Sighing in resignation, he canted his head toward her. “Worked for the Navy, huh?”
“It was partially the truth,” she mumbled.
The man who’d entered with Wolf stepped forward. Pulling down the top part of his wetsuit and revealing dark blond hair, he said, “I’m Marcus Harrelson. That’s Matthew Steel.” He nodded to Wolf. “And I can’t promise he’s not gonna kick your ass later.”
“Wanna see him try,” Jake muttered.
“That’s John Keegan—Tex to everyone.” He motioned to the guy who had his arm wrapped around Stella. “And Drake Maddox.” Whereas Marcus was more leanly built, the last guy introduced was almost as bulky as Jake.
“Jake Banning.” He inched up his chin. “But ya’ll already know that.” He wondered if he missed a call from Viktor, but it was so like the AGS boss to use this incident as a teaching moment. “You guys black-ops?”
“Wolf is still active-duty SEAL,” Tex said, then patted his leg. “Obviously, I’m retired, but don’t underestimate me.” He smiled, but it wasn’t exactly a friendly smile. “Maddox and Harrelson are former Team guys too.” He paused. “Like you.”
“What the fucking hell?” A voice boomed from the French doors.
One had to hand it to Viktor to make a grand entrance.
The AGS top man stalked in, wearing dark fatigues and a slate gray crewneck. He had holsters at the hips loaded with pistols, but his right hand held a rifle. “Tex, dammit, I told you to tell Wolf to rein it in.”
“Did as much as I could.” Tex shrugged.
“This asshole abducted Stella,” Wolf gritted through his teeth.
“And I’m fine,” she argued.
“Be thankful it was one of mine who was with Gould.” Viktor stopped right in between Jake and Wolf as if sensing the tension between the two. “Stella would still be on patrol. Gould would still be stuck in that ditch. If someone else besides Jake were there, you think this is the outcome we’d be having?”
His brows shot to his hairline. Damn, Viktor made a good point.
“We could’ve avoided this drama,” Jake informed him. “If you told me they were coming.”
“I was informed as a matter of courtesy,” his boss shot back, sounding none too pleased. “And I told them not to blow shit up.”
“Stella could’ve gotten hurt,” Jake gritted.
Tex held up a device. “Thermal sensors.”
“How did you find us?” Stella asked.
“Was able to narrow the call to a certain area,” Tex explained. “AGS has shared their databases with me before and when one of Viktor’s safe houses pinged within that five-mile radius, I had a hunch, so I called him.”
That was how they knew how to bypass the perimeter security plus to approach from the water.
“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Stella asked another question.
Jake’s gaze snapped in her direction. “You’re going home.”
“You think I’m just going to show up, say I escaped my captor and all will be fine and dandy?” Stella said. “A man is dead.”
“That’s not confirmed,” Viktor said. “Though from the amount of blood loss, I’d put it at ninety percent.”
“So what are you suggesting?” Wolf piped up, though his eyes on Stella were as wary as Jake’s.
“I drive the van of illegal weapons into the station?” she suggested, but it came out like a question.
“What?” Jake growled. “Absolutely not.”
“No fucking way,” Wolf said.
“Her plan has merit,” Viktor pointed out. “Backs up her actions at the scene. She interrupted the illegal smuggling of weapons.”
“That would put a bullseye on her back,” Jake argued.
“She’s got eyes on her,” Viktor looked at Wolf and Tex.
“You can count me in,” Marcus said.
“And me.” Drake crossed his arms over his chest.
“Guess she’s well-covered.” Viktor arched a brow at Jake.
“You know damn well I’m seeing this through,” he insisted. “I got her into this. Make me primary on her protection.”
“Wait a minute,” Stella said. “You all get I’m the cop in this room, right? It’s my job?”
Varying degrees of scowls darkened the features of the men around her.
“Let me put it this way.” She tapped her lips as if pondering a question. “If I had a penis, would this be the same reaction?”
Marcus coughed into his fist, while Drake and Tex grinned. Wolf stared at the floor.
As for Jake, he was far from okay with the plan. “This is not us being sexist.”
“It isn’t?”
Viktor cleared his throat, glancing briefly at Jake before his eyes rested on Stella. “I have a better plan.”
Everyone turned their collective attention on him.
“Let’s hear it,” Stella prompted.
“We could keep Schneider off-balanced. Make him wonder where the weapons are,” Viktor said.
“But if Stella returns—” Jake started.
“She goes off the grid with you.”
“Shit.” Tex glanced at the woman in question. “Guess you’re in it now, Stel-Bear.”
As for Jake, a strange relief came over him as if he was getting a stay of execution and his eyes locked with surprised blue ones.
“That’s a terrible idea.” Wolf clasped Stella’s arm. “Come on.”
“Now wait a minute.” Jake grabbed her other arm. “That makes sense for everyone.”
“You’re not using her.”
“Is she or is she not a cop?” Jake challenged the SEAL. “This is her town and it’s her decision.” He released Stella’s arm at the same time Wolf did, both men realizing that they were behaving like assholes in a tug o’ war.
