Zero Hour: Brotherhood Protectors World

by Holt, Desiree

  “Damn you, Jesse.”

  She wanted to stamp her foot at the unfortunate situation. Then she wanted to scream.

  He laughed. “You wouldn’t be the first person to say that. Now, let me at it. I’ll get this done in just a minute.”

  Silence dropped over them, and she felt a need to break it.

  “So, uh, what have you been doing since I last saw you?”

  His body tensed for a moment before he answered. “A little of this, a little of that. Here and there. Lot of construction work.”

  “Oh.”

  She wanted to ask him if he’d hooked up with anyone, but pride kept her from it.

  “You still chasing the bad guys?” he asked.

  “Still doing it. They never stop being bad.”

  It seemed they had nothing to say to each other after that, so she just stood and watched him.

  He changed the tire and, as he was tightening the lug nuts, he asked, “So, who are you all the way out here to see, anyway? Old boyfriend?”

  “I’m here on business.”

  “Here in the Crazies?”

  “Good place for crazy people,” she told him.

  “And who are you on your way to meet? Another hotshot ATFE agent?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business,” she snapped, “but I’m hooking up with a friend who’s going to help me.”

  “And does this friend have a name?” He finished tightening the last lug nut.

  “You wouldn’t know him. Alex Rossi. Sheriff Alex Rossi.”

  Jesse dropped the lug wrench with a clang and whirled to look at her.

  “You have got to be kidding me.”

  “Why? He’s an old friend. And what’s it to you, anyway?”

  He raked his fingers through his hair. “That’s who I’m on my way to meet with. He’s an old friend of mine from the SEALs. We were on the same team for a while, as a matter of fact.”

  Terry just stared at him. “You’re kidding me. Or someone is playing a huge joke.”

  “Nope. Not at all.” He rose, replaced the lug wrench in rear well of her SUV along with the flat and dusted his hands on his jeans. “But it is a hell of a coincidence.”

  “No kidding.”

  Silence dropped between them like a boulder.

  “Listen, Terry,” he began

  “Jesse, I—” She stopped, took a deep breath. What could she say to him that didn’t sound like a bitchy female? He was certainly free to do whatever he wanted, including leaving her without a word.

  He held up a hand. “Me first. Running out on you the way I did was wrong. I knew it then, and I still know it, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “All you had to do was tell me we were getting too serious and you wanted to back off. Or needed to get out. Anything but just running off.”

  He nodded, an anxious look in his eyes. “I was carrying a lot of baggage. A lot. Stuff I couldn’t make myself discuss.” Distress etched lines in his face. “I still can’t, and it isn’t fair to dump that on another person.”

  She wanted to tell him she could handle anything he dished out, but she knew at the moment he wasn’t open to that. Maybe this coincidental meeting was fate creating the opportunity. She mentally crossed her fingers because Jesse Donovan was the only man she’d ever been with where she could just plain be herself.

  “I’ll tell you what. Let’s get to Alex’s office and let him know we’re both here. After that, who knows?” She shrugged.

  “I know you have a job to do, but I’m sure we’ll be thrown together. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with me.”

  “I’m a big girl. I can handle it. And thanks for changing the tire.” She forced a smile. “Since I know where Alex’s office is, how about following me so we can get going?”

  He studied her for a long moment, something swirling in his eyes that she couldn’t identify. Then he nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  Terry cranked her ignition and pulled onto the highway, waited until Jesse had his motorcycle revved, and took off down the road. Her emotions were chasing each other all over the place, and she needed to pull them in. She had to focus on Reed Morgan and whatever he might be planning. That was the most important thing. Jesse Donovan could do his thing with Alex—whatever that might be—but she wanted first call on the sheriff’s time. Reed Morgan and whatever he was up to was more important than anything Jesse could possibly have in mind.

  It seemed like only seconds before she turned off the two-lane highway and onto a short gravel road that led to the parking area where the building was located. Three SUVs with the logo of the sheriff’s office were parked there along with a pickup and two sedans. Sliding her SUV into a slot at the edge of the parking area, she waited for Jesse to dismount from his bike and hang his helmet on the handlebars.

  He looked around.

  “It’s pretty much out here by itself, isn’t it?”

  “Most of the county is privately owned land

  “After you.” His mouth curved in a hint of a grin. “Ladies first.”

  The building itself was one story, painted tan, with a porch that ran across the front. Next to the double doors leading to the interior was a neat plaque proclaiming it the office of the sheriff. Terry climbed the three stairs and pushed through the doors. She smiled at the woman sitting at a desk behind a window. Angela Pascal had been Alex’s admin since he took over the office. Terry had met her on a brief stopover two years earlier.

  She grinned at the woman. “Hey, Angela.”

  “Nice to see you, Miss Fordice.”

  “I told you to call me Terry, remember?” she reminded the woman. “Is he in?”

  “Yes, and he’s right here.”

  Terry turned to the tall man wearing knife-creased pants that covered the longest legs she’d ever seen. A holstered gun rode one lean hip. He embraced her with a genuine hug.

  “Good to see you, Terry.” He winked. “Even if you did bring what might be a shitload of trouble with you.”

