by S. M. Butler
His clipped, accented voice was dead even. His body wasn’t especially tense despite the sounds of a full-on battle going on around the camp. He was a true sociopath. And he believed he was in complete control, which made her wonder just how many men he’d brought.
“Move.”
She hated that he used that word. But she didn’t have time to think about Jackson. She walked forward, out the bathroom door, eyeing the prone body of the guard who’d been keeping watch, and then through the tiny living area to the front door. There, she held her breath before opening the door. The sounds were farther away now and at the opposite side of the camp.
Awkwardly, they went together down the steps. Two men in black Federales uniforms stepped out from the side of the hut to take up positions on either side of her and Diego.
“I created a little diversion,” he said, sounding very pleased with himself. “Something to draw away your friends.”
“Alejandro is my friend,” she said, although she wasn’t so sure about that anymore. She suspected he’d been taken because he wanted to be. She blinked against the cool raindrops. “Alejandro wore some kind of tracker, didn’t he? But I’m sure he was searched.”
“I placed a tracker beneath his scalp when he was a child. Did they search his skin, his hair?”
Gunfire continued to pop in the distance. The group drew near the back of the ops building, and Suri thought it strange that clearing was bare. No one waited in front of the building. No one was in sight.
Diego must have thought the same thing, because his arm tightened, constricting her breathing, and the muzzle of the pistol dug into her temple. “Keep moving,” he whispered harshly.
To the right, the man beside him dropped. Blood spread over his chest from a single shot to the forehead. A moment later, so did the soldier on the left.
Diego growled, the sound coming from his belly before exploding beside her ear. “I have your whore!”
Gunfire stopped. The site grew quiet except for the plop of raindrops on tin roofs.
“I think that means you don’t have anyone left,” she said softly. “Maybe you should make a deal.”
“Shut up!” His knee connected with her hip. “I’ll kill you!”
Pain shot through her body, and she gasped.
“And the moment you do, motherfucker, I’ll drop you to the dirt.”
Jackson’s voice, coming from behind them. Suri’s eyes filled with tears.
Teague stepped out from around the side of the ops van, his hands out to his sides to show he wasn’t armed. “Diego Guzman, all your soldiers are down. Most dead. Your son is trussed up like a turkey inside. You have no place to go, no one who can help you.”
Guzman snorted but his hold didn’t ease.
Teague shook his head and gave him a tight smile. “And if you think Jave is coming to your rescue, dream on. He bit it ten minutes ago.”
Guzman held still as a statue for a long moment, and then whirled with her to face Jackson.
Jackson stood in the open, sighting down the barrel of his raised weapon. “You don’t have anywhere to go. Release her.”
“I’m leaving through the gate. Try to stop me, and I’ll kill her. I swear I will.”
Suri believed him, and knew that if he managed to make his way outside, she wouldn’t remain alive for long. Her stomach clenched. She had few choices. And they narrowed to just one. Jackson.
Her glance locked on him and she slowly mouthed, One, Two, Three. Then sagged, catching Guzman by surprise because she slid partway out of his grasp. A shot rang out. Guzman’s arm fell away, and he dropped backward to the dirt.
Suri scrambled to her knees, and then her feet, and ran for Jackson, launching herself at him. He held his gun away from his body and grabbed her waist, hauling her in while she wrapped arms and legs around him, and held him tight, her head buried against his shoulder.
“I stayed put,” she said with a sob. “He found me.”
His cheek slid against hers. “Shhh, I’ve got you now. I’ve got you.”
A throat cleared near them.
Suri lifted her head, wiped the tears from her face, and then unwound herself.
Jackson let her down to the ground, but kept his arm around her back.
Teague’s face was grim. “Can’t say we won’t get more company. Three helos from our ship in the Gulf are heading this way. Only bring what’s necessary. We’re leaving as soon as they touch down.”
Jackson nodded. “I’ll get her on the first one out.”
Chapter Eight
‡
The last bell of the day rang, and Suri smiled at the kids as they hurried out of the classroom. As she signed off her computer and put a folder of papers to be graded that weekend into her deep tote, she thought about how easy stepping back into her old life had been.
When she’d returned from Mexico, she’d been welcomed by the principal. And although the other teachers gave her curious looks, they never asked her where she’d been. Her kidnapping never made the news, but apparently, the powers that be had smoothed her return. Her contract was safe. She’d be back again the next fall. Her future was secure.
But it was an empty future. One she was likely to spend alone.
For a month, she’d waited for a call or a letter, had answered every doorbell hoping the caller would be him. Jackson Keller never came. So, she supposed that answered the question of whether he’d felt the same about her as she felt for him.
The thought stung that she’d abandoned her usual caution and let him inside her heart and her body, only to have him use her and drop her the minute his mission was over.
She guessed he’d only been doing his job. Sticking close and protecting her, and when she’d offered more, well, he was a guy. Any port in the storm and all…
His abandonment still stung. He’d strapped her into a seat on the helicopter then hopped back to the ground—without any warning that he wasn’t taking the same flight. As soon as she’d reached the tarmac in Cancun, she’d been whisked away to a plane that had dropped her in Austin where a limo drove her home. Her apartment had been cleaned. Everything set to rights. And a check lay on the counter—reparations for her having been caught up in Charter Group’s hunt for Diego Guzman.
