Point Blank Range

by Em Petrova

  Tossing a look at the clock on the wall, he said, “You’re late.”

  So he was going to be an asshole. She could handle assholes.

  Smiling, she answered, “The plane had to taxi longer than expected. I’m sure you understand.”

  He smiled back, but there was no friendliness in it. She tried to keep her nerves off her face. He must really be ticked at her performance, and while he was her director, she couldn’t help but wonder if he had other reasons for being a dick. While she’d always felt he was fake with everyone, she did wonder what was causing this extreme behavior, when typically he’d hide his true personality behind a mask of smiles and claps on the back.

  She smoothed a wrinkle in her trousers. “I gather some of the information you need to share with me is too sensitive to share except in person.”

  “Yes.” He studied her, and she kept her expression blank.

  “I think you know the agency is not very happy with the outcome of the last mission. Why was the group not where we pinpointed them to be at that time?”

  She arched a brow. “I was just as surprised as you are.”

  “You have no insights as to why they weren’t there, Alexander?” He sat back and rocked slightly in his seat.

  “None whatsoever. They simply never showed.”

  “You waited for them?”

  “We waited all night. Finally, the Ranger Ops’ captain called it off. The call came from Colonel Downs. The sun was rising and the new shift was coming onto border patrol. Operation X wasn’t going to risk crossing with fresh personnel on the scene, ready to strip that truck down from top to bottom if necessary. Especially with alerts out for trucks carrying pig manure.”

  “You realize your paycheck is not signed by the Ranger Ops, correct, Nealy?”

  “Well, Mark, I do realize I don’t answer to the captain, but I trusted his judgment. Is that not why you sent me to work with them? This is a co-op, is it not?”

  “It is,” he said at once, reaching for his pen. He flipped it end over end. She knew it was a distraction tactic. He was trying to throw her off her game, but it wasn’t going to work.

  “Tell me why I’m here,” she demanded.

  He looked at her a moment in silence, then dropped the pen. “We’ve got something big on the radar.”

  “How big?”

  “It’s the equivalent of enemy aircraft in our airspace.”

  “Literal jets bringing the arms into the country or are you waxing poetic on me?”

  His eyes gave off a gleam that told her he didn’t like being challenged by her, but he quickly squelched it.

  “It’s by water. They’re coming through a port city. A ship that remains just out of the harbor, avoiding patrols there. But small vessels will be waiting, and they can easily slip past as fishermen or pleasure boaters.”

  She glanced around at the empty seats on either side of her. “Why am I the only person being told this? I thought this was a meeting.”

  “It is. Between me and you. The others have already been informed. I’m telling you because you were off in Texas not fulfilling your duties.”

  That struck her. How many eyes did he have on her? Did the ATF know she’d been living with Linc in his apartment and even gone to the countryside to visit his mother? For all she knew, they had photos of Linc on bended knee and tears rolling down her face as she said yes to his marriage proposal.

  She got mad. All that was on her personal time. She wasn’t holding hands with Linc and skipping to the scenes of these crimes.

  But was she being proactive enough? By waiting for information to trickle down from her office, she might be missing something she ordinarily might have seen for herself, if she had been the one on the sidelines doing the digging.

  Which made her remember the last time she’d unearthed her own intel and gotten an ass-reaming for it.

  “I think we both know no agent is as dedicated as I am. I got that flash drive you asked for, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, and the coordinates were even off,” he muttered, grabbing his pen and flipping it again.

  She stared at him. Her heart gave a little lurch, which she didn’t know how to interpret.

  The coordinates had been off, but how did he know? He must have gotten a report from Sully.

  No matter. She had a boot to shove up Mitchum’s ass, and she was damn well doing it before she left this office today.

  Leaning over the desk, she looked Mitchum in the eyes. “Now we both know I have more experience in the field than you do yourself, Acting Deputy Director Mitchum.” She emphasized his title and stood and tapped his desk with a palm. “And usually that takes a person far in this agency.”

