by Dawn Ryder
* * *
“Not going to try and make a passionate plea?”
Jaelyn slowly smiled. Tyler Martin had glanced her way a few times but she’d held her silence because she could see he expected something else from her.
“Nope,” she muttered. “I’m pretty sure you’re beyond hope.”
He grunted at her.
“Him on the other hand,” she said, looking at the pilot. “He’s the kind of person I might make a comment to.”
She shrugged and looked away.
“What kind of comment?”
“Why do you care?” she shot back.
Tyler shook his head. “Think you know so much about me?”
“I know you kidnapped me from my own wedding and you’re intent on using me to clean up your personal mess.” She raked him from head to toe. “You disgust me. I don’t see why that pilot can’t see you for what you are.”
“He knows if he makes a move against me, his entire life will be shattered.” Tyler responded in a tone that chilled her blood. “His pension, benefits, everything he’s worked for will be overshadowed by disobeying the orders of his commanding officer. Me.”
The pilot’s face tightened.
“You’ve got ice where your soul should be,” she said.
Tyler snorted at her. Another ripple went down her spine as she realized he liked her description of him.
“You’re exactly the sort of romantic Bram Magnus would choose alright,” Tyler said as he contemplated her. “All high on glory and service and honor.”
“Thank you.”
He hadn’t meant it as a compliment. Jaelyn smiled at him. Her heart was thumping, fear making it almost impossible to maintain her composure.
Like hell she’d crumble.
Bram wouldn’t ever show his fear, so neither would she.
“Helicopter coming in,” the pilot said.
Tyler nodded before he pulled his gun from his chest harness.
“Looks like lover boy is coming for you.”
“Of course he is,” Jaelyn answered. “Bram Magnus doesn’t know how to fall short of the mark. Not that I expect you to understand that sort of concept.”
Tyler checked his gun and sent her a grin. “I’ve spent my years living the life Bram has. Let me tell you what I saw. Men like the Hale brothers getting cut down for the men they served.” Tyler grabbed her by the arm and pulled her farther onto the surface of the landing pad. “And their widows got their benefits sliced and lived like hamsters while the men who had ordered those honor-serving men into battle bought vacation homes in the tropics where they keep their bikini pets.”
He yanked her another couple of steps. “I’m going to have more for the blood I spill.”
“You’re a sellout.”
“Beats being dead like the Hale brothers.”
Jaelyn stiffened. Tyler offered her a smug grin. “Sullivan killed them.”
“But Sullivan was working for you.”
He shrugged as the helicopter came in closer. It was a small, private airfield. There were more rusting airplanes than ones fit to fly. The surface of the landing pad was crisscrossed with cracks that had plants growing up through them.
“And now I’m going to kill him,” Tyler informed her without a shred of remorse. He tightened his grip on her arm, pulling her into tight contact with his body as he used her as a shield and shoved the barrel of his gun beneath her chin.
“One wrong move, and you die, too.”
Bram was flying the helicopter. It gave her a moment of relief from the fear that was trying to cripple her. She watched the way he angled the aircraft and brought it down with what looked like a delicate touch.
Damn, he was everything she’d ever dreamed of.
Soak it up …
She listened to her inner voice because it beat dwelling on the feeling of Tyler against her.
The guy made her flesh crawl.
.
The helicopter rotor slowed down. Bram left the cockpit before it finished, completely at ease with the machine. He moved around and opened the passenger side door.
A moment later he was hauling a handcuffed man away from the helicopter.
But Bram was taking Sullivan toward the only building on the site. He’d landed the helicopter between where Tyler was holding her and the building.
Brilliant.
She let out a soft sound of mirth as Bram disappeared inside the building, denying Tyler complete compliance.
“Shut up.” Tyler growled.
“Guess you’re not going to be able to just shoot Sullivan from behind me,” she said in spite of his warning. “You might just have to face Bram, man to man.”
“You know, there are things worse than dying.” Tyler’s tone had crossed into the creepy zone. “I know places where I could sell a woman like you. While you still have your looks, you’d be in a brothel. But after starvation takes its toll, you’ll end up behind a wall, your legs in stirrups as man after man uses you for release. Drug bosses like to make sure their underlings have a glory hole to make them feel appreciated.”
“Bram is going to kill you.”
She’d never been so sure of anything in her life. Never craved bloodletting as much as she did at that moment. It was strange the way she mentally crossed the line and there wasn’t a shred of remorse in her for the way she felt.
Bram emerged from the building, bracing his feet apart and holding position as he looked toward Tyler.
“Bring me Sullivan!” Tyler yelled.
“Come and get him,” Bram responded.
Tyler pulled the gun out from beneath her chin and leveled it at her temple.
Bram pulled his own gun and aimed it at Tyler.
“You’re fucked,” she said to Tyler. “He’s not stupid enough to bring Sullivan into the open for you to just kill.”
“You might be right,” Tyler remarked. “I’m going to have to change my tactics.”
The gun went off. She smelled the powder as a searing pain went through her leg. She crumpled, hitting her face on the ground because her hands were still handcuffed behind her.
“Bring me Sullivan!” Tyler bellowed.
