An Unlikely Hero (1) (33 page)

His breath was ragged and his heart beat so fast it felt like it might jump out of his chest. The fog began to clear and Chase realized Tessa lie beneath him, terrorized. Slowly he withdrew his rough hand from her milky white throat and slid it up to her face, stroking it tenderly. He could feel her body trembling and her gasping breath as he removed himself to sit on the edge of the bed.

Tessa quickly jumped from her position and ran to the door, cowering like a wounded animal. She watched the captain take deep breaths as he closed his eyes and outstretched his arms on his knees like a Buddha in meditation. In a few seconds he appeared to be at peace. He stared into the darkness toward the window where only a sliver of light pierced the room. Tessa was well aware when his focus turned to her. Although silence hung like thunderclouds before a storm, Tessa timidly moved toward the bathroom to get a cup of water and a wet washcloth.

Returning to Chase’s side she held out the cup of water to him. It seemed like an eternity before he looked up at her and took the cup. Tessa was startled at the broken look in those eyes. Up until this moment in time, Captain Chase Hunter had been the epitome of strength and bravery. Now here sat a man haunted by ghosts and some crushing deed that visited his dreams, robbing him of sleep. Tessa remembered how Chase had cooled her hands when she’d saved a soldier’s life then watched him kill a terrorist in front of her. Carefully she laid her hand on Chase’s and brought it up so that it could be wrapped in the cool wet cloth she’d brought from the bathroom.

“This will make you feel better, Chase,” she whispered nervously, not knowing how he would react to her touch. He seemed limp beneath her touch as he turned his eyes to her and began searching her face.

“I’m.” He stopped and swallowed, then laid his other hand on Tessa’s. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t had dreams like that in a long time.”

Chase’s voice was so low that Tessa found herself leaning in to hear him. “You said ‘Christina’. Your wife?”

Chase took in a deep breath and removed the washcloth from her hands. He ran it over his face and ears. “Sister. Died some years ago.” He knew he owed her more of an explanation. “The coroner said it was a drug overdose, but I know it was murder.”

Hesitantly Tessa rested her hand on his forearm. “That’s awful. I can only imagine the pain you’ve had to endure. Chase, I’m sorry,” she whispered tenderly.

Chase turned his head and found himself inches from her face. Openly he admired Tessa’s delicate bone structure and smooth skin. “You remind me of her. She was head strong too.” Chase smiled weakly. “She also had a strong faith, like you seem to. Talked about angels being among us, giving people second chances and charging in without a thought to her own safety.” Chase watched Tessa smile and felt her fingers squeeze his arm. “I should have been there to protect her. But I wasn’t. Some big brother I turned out to be.”

Tessa withdrew her hand. “We always see what we should’ve done in 20/20 vision, Chase.”

“Today when I thought you were in that car that crashed, I felt I’d let your family down, let you down. That probably triggered all this night terror.” He stood and grabbed the blanket and pillow from Tessa’s chair. “I’ll sleep on the floor.” She started to protest. “I just got back from a six month stint in Afghanistan. I slept on the ground most of the time. And,” Chase stopped and looked down at the still shaken Tessa, “thanks for the rescue.”

Tessa crawled up onto the bed and pulled the covers after her. “Thanks for not strangling me,” she said flippantly. Tessa thought she heard a short breathy laugh, then silence.

It had taken Tessa longer than Chase expected for her to fall into a deep rim sleep. When he glanced at the digital clock Chase realized it was already after 2 a.m. He stood and quietly moved to the air conditioner unit, turning it up on high. Tessa sprawled in the middle of the bed on her side, facing away from Chase as he slipped quietly beneath the sheet. He waited patiently as the room temperature fell below sixty degrees. Goosebumps formed on his exposed arm as he lay on his side, looking at the relaxed body of Tessa Scott. The leg she had rested on top of the sheet now went under it. Pulling the blanket up onto their shoulders, he felt her move restlessly and scrunch her body up into a fetal position. Chase waited, watching, what he knew would eventually bring Tessa to him.

