Winter Hawk

by Rachel Grant

  But damn, he had a thing for supergenius computer programmers with badass boots and a matching demeanor.

  His cell phone rang. He checked caller ID and saw it was his brother. He debated for a moment, then hit the button to send the call to voicemail. He was going off book on a job with one of Freddy’s better clients. Best not to talk to him while Leah was driving his car.

  “So…you said earlier you’ve had to be a good girl for the last eleven months?”

  “I was trying to be provocative.”

  “It worked. Is it true?”

  She gave a little noncommittal shrug and said, “Yes.”

  “Bummer.”

  “I survived.” Then she added in a whisper, “Barely.”

  “I lived in a remote area in Alaska for six years. Pretty much the only available woman in town was in love with my boss, the compound director.” He smiled thinking about Jenna and Brad, who’d gotten married two years ago. Tamarack had treated it like a royal event and celebrated for three days. “You think eleven months is bad. Try living in Alaska.”

  “Oh my.” She kept her gaze on the road, but he saw the side-eye. “You’re being awfully frank.”

  “I want you to trust me.”

  “I appreciate that.” He caught her faint smile. “How long have you been in the DC area?”

  “Six months. You?”

  “Three weeks. I moved here for the contract, which was supposed to last six months, with possible extensions.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “For the last five years, Philadelphia. I grew up in Illinois, worked in tech on the West Coast, then got the job with HH and moved east.”

  “Where’d you go to school?”

  “Did a one-year technical college right after high school. No fancy degree for me. You were in the Army?”

  “Yes. I did community college for a year after high school, then joined the Army. Left when Robert Beck offered me a job. I worked on the Hawaii compound for two years before being sent to Alaska to molder.”

  “Was Alaska that bad?”

  “Yes and no. There’s a lot I love about the place. Heck, I’d live there again. There’s nothing like the aurora borealis in February. The mountains and forests. But…I was alone. Within the first year, I dated pretty much all the single women within a fifty-mile radius, and no relationship clicked. At first, the lack of options didn’t matter to me—I didn’t think I wanted to get married, have kids. But the longer I was there, the more I felt like life was passing me by—like how would I know what I want without the opportunity to meet people? I started asking to transfer to DC so I could be near my brother and his family, but the Alaska compound was in turmoil around the time Rav was elected to the Senate, so they kept me there. Finally made parole six months ago.”

  “You like it here?”

  “I like the area, yes. Not feeling great about my job with Raptor these days, to be honest. The only position they’d give me here was a live-in job on the compound, but I’m done with compound life. Cameras everywhere. Intense security. Been there, done that.”

  “Sounds like my work. I was searched coming and going, every day. Fishbowl office. Wasn’t allowed a cell phone past security. It was such a pain to leave the building to have lunch in the cafeteria, I ate at my desk more often than not. Three weeks in DC and you’re the first person besides my supervisor I’ve actually had a conversation with.”

  “Damn.”

  She made a face. “I was so looking forward to the candlelight tour. I mean, it’s silly because I was going by myself. But at least I’d be around people. Living.”

  “I’m sorry you missed it.”

  “But look at me, having a conversation with another person, like a real human. I mean, forget the fact you might’ve abducted me and I just haven’t realized it yet.”

  “I haven’t abducted you. I promise. I’ve almost never abducted anyone in my whole life.”

  “Almost never doesn’t sound as promising as you think.”

  “It was a mission. Classified, but I’ll say we found a woman hemorrhaging after childbirth when we were sent in to rescue American soldiers. She would have died if we didn’t take her too.”

  “Okay, that sounds fair.”

  She exited the highway a mile from the address she’d given him. “So what’s the plan here, Nate? This is your specialty, not mine. Drive straight to the park or take a twisted route?”

  “Go straight there. No one except Josh is following us.”

  She pulled into the parking lot of the playground and put the SUV in Park. She kept her hands on the steering wheel, gripping it like it was a lifeline. “Can I get in trouble for just being here when the NSA has seized the place?”

  “I don’t know, but as long as you don’t try to enter, I don’t see a problem. Let’s scout it out, then decide what to do.”

  “People don’t really walk in this neighborhood at night. Not unless they have a dog.”

  “No time to adopt a puppy. We’ll just have to hold hands. A couple out looking for Christmas lights. Sound good?”

  “Fine.”

  He radioed Josh and Chase and told them the plan. They parked a few blocks on the other side of the townhouse, at a strip mall. Nate then pulled the headset down and slipped it under his collar. The microphone could still pick up his words but remained out of sight. For now, he turned off the mic.

  The headset operated with both radio and cell when they needed to cover greater distance. It had a broadcast cell feature, which meant every operative all over the world could listen in if their headset was on, but tonight he’d been using it as a simple cell with three-way calling to communicate with Josh and Chase.

  Nate circled the vehicle and took Leah’s hand. Her grip was firm, a sign of just how worried she was knowing she still believed he might be a threat. Or maybe their conversation during the drive had managed to ease her fears.

  Her boots made a solid tapping sound on the cold pavement as their breath billowed out in white puffs. The temperature had taken a nosedive now that the sun was down. She shivered—and he was pretty sure it was with cold, not fear—and leaned into him, drawn by his body heat. “Damn. I wish I had my hat, scarf, and gloves.”

