She closed her eyes. “You’re right. I’m sorry to put you to so much trouble. I ruined your vacation, and I’m still ruining it.”
He reached over and gripped her hand where it lay on her leg. His skin was warm compared to hers. She felt like she might never thaw out again. That didn’t stop the electric sizzle of attraction from dancing along her nerve endings though. She went back to that kiss, to the way he’d held her tight while he’d plundered her mouth. He’d been hard, and she’d been more than willing. She’d forgotten for a second where they were, or why he was kissing her. She’d just wanted more.
“You aren’t ruining anything. This is what I do. I’m one of the good guys, Libby. In case you’re wondering after what happened back there.”
He put both hands on the wheel again, and she felt the absence of his touch in the way her skin seemed to ache without his to warm it.
“I know you are. For what it’s worth, I think you should use that call sign again. You’re definitely a knight in shining armor to me.”
His jaw tightened. “Maybe someday.”
Chapter Eleven
It took hours to reach his house, but everything was as Jared had left it when he’d headed up to the mountains. It was dark when they arrived, but the two-story colonial looked picture perfect in the snow. The house was white, built in 1903, with a wrought iron fence and carriage lanterns. He’d gotten it for a song because it had needed so much work. Work he did between missions. Work that helped keep him sane, just like his solitary retreats kept him sane.
He drove beneath the carport and turned off the engine. Libby startled awake, blinking at her surroundings.
“We’re here?”
“Yep. Let’s get you inside and then I’ll bring everything in.”
“I can help.”
He frowned at her. “No, you can’t. You’re still hurting.”
And he knew why. Robert had been very forthcoming with the information when he’d realized Jared meant to save him, though his information was secondhand since he’d only joined the other two that morning. According to Robert, Beard, otherwise known as Joe, had been trying to shake Libby down for information about whatever it was she’d stolen. When she didn’t tell him what he wanted to know, he’d thrown her against a wall and threatened to cut her tongue out.
She’d lost consciousness. Gaiter Guy—whose name was Luke—and Joe had started drinking, waiting for her to wake up again. When she did, Joe injected her with sodium thiopental in the belief it would make her talk. Jared had listened with a hard knot in his gut, glad he’d killed them both but wishing he’d made it hurt more.
The drugs didn’t make her talk. Instead, she’d passed out again and the men kept drinking until they were too drunk to care. When they checked on her later that night, the window was open and she was gone. It was a second-story drop, which helped explained her injuries (those in addition to being thrown against a wall). She was damned lucky she hadn’t broken anything.
Luke and Joe had searched for her with the snowmobiles the next day. When they didn’t find her, they’d called Robert—who was Luke’s cousin—and asked him to bring his hunting dogs. They’d given him two grand when he arrived and promised him ten more when they got the girl back. That’d been good enough for him. He didn’t know what they were trying to get from her and he didn’t care. His cousin was former military, and Joe had been one of his buddies. They often accepted jobs from companies and individuals who needed private security or protection. Robert didn’t know who’d hired them.
“I’m sore,” Libby said. “But if I don’t move, I’ll get stiff.”
“You can move once you’re inside.”
She folded her arms and huffed a sigh. So Libby. In pain but feisty. He reached behind him and picked up the Target bags, then handed them to her.
“You can carry your clothes. How’s that?”
Her expression softened. “Oh, sure. Thanks again for buying everything.”
“It’s fine, Libby. You don’t have to keep thanking me.”
“I feel like I do,” she said primly.
He didn’t argue with her because he knew it wouldn’t do any good. Instead, he got out of the truck and went around to open the door for her. They’d stopped at the first Target they’d found. Libby hadn’t picked much. Underwear, socks, bras, a pair of jeans and a couple of shirts. He’d made her choose a couple more, plus a warm winter jacket, then had her try on boots until she found a pair she liked. When they’d gotten back in the truck, she’d fallen asleep and stayed that way for the rest of the ride.
He ushered her over to the side door and slid his key into the lock. When the door opened, he punched in his alarm code on the panel and flipped on the lights. Libby walked in behind him and stopped in the small mudroom, her gaze sliding over the washer and dryer before moving on to the coat hooks and boot tray on the other side.
“It’s so neat.”
He snorted. “You have a low opinion of a single man’s ability to do laundry, cook, and keep a neat house. Wherever did you come by your old-fashioned notions, Libby King?”
She frowned. “I am not old-fashioned. At least I don’t think so. But apparently the men of my acquaintance, whomever they may be, didn’t live up to your example.”
He snorted again and led her into the hall and toward the living room. Again, she halted in the door and gazed at everything. “Wow.”
He laughed. “Don’t get excited. My buddy Brett’s engaged to an interior designer. She started a new business locally after moving here to be with him. One of the perks for me was getting expert advice and guidance at a significant discount. She picked everything out from discount stores and flea markets, then she styled it. I just paid for it.”
Libby let her gaze wander over the tall ceilings, wood floors, and period details along with the soft furnishings and artwork. Tallie Grant had done a great job pulling together a look that said masculine but welcoming in this room. Jared wouldn’t have cared either way if not for his mom. She’d loved older homes, and she’d always wanted to buy one and turn it into a space she loved. A home for them both, she’d said, even after he was grown and only came back to visit. Since she never got to do it, he did it for her.
