“Okay, so let’s break it down and give everyone a job.” Jared shrugged when Murphy hissed at him to leave it alone.
“Jared,” I said, warning him to choose his next words carefully.
His brow arched and that same trademark, smart-ass smile we’d grown up with stretched across his lips.
I sighed, slipping my hand over Paige’s, giving her a gentle squeeze in uniformity.
“The only problem… Well, it’s not really a problem per se, would be getting a priest,” Jared said, tilting his head as if thinking. “That could be an issue since the two of you have been living in sin for like… how long?”
Paige tipped her head back with a groan. “Dealing with him makes me want to drink.”
Jared fired out of his seat and disappeared inside the house, leaving the front door wide open and us to wonder what the hell he was up to.
“How much do you wanna bet that he…” Josh’s words sputtered to a halt when Jared shot back out of the house.
He came to a halt in front of Paige’s seat, bending down on one knee as he held out a bottle of spiced rum like some sort of proposal. He didn’t let it go at that either. Nope, not Jared.
“Paige, I give this bottle to you as a sign of good faith and hope. A hope that you’ll take this bottle and say yes to us.”
Paige snatched it out of his hands, hugging it to her chest.
“Why, Jared?” she whispered. “Why is it so important to you that I agree to this?”
He rocked back on his haunches and studied her for a minute before he answered her in the same hushed way. “Because we want to make you happy. You’re our best friend, Paige. Besides, we’re all together now. Why not make the most of this time we all have before something happens to split us all apart again?”
A tear rolled down her check as she blew out a long breath and looked over at me, asking me with her eyes what she should do. I winked at her, tipping my head with the slightest nod, telling her I’d do whatever she wanted to do.
She untwisted the cap and lifted the bottle up to her lips, taking a very long sip that made me squirm. I, in no way, wanted to deal with a puking bridezilla.
When she lowered the bottle, I took it from her and held out my hand for the cap.
She hiccupped, dashed the tears from her face, and squared her shoulders as she met Jared’s eager stare. Tossing her hand up and letting it fall in her lap, she rolled her eyes toward the sky. “I can’t believe I’m even agreeing to this. Fine. Yes.”
Jared let out a whoop. He yanked Paige out of the chair, hefted her on his shoulder, and took off across the yard.
“Put me down, Jared Jackson,” Paige shrieked.
Jared didn’t listen to any of her protests as he jogged around the outside of where our ring of chairs were set in staggered placement around the fire.
“I hope she throws up on him,” Aiden said, opening the cooler beside him and grabbing a beer.
Airen snagged it from his hand, cracked it open, and took a long swallow. Sputtering, she handed the can back to Aiden. “What the hell do ye call that?”
Aiden took the can from her. “Beer. We call it beer.”
“It’s awful,” she replied, making a face at him. “I’ll stick to my spiced cider, thank ye.”
“That’ll teach you, stealing a man’s first sip. The nerve,” Aiden said, grinning at Airen as he lifted the can up to his lips.
“We don’t have spiced cider, but we have spiced rum. Will that work?” I asked, passing the bottle to Eli so it could be handed around to her.
“I swear to God if you don’t put me down,” Paige shrieked again, only that time with a roll of laughter, making us grin. “Mark, do something, please!”
“Oh, Mark… save meeeee!” Jared called out, making another lap around us.
“I know this sounds kind of twisted, but I missed this,” Ace said, putting his arm over the back of Riley’s chair and pulling her close.
Jared wasn’t showing any signs of giving up, so I stood up and casually walked up to him and gestured for him to put her down. “Go sling your own girl over your shoulder and give me back mine.”
“Good idea,” he said, setting Paige back down and holding onto her arm to keep her steady.
Paige staggered into my arms, her head bumping solidly against my chest, and said, “Fucking Jared. He’s a damn mess.”
