“Good morning,” she answered, the painting done and needing a safe place to dry for a couple days. She turned it to face the corner, shrugged out of her robe, and climbed back into bed.
Instantly, his very capable hands found purchase on her body, pulling her to face him. “I like touching you,” he admitted softly. “All of you.”
There was no doubt. The man was aroused and ready for round two. She wrapped her arms around his neck, acutely aware at this early morning hour that round two might be all they had left.
Chapter Seventeen
At the first light of day, Jamaal knocked on Lacy’s bedroom door. Jake rolled out of bed, pulled his jeans on, and opened the door, blocking the view of his lady in bed. Lacy stretched, still sore, still tired, and still wishing there was another way. She did what any woman would. She eavesdropped.
“What’s up?” Jake asked.
“I’m, umm, gonna run over to Moe’s, you know, and get that suit for you like I said I would,” Jamaal whispered. “You got any bills on you?”
“It’s okay, Jamaal,” Lacy called out. “I’m awake.” He might as well know she was with Jake now.
Jake tugged his wallet out of his back pocket and removed a few denominations. “This is all I’ve got. Don’t spend it on booze.”
“Would I do that to you?” Jamaal chided.
“You know damned well you would,” Jake growled. “Just remember, the lives of those little girls depend on us. No one else knows what we know. It’s got to happen today.”
“I know, I know. You and your lady friend get ready while I’m gone. I’m buying three metro tickets for the trip on my way back.”
“Thanks,” Jake said earnestly. “We’ll be ready to go. I’ll make breakfast while you’re gone.”
“You’d do that for me?”
Lacy flung a wrist over her forehead. Jamaal was such a kid at heart.
Jake grunted. “Hurry back.” When he closed the door, he flopped onto the bed beside Lacy. One look at his thoughtful face, and she knew he was thinking the same thing she was. The best laid plans and strategies of any military op they’d ever been on had never gone as planned. The unexpected always happened and things could still go horribly wrong today. Plus, they were grossly ill equipped for the task ahead. Poindexter had the world at his disposal. All they had was each other.
“I need to use your phone,” he said quietly, his index finger tracing the line of her jaw. “I have a friend who might be able to help us today.”
She pulled the blankets to her neck and sat against her headboard. “You do? Who?”
“Zack Lennox. He’s a good guy. Always ready to lend a hand when I need him. I trust him more than I trust myself. The guy he works for owns a security company of ex-snipers. Name’s Alex Stewart. Most of the work he does is for federal clients, but he’s got a stellar rep. They’re both Marines like us, and Zack does undercover work for Alex all the time. He’s been inside China, North Korea, and just about everywhere American interests are at risk.”
He sounded hopeful. For the first time, so did Lacy. She eased out of bed, embarrassed she’d left her robe at the end of the bed. “Don’t look.”
A glorious smile broke out over his face. “But I like to look at my woman. She’s the only thing in this world worth looking at. Who else should I look at?”
His telltale wink stopped her short. She dropped the robe she’d just picked up off the floor. “Well, since it’s you.”
He grinned, his hand outstretched for hers. “How about I make the call and we grab a quick shower together before Jamaal gets back?”
Lacy fell into his open arms. “Works for me.”
“Good morning. Lennox household. LiLi Lennox speaking,” Zack’s oldest daughter brightly proclaimed over the phone.
Jake’s lips curled into a smile. Zack’s three girls were the cutest little bugs on the planet, and Jake was convinced that LiLi was a nine-year old genius.
“Hi, LiLi. This is Jake. Is your dad there?”
“Uncle Jake!” she squealed. “Mommy, it’s Uncle Jake! When are you coming back to see me? I’m doing chores so I can earn enough to buy a telescope. I want to see all the stars.” Oh, yeah, she was pretty sure she was going to be an astronaut when she grew up too. Or a scientist. Or the President of the United States. Her vocation changed with the days.
He smiled at Lacy, wrapped in the blankets and still snug on the bed beside him. She’d get a kick out of meeting LiLi. Zack Lennox was family, the kind a guy chose for himself. Zack had been a little rowdy when he’d first gotten home from Iraq, but that was over now. He’d spent a lot of money on the high life back then, but he’d never quit on his buddies. “It’s almost Christmas, LiLi-bug. How about I come visit the day after so you can show me what Santa brought?”