This scenario, in bed with a married woman, went against the grain for Chase Hunter. Something in Tessa Scott reminded him of a life long ago, when his mother made cookies from scratch, his father took time to throw him a baseball and his sister teased him about the village girls liking him. The darkness in his life began to fall when he fled China, leaving his parents behind to be slaughtered by Madame Mao’s recruits. The escape across the Tibetan Plateau left him and his sister dangerously ill. Had it not been for the kindness of Buddhists monks risking their own lives to protect them, Chase and Christina would never have returned to start new lives in the states. Less than ten years later his baby sister was dead too. Nothing had prepared Chase for the deep loss he experienced when Christina died. A deep seeded anger swallowed him so savagely that Chase swore he’d take revenge on the man who extinguished the light in his life no matter how long it took.

Upon finishing his training in Delta Force, Chase had been called upon to do things he never thought his conscience would allow. But the darkness in his soul told him it was for the greater good and love of country enabling Chase to live with his sins and trespasses. He’d continued his studies until he’d received a Ph.D. in literature. There had been times when he wondered how his father would react to his choice since Chase had been expected to follow in his footsteps as a surgeon. Upon entering West Point Chase had indeed tried to follow in his father’s path, majoring in Chemistry and then training as a medic for the Rangers. It had been his courage under fire, saving lives that forced him onto the radar of Benjamin Clark. With Ben’s stern leadership and guidance, Chase began to channel his rage and focus on the big picture rather than his own selfish, vindictive world. Ben helped him take on a new role, doing what he loved; teaching. He also provided the adrenaline rush of lethal force in Enigma he needed to survive.

Tessa inched closer, snuggling into her pillow.

Chase conjured up the imagine of Honey Lynch, comparing her to the innocent creature now less than a foot from him. Honey had been the vessel he’d taken refuge, spilling his rage, fear and torment into whenever the opportunity presented itself. She’d taken his lust, never asking for anything in return. There had been no allusions to what the chameleon did for a living or that her loyalties always went to the highest bidder. Targets were subjected to her lack of conscience which made Honey’s expertise in elimination attractive to the most perverse clientele. Her passionate love making skills came without a heart or strings attached. She and Chase worked together on occasion, celebrating when victorious, separating with suspicion when failure prevailed. You could never really be sure of Honey’s intentions. Knowing that she watched the Scott family, gave Chase more than a little concern.

Tessa reached out for more covers, but Chase lifted the blanket where she couldn’t reach it. His eyes narrowed as a devious smile formed across his lips. Just a little closer, he thought without shame.
I want to know what redemption feels like in the flesh, Tessa Scott.

Chase waited another few minutes before Tessa rolled over into his chest. Holding his breath, Chase continued to wait; would she be startled awake and scream or continue to sleep, catching the warmth of his body? Cold feet and nose forced Chase to drape his arm across Tessa and draw her tightly into his body. In minutes Tessa relaxed and stretched out along his body, so warm, soft and inviting. Chase felt her breath on his face as her hair fell down around her chin. The smell of soap and shampoo clung heavily to her body. His eyes felt heavy. Sleep often evaded Chase, but not tonight. Having something good in your life made the world appear to be a better place. Tomorrow he would get on with the business of Enigma, but tonight he would pretend that his mirage would last forever.

The sun had risen slowly when Chase began feeling the stirrings of Tessa Scott. She lay in the crook of his arm, her hand flattened on his chest. Her foot rested on his leg and from time to time, Chase felt her snuggle into his shoulder. Carefully, he turned on his side, facing her, so that he could watch the way she slept. Had he ever looked so peaceful? Her movements indicated she was about to awaken and have a major stroke at finding him in her bed. When Tessa’s breathing changed and her eyes began to flutter, Chase pretended to be asleep.

Suddenly Tessa’s body went ridged and a gasp escaped her lips. He felt her scramble so fast to the other side of the bed that she fell out onto the floor with a loud thump. He stretched his arms out sleepily as if feeling for her only to hear her say. “Oh my gosh!” It was all he could do to keep from bursting into laughter. Through eyes narrowly opened, Chase watched Tessa trip on the blanket left on the floor and stumble into the wall. She grabbed her things and rushed into the bathroom.

Chapter 23

Sandwiched between mountains covered in a thick forest Tessa still could not reach Robert on her phone. She imagined now that they were stopped and at the top of a mountain her phone service would be better. Thoughts of her children skipping pebbles across the glassy blue surface of Lake Tahoe while their musical voices echoed happily in the crisp mountain air drove Tessa to distraction. The weight of missing their sweet faces and loving arms made her heart ache.

