her what
love truly can be filled him more than he imagined possible.

When they came to gather him, he was more than anxious

to go. What he hadn't expected was how much it was going to
hurt. He had been shot before, but this was just plain painful.

He didn't have to pretend getting knocked off his feet. The

force did that. At least they allowed him to gather his breath
before they heaved him overboard. Mace sunk below and took
the mouth breather that had been attached to the side for
him to use. He grabbed onto the rung below the water line
and held on as the yacht traveled on.

It was a little while before they stopped moving and he felt

it safe enough to come up from underneath the vessel. There
was a ladder down and he they quickly pulled him in and
ushered him back into the cabin he had used. The door shut
behind him and he noticed that there was a clean and dry set
of clothing for him on the bed.

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Going into the small bathroom, he glanced in the mirror,

shrugged at the bruise forming on his forehead and cleaned
up the traces of fake blood.

Mace removed all his wet clothes, put on the shorts, and

walked back up onto the top deck. He went into the sun and
looked around. All the weapons were gone and he was faced
with a group of people out enjoying the day.

His gaze searched for one woman in particular. Sinjin.
She was wearing a long white flowing dress. It clung to

every curve she had and looked stunning against her dark
coloring. Her hair was hanging free around her face and
shoulders, giving her an innocent look.

Unbidden he moved toward her, wanting, no, craving, to

be near her. He saw her sitting on a lounge chair, her bare
feet sticking out from beneath the hemline of her dress. Her
thick lashes rested upon her smooth cheeks as she enjoyed
the sun's gentle caress.

"Thank you," he said softly as he sat on a chair next to

her.

She didn't move. Didn't say a thing.
Mace stretched out his strong legs, pushed his sunglasses

up on his nose, and focused on the shimmery blue water.
"Will you say something to me, Sin?" Sinjin swallowed. Her
eyes had cracked open as he sat down beside her.

"What do you want me to say, Mace?"
He didn't know. Mace just needed to hear her voice.

"Anything you want, just talk to me, please."

"We have nothing to say to one another," Sinjin stated.
"You can't believe that. I want to explain to you—"

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

"No!" Sinjin interjected. "There is no need to explain

anything to me."

"Well, we can talk about something else then," Mace

pushed.

Sinjin sat up, swung her legs over the side of the lounge,

and stared at him. "There is nothing to talk about. I haven't
done anything over the past six years, except live my life
being watched. My every move observed. I don't know what
you are looking for. I don't have much to say anymore. I like
silence and I am searching for solace." She stood up. "Please
let me find it."

Mace remained where he was as she moved away. But you

are my solace, Sinjin. I can't let you go again. He stood up
and walked in the direction the fragrance of her lotion led
him. There were faint voices coming from a room and he
paused outside.

It was Cicero and Sinjin. He was talking. "The two of you

are going to have to travel together and find out who it is that
wants to kill him. You have to protect him, Sinjin. And you
have to trust in him enough to be protected by him."

A myriad of emotions crossed her face, but she nodded

once and said, "I will protect him. I'll be ready to go by the
time we reach the next port. Don't worry."

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

Chapter Nine

The silence in the car was deafening. Keeping most of his

focus on the road, Mace took a glimpse of the woman beside
him. He couldn't see much of her, since it was midnight and
they were traveling through the back roads.

She seemed to be sleeping, but he would bet she was

awake. He was tired. Mace had been driving the car for the
past four hours. He needed a drink, a bathroom, and the car
needed gas.

Town lights filled his line of sight. "Sinjin, I'm stopping to

get gas." His deep voice filled the silence of the car. There
wasn't even any music playing.

Sinjin sat up and adjusted her shirt. "Fine."
Mace bit his cheek. They had been driving for the past

three days and she only spoke when spoken to. He was
beginning to tire of the silent treatment.

Carefully he pulled into the station. There was one other

car there and he would bet anything it belonged to the
employee. The winters in the Midwest was less than favorable
in February.

Stopping the steel blue metallic Acura MDX in front of a

pump, Mace shut off the engine. He left his hands on the
wheel and licked his lips. "I'll fill it up."

"I can do it. You did it the last time. It won't take but a

moment." Sinjin slipped out of the vehicle.

Mace got out immediately afterward and walked around to

where she stood waiting for her credit card to be verified. "Do

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

you want anything?" He took in how she wasn't wearing a
jacket.

The howling winds cut him to the bone, but she seemed

almost impervious to the biting chill. "Coffee, please." She
kept her eyes on the gas handle as she spoke to him, not
meeting his gaze.

"Be right back," he said with a gentle smile. Not that she

saw it, for she didn't look at him.

Sinjin watched him under lowered lids as he went in the

store. She was tired. Exhausted, really. Her body was
beginning to shut down. The clicking of the pump brought her
attention back to what she was doing.

She had grabbed the receipt and moved around the vehicle

to the driver's door when Mace walked out from the store. His
broad shoulders seemed to blot out the light for a moment.
There was a drink in each hand and he strode toward her.

"Here you go," he said as he approached, handing her the

large steaming drink.

"Thank you," Sinjin responded as she took it from him and

climbed into the driver's seat. She turned the car on and
readjusted the seat and other controls. She sipped the coffee
as she waited for him to climb in.

Mace shut the door, set the drink down and shrugged out

of his jacket, tossing it in the back. He noted the intense look
on her face as she held the coffee under her nose. "I didn't
add anything to it. It would be kind of dumb for me to do that
when you are driving."

Sinjin looked over to him. She held his gaze for a moment

before looking away and setting the cup down. Reaching for

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100

the shifter, she paused and said, "I'm exhausted. I don't
know how long I can go."

Mace's jaw dropped open. Sinjin didn't admit things like

that. "Why don't you just drive until we find a roadside
motel?" he suggested, noting the stiffening of her body. "I
could use some shuteye in a real bed myself."

"Okay."

* * * *

Soon they were back on the road. She looked for a motel

or hotel, whichever came first. The snow picked up in force,
straining her eyes even more.

"There," Mace broke the quiet ride. "Up ahead on the left."
Sinjin looked and nodded. "Good." As she pulled in, they

noticed how full the place was. Apparently getting out of this
storm was what many people had in mind.

Mace almost suggested she wait in the car, but he knew

that wouldn't go over very well. Reaching behind him, he
grabbed his jacket and got out of the SUV. As he walked
around the front, he saw her moving into the hotel already.

The snow was deep but that didn't slow her steps down at

all. He hurried to catch up with her. Sinjin was at the counter
when he got there and he moved up behind her and said,
"You forgot your jacket again, honey. It's too cold out for you
to be doing that." Gentle hands settled her winter coat over
her shoulders.

"Thank you," she murmured.
"My pleasure," Mace responded as he watched her take the

key for the room. The man behind the counter stared at her

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101

until Mace leaned in closer and asked, "Is something wrong?"
There was menace in Mace's voice. The man flushed and
shook his head.

Sinjin walked back toward the door and out into the cold.

As before, Mace noticed that she didn't seem bothered by the
cold. "We have Room 9. It's the last one. Over there at the
end of the line." She pointed as she spoke.

Mace glanced at her and took in the circles under her eyes.

"Why don't you go get out of the cold and I'll grab our bags."
At her hesitation, he insisted. "Let me do this, Sinjin. Get out
of the cold."

She walked away from him without responding. There was

one thing on her mind and that was to sleep. As she opened
the door to the room, Sinjin took a look behind her and stared
at Mace as he was grabbing their bags from the back of their
vehicle.

The snow gave him a dappled look; the thick flakes landing

on his dark hair only to be blown off by the swirling winds. He
had both of their bags in one hand as he closed the hatch.

As if he sensed her watching him, he lifted his head to look

in her direction. His powerful body hesitated for a mere
moment before he began walking toward her and their room.

Sinjin let herself into the room, grateful to be out of the

windy night. Turning on the light, her dark eyes swept over
the room and she sighed with relief that there were two beds.
Just as she was going to pick one for herself, a knock came at
the door.

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102

Her SIG-Sauer was in her hand before the sound faded

from the room. Mace's voice was muffled through the door.
"Sinjin, let me in."

Still cautious, she opened the door with the gun ready to

fire at a seconds notice. Mace gave her a small grin and
moved into the room. The grin faded as he saw what she held
in her hand.

"Where did you have that hidden?" he demanded as the

door slammed shut behind his six foot plus body.

"It was hidden for a reason. So you wouldn't be able to see

it." Sinjin explained as she headed toward one of the beds.
Mace noticed it was the one furthest from the door and
window.

"And if we had been stopped?" he questioned her. Not

wanting to get upset, but it was hard, if they were supposed
to be keeping a low profile.

"They would find that I am duly and properly licensed to

carry a sidearm." She glanced at him. "As are you."

Mace placed her bag beside the bed she had chosen. "I

am?"

"I know you feel better with a gun, so yes, you have a

license to carry one. It is in your bag, in your passport."
Sinjin sat down on the edge of her double bed. Exhaustion
filled her features. It took a few moments before she picked
up her bag and opened it.

Mace knew she was tired; the truth of it was all over her

stunning face. As he watched her flip through items in her
bag, he found himself wanting to know more about how she

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103

got those scars on her back. How she managed to survive all
that time being the only woman in a prison of killers.

"Why don't you use the bathroom first?" Mace took himself

to the door and latched the security chain as he waited to
hear her response to his suggestion. Not hearing anything, he
looked over her shoulder to find himself alone in the room.

Sinjin took a quick shower. Three minutes was about as

long as she was used to. It was harder than she realized to
break some of those habits. She put some lotion on and got
dressed in a tank top and a pair of plain gray sweats.

Hanging up her towel, she grabbed her dirty clothes and

walked back into the main part of the room. Mace was sitting
on his bed, looking at a Beretta 9mm and loading it.

His chestnut eyes glanced up and met her dark ones when

she reappeared. The subtle smell of honey filled the room. It
wasn't ordinary honey, like in a milk and honey smell. Or
honey that was purchased in the store.

No, Sinjin wore a scent that smelled like honeycomb, the

rich, intoxicating smell that one got if you had honeybees and
were at the hives pulling the comb out. So rich you could
almost taste it.

It surrounded her like a gentle veil. Inviting a man to

follow the smell and see how much of her was covered in that
enthralling aroma. As it wound around him, his cock jerked
painfully in his pants, telling him he wasn't as exhausted as
he first thought.

Her hair looked so silky and as if inviting him to touch. His

eyes traveled over the peach tank top she wore and admired
the way the sweats hugged her hips. As she moved toward

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104

her bed, the left side of her pants dipped lower and allowed
Mace to see ink. He wished he could investigate further.
Biting back his moan of desire, he swallowed and said, "The
room's locked up tight. I'll only be a minute."

He stood, wishing there were some way to hide the

evidence of his desire. Mace grabbed his clean clothing and
headed off.

Shutting the door behind him, Mace inhaled as the smell of

her lotion filled his pores. The scent went in through his skin
and straight to his throbbing erection. Turning on the water,
he adjusted the temperature and then disrobed.

Stepping beneath the spray, he tipped his head back and

allowed the warmth of the water to penetrate the chill that
seemed to permeate through to his bones. Once he felt
warm, he began to wash his body.

The second he ran his hand over his erection, it jumped at

his touch. "Sinjin," he moaned to the room. Lathering up
more soap on his hands, he wrapped long fingers around the
part of his body that demanded attention.

Bracing against the shower wall with his other hand, Mace

stroked himself faster and faster. Eyes closed he envisioned
the dark hand of Sinjin slipping up and down his swollen
penis. His head dropped forward, water moved in rivulets
down his hair and to the floor.

The scent of her lotion enveloped him and it added to his

fantasy. He could see her so clearly in his mind's eye. Her
feminine yet strong fingers as they caressed lovingly along his
turgid flesh. The joy in her eyes as he neared his completion.

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105

Faster and faster he fisted his cock. His balls began to

tighten so he jerked faster. He needed this release or he was
going to be making a fool of himself. Or lose his dick when
Sinjin cut it off. Mace came in a rush of thick come as he
remembered the time he took Sinjin against the side of a
truck, from behind. He had pressed against her and lifted her
skirt. Neither of them cared they were out in public; even the
passing cars didn't deter them.

Knees wobbly after his volatile eruption; Mace sped

through the rest of his shower and got out. Her name was on
his lips as he left the bathroom and walked into the sleeping
area.

There was one light on; it was on his side of the room.

Sinjin looked like she was asleep and so Mace went to his
bed, even as his cock began to swell at the sight of her lying
there.

* * * *

Her expression remained bland as she watched him walk

into the bathroom. Inside however, she shook. For different
reasons. Sinjin had always reacted strongly to Mace in a
sexual way, the passion that had been between them could
be considered nothing less than explosive. But the memories
of what she endured at Ferð Endir were much closer to
the surface.

Regardless, she couldn't help but notice just how fine he

was. The years had been wonderful to him. He still moved like
a predator and she didn't doubt he could still act like one, if
riled.

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106

Slipping beneath the bedding, Sinjin listened to the winds

increase in force. She could feel it in her bones; this storm
was going to get worse before it got better. Rolling to her
side, she faced the door and slipped her hand under the
pillow to rest it upon her Glock20. She would have preferred
her SIG, but that had been modified and had no safety. She
didn't want to kill Mace because she had a nightmare.

She drifted off to sleep and woke when Mace walked into

the room. Her body went on alert although she didn't let on
that she had woken. She watched him from lowered lids as he
double-checked the locks.

All he wore was a pair of sweats. They were the same gray

as hers, but looked much better on him, in her opinion, than
hers did on her. As he lay down on his bed, Sinjin closed her
eyes and tried to let sleep overtake her again.

The screams woke him. Sound asleep one moment, wide

awake with his gun in hand the next. Eyes searching for the
enemy.

Another scream pierced the room. Sinjin.
Mace turned on a light and looked at her. Her body was

covered in sweat and she was tossing, and screaming. No,
tossing wasn't the proper word; she was battling some demon
from her past.

Placing his gun down, Mace realized he had to calm her

down before her frightened cries woke up the rest of the
hotel. He didn't even hesitate, just reached out and lifted her
clean off her bed and into his arms.

Immediately her attack focused on him. Damn, she is

strong and dangerous. Mace barely blocked her attack on his

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107

eyes. Her screams were in a language he didn't know, but to
him it sounded Slavic.

"Sinjin," he tried to break through the haze that

surrounded her and wake her. "Come on, wake up." Mace laid
them both on the bed and captured as much of her as he
could beneath him.

"Wake up, Sinjin. Come on baby, wake up. Please. You are

having a dream." Mace grunted from the blows that she was
still managing to deliver to him.

Her body heaved and almost tossed him off. Mace didn't

like the solution that came to his mind, but he didn't see any
other choice. Raising his body up, he straddled her with his
legs, his knees digging into the mattress.

"I'm sorry, baby," he muttered, seconds before he

backhanded her across the jaw.

Mace didn't expect the reaction he got. In seconds their

positions had changed. Mace was lying on the dingy, cheap
carpet of the hotel room. On top of him with a gun pressed to
his skull was the woman he had been trying to wake.

Well, she was awake now.
Sinjin stared down into the light eyes of the man beneath

her. Why had he touched her? Why had he hit her? He didn't
say a word, just stared up into her eyes and in them she
could see the trust he had that she wouldn't pull the trigger
on the gun.

Flashes of her nightmare came back to her and she flicked

the safety back on, and took the barrel of her gun off his
head. Climbing off him, she sat on the edge of her bed.

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by Aliyah Burke

108

Mace got to his feet and sat beside her. Ignoring the

tensing of her body, he reached over, took the Glock from her
hand, and placed it on the table next to the bed. Reaching
across to his light, he shut it off and lifted Sinjin in his arms
again, cradling her to his chest.

"Don't struggle, Sin. No one is going to think less of you

because you had a nightmare." His hands began rubbing her
back in a gentle soothing motion. "Just let it out."

Moving slowly, he laid them both out on the bed and

refused to allow her to shift out of his embrace. "No, let me
hold you, Sin. Let me hold you for the night."

He rolled to his side and felt his heart break as she tucked

her arms in-between them, like she used to do when she
slept, and pressed her face into his neck. Some part of you
still trusts me, baby. We both know that it is hard for you to
get to your gun with your hands like this.

They fell asleep like that, limbs entwined and Mace's

strong arms wrapped around her as if she were as fragile as a
snowflake. His lips were pressed against her head.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

109

Chapter Ten

Sinjin woke feeling like she was lost. The first thing she did

was reach for her gun. The six years in prison hadn't stopped
her from doing that. It was there, her heart slowed as her
palm curved around the butt of her Glock.

Then she opened her eyes, slowly. Noting that there was

nothing around her, she sat up. The room was empty. Mace
was gone.

Swinging her legs from the bed to the floor, Sinjin halted

before she pushed herself up off the mattress. She didn't
need to chase off after him; he knew what the plan was.

The door clicked and began to move open. When Mace

Dylan walked in the room, he was faced with an empty room.
At least that was what he thought until he closed the door on
the freezing temperatures behind him.

Sinjin was behind the door, two guns aimed at him. Mace

bit back a shiver, she could look so cold. "I brought
breakfast," he said calmly, as if facing down her SIG and
Glock was an everyday occurrence for him. "Come eat it."

Doing as she had been told, Sinjin padded barefoot over to

Mace's bed, where he had laid out the food. Two coffees were
on the table between the beds. The food was scrambled eggs,
two pancakes, a biscuit, and bacon. On the other plate was
the exact thing except for it had sausage instead of bacon.

"The one with bacon is yours," Mace said as he took of his

snow and sleet covered jacket.

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"Thank you." Sinjin grabbed the plate and sat down on her

bed. She sat there holding her fork and staring at her plate.
"And thank you for last night as well. I am sorry for hitting
you."

Mace picked up his plate and sat on the edge of his bed,

facing Sinjin. "Sinjin, don't apologize. You have every right to
have nightmares considering what you've been through."

Not wanting to go down that road, Sinjin took a bite of

food. She swallowed it and reached for her coffee. Taking a
drink, she looked at him. "I guess the snow has gotten
worse?"

"Let's just say we are going to be here for a while." He

paused as he took a swig of his warm coffee. "But that will
give us time to get reacquainted with one another." At the
narrowing of her eyes, he smiled. "We are supposed to be a
couple you know. You could at least act like you want to be
around me."

"I know. I have been putting us at risk. I will do better."

Sinjin picked up a pancake and bit into it.

"Still don't put syrup on your pancakes, huh?"
"You remember that?" Sinjin was surprised.
"I remember everything," Mace declared as he put a

forkful of eggs in his mouth.

"This doesn't change anything, you know. I will help you

get your life back and find the ones who betrayed you, but
that is it." Sinjin began tearing her second pancake into little
pieces.

"This changes everything, Sin. I would love to go back and

change the past and what I did, but I can't. I want to get to

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know you again. We don't have anyone else to answer to
anymore."

Sinjin was lining up the small pieces of her pancake

without really looking at them. "That isn't an option here. I
don't want to get to know you and you can't get to know me."

"What we had—"
"What we had was in the past and long gone. Years of

prison and feelings of betrayal are there now. I can't try to
get to know you if I don't know who I am myself. I don't want
to get to know you."

Mace looked at her, but didn't interrupt her. Instead, he

set his now empty plate to the side and sat back against the
headboard with his coffee in hand.

"Look. I'm a mercenary and a computer whiz. But right

now I am trying to figure out the outside world. Mace, I have
been out for less than two weeks. I was on the inside for six
years. Six! That's not easy to get over."

Sinjin put her plate to the side of her, pulled her legs up

on the bed, and stared at the handsome man across from
her. He had three days growth of hair on his face. "I still react
at times like I am a prisoner. I don't remember what privacy
is like. What I need is time to figure things out for myself."

"You always were direct, Sinjin. That was one of the things

I loved so much about you."

That floored her. "You loved me?"
Mace nodded. "I do ... did." His weight shifted on the bed.

"You had to know how I felt." He moved his body towards the
edge of his mattress.

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"I used to think I did, you know, until that incident. But

when you stood there and watched as Dirk ordered them to
snap those shackles on me, and when the metal began to dig
into my flesh as they strung the chains through, I wasn't so
sure anymore." Her voice dropped to a low murmur echoed
by the wind slamming against the door.

"Those chains were a lot heavier than I thought they would

be. Each link pulled tighter and tighter, especially since I
wasn't wearing anything under them. Not that it would have
mattered." Her coffee gone, Sinjin crushed the cup like it was
a tick being popped. A harsh and unforgiving motion.

"I think it was that moment that my faith in your love

evaporated. I was even willing to overlook you calling me
'Cicero's whore.'" Sinjin's eyes took on a hazy look. "It hurt,
but I thought ... no hoped that it was all show for everyone
else."

Mace felt lower than a snake's belly. "Sinjin, I don't know

what to say."

"I see you have moved on. Never pegged you for the type

to fuck your boss, but hey, why not. I mean overall she does
seem like your type, and you never let things like position
and place get in your way."

"I don't have a relationship with Sonia. It ended the

moment I went to Iceland." Mace left his bed and sat on hers.

Skepticism filled her gaze now. "Oh, I bet you ended it.

Had to use whatever means necessary to get in my good
graces and get me to help the GDS. Tell me, how did they
convince you to go try and get me to cooperate?"

Mace swallowed, not sure what to say.

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A sharp bark of laughter erupted from her mouth. "You

hadn't thought about me in a whole lotta years, and then I
was dropped on you. Poor Mace," she said sarcastically.

"It wasn't like that, Sinjin," Mace argued. "I forced that

memory from my mind. I was a wreck after it happened and
requested a transfer to a different unit. That's how I ended up
with Sonia's crew."

"Oh please," she scoffed. "You aren't about to ask me to

feel sorry for what you went through?'

Mace snapped his mouth shut realizing that was exactly

what he had been about to do. "No," he lied.

