His Angel (17 page)

"How did you know they weren't who they said they were and your friend didn't send them?"

"They didn't know the pass-phrase." When he didn't say anything, she explained, "Jimmy set up an escape plan for me years ago in case his cover was ever blown. If he sent them, they would've said a certain pass-phrase which only the two of us and his handler know. They didn't say it, so neither Jimmy nor his handler sent them. Now, I have to get to my emergency stash and get out of town until he contacts me."

Brody nodded but didn't say anything and she wondered what he was thinking about all of this. He had to be regretting checking on her, but if he hadn't, she had no idea how she would've gotten away from the men. Suddenly she remembered something he said. "You said the plates on the car were government plates? Does that mean they really were from the DEA?"

He nodded again. "Yeah, the plates were government issued, but I won't know which agency and from what city until I run them through my computer. If they are real agents, then your friend has even bigger problems. He's got traitors inside his department."

Angie gasped, her eyes became huge and she started to tremble. "Oh shit, I didn't think of that. What if something's happened to him? What if he can't get in touch with me?" It would kill her if anything happened to Jimmy.

Pulling her into his arms, her neighbor hugged her. "Easy honey. One thing at a time. First we'll get you someplace safe and then we'll track him down."

Ian drove like a madman on cocaine. He'd raced to his car and just started the engine when Mike called him, telling him they had an emergency–Brody was in the restaurant's office with a blonde woman Mike didn't know. But Ian knew instantly who it was and thanked the stars above for his teammate. He didn't know how Egghead knew Angie was in danger, but he was thankful the geek had her in hiding.

Less than two minutes earlier than Mike's call, another call had come in. The screen read ‘Unknown’ which was common in his business with all his contacts who preferred to remain anonymous. Throwing down the pen he'd been using to do some monthly accounting, he’d picked up his cell and answered it. "Sawyer."

"Daisy Duck is fucked. Get her out of there."

The line went dead and he’d shot out of his chair, grabbed his gun and took off running. Athos was the caller and the stupid pass-phrase meant Angie was in danger. Ian's heart was pounding out of his chest as he jumped into his car. Then Mike called and Ian almost didn't answer his phone. Thank fuck he did.

He pulled up behind Donovan's and laid on the horn twice, desperate to see his angel and make sure she was unharmed. The back door to the bar opened as he hit the lock release on the door handle next to him. Brody rushed Angie toward the SUV and almost threw her onto the rear seat before diving in after her. "Stay down." He didn't need to say the words because his teammate knew the routine and soon had Angie lying across the entire back seat covered with his own body. Without looking back, Ian hit the gas, getting them out of there as fast as he could.

Fifteen minutes later, Brody had filled him in about what happened and they were almost at the private airstrip where Trident's small jet was kept. When he finally felt it was safe, he told the two they could get up then looked into the rear-view mirror to prove to himself she was alive and okay.

Her confusion was evident as Angie whipped her head around while looking for any familiar landmarks. "Where are we? I need you to take me to my emergency storage unit so I can get out of town."

Pulling into the tiny unmanned airport, he didn't answer her until after he drove into a hanger and the rolling door came down behind them thanks to Jake, who he'd called on his way to Donovan's. Jake in turn contacted their pilot, a retired Air Force captain, who they had on retainer, as well as a contact who'd be waiting at their destination with a vehicle for them. He threw the car in park, leapt out, opened the rear passenger door and hauled Angie out into his arms. He realize he was crushing her until she told him she couldn't breath and he reluctantly released her.

"Ian, what's going on? Why are we here? I need to get my stuff and get out of Tampa."

"I know Angel, but your plans have changed." He didn't need to look to know Brody was getting the plane set so they could take off as soon as their pilot, Conrad Chapman, known as CC, got there and did the last minute pre-flight checklist. Jake was outside making sure no one sneaked up on them. Ian was positive they weren't followed but he had to check and make sure the men at her house hadn't tagged her with a tracking device somehow. He popped his trunk, retrieved a scanner and ran it over her entire body until he was satisfied she was clean. The scanner had beeped when it had gotten to her sneaker but a specific frequency code showed it was one of the Trident trackers Boomer had hid in her shoes. He'd have Brody check her laptop before they left, but her phone, if she had it, would be left in the vehicle.

She was baffled and began to panic. "What are you talking about? What are you doing? I have to get out of here!"