The check was generous, but not the sort of solace she wanted. Her life had never felt so lonely or empty until it suddenly was.
She opened the door to her classroom and stepped into the hall.
A tall figure straightened from against a row of lockers.
Her gaze traveled upward and she sucked in a breath.
A storm-gray gaze held steady with hers.
She couldn’t help it. A flush of heat crept up her neck to her face. Her eyes stung, but she blinked to make sure she didn’t cry. She walked past him without saying a word.
“I know you’re angry.”
Oh, that was an understatement. She picked up her pace until she was stalking down the hallway to the front doors.
“Look, at first I didn’t call because I couldn’t. We still had some mop-up to do with the remnants of his cartel. Once he learned Guzman was dead, his son gave us loads of actionable intel. I guess he figured his money train was gone anyway. He struck a deal. You don’t have to worry about seeing or hearing from him again.”
At the entrance door, she reached out a hand and pushed on the glass, not stopping and smacking her nose because it didn’t give.
“Let me get that for you.” He depressed the bar that opened the door.
Infuriated, she pushed past him, running down the steps toward her car. There she hit her remote and unlocked the doors.
“Suri!”
He was right behind her. And she needed one more look. Something to emblazon on her memory so that she never forgot the pain of seeing him again. She’d never make the same mistake, but first she had a question. She turned slowly and scowled. “You said, ‘at first’—what about after.”
He dipped his head and looked at the groun
d, and then shot her another glance. “I didn’t want to do this by phone. I wanted to see you, face to face.”
“What’s this? You breaking up with me?” she said, her voice rising. “There was nothing to break. Go home.”
His eyebrows furrowed and he stepped forward, looming over her.
Then he lifted both hands, but she didn’t let herself flinch. He couldn’t hurt her anymore, but he bracketed her face, holding her still, and bent to kiss her.
She went rigid, her hands curled into fists, ready to slug him in his rugged, beautiful face.
But he kept kissing her.
She must have been robbed of oxygen, because she grabbed for him and kissed him back.
By the time he lifted his head, she was putty. Ready to be rolled and molded and then kicked to the curb. “Please,” she said, her voice breaking. “Don’t do this again unless you care about me.”
Jackson crowded her against her car and lifted her by the waist until they were eye level. “I don’t just care about you, Suri. I love you.”
He used that graveled tone. The one that melted her bones. Lord, she wanted a lifetime of hearing it. “I love you, too. But if you aren’t serious about this, about us, I’d just as soon you walked away now.”
He set her on her feet. “Give me the keys.”
She frowned but put them in his palm.
“Get in.”
Watching him as she moved, she walked around the car and slid into the passenger seat, waiting as he moved back the seat then folded his big frame into her Corolla. If she hadn’t been so tense, she might have snickered at the sight.
He drove straight to her house. Of course, he’d know where she lived. Probably knew what she ate for breakfast and who she’d voted for President the last time around. Spooky spec ops guys had their sources.
Irritation had her clamping her jaw. She realized her indignation was kicking in again, and her backbone had returned. As soon as the car was in her parking place in front of her apartment, she let herself out and climbed the stairs.
“Pack a small bag. You won’t need many clothes.”
She didn’t bother aiming a glare over her shoulder. If he thought he could walk back into her life and start barking orders again, he was going to be disappointed.
When she got to her door, she had to wait for him anyway. He had her keys. And he was taking his sweet time coming. The way he strode toward her, his face all hard edges and with his dreamy, storm-cloud eyes narrowed, made her knees wobble just a little. So he was beautiful, he was still a heartless bastard.
He unlocked the door and stood aside as she entered. She wondered what he thought of her place. She hadn’t touched the pale beige walls, because one never knew when they’d have to pick up and start again, and repainting walls would be a pain in the ass. But her furniture was comfortable—garage sale finds—and her decorations were junk shop treasures she’d refurbished. Although the style and colors she’d strived for were boho chic, she knew the wild clashing patterns looked like the inside of a Gypsy’s wagon. A lush mix of every color in the red spectrum with dashes of turquoise here and there to cool it down. And on one wall, she had a framed map with pushpins marking every place she wanted to travel in her lifetime.
“Not what I expected,” he said softly as he glanced around.
“Just because I’m a schoolteacher now doesn’t mean I don’t have dreams.”
“I like it, Suri.” His gaze raked over her clothing.
She held out the skirt she wore, a denim thing that fell past her knees. Dowdy as the other teachers, which was the point. “I want to fit in.”
“I know you do. But you’re not quite sure how to go about it, are you?”
Suri dragged in a deep breath. “Don’t start thinking you know anything about me.”
He walked toward her and picked up her hands, holding them in front of him. “I don’t know everything, Suri, but I’d like the chance to learn.”
Warmth spread through her but she looked away. “You shouldn’t have waited so long.”
“Did I hurt you?” he asked softly.
Her lower lip trembled, and she sniffed. “Yes.”
