The Shadow of Mudflap (A Foxtrot Team Novel #1)

by Christi Snow

  Turning off the motorcycle, his shoulders slumped forward for a moment like they carried the weight of the world, before he turned leery eyes toward her. She climbed off the back of the motorcycle, and removed her helmet as he did the same. He continued to straddle the bike, watching her.

  “What’s going on, Mudflap?” she finally asked when he didn’t say anything.

  “That’s what I’m hoping you’ll tell me. See I met this gorgeous girl with my friend, Riley, Friday night.”

  Her stomach climbed into her throat.

  “Something about her seemed just so damn familiar and that’s when I saw it.” He grabbed hold of her wrist and tugged her hard up against his chest. His hot breath warmed her neck in the cool fall air. “She had this heart-shaped freckle right here,” he trailed a finger lightly up the side of her throat, stopping to rest just under her ear, sending shivers down her spine, “just like yours. In fact, it was identical. But you know, she really didn’t look anything like you.”

  He leaned back to gaze into her eyes, his own reflecting hurt and confusion.

  “Mudflap,” she began, but he rested his finger up against her lips to stop her from speaking. The other hand still held her right wrist firmly.

  “No, wait, there’s more. See, I called Riley yesterday to see what I could find out. But you know, he doesn’t remember getting home Friday night, although he swears he only had two drinks. Not near enough to cause a black out. It just doesn’t add up.” Now a little bit of anger filtered through his gaze. “In fact, he couldn’t even remember enough to know if he got lucky or not Friday night.”

  His jaw clenched and the grip on her wrist tightened. She could have fought back, but she still didn’t feel threatened. Right now, all she truly felt was sick to her stomach as she continued to see glimpses of hurt flash through Mudflap’s expression.

  “So I got to thinking about my girl who drew a knife off her thigh when someone was shooting at me and,” he shoved the sleeve of her leather jacket up her arm to expose the knife strapped there, “appears to be equally well-armed today. I just can’t help but wonder. Should I call you Shanae or Madison? Did my friend, Riley, get lucky Friday night? And what kind of fool am I being played for in this scenario?”

  “You’re no fool, Mudflap.”

  He smiled bitterly. “Evidence proves otherwise.”

  She weighed her options for a moment while staring into his eyes that continued to search hers. She took a deep breath. “I have a feeling we may have more in common than you think.” She unzipped his jacket, pulling it open to expose his shoulder holster. “How about we both come clean? Why are you armed?”

  He looked away to watch the rolling water of the creek for a moment. “I don’t know if you really remember, but someone shot at me a couple of weeks ago.”

  She nodded, but wouldn’t let him off that easily, especially after she got a good look at his gun and holster. “This is a government issue holster. In fact, it looks like maybe some of DOD’s style gear.”

  “Well, I worked in DOD for eight years.”

  She nodded again. “Yep, as an elite sniper. This isn’t the kind of gun you used.”

  His eyes widened a bit. “You know more than I’ve told you.”

  “Yes,” she took a deep breath, “because I have a dossier on you that details every little thing about you. It’s part of my job.”

  The hurt flared again. “I’m part of your job?”

  She swallowed, but then whispered, “You’re supposed to be, but I can’t convince my heart of that.”

  His eyes searched hers, looking for the truth. Finally, he must have seen what he wanted to know because he groaned. “What are you doing to me?”

  He lowered his head and kissed her. As the kiss deepened he pulled her into his lap across the bike. Needing to feel him closer, she threaded her hands around the back of his head and into his hair, tugging him toward her.

  Tongues dueling, teeth clashing, he devoured her. He palmed her breast and her nipple pebbled through the layers of her t-shirt and bra. Arousal pounded through her system as she began the search for skin. She needed to feel him. He tugged at her t-shirt, pulling the tail of it out of her jeans and she did the same to him. Finally, bare skin pressed against blessed skin. His ab muscles twitched and flexed under her fingertips. She scraped a fingernail over one of his erect nipples and he shuddered. That sent a spiral of electricity down her spine directly to her core, which flooded with arousal.