  “Our next stop will be a store.” If he’d been thinking, they’d have gone to the store first.

  “Thank you.”

  They reached the main driveway that fronted the townhouse complex. “The HH townhouse is on the last street in the back of the neighborhood.”

  The roads twisted and turned, wrapping around with multiple four-house rows facing each other. With the curves of the streets, they wouldn’t see her unit until they were almost upon it. Not ideal for a casual walk, but really, they weren’t doing anything wrong. Just checking out her home.

  A sidewalk paralleled the roadway and veered into trees planted to look as if the complex had trails, but there was far more pavement than trees, and it wasn’t the sort of place where people indulged in casual strolls. So very different from Alaska.

  They finally neared her unit, and he led her into the shadows where the sidewalk crisscrossed beneath the trees. He leaned back against a trunk, pulling her into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Casing your townhouse.” He unbuttoned his coat and pressed her to his chest, wrapping her in his warmth. His lips found her neck, and he whispered in her ear, “If anyone spots us, I’m taking advantage of the darkness to make out with a beautiful woman.”

  She melted into him, playing along, but he guessed she also appreciated the shared body heat. “What do you see?”

  His mouth moved along her neck as his gaze swept the row of houses. “No car in your driveway. No one sitting in any parked cars on the street.” There were four three-story townhomes on each block. “Lower floor is garage and utilities?”

  “Yes. Middle is living, kitchen, office, and half bath. Top is two bedrooms, two bath.”

  “Sounds nice. Let me tell you a
bout my dorm room sometime.”

  She let out a small huff of a laugh. She felt a little too good in his arms like this.

  He focused on the job. The unit on the end was dark, but the other three were lit on their middle and top floors. One unit had a menorah in the window, with two candles lit. He glanced at Leah’s unit again and realized the dark shape in the living room window was a menorah. “I thought Hanukkah didn’t start until tomorrow?”

  “Most calendars mark the first full day of Hanukkah, but it really starts at sunset the night before.” She twisted to be able to see the row of houses. “I’d better get my menorah back. It was my mother’s.”

  He pulled her tighter against him. “I’ll do what I can to help you get it back.” He meant it. This wasn’t a job anymore. He wanted to help this woman. And not just because she turned him on.

  She turned back and cupped his face, her fingers caressing his beard. “I appreciate your help. Especially after I stole your wallet.”

  He patted his inside breast pocket—he’d gotten it back when she first took over driving—and made a show of being relieved to find it there even with her wrapped in his coat.

  Headlights flashed the trees, then turned down the drive. He placed a hand behind her head and pulled her close, kissing her to conceal both their faces as the lights washed over them.

  She opened her mouth, taking the kiss deeper than necessary, but maybe she didn’t know the rules of stage kissing for cover. He couldn’t really find it in him to complain about her technique as her tongue slipped inside his mouth and stroked his in a kiss that sent heat billowing through his body.

  The night was no longer cold and dark. It was ablaze with bright flames that threatened to consume him. The car passed them by, but the kiss continued. He nibbled her lips, traced her mouth with his tongue. Tasted. Teased. And basically forgot everything except her mouth. Her body hot against his. The soft sounds of pleasure she made. With his back to the tree, he widened his stance, and she settled between his legs, pressing into his erection. Making it clear this kiss wasn’t an act.

  She pulled away, sucked in a deep breath, and muttered, “Damn.” Then she met his gaze. “I mentioned it’s been over eleven months, right?”

  He tucked her hair behind an ear. “You did. It’s been nearly two years for me.”

  “No way! I thought, now that you aren’t in Alaska…”

  He shrugged. “I’ve gone on a few dates, but none that made me want to get physical. After making a habit of one-night stands whenever I traveled, seeking sex for sex’s sake lost its appeal. If I’m going to be inside someone, I want spark.”

  “And was that spark?” she asked, her eyes bright with mischief.

  “Oh honey, that was a damn inferno.” He leaned down and kissed her again, thankful this wasn’t a Raptor job. With Raptor, there were rules against this kind of thing. But his brother had never said anything about not getting it on with the clients. Not that he’d care if Freddy had.

  She opened her mouth and let him inside, making a small purring sound as he explored her hot, delicious depths.

  And to think he’d wanted to shoot Freddy with paintballs when he’d woken him this morning.

  A scent caught his nose, and he kept kissing her, savoring her taste, before it finally registered. He raised his head. “Is that smoke?”

  She stiffened and twisted in his arms, turning toward her townhouse. There was a definite glow behind the living room window.

  “No,” she whispered.

  He cursed, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed 911. “Why isn’t an alarm going off?” he asked as he waited for the call to connect.

  “I don’t know. It has a top-of-the-line system.”

  The operator picked up, and he reported the fire. As he watched, the glow flashed, illuminating the dark menorah in bright orange light.

  “We need to warn the neighbors!” She bolted from their spot in the trees and ran as fast as her skirt would allow, shouting, “Fire!” as she ran.

