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

  Taking the steps two at a time, he tapped on the bedroom door once and entered.

  “Kole!” Jenessa shrieked and clasped a white shirt to her chest, spinning to turn her back to him. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Unable to help himself, Kole chuckled. “This is way better than watching you pop out of that dress would have been.”

  He looked at her bare backside, appreciating the soft curves of her hips and rounded ass. He’d been without a woman for far too long, and even if Jenessa was an annoying FBI agent who didn’t give a damn about her appearance, her body was sexy as hell. “Nice ass, Nessa.”

  “Get out!”

  Backing to the doorway, he didn’t want to lose sight of her before he had to. Maybe this assignment wouldn’t be as horrible as he had imagined, especially if he got regular doses of that. “Sorry,” he said, doing his best to sound apologetic. “Let me know when your clothes are on.”

  He closed the door and leaned against the wall, knowing he had to wipe the smile from his face before seeing her again. It wouldn’t do for her to know how much he enjoyed the view.

  A few seconds later, the door flew open. Her face was red and her hair had become static filled from her change of clothing. Wild woman, Kole thought, unable to stop the smile from returning. It was a nice look for her.

  She put her hand on her hip, body visibly shaking with rage. “You think this is funny? Let’s get something straight. I’m not one of those sluts you usually date, looking for money and sex, no matter what part I’m forced to play in public. Never walk in here without an invitation again.”

  Yep. Just as pissed as he figured she’d be. He sighed and nodded. “I know, I know. It wasn’t nice of me to do that. I didn’t think you’d be naked. I thought you were checking the computer.”

  “But staying inside to stare at me was okay once you saw I was naked?” she challenged, clearly not appeased. “A real gentleman would have left quickly, not waited for me to order him out.”

  He spread his hands wide. “What can I say? I never claimed to be a gentleman, and you have a rockin’ body. Can’t blame a guy for liking what he sees.”

  “I thought you said I was ugly?”

  Damn it. Kole took a step forward and rested his hand against her shoulder lightly. He didn’t like having to consider people’s feelings. He liked being wrong even less. “I’ve been a dick, haven’t I?”

  She nodded once in a curt motion. “Yes.”

  Jenessa scored points for bluntness. He wasn’t used to women saying exactly what they thought without couching it in pleasantries. One thing was certain, he’d have to work if he wanted to keep Jenessa as an ally.

  “You deserve better than the way I’ve been acting, Nessa. You’re a beautiful, smart woman who’s leaps and bounds ahead of socialites like Tanya. I really am sorry.”

  The more he spoke, the more Jenessa’s eyes narrowed. “Now I’m beautiful and smart, huh? Just stop talking. You’re making things worse.” She pushed him backward down the hallway. “Do you have a first aid kit? That cut needs some attention.”

  Kole wiped at his head again and nodded. “In my bathroom.” He led the way down the hall to the smaller master suite. He was only screwing up worse with her. She was right—he should stop talking.

  He flipped on the light and crossed the room.

  Behind him, Jenessa let out a low whistle. “Now this is what I would expect from you.”

  Kole looked around the gray and black decorated room. It was the only room he’d redecorated after the breakup. His sanctuary. Funny that he led Jenessa inside without a second thought. No woman had ever been in the room after he’d claimed it for himself. Maybe he had no problem letting her in because Jenessa would never look at him as a viable man.

  And he wasn’t interested in her as a woman, anyway.

  Shrugging, he crossed to the bathroom and opened the drawer to the left of the sink, pulling out the kit. “I don’t spend a lot of time in D.C., but this room is generally where I like to be when I’m here.”

  “Because the rest of the house reminds you of your ex?”

  Kole unfastened the latches on the kit. He didn’t have to answer. Jenessa obviously knew that was the reason, since all Clarissa’s clothes were still in the main suite. Kole couldn’t stand the house or the bad memories that lingered in the other rooms. It was supposed to be a love nest for him to start his new life. Instead, Clarissa made a fool of him and left him a bitter, broken man.

