Better the Devil

Chapter Four - Anthony POV

Normally I woke early, caught a few waves if I was anywhere near any decent ones, and then checked the stock markets over coffee. This morning it was my cell that woke me; I was spooning a warm body, my hand on her breast and my erection nestled against her ass. I was warm and comfy, and for the first time in as long as I could remember I hadn't slept with my gun on the night stand; mind you, Bailey's Sig was on her side of the bed. Still, for some inexplicable reason I was trusting a woman I barely knew to watch my back, and yet it didn't bother me in the slightest; maybe she really had fucked my brains out.

I would have let the call go to voice mail if it hadn't been Ranger, but the phone was screaming out Bodies by Drowning Pool. I figured it was pretty fitting for my brother, but I wasn't sure if he'd have found it funny. Mind you, I still wasn't positive he had a sense of humor these days; I think the government had surgically removed it when they shoved that stick up his ass.

I untangled myself from Bailey and slid out of the bottom of the bed, then dragged my phone out of my discarded jeans and hit the talk button.

"What?" I growled as I stepped into the tiny bathroom and sat down on the side of the rusting tub.

"What the hell is going on, Anthony?" Ranger snapped.

"Gathering intelligence," I shot back.

"Christ," he muttered. "You were supposed to check out her security not her damn tits."

"The opportunity arose, so to speak and I – hang on just a second, what the hell would you have done?"

Ranger was silent for a few beats.

"Exactly," I told him.

He snorted. "Back to business; did you find any evidence, is she our mark?"

What the hell was I going to say? I could lie and buy her a little more time, or I could tell the truth and then use that to my advantage to stay close to her. Damned if I don't and damned if I do. Fuck. "Yeah, I think so… Maybe, I don't know. Need to do a little more recon."

"While she's flat on her back?" Ranger sneered.

Crap. When in doubt change the subject. "What the fuck were you thinking last night? You nearly shot the whole op to hell, man. Why did you have to walk into that damn bar and spook the entire god-damn building?"

I was met with more silence.

"Well," I pressed. Talk to me damn it, oh brother of mine.

"You know I worry, man."

"That's it? Shit Ranger, I can look after myself. I appreciate your concern, but the situation was one second from going FUBAR. I trust you to do your job and I expect you to trust me to do mine."

"You were unarmed and had ditched your wire," Ranger shot back.

Movement in my peripheral vision made me look up. Bailey was standing in the doorway stark naked with an evil glint in her eye. She stepped up to me, wrapped her arms around my neck and my cock twitched and stirred. Damn this woman.

"I was watching your back," Ranger continued.

I managed a grunt in response as Bailey worked my dick with her hand until it was fully hard again, then carefully straddled me and slid down on my cock. The position was totally bizarre; we sat facing each other with her on my lap with her feet resting on the bottom of the tub. Both of us losing our balance was a major concern, but she managed to get enough leverage to move without tipping us both into the tub, and I bit my lip to stifle my moans.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ranger grumbled after I'd been quiet for too long. "This is serious, Anthony."

"Yeah," I gasped. "Look, I have to-"

Bailey bit down hard on my neck and I swatted her on the ass in response.

"I'll call you later, Ranger."

"Anthony, we need-"

I hung up on him, switched the cell off, tossed it on the side of the sink and gingerly stood up with my cock still buried in Bailey. We managed to make it as far as her bed, where I dropped us both down to the mattress. "You evil little witch," I chastised.

"Shut up and fuck me," she demanded huskily.

I rolled my hips and she groaned. "Fuck you again, already?" I teased as I pinned her wrists above her head with one hand and then rubbed the calloused fingertips of my left hand over her clit.

"Christ!" she yelled as she squirmed under me. "For the love of god, Anthony, fuck me please!"

"I guess I could. Then again…" I whispered as I pulled out of her.

"Nooo!" she wailed. "Please, damn it, you bastard."

I slid my thumb inside her dripping pussy while I continued to rub her clit. "You want my cock back?"

Bailey nodded.

"Say it."

"Please Anthony," she all but sobbed.

"Please what, baby?"

"Fuck me, whatever, I just don't care. I need you, I'll do anything."

I dropped a swift kiss on the dragon tattoo on her breast. "I do love it when you beg."

"Please," she wailed as she thrashed under me as I kept up my assault on her clit.

"You really sure you want more sex?" I teased as I bit down hard on her nipple.

Bailey moaned as I kept on torturing her body. "Yes, damn it," she shrieked in frustration

I withdrew my hands and scooted her further up the bed. "Hold onto the head board; if you let go, I'll stop. Understand?"

She nodded once and licked her lips. I went up on my knees, hooked my arms under her legs and rested them on my shoulders. Her ass lifted off the bed and I dipped my index finger in her exposed pussy. "You are so wet."

"I wonder why," Bailey murmured as she tried to wiggle closer to my finger.

"Must be my good looks," I teased as I rubbed her clit again.