"Do you know what it's like to be the only woman in a

prison of six hundred? Where the lightest sentenced man has
done unspeakable things to innocents?"

A shudder of horror ripped through him at the image her

words formed. "Oh, Sin," he breathed out softly. Instinctively
he wanted to reach for her, but he knew that it would be a
bad idea. For despite her willingness to talk to him, he knew
that physical contact wasn't on the agenda. At least not for
today.

"I wanted your sympathy then, Mace. Not now." Sinjin said

in her dispassionate voice. During the short time they'd been
back together, Mace had grown to hate the flat inflection.

"You hate me, don't you?" Mace questioned.
"I honestly don't know." She rose in a graceful motion. "I

am going to get cleaned up. Thank you for breakfast."
Digging through her bag, Sinjin eventually gave up her search
and just picked up the whole thing and took it in with her.

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Mace cleaned up the remains of the breakfast and sat back

down on his bed. He stretched out. His brown eyes drifted
toward the window and it looked very dark out there.

He was stuck in a hotel room with a woman who seemed

to despise him. But he still harbored a gargantuan sexual
attraction to her, even smelling her lotions made him hard as
iron.

When he and Sinjin had been intimate before the world

blew up in his face, Mace had fallen for more than just the
intense sexual feelings that they shared. She could talk to
him about things he enjoyed doing. Like going to the gun
range, spending time outside enjoying nature and things like
that.

* * * *

Mace was still in the same position when Sinjin came back

out of the bathroom. Her eyes roamed over his body almost
hungrily. I don't understand why my body is reacting to him
like this. "Are you planning on lying around all day?"

Turning his head to look at her, his gaze skimmed her

body as he said, "Well, I'm up for some type of exercise but I
don't know if you could keep up."

Something primal flared in her body. It was always like

this with Mace. Every time he said something like a challenge,
she ached to make him eat his words. She loved challenges,
but she loved winning them even more.

"I'm in a lot better shape than you might remember, Mace

Dylan." A fire lit in the back of her eyes at the prospect of
competition.

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* * * *

Mace rolled to his side and allowed his thick lashes to

caress his cheeks before they lifted, allowing her to gaze upon
his eyes that sparked with a gleam of confrontation. "I
wouldn't have it any other way."

"What are the rules?"
"Winner's choice," Mace declared, needing to see just how

far she was willing to go.

"Done." She began to stretch, unaware or uncaring of his

reaction to her.

Mace rotated away from her, cursing under his breath as

his erection, suddenly rock hard again, hit something sharp in
his bed. Using his hand, he readjusted himself, climbed off
the bed, and grabbed his bag before heading into the
bathroom.

When he returned, he saw Sinjin sitting cross-legged on

her bed, back ramrod straight. A smile tugged at his face,
Mace could see the excitement in her eyes. Sinjin always
loved a challenge.

"Ready?' he asked as he put his bag back down on the

floor by his bed.

"Absolutely," she responded immediately.
"Well then," Mace quipped as a full-blown grin crossed his

freshly shaven face. "Let's not keep you wanting any longer
then." He sat down in the middle of his bed and held her
gaze. "What's it going to be?"

Sinjin thought about it for a moment and just before she

was ready to respond, a knock came at the door. In less than

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a second she had rolled off the bed and come up with guns in
both hands pointing at the door.

Mace shouted, "Who is it?"
"The manager," a shivering voice yelled back. "Please can I

come in?"

"Just a sec," Mace said as Sinjin positioned herself behind

the door, both weapons ready. Mace waited until she nodded
briefly at him before he opened the door.

The man blew in along with a bunch of sleet and freezing

wind. But he was alone. Mace closed the door behind him and
the man turned to see both him and Sinjin watching him.

Sinjin stood next to Mace. With her one hand behind

Mace's back, they gave the appearance of a couple, yet
unknown to the manager a gun was in that hand. Her other
one was in Mace's hand, resting against the small of her back.

"What can we do for you?" Sinjin asked, noting the way

Mace shuddered from the cold air.

"Look, I apologize for barging in on you, but the storm is

getting so much worse. The lines are getting frozen and
snapping from the weight of the ice buildup." He rubbed his
hands together. "I am going around to all the rooms and
asking people to please bundle up instead of cranking up the
heat."

Sinjin and Mace looked at each other. "Okay. Is the power

out?" Mace asked.

"The heaviest section of the ice storm is on its way here

now. We are expecting to lose power tonight. But we are
packed to capacity and I honestly don't know how long all the
generators will hold out."

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Sinjin nodded. "So if we could keep the use of electricity to

a minimum, it would help?"

The man chuckled dryly. "Anything short of a miracle isn't

really going to help, but yes, it would. I just hope we all make
it through this." A grimace crossed his face. "But anyway,
thank you in advance for helping out. Every little bit will do
some good. And hopefully we can get through this storm
without losing anyone." He gave them a tense smile. "Good
day."

Mace closed the door after him, shutting out the cold wind

and blowing snow. Sinjin put her guns away and headed to
the thermostat. "Are you warm?" she asked as she turned it
down a bit more.

"Not as warm as I could be," Mace said slyly.
"Well, when you lose don't worry, you'll be really warm."

Sinjin just about bounded back to the bed and sat upon the
flowered comforter.

"Really?" Mace put his face close to hers. "What exactly

are you going to have me do, if I lose?"

Sinjin moved her eyes over his handsome face. "Not if,

Mace, when. I am going to win and you will have to do
whatever I say."

He reached out with one long tanned finger and touched

the end of her nose. "I can't wait to have you ordering me
around."

"And I can't wait to do it." Sinjin tried to ignore the

double-entendre that was floating around the room.

"Let the games begin," Mace suggested lewdly as he

reclaimed his seat in the middle of his bed.

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"You haven't said what's up first," Sinjin reminded him.

"We can't begin unless you name the game."

With a wicked glint in his eye, Mace licked his bow-shaped

lips and nodded. "How right you are. Are you sure you want
me to pick first? Or did you want to?"

Sinjin leaned forward. Devilish delight filled her dark eyes.

"I wouldn't want you to complain that I cheated so I should
let you go first." She pursed her lips. "But on the other hand,
I have been in prison for a while so perhaps I should go first."

Mace tipped his head and stared at her. "I don't know, that

may have given you an unfair advantage."

"Oh, but I am entitled to some kind of advantage aren't I?"
"You have all the advantage you could ever need." Mace

crossed his arms and waited.

"Flattery isn't going to change the fact that I am going to

wipe the floor with you."

"Oh baby, let's see what you've got," Mace challenged her

as he stood up between the beds and looked down at her.

Seconds later, Sinjin stood as well. Toe to toe they were,

and she tipped her head up to stare into his eyes. "Game on,"
she purred.

[Back to Table of Contents]

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Chapter Eleven

Global Defense Squad headquarters
"You just stood there and let her waltz in, kidnap him, take

him out from under your noses, and shoot him?" Dirk
thundered as he faced down Sonia in his office.

"This isn't my fault!" she screeched back. "Who the hell

were those damn goons that stormed in? They had the fuckin'
nerve to put a gun in my face. Mine!" Her long legs wore a
path in the carpeted floor.

"That came from up above. Apparently when Bradley's wife

saw his "present" from little Miss Sinjin, she flipped out. He
retaliated by sending in his own men, thinking they could do
better."

"Well, they didn't, did they?" she snapped. "And now Mace

is dead."

"We are still looking for the body, but his tracer isn't active

anymore so I don't know what to tell you."

"You could tell me why she was locked up and the key was

thrown away." Sonia stopped her pacing and sat down in one
of the chairs.

"I gave you the file," Dirk snarled.
"And I read it, but the more I think about it, the more I

realize it doesn't make sense." Seeing she had gotten his
attention, Sonia continued, "This woman is beyond brilliant.
So if she tipped off Cicero, why didn't she just go with him?
Why would she stay at the other place and allow herself to be
captured?"

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Dirk sat down behind his mahogany desk and leaned back

in the chair. His brown eyes watched Sonia with a gleam that
should have alerted her that something wasn't right. "I don't
know why she did that. She is nothing more than his whore,
maybe he grew tired of her."

"If he had grown tired of her then releasing her wouldn't

have done a bit of good. No, you must have known he would
want her back." Sonia shook her head. "Why my group? Why
Mace?" She was proud that her voice didn't crack at the
memory of seeing him fly back from the single shot to the
head.

"Mace was banging her before it all went down. If anyone

could have helped get her assistance it would have been
him."

Sonia didn't have a word to say. How could she? Mace had

told her that he wasn't fucking Sinjin. He lied to her. He lied?
Mace didn't lie. "How do you know?" She asked even though
she didn't want to know the answer.

"He told me," Dirk said. His face twisted cruelly. "Oh yeah,

Mace loved to tell me just how hot she was in bed."

Not wanting to hear that, Sonia bit her tongue and tried to

maintain an expressionless face. But Dirk knew, more than
she wanted him too. And so, when his evil grin widened, she
knew he was on to her.

"He said that she was the best fuck he ever had. If not for

her race and the fact that she was Cicero's whore, he could
imagine keeping her around for himself after the thing went
down. Said, that for a black chick she was one hell of a good
fuck. I had never seen him get that deep with anyone

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before." Dirk chuckled. "Well, now that he's dead, I guess it
doesn't really matter, does it."

His sharp gaze raked lewdly over Sonia's body. "You were

fucking him, weren't you?" He waved off her attempt at a
denial. "Please, Ms. Clarkston. You don't think I wouldn't be
well aware of your activities, now do you?"

She was embarrassed, but for some reason, she was

impressed she had even made a blip on his radar. Dirk
Tenodar didn't mingle with the drones. The slyness in her
rushed to the surface. "I'm touched you were interested in
my activities. Why were you watching me? Seeing if I'd be
right for you?"

Without batting an eye, Dirk shook his head. "Sorry. I

don't go for used goods. I like young fresh meat." He leaned
back in his chair. "I was interested in how close you and Mace
would get. We have believed he was a traitor for a while now.
His mother came into a large sum of money and we don't
know how she got it."

Biting back her anger, Sonia's interest was peaked again.

"So you thought that he was working with Cicero and would
eventually escape with him and Sinjin? And with the tracker
in him you could find him anywhere."

"So the problem remains that he is dead and she is gone,

so there still is a mole within the agency." Dirk shifted his
weight in the leather chair.

"I don't understand what that has to do with me." Sonia

began to feel uncomfortable. Her green eyes gazed around
the room, noting the thick carpet and how it didn't fit the rest

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of the décor. As if there was a new decorating theme going
on.

"Well, considering that earlier this morning, the rest of

your team died an in explosion, that leaves us with one
solution." Hard blue eyes stared across the desk at her.

Horror filled her as the news penetrated. "My team is

gone? What happened?" Her hand covered her mouth as she
tried not to hurl.

"You killed them, of course. Someone must have figured it

out and threatened to tell someone like me of how you
alerted Sinjin on how to get Mace and kill him."

Her mouth dropped open. "I can't believe you would think

that. Why would I help her out with anything, and I sure as
hell wouldn't kill my team."

He lifted his skinny shoulders in a careless gesture. "Well,

they're dead and you're not."

"I've been in your custody for two days!" Sonia shoved

herself out of the chair and stared at the dispassionate man
before her.

"Not according to any record. You and your team have

been out, ignoring the fact that one of your own was taken
right under your noses and killed." Those skinny and gnarled
fingers touched as he observed her. "Sit down," he barked.

Sonia sat. The room was beginning to swim before her

eyes. This was too much. "So this ... all this ... what was it?"

Dirk looked at her as if weighing the options of telling her

or not. He must have decided it was okay, for he opened his
mouth and said, "A way for me to get rid of the last person

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who would have a way of figuring out what truly happened six
years ago."

Shivers of dread filled her. "You were the mole? Are the

mole?"

He arched a brow. "You know, that is a very serious

accusation you are making."

No matter how scared she was, deep in her gut, Sonia

knew it was the truth. "But you are. You somehow tipped off
Cicero and took his woman instead. Why? What possible
reason could you have?"

"If Cicero got caught, then I wouldn't be able to continue

my research on better truth serums, diseases, and other
medical research. Right now, everything is done with a view
of what it could do to help bring in Cicero."

"My God, you are experimenting on people." She was

aghast.

Unrepentant he nodded. "Yes. Think of it like the Nazis but

with more technology, although they were very clever in their
torture methods." A sick gleam filled his gaze.

"You perverted bastard! Is that what you've done to my

team?"

"Ah yes. All of them, strapped down on their own beds,

just waiting to see what happens. Have you ever seen
humanity stripped away from a person? You can see it leave,
little by little, until all that's left is emptiness or a savage
animal."

"How dare you!" She bolted out of her chair and headed

for the door. It was locked. As she jerked on the handle and

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pounded on the thick door, her cries grew louder. "Help me!
Please, someone help me!"

A tsk-ing sound from behind her cut through her cries.

Sonia turned to see that Dirk hadn't even moved from his
chair. "Please," she whimpered as a panel in the wall to the
right of his desk opened. Two gorilla-sized men entered.

"My dear, as much as I love to hear women beg, I suggest

you save your voice ... and your energy. I can promise you,
you will need it." He stood and slipped on a white lab coat
that had been behind his chair.

One of the men beside him drew a gun and shot her. A

dart slammed into her neck and she slumped to the floor
seconds later. "Take her to cell 27. I have great plans for this
one." Dirk smiled sadistically as one man tossed her over his
shoulder and slipped back through the sliding door. It closed
silently behind him.

* * * *

The room may have been freezing, but the two occupants

did not notice. Well, one did, but the joy on the other's face
made it insignificant.

Mace and Sinjin sat on her bed playing Scrabble. He was

wrapped in the blanket from his bed, as the temperature had
dropped considerably inside the room. The door shook with
the force of the ice that was coming down all over the area.

Every now and then, the lights in the room would flicker as

the generators tried to keep up with the demand. Mace
looked across the board at the woman who sat there.

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Her face was alive with expression as she glanced over the

board. "I hate how well you play this game," Mace grumbled.

"Not my fault. What, you would rather be playing poker?"
Strip poker, maybe. "No, you count cards."
She shrugged innocently. "I learned how, yes. I love this

game and you said it was my choice." We both know you can
count them better than I will ever be able to.

Tugging the comforter around him, he watched as she laid

down a word that just happened to land on the triple point
square. He grimaced as she chortled and added her to her
score.

"I know you love this game. It isn't fair that all the

participants aren't equal in intelligence." Mace looked over the
tiles on his holder. Not a damn thing. He had no idea how she
played so well, she made it look effortless.

"Your turn," Sinjin said. She raised her gaze to his face.
"I don't have anything." Mace couldn't see anything.
"Is that your final answer? Or do we need to change this to

strip Scrabble?" Sinjin waited for him to look at her. When his
eyes reached hers, she arched a brow.

Mace blushed. "Well, that wouldn't at all be fair either. It is

cold you know," he drawled with a wink.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she said,

maintaining a bland expression.

"There." Mace put down three tiles and smiled smugly.
Brown eyes dropped to the board and back up to look at

the man across from her. "That's not a word."

"How come you aren't cold?" Mace asked, ignoring her

question.

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"I was in prison in Iceland for six years, and that still isn't

a word." Sinjin reached for his tiles, only to stop as his hand
touched hers. "You don't get to keep that, Mace."

His strong, cold, fingers curled around hers. "I want to

keep it." His voice was low.

Sinjin knew the mood had changed. The game had altered

and something more than just winning a Scrabble game was
at stake.

"It's not a word." She slid the tiles back over to him.
"Can't you cut me a little slack here? We both know you

are better at this game."

"Nope. No slack allowed." She fell silent and looked toward

the door.

"What?" Mace asked.
She didn't answer, just reached behind her back and pulled

out a gun. Her eyes locked on the door and her body
maneuvered off the mattress.

Dropping the blanket, Mace paced her as he reached for

his gun that lay on his bed. There was something out there
and she didn't like it.

Sinjin looked at him and gestured for silence. He nodded

his understanding. Body low, to avoid the window, she crept
to the door, gun ready in hand.

Mace watched as she remained like that for a while. All he

heard was the wind and ice hitting windows and doors. When
she moved, she still remained low.

She stopped beside him. "It feels like something is out of

place here. I don't know what."

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"What did you hear?" He flipped the safety on his gun and

put it on the bed.

"Nothing really, just sounded like muted voices." Mace

noticed she didn't put the safety on.

"Sin?" He pushed the issue. Something was wrong.
"It just feels wrong." Her voice was low. "Like we're being

watched."

He wasn't going to challenge that. She would know what

that felt like. "What do you want to do about it?"

"Nothing for the moment. I don't think they are going to

want to be out in this very long, but the second it clears, we
have to go."

"Okay, we'll keep the bags packed for when it breaks."

Mace shivered.

"Put that blanket back on. The generators are going to

start shutting down."

"How do you know?"
"Lights are flickering more and more. They can't take

much more of this." Sinjin stared pointedly at him until he
wrapped the blanket around his wide shoulders.

"What about you?"
"I'm fine. This is still warm compared to some nights I

spent."

Mace opened his mouth to say something when the whole

room went dark. "Sin?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Lights are out all over the place. People are in

for one hell of a cold night."

Mace shivered again. "Well, I guess that means Scrabble is

done."

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"Well, even though I was winning, we'll call it a draw." Her

voice was right beside his ear.

"How kind of you. What do we do now?"
"I don't know about you, but I am going to get some sleep

before the temp really drops and I need to stay awake.
Unless they get the generators back on." Sinjin moved to her
bed and took the game off it.

She climbed into bed and slipped the gun under her pillow.

Closing her eyes, she could hear Mace's teeth chattering.
"Come over here and get into bed, Mace. You must be
freezing."

She heard shuffling and soon he was moving across her,

stopping briefly to drape his blanket over them both. "I was
hoping you'd ask me to bed," he purred in her ear.

"The SIG is under my pillow." She let his large body wrap

around hers, cocooning them together. "No safety. You would
do well to remember that small bit of information."

"Oh, and here I thought you wanted me." Mace was in

heaven, he couldn't believe how good it felt to have his arms
around her again.

"Oh, I just wanted you out of the way of the door, in case I

had to shoot someone." Sinjin tried to ignore the feelings that
coursed her body at his touch.

With Mace's body heat and the extra bedding over them,

Sinjin fell asleep. She woke a few hours later to see the lights
were back on. Grateful that they wouldn't be freezing, she
snuggled back down into the bed.

Mace woke when the lights came back on. He kept waiting

for Sinjin to tell him to get out of her bed. But when she

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finally woke all she did was shift and go back to sleep. You
still have feelings for me, Sinjin. Feelings I totally intend on
making you face.

Tightening his hold around her waist, he drifted back to

sleep, loving how they fit together. His nose was buried into
the back of her head and he smelled the sweet scent of honey
that she wore so well.

[Back to Table of Contents]

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Chapter Twelve

His powerful body drove forward, sending another wave of

pleasure spiraling through her. A cry left her mouth as his
thick erection moved within her. Surely nothing in the world
was supposed to feel this amazing.

It was a struggle to open her eyes, for they were heavy

with the amount of passion the man released in her. Still, she
did and as she gazed at him from under her sooty lashes, she
marveled at the way all his attention was on her. The fierce,
yet tender, passion that filled his eyes as he watched her
response to his touch.

Their eyes met and he reached out with one hand and

trailed it down the side of her face in a gesture that was
lighter than a feather along her skin. Although there were no
words spoken, the feelings between them were as obvious as
if they were shouting from the roof.

"Sin," he murmured, his lips teasing the sweaty skin along

her collarbone. All she could do was whimper as her body
undulated beneath his Atlantean one.

"Sin," he said in a louder voice.
His touch began to fade, but she followed with her body.

"No," she whimpered. "Touch me."

The strong hand rested on her shoulder and shook her

slightly. "Sin," the voice was gravely with tension.

Her lithe body arched, desperately trying to get closer to

that magical touch. Suddenly it felt like he was behind her.

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No, that couldn't be right; her lover had just been on top of
her. Frustrated she reached out to grab him.

He was just out of reach. Her body throbbed, craving

release. But not just any mindless sexual release. No, it cried
out for the release that only this man's touch could bring her.

"Sinjin!" the voice was right at her ear. Masculine and

deep, although a bit scratchy.

Sinjin froze stock still. Her hand curled around the butt of

her gun, as she waited for the person behind her to make a
move. Eyes were narrowly open, but all her senses were
attuned.

"It's me, Sinjin. It's me, Mace." That baritone timbre

flowed into her ear and over her already taunt synapses.

"What do you want?" she asked as her fingers slowly

uncurled from around the gun.

"I want you," he blurted out. Mace was a hard as steel.
Somewhere along the line his hand had moved across her

flat belly to rest upon her skin, underneath her shirt. Her tight
ass had shoved itself back against his groin and subsequently
given him one hell of an erection.

As she continued with whatever dream she had, Sinjin had

begun to whimper and thrust her hips. Words that he knew
would damn him for life flowed from her mouth. Phrases like
"Touch me."

Mace felt his control slip with every stroke her butt made

against his throbbing cock. Trying to wake her up, all she did
was press against him harder. Finally he snapped her name
and now she was awake and tense.

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"Want to tell me why you are touching my belly?" her

words came out in a low hiss.

"Sin!" he snapped as her lower body shifted again. "Hold

still. I'm not a monk."

If Mace had thought she was still before, he was wrong. In

a second she became as flexible as rebar, and just as cold.
For a moment he wondered if she was even breathing
anymore. "I'm not going to hurt you, Sinjin. But I need you to
stop squirming against me."

The fear that flooded her body was so powerful and

intense, Mace could taste it. He wanted to offer comfort, but
he didn't know how. He had no idea on how to get past the
protective barriers she had erected to survive.

Instead of moving away from her, Mace spread the fingers

on his right hand as it lay on her belly. Closing his eyes, he
pulled her back into him, not bothering to hide the erection
that poked her in the butt.

