Zero Trace

by Cara Carnes

  The woman’s eyebrows rose as her gaze swept between Zoey and Gage, but in typical Kamren fashion, she asked no questions.

  “Can you babysit Dobby? I think we’re going to grab some food at that place you mentioned.”

  “Oh, cool,” Kamren curled her lips into her mouth as she took Dobby. “Enjoy. We’ve got a litter pan and kibble at our place, so he can have a sleepover with the boys.”

  “Great. A rat-looking cat. Just what we need,” Dallas grumbled. “They’re getting attached to that thing.”

  “He’s adorable,” Kamren said as she brought Dobby up to her face and kissed him.

  “Come on, Little Bit. Let’s go,” Gage said as he put an arm around her waist.

  This isn’t a real date. Don’t get all weird about it. He just wants to get away from everyone. You’re interference.

  She stayed silent as Gage guided them to the nearest vehicle. He opened the passenger door, and she climbed in and buckled up as he shut it behind her and then prowled around the massive truck to the driver’s side.

  The interior shrank when he got in and started it up. His scent filled her nostrils as her pulse quickened. She was sealed into a moving vehicle and alone with Gage.

  How the heck had that happened?

  Oh, get over it, you freaking ninny. It’s not like he’ll bite you or anything.

  Her brain wandered down the what-if trail a moment or two longer. She’d imagined Gage as pretty playful in bed. Would he really be? She glanced over as the truck passed Arsenal buildings.

  Gage didn’t stop where the exit met the road. The truck went left as he headed to Resino. Then he pulled over a couple miles away from The Arsenal entrance.

  “What are you doing?” She looked around. Had he changed his mind?

  “Come here, Little Bit.” He patted his lap.

  Her eyes widened. “Why the hell would I crawl up on your lap?”

  “You’ll straddle me because I want to kiss you and feel you in my arms. It’s been a shit few days for us both. I want something to help erase the bullshit, even if just for a little while.”

  Holy hell. She gulped and locked onto the intensity in his gaze because she really, really wanted that, too. “Okay, but if I break your thighs or something, don’t go blaming me.”

  Her heart thundered in her chest as she positioned herself facing him in a straddle position. Her thighs burned as she worked to keep herself hovering over his powerful body.

  “Relax, Zoey,” he whispered against her cheek as he sighed and pulled until she impacted with him fully.

  It was the solitary sexiest thing ever. A gasp escaped her as the press of his weight against hers fanned need through her entire body. He grasped her hair and claimed her mouth in a kiss meant to pillage and claim.

  There were no half measures with the kiss. He plundered and demanded her immediate surrender, which she gave quickly. Pleasure spiraled within her and exploded like miniature landmines wherever he touched.

  And oh boy, did he touch.

  The man was tactile. He caressed along her arms, up her back. Across her thighs. He alternated between feather-soft strokes to full-on kneads of her flesh.

  Zoey groaned her frustration and ground against him as she explored his muscled arms and down his chest. The man was an Adonis. No, he was far sexier than that.

  But the fusion of tongues, hands, and bodies stopped sooner than she wanted. She growled her displeasure against his jaw when he severed contact.

  “Jesus, you go all in on everything, don’t you?”

  Zoey blinked as the sensual haze that’d enveloped her gave way to reality. His thumb ran across her cheek. “Why’d you stop?”

  “Because if we keep this up we aren’t having dinner.”

  “Okay.”

  Gage grinned. “I love how you speak your mind with me no matter what. I’m sorry we never got to chat about the hospital, sweetheart. Today on top of all that must not’ve been easy.”

  “I wasn’t the one thrown into my worst nightmare today,” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

  “I am now.” He ran a hand down her hair. “I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”

  “Then we won’t.”

  “When I am, I’ll let you know,” he promised.

  It was more than Zoey had expected. She nodded.

  “Same goes for you, when you’re ready.”

  She nodded again and smiled at him. “I can’t believe we made out in a truck like teenagers.”

  He laughed. “At least we made it off Arsenal property so the cameras didn’t catch us.”

