by Low, Gennita
That was enough to make Jaymee paused in mid-pull of a nail. “I think you lost me on that one. Why would Jed be testing Killian?”
“Because he wants to see how important you are to him, silly,” Grace sighed, as if she was wondering at her inexperience with men. “He wants Kill to acknowledge you’re important, like I am to him.”
“Why?” Jaymee wondered whether there would ever be a time when she didn’t have any questions about Nick and his relatives.
“Because it’s going to get you or Killian killed. See? Distraction leads to carelessness, which leads to being possible targets, and right now, Killian is a target, if whoever is after Dad’s unit knows he’s still alive.”
Jaymee saw the logic behind it, but still couldn’t believe she—boring, dependable Jaymee Barrows—could possibly be involved with people who talked about being targets like it was an everyday occurrence. “You mean,” she managed to calmly word out her fears, “since he was a target, then I’d be one too, like you are, because of your relationship to Jed.”
No wonder Nick wanted to leave as soon as possible. She understood it now.
“Yeah, but since they don’t know Kill’s still alive, you’re pretty safe right now,” assured the teenager.
“But Jed doesn’t want Nick’s guard down,” Jaymee ventured a guess.
“Righto, and Kill’s failing the test.”
“How so?”
Grace sighed again. “Jay, you’re really blind. Instead of ignoring Dad just now, Kill is out there fighting with him! Basic evasive tactic for Viruses—submerge when being tested.”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Jaymee threw up her hands in exasperation. “You’re losing me again. First, your father isn’t interested in me, so he isn’t arguing over me. Second, what on earth are ‘viruses,’ is that what you said, ‘viruses’? Third, surely Nick will see through such a stupid test! After all, I just met you two last evening!” That seemed like a century ago.
Grace laughed lightly, obviously amused at something showing in her face. “Maybe Dad likes you more than you think?” she teased.
“What?” Jaymee stared back in consternation. “He wasn’t serious, was he? You told me he was testing Nick, to show him his weakness.”
Grace played with her pigtail as she considered for a moment. “Well,” she said slowly, but her voice still had laughter in it. “I don’t know. Jed doesn’t joke. Actually, Jed always means just about everything he says.” She took the broom out of Jaymee’s hand. “As for the question about Viruses, maybe you ought to ask Nick to explain to you. Here, I’ll clean up. You can go out and calm the men down, maybe ask more questions.”
She grinned again, a mixture of childish humor and adult observation. Jaymee couldn’t believe a sixteen-year-old, who was also advising her on how to deal with men, was outmaneuvering her. But then, Grace sounded like she knew more about the opposite sex than she would ever get a chance to find out. What did she know about men like Nick and Jed, anyhow? She ran a nervous hand through her tangled curls. She had to take control again, somehow.
“Sorry, girl,” she firmly said. “Jaymee Barrows doesn’t placate testosterone. They want to make fools of themselves, let them. I’ve more important things to do. Come on, you’re going to learn how to strip the doors down to their natural wood.”
This she understood—the certainty of a finished task, the toil behind labor. Not testing and words and arguments. She could never win an argument like that. She eyed Grace thoughtfully. Well, if all the girl got from her father was cerebral food, it was time she was given a chance to enjoy the fruits of hard work. She did seem to enjoy it enough.
“Yeah, let Jed handle cousin Kill,” Grace agreed, putting away the broom. “Do you want to take the door knobs off the doors first?”
Jaymee nodded. “Good thinking. You do that while I get the rest of the tools.” She tossed a last glance at the back door. “We’ll give them an hour, then we’ll break for lunch.”
A chuckle bubbled from Grace. “I like you, Jay. You shoot straight from the hip. Maybe that’s why Dad is after you too. He likes his women tough.”
“For the last time, your father doesn’t have a thing for me!” She needed to steer the conversation off this topic. Grace was too perceptive by far, and was enjoying this too much for a teenager. She muttered under her breath. “I can’t believe this is happening to me.”
“Don’t worry, Jay. Jed will make sure Kill growls even more than he does when you’re around.”