Taking a deep breath, he blurted out, "Goofy has a crush on Minnie Mouse." Shit, he felt fucking ridiculous saying that. What was with Athos and his bizarre Disney pass-phrases?

"What did you say?"

Her fingers covered her mouth, as she stared at him in shock and took a step backward. Away from him, damn it. It was obvious she heard him so he didn't bother repeating it. "Athos was afraid something might go wrong on his mission so he asked us to watch over you and get you someplace safe if something happened."

The betrayal he saw in her eyes was more than he could take. "He what?” Her voice was shrill, hurting his ears but he knew he deserved it. “You've been...what? Babysitting me? I don't know who I'm more pissed at, Jimmy or you. Is that why you asked me out and why you've been spending so much time with me? Jimmy asked you to? Oh God! Is that why Brody was so interested in my life and he was checking on me all the time? Why he wanted to be friends?"

"Yes, he was checking on you to make sure you were safe, but being your friend was Brody being Brody." He ignored her gasp of outraged disbelief, as the side door to the hanger flew open and CC barreled past them on his way to the plane, not bothering with pleasantries. The man knew this was urgent and acted accordingly. Ian kept his eyes on Angie's horrified ones and waited until the pilot was out of earshot again. "And no, it's not why I asked you out. I asked you because I couldn't fight my attraction to you anymore, and I very much wanted to get to know you better. If you believe anything, Angel, believe this. What's happened between us has been one hundred percent real."

She shook her head in suspicion and took another step back. He gritted his teeth because they didn't have time for this. "I'll explain everything on the plane but we need to get in the air and away from the people after you."

"Why should I trust you?"

The question hit him square in the chest and almost knocked the air out of his lungs. It was hard to regain his composure but somehow he managed it. "Three reasons. One–Athos trusted me to take care of you. Two–I knew the pass-phrase and there's only one person who could've told me that stupid thing…a person you trust more than anyone else in the world." Fuck, it killed him to say that, but it was true. They hadn't reached the point in their relationship where she trusted him one hundred percent and he'd just taken three giant steps backward on that journey. "And three–because I care about you. You're my submissive and it's my responsibility to keep you safe."

He reached for her arm but she pulled away from him and snarled, "Don't touch me. I swear Ian, if you touch me right now, I'm going to scratch your eyes out. And I'm not your submissive. Not anymore."

Fuck!
As much as he wanted to prove her wrong, now was not the time. Biting his tongue, he gestured toward the jet. "Okay, fine. If you don't want me to touch you then get on the damn plane. The longer we stay here, the greater chance whoever is after you tracks us down."

He counted to three and she still hadn't moved beyond crossing her arms over her breasts while giving him a dirty look. Athos had been right–she was stubborn when she was angry. Taking a step forward, he gave her one last warning, in his deepest, firmest Dom voice. "Angel, if you don't get on the fucking plane I'm going to throw you over my shoulder, carry you on and tie you to a fucking seat. And once we're safe in the air, I'm going to spank your ass until my hand falls off and you won’t be able to sit for a week."

As pissed as she was, she obviously recognized the very real threat as well as worry in his voice. Despite the fact he'd lied to her–they had all lied to her–she had to know he would keep her safe until they could locate Jimmy. After she was reassured her best friend was okay, she would probably kick both of their asses...and maybe Brody's too. She threw her hands in the air. "Fine! I'll go with you, but don't touch me and don't talk to me unless it's absolutely necessary. And I want to know everything that's going on. No more keeping me in the dark like some shrinking violet who can't take care of herself because I won't stand for it."

Not giving him a chance to respond, she spun around, grabbed her laptop from where it sat on the back seat and stormed over to the stairs leading to the interior cabin of the small jet. She glared at Brody, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, when he took her computer. She didn't respond to him when he told her he needed to check it for tracking devices. Instead, she crossed her arms again and waited while he scanned it then nodded to Ian that all was good for the moment. The geek wouldn't turn it on until they reached the safe-house where he could scramble any signal the computer might send out which could be used to find their location. Ian would've preferred to leave it behind but he knew all her work was on it so he made the small concession.

