Love & Compromise (Agents in Love Book 3) Read online

  Love & Compromise

  Agents in Love - Book 3

  Chantel Rhondeau

  Contents

  Love & Compromise

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Author’s Note

  Also by Chantel Rhondeau

  Need more suspense in your life? Check out Blazing Love

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Love & Compromise

  (Agents in Love – Book 3)

  Chantel Rhondeau

  Electronic Edition

  Copyright 2017 Chantel Rhondeau

  Cover Design: EDH Graphics

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to an ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, names, events, and places in this novel are used fictitiously or are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or to places, businesses, or events, is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  For Kadee – one of the strongest women I know. Love you so much!

  Acknowledgments

  I’d like to thank my awesome beta team: The Fabulous Liz Robbins, Rachelle Ayala, Shanny, and Susan.

  My cover was designed by the talented Erin at EDH Designs.

  A huge thanks to my editor, Clare Chu.

  Chapter 1

  The bride and groom looked radiant and the guests laughed with joy, having a blast out on the dance floor. Carlie Hollis, now Mrs. Nick Kendall, had even baked her own wedding cake. The Kendalls had held the wedding in the grand hall at Nick’s new hotel. Bright crystal chandeliers shone on the teal cloths at each table, and the serving staff kept drinks circulating through the party.

  Jenessa Jones drummed her fingers against the tabletop, wishing she could catch the excitement of the occasion instead of feeling miserable. Weddings...who needed them? Happiness didn’t factor into Jenessa’s love life. Not after her last lover duped her into thinking he actually cared. All he’d really wanted was to steal diamonds she’d been entrusted to protect.

  Next to her, Shelley Hart rubbed her distended belly and smiled. “Weddings aren’t much fun without a date, huh? Sorry, sweetie. I’ll ask Gavin to dance with you next.”

  “No, that’s okay.” Jenessa forced a smile. “I’m happy for Nick and Carlie, but this isn’t my first choice of places to be.”

  “Mine either.” Shelley rolled her eyes. “Do you know how hard it is to pee every five seconds in these dresses? At least you don’t have to deal with that.”

  Jenessa smoothed the skirt of her own gown. The teal and purple colors went beautifully together, but the gauzy bottom puffed out to either side of her chair and trailed to the ground. That would be complicated in a restroom. “Yep, you definitely have it worse than I do.”

  Shelley didn’t seem to hear, as a large smile graced the other woman’s mouth. She flipped black hair over her shoulder flirtatiously and waved her fingers at her husband. “He’s such a good dad.”

  Their adopted daughter, Emma, stood on Gavin’s feet in the center of the dance floor, gazing up at her daddy with evident joy. After blowing a kiss to his wife, Gavin only had eyes for Emma. The pair giggled as Emma tried her best to stay on his fast-moving feet, often slipping off. Still, her cries of “Faster, Daddy” reached the women’s table.

  At least Shelley and Gavin did the sensible thing and eloped early in the fall. Nick and Carlie had served as witnesses down at the Sayle, Washington courthouse. Since Shelley’s mom already believed they were married, it made sense not to have a big wedding. Jenessa was just glad she didn’t have to sit through more than one ceremony this year.

  Being alone was humiliating, especially since everyone knew what happened with her last relationship. Dan was in prison now, and she and Gavin had retrieved the diamonds. It hadn’t ended in the disaster it could have. Life moved on, but Jenessa still felt the sting of Dan’s lies.

  She’d been quite surprised when Carlie asked her to stand in as part of the bridal party, considering they weren’t all that close. Then again, when she saw how many people they had in the wedding party, it made sense. Nick had three groomsmen—his best friend Donovan Andrews, Gavin, and an agent who had helped save Carlie’s life in the past, Hal Clegg. They had needed to even out the bridal party.

  In any event, Jenessa couldn’t refuse to attend her boss’s wedding, no matter how much she’d wanted to. True love was such a myth. Still, Jenessa couldn’t help but hope Nick and Carlie made it for the long haul. They seemed well suited.

  Madeline Andrews, Carlie’s third bridesmaid, walked toward the table with a toddler perched on her hip. Josephine was an active girl and kept grabbing for her mother’s earrings. Madeline must have been used to it because she dodged out of the way and captured Josephine’s hand in her own.

  She sat next to Shelley, pretending to eat Josephine’s fingers when the girl made another grab at the earrings. “This momma is pooped,” she said, glancing at Shelley. “I’m glad Donovan took charge of entertaining our boys. This party has gone longer than expected. How are you holding up?”

  Shelley shrugged. “I hope they go off on their honeymoon soon. I might still have a couple months before Tyson will be born, but he’s pushing on my bladder. I want to go home and put my feet up.”

  Jenessa felt a tad less guilty, knowing the other women were as anxious as she was for the party to end. Then again, they would go home with their husbands and children. Jenessa only had an empty hotel room waiting for her.

