Ruthless

by Marlie May

  Half sobbing, I called my brother and stuttered out the fake story of a robbery. After, I set the phone on the table. Unable to resist, I retrieved the notebook and put it back inside my pocket. The man had wanted me to have it, and I’d take it. After, I dropped my head onto my folded arms.

  Not long later, Eli stormed into the room. “Mia,” he shouted. “Are you okay? Flint’s with Jax and Coop. He sent me.”

  I stared at the cop, who watched us closely.

  Eli glanced around and stiffened. “Fuck, this is…” His glare fell on the suited policeman. “What the hell did you do to her?”

  My chair toppled backward as I stood. I stumbled forward, meeting Eli partway around the table. His arms wrapped around me, and I leaned into him, shaking.

  “Ms. Crawford is upset,” the cop said. “Which, after her unfortunate experience, is natural. I’m sure she will be fine once she returns home.” His intent gaze focused on me, a lead weight around my ankle in deep water. “You and your brother live in Crescent Cove, Maine, am I correct?”

  “Where she lives doesn’t matter,” Eli said, and to me, “Let’s get you out of here. I can’t believe you’ve been here for hours.” Stepping back, he braced my arms and studied my face. “Why didn’t you call us right away?”

  “I…” My gaze flitted to the cop.

  His intent gaze fell on Eli, and I knew the warning included him, as well.

  Don’t say a damn thing.

  “It was just a…simple robbery.” I gulped back my fear. “Can we please leave?”

  “Of course.” He took my hand and escorted me toward the door.

  As we passed him, the cop said nothing.

  3

  Eli

  Ten days later

  I hadn’t reached the ripe old age of thirty by ignoring the squirrelly feeling I got when someone spied on me, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to start now. Yes, I was out of the Seabees and back in Crescent Cove, Maine, the small coastal town I’d left to join the Navy, but trading camo for jeans and a tee eight months ago didn’t mean I was no longer a moving target.

  If I’d learned nothing else when I came too close to that IED, I’d learned caution.

  Sliding my body lower in the driver’s seat of my Jeep Wrangler, I adjusted the mirrors and studied the vicinity through my sunglasses.

  Nothing moved near the open metal gate I’d unlocked and driven through to park in front of the converted warehouse where Flint was establishing his top-secret weapons testing facility and special ops business. A covered dumpster sat to my left, and a couple of cars and a pick-up truck were parked to my right, but unless someone was hiding in one of the vehicles, I was alone.

  The fence surrounding the perimeter had seen considerable work, but I could improve it over the next few weeks. I’d get to it before Flint hit me with my first assignment. I envisioned motion detection devices with cameras on the corners of the building and on the fence to provide opposing viewpoints. Spiral wire across the top. I’d get Coop to help me juice the coils with twelve-thousand volts. I knew enough about electrical installation to cause trouble, but Coop was the high-voltage expert. In the Seabees, I’d specialized in security tech. Spy equipment, essentially.

  Twenty yards beyond the gate, the wind stirred the upper tree branches. The paved road stretched a quarter mile behind the gate before curving to the right. Other than a chipmunk chittering on the road, the area appeared empty. However, the prickling sensation wouldn’t go away.

  A flash on the roof sent me ducking behind the dashboard, the smell of overheated plastic sharp in my sinuses. I slowly lifted my head to peer over the top.

  Shit. If I’d had my 9mm in hand, I would’ve taken out the roof AC unit where the sunlight winked.

  This was not the Middle East where one guy’s mistake had cost me a career. It was time to stand down.

  When the feeling of being watched eased, I got out of my Jeep. I swept the area one last time but saw nothing. Could’ve been my imagination. As I paced toward the front door, I kept my muscles primed to dive for cover. No harm in remaining cautious.

  I keyed in the code on the panel and pulled open the solid steel entry door, taking in the discrete sign above it: Viper Force R&D, a gold fouled anchor mounted below. While the locals assumed Flint’s crew built remote-controlled drones for online sales, his business actually retrofitted and tested top-secret combat drones and other high-tech weapons for the military. To keep our toes in the action, Flint also took on highly-specialized tactical operations. Like his recent job in Mexico, a crapshoot that had gone south fast when his contact disappeared.

