Dangerous Heat (Aegis Group, #8)

by Sidney Bristol

She scrambled off the sofa while Lacey squealed.

  Coco opened the front door and stared up at Paxton. He had both hands braced on the doorframe. Despite wearing the same clothes two days in a row now, he still looked damn good.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hi, Pax,” Lacey called out.

  He peered past Coco. “Hi, Lacey. Sorry to interrupt. I was just stopping by to get my gear.”

  Coco scowled up at him. “You’re going out?”

  “Not really. I just thought you’d like your desk back.” His eyelids were heavy, and he looked tired.

  She had the strangest urge to sit him down and feed him, then tuck him in her bed. The last thing she wanted was for him to go back to the resort.

  Coco stepped out on the stoop and closed the door behind her. Paxton didn’t back up an inch. A few days ago he would have, but there was something different now. It was the way he looked at her, this yearning inside of her for him. And then this morning...

  “You guys okay?” he asked, breaking her train of thought.

  She lifted a hand and touched his cheek. It was nearly an involuntary action. She just had to touch him sometimes. “Yeah. What about you?”

  “I’m good.”

  And yet his eyes were heavy, not quite awake. She could feel the exhaustion pulling him down. “No, you’re not. You’re tired. You need to rest.”

  “I’m headed up to sleep after I talk to the team.” His gaze searched her face. “Any chance I’ll see you later?”

  Days ago she’d have sent him on his way, needing her space. And now the last place she wanted him was out of arm’s length.

  “After you talk to your team.” She slid her hand around the back of his neck and the other to his side, just under the Kevlar vest where she could feel him. “Maybe pick up a change of clothes? I bet they’d make you a pizza to go.”

  Coco could always take him to the cantina, but that would mean facing Mrs. Pedersen, and Coco wasn’t ready for that. Eventually she knew she’d either be summoned to the kitchen or go there on her own, but not right now.

  Paxton blinked at her a few times. “Are you saying—”

  “Just stay here. Okay?” Coco wasn’t going to question her feelings or why they were changing. She didn’t know how long Paxton would be around, but she wanted to make the most of this time. He’d protected her, taken on bullets for her. The least she could do was be a little transparent about what she wanted.

  “Okay. You change your mind let me know.” Paxton leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

  It felt as though someone yanked the doormat out from under her. She opened and closed her mouth, fully aware of what he did to her. But her to him?

  The blue of his eyes seemed sharper, intent. “I’m going to back up now and not kiss you again.”

  Her body heated from the inside out and she pressed her thighs together. “Save that for later.”

  He grinned at her and pushed off the door. “I’m saving a lot more for later, babe.”

  “Go.” She chuckled and opened the door.

  Lacey yelped and jumped out of the way.

  Paxton laughed. “Bye, ladies.”

  Coco shoved the door shut while Lacey squealed.

  “I heard it all,” she said. “Damn girl, I’m proud of you. High five.”

  Coco lifted her hand, caught between sharing Lacey’s sentiment and wanting to crawl under the sofa.

  “You like him. Admit it.” She pushed Coco back toward the sofa.

  She sat down and hugged the throw pillow to her chest, staring at the coffee table.

  “That face.” Lacey plopped down. “Do you more than like him? Are you serious-serious? You have got to tell me something. Please?”

  “I don’t know what it is.” Coco shrugged but kept staring at the sun streak on the coffee table. “What can it even be?”

  “Love?”

  “No way.” Coco snorted. That was absurd. “How could that happen so fast?”

  “Speaking from experience, it just happens. And do not make that face. You are fucking amazing, beautiful, intelligent, driven and fierce as hell. I will not stand for you thinking any less of yourself.”

  Coco swallowed past the lump in her throat. Damn Lacey and her words. She would never understand what it was like for Coco, how she’d always been less than, not good enough or lacking because she didn’t fit a mold. The very things Lacey celebrated about Coco were the ones she’d been belittled for while other girls were celebrated.

  But wasn’t that the problem?

