Crystal Clear (9 page)

Cindy
would have
protest
ed
, but Jack held up a hand.

“Enough, we’re going to wait for your backup.  Then we’ll decide what to do.” 

She started to say something, but he kept
up his hand and turned away fro
m her.  He walked over to the bookshelf where he grabbed a
Tom Clancy novel
, and sat down to read. 

One hand absently went down to stroke his dog on the head.

It was going to be a long few hours.  Cindy’s head plopped on the pillow.

Damn men anyway
.

It seemed like
time stretched
before he finally banked the fire, grabbed a blanket and stretched out on the floor next to the bed. 

“If you get cold
tell me
.  I’ll get you another blanket.”  He tersely turned toward the door, and closed his eyes. 

Cindy lay in the bed and wondered how light a sleeper he really was.  She needed to call Lucy and let her
in on the fact that
things were still in motion, not to mention the need she had to tell her best friend all about Jack.  Listening for his snores
Cindy lay still in the bed. His breathing eventually deepened, and she knew he was asleep.

Damn, he doesn’t even snore
.  Maybe she
would
need to make a trip back to Bend after this little excursion was over. 

Cindy swung her legs ove
r the edge of the bed.  Silent
, she found her shoes and gingerly placed her injured foot down.  Braced for the worst, she involuntarily let out a small hiss when the sting of the sprain hit her full force.  Training stopped her from letting the pain take over.  She had a job to do. 

With stealth
, Cindy got her things and crept to the door to let herself out of the small cabin.  The dog didn’t even perk his ears.  Once she reached the relative safety of the trees, she bent and put on her shoes. 
T
read
ing
through the forest at night without shoes was not a smart idea for anyone. 

Especially an injured someone
, she thought as p
a
in shot through her leg with each step,
figures, sabotaged on
my
first mission
.  Suddenly
,
the
reality hit her
.  Jag had gotten to the area before she did.  She stopped and dug into her backpack.  Everything was still where she’d put it. 

Cindy pulled out her
TAC
phone and prepared to listen to her friend rant.  She flipped open the screen and smiled. 
God bless technology
.  She giggled a little as she dialed
Montgomery’s
personal number feeling like a girl
who snuck
out of the house, then
Cindy
reme
mbered where she was.  F
ar enough from
the cabin not to be heard,
she still needed to be careful. 
Who knows what was lurking around in the shadows at this time of night?
  It was damn dark in the woods. 

Cindy dialed
Montgomery
.  As she waited for her best friend to pick up she leaned against a tree.  The rough bark scratched her back, and with her luck she probably had a head full of sap in her hair, but at the moment she didn’t care. 

“Hello,
Hawke
?” 
Montgomery
sounded worried.

“Yeah, sorry I haven’t checked in yet, but there’s a complication.”  Cindy took a moment to let that sink in.

“I heard.  Chase is already on his way.”  Cindy didn’t even hesitate.

“NO! I mean
,
no thanks.  I can do this.  I just need you to know that Jaguar is already in the area.  They sabotaged my raft.”  Cindy heard
Montgomery’s
intake of breath.

“What?  How’d they get past the tour guide?  Those rafts are inspected daily.” 

“I know.  They didn’t.  Someone with a sniper rifle took out two of the raft sidewalls.  I fell out and went over a waterfall.”

“WHAT?  I’m calling Chase.  He’s getting his ass down there to help you this instant. I don’t understand why he’s not alrea
dy there.  He left hours ago.”

Cindy had to stop
Montgomery
before she got too far ahead of herself.  She didn’t want Chase around, especially with someone like Jack nearby who was Alpha male enough for any girl.  That would not be a good idea.

“No, wait.  I’m okay.  I just have a slightly sprained ankle.  I can still walk, I have my gun, and now that I know they’re here I’ll be more vigilant.  I wasn’t paying attention before
.
I am now.” 

“Chase’s plane
grounded
due to bad weather.  He’s stuck at an airport somewhere.  He’ll be there soon.” 
Montgomery
’s voice sounded urgent on the other end of the line.

“I have help.  The government sent in a remote agent to assist me
with
finishing the case.” 

There was a long pause before
Montgomery
answered.

“
We know about the assist. I still want you to be careful. Give me a minute,
I’m going to talk this over with Garrett.  If he and I are of the same mind, you’ll be getting company soon.  We don’t mess around with things like this just for the sake of pride.  I know from experience backup is invaluable.”

Cindy sighed resigned.  Of course Garrett would agree with
Montgomery
.  He had a thing against female agents anyway with the exception of
Montgomery
, his partner and wife.

“Fine, ju
st don’t get Chase too riled up. Y
ou know how he is.   Don’t want a big scene here out here in the woods, it might scare the squirrels.  I’m getting my bearing
s
from the
GPS
in my pack, and will be headed toward the satellite.  Chase can just catch up if he’s coming.”  Cindy knew she would reach the crash site before Chase had a chance to even land.  He was several hours away
stuck at an airport God only kno
w
s
where.  Bend was clear across the country
from headquarters in New York
.  She didn’t want to wait for him.