  He blinked at her but said nothing.

  Nealy went on, “I’ll take everything you have on this port, the times arranged for rendezvous and all the details on the number of men we’re facing and approximation of weapons that will be smuggled into the country. I’ll catch the next flight out.” She’d already checked into the flight details and knew it wasn’t booked full. Also, that she could be back in Texas within the day.

  Without waiting for more, she picked up her bag and left his office, sailing out and not giving a backward glance.

  Her mind was made up now. She was finished with Mitchum’s threatening undertones, and she wasn’t going to be under his thumb for long. As soon as she locked up Operation X, she was making the shift to Texas. She wasn’t only going to be a Texas wife—she was going straight to an airport shop and buying herself a nice pair of cowgirl boots.

  Get ready, Texas. There’s a new ATF agent in town.

  * * * * *

  Linc settled his ass on the barstool, aware of how long it’d been since he planted himself at a bar with his buddies. Too long.

  “Man, it’s good to have you back.” Lennon clapped him on the back and took up the next stool. He waved at the pretty bartender with the dazzling smile he gave all women he might want in his bed later and ordered a round of whiskey for all six of them.

  Shaw got his glass in hand first and lifted it. Everyone looked to him as he stared at Linc and said, “To Linc.”

  “To Linc,” they echoed and tossed back the alcohol.

  It burned a warm current straight through Linc’s system, and he relaxed bit by bit. Until now, he hadn’t realized how fucking edgy he was that Nealy had boarded that plane this morning.

  The afternoon had been taken up with some boring ass chores like washing his sheets and then hitting the gym at the apartment complex for an hour. When Sully had called everyone together for drinks, Linc had been eager to get out.

  He set his glass down on the bar top and rested his elbows there too. Next to him, Lennon asked for another. “You want one, bro?”

  He shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “Where’s your woman?”

  Linc eyed him.

  The bartender pushed Lennon’s drink across the bar to him with a flirty wink. He grinned back and looked her up and down. When she was called off to serve another customer, Linc shook his head.

  “Dude, she’s gonna throw out a hip walking that way.”

  Lennon brought the glass to his lips. “You can’t deny it’s a pretty view.”

  Linc didn’t respond. He wasn’t getting sucked into discussing women with his brother when Nealy was ingrained so deep into his mind that she left behind not just furrows but canyons.

  “Heard you visited Momma.” Lennon gave him a side-eye.

  Linc grunted. “She called you?”

  “With news like that, it’s a wonder she didn’t organize a parade and spots on late-night talk shows. I’m pretty sure I did see a YouTube commercial heralding the news of your engagement, though.”

  Linc chuckled. Maybe he did need that drink, after all.

  He waved the bartender over. She came with the bottle of whiskey in hand and eyed both him and Lennon as she poured two fingers’ worth. “You brothers?”

  “Twins. I’m the hot one. He’s
engaged.” Lennon sent an elbow into Linc’s, making him slosh some alcohol over the rim of his glass.

  The bartender grabbed a white bar towel and mopped up the mess while leaning in to talk to his brother.

  From beside him, Jess tipped toward him. “Did I just hear the E word, man?”

  Great. He wasn’t ready to tell his drinking buddies that he was the next Ranger Ops man to fall prey to saying I do. He, Lennon, Jess and Cav had formed a club of sorts, especially after losing Shaw and Sully.

  “Yeah, it’s true,” he said to Jess.

  “Wow. Man.” He blew out a low whistle that drew Cav’s attention from beside him.

  “What are we talkin’ about?” Cav asked, moving back to get a good view of Linc.

  “Our boy’s getting married. He’s given up, and now all hope is lost. He’s got to get his golf game up and buy that minivan to fit his two-point-five kids and all their soccer buddies.” Jess gave a humorless laugh.

  Cav winced and lifted his empty glass to alert the bartender he needed a refill. When she came over, he said, “We all need one.” She went down the line, refilling glasses for all six of the Ranger Ops team. Cav raised his high. “To Linc. One of our fallen.”

