by Em Petrova
He jerked. The concert. This motherfucker had been there watching them. He may have even been the person whose footsteps they heard coming toward them.
“Fuck! We have to get to Sascha!”
“Paxton’s already on his way to collect her the minute she saw the photo. Cora gave Winston and Day the order to check out a body found just outside Anchorage that could be another of this sick fuck’s victims.”
“I need to get her. I’m going.”
Penn leveled a look at him. “The order’s been given. Paxton’s on his way.”
Hepburn’s adrenaline had been spouting full force like a geyser, but now it shut off long enough for him to feel again. He pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off his emotion, but his throat clamped.
Penn brought his hand down on his shoulder. “Remember she already had a guard set to watch over her. He’s still there. But I know you won’t be able to think until one of our guys has her. Hep, we’ll get her safe. We’re closing in on this guy. Whoever snapped that photo is flaunting himself to us. He’s gotta slip up sooner or later.”
Hepburn narrowed his eyes. “Put me in the line of fire.”
“I’m not sure that’s the best idea right now,” Penn said.
“I can handle myself, captain.”
“Copy that. And we’ve got your back, Shadow. But we need to regroup for a minute and figure things out. We need a sound plan.” He flicked his head toward the library, and Hepburn followed him, with the rest of the Xtreme Ops team on his six.
When the knock sounded on the door, Sascha’s heart gave a happy trill. River had returned. She knew that knock the way she knew his kisses and the brush of his callused hands over her skin.
Pausing midway through her bedtime routine, she ran to the door and peeked out. Immediately, she opened it with a grin, but as soon as she saw the Xtreme Ops team standing behind her lover, she cried out.
“Jesus, what are you wearing?” He grabbed her, blocking her from the guys’ view and walking her inside.
“It’s a T-shirt.”
“That barely covers your ass,” he growled into her ear. “Let’s get some clothes on you.”
Stunned, she allowed him to rush her into her room. While she reached for a pair of leggings, he eyed her grimly.
“I don’t like how serious you look. What happened? Why are you here with the team?”
“What’s all over your face?”
In her haste to answer the door, she forgot she’d smeared on a soothing face mask. “It’s for calming the skin and removing toxins. After the concert, I thought it might be a good idea.”
Wordlessly, he marched into the bathroom. She heard the water running, and he returned carrying a damp cloth. She stared at him as she took it and wiped away the mask.
“Happy? Will you tell me what’s going on now?” She tossed the cloth toward the hamper in the corner of the room.
He stared at her wordlessly. She couldn’t read this River at all. He didn’t give away a single hint as to what was going on in his mind.
In the front of her apartment, she heard the guys talking and the fridge open as someone obviously raided it.
River never moved to take her in his arms. He might as well be a robot standing in front of her.
“River, you’re scaring me.” The shiver in her voice continued through her body.
Her words cleared the mask from his face, and his eyes warmed as he stepped up to her and pulled her against his body. The instant she felt his steely muscle and warmth, she rested her cheek on his chest and relaxed a fraction. Whatever happened, they’d face it together.
“There’s something going down. I had to come by to make sure you’re safe.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She grabbed his shoulders. “What’s going on? Tell me.”
“For a while, someone has been killing men who are either active in the military or retired.”
Her heart sputtered. “Like a serial killer?”
He nodded. “It’s fucked up, twisted shit.”
“Where are the victims from?”
“Various towns across the state. There are nine military bases throughout Alaska. But several of the killings were in Anchorage, which makes sense with the Air Force base nearby.”
“My God. So you’ve been spending more time here to find this killer?”
“Yes.” He searched her eyes, the depths of his burning with a glint she could only take as anger at the situation he spoke of. “Sascha, there’s more.”
Her breath hitched. Before he even spoke the words, she knew what they’d be. She knew it the same way she knew the officer showing up at her mother’s house years ago meant her brother was dead.
“Tell me,” she urged.
“Someone blocked a fire hydrant with a car at the concert.”
“Tonight’s concert?” Her heart sped up.
“Yes. They had reason to find the vehicle suspicious—they believed it to be a car bomb. When they searched it, they discovered photos. We just learned some of the pictures were of men already killed. But one other photo was in that car, Sascha.”
She couldn’t breathe let alone speak.
“Fuck, I don’t know how much to tell you.” He released her and stepped away, slicing his fingers over his short hair.
“All of it, River. You can’t keep me in the dark!”
He dropped his hand. “You’re right. Hell. All right.” He seemed to brace himself. “It’s a picture of you and me. Right here, outside your apartment.”
Terror ran through her, leaving behind a fissure in her soul like an earthquake tears apart the ground. “Of…us? Oh my God. They’re after you!”
His dark expression told her there was more.
“And me?” The question came out as a squeak.
He nodded.
“It’s why we’re here. Which brings me to the question— Why aren’t you with Paxton?” “Why aren’t you with Paxton?”
She blinked at him. “He knocked a little bit ago, but I was about to step in the shower, and he said he’d be outside, relieving the other guard.”
