Authors: Ann Vaughn
Over
the next years, they again kept in touch via email and written letters.
It wasn’t as often as it had been before since reaching Tessa was hit or
miss. It was enough, though, to sustain Shane and again kept any relationships
he had with other women from becoming anything lasting or permanent.
However, in the last two years, he’d only had a handful of emails or written
letters from her. The last correspondence from her he’d received nearly
seven months earlier. She’d said she was tiring of the military life and
was considering a change, but that was the last he’d heard from her.
Meanwhile,
his career had taken off with flying colors. He was on the fast track to
becoming a Texas Ranger. The only thing holding him back was the required eight
years of high level criminal investigation; he had a year to go. He’d
been a member of the Governor’s security detail, which led to him being placed in
command of a SWAT task force, and now he was in the role of Special Crimes Investigator.
The next step was Ranger and everyone felt he was a lock to make it on his
first try.
“Hey,
McCanton,” one of his fellow investigator’s called, pulling Shane’s attention
from his computer; he’d been hoping for an email from Tessa. Everyday for
the last few months he checked; at least two times per week he sent one to her
but he had yet to hear back from her. He was beginning to get worried.
“Captain’s called a briefing.”
“Now?”
“Yep.
Getcha butt in gear, kid.”
He
shut his computer down and followed the older officer to the briefing
room. He took his usual table in the back left of the room, noting that
there were four Fed-type suits occupying the front center table, three men and
a woman. For the Captain to be running the briefing meant that whatever
the Fed’s were here for, it had to be high profile.
Captain
Martin called the meeting to order and began his Power Point presentation.
Everyone groaned when the group in question was highlighted.
“That’s
right, boys and girls. This is in reference to the Heltons and the
Naturalists. We’ve tangled with them before. Well, now they’ve
managed to lure a Senator’s daughter into their ranks and he wants her
out. We’ve been asked, due to our experience with them, to work with the
Feds on this one. They are prepared to send an agent in to infiltrate,
locate the Senator’s daughter, and get her out while collecting as much
evidence as possible on the Heltons and their operation. McCanton, since
your team has had dealings with the Heltons before, I’d like you to work with
them, bring them up to speed on everything you know of the group.”
“Yes,
sir.”
“This
is Special Agent in charge Glen Gibson. He’ll introduce the rest of his
team.”
Gibson
stood and faced the room. Shane guessed him to be in his late 40s, early
50s. He introduced two other men, both in their 30s and then gestured to
the female agent.
“This
is Special Agent Tessa Kelly, who we will be sending in undercover.”
The
rest of the room literally disappeared as Shane watched Tessa stand and face
the room. Special Agent? When the hell had she left the Army, he
wondered. Shane knew he was in trouble the instant their gazes
collided. He muttered a foul curse under his breath, causing the guy
beside him to nod.
“She
is hot,” one said.
“I’d
surrender to her any time,” another spoke.
“Cuff
me, Agent Hotness,” yet another joked.
“Can
it, guys,” Shane snapped.
They
all looked at him in stunned silence. He’d never spoken to any of them
like that, but he couldn’t help it; that was Tessa they were speaking so
disrespectfully about.
“Is
there a problem, Sergeant McCanton?” Tessa asked, her voice detached and
professional.
“No
problem, Agent Kelly,” he replied, his tone just as neutral.
“Our
plan,” Gibson interrupted, “is to put Agent Kelly in the path of the
Naturalists, get her noticed and recruited.”
“Look,
sir, no offense to Agent Kelly, but she’s not exactly the kind of female they
would even consider,” one of Shane’s guys, Crownover, spoke up. Shane
agreed but he wasn’t about to give voice to that just yet.
“And
why is that?” Gibson queried.
“She’s
too hard for one, and I’m not just referring to her physical fitness, which,
yeah, OK, that’s a problem, too...I’m talking about her eyes.”
“What’s
wrong with my eyes?” Tessa asked.
