by Jana Leigh
He pulled the report from the men who had gone to find him. They had interviewed the neighbors and some close friends. The woman had not been liked, a bitch was how she was most often described, mostly by other women, the men had been kinder. He’d noticed women usually had the best understanding of their own sex, where men were easily distracted by a pretty face. Apparently, it had gotten worse over the last few years.
She had been demanding and belittling of the little man. Some of their friends had even commented to him that they thought that he should leave her.
The couple’s bank records showed steady deposits from the government that should have kept them in a fairly decent lifestyle if they’d budgeted and gotten other jobs like they were supposed to. Their informant had been quite intelligent, and they knew he had gotten a job as a computer programmer. From the looks of his pay deposits, he did very well.
Their savings had built steadily over the years and then in the last five they had taken a nose dive. Jared looked at the credit card statements and bank statements, making sure that he was seeing the pattern he thought he was seeing. The informant had given his wife a credit card and she had used it. Making trips all over Europe by herself and shopping in some very expensive shops, if you go by these charges. Eight hundred euros for shoes alone on one bill.
Then the meals, there was no way she’d been eating alone. The poor sap had probably been paying for his wife’s affair and never questioned it. A real manipulative bitch, that one, he agreed with the women.
Traci brought him a plate of food and he motioned for her to sit next to him and then talked. He wasn’t at his office and couldn’t work the way he usually did, and he needed to work his way to the idea in the back of his mind, he was forgetting something important. He hoped by talking with someone, the thing that was eluding his memory, would come to him.
“Okay, look at this. These are the bank records of our informant and his wife after we put them in hiding,” Jared said and Traci nodded and leaned forward.
They poured over the records while they ate. Each of them looking at separate records and matched them up. Something was off; they just couldn’t put their finger on it. Both of them grew tired of looking at the records and settled back on the couch with a book.
It was very domesticated, curled together and reading. If they had a fire place and some wine it would be perfect. Traci lost herself in her book again and soon she felt stiff from sitting on one place. The sun had set a long time ago from the looks of it. The soft glow of the light shone only on them. The rest of the room was covered in darkness. She allowed her head to fall on Jared’s shoulder and her eyes to close. She hadn’t been kidding earlier when she told him that he’d worn her out. It had been a long couple of days and the stress had finally caught up with her.
Jacob allowed her to use him as a pillow as he read the book she had given him. It was funny, the things that women read. Romance and fantasy, Traci would have both from him and she wouldn’t need to waste money on books, he thought, as he turned the page.
Well maybe a few books, he amended, reading a particularly hot sex scene.
The phone that was sitting next to him beeped and he grabbed it before Traci woke up.
A pad and paper was right under it if he needed it again. He hoped that Colton had been able to move farther away from the intruder and call.
“Hello?” he said into the phone.
“Jared, what room are you in?” Colton asked briskly.
“The main room,” he answered.
“Move to the bedroom and turn off the lights. I will call you in two minutes,” he said.
Jared hung up the phone and shook Traci gently. “Traci, we need to go into the bedroom, honey. Quickly.”
Traci awoke startled, jumped from the couch, and went to the bedroom without any questions. Jared smiled, if only he could get her to do what he wanted like this all the time. He turned off the lights and joined her in the bedroom. She had settled in the middle of the bed, he had a hard time seeing because it was so dark, but could make out her form.
Jared joined her on the bed, held the phone, and waited. Traci did not ask questions; instead, she waited silently with Jared. When the phone beeped, they both jumped.
Jared chuckled and answered.
“Yeah,” he said into the phone and put his arm around Traci, who seemed to be straining to listen anyway.
“Man, this guy is all over the map. He has checked out every single angle of the cabin that there could possibly be. Also, there is another guy waiting in a car off the road.
Miles spotted him a few hours ago. He stopped and the man said that he was lost. Miles gave him directions to town and when he left, the man left and then returned with a different car a while later. I couldn’t ID either of them, so I think they are from dial-a-thug. Probably paid well to sit and watch. They left a few minutes ago after putting a camera right outside the window in the kitchen. I couldn’t tell from my position if he placed anymore. To be safe, I’m going to move them and turn them in a few. Just stay in the bedroom until I check everything out. I’ll signal with a knock on the window when I’m done.”
“Any word on Luca?” Jared asked.
“None. We know he’s in the country, just not where. Also, Dom has the chick in custody. She freaked out when she found out her parents were still looking for her.
Dom says there is something she’s not telling us. We’ll have to question her later. First, we have to deal with this mess,” Colton replied.
“Ok, we’ll wait for your signal. It’s getting late anyway,” Jared said and kissed the top of Traci’s head as he hung up. “We can settle back down. Colton has our back.” Traci nodded and leaned back on the pillows, remaining in Jared arms. She was tense as she waited for Colton to signal them. Jared knew it and started running a hand up and down her back trying to soothe her.
After what seemed like a lifetime, they heard rustling then a soft knock on the window.