  Making quick work of his fly, she pulled him free. He sucked in a harsh breath as she stroked the long, full, hard length of him. When she rounded the top to stroke the head, he groaned into her neck.

  “I sure hope you have protection with you,” she whispered into his ear huskily.

  “Hell, yeah.” His voice was deep and ragged with arousal.

  While he dug in his pocket, she slid off his lap and worked off her pants and boots. At the sight of her black lacey thong, his mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. She gave him a cocky grin as she realized he’d lost track of what he was doing. She took the condom out of his hand, ripped it open with her teeth, and then slowly slid it onto his full length. He moaned long and hard at her lingering touch.

  She didn’t want to wait any longer, the need to have him inside her overwhelming everything else. Quickly she slid her thong down her legs and stepped out of it. Then she straddled the motorcycle facing him with her legs wrapped around his waist. In a single move, she slid down onto his full length. Perfection.

  He held her still for a moment, holding her by her hips, his breath harsh. “Give me a moment,” he gritted out through clenched teeth. He kissed her, rubbing the tight bud of her clit.

  Her internal muscles clenched and they both moaned.

  “Damn, you’re just too sexy” he groaned.

  Slowly, she began to move, sliding up and down him. He was thick and hard, stretching her just to the edge of pain as he surged into her. Already her climax was so close. Several thrusts later, her internal muscles began to ripple and contract in growing ecstasy. He lengthened to seemingly impossible depths, hitting her in just the right spot as he surged up again. There was no holding back the orgasm that barreled through her core causing her to scream his name.

  His muscles tensed for a moment before he began to pulse deep inside her. Their combined orgasm seemed to go on forever until finally all that was left was their harsh breathing echoing over the sound of the rushing water of the creek and the singing of the birds in the tree.

  She rested her forehead on his bare chest, her hands smoothing across the planes of his muscles. Not wanting to think, she threaded her fingernails through the dark curls of hair on his pecs, luxuriating in the feel of his continued presence inside her core.

  He reached below her chin and lifted it so he could look her in the eye. He laid a soft kiss on her forehead. “Are you okay?”

  The care and gentleness emanating from his eyes slayed her. She knew they weren’t finished with their conversation yet, but she didn’t want to lose the beauty of this moment. Swallowing against the lump building in her throat, she whispered, “I’m good. I know we need to talk, but can we please just enjoy this for a few more minutes first?”

  The tears built behind her eyes, so she laid her face back on his chest.

  “Sure, I’m good with that.” He rubbed up and down her spine, soothing and calming her.

  Within a few minutes, she knew they couldn’t avoid this conversation any longer. She slid off him and got dressed while he took care of the condom and refastened his pants. He hopped off the motorcycle, took his jacket and spread it at the base of the tree. He pulled her so that she sat in between his thighs, leaning up against his chest.

  He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “When TC was hired for the coach’s job, a colonel from a special branch of the Department of Defense came to visit me at the fire department.” He proceeded to tell her how he had ended up working on the sidelines for the team and what he was
supposed to do.

  Shanae cursed. This was another classic example of too many branches of the federal government not communicating with one another. LiFT and the Department of Homeland Security had no idea that the Department of Defense was involved with this operation and vice versa. Shanae needed to call her boss, Daniel, immediately.

  She reached inside her jacket for her cell phone. She cursed when she saw the screen. No service out here. “I need to get back. My boss needs to know about this.”

  He pulled her phone away and shook his head. “We’re not going anywhere until you tell me exactly who you’re working for and what your job is in all this.”

  That was only fair and she knew that Daniel was going to throw a fit about it, but it was only a matter of time before the two agencies clashed, which could result in a danger to civilian lives. No one wanted that, so she told him everything she thought he needed to know.

  When she was done, he sat there pondering it all. “So you’re telling me that all the Lift EMS crews are actually a cover for a federal spy agency within Lubbock?”