His eyes reflected regret. “I’m sorry for that, but I wanted to be free and clear for a while. I wanted to be able to spend time with you. I thought we might go somewhere.”
“I still have a week of school left. I can’t up and leave now.”
“Well, you can. If you wanted to. I know people who can make it happen.”
She tugged her hands from his. “You have some free time, so you want me to drop everything and come with you. But what about after that?” She waved a hand toward the door. “I won’t be that girl who waits at the airport for you to drop in for a quickie when you’re in town.”
His brows furrowed. “I’m not asking you to do that.”
“Then what are you asking.”
Jackson raked a hand through his hair. “I’m fucking this up,” he muttered. “Deke was right, I should have rehearsed this.”
She stared, not understanding, until he reached into his front pocket and pulled out a small jeweler’s box.
Suri took a step back. If she was wrong about what was inside it, she was going to cry.
When she backed away again, he reached out and grabbed her hand. “Don’t run away. Not yet. You deserve better, but it’s been burning a hole in my pocket.” He went to one knee.
She shook her head. “Don’t.” She placed a hand on her chest; her heart was beating so hard she thought she might faint.
His expression grew taut, his jaw tightening until that sexy muscle jumped at the edge as he ground his teeth. He flipped open the box and turned it toward her.
The ring was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Little rainbow sparkles of color from the perfectly cut diamond at the center of a circle of smaller diamonds. Her breath held as she stared, and then her glance darted to his face.
He was waiting. But he still hadn’t asked.
“What do you want, Jackson?” she said, her voice thick due to the lump burning the back of her throat.
He cleared his throat. “Will you have me? Will you be my wife?”
She remembered staring out the cabin of the helicopter after he’d jumped to the ground. He’d turned and gazed at her with what she’d thought was regret darkening his eyes. She’d never felt more alone. “I can’t marry you unless you can promise me you’ll always be my family. You said you love me. You can’t ever take it back.”
Jackson took the ring from the box and slid it on her finger. “Same goes for you. No matter how mad you get, you can’t ever leave me.”
She stood staring at her hand then pushed her hair behind her ear and lifted her chin. “It wasn’t nice, dumping me in that helicopter.”
Jackson stood, gazing down at her. “Would you have gone if you had known I had to stay behind?”
She gave him a frown. “Why couldn’t I have remained? I would have stayed where I was put.”
“We were moving fast. The situation was too dangerous. After Guzman got to you…” He shook his head. “I never want to be that scared again.” He put his forehead against hers. “Just say yes, baby.”
So, she’d have to work on his communications skills. And he’d gone to a lot of trouble and expense to bring her the ring. She held up her hand. “One of your spook friends go through my jewelry box to find my ring size?”
His eyelids lowered half-way, and he gave her that sexy look she’d dreamed about too many nights. “Just put it down to a very good guess. Say yes.”
“You going to keep asking until you wear me down?”
His mouth twitched at the corners. “Is it working?”
Maybe he already smelled victory, or maybe the happiness she felt was written in her eyes. She stopped fighting. “Yes, Jackson. I’ll have you for my husband.”
He gripped her waist and twirled with her, and Suri laughed. Jackson had unlocked her heart.
*
; Jackson bent over Suri and kissed her shoulder. She lay sprawled on her stomach in much the same position she’d fallen asleep last night after he’d made love to her the second time.
They hadn’t made it out of the apartment, but he was determined she wouldn’t distract him again. A friend had lent him a beach house on Padre Island, and he wanted to spoil Suri a little this weekend. She deserved it. She’d said she would put up with him—’til death do they part. That those exact words had been spoken while she’d ridden him hard only made them that much more memorable.
He bit her earlobe. “Wake up. We have to leave. The drive to Padre will take hours.”
She groaned and pulled the pillow over her head.
Jackson smiled. He came over her, sliding a knee between her thighs and an arm beneath her hips. He lifted her to her knees, although her chest and head remained on the mattress and she made a sound like a snore.
He wasn’t fooled. One caress between her legs and he knew she was awake and aware, but if she wanted to play it like this, he was game.
He bent behind her and tongued her folds, stabbed the tip into her opening and swirled, then moved downward. His thumb found her clit first, and then his mouth, and he didn’t start softly. Instead, he suctioned on it, drawing so hard his cheeks hollowed.
“Oh fuck,” she said, coming up on her arms. “Jackson…oh!”
He nipped her and swirled his tongue upward, before rising to his knees and feeding his cock into her very wet pussy. He gave her lazy rolls of his hips, short, quick strokes, and then deeper, hooking glides.
Suri loved them all, pushing her luscious ass against him, murmuring how good it felt, how good she’d give it to him next time, if only he’d fuck her harder now.
Jackson smiled down at her, gripping the sides of her hips to bring her against him in a rhythm that would serve them both. Soon, they pounded together, and their gasps and groans echoed in her small bedroom.
When they both lay breathless, chest to chest, he pushed her hair away from her face and cupped her cheek. “I love you.”
Her smile was deep and curving, and the gesture wrinkled the sides of her pretty blue eyes. “When did you know?”