  “Wait, what the hell’s going on?” Shaw asked from down the line.

  This method of rumor running from one ear to the next was getting on Linc’s nerves. He set down his glass, climbed onto his barstool and looked down at the guys. “I’m getting married. Yes, it’s true, guys. I’m out of the prowling game but I can still drink y’all under the table, and I plan to give it a damn good run tonight! Whiskey for everyone!”

  The bar was rushed by all the customers wanting a piece of Linc’s dollar bill, and he dropped back to the stool to toss back his own.

  “Holy shit. I never thought you would have stopped taking every beautiful woman you could to your bed, man,” Jess said, shaking his head as if terrible news had just befallen them all. “That ATF agent really got to you, didn’t she? I’ll say she’s gorgeous and has a fucking killer body but—”

  He leveled a look at his friend. “How ’bout we don’t talk about her body anymore?”

  “Okay. We’ll talk about hers instead.” He gestured to the bartender, who was swaying her hips so much that Linc was pretty sure she’d have all the bottles knocked over and broken by the end of the night.

  “They fall all over us, have you noticed?” Lennon asked.

  “Yeah, I have. But I don’t care anymore.” Linc looked at his brother. “Are you too drunk to remember if I ask you to come along with me and shop for a ring?”

  Lennon set his glass down with a thump and twisted to Linc. “You’re asking me?” He threw a splayed hand over his chest with a fake flutter of his lashes. “It’s like we’re besties or something! I can’t believe it. Guys! I’m going ring shopping with Linc!”

  “Dickhead.” Linc hid his grin behind his glass.

  The others tormented him with gushes of teasing that would have put a housewife reality show to shame. They continued to carry on for some time. Somebody ordered appetizers and about a dozen dipping sauces to go with them. Which led to steak dinners and more whiskey.

  When Linc had had his fill of alcohol for one evening and a belly stuffed with steak and all the jalapeno poppers he could handle, he stood and got out his wallet.

  “Wait, you’re leavin’?” Lennon asked.

  “Yeah, I’m headin’ home.”

  “Pussy whipped already. Gonna stop off and shop for that minivan on your way?”

  Linc gave him a grin. “Yep. I’ll be pickin’ your ass up in it tomorrow first thing so we can shop for that ring.”

  “I’d at least look up some ratings on those automatic doors that always quit working before you sign the deal.” Lennon waved away the bills Linc was trying to throw down to cover his bill. “I got this.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. Not every day your twin brother asks a woman to marry him. Let me buy you a steak at least.”

  “Don’t forget the whiskey you bought everyone in the house. I’ll do the same for you when it’s your time.” He gripped his brother’s shoulder.

  Lennon looked at him as if he’d just killed his dog. “Don’t ever let me hear you speak such dirty words again. Momma would wash your mouth out with soap. Now get on home and call that girl of yours. I know you’ve been dyin’ to all night.”

  Linc squeezed Lennon’s shoulder. “See you tomorrow, bro.”

  As Linc moved down the line of guys, they all gave him nods. His chest swelled with affection for these idiots he called friends and teammates. They were all his brothers too, and he couldn’t survive without them.

  But right now, he was hoping to go home and hear from his girl. His fiancée. The woman he never believed would come along and tame his wild streak. One thing Jess had said tonight stuck out to him.

  She was beautiful—and she had a killer body. And Linc couldn’t wait to get her alone in that pool under the moonlight again.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Who are we waitin’ on? Colonel Downs?” Linc stared at his teammates seated around the table.

  Sully kept his face neutral, but Linc noted a ripple in the tendon at the crease of his jaw at his question. Whatever it was… it had to be big. Which meant Linc was leaving without saying goodbye to Nealy. He hadn’t heard from her since she texted to tell him she’d touched down in DC and was on her way to see her director.

  After that, nothing. He’d sent her a few texts but got no responses, and to say he was worried was the understatement of the decade. He didn’t like not knowing where she was or the reason she was in DC in the first place. For all he knew, she’d been dispatched to another city on some other mission to take down a sadistic fucking drug lord like Manilo.

