by J. M. Madden
Mike and Nash exchanged quick glances. They’d spent over half an hour working out the plan so she wouldn’t have to move and give away her injury. The bath helped some, but she still couldn’t walk without limping. If they had to move the meet, she was screwed.
“Barbeque, sir? I thought it was to debrief.”
“Why can’t it be both?” He slapped Nash on the shoulder. “There’s beer in the cooler. Avoid the chick beer or you’ll have the wrath of Sandra and Kaycee all over your ass. They’re both in a mood, which is why we’re moving it. Get the lead out, Mike. Weber and Allen are already bored.”
“The director is here?” Her heart flipped back, forth, and sideways. She shot straight up, forgetting about the groin pull. Cringing, she reached for something to keep her upright before the pain brought her to her knees.
Nash rolled out of Lee’s grasp and rushed to her side. “What did I tell you about sudden movement?”
“What the hell happened to you?”
They exchanged glances once again. In all their planning they never came up with a cover story. Knowing Lee would see right through a lie, she told him the truth. “I pulled a groin muscle.”
“Doing what?”
“Um…” she jumped a wide-eyed gaze to Nash.
“Exercise,” Nash blurted out. When her mouth fell open, he shrugged.
Lee bounced a knowing gaze between the two. “Yeah, sure it was. Okay,” he conceded with a heavy sigh. “Come here.”
He moved to throw her over his shoulder. She put up her hand to stop him. Dear God. Was he seriously going to carry her up the street to his house? “I’m good.”
“You sure?”
She nodded.
“I don’t want you in too much pain. I mean, TREX agents walk on broken legs and blown out knees all the time. Just ask your director. He has personal experience with that. His wife suffered several gunshots and found a way to go on. I’d hate to think the groin pull is too much for you.”
Heat slapped her cheeks as she dropped her gaze. She’d never live this down. “Understood, sir.” Pushing through the pain, clenching her teeth to stop herself from whimpering, she slowly made her way out of the house and up the street with Nash’s help. No way would she let them see her show any weakness.
Lee walked around to the side of a house as big as the one they had her in and opened the gate before motioning for Mike and Nash to enter. She paused just before entering the backyard, regrouping as best she could to walk without a limp. As soon as she spotted the director off in the corner, talking with another man with shoulders as broad as a barn and wild brown hair, she hesitated.
Weber stiffened when he spotted her. The man with him glanced over his shoulder, resting a smoky gaze on her. “Is this her?”
“And him,” Weber added, his attention bouncing between Mike and Nash.
“My, my, my.” A woman with beautiful brown eyes and hair smiled as she approached. “You must be Mike. Dave failed to tell me you were female.”
“What difference does it make?” Lee barked and glared at the back of her head.
“I’m Sandra Leary.” She ignored him and offered her hand. Mike took it, shaking it with equal pressure.
“Leary? I thought you two were…”
“Married?” She laughed and shook her head. “No, we aren’t. We, uh… No. Just, no.”
“Sandi,” Lee growled in warning.
Again, she ignored him. “You’re the first female agent he’s had in his care. What’s it like being around all those grunting and sweaty males?”
“Sandi.”
She waved him off. “Don’t listen to him. He’s in a mood.”
“He said the same thing about you.” As soon as Mike said it, she vowed to never talk again. The glare she’d earned from her handler told her she’d be getting smoked for that one.
“That’s because his moods put me in mine.” She looped her arm with Mike’s. “Now, tell me all about how you really pulled that groin muscle.”
“How’d you know?”
“Sweetie, I’m a doctor.” She gave her a knowing look. “And a woman. I know exactly how you pulled that muscle. What I want are the details.”
“That’s it.” Lee grabbed her by the elbow. “Behave.”
She shrugged and pulled out of his grasp. When her eyes flashed, Mike stepped back. “Or what?”
“Can I speak with you inside?”
She spiked an eyebrow. He pointed at the house and jerked his index finger. With a drawn out sigh, she rolled her eyes and shuffled inside, Lee on her heels.
“They’ll be in there a while,” a pretty blonde said as she walked up. When she smiled, it lit up her amazing golden green eyes. Wow, Mike had never seen eyes like that. “I’m Kaycee Addison. I live two doors down from you in the opposite direction. Reid is around here somewhere.”
“Oh, my God. Really, you two?” A man with incredibly blue eyes exited the house, sliding the glass door closed behind him. “I’ll never eat on that table again.” He grinned at Mike and Nash. “How you doing? Reid Cavanaugh.” He offered his hand.
Nash took it first. “Nash. Nice to meet you. You, uh, look familiar. Actually, you both do.”
“We were wanted fugitives,” he explained and casually wrapped his arm around Kaycee.
“It’s true.” She nodded enthusiastically. “Dave was actually the arresting officer. I even got shot.” She lifted her sundress enough to show off the scar on her thigh.
“Not by Dave,” Reid clarified.
Mike’s head spun listening to these two. They talked fast and finished each other’s sentences. She immediately liked them. The jury was still out on Sandra. She nodded at another scar on Kaycee’s leg, this one across her knee. “What about that one?”