Lowering his head, so his lips were beside her cute little

ear, Mace murmured, "Shhh. Relax Sinjin. I am not going to
hurt you. Relax, baby. Just relax."

Sinjin swallowed as he brought them closer together. Her

body cried out for his touch, but the memories of prison were
still so fresh. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for the
pain to come.

As if he hadn't been away from her, Mace could read her

reactions still. "There's no one else here, Sinjin. It's just you
and me. No one else." His words were crooned softly.

She remained tense and untrusting. Mace moved his hand

again and cursed himself a hundred times over as she tried to

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contain the shudder that coursed through her body. He was
no idiot, he knew it was fear.

"Relax Sin. I'm just going to hold you. That's it. Nothing

more. I'm just going to hold you."

"Let go, Mace. Take your hands off me." Sinjin remained

rigid.

"No." Inhaling, Mace bit back a groan as the smell of her

lotion wafted over him. "I'm going to hold you, Sinjin. You're
still exhausted. Go back to sleep."

Sinjin swallowed. She wanted to strike out at him. Find a

way to eliminate the feelings that were resurfacing within her.
This was different, this wasn't pretending for people watching
her. It was only she and Mace Dylan.

"I can sleep just fine without you holding me." She forced

her voice to remain hard.

"But you sleep better with me holding you." Mace spooned

closer to her, drenched in memories of lying in bed with her
after hours of making love.

Sinjin sighed. He had the right of it and he knew it. She

always did sleep better cradled in his strong arms. Mace
seemed to know her body like she did, and even though it
had been over six years since they had been together.

Mace smiled as he felt her softening in his embrace. He

knew she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her
admit he was right, but he didn't wish to. All he wanted was
what she was doing, accepting his touch and learning to trust
him again.

"Sleep, my love," the words slipped out before he could

stop them. Waiting with baited breath for her scathing

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remark, Mace realized that none was coming. Sinjin was
asleep.

Tucking her head under his chin, Mace closed his eyes and

felt his lust fade into the background. Things were once again
right in his world. The gentle snores from Sinjin were music to
his ears. Happiness and contentment. Those two words filled
him as he also drifted off to sleep.

* * * *

The body beneath him easily accepted his cock. He didn't

remember when their clothes disappeared, but they were
both naked.

The warmth that surrounded his erection made him

release a rumble of pleasure as he slid fully within her. His
head burrowed into her shoulder and neck as he began
moving in her.

Her legs lifted up and latched around his waist, hooking at

her ankles. At each forward stroke of his she rose to meet
him. He felt her short nails dig into his shoulder blades as her
hips angled to allow him in.

Fingers clutched tighter into his shoulders as she tried to

get him deeper into her body. She began to whimper and
thrust her hips faster.

He could feel his body telling him it was almost time for

him to find his release. Mace nipped the side of her neck
before licking the salty skin to soothe the pain. Her body
trembled beneath his.

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How could it not? He knew exactly what she craved. How

she loved to be touched, petted, and caressed. There were no
secrets that her body could ever hope to hide from him.

That brought his lids slightly open. There wasn't another

woman in the world who responded to him like this. No other
woman in the world could create such intense feelings in him.

Damn, I knew this had to be a dream. There is no way that

Sinjin would let me do this. A dream I don't want to wake
from.

Squeezing his lids back down, Mace allowed himself to be

drawn back into a world of enchantment in which his star
player was the one woman he had ever allowed himself to
love.

A woman who when she was awake hated him with a

passion that rivaled the brilliance of the sun. A woman who
always made him lose his breath when she walked into a
room. Sinjin.

"Mace!" Her sultry voice called out his name as she began

breathing faster and faster. Limbs tightened around him as
her internal muscles gripped him like a velvet vice.

His eyes snapped back open. Raising his head, Mace

looked down at the woman beneath him. Sweet Jesus, was
this real?

Blinking to make sure it wasn't a vision he was having;

Mace slowed his hip action to almost nothing. He turned his
head and recognized the hotel room that they were staying
in. Their bags were packed and along the wall, but they were
naked and he was between her thighs.

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"No," she mumbled as her deep pooling eyes opened.

"Don't stop Mace. Please don't stop."

"Sinjin," he murmured. "I ... I ... I..."
Arching against him, she dragged her hands down from his

shoulders and clamped them on his forearms. Her eyes met
his and in them, he saw what she needed. What her body
craved even though her mind told her differently. She needed
this, but not from just anybody. No, Sinjin needed this from
Mace.

Dipping his head down, Mace covered her mouth with his

own. His tongue ran along her plump lower lip before it
slipped into her mouth. Oh, God. Help me retain control, he
begged.

Immediately she sucked it in deeper and ran her teeth

along it. The small of her back arched as she drew heavily on
the organ thrusting in her mouth. Her body shuddered
beneath his as his thrusts increased in speed and force.

Mace pulled his mouth off hers and buried his face in her

neck. His hands settled on either side of her shoulders and he
continued his continuous deep strokes into her body. Inhaling
sharply, he took in her scent. A scent he had ingrained on his
senses from years before. Her hands settled again upon his
muscled back.

Angling his head, so his lips were by her ear, he began

whispering to her. Mindless things that didn't make any
sense, but he knew what they meant to her. Sinjin just liked
hearing his voice. Words didn't matter, she wanted to hear
the deep timbre entering her ear and moving along her skin.

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But this time it was different. Mace told her things he had

never said before. Told her how much he had missed her and
how sorry he was for what had happened between them. How
he wanted another chance to prove himself to her. Words of
love flowed from his lips to her ear.

There was nothing rushed or hurried about the way he

made love to her, like she was a priceless work of art and he
was learning all her secrets. It was with tender touches and
exquisite care that he relearned her body.

Slow, steady strokes brought them both closer to the

pinnacle of what they knew would be a wonderful release.
Sinjin began to mewl in the back of her throat as she dug her
nails into the taunt skin across his back.

"Wait for me Sinjin. Wait for me." His words were soft as

down as they flowed over her.

"Mace," she begged. "Please."
"Are you ready, baby?" His tongue moved along the rim of

her ear.

"Yes. I'm ready." Her words were mostly pants, but he

understood.

"Then come with me." Mace followed his command with a

swift nip on the skin beneath her ear. That was one of the
spots that set her body ablaze.

She released a moan of passion as her back arched,

pressing his thick cock deeper inside of her body. Seconds
later, Mace followed suit, erupting within her.

He growled low as the tendons on his neck stood out,

sweat poured off his face and dripped onto hers. Shaking and

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shivering, he collapsed on top of her. For a minute, the only
sound in the room was their heavy breathing.

Carefully, Mace pulled out of her and lay down beside her

on the bed. Ignoring her automatic tensing, he brought her
up against his body where his lips teased her temple.

Sinjin went through a myriad of emotions, but Mace didn't

release his hold on her. She supposed it would have been
easy enough to break his hold. He knew she could get free.
Mace left it up to her.

He didn't use force to keep her there. If she wanted to put

space between their bodies, Sinjin could do just that. When
her supple body relaxed against him, he found himself
releasing a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

How he had longed for this. Years of being in relationships

that didn't mean a damn thing to him. Nothing on this earth
could compare to holding Sinjin in his arms. Having her
muscular body draped over his, limbs entwined and hearts
beating as one.

"Sleep now, Sinjin," Mace spoke softly as their fingers

laced, bringing them closer together.

Sinjin did as he ordered. Her body, still exhausted from

what it had gone through, slumped against him and began to
heal. Again, as she had found in his arms before, Sinjin was
blessed with a terror-free rest. No nightmares to wake her, no
sweats from reliving past horrors. Just deep, restful sleep.

* * * *

Mace woke slowly. He knew he was alone in the bed even

without opening his eyes. For a moment, he just lay there

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and allowed the memory of her sensual touch to replay in his
mind.

He could feel his body stirring in response. Forcing himself

back under control, he sat up in the bed. There on the floor
by the other bed was Sinjin, working out. She was acting like
there was something chasing her and if she could push her
body hard enough, it would disappear.

* * * *

Sinjin knew the second he woke. She remained focused on

her exercises. She was counting in Icelandic. There were
times she found herself hesitating and having to mentally
translate it from Icelandic to English.

When she had woken, she might have felt good, but

shame filled her. How the hell could she protect him and help
him get his life back if she allowed herself to get romantically
involved with him?

Still, it was so nice to feel something real again. Some

feeling other than, pain, humiliation, or anger. His touch was
magical. Sinjin had no idea how they had begun to make
love, but once they were both aware it wasn't a dream,
neither of them had wished to stop it.

Her belly lurched at the thought of a second chance with

Mace Dylan. He was nothing less than provocative. No matter
what he was doing, she wanted him. All he had to do was
look at her with those light brown eyes of his and she was
lost. Only her years of emotional control allowed that
weakness to be her secret. And hers alone.

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So as he sat up in the bed, she continued to work out as if

what happened between them was a figment of his
imagination. Like it was nothing but a dream.

Sinjin refused to look at him when he got out of they bed

they had shared and made love in. She continued to do
pushups until his bare feet were directly under her nose and
she was staring at the toes she used to kiss.

[Back to Table of Contents]

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Chapter Thirteen

"You can't avoid me forever," Mace's voice filled the hotel

room.

Sinjin cursed under her breath. During the last two days

the storm had increased. Everything for miles around was
covered in an inch of ice. All of it was starting to melt, but it
was slow. The generators were struggling, but so far, they
managed to remain functional.

Food was another thing. It was getting low. The hotel had

some, but people were hoarding it. All the vending machines
had been picked clean. Tempers were short and quick to
blow.

She didn't want to talk to him. That would be admitting

that she had given in and had sex ... nope, made love to
Mace. Sinjin knew he would want to talk about it, analyze it,
and make more out of it than there was to be made.

"Sin," he said. "We are stuck in this room. And have been

for two days without words. Would you at least talk to me? I
need someone to talk to."

Flames rose in her eyes as she met his stare head-on. "Oh,

you poor man," she seethed. "Two whole days with no one to
talk to. How horrible that must be for you."

Mace opened his mouth to retort, but snapped it shut

again. She was right to be sarcastic. He had no right. She had
been in solitary confinement. "I'm sorry, that was very
insensitive of me to say to you. I can't seem to speak without
saying something stupid and upsetting to you."

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Not at all expecting him to apologize, Sinjin felt her anger

waver. She swallowed and tried to hold onto it. Anger was
how she survived, not by feeling sorry for people and not by
trying to sympathize with them. But this man, Mace Dylan,
seemed to have a knack for slipping past all her defenses.

Gritting her teeth, she turned away from him. Her feelings

were all mixed up and confused. If it had been anyone else
stuck in the room with her, she would be fine. But no, it had
to be the one person that seemed to know her better than
she knew herself.

Sinjin sat down on her bed, facing Mace and stared at him

with a bland gaze. "Tell me more about this team you worked
with. How come you were with them?"

Stretching out on his bed, Mace watched her dark beauty.

"Dirk suggested it, after ... well you know."

Boy, did she ever know. "Dirk?" At his answering nod,

Sinjin made a mental note to call Cicero and ask him
something. "Was there some big meeting coming up, like a
budget committee or something like that?"

Mace gazed at the ceiling as he thought about it. Had there

been? "I think there was one coming up that dealt with
funds." He tilted his head so he could see her. "Why do you
ask?"

"What was, or is, the relationship between your Sonia and

Dirk?" Sinjin remained sitting with her back ramrod straight.

"She's not my Sonia," he responded immediately, needing

her to understand that. "I don't know if she had one with
Dirk. I think the only time she dealt with him was right before
I was sent to offer you that deal."

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She nodded. "Okay." Sinjin took a breath and gazed across

the room. "They tore up my pardon."

"I had no idea that was going to happen," Mace said.
Sinjin scoffed. "Please, you couldn't have thought they

would keep me free. I know too much."

"How did you know about the susicivus accounts? I had

heard rumors, but never thought they were real." He rolled
onto his side, propped his head up on one arm, and stared at
her. "I will never forget her expression when you put it to her.
That was priceless."

"Cicero told me about them."
Mace should have known. Cicero knew more than any one

man had a right to about the goings on in the world. "Of
course he did."

"Tell me more about your group. Were there any new

transfers right before you had to come get me?" Sinjin didn't
want to get into a discussion about Cicero with Mace. Mace
hated him and Cicero returned the sentiment wholeheartedly.

Nice maneuver, Sin. I know you don't want to talk about

Cicero with me. "Just one. A man named Stephan. Sonia
brought him in before our mission to Chechnya."

"Failed mission?" she asked, even though she already

knew the answer.

"Yes. And one dealing ultimately with Cicero." Mace sat up

on the bed and put his elbows on his knees. "What are you
thinking?" he questioned. He knew her facial expressions and
right now he would bet his entire fortune that she had a bead
on whom she believed to be the traitor.

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"Nothing concrete yet. I wish I had access to a computer

with Internet." She began drumming her fingers along the
bedspread. "Which one was Stephan?"

Mace had to bite back a growl of displeasure. He hated

how his body reacted to her inquiring about another man,
even under the circumstances. "He always wore sunglasses.
No matter what the time was."

She nodded. She had seen him outside on the balcony

once and he was wearing them. "I know him. Okay. Did he
seem strange to you at any time? Anything, even if it was so
small you think it insignificant."

"Aside from the glasses? He was just a bit off, you know.

But his file said he was highly recommended and good at his
job."

"Which was?"
"He was just an ordinary agent. I don't think he had any

specialties."

Sinjin doubted that. "If you say so." A computer would be

so nice right now. Her head jerked up and her eyes zeroed in
on the door. Mace watched as her face grew blank and
emotionless. He blinked and there was a gun in her hand. Her
gaze never wavered from the door as she studied it intently.

Reaching for his own gun, Mace asked, "Sinjin?"
"Something's not right. I feel it." Her gaze slid to meet his

before going back on the door. "Don't you?"

"No." Mace wasn't going to lie. He knew that her senses

were much more tuned than his ever were.

"If it continues to melt and they open the roads today we

must leave. I feel the need to put some distance between us

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and this place," Sinjin said. She had stopped staring at the
door like it was going to attack her.

"You know I trust you." Mace relaxed, not realizing the

effect his words had on her.

But not when it comes to my word. All you trust is my

ability. Electing to remain silent when she wanted to yell at
him, Sinjin grabbed her bag and turned her attention to it.

Mace watched as she set down the gun and dug into her

bag. Her movements were jerky, as if something were
bothering her. Something other than her feeling of suspicion.

In a few moments, Mace was looking at the entire contents

of her bag. Sinjin had lined everything up and was ready to
repack it. He couldn't hide his surprise that most of the things
in her bag were weapon-related.

He observed her as she set some things to one side. Her

face was serious as she lifted her other bag onto the bed and
removed everything from it as well. Mace moved to stand
beside her and look at her weapons.

"Do you know how much trouble you will get if we are

stopped and they find these?"

"Probably no more worse off than if we need them and

don't have them," she responded.

"Throwing stars? Grenades? Where did you get these

things?"

Splitting her clothes up into two sections, Sinjin said,

"Cicero."

"Of course," he breathed out. "Who else?"
"Yes, Mace. Who else? He is all I have left in the world."

Sinjin began packing one bag. She was careful to make sure

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there was no way anything could go off prematurely and yet,
Mace knew she would know exactly where everything was.

Mace wanted to yell and shake her. Tell her that he was

there for her as well, and she didn't need Cicero anymore. But
he bit back the response and instead picked up a bottle of
lotion. Highland Heather.

"This is a nice smell," he commented after taking a whiff.

Putting it back, he reached for another one, only to have it
snatched out of his hand. "What?"

"You don't want to smell that one," she stated, setting it

beside another grenade case.

"What is it?" He looked at the top of her head, which was

bent as she worked on her bags.

Slipping the Glock in the back of her pants, Sinjin laid her

SIG within immediate reach. "Let's just say, it would make
you wish you were out in that cold-ass weather."

"Fire paste?" Mace asked.
"Yep."
Mace shook his head. Fire paste was something he had

encountered when he first made Sinjin's acquaintance. He
had been following her, trying to get a bead on Cicero and
approached her as she lay on the beach.

Settling next to her, he had asked for some suntan lotion.

What she gave him, made him wish he had rather been
burned by the sun, the torment would have ended sooner. His
entire body felt like it was blistering, he wanted to cry the
pain was so intense, and no one could see anything.

The stuff looked like ordinary lotion, but once it was

combined with natural oils from one's skin, it flared up. It

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made the person feel like they were on fire, it fed off the oils
on one's skin and the more it was rubbed, the hotter it got.

Two weeks passed before he felt back to normal. Sinjin

never did tell him exactly how it worked, just that if it were to
get in someone's nose, or eyes, it would do serious damage.

Granted, when he had run into her on the beach after his

'recovery' she had made it up to him. Very nicely. Over and
over again.

Grinning at the memory, Mace looked back at her and saw

her bags were packed up. Before he could stop himself, Mace
asked, "Was any of what we had real to you? Or was I just
another job?"

Thanking all the men who had taught her to be patient and

control her temper, Sinjin smiled before composing her
features and looking up at the man who had asked such a
stupid question. "Do you think it wise to ask me that when
my SIG is so close?"

Mace wished he could take it back, but since it was already

out there ... why not find an answer? "I think I want to
know," he admitted in a low voice. "I want to know what I
meant to you."

Controlling the rage that flowed within her, Sinjin blinked

once. Her dark eyes looked into his lighter ones as she
answered him. "You meant more to me than anyone ever
has."

Keep your mouth shut, man. "Even Cicero?" Oh, smooth,

Mace, smooth.

"More than Cicero." Her hand reached down and she

picked up the gun that was on her bed. She watched as her

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fingers closed about it, loving and despising the feeling the
weapon gave her.

"What about now?"
Sinjin glanced back up at him. "What about now?" she

asked.

Gesturing over his shoulder as if she could see. "You know,

what happened two days ago."

Her face grew shuttered. "That never should've happened."
Mace stepped in closer to her. "But it did."
"And it shouldn't have."
Closer to her he moved. Inhaling and smelling the fragrant

lotion she wore. "But. It. Did."

"So what?" Sinjin held her ground, her face devoid of

emotion as she stared him down.

"You allowed yourself to feel, Sinjin. No matter how

fleeting, you let your guard down and let me in. Was it so
bad? Letting me in?" Mace reached out one hand and settled
it along the smooth expanse of her cheek.

"What happened was a mistake." Sinjin shoved down her

instinctive reaction to his touch.

"No. You can't believe that." He shook his head along with

his statement. "We shared something special. It was always
special between us, Sinjin. Every time we made love. Each
and every time."

"We had sex, Mace. Nothing more. Don't read anything

into it. We were two people trapped in the same room during
a storm. One thing led to another, that's all." Sinjin forced
back mental images of how wonderful it felt to be in his arms
again.

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Mace didn't believe her. Her responses to him had been

pure, real, not faked. And not emotionless. "You know that's
not true." His thumb moved along her bottom lip.

"I know what it was to me. I'm sorry if that meant more to

you." Reaching up, Sinjin grasped his wrist and moved his
hand away from her face. "It was just sex for me."

He refused to believe that. The disbelief on his face told

her that. But he didn't force her to accept his touch. Stepping
back from her tempting body, he sat down on his unmade
bed.

Sinjin grabbed her two bags and moved them to the floor

before sitting down on her bed. She closed her eyes and lay
back, but it was no use. She could feel him watching her.

Mace was. Sitting at the edge of his bed, he stared at her.

His eyes moved over her form as she lay back on the bed.
The gun was in her right hand, but she lay as still as if she
were dead. He could barely detect the rise and fall of her
chest.

Slowly he let his gaze roam her. She was thinner than

when he had seen her last, not that he could blame her. She
had been imprisoned for six years. Not to mention she was
much stronger.

Her body was full of lean muscles. They were obvious in

the cut of her arms and he had no doubt that her legs were
the same way. Her calves had been strong when he had seen
her in that dress in Spain.

Sinjin was still all woman, though. He knew firsthand. So

no matter what she wanted to claim, he knew it was more

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than just sex between them. It always had been and always
would be.

Mace stood up and moved over to her bed. "Sinjin," he

said in a gentle tone.

One eye cracked open before the other did. "What? And

why are you standing over me?"

Leaning over her, he placed his hands on either side of her

head. Their mouths were scant inches apart. "I don't care
what you say, I know it meant more to you than just sex."

Sinjin sighed. Tapping his left arm with the gun, she

waited for him to back off. Once he had, Sinjin lifted herself
up and stared at him. "And I'm telling you that's all it was.
Let it go, Mace."

"I can't, Sin." He reverted to using his nickname for her.

"You let me in; you gave yourself to me ... willingly."

"It won't happen again," she vowed.
"Why are you fighting this? What did I do?"
Mace watched as every bit of emotion drained from her

face.

"You betrayed my trust. You didn't believe me." Her words

were soft, but they hit him with the force of a speeding train.

Mace sat back on his bed and cradled his head in his

hands. She was right. He did betray her. He shattered her
trust and he had no idea of how to gain it back. And in order
to have her love, he had to acquire her trust first.

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Chapter Fourteen

Two days later, Mace held his breath as he pushed open

the battered door. What was this going to do to her? His
tracks and the ones from the Acura were the only ones
anywhere around, although it was hard to ascertain that,
considering it was a moonless night.

Swallowing his nervousness, he continued on into the

warmth and he quietly shut the door behind him. All senses
were on alert as he progressed further into the place. Familiar
smells filled his nose as he continued on. Ones that brought
back perfect memories of times long past.

"Who's there?" The words were whispered in the faint glow

from the room.

"It's Mace." He kept to the shadows as he slipped into the

adjoining room.

A creaking of a chair filled the room. "Mace?" The voice

was old and weathered.

"Yes, Momma. It's me." He stepped into the faint light

from the lamp and knelt before the woman who sat in the
rocker, a quilted afghan tucked across her lap.

His arms slid around her waist and put his head in her

bosom.

