Aegis Security 03 - Extreme Measures (10 page)

Images of the blown-out coffee shop filled the screen, and Eve’s stomach tightened when she remembered the child standing on the street corner next to her.
Please, please, please don’t list any children among the dead . . .

Seventeen now listed as injured. No update on the death toll yet, though.

Frustration warred with helplessness while she continued to watch the coverage. Fifteen minutes passed, but she didn’t see a speck about her or what had happened on that warehouse roof. Breathing a little easier, she pushed to her feet and lifted the remote to flip the TV off, when Zane’s face filled the screen.

“We have breaking news to bring you,”
the newscaster announced.
“Authorities are looking for this man, Zane Archer, in connection with the bombing in Seattle earlier today. If you’ve seen him recently or know his whereabouts, you’re encouraged to contact officials at the number on the screen. Do not approach him yourself. I repeat, do not attempt to approach him yourself.”

The room blurred in front of Eve, and her legs gave out. She dropped onto the couch and stared at Zane’s face in utter disbelief.

All those thoughts about leaving him came to an abrupt halt. She couldn’t go now. Not if the authorities thought he was to blame for all of this. Not when she was ultimately responsible.

Sickness churned and swirled through her belly. And for the first time in years—ever, maybe—she had no plan.

L
andon Miller stood in the early morning darkness on the quiet, tree-lined street on Bainbridge Island and cursed his dumbass luck for the hundredth time.

He was gonna wring Archer’s motherfucking neck when he found the idiot.

Leave it to the dipshit to ruin the first vacation he’d had in over a year.

He thought of Marissa’s long, shapely legs and those stilletos she’d been wearing when they’d met. He’d picked her up in a hotel bar, waiting for his principal during his last assignment. She definitely wasn’t anything special, but the woman had a killer rack, and he’d been looking forward to locking her in his suite at the Fairmont and exploring her big tits, that tiny waist, and her luscious mouth from every angle during the next seventy-two hours. Now, though, he wasn’t sure she’d even be there when he finally got back. And thanks to this mess with Archer, she’d probably already found some other nameless guy to fuck senseless for the next three days.

Tension gathered in his shoulders, and he rolled his head from side to side as he eyed the white one-story home on the banks of the water. The streetlight above was burned out, the drive was empty, and the windows were dark. But that didn’t mean no one was home.

His cell phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out, then glanced down at the screen.

ADDISON
:
Find him yet?

His fingers flew over the keys as he typed a response to Marley at Aegis headquarters.

MILLER
:
Not yet. Located his hideout. Cell phone’s on and transmitting a signal, but the place is dark. Pretty sure he’s in there tho.

ADDISON
:
Be careful. Ryder’s not sure what you’ll find inside.

Landon frowned.

MILLER
:
Archer’s a dumbass, not a psycho.

ADDISON
:
I agree with you, but Ryder’s not so convinced. Authorities put out an APB on Archer in connection with the bombing.

MILLER
:
Fuck.

ADDISON
:
Pretty much.

MILLER
:
Ryder busting a vein yet?

ADDISON
:
Not yet. But it’s close. I’ve got Jake under control. Just get Archer out of there before the authorities find him. It’s not going to be long before they connect him with Aegis. Jake has first dibs on him.

Landon snorted. Yeah, he just bet Jake Ryder wanted to get his hands on Archer before Uncle Sam. Archer had been a loose cannon ever since the raid in Guatemala had gone to shit, not that Landon blamed him. That kind of fuckup wasn’t one you bounced back from easily. He hadn’t been surprised when Archer had fallen off the grid for nearly a year, nor had he been shocked when the guy had resigned from Aegis with no warning. But showing up in the middle of this fucking mess? Yeah, that was a new one, even for Archer.

MILLER
:
You deserve hazard pay dealing with Ryder on a daily basis, girlie.

ADDISON
:
You don’t even know the half of it. Call me when you’ve got Archer. And watch your six.

Landon smiled. Marley was a saint. How she put up with Ryder’s grouchy ass day in and day out he’d never know. God knew he couldn’t do it.

MILLER
:
Will do.

He pocketed his phone again and eyed the dark house. Thoughts of Marissa’s sinful mouth flashed in his mind, but they dimmed and faded when a shadow moved in front of the window.

If he was gonna go in, he needed to do it now, before dawn hit and before Archer decided to run again.

He just hoped like hell he didn’t have to shoot the fucker.

Zane was in heaven. The grinding beat of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” echoed through his ears, and against his lap, Juliet ground her luscious body and gasped.

He didn’t care that they were in a shithole apartment in the worst part of a crappy city. He didn’t care that Carter was in the next room taking his shift on watch. He didn’t even care what was happening outside these flimsy walls. All he could focus on was the woman straddling him, whispering naughty words, and doing insanely wicked things with her tongue.

“Zane . . .”

He tugged her mouth back to his, slid his tongue along her lips, and then dipped in for a sinful taste. And groaned when she leaned those full, heavy breasts against his chest and reached back to unlatch her bra.

“Zane . . .”

She never called him by his real name.
He was pretty sure she
didn’t even
know
his real name. Which meant this was special. It was . . .

Fuck.
It wasn’t real.

His eyes shot open. Darkness surrounded him. Silence met his ears. He rolled his head to his right and found the bed beside him empty.

Son of a bitch.
He jerked upright and looked at the broken zip tie around his wrist. The arousal he’d just been feeling fizzled and died.
No fucking way
.