He did a lot of things for her, but none of them were hard. He bought an old home and fixed it up, read the classics, and tried to be neat and tidy because she would have wanted him to do those things. He’d give anything to have her back again, to make her life easy and comfortable, but since it didn’t work that way, he honored her memory in the best way he knew how.
“It’s beautiful. I don’t know why you’d want to go to a mountain cabin when you have this, but whatever.”
He shrugged. “Sometimes I like silence outside my window. You don’t get that here.”
As if in response to his statement, a car went by, the tires sloshing in the wet road. Somewhere, a dog barked. Libby tensed, but when the dog didn’t keep barking, she let out a breath.
“I see what you mean.”
“If you go upstairs, the second door on the left is your room. I’ll bring in the rest of the gear.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“We have to share a bathroom, I’m afraid,” he called after her as she started up. “Old house, old plumbing.”
“We’ll manage,” she replied. “I promise not to hog the bathroom.”
He found himself chuckling as he went outside to bring in guns, bags, and food. He liked Libby King. She made him laugh, and she puzzled him too. She talked a helluva lot. Asked a lot of questions. He’d describe her as bubbly at those times. She was super polite, and she had notions about men whether she knew it or not. But she also had her quiet (for her) spaces, the ones he couldn’t quite figure out. Just when he thought he knew what kind of person she was, she surprised him with something else.
He’d texted with Ian while she’d been shopping. He hadn’t been able to call, other than a quick call after he’d patched up Robert to let Ian know wha
t was going on. Fortunately, the call had gone through, though it’d dropped off again before they were finished. It was enough, though. Ian would send a clean up crew. The evidence would be gone before anyone tried to check on the cabin. The bodies would disappear, and Robert would be taken into custody where he’d be questioned and threatened before being turned loose again. If he knew more than he’d admitted, Ian would get it out of him.
After Jared got all the gear inside, he listened for footsteps. When he heard the floors creaking overhead, he knew Libby was still upstairs. He threw himself into a chair and dialed Ian.
“You make it home?”
“Yeah. Just got here. Libby’s upstairs for a few minutes. Got anything for me?”
“A little bit. Ninja Solutions is working on military AI applications. The rumor is their top secret project is an exoskeleton with an AI component. The suit is supposedly capable of taking over during a battlefield scenario. The soldier has to activate it, but then the advanced targeting and survival systems do the rest. It’s real groundbreaking stuff if it’s true. The US Army is very interested.”
“Damn. What could possibly go wrong with an assault suit that has a mind of its own?”
Ian laughed. “Right? Nothing wrong with letting your armor take control.”
“Does Ninja have any other sensitive projects?”
“Not to that level. I think the exoskeleton is our most likely target. Ninja Solutions works on other projects, but this is supposed to be their big break. Daniel Weir is the founder and CEO. He’s some kind of math genius. MIT grad. Libby has worked there for about eight months. She’s lived in the area for a couple of years now. Before getting the job at Ninja Solutions, she worked at a clothing store in Pentagon City Mall.”
“That’s quite a change, isn’t it?”
“One of her regular clients works at Ninja Solutions and helped her get an entry-level job.”
“Not much chance she’s working on the top secret project then, is there?”
“I wouldn’t think so. I certainly wouldn’t bring an entry-level administrative assistant into a project like that, but there’s always a remote possibility.”
“Or their security is shit and she saw something she shouldn’t.” He just hoped she hadn’t taken anything she shouldn’t.
“Truth. It’d be nice if we could ask her questions. I’m taking it she hasn’t remembered anything yet?”
“No. She probably hit her head during the confrontation. Not to mention the aftereffects of the sodium thiopental they gave her. Memory loss isn’t a known side effect, but the brain can react in strange ways to protect itself. I think she’ll remember, but I don’t know when.”
“We should probably get her over to Riverstone. Let Dr. Puckett’s crew have a look at her.”
“Agreed,” he said, though he felt like he’d done everything for her that could be done. But he wasn’t a psychologist. Riverstone was a private facility used by the special ops community, and the doctors were all top notch. They were also trustworthy.
“Tomorrow then. I’ll set something up.”
“Sounds good.”
“Hang on a sec. Colt just walked in.”
Colt was Colt Duchaine, one of Jared’s teammates. They’d been on some hairy missions together in some pretty shitty places. But they’d always come through. Thank God.
Ian was back in a flash. “Got some news, but it’s not good. Colt just heard from the clean up crew. There’s no one at the cabin, Jared. No bodies, no snowmobiles, no dogs—and no injured man.”
Chapter Twelve
Libby awoke the next morning feeling more human than she had for the first time in days. Her aches and pains were a dull throb rather than a sharp stab, and she had clean clothes to put on. She didn’t know what time it was since she still didn’t have a cell phone, but when she stepped into the hallway she could smell bacon. That meant that Jared was downstairs and it wasn’t past noon. Unless he’d slept late too.