  She nodded. “Basically.”

  “Wait, wait, wait. I saw you Friday night. You were undercover, weren’t you? I could have completely blown that for you.”

  “It’s okay, you didn’t.”

  After a moment, his eyes widened. “I don’t suppose you have codenames do you?” His tone was downright sultry.

  She laughed and began to shake her head. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not playing some sort of super-secret spy kinky fantasy for you.” She shook her head emphatically. “No!”

  “Oh, come on. What kind of guy do you take me for?”

  She wiggled her hips on his lap where his erection had suddenly taken life in his jeans again.

  He groaned. “Okay, okay, yes, I am that guy, but you’re Shadowfox, aren’t you?”

  Shock reverberated through her. How did he know that name? No one was supposed to know that name.

  His eyes darkened, obviously pleased with her reaction. “So is it true? Can you kill me with just your thighs?” He ran his strong hands along the insides of her thighs and just that quickly, once again her limbs lost all strength. She wanted him again.

  Shanae didn’t get to answer his question, but by the time they left the creek, he did say she could kill him like that and he’d be perfectly fine with it.

  Mudflap

  As they pulled into his driveway, Mudflap was surprised to see three other motorcycles already parked there. Shanae stiffened behind him and her hand clenched across his abs. What was that about?

  They got off the motorcycle, removed their helmets, and she seemed to be extraordinarily interested in the bikes, so he was surprised when she reached up to caress and nuzzle at his neck. While doing so, she unzipped his jacket and unsnapped the latch on his gun harness. “Be prepared,” she whispered in his ear. “I don’t know what they’re doing here, but these bikes belong to the local motorcycle gang. They don’t usually come by just to say welcome to the neighborhood.”

  Adrenaline kicked in.

  The front door swung open just as they began to mount the steps of the porch. Three men in black leather and motorcycle club jackets exited the house. They were all big and mean-looking. The first two of the men brushed by the two of them without a word, but the last man met eyes with Shanae and gave her a subtle nod of acknowledgement. Mudflap didn’t know what to make of that, especially after the rushed warning she’d just given him.

  Fortunately, TC was right behind them standing whole and healthy in the doorway. His jaw clenched as he watched the men get on their bikes and drive off.

  The look of relief that crossed TC’s face when he spotted Mudflap was worrying. He stepped back into the house as they came in.

  “Are you okay?” Mudflap asked.

  TC nodded. “Yeah, they just came by to give me a little warning and actually even an offer of help.”

  Shanae’s eyebrows creased. “What did they say?”

  TC shut and locked the door, taking a deep breath while doing so. It took him a moment where he seemed to gather himself and then he seemed to recollect the two of them. Watching Shanae closely, he offered his hand out to her. “I’m sorry. You don’t want to get involved with this. You must be Shanae. I’m TC, Mudflap’s brother. I’ve seen you working at the stadium. We appreciate your EMS teams and the services you offer the football team.”

  “Thanks, it’s nice to officially meet you, but I need to know what those guys said.”

  TC’s eyebrows rose in surprise as he pursed his lips and turned to Mudflap in question. He shook his head again. “No, this isn’t—”

  Mudflap stopped him. “It’s okay, I think.” He frowned as he considered Shanae, what she’d told him, and the top secret status of this mission. “I’m going to call into HQ in just a moment. And I have a feeling that Shanae will probably do the same. She’s part of a government agency working on this, too.”

  At TC’s look of surprise, both Mudflap and Shanae nodded.

  “Yeah, we have a lot to sort out,” she muttered. “But first I need to know what those men told you. Did they tell you who they were?”

  TC shook his head, looking more and more worried.

  So Shanae filled them both in. “The big blond guy was Python. He’s the head honcho of the Intrepids, the local motorcycle gang. They’re mixed up in some bad shit. I’d recommend you not take them up on any offers of help they’ve given you. You won’t enjoy what you have to do to repay the favor. ”

  “They didn’t make introductions. Just said that certain things went too far which is why they were here to give me a warning. Obviously, messing with the Texas Tech football program takes things too far in their eyes.”

