Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team Series Book 10) (5 page)

“Wow, look at you.” He paused, gestured down at the blue button-down shirt and khakis he wore. “I guess I should have dressed up more.”

“No, you look great.” Hot, actually. Hot was the word, so tall and dark and handsome with all those muscles stretching the fabric of his shirt like that. “I just hardly ever get to wear dresses like this and I love them, so I thought what the heck.”

Maybe it was too much for a first date, but she’d been so excited to have an excuse to put it on. She loved how feminine it made her feel, and she’d wanted to make sure he noticed and remembered her.

“Well, you look beautiful. And it suits you.”

Her cheeks warmed at the compliment. “Thanks,” she murmured, tucking a lock of hair behind her right ear.

She expected him to turn away and lead her to his car but instead he reached an arm around her to set a hand on her waist and walked beside her. The gallant, almost possessive move sent a secret thrill through her. His big hand was solid against the curve of her waist, the heat of it seeping through the cotton fabric and into her skin.

A strong, capable hand. Protective and caring.

For just a moment she let herself indulge in imagining what it would feel like stroking over her naked skin. Not that she planned to let things go that far tonight, even if he was interested. Still, the fantasy was nice.

“So I was thinking of trying a steak place I’ve heard about in town,” he said, glancing at her as they headed for the black truck parked at the curb. She noticed how watchful he was, as if he was scanning for potential threats. No doubt something that had kept him alive overseas. “That okay with you?”

She nodded. “Sounds great, because I’m starving.”

He chuckled and opened the passenger door for her, even handed her the seatbelt. They taught nice manners down in Kansas. “Not something a guy hears too often on a first date.”

She gave him a coy smile. “Well I’m not your average girl.”

“Oh, I’m well aware of that already.” He came around the hood, slid behind the wheel and started the engine. “So, did you get to the bottom of your family mystery yet?”

“Nearly. I’m just waiting to hear back from a contact I was given over in Vietnam. He’s going to check records for me there and let me know if he can find the name and service record of my grandfather’s guardian angel. I’m really excited.”

He gave her a warm smile. “Good. It’s a neat story.”

“I think so too.”

After he parked he dug in his pocket for something, pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to her. “Got something for you.”

“What’s this?” she asked as she took it.

“I reached out to a contact of mine to see if he could help. He served in Vietnam and is pretty hooked into the veteran community. I told him about your grandfather’s story and he said he’d look into it if you give him the details.”

His thoughtfulness floored her. “Thank you.” It seemed like an inadequate thing to say in light of how much his gesture meant to her.

He shrugged. “No problem.”

Even more curious about him, she wondered how long he’d been overseas and how long it had been since he’d been out with a woman. And she had a gut feeling he wasn’t just regular Army.

His confidence, the way he moved, the way his gaze remained vigilant with all the people around them the entire time they’d been in the museum, and later at the café. Those were clear indicators to her that he’d seen combat, and she was betting not in a conventional unit.

Inside the restaurant the host seated them at a private table near the back. She stole glances at him as they perused the menu, studying his face. Wide forehead, dark eyebrows, strong cheekbones and a nose that was straight other than the small bump near the bridge that told her it might have been broken at one point.

And when those ice-blue eyes flashed up to meet hers, she felt a ribbon of heat unfurl in the pit of her belly. His slow smile made her pulse skip.

“See anything you like?” he asked, a teasing note in his voice.

“I do.” And one of them wasn’t on the menu.

After they ordered she stacked her forearms on the table and tilted her head as she looked at him. “So now that we’re at dinner, are you going to tell me what you do in the Army?”

One side of his mouth kicked up. “It’s been bugging the hell out of you since yesterday, hasn’t it?”

“
Yes
,” she confessed, not feeling the least bit embarrassed by it. “But I have a feeling you knew it would.”

Those broad shoulders she wanted to put her hands on lifted in a slight shrug. “Well, I wanted to make sure you were interested enough to come back for more.”