“Okay,” she squealed again. What was it with little girls? Always loudly exuberant and right in his ear, too. “But Uncle Jake, Daddy’s not here right now. He has important work to do. Do you want to talk to Mommy?”
“Sure, thanks LiLi.”
“Love you, Uncle Jake. Bye!” she yelled as she handed the phone off to her mother.
“Hello, Uncle Jake.” Mei’s mellow voice was a little easier on his eardrums. “I’m glad you called. It’s been too long. How are you? The girls are expecting you for Christmas Eve, you know.”
Hearing the genuine concern from two of the women in Zack’s family never failed to soothe Jake to his soul. Damn, he loved them. Lacy had just joined him. Pulling her into his side, he winked down at her. “I’m real good for a change, Mei.” Zack’s wife, he mouthed. “I can’t make Christmas Eve, but I’ll be sure to stop by the day after Christmas if it’s okay with you. I’d like you to meet someone.”
“Oh?” Mei asked a thousand questions with that one word. “As in a woman someone?”
“Yeah,” he answered with a quick kiss to Lacy’s forehead. “Lacy Wright is definitely a woman. But listen. Will Zack be home later tonight?”
“No. He’s on a local stakeout of some kind. You know how it is. If he told me who he’s watching, he’d have to kill me, but give me your number. He always calls in the evening to tell the girls goodnight. I’ll have him get in touch with you then. Will that work?”
“You bet.” Jake passed Lacy’s phone number onto Mei and ended the call with a sigh. “Damn, Zack’s working today. Looks like we’re on our own.”
Lacy pulled her knees up under the covers. “Are we sure Rafe will fall for the blackmail ploy?”
The feel of her silky legs against his thighs sparked the image of another go around, but his heart wasn’t in it. The clock was ticking for all those frightened girls in those disgusting videos. “Pretty sure. Besides, it’s the only leverage we’ve got.”
“Then let’s shower. I need some time with you before Jamaal comes back.”
What should’ve been another magical encounter turned into gentle washing of each other’s bodies, gentle kisses, and tender embraces. He couldn’t tell if Lacy was crying or not, but the light in her eyes was tempered with the seriousness of the mission. They rinsed, toweled each other off, dressed, and were in the middle of making pancakes when Jamaal returned.
He’d done good. The three-piece pinstriped suit he’d brought with him fit the bill perfectly. A dapper hat came with the get up, but Jake opted out of that one. The fluffy black feather tucked in the band of that hat wasn’t the look he was going for.
Jamaal plunked it on his head with a wicked leer. “Good. I’ll keep it.”
“You would,” Jake muttered as he flipped the last pancake onto Jamaal’s plate. “Anybody ask about the outfit you’re wearing?”
Jamaal almost looked offended. He didn’t seem to mind the Good Samaritan logo stamped across his chest. “What’s a matter? You don’t like ’em or something?”
Lacy lifted her eyebrows waiting for Jake to reply, but all he did was roll his eyes. If Jamaal was happy in sweats, who was he to argue? Food silenced any further chatter, bu
t it didn’t work with Lacy. She’d only taken one pancake, but didn’t eat any of it. All she had was coffee.
Jake took his half-filled plate to the sink and hers along with it. “I’ll do dishes when we get back,” he promised, hoping that would project her thoughts past the dangerous mission they’d set their hands to.
Jamaal kept shoveling his pancakes into his mouth, but Lacy caught Jake’s eye. Worry etched her face and her pretty eyes were subdued. This wasn’t a day for smiles.
“Let’s do this then,” he said. Latching onto the suit hanger, he headed into her bedroom to change. “You did get the burner phones, didn’t you?” he asked Jamaal over his shoulder.
The big guy thumped his new-used jacket pocket and kept on eating. He’d shopped well and he’d needed the jacket over his sweats. Their money was gone, but Jake didn’t mind.