  Jenessa walked beside him and pointed at the closed toilet lid, apparently realizing he wouldn’t answer the question. “Sit,” she ordered. “A cut like that needs a woman’s touch.”

  Not feeling up to arguing, Kole did as he was told, wondering if it would be like this with Jenessa the whole time. As she cleaned his cut with an alcohol wipe, Kole figured it would be a good time to ask—anything to take his mind off the throbbing pain and to keep him from looking like a pussy in front of her by crying out in pain.

  “Are you always this take charge?” he asked, careful to keep any confrontation from his voice. “Nick said you were shy and soft spoken, and my father said basically the same thing. I thought I was getting a kitty cat and instead have a lioness. I feel like the salesman lied.”

  She snorted out a laugh, a deep chuckle unlike the fake one she’d used at the dinner party. Kole decided he liked the sound of her true laughter.

  She blew gently across his cut before grabbing ointment from the kit. The fingers of her other hand stroked his uninjured cheek and then she smirked. “Maybe you can ask how strict the return policy on me is. Trade me in for a suitably timid model.”

  Kole grinned. “As much money as you’ll cost me tomorrow, maybe I should.”

  The merriment left her gaze as quickly as it appeared. “I’ll figure out a way to pay for my own clothes. Don’t trouble yourself.”

  Kole slapped his leg. “Damn it, Nessa. It was a joke. Why do you have to fight with me so much?” And why was he so quick to anger around her. She challenged him, and he wasn’t used to that. Even if other ladies were being fake, the women in his life almost always did whatever he wanted. Jenessa was supposed to do the same thing.

  Only in public. In private, she should challenge you, or she’d be a shitty partner.

  He wanted to tell that betraying voice to shut up, but he knew it was the truth. If Jenessa blindly followed his orders and never asked questions, she’d be a piss-poor agent.

  She slapped a bandage against his cut, considerably less gentle than she’d been before. “Can we work this out, Kole? It’s been a rough day, but if you waste too much time with me and then we can’t stand working together, I’m not going to help in the investigation. I’ll only be a distraction. It’s not too late for you to find another love of your life.”

  He squinted at her, considering the question carefully before answering. “I’m used to giving the orders, and I have a feeling you don’t much like taking them.”

  She shrugged and sat on the edge of the bathtub near him. “I’m trying my best, but the only man I answer to is Nick.” She paused, biting her lip. “And your father, of course.”

  “So, I’m not allowed to be a demanding asshole?” He turned a half grin toward her in his best attempt to be charming.

  “That about sums it up.” She wrinkled her nose. “Since you threw Dan in my face earlier, I just want you to know that he was a mistake. I don’t take my mistakes lightly. I would appreciate it if you didn’t use it against me. I thought I was in love, and I’m only human.”

  Talk about feeling like a heel. She was right. He had no reason to be rude to her, other than the fact he was frustrated about being trapped into the fake relationship. He patted her hand and decided it was time for some honesty of his own.

  “I don’t want to like you, Nessa. When Clarissa ripped my heart out and stomped it into the ground, I promised myself I’d never trust another woman.”

  “And now you’re forced to trust me because I’m yo
ur partner.”

  He nodded. “You have no reason to forgive me, but I hope you will. Let’s work through this and catch the killer. Please.”

  “Okay, but no more barging in on me or making snarky comments about how I look or just—”

  “Being an ass,” he interrupted. “I got it. But you have to meet me halfway. Don’t question me all the time. I’m the expert about how things work in this political world. I’ll trust you, but you also need to trust me.”

  “That’s fair,” she agreed. “I promise to try.”

  Kole grinned, unable to stop it. She couldn’t help herself from challenging him and could only promise to try. Deciding it was the best he could hope for, Kole stuck out his hand.

  Jenessa took it in her own firm grasp, shaking to seal the deal.

  Standing without releasing her hand, Kole pulled her to her feet.

  “You’d better get some rest,” he said. “I’m going to meet with my father and the other members of the anti-terror board tomorrow, but I think you have the tougher job.”