Oh, she was more than interested. She couldn’t remember ever being this attracted to anyone. His plan to keep her guessing was working, and then some. “And here I am.”

He reached for a piece of bread from the basket between them, his eyes on hers. Pale, startling blue, with a darker blue ring around the outside of the irises. Gorgeous, especially with the contrast of his dark eyelashes and brows. “You really want to know?”

“I really do.”

He huffed out a laugh. “I’m Special Forces.”

I knew it.
She grinned in triumph. “Aha! A Green Beret, huh?” He’d work closely with the local population wherever he was sent, train their soldiers. She knew that much.

He nodded. “For almost four years now.”

“How old are you?” she asked, curious. It was hard to imagine this laid-back guy doing such a dangerous job but he definitely had an intense edge to him.

“Twenty-six. You?”

“Twenty-three.” She waved a hand and continued. “I took some time off after high school to travel the world, then I couldn’t figure out what my major should be. But eventually I got it ironed out.”

“And what do you want to do after you graduate?”

That was easy. She’d decided that in her junior year of high school. “I’m going to apply to intelligence agencies. NSA, CIA and DIA. I want to focus on the Middle East. I spent a few months over there after high school and loved certain parts of it.”

The only things she’d hated were the way women were treated in some places—like shit—and the poverty she’d encountered in some areas she’d visited during that leg of her trip. “My Arabic is pretty rough but I’m taking a language course for it and plan to keep at it while I work.” That would increase her chances of getting hired there.

“What was your favorite city over there?”

She thought about that for a second. “Alexandria and Amman. Have you been to either of those?”

“No, just Iraq, Afghanistan, Qatar. Kuwait. Djibouti.”

“Djibouti.” She made a face and he laughed. “Are you going back over there after your course is done?”

“Yeah, next month.”

“And if you’re learning Pashto, then you’re going to Afghanistan.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. “Right. Damn, you’re smart.”

She was glad he noticed, and more so, that he seemed to like it. A lot of guys she’d gone on dates with hadn’t wanted to know anything about her academic career or aspirations. Maybe they were intimidated, she wasn’t sure. But she already got the feeling that nothing intimidated Adam. That was sexy as hell to her.

After dinner it was such a nice night out that they decided to walk around to look at all the shops and restaurants in this little pocket of the city. The March breeze was chilly though and when he saw her tug her shawl tighter around herself, he stepped in close and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The feel of his strong arm around her sent tingles racing over her skin like sparks.

“That better?” he murmured, and she nodded. “We can go back to my truck if you’re too cold.”

“No, this is perfect.” She loved the solid weight of his arm around her. And he was just so easy to talk to, she didn’t want the date to end.

At her place later he walked her to the front door, put his hands in his pockets. “I had a good time.”

“Me too.” Best time she’d had in a long damn time. He was smart, focused and had an easy smile. A combination that left her more than a little breathless.

As he stared down at her, his face illuminated by the overhead light at the building’s entrance, his relaxed expression turned serious. “Like I told you, I’ve only got a few more weeks left here before I go back overseas. I want to be up front with you about that.”

“I appreciate that. But if you’re worried I won’t want to go out with you again just because you’re leaving soon, you’re wrong. Unless you don’t want to go out with me again,” she added hastily.

“No, I do,” he said just as quickly. “I’d love to go out again. I really like you.”

She smiled at him, warmth rushing through her. “I really like you too.” A gust of wind kicked up, blowing her hair around her shoulders and tugging the end of her wrap free.

Adam caught it deftly in one fist. His intense expression as he held her gaze sent a shiver of excitement through her as he carefully wound the fabric around her shoulders, his fingers brushing against the bare skin of her upper arms.

But he didn’t stop there. Sliding his hands to her back, he gently drew her toward him. The breath stalled in her throat as she gazed up at him, pulse thumping in anticipation.

