by Vonnie Davis
JJ sat, but Ashley slapped her hands on her hips. “I don’t have to take orders from you or anyone else.”
Nance belly-crawled next to JJ’s thighs and bared her teeth at Ashley in a low growl. The argumentative woman sat with her back against JJ’s.
“Now, intertwine your fingers as if you’re sweethearts.” ZQ bent to wrap the rope around their wrists on one side, their waists twice, and the remaining pair of wrists, using a SEAL constrictor knot.
“I…I can’t handle being…being tied up like this.” Ashley’s voice was breathless and high-pitched at the same time.
As ZQ expected, JJ was quick to come to her defense. “Are you trippin’, ZQ? Don’t do this to her, man. I can feel her trembling against my back. Hell, she’s been through enough. For the love of God, untie her. We’ll sit like this without restraints, won’t we, Ash?”
She nodded.
ZQ shifted to squat in front of her. He tucked two fingers under her chin. “Who stuck up for you just now? Tell me his name.”
“JJ.”
“Fuckin’ A. So, why are you always ready to scratch his eyes out? JJ, for that matter, you wanna tell me why you’re so quick to protect a woman for whom you can’t even spare a damn smile?” ZQ untied the couple. “Keep holding hands. Don’t move. I’ve got some things to say to you two. I’ve had it up to my fucking earlobes with your glaring and snipping at one another. You’ve got Mom so upset she can barely stand it. No one upsets that woman. No one.”
“Aw man, you know how I love Momma Junebug. I’ll apologize to her first thing,” JJ said.
“See that you do. I expected better behavior out of you, especially since you’ve been here the longest of anyone.” ZQ stood and walked around them. “We’re going to do a little exercise to see if we can’t get to the root of some of the problems you two have with each other. You’re each going to give me three things you don’t like about the other person.”
Ashley hiked her chin and narrowed her eyes. Obviously she thought she was going to balk at his idea. ZQ damn near laughed. She’d evidently forgotten how hardheaded he could be.
“JJ, let’s hear your three.”
“This is a bad idea.” His friend’s eyes pleaded.
“You’re freaking right about that,” Ashley spat.
“See? You two have agreed on something already.” He folded his arms. “JJ, I’m still waiting.” He needed to grow a pair where this woman was concerned.
“Crap.” He hung his head, dreadlocks falling forward to hide some of his face. “Okay, you troublemaking asshole. I don’t like how she keeps her breasts bound and tries to look like a man, for one. She’s always been a pretty woman. What those bastards did to her in Syria had nothing to do with how she looked, but everything to do with their exerting power in a sick way. Two, I miss her blond hair. It was like sunshine, brightening my days. Three, talking to her was always nice. Now she’s cold toward me and I damn well resent it.”
“See?” ZQ swatted at a fly buzzing around his ear. “That wasn’t so hard. Ashley, give me yours.”
“I don’t like his dreadlocks or his beard. He’d look better bald. I hate how he scowls at me because he has a nice smile. Which is why I won’t talk to him, by the way. And he never looked for me like he’d promised. Once he got out of the SEALs, he never came to Phoenix hunting for me. And why? Because I’m white. The man’s a racist!”
JJ jerked around and ZQ quickly reminded him to remain back-to-back with Ashley. He scowled at ZQ. “I am not a damn racist. How could I be the way I grew up? I didn’t hunt for—”
“You promised me you would, JJ.” Her voice softened. “When you held me in the helicopter after the team rescued me from that bombed-out building where ISIS held and tortured me, you told me things. Remember? You cradled me in your arms and whispered promises in my ear. I believed them all. I healed because I believed them, but when you never came for me like you promised, I began…I began to sink into a depression I couldn’t climb out of. I changed.”
ZQ squatted beside the couple, reached out, and petted Nance. “I’m proud of you both. You opened up a little today, which is never easy. This won’t be the end of your conflict but hell, it’s a damn fine start. If you just work on these issues without yelling at each other, you’ll see your relationship is worth fighting for. Personally, I’d like to see you two together.” He held up a hand in a stop gesture. “But that’s not my call. That’ll be your decision once you work through some pain and annoyances of the present. I’m going to head back to the ranch house and check on Mom. You two talk alone. Nance, here, will chaperone.”
