by Jen Talty
“We’re going to keep digging and watching before we approach.”
“I should be the one to talk to her when the time comes,” she said, handing him the computer back. “Is there another safe house—”
“Right now, you’re not going anywhere. When we know more and who exactly we are dealing with, we’ll revisit bringing you out in the field.” He curled his fingers around her knee. “I have two priorities. Keep you safe and help you find the traitor if indeed there is one.”
She jumped from the sofa and started to pace. Not just out of frustration, but feeling his tender, but firm grasp on her leg made her nuts. “I can live with that,” she said, twisting her hair high on top of her head and putting it in a clip. “We have a possible lead on my source and someone watching her. Maybe I should contact her and see what happens?”
“Not a good idea. We don’t want to tip anyone off you’re here.”
He had a good point there. “What about someone doing it remotely, on my behalf?”
“That’s a possibility, one we’ve thought of, but we need eyes on her for a few hours before doing so.” The motor from the reclining sofa buzzed.
She tried to pry her gaze off him, but instead she soaked up his light-brown hair, dark-smoldering eyes, high cheekbones, thick biceps, and God, the way his chiseled abs filled out his shirt had her fingertips itching to touch them just one more time. A wave a dizziness overtook her. She swayed, grabbing the sofa.
In seconds he was at her side, his arms holding her body upright.
“I haven’t eaten anything since early last night.” That had to be the reason for her sudden loss of balance.
“Come on, babe, I’ll make you an omelet.” He rested his hand on her forearm.
She jerked away. “Stop calling me that.”
He narrowed his eyes with a puzzled glare. “I’ve been calling you that since we were fifteen.”
“Well, we’re not teenagers anymore, and I haven’t seen you in over thirteen years.” She planted her hands on her hips and let out a huff of air. “Perhaps we should address the past that is lingering in this room like a carrot on a stick in front of a rabbit who will never catch it.”
“The only elephant in this room is you left me when I needed you most.” He turned his back, taking large strides toward the U-shaped kitchen, waving his hand in the air. “But I got over that a long time ago.”
“Oh, really.” She stomped her way across the room. “Then why are we in this cabin of all places?”
He pounded his fist on the counter. “Because it’s possible someone might come looking for you at Hank’s, or my folks, and I didn’t want to put them in danger. Hank thought this would be a great place since it’s far enough from the ranch and the road that no one can see, but close enough to headquarters that he can be here, or we can be there, in a flash. How the hell was he supposed to know that we lost our virginity in this cabin that same night your…my—”
“Go ahead and say it.” Her heart pounded so hard, it rattled inside her head. She tried to swallow, but her throat muscles seized. “Come on, Shamus. Let’s just get it out there.”
“I have no problem saying your father killed my sister,” Shamus said behind a tight jaw.
“Of course not, what you have a problem with is you partially blame me,” she said, holding out her hand to shush him before he rattled off a bunch of bullshit reasons why he didn’t. “Maybe at the moment you didn’t, but trust me, over the years, you would have ended up resenting the hell out of me.”
“You don’t know that because you never gave us a chance.” His dusky orbs gave way to a tinge of sadness.
How could she explain this in a way that he’d understand? The guilt and blame she’d carried all these years had never gone away, and no amount of time would help. “At the hospital, when I saw my father, knowing he’d walked away from that crash, I thought to myself, why didn’t I hide the keys better? I knew he snuck out all the time, taking the few dollars he’d steal from me or my mother to buy booze.”
“You were fucking seventeen years old, and you’re not responsible for his actions.”
“And there’s the rub,” she said, raising her forefingers and applying pressure to her temples. She’d had this conversation in her mind over and over again. She’d even dreamt about it over the years, but she never imagined she’d have to actually say it. “Everyone knew of my mother’s diagnosis of Early Onset Alzheimer’s. That year, I got so many pity looks from everyone in this town that I wanted to scream, but it all came down to, because of my mother’s condition, I should have made sure my father could never get near a car.”
“Do you hear yourself?” he asked, inching forward, his hand resting on the counter. “I know for a fact you hid those keys, but when your dad wanted his liquor, he would have stolen a car to get it.”
“But that’s not what happened, and Colleen is dead…” She closed her eyes. It had been years since she let that name roll off her lips. Colleen had been one of her babysitters when she’d been like five or so, and she still remembered how she always smelled like lemons.
She tensed, sucking in a harsh breath, feeling his hands on her hips.
“Open your eyes, babe.”
Blinking a few times, she locked gazes with him.
“No one holds you even remotely responsible for what happened.” He leaned in, kissing her temple. “Other than you and I think it’s about time you let that shit go.”
“You looked at me differently that night at the hospital. Your entire family did.”