“You’ve
got Cop’s Eyes, Sugar,” Pete Dooley, another of Shane’s guys said. “Hard,
assessing. Shrewd. Again, no offense, but you’re the kind of woman
these pu-, um, excuse me, pansies are afraid of.”
She
walked down the aisle to stop before their table, dangerously close to
Shane. She wore a black pant suit with a cream colored shirt and sensible
yet stylish boots Shane knew were chosen for ease of running. Up close
the changes to her face were striking. Gone was the rounded innocence of
youth he remembered. The woman before him was every inch as Pete
described: a hardened, seasoned cop.
“Call
me Sugar one more time, Officer. I dare you.”
Pete
held up his hands in supplication.
“Hey,
my bad. But what we’re saying is true. The girls, and I do mean
girls, they recruit are your stereotypical Girls Next Door. They’re sweet
to the point of naivety. They’re gullible. Most have been abuse
victims or have been so sheltered their BS meter doesn’t pick up on much.
That’s not you.”
She
smiled then. “Thank you. I consider that a huge compliment.
That’s not me...now. But as your Sergeant McCanton can testify, that was
me, not so very long ago.”
All
eyes turned to Shane. He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Agent
Kelly and I grew up together,” he said simply.
He
cringed as he watched realization dawn upon his guys.
“Holy
shit! TK,” Pete said, looking over at Tessa with wide eyes.
“Yeah,”
Shane confirmed, hoping they wouldn’t reveal too much.
Tessa’s
gaze shifted to him. “TK?”
“Long
story,” he murmured.
She
held his gaze a moment, then swept her eyes over his men.
“My
point, gentlemen, is that by the time I’m set to come in contact with the
Naturalists, I’ll be ready and the perfect candidate for them. Count on
it.”
She
walked off and the briefing continued. Shane did his best to pay
attention but just being in the same room with Tessa after all those years had
shot his concentration.
He
absently rubbed the heel of his hand over his left pec. For his SWAT Task
Force, he and his men got a tattoo of a tribal dragon. Among the
elaborate swirls of the design, Shane added Tessa’s initials in red ink.
He’d been drunk at the time but in the years since, knowing he carried her
initials on his body was a comfort to him.
As
he watched the woman at the front of the room move, he realized he was looking
at a stranger. His Tessa was never shy, but there had been an innocence
about her that this woman didn’t posses. Quite frankly, the woman before
him now terrified him. She looked like the type who chewed men up and
spit them out on a regular basis.
When
the briefing ended, Shane addressed his team, assigning each a task to help
brief the Feds on their knowledge of the Naturalists. After his guys
left, Captain Martin approached.
“With
me,” the Captain said and Shane fell in step beside him. “SSA Gibson
mentioned that one of his agents knew you. He didn’t tell me which
one. Is there anything I should be aware of?”
An
image of Tessa on a blanket by the natural waterfall where the river fed the
lake near his house popped into his mind, but he didn’t think the Captain
needed to know about that.
“We
grew up together. She was my high school girlfriend. We’ve barely
seen each other since graduation.”
They
entered the Captain’s office and he shut the door behind them.
“How
did the relationship end? Friendly or bitter?”
“Friendly.
I went off to college; she joined the Army.”
“She
joined the Army?”
“Yeah.
She was battalion support for the Rangers. Probably how she ended up with
the Feds. I didn’t know she left the Army.”
“What
was she referring to with Pete that you could testify to?”
“She
grew up with an abusive father.”
“I
see. Do you think she can pull this off? I’m inclined to agree with
your guys. She looks too hard to be the type the Heltons will go for.”
Shane
took a deep breath. “Honestly, I don’t know. The girl I knew before
would be the perfect candidate. I know she hasn’t forgotten how she was;
but after the last run-in with her dad she changed. She took self-defense
classes and became a black belt...I don’t know how the woman I saw in there
will pull it off.”
The
Captain, Bruce, was quiet a moment. “I want you to report directly to me,
one-on-one like this about the progress of the preparations. I trust your
judgment. If you don’t think she can pull this off when the time comes I
want to know.”