One big hand smoothed up to her nape, his long fingers spearing into her hair as he cradled the back of her head. She placed her hands on his chest, desire pooling low and thick inside her at the feel of those powerful, steely muscles beneath her palms. Everything about him was so unexpected. And exciting. The thought of unbuttoning his shirt and stroking all that raw strength with her fingertips made her heart pound.

His ice-blue gaze dipped down to her mouth. Her belly pulled tight as she tilted her head back, let her eyes drift close. His lips brushed against hers. Twice. Three times. Soft and warm.

And then they closed over hers completely and he kissed her until she melted against him.

His hand remained rock steady at the back of her head, holding her still, the other splayed across her back. That mixture of dominance and tenderness turned her inside out.

She could feel herself melting in his embrace, a little moan slipping from her throat as his tongue slid into her mouth to caress hers. God, the man could kiss. He took his time, exploring, tasting. Teasing. Making her crazy.

When he pulled back a few minutes later she was gripping those broad shoulders, fingers digging into his muscles. And all she could think about was what it would feel like to sink them into his naked back while he used that wicked mouth on other parts of her body.

As though he knew what she was thinking, with another easy smile he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her tingling lips. “You taste just as sweet as I thought you would,” he whispered, his fingers dragging against her scalp in a drugging caress as they left her hair.

She had to force herself to release his shoulders, drew the wrap tighter around herself to hide the way her nipples were beaded tight against the bodice of her dress. Her mind was blank, completely wiped clean from a single kiss. That had never happened to her before.

“How busy are you going to be with studying the rest of this week?” he asked.

“Not so busy that I wouldn’t make time for you.” Yeah, her voice definitely sounded a little breathless, but it was a miracle she could formulate a sentence right now.

His eyes warmed as he smiled. “Good, then I’ll call you.” The hand splayed across her back rubbed gently before withdrawing, and she immediately regretted the loss of his touch. “Thanks for the date. Have a good night.”

She almost asked him to come upstairs, something she never did on a first date. But there was something about him that made her want to throw caution aside, and it wasn’t just that he came with an expiration date. In just a few short hours together, this man had already begun to work his way under her skin.

And the truth was, she liked the feel of him there too much to stop whatever was forming between them.

Present day

Adam shoved open the door and stumbled into his hotel room, barely aware of moving.

Ten hours. Ten fucking hours since Summer had been taken and not a single trace of her. He’d spent that entire time searching in the vicinity where she’d been kidnapped at gunpoint, kicking down doors with his teammates and following leads that had gone nowhere.

The Jordanians were working on the situation with them but so far they’d found nothing of use. By now she could be across the border in Syria for all he knew.

He sank down on the edge of his bed and dragged his hands through his hair, feeling so many things at once he couldn’t feel anything at all. And this downtime was killing him because it gave him too much time to think, for his imagination to conjure up all kinds of twisted, sadistic things the captors might be doing to Summer at that very moment.

The door closed quietly behind him and Bauer and Tuck came to stand in front of him, both of them looking hesitant. They were probably afraid to leave him alone right now. “Do you need anything?” Tuck asked softly.

Yeah, I need to find and rescue my wife from those motherfuckers.

The Army of True Believers. That’s who had taken her, although the actual person or persons behind it were still a mystery. The group had claimed responsibility for the attack and kidnappings in an official statement released a few hours ago.

Adam knew all about them—Summer was an expert on their organization, it was why she was here in the first place—and had dreaded the possibility. Now that it had been confirmed, he was even more frantic about her safety.

The ATB were murderous radicals taking over Syria and Iraq, spreading like a cancer across the region, terrorizing civilians and launching terror attacks around the globe. They were ruthless, without mercy, known for torturing and killing their captives in spectacular fashion, and for selling women and girls into a life of sexual slavery.

Just thinking of Summer in their hands made his blood run cold.

He shook his head, blew out an unsteady breath as he answered Tuck. “No.”