The Truth Shall...
PART 2.
What exactly happened in Stockholm, doesn't stay in Stockholm!
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3 Weeks Ago…
The four of us had our guns pointed at each other. In a high-end suite in a trendy hotel in Stockholm, it was my partner, John Reese and I against two of our most wanted criminals. Dangerous, highly sought after, and repeatedly evasive, Soren Bellstrom and his sometime girlfriend, Yelena Larsson, would not be caught easily.
Who do we work for?
You're not supposed to know. Just know that John and I save lives and our own lives belong to our country.
"Weapons down," John demanded of Soren and Yelena.
Soren refused, of course, in his usually cocky manner. His Swedish accent was stronger when he was in his native country.
We weren't supposed to be in this predicament. We were supposed to only observe. Harold and Grace were sent undercover, with the fake story of being a married couple looking for some girlfriend- and wife-swapping action. They got Soren and Yelena into room 321 on a promise of a foursome. It had been easy. Too easy.
They had been tipped off. By the time we realized there was a problem, Soren's people had taken Harold and Grace. Now here we were. This cozy little foursome was different from what Soren and Yelena had expected.
We made an attractive group. John, with his tall, athletic build, dark hair with streaks of gray, and stormy blue-gray eyes that added up to one of the most gorgeous men I'd ever had the privilege of knowing. I did my thing with my cocoa skin and big brown eyes. Fit and blessed with curves in the right places, my 5'6 frame took it over the top. I received more than my share of attention.
Yelena was a redhead bombshell with blue-gray eyes. And Soren, well, he was in a league of his own – a tower of a man with dirty-blond hair, intense blue-green eyes and a sexual energy that permeated from his every pore. He seemed deceptively thin in his expensive gray suit. I knew underneath he had a ripped, broad chest and deliciously muscled arms.
"You're out numbered," Soren said, straight out of Bad Guy Dialogue 101.
"Did you skip basic math? Thinking you're too smart, as usual…" I said.
Soren smiled at me, knowingly. The jackass. We had a history, a history I had not shared with John. Trust was the number one thing that kept our partnership alive. We trusted each other with our lives. However, we all have our little secrets.
John looked grimly from Soren to me. Did he notice anything? Soon as we take these two into custody, I should tell him everything. I wouldn't be good to have the threat of exposure effect my work or our partnership.
Two of Soren's guys burst in, guns aimed. One had distinctive mane of Curly, auburn hair, and the other – well, we knew him. Marcus Miller was supposed to be on our side.
The case of who tipped off Soren was now solved. Soren shrugged his shoulders. He had once told me to trust no one - no one but him, is what he really meant. I told you so, his shrug said. Jackass.
It's a damn shame. I liked Marcus and now could add him to the evidence file of my questionable taste in men. You can't blame me though. He was a fine, tall specimen of chocolate brown perfection and fun, easy-going, with a sexy British accent. It was easy to be attracted to him.
"Now, where were we?...Oh yes, you were about to give up your weapons," Soren said, mocking us.
John and I looked at each other – Do it. We will get out of this some other way. Our guns hit the floor as we set aside our pride. Marcus and his partner took them away.
"So you moonlight as Soren's lackey? Helluva career move," John said to Marcus.
"Freedom, my friend," Marcus replied, looking from John to me.
I remained silent but never broke eye contact.
Suddenly, Soren came over to me, wrapped an arm around me and pulled me against his long frame. I defiantly looked up at him. He grazed my neck with his pouty red-tinted lips. The ticklish flesh of my neck area was one of my weak spots. He had remembered. God, when I got out of this mess...I...I struggled to focus.
"Get away from her," John seethed.
He had that berserker look that meant he was one-step from going over the edge. I have witnessed it, and the aftermath before. No one wants to be on the receiving end of that, trust me. Nevertheless, I found it incredibly sexy from this side of the fence. I'm not going to apologize for that.
"I'm not going to hurt her. Isn't that your job, John?" Soren said, giving John a quick look.
Dammit, Soren. I had forgotten just how much he knew. He had figured out how I felt about John, without me admitting a word. John looked confused for a split-second. I'm sure I was the only one to catch it. Soren turned back to me. He wanted to push John off his game, through me and he might just succeed if we weren't careful.
Soren placed a huge hand on the taut skin above my waistband and slowly snaked it around my hips, to my lower back. Marcus, Curly-Hair and Yelena had to hold back John. I calmly tilted my head in his direction.
It's okay. Keep your cool. I said to John with a look. Still breathing hard, he stopped resisting, but remained alert, ready to pounce.
"Joss, give me more credit than this," Soren said, softly to me. "I would never hurt you."
Truthfully, I wasn't 100 percent sure whether Soren would hurt me or not. He was an enigma to me and I was one as well for him. We were in a constant challenge to figure each other out and the score was just about even.
Then Soren grabbed the other gun I had stashed back there. With one last meaningful look at me, he directed John to also be searched. Of course, he had to know I had other weapons on me. However, he let me be, for now.
"Why don't we all relax? Everyone sit down. We have time, yet."
Time for what, I wondered?
"First, we have something for you," Soren continued.
Marcus crossed the room and handed me what looked like a regular stick of gum. I had the need to wash my hands, after his fingers lingered along my palm.
"Soren, you've got me at gunpoint and you're insulting my breath?"
Soren chuckled. "Never. You, my Joss, are always sweet. Now, do me a favor and cooperate."
The reception from Reese was less subtle, as he caught Marcus' hand and proceeded to bend it backwards and they began wrestle. I used the distraction to catch Yelena off-guard with a punch to her pretty little jaw before Soren had a gun pointed at my head.
"Too much chaos. Let's get on with this!"
Yelena was coming for me, but Soren stood like a wall between us. I guess chivalry wasn't dead, unlucky for her. He turned toward a still struggling John and Marcus and sent a bullet whizzing by, inches from John's head.
"Reese, he is nothing," Soren said, indicating Marcus. "What is most important?" Indicating me this time, of course.
It worked. The gum tasted of peppermint and something bitter that I could not quite identify. A sweet poison – exactly what had they given us?
"A truth serum," Soren announced, looking at me solely as if John wasn't there. "Enters the system in seconds in this form. And oh, it has a little boost of a little drug we call Muresitna."
I was horrified. Muresitna was a known inhibitor. We had used it in our own experiments. It took away fear, caution, or other factors that stop you from doing things you considered dangerous or off-limits. We had agents busted for using it unauthorized and had seen many a body scraped off a pavement after trying to fly off a building. We would now be willed to the truth while also having our inhibitions, our body's security defense, disarmed.
The implications were far-reaching.
"You two and your silence – the best defense. A temporary one, however. You will see."
The room had two queen-size beds. I sat on one and John was directed to the other.
"We were promised a foursome. Yelena and I were so looking forward to it."
He spoke to me only, as if John didn't exist.
"Very much so," Yelena said. "Maybe we can still have a little entertainment?"
"I agree," Soren answered.
This was not going to be good. Who knows what craziness he was cooking up in his intelligent, yet devious mind?
"Joss. Strip for us."
I looked at John. He can't be serious. John didn't seem to believe it either. We were wrong.
"Joss, take off your clothes," Soren repeated. I bristled at his command. If I have to ask you again, I will kill your beloved partner." He managed to make Beloved sound distasteful. He picked up his gun and aimed it in John's direction.
We had gotten out of worse situations. The drugs we'd just been given were the wildcards. Maybe, I could buy some time?
(END OF PART 2…To Be Continued.)
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