He ran out of her room so fast that she barely caught the blur of his form. She stumbled out to hear him shooting off his suspicions, and Penn barking orders. Lipton was on the phone, and Broshears making a call on his cell too.
Sascha wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to slow her shaking, but her body reacted in ways she couldn’t ignore. To say she was terrified for her own life was one thing—but losing the man she loved was a whole other level of fear. She couldn’t live through losing someone else so important in her life.
Lipton jerked the phone from his ear. “We got him. Paxton’s safe.”
“Jesus Christ. Thank God. Where the hell is he, because I’m going to kill him for not following orders,” Penn demanded.
Lipton folded his lips. “Cora, did you tell him to meet up with Winston and Day instead?”
She’s brow pinched. “No. I told him to meet us at the library after collecting Sascha, but we left to come here and intercept them.”
Sascha followed this, but she didn’t fully understand why they were all so tense.
Penn looked about to blow, his face growing purple. “So who gave Pax the order?”
“Get him in here so we can find that out. If someone’s hacking our wires and giving orders, shit can tank real quick. And where the fuck’s the guard?”
Everyone exchanged a look, and River directed his attention to her. Penn waved a hand to Gasper, who stepped out to make a call. All of this heightened Sascha’s fears.
“Paxton’s on his way back,” Lipton announced.
“Good. Tell him not to stop for anyone or anything. I’m not convinced someone isn’t trying to target him too, and I’m going to kick his ass if anything happens to him!” The outburst came from a woman who crowded close to Penn. He towered over her, but the way they angled their bodies, moving when the other person moved, told Sascha that they were together.
P
enn anchored a hand on her spine, which only proved Sascha was right, and the pretty blonde stepped closer to him, muttering under her breath.
“He’s on his way here. It’s all right,” Penn said to her.
“That was too damn close for me. I gotta sit down.” Broshears pocketed his phone, pulled out Sascha’s dining room chair and sank to it.
While Sascha looked on in stunned shock, all four chairs were filled by big men, and her purple sofa too. With only her and River standing, their gazes met. He held out his arms, and she moved into them.
He bowed his face into her hair. “It’s gonna be all right. You’re safe.”
“And so are you.”
He raised his head, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Why do you say that?”
She waved toward the open space. “My apartment’s full of muscle and testosterone. I’m pretty sure nobody’s getting past your team.”
When she looked around, she caught their nods of agreement and a few grins.
She withdrew from River’s hold. “Why don’t I brew some coffee?”
Nobody answered.
“Tea?”
The woman nodded, but the guys continued to stare at her.
“Maybe we can tell Pax to stop off for some chili dogs,” River quipped, which had them all chuckling.
“Too bad we can’t drink on the job. I could use one about now.” Their captain’s statement added to the stress relief..
His woman left his side. Smiling, she came forward to take Sascha’s arm. “Let’s make that coffee. It’s going to be a long night, if I know this crew.”
Chapter Eleven
“Give me the addresses.” Hepburn glanced at Lipton, who spouted them off. Hepburn committed them to memory and lifted his jaw toward Gasper. “You and me?”
Gasper closed the lid of the box of ammo he was checking. “I’m ready.”
Grouped in the parking lot of the library again, Penn stood giving orders. He slanted a glance at him and Gasper and broke from the group, heading their way.
Now that they had more information on the victims, Hepburn and Gasper would have the difficult task of speaking to their families. Several other authorities had already done so, but the clock was ticking. They needed to find answers—right now.
Penn held up the keys to the SUV. “You understand orders?”
“Yes, sir.”
“If you need anything at all, or someone even seems the slightest bit suspicious, then you haul their asses in. Got it?”
“I have no problem doing that.”
“Guts and glory.” He held out his fist, and Hepburn bumped his knuckles against his captain’s. Gasper did the same.
Once they were on their way to the first address, his mind wandered to Sascha. He knew she was safe, and this time her guards were straightened out. Despite the precautions, Hepburn made her promise not to leave the apartment without calling him first. And if she couldn’t reach him, then he gave her a direct line to Penn.
She hadn’t argued, which worried him a lot. The Sascha he knew would never back down or sit idle on her hands while other people ran her life for her. But her fear had taken over, and it was all because of him.
“This is a pretty fucked up situation.” Gasper rubbed a hand over his face.
“It is. Did you hear about Dylan Knight, though?”
“Yeah. Good news. I’m glad he’s going home from the hospital soon. I’m sure you identify with being stuck in a hospital.” Gasper had a way of talking that calmed a person. He claimed it was from being around animals growing up. Horses spooked from certain tones of voice, and dogs too. On many occasions, he’d seen Gasper use this skill to talk down a crazy person or coax a frightened kid from a hiding spot.
There wouldn’t be any sweet-talking the killer out of hiding, though. They had no choice but to go in after him with guns blazing.
“Yeah, the hospital sucks. I was damn glad to leave when I did.”
“You said that your girl took care of you.”
