“You’re as delicate as a snowflake,” he told her, hands still holding her firmly in place. “But that’s not the whole truth, is it?”
“What do you mean?” she asked a touch breathlessly.
“I mean you have a core of steel inside, but you’re also optimistic about life and determined to see the best in everything. And maybe everyone.”
Her chest ached just a little bit at his words. It was as if he’d peeled back a protective layer and stared into her soul. “How could you possibly know that in so short a time?”
“It wasn’t that long ago when I watched you staring at the mountains and proclaiming life was beautiful. That’s the optimist in you. The strength comes in the ability to be that optimistic so soon after a terrifying experience.”
“How else should I be? I don’t want to spend my life cowering in a corner. Though deep down, that’s exactly what I want to be doing. I’m scared but I’m not going to let it rule me.”
He lifted a hand and brushed a lock of hair off her cheek. “See? Strong as steel. Not everybody can do that.”
“You can.”
“Yeah, I can. I had to learn it early or I wouldn’t have amounted to much.”
He let her go and she stood for a second feeling strangely empty. But then he held out his hand and she slipped hers inside, thrilling at the warmth and firmness of his touch through the gloves they both wore.
“Come on. Let’s go into some shops and then have lunch at the restaurant. You up for that?”
“Sounds like my idea of a fun day.”
“I thought it might.”
They walked across the square and Tallie gazed up at his profile, feeling oddly content. “What’s your idea of a fun day?”
He was quiet for a minute. Thinking.
“Doing this with you.”
Brett was on his guard as they walked through the village, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. It was a small village, picturesque—which meant tourists. Brett studied the people they passed. No one stood out. He looked especially hard at the women, in case Natasha Orlova was masquerading as one of them, but she didn’t seem to be there.
Tallie happily browsed in shops, stomping snow from her boots before they went inside, then looking at everything until she was ready to move on to the next. They popped into a restaurant on one corner of the square that served hearty German fare and ate lunch, with wine for Tallie and a beer for him.
Brett was careful how much he consumed, just in case, but Tallie didn’t seem to notice. She finished her wine and ordered a second glass. Her cheeks were flushed and she talked animatedly about the things they’d seen in the shops.
“Oh, I could really see a use for that cabinet in one of my interiors. And that fabric. Gosh it’s pretty…”
She went on like that for a while. Brett nodded and made appropriate remarks, but he felt somewhat like he was in two places at once.
Part of him was playing the part of doting new husband and part was watching their surroundings for any danger. But the part of him watching for danger was also thinking about what he’d said to her earlier. That his idea of a fun day was spending it with her. He still didn’t know why he’d said it, but right now it was as true as anything.
He wanted to kiss her. And then he wanted to peel those clothes from her body and kiss the rest of her. He was starting to tell himself it wasn’t that bad of an idea, that it was a great way to pass the time. That they were both adults and they wanted each other. What was wrong with that?
“Earth to Brad,” Tallie said, snapping her fingers, and Brett’s attention bounced back to her. She watched him with an arched eyebrow, her pretty mouth twisted in a smirk. “Daydreaming, pookiebear?”
Pookiebear?
“A little bit,” he admitted, glancing at a nearby table. The people sitting there weren’t looking at them at all. They were laughing and chatting in German. He’d have known they were European even without the language cue. They ate with their forks in their left hands, pushing food onto them with knives in their right.
Whenever he was pretending to be European, he did the same thing. It was a subtle difference from how Americans ate with forks in the right hand, but it’s also what made them stand out in a European crowd if you were looking for them. It was the little things when you were undercover that made all the difference.
“Okay, so what about?” Tallie asked, eyebrow still arched.
He could have said anything. Could have made up any reason he wanted to. But he told her the truth. Or part of it anyway.
“You, baby. Taking you home and getting you naked.”
Her mouth dropped open. A fresh wash of red bloomed over her cheeks. Then she shook her head as if to clear it before leaning forward, frowning hard. “You’re kidding, right? This is Brad to Terri, right?”
He picked up his beer and took a drink. “Would it bother you if that’s not all of it?”
Her gaze dropped, shading her eyes. Brown eyes. She was still pretty with her eyes covered, but he missed the blue and gold of her real gaze. “You’re confusing me. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not,” she finished softly.
“Hell, neither do I,” he admitted, sitting back again and studying her.
She lifted her lashes. “Maybe we just need to stick to the plan. You said last night that it was a bad idea. I think you were probably right.”
He had said that, hadn’t he? Not in those exact words, but he’d told her he couldn’t have sex with her. Because she’d been drinking wine—like now—and that’s why she’d kissed him. She hadn’t been thinking straight and he hadn’t wanted to take advantage of her.
Now? Hell, now he’d crawl over hot coals if she’d let him strip her naked and explore her body.
Why? Because she’d fixed him breakfast and he’d enjoyed watching her do it? Because he’d told her more about his life last night in front of the fire than he’d told most people?