Without a word to anyone, Angie took her laptop and stomped loudly up the stairs, disappearing into the cabin. Jake heard the plane's engines start up and approached Ian who was still standing next to his SUV trying to get his emotions under control. Devon and Ian had filled the rest of the team in after Athos had left the office that day. "Dev, Boomer and Marco are headed to Angie's to see if they can find any prints or anything the agents may have left. They'll review the surveillance footage to get stills for Brody to send through his facial recognition software. Dev is also calling in reinforcements for the compound and to keep an eye on Jenn and Kristen. He'll assign someone to sit on Angie and Brody's houses. If the agents aren't stupid they'll be able to connect Egghead to Trident without much effort. Once we know what's going on with Athos and the compound is secure, Boomer and Marco will be ready for whatever we need them for. Dev will stay and hold down the fort."

Ian nodded. His team knew what needed to be done and he trusted them to do it. Brody walked over to join them and he handed Angie's disassembled phone to Ian who tossed it through the open back door of his vehicle before slamming it shut. Wisely neither man said anything more to their boss who was beyond pissed and terrified Angie's life was in danger. He should've never agreed to keep the protective measures from her. It was too late now, so the best he could do was guard her with his own life and try to win back her trust. He'd worry about everything else later. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, he was still her Dom and she was still his submissive. They had a signed contract and he was going to hold her to it as long as he could. He just prayed she wouldn't decide to walk out on him because of this. He wasn't ready to let her go yet, and God help him, he wasn't sure he ever would be.

Brody boarded the plane with Ian following and pulled up the stairs as Jake raised the hanger bay door. After the jet taxied out into the open, the overhead door was shut and Brody let the stairs down again for his teammate. Less than five minutes later, they were airborne and Ian let out a sigh of relief. For now, his angel was safe and he planned on keeping her that way.

They'd been in the air for more than a half hour but Angie's anger was still at a near boil and she hadn't spoken to Ian or his teammates yet. Sitting in one of the luxury seats in the first of two rows of four seats across, she'd placed her laptop on the one seat between her and the aisle in a blatant act which told the others not to attempt to sit with her. As much as she wanted answers, she didn't think she could face them just yet without wanting to throw something at one of them, especially Ian. The three of them were behind her somewhere and she'd been so pissed when she'd boarded, the rest of the interior of the small jet was a blur to her. Now as she stared out the window at nothing but clouds, she replayed the past few weeks over and over in her head. One of the things which stood out most in her mind was, she'd been so wrapped up in her work and time with Ian, she'd barely thought about Jimmy. For the first time since they were teenagers her thoughts of and worry for her best friend had taken a back seat to someone else. That'd never happened with any of the other men she'd dated over the years. And damn it to hell, the two jackasses had kept her in the dark about something which concerned her; something she should have known about from the start. She knew over the years Jimmy had sheltered her as best he could from the world he was determined to clean up, one scumbag drug runner at a time, but it still yanked her chain.

She peeked over when she saw someone out of the corner of her eye take a seat across the aisle from her. It was Jake, looking comfortable in a pair of jeans, navy blue shirt and black rubber soled boots. Brody and Ian were wisely staying away from her for now. Out of all Ian's teammates, Jake was the one she knew the least about. He was the quietest of the six men, yet he still had that commanding presence of a dominant male. She studied his profile, his chiseled jaw, high cheek bones and long eyelashes made her yearn for her sketch pad. She'd drawn several pencil sketches of Ian over the past few weeks, and a few of Jenn and Beau, but she itched to capture the hardness and sadness she saw in Jake's face.

He glanced over, caught her staring and gave her a small smile. "Something on your mind?"

She let out an unladylike snort. "You have no idea."

Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Try me. I may not be as talkative as Marco is when comforting a submissive but I'm a good listener."

"I'm not a submissive," she spat out. "Not anymore and I don't need comfort, thank you."

His left eyebrow rose as he give her a 'yeah, right–think again' look which irritated her because she could guess what he was about to say. "You can't turn it on and off like a switch, Angie. You can try, but you'll just end up making yourself miserable. Just because you're pissed off, doesn't mean your body stops craving what you've experienced over the past few weeks. It was a part of you that you didn't know existed, and now that you do, you'll never go back to the way you were before without regretting it."

Knowing he was right but still unwilling to admit it, she turned and stared out the window again. Jake may work for Trident, but he hadn't done anything to be the recipient of her anger and she didn't want to take it out on him. But Ian, Brody and even Boomer were a different story, along with her pain-in-the-ass best friend. She heard Jake stand and expected him to go back to where he'd been sitting before, but he picked up her laptop, set it on the seat he'd just vacated and sat down beside her.