Traci let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Bathroom,” she said and jumped from the bed and ran into the bathroom. She really did have to go, but she also needed to gather herself. She wasn’t used to feeling this scared and didn’t want Jared to think she was a weenie.
Traci splashed water on her face and then looked in the mirror. At least the deer in the headlights look was gone. She sighed and went back into the bedroom where Jared was waiting for her silently.
She crawled back into bed and cuddled up next to him. “Bedtime?” she whispered.
“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry that you got messed up in this. I wish all of this could be different,” he said quietly.
She knew that he had felt her fear and sighed. She placed a hand on his heart and looked up at him. “I don’t care. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I got your back,” she said smiling and he chuckled.
“Good to know. Now, about that whole bedtime thing,” he said and leaned over her.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She had not been lying; this is exactly where she belonged. With Jared. If she were somewhere else, she would not have been able to sleep or eat for fear of what was going on. She had complete confidence in Jared, his friend, and his family. They would end this soon. She hoped before that happened, Jared and she would completely come to terms with what was going on with them. She would hate to have to kill him herself if he decided to go back to his asshole ways when they left here.
Chapter 11
The morning came quickly and Jared woke after Traci this time. He smelled her cooking bacon and eggs and his stomach growled. This is the way to wake up, he thought and stretched, grinning at the memories of last night. Traci had been amazing, yet again she surprised him with her willingness to try new things.
They were going to have a great life together; he reached over and pulled out the ring that he’d brought with him. It was his mother’s. One of the only things they had left from her. As the oldest, his brothers and Jade agree
d that he should give it to his bride.
He had been hesitant to even get it out. Now he knew that he was right. Traci was the one for him and today she would know it.
He quickly put it back in the drawer when he heard her coming to the bedroom. It was not quite time yet, he thought. “Getting up,” he called right when she reached the door.
Traci smiled at him, then came into the room, leaned over, and kissed him. Today she wore another of his shirts but she left it unbuttoned. The pretty blue body suit looked perfect against her skin. He ran his hand under his shirt and cupped her breast. She laughed and slapped his hand away.
“I already took a shower, go get cleaned up and get to the table, mister. I don’t want to have breakfast burn,” she said and stood up.
He groaned and rolled to his side and propped his head up with his hand. “Aww, but honey, I’m just so comfortable, I think we should postpone breakfast and have a little fun.”
Traci laughed and turned away and walked to the door. “Nope, sorry. We have things we need to discuss, including the fact that tomorrow we run out of food and coffee. I have to tell you both our tempers will reach a critical stage if that happens.”
“Fine, but I reserve the right to chase you back in here when we get done,” he said.
“I’m counting on it.” She winked and went into the kitchen.
Jared laughed and sat up in bed. He checked the phone to make sure it had charged last night. He was going to have to call and check in. Hopefully things were moving now.
Today was going to be the day they tried to take him. He could feel it in the air. It was one of the things that made him a great leader when they were in the field. He could almost feel their opponent’s impatience. He was certainly feeling it right now.
He made his way into the bathroom and cleaned himself up. He really wished he could have a shower, but it was only another few days, he thought. Man, he felt like a chick wanting to sit in the hot bath for hours. He could almost feel the soothing water run over his muscles.
Jared changed the dressing on his wound and smiled. It looked really good, in fact he could probably leave off the bandage, but Traci would have his head. She followed the doctor’s orders to the letter. He still had to wear it for another two days. It was beginning to itch and he knew that meant that it was healing. Jared would be back in the saddle soon. The six weeks of vacation sounded good now. Maybe he could convince Traci to take some time for themselves when they sorted this mess out. Yeah, a nice vacation on the beach somewhere, lying around and making love without worrying about being in someone’s scope is just what they needed.
He walked into the kitchen and smiled at the sight. Traci was dancing in front of the stove and singing softly to herself. Obviously, she had not realized he’d come into the room because she didn’t stop. He wanted to interrupt her and wrap her in his arms, but the sight was just too humorous. This is what he had to look forward to for the next fifty years. His woman dressed in a red teddy with black polka dots all over it jamming to her country tunes in their kitchen. He was going to have to find out where Jade got these things, he needed to do a little shopping, he thought, letting his eyes roam over her figure.
She hit the chorus of the song and began to sing louder as she turned and then stopped when she saw him. He grinned at her sheepishly and began to clap. Traci’s cheeks turned pink and she stuck out her tongue and put the food on the table.
“Okay, shows over,” she said and sat down. “So I went through the supplies this morning. For lunch and dinner tonight, we have leftovers. Our entre for lunch will be leftover enchiladas and for dinner tamales with rice and beans. And for dessert, we have the wonderful Crème Brulee. There’s enough for breakfast tomorrow and then not a crumb will be left. So we are gonna need more supplies. I made a list,” Traci said and handed over the small piece of paper to him. He grinned when he noticed the ingredients. She was going to make his favorite, Sheppard’s Pie.