Or was it because she was full of the kind of joy, despite her experience with the traffickers, that he’d forgotten existed?
“Yeah,” he told her, because she seemed to be waiting for an answer. “Probably right. You ready to get back to the house? We’ve been gone a while and I need to get some work done.”
Which was code for contacting Ian and getting a status report.
She seemed uncertain. Then she nodded. “I’m ready. It’s been a great time though. Thanks for bringing me to the village and putting up with the window shopping.”
“It wasn’t bad. I’d do it again. Your knowledge of antiques is fascinating.”
“I don’t know a lot about German antiques. I could learn more.”
“Doesn’t matter. I don’t know anything. You could have told me whatever you wanted about that stuff and I’d have believed it.”
She gave him a mischievous look. “How do you know I didn’t?”
He laughed. They were back on safe ground for now. He signaled the waitress and paid the bill, then they headed outside and strolled side by side down the street. But they didn’t touch, not this time. Tallie shoved her hands in her coat pockets. He did the same.
The trip up the hill was silent, except for the noise of cowbells in the fields and the occasional barking dog. Brett kept a careful eye on the terrain. There were places a sniper could perch, but it’d be a hell of a trick for anyone to find them here so soon after they’d arrived.
They rounded the hill and started up the walkway to the house. When it came into view, Brett’s senses prickled. Something wasn’t right but he didn’t know what. Still, he didn’t ignore feelings like this one.
He thrust an arm in front of Tallie, stopping her forward motion. She looked up at him with wide eyes. “What’s wrong?”
He pushed her behind him. Reached into his jacket for the solid weight of his Sig.
“Not sure. Follow me—and don’t make any sound, no matter what.”
Chapter Fifteen
Tallie’s heart was in her throat but she
swallowed it down and told herself to do whatever Brett said. She crept up the sidewalk behind him, straining her ears to hear any unusual sounds. All she heard was the dog and the cowbells.
What had he seen that alerted him?
She concentrated on his back, the broadness of it, the safety. But what if someone got to him? What if they shot him and then she was exposed?
Don’t go there.
She shook her head. No, she wouldn’t. Brett knew what he was doing and he was going to take care of her. Of both of them.
When they got closer to the house, he took her through the bushes and placed her behind the woodpile, pushing her shoulder to make her squat down.
“Stay here,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “I’m going to circle around and see if anyone is there.”
“Okay.”
“No matter what, Tallie, don’t get up. Until I come back for you, don’t move.”
Her heart thumped. “What if you don’t come back?”
She hated to ask that question, but she had to.
One corner of his mouth lifted in what she thought was approval. “Wait until dark and head for the village. Go to 325 Bahnstrasse and ring the bell. They’ll call Ian.”
“Okay.” She grabbed his jacket when he started to rise and he turned to her with a question in his eyes. She tugged him down and pressed her mouth to his, hard and swift. “Come back, Brett. I don’t trust anyone else.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “I intend to, sugar. If for no other reason than to get another of those kisses.”
“As many as you want.”
“Well there you go. I’ll definitely be back to collect on that promise. Now get down behind the wood and don’t come out.”
Tallie shrank herself into a tight little ball, knees up, arms wrapped around them. Brett reached out and tugged her hood up over her head. “Got to hide all that pretty golden hair.”
He smiled at her and then melted away into the gray gloom that had settled over the mountain. Tallie concentrated on breathing and strained to hear anything over the blood pounding in her ears.
The dog had stopped barking. Even the cowbells stopped ringing. A snowflake drifted down to settle on the ground, and then another followed it. Soon, the snow was falling faster and Tallie bent her head back to look up at the sky.
It was white, the flakes erasing the gray of before. They were fat flakes and she stuck her tongue out, catching a few as they fell. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done that. And she didn’t know why she was doing it now when everything was so serious. What if Brett didn’t return? What if something happened to him?
And what if they captured her? She clenched her hands together where they rested around her legs. She wasn’t going back to that terrible place where men bid for the right to own her body. Nobody owned her and nobody would. She’d resist until her last breath if that’s what it took. She would never surrender to those people.
Tallie rocked back and forth to keep warm, listening and watching for signs of Brett. Presently, she heard snow crunching softly as someone moved toward her position. She wrapped her fingers around a piece of wood that lay propped against the stacked logs. Quietly, she got to a standing position, keeping her head and body behind cover. She gripped the log in both hands and readied herself.
The footsteps came closer. Tallie’s heart hammered. A body appeared around the corner of the woodpile and she lunged at it, knowing her only chance was the element of surprise.
“Tallie, it’s me!” Brett caught her as if she weighed nothing at all, restraining her easily.
Her breath razored in and out, her heart raced, and adrenaline rocketed through her veins, leaving her jumpy as hell.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was you?” she yelled at him. “I could have hurt you.”
He was still holding her close. He laughed, and that only made her madder. “I think I’m going to be okay.”