I pulled her close, enjoying the heat from her body as I inhaled whatever it was she put in her hair that made it smell so good.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
“Yes. No. I don’t know. I mean, everyone is here and it’s what we wanted. Right?” Paige answered as Murphy gasped.
We turned in time to see Jared tumble over her shoulder and land flat on his back like a fallen tree. The ground vibrated under our feet from the impact.
“Oh, shit,” Paige said, pushing away from me and jogging over to where Jared lay.
Shadows danced along his face. With his eyes closed, he laid there unmoving as Paige went into nursing mode.
Murphy knelt down beside him, eyes wide with her hand over her mouth.
“Jared. Can you hear me, Jared?” Paige asked, putting her fingers against his neck, feeling for his pulse. Satisfied his heart was still beating, she pried his eye open.
Jared’s hand came up to his chest as a goofy smile spread on his face. “Brings a new meaning to head over heels, huh, Skylar?”
She growled in response as he sat up. “That’s not funny, Jared. I really thought I hurt you.” She swatted at him.
He grabbed her hand, pulling her down to him and kissing her soundly.
Paige got to her feet, shaking her head. She turned to walk away as something like humor flashed across her face. Before I could gauge her intent, her foot shot out and she kicked Jared in the ass, saying, “Maybe next time, you’ll think twice about trying to haul someone over your shoulder.”
He yelped, making the rest of us laugh as he got to his feet and rubbed his backside. “I thought you were supposed to help people, not break ‘em?”
Satisfied that she’d inflicted some pain to him for making her think he was seriously injured, she walked back over to her seat and plopped down.
I caught Ace’s look, and he dipped his head. We didn’t say anything, but, more than likely, we were thinking the same thing. Nothing, except time, had really changed.
We needed to make the most of what we had, for the time we had it.
Wandering around behind Airen’s chair, I snagged the bottle of rum up and untwisted the cap.
“To the Six,” I said, hoisting the bottle up. After taking a swig, I handed it over to Eli.
“Nah, man… can’t be the Six anymore, can we? Last count, there’s ten of us now,” Eli said, balancing the bottle on his knee.
“We’ll always be the Six. Doesn’t matter how many of us there are,” Josh said, swiping the bottle from Eli and putting it up to his lips.
Eli snatched it back and said, “True dat. After all, Riley’s been the silent seventh for a long time. Then she brought in Paige. It’s kinda like a paired thing. Well, for some of y’all anyway.”
“Speak for yourself,” Josh said with a snort. “I have no plans to bring a girl into this.”
“By this, meaning us, I dare say whoever it was would be pretty damn lucky,” Aiden replied, crushing his beer can with a belch.
Beside him, Airen busted out laughing. “Yer quite right, Aiden. How could anyone resist that?”
Paige chuckled beside me. Leaning really close to me, she said, “Did you ever think Aiden would settle down?”
I shook my head as we shared a secretive smile and replied, “But then again, who would have thought Jared would either?”
“Hey! What are you two lovebirds whispering about over there?” Riley asked as she got up from her seat and beckoned to Eli to hand over the bottle.
Paige didn’t miss a beat as she answered, “The same things you and Ace talk about when you’re whispering
.”
Ace cleared his throat and said, “In that case, please don’t tell us.”
Our combined laughter rolled up with the smoke of the fire into the star-studded sky.
“What the hell are you guys up to over here? Jesus, I can hear you on the other side of the yard. It’s a damn good thing we have surveillance people posted all over the property. Anyone looking for you could draw a bead on you in ten seconds flat,” Oliver said, stepping out of the shadows to join our little group.
When he noticed the bottle in Riley’s hand, his eyebrow inched up his forehead. “Celebrating, are we?”
I didn’t miss the look he shot at Ace, but Riley came back at him before he could say anything. “Some of us are. And some of us are doing our jobs. Thank you, by the way, for dumping reality back on our heads like a bucket of ice water.”
He snorted at her snarky tone. Then, dismissing her, he turned to Jared. “Nadia wants you to call her when you get a minute.”