He dressed quickly and made Lacy’s bed when he was done. After they returned tonight, he planned to mess that bed up good and ask her to marry him. It was early and he knew the chance she’d marry a guy like him was slim, but guys like him never knew what would happen next. He had to strike while the iron was hot.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, Jake sucked in a deep breath and blew it slowly out through his nostrils. There was a day not too long ago that he was the guy in charge, the sergeant, the baddest badass, and the go to guy. For good reason. He’d led his men into firefights that turned ugly real quick, but he’d also led them onto success and then back to base. He’d kept them alive. There’d been days he’d lost more ground in Afghanistan than he gained, but there were victories, too. Most of all, he’d honest to God loved every last one of his troops. Male or female didn’t matter. They weren’t much to look at, but damn it, while in that godforsaken country, they were his.
His eyes strayed to the wooden cross on Lacy’s wall. “You know we’re going into hell,” he told the man hanging there. “If you love her as much as I do, you’d better ante up and send us one of your damned Christmas angels, and he’d better be packing.”
As usual, the man on the cross promised no such thing. Not like that was a surprise.
Chapter Eighteen
The metro from Anacostia to Foggy Bottom didn’t take long. They transferred from the Green Line to the Blue at L’Enfant Plaza, but when the McPherson Square stop came up, Lacy about lost her nerve. Only Farragut West remained. Then Foggy Bottom Station.
Her heart pounded at the audacity of their foolish plan, and for what? A bunch of girls none of them knew? A human trafficking ring that the whole damned federal government should be dealing with instead of three has-beens from the wrong side of the river? Yes, she felt bad for all of those girls, but why did Jake think he had to save them? Couldn’t someone else?
The moment that pitiful rationalization hit her brainpan, she knew better. Good men would always stand up to be counted while the masses would forever stand behind their lame excuses. Lacy swallowed hard. This was the bitterest cost of war. The good and noble went off to battle, while those who would not, stayed behind and lived their safe little lives.
Jake seemed in tune with her melancholy. He dropped his hand to her knee and squeezed. His other arm already extended along the back of her bench, his hand firm on her shoulder.
“Have we lost our minds?” she whisper-growled, pulling her crocheted beret over her hair again. If anything would give her away, it was her flaming crown of red, for now encapsulated beneath her favorite winter hat. “I know crazy, but I’m pretty sure what we’re doing makes us poster children for the funny farm with a capital C.”
A tender smiled graced his lips. “I’m okay with crazy,” he muttered, his lips pursed and instantly seeking her temple. She closed her eyes and absorbed his kiss into her soul for what might be the last time. Instantly, she repented for not wanting to rescue the girls she knew were in mortal danger. Of course, she would do whatever she could. She was a former Marine, too. Lacy just wished there was another way.
“You have pre-combat jitters. Don’t worry so much,” he whispered into her hair. “It’ll be done before you know it. As soon as I get what I need in Poindexter’s office, I’ll take a shot of it with my phone, and I’ll forward it to you and Jamaal. That way if one of us gets caught, the other two will have copies and can still go to the authorities and take Poindexter down.”
“You can send it, but I’m not leaving without you,” she declared stubbornly, her chin up and USMC pride in her glare.
“And I’m not leaving without you,” he promised.
“I’m damned scared of Poindexter,” she admitted tersely. “We still don’t know what happened to Anderson and the staff at the clinic, to Marlee either, for that matter. I haven’t had the nerve to call Ernie to see what he knows yet. For all we know, Anderson and everyone else at Good Samaritan could be at the bottom of the Potomac.”
“True, but Poindexter’s still human like us. It’s not like we’re fighting a superhuman ghost or some guy in a cape with super powers. He’s a flesh and blood man, and I’ll bet if you land a right hook on his chops, he’ll bleed.”
“We’ve both been fighting ghosts,” she murmured. “For years.”
Another warm kiss blessed the side of her head. “Then let’s make this the last one, Lacy. Let’s finish Poindexter once and for all. After today, we start fresh, okay?”
Starting fresh sounded promising. Foggy Bottom was just minutes away. Their time was running out. Lacy stowed her apprehension and soldiered up. Despite her doubts, these two men depended on her, and she wouldn’t let them down. When the last passengers boarded and the train doors closed, Lacy leaned into Jake’s side. With a deep breath she became Corporal Wright and steeled her soul for war once more.