“Thank you very much,” Stella muttered, rubbing her biceps. “I’d like to help, but I’m worried about Gram. I’m sure Tex and Wolf can reassure her, but she needs to see me. Talk to me.”
“Tex can hook you up with Mrs. Hunt in a secure feed,” Viktor said, turning to the computer hacker. “You’ve got a log in to the Castle Rock computers?”
“Yup.”
“Castle Rock?” Stella’s brows furrowed. “Sounds like another safe house.”
“More like a satellite base,” Jake clarified.
Wolf made a disgruntled sound, lowered his head and peered at Stella in resignation. “You really want to do this?”
Her throat bobbed and Jake was drawn to the slender column of her neck. Her teeth caught her pillowy bottom lip, lips he’d savored and devoured only hours ago. Stella was trying her best not to look terrified, and all he wanted to do was tuck her into his arms and keep her safe. “Yes.” Contrary to her physical reaction, her voice was steady. “How long am I hiding?”
“We,” Jake reminded her.
“A few days,” Viktor replied. “We don’t want to spook Schneider. Or make him think that a man of his still has the guns and betrayed him.”
“Okay.” Stella blew out a breath, chewed on her lips and looked at Jake. “I don’t want to sound prissy, but I need a change of clothes.”
“We have the basics at Castle Rock,” he told her. She didn’t look too happy with his answer but merely nodded.
“Take off later this evening,” Viktor said. “The streets and sixty-four are crawling with police cruisers. That’s expected.” He slid his gaze to Stella. “They’re looking for you, so don’t draw attention to yourselves when you leave.” His eyes scanned the rest of the guys. “Since you cowboys wrecked the wall near the control room, how about helping me gather the important shit and load it into the van?”
There were snorts and chuckles as the men who came to save her filed into the control room to check the damage.
6
After the guys left, Jake and Stella settled around the living room. Marcus and Drake rigged some tarp and cinder blocks to cover the hole in the wall, while Tex, Wolf and Viktor moved the equipment that wasn’t d
amaged into the van.
It seemed easier to be around Jake when the other guys were here because they served as a buffer to his overwhelming presence. Without them, the last barrier to her initial resistance was gone. After removing doubt of whether he was a good or bad guy, Stella was suddenly aware of all his physical attributes.
The cushions of the couch shifted beneath his weight as he leaned forward and picked up his phone and turned the TV on.
“Mind if we watch the four o’ clock news?” he asked.
Stella shrugged, trying to act cool, even as the heat from his body radiated into her, making her warm in inappropriate places. She scooted back against the couch and took that opportunity to squeeze her thighs. “I don’t mind. Might as well hear what’s going on.” She kept her gaze straight ahead, watching the dark screen as it came to life, her pulse quickening as she felt him give her the side eye. It was too early for the news, so Jake flipped channels as one talk show switched to the next.
The jumble of conversations from the TV amplified the silence between them. Finally, the man beside her appeared to have had enough and lowered his phone. From her peripheral vision, she saw him angle his body to stare at her.
“Are we seriously doing this shit?” he rasped.
She turned her head, awarding him a narrowed gaze. “What shit are you talking about?”
He gestured between them. “You. Me. This game of awkwardness. I had my tongue down your throat not long ago.”
“Maybe that’s why this situation is awkward. Did you think of that?” she tossed back.
This time it was his eyes that slitted. “You’re not regretting getting stuck with me, are you?”
Stella wanted to groan. The word “stuck” reminded her that not twenty hours earlier, she was riding his lap into an orgasm. And, not surprisingly, a heat low in her belly responded to him like Pavlov’s dog. “It’s not … that.”
“Then what?”
“I’m worried about Gram”
He cocked his head at her dubiously. “Tex and Wolf said they’d handle it. You can chat with her tonight.”
She didn’t respond.
“So why are you so quiet?”
“Why are you so annoying with your questions?”
That shut him up. His mouth flattened and redirected his attention at the TV.
“I’m sorry,” Stella said after a while. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.” She decided it was best not to expand on that statement.
“I was the one who got you into this situation,” he said. “Which is why I’m glad Viktor suggested we lay low together. I’m staying by your side and making sure you’re protected until this whole thing with Schneider blows over.”
“I was doing my job, Jake.”
“As I was doing mine.”
“Did my appearance at the scene ruin your chance to go back undercover?”
Jake glanced away, a muscle ticked his jaw. “No.” Then he let out a sigh. “Not sure I want to.”
“Go back undercover?”
“Yeah.”
There was something in his words that made her want to dwell on deciphering them, but maybe it was best if she did it while not sitting too close to him.
“I’m bummed I’m missing the Trident Run tomorrow.” Stella changed the subject to safer topics.
“Who’s running?”
“Tex and Wolf surely. Marcus informed me he’s doing it as well,” she said. “Tex is actually excited to test out his new prosthetic limb. It’s designed for long distance running.”
“You sound excited.”
“Well, that’s the geek in me.” She couldn’t help the excitement that laced her tone. “I was majoring in chemical engineering like Gram. Her interest lies in organic chemistry, I was more into metallurgy. Performance Cyberdine manufactures prosthetic limbs and is based out of here.”