He stood and strode for the house, relieved that chore was over. Maybe mealtime would be relaxing again. More importantly, maybe JJ would alter his way of thinking and claim Ashley for his own. They’d make a damn fine couple. His cell rang and he noted the caller: Admiral Callaghan, his handler at the CIA. “Quinlan here.”
“I’ve emailed you some intel, but wanted to touch base in person. Our Russian friends are busy in your state. Your local U.S. Marshal is getting the same information. I want the two of you to talk. Work together. Keep me apprised. I’ll want quick results. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.” The call ended. Callaghan had never been big on small talk. ZQ’s strides lengthened so he could reach the house quicker. What the hell was the Morozov Circle up to now? And in Texas, no less.
“Goodbye, Uncle Zee!”
Steelhead carried Piper to Gina’s van. He jogged over to get a kiss from his little sprite before she left. “You got some sugar for Uncle Zee?”
She leapt into his arms and smacked several kisses over his face. “Now where’s mine?”
He returned her affection. God, he loved this little girl. If anyone needed a man like Steelhead, it was her. He knew Reece to be strong, dependable, and family oriented.
Piper’s little hand cupped his ear. “Daddy’s taking us to the movies tonight. We’re going to see Jo-Jo of the Jungle, just like a real family. I’m so excited!”
She deserved what so many kids had. ZQ glanced at Gina and Reece exchanging sly looks of awareness. He’d bet his best Stetson Reece wouldn’t be home tonight.
ZQ was in his office, gulping a bottle of water and reading the admiral’s email when his phone rang. It was Clint Silver. “Marshal.”
“I take it you’ve read your email.”
“Just finishing up now. What the hell, Clint? Six girls abducted.”
“Add another little girl to the list, ZQ. We’ve got a missing nine-year-old from a playground in Kerrville. The intel my department is gathering says abductors are working in pairs, driving a blue commercial van, and vanishing quickly.”
ZQ rubbed his forehead, studying what his handler had emailed him. “The motherfuckers are targeting public places—parks, malls, playgrounds, theaters. Ballsy assholes. Crowds don’t seem to faze them.”
“Yeah, they grab and run, move onto a different town and look for another innocent kid. They take a day or two off between each kidnapping, too. I can’t bear to think what they’re doing to those little girls. Makes me so damn mad I could chew nails and spit out tacks.”
“How are we going to stop them when we don’t know where the bastards are going to snatch a child next? There has to be a pattern to their movements. Let me talk to Reece. He was always good with analyzing intelligence.”
“Are you bringing him aboard, ZQ?”
Was he? Was Reece emotionally ready to approach about Black Eagle Ops? There was only one way to find out.
Chapter 16
Reece had no clue what ZQ had said to Ashley and JJ earlier, but the reduced tension at the supper table was a welcome relief to his indigestion levels. The Old Man must have put the fear of God into them. Not that ZQ was old, but referring to a man who’d been an officer in Special Forces for over fifteen years as Old Man was a given, a sign of respect. It was also a sign of respect not to call him that to his freaking face. Not unless you wanted your ass chewed up and sp
at out for you to piece back together.
“Junebug, I love this sweet potato casserole,” Ashley said. “Would you show me how to make it sometime? Maybe I need to spend more time in the kitchen with you. My cooking skills are, like, majorly sad.”
“Why, darlin’, I’d love that.” Junebug smiled. “Most of what I cook were Austin’s favorites. Even though my husband is gone, it makes me feel close to him somehow to keep making his preferred recipes. Silly, I know, but I do miss that man.” She turned her attentions to Reece and he squirmed a little in his seat. You never knew what Junebug would say. “Did you get your flowers ordered?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I did. Thanks for the name of the business.”
“Flowers? Must be a special date, Steelhead,” JJ remarked.
“Yeah. An animated flick that Gina promised Piper she could see. When Gina told me it was in 3-D, do you know what popped into my mind?”
JJ laughed. “That damned movie Scratch bought in Hong Kong when we were on assignment there.”