Jaymee groaned inwardly. That was all she needed. An angry big wolf to deal with while she was trying to tame him. She groaned again. Did she say ‘tame’? There was no taming a man like Nick. To them, she was just a distraction. That really rubbed the wrong way. What did they think she was—a toothache?
She shrugged. At least Grace had answered her questions, which meant Jed really did like her, enough to allow his daughter to give her information. She frowned. All this mental figuring was getting a tad complicated.
*
Nick didn’t see anything complicated about the situation at all. Someone was intruding in his territory and he did what he knew best—attack before invasion. He’d seen his cousin standing too close to Jaymee and talking quietly. He had noticed the way he looked at her when she wasn’t paying attention.
When Jed put down the saw to examine the length of pine, Nick quietly said, “I don’t need to tell you I don’t appreciate your unusual interest in Jaymee.”
Jed fitted the two-by-six piece of pine board into the empty space where the rotten wood used to be. Not looking up, he advised, “Keep her, or let her go.”
“Or else?” challenged Nick, as he donned his tool belt. He was angry with Jed, something that hadn’t happened for a number of years. His cousin had always challenged him, but never played with his romantic life. Jed had never needed to go after someone else’s woman before, and if he hadn’t realized by now Jaymee was taken, he’d better find out now. There was no way he was going to allow him to even consider Jaymee as fair game.
Jed whacked a six-penny nail into the wood. He glanced up briefly, and mockery glittered in his silver eyes. “Or, I’ll do it for you,” he informed Nick.
Going down on one knee, Nick clenched the half dozen six-penny nails in his hand. “This isn’t going to be one of your head games, Ice.”
His cousin kept nailing, his hammer pounding rhythmically, as he secured the two-by-six. “You aren’t functioning at top level because you’re indecisive. I won’t have any of my unit at risk because you’ve decided to expose your switch, Programmer.”
“No one’s at risk.” Nick’s voice was icy, dead certain.
“As long as you’re this way, everyone you’re with is at risk. Most of all, her. Face it, you can’t think straight where she’s concerned.”
“So you think you can make up my mind for me?”
“No. I’m saying, if you don’t, or won’t, make up your mind, I’ll make up her mind for you. She is, after all, very intriguing.”
Nick leveled a dangerous look at his cousin. “Get to the point. What do you want, Jed?”
The other man slapped the head of the hammer on his palm as he met him eye-to-eye. “Just do your job,” he responded unequivocally, “and you needn’t find out what I want.” His voice was soft, stressing the word ‘what’ with steely delicacy.
“Is that a warning? You’d risk our friendship to have it your way?” Nick tamped down the temper rising inside. A part of him knew what Jed was attempting to do, but he also knew women found his cousin’s dangerous air irresistible. And, the S.O.B. was considered attractive. Would Jaymee find him so?
“Let’s just say I’ll do whatever it takes to minimize loss,” Jed challenged back with calm arrogance.
Nick never underestimated his cousin’s determination. Jed was as lethal as he appeared, as ruthless as they came. He was COS’s number one silent assassin, and his reputation was legendary. He always did what he set out to do, and rig
ht now, he was warning Nick he would go after Jaymee himself, if she posed a risk to his men.
“I’ve been careful,” Nick said, deciding the best tactic for the moment was detached assurance. “The risk is minimal.”
“You’ve been lucky. So far. Unlike Diamond. Use your talents, Programmer, that’s all I ask. Write the program, execute the commands, and wrap up all the loose ends. Remove the bugs.”
“She isn’t a mistake.”
“I didn’t say she was the bug.” Jed moved back to the pile of pine boards.
Nick seldom lost in anything, and he especially hated losing to Jed. “Dammit, Jed. Stop probing.”
“It’s my job.”
One probe deserved another. “Do you think I’d let you near her, now that you’ve revealed your intention?” he asked.
Jed only shrugged, absorbed in his work. “Either way, I win. Now you’ll be on your toes at all times, won’t you—cousin?”