"Talk to me. It doesn't have to be about D/s stuff or anything to do with Boss-man since he's a sore subject with you at the moment. You must have a thousand questions about what happened today and while I don't have all the facts yet, I'll answer what I can."

Angie shifted in her seat, putting her back to the window and studied the man. In his eyes, she saw the same compassion and understanding she'd seen in Marco's when he stayed with her during her public spanking. The thought of that night and how she'd screamed her release for all to hear made her cheeks warm. She forced herself to think of something else, not wanting him to know where her mind went and how those thoughts still made her body tingle. "Where are we going? Let's start there."

"Fair enough. We'll be landing in Spartanburg, South Carolina in a little over an hour. From there it's about another hour and a half drive to the safe-house in Maggie Valley, North Carolina."

"Safe-house? Whose?" Did everyone have a safe-house nowadays?

Jake nodded and settled into a more comfortable position since she was asking questions. "It belongs to Ian and Devon, but it would take a long time for it to be traced to them since the ownership is buried under a bunch of unrelated businesses and false names. Ian and his dad found the place when he first joined the SEALs. One of the older guys told him if he had the opportunity, he should find a place where no one could track him down. With all the terrorists, drug cartels and scum of the earth we've dealt with over the years, it's not paranoia to think we all have prices on our heads for one reason or another. But we're lucky most of them have better things to do instead of hunting down our identities and homes. And it's why Ian and Dev put so much money into the security at the compound. As for the safe-house, we've used it several times over the years but not always for emergencies. It's up in the mountains and a great place to get away sometimes. But we always take precautions if we go there and our flight plan states we're going to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. There are closer airports to Maggie Valley but this way it's harder for someone to track our movements."

Angie was a little stunned. She knew what the men at Trident did could be dangerous sometimes. But to have a bounty on their heads was something she only thought happened in the old wild west or to criminals on the FBI's Most Wanted list. "How long do I have to stay there?"

"Until we hear from your friend and figure out how to put an end to the threat against you. I don't want to scare you, but you said you wanted to be kept in the loop. I don't know if the men at your house were real agents but we'll find out when we get to the safe-house. From what we can gather, they were going to kidnap you and use you against Athos to get information out of him.” He grimaced and added, “And probably as revenge for his infiltrating the drug cartel he was undercover in."

The look he gave her said the rest–there was a very good chance neither Jimmy nor she would survive if the cartel got a hold of them. Despite her fear, a kernel of hope she hadn't known was missing began to fill her. "So does that mean Jimmy is still alive? If they want me, that must mean they don't have him?"

The tilt of Jake's head wasn't completely reassuring. "As of a little while ago, he was alive and we assume not captured because he contacted Ian to let us know something was wrong and told us to get you out of Tampa. Boss-man got the call right before my brother called him from the pub. If he can, Athos will be on his way to meet us in North Carolina."

"That was your brother–the guy Mike?" She had only gotten a glimpse of the man and hadn't noticed any resemblance but Jake nodded. "So what happens next?"

"We wait until your friend contacts us and help him when he does. In the meantime, we'll keep you safe and try to figure out who is after you. Then we end it."

Her stomach dropped at how deadly those last four words sounded. "End it? How?"

Jake's eyes hardened and bore into hers. "We eliminate the threats and make sure they'll never come after you again."

"Y-you'd kill someone for me?" There was a combination of disbelief and wonder in her voice and she was sure the expression on her face matched it. "Why?"

"In a heartbeat, Angie. Because it's the way men like us are wired. Innocent lives are protected at all costs. It's not as if we have a death wish or anything, but if we're killed protecting or saving someone else, we'll make sure we fight to the bitter end to give them the best chance for survival. Whether you like it or not, if it comes down to my saving you or myself, just remember I want a traditional Irish wake, complete with bagpipes."

Angie swallowed hard. He'd said the last part with a teasing grin but she knew he was serious. She saw the conviction in his eyes and knew he wasn't blowing smoke by saying he'd give his life for hers. He would do it without a moment's hesitation. She realized what had her longing to draw his face earlier. Jake Donovan reminded her so much of Jimmy Andrews after he became Jimmy Athos. She wondered what had happened to Ian's friend to put the same hardness and sense of loss in the man's beautiful yet haunted green eyes.

