Breaching the Billionaire: Alethea's Redemption (Book 6) (Legacy Collection) by Ruth Cardello Read Free Book Online

said with feigned concern.
    Marc rolled his eyes skyward. “I’m sure they’ll survive.”
    “That’s cold, Marc. Really cold. What are we calling this covert operation? We need something catchy.”
    “Call it job insurance. You screw this up and I won’t be able to save you from the wrath from above. Get in, get the information we need, and get out. No one can know what we’re doing.”
    With a nod and a smile, Craig said, “Gotcha,” and walked out of the room. A moment later, the earpiece on Marc’s desk lit up. He picked it up and pressed a button that allowed the sender to access protected private radio communication with him.
    Craig said, “The shark is entering the water. I repeat: The shark is entering the water.”
    “Are you the shark?” Marc asked in resigned humor.
    Speaking just above a whisper, Craig said, “Is this a test to see if I blow my own cover?”
    Closing his eyes and striving for patience, Marc said, “Whatever you want to call yourself, have a report on my desk at the end of each day.” He put the earpiece down. He’d chosen Craig because the man’s quirky personality would allow him to move through the building without raising suspicion. His elite team was too seasoned, too hardened to be able to play the role of a mailroom messenger. Craig was the only viable option.
    Returning to his desk, Marc turned his focus to the real wild card in the game. One that Craig would never be able to fool. He might call himself a shark, but Alethea would make a quick snack of an innocent like Craig.
    His own ego was still smarting from his first encounter with her.
    Alethea. As beautiful as she was cunning. Both Dominic and Jake had warned him about her, but their warning had come one day too late. His heart beat double time as he remembered their first meeting. With her long, wild auburn hair, deep emerald eyes, and athletically tight body, she had easily been the most striking and beautiful woman at Jake’s engagement party.
    He should have known from the way her attention had riveted on him that she had had an ulterior motive. The smile had come to her lips too easily. The flirting looks had been too blatant. Still, he’d been unable to resist the lure.
    He’d deserved every critical word she’d written about him in her report to Dominic. That night he had, indeed, been weak and easily distracted. He’d wanted her with an intensity he’d never felt before. Like an ocean siren, she’d called, and he’d followed—leaving his duties unattended, something he’d never done in all the time he’d worked for Dominic.
    Dominic’s reaction had come in the form of a simple warning. “Stay away from Alethea. She’s trouble.”
    Jake had given him similar instructions: steer clear of the wreckage that would follow any personal entanglement with Alethea. He’d done as they’d asked because, although he’d spent many nights remembering the one hot kiss he’d shared with her, his loyalty was to the men who had given him a chance when the rest of the world had turned their backs on him.
    No woman, not even one who made sex with other women less tempting, would be the reason he disappointed them again.
    Now Jake was asking him to watch Alethea—closely. Not something he minded doing, but something that held a risk of forgetting why nothing was possible between them. His personal feelings had to come second to his duty.
    He needed to find out if she was involved in the recent coding errors. To do that, he would have to breach the defenses of a woman who had once demolished his with one sultry look.
    How do you outsmart a woman who prides herself on outsmarting everyone else?
    You play by her rules.
    Which means there are none.
    He remembered the look in her eyes when she’d seen him at the hospital. No matter how their first encounter had ended, the attraction was still mutual.
    I can use that.
    I may even enjoy doing so.
    Calling her dominated his thoughts all day, but he forced himself to