He scrambled off the bed and cringed as pain shot up his leg. Grabbing his shirt from the floor, he tugged it on, then hobbled toward the door, cursing himself for being weak. For needing the drugs to cut the pain. For falling fucking asleep. He never should have dropped his guard with the black widow. Not when she—

His bare feet drew up short on the carpet when he stepped into the living room and found Eve asleep on the couch. Blonde hair fell across her face as she tossed her head from side to side, and her muscles were tensed and bunched, as if she were in the middle of a fight.

“No, don’t,” she moaned. “Zane, they’re taking her . . . Have to get them to let her go . . .”

A tightness took up space in the middle of his chest. He knew a thing or two about nightmares, and from the looks of it, she was smack-dab in the middle of a doozy.

Quietly, he moved into the room and tried to decide what to do while she thrashed from side to side. She definitely didn’t deserve any of his sympathy, but the last thing he wanted her to do was fall off that couch and hurt herself. Then she’d just be an even bigger pain in his ass than she already was.

Except . . . she hadn’t been. Not the way he’d expected. She’d tended his wound and gotten them somewhere quiet so he could rest. In the state he’d been last night, she could have overpowered him at any point, but she hadn’t. And she obviously could have run when she cut those zip ties. Yet she was still here. She was still
with
him.

His palms grew sweaty, and his pulse ticked up. He swiped his hands against his jeans and knelt on the ground in front of her. “Eve.”

“No . . .” She tossed her head again, all that light-blonde hair falling over her cheeks and eyes and lips. “Zane. Need help . . .”

He didn’t know what she was dreaming about, but unease lodged itself in his chest. Carefully, he placed a hand on her arm. “Eve. Wake up.”

She jolted, but he tightened his grip. Then her eyes flew open. Wide, fear-filled eyes that sent a tingle straight down his spine. Slowly, those eyes narrowed and focused on his face. “Ar-Archer?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said, loosening his grip but still keeping his arm on hers, just in case. “You were having a bad dream.”

She looked up and around the dark living room like she’d never seen it before, then slowly shifted up to sitting.

He eased back on his heels and let go of her, waiting for . . . hell, he didn’t know what. Whatever she’d been dreaming about had rattled him in a way he didn’t expect. Especially because
she’d called his name
. “Wanna tell me about it?”

“I . . .” She placed a hand against her forehead and closed her eyes, still obviously rattled herself. “I don’t remember.”

Bullshit.
He fought back the frustration. “Do you have dreams like this all the time?”

“No. I mean, yes. I mean . . . I dream about the past, like they told us might happen, but not like this. I . . . I don’t know.”

PTSD. Yeah, he knew about it. Working for the CIA, they’d both been educated heavily in the aftereffects of an op. He still had plenty that kept him up at night. He just couldn’t help but wonder which one was tormenting her.

He ground his teeth at the pain in his leg as he pushed up, then sat on the couch next to her. He held up his wrist so she could see the one lone zip tie. “Should I even ask how you managed this?”

Her gaze flicked his direction, and something uneasy flashed in her eyes before she glanced quickly away again. “Oh . . . I . . . um . . . found a pocketknife.”

Where the hell would she have gotten a pocketkni—?

Zane patted his pocket and found it empty. A frown tugged at his mouth just before a memory flashed.

Heat—everywhere—grinding against his cock. Rubbing against his chest. Licking into his mouth in a sinful, suggestive way. And Eve’s breathy voice in the throes of passion, saying his name again and again. Warning—no,
begging
.

“Hold on.” His eyes widened. “That
happened
last night?”

Eve quickly pushed to her feet. “Nothing happened. Get your head out of the gutter. I snagged your pocketknife and cut the zip tie. Big deal.”

She moved into the kitchen, whatever PTSD she’d been experiencing long gone, but he saw the flash of pink in her cheeks. Confused, he followed and stared at her as she pulled the fridge open and warm light cascaded over her body. “Right. Nothing happened. Which explains why I woke up with a hard-on.”

She frowned his way, a sexy turn of her lips that only heated his blood all over again. “How you wake up and with what is not my concern.”

Understanding dawned, and his eyes grew wider. “You seduced me to get that damn pocketknife.”

“I did no such thing.” She slammed the fridge door shut and turned to face him. “I was simply looking for something in the nightstand so I could get the hell away from you. You’re the one who grabbed me and started getting all hot and bothered. You made it perfectly clear you don’t like me anymore, so why the hell would I
not
try to get free from you?”

“I’m the one who . . . ? How . . . ? What the hell does that . . . ?” Words sputtered from his mouth, and then his memory flashed again. Hot, sexy, erotic memories of
her body grinding down against his erection, making him ache. Her gasps. Her moans. The way she pushed her tongue past his lips and kissed him—like she couldn’t get enough. Like a woman starved.

He glared at her. “You sure didn’t put up too much of a protest.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you.” She brushed past him for the living room again. “Nothing happened. End of story. Let it go, Archer.”

No, it wasn’t the end of things, and he wasn’t letting it go. Because between her calling for him this morning and what had happened last night, he needed to know just what kind of angle she was working now.

“Stop, Eve.” He grasped her arm and whipped her back to face him.

“Let me go, you jackass.” She pulled back from his grip.

“For once in your life don’t fucking lie.” He tightened his grip on her arm. “Why didn’t you run last night after you got free?”

She slowed her frantic fighting. Her chest rose and fell with her deep breaths, but she didn’t answer.

“Tell me the truth. Why are you still here?”

Her amber eyes slowly lifted to his and held. And something like remorse trickled through those pretty gems.