She’d never felt pain like this before.
This was a whole new level of agony. The bullet had passed through her calf like a red hot iron. The scent of fresh blood filled her senses as she watched the way the blood flowed across her skin.
And something snapped inside her.
All of a sudden, the pain didn’t bother her. No, she had strength surging through her making her feel like she could fly if needed. Tyler was bringing the gun up again, taking aim at her arm.
Jaelyn lunged herself at him, a cry of rage coming from her that made her feel even better. She collided with him as his gun went off again. This time the bullet burned a path across her shoulder but she had the satisfaction of feeling Tyler recoil from her attack.
She rolled right over her shoulder and came up onto her feet. Bram was running toward her and it seemed the most natural thing to spring toward him. Time was moving slower for some odd reason, allowing her to notice every step. In fact, she was aware of the way her foot pushed off the ground, when her heel lifted and then the sensation of using the front of her foot to push herself forward.
Bram was lifting his gun and she dove into another roll out of instinct. She heard a bullet fly past her as she came up again and closed the distance more.
So close.
He was so near …
Jaelyn strained toward Bram, reaching him the only thought in her mind. The sun was blocked out as the shadow of the building covered her. Bram caught her shoulder and pushed her behind him. She landed against the side of the building, lifting her head in time to see Bram knocking the gun from Tyler’s hand.
It went sailing through the air, landing with a clatter.
Tyler recoiled, but Bram followed him. Flesh hit flesh, the two men doing their best to kill each other.
“Get back, Jaelyn!” Bram snarled.
Tyler was charging at Bram, trying to move him aside and get closer to her.
Her feet slipped as she tried to move farther along the side of the building. Tyler was coming for her, and she felt the dread knotting in her belly as the scent of her own blood drove home how easy it would be for him to kill Bram.
So she fought.
Fought to move faster …
Fought to gain more distance …
An inch might make all the difference.
There was a pop and a shower of glass. It fell from the upper floor of the building as someone jumped through the shattered window.
“You wanted to see me, Martin?”
Ricky Sullivan landed on his feet just behind Tyler.
“I want to see you, too.”
Jaelyn was jerked around as Bram retreated. Ricky shoved a knife into Tyler Martin’s back. He grunted as Tyler made a wounded sound. Bram was torn but he came toward her, lifting her up and off her feet and onto his shoulder so he could get her away from Tyler and Ricky.
She lifted her head, watching the battle with morbid fascination.
Ricky drove his knife into him over and over like a boxer pummeling a pinned opponent. Tyler was convulsing, turning and trying to pull another gun from where it was shoved into his waistband.
Bram let her down at last, turning to watch the two men trying to kill each other.
Not trying.
No.
They were succeeding.
Blood was staining Martin’s shirt, coating the knife still clutched so tightly in Ricky’s hand. Ricky grinned, showing off blood in his teeth. He staggered back as Tyler’s knees gave out, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he watched Tyler convulse.
“No one … fucks over a Sullivan.”
Ricky’s eyes shone with satisfaction a moment before there was a second helicopter coming toward them.
And a third.
“Here comes the cavalry, baby.” Bram said.
And then she was being crushed against him.
The scent of his skin replacing the smell of fresh blood.
He was the cure for the insanity around her.
“Let me look at you…” Bram was lifting her off her feet and lowering her to the ground as he started to access her wounds.
There was a ripping sound as he tore a length off her skirt and used it to stop the bleeding.
The two helicopters touched down, men jumping from them before the rotors stopped turning. They had their guns drawn as Bram looked up.
“Clear!” he bellowed over the sound of the aircraft. “Medic!”
“I’m fine,” she said.
He locked gazes with her. For a moment, he was still hiding behind his stone expression, but his lips twitched. “Not too bad, Jaelyn. Who taught you to roll?”
“My grandfather,” she replied as Saxon Hale came close enough for her to recognize him. She gasped. “You’re alive.”
Saxon pulled his shades off as Vitus knelt behind her and unlocked the cuffs still binding her wrists.
“Can’t believe everything you hear,” Saxon replied with a smirk. “It was your hubby’s idea, though.”
She suddenly narrowed her eyes. “Except, you’re not my husband.”
“Not yet,” Bram agreed. He scooped her up and started to carry her toward the helicopter. “Seems Tyler has managed one last interruption in our lives.”
She looked past him to where Saxon and Vitus were looking at Tyler Martin’s body.
“His last one,” she said.
Bram placed a kiss against her temple. “That’s for sure.”
He reached behind her to pull the straps of the chest harness over her shoulders. There was a click as he secured the buckle. He cupped the side of her face.
“I have to stay here, baby, and you need a hospital.”
She reached out and caught his chest harness. Big fat tears were suddenly welling up in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Your grandfather will meet you.”
He wasn’t going to tell her.
“I’m only going to marry a partner, Bram Magnus, so you’d better start singing. What’s wrong?”
Dare Servant was sitting beside the pilot and she heard him snicker.
But her attention was all on Bram.