Nick cursed peremptorily, knowing Jed had him trapped in this war of words. He resorted to something General Jaymee taught him. He pounded down nails with satisfying savagery.
Chapter Twelve
Remodeling the old house was Jaymee’s solitary project, somewhere she could retreat and do things she enjoyed. She was used to being on her own, taking care of problems by herself.
It was, therefore, a new and pleasant experience to have company helping her. Something stirred inside her as she listened to the sounds of work around. The two men outside obviously didn’t need her supervision, keeping the air filled with the pounding and buzzing of tools and machines. She’d been alone for so long she’d forgotten what friends meant. She now realized how alone she had become these past years, so intent had she been at keeping her father’s business afloat. This was the first time in a long while someone was doing something for her, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry over the irony of three relative strangers being so helpful and kind.
As she washed off the brushes she and Grace had used, she studied the two men through the smudgy kitchen window. With the younger girl in the bathroom, she finally had a few moments alone to sort out her thoughts.
Looking at Nick and Jed working outside, Jaymee didn’t doubt any of the recent revelations. The two men worked bareback, and even from this distance, she could make out the muscles that rippled under their sinewy male flesh. These two were in superb shape, looking every bit the trained warriors she now suspected they were. They moved with the easy grace of active people who were used to working together, throwing two-by-fours and tools back and forth as if they’d been at this kind of job for years.
Her gaze was drawn to Nick. Sleek and powerful in a pair of dirty cut-offs, he exuded enough magnetism to give her a mild case of heart palpitation. It never failed every time. She sighed. How could just the sight of bare chest and muscles make her weak like this? She had seen enough half-naked men in her line of work, but that man out there was the only one who gave her bedroom thoughts. She eyed the small masculine buttocks encased in the jeans hugging so temptingly low on his hips. Very energetic bedroom thoughts indeed. She was turning into a sex maniac where this man was concerned.
Quickly, she shifted her gaze to the other man. Jed was leaner, with a hard, defined body that reminded her of a wild cat. She wondered again at the scars on his body. Besides those on his back, there was one on his side that looked as if its history was painful. Jed, she noticed, was very graceful. Every move he made was deliberate, as if he had very limited personal space, yet the very minimalist moves made her very aware of him whenever he was near her. And those eyes. They were always watching everything…no, she amended, they were stalking, like big animals looked at their prey. If Nick was trouble personified in her imagination, then Jed was danger in the flesh. She had a feeling Nick’s cousin had no compunction when it came to matters of life and death when dealing with the enemy. A total bad ass.
They must be talking about something serious by the look on their faces. Apprehension fluttered in Jaymee’s stomach. Maybe they were making plans to depart.
Her hand tightened around the brush in her hand. Tonight. Tonight would be hers. She’d forget about her fears and worries and get herself a memory of Nick to carry with her in the lonely nights ahead. Wiping her hands dry, she prepared two glasses of water, and putting a smile on, she stepped out onto the porch.
“Here comes the boss,” drawled Nick, brushing back the dark lock that fell over his forehead.
“You two have done enough for the day,” she said, handing the cups over. “We’ve to get ready for Mindy’s soon. Wow, you guys accomplished a lot!”
She examined the finished back porch with a critical eye. Despite the argument she and Grace had heard going on outside, the two men had done quite a bit of work. The repairs were finished, and only needed a few coats of water-resistant veneer. They’d even pulled off the rusty gutter around the back of the house.
She grinned, giving the thumbs-up. “Well, if you both ever need another job, you can apply right here.” She ran a hand down the well-used banister. “Good work, men.”
Nick lifted a dark brow, questioning whether she’d expected anything less. “I’ll help you with the counters and the doors tomorrow morning, but Jed and I have to take off sometime in the late afternoon.”
Jaymee’s smile dimmed. “Sure. Will Jed be going with us to Mindy’s this evening? You are still going, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t dare risk Mindy’s wrath,” assured Nick wryly. “Grace and I are, but Jed needs to borrow the Jeep to do some errands. Can we take your truck?”
