Caught in the Crosshair (12 page)

Her breath caught as she glanced around wildly, and her hand covered her racing heart. “You’d think I’d be used to it by now.”

Jaden held on tighter, comforting her. “This basin’s landlocked … easy for the British to defend … should provide some insulation for us.”

His warm breath was so close she could smell peppermint from his toothpaste.

“Is it very old?”

“Yes.”

Could it stand against this modern-day monster?

Can it keep me safe from you?

Chapter Nine

“It’ll do the trick.” Jaden took off his shirt, revealing his perfectly toned abs. He squeezed the water out and used it to gently wipe mud from her face.

His thumb traced her cheekbone, sending warmth down her thighs.

She didn’t move, couldn’t move. She could only stand there spellbound, waiting for the magic to break.

“We just have to wait until the storm blows over. There are basic supplies here and secure communication equipment. This should be safe.”

A crack of thunder broke into the moment, returning Lauren’s full focus. He might’ve saved them from the storm, but that wasn’t the only thing they were running from. Besides, if she stood there with him any longer, close enough to see his breath ruffle her hair, she wouldn’t be able to resist him. “We’ll see about that.”

His hand found hers, and next thing she knew she was being led into a large room. Teal blue paint chipped off plaster walls. The furniture, old and sparse, looked to be original and about as soft as a tree trunk, but it was something. She tested a chair and found it to be as hard as it looked.

Maybe she was being silly, but she expected high-tech equipment, a few couches, and a desk. “This isn’t it, is it? I mean, we’re kind of out in the open, aren’t we?”

Jaden quirked a smile as he guided her toward a floor-to-ceiling cabinet.

Concrete floors were cold but dry. Her gaze landed on a fireplace. And, glory of glories, there was wood cut and neatly stacked beside it just waiting for them. It was probably a prop for a tour guide, but she didn’t care. It looked real enough. “Can we light a fire?”

“This isn’t it. And don’t worry about this location. No matter what, I’ll keep you safe. Your brother needs you.”

What about you, Jaden? Do you need me?

He opened the cabinet and removed shelving.

If she looked really closely, she could see a small button in the back, which looked like nothing more than a paint splatter.

Jaden pushed the spot, and the back wall of the cabinet opened like a scene out of an Indiana Jones film.

Lauren stepped inside and felt as though she’d been transported to another world. A couple of desks, butted against each other, centered the room. A wall in back was filled with high-tech-looking equipment, none of which Lauren recognized. It looked like the ultimate man cave, complete with a wood-burning fireplace and worn couch.

“This fireplace works.” He brought a thin wire and a hand towel. “No one will see the smoke coming from the chimney in this downpour.”

Crossing to the supplies, he pulled batteries from the radio. Organizing wood into a small teepee, he said, “Grab me that broomstick over there.” He pointed to the corner.

Lauren brought over the small whiskbroom, unsure of what he planned to do with this odd collection of supplies. “No matches?”

“Don’t need any.”

He pulled out a handful of stiff fibers and laced them through the wood. Attaching wire to each battery terminal, he touched the ends of the bare wires together next to the tinder. Sparks ignited the broom fibers on the first try. He blew out breaths in short bursts while fanning the flame.

When the old wood started to crackle and hiss, he leaned back on his heels. His slow smile stretched full lips over beautiful, white teeth. She could stare at him forever when he smiled.

She moved beside him and held her palms out toward the small flame. “I’m impressed. But wouldn’t it be easier just to keep a lighter around?”

“In the field, we don’t generally carry comforts from home. It’s good to stay sharp. Learn to use anything you can from your surroundings. I can teach you to do it, if you want.”

“I’d like to learn. Is that part of your training?”

***

Jaden hoped it hadn’t been someone from the agency who’d tipped the bad guys off to his location at the condo. The laughable idea that there could be a mole in the agency wasn’t funny anymore. Then again, Helena craved revenge so badly she could be making mistakes, leaving a trail. Exactly the reason he wanted her far away.

“This old stuff was ready to burn,” Jaden said. Being so close made him want to take Lauren in his arms, kiss her, never let her go.

If he were being honest, he’d admit how badly he wanted to lay her down right then and there, feel her silken legs wrap around his waist, and bury himself inside her.