"My Mace," she said as she placed her frail arms around

him and buried her nose in his thick hair. "They said you were
dead. That a horrible woman from your past killed you."

"I'm so sorry, Momma." He tightened his grip. "I never

meant to cause you so much pain."

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He felt her pull back, so he tipped his face up to look at

her. She brushed her hand across his forehead. "I never
believed those old stiffs. A mother knows her child and I knew
you weren't dead." Her eyes narrowed. "Now you get up and
sit your butt on a chair and explain to me why they told me
this cockamamie nonsense."

Mace couldn't help but smile. His mother might be frail of

body, but her mind was sharp and she was nobody's fool.
Following her command, he grabbed a straight-backed chair
and sat so their knees were touching.

"Well?" she asked when he just remained silent.
Licking his lips, he looked outside at the cold night. It was

below freezing out there, but inside where he was, the
temperature was toasty. "It was planned. I had to be seen as
dead. Someone whom I worked for was trying to set me up
and this was the only way I knew I could do that."

She nodded sagely. "They spouted some nonsense about

all this money in my account. And how it must have been
from you."

Mace bristled at the thought of them bothering her. They

would pay for hurting his mother. He reached for her hand,
wrapping her colder one in his warm one. "I'm so sorry I put
you through this."

"Those fools you have worked for the past thirteen years

think I am stupid. I would know if my own son was dead.
Now, tell me why that young woman with you isn't inside
here?"

Tilting his head, Mace watched her cautiously. "What are

you talking about?"

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She glared at her son. "They said that a woman killed you.

The one that you had known years ago and she had a grudge
to settle with you." Eyes the same color as his narrowed. "I
am assuming that this is the young woman you wanted me to
meet all those years ago. So tell her to come in, I wish to
meet her."

Mace swallowed. He didn't know how Sinjin would take

this. "I'll ask her."

"Don't come back without that woman, Mace Dylan."
"Yes, Ma'am." Mace rose and walked to the front door.

Opening it, he stepped outside and shivered as the air sliced
through him. Damn, it is freezing out here. Moving through
the dark to the vehicle, he pulled open the door only to find it
was empty.

"Sinjin?" he asked the night.
"What, Mace? Are you done with your visit already?" Sinjin

materialized beside him. In the glow from the dome light, he
could see her holding her favorite weapon. Nebula.

"No. Momma wants to meet you." He shut the door of the

vehicle, so Sinjin couldn't see the worry on his face.

A million reasons ran through her head as to why she

should refuse, but somehow, Sinjin heard herself agreeing to
do just that. She was beside Mace as they walked into the
house. Her sharp gaze scanned the home as she felt the heat
sink into her bones.

Mace put one hand on her back and guided her through

the house with gentle pressure. His mother had turned on the
ceiling light and was standing by her chair when they entered
the room.

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Sinjin remained silent as she looked at the woman who

had given birth to the only man she'd ever loved. She was a
small woman, barely over five feet. Her bones stuck out from
her skin and she held her hands in front of her.

"So." Her coarse voice reached them. "Come in and

introduce us, Mace."

"Momma," Mace said. "This is Sinjin." He propelled her

forward. "Sinjin, this ... this is my momma."

The old woman gazed at Sinjin. She noted the way Mace's

hand rested on her back. She noticed how the woman didn't
seem to inclined to remove his touch. While the woman was a
shock, with her being black, Mrs. Dylan kept her opinions to
herself.

She had hoped her son would settle down with a nice

woman and maybe give her a grandchild or two to hold
before she passed on. This woman beside her son was not
exactly who she had pictured. She could see the weapon, and
the lack of real emotion in her eyes scared her.

"It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Dylan," Sinjin said politely.
Mrs. Dylan looked at her and smiled. It was plain how her

son felt about the woman next to him. He still loved her; his
gaze was gentle as he looked down at her. "And you. I guess
I owe you my thanks for saving my son."

Sinjin shrugged. "No big deal." She nodded sharply once.

"It was a pleasure to meet you. I'll leave you to get
reacquainted with your son. Ma'am." Stepping away from
Mace's touch, she faced the doorway.

"Where are you going?" the woman asked, perplexed.
"Back outside." Sinjin turned back to look at her.

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"It's freezing out there." She waved to a chair. "Stay in

here. Mace?"

Sinjin shook her head. "I'll be fine. I spent the past few

years in Iceland. This weather doesn't really bother me
anymore."

Mace's mother sat down and covered her lap again. "Why

were you in Iceland?"

"Business. I was there for six years. That is a cold winter. I

really have to go. It was nice meeting you." Sinjin was gone
before his mother could say anything else.

Mace watched as Sinjin walked away. He had to force

himself to stay where he was and not follow her. Instead, he
sat down back in the chair near his mother and picked up her
hand, holding it in his.

* * * *

"Thank you," Mace said as they drove through the night.
Sinjin was at the wheel and she answered him without

taking her eyes off the road. "You deserve to see your
mother. Why would you thank me for that?"

"I meant for not telling her I was the reason you were in

Iceland." Mace wished it was day so that he could see her
face, but she had even dimmed the interior dash lights.

"I don't believe it was any of her business." Sinjin

continued to drive without looking at him.

"Still, it was wonderful of you to do that for me."
"Let it go, Mace," she said softly. "Just let it go."
Reluctantly he did. He closed his mouth, leaned back on

the seat, and allowed his eyes to drift shut. My momma wants

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to see my grandkids. Well, I guess I could just approach
Sinjin about it. Mace chuckled before he realized it was out
loud.

Any other woman would have wanted to know just what he

was laughing at, but not his Sinjin. She remained silent and
stoic as she continued to drive. "Don't you want to know what
I was laughing at?" he asked the silent woman.

"Not really," she said as she got onto the interstate.
As if she didn't say anything, Mace told her. "My momma

wants to know when we are going to give her grandbabies.
She says two would be a good start."

"Really. And just how does she think these grandbabies

are going to be made?" Sinjin asked sarcastically as she
continued south. Leaving Maine, most things were south.

"Don't tell me you don't know where babies come from.

Want me to teach you?" His voice was barely above a purr
and dripping with sexual innuendo.

"I'm fairly certain I know where they come from." She

changed lanes and passed a semi. "What I meant was, why
would she think that we would be giving her grandbabies?"

"Why not? You're beautiful and I'm passably handsome.

We'd make gorgeous children."

"With one minor issue." You Mace Dylan are most

definitely more than passably handsome.

"And that would be?" Mace questioned.
"The slight fact there is no us." This time she did look over

at him. "Which fortifies the fact it would be extremely difficult
to procreate."

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Turning his head to view her, Mace sighed. "Procreate?

What the hell are you talking about? We, Sinjin, we don't
procreate. We make love; slow, sweet, sensual, and
passionate-out-of-this-world love. We always have, Sinjin and
we always will."

"You need a woman your mother would be proud to have

as a daughter-in-law on your arm. That isn't me."

"My mother loved you. Loved how you protect me, and I

know she will love our children."

Sinjin ran her tongue over her teeth. Something wasn't

right in the way he said that. "What aren't you telling me that
you said to her?"

"I told her we were getting married. You were just shy and

didn't want to talk about it."

Her eyes grew wide. "You did what!" Sinjin shouted. Hands

gripped the wheel as she fought for control.

Swallowing, Mace said, "Pull over, Sin. Pull over before you

drive off the road."

She pulled over at the next exit and drove into a gas

station. Putting the car in park, she swiveled her head and
stared at him, as if the darkened interior wouldn't be able to
hide him. "What the hell would posses you to say such a
stupid thing?"

"She knew I was in love with you six years ago. And so

when she asked, it just blurted out."

Sinjin dropped her head on the wheel. "I don't know what

possible reason you would have to do that. Why tell the
woman you are getting married? You are giving her false
hope."

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Mace reached across the vehicle after unhooking his

seatbelt. One hand closed the distance between them and
cupped it on her face. "Am I, Sinjin?" His thumb moved along
her lower lip. "Are you forgetting what happened back in that
hotel room?"

She shook her head, feeling his hand stay with her face. "I

am not mother material, Mace. Don't pretend otherwise."

He narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying, exactly?" His

fingers grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him. "Turn on
the damn light and look at me."

Stunned by the venom in his voice, Sinjin did just that.

Mace never let go of her face and once the light was on, she
was speechless at the anger in his gaze.

"I'm waiting," he rumbled dangerously.
"For what? I'm not cut out to be a mother. I wouldn't have

the slightest idea on how to be one." She jerked her head
away from his fingers. "I am barely stable on my own. I have
no business bringing another life into the world."

"And if you are?" he demanded.
"If I am..." Sinjin let her voice fade into nothing.
"If you are?" Mace asked again. He wanted to hear her say

the words. I want her to say she will keep it.

"I don't know," she admitted. Sinjin turned her body back

forward so she was looking out the windshield.

Mace grumbled under his breath. Looking at the gas gage,

he glanced into the back. "We're going to catch some sleep
here. Shut the car off. We'll sleep for an hour or so. The car
will stay warm."

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Sinjin wanted to argue, but why not take advantage of

being in his arms as long as she could. She nodded. "I'll drive
until we find a rest area, and you make up the beds."

Mace slipped into the back of the vehicle. "I'll make up the

bed, Sinjin. Only one bed. We sleep together." He began to
fold down the seats and prepare the bed as Sinjin put them
back on the road.

It was an hour later when she pulled off the road and into

a rest area. They parked in a secluded spot. Immediately
after Sinjin had shut off the engine and made sure the doors
were locked, a hand appeared by her head.

She undid her belt and looked up at the silhouette of the

man behind her. "Come to bed, Sinjin."

Allowing him to help her, they moved through the vehicle

and back to where he had a prepared their pallet. They were
silent as shoes were removed and they slipped between the
blankets.

Mace had laid out one sleeping bag on the bottom, and

zipped the second one to it. They were very good bags for
cold weather. On top of that, he added the remaining
blankets that were in the vehicle.

As she drove them through the night, he was amazed at

how well stocked her vehicle was. Lots of blankets,
imperishable foods, and even containers of drinking water. A
small camping stove was stuck in a compartment as well.

Mace deliberately put the sleeping bags together. Not only

because it was cold, for if the weather was warm, he would
have done the same, but because he wanted her in his arms.
Where she belonged.

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Seconds after she slid into the cocoon, he followed. The

silence in the MDX was almost overwhelming. Mace pulled up
the other blankets and lay back, allowing himself to settle into
the comfort that surrounded his weary body.

"Night, Sinjin." Mace closed his eyes, knowing she wasn't

settled yet.

Sinjin lay on her back, eyes shut. She knew Mace thought

that she would need to readjust. When they had been
together, she could only sleep on her stomach. Instead of
doing that, she turned on her side and fell into a light sleep
with her back to Mace.

Mace rolled as well, but in the same direction that Sinjin

had. Reaching one strong arm out, he draped it across her
midsection and spooned their bodies together. His chin rested
on the top of her head and his fingers were splayed across
her abdomen.

Her body was stiff for about thirty seconds, before she

allowed it to relax. Like two halves of the same whole, her
body melted into his, fitting perfectly. Her breathing became
deep and even as Mace held her close.

Mace woke alone in the warm bed. For a second his mind

drew a blank as he felt the vehicle moving until he turned his
head and saw Sinjin at the wheel, driving. Rolling over on his
belly, he spoke in a loud enough voice that she could hear.
"What are you doing?"

"Driving." Her one word answer was bland.
"I can see that, but why?" Mace got up on his hands and

knees beside her.

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"There's somewhere we have to be." Sinjin tried not to

notice the way his hair was so delightfully tousled. Or how the
stubble on his face made him even more roguish.

"Where?" he asked as he slipped into the passenger seat

and engaged his seatbelt.

"Where we are hiding until we can find out how to get you

out of this mess you seem to be in."

"You mean we aren't going to be on the run?"
Sinjin looked at him in amusement. "I don't want to stay

on the run. I like having running water. I want to feel like a
woman again." Her eyes hardened again.

Mace's eyes burned with feral pleasure. I'll make you feel

like a woman. My woman, and I won't ever stop.

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Chapter Fifteen

Mace followed Sinjin down the steps of the Lear Jet. At the

bottom she turned and smiled up at him, a smile that made
him weak in the knees. Her eyes were tender as they looked
upon his face.

As the chauffeur opened the door, Mace watched one

smooth brown leg as it stepped into the interior of the limo.
His gaze stayed glued to her limbs as she carefully swung her
other one in.

"Sir?" the chauffeur said, gesturing to the still open door.
One quick look into the darkness that Sinjin had slid into,

and he moved forward and slipped in beside her. The door
closed behind them and Mace looked over at the woman who
for the time being was his wife.

On her left hand she wore a simple yet elegant wedding

band. Platinum, with diamonds in a channel setting. He had
on his hand a thick platinum band. Gazing down at the ring
that shone up at him from his tanned skin, he found himself
smiling.

"What are you smiling at?" Her question was in a low,

husky voice.

Their driver climbed in and smiled at the both of them.

Mace answered, "I'm smiling because I have you." Leaning
into her, Mace tenderly kissed her.

Sinjin broke the kiss and gave him a small smile, while her

eyes flashed dangerously behind her shades. "Yes, yes you
do."

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Settling back against the cool leather seat, Sinjin took a

deep breath and tried to calm her breathing. It was going to
be hard. Mace was everything she could ever have hoped to
have in her life and yet, he wasn't hers.

Their cover was being a wealthy married couple, who were

on vacation. Winters in the United States found many people
in Florida or the Southwest, which was where they were. They
were heading to a place in Arizona.

This place was a spa and had an excellent reputation for

maintaining the privacy of its clients. No one would say a
word about things heard, seen, or assumed.

For that reason, Sinjin had chosen it. She needed a place

that would give her the chance to unwind as well as afford her
all the opportunity she needed to find out about the GDS. Her
gaze drifted over to the man beside her, who was taking up
more than his rightful share of oxygen.

His steady stare was focused on her and it made her want

to tremble under its intensity. Instead, she continued to
watch him out of the corner of her eye, while she pretended
to stare straight ahead.

Mace bit back a smile. He knew she was watching him.

Leaning back against the seat, Mace finally allowed his eyes
to close. He wasn't going to say anything to upset her, for he
had her to himself, under the guise of being married, until
they got this sorted out.

I want to be a woman; her phrase ran unending through

his head. Reaching out blindly for her hand, he intertwined
their fingers once he found it. Allowing his thumb to rub the

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inside of her wrist, he made a promise. You will learn what it
is to be a woman again.

They didn't speak, opting to enjoy the ride in silence. The

chauffeur kept his smiles to a minimum. The couple he was
driving stole looks at one another and sat there holding
hands. In his opinion, holding hands was one of the most
romantic things people could do. Many of his passengers
made out—those he knew weren't married, at least not to
each other. Some argued while others sat rigidly at opposite
sides of the vehicle. These two screamed 'a couple in love.'

Mace helped her out of the limo, placed his hand at the

small of her back, and walked into the sprawling building.
They drew many looks as they moved across the marbled tile
floor.

Sinjin wore a light blue dress that flowed around her legs

with every sensual step she took. It was a very modest, and
at the same time enticing, dress. Upon her feet, she had
strappy three inch heels that clicked on the floor as they
walked.

He was proud of the woman beside him. And jealous of the

looks she was getting from the men in the area. Moving in
closer he made sure there was no misunderstanding that the
woman who was with him was with him.

She remained silent as he got them signed in; still not a

word passed her full lips as their bags were dropped off in
their suite. The moment they were finally left alone, she
glanced over at Mace and said, "I'm going to get my
computer set up."

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"Okay." He opened up the armoire and began pulling

things out of the bags. "I'll just be unpacking."

Sinjin didn't respond. There was no real reason to do so.

She knew that Mace only said that to try to get under her
skin, but it was time to get down to work.

Mace chuckled as he continued with his work. Sinjin was

doing her best to ignore him, and he would allow it in the
room, but only because when they were out in public he could
do whatever he wished.

Reaching into the bag, he pulled out her clothes and held

them gently before storing them in the drawers. He loved
touching things that belonged to her; it was as if he could feel
her next to him.

Finally done, Mace placed their bags in the closet and went

off to find his wife in one of the rooms of their suite. She was
in the furthest room from the door and sitting on the desk
was her computer. Spread around the rest of the room was
her weapons.

Mace shook his head. There were times that he forgot just

what lay beneath her dark beauty. No matter how her looks
took his breath away, he couldn't forget that she had the
ability to kill a person without hesitation. A genius, who was
one hell of a mercenary.

Standing in the doorway, he watched her. Her hair had

been piled up on her head to keep it out of the way, but a few
strands fluttered around her face. At the moment, she was
chewing on her lower lip as her fingertips flew across the
keyboard, filling the room with clicking sounds.

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"What do you need, Mace?" Her question was asked

without her stopping what she was doing.

"Wanted to know if you were planning on joining me for

lunch?" With a lithe movement he pushed away from the
frame and walked over to where she sat. His hands settled
down on either side of the laptop she worked on. "You
game?"

Sinjin lifted her head and arched a brow. "I'm always up

for a game. It's how I live my life." She stood up and nodded.
"Let's go see what fare they serve out here in the desert."

"I would love to have lunch with my wife." Mace let his

eyes wander over her body as she moved past him.

"Well, I'll have to suffice for the time being," she said

lightly as she stopped in the doorway. "Let's go. I'm
famished."

"So am I," he muttered as he followed her toward the

door.

They sat out under the warm Arizona sun and dined. Sinjin

had grilled chicken and vegetables, while Mace ate prime rib.
Water with lemon sat before Sinjin and a glass of wine was
before Mace.

"This is wonderful," he said as he looked at her across

from him.

"Yes," she agreed. "Yes it is." Her sharp gaze took in the

other diners. She saw a familiar figure three tables away.

"Everything okay?" Mace asked as he turned to follow her

gaze. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he looked back
at her.

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She raised her eyebrows. "Fine." One bite made its way

into her mouth. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Not sure. You seem to be interested in something behind

me."

Sinjin grinned, flashing him with her smile. "Why, honey,

are you jealous?"

Taking a drink of his wine, Mace weighed his responses.

Noticing how the waiters watched them, he sent her a smile
back. "Of course I am, baby. You know I don't like all these
other men looking at you, trying to grab your attention."

"You know I don't want anyone but you," she drawled.
Sliding back from the table, Mace downed the rest of his

wine in one gulp. "And I want only you." His hand reached out
and pulled her up from the table before sweeping her up into
his arms. The staff had huge smiles on their faces as he
strode out of the dining area.

Sinjin buried her face in his neck as he walked back to the

room. They portrayed the picture they wanted to. They
wanted people to remember a couple in love with one
another. That was it.

The second the door closed behind them, Sinjin freed

herself from his grasp. Mace let her go but trapped her
between his body and the door. "Don't play games with me,
Sin. Don't tease me out there."

Allowing her eyes to move up his body, Sinjin couldn't stop

the smile. "Now, now, Mace. Whatever we do out there is to
get those around us to believe we're in love. Don't get so
bent out of shape about it." Ducking her head, she slipped
underneath his arm and walked away.

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Smacking his hand against the door, Mace swore. His body

was so tightly wound it wasn't funny. He had recognized the
look in her eyes at the table; it was a look of appreciation for
a member of the opposite sex. And that had made him
pissed. He didn't want her looking, didn't want her to pretend
to look.

She created powerful feelings in him when he held her. He

was ready to bend her over the table they'd eaten at and take
her until they both collapsed from exhaustion. Once they
reached the room, the only soft part on his body was his
brain.

Even Sinjin's taunting couldn't take away his desire. This

woman took away all sense he had. The only thing he wanted
was to lie her down and bury himself deep within her body.
Hear her cry out his name in passion and take them both on a
trip to the stars and beyond.

"Sinjin," he growled as he stomped his way into the

bedroom. Mace stopped as if he had run into a brick wall.
Sinjin was standing before him with her dress pooled around
her feet.

She watched as the frustration bloomed into pure raging

desire. Her eyes watched his throat as he swallowed.
"Something you needed, Mace?"

"Just one thing," he vowed as long strides that brought

him to stand before the woman he wanted more than he
craved his next breath.

Ignoring the trembles that racked her body, Sinjin stood

before him. "And that would be?"

"You," he said on a sigh.

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Her eyes darkened as they moved over his coiled

physique. "And I want you, too, but then, sex wasn't ever an
issue for us."

Containing the rumble of displeasure at her words, Mace

waited for her to finish. He chewed on the inside of his cheek
to keep himself in line.

"Our farce stops once we cross the threshold of the room.

We are a couple out there. Not in here. In here, all we are is
people who are working together." She turned her back on
him and reached for a shirt that was on the bed.

Mace's light gaze fell upon the scars on her back. His shock

at seeing them was as intense as it was the first time he saw
them. But this time, he was going to ask. "That's something
that we'll discuss some other time. Right now I want to know
how you got these."

Sinjin froze as she felt the light caress of his fingertips

along the skin of her naked back. She shuddered and knew
he saw it. "It doesn't matter," Sinjin forced out. "Not
anymore."

His large body molded itself to hers. Large hands settled

upon her shoulders as he stared at the difference in their skin
color. He had a natural tint to his skin that blended perfectly
with the darker tone of hers.

Mace ran his hands down her strong arms. "It does matter,

Sinjin. Please, let me in, or let it out." He placed his head
down by her ear.

Her body fought a myriad of emotions. Would it really hurt

to let someone in for a change? Yes! "No, it doesn't Mace.
Now, I need to get dressed."

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"Tell me," he coaxed as his fingers danced along her

sensitive skin. His face nuzzled her neck through her hair.
"Please."

Her body shivered. She was standing in the middle of the

bedroom she would be sharing with him, in nothing but her
underclothes and three inch heels. On a sigh, Sinjin said, "Ask
your questions."

Mace closed his eyes and allowed the rich aroma of her

lotion to flow across him. "I want to know about the scars on
your back." His lips brushed against her skin of her neck.