Once they disembarked, she handed her backpack to Jake. Her pistol was in there. He’d need it more than she would. They’d allowed themselves one hour of prep time to case Poindexter’s joint, as Jamaal called it. Prep time included a walk about the area while hopefully staying out of sight.
Jamaal wanted to stroll right into the building lobby for a closer look, but Jake vetoed the brash option. Jamaal had already taken a beating. He could be recognized. Hell, all of them were on Poindexter’s radar, so they stayed discreet and clear of security cameras and guards.
At the end of the hour, they stood across the street and watched Rocky Rabbit and Ferret Face leave through the rear exit, and then return fifteen minutes later through the same door. They seemed to be in a hurry, but they’d parked in a parking garage behind the building.
“I’ll bet Poindexter parks there, too,” Jake said. “I’ve got a couple dollars left. Let’s grab a Starbucks.”
Lacy used her debit card to order three coffees. They took a seat near the window and watched the front door of the real estate mogul’s building across the street. They’d done as much reconnoitering as they could. It was time.
“You’re up, Lacy.” Jake reached across the table to clutch her hand. “Make the call.”
Her throat went dry, but she nodded and dialed Rafe’s office number, her hands trembling as she placed the phone to her ear. Jake and Jamaal’s eyes were on her.
A woman answered. “Good morning, Mr. Poindexter’s office. How may I direct your call?”
“Put Rafe Poindexter on the phone,” Lacy demanded.
“I’m sorry, but he’s with a client at the moment,” the woman purred. “May I take a message?”
“I told you to put Rafe on the line,” Lacy snapped. “I’ve got something he wants. Tell him Lacy Wright doesn’t have all day to wait for his sorry ass to return her call.”
Jake winked. Jamaal gave her a solid thumbs-up, but for the life of her, she didn’t know where she’d summoned this tough persona from all of a sudden. Her knees hadn’t stopped shaking since she’d sat down.
“One moment please,” the woman said as the soft sounds of Lawrence Welk’s orchestra filled Lacy’s ear with mind-numbing boredom.
“I’m on hold,” she explained.
&
nbsp; “You’re doing good,” Jake said. “Eyes on me, Lacy. You can do this. Trust me.”
And then Mr. Poindexter himself was on the line and in her ear. “Lacy Wright?” he asked calmly. “It’s about time. I’ve been waiting for you to call me.”
I’ll just bet you have, you pervert. She gulped an extra noisy gulp. “Well, wait no more. I’ve got something you want, and you know what it is. We need to meet. Now.”
He had the nerve to chuckle. “Exactly what would someone like you have that I want? This is the same Lacy Wright who used to work at the free clinic on Good Hope Road, isn’t it? I understand that it caught fire yesterday afternoon. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t you live in the Rochester apartments on Manley Drive? Didn’t you drive a Subaru Forester before someone put it out of its misery?”
The sinister edge to his voice caught Lacy cold. He knew everything about her, so she returned the favor. “Very good, jerk-off. You’ve done your homework, well so have I. Don’t you have a pretty blond wife named Kelly and a daughter named Kenzie who likes her son-of-a-bitchin’ daddy to lift her up and carry her? Do you or do you not own a pathetic white mutt named Pekoe? Shit, what kind of an asshat names their dog after a teabag?” Lacy dragged the back of her trembling hand over her lying mouth. Not once in her life had she threatened a man like this, much less his innocent wife, child, and a cute little dog.
A moment of silence filled her ear, all except for the sound of her pounding heart, and she was pretty sure Poindexter couldn’t hear that. Her audacity surprised her, but she had to make this guy believe she meant what she said. Jake’s wink calmed her, so she doubled down and went all in.
“Yes, Poindexter. Trust me. I’ve seen the pictures and the videos. I know where you and your cute little family live. You almost looked like a decent human being there for a minute, but don’t think for one second I believe that shit or that I’m playing.” She held her breath and waited for an answer.
“Where?” Poindexter snapped.
“Where are you now?” she snapped right back. “I want to know exactly how long it will take you to get here. I don’t intend to be the next rotisseried corpse on Good Hope, you asshole.”
Jake (In the Company of Snipers Book 16) Page 14