Jared nodded and set the list aside. “I’ll call Colton after breakfast and see what he has to say. I’m hoping that the guy makes his move and we can go home. Then you can cook to your heart’s content in our kitchen.”
Traci’s head snapped up and she looked at him. What had he said? Our kitchen? She focused back on her food not wanting to make a big deal to of it. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue. He could have meant her kitchen at the diner, ‘our’ kitchen as in his and his brothers. It could mean anything.
She didn’t see him looking intently at her as she ate. He thought easing her into the situation would be best, but she seemed to frown and not like the idea that he said ‘our’
kitchen. He wondered if that meant she did not intend to actually have a relationship with him.
They ate in the first uncomfortable silence that they’d encountered since they arrived at the cabin. Jared didn’t like it. He felt like she was pulling back. How could she, he thought. They had something good and solid.
Traci stood up to clear the dishes and then he cleared his throat. “I’m gonna call Colton and talk to him. When I’m done maybe we can have a conversation.” She nodded her head and he never saw the tears that were gathering in her eyes. He was going to dump her, she thought. This had all been because she was convenient. She would not cry, she said to herself sternly. Traci shook her head and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes while Jared was talking on the phone. She would not let him see how hurt she was by this whole thing.
She finished the dishes and turned around. Jared was still on the phone, so she went into the bedroom to straighten up. She really needed to talk to Jade. But until they actually talked, she did not want to get too upset. So she sat on the bed and waited. She pulled on his button up shirt that she had used for a robe the last few days. She didn’t button it, instead she wrapped it around herself like a shield.
She heard Jared end his conversation and held her breath. When he came into the doorway, she wanted to grab him and kiss him, remind him how good they could be.
But she wouldn’t allow herself to be embarrassed like that.
“Colton is watching. They’re back. He thinks they will strike tonight when we’re sleeping,” Jared said.
Traci nodded and ran her hands across her thighs. “Okay, so what do we do?”
“We don’t do anything. You’ll be safe in the closet while Colton and I deal with it. Miles and Danny are on their way, but they’re coming in on foot so they aren’t noticed. We will take care of them and then we’ll go home,” he said firmly.
She frowned and then said, “Really? You actually think I will sit in a closet and let you guys go and play the big heroes?”
Jared smiled ferally. “Yes, that’s exactly what you’re going to do, and then we will go home. To our home, yes I said ‘our’, and I really don’t want any arguments about this. I think we should spend this time alone together in a much more pleasurable way,” Jared said grinning.
A few days ago, she may have actually thought this was charming and kinda cute, in an overbearing, obnoxious Neanderthal kinda way. But if he thought that she was going to sit back and follow directions like a good little girl, he was wrong. She could handle a gun, hell he had taught her. She could also help them out with the radio. But no, he thought she should hide in the closet. She was not the one who’d been shot, he was.
“You egotistical idiot, what gives you the right to tell me what to do?” She screamed and stood up and stomped her foot.
“What?” he said softly and then glared at her.
“You heard me! I will not be patted on the head like a child! You are the one who taught me how to fire a gun! You made sure I was good at it too!” She yelled.
“What gives me the right? I give me the right, and as for firing a gun, honey, you’re not allowed to come near a gun anymore! If anyone fires a gun in protection, it will be me, protecting the woman I am going to marry!” He roared back at her.
She didn’t hear a word he just said because she was so pissed off. “
Are you kidding me?
The master has spoken? Well, I can tell you what to do with that decree!” she yelled and poked him in the chest.
“Woman, I just told you I am marrying you, and that’s all you can say?” he yelled.
She looked at him in surprise and felt a warm feeling flow over her, but she pushed it back. He was just using a word to keep her in line. “I can tell you where to stick that too if you think I’ll be a wimpy girl who sits in a closet,” she said and stomped out of the room.
“Traci, damn it, you will stay where I put you and that is the final thing to be said in this matter. Now…” Jared said and she turned a lovely shade of red.
“Get out!” she screamed.
“Huh?” Jared said and frowned.
“You heard me, get out. I can’t stand to look at you right now and I need to calm down.
Go for a walk; stick your overgrown head in the horse’s trough. I don’t care, just get out,” she said and point toward the door.
Jared stood with his mouth open, looking at her like she had lost her mind. She stomped her foot again and turned her head from him. She knew if she gave him an inch, he would take a mile and that wasn’t how this was going to work. She was an independent woman who could take care of herself. This was going to be a partnership, not a dictatorship.
She heard him leave the room by the click of the door. She wanted to scream in frustration, but knew that it would bring him back in the house quicker than she could say, ‘dumbass’.
Traci went to the kitchen and began slamming things around, preparing their lunch.
They had just finished breakfast but she didn’t care, she needed something to keep her hands busy. She pulled out the tray of enchiladas, prepped them, and then put them in the oven on low. They could heat slowly.
