Hidden Agenda by Rochelle Alers Read Free Book Online Page B

you before you leave.”
    Matt waited until Alma left, closing the door behind her, before he extended his arms. A wide grin displayed his straight, white teeth. “We did it,” he said softly.
    “Thank you, Matt.”
    He tightened his hold on her slender body. “You should accept the accolades. You were perfect.”
    What Eve didn’t know was that she was going to make his last mission a lot easier than he had expected.
    “I’ll see you for breakfast,” he continued. “After that we’ll go shopping.”
    She yawned delicately, placing a hand over her mouth. “Please excuse me. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t keep my eyes open.”
    “You’re excused,” Matt countered, noticing her drooping eyelids. “You’re on a different time zone, and with the change in altitude you probably need as much sleep as you can get.” He released her. “Do you need help unpacking?”
    Eve yawned again. “No, thanks.” Tilting her chin, she stared up at Matt peering intently down at her. His nearness made her uneasy, made her senses spin, as a rush of heat burned her cheeks.
    An emotion she hadn’t felt in a long time and didnot want to feel swept through her. She had to fight the rush of sensations that made her want to remain in Matt’s arms as he offered his protection and strength.
    Her delicate jaw tightened. “Good night, Matt.” There was no mistaking the underlying coldness in her voice. She had just dismissed him.
    The dismissal was apparent to Matt. His body tensed, then relaxed.
She’s exhausted
, he thought, noting the slight puffiness under her eyes. And he had no doubt that the strain of playing his intended was also stressful.
    His brilliant jade and gold gaze slowly caressed her face. “Good night.” Turning on his heel, he walked out of the room.
    Eve sank down onto the mahogany four-poster bed at the same time the door closed behind Matt’s departing figure. Staring up at the intricately crocheted lace canopy, she counted the pounding beats of her heart.
    She and Matt had fooled Alma and Carlos, but she did not want to think about her reaction to the man who pretended to love her enough to offer marriage; and she did
not
want to remember the alien feelings she had locked away forever.
    A smile eased her strained expression. The curtain had come down on the first scene of the first act.
    Matt lay sprawled on the sofa in the darkened living room, smoking and staring out at the lights blinking over the city. El Moro had been built close enough to the center of the city so that the monument
El Angel
was clearly visible in the center of
Paseo de la Reforma
. The impressive monument had been dedicated in 1910, rising above the Paris-styled avenue andcelebrating Mexico’s centennial of independence from Spain.
    Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he smiled. A Spanish monument in the center of a French-styled avenue. Like the towering luxury hotels and modern office buildings, the teeming city life, the slower, surrounding provincial village activity, and the mixture of its people, Mexico City was diversified and exciting.
    He dropped the cigar in an ashtray on the floor and drew in a deep breath. Within a month he would be leaving it, with Eve Blackwell-Arroyo.
    Finding her son, if he actually was still in Mexico, would be easier than solving a child’s riddle compared to what he had to go through for Harry and his people.
    Grimacing, he wondered how his Mexican grandparents and his other cousins would react if they learned of his clandestine operations. He had earned a great deal of money from his covert missions, and even after he’d invested a small fortune into the once nearly bankrupt hotel and purchased the land in New Mexico, he still had enough to invest in other ventures.
    Each mission had been his last…until the next time. However, the risks and the lure of excitement had proven too much for him to decide to retire and take over running the horse farm. Now, operating openly in Mexico went beyond