“Of course.” Jaymee looked at Jed, who was quietly putting his shirt back on. “Are you sure you won’t come too?”
Jed shook his head. “I have to get some things ready for the trip tomorrow, but thanks anyway.”
“You can still join us after you’re through with your errands,” Jaymee persuaded. She wanted the two men to be friends again. Maybe a relaxed atmosphere would make Nick realize that his cousin didn’t mean what he said.
Nick didn’t seem to understand. He interrupted silkily, “Jed doesn’t like to socialize.”
Jed’s lips curled. In an instant, he turned devilishly handsome, his smile crinkling the corner of his eyes. That odd intensity disappeared. Jaymee blinked, swallowing the sudden intake of breath at the amazing change. Sexiness was a family trait for these men, it seemed.
“Perhaps I’ll join you later, Jay,” he said, his silver eyes frankly appraising her. “That way, I can pick Grace up and take her with me without the need for you to drive her back.”
Grace, who was silently sitting on the railing, surveyed the three adults. Her grin was knowing, mischievous. “Yeah, use me as an excuse.”
Nick scowled and stalked into the house, leaving Jaymee to stare after him, then at Jed. “What did I do?” she asked carefully.
Jed shrugged. “Give me directions to this place you’re going,” he said, instead, deliberately diverting her thoughts back to him. After she told him, he walked off toward the woods, heading back to her house to get Nick’s Jeep. He called back, without looking, “Behave yourself, Grace Audrey.”
“Always,” Grace promised, swinging off the railing. She helped Jaymee put away the rest of the tools. “I can’t wait for the food,” she said, licking her lips in anticipation. “Hamburger sounds absolutely marvelous. Hmmm. With lots of bacon. Oooh, and cheese.” She rattled off more ingredients as her appetite grew bigger.
Jaymee laughed. “That’s going to be one humongous burger,” she teased. “I’ll do my best to satisfy your hunger, young lady. Let’s go get ready.”
First, she had to find Nick. He came out right at that moment, looking as if he had just used the shower. “Thought I’d better leave the bathroom at your place to you girls. I have no wish to compete with feminine beautifying.”
Jaymee felt the tension under his teasing words. He was still upset about Jed agreeing to be at Mindy’s party. But why? As Grace ran ahead o
f them in the woods, she mused, “That girl must be the Energizer Bunny.” When Nick didn’t respond, she paused in mid-stride. “OK, out with it. What’s eating you?”
Nick threaded his fingers through hers, his slate eyes intense. “You aren’t curious about where Jed and I are going tomorrow.”
“If I ask, would you tell me?” Jaymee challenged.
His lips quirked. “No.”
She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “So that makes you mad at me? Because I didn’t ask, knowing you won’t answer?” She wrenched her hand out of his and turned away so he couldn’t see the desperation in her eyes. “I’m a big girl, Nick. I know you have a more important job to do than nailing shingles.”
Nick’s voice was low, but to her, it seemed to echo off every tree in the woods. “It’s for the best, Jaymee. I can’t have you and my job at the same time.”
“Why?” she cried, letting her frustration out. “Because I’m a...distraction?”
He placed two hands on her shoulders and turned her around gently. “Do you understand how difficult this is for me?”
Jaymee looked at his face, knowing every inch of it by now, from the lock of hair that always strayed onto his forehead to those eyes that could undress her with a look. The lips with the crooked, wicked smile, to the masculine lean jaw line that clenched intermittently whenever he was angry.
Pursing her lips, she asked, “When?”
“Soon. A week at the most.”
Less than a week. Jaymee swallowed the angry denial that threatened to burst from her. She glared up at him, hating him for making her feel so lost. “And you’ll leave me. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers.
Nick wanted to hold her, to take away the anger and pain, but he kept the distance between them. She had a right to be angry, and maybe this first step away from her would lessen the pain. Whose pain? A voice inside his head mocked. Yours or hers? He ignored that voice.
Anger was a good, cleansing emotion, unlike the way she had bottled up her emotions when he’d first met her. Let her be angry. He would rather have her angry with him, than have a wound festering inside.