  My friend’s business was doing great, partly due to the government contracts our former Navy Admiral shifted Flint’s way. But it would take time to build this operation into what Flint, Coop, and I had dreamed of while lying in our bunks on the Enterprise eight years ago, back when we’d shared a year of sea duty on the aircraft carrier before flipping over from regular Navy to the Seabees.

  The door clicked shut behind me. I nudged my sunglasses up onto the top of my head and scanned the open room refinished with cream-painted walls, artwork, and a dark, plush carpet. Only the hint of motor oil in the air told me the front part of this building had once housed a garage.

  As I approached the desk occupied by an older, smiling blonde receptionist, she stood. She smoothed her skirt along her hips, and her lips lifted further as her green eyes skimmed down my front. “Can I help you?”

  Not with whatever her husky voice suggested she might be offering. She was gorgeous, and being ten, fifteen years older than me wouldn’t necessarily hold me back, but I was kind of stuck on Mia.

  “I’m Eli Bradley,” I said.

  “Oh!” Her thin eyebrows arched. “You’re the newbie. Welcome.” She tucked a phone between her ear and shoulder while she dialed. “I’ll let Flint know you’re here.”

  “Thanks.” While waiting, I crossed the room to stare at a painting of a rolling meadow with a tree in full bloom growing in the center.

  A month ago, Flint and I met up at a tea shop downtown to discuss my signing on with Viper Force. Seeing the potential of this business, let alone how awesome it would be to get paid to blow things up, I’d given my notice at the hardware store, grateful my boss had hired more crew. I would’ve hated to leave him short. The day after finishing out my notice, Flint asked me to join his crew in Mexico. I hadn’t even had a chance to get out here to the shop yet. Today, I’d receive the full tour.

  “Eli?” someone said from behind me.

  Didn’t even have to turn to know who it was. Mia. My belly twitched.

  Dressed in shorts and a snug tee, she crossed the lobby and stood in front of me, grinning. “Flint said you’d be here today.”

  Had she asked about me? I’d wanted to quiz him about her but Flint ribbed me enough about my crush already without throwing more wood on the fire.

  “Yeah, my first official day.” I rubbed her shoulder, yanking my hand back when it tingled. Tingled? That was an interesting feeling for me. Guys didn’t tingle, they burned. Except, I tingled. Around Mia. All the damn time. “How have you been? I’ve been thinking about you since Mexico.”

  I hated seeing the light fade from her eyes, knowing I’d made it happen, but the horror of her trembling in my arms had kept me awake at night over the past ten days. I’d made sure she got to the airport the next morning, but she’d been frightened…Shit, it still churned me up that the police had held her that long, that they hadn’t let her call us.

  I needed to know she was okay.

  Her teeth grazed her lower lip, and she rubbed a bandage on her arm and sighed. “It was a horrifying experience, but I’m putting it behind me.” After darting a glance at the receptionist, she turned her gaze back to me. Her hand flicked toward an open doorway opposite the entrance, and her voice lightened. “I left some cookies in the breakroom if that’s your thing.”

  Ginny made me cookies whenever I begged but lately, she’d been
busy baking cookies for Cooper. Not that I was jealous. Too much. But I was literally wasting away. “What kind of cookies?”

  “Chocolate chip.” She tilted her head and her strawberry blonde curls swept across her shoulder. Her hair—plus the scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose—socked me in the gut whenever I saw her, just like when I first met her eight months ago. I’d kept picturing burying my face in those silky strands. Stroking it. Stroking her.

  The wrong thoughts to be having about a woman who’d shot me down.

  Even now, I still wanted her. Her being in Maine and me in California was the reason she’d said no. Would she be open to something more with me this time around?

  “I’ll definitely try your cookies,” I said in a husky voice. And anything else she might offer. No harm in getting my hopes up, even if nothing came of it. I could deal. When my dad left me when I was eight, I’d gotten a solid lesson in handling disappointment.

  “What are your favorite kind of cookies?” she asked with a twinkle in her green eyes. “I could keep you in stock like I do for Jax.”