  Heat rose in Zoey’s cheeks as she climbed off him. She supposed it wouldn’t be good form to admit she, Bree, and Kamren had been quite busy putting up the latest surveillance equipment along the roadsides all the way to Marville.

  They were possible thanks to Kamren’s savvy construction skills and Bree’s incredible reusable energy source. Zoey didn’t pretend to understand the hows or whys. All she knew was there were drones every one and a half miles housed in miniature towers Kamren had constructed for them.

  Relay stations.

  The drones transmitted signals from one tower to another in microseconds, which fed signals to HERA and expanded the system’s reach all the way through Resino and Marville. The roadside towers scanned vehicles and drivers and anything else it could. If anyone or anything sketchy fell on radar, it’d get noticed by HERA.

  No more surprises.

  It’d been Bree’s and Zoey’s vow, one they’d pledged over a bottle of wine a couple weeks before. Drunken promises aside, she was proud of what she and her friends had accomplished.

  None of that mattered tonight, though, because she was about to eat with Gage. And he’d kissed her senseless, which meant this was a real, honest-to-goodness date. Not a diversion.

  Zoey Dansworth was shy. Gage sat beside her at a small table nestled in the corner of what was clearly someone’s house. Tables were set up randomly within a living room and dining room area.

  An armchair sat in the corner a few feet from a small television on a rickety cart. The living room area held five, two-seater tables while the dining area had two large tables shoved together for a revelrous birthday celebration, whose loud conversation and boisterous merriment enveloped the entire building.

  “You’re doing it again,” Zoey said, her voice a soft whisper barely heard over the din of noise thundering around them.

  “Doing what?” he asked, using the sound as an excuse to wrap his arm around her chair and haul her closer.

  Her gaze widened as she peered up at him. Her expressive face studied him a moment. Jesus, she held the entire world of emotions in her expressions. An open book. “You’re studying everyone like you’re plotting their murders. It’s creepy.”

  Gage chuckled and inhaled her soft strawberry scent. “There’re a lot of people in a small, confined space. Having a few strategies for how to handle a situation if it arises is smart.”

  “I don’t think Consuela Jimenez over there is going to pull an AK out of her ninety-first birthday cake,” Zoey said as she looked over into the other room. “But her great-grandson’s packing.”

  The great-grandson was four and did indeed have a weapon—a water pistol. “I’m pretty sure I can take him.”

  It was the kid’s punk-ass relative in the corner Gage was focused on, though. He recognized the asshole—one of the only Devil Dogs still walking. Dallas’s old buddy, Dom, had handed down some severe street justice on the gang he’d led before going to prison for manslaughter.

  At first Dom’s cousin had been overseeing the gang and abiding by Dom’s wishes, but he’d taken matters into his own hands and declared himself the new leader. He’d also done so by hurting Dom’s little sister, Dani.

  The bloodbath had been worse than most Gage had seen, and that was saying a lot.

  The punk in the corner had survived the carnage somehow. Perhaps he was loyal to Dom, but the rage in his gaze as it settled on Gage sa
id otherwise. He was trouble but would be handled if he was dumb enough to approach.

  Zoey chuckled as the waitress finally made her way back to them with two teas, which she set down along with a heaping pile of chips and a bowl of salsa. Gage hadn’t bothered looking at the menu yet.

  His brain was still wound around what’d gone down in the damn office building. A set up. The entire situation with his former team had been orchestrated. A test for his dirty team to prove their rotten natures. One he’d exacerbated by preventing the slaughter of innocent villagers.

  He’d gotten the bastard’s attention. Cord had sworn he’d look into what went down back then and figure out how much of what Ian had said was reality versus bullshit.

  Mary and Vi were right, though. Bastards like him were narcissistic assholes who frequently lost their grip on reality. He believed it was all an elaborate plan he’d orchestrated years ago, but the private paramilitary arena was small. Operations that ran unseen and operated within the shadier areas outside the law made an even smaller circle, which meant overlap wasn’t only possible…it was expected.

