Woman Of Innocence

Holding up her hand, Laura said, “I agree. Tell her that it’s her birthday and that you felt she could handle this mission. You can make it perfectly clear that there will never be another. I really think that if Matt gives her a taste of a real mission, without the danger being there, she’ll quickly lose that romantic veneer she’s put on mercs and missions in the future. Maybe she needs to go on a mission, experience it, simply to help her to understand the rigors and stresses on our people. It could help her be a better assistant as she plans these missions with you and Mike.”

Nodding, Morgan muttered, “You’ve got sound arguments. Maybe we should put her on a safe mission. I could suggest to Matt to ham it up a little for her benefit. Level ones are usually boring as hell to a merc.”

Laura sighed. “You’ve got the right idea, Morgan. I feel this will work out to everyone’s advantage. Jenny will fulfill her dream. You’ll get an assistant back that understands mission planning more fully.”

Chuckling, Morgan said, “Matt’s the only one who isn’t going to benefit from this trip.”

“Mmm,” Laura murmured as she moved into Morgan’s arms, “Matt’s a big boy. Somehow, I think he’ll roll with the situation. Jenny is cute. And she’s no dummy. He’ll find out very quickly just how smart and resourceful she is.”

Morgan smiled, pressing his wife closer to him. As she leaned down, rubbing like a feline against him, he murmured, “Let’s set business aside now, shall we?”

Laura laughed gently and placed her lips against his smiling ones. “I like waking you at 2:00 a.m. in the morning, Trayhern….”

As her lips glided against his, he felt her smiling. Her body was warm and sensuous as he wrapped his arms around her. “Yeah,” he growled, “no interruptions…”

“No phones, no faxes…”

“No children coming in and needing something…”

Sighing, Laura whispered, “Just the two of us…. Let’s take advantage of it, shall we, darling?”

“I need a special favor from you, Matt. Have a seat.” Morgan gestured to the leather wing chair that sat at one corner of his massive bird’s-eye maple desk in his private office within the Perseus complex. The merc, Matt Davis, assessed him critically with storm-gray eyes as he sat down.

“A favor?”

The door to Morgan’s office opened, interrupting the two men. Jenny came in, bearing a silver tray with coffee, cream, sugar and those delectable Krispy Kreme doughnuts. They were Morgan’s downfall. Luckily, Jenny had put only two on the tray—one for each of the men. Laura had given her strict instructions not to serve the usual half dozen anymore, or Morgan would eat more than his fair share.

“Come in, Jenny,” he murmured. “You can set the tray on the desk here.”

Matt rubbed his eyes tiredly. The little blond-haired assistant gave him a cheery good-morning smile, as she had when she’d let him in to see Morgan for his appointment. Her blue eyes sparkled with such life. She brushed by him and he caught the scent of a very faint fragrance; maybe lilacs? He dismissed his distracting thought. Right now, all he wanted was a week or two off and some deep, sound sleep. Still, those large, expressive blue eyes of hers got to him. They reached inside of his armored heart and touched him as if he had no defenses in place. Damn. How could that be? She was all of maybe five foot two inches, and probably weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet. She was built like a bird, Matt thought, and she looked fragile. Like she might break if someone glared at her or said a bad word in her presence. Yet she was all bubbly, light effervescence. Sunshine in their dark hole of a business, he mused. Maybe that’s why Morgan had hired her: she brought light to the murky world they lived in. Matt couldn’t blame him. Jenny was attractive without being a raving beauty. It was her eyes and that constant, soft smile on her full mouth that were her greatest attributes.

“Thank you, Jenny,” Morgan murmured as she was about to pour coffee into the delicate white china cups. “We’ll do it.”

“Sure…” Jenny nodded and turned. As she did, the toe of her sensible brown loafer caught the scarred, dirty hiking boot Matt wore.

“Oh!” The cry tore from her lips as she staggered forward, off balance, her arms flailing outward.

Matt saw her trip. Instantly, he was leaning forward, his arm outstretched, to grab her. He was easily able to catch her as she reeled in his direction. In seconds, her light form was in his arms, her shoulder against his chest.

“You okay?” he asked as he righted her and sat her on her feet. Matt saw her cheeks turn red with embarrassment. Morgan had come halfway out of his chair when he saw her trip, but from where he was, he couldn’t have helped her, anyway.