He raised his hand, tugging at her hair tie, letting her hair fall down her back, the dampness cooling her heated skin. “Not because we thought you were to blame in any way, or that we pitied you.” His soft finger tilted her chin. “My mom loved Colleen as if she’d been her own child, and my father was devastated. It changed them. But in the midst of all that pain, all they wanted to do was help you and your mom. They were ready to take you in, so you could finish your senior year. They wanted to help find your mom the best care. Hell, they would have bought the ranch if they thought it would help. They told me to give you some space, that you’d come back to me, but boy, were they wrong.” He dropped his hands, taking a step back. “We can’t change the past, but we can move forward. Besides, we have a case to solve.” He tapped his finger on the bar stool. “Sit. I’ll make breakfast.”
She stood there, her mouth gaping open, unable to utter a single word. Goosebumps lined her flesh. The word ‘help’ echoed in her brain like someone yelling in a tunnel, the sound repeating itself over and over again.
Even though she’d carved out a good life for herself and was proud of her accomplishments, nothing made her happier than her career. It had fulfilled her in ways no man ever could. She’d had a handful of loving relationships, but her career always came first, and that often caused problems. She’d shrug and move on, knowing the largest part of her heart belonged to someone else.
“Babe,” Shamus said, waving a spatula in her face. “For the third time, what do you want in your omelet?”
“Cheese. Just cheese,” she mumbled, climbing onto the stool, keeping her trembling hands in her lap.
“Your palate is still that bland?”
“No, I actually like all those things you have out, but I kind of want to have one good repeat memory from this place.”
Chapter 4
THE MORNING drifted into the afternoon. Shamus spent half his time on his computer, trying to decipher some of the blacked-out documentation while Amber sorted through all her paperwork and notes, making lists, putting together who’d she’d come in contact with since she started pursuing the story. The time ticked by in a haze of awkward silence, stolen glances, and the occasional touching of fingers when passing information back and forth.
He watched out of the corner of his eye while she twisted her fingers around her long ponytail. Back in the day, he threatened to cut it off if she didn’t start wearing it down, but he’d never. It was
too much fun to tug her clips out, watching her raven hair bounce down the middle of her back. Not to mention the vision of delight when she’d walked topless out of the bathroom with her hair covering her perky breasts.
His gaze darted to the bathroom, remembering their night together. A smile tugged at his lips.
“What are you smiling about?” she asked, gnawing on the end of a pencil.
Another habit that drove him mad while they sat in English class. He’d barely made it through that semester with a C.
“You don’t want to know.”
“I hate it when you do that because now I have to know.” She set her notebook on the coffee table, turned sideways and tucked her foot up under her ass. “I’m waiting.”
“If I tell you the truth, you’ll get mad. If I lie, you’ll know I’m lying, and still be mad.”
“Looks like you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t, so you might as well give it up.”
“I’ll give you a hint.” He reached out with both hands, gently undoing the elastic around her hair and placed two sections over her chest, careful not to touch anything that would get him a slap across the face.
She looked down with a narrowed stare. “I have no idea…oh, I remember now.”
He lifted her chin with his thumb, staring at her plump, rosy lips. “I’ve thought about how I could have behaved better when my parents showed up in the early morning hours with the news of my sister.”
Her long fingers curled around his wrist, the palms of her soft hand on his skin. “You were very kind, considering.”
“I could have paid more attention to you at the hospital. You needed me just as much as I needed you, and I let you down.”
“Why would you even think that?”
“It’s the only thing I could think of that made sense why you broke up with me, never came to say good-bye when I left for West Point, and never returned a single call or letter.”
Her eyelids fluttered over her decadent dark-chocolate orbs. “I told you why.”
“No, you didn’t. All you did was project your fears of what you believed everyone was thinking and never let me tell you, or show you, how much I loved you.” Still loved her. He knew that the second he climbed off Sparky. He’d been in love since her, but nothing had been as intense, nor heart crushing. He gently caressed her cheekbone, cupping the side of her face, searching her eyes, looking for a reason not to kiss her.
“It’s how I honestly felt. I still do sometimes.”
“Did you love me?”
She pushed his hand away. “I can’t believe you asked me that or that you’d even question it.”
“How could I not question it? You dumped me and never looked back.” He believed she’d loved him, but the silence over the first year after his sister died edged in a sense of doubt he could never shake.
“I’m not going to have the same argument over and over again. And come on, don’t you think it was for the best? For four years, I would have been in Chicago. You in New York. After that, you’d be deployed more than home, and I’d be chasing every foreign story I could get my hands on. We would have never seen each other, and there would still be resentment over—”
“No resentment, ever,” he whispered. Leaning closer, he glided his fingers up her arms. “Did you really try to see me in the hospital?”
She nodded.
“I thought of you a lot lying in that bed.” He licked his lips, his mouth only an inch away from hers. “When I first came home, I had a buddy of mine find out where you were living.”
She arched a brow, tilting her head slightly to the left. “Why didn’t you reach out?”
“I don’t know. Fear, I guess.”
“Of what?”
“That you’d moved on and were living the dream without a single thought of our past.” He leaned in, pressing his lips against her cheek. “I figured you had a boyfriend.”
“I’ve had a few, and I assume you haven’t been single this entire time.”