Reece leaned toward him and snickered. “Who would have imagined a porn movie in 3-D. If that wasn’t the damndest thing to watch. Ol’ Scratch had bought us all these cheap glasses and we sat in the hotel room, laughing our asses off and drinking cheap booze while we watched it.”
ZQ snorted. “What a night! Beer and 3-D boobs.” He must have remembered who was sitting next to him at the table, for he wiped the grin from his face pretty damn quick. “Now, Momma, don’t give me that look. I was only repeating what the guys told me. I never saw a thing.”
Nance jumped from her chair, pranced around the table to ZQ, and bared her teeth in a low “you-lyin’-bastard” growl. Everyone else at the table chuckled like fools, except for the Old Man, who scowled and shook his head at the dog, which made the scene extra comical.
Then somehow the joke got turned on him.
“I wasn’t sure I had any more rooster jackets on hand, but thank goodness I did.” Junebug’s hand reached toward her pants.
“Rooster jackets? What are they?” He forked another piece of baked chicken into his mouth and noticed that both ZQ and JJ had their heads bowed and their shoulders shaking in laughter.
Junebug’s hand stilled. She inclined her head in his direction. “Cock covers,” she explained, her voice lowered. Her hand shifted to her pants again and her narrow shoulder bunched as she searched for something. “You know how I take care of my boys.”
“Cock covers?” What the hell did this old woman mean by cock covers? Surely she wasn’t referring to…
By now, both of his SEAL brothers were leaning out of their chairs, an arm over their stomachs and their faces red with laughter. What the hell? I don’t see anything so damned funny.
She grunted once she grasped whatever she’d been searching for and tossed two condoms on the table. “Here. I bought a supply for Dustin when he was with us, then he took to buying his own. There were only two left in the box. Will that hold you for tonight?”
This time he was the only one at the table not cackling.
Kee-ryst almighty!
—
On his way to Gina’s house, Reece stopped at Felicity’s Feathers, Fins and Flowers to pick up his order. He wanted to give Gina a bit of romance even if they were going to spend the evening watching a long cartoon.
The little shop was like nothing Reece had ever seen. Aquariums lined one side and birdcages with a variety of exotic birds took up the other. Down the middle was a display of fish and bird supplies plus handmade, painted birdhouses. Some for hanging and others on stands. In the back were potted plants, flowers, and floral arrangements. There were even small flower trees, their roots covered in burlap. Frankly, he was glad he’d ordered ahead. Otherwise, Piper would have gotten a bowl of goldfish and Gina a pretty yellow canary or maybe a pair of lovebirds. All of which Whirlwind would have eaten in a couple of days.
He knocked at Gina’s door holding a small bouquet of six purple tulips and baby’s breath in front of him. Piper jerked open the Easter-egg-and-plastic-grass-festooned entrance. Her gaze locked on the flowers. “Mom!” she screeched, jumping up and down with excitement. “Daddy brought you flowers!”
Reece leaned over and extended the bouquet. “I bought these for my little girl. I heard purple was her favorite color.”
The expression of shock and pure delight on her little face was worth the pittance he’d paid for the blooms. This little girl needed him to make her feel cherished by a father.
“Never mind, Mom! They’re for me!” She reverently took them from his hand. “You know I love purple. See? I wore it tonight.” She twirled around so her little skirt swung out. Her nose was buried in the flowers as she came to a stop. “Thank you, Daddy.” With a crook of her little finger, she motioned him toward her for a hug and a kiss. Reece’s heart wrapped around her, claiming her as his.
Meanwhile Whirlwind clawed his way up his jeans to make his feline presence known. Reece pulled him loose and scratched behind his ears until he purred. He bent to set the cat on the floor.
“What’s all this excitement about flowers?” Reece straightened and nearly dropped to his knees in one motion, in the span of one breathless heartbeat. Gina had sashayed into the living room wearing a red sweater low enough at the neckline to show off the rounded tops of firm breasts, a black pencil skirt, and—God help him—red fuck-me stilettos with skinny straps that crisscrossed to the middle of her shapely calves. Holy Mother of God.