“Oh yes…sorry! I’m so sorry, Mr. Davis….” Jenny quickly leaped away from him. She nervously smoothed her tan slacks and gave Morgan a regretful look. “I’m such a klutz. I’m okay, Morgan. Really.” And she held out her hand to stop him from coming around the desk. The look on his face was one of genuine concern. She loved her boss so much. He treated her as an equal, not as some dumb, airhead blonde.

“You sure?” Morgan asked, halting.

“Very sure.” Flustered, she ran her fingers through her thick, short hair. “It’s just me.” Flashing Matt Davis a slight smile, she said, “Thanks for saving me from totally embarrassing myself.”

Matt couldn’t help but smile back. She was such a sprite. More like sunlight dancing on the choppy waters of life than an ordinary woman.

“Don’t worry about it,” he murmured, and reached for the coffee.

“I’ll leave you now,” she said and hurried out of the room.

Morgan picked up a Krispy Kreme doughnut. “You know, these doughnuts are the best in the world.” He eyed it like a jeweler eyeballing an expensive diamond.

Snorting, Matt poured them coffee. “You eat ’em. I don’t need the sugar today.”

“Humph, I don’t, either, but…Sure you don’t want the other one?”

Davis grinned and sipped the hot, fragrant coffee. “Positive.” He patted his hard, flat belly beneath the white cotton shirt he wore.

Morgan bit into the doughnut, a look of absolute pleasure crossing his face. “This is one of life’s little gifts,” he sighed as he enjoyed every bite. “When I heard they were going to have a Krispy Kreme come to Philipsburg, I knew I was in heaven.”

Davis chortled a little and sat down, sprawling his six-foot-two-inch length out again, the coffee balanced between his hands. “Better you than me. If I eat bread products of any kind, I gain weight right off the bat. In our business, we don’t need that riding against us.”

Patting his middle, Morgan said, “I’ve got about five pounds here I don’t need.”

“Yeah, well you’re in your fifties and I’m thirty. Big difference.” Matt grinned.

Good humored, Morgan took the second doughnut and sat down. He ate it with the same slow satisfaction as he had the first one. “This will be our secret. Laura thinks I’m getting one a day.”

“Our secret,” Matt agreed with a lopsided grin.

Dusting off his hands on the white linen napkin from the tray, Morgan picked up his coffee and sauntered back around his desk. “Now,” he murmured, “I have a favor to ask of you.”

Chapter Two

“Happy birthday, Jenny,” Morgan called to his assistant. He looked fondly over at her as she hurried into the war room, where all assignments were handed out. Laura stood at his side, smiling.

Jenny came to a halt in front of Morgan, who sat opposite her at the huge, oval table. Her eyes grew huge at the sight of the white frosted cake decorated with yellow roses. “A cake?” she gasped. Her hand flew to her heart when she saw the lit candles—all twenty-five of them. “You didn’t have to do this,” she said, touched. With a lump in her throat, she made a wish and blew out all the candles, while the Trayherns applauded.

To the left of the cake was a blue folder. She recognized the file as a merc assignment. On top of it was placed a bright red-and-silver bow. What stymied her was the fact that her name was on that file. Clasping her hands in nervous anticipation, she asked, “What’s this?”

Laura smiled fondly. “Your gift, Jenny. From all of us to you. Go on, open it.”

She saw the smile that Morgan traded with Laura. They looked like they knew the punch line to a joke she wasn’t privy to. Anticipation wound through her. “B-but,” Jenny stammered, gesturing toward the file, “that’s a merc assignment file. Did I not file it correctly?” She took pride in her filing system and had never lost a folder yet.

“Yes,” Morgan murmured in his deep voice, “that’s exactly what it is. And no, it’s not misfiled.”

Giving them a confused look, Jenny slid her fingers beneath the bow, then carefully set it aside. Balancing the folder in her hand, she gave them a perplexed look. “It has my name on it. That’s not right. The merc who’s assigned this duty should have his or her name on it….”

Morgan allowed a hint of a smile. Jenny was truly confused. “Why don’t you open it up and look at the assignment? I think a lot of your confusion will be put to rest.”

Sitting down, Jenny placed the file in her lap and opened it. Her eyes widened. She gasped. Snapping a look up at Morgan and Laura, she whispered, “This can’t be!”

“Why not?” Morgan demanded.

“Why, er, I’m just an assistant to you, Morgan…for Perseus….” She stared disbelievingly at the assignment. It had her name on it as the commander in charge of the mission. Below it was another name: Matt Davis. He was second-in-command. Looking farther, she saw that the assignment was to Agua Caliente, Peru, to a top-secret military installation known as the Black Jaguar Base.