“I’m single now, are you?” He kissed the other side of her face, slipping his arm around her slender waist.
“Currently, yes,” she whispered, her warm breath tickling his neck.
His phone buzzed, and he jerked his head back. Reaching across her to the coffee table, he snagged his phone, staring at the screen. “It’s Hank.” He tapped the green accept button. “What’s up?”
“Amber right there?” Hank asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Put me on speaker.”
Shamus set the phone on his leg. “We’re both listening.”
“I’ve got some bad news.”
“About what?” Amber interjected. She’d never been of the patient variety.
“Your source, Wesson? Her car was blown to bits a few hours ago. She didn’t survive.”
Amber gasped, her eyes widening with shock.
“Fuck,” Shamus muttered, taking her trembling hand in his. “Is our man okay?”
“He needs a few stitches and has a broken wrist, but he’ll be fine,” Hank said. “But Amber is a suspect in both murders, and an APB went out an hour ago.”
“What!? How the hell can that be?” Amber’s voiced screeched across the room.
Shamus pulled her closer, rubbing his thumb over the back side of her hand.
“From what we can tell, a couple of eyewitnesses have come forward, and something they found in either Bud’s place or Wesson’s. I’m in contact with some old buddies at the Justice Department.”
“I’ll have better luck with my friends in Intelligence,” Shamus said.
“You’re both going dark as of now. I want the WiFi off, computer off, cell phones off. I’ll send a secure burner out tonight.”
“You can’t put me in the dark,” Shamus said behind a clenched jaw.
“I have to. We’ve got word the feds are coming this way, and I bet the bad guys aren’t far behind. I need you off-grid. Your job is to protect Amber. We’ll take care of the rest.”
“I’m not going to just sit here and do nothing,” Amber said with tinge of anger.
“You’re going to compile your notes, and give them to me in the morning,” Hank said with a definitive tone. “I’ve got some of my best people—”
“I’m one of the best and I should be—”
Hank cut him off. “You are, but a few news stations decided to report that Amber Winchester is actually Amber Baxter, and someone dug up your prom picture and that was—”
“The night my father killed Colleen,” she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.
He squeezed her hand tighter. “That works to our advantage. No one would suspect she’d coming running to me for help.”
She yanked her hand away, glaring at him with fire in her eyes.
“That’s where the really weird part of all this comes in,” Hank said. “You’re a person of interest.”
“That makes no sense at all,” Shamus said, frustration bubbling to the surface, ready to explode into anger. “How could anyone make that leap?”
“When the authorities searched Wesson’s home office, they found a different set of papers than what Bud gave to Amber. I don’t yet know what they say, exactly, but the news reports are hinting that the two of you are in cahoots in the moving of top-secret information.”
“That’s the fucking craziest thing I’ve ever heard.” Amber slumped back on the sofa, covering her eyes with her forearm.
“This is a total set up,” Shamus said, his mind picking at every special ops he’d been deployed on over the years and who might have it in for him, but why set up Amber? Why put them together? His brain continued to rapid-fire questions he had no answers for.
“I’d have to agree,” Hank said. “But until we know who, and why, you two are off the map.”
“I need access to my military records,” Shamus said, mentally going through every person who owed him a favor.
“I’ll take care of all of that. You need to keep your digital impr
int on silent mode.”
Shamus hit the recline button on the sofa, taking the tension off his back. He understood the reasoning of everything Hank said and would be doing the same thing if the tables were turned.
“I want eyes on my folks,” Shamus said.
“Already done and I’m thinking it might be best to move you tomorrow.”
“The cabin on Buck Mountain would work. Only way there is by bird or horse.” Shamus stole a glance at Amber, who had also pushed the recliner back, curling up on her side, hands tucked under her cheek.
“I’ll have it stocked by noon,” Hank said. “Talk soon.”
“Thanks.” Shamus powered down his cell, hers, and the computer.
“I’m sorry to have dragged you into this shit.”
He let out a soft laugh. “You didn’t drag me into this; whoever is setting us up to take the fall for an act of treason did.”
“Maybe whoever it was decided that once I called Hank, they could take the heat off themselves and frame you?”
“They would have had to know about our connection, among other things, which leads me to believe they set this entire thing in motion, knowing you’d call Hank.”
She arched a brow. “Maybe there is no treasonous act.”
Smart woman, but he already knew that. “I’m thinking someone used you to get to me and sadly, Bud and Wesson were collateral damage.”
“Why you?”
“When we figure that out, we’ll have our bad guys.” He smiled.
“You’re not going to follow Hank’s orders, are you?”
“He seems to forget that I can hack into any system, cover my digital print, and I have a network of intelligence officers and spies at my fingertips.”
“I doubt he’s forgotten.” The corners of her mouth twitched into a partial smile. “But how do you plan on going about all this?”
“I put equipment in the cabin, assuming we’d end up there, which is why I brought the horses.”
“I haven’t been on a horse since I left.”
“It’s like riding a bike.” He winked. “And easier than a bull.”
“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”