  Shanae gave a dry laugh and rolled her eyes. “You have to love the sacred religion that is West Texas football. It even causes the locals with absolutely no scruples to get their panties in a bunch if someone messes with it. Did they have any specific information?”

  “Yes, they said one of my assistant coaches was a mole and selling out the program.”

  Mudflap scowled. “Coach Allred?”

  TC’s eyes widened with surprise. “How did you know that?”

  “He was acting suspiciously a couple of weeks ago. I reported it, but they didn’t find anything on him when they did the background searches. I don’t know what else they’ve done with the investigation since then. We both need to report in anyway, because there’s a lot going on without anyone knowing the full story. Everyone needs to get together so that we can get this operation functioning correctly, before someone gets hurt.”

  Shanae

  An impromptu Sunday evening meeting meant that they were all at LiFT HQ, in one of the conference rooms on the mid-level security level of the building. Neither Daniel, her boss, nor Mudflap’s commander, Colonel Barr, were happy about the turn of events or the other branch getting into what they considered their operation. But this is where they were at, so now they all had to figure out a way to work together.

  Shanae found a moment away from the others to let Daniel know the DEA agent, Slade, was part of the group of Intrepids at TC’s house. She had a feeling that he might have something to do with TC’s visit late this afternoon.

  After establishing the events of the day with TC, there was an exchange of information behind closed doors between the two commanders. Shanae, Mudflap, and TC were not invited to that portion of the meeting.

  As they waited, Shanae watched the two brothers interact. They discussed the events of the day quietly and supportively. Shanae knew from Mudflap that the age gap and simple personality differences had caused strife between the two of them over the years, but watching them now, she never would have guessed. Faced with an unknown danger, they’d joined forces to create a united front, a team.

  A team. Mudflap. The two of them had certainly been a team this afternoon when they’d been completely intertwined with each other.

  She hadn�
�t allowed herself much time to dwell on what happened today, but there was no denying the sex between them had been life-altering. Never had she experienced that deep of a connection with another man. Never. It excited her. It exhilarated her. It terrified her.

  Even now, watching him, the strum of awareness spun through her, filling her with butterflies. His eyes met hers for a moment and softened. The tenderness in his gaze slayed her. This was so different from anything she’d ever felt before. She liked it and that was more paralyzing than anything else. There was a reason she had her three date rule. She’d broken it today and already her heart wrenched with the thought of losing him, which was inevitable. That’s the way relationships— all relationships— worked.

  Then the two commanders came out and she couldn’t dwell on it any longer because it was time to concentrate on their instructions.

  Basically, TC and Mudflap were supposed to confront Coach Allred tomorrow at practice, with Shanae and the team standing by in case they needed LiFT’s assistance. Nobody thought the assistant coach was dangerous, just sneaky. There was also the possibility that he was being blackmailed, since they discovered some inconsistencies in his bank accounts. They planned to exploit that and hopefully get some information out of him so they could get ahead of these guys. They needed some information. It was time for them to catch a break.

  Game 8 Results:

  Texas Tech (8): 47

  vs.

  University of Oklahoma (2): 35

  Week 9: When the Game-Plan Goes to Hell

  Mudflap

  The next morning, TC and Mudflap entered the offices at the training center within a few minutes of each other. The plan was to confront Coach Allred together, but when TC went to search him out, the coach was nowhere to be found. No one had seen or heard from him or knew where he was.

  An hour into the morning practice drills, word finally arrived.

  Coach Allred had been on his way into work and had a car accident. It was a one vehicle accident with no witnesses, but his truck ran head-on into a tree and burst into flames. He never had a chance. A chill ran down Mudflap’s spine as he listened to the news from TC, who was struggling to hold it together. This was just too coincidental for this to have been an accident. In addition, the details were eerily reminiscent of Grant’s father’s death.