The surreal danger she’d plunged into gave every mischievous deed of her children seem like a trip to Disneyland. In the extended moments of silence between her and the two Enigma men, Tessa dwelled on backyard cookouts with her family, Robert’s passionate kisses, doing laundry and choir practice at church. Anything mundane whisked her mind away from the last couple of days of terror and the possibility of destruction to that perfect world.

Once more she attempted to call Robert with a sigh. The battery died and her screen went black. Tessa suspected the only reason she’d been given back her phone was its limited range capabilities and battery life. She’d never been very vigilant about charging it until the last possible minute. Robert plugged his in each night in the bathroom before going to bed.
You’ll be sorry someday,
he’d warned. He’d even tried to get her to upgrade to a better phone, one with all the fancy apps, email and GPS. But Tessa had resisted, rationalizing that she only needed it for emergencies when on the road. Besides it would cost too much money for all those extras. Robert loved all that techy, savvy, state of the art gadgets and justifying to Tessa had been as simple as saying it helped him at work. That would be the first thing she purchased when this was all over, a phone she’d be able to use on the moon if the situation ever arose. Tessa glanced over at Chase and Zoric, heads together in conference. And with Enigma, maybe they’d already used a phone like that on the moon. Tessa slipped the dead phone into her jean pocket and sat down on a small boulder next to Mr. Crawley.

“I say we try and escape,” Mr. Crawley teased as he bumped Tessa’s shoulder with his.

Tessa sighed. “I’ve already tried that. They’re like some kind of mysterious ghosts that always know where you are.”

“Thus the name Enigma.” Mr. Crawley patted her knee gently. “I think we’re in good hands. They seem to value what we have to say.”

Tessa grimaced. “Sweet trick, if you ask me. Those two,” she nodded toward Zoric and Chase, “are…” Tessa stopped, not wanting to verbalize her anger, but even more, not wanting to hint at the respect and admiration she felt toward them, especially Captain Chase Hunter.

Pulling down the pair of sunglasses she’d pushed on top of her head, Tessa covered her eyes to enable herself to stare secretly at the larger than life captain. Even in jeans and a tan camouflaged tee shirt, the captain’s muscled strength was evident. The edge of a tattoo at the bottom of his short sleeve hinted at something Asian. Tessa hadn’t noticed it at the motel because she’d worked so hard not to look too closely at his body, afraid Chase would get the wrong idea at her appreciative glances. Dark black hair, straight until the very ends, where it curled slightly had been cut recently, but not short enough Tessa guessed by the way he kept running a hand through it and frowning. Perspiration gleamed around his neckline where he occasionally took his shirt and wiped it clean. Besides the scar over his eye she noticed a longer one just below the tattoo; another indication he wasn’t exactly a choir boy. Chase’s skin and the color of his eyes suggested there may be Native American or Polynesian heritage in his blood. Although Captain Chase Hunter would never be considered handsome by Hollywood standards, his rugged looks, and tall self-assured body, conjured up images of Tessa’s favorite characters from the Victoria Holt books she read in high school. She remembered how breathless she’d felt when reading the novels of the rich dark lord with questionable motives and realized Chase Hunter affected her much the same way. That dangerous glare he so easily dropped on her sent shivers up her spine. Tessa both feared and admired that trait. The imperturbable leader in times of desperation mixed with the impeccable manners of a gentleman sent Tessa’s senses crashing into uncharted waters.
I’m a happily married woman, for crying out loud,
she scolded herself.
I’m acting like a silly school girl with her first crush!

Then there was Chase’s partner, Nicholas Zoric, the vampire, Tessa had wrongly judged. His bloodshot eyes and long oily hair of an undetermined shade of brown or black had given Tessa pause when they’d first met. Zoric had been aggressive in his improper advances toward Tessa, curtailed only by Chase’s looks of reprimand. Tessa realized his brutal treatment of her in the Enigma cell on that first day was second nature. The Serbian probably lacked a conscience when it came to those who terrorized others. But his kindness to Jericho Crawley and his soft voice when addressing her became a disarming charm. Zoric had shown valor in Knoxville, quick on his feet and responsive to what needed to be done, almost before anyone else knew what to do. And through it all, Zoric remained light hearted, even flirting with her and professing his intentions of a relationship between them. Strangely it had created a calming effect on Tessa, concentrating on Zoric’s advances rather than the dire situation surrounding them.