  Jax. Fuck. He’d been all over Mia’s cookies in Mexico. Kissed Mia, too, even if it was only on the cheek. Was there something brewing between them? Figures we finally lived in the same town and it might already be too late for me. “I’m partial to white chocolate macadamia, but I might be a chocolate chip fan after tasting yours.”

  “I hope they’ll be the best cookie you’ve ever eaten.” Her gaze darted to my lips, and color rose into her pretty cheeks. Why? Our conversation was completely benign. But then, Ginny had said I was clueless around women. Something about needing keys to a castle, whatever that meant.

  But wait. Was there more going on here between me and Mia than cookies?

  I wanted to smack my head. Shake some sense into my brain because I needed to read this situation right.

  “I have a feeling your cookies are awesome.” My slight emphasis on cookies was a bold move on my part, but oh, well. In for a pound, as everyone said.

  “Maybe, umm…” She stared down to where the toe of her pink sneaker traced along the carpet. “I could make you a special batch of cookies. Drop them off at your…Well, I’d hate to bring them here and watch Jax eat them all before you got to try one.”

  “How about I—”

  “You could—”

  “Eli,” Flint called from down the hall behind the main desk, interrupting us as we spoke at the same time. He emerged from the doorway and approached. “Right on time.” Looking down at my empty hands, he frowned. “Hey, weren’t you supposed to bring donuts?”

  I snorted. “Damn. I meant to bake muffins.” A long-standing joke between us, I’d forgotten how it got started or what it even meant. “But Mia brought cookies.” Definitely needed to grab one or two or ten before Jax made off with them all.

  “Probably don’t need the carbs anyway.” Flint patted his flat belly. “Since leaving the service, I’ve had to work double-time to maintain my boyish figure.”

  Mia snorted and rolled her eyes, but her rising grin couldn’t be denied.

  “You never were one to slack off,” I said. Coop told me Flint had installed a gym here and that strength training and ongoing martial arts instruction were a big part of the program. Not that I planned to let my hard-earned skills slide. After a tour and de-briefing, I’d hit the gym and then go for a long run, especially if I planned to eat a bunch of cookies.

  My physical therapist had discharged me a month ago, saying I’d reached my new norm—which was nowhere near the endurance I’d had before my injury. The thought of hobbling around for the rest of my life about killed me. No way in hell would I accept limitations on what my body could do.

  I took in Flint’s slacks, button-up shirt, and patterned tie, and tugged on the hem of his tailored jacket. “You’re goin’ squishy now that you’re no longer at the military’s beck and call.”

  Either that or I was way underdressed in jeans and a tee.

  “Is he ever.” Mia nudged her elbow into her brother’s side, and he whoofed. “No more cookies for you.”

  “Squishy?” Flint eased Mia aside and crouched in front of me, his arms splayed away from his body. “Just try me, dude.”

  I snorted. I could take my friend even if I was sick and my ankles were tied. “Dare ya.”

  “Boys!” The receptionist came around the desk, scowling. “You take that outside.”

  “Yes, Aunt Becca.” Flint straightened. His lips curled up but he ducked his head and scuffed his polished dress shoe on the carpet.

  Aunt? This woman—tall, long blonde hair, ample curves—was Flint and Mia’s infamous retired-CIA aunt?

  Shit. Here I’d been contemplating…Well, I truly hadn’t been contemplating anything. But still.

  Her arms crossed on her ample chest, and she tapped the toe of her stiletto on the carpet. “I may only be a few years older than you, Flint—”

  Flint coughed.

  Her frown deepened. “But I’m still prepared to take you over my knee, just like did while babysitting you all those years ago.” She directed twinkling eyes my way. “You, too, if you get out of line.”

  My turn to cough. Taking more than a decent step backward, I took in the humor shining on Mia’s face. She was enjoying the show.

  It made sense Becca was here. Knowing Flint, he’d never pick just anyone off the street as his receptionist. He’d need someone capable of taking a bull down with a few strategically placed blows, let alone one with top security clearance. That would be Becca. The outer gate was wall number one, the entry door wall number two, and Becca was wall number three. Flint kept the place locked behind an impenetrable fortress.