"What's to tell? It is just as it seems." Sinjin shook as his

hands continued to caress her body.

"Tell me, Sin." Mace used his body to support hers as she

leaned back into him.

"I got them in prison," she stated in a bland voice. Finding

her strength, Sinjin stood up and away from his hard body.
Looking over her shoulder at him, she shrugged. "I was
disobedient. Quite often." Sinjin sat down on the bed,
seemingly having forgotten she was not wearing much in the
way of clothing.

Moving toward the other side of the bed, Mace lay down on

it, positioning himself so one hand could reach out and trace
the scars. "Why would they do this?"

Even though she felt the touch of his finger, Sinjin didn't

pull away. This man was one that she had allowed herself to
feel with. And for. Years of nothing but abuse, made his
tender touch all the more special.

"Sinjin?" Mace brushed her hair so it fell to the front of her

shoulders, leaving her back bare aside from the bra strap.

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"They didn't need a reason. They did it because they could.

I was the only woman, Mace. There were times I longed for
the whip to be all that was in store for me."

He felt sick to his stomach. "Can you ever forgive me?" His

fingers moved over the crisscrossing on her back.

"You didn't do this, Mace. Stop beating yourself up about

it." Sinjin closed her eyes.

"I could've said something on your behalf," he argued.
"It wouldn't have mattered. Dirk needed me out of the

way. He wanted me so far out of the way; no one would think
to look for me. But when your Sonia told him that Vlad said
he was going to find Cicero, he found a use for me again."

"What are you talking about?" Mace dropped his hand from

her back.

"Just that Dirk is the one. He is your mole, for some

reason he needs Cicero out there. Not sure why yet, but I
will."

Storing that information away for later, Mace asked in a

quiet tone, "How did you survive?"

A humorless bark of laughter escaped her. "I'm still not

sure I did, yet." She rolled her neck. "Anger. Anger at you
and your betrayal kept me going for a while."

"But you were..." Mace didn't know how to finish that.
"I was a lot of things, Mace. I did some pit fighting, I was

sexually assaulted. I went through a lot. All of it changed
when there was a change in command. The new warden
moved me to my own area. It was like spending four years in
solitary."

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Mace began rubbing her back, in slow movements. It was

with pride he noticed how she relaxed under his touch.

"My only communication was with the guards. They didn't

speak English, so I learned Icelandic. It is still more common
for me to respond in it as well. English takes a bit of extra
thought for me."

Rising up on his knees, Mace began to give her a shoulder

massage. Her head dropped forward giving him better access.
"Is that why you responded immediately to the guards and
ignored me?"

"Not responding was just another reason for punishment

from many guards."

Dirk. Betrayal. Sinjin suffering. Mace looked across the

room through narrowed eyes. He snarled as he realized that
the one responsible here was Dirk. The same man who had
possibly set him up.

"Don't worry, Mace," Sinjin said. "We'll get him. Dirk will

pay for what he's done." He kissed the top of her head, not
even questioning how she knew his thoughts.

[Back to Table of Contents]

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Chapter Sixteen

Mace groaned in frustration. Three days had passed since

Sinjin had sat mostly naked on the bed before him and told
him about her time in Ferð Endir. Foolish man that he
was, he assumed things had changed between them.

"Dumb, Mace. Dumb." He shook his head as he sat on a

lounge chair around the pool. Sinjin had gotten up from the
bed and gotten dressed before working on the computer.

When he had gone to see about dinner, it was as if that

talk had never happened. And it had been the same ever
since. She was affectionate when they were around others,
but intensely private when they were in the rooms. Right
now, he didn't have a clue as to where she was.

They did some things together, but he also knew that

Sinjin was much more comfortable alone. She had been like
that before her prison stint, but now it was more noticeable.

A shadow fell over him and he looked up to see a member

of the staff standing there holding a tray out to him. Upon the
silver tray was an envelope. "This is for you, Sir."

"Thank you," Mace said as he took the note. The man

nodded and walked off, as silently as he had arrived.

Opening it, Mace pulled out the paper and read:
I'll be back later this evening, sorry I can't do dinner.
There is something I had to do.

* * * *

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Frowning he reread the note two more times. What the

hell was so damn important? And if it was, why wasn't he
along for the ride? Mace grumbled as a jealous thought filled
his head, What if she is out meeting another man?

His anger grew as time went by. He ate lunch and dinner

by himself, and now his watch said it was close to midnight.
Mace paced the front room of their suite in the dark.

The second he heard the latch engage and the door began

to swing open, his rage surfaced. When the door shut, he
grabbed the person and hissed, "Where the hell have you
been?"

Cold metal pressed against his chest. "You know," a low

voice responded. "I really don't like to be grabbed."

Mace swallowed. He shouldn't have done that. He knew

she was nervous and probably a bit jumpy. "Sorry."

"Let go of my arm, please." The barrel that had been

against him fell away, allowing him to breathe easier. There
was no emotion in her voice and it bothered him.

"Where have you been?" Mace moved to turn on the light

and when he did, he found the room empty. Sinjin wasn't
there. "Sinjin?" He shut the light back off and moved carefully
into the bedroom. Again the light went on but she was in bed
already, facing away from him.

"Go to sleep, Mace. We have to have breakfast with that

couple tomorrow." Sinjin remained facing away from him.

Shutting off the light, he bit back his immediate response.

Slipping into bed, he ground his teeth together as he smelled
cigarette smoke and alcohol on her. Where the hell were you?
Who were you with?

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It was a troubled sleep that he fell into. Mace tossed and

turned all through the night. He woke first and just lay there
and listened to her deep breathing. Looking at the clock, he
saw it was six in the morning. The morning sun was just
beginning to filter through the darkness.

He climbed out and headed to the shower. When he

returned he turned on the light, stood over the bed and
looked down at the woman lying there. As he watched her,
she flopped over onto her back allowing him to see her face.

Rage filled him in seconds. On her left cheek, there was

the beginning of a bruise. Someone had hit his woman. Mace
couldn't stop the roar of fury that erupted from the depths of
his chest.

Before that sound had faded from the air, Sinjin was wide-

awake with not one, but two guns in her hands. The look on
her face was total concentration as she tried to discern what
the trouble was and where it was coming from.

Her eyes flicked up to meet the steaming gaze of Mace.

"What the fuck happened to your face?" he thundered.

Sinjin took a deep breath to calm the rapid beating of her

heart. Letting the guns rest back on the bed, she ran her
hand over her face. "I got hit," she said.

Gritting his teeth, Mace snapped, "I can see that. Who hit

you?" His hands were fisting as he tried to get his temper
back under control.

Rolling her shoulders to get some of the tension out, Sinjin

couldn't stop the wince that crossed her face. "I had a slight
misunderstanding with some guys last night."

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Mace was pushing her back on the bed and lifting her shirt

before she could say anything else. His eyes were so dark
they appeared black as he looked back up at her. "You have
more bruises." Although his tone and eyes were hard, his
touch was the softest in the world.

"I know," she said. "Now, can you let me pull my shirt

down?"

Glancing at the body before him, Mace hesitated. Sitting

above the bruises were the breasts he had loved so much in
the past. His mouth grew dry as he imagined suckling on
them, watching as the dark chocolate nipples hardened under
his touch. Or tongue.

Instead of giving her a verbal answer, Mace gave over to

the feelings that coursed through him. His lips lightly moved
over her tender ribs. He felt the thrill run through her body
and into his as her body shivered.

Sinjin knew she should protest. Knew she should shove

him away and get up. Instead of doing what she knew she
should, Sinjin remained lying there with her shirt shoved up
partially over her breasts.

Mace put his hands on either side of her body as he

straddled her. Tender kisses were placed all over her torso as
his mouth moved closer and closer to her breasts. He loved
how her skin tasted beneath his lips.

The ends of his hair trailed across her body as he used one

hand to expose a breast. Sinjin's breath caught as his lips
closed around her nipple. With a mind of their own, her hands
slid through the thick hair on his head bringing his head even
closer.

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"Mace!" The word exploded out of her mouth, as her body

arched with pleasure.

He didn't respond, opting instead to use the hand not

supporting his weight to tease her other breast. Beneath his
palm, Mace could feel her nipple hardening, drawing into to
the pebbled tip he loved to suckle.

Rolling one nipple between his fingers and the other with

his mouth, Mace felt her shivering beneath him. With his
teeth, he grazed the candied kiss in his mouth. "Mace," she
moaned again.

Just like that, he let it pop out of his mouth. He blew on it

and smiled at the whimper she released. He licked his way
down the side of her full breast, across the sternum and up
the side of her other breast. When his mouth latched onto
that breast, his fingers began to torment the stiff nipple on
her other one.

Sinjin's head tossed from side to side as her body was

engulfed by an orgasm. "Oohhhh," she cried as her hips lifted
up, instinctively seeking something else.

Mace let go of that treat and moved up to press their lips

together. His tongue swept around the edge of her mouth
before being readily accepted by her. They dueled with their
tongues as he pressed more and more of his weight upon her,
demonstrating to her the rampant erection that was in his
pants.

"I want you, Sin." Mace murmured against her mouth.
Sinjin tried to find an appropriate response. Like yes, or

no, or anything. Her mind was so muddled she couldn't think
straight.

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"Tell me," he commanded as his lower body pressed

harder against hers.

Mace felt her body go from pliant to rigid. Drawing back,

he wondered if he had pushed her too far, but her gaze was
toward the door. "Someone's knocking on the door," she
uttered.

Listening, he heard it as well. Swearing profusely, Mace

got up and left the bedroom. He opened the door dressed in
nothing but his jeans and looked at the despised person on
the other side. Correction, people.

It was the couple that he and Sinjin were supposed to

meet for breakfast. Mr. and Mrs. Hornsby.

"Good morning," Candy Hornsby said. "I hope we aren't

too early, I know we said about six-thirty." Her blue eyes ran
over Mace's naked chest, down to the obvious ridge in his
jeans and back up to his eyes. She very slowly licked her lips.

"No, you aren't too early we are just finishing getting

ready. Meet you downstairs in like ten minutes?"

Eric Hornsby nodded and walked away with a smile. Candy

looked at Mace hungrily. "Only ten? I wouldn't let you out
after that amount of time," she purred softly. "Seeing what
you have down there, I bet you could go for hours."

"Candy!" Eric shouted back at her. "Leave him alone."
"Let me know," she whispered and walked off with a

decided sway to her hips.

Stepping back into the room, Mace was shaking his head.
"Is there something I should know, honey?" A falsely

sweet voice reached him.

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Mace turned to see Sinjin standing there, fully dressed in a

lovely yellow and cream pants suit. He blushed. He couldn't
help it, he was embarrassed to have her seen that. "You
heard?"

"That woman hit on you? Yes. I don't care if you take her

up on it, but I'm not into that whole swinging thing, so keep
me out of it." Sinjin shrugged like it didn't matter. Inside she
seethed. The thought of that woman touching Mace made her
pissed.

"I should get ready. I told them we'd meet them in ten

minutes." Mace was ignoring the fact that they had lost the
"moment" between them. There wasn't another woman in the
world that would make him lose his desire for the woman who
was masquerading as his wife.

"Perhaps you should," she stated blandly.
Mace paused, turned back around to where Sinjin stood.

Walking toward her with an unhesitating stride, he boxed her
against the wall with his corded bare arms. "Don't be jealous,
baby. You are the only woman I want."

Blinking as if his presence didn't bother her in the

slightest, she leaned in closer to him until their lips almost
touched. "I'm not jealous."

Challenge flared in his eyes as he moved even closer. "Are

you sure? I would be if I heard someone talking to you like
that." His breath flowed over her skin, making it tingle.

"Positive. Now go get dressed." She licked her lips.
Mace groaned as his eyes turned to molten gold. "Tell me

the truth," he said as his lips landed on hers softly.

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The look in his eyes made her decision for her. "I would

have kicked that bitch's ass if she had touched you," Sinjin
blurted out. "Now, go get dressed."

His mouth kicked up into a sexy grin. Then before she

could blink, he was kissing her. Long. Deep. Thorough.
Passionate.

Her eyes were at half-mast when he stopped the kiss. Full

lips were swollen and begging for more of his touch. Mace
placed one more tender kiss on her mouth, then pushed away
from the wall and went to the bedroom to get dressed.

At the entrance to the dining area, Mace grabbed Sinjin

and spun her into his chest, keeping her left hand between
them. His lips covered hers as his hand pressed her ring back
onto her finger.

Drawing back from her lush mouth, he whispered, "Don't

want you to forget your ring."

"Thanks," she said sliding her hand into his. "Let's go eat

breakfast."

A smile crossed his handsome face. The light from the

Arizona morning seemed to caress his features. "Good idea."

Breakfast passed without incident. The chatter between

the two couples was lively and full of innocent fun. Mace
eagerly spent the time watching "his wife."

Each time she smiled, laughed or spoke, Mace fell deeper.

Deeper into emotions that existed solely with her. Sipping his
orange juice, he cut his eyes over to watch her interact with
Eric Hornsby.

Eric was asking about skeet shooting. "So do you think you

want to give it a go?"

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"What do you think, honey?" Sinjin looked at him and

blinked those thick, sooty lashes as she waited for a
response. "Would you take me skeet shooting?"

Heart pounding from the adoration and excitement in her

stunning eyes, Mace wouldn't have been able to refuse her
anything in the world at that moment. "Of course, baby. This
is your vacation. Whatever you want to do, we do."

Eric grinned. "Wonderful. We can go after we finish

eating."

"I don't know how to shoot," Candy whined. "Let's do

something relaxing. Like going to the pool, hot tub or
something."

Eric shook his head. "The point is to learn, dear." He

moved his hand between himself and Mace. "We'll teach you."

She smiled at that. Her gaze landed on Mace. "Well then,

let's hurry up and go."

Mace looked at Sinjin and winked. "Don't worry, baby. I'll

make sure you're comfortable with the gun."

Sinjin reached for his face and trailed her hand down in it a

deceptively tender gesture. "I know you will. But I think I
need to change into jeans." The couples agreed to meet in
thirty minutes.

As the door closed behind Mace, he burst out laughing.

Sinjin glared at him. "Shut up, Mace." She headed to the
bedroom to change.

Mace walked in as her hands pulled blue jeans up over her

butt. Halting in the doorway, he just watched her. Every
move graceful. A white tee shirt hung over the waist of her
pants.

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"Ready?" she asked turning around.
"For something," he groaned low. At her unamused stare,

he amended, "Yes, ma'am. I'm ready." She snorted and
walked to the closet.

Mace crossed the room to stand behind her as she looked

over her selection of shoes. "Tennis shoes," he murmured in
her ear.

* * * *

Mace and Sinjin walked into view holding hands. Even the

staff smiled at the obvious affection between them. After
getting the guns, both couples stood by the machines that
would fire the clay discs for them.

Sinjin watched in silence as Candy and Eric went first. She

was chomping at the bit to feel the weight of a gun in her
hand. Skeet shooting was so much fun.

When it was her turn, Mace stood behind Sinjin and used

the pretense of teaching her; he allowed their bodies to fit
together. His mouth was by her ear, but all he was doing was
blowing in it.

"Stop it, Mace." Sinjin said, almost as a plea.
His tongue snuck out and licked the skin behind her ear.

"Don't forget you are supposed to be learning." He moved her
hand along the smooth barrel.

As bad as her body was shaking, Sinjin doubted she could

hit the side of a barn. "Right. Just release it, already."

Pointing toward the sky, he said, "But I love seeing your

hand grip the hard barrel. Watching as each finger moves
until the feel is just right beneath 'em."

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Body clenching with lust, Sinjin ground her back teeth

together. Mace stepped back and said, "I'm releasing on
three. Don't forget what I said, baby. Squeeze the trigger
smoothly, not in a jerky fashion."

As if I could forget what you said. "Okay I'm ready,

honey." The butt of the gun was against her shoulder and she
was waiting for the release. Sinjin forced herself to miss a
few. Of course, that meant Mace came back to her and
pressed his solid body against hers.

"You like this don't you, Sin?" His words tormented her.

"My body against yours, the closeness of it all." The next disc,
she hit. Shattered it right out of the sky.

"Wow!" Eric said. "Great job."
Her grin was slightly forced as she looked from Eric to

Mace. "Thank you. He bet me I couldn't do it." Sinjin flashed
a smile that Mace knew was more teeth than anything. "See
honey, I won the bet."

Mace shrugged easily. "So you did, baby, so you did." He

moved over to stand before her and spoke in a hushed tone
that no one else could hear. "Now, give me the gun." When
she hesitated, Mace put his hand over hers. "Let go of the
gun, Sin."

He heaved a sigh of relief once she finally did. For lack of

anything better to do, instead of kissing her, Mace took his
turn at shooting. Her eyes were on him and he could feel it.
Watching how he held the gun, how he tracked the disc,
everything.

After Mace finished, Eric took a turn. Sinjin kept her eyes

on him the same way she had observed Mace. Candy took

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that time to try and cozy up to Mace. Much to Mace's
discontent, Sinjin didn't seem to even realize it, or if she did,
didn't care.

When they went their separate ways, Sinjin was quieter

than normal. As they walked into the room, Mace looked
down at her. "Everything okay?"

"I'm going to go work out for a bit." She ducked into the

bedroom and came back moments later, dressed in baggy
clothing. "See you." Sinjin left without waiting for him to say
anything.

[Back to Table of Contents]

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Chapter Seventeen

Mace walked into the state of the art gym. This place was

incredible. His eyes looked around the free weight room. No
sign of Sinjin so he moved along. He walked past the machine
room and onto a room that was filled with bikes, ellipticals,
treadmills and such.

His eyes scanned the room. There in the back corner, he

found her. She was on a treadmill running with a set of
headphones on. Moving closer, he saw that the screen in front
of her was changing.

As if she was truly running outdoors, the scenery passed

by her. Sometimes there were hills that she went up, water
that she passed by. Mace watched as the machine she was on
rose and fell depending on the scene before her.

The pounding of her feet mesmerized him as he stood

there. Glancing over her shoulder, Mace read on the display
that she was nearing the tenth mile. He shook his head,
Sinjin wasn't jogging, no, she was running.

Sweat dripped down her body as she pounded away. A

tank top was plastered to her body, but it covered the scars
on her back. She wore running shorts that did nothing to hide
the delicious curve of her firm ass.

He felt his body stir with desire as he found his gaze

holding the endless motion of her body. Mace shook his head;
he was like a damn rutting animal when it came to her. All he
had to do was look at her and he wanted to toss her over his
shoulder and haul her away to have his way with her.

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It took incredible effort, but Mace backed up and left her

alone, choosing instead to go to the weight room. Soon, he
too was dripping with sweat as he pumped iron on a circuit
course.

Mace finished in the weight room. His body burned, but it

was in a good way. Very few things felt better to him than
that of a body sore from a good workout. Grabbing his towel,
Mace wiped his face and took a drink of water.

Walking down the hall, Mace headed for the pool. He was

curious to see what their pool looked like. Pushing open the
door, he blinked at the smell of chlorine and continued in. It
surprised him that the place wasn't full of people. Of course,
with all the other amenities the place offered, he could see
why.

His ears picked up on someone swimming in the pool.

Moving into the room, his gaze took in the Olympic sized
pool. It was empty except for him and the person in the pool.

He saw there was a shallow pool in a corner of the room.

For the people who came and needed swim therapy, he
assumed. The strokes in the large pool grew louder, dragging
Mace's attention back to the person in there.

It was Sinjin. Mace couldn't make her out before, but now

he could.

She moved cleanly through the water. Keeping in the lane

she had chosen, her arms sliced through the water. Even
from where he stood along side the pool, he could tell her
eyes were closed.

"Only you, Sinjin, would swim with your eyes closed." He

shook his head. Mace understood she had this desire to be

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able to find things without the benefit of sight. So she tested
herself often, to make sure she could go in a straight line.

He knew she would periodically open her eyes to check her

progress. Mace also had it on good authority that she found a
peace in her soul when she did things like these. His gaze
followed her as she dove underwater and spun around by
using the wall of the pool as a push-off point.

Knowing he wasn't clean, he didn't want to get in the pool.

But he also didn't want her left alone. So, Mace sat down in
one of the lounge chairs and waited for her to finish. Closing
his eyes, he allowed the steady, continuous sounds of her
body moving through the water to flow over him.

He lost track of time as he reclined in the poolroom. When

he opened his eyes, he found himself looking up at a woman.
She wore a bikini that was the color of the ocean. It fit her
body like a dream.

"Hello," the low voice reached him.
Mace struggled to sit upright. He must have fallen asleep.

Blinking his eyes, he focused on the woman by him. He cast a
glance past her to the pool, which was empty. "What do you
want?"

Eyes grew sultry as they moved over the muscled body of

the man on the chair. Crouching down, she sat on the edge of
the seat. "You. I thought I had made that clear."

Light eyes narrowed. "I don't know why you would think I

would want you." Her eyes grew big at his words. "I'm
married, happily so. You need to leave me alone." Mace shook
his head. "Never mind. I'll leave."

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"I know you're married. I am as well," Candy purred. "But

that doesn't mean we can't enjoy each other." Her hand
settled high up on his thigh, nails curving into his flesh.

"Actually," he snapped as two of his fingers lifted her touch

away from him, "That's exactly what it means." Mace stood
with his water bottle and left.

* * * *

As he walked into his suite, he breathed a sigh of release.

Candy was becoming more and more of a nuisance. "Damn
woman," he muttered as his strides took him through the
front room and into the bedroom.

"Any woman in particular? Or just woman in general?"

Sinjin's voice reached him.

Lifting his head, Mace saw Sinjin leaning in the doorway to

the final room of their suite. She was showered and dressed
in a pair of khaki capris and a white tank top. "Candy," he
admitted.

"Oh, I see." Sinjin moved toward him. "She made her

move on you finally?"