“Don’t be surprised if he shows up sooner than you think.” 
A
distinct click
sounded
as
Montgomery
hung up the phone.  Her best friend knew her better than anyone else, and understood that she didn’t want to wait.  Heck,
Montgomery
probably wouldn’t have waited herself, but Cindy wasn’t as experienced in the field and
Montgomery
concern was justified.  Still, Cindy was angry at
Montgomery
for jumping the gun and sending in Chase before she called for him.

“Luce, you backstabbing, dirty dealing double agent!  If you weren’t my best friend I would stick a knife in you.”  Cindy glared at the phone.

“Now, that’s no way for a lady to talk.”  The deep masculine voice behind her sent shivers of pleasure up her spine, “Now, would you like to tell me why you crept out of the cabin in the dead of night, or would you rather I just made my own assumptions?” 

Cindy turned.  Jack lean
ed
against a massive pine tree, one hand rak
ed
a path though his thick hair, and the other rest
ed
by his side holding a gun.  He was so sexy Cindy could almost taste it.  The bulge in his bicep when he flexed
created a tingle of yearning deep in her stomach
. 

“Well?”  The irritation in his voice
acted
like a bucket of cold water.

“Well what?  I’m not a prisoner am I?  I can go when I please.  I have a job to do.  So, with or without your permission I am going to do it.”  He didn’t have to know that she was just out making a phone call.  His assumption irritated her.  Hefting the backpack onto her shoulder Cindy turned to leave, but the moment her foot touched the forest floor she was ill prepared.  She started to fall.  Jack
caught her
before she could hit the ground.

“Looks like you’re getting help whether you want it or not.  You can’t even stand on your own two feet.”

“Well it just so happens that I don’t want your help.”  She tried to wrench herself out of his arms, but those strong muscles she
had
so freely
admired
earlier held like steel bands.  Heat radiated from him, and she felt the same jolt she had earlier, only this time it was three times more powerful.

“You’re one of the most stubborn, pig-
headed women I’ve ever known.”

She tried to look up at him and her breath caught.  His eyes were blaz
ing
like an inferno, and she suddenly realized she had made him
mad
.

“You’re angry,” Cindy took in his gorgeous eyes and
her loins
caught
on f
ire from the heat in his gaze.

“Damn right I am.  I help you, and you take off without so much as a
,
bye your leave.  Then, I find you out here with your gadgets
ranting
at a phone.  You’re trouble.  I know that.  But I have orders not to let this go, so you are stuck with me until you’re back in civilization where you obviously belong and
are
done with this mission.” 
B
y the time he was done
, he was yelling at her
. 

She stood there in his arms just shaking her head, which only
served to infuriate him further.

“And one other thing--
”

“What?”  Her chin came up ready to defend herself, and her lips stopped a scant inch away from his.

“This,” his mouth swooped down and took hers before she could protest. 

Cindy was shocked for a minute, and then passion overrode her good sense and she kiss
ed
him back.  Jack groaned and moved the pack off her shoulder.  All reason seemed to have fled. 

He picked her up and moved her legs around his waist.  She pressed into him, her hands d
ug
into the muscle of his biceps needing to feel his strength.  Slamming her up against a tree Jack braced her there.  His hands moved up her body and under the tank top she wore.  The rough calluses of his palms came into contact with her breasts.  Her nipples turned into hard peaks as he kneaded the sensitive mounds between his fingers. 

Cindy’s breath
ca
m
e
in short gasps
. S
he couldn’t think. 

Suddenly
,
he released her. 
Cindy s
lid towards the forest floor
, and
she caught herself before her weight came down on her bad ankle.  Jack took a step back.

He glared at her.
“I’m not sorry.”

“What?”  She shook her head dazed. 

He
continued to
glar
e
.
“I’m not sorry.  I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you, and much more.  So, I’m not sorry.”

“Good.  Neither am I.”  Cindy reached out
,
grabbed his shirt drawing him to her
,
and took his mouth with just as much intensity as his first kiss.  Her senses
smoldered like hot coals in a fire pit. S
he’d never had this reaction with any other man.

Jack was
caught off guard
.  Her hands skimmed up his chest and under the flannel shirt he had on.  He felt her fingers curl in the hair on his chest, and he moaned in pleasure.  Reaching down he lifted the tank she wore and slid it over her head without breaking contact.  The tiny red bikini top she had on posed a problem, she’d knotted the ends, and his fingers couldn’t undo the knots.  He growled in frustration and reached down flipping out the hunting knife he kept in his boot and sliced the thin strings.  It fell from her. 

Cindy didn’t flinch when he stabbed the knife int
o the tree beside her head and
he felt her muscles clench in response, God
s
he was sexy.  His hands skimmed over her soft skin, it felt so smooth and warm.  She made a small noise.  He paused.

“God, please don’t stop
now.  I might start thinking.”
Cindy g
rabb
ed
the knife from the trunk of the tree
behind her head,
and
she reac
hed for the bottom of his shirt.
His erection swelled when w
ith one swift movement she sliced the blade upward and the flannel cut cleanly in two.  She pushed the shirt down over his muscled arms tossing the knife to the ground behind them.