  After shaking her finger at us, Becca returned to her chair, smirking. The police scanner sitting on the desk to her left crackled but she didn’t bother glancing at it, indicating nothing important was coming through.

  “Well, I’ve got to get going,” Mia said. “I’ve got a date with the supermarket.” To me, she added, “My cupboard is bare, which means no cookies in anyone’s future if I don’t get some flour and sugar.” As she passed me, heading for the front door, I was greeted with her light, flowery perfume. Damn sexy. “I’ll make some special cookies for you, Eli.”

  My hand raised toward her.

  Flint lifted my jaw with his finger and chuckled. He tapped my arm. “Time to get to work, Romeo.”

  Romeo? Flames consumed my cheeks, and Becca’s snicker rang out over Mia shutting the front door behind her.

  Damned if I cared. Life had just started to look a hell of a lot finer.

  There was no hiding the swagger in my stride as I followed Flint across the lobby toward the hall leading to the main part of the building. But my smile soon faded as my mind dragged me back to Mexico and what happened to Mia. Despite the isolated incident involving my sister, Ginny, due to a creepy ex-boyfriend who’d tried to kill her, Mia would soon see she was safe in my sleepy town of Crescent Cove. Nothing bad ever happened here.

  “The Mexican police ever get in touch with you?” I asked Flint.

  We paused in the hall and stared through the window, watching Mia get into her car, back it up, and drive through the gate.

  “You know how they are down there,” Flint said. “Robberies happen all the time, and she was leaving the country. They’ve probably forgotten about it. Moved on to the next tourist incident already.” Disgust grated through in his words.

  “Maybe.” The situation kept bugging me. That cop…The intensity in his eyes suggested there was more to this than a simple robbery. I shook my head then shoved my hair off my face. After getting out of the military, I’d defied convention and let it grow wild, but I needed a good cut or the crew here would start calling me a mountain man. Ginny already did.

  Turning, Flint nudged my shoulder. “About my sister.”

  “She’s awesome.”

  Flint blinked. “Shit. You’ve got it bad already, don’t you?”

  Fire
rose into my face. My gaze narrowed on Flint’s mocking expression, I rocked back on my heels. “Any problem with that?”

  “Not at all.” Whistling through his teeth, Flint pivoted and started down the hall, away from the lobby. “Not at all. She needs someone who’s…well, I’ll let her decide if she wants to share what happened in Massachusetts.”

  “Wait.” I snagged his arm, turning him to face me. “Tell me.”

  Flint’s expression mimicked his name. “Said I’d leave that to her.”

  I released a curt nod. While I felt like going all he-man at the suggestion someone might’ve hurt Mia, Flint obviously would not fill me in. What happened in Massachusetts?

  However, his comment about us seeing each other outside of work could be considered permission to do more than send Mia flowers. Not that I needed her brother’s approval to ask her out. It was solely up to Mia to say yes or no, and I’d fully respect her wishes even if she told me again to get lost. But it was important to have this open and above board between me and my friend. I didn’t sneak around or hide.

  “In fact,” Flint said with a rising chuckle, continuing down the hall. “I gave her your number.”

  My feet froze in place. “Why?”

  “’Cause she asked for it.”

  Wait. “Why?” I said, stuck in repeat mode.

  “Why does any woman ask for a guy’s number?”

  “Because…” Stunned, I couldn’t think.

  “She’s asked about you a few times since she came out west to help me move home.”

  “She has?” Okay, I might sound like a puppy eager for a treat, but…Had Mia thought about me the way I couldn’t stop thinking about her?

  “Yup,” Flint said.

  “Yup to what?”

  “To that thought written all over your face.” His laughter faded, and his face grew serious again. “But you’ll have to deal with my sister another time. Right now, I’ve got a few interesting things to show you before our debriefing.”

  My brain buzzing and my chest expanding three sizes, I followed Flint toward the back of the building that must house the R&D component of the business. At the end of the hallway, he typed numbers on a keypad to open a steel door labeled Authorized Personnel Only-No Entrance and waved for me to enter ahead of him.