He warmed, thinking of her humming while she worked. “I was pretty unbearable. I’m surprised she liked me enough to come with me.”
“Probably just wanted a vacation.”
He chuckled, though at the start, he suspected she’d seen a ticket out in coming with him to Alaska. But after their first night together, her feelings for him were evident.
“You’re clearly stuck on her, Hep. What now? A house and babies?”
He threw his buddy a look. He wasn’t about to admit the same had run through his mind.
As he followed the GPS to locate the address, he rubbed his knuckles over his jaw. “I don’t know how the hell to hold down a relationship. It’d be like owning a dog—I’d never be home to give it food or water or attention.”
“So Sascha’s the dog in this scenario.” Amusement tinged his voice.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. But other guys on our team manage it. Penn and Cora, Broshears, even Lipton, who doesn’t work with his woman.”
“I don’t know…”
“We’re in the city often enough. Plus, isn’t she going to be a filmmaker? She might not be tied down in an office and you two could meet in other spots.”
“If she even stays in Alaska.”
Gasper cocked a brow. “You never discussed this?”
He shook his head. “She may not stick around after she finishes her degree.”
“If the way she looks at you is anything to go by, she’ll stick around, Shadow.”
When they arrived at their destination, Hepburn tried to set aside his questions about his future with Sascha.
As they walked to the front door, the weight of the situation rested on his shoulders. What he and Gasper learned today, from this family and a couple others, could mean ending this reign of terror the killer had on men like him.
Gasper knocked. When the woman saw two big men at her door, her face grew as white as paper.
“If it’s not too much trouble, ma’am, we’d like to ask you some questions concerning your husband.” Gasper spoke quietly to her.
Her hand trembled as she swung the door wider for them to enter. They followed her to the living room and selected a seat on the couch while she sat in a chair opposite.
She was frail, a naturally thin woman, but she probably carried more meat on her bones before her husband’s murder.
“We’d like to extend our condolences for your loss, ma’am. Master Sergeant Lamont was a great loss to the Air Force.” Hepburn offered a sympathetic look.
“Are you with the Air Force too?” She twisted her hands in her lap—her only indication she was upset.
“No, we’re with a special forces unit based here in Alaska. We want to ask some questions about people who might have been acquainted with your husband. Luke, was it?”
She nodded, her shoulder-length hair shot with white slipping over her shoulders. “Would you both like a drink? I’m sorry I forgot to offer one sooner. It’s been a difficult few months.”
“No thank you, Mrs. Lamont. I’m sure it’s been hard. Can you start by naming some people who Mr. Lamont worked with? After his retirement from the Air Force, he worked for a machine shop, is that right?” Hepburn asked.
“Yes. I can tell you the names of the guys he worked with and his boss. But I don’t know the names of their customers.”
“Anything you can recall will be helpful, ma’am,” Gasper said in his calming tone.
While she talked, Gasper jotted names. They asked her a few more questions about if her husband had any bad relationships with people he served with, and she couldn’t think of any.
“I have another question and then we’ll leave you be, Mrs. Lamont.”
She met Hepburn’s stare and nodded. They’d taxed her a lot today.
“How active was your husband in the public? Did he do volunteer work? Was he active in church or in a sports league, maybe the golf club? Anything that might have put him in the public eye?”
“That’s good information. Thank you for that. Now we’ll take our leave. We appreciate you talking with us, ma’am.”
They headed to the door. She never budged from the chair. He and Gasper saw themselves out, and Hepburn twisted the lock before he pulled the door shut behind him.
Gasper shot him a sideways look.
Hepburn sighed. “The woman doesn’t seem to be in any state to watch out for herself, and someone had to do it.”
Gasper simply nodded as they solemnly climbed into the vehicle and drove away from the house.
They were each silent for a minute. He rubbed the ache between his brows.
“Poor woman.”
He swallowed hard. “All I could think about was leaving Sascha like that.”
“Man, you can’t think that way. Besides, you haven’t even asked Sascha if she wants to put up with your shit.” Gasper tossed out a grin.
Hepburn’s lips twisted in as much of a smile as he felt able to give under the circumstances.
“I understand it’s affecting your morale to be the next guy in the sights of this criminal. Anybody would be flipping out if they stood in your shoes. But we’re the best of the best for a reason. We were selected for the Xtreme Ops because we proved ourselves.”
“You’re right, Gasper. But these other men…they were trained as well. And they still lost their lives.”
“So do a lot of men who serve, Shadow. How many have you lost?”
It’d been a while since his throat tightened on tears for Ethan, but it did now. “Enough.”
“Me too. And you never get over it. Which is why I’ll be damned if I ever let you fall,. You’re my brother.”
Warmed by his words, Hepburn removed a hand from the steering wheel and reached over to bump knuckles with Gasper. The bond between them—between them all—couldn’t be severed.
Neither could his bond with Sascha. His deep love for her would hold her in Alaska. He wouldn’t let her go either.
Sascha stared at her computer screen. Only this time she wasn’t staring blankly and wondering what the heck to put on it.