  “Oh?” Her right eyebrow lifted. “What’s that?”

  “Turning yourself into a socialite.”

  Jenessa lay on the king-sized bed and turned on the laptop. After it hummed to life, she entered her password and did a quick scan of the desktop. Nothing had been moved, but it seemed unlikely the intruder would have done that, even if he had somehow figured out her password.

  She typed in the command to pull up all the keystrokes and searched through the list. Nothing out of place. It all appeared to be her actions. Good. It would be hard to explain to the political world why she had a computer here with programs used to aid in hacking if someone found it.

  True, the FBI had computers capable of much more than she could do from here, and she’d miss having that at her disposal, but she’d be just fine. After all, the FBI hadn’t hired her because she needed special programs for what she did. They hired her because her work was practically untraceable and she was an expert.

  Satisfied the intruder hadn’t been after her computer, Jenessa pulled up her social media account. Carlie had already posted some of the wedding photos.

  A message flashed in the private chat box.

  Shelley: I see you survived. How’d the meeting with President Sharp go?

  Jenessa sighed. She should have logged off the chat. She had become friends with Shelley the past year, but since this mission was supposed to be secret, she couldn’t give details. Then again, there was no one on the entire planet who could flirt better than Shelley Hart. Maybe Jenessa could pick up some tips.

  I’m here as a decoy to flirt with board members and learn their secrets, I guess. I don’t really flirt that well. Even Kole’s family doesn’t know the truth. They think I’m a money hungry social climber who’s using him.

  She didn’t have to worry about Shelley telling anyone. The woman was a former agent. She knew not to spread around details of a secret mission. If it hadn’t been for Shelley, the team wouldn’t have been able to arrest Stephen Smith. Catching Paul Billings and the other S.A.T.O. members was important to Shelley too.

  Shelley: That sounds like fun! I miss flirting.

  Jenessa typed quickly. Ha, ha. Easy for you to say. I’m not great with guys, obviously. What do I do to earn their trust?

  Shelley: Men are easy. Just giggle, touch their arms or thighs, and bat your eyelashes. Their libido will do the rest. Oh! Lots of cleavage helps.

  She’d practically busted out of her dress tonight, and that hadn’t seemed to impress Carter all that much. Hopefully the other members of the board would be more susceptible to her so-called charms.

  Shelley: What about Kole? Is he as big a dick as he seems? If not, maybe he can help you get over Dan.

  That wasn’t likely. Kole could barely be civil. They might have agreed to work together, but Jenessa highly doubted they would ever be friends. She typed that to Shelley.

  Shelley: You don’t need to be friends with a man to have hot, sweaty, get-over-a-bad-relationship sex. You should go for it. Best way to get over one man is to get under another, so they say.

  Obviously being a mother to Emma and having another baby on the way hadn’t cooled Shelley’s passionate side all that much. Then again, with a hunk like Gavin around, Jenessa didn’t think anyone’s passion could cool.

  It would be pointless to tell Shelley that Jenessa wasn’t looking to bed Kole. Shelley would only encourage her harder. She quickly typed her thanks and told Shelley goodnight. At least the advice on flirting was something she could use.

  Kole had said a beauty consultant would be here tomorrow to help her. Bethany would probably have some ideas on cleavage and making Jenessa look sexy. She would leave it to the professionals.

  She still didn’t see anything wrong with sensible suits and high-polished shoes, but that wasn’t the type of girl Kole Sharp wanted.

  Chapter 6

  Kole paced around the large table in the Roosevelt Room of The White House the next morning, waiting for the members of the board against terror to be searched by the Secret Service agents and let inside.

  “Stop pacing, Kole,” William ordered. “You’re making me nervous.”

  Kole turned to his father, who sat at the head of the table, and slipped into the chair at his right side. Leaning in close, he whispered, “What makes me nervous, Dad, is that one of the men about to enter this room is a traitor.”

  William shrugged and stared straight ahead to the gilded clock sitting on the mantle of a whitewashed fireplace. “I’m sure it won’t be the first time a traitor has spent time in here.”