  He darted past her, heading for the unit next to hers. “Fire!” He pounded on the door. “Fire!” He ran to the next unit as she caught up with him and took over pounding on the first door.

  He was at the door of the third occupied house when people began pouring from the units. Sirens sounded in the distance. The family in the unit closest to hers gathered on the street clutching a few random items—a computer, a photo album, and a stuffed animal were in the teenager’s hands. His younger sister held a bird cage and the family dog’s leash. The bird flapped against the bars as the dog barked. Both mothers had purses slung over their shoulders as they held their children and stared at the glow of flames and smoke that threatened their home.

  “We should pull the car out of the garage,” the teenager said.

  “Too much risk. The gas furnace could blow,” one of the moms said.

  After giving Josh and Chase an update, Nate turned to see Leah staring at the burning townhouse. He draped an arm around her. “Do you have a lot of personal items inside?” Given that it was just a temporary home, he could hope.

  She leaned into him. “The furniture all belongs to HH. The only items I brought with me are the personal items I can’t live without.”

  Only the items that were most important to her, like her mother’s menorah.

  He tightened his grip on her as his heart splintered. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

  “Excuse me?” one of the neighbors asked. “Are you the woman who lived there?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did the fire start?”

  “I don’t know. We weren’t inside. We were over there”—she pointed to the trees where they’d kissed—“when we saw the flames.”

  The fire engines arrived with blaring sirens, preventing all further conversation. The crowd was pushed to the far end of the row of houses, away from the blazing unit. In the dark shadows at the very end, Nate pulled her aside and whispered in her ear, “We need to get you out of here, now.”

  “But won’t that look suspicious?”

  “You’re already going to be the prime suspect. NSA is supposed to search the place, and now it’s burning. They’re going to think you set the fire to destroy evidence. And if you’re taken into custody, it’s going to be that much harder to figure out what’s going on.”

  He took her hand, pulled her onto a path that ran beside the far end of the rows of homes, and tapped his mic. “Get in position on the main road. We’re going to cut through the woods.”

  “On our way.”

  He then bent down, pulled open her jacket, and ripped the seam of her skirt open to the upper thigh. “We’re going to run along the far side of the development, away from the driveway and path, and meet up with Josh down the road.”

  She nodded and took off, running across the grass that flanked the development. He ran behind her. They’d just reached a thin band of woods that separated the development from the main road when the police arrived. Thank goodness for her dark coat, boots, and hair.

  He spotted Josh’s SUV through the trees and directed her to stay in the woods until they were on top of it. “Open the door,” he said into the headset, and the moment they left the woods, it popped open. Nate dove in first, then turned and grabbed Leah, pulling her inside as Josh gunned the engine and they leapt from the curb.

  4

  Leah’s heart beat like a death metal tune. She leaned against Nate in the backseat, his arms still around her, her jacket open and skirt split to her upper thigh. She tried not to think about her belongings going up in flames. Maybe the firefighters would put it out before everything was lost.

  Nate’s arms tightened, and she wanted to sink into his warmth and forget she’d just run from a burning townhouse that held her most precious mementos and she’d likely face arson charges.

  “I didn’t do it,” she muttered.

  “You’ve got an alibi. Me. And Chase and Josh.”

  “But what if they say you’re in on it wi
th me? Or I managed to set it up to burn before I left the house this morning?”

  “Because you knew you were going to be fired? And I’d never seen you before in my life until you walked through the gate at the Navy Yard. We’ve had no contact. There is no way I can be implicated in this.”

  “You just helped me escape when my home was burning.”

  “Because I have grounds to believe you’re in danger and I work in security—this is exactly my field. Don’t forget, someone tried to run you down at Mt. Vernon before we found the townhouse on fire.”

  “But we didn’t report what happened at Mt. Vernon to the police.”

  “Wrong,” Josh said from the front seat. “I called it in while you were talking in the parking lot. I said you were too rattled to make a statement but that you were okay. They’ve got cameras by the visitor center. They’ll have enough information for a report.”

  She pulled away from Nate’s arms and tugged at her skirt, trying to recover a bit of dignity as she was reminded of the two other men in the car. “Thank you. I should have thought of calling the police.”

  “You had other fears front and center.” To Josh, Nate said, “Take us to my SUV—but drive by first. Make sure it’s clear.”

  They circled the park. “Where will you go?” Josh asked.

  “Don’t know,” Nate said. “Somewhere underground.”

  “Raptor’s got the safe house in Annandale,” Josh suggested.

  “Can’t get Raptor involved in that way. I can jeopardize my security clearance, but not the company’s. Keith would have my ass.”

  “Keith wouldn’t—” Josh said.

  Chase interrupted. “Gotcha covered, Hawk. I rented a cabin near Shenandoah for the holidays. It’s been mine since yesterday, but with the party and all, I’d decided not to head out until Christmas Eve.” He held up his phone. “I just texted you the directions and the code for the key box. It’s about two hours from here. You’ll need to pick up groceries and stuff. There’s a kitchen with the basics, but no food.”

  She looked to Nate to see what he’d say, and relief fluttered through her as he reached between the seats to shake Chase’s hand. “Thanks, man. I owe you.”