  As though to punctuate Jenessa’s childless status, Madeline grinned at Shelley, joy radiating from her beautiful face. “You’re going to love having a boy. We’ve just adopted Liam, and Colton loves having an older brother, but they do get into a lot of mischief.”

  “Emma’s excited to have a baby brother,” Shelley said. “I’m pretty sure she’s already thinking of ways to boss him around.”

  “And after Tyson gets here, you can finally have that surgery on your knee,” Madeline pointed out. “That’ll be good. I don’t know how you’ve handled the whole pregnancy on crutches.”

  “Luckily, Gavin’s a wonderful help.” Shelley smiled and waved at her husband again. “I’m anxious to get back to work though. Carlie said the temporary waitress at the new shop has issues, and I miss having a job.”

  Sighing softly, Jenessa tried to tune out their happy-mother-and-wife talk. It wasn’t like she could join in on the conversation.

  Hopefully Nick gave her an assignment soon. The trail to catch Paul Billings and the other members of the terrorist organization, S.A.T.O., had dried up after they rescued Shelley earlier in the year. Stephen Chance wasn’t talking against his boss yet, no matter what was promised to him. P
aul had gone underground for the time being. Now they all worried what he plotted next but could do nothing to stop him.

  Jenessa had helped on other projects with some newer agents, stopping a few terrorist plots, but she was bored. She needed a big job to take her mind off how lonely she was.

  The smell of musky cologne pulled her from her gloomy thoughts, and Jenessa glanced over her shoulder. The handsome man she’d noticed at the beginning of the evening stood at her shoulder, staring down at her. She thought she’d seen him watching her earlier but had been too shy to ask him to dance.

  He was dressed in a black business suit and dark brown hair fell across his forehead. What most caught her attention was how his angular features somehow worked quite well with his intense brown eyes and full lips.

  A partial scowl contorted his face into something less than handsome, and Jenessa gulped nervously. He appeared unhappy to be near her, so why had he come over? It wasn’t likely that he wanted to dance, not with that look on his face.

  “So, you’re the woman I’m supposed to fall madly in love with?” He studied her for a second, tapping his index finger against his lips. “I guess you’ll have to do.”

  Too shocked for words, Jenessa struggled to close her gaping mouth. How rude could someone be?

  Shelley had no such problem coming up with a response, catching Jenessa’s eye before glaring at the man. “Is that supposed to be a pick-up line, jerk? You need major work.” She made a shooing motion with her hand. “Come back when you’ve learned some manners, you ass—” She snuck a glance at Josephine. “You assuming man, you.”

  Instead of leaving, he pulled out the chair next to Jenessa and lowered gracefully into it. “Excuse my lack of manners.” Regardless of the words, he didn’t sound apologetic. He stuck his hand out and Jenessa shook it automatically. “I’m Kole Sharp. You know, the man you’re madly in love with.”

  Jenessa glanced at Shelley and Madeline, hoping they would come to her rescue. While she’d wished for a date, she wanted someone less arrogant, someone who knew how to treat a lady.

  When both women shrugged, Jenessa turned her attention back to the man. “I don’t know if you think we know each other, Kole, or if you’re just really bad with women. In either case, I’m not going to speak to you again, let alone fall madly in love.” She favored him with the dirtiest look she could manage. “Go away.”

  Kole’s eyes narrowed and his frown deepened. “What’s your problem?”

  Before Jenessa could answer, Nick and Carlie approached the table. Nick helped Carlie into the remaining free chair, kissing her hand. “I love you, my lady.”

  Carlie smiled, only having eyes for him. “Take care of business so we can leave, my knight.”

  “That shouldn’t take long.” Nick turned to Jenessa. “I see you and Kole have already met. That saves me the introductions.”

  Jenessa adjusted her glare to her boss. “You know this jerk?”

  Nick’s eyes widened slightly and then he chuckled. “Jerk? That’s not a good beginning for your new job. Already off on the wrong foot, huh?”

  “New job?” A sinking sensation started in the pit of her stomach. Kole saying they were supposed to fall madly in love wasn’t a pick-up line. “My job is to pretend to love this guy?”

  “Why don’t we take this conversation somewhere private?” Nick asked. “Government business and all.”

  With a sigh, Jenessa pushed back her chair and stood.

  Kole was at her side in moments, a sudden smile on his face as he held his arm out.

  She leaned away. “You don’t get to act polite now. I know the truth.”

  His eyes tightened around the corners, but his smile didn’t fade. “We’re supposed to be falling madly in love. I wasn’t kidding,” he said quietly. “Now, take my arm and look at me with adoration. You never know who’s watching.”

  She was a professional. If this was the job Nick assigned her, she’d do what it took. Plastering a smile on her lips and batting her eyelashes, she looped her arm through his.

  They followed Nick’s retreating form through the wedding decorations and past the half-eaten cake into the hotel’s main office.

  As soon as the door shut, Jenessa let go of Kole and stepped away. “What’s going on? I’m not some party favor, so tell your boy here to behave.”