  Great—he was traveling down that rabbit hole again. After she’d shared that bit of information with him, Linc had dug into the history of the case, and it was fucking terrifying enough considering a lot of details weren’t made available to the public.

  Just thinking about Nealy neck-deep in dangers he couldn’t protect her from made him grind his teeth.

  Lennon turned his head to pierce him in his gaze. Realizing the noise he was making and the damage he was doing to his pearly whites, he relaxed his jaw muscles and templed his fingers on the table instead.

  Minutes passed with nobody speaking.

  Suddenly, the door flew open and the most beautiful woman in the world sailed in, wearing a self-confidence that had his dick standing up and saluting.

  He jumped to his feet, but Nealy sent him a look that kept him rooted in place. It was clear by the expression on her face that something big was in fact going down, she knew what it was… and she would inevitably be joining them for.

  He dropped into his seat again and thank God for Colonel Downs getting the team new chairs that weren’t about to collapse under his weight, because he wasn’t gentle about it.

  Her gaze skimmed over him and landed on their captain. Stepping forward, she set her bag on the floor and took up the head of the table. All eyes focused on her.

  When she began to talk, spilling details about a ship coming in with enough weapons in the hull to put a gun in the hands of every preschooler in the state of Texas, where to find this ship and how to go about stopping it, they all leaned forward to listen.

  Linc’s ear was tuned in as well, but so was his body and his heart. He was damn proud of his girl. If she wasn’t promoted within the year, he’d be shocked. Her skills and no-failure attitude was exactly what shot a person to the top. She’d be next, he was sure of it.

  “There’s a truck pulling out in thirty minutes,” she said. “We’ll travel disguised as one of the many trucks that transport these weapons from the fishing and pleasure boats.”

  “I hope we won’t be riding in pig shit,” Linc said, garnering remorseful chuckles from his team. They all knew what he’d suffered and none of them wanted to relive that shit.

 
; “After we arrive?” Lennon asked.

  She looked to him. “We split up. Some stay with the truck. Some take a boat out to the ship.”

  Sully was shaking his head. “As captain, I can’t see that as being a good path for any of us. We’re stronger together.”

  “But we all know that to take down a bunker, you have to spread out and enter through both the front and back doors.”

  Linc was shaking his head. “Sully’s right. We stick together as a team. Power in numbers.”

  “Guts and glory, man,” Lennon said, bumping knuckles with Jess to his left.

  “Gear up. We roll out in thirty minutes. We’ll make a plan on the way.” Sully stood and left the room, leaving Linc wondering why he hadn’t stayed and fought for his team more. Maybe because he had no intention of arguing with Nealy in front of everyone and would save it for the ride to the coast.

  The others got up and followed their captain, but Linc remained in place. He and Nealy’s gazes met across the table.

  “You okay?” he said softly.

  She dropped her eyes and nodded. “I get the feeling Sully’s not on board with my tactics.”

  “Honestly, I can see why. It’s always a bad idea to go in separately unless you have several units on the scene like we had with Knight Ops.”

  She compressed her lips, and his stare zeroed in on them. “I should call them in.”

  He nodded. “Team Rou too. We need all hands on deck.”

  “This all has to be orders from superior officers.”

  “Better get on it, director.” He stood, palms on the table.

  She blinked. “Why did you call me that?”

  “Because you’re ready, even if the idiots in your agency don’t see it yet. You’ll be seated in a cozy office handing out orders sooner than you think.” He dropped her a wink and walked out of the room. Though he wanted to touch her badly, it wasn’t a good idea. They had to stay focused, and one fingertip on her smooth, freckled skin would make him lose his mind.

  She didn’t follow him, and as he geared up, he thought about what they were getting into. By the time they all met up and made it to their transport, the operation had tripled with Knight Ops and Team Rou on the ground en route to the coastal meeting point.