  She laughed. “Good to see you, too.”

  Alex looked over her shoulder. “And you must be Jesse Donovan. I didn’t know you two knew each other. Did you come here together?”

  The two men shook hands.

  “Uh, yeah, we know each other and, no, we didn’t travel here together. We sort of ran into each other on the road.”

  “Coincidence,” Terry added. “I had a flat, and Jesse stopped to change it for me. Lucky for me we were both headed here and that he happened along right when I could use an extra set of hands.”

  Alex looked back at Jesse. “Glad you decided to take Zane up on his invitation. He’d planned to be here after he got your call, but he’s out chasing some idiot shooting at cattle.”

  “No problem.”

  Terry glanced at Jesse and realized he looked a little uncomfortable. She desperately needed to sit down with Alex and find out what he’d learned and what he had in place, but she wasn’t sure how much she should tell Jesse. Maybe she should let him go in first.

  “If you guys want to meet first, go ahead.” She did her best to tamp down her impatience.

  Alex looked from her to Jesse and back again. “Actually, Terry, if you have no objections, I’d like to have Jesse sit in with us. He might be a help in this situation, and it would give him a chance to see what’s what here.”

  “Uh, sure.” And thanks for putting me in an awkward position.

  “You said you know each other. If there’s a problem here, let’s have it. It can affect both circumstances.”

  Did she know Jesse enough to trust him with a hush-hush operation? He’d certainly never given her reason to doubt him when they’d been together—until he left without a word. But that was personal. And he was a SEAL. While no outfit was perfect, for the most part SEALs had an unblemished reputation. Alex himself was a prime example of that. And she’d realized on the long drive here that she really might need help if she was going to find out exactly what Reed Morgan was up t
o.

  “No.” She shook her head. “No problem.”

  “Good.” Alex nodded. “You said this was urgent, so let’s get to it, but I don’t want to do it here in this office. I trust most of the people who walk in and out, but I can’t always control the traffic.”

  “Is there a place to stay around here?” Jesse asked. “Maybe we can meet there.”

  “No place with privacy, but I have something to suggest to both of you. Zane and Lainie have the house I lived in when I first got here.” He grinned. “Now I get to live in the big house with the head of the ranch.” Then his smile disappeared. “But only for what I hope is a short while. We’re hoping someone buys the damn place soon and we can build on ten acre we’re keeping for ourselves.”

  No one said anything for a moment. Terry knew all about Alex’s marriage to Micki Schroeder, whose family owned one of the huge ranches at the foothills of the Crazies. One of his first cases was to solve the murder of Micki’s father who turned out to be part of a group of uber wealthy ranchers that thought it was fun to rape and threaten underage girls and kill them if they talked. They were protected by the previous sheriff who was now in jail himself. Schroeder’s only saving grace was his intention to come clean, which is what had gotten him killed.

  Alex had helped Micki through the devastating time. Now they were married and anxious to put the past behind them. They were building a new life now just as Alex was rebuilding the sheriff’s office.

  “Anyway,” Alex went on, “the point of the conversation is, there is a place with privacy. There were a couple of other houses like the one Zane and Lainie have that were for sale. Micki and I bought them to have available for SEALs I invited to join my staff. If they accept, they get a place to live in rent free for a year. If they stay past that, they either buy the house, pay rent, or find a different place to live.”

  Jesse cocked an eyebrow. “And how’s that working out for you?”

  Alex laughed. “I’ll let you know. You’re only the second one I’ve invited. Zane gave you a high recommendation.”

  ”Yeah, I can imagine,” Jesse muttered, and shook his head.

  Terry drew her eyebrows together in a frown. “But that means you still have a very small staff.”

  “True. Miranda Golden and Zane are it at the moment for full-timers. I did, on Miranda’s recommendation, hire two part-time deputies who said they’re good until I fill all the spots. Jesse, if you try this out and decide you want to stay, there’s definitely a slot for you.”

  “This is a damn big county to police,” Jesse pointed out.

  “It is. Fortunately, except for that one fucking mess, not much happens here. If it does I can call on the state police to help. In any event, think you two could share one of those houses? They’re big enough you won’t trip over each other unless you want to. And Micki sent a cleaning crew in to get it ready.”

  Terry looked at Jesse, whose eyes were filled with such a swirl of emotions she didn’t know what to say. He’d walked away from her before. Would he share a house with her?”

  “I can always—” she began.

  “We’ll do it,” Jesse said at the same time.

  Great. She was going to be staying in the same house with the man who’d dumped her like yesterday’s trash yet still made very pulse point in her body pound in response to his presence, not to mention her traitorous nipples that hardened to almost painful points.

  Her pulse thumped a little harder, and her mouth went dry. It would take a lot of discipline to stay focused with Jesse Donovan in such close proximity. How the hell was she going to do this?

  Alex leaned back and smiled. “Glad that’s settled. Jesse, you’ll get a chance to see what we do here and how we do it so you can decide if you want to give it a shot.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Got directions?”