He had to keep a safe distance. Keep his edge. This place was safe for now. He would signal Gunner again soon, and they needed to be ready for anything. Emphasis on the word
anything.
Jaden needed to remember that. Anything could happen. He could not afford to let hormones or infatuation, or whatever the hell this was, to rule.

He’d never felt so boxed in.

This signal was the most secure. It would be scrambled from the safe house, making it impossible for the cartel to locate him. If someone from the agency was the problem, Jaden would find out soon enough.

Lauren looked over at him. She was dripping wet, her teeth chattering behind a slight smile on her purple lips. “Maybe these wet clothes will dry out soon.”

Crossing to the couch, he grabbed a dry blanket. “Take ’em off.”

Her cheeks turned four shades of red. “Haven’t we already been down this road?”

Jaden felt as though an emotional wall had come up between them. Back at the condo, she’d allowed him to touch her. What had happened to change her mind? His fingers still tingled from the feel of her silken skin. He’d been with women before. Not one in a long time, but that was because of work. Wasn’t it? Or did he need more than a warm body underneath him?

Had one-night stands and brief affairs lost their intrigue? He’d been restless lately. Could a woman fill the void in his chest?

Someone like Lauren?

His brother’s birthday was coming next week. Jaden always felt off this time of year. And one minute, Lauren was pulling him onto the bed, the next she couldn’t take off her clothes with him anywhere near.

As fast as a thunderclap, it dawned on him why.

He’d been physical with the thugs back at the condo. It felt like a knife to his chest to think she didn’t trust him. Did she think he would hurt her?
Oh. Hell. No.

He held up the blanket as a screen and closed his eyes. “I won’t look. And you don’t have to be afraid of me. I would never force you to do anything you didn’t want.”

It would be next to impossible to distance himself, beautiful as she was, but he was almost sure he could hold back. That he could feel the mutual electricity sizzling between them wasn’t making it easy.

No matter what his body craved, leaving her alone was the right thing to do. Until she was ready. Making a move now would be like showing aggression toward a battered cat. The cat would run.

She snatched the blanket from his hands. “Okay, you can look now.”

“Lay down on the couch,” he instructed. He settled next to her with a bottled water and a handful of paper towels. He poured water over the cut on her forehead, carefully dabbing it a moment later with the clean towel.

He opened the emergency medical kit they kept stocked at the safe house and located a small packet of Bacitracin. “This antibiotic gel will keep your cut from getting infected.” He placed a thin trail of the gel on her forehead before bandaging her with fresh gauze and medical tape. “Better,” he said, satisfied with himself, battling the urge to lean over and kiss her sweet skin.

“Thanks.”

“Now to see what’s going on.”

Jaden returned to the fire a moment later with a small laptop he’d retrieved from one of the desks.

“You’re contacting your headquarters?”

“I need to figure out a way to get you off this island.”

She shook her head furiously. “Not without Max.”

“He’s been moved. He’s not still here. If he ever was.”

Despite her fears, she looked peaceful and safe, cocooned in the blanket.

Mine.
Another peak of light elbowed into his dark soul.

“There’s a good chance they didn’t bring him here to begin with.” He didn’t like the look of panic on her face. The beach might have been a decoy. They could have him tucked away in the States. Wherever she first heard the train.

He gave it a second thought.

No. They were here on the island. There were a couple of places they liked to hang out.

“Why would they do that?” she asked. “If I gave them the money, they said they’d return him. Surely he’s here somewhere.”

“Men like these can’t exactly be trusted to keep their word.” Jaden pulled out the SIM card he’d taken from Beady Eyes and placed it into the computer. It would take the system a while to hack into it. They might find answers.

Lauren’s hopeful expression dropped, replaced by another that nailed Jaden’s gut. Like she’d come in to contact with men like these a little too often. Did she lump him in the same category? Is that why she pulled away from him suddenly? Then again, hadn’t everyone in her life betrayed her? It was probably for the best. Involvement with him would only bring more danger to her doorstep. As it was, she could walk away when she got her brother back. Leave all this behind. Stay out of harm’s way.

“Figures. What about your agency? You said people are being killed left and right. Why is that? How do you know who you can trust?”

“There’s only one way to find out. Doesn’t matter though. I will keep you safe no matter what. You know that, right?”

A slight smile curled pink lips. She was saying yes.