She jerked out of his grip, still angry with him for sneaking up on her. And for laughing at her when she said she could have hurt him. How the hell did he know she couldn’t? A well-placed blow to the head—or the balls—would surely take him down for a bit.
“What happened?” she demanded. “You took off out of here like you were expecting an attack.”
“I always expect an attack. That way I don’t get ambushed.”
He reached for her hand. She jerked it away.
“I’m mad at you. You scared the hell out of me. You couldn’t have called my name?”
“I should have. I didn’t think you’d try to fight me.”
She sniffed. “I’m not going to sit around and let things happen to me. If I’d known how to fight before, maybe those men wouldn’t have taken me so easily.”
She knew that wasn’t entirely true. She’d gotten into a taxi, which was how they’d abducted her. Knowing how to defend herself wouldn’t have helped then. It might have helped when they took her to that warehouse and drugged her though. If she only could have fought…
Brett was frowning. “I’m sorry, Tallie. I didn’t think about any of that. I was coming to get you and tell you it’s okay. It was a teenager who hid his pot stash in the house. He was coming back to get it. Not just coming back, but rolling a joint and having a smoke with a girl in the kitchen.”
Tallie stepped out from behind the wood. Her body ached from the cold and staying still for so long. The snow was still coming down, harder now. It would accumulate quickly.
“You’re sure they were teenagers?”
He grinned. “That’s my girl. Suspicion is good. But yeah, that’s all they were. The boy’s mom cleans the house when it’s not in use. He knew where she kept the key. He didn’t know anyone was staying.”
“I hope you put the fear of God into him.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure I did. He won’t be back anytime soon. His mother is about to find out what he was up to when someone from HQ calls, so he’s going to have a new problem to deal with soon.”
They walked up to the house and took off their boots on the porch, then set them on a tray inside. Brett grabbed some logs from the basket by the front door and went over to place them on the grate.
Tallie took off her coat and scarf and hung them by the door. Brett did the same, then went to start the fire. She watched him work, studying the play of muscles beneath his heather gray henley as he shifted logs around and strategically placed kindling and fire-starter beneath them.
“Brett?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you teach me how to defend myself?”
He stopped what he was doing and turned to face her. “I can show you some things, sure. But it won’t be a substitute for taking some training when you get home.”
“I know. It’s just when I was waiting for you, I realized I didn’t know even the most basic thing to do if someone tried to grab me. I don’t want to be unprepared if it ever happens again.”
Tallie was a quick learner. Brett taught her a couple of moves for gouging out eyes, stomping insteps, and how to break a choke hold. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough for now. He made her repeat it again and again, until it was natural for her to make the moves instead of freeze.
By the time they were done, they were both sweating. But Tallie looked determined and happy at the same time. She pushed her hair from her eyes and grinned as Brett rubbed his smarting nose. She’d knocked him good that last time.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have hit so hard.”
“No, that’s exactly what you should have done. If somebody grabs you, do it even harder. And faster. Speed is key. They won’t expect it, and it’ll give you time to escape.”
“But what if they have a gun?”
Brett shook his head. “No, different moves for that. We’ll worry about that one later.”
“Okay.” Her skin was shiny with sweat, but she was beaming too. “How about we go outside to cool off? I think the snow would feel pretty awesome right about now. I might even
lie down and make a snow angel.”
“I’m all for stepping outside. But you can lie in the snow by yourself.”
She laughed as they headed out onto the front porch. The snow was still coming down, but they were protected by the overhanging balcony. It was nearly dark and the village below them glowed yellow and warm.
Tallie wrapped her arms around her body. She was wearing a sweater that hugged her curves and her feet were bare except for thick socks.
She didn’t move to slip on her boots, so he figured the snow angel idea was out.
“I bet this place is amazing at Christmas.”
That old twinge of emotion—disappointment, doubt, shattered dreams—stung him the way it usually did with talk of Christmas. It was an old, dull pain. He was used to it.
“I’m sure it is.”
“Williamsburg is pretty amazing too. Colonial Williamsburg is something to see with all the decorations and the people in period costume. There are illuminations, caroling, and a firing of the Christmas guns.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It is. You should come and see.” She dropped her gaze and stepped away, almost as if she were embarrassed for saying anything.
He liked that she had, even if they probably wouldn’t see each other again after he took her home. He didn’t know why, but that thought made a different ache flare inside him.
“Maybe I will,” he told her.
She looked up again. “You’re just being nice. But that’s okay.”
“No, I’m not. Maybe I will. If I do, I’ll make sure to call you.”
She stared at him. Then she laughed.
“Why is that funny?” he asked.
“Because this is the moment where one person says to the other ‘give me your number and I’ll call you so you can capture mine.’ But we can’t do that because I don’t have a phone. It’s been so long that I’m past withdrawal. I may just get a flip phone when we get home. Who needs all that crap on a smartphone? It just makes me anxious anyway.”
Black Tie: HOT Heroes for Hire: Mercenaries: A Black’s Bandits Novel Page 13