“Let’s see.” She hesitated as she dropped her attention to it. “What was that one from?”
“The barbed-wire fencing in Bosnia.” Reid pointed out some scaring on one of his arms. “Got this pulling her out.”
“That’s right. I had to get a tetanus shot because of that one. Good thing I’m not afraid of needles.”
“We’re with the MSF. That’s—”
“Doctors Without Borders,” Mike finished, wanting to impress this couple and not sure why. “Are you both doctors?”
“No,” Reid said quickly. Too quickly. “Kace is. I’m a pilot.”
“He’s a great pilot.” She hugged him.
Mike caught matching tattoos on their shoulders. Live. Laugh. Love. She loved the couple even more. “Those are great tats.”
“When you’re through doing each other’s hair,” Weber spoke up, his distinctive growl slicing through the air as if he’d shouted.
“Who is that guy?” Reid stiffened and met the director’s glare with his own.
“Dave invited him. The other one, too. They work with him or something. When I offered them something to drink, they both grunted. No words. Just grunts. Come on, Reid. It was great to meet you both.” Kaycee led Reid to the opposite end of the yard. No matter how much she tried to distract him, he kept a cool glare on Weber as the director waved Mike over.
Of course he’d make her come to him and not the other way around. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t completely hide the limp. Regardless, she pushed through it and held her head high as she made her way across the yard to join them.
“Report,” he barked as soon as she stopped. The men dwarfed her, yet she refused to allow them to make her feel small. She was every bit a TREX agent, just like them.
“It’s Belechek.”
“How the hell do you know who that is?” The man bounced his attention to Weber. “You told me his name was redacted from the reports.”
“It was. Calm down, Allen. That vein in your temple is going to burst.” Weber regarded her. “How do you know his name?”
“It was missed on one of the reports. Belechek’s name was next to another. A Russian by the name of Petrov. That’s who’s behind the drugs.”
Mike thinned her lips, pissed he discounted her intel. She’d spent hours last night logged into TREX’s database and combing through every name she found in those files. As soon as Kristen had described Mr. Mean, Mike knew. It was Petrov. It had to be.
“Grigory Petrov is dead,” Weber explained. “He died in March. It’s not him.”
“Not now, maybe. But it was him a year ago.”
“And you came across this intel how?”
She thrust out her chin and met his eyes, but said nothing.
He narrowed that glare with pinpoint precision. “Your mission was to find the intel, not side with your boyfriend and protect his CI.”
“Goddamn it.” Allen thrust his fingers through his hair. “I told you to send me in.”
“Beating it out of him won’t help us if we need him again.”
“It sure as hell will make me feel better.”
“You won’t touch him,” Mike declared and shifted in front of him as he took a step toward Nash. Yes, this was stupid. Not only did this guy tower over her and outweigh her by a hundred pounds, challenging a senior agent could also get her suspended. Alarms screamed in her head to stand down, but she wasn’t thinking with her head. This was all heart.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” She squared her shoulders and refused to back down.
“And I supposed you’ll stop me?”
“Yes, sir.” She swallowed hard and held her breath when he faced her.
“Give me the name of the CI, cadet. That’s an order.”
Mike added another charge to her list by refusing a direct order.
“That’s it.” He grabbed her around the waist and easily lifted her out of his way, sending her into action. Without thinking of the consequence, she kneed him in the balls as hard as she could. He released her as he dropped to his knees.
Nash was at her side in an instant, pushing her behind him. “What the hell is going on? Who is this guy, and why did he have his hands on her?”
“Right now, I’m guessing he’s regretting that decision.” Weber helped Allen over to the tree in the corner and leaned him against it. “How about you sit the rest of this one out?”
Allen glared at the director. “F-F-Fu—”
Weber slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll live. Karma is a bitch, Spence. When you tried to invoke the 202 and remove me from my post, this is exactly how I felt. You think about that for a while.”
Mike elbowed Nash out of her way just as the director turned from Allen. As he approached, he regarded her. “Do you know what the punishment is for assaulting a senior agent?”
Oh, shit. “No, sir.”
“You won’t be finding out today.” He glanced over his shoulder. “While I don’t condone what you just did, I don’t fault you for it, either. He’s been a complete ass to deal with ever since these guys resurfaced and needed a swift kick in the balls. Hopefully, this will snap him out of it.” He returned his attention to her. “You’re sure it was Petrov?”
“Unless there’s another bald Russian with black eyes like a shark in the drug trade.”
“Good description.” He nodded before jumping his gaze to Nash. “She’s refusing to give us the name of the CI. Why do you suppose that is?”
“Kristen Shelby.” Nash’s confession made Mike’s defiance completely irrelevant. She dropped her jaw and readied herself to kick him in the balls, too.
“What the hell, Nash?”
“I won’t let you go down, not for me. Not if I can help it.”
She loved him. She hated him, but she loved him. Damn him for doing this, and damn her for loving him even more because of it. “Sir, before you go all TREX on her, there’s something you need to know.”
“We already do,” he said, shutting her down. “You don’t think we checked into his past before we sent you in?” He zeroed in on Nash. “Nice try. We know she’s getting coloring books the rest of her life.”