"Mmm, and don't forget your amazing body, stunning cock and never waning stamina in the sack. You could make a girl not want to let you go, Anthony Stewart," Bailey replied huskily.

I smiled. "You're not so bad yourself, sweetheart; I could keep you around for a while. Now where was I?"

"About to fuck me I think," Bailey giggled.

"Yeah, I can go with that."

I stole a glance at Bailey's bedside clock. Crap, the day was getting on and I had to check in with Ranger and make a few plans; time for me to leave. Hell, I was surprised that he hadn't stormed the building after I turned my phone off. He was going to be sooo pissed; I was going to have to do some serious damage control.

I brushed Bailey's long hair back off her face and trailed my thumb across her lips. "As much as I want to stay here like this for a week, sweetheart, I have to go."

Bailey dropped a quick kiss on my lips and slid out of bed. "I figured as much."

"So…"

"Yeah, so…" she responded awkwardly as she swiftly pulled on her leather pants and a sports bra, and began tossing weapons, some legal and some not so legal in a duffle.

It was time to get this show on the road. "I've been thinking-"

She cut me off. "Me too, and I think it's best if I just vanish into the sunset, don't you? Maybe I'll see you around someday."

"Are you insane?" I yelled as I sat up abruptly in bed.

Bailey raised an eyebrow as she checked the clip on her Sig, chambered a round and set the safety before sliding the gun in the back of her pants.

"Ranger will hunt you down like a dog and there is nothing I would be able do to stop him. Look, let me get you somewhere safe for a few days until I get you a fake passport; then you can pull your vanishing act and get the hell out of this country."

She frowned at me, then turned away and strapped her wrist sheaths back on. "I still don't like owing you, Anthony."

"And I've told you that you don't owe me a god damn thing, doll. This is about me helping you out so you don't end up stuck between a rock and a hard place with some shady government department; I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I did."

"Are you sure? You don't have to do this; I can take my chances with your brother."

I snorted. "You've read his file and you still want to make a run for it? Shit, you are crazy."

She tossed a handful of spare clips in the duffle and then sank down on the bed next to me. "Where am I supposed to go until I have some new I.D? I can't stay here."

"You can stay in the last place on earth he would think of ever looking for you: my apartment."

Bailey poked me in the ribs with her finger. "Go on then Mr. Covert Government Sneaky Guy, explain."

"You let me get out of here and I'll go back to the hotel and feed Ranger some bullshit, then you make your way to my apartment in New York. I don't know when I'm gonna get back there, so go to the small independent book store on 32nd street. Ask for Edward and tell him I sent you and you've come to pick up the copy of Catcher in the Rye that I ordered. He'll then give you a key – that's the spare for my apartment; I'll write you down the address and alarm codes. I'll be back as soon as I can and then I'll get you a fresh set of I.D so you can get out of the country, okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I'll use cash and travel on the bus, that way your brother shouldn't be able to trace me."

"Good thinking, doll."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and she leaned her head against mine. "So, just what are you going to tell your brother?"

I shrugged. "I don't quite know yet. I know I'm about to fuck up his Op, but I don't want to lie to him. I'm pretty certain that he thinks that you are our mark, so I'm probably best off telling him that we need to come back tonight and copy your laptop's hard drive. With you gone I can just say that you must have gotten spooked and split town. If he questions this morning's phone conversation, I'll just say that I was trying to make sure that I wasn't overheard as I'd heard you getting out of bed."

Bailey bit her lip and then got up and paced the floor for a few seconds. "Okay… I should be in New York by late today; hopefully get to the book store before it closes. How long should I wait for you before I split town?"

I growled. "Don't leave until I turn up. I will get you out of this mess, I promise."

She snapped me a mock salute. "Yes sir."

"Smart ass."

"Yeah? What you gonna do about it, Anthony?"

I glanced at my watch, deliberated for all of a second and then tugged her towards me by her belt loops. "I'm going to put you in your place, you bad girl."

"I thought you had to leave," Bailey laughed as she toyed with my dreads and massaged my scalp with her fingertips; something she had figured out that turned me on immensely.

"Might not see you for a day or so; don't want to get withdrawal symptoms," I teased.

Bailey closed her eyes, tipped her head back and took a deep breath. "You are one very dangerous man, Anthony Stewart."

I gently traced the tattoo on her left arm with my fingertips and looked up into her face. She was a hellion, a mercenary, a total and utter lunatic, but I was falling for Bailey, falling really hard and I didn't give a damn. Here was a woman who was my equal, but a woman that I was about to lose. Ranger was hot on her heels and the only way to keep her safe was to get her out of the country and far away from him and me also. Maybe I could just keep her as my sex slave? I smiled at the thought. Ranger would never know, right?

In a very short space of time she had gotten under my skin and I was beginning to wish that there was another way out of this fucked up situation. "And you are one very dangerous woman, doll," I replied honestly. My heart was in serious danger of being ripped to pieces.