Mace swallowed. "You could say that."
"I did. I saw her in the pool area as I left." At the last

second, she swerved and sat on the bed.

He arched a brow at that. "And you just left me there?

Alone? Defenseless?" Mace felt his heart skip a beat as she
laughed. Such an unrestrained show of emotion was unusual
for her.

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"I highly doubt you could ever be considered remotely

defenseless, Mace Dylan." Her eyes sparkled with
amusement. "I pity the one who believes you are."

His dimple showed as he felt a smile cross his face.

Walking across the thick carpet, he stood before her. "What
would you consider me, then?" His tone was low, silkily, and
dangerously sexy.

Tossing her hair, Sinjin looked him up and down. "Well, if I

had to put a name to it, I'd say capable."

Mace turned to sit beside her. "Capable?"
She shrugged. "What? You don't think you are?"
"Well I was hoping for ... I don't know ... a better word."
Tilting her head, Sinjin ran her eyes over him again. "What

would you consider a better word?"

His strong shoulders rose and fell easily. "I was thinking

something more flattering than capable. Handsome.
Masculine. Sexy beyond belief. You know, something like
that."

Her light laughter filled the room. "I don't do flattering.

You know that."

"But you could pretend," he drawled, looking down at her.
"Hmmm. I'm good at making things up, but I don't think

even I could pull that off with a straight face." She batted her
thick lashes at him.

"Ouch," he complained. "Just shoot a man when he's

down, why don't you?"

"One thing you aren't lacking in, Mace, is confidence."
His wounded look turned predatory. "Care to tell me what

else I'm not lacking, darlin'?" Mace's voice was a low purr.

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Shivering from the intensity of his voice, Sinjin had to fight

to maintain a look of calm indifference. Leaning in close, so
their lips were almost touching, Sinjin licked her lips before
whispering in a sultry voice, "It's my job to play a doting wife
outside this door. Not stroke your ego, behind it." She rose
and walked back into the room where her computer was.

Mace groaned. She left him enveloped in the scent of her

lotion. It was the smell of a succulent melon. His cock
throbbed painfully against his shorts. Wow, that woman knew
how to stroke his body until it hummed with passion.

Flopping back on the bed, he threw his arms out to his

side. "I'm wearing you down, Sin-baby." His voice carried
through the room and back to where she was.

"Just wearing down my nerves, Mace," she yelled back.

"That's it. Nothing more."

"Care to make a wager on that?" He closed his eyes,

knowing she wouldn't be able resist his challenge.

"What kind of wager did you have in mind?" Her voice was

soft.

Mace opened his eyes and didn't even try to control the

smirk that filled his face. She was leaning over him. "You
never could refuse a challenge."

"Woman's gotta have something to live for." Her eyes

drifted to his lips and back to his eyes.

"Deal?"
"What kind of wager?" Sinjin repeated her question.
"My wager. My rules. My choice." Mace reached up and

traced the side of her face with two fingers. "Do you agree?"

"Nothing that is degrading?"

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His fingers moved across her plump lower lip. "Never." Up

across her upper lip and over the bridge of her nose.

"Then I agree."
Removing his touch from her face, Mace rolled so he was

out from under her and sat up. "Wonderful."

"What is the wager?" Sinjin desperately wanted to know.

He was acting a bit too confident.

"Rules first." He looked at her and waited for her nod of

acquiescence. "Good. You can't hold back. This has to be an
all out effort, by both of us."

Intrigued, Sinjin sank on her heels and waited for him to

continue. His eyebrows rose in question. "Got it, no holding
back," she said.

Mace smiled his approval. "If you win you get to pick the

prize." He saw her grin of consent and continued. "If I win..."

Sinjin tried to control the tremor that racked her body. "If

you win, what happens?"

Crawling across the large bed to where she sat, Mace

cupped her face in his hands. His tone dropped to something
between pure sex and compassion, Sinjin wasn't totally sure.
"If I win ... I want you."

Being deliberately obtuse, Sinjin asked, "You want me to

do what?" Her breaths were hard to find as she waited for his
response.

Leaning in, he halted a hair's breadth away from her full

lips. "I want you, Sinjin. But I want all of you. No holding
back, I want you to honestly and totally give yourself to me."

Even though she had been pretty sure about what he was

going to say, hearing those words made her breath catch.

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Every nerve ending in her body called out for this man's
touch. "Do you know what you're asking me?"

His thumbs teased the corners of her mouth. Mace

groaned as her teeth sank into her lower lip. "Yes baby, I do.
I'm asking you to trust me." He never stopped looking in her
eyes as he spoke.

Knowing she had to get away from him, or she would be

succumbing to tears as his words wound their way into her
soul, Sinjin nodded. "You've got yourself a deal." She moved
back. "What's the game?"

Mace could hardly believe she had agreed. His head was

heady with the emotion that soon Sinjin was going to be his.
One way or another, Sinjin, you are going to be mine.

"Mace?"
"Yes, baby?" His gold flecked eyes watched her.
"Don't call me that." His presence was overwhelming her

and she moved off the bed.

"Game is ... poker." He grinned at the shocked look that

passed over her face. She knew how adept he was at
counting cards.

"Poker?" It came out as a gasp.
"I could have said strip poker," he answered.
Both of them remembering playing strip poker and what it

led to. Hours and hours of lovemaking throughout the days
and nights. Total exhaustion from intense pleasure.

She muttered something incoherent under her breath.

"What, baby?" he asked. "What did you say?"

"Bastarður." Sinjin spoke in a louder tone.

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"I don't speak Icelandic, Sin." Mace saw her 'no shit' look

and questioned. "Care to translate?" Although I have a good
idea what you are saying.

"Nope," she snapped out instantly. "I have to get some

work done, so when is this game happening?"

"After dinner, tonight." He paused. "Or rather over dinner.

That way, when I win, we won't have to waste time leaving
the dining area and coming back here." Mace leaned toward
her. "And then ... I totally get to enjoy you."

His words invoked something primal within them both.

Sinjin did her best to hold onto her cool, but it was difficult.
Mace was glad he was sitting down, for he could use his arms
to cover the blatant evidence of the erection he always
seemed to have around her.

"Dinner it is then," she managed to say in a bland voice.

Nodding her head at him, Sinjin said, "Until then."

Mace watched as she disappeared into the other room.

Flopping back onto the bed, he couldn't stop a groan from
leaving his mouth. What was it about this woman, this one
woman that made the outside world insignificant? Why was it
that in her presence all that mattered was her?

Deep down within his soul, Mace knew the answer. He

might not have been ready to accept it, but he did know what
it was. Sinjin was the part of him that he was missing and
needed to make life worthwhile.

Even as Sinjin worked diligently to find out who in the GDS

was trying to kill him, Mace was thinking of ways to prolong
their time together. While the thought of being able to visit

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his mother in the light of day, and to stop looking over his
shoulder held great appeal, he wanted to be with Sinjin.

Day and night. Falling asleep beside her and waking the

same way. "Sinjin," he sighed as his arm flopped over his
eyes. "What will it take for us to find our way back to the way
it used to be?"

* * * *

Sinjin stood in the door and scrutinized Mace as he

muttered to himself. She had come back to grab something
from a bag and stopped short at the sight of him lying on his
back. Her eyes took on a softness she had believed to be long
gone from her soul as she eavesdropped on his personal
conversation.

As his softly spoken words reached her ears, she, too,

closed her eyes and sighed. Though the words would never
cross her lips, Sinjin acknowledged that memories of the love
she had once shared with Mace Dylan were a big part of why
she survived.

The anger as well, but what got her through many a lonely

night was the image of Mace's face. His handsome face as he
looked down at her as if she was so special, so important to
him. Memories of those eyes as they filled with emotion had
gotten her through tough times more often than the anger
did.

[Back to Table of Contents]

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Chapter Eighteen

Mace wanted to order a fancy dinner for the two of them.

When he saw Sinjin staring longingly at the cheeseburger and
fries he caved and ordered that.

It was difficult for him to count cards when she made a

sexy purr of contentment with each piping hot, salty fry she
ingested. She was distracting him from the game by settling
his focus on the pleasure in her face.

Each time she sucked the salt off her fingers, his body

lurched in response. When her full lips sucked on the straw,
Mace had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep his groan to
himself.

"Are you okay?" she asked as their eyes met across the

table.

"Fine," he muttered. "Why? Is it to me?"
"You're sweating." Sinjin pointed at him.
Mace almost came unglued. Her finger was wet from being

in her mouth. Lucky fuckin' finger.

His eyes traveled over her face and he was blown away by

the actual concern he saw there. Sinjin hadn't a clue as to
how sexy she was to him.

"Mace?"
"Hmmmm?" His eyes flashed up to meet hers.
"It's to you." Holding a fry near her mouth, she double

checked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Fine." Mace looked over the cards that were face up, the

flop, and slid out more chips. "I raise."

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Closing her eyes, Sinjin ate the fry, still unaware of what it

was doing to Mace, and thought about her next move. "I call."
Her brown eyes opened and she witnessed the raw lust that
blazed in Mace's eyes.

It was like he was in a trance. He just stared, Sinjin licked

her lips and crowed with silent pleasure as she watched him
clench his fists and his eyes go a shade darker. In that second
it was clear to her why he was perspiring.

Picking up another fry she opened her mouth, inserted the

fry, and just before she bit into it she withdrew it. "Would you
like a fry, Mace?" A pause. "Mace?"

Hunger-infused eyes wrenched away from her mouth and

met her gaze. "Huh?"

She gestured with the fry. "Would you like one?" When he

didn't move, she shrugged easily and brought it back to her
mouth. "Your loss." She ate it as if everything was fine. When
she reached for her Coke, Sinjin raised a brow at Mace. "I
called, Mace." Then she closed her eyes and sucked in the
cold beverage.

Mace ran a hand over his face. His jeans were so snug it

was as if they were about to burst. His cock strained against
the material that confined it. Concentrate Mace! "I'll call, too."

Reaching for the stack, Mace turned over the final card. He

had two pair, jack high. They were evenly matched as far as
chips went. Knowing he was in danger of losing because he
wasn't concentrating, Mace pushed all his chips in the middle.
"I'm all in."

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Sinjin was shocked. That wasn't what she expected at all.

Setting her drink down, she took a deep breath and peeked at
her own two cards. Do I have a chance?

"What's it gonna be, Sin?" Mace leaned back in his chair.

His posture was that of a man who was unconcerned. Not one
of a man with a raging hard-on for the woman across from
him.

She had about one quarter of her chips left in front of her.

That would give her one more hand if she folded now.
Sucking on her lower lip, she shook her head. "I fold."

If Mace was disappointed, he didn't let it show. Instead, he

sat up and swept the chips toward him.

The next hand was his to open. He bet what she had left.

"You have to go all the way, Sinjin, if you want this one."

I want it all right! Sinjin went all in. "I'm in."
Mace's eyes sparkled with pride. He loved how she never

backed down from a challenge. "You know if I win this hand,
you're outta chips."

"I'm not worried," she lied.
"Me neither." Mace announced with a lot more confidence

than he felt.

For a moment, the room was silent as they dragged out

the suspense as much as possible.

"Flip the river," Mace ordered.
Taking a solidifying breath first, Sinjin did just that. The

five of spades. Sneaking a glance toward Mace, Sinjin only
saw a blank expression. Damn his poker face!

"Well, since you have nothing left to bet, baby. I'm also

going all in." His eyes met hers. "Show me what you've got."

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"Trip fives." She turned the cards over.
Mace allowed the grin to cross his visage. "Oh, I can't

wait." His long fingers reached for his cards.

Sinjin's head jerked toward the back room. Without a

glance at Mace she dashed through the door.

Tossing his cards down, Mace looked at his straight flush.

"Hell no, baby. I won." Shoving back from the table, he
strode to the room she disappeared into.

"Baby," Mace drawled. "I had a straight flush." Peeking

around the doorframe, he froze at the sight of her staring at
the screen. "Sinjin?" He rushed towards her.

"We have to leave," she announced, pushing back from the

desk.

"What?" I'm not letting you out of our deal! Mace stepped

toward her, only to stop as she gestured toward the screen.
Her expression of forced composure halted any protests.

Mace had to reread the email three times before he

accepted the words before his eyes as truth. Bile rose in his
throat at the news.

No knowing how much time had passed, Mace jumped

when a hand settled upon his shoulder. Sinjin. She stood
behind him dressed in a pair of baggy dark green cargo
pants, a black tee shirt, and tennis shoes. Her straightened
hair was gathered up in a high ponytail.

"We're packed. There will be a car for us in a bit. I have to

just gather this stuff."

"Is this..." Mace trailed off.
"I have never known him to lie to me, Mace. I know you

don't like him but his sources are amazing."

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Mace stood. "Don't you want to know why I don't like

him?" He moved to stand behind her, his fingers settling upon
the fabric of her shirt.

"Sure, Mace. Tell me." Sinjin stepped away from his touch

and began shutting down the computer.

Mace followed, advancing up behind her and entrapping

her between his hard body and the table. His powerful arms
rested on either side of her. "I don't like him because he
makes you feel safe."

"I've known Cicero forever. Of course he makes me feel

safe." Her movements were jerky as she packed the
remaining items into the case.

"But he's old enough to be your father."
"He is."
Lowering his mouth so it was positioned right beside her

ear, he murmured, "I want to be the man who brings that
look to your face. It makes me sick to see another man put
that emotion on your beautiful face."

Spinning around, Sinjin met his gaze. Their lips almost

touched as breaths mingled.

Her eyes flicked briefly to his lips and back up to his eyes.

Then she allowed her tongue to sneak out and wet her lips.
"You don't have any right to feel that."

Mace closed the distance between their lips. The skin of his

lips rubbed teasingly along hers. "But I want that right."

She whimpered as wetness flooded her body. "We have to

go."

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"You know I won, right? The game?" He trapped her

between his strong thighs even as his lips continued to dance
over hers.

"You always won me, Mace. Even when you lost." Her eyes

were tender as she increased the pressure on his lips. Slowly
her lashes drifted to rest against her cheeks.

Mace felt his heart skip a beat. Sinjin was taking the

initiative. He didn't want to blink for fear all of it would
disappear and the words he had heard from her lips would be
gone and be nothing more than a memory.

Her strong fingers gripped his sides. The touch was

hesitant at first, but it grew more confident as she increased
the pressure of the kiss. Still, it was a simple kiss. A simple
kiss that rocked him to the core.

"Mace," she moaned into his mouth.
His own eyes fell closed as the pure touch from her sent

him spiraling into a fantasy world. A world where they were
all that mattered. Where the grass was always green, the sky
was cloudless, and endless warm breezes blew.

Mace curled his iron-like arms around her slender, yet

strong, form. Pressing her curves where they belonged, up
against him.

He allowed her to retain control of the kiss and didn't stop

her when she pulled back from his mouth. Mace opened his
eyes and found her watching him. A sad smile filled her
expression. One of longing and regret.

One callused hand reached up to touch his face. "We need

to get going. It's time to end this."

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Mace nodded his understanding, not trusting himself to

speak. Regardless of the rampaging emotions inside him, he
knew she was right. There were people who had to pay for
their transgressions.

They stepped away from one another, hesitantly but

simultaneously. As if parting was the last thing on earth they
wanted to do. Sinjin turned around and finished packing up
the electronic equipment. Mace allowed his eyes to linger over
her backside before he left the room to change.

* * * *

"How exactly do you plan on getting in there?" Mace asked

from his seat. His eyes were on Sinjin as she lay stretched
out on a couch.

"I have the codes." She never moved.
His light eyes cast upward toward the ceiling of the plane.

Of course you do. "From Cicero, no doubt," he groused.

"No doubt."
Spinning the large chair in a circle, Mace halted once he

was facing her. Sinjin looked to be without a care in the
world. Mack knew better than that. "Why didn't Cicero do
something if he knew what was going on?"

"Cicero doesn't involve himself in minor issues."
Mace fought back shock and disgust. "This is minor?"
Sinjin tuned her head to meet his furious gaze. "Look. I

understand this is hard for you, harder perhaps because you
have emotional ties to them. But it truly is on a small scale
compared to some things we've seen."

"Torture is small scale?" He was disgusted.

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"Don't misunderstand, Mace. What Dirk is doing is

repulsive, nauseating, and immoral. But he is also small scale
to Cicero. We're used to whole villages or tribes being used."
Sinjin sat up and leaned forward, resting forearms on her
thighs and said as if talking to herself, "So many see him as a
force of evil, but like you, now are upset he didn't stop this
before."

Mace shook his head, not wanting to hear her defend

Cicero. "Dirk is torturing people! Using them to experiment
on."

"That's why Dirk couldn't let Cicero be caught. The money

he gets to 'find' Cicero goes to his experiments." She stood
up, deciding not to argue semantics with Mace. "Let me show
you something."

Mace followed her to a computer where she brought up an

image. It was man with stringy blond hair. With a frown,
Mace realized who that was. "That's the man from Chechnya."

"The one who made it so Vlad got away." It was a

statement coming from Sinjin.

"Yes, and ultimately Cicero. Why?"
In answer, Sinjin moved her fingers over the keys and

brought up a page that had Mace shaking his head. "Dima
was being paid by Dirk." Mace sat down on the edge of the
desk. "How did you get this?"

"Cracking computer codes is what I do. He thought hiding

this encrypted in his personal stuff would keep it safe. Look,
Dirk will be stopped. I promise."

Mace was still in shock. In the space of minutes he was in

upheaval about the past thirteen years of his life. Everything

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was fuzzy. Was he good or evil? How many people had he
unwittingly helped Dirk to torture and experiment on?

Ever in tuned to him, Sinjin spoke softly. "Don't be hard on

yourself, Mace. You didn't know."

"Why didn't he keep you?"
"Because Cicero never would have allowed it." She shut

the computer, removing Dima's face from sight.

"I'm so confused," Mace confessed.
"Go lie down. It's a lot to digest at once." Sinjin rose and

headed back to the couch. "Take a nap. Relax." She stretched
out again.

"We're almost there." He sat back in the same seat.
"True, but you aren't coming with me."
"What?!" Mace almost jumped out of the chair.
"I'm going to scout the area. You're supposed to be dead. I

don't want you spotted. I won't go in without you, don't
worry."

Mace stared at her as if unsure. He knew she spoke the

truth. "Fine!" he grumbled. "I'll wait, but—"

"I know, I know. You won't be happy about it." Sinjin

arched her back and got more comfortable.

"You think you know me so well, don't you?" Mace shut his

eyes on her lithe form as she stretched like a cat.

Closing her eyes, Sinjin groaned mentally. "No, I don't. I

believe I understand you wanting to get your friends out of
the trouble they are in. That's all. I've never claimed to know
your feelings."

"I'm sorry. I'm ... I just ... well, you know." Mace threw his

hands up in the air, frustrated.

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"I do." Her bland tone told Mace she wasn't being facetious

or placating him, it was just simple agreement.

The plane banked left and a voice filled the cabin,

announcing their descent into Texas.

* * * *

At the door of the cabin, Mace found himself blocked by

two men with automatic weapons. "Sin? Is this really
necessary?"

She looked at him. "I'm afraid so. I am not going to risk

you trying to come after me. I won't go in without you, but I
need to have total concentration right now. And that means
not being concerned that you will show up somewhere."

Sinjin walked past him and out toward into the nondescript

blue truck that was waiting out in the yard. His protests died
away as he tilted his head to watch her move.

She moved with such grace, such poise, and with such an

undercurrent of danger. Black pants settled on her hips,
hugging her generous buttocks. An olive green shirt molded
itself to her body, outlining her shape.

Her hips swayed with each step she took, echoed by the

ponytail that bounced as well. Just before the truck, she bent
over and picked up a bag that was sitting there and tossed it
into the back. Opening the door, she swung up effortlessly
into the cab.

She slipped mirrored sunglasses on her face, turned her

head toward the trio of men that stood there and flashed
them a salute before she turned over the powerful engine and

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roared off, kicking up dirt and dust with the twenty-two inch
tires.

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Chapter Nineteen

Mace was wearing a hole in the floor. For the life of him,

he couldn't stop pacing. Sinjin had been gone for far too long
and he was worried sick.

The men who were keeping him at the cabin didn't seem to

concerned about the length of time. But he was. He also came
unglued as they sat there calmly and ate dinner.

He was too nervous to eat anything. All he did was pace.

Back and forth. The guys left him alone aside from that one
time he had headed for the front door.

Faced with their automatic weapons, Mace opted for the

safest route and chose to steer clear of the door. He would be
patient and wait for her to come back to him.

In the mean time, he would pace in the lone confines of his

temporary room. While the sun began to set, he continued to
move back and forth across the wood floor of the building he
was being held prisoner in. His unbroken pattern continued as
the sun set and the wide open space was covered by the dark
velvet that made up the night.

The only light that illuminated the room was a small table

lamp. It was set on the lowest setting, casting a gentle amber
glow over the tiny room. The wind outside the cabin increased
in force, hammering dirt against the paned glass.

Shutting his eyes against the thought of her out there,

Mace groaned in frustration. He clenched and unclenched his
fists as he continued to pound the groove he was creating in
the floor.

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For a moment he stopped by the window and pressed his

hands upon the sill. Golden-hazel eyes searched almost
desperately through the dark for what he craved to see. One
hand rose to rest upon the cool glass, his head dropped to
settle upon it as well. "Sinjin, please be careful, wherever you
are."

"When am I not ever careful?" A low-pitched, husky tone

filled the room.

Mace spun around at the sound of the sweetest voice God

had ever created. Leaning against the door was Sinjin. His
eyes eagerly absorbed the sight before him.

A groan of appreciation slipped out as he took in her

healthy beauty. She looked tired but uninjured. There was a
sparkle in her eyes that even the darkness of the room
couldn't hide from him.

"You're okay?" His words came out as a question whether

he wanted them to or not.

"Fine. We move first thing tomorrow," she said stepping

away from the frame and further into the room.