Jared blew out a long breath as he got out of his seat and followed Oliver inside the cabin.
The mood around us shifted, reality seeping back in after a brief, but much-needed break from it.
“Wish it was a little warmer so we could go swimming or something,” Josh said, breaking the trance I’d fallen into as I watched the flames dance with the night air.
Paige shifted restlessly beside me. “How much danger are we really in? I mean, I know Grant and Nadia are concerned, but how bad can it be? We’re home, sitting around a fire, right out in the open.”
“Until we know who breached the files, it’s hard to say. What concerns us the most is that someone was watching y’all. The fact that someone showed an interest in keeping tabs on you could mean our information got into the wrong hands,” Ace answered.
“What wrong hands though? It’s obvious something bigger is at play here, but I find it hard to wrap my head around the fact we’re in danger,” I shot back at him.
Maybe it was the fact that Paige and I had been pulled into something so outlandish that my mind couldn’t wrap around the situation fully. Or maybe it was because I chose not to believe it was that big of a deal. Because if I chose to accept what they said at face value, then it would make it real. Too real.
As I sat around the fire with my friends, it was easy enough to push aside the reason why we’d been brought together again. How dangerous could it be if having a wedding could be pulled off?
“I’m in the mood for S’mores. Anyone else?” Murphy asked as she stood up, stretching with a groan.
“Some more what?” Airen asked, head titled slightly, brow winged up in a high arch as she waited for someone to explain.
Beside me, Paige chuckled. It warmed my heart to hear it after the past few days of her being silent and broody.
“S’mores. Graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow yumminess,” Riley answered, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Ye mean ye put all that on a biscuit and eat it?” Airen’s face pinched slightly, as if she mentally put all the ingredients together and found them lacking.
“You just wait, Airen. S’mores are a campfire tradition!” Aiden told her, popping up from his seat. “I’ll grab the sticks if you grab the fixins, Murphy.”
“S’mores…” Airen repeated the name again to herself as Murphy and Aiden went to gather everything.
“They’re so good. Almost addicting,” Eli said, rubbing his hands together.
“You’re just a junk food junkie,” Riley said, squinting off into the distance. “What is that?” she asked, tapping Ace on the knee and lifting her finger slightly toward the hole.
The only thing that flagged me as a problem was the way Ace’s shoulders tensed as he pulled his cell phone from his hip and said, “Nobody move, and whatever you do, don’t panic.”
“What the hell do you mean—don’t panic?” Paige asked, grabbing my hand and squeezing the shit out of it.
“Just what I said. Don’t panic. I need you and Mark to get up slowly and make your way out of the light of the fire. Go to the back of the house, and then get inside as quick as you can,” Ace answered, lips barely moving. “I’ll create a diversion. Riley, get Airen into the shed. There’s a gun in there. Cover us. Josh, stick with Eli. Everyone understand?”
My scalp prickled as if a mound of fire ants took up residence in my hair. I stood slowly, taking Paige’s hand in mine, and brought her up to stand in front of me. Wrapping my arms around her as if hugging her, I pierced Ace with a hard look. He nodded once, lifting his hand as if wishing us a good night, even tossing in a smile.
Paige’s body shook in my arms as she turned around and took a wobbly step forward. “Mark, what’s happening?”
I tried keeping my voice level, despite the anxiety wrapping its poison-tipped talons into me, and said, “I don’t know, but keep moving. We’ll figure it out when we get inside.”
She whimpered, but kept moving one foot in front of the other, putting us closer to the darkness and our escape.
We made it to the side of the house when the first crack of a gunshot ripped through the air.
Return fire sounded around us as I yanked the side door of the house open and practically shoved Paige inside.
WEARY FACES WAVERED IN FRONT of me, talking in loops of nonsense. Or what sounded like nonsense to me. A single gunman. Four shots fired. Eliminated.