  Nick rounded the manager’s desk and sat behind it, indicating the other chairs with a brush of his hand. “Sit and calm yourself. You’ve spent too much time with Shelley this week. Her attitude rubbed off on you. Keep a level head.” He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and inserted one into a desk drawer. After pulling out a folder, he slid it across to her. “We have a situation in Washington, D.C., and I need my best agent there.”

  Washington? Suddenly Jenessa made the connection. She turned to Kole. “You’re President Sharp’s younger son. I thought you didn’t get involved in politics.”

  He raised a brow, his brown eyes boring into her as if he planned to learn all he could simply by staring. “This isn’t politics. It’s crime, which I’m very much into solving.”

  “Crime?” Jenessa opened the folder, curbing her impatience for answers. Nick wouldn’t ask her to spend time with Kole if he didn’t really think it was necessary. She had talked to him before about how the situation with Dan left her feeling. She had to trust her boss’s judgment.

  The file contained a newspaper clipping. Someone had murdered a man named Ross Jenkins last Friday, a week ago. The name meant nothing to her, but Jenessa gamely turned to the next article, a clipping from one month prior. Someone tampered with the brake lines in Victor Strauss’s town car, according to the report. He narrowly missed dying when his car crashed into a telephone pole. Sadly, his driver remained in critical condition at the time of the newspaper’s printing. The final page contained handwritten notes, detailing strange occurrences to people Jenessa had never heard of before.

  “What is all this?”

  Nick cradled his chin in his hands, watching her closely. “S.A.T.O.’s latest attack, we think.”

  “You think?” Jenessa shook her head. “These are random people, all different ages with different things happening to them. How could this be S.A.T.O.?”

  “The attacks have been on family members of the people who ran the board for S.A.T.O., back when Paul took orders from the government.” Nick looked at Kole and jerked his chin toward him. “Tell her about Ross.”

  Kole hooked his ankle across his knee, seeming reluctant to speak. Finally, he made eye contact again. “We thought this was isolated to the board members Paul knew about before he cut ties with the government.” He shook his head. “That theory has changed. Ross was a new member, put in place by my father after Paul jumped ship. Whoever attacked these people knows who the new board members are. The question is, who on the board told them?”

  Nick leaned forward. “And who will they kill next?”

  Kole watched while Jenessa absorbed the information. His father had promised she was smart and could help. He wouldn’t have agreed to the plan of her being his love interest, but his dad had insisted Nick’s group be involved. If it were up to Kole, he’d handle the situation himself.

  Jenessa delved back into the file, brushing strands of curly light brown hair from her face as she scanned the handwritten notes. “It seems that a lot of these accidents could have ended in death. It’s surprising Ross was the first to die.”

  Although Kole wasn’t sure about sharing information, Jenessa couldn’t help him if she didn’t know his suspicions. “They made sure Ross died. It wasn’t some random drive by that killed him. Someone broke into his house while he slept and shot him in the head.”

  “What about his wife? It says here she never woke until morning and only then because she was sick?” Jenessa’s wide brown eyes met his. “How did she not notice something sooner? I can’t imagine her sleeping through someone shooting her husband. Even if they used a silencer, I can’t imagine...”

 
; She’d picked up on the key point, and Kole nodded. “Even more reason to think this is S.A.T.O.’s work. I’m sure you’ve heard of MG-37.”

  “Duh...” She rolled her eyes, obviously perturbed that he even asked. “I bet I know more about it than you do. S.A.T.O. used the drug to knock people out in several crimes I’ve investigated now.”

  Kole had to admit, Jenessa was cute but feisty. He liked that in a woman. Not that it mattered. He just needed her to look pretty and act stupid. Society needed to accept her as an airheaded social climber, trying to secure a place with the country’s most powerful family. In reality, if she was as good of a hacker as Nick and Kole’s father claimed, she might be useful in the investigation.

  He realized he must have been staring too long when Jenessa dropped her gaze from his and muttered, “I feel like a lab specimen.”

  Leaning toward her, Kole took her hand in his and stroked the back of her palm lightly. “Get used to me staring. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together, and we’re supposed to be in love.”

  She jerked away. “In private, I certainly don’t have to touch you. Hands off.” She tossed the folder onto the desk and looked across at Nick. “So, you think they drugged the wife with MG-37? Why would they do that, unless Paul wants you to know he’s involved?”

  Nick nodded. “I think that’s possible. Maybe he’s taunting me, proving he’ll always be one step ahead since he taught me most of what I know about the spy business.”

  “Or it could have been a mistake,” she said. “Maybe they didn’t expect the wife to be there and it was an emergency measure.”

  “Or maybe,” Kole butted in, not wanting Jenessa to think she was the only half of this duo who could come up with theories, “they knew we’d figure it was them when we pieced together just who they were attacking. Maybe he’s trying to make anyone opposing him so afraid for their life and the lives of their families that the government will stop hunting him.”