“Yes,
sir...I will tell you this...if she was still like I used to know her there’s
no way in Hell I’d send her undercover with them. They’d break her.
Now, though, I just don’t know.”
“She’s
changed that much?”
“It’s
been years, sir.”
“Just
let me know.”
“I
will.”
He
opened the door and wasn’t at all surprised to see Tessa leaning against the
wall waiting for him. He felt his heart accelerate when their gazes
collided and locked on one another. Would she always have this effect on
him, he wondered.
“Can
we talk?” she asked.
He
glanced at his watch. “I’ve got PT exercises for the next two hours,” he
said, heading off down the hall.
“You’re
the C.O., you can be late.”
“Not
really.”
She
grabbed his upper arm, stopping him.
“Come
on, Shane. Talk to me.”
“Why?
So you can pull rank on me?”
“That
comment is beneath you, McCanton.”
He
rounded on her, stepping right into her personal space. “You knew you
were coming here. I didn’t even know you weren’t in the Army any
more. You couldn’t be bothered to tell me in one of your emails or
texts? You couldn’t tell me you would be coming to work here?”
“I
wasn’t allowed to tell you.”
“Bullshit!”
he roared.
Captain
Martin stepped out into the hall. “Is there a problem, children?”
“No,
sir, heading to the gym,” Shane replied, walking away.
“Dammit,
Shane!” Tessa seethed.
“Right
back at you, sweetheart,” Shane tossed over his shoulder.
The
Captain chuckled, extending his hand to Tessa.
“Bruce
Martin,” he said, once again introducing himself to her. “and that, my
dear Agent Kelly, was my God-son.”
Tessa
turned speculative eyes to the Captain. Shane was his God-son, huh?
This might just work to her advantage.
Shane
got stopped several times on his way to the gym. Reports needed his
signature. Phone calls needed his attention. By the time he rounded
the corner to the gym, he was wound so tight he felt sorry for whoever was fool
enough to step into the ring with him first.
“Son
of a bitch,” he groaned when he stepped out of the locker room, seeing Tessa in
the ring as he stepped through the gym doors.
“You’re
late, Sergeant,” she chided.
“I’m
not fighting you, Tess. Forget it.”
“I
trained with the best of the Army Rangers. I can hold my own.”
“I
don’t doubt that for a minute but I’m not fighting you.”
“Come
on, McCanton.”
“I
will not fight you.”
Turning
on his heel, he went back toward the locker room. Tessa was out of the
ring and blocking the door before he reached it. He stopped in his tracks
and glared at her.
“Look,
I get it, you don’t want to hit me. I just want to show you that I know
what I’m doing. I can handle this.”
“I
know you can. In a fair fight you could probably kick my ass, but these
guys won’t fight fair. I outweigh you by a hundred pounds at least.
You might get a few good shots in but at some point I
will
over power
you. You may fight like a man but you’re still a woman.”
“Yes,
I am. I don’t have to win the fight. I just have to incapacitate
you long enough to get away. Don’t underestimate me.”
“Fine.
You wanna out macho the boys go right ahead. Doesn’t mean I have to
watch.”
For
a moment they stood glaring at each other. Each knew from past experience
that they wouldn’t make the other back down.
“I
recommended you over a Ranger battalion for this because I thought you’d be the
best person for this job,” Bruce said from behind him. “Are you going to
be able to put your personal issues aside?”
Shane
shifted his gaze from her to his Captain. “How would you feel sending
Patricia into something like this?” he asked, referring to Bruce’s wife.
He watched the horror flash across the Captain’s face and nodded.
“Exactly.”
“Shane,
I can do this,” Tessa insisted.
“Fine...but
if I don’t feel you’re ready when the time comes, we pull the plug.”
“You
aren’t the one to make that call,” Tessa dismissed.
“SSA
Gibson has given us that authority,” Bruce clarified, “and I agree with
Shane. When the time comes, if he doesn’t green light this, it will be a
no-go...now, the two of you are old friends. I want you to figure out how
to get along so this case has a chance for success. Am I clear?”