“Sounds … high tech.” Jake looked thoughtful with the way he studied her.
Her brows lifted. “What?”
“Just wondering, what made you shift to law enforcement?”
All the warmth that floated between them turned cold. She already dealt with that with Pearl, she didn’t want to explain herself to Jake. He hadn’t earned the right to that information.
“At the top of the news today, a dock worker was found dead at the Hampton Roads Harbor this morning.”
Their attention flew to the anchor man on the television.
“Oh my god,” Stella whispered, clutching a hand to her throat.
“Police are still on the scene interviewing other employees and people in the surrounding area. This follows the gruesome discovery of a patrol officer’s abandoned vehicle the night before …”
The news anchor went on to say that the detectives were keeping details of both investigations quiet and there was speculation that they were related.
After the news broke for commercials, Jake jumped to his feet and headed to the kitchen with his phone to his ear, speaking in low tones, presumably to Viktor.
To say that she wanted to know everything that was going on was an understatement. She shot and probably killed Gould, she was still considered missing to the public, and she had no doubt that the Hampton Roads incident was related.
Her eyes strayed to Jake’s form as he paced the kitchen.
If he planned to keep her in the dark, he had another thing coming.
After a lengthy conversation with Viktor, Jake returned to the living room. The weight of Stella’s stare pushed against him, but her next words made him stop in his tracks.
“Could it be Gould?” she asked, a wariness in her eyes.
Jake shook his head. “Viktor got a line to Tex who managed to hack into the detective’s reports. The man was killed execution style. Gunshot to the back of the head.”
“You think Schneider did it?”
“Possible.”
“Did you know why the man was killed?”
“We have a theory.”
“Is he looking for you?”
“Probably.”
A flash of irritation crossed her face. He was struggling how to balance his undercover work and protecting her. How much could he tell her? She wasn’t a Guardian, and yet Viktor deputized her to be one given he conscripted her to lay low with the guns and so the Guardians could work on the neo-Nazi asshole. “I have to check this out.” His jaw clenched. “Alone.”
She frowned. “I thought Viktor was handling it.”
“As much as I want him to, Stella, I was point on this op.”
“So this whole thing about staying by my side is just blowing smoke up my ass?”
“That’s still the plan. After I install you at Castle Rock—what?”
The irritated expression had turned to one of fury.
“You have to ask what?” Stella snapped. “Am I not coming with you? Am I not part of this op? I mean, that’s the whole reason Viktor picked me, right? You said so yourself. I’m the cop in this town.”
“Not possible,” he clipped. “You can’t be seen, not like this. I’m going to the place where Schneider hangs out.”
A look of worry fluttered across her face. “Will he suspect you?”
“That’s why I need to go. I need to feel him out.”
Chilly resignation etched her features and he could feel her shutting down.
“What time do we leave?” Her tone was robotic as she pushed up from the couch.
“Soon.”
“I’m going to my room. Just let me know when you’re ready to go.”
Baffled by her strange response, he reached for her, but she evaded him by rounding the coffee table. “Stella …”
“Don’t. I hate it when you say one thing and do something else,” she said. “I understand it’s your job. That’s what goes on in mine too—but don’t do this because of misplaced guilt.”
“I don’t—”
“It’s because someone else got killed and you think it should be you, right?”
Jake’s mouth fla
ttened as he held her eyes.
“Thought so,” she exhaled deeply. With her head bowed, she went back to her room and Jake stared after her, wondering if she was right.
7
How was it possible that a tiny wisp of a woman—a woman who’d been a stranger to him until last night, someone he needed to remain objective about because he was tasked to protect her—twisted him up inside like a damned pretzel, made him question his beliefs and second guess his motivations. She was probably right about the guilt. He’d never let anyone take a bullet for him. And this was why every time he thought about that scene where Stella put herself in between him and Gould, it was like an icy dagger piercing into his chest.
He glanced over at her now, sitting beside him in the van as they made the turn on the street leading to Castle Rock. She’d been quiet, but he sensed her trepidation. Something else, more than his plan about scoping out Schneider, was weighing on her mind. Like the time when they got to the safe house, her silence made his skin too tight to contain his emotions. They wanted to bust out, but he couldn’t be confrontational given their size difference. He could be the incredible hulk whenever he needed to intimidate someone but never wanted to with her. Bullying her didn’t sit well with him, but maybe being a smartass was the way to go.
He glanced at her again.
“What?” she clipped.
Yup. He could work with this.
“I know you’re worried about me.”
She gave a disbelieving snort.
“You don’t have to deny it. I know you are.”
An exasperated huff mixed with a brief chuckle that had nothing to do with humor. “What makes you think I’m worried about you? The way I see it you’re good at your job. You’ll do fine.”
“Wow,” he replied. “Somewhere in there is a compliment.”
She leaned forward as he veered into the rear parking lot of what looked like an abandoned building.
“Is this it?” she asked, ignoring his last jibe.
“Yup.”
“So you’re leaving as soon as you drop me off?”
Protecting Stella (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) Page 5