She'd known what he meant by 'eliminate,' before he confirmed it and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. The team might have to kill people to keep her safe and she hated the fact they would have blood on their hands because of her. She wasn't naïve to think Ian, Jake and the others had never killed anyone before. They were former Navy SEALs in an era where terrorists from around the world were more than threatening the American way of life as well as the lives of those same Americans. They had been in combat, seeing and doing things most people had never imagined, but now, they wouldn't be killing anyone for all America. Instead, they'd be killing someone for the sake of one person–her, Angelina Beckett, a graphic designer from Tampa, Florida, who wouldn't know a terrorist or drug cartel member if she tripped over him. With that knowledge, she was done asking questions for the moment and turned back toward the window. After a few moments, she sensed Jake stand and move back to the area behind her, leaving her alone in her thoughts.

* * *

Ian was ready to spit nails as he watched his teammate talk to Angie. A few minutes earlier, he'd been about to storm up to the front of the plane and force her to listen to him but Jake had stopped him. She didn't need his frustration at the moment and it would only push her further away from him. He needed to get his emotions under control before he talked to her. So instead of doing it himself and screwing things up even more, he very reluctantly allowed his friend to talk to the stubborn, pissed-off woman and soothe her ruffled feathers.

If Athos was still alive, he should be on his way to South Carolina to a pre-arranged location. When he reached it, he would contact Ian, who would then send his teammates to retrieve the agent and bring him across the state border to the safe-house after making sure they weren't followed or tracked. Once they got the low-down on who, what, where, when and how, they would help Athos any way they could while keeping Angie safe.

While Jake talked to Angie, Ian sat in the middle area of the plane which was set up like a living room, complete with couches, recliners and tables, all bolted to the floor. Gazing out the window at nothing, he thought about how fast the beautiful submissive had gotten under his skin, a fact he was wary about.

They had fallen into a comfortable routine since their first public scene at the club last Friday. He'd taken her back to his place after she recovered from the sub-space she'd achieved from her orgasm and he fucked her several times until dawn, leaving them both happy and sated. Each morning she went home only to return to him each evening and spend the night. They'd returned to the club on Saturday night, and again on Sunday night, participating in one other public scene as well as a private one in the office theme room where she pretended to be his naughty secretary. He'd fucked her every way he could think of using the desk and chair to position her how he wanted and even sat her atop a tall filing cabinet so he could eat her sweet pussy while standing up. He loved how she embraced her naughty side and often found his mind wandering during the daytime thinking of different scenarios for them to play out. The club was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so those two nights they'd cooked dinner in his kitchen, cuddled on the couch and ended up pleasuring each other in a variety of ways. The woman was as insatiable as he was and more adventurous than he'd expected. He'd given her several pieces of lingerie he'd picked out from the club store, instructing her she was to wear them and nothing else while they were alone together in his home. Angie rocked lingerie in a way which rivaled any Victoria's Secrets model. If he had his way, she wouldn't wear anything but the sexy scraps of material twenty-four hours a day. He'd even gotten into the habit of locking the deadbolt to his front door to ensure Jenn didn't walk in on them again by accident.

He watched as Jake rose, walked back toward the sitting area and took his earlier seat on the couch between the two recliners Ian and Brody had occupied the entire flight. Egghead was catching a brief nap since there was nothing much to do while in the air and he hadn't had time to grab one of his own laptops. When they got to the safe-house he would have a smaller but similar setup to the war-room back at Trident. From there he would do what he did best, and get them as much information about who was after Angie.

Ian glanced at Jake. "Does she still want my dick in a cock cage?"

"If I were you, I'd keep it out of her reach for a while. Your balls too." He chuckled when his boss winced and crossed his legs in an automatic response most men had at the thought of their reproductive organs being tortured. "Don't worry. I gave her some things to think about. She's worried about Athos, but I think she's also worried about you and the rest of us."

Confused, Ian tilted his head. "Me? Us? Why?"

Jake leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "She may be submissive, Ian, but she's far from naïve. Angie knows there's a chance she, Athos, or any of us may end up six feet under by the time this whole thing plays out. Even though her friend is the one who brought this to her doorstep, no matter how unintentional and how much he tried to prevent it, she knows we'll do anything we have to in order to protect her. If any of us have to kill someone, which is a near one-hundred percent possibility, I think she's going to have a hard time with it. And God forbid one of us is caught in the crossfire...she's going to feel responsible no matter what."