“Yes,
sir,” Shane replied.
“Absolutely,”
Tessa agreed.
Bruce
left them then and for a moment Shane considered walking out, too, but he
thought better of it.
“You
drive me insane,” he seethed, “I feel like we’re back in grade school.”
“Don’t
stand in my way on this, Shane.”
His
eyes raked over her, from her pony tail to her FBI grey T-Shirt to her black
Nike shorts and long, tanned, muscular legs.
“Hey,
Serg, we doing this or what?” Joe called out from the mats on the far side of
the gym.
“In
a minute,” he called. “You wanna train with us, fine. We’re
practicing take-downs. But don’t you ever ask to get into the ring with
me again. I got no problem dropping you on your ass but I will never hit
you, not even with full gear on, you get me?”
“Lead
the way, Serg,” she smirked.
He
bit back a retort and turned to cross the gym, knowing she was behind
him. As the exercises got underway, he had to admit he was impressed with
her skills. She was quick; it took his guys a few tries to get her and so
far they’d all managed to get hands on her but none had succeeded in taking her
down.
“Your
turn, McCanton,” she said after she finished with Pete.
“Yeah,
come on, Serg, this has to be an equal opportunity smack down,” Crownover
panted.
Shane
took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Fine.”
Tessa
smiled when he stepped up to her. “Can your ego handle this?” she asked.
“Can
yours?” he countered, making her laugh. He knew he was going to win; she
was too confident and he’d spent the time she was taking on his guys to assess
her weakness. They circled each other a few times and when she lunged for
him, he easily side-stepped, shot his leg out and just like the third grade,
planted her on her smart ass. The guys whistled and laughed. Tessa
glared up at him but accepted his hand to help her to her feet.
“Class
dismissed, boys and girls,” Shane said, heading to the locker room.
“Walking
away, just like that, McCanton?” she called after him.
“Looks
like,” he tossed over his shoulder.
His
guys chuckled as they each shook hands with her.
“Just
what exactly is the history between the two of you?” Joe asked, “I’ve never
seen him like this. We’ve trained with women before.”
“We
dated in high school,” she supplied.
“Ended
badly?” Pete asked.
“No,
we were just headed in different directions at the time. He’s actually my best
friend.”
“Well,
no offense, ma’am, but if he’s your best friend, he sure seemed blind-sided by
your arrival today,” Crownover said, “and the Sergeant? He don’t like
surprises.”
She
sighed. “I wasn’t at liberty to tell him. Look, I really need to
talk to him one-on-one. Can y’all help delay him while I change?”
The
guys exchanged an uncomfortable look. She didn’t think they wanted to
tick Shane off, so she was surprised when Crownover spoke up.
“I’ll
keep him talking while these two change. When I come out you can go
in. How’s that?”
“Bless
you,” she replied.
“Are
you nuts?” Joe asked when they were walking away from her. “He’ll kill
us.”
“Won’t
be the first time,” Crownover shot back.
Shane
knew his guys were up to something the minute they walked into the locker
room. He had no doubt it involved Tessa since they’d stayed behind to
talk to her. They’d all come in singing her praises, impressed that he’d
been the only one to drop her. He also saw right through their whole ploy
of each one coming to talk to him one-on-one while the others showered and
changed. They were stalling him. His suspicions were confirmed when
Crownover abruptly ended their conversation the minute Joe and Pete left.
When the locker room door opened two minutes after Crownover left and he saw
Tessa walk in he could only shake his head.
“Why
am I not surprised,” he mumbled, buttoning the cuff of his sleeve.
“We
need to talk, Shane.”
“I
really don’t have time right now.”
“Make
time. Don’t shut me out like this.”
He
sent her a pointed look. “Just returning the favor.”
“You’re
being petty and that’s not like you.”
“Isn’t
it?” he countered. “How would you know? I’ve been little more than
a pen pal to you these last few years.”