  For too long Coco’s world had been made to fit antiquated rules with no other purpose than keeping her down. It was the kind of thing her twin railed against, creating a fairer world where everyone got to live as they pleased.

  “Where’d you go just now?” Lacey asked.

  “Just—you’re right.” Coco shrugged.

  “I am? Hell yes, I am. And Pax would back me up on all of this. I’m really warming up to him.” Lacey grinned at her. “You know, if you did decide to take the scholarship, he wouldn’t be that far away. That’s the last I’ll say about the scholarship business, I promise. Just putting it out there.”

  Coco twisted the cap off her water and took a drink to cool herself off. She and Paxton were a limited time deal. It was a truth Coco wasn’t going to deny, even if she didn’t like thinking about him leaving. Her life was here. His was everywhere else.

  Lacey picked at the label of her bottle of water. “I suppose you know Mrs. Pedersen’s been asking about you?”

  “Yeah?” Coco glanced away, the guilt nipping at her.

  “You’re avoiding her and she knows it.”

  She found a spot on the tile, a little chip in a corner, to stare at.

  “Coco?” Lacey leaned forward and touched her knee. “Talk to me?”

  Coco shook her head and breathed a sigh. “I miss him.”

  “He was like a dad to you. Of course you still miss him.”

  “Which only makes me feel guiltier. I mean, my dad’s still alive. My step-dad’s a great guy. It’s just...”

  “They never understood your life because they didn’t have to live it. I know you said your mom and dad were married for a bit, but from what you’ve said, he never really understood what having the two of you was going to be like for you. Right?”

  “Back then? No. He gets it now. I can see it in how he tries to talk to me, but...it’s too late to fix the past. It’s not like we have a bad relationship, we just don’t always understand each other.” Coco’s father would never relate to Coco’s life quite like Matthew Pedersen did.

  During high school and up until Matthew’s death, the Pedersen house had become the home Coco felt the most comfortable in. The Pedersen’s were living Coco’s reality in a time when interracial couples were not common. They knew better than most what it was like for her to straddle the lines that divided much of the country, because they faced the problems head on any time they went out together.

  Coco hadn’t just lost a mentor when Matthew died, she’d lost the father figure she’d needed. Even now, a year later, she still hadn’t come to terms with losing him.

  WEDNESDAY. MLILO ANIMAL Reserve, South Africa.

  Paxton strode toward the tent while his mind was still back on the little porch looking into Coco’s eyes. He didn’t know what was happening there, but he wanted it. Life was too short to ignore the good when he had it.

  He pushed through the flaps into the tent. Someone had pulled out chairs and a little over a dozen men were gathered facing the wall with the projector casting a square of light. Zain stood to one side, frowning at a tablet. Shane caught Paxton’s eye and waved him over.

  “Where we at?” Paxton asked.

  “Can you confirm this timeline?” Shane nodded at the tablet.

  “Sure.” Paxton took the tablet from Zain and glanced over it, noting the times and pieces of information Zain had collected onto one screen.


  And right there, at the beginning was Utata’s death followed by the wedding.

  Shit.

  “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner.” Paxton glanced up. “This wasn’t how Coco wanted Lacey to find out.”

  “That news was never going to be easy.” Shane shook his head. “Thanks for keeping it under wraps and handling it. We’ve got more to go on because of you.”

  “You know the most about our suspect.” Zain pinned Paxton with a calculating stare. “Think you can give everyone the rundown?”

  He stood there a moment staring at Zain. Paxton had always been a behind-the-scenes guy. He went where he was told, did what he was told, and knew his role as part of a team. He wasn’t the lead guy, and yet here he was.

  “Sure. You have something for me on this Ebrahim?” Paxton swiped and found himself looking at a mug shot. The man’s stats were there. Late twenties, long history of charges, intelligent eyes, mean mouth.

  “Not much to tell,” Zain said.

  Shane smacked Paxton on the shoulder. “It’s all you.”