  Sighing, Kole refrained from crossing his arms like a sullen child. His dad was right. As President of the United States, William Sharp likely dealt with people who wished him harm daily, just as the Presidents who came before him had. Having enemies came with the territory of being in charge.

  Deciding to focus on something else, Kole glanced at Carter when his brother walked through the door, giving him a curt nod as Carter took the spot to the left of their dad. “I’m wondering if it is anyone in the group at all,” Kole said.

  Carter’s eyes narrowed. “You mean the person plotting with Paul? How could it not be someone in the group?”

  Momentary panic struck Kole. Maybe Carter wasn’t supposed to know any of the reason Kole returned to D.C., not just that Jenessa wasn’t really his fiancée.

  However, William simply shrugged. “Who else could be leaking information? It’s the board members and their families being targeted by this new attack. It has to be an inside job.”

  Carter nodded his agreement. “Which is why I’m glad you accepted Dad’s invitation to take over Ross Jenkins’ spot. We need a private detective on this board. Maybe you can help catch whoever’s sneaking information to S.A.T.O.”

  Kole breathed an internal sigh of relief. It seemed Carter was aware of that reason for Kole to come back, or at least accepted that he needed to be on the board.

  Kole shrugged and flashed a smile at his brother. “You’re just lucky Jen wanted to come to D.C. If it was up to me, I’d stay in my little cottage out in Wisconsin. But I’d do anything for her. She wants to be where the action is, so here we are.”

  Carter rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you learn your lesson with the last one? I don’t like Jennifer.”

  He was definitely suspicious in the right way. If Carter believed Jen was nothing more than she appeared, so would the other board members. Kole gave a feral grin. “You only think that because you don’t know her well, and you won’t ever sample all she has to offer. Trust me, Jen is worth any sacrifice.”

  Their dad made an impatient noise in the back of his throat. “Now’s not the time to discuss your sexual conquests, boys. We have work to attend to. First off, before the others get in here, I’d like you to elaborate on your statement, Kole.”

  His dad was right. No reason to antagonize Carter all at once, but it was nice to get under his ‘perfect’ older brother’s
skin.

  “Okay,” Kole said. “Here’s my thought. If you’re meeting here in The White House, anyone could have put the pieces together and figured out who’s on this board. Paul obviously knows about the meetings and the board, since he answered to it for nearly twenty years. All he’d have to do is ask someone on the staff to spy on people you meet with regularly outside of what seems like normal business.”

  William shook his head. “We’re careful. Everyone comes in from different directions and only on days not open to the public. I highly doubt anyone knows this is a regular meeting.”

  “What about the secret service agents?” Kole challenged.

  Carter glanced over his shoulder to the doorway, watching as the agents allowed Kevin Meyer through the doorway. “He makes a good point, Dad. Maybe it isn’t someone in the group. Our security details see everything.”

  William nodded almost imperceptibly, and then turned his attention to Kevin. “Has everything been okay with your family?”

  Relief flooded through Kole when Kevin nodded. There was no need to be formal with Kevin. The man had served in some capacity or another for William since William was Governor of Wisconsin. He was one of the family’s oldest friends, and Kole was ready to discount him as a suspect just on that fact alone. However, it was interesting that none of Kevin’s family had yet been threatened.

  Kole stood and shook the older man’s hand, realizing no one could be ruled out based on loyalty. From what he knew about Paul Billings, the leader of the rebel group could find a way to turn anyone, whether by paying them off or blackmailing them. Paul got what he wanted. Plus, he already knew Kevin was on the board from the time Paul worked for the government instead of against it. Paul would be well aware of how close Kevin was to the Sharp family. He’d make a perfect mole because no one would suspect him.

  Kole made a mental note to have Jenessa investigate every board members’ financial statements, even Kevin’s. It seemed unlikely Paul would be able to pay Kevin off to betray the Sharp family, but searching for unusually large deposits would be the easiest way to find a suspect. Money was a powerful motivator to most people.