He stepped toward her and stopped. "Do you ... think that

... Sonia, the others..." Mace couldn't finish his thought.

"I wish I knew what to tell you about that, Mace. All I can

say is you need to have faith."

"So we wait tonight?" Mace didn't want to wait. He wanted

to go and save people he knew were being tortured. People
he had considered his friends at one point, even if he didn't
now, no one deserved that kind of treatment.

Her fingers drifted to the button that held up her pants. "I

was thinking it was time for you to collect on your debt. Like

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you pointed out, you won the game." Slowly she moved
closer to the shocked man. "I'm here to pay up."

Mace swallowed. All the blood in his body suddenly drifted

south. He bit back a groan of sexual promise. His mouth
moved, but nothing came out, he couldn't formulate anything.
Not a single word.

When she kicked the door shut behind her, Mace realized

she had no boots on, but was in her stockings. Licking his
lips, he waited for her to move closer. She did and it was in a
motion that rivaled a snail for speed.

"Are you sure?" He could've kicked himself for asking that.

Shut up man, this woman is standing before you offering
herself to you.

"Shut up, Mace." Sinjin halted before him and placed her

hands on his chest.

Mace's whole body tingled. "Sinjin," he murmured as his

strong arms gathered her close. His whole world was brighter
just having her in his embrace. I love you! It took immense
concentration to keep those words to himself. She's only here
because of the dare, his brain taunted. That brought him up
short. Was that why?

Capturing her wrists in his strong hands, he stopped them

from moving across his torso. "The bet's off, Sinjin." Mace
forced his voice to remain neutral. "There's no need for you to
pay up."

Sinjin stared at him in the lamp's glow. A very short

hesitation, before she took her hands away from his hold.
"Okay."

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His heart fell at that one word. Mace felt lost with the small

distance between them. It was as if it was a canyon, which
was getting wider with each passing heartbeat. He closed his
eyes and tried not to let her rejection affect him.

At the feel of her touch on him one more time, Mace's eyes

sprung back open. She was watching him carefully. The
expression that had settled across her lovely features almost
took his knees out from under him. "Bet or no bet, Mace, I
don't know how tomorrow is going to end, but I know that
right now, I want you." Her arms slid around his lean waist.
"Did you forget what I told you? That you'd always won me;
win, lose, or draw. I've always been yours."

* * * *

Sinjin almost melted when she witnessed Mace's beautiful

eyes go two shades darker. This man should hold the patent
on passionate looks. Hell, on anything that caused a woman
to feel like the only thing in the world. He was the only one
who made her feel so powerful and yet at the same time, so
feminine.

His body was covered in a pair of blue jeans, dark green

tee and he had loafers on his feet. The hair on his head was
tousled as if he had constantly been worrying it with his
hands. To her there was no chance she would ever meet a
sexier man as long as she lived.

"Come to bed," Mace said in a low timbre as his lips softly

covered her own.

Her body swarmed with electrical impulses. His looks, his

voice, and most definitely his touch sent her into a tailspin.

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Mace feasted on her lips and mouth like it was his last meal,
and he intended on dying a very stuffed man.

He nibbled, licked, tasted, absorbed, and made love to her

mouth with his. As she shuddered from the deep, sweeping
strokes of his tongue, Sinjin felt herself being moved toward
the double bed that sat in the room.

Mace took his mouth off hers and ran the back of one hand

down her face. "Undress," he commanded.

Sinjin felt her body tighten with desire. No matter what

tomorrow would bring, for this night, one last time Mace
Dylan was hers. Capturing her lower lip in her teeth she
backed away from him, far enough to have room to
maneuver. Her hands reached up and took down her ponytail
and allowed her hair to settle loose and free around her face.

Mace shifted on his feet. Sinjin gloated internally.
Lifting the hem of her shirt, she whipped it off her body

and dropped it to the bare floor. Her dark hands traced over
the outline of her upper body as she moved them back down
to the button of her pants.

Undoing the fastener, Sinjin felt her body tremble as his

eyes moved over her body. "Wait," his hoarse voice said. She
stopped and waited.

Mace stepped closer and reached out to touch one smooth

shoulder. He slid his index finger under the black strap that
rested on her skin. "I changed my mind; I want to finish
undressing you."

She put her hands by her sides and just watched his face

as he stared at her. The tender way he watched her brought

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the sting of tears to her eyes. How was it possible for one
man to make a woman feel so important and beautiful?

The raw sentiment in his golden brown gaze made her

shiver. In a good way, a very good way.

Mace's hands followed the same path her own had, down

her side, learning and memorizing her shape before moving in
to hover over the button. His long fingers easily slipped it
through the slit and in seconds he was lowering the zipper as
well.

He tugged them over her hips and slid them gently down

over her toned and muscular legs. When they pooled at her
feet, she stepped out of them.

They looked at one another in the faint light. One saw the

woman of his dreams and the other saw a man she
desperately wished could be hers for more than a single
night.

They were like two halves of the same whole.

Simultaneously the couple stepped closer together and
intertwined their limbs. Their lips met without urgency as they
realized this was their time. No one else's, just theirs.

The kiss was exploratory as they took the time to relearn

one another's taste. Tongues stroked along one another,
building body temperatures to a fevered pitch. Sinjin slipped
her hands up under his shirt

Her nails skimmed over his skin, sending shivers through

his body. "Take off your shirt," she whispered as her teeth
nipped the corner of his mouth.

It seemed his shirt had fallen to the floor before her words

faded from the air. Her hands latched onto his skin like they

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were part of his body. Their lips rejoined as they stood there,
wrapped in each other's arms.

As the kiss lengthened, Sinjin moved her hands down over

his torso and halted over the snaps on his jeans. Not asking
for permission, she undid them and carefully lowered the
zipper.

Both her hands rested on his hips inside his jeans

momentarily before she pressed her near naked body closer
to his. Her hands moved and soon her fingers were pushing
his jeans down his legs.

He kicked off his loafers and stepped out of the jeans that

had gathered around his ankles. Soon those followed and he
was left standing in his striped boxers. Everywhere their skin
touched flames arched between them.

The heat grew between them that made the cold winter

Texas night fade. Her strong body molded itself into the
contours of his muscular one. She trembled as his hands
unhooked her bra.

Sinjin stepped back and allowed it to fall from her form.

She shut her eyes as he took in the woman in front of him.
"Sweetheart, open your eyes." Mace's deep voice reached her
ears.

Slowly she did as he asked and found him watching her.

His hands cupped her breasts, allowing his palms to hold their
weight. Still his eyes never left hers. Not even when he
moved his thumbs over the peaked nipples did he drop his
gaze.

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Her gaze grew hooded as her pleasure mounted. The room

was filled with deep breathing and promise of things yet to
come.

Dropping his hands from her twin mounds, Mace lifted her

and lay her out on the bed. His boxers were removed before
he joined her on the bed. His mouth licked, nibbled, and
tasted all of her body until he reached her panties.

Her body lay beneath him, trembling with anticipation as

he slid his tongue just above where the band of her
underwear sat upon her skin. "Mace," she moaned, her
fingers threading deep into his thick hair.

"I can smell you, Sin. You're so wet for me, aren't you,

baby?" His face nuzzled her silken skin as he continued to lick
along her belly.

Her hips arched up trying to get him closer to where she

burned. "Yes, Mace. Please!" her voice was thready, as if she
had just finished running a marathon.

Across the front of her panties and down towards where

they cupped her most intimate area, Mace licked and tasted
pure Sinjin. Her rich essence had soaked through the thin
material and his body throbbed with a need.

Slipping his tongue under the edge of one side, Mace

closed his eyes in bliss when she jerked against his touch.
Sinjin was so responsive to him and that alone was the
world's most intense aphrodisiac.

Pulling away, he rose up on his knees and removed the

last bit of clothing that she wore. "Sin," he spoke softly in the
faded light. "Sin, tell me what you want."

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"Ég vilja þú." Her eyes were full of desire and

passion as he watched him.

A gentle smile crossed his face as he reached out and

touched her cheek. "In English, Sinjin. I can't understand you
in Icelandic."

One hand reached up to cover his as it rested upon her

face. "You, Mace. I want you." Her words were definite and
final. She never took her gaze off his as she spread her legs
further in invitation.

Mace didn't need any further invites. That was what he

wanted. Grasping the base of his throbbing erection, he
guided it inside her wet body.

Both of them groaned with pleasure as he sank completely

within her. For a moment he waited, allowing himself time to
gather control so she would find pleasure first.

"Mace," she whispered, her eyelids drifting closed.
He began to move. The heat and tightness of her body

around him held him like no one ever could. Their bodies
were made for one another. Slowly he stroked within her,
waiting for her to begin moving as well.

Soon their speed picked up. Her body rose to meet each

one of his powerful thrusts. The rickety old bed frame began
squeaking with each move. It didn't take long and they were
both on the edge, Mace felt her body tighten around his and
knew that his own release wasn't far behind.

Together they moved faster, determined to reach their

euphoria at the same time. It worked. As one, they both
erupted, Sinjin tightened her legs about his waist and

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squeezed as she fell. Mace came deep inside her with a loud
shout.

Seconds later he collapsed on top of her, shaking with the

intensity of his release. Hearts were pounding wildly and their
bodies were slick with sweat.

Mace turned his face into her neck and licked it. Sinjin

retaliated by rolling them over, so she was on top. They were
nose to nose as she whispered, "Not giving up already are
you, old man?"

His cock twitched inside her and began to harden. "Not on

your life, Sin."

"Good." She ground down on him before leaning in to nip

his shoulder. "I want more."

* * * *

The men out in the main part of the cabin didn't get all

that much sleep. The night was continually shattered by the
squeaking of a bed frame and the moans and cries of the two
people in the room.

It wasn't until about an hour before it was time to go that

there was no more noise coming from the sole room in the
cabin. The men just looked at each other, shook their heads,
and grinned.

* * * *

Mace shuddered. The pounding spray of the shower was

nothing compared to the heavenly touch of the mouth of the
woman who was on her knees before him. His hands were
wrapped in her hair as his hips pistoned back and forth.

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Soon he was coming deep in her throat and she didn't get

up until the last drop of his seed was swallowed. Only then
did she push up from the shower floor and continue with
getting clean.

Her nonchalance only lasted a few moments until Mace

lifted her against the wall and sheathed himself within her in
a single stroke. With the water falling on them, Mace and
Sinjin made love one last time.

Unlike last night, however, this time was filled with an

underlying current of urgency. With the new day came the
realization that one, or both, might die.

No words were spoken as they both came within seconds

of one another. For a moment, Mace held her in his arms and
longed for things he wasn't sure they were ever going to
have.

Silence remained as they finished their shower and headed

into the bedroom to get dressed. Mace got dressed in black;
BDUs shirt, boots, everything. As he was tucking in his shirt,
he turned his gaze to rest upon the woman who was in there
with him.

Sinjin was tugging a black formfitting shirt over her head.

His eyes stayed glued to the scars she had on her body until
he could no longer see them. The shirt was ribbed and
enhanced her curves. She slid a painted hairpin into the knot
on top of her head.

His gaze traveled down over the black pants that she had

on. She also wore BDUs but on her, they just looked sinful
and deadly all at the same time. He watched as she added

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weapons to her body. Her final bit of clothing was a long black
trench.

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Chapter Twenty

Dirk Tenodar stood in the middle of the room and surveyed

the contents of the clear containment cells. His newest
project. Doing lobotomy's without anesthesia. It was such a
rush to hear pure unadulterated screams of pain. Of course,
he had to lower the amount to see how much pain a person
could withstand. But overall it was a nice break from the long
work of gene splicing.

There was blood on his otherwise pristine white lab coat,

but he didn't care. Sharing a silent look between the other
men in the room, he moved back toward the person lying on
the operating table.

She was strapped down and still struggling wildly. He

repositioned the table so he could look into the angry and
scared eyes of the woman before him.

"Finally, I get to you, Sonia. How has it been sitting in that

cell of yours watching as I cut open your friends? That's why I
wanted you in here."

The anger in her eyes gave way to panic. She opened her

mouth just to snap it shut.

Feral flames flickered in Dirk's eyes. "I see you are trying

not to give me what I want. The sound of your voice
screaming." He leaned in closer, fanning her with his putrid
breath. "Don't worry, you'll be screaming soon enough."

Her green eyes narrowed before she spit right in his face.

"You bastard!" she seethed. "I won't give you the pleasure of
hearing me scream."

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One hand wiped away the spittle on his face as he grinned

demonically. "That's what your friends thought. And you know
... well of course you do, you heard them." His tongue swiped
up her face and she shivered with disgust. "And you will do
the same, feed my pleasure, I guarantee it."

Grinding her jaw, Sonia prayed for death. She couldn't jerk

away from the vile touch of this man, for her head was
secured to the table. Not that she had extra energy; they had
been denied food and had only been given minimal amounts
of water.

She had no idea how long she had been here. After the

numerous gang rapes she endured from his men, time had
ceased being important. Sonia learned that the louder she
screamed the more Dirk got off on it, so even when her lids
had been taped open to watch the torture of her team
members she did her best to stay quiet.

"You will get yours, Dirk. Karma." Sonia forced out

between cracked and busted lips. Shouldn't have wasted my
spit on him.

Dirk pulled back. "Karma?"
"Yeah, karma. You know when fate comes back to kick

your skinny little ass all over the place." She strained against
her restraints.

"That's it, get mad. But perhaps you should save your

energy," he mocked as he reached for a bone saw. "I have a
feeling you may need it."

Clamping her mouth shut, Sonia allowed her eyes to

express her feelings. If looks could kill there would be no

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need for her to wait for karma to bury the man standing
before her.

Moving to stand at her side, Dirk ran the cold metal of the

saw over her naked skin, relishing every shiver he witnessed
from her. He licked his thin lips as he brought the still
vibrating saw up higher on her body, getting closer to her
face.

Her eyes shut as she imagined the next thing she would

feel would be that thing beginning to rip away her skin. They
flew back open. An alarm sounded.

"Check it out," Dirk ordered his men. He switched the saw

off and placed it on the metal tray, and walked over to a
monitor. His sharp, beady eyes watched the images flashed
before him.

He frowned as he found himself looking at a view of an

empty hallway. Where were the guards? Immediately he
flipped over to the other rooms where he had subjects in
cages. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary there.

Still, as he looked across the room to where Sonia was

strapped to a table, he hesitated. Karma, she said.

Dirk let his eyes move over the naked body that was there.

He walked back over to her and picked up a scalpel. Running
it down the side of her face, he smiled as she couldn't keep
the whimper inside.

A grin that grew bigger as he witnessed the blood that

beaded along the length of the cut. "Don't go anywhere,
sweetheart. I'll be back to finish this up." He ran his tongue
up the line of blood that was on her face.

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Regardless of how smart it was, Sonia gave him her

answer with another mouth of spit. "Go to hell, you fuckin'
bastard!"

Licking his lips as if enjoying the taste of her blood, Dirk

smirked at her show of bravado. "I'm not planning on doing
that anytime soon. I will die, but not until my work is
recognized."

"Your work? You sick fuck, all you do is torture people."
"I am working on developing a stronger human. We are

looking to find a way to evaluate how much pain one can
actually take. Well that, and you know, the other things like,
creating Siamese twins, exchanging body parts, and so on.
And with gene therapy, I am a groundbreaker."

"You are not any better than Hitler and the rest of his

flunkies," she spat.

Tsking, he pressed the scalpel against her neck. "Don't try

to make me kill you yet. I have such plans for you."

Stepping back, Dirk replaced the bloody scalpel and

smoothed down his coat. "But right now, I have to go figure
out why my guards aren't where they are supposed to be."

He walked out without looking back at her and therefore

missed the glare that filled her eyes.

* * * *

Dirk walked rapidly to the corridor that the guards should

have been. As he strode around the corner, he froze. Two
men were standing there at attention.

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"What the hell?" He looked behind him and back at the

men standing there. "How long have you been there?" he
thundered.

The men looked at him and blinked. "Since 0530 this

morning, Sir." One of them answered.

"Has anyone come through?"
"Sir?" the same guard asked.
Dirk felt his body begin to sweat. Something was terribly

wrong. "Has anyone come through here?"

"No, Sir. Only you."
Whipping around on his heels, Dirk practically ran back to

the laboratory. He didn't veer from his path, just knew he
wanted to get back to the room where Sonia was.

Stopping before the sealed door, he typed in the code and

it remained red. "What the...?" Typing it in again, he swore as
the light remained red, denying him entry. Jumping up and
down, he realized he was too short to see in through the
window at the top of the door.

"How the hell is this possible?" Spinning around, a very

nervous Dirk ran for his office. His fingers were sweaty as
they typed in the final access code for his office. A huge sigh
of relief left him as the secret panel slid open, revealing his
plush sanctuary.

Sagging against the panel as it closed behind him, he

closed his eyes briefly. He had access to everything from up
here and would be protected on the off chance that
something had gone wrong down in the crypt.

Standing up he stepped toward his chair and froze when a

voice filled the room. "I've been waiting for you."

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His eyes grew wide as he looked at the person who spun

around in his chair. Sinjin. "What the hell? How did you get
here?"

There was no hint of expression on her face as she looked

towards the front door of his office. "I walked right in." Her
eyes were covered by dark shades that masked her state of
mind.

"But you killed Mace, everyone is looking for you."
"I haven't killed anyone, recently," her sultry voice said.

"I've been waiting for you."

Dirk shivered. He began edging back towards the door for

the crypt. Using the heel of one hand, he pressed the
emergency open button. Nothing happened.

Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat. A short burst of gunfire filled the room

and for the first time, Dirk wished it wasn't a soundproof
room. "Come sit down, Dirk. We have so much to talk about."

He looked back at the woman who relaxed in his chair. Her

strong fingers lovingly and absently caressed the black
matting that covered her assault rifle. Fear blossomed and
began to spread throughout his body.

"What do we have to talk about?"
Sinjin's expression never altered. "Good point." Before he

could blink, she had drawn a sidearm and shot out his
kneecap.

"Ahhh!" he shouted as he collapsed to the carpet, his red

blood soaking into the cool silver colored carpeting. "You
bitch!"

She stood and moved across the floor to stand before him.

"Ah, you have the right of it, I am a bitch." Her R6 hung at

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her side and she pointed the SIG Sauer at his head. "But you,
you are a dead man. Dauði er til góður fyrir
þú."

Tears streamed down his face as his hands clutched his

bleeding leg. "What did you just say? We can come to some
kind of agreement, you know. There is no need to kill me."

"I said that death was too good for you." She knelt down

and put the gun right against his forehead. "And you are
wrong; there is every need to kill you."

"Surely I have something you want," he begged.
In one smooth motion, Sinjin stood back up and stepped

away from him. "In fact there is. And while I could just take
it, it will be so much more fun to have you grovel." Gesturing
toward the hidden door with the assault rifle, Sinjin put the
sidearm in her waistband. "Let's go."

"You shot out my fucking knee, how am I supposed to get

up?" He wailed.

"Want me to shoot out the other one? I don't give a rat's

ass if you crawl, just get moving."

It took him a while, but he managed to pull himself up.

Sinjin slid his chair over to him and he collapsed in it. Keeping
the R6 aimed at him, she typed in a code and the door swung
open. "Get moving," she snapped.

Using his one good leg, Dirk blinked through the tears as

he shoved himself down the hallway. Every time he turned his
head, he saw the barrel of that rifle aimed at him.
Unwaveringly. A cold blooded killer.

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As he came around the corner, he saw two guards

standing at the entrance to another door. "Help me!" he
hollered.

The men turned toward his voice and immediately began

running in their direction.

Sinjin shook her head. Fábjáni. Idiots. With one sharp kick,

she hit the back of the chair Dirk was in, sending him
tumbling to the floor. The last thing she wanted was him
dying in gunfire that wasn't from her. Oh no, killing him was
her pleasure.

The second he was out of the way, the approaching men

began firing at her. With a calm that should have scared
them, she lifted her assault rifle and squeezed the trigger.
The men collapsed as they were riddled with bullets.

Knowing that the noise would bring more men, Sinjin

dropped her gaze and found Dirk inching his way along the
wall, leaving a smearing of blood behind him. Resting the butt
of her gun against her shoulder, barrel pointing toward the
ceiling, she approached him.

Stepping on the still bleeding wound, she pressed down.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Oh my God," he wailed. "You're gonna kill me."
Leaning down, she grabbed him by one arm and began

dragging him down the hall. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill
you just yet." Mentally calculating the approximate time until
more men showed up, she hastened her steps, unconcerned
with the pain her "companion" might feel.

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Dirk came to as his upper body was dropped back to the

floor. He recognized the room he was in. His pain glazed eyes
took in the fact that the table was now empty.

"Sonia," he muttered.
Sinjin turned to face him from where she stood by the

table. "Oh, don't worry about her, she's gone." One hand
gestured around her. "In fact, you are the only one left in
here."

Rising up on his arms, he saw that she was telling the

truth. All his beautiful subjects were gone. "No!" he
bemoaned. "All my work, my legacy ... what have you done?"

"Not nearly enough. I liberated your subjects. Now, you

are going to destroy your files."

"Never!" he gasped in outrage. "I will never do that. All my

years of study, experiments, I won't erase them."

She laughed evilly. "Oh, I think you will. You see, while

you were crunching the numbers of how much pain a human
could withstand, some of us were learning first hand. And I
know plenty of ways to inflict it myself."

Sinjin dragged him over to his desk. "Up ya get. Time to

do some deleting."

He spit on her. "Fuck you," he ground out.
"Not in this lifetime." With a strength he didn't know she

had, Sinjin heaved him up into the chair. The muzzle of a gun
tapped him on the side of the face. "Get to work."

Opening his mouth to disparage her again, he snapped it

shut as the telephone beside him took a bullet.

"Wouldn't want you to try and call anyone." She tapped his

cheek again. "Get to work."