  He swallowed and swiped through the rest of the information, taking in the added details Zain had unearthed, filling in a few gaps.

  It still wasn’t much.

  Paxton lifted his gaze to look at the men waiting on him. These were the same guys he worked with every day. This briefing was only unusual in that he was the one doing the talking.

  Silas sat front and center, legs stretched out, arms crossed over his chest. He caught Paxton’s gaze and did that little head-jerk-nod-thing.

  “Morning.” Paxton approached the folding table the projector sat on and laid the tablet down. He tapped a button, and the timeline filled the screen. “Since I’m not sure what everyone knows I’m starting at the beginning, then we’ll cover what we’re going out to do.”

  He turned to talk through the timeline, from Utata’s death up until last night when he and Coco had escaped the trap. Once he got going, it wasn’t as strange being in front of the group as he’d have thought. After all, when they were on jobs they regularly updated each other. This just happened to include a dozen guys instead of two or three.

  “Let’s pause there.” Zain stepped forward. “Any questions?”

  Jamie from Troy Team held up his hand. “You mentioned sending bullets off. How long’s that going to take?”

  “Preliminary tests were a match. Officially, nothing is in yet, but the bullets we recovered came from a gun tied back to this guy.” Paxton tapped his screen. “Ebrahim Khumalo. How he isn’t in prison is a mystery to me. He’s a repeat poaching offender and has two charges of assault on his record. I’ll say this, if they pass these new laws cracking down on repeat criminals, this guy is fucked. So far he’s our link. After talking to Daluxolo, the head of security, there’s really only two outfits that have the kind of manpower and resources to pull off a job like this. Ebrahim works for a group that operates out of a little town not far from here.”

  “Legally, what can we do?” Jamie’s gaze narrowed.

  Aegis Group always did their best to operate within the confines of the law. From time to time, in the interest of saving lives, they had to bend rules. It was the nature of their job. Which was why this whole gig was so different. They weren’t protecting one body or rescuing a kidnapping victim. They were here to assist and equip the existing anti-poaching professionals to do their job better. And on their watch something terrible had happened.

  Paxton had no answer for Jamie. He glanced at Zain, who shook his head and sighed.

  “Guys, this is where I take a water break.” Zain glanced around the room. “Make good choices.”

  Fuck.

  Their boss might as well have just said, do what’s right, not what’s legal.

  Silas whistled, brows arched.

  “Just so we’re clear,” Paxton mentally grabbed hold of his resolve, “no one dies.”

  Silas muttered something and shook his head.

  Yeah, their partnership was all about cutting off a problem before more people died, but things were different now. They worked in a field to prevent the loss of life, they didn’t orchestrate it. Paxton wasn’t going back there.

  “What are you thinking?” Jamie asked.

  Paxton rolled the idea around in his head. He’d have liked to talk to Coco about it before pitching this to the group.

  “Reality is, the guys like Ebrahim, are into poaching because they need to feed their families. They see a fraction of one percent of the product they bring to market. Anything we do to them directly doesn’t get at the problem.” Paxton’s documentary binge watching was paying off.

  “We want to go after whoever funds these guys.” The ex-CIA agent leaned forward. Brett Jones was a good one to have in on this. His connections could prove valuable.

  “Long-term, yes.” Paxton nodded. “Today—tonight if possible—the best thing for us to do is make sure they can’t operate. Take out their equipment. We know it’s not theirs. Whoever funds them provides this stuff. We make it too expensive for them and they’ll find another way to earn a living.”

  What he’d learned about South Africa bringing whatever documentaries he’d found between jobs the last couple of months made it hard to see one villain in this. Yes, poaching was wrong. The lack of jobs and gainful employment available to everyone was also problematic and wrong. Paxton had first-hand experience what being backed into a corner like that would make a person do. When his dad had kicked him out at seventeen, there’d been nowhere for Paxton to go and the only ways for him to get a meal hadn’t been legal. The difference was that Paxton had found a way out that was built into the system. Enlisting likely saved his life. But that wasn’t an option here. These people didn’t have the same resources.