  “You both can just follow me. Let me tell Angela we’re leaving. Oh, and I’ll want her to send Zane over when he gets back.” He looked at Terry. “If I have to, I’ll read Miranda in on this. You can trust her 100 percent, and we may need her before this is over. She knows this area like the back of her hand. If there’s some reason Morgan is using his place as a staging area, she’ll be the one to tell you. Okay, let’s move.”

  Alex led them out to the front are and stopped to speak to the receptionist.

  “Angela, I’ll be out for a while at the house near the Halsteads. I’ll have my phone with me, but don’t put anything through unless it’s a national emergency. The only exception is Zane, if he gets here. You can tell him where we are and send him along. Jesse? I guess we’ll find out real quick what you’re made of and if this here interests you.”

  “Uh, okay.” Terry wasn’t all that happy about increasing their little group, but she trusted Alex, so that had to be enough for her.

  Five minutes later, a stew of emotions swirling around inside her, she was following Alex down the two-lane country road, Zane behind her, and Jesse bringing up the rear. For the first time in a long time, she felt uncertain, and about more than Reed Morgan.

  Chapter 6

  The first thing Terry did when she got back in her car, ready to follow Alex to the house where she’d be staying, was call Max and tell him about Jesse Donovan.

  “Isn’t he—”

  “Yes,” she snapped, cutting off the rest of his question. “He is. You ran a check on him then, if you recall because god forbid my private life should be private.”

  “You’re in a business where nothing is private,” he reminded her. “Too many people want to breach our security.”

  “I know, I know. Let’s just move on., He came up clean that time, and I’m sure nothing has changed.”

  “But you’ll run him again, anyway,” Jaeger pointed out.”

  “Fine. Just let me know the result as soon as you can. I’m about to sit down with him and Alex Rossi If there’s a problem, which I do not expect, I need to know now.”

  “Is there another way? I’ll be back to you in no more than thirty.”

  “Max?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Uh. Thanks for not cutting the lifeline completely.”

  He chuffed a short laugh. “Terry, you may be determined to go rogue on this, but you’re one of my top agents. I don’t want anything to happen to you if I can help it.”

  Terry often wondered how Max got answers to some of his questions so quickly. Then she realized that to hold the position he did, there had to be absolute trust and confidence from the higher ups.

  Fifteen minutes later they were all at the house Alex had led them to. The first thing Terry did was find the coffee machine—thank the lord it was a single serving type—and fix a cup of coffee for herself. The others followed suit and then they were ready to get down to business. As far as Terry was concerned, it couldn’t happen too fast for her. They had just seated themselves around the dining room table when her phone beeped with a message.

  “You’re on your own because the boss wants to work it from here, so please don’t get yourself killed. Check in on my other phone when you call. Max.”

  Okay, then. Time to get down to business.

  She was never more grateful for her hard-won discipline than she was sitting in the meeting with Alex and Jesse. It allowed her to focus on what could be a national emergency and bottle up her reaction to Jesse Donovan. She’d been fighting it since he pulled up behind her on the highway and all those ruthlessly depressed hormones screamed and jumped to be let loose.

  But she was a professional, and her work came first, so she ruthlessly closed her mind to the effect the man had on her and concentrated on the task at hand. In careful, concise sentences, she laid out the situation, explaining that the government believed Reed Morgan was planning some act against the government that would be both dangerous and destructive. She gave them the background information she had on both Morgan and Beckett plus the confirmed knowledge that the ranch was the gathering place as well as the launching pad for whatever w
as about to happen.

  “Whatever it is,” she finished, “it’s going to make a big splash.”

  For a long moment Alex said nothing, just sat there as if absorbing her information. Then he looked at Jesse.

  “Zane said you were part of a SEAL team that took down a terrorist group in Afghanistan. One that was planning to blow up a critical base.”

  “That’s right.” Jesse looked away for a moment. “I was also part of the team that managed to nail down the information in the first place.”

  “Whatever this guy is plotting, this could be right up your alley.” His mouth curved in a half-grin. “Talk about the right person at the right time.”

  “Do you know Reed Morgan?” Terry asked. “Have you met him?”

  “Once. He has about two hundred acres not far from my office here. Tight-assed and tight-lipped. Have no idea what he does there since he doesn’t run any cattle. He also doesn’t socialize with anyone in this county or the next. The ranchers here, although separated by thousands of acres of land, are a pretty tight group. That’s why it took me so long to break the case that brought me here.”

  Jesse leaned forward. “What was that about?”

  Alex shook his head. “That’s for another time. My point is, Morgan’s made himself an unknown factor. We’ve got to find a way to see what’s being put together.”

  “Which is why I came to you,” Terry told him. “You know this place like the back of your hand. You can give me the geography of the place, diagram his setup for me, and suggest ways I can get in there.”

  “Wait a minute here.” He held up his hand. “I know enough about his setup to tell you getting in there is next to impossible.”

  “But not completely,” she pushed. “Right?”

  He rocked in his chair, lips pursed.

  Jesse, who had been sitting quietly this entire time, shifted his glance between the two of them. “Can’t be any worse than sneaking up on Taliban terrorists who shoot at every whisper of wind. If you lay it out, I know you can find a way in. But if you want to eavesdrop, you’ll need some special equipment.”

  Alex concurred, a thoughtful look on his face.