After a quick shower and blow dry, she put on the jeans and boots he’d bought for her along with a pale pink sweater that had a hood. She left her hair down, checked her reflection one more time, and felt good about what she saw. Jared had told her last night she could remove the bandages. The scrape on her forehead was healing and the cut on her throat was a thin red line. There was a bruise beneath the scrape.
She wished she had makeup to cover it, but she hadn’t thought to buy any. She’d been self-conscious just buying clothes when it was Jared’s money she was spending. Makeup seemed like a frivolity. She didn’t actually know that she wore any, but the desire for it seemed to mean she did.
She went down the stairs and into the kitchen. The house was older so it wasn’t an open concept design, but the kitchen was surprisingly spacious. She hadn’t gone in there last night, so seeing it this morning with the light streaming in the tall windows over the sink was her first glimpse.
“Oh my god, I’m in love.”
Jared turned from the stove, arching an eyebrow at her. “Really? With me or with bacon?”
She spread her hands to encompass the kitchen. “With this room. It’s gorgeous.”
He let his gaze slide over the four walls and then back to her. “It’s a kitchen, Libby.”
“But it’s so bright and pretty. You renovated it, didn’t you?”
“There’ve been some updates, yeah.”
She ran a hand over the white cabinets. They weren’t new, but painted. There was a built-in glass-front pantry along one wall, and the ceiling was at least nine feet tall. He’d added an island, but it worked in the space. There was a farm sink and a gas stove with a copper range hood.
It was nothing like her apartment. Libby gasped as the thought took hold.
“What’s wrong?”
She met Jared’s concerned gaze, a little bubble of excitement welling inside. “I was just thinking that your kitchen is nothing like mine.”
“That’s good. Do you remember what it looks like? Can you describe it?”
She thought about it. “Builder grade cabinets, cheap countertops that are meant to look like stone but aren’t, and an electric stove. The walls are soft grey. There’s an island, too, but it’s not as long as this one. Oh, and pendant lights over the island.”
“Anything else?” he asked when her voice trailed off.
“No, I… Wait, yes. I have a queen-sized bed with a fabric headboard and lots of pillows. There’s a television on the wall, and my bathroom has a soaker tub. I think I like pink.”
He looked pointedly at her sweater. “You don’t say.”
She glanced down and laughed. “Oh yeah, I guess that’s a clue. It’s a tasteful pink, though. And so are the pink touches in my room. Not electric pink or anything.” She sighed. “That’s all I’ve got at the moment.”
He set a plate with bacon and eggs and toast on the island and slid it toward her. “That’s a good start. You’ll remember everything when you’re ready. Sooner rather than later, I imagine.”
Libby took a seat at the island and dug into breakfast. The bacon was crispy and delicious. “You like bacon, don’t you?”
“Doesn’t everybody?”
“Yeah, but I think there’s something about cholesterol we’re supposed to watch out for.” She waved a piece of bacon around and Jared shook his head. Then he ripped into his own slice, biting it ferociously. She laughed at the fierce look on his face.
“Actually, I don’t eat bacon every day,” he finally said, grinning. “But the pack was open so I wanted to finish it.”
She liked him. He made her comfortable, which she thought was amazing. Knowing nothing about who she was made it difficult to know who she could trust.
But she could trust him.
“Makes sense. When I can go home again, I’ll pay you for everything. Even the bacon.”
“I know you will. Though maybe you can cook something for me while you’re here. I’ll take that as payment for my bacon services.”
She laughed. “Maybe all I know how to fix is potato soup. What if that’s all I ever make for you? Will the deal hold?”
He grinned. “Guess we’ll find out.”
“Guess so,” she said happily. She didn’t know why she was happy considering she still had a giant gap in her memory—and considering that three men with dogs had been hunting her yesterday—but she was. At least in this moment.
“I need to take you to my office today.”
She blinked. “Combat medics have offices? I thought you were kind of a nomad or something.”
“Hardly. I work for a company called Black Defense International. BDI for short. We have a headquarters building, and there are offices. There’s also a gun range and a bar, smarty pants.”
“Oh, that sounds like a good idea. Have a beer, shoot some weapons. Do you throw axes too?”
He snorted. “You’re cute, you know that?”
Warmth spread through her at the compliment. It wasn’t quite the same as being called beautiful or sexy or exciting, but she’d take it. When it came from a man who looked like this one, she’d definitely take it.
“Just calling it like I see it.” She forked up some eggs. They were creamy and delicious, not scrambled for so long they were dry. Jared had skills when it came to breakfast, that’s for sure. She wondered what other kind of skills he had.
“You’re blushing, Libby. What’s going through your head?”
“Am I? I have no idea why.” She took a bite of toast. “It’s probably a hot flash.”
He laughed, then shook his head and turned away to put his plate in the sink. Libby rolled her eyes. Really? A hot flash?
“When you’re ready,” he said, turning back to her, “We’ll head out.”
Her heart thumped. “Do you know what those men wanted from me yet?”
“No, but we’ll know more when we get to BDI. After you finish breakfast, get your jacket on and we’ll head out.”
Black Knight (A Black's Bandits Novel): HOT Heroes for Hire: Mercenaries Page 9