  “Gage?” Zoey reached over and grazed his cheek with her palm.

  Jesus. He craved her touch. He still tasted her on his tongue and wanted more.

  He looked up at the expectant waitress. “I’ll have whatever she’s having.”

  “I got the grande Mexican platter with extra flour tortillas,” Zoey whispered. “Don’t you want a steak or something rare? You know, dude food?”

  “Dude food.” He repeated the lame words as she looked up at him. He loved how her brain went down strange trails so naturally. No one ever knew what would come out of Zoey’s mouth.

  “She got the combo plate with half beef, half cheese enchiladas, a taco, rice, and refried beans. Extra onions.”

  “We’ll take two of those, hold the onions on both. Extra tortillas on the side.”

  “I like onions, Sanderson,” she said softly.

  “Me, too, but I like tasting that sweet mouth of yours more, and I’m not done with you yet.” Her pulse quickened beneath his hand. “Thank you. This was the perfect get away.”

  “I love Bubba’s, but it’s Masonized. All of Resino is. Sometimes it’s good to escape it all, you know?” She looked over at him. Red tinged her cheeks. “That sounds bad.”

  “No, it sounds real,” Gage said. “Hell, the Masons themselves would admit Resino is hard to stomach sometimes. But the townsfolk are extended family. Family protects family. That’s how it is.”

  “You have sisters, right?”

  “Three, all older. Lots of nieces and nephews to make Mom happy,” Gage said with a smile. “They’re spread along the eastern coastline. Georgia, Virginia, New York. I haven’t seen them in a while.”

  The admission loomed between them a moment as Zoey peered up at him. She reached for a chip and dipped in into the heap of salsa. She took the entire thing into her mouth and chewed.

  Her eyes widened and then watered.

  Gage couldn’t help but chuckle as he grabbed his glass and held it out for her. She sucked half of it down in two mighty gulps.

  “Holy shit, that’s hot.” She breathed out a few times as if willing the fire in her system to burn out. “I have dragon breath.”

  Gage motioned the waitress over. “Can we get some queso? And do you have any salsa that’s milder?”

  “Bueno,” the woman replied with a swing of her denim-encased ass toward him.

  “She wants you on her menu,” Zoey commented.

  “Not ever happening,” he replied. “The only dessert I want on my menu is right here with me.”

  Zoey tightened beside him. “You don’t mean that.”

  “What do you think’s been happening between us since you came to The Arsenal, Little Bit?”

  “I dunno, I just know it’s not that.”

  “Oh really?” He narrowed his gaze and noted the way her gaze swung left to right and anywhere but to him. He palmed her face. “Look at me, Zoey.”

  She complied quickly, as if startled he’d used her name for a change.

  “What are you afraid of?”

  “Lots of things. Spiders—way too many legs. The dark. Sand.”

  “Sand?” He was almost afraid to ask.

  “Movie night, two weekends ago,” she answered with a whisper. “Bree has some scary shit in her collection.”

  She did, but her movie collection didn’t hit the top of the list as far as Gage was concerned. “What are you scared of between us?”

  “I’m not your type of girl.”

  “That’s not true,” he said. “Guess I’ll have to work a bit harder to prove you wrong. Anything else?”

  “I’m pretty boring.”

  “You run an underground network that keeps women and children safe from human traffickers. That’s boring?”

  “Well…” Zoey looked at him. “I guess it’s more geeky and strange than boring.”

  “I happen to really dig your brand of geeky and strange, Little Bit,” he whispered. “Don’t doubt that for a second. Whatever happens in the next few days, nothing will stop me from pursuing whatever this is between us. I’m all in.”

  “That’s a poker reference, right?” She blinked and swallowed. “I’m not good at poker, remember?”

  “I seem to recall offering to teach you,” he said with amusement.

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  11

  The food was divine and the company amazing. Zoey almost forgot about the troubles awaiting them at the compound. Belly full and mind swimming in all things Gage, she followed him out into the parking lot.