Piper ran to her mother holding out her tulips. “Look! Aren’t they beautiful?”
Gina ran a hand over her daughter’s curly hair. “Yes, my love, they are. Did you thank Reece?” The sexy vision smiled at him, further frying all the synapses in his overheated brain.
“She gave me a hug and kiss for her bouquet.” He moved the hand he’d been holding behind his back with a bouquet of white tulips and pink roses clasped in it. “Wonder what a certain beautiful woman in red shoes will give me for her flowers.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Gina slowly walked toward him, a gentle sway to her hips. “For me, Mr. Tool Belt?” She looped her arm around his neck, took the posies in her other hand, and kissed him like sunshine warming the frozen earth, like stars illuminating the darkened sky, like the part of his soul he’d been searching for all his life.
Once she ended the kiss, he held her close, his lips barely unlocked from hers. “Even if I’d never met you, I’d go through my entire life missing you.”
—
Gina settled into her place at the Lone Star Theater, a small vintage movie house from generations past. She was grateful the owners had updated the seats while keeping other details intact from the forties. She glanced at Reece, her heart practically overflowing with emotion. This was her first date since college. A romantic one complete with flowers, sweet words, and a starstruck six-year-old sitting between her and him—a night she’d remember forever.
Back at the house, when Reece saw what she wore tonight, the nearly instantaneous bulge in his jeans informed her he was mentally undressing her, but his eyes…dear Lord, his hazel orbs she adored had eye-fucked her. To her surprise, she loved how he’d visually devoured her. All her girly parts were still slowly swaying in a sensual after-sex glow. She had it bad where he was concerned. So bad it was good.
Once the movie started, everyone slipped on their 3-D glasses. Piper rose to her knees so she could whisper into Reece’s ear about the movie. He grabbed her under her arms, placed her on his lap, and her little blond head leaned against his broad shoulder. He motioned for Gina to move into Piper’s vacated seat. When she did, he wrapped his real arm around her shoulders. They watched the movie like that, all three of them enveloped into a single unit. Or, as Piper would say, “just like a real family.”
After the movie, Reece drove them to the Dairy Queen for ice cream. Piper saw a couple of friends from school, who’d also been at the only theater in town, and she dragged him over to introduce him as her daddy. To the surpr
ised expressions on her schoolmates’ parents’ faces, Reece simply proclaimed it “an honorary title I am proud to wear.” Evidently they accepted that for they smiled and nodded. Gina was pleased with how Reece had loosened up these past few days. Was this how he was before the explosion and his captivity in Syria?
Piper could barely keep her eyes open during her bath. Gina brought in her daughter’s undies and nightie and found her sitting still in the water, her chin resting on her little chest. The excitement of her big evening had worn her out. Gina quickly bathed Piper and dried her off. Boots sounded in the hallway. Did Reece need to use the bathroom?
“We’ll be out in a minute.”
“No problem. I was putting something in your room.” The footfalls retreated. Gina fought a smile. What did he put in there? An overnight bag? Lucky me!
Once she had Piper in her nightgown, her sleepy daughter begged for Reece to read her more of Plumdog.
When Gina walked into the living room to see if he’d be up to another fatherly duty, he was slumped in the corner of her sofa, looking more male than any man had the right. The cuffs of his chambray shirt were turned back a couple of times, revealing a corded arm, heavily veined. Lord, even his prosthesis looked good. She had it bad for this wounded warrior. His snug jeans cupped his manhood like a pair of lover’s hands. He was talking to Whirlwind, who had curled onto Reece’s muscled chest.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but Piper wants you to read to her. She has a favorite bedtime book.”
“Hear that, puffball? Little blondie needs us.” He stood, tucked the kitten to him like a football, and swaggered back through the hall. Gina sighed as she watched his retreating ass. The man did have an awesome swagger—cowboy boots, man bun, and all.
While he read to Piper, Gina opened a bottle of wine and quickly washed out two wineglasses, carrying them to the coffee table.
In a few minutes, he returned to the living room. “She insisted on holding a purple tulip while she slept. Hard to tell if it’ll survive the night. Whirlwind had his beady eyes on it.”