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"Can't you do this?" He taunted her as his eyes scanned

over all the files he had compiled over the years. The stuff on
his computer amounted to twenty years of research and he
was loathe to delete it.

"Of course, but I know it's much more painful for you to do

it."

"You won't make it out of here alive."
"I never planned on it," she said easily as one hand

reached around him and deleted one file. "See, that's how
you do it."

He cringed. That was the results of his first attempts at

gene splicing. He highlighted another file as the gun prodded
him in the back. "There are men outside the door, now. It's
only a matter of time before they get in somehow."

Sinjin could hear them. They were pounding on the door

trying to get entry. Shifting her weight, her actions became
automatic as she double checked all of her ammunition.

I hope Mace made it out. Her brown eyes flickered back to

the screen and found him still sitting with the same file
highlighted. "You are just putting off the inevitable, delete
them."

"You can't make me," he swore. He lurched as another

bullet exploded through his body. "Arrrgghh!"

Sinjin wiped the blood off the screen. "Doesn't a bullet in a

joint hurt? I mean, you won't die, but still. It's gotta sting."
She looked at the hole in his shoulder. "Delete them."

Shaking with pain, Dirk followed her command. Inside he

raged against her, but his body couldn't take any more pain.
He wasn't very strong and she was proving it. "There," he

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forced out. That single word was laced with the agony she
had administered to him.

"Good." With her face near his, she moved the chair back

and emptied her SIG into the hard drive, totally destroying
anything that may possibly remain behind. "Oh, that was
fun."

Sweat and tears running down his face all Dirk could do

was watch as his life's work was destroyed.

"You know those were the last ones. I took everything you

had. The ones at your home, everything." A gun, he wasn't
sure whether it was loaded or not, touched his face. "No one
will remember you when you are gone. No one."

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Chapter Twenty-One

Mace fought down the immediate desire to puke. The

stench was overwhelming. Vomit, feces, and other
indiscernible smells filled the thick putrid air. Dim lights
flickered overhead and he didn't understand how anyone
could survive this.

There were rows of cages, cells and small holes that had

people, well what used to be people, shoved in them. All the
eyes that gazed upon him were either full of suspicion or
totally empty.

"Sweet Jesus," he muttered. "What the hell was that man

doing?"

Brandishing the lock snips, Mace cut the ones that had

combination or key padlocks. When he got to the cells, he
swiped the card that Sinjin had given him.

Soon doors were open but no one was moving, just

watching him. "Come on guys, let's get you outta here. You're
free." Mace spoke loudly as if they were all listening and were
going to obey.

"Those of you who are stronger, help those who can't

manage on their own. Let's go."

Two guards burst in and as Mace shot them, the beings

that had been housed and experimented on for so long,
slowly began to emerge. Their eyes refused to meet Mace's,
but they began to do as he had told them.

It took huge effort for Mace not to recoil from some of the

faces he was presented with. On some it was difficult to see

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there was any resemblance to a human being; they were so
cut up and re-patched.

"Is this everyone?" He asked in a low whisper as they

reached a corner and he snuck a glance around to make sure
there were no waiting guards.

"No," a raspy voice mumbled from behind him. "More.

Lower levels."

"Okay," Mace responded. "I have to find a place to stash

you, out of the way so I can get the others."

"We'll wait here." That same voice said. "This is the only

way in and we can protect ourselves here."

"Very well," Mace agreed.
He handed two guns over to the man who had a missing

right ear and one patch over his left eye. There were multiple
scars all over his face, neck, and torso. Mace would have bet
anything there were scars below the thin scrap of material he
had around his waist.

Mace turned around to find the rest of the people when

that same voice reached him. "You don't recognize me do
you, Mace?"

Stunned someone called him out, he spun back. He

couldn't find a name to fit the face. Or rather, what was left of
the face. "No, I don't. I'm sorry."

The half of the face that could move seemed to fall with

sorrow and acceptance. "Tim."

Mace shook his head in bewilderment. Tim. "Tim?" His

memory conjured up an image of a happy, easy going man
that he had worked with prior to his reassignment into Sonia's
team. The man before him was the total opposite.

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He was filthy, scarred, and covered in dried flecks of his

own feces. The lone eye that watched him was empty and
resigned to his fate.

Reaching toward him, Mace halted as the man he had

called 'friend' drew back. "You've been here all this time? Ever
since they said you died?"

"I did die, I have been in hell this whole time." He slowly

shook his head. "How long has it been, anyway? I've lost
count."

"Four years. It's been four years since the agency buried

you."

"Buried. Yeah, they sure did. But four years ... my wife?

My son?" Tim began to shiver.

Mace reached his arm around him, ignoring the smell and

the way he tried to pull away. "We'll address that after we get
you out of here. You stay put and I'll go set the others free."

A small spark of hope ignited in his eye. "I would love to

see the sun, just one last time."

"You're not going to die down here, Tim. Hang in there a

bit longer and we'll get you out of here."

"We? Who'd you come with? You're gonna need an army to

get past all of his guards."

Mace thought of Sinjin. "I brought my own army."
"I sure hope so. I don't know where he gets all of his men,

I'm sure some of them are experiments, but all are ruthless."
Tim curved fingers that had obviously been broken and
busted multitudes of times around the butt of the gun in his
hand. "You are going to need it."

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"I'll be back soon." Mace squeezed Tim's shoulder lightly

before stepping back and slipping off down the hall, before
any of them could see the tears.

The further down he went, the worse the smell became.

He killed the guards he saw and at one point vomited, the
stench was so bad.

Working quickly, he released many more and set

explosives. He ushered all of them up the winding tunnels to
where the rest waited. Alarms began blaring and red and
yellow lights flashed overhead.

The relief was apparent on Tim's face. It was as if he

hadn't believed that Mace would be coming back at all. "Let's
go!" Mace said in a low whisper. "Tim, two rights, a left and
another right. There is a large cargo truck out there. Take it
and go. Type in 'Freedom' on the in-dash computer and follow
its directions. That will take you to a safe house." He placed
Sonia's body in his arms. "Take her."

"What about you? You need to get out. All the troops will

be coming."

"I'm not leaving without her," Mace said.
"Who?"
"Sinjin."
"Sinjin?"
"Yes, Sinjin. I've abandoned her before and I am not doing

it again." He gestured up the hall. "Get going, you need to be
gone. Especially once those explosives go off."

Tim didn't argue. He had spent enough time underground

and didn't want to spend another moment down there.

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233

Gathering the broken men and women and began leading
them out.

The second Mace was alone, he headed in the opposite

direction. "Sinjin," he muttered to himself. "Where the hell
are you?"

The underground was a maze. Mace had no idea it was this

large a compound. Even when he had been looking at the
layout with Sinjin, he hadn't believed it was really as big as it
was.

Still he kept heading down, down past where he had

released forty people and had found Sonia in the hall, covered
in a sheet and barely conscious. He pressed on, halting his
progress as the sound of pounding feet reached him.

Plastering himself against a wall, he watched as a group of

men hauled ass past him and down deeper into what he was
sure was the bowels of hell. The alarms were still shrilling and
the strobe effect of the lights was giving him a headache.

Suddenly the entire place shook and Mace swore as he

realized that it was an explosive. And not one he had set. The
lights flickered again and then the hallways darkened for a
few seconds before a red light kicked in.

Sinjin was his last thought as he was tossed against the

wall.

* * * *

When the explosion rocked the walls, Sinjin had been

ready. She was waiting by the door and it slid open and shut
before the lights came back on. Running full out, she headed
up.

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234

Careening around a corner, she barreled into a group of

guards who were on their way to the room she was supposed
to be in. They hesitated but she didn't. Arms out, she began
firing with her two pistols as her arms grew closer together.

She bit back a cry as one managed to hit her side with a

bullet. As the last man fell, Sinjin ejected both empty clips
and reloaded. Once that was done, she holstered one and
touched her bleeding wound with the other.

Her breath left her in a hiss. "Skítur! That hurts." Glancing

at her left hand in the red light, she could see there was a fair
amount of blood on the palm of the glove she wore. Wiping
her hand on her pants, Sinjin placed her bare fingers back
around the butt of her second handgun.

She began to run again, her mind automatically retracing

the steps she took to get down there. Hearing the slight
pounding of footsteps ahead of her, she stopped before the
corner and waited.

As a last minute decision, Sinjin put her guns away and

pulled out her knife. No reason to alert the others as to where
she was. Balancing herself on the balls of her feet, she
crouched and waited for whomever to come around the
corner.

The second they did, she was on them, slipping around

behind them, kicking the person in the back of the knee so
they dropped to the ground and had her razor edged knife at
his throat.

"Sinjin?" the word was faint and slightly hopeful.
Fjandinn það, it was Mace. "Damn it, Mace!

What are you doing here? You are supposed to be gone."

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Standing up, Mace looked into the dark eyes of the woman

he loved. "I left you alone once, I'm not about to leave you
again." Despite the gravity of the situation, one hand reached
up to gently run down the side of her sweaty face. Her hair
was completely undone and falling around her. "We came
together, we leave together."

"I hope you find happiness, Mace Dylan. For there are rare

times when you are most deserving of it." One finger touched
his lips before she whispered. "Ég ást þú."

"What did you just say?"
"We need to move, let's get going. I hear them coming,

and my guess is they aren't happy." I can't tell you what that
means.

Side by side they began jogging to the surface. "What did

you do to Dirk?" Mace asked as another explosion shook
through the corridors.

"I left him with his computer. No files, but he is with his

computer." Her eyes flashed as she recalled saying goodbye
to Dirk Tenodar.

"Did you kill him?" They pounded around another corner.
"Does it matter?" She increased the speed, desperate to

get out, so Mace could be safe.

Did it? Knowing that Dirk was dead, would that make a

difference? Or was it that he didn't want to know that she had
killed yet another person? "Yes."

Pushing him up against the wall, she turned and looked

behind her, back the way they just came. "Then know I left
him sitting in his chair."

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Mace nodded and followed her gaze with one of his. He

could hear people coming up from both ways. They were
about to be caught in the middle with no way out.

It was funny, knowing you were about to die. There were

so many things that he still had planned to do with his life.
And all of them included the woman with him.

Uncaring of the footfalls pounding towards them, Mace

brought Sinjin in close to his body. He positioned her between
his spread legs and pressed her close to his chest.

She could feel the fast beating of his heart and the sharp

intakes of his breath. Sinjin slipped another sidearm into his
waistband. "Take this with you as well. It's going to get
messy from here on out."

"I sent them away, Sinjin. We don't have any way to get

away." His lips brushed along her hairline.

"Cicero will have a vehicle there. He will get you to safety."
Mace was no fool. He easily caught the "you" in her

sentence. "What about you?" Closing his eyes he inhaled her
scent and smelled something else. Blood? Drawing back he
demanded, "Are you wounded?"

"We're running out of time." Stepping back from him,

Sinjin dug into a pocket and placed extra clips for her Glock in
his hand. "Here, this is all I have for that gun."

In the red light, Mace watched as she took her assault rifle

off her shoulder and held it in her hands. "Sinjin," he
murmured as he tugged her closer, needing to feel her lips
against his one more time.

"Kveðja. Goodbye, Mace." She leaned in and gently

pressed her lips against his.

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"You know I love you, right?" Mace held her even closer as

the footsteps seemed to echo his movement. The nearer he
brought her, the louder they got.

Pressing her eyes shut, Sinjin found and held onto a

favorite memory. She and Mace out in the summer sun,
sitting on a swing, a warm breeze blowing gently over them.
Never before had she felt so safe and so loved.

Unable to say a word, she flipped the safety off her R6.

Sinjin opened her eyes, tilted her head back, and looked
directly into Mace's light brown ones. "I know."

They shared one more brief kiss before they went back to

back and engaged the ones who were between them and
freedom. Muzzle flashes interrupted the red lights in the hall.
Bursts of gunfire filled the corridor.

Moving in tandem, Mace and Sinjin kept spinning as they

moved. Always keeping their backs to one another for added
protection, they fired round after round into the rapidly
closing circle. Still they kept moving towards the door.

"Reload," Sinjin ordered as she held her R6 in one hand

and her SIG Sauer in the other. She fired at the men while he
did just that. A grenade exploded behind them causing a
momentary breakdown of the ranks. "Go! Mace, run!"

"No. not without you." He resumed shooting.
"I'm right behind you. Go!"
Mace did. He bolted through the opening and ran firing at

those who got in his way. The door had been blown open and
he could see outside. There was no vehicle there. Before he
could dwell on that fact, tall figures filled that doorway and

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before he could raise his weapons to fire upon them, they
raised theirs and fired at men behind him.

Cicero's men.
"Get down!" they commanded as one. The second Mace

complied they began firing deeper into the suddenly dark
underground corridors.

Short bursts of gunfire echoed back up at them until one of

Cicero's men grabbed Mace in a strong grip and half hauled,
half assisted him out into the empty Texas wasteland and the
afternoon sun.

Turning his eyes back toward the entrance, Mace saw one

man heading down deep. A beeping of his watch told him that
the explosives he set were about to go off. Seconds later they
did.

There was no way that wasn't going to bring the

authorities out to investigate. The modest sized home that
served as the cover place for the GDS was engulfed in flames
and the ground continued to shake from the explosions
occurring beneath it.

Mace could see the farmhouse collapse upon itself from

where he stood. Those tunnels had come up close to two
miles away and out of the side of a plateau. Dust and dirt
spewed up from the open door he had escaped from.

Silence fell. No gunfire. No explosions.
"Get in," a voice ordered as they assisted him into the

back of a gray car with tinted windows.

Pressing his face against the cool glass, he kept his light

golden brown eyes on the plume of debris that still rolled out

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

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239

of the destroyed corridors. Where are you, Sinjin? Two large
men climbed in and one looked back at him. "You injured?"

"No," Mace responded. "What about Sinjin?" He didn't even

care about the desperation in his voice.

Without saying a word, the man pointed toward the

entrance. Mace followed his gesture.

His heart fell to the bottom of his feet. The sound of the

approaching helicopter didn't pull his gaze from the sight
before him. A lone man strode from the settling dust, his
body covered by the tan stuff that still settled from the air.
Cicero.

In his arms he carried the body of someone. Mace knew

who. It was Sinjin. Her form was boneless; head lolling to the
side showing him her eyes were closed. One lean brown arm
hung to the ground. The dirt mixed with blood and he could
see it running down the arm that reached for the soil. Her
hair followed in the same direction as her arm.

The only motion from her was the man carrying her as his

strides moved her. Mace couldn't tell if she was even
breathing.

By the time his brain process what he was seeing, the car

was pulling away. The image of Sinjin dangling motionless in
Cicero's arms grew smaller. "No!" he shouted as he tried
unsuccessfully to open the door. "Sinjin!" The cry was ripped
up from his gut as one hand splayed across the window, as if
he was reaching to touch her one last time.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

240

Chapter Twenty-Two

Mid-summer
"What are you doing?" The masculine voice was gentle as

were the hands that settled themselves upon the female
shoulders before him.

"Just enjoying the day." She tipped her head back and met

the tender gaze of the man behind her. Her strong legs
moved through the crystal water as she sat on the edge of
the dock.

"You know you are more than welcome to stay here as

long as you want." He sat beside her. "But we both know that
this isn't where you want to be. How long are going to deny
yourself happiness, Sinjin?"

A warm wind kicked up off the water flowing over her, and

running through her hair like the strong fingers of the man
who owned her heart. Tipping her head back, Sinjin closed
her eyes against the memory of Mace Dylan. "I am happy,
Cicero."

"Right." He shrugged. "It's probably for the better. I'm

sure he's got another woman anyway." Cicero watched her
out of the corner of his eye. Not that he had to be watching
her; he felt her whole body jerk.

"Good for him." The words were more than forced.
Reaching out with one arm, Cicero draped it around her

shoulders. "Listen to me. You have to stop acting like you are
poison. Sin is not a four letter word. Allow yourself to accept
the happiness you know waits for you with that man."

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Resting her head against him, Sinjin ran his words over in

her head. "He asked me if I killed him." Pressing his lips
against her temple, Cicero murmured soothing sounds. "I said
he was sitting in his chair when I left. I think he is disgusted
by what I do."

"I think he worries about you. And Dirk was sitting in a

chair when the authorities got to him." A wry grin crossed his
face. "Of course we were surprised that room was still intact,
especially when everything else had been blown up."

"I must have run out of C4," her reply was snapped.
"Must have been something like that." He agreed.
In truth, Cicero knew it was a lie. He knew that Dirk's body

had been found with two gunshot wounds. One that blew out
his knee and one in his shoulder joint. He would have died
from blood loss by the time they arrived, but that wasn't what
killed him.

Jammed into the back of his head, at the base of his skull

was a long hand-carved animal bone hair pin. That was the
cause of death. And engraved on the larger end of the pin
was the phrase "Papa's little girl."

For a short while they sat in silence. "You aren't like him,

you know." Cicero broke the silence.

"Who's to say I won't end up like that sick fuck, later on.

I'm already unstable and we all know that Dirk was."

"Just because you share his genes doesn't make you like

him. We make our own decisions in life. Don't let him win."
Cicero stood and looked down at her. "Now, come on. You
have to get changed. We are going to a dinner party."

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"I'll be right in," Sinjin said without meeting his gaze. "I

just want to sit here for a few moments." She stared out over
the brilliant blue water and thought about what Cicero had
said. Am I strong enough to keep the evil from his genes in
check?

She still hadn't come to terms with learning that Dirk had

raped her mother. He hadn't known about her until Sinjin told
him; seconds before she ended his life. That was the shocked
look on his face.

She knew that she should feel something for killing the

man science made her father, but she didn't. In fact, it
seemed the only time she felt anything was with Cicero or
Mace. Those feelings weren't the same, Cicero was
comforting, while Mace was intoxication and love.

"I'll think about it later." She pushed up from her seated

position and walked back up to the house for a shower.

* * * *

Mace smiled as he accepted his award. He was being called

a hero for his part in uncovering and stopping the horrible
things Dirk Tenodar had been doing. All of those poor souls,
who had been experimented on, were getting the best of
care. But only if they wanted it. Some of them had chosen to
vanish from sight.

He had tried to protest, but Sonia spoke up for him as

well. His eyes drifted over to where she sat, beside his
mother. Her gaze stayed upon him. Mace looked away, for
every time he looked at Sonia all he could think about was
how Sinjin gave her life.

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Blinking back the sting of tears, Mace stood next to the

man who seemed to be unable to stop rambling on. Casting
his stare around the room, he almost did a double take as he
recognized Cicero.

The man nodded once to him before with a miniscule

gesture pointing off toward his left. Mace directed his gaze in
that direction. His knees almost gave out as he saw Sinjin.

She stood along the wall, watching the presentations. And

for the time, him. Mace took in the simple way her hair was
pulled back from her face and the way her black dress fit her.

Sinjin was beautiful. And alive.
Not caring how it appeared to audience, Mace jumped off

the platform and strode through the crowd. The presenter fell
silent as the entire room followed Mace's moves.

Mace halted before her and stared down into the most

stunning eyes he had ever seen. Eyes he wasn't sure he
would ever look into again. "Sinjin."

Her thick black lashes blinked once, slowly. "Hello, Mace.

Congratulations on your award." She was lost in his eyes.

One hand reached out to cup the side of her face. "I didn't

think I'd ever see you again."

"I'm here now." Sinjin stepped closer, unaware, or

uncaring of all the ogling eyes upon them. "Ég ást þú."

Mace put his other hand on her, drawing her even nearer.

"I still don't know what that means."

"Ég ást þú. It means 'I love you.'" Her fingertips

traced along his bow shaped lips. "I love you, Mace."

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His heart felt like it was going to explode. Lowering his

face until their mouths were a hairsbreadth apart. "I've
always loved you, Sin. And I always will."

She inhaled the smell that only one man had on this

planet. "Mace," she murmured.

"Yes, my love." His hands moved up and down her arms.
"Koss mig." As his eyebrow rose, she covered his lips with

her own. Drawing back slightly, she murmured, "It means
'kiss me.' Kiss me, Mace."

"How do you say 'love me' in Icelandic?"
"Ást mig." She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Say it again."
"Ást mig, Mace. Ást mig."
"For the rest of our lives, Sin. For the rest of our lives."
Their lips met again as the room erupted in cheers.

Dragging his eyes open, Mace found Cicero watching him. The
man saluted him with two fingers before slipping away and
disappearing.

Sinjin felt his absence and pulled back from Mace to look

for him. Mace's hold lessened as he gave her the choice.
"Kveðja, goodbye, Cicero. Until we meet again."

Her words were low, but Mace heard them and they

echoed throughout his body. Drawing her tighter against him,
he rested his lips upon her head. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I am."
"This is for forever, Sinjin."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." She looked up at him

and placed her hands on either side of his face. "I love you."

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245

Making them nose to nose, Mace said in a hushed voice,

"And I you."

While the rest of the night progressed, many of the

attendees at the award dinner kept directing their gazes back
to the couple who stood in the back. The woman stood
watching the ceremony, but more often than not, the man
dressed in the tuxedo beside her was watching her. As if he
felt that looking away from her would make her disappear.

Mace carried Sinjin into his hotel room after the festivities

were over. As they made love, they crooned their love to one
another.

Just before sleep claimed her exhausted body, Sinjin

thought about what Cicero had told her and figured he was
right ... Sin is not a four letter word. She had found her
happiness and she would die before giving it up.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Sin is Not a Four-Letter Word

by Aliyah Burke

246

About the Author

Aliyah Burke loves to read and write. She loves to hear

from her readers and can be reached at aliyah@aliyah-
burke.com, aliyahburke@hotmail.com, or feel free to apply to
join her yahoo group at
groups.yahoo.com/group/aliyahburke.

She is married to a career military man, and they have two

German Shepherds and a DSH cat. Her days are spent
sharing her time between work, writing, and dog training.

If you are connected to the Internet, take a

moment to rate this eBook by going back to

your bookshelf at www.fictionwise.com.

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