He typed in the code, sending the signal for a meeting with Gunner. The message would let him know he’d made it to the safe house. Jaden hoped it wasn’t a mistake to give his location to the man a second time. The cartel shouldn’t be able to intercept the encrypted message he’d sent from command. He closed down the laptop and secured it back into its spot.

Picking up Lauren’s soaking clothes from the floor, careful not to spend too much time eyeing her bra and panties, he fanned them out on the hearth. “These should dry in no time,” he said.

She tied the top of her blanket in a knot. “It’s nice to be warm and dry again. Will your guy come here to meet us?”

“I sent him our location. He was probably on his way already.” Jaden cleaned and dried his Glock before moving to a cabinet full of ammunition. “We’ll be ready for whoever walks through that door.”

Looking at Lauren standing next to the fire — her sweet face, the rosy hue to her cheeks, those pink lips — stirred emotions deep in his chest. His feelings were running deeper than a fleeting attraction. That made her more dangerous than the storm, or the thugs chasing them through it, or the possibility of someone at ManTech turning. Could explain why so many operatives had been killed.

Not one person before Lauren had been able to break down Jaden’s iron walls or reach the core of him. But Lauren, beautiful, sweet, innocent Lauren might be cracking the casing.

He should’ve been scared. He wasn’t. He found himself wanting to take care of her. Needing to find out why this attraction took on a life of its own when his better judgment screamed to shut it down. Was it judgment or survival? Jaden had been alone so long, he couldn’t sort either out anymore. For now, he would take care of her.

Jaden went to the small fridge filled with emergency supplies and brought back more bottled water, pain relievers, and canned fruit.

“These should help with your shoulder,” he said, placing a couple ibuprofen in her hand. He had no such magic for the bruises on her insides. The thought roiled his gut. Was that why she didn’t trust him? His fingers clenched around the water bottle. He forced them to relax. He wouldn’t let another man hurt her. She was safe. Safe and brave and beautiful.
No one will ever hurt you again as long as I’m here.

Her golden gaze pierced into him. “Your friend back on the beach. Were you two close?”

“As close as two people can be when they work in this business.” It was a copout. He knew it. Hoped she didn’t pick up on it. He checked progress on the computer. Nothing yet.

Her gaze locked onto his. “You like working alone all the time?”

Damn
. She did.

“It never bothered me before. Besides, we don’t completely work alone. We usually have a couple guys on the job at the same time. We don’t interface much except for work.”

“Sounds lonely. You don’t know who you’ll work with beforehand? When you’re walking into a situation? How do you separate the good guys from the bad? How do you know not to shoot one of your own?”

“First of all, you don’t walk in shooting unless you have to. Second, you look them in the eyes. Third, sometimes we’re told in advance. We focus on the objective, not each other.”

“The black in that guy’s eyes back at the condo. I saw pure evil when he looked at me. It was the same with the guy on the beach,” she said.

“You can’t fake true wickedness. And you can’t fake good. It’s either there, or it isn’t.”

“Your agency train you how to convince them you’re bad too? Why do they trust you?”

Do you see black when you look in my eyes? Is that why you pulled back?
He couldn’t bring himself to ask. Didn’t know if he could handle the answer.

With her background, he figured she saw black in most people’s eyes.

“You can’t train evil. It might be fleeting, but it’s there or it isn’t.”

“Why don’t they
make
you guys?”

Make?
Did her ideas of his work come from
GoodFellas
? “It’s not like that. Not at all like the movies make it out to be.”

“Then how?”

“I have to be better at my job than they are at theirs. I have to convince them I’m on their side.”

He wanted to open up to her, tell her things he didn’t normally tell anyone. But how could he? The suspicious way she looked at him before … the fear in her eyes … the random frustrating thought that he might have had anything to do with putting the alarm there. She was a civilian. Therefore, not used to his world. She didn’t deserve to be dragged in by her brother, and certainly not by a man who had nothing to offer in return

“Look. I had history with Bryce running all the way back to our days in the military. We were as close as any two guys can be who work in jobs like ours. He’s dead now. End of story.” He was the closest thing to a friend Jaden had ever had, and that didn’t say much. They had never even been out for a casual beer. It had always been all too easy for Jaden to close himself off from the rest of the world, to use his job as an excuse as to why.