“That’s
not fair.”
“It
is what it is.”
She
watched him pack his gym bag, aching to touch him. Throwing caution to
the wind, she stepped closer to him, invading his space.
“I
think you’ve gotten taller,” she mused, placing a bold hand on his chest, right
over his heart. “I know you’ve put on more muscle.”
“So
have you,” he said, his eyes on her body...but he kept his hands at his sides.
She
trailed her hand up his neck to let her fingers tangle in the hair at his nape.
“I’ve
missed you,” she said, brushing her lips lightly, quickly, over his.
“Have
you?” he asked dryly.
“Stop
being such a cynic, McCanton. I can feel how much you missed me,” she
said, pressing against his arousal.
“You’re
beautiful. I got eyes,” he said simply.
She
smiled and caught his bottom lip between her teeth, running her tongue over it
before releasing it.
“My
hotel is just down the street.”
His
gaze locked on hers. She could tell he was tempted.
“How
do you know I’m not seeing someone?”
She
laughed. “Because I know you, McCanton. If you were serious about
someone else you wouldn’t have still been keeping in touch with me all this
time and you damn sure wouldn’t be letting me touch you now.”
Nailed
him and he knew it. “You wanna walk or drive?” he asked.
“I
rode with the others so either you drive or we walk.”
“Let’s
go,” he said, slamming his locker door shut.
They
didn’t speak on the walk through the station. He stopped briefly at his
desk to shut his computer down then they continued on to the parking
garage.
“Nice,”
she said as he opened the door to his black Ford truck for her.
“Which
hotel?” he asked when he got in.
“Marriott.”
He
didn’t speak again so she remained quiet, too. He pulled into the valet
parking station and they got out and went into the elevator still not speaking.
When the doors shut and they were alone, she stepped closer to him, looking up
into his deep blue eyes. Again, nothing was said. The elevator
stopped. She stepped back and led the way to her room. She put her
card key in the reader and opened the door. When it shut behind him, she
turned to face him, intending to ask what his problem was but she never got a
chance. Shane’s arm snaked around her waist and pulled her roughly to
him. She gasped but clung to him when he claimed her mouth in a kiss that
left her breathless and lightheaded.
He
lifted her with his hands under her butt and slammed her back against the wall,
being sure to keep her head from hitting. She blinked when he pulled back
abruptly, pressing his forehead to hers.
“God,
Tess,” he breathed.
She
wiggled her hips, grinding his arousal against her core. He groaned,
kissing her again. It started out intense and aggressive, but halfway
through, she felt him gentle, melting into her.
“Shane,”
she whispered when his lips dropped to her neck.
“Tell
me you’re still on the pill,” he said, his lips to her ear.
“Absolutely,”
she confirmed.
He
lifted his head and looked into her eyes, studying her.
“You
want this?”
Her
hips again ground against him. “More than anything.”
“You
aren’t seeing anyone?”
“Shane,
seriously, shut up and take me.”
He
studied her a moment more, then nodded once. He placed her back on her
feet and tried to step away but she wanted no part of that. She grabbed
his shirt and yanked it from his pants, then sent buttons flying when she
ripped it open, pushing it off his shoulders, eager to get her hands on his
skin, frustrated when she realized he wore an undershirt.
Shane
pulled back to shrug out of his shirt, undoing the buttons at his wrists to
free them, then made quick work of peeling her out of her clothes. When
she was nude, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, lips
locked together.
“God,
I’ve missed you,” he breathed, his hands going on a journey of
exploration. Her body had changed so much since he’d last seen and felt
her. He felt muscles that were even more cut than the last time he’d held
her and…
“Tessa!”
he cried, shaking fingers tracing a long, jagged scar that began by her navel
and ended at her hip. “Baby, what happened?”
“Shrapnel
from an IED,” she explained, fascinated by his change in behavior.
“You
never told me you’d been wounded,” he said, tenderly caressing her scar.
She
shrugged. “I didn’t want you to be upset.”
“Is
this why you left the Army?”