That last part snapped me out of it. “Eliminated? What do you mean by eliminated?”
“I don’t understand. All the security was in place. I’ve seen the layout. There’s no way someone should have been able to get past the cameras, motion detection, or the agents in place,” Jared said, shoving his fingers through his hair and making it stick up on end.
“Oliver should be back in a few minutes. He’ll be able to fill us in,” Ace said, pacing to the front window and looking out.
“Get away from the window! You don’t know if there was more than one gunman,” Riley snapped at him.
“There’s no one else out there, Riley. If there had been, we all wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I drew in a deep breath and let it go, trying my hardest to keep calm.
It didn’t work. Nothing worked. Keeping calm in a situation that felt so out of control was impossible. I wasn’t used to sitting idly by while the world around me spun out of control.
Before I could shoot up from my seat at the kitchen table, the door opened as Oliver and a girl I’d never seen before entered the house.
Her head, even with the top of Oliver’s shoulder, put her at a little over five foot. She stood, feet braced, with her hands tucked into a pair of black military-looking cargo pants, pistol holstered at her side. A cascade of hair so dark it could be mistaken for black settled on top of her tight black, long-sleeved shirt. The only splash of color was her piercing, wintery blue eyes that flashed brightly, surrounded by thick lashes most girls would kill for.
She didn’t fidget under our heavy gaze, just looked at every single one of us briefly, as if adding each person to her internal memory and storing it for later so she could recall it if need be.
Oliver strolled over to the coffee pot. “Everyone, this is Ella,” he said over his shoulder.
The corner of Ella’s mouth kicked up. Not quite a smile, more like an acknowledgement.
“You’re off duty now, Ella. Sit down and relax. You lived to fight another day,” Oliver said, jerking the refrigerator door open and grabbing the creamer.
Ella didn’t move. Didn’t even blink.
Oliver finished making his coffee, pulled out the chair opposite of me, and sat down as Ace entered the kitchen, looking like he was ready to spit nails.
“What the fuck was that?” he demanded, storming over to glare at Oliver. “We were told security was set. That no one would be able to get within four miles of this place!”
Ella stepped forward. “All the security was in place, except where Evan was supposed to be.”
&
nbsp; “Meaning?” Ace demanded.
“Meaning, I think we found our breach. Problem is that Evan is nowhere to be found. Which is how the shooter was able to ‘slip by’ security,” Oliver said, clawing his fingers in the air to emphasis the comment.
Mark, who’d been aimlessly wandering the kitchen and living room, moved to stand behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders with a gentle squeeze as if to say, ‘We’re all right. Everything is all right.’
“Who was it?” I asked, my voice coming out almost like a whisper.
Oliver’s cup stopped midway to his mouth, and then he set it back down. “Pretty sure it was the same guy who was watching your apartment. Won’t know until for sure until we run some ID tests.”
I fidgeted under Mark’s hands. He’d filled me in on what I’d missed of Grant showing everyone the surveillance pictures that caused all the worry over our safety. I’d broke down in Mark’s arms for all of five minutes, and then proceeded to snap ramrod straight and wipe the tears from my cheeks with two brisk swipes as I told Mark, “Whoever he is, he better hope to God I never get a hold of him.”
After that, it almost seemed like all of it had just been a bad dream.
“I guess if it was him, he was better at stalking than firing a gun, thank God,” Aiden said as he and Airen moved closer to be a part of the conversation.
“Does this mean the threat could be over for Mark and Paige?” Airen asked, a hopeful tone in her question.
“Not until we find Evan and question him,” Ace answered.
“Who is Evan and what location does he work out of?” Riley asked.
“He’s one of ours. Chicago, I mean. He was intel for about four years, but moved up in the company so to speak. He’s been one of our agents for about two years now,” Oliver answered.
“How come none of us know him?” Jared asked. “Seems like we would know all the agents working out of Chicago.”
The Vows We Make (The Six Series Book 4) Page 5