He grunted and looked away before returning his gaze to hers. “I disobeyed chain of command to come after you and I don’t regret it. I love you, Jaelyn. Nothing was going to stand between me and getting to you, but I need to face the consequences of my actions. Saxon’s commanding officer will be here shortly. I plan to face him.”
Of course he did.
At his core he was solid, with the sort of integrity she’d witnessed in her grandfather and had been holding out for until she met him. She reached out and grabbed his body armor, pulling him toward her so she could kiss him. Bram didn’t need any further encouragement. He kissed her back with all of the hunger and need she felt herself.
“I love you, too,” she whispered as he pulled away.
He shut the sliding door and stepped away from the aircraft but there was a grin on his face, one she liked a whole hell of a lot.
The sound of the rotor starting up filled her ears. Bram backed up, the wind whipping at his pants. The pilot lifted off a few moments later, giving her nothing to do but watch as Bram was left behind.
He was in his element.
And she was so scared he would be kicked out of it over her.
* * *
Saxon was on his phone. He finished and looked toward Bram.
“Kagan is on his way.”
Bram didn’t show any response. His teammates knew him too well, though. Or perhaps it was more precise to say, they knew they’d have done the same. It was the reason they were teammates, their values ran soul deep.
“You did what you had to,” Vitus remarked. “I’d have done the same.”
“She’s safe,” Bram remarked. “And Tyler isn’t going to be hunting any of us again. Did you get Sullivan?”
“Your dad shackled him,” Saxon said. “Word is, he’s pissed.”
“Ricky knows where your command center is. We couldn’t let him go. His loyalties go to the highest bidder,” Bram said. “I’m taking the responsibility for this.”
Saxon wasn’t comfortable with Bram’s statement. But Bram sent him a stern look. “It was my wife this time.”
“Tyler took a shot at both of our wives, too,” Vitus said, joining the conversation.
“So tell my dad to give Ricky a shot of whiskey.”
Saxon snorted. “I wager the good colonel already deduced that.”
Bram nodded. He looked back at Tyler’s body.
He wouldn’t regret any of it.
Because the fact was, he’d do it again and more if that’s what it took to safeguard Jaelyn.
It would be better if Kagan understood that now.
It might cost him a future with the Shadow Ops but he’d shoulder that load. A badge with Kagan was all he’d worked toward getting for a long time. Now, it seemed there was more to life than the team.
Jaelyn …
Yeah, she was a whole hell of a lot more.
Enough to fill a lifetime.
* * *
Kagan was looking at Tyler Martin’s body. But Bram’s arrival caught the section leader’s attention.
“Guess it looks sort of strange to see me so fascinated.” Kagan spoke before he rose to his full height.
Bram shared a look with him, one that only a few men truly understood. “Mr. Sondors said there were times when a good man has to go to war,” Bram said. He looked back at Tyler’s open eyes. “He took out your men for his own gain. Can’t really blame you for enjoying the fact that he’s dead. Fact is, I’m going to sleep better knowing it myself.”
The scene was blocked off from sight now. Huge cargo nets had been suspended above the body and walls were erected to keep the curious television news helicopters from seeing what had happened. It would have been
cleaned away if Kagan hadn’t wanted to see it himself.
“He betrayed every ideal I expect my men to shed blood for,” Kagan explained in a deep tone as he came closer. He stopped and dug something out of the breast pocket of his suit jacket. “If you accept this, know that I want you to feel the burden of that morality.”
Kagan held a badge out. Bram clenched his hands into fists.
“I disobeyed chain of command.”
Kagan’s lips twitched. “You dealt with the situation as it was presented to you. Tyler had his fingers in too many pies. I agree with you on the information blackout.” He held up a finger. “Just don’t make a habit of it.”
“I’ve got a wife now.”
“So does Hale.” Kagan pushed the badge into Bram’s chest. “And as you’ve illustrated, Dare and Thais don’t want to play house just yet, so you get to help bring that command center up. Once it is, I’m going to need men like you who can smell an evidence trail when everyone else dismisses the situation as insignificant. There is a place for you on this team, Magnus, take the badge. You’ve earned it.”
Satisfaction was filling him. Bram took the badge as Kagan shifted back, revealing the rest of the team. They grinned at him and came forward to shake his hand.
“Welcome to the team,” Kagan said.
Bram stopped him from leaving. “Tyler said Carl Davis was going to sign an executive order disbanding the Shadow Ops teams.”
Kagan pursed his lips together and rocked back on his heels, slowly thinking over what Bram had said.
“I’ve heard him say the same.” Kagan looked at his men for a long moment. “I’ll look into it.”
He nodded before disappearing. The cleanup teams were just waiting for Kagan to go. They started forward as the section leader ducked into a truck with tinted windows and started the engine.
“Carl is leading in the polls,” Vitus said. “We’d better have a bugout plan in place in case he puts a hit out on all of us.”
Bram felt the weight of reality on his shoulders. Taking chances with his own life was one thing, but now he had Jaelyn.
He secured the badge to his belt.
They were a team and there was safety in numbers.
Carl had better learn to leave well enough alone.
* * *
Kagan made sure Carl Davis could see him.
Another fundraiser, this one with a fancy meal that cost five thousand dollars a plate.