  It wasn’t a great solution, but it was what they had.

  “Okay, so what’s this going to look like?” Jamie frowned.

  “We have a couple drones.” Brett pushed to his feet. “Bring the map up? We could get two teams to do recon, show their base and then go in either tonight or tomorrow. It’s going to depend if they’re going out tonight or not.”

  “If that’s the plan we should get people out there now.” Jamie turned toward Paxton, looking at him for approval? “That good with you?.”

  “No, that sounds great.” He held up his hands.

  “Guys, I think Pax here is beat.” Silas thumbed at Paxton. “Why don’t the two of you head up recon? Pax can get some sleep. The rest of us will do a round, look for any signs our poachers are back. Everyone meet up just before dinner to decide our marching orders. Good?”

  “Yeah.” Paxton was going to owe his partner one, and he didn’t even care.

  “Then get out of here.” Silas threw a crumpled water bottle at Paxton, nailing him in the thigh.

  Paxton stepped aside and watched the others circle up. Jamie and Brett picked the two fresh meat guys, Quinton and Kage, to help while Silas headed up the other group.

  It really was amazing what they had here. When Paxton had received the offer to work for Aegis Group he’d brushed it off. Silas was the one who’d seized the opportunity and hauled Paxton with him.

  He didn’t know how tonight would go, if they were doing the right thing or not, but something needed to be done.

  Paxton turned and stepped through the tent flaps, nearly walking into a familiar, curvy figure.

  Coco yelped and jumped sideways, her eyes open wide, staring up at him as if she didn’t know him.

  “Hey...” Paxton let the word die on his lips.

  “You’re going after them?” she asked.

  “How long have you been standing here?” He glanced over her shoulder, looking for Zain or anyone else.

  She took a step closer, her eyes widened. “You’re really doing it?”

  Shit. Was this the wrong call?

  “It’s an option that’s on the table,” he said slowly.

  Coco wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. “Thank you.�
�

  Paxton swallowed down the knot that had formed in his throat. He wanted to do what was right, but reality was complicated.

  14.

  Wednesday. Mlilo Animal Reserve, South Africa.

  By the time Coco helped Paxton collect his things and a pizza it was past noon. It was easy to see how jet lag combined with the work from the last week had taken a toll on him. His eyes were staying shut longer and longer. He was unsteady and loosing focus. There was no way she was letting him go anywhere except a bed for several hours.

  She glanced at him again. He’d taken the opportunity in the minibus to lean back and stretch out. Once more, his eyes were shut, and she knew he’d passed out the moment his head touched the seatback. Her heart did that thing again where it felt too big for her chest, as though it might burst from her ribs. She hurt, and yet this felt good, if uncertain and strange.

  What the hell was she doing?

  Coco shook her head, but there was no dislodging these warm, fuzzy thoughts about Paxton.

  She and Lacey had gone to the tent, their curiosity getting the better of them. At least Coco had been able to say with some honesty that she was concerned about Paxton and not just nosey. When they’d gotten caught by the Aegis Group guy in charge with the flashing arm, Lacey had fallen on the sword and distracted him, leaving Coco free to listen in while Paxton laid out his plan.

  It was easy for Coco to only see her side in all of this. This reserve was to provide a safe haven for endangered animals. Killing them was wrong, criminal even. But the reality was just as Paxton had painted it. Things weren’t simple. Life was complicated. And the only true solutions were a long way off. What they were doing now were stopgaps, trying to hold on until things got better. She thought his plans for tonight were fantastic. If he could make it happen, no one got hurt and it would be awhile before the group was able to poach again.

  She was so lost in her own head that she didn’t realize the driver had passed the normal stop until he pulled up to her house. Embarrassed and grateful she thanked the kind, older man and managed to get Paxton and all of his things out without losing the pizza.

  In the end, Paxton took her keys and his bag, opened the door and shuffled inside after her. She set the pizza on the coffee table and turned to face him.