Under Pressure [IAD Agency] (Siren Publishing Classic)

spoke to her briefly. I had to tell her she couldn’t go shopping this month.”
    “Ha, says the person with a shopping fetish.”
    “Tara is definitely worse than me. She has stuff in her closet that still has tags on it. She just forgets. Although most of her stuff is black. Anyway, we’ll ask her what she wants to do and plan from there. No matter what it is you’re going since we haven’t seen her in forever. I’m glad she’s moving back and working for Mac Securities.” Liz winced slightly as Bella jolted at the name of Jason’s company.
    “Sorry,” Liz murmured.
    “Forget it. We’ll plan something,” Bella agreed.
    Liz took a sip of her wine, almost spitting it out as she choked in surprise. Concerned, Bella leaned over to her when Liz whispered, “Speaking of…Oh crap, hon, prepare yourself.”

Chapter Seven
     
    It had been the week from hell.
    Jason couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t forget about Bella. He thought about her day and night, but he had been too busy to do anything about it. Unused to the emotions he’d been bombarded with all week had set him on the warpath.
    She had run from him.
    His first reaction had been leave it as it was, that he didn’t need the trouble.
    Bloody hell, that was a lie.
    He had been kidding himself all week, just putting off the inevitable. He wanted her with a passion that rivaled the heat of the sun.
    It had taken all week, but he finally admitted that he wanted to find her. He needed to find her.
    Never had a woman intrigued him so and in such a short time. He was never one to have to pursue a woman, but he would this one. Now that he had made up his mind, she was his now. She just didn’t know it yet. All week Jason had been ready to rip someone’s head off, so on edge with his need for Bella that he could barely be civil for two minutes straight.
    Now he just had to take care of some business tonight, and tomorrow he would start hunting.
    Finn had tagged along with Jason tonight to meet with a transferring operative of IAD that was back from an extended assignment. They had picked a local bar, wanting a causal atmosphere. Usually this would be his partner Brett’s job, but since he was out on an assignment, Jason was forced to deal with it.
    Jason normally didn’t socialize with the people he worked with, trying to keep his distance as their director and boss, but Finn was an exception. Finnegan Kelly worked with him at both IAD and Mac Securities and years ago had gotten it in his head to befriend him. Jason had tried to keep his distance, but Finn was a stubborn son of a bitch and just laughed off Jason’s attempts. Before Jason knew it, Finn had become his best friend.
    Jason pushed through the doorway to Moretti’s. He came here occasionally since it was one of the regular spots all the Mac Securities agents hung out. Toro had been working undercover for the last two years, and now that the assignment he had been on was over, he was coming back stateside.
    IAD had been looking into taking down a particularly nasty arms dealer when they had caught Toro doing his own investigation of sorts. One of his army ranger buddies had gotten himself in deep shit with the network, and Toro had just been looking for a way to help him out. Toro had made the connections IAD had been searching for and had recruited him in for the op.
    One of the IAD agents had vouched for him and brought him in. With his agreement, the agency had requested his assistance through proper channels and the army had officially transferred him over. He had ended up helping the IAD agent bust the arms-dealing ring after both of them had spent some time deep undercover in the organization. Being undercover took time. Time and energy that could change someone forever.
    Once the bust was made, the agent working with him got the go-ahead to extend a permanent position with IAD. Toro had joined up as soon as the offer was made. He was as capable an agent as he was a solider, and he loved the idea of operating without the government bureaucracy telling him when he could wipe his ass.
    Jason respected his abilities and was glad to have him with them in the Chicago branch of IAD. He wanted Toro’s transition into IAD and Mac Securities to go smooth and easy.
    Finn recognized the manager near the door, and they were waved to a high tabletop with four barstools that was reserved for regular customers. A few people greeted them as they moved to the table, but before Jason could sit,