  He unlocked the truck and dragged her close. Pleasure danced along her skin as he softly kissed her lips. “Get in the truck and lock it. Whatever you do, don’t get out.”

  Say what?

  Unease filled Zoey as she looked around and saw the cluster of five men fan around Gage and her. She swallowed and reached for her cellphone. Surely there was a camera in the area catching this. Someone would be by to help.

  “In the truck, Zoey.”

  Right.

  Zoey had learned long ago that there were times to argue and times to obey. When a commando like Gage growled an order, complying was the wise course of action. She’d seen Gage fight before. He’d handle himself way better with her out of harm’s way.

  But the logical part of her brain didn’t like cowering. Addy and Kamren wouldn’t cower. And Vi and Mary? Please. Cower wasn’t even in their vocabulary.

  But she vaulted for the truck and climbed in and clicked the locks anyway. Without the keys, she couldn’t start it, but there was plenty she could do.

  Her hands trembled as she grabbed her cell and punched a button. It didn’t matter who she called as long as it was Arsenal. Someone would come and help Gage.

  Not that he seemed to need help. If anything, he was toying with them. The truck muffled most of their conversation, but the men’s raised voices filtered through enough words.

  Devil Dogs.

  Payback.

  Oh boy.

  “Z? Aren’t you eating with Gage?” Addy asked.

  “Devil Dogs,” she blurted. “Parking lot outside the diner. There’s five. No, shit, another car just pulled up. Seven.”

  “Shit. That must be the part of the crew that was on a run when Dom’s men hit the house,” Addy commented. “Dani mentioned some of them had gotten away, but she thought they’d run to ground and hide.”

  “Apparently not. One of them must’ve recognized Gage or something. We need help.”

  Silence.

  “Hello? Addy? I need a team out here,” Zoey demanded.

  The woman chuckled. “You want me to send an entire team to help Gage take down seven Devil Dogs?”

  “Erm…yeah.” She blinked. Had she knocked her head? Was she not speaking English? Did she need to slow down? “Are you coming or not?”

  The woman sighed. “Fine, but you’re buying me a couple of plates fo
r schlepping my butt all the way to Marville.”

  “Gage is in the middle of fighting seven men and you’re worried about food?”

  “Girlfriend, Gage could handle twice as many and not break a sweat,” Addy said. “Where are you?”

  “He told me to get in the truck and lock it.”

  “Stay there. I’m on my way,” Addy commented. “It’ll be over before I get there unless he’s in the mood to play.”

  Play? Zoey’s heart leaped into her throat when the woman hung up. The commandos were loco. Totally whacked in the head. Addy hadn’t even come close to taking the call seriously.

  Zoey glanced out as two Devil Dogs grabbed Gage’s arms. Another slammed a fist into his stomach. God. God. God.

  Think. Think. Think.

  Weapons! The truck had guns. She rifled through the glove compartment and came out with two guns. Two sets of ammo.

  Crap.

  She really needed to have Kamren and Addy teach her how to use a gun.

  Maybe they were already loaded.

  Zoey held onto the thought and glanced out of the truck. One of the men had approached and was now flicking his tongue out like a lizard as he grabbed his crotch and watched her.

  Ewww.

  She held up the two guns, but they didn’t seem to faze his lizard-brain need to prove his manhood, or whatever the heck he was doing.

  The cell rang.

  “Put the guns back in the glove compartment,” Addy ordered. “I swear to Christ you women are taking years off my life.”

  “How the heck do you even know I have the guns?”

  “Camera on the side of the building, right in front of you.” The woman paused. “Get out of that truck and I swear to God I’ll hold you down so Gage can spank your ass.”

  Oh boy. Someone wasn’t happy about driving to Marville. She glanced out at the pile of downed Devil Dogs. “Whoops.”

  While she’d been stressing over guns and bullets and lizard-brained idiots, Gage had plowed through five of the seven men. He downed the sixth and made his way to lizard man outside the truck.

  Bones crunch. Blood spurted.

  Lizard man collapsed.

  “Whoops,” she repeated into the phone. “I, erm, think you can go back home now.”