“You son of a bitch.” Nash threw a punch. Weber blocked it and had him in a headlock in the same move.
“Stand down, Agent Nash. I don’t want to hurt you.” He pushed Nash away. “I had to be sure.”
“Of what?” Nash held his fists to his side and looked ready to attack again.
“We’ve had agents following you two around, taking pictures and leaking them. Something about instant gramming or twitting or something. Anyway, when you paid her a visit today, we thought it was out of guilt. Your reaction tells me she means more to you than that.”
“She does.”
“Fair enough. We’ll go with what we have for now. If we need to circle back on this angle, we will. I’m going to make a call to Lawson and place Mike on the SBI’s roster. She’ll live in the house next door to stay close to her handler. I want you there, as well. It’ll really sell the partner cover. You and your director will be the only two who know she’s TREX aside from the other TREX agents. Any objections?”
“As a double agent?” she asked.
“Dual,” he corrected as he clenched his teeth. “Why does everyone get that wrong?”
“No objections.” Nash shook his head and took her by the hand, squeezing it.
“Brace yourself, agents.” He pulled out his phone. “It’s going to get a lot worse before this thing is over. Enjoy your barbeque.” He dismissed them and returned to Allen, still sitting with his back against the tree. Scooping the SAC off the ground, Weber dragged him across the backyard and into the house. “Jesus Christ, Lee. No one wants to see that.”
“Now I need eye bleach,” Allen groaned.
“No shit. Let’s go.”
Nash pulled Mike into his arms and lifted her, twirling her around. “Did you hear that? We’re that much closer to being married. After all, you said yes.”
“When?”
“Before. On the terrace.” He set her down and nodded at her pulled groin with a tip of his lips.
“That was… That doesn’t count.” She turned bright red.
“I think it does.”
NINE
“That’s the last of them.” Nash set the box on the floor next to the dining room table and glanced around, still in disbelief that he now called this home. He couldn’t wait to mow the lawn and maybe build a brick barbeque pit in the backyard.
“I heard back from Kaycee. She wants us there at six instead of seven. They have an early flight.” Mike walked into the room in a string bikini that was more string than bikini. He damn near swallowed his tongue at the sight. Sun-kissed, creamy flesh tempted him. His mouth watered for a taste. She looked at the boxes at his feet. “Is that it? That’s like five boxes.”
“I didn’t have a whole lot of stuff.” He pulled her to him and nibbled at her neck, taking his time drinking her in. “I promise to start collecting junk, wife.”
“I haven’t said yes.”
“You said it quite a few times last night.” He laughed when she rolled her eyes. His phone buzzed. Glancing at the number, he dropped his smile. Mary never called unless something was wrong. “Mary? Is everything okay?”
“No, it is not okay!” Her southern drawl always grew thicker when she was upset. He already had his keys out and headed for the door. “There are men everywhere. Nash, you best get over here.”
“On my way.” He ended the call and raced out the door. No. No! Please, God. Please don’t let it be friends of the meth heads who lived there before the bust. Tweakers weren’t exactly of sound mind when they went looking for their next fix.
“What’s going on?” Mike jumped in just as he pulled out.
“It’s Mary. Something’s wrong.” He used the lights and siren to race to the other side of the city in record time. As he rounded the last corner, his heart hit the roof of his mouth. Three giant black SUVs were in front of the trailer. He barely had the Mustang in park before he rushed into the house. “Mary! Kriste
n!”
“Out here.” Kristen’s small voice came from the backyard. He bolted out the back and skidded to a stop at the sight. “Hi, Nash! Mike! Hug!”
Mike ran past him and right into Kristen’s arms. “Oh, baby. Are you okay?”
“Look!” She pointed behind her, at what had Nash dumb from shock. “Builders.”
TREX agents of every shape and size, men and women alike, raced around the yard, mowing, raking, and working on the roof. Two giant men lifted five-gallon buckets up to those on ladders. One slapped the other as he caught a glimpse of Mike in her barely-there bikini. The other turned and dropped his jaw.
“R&R! While I’m still young.” That son of a bitch who’d earned a knee to the balls sat on the roof, his shirt off as he swung a hammer. He wiped at his brow and glanced up, giving them a single nod before barking more orders at the two behemoth men on the ground. They scrambled as they carried them out.
“Mary?” Nash approached her when he spotted her sitting in the shade, sweet tea in her hand, a wide grin on her face as she watched the agents at work. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“They scared me,” she defended, but then broke out in another smile as a shirtless agent walked by, tipping his hat to her. “Well, at first.”
“What is this?”
“Hey, Nash.” Adrian “Mac” McLane saluted him as he walked up. “My first weekend off in a month, and I get a call to report at this address ready to work. I had no idea we’d be building a house. The shit we get told to do in TREX, eh?”
“You watch that mouth, young man.” Mary gave him a stern look. “There’s no need for talk like that.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned sheepishly and nodded for Nash to follow. They moved away from Mary. “I didn’t know you were in TREX. We’re supposed to know who the other dual agents are.”
“I’m not.”
Mac whistled when Mike joined them. “Hello, baby.”
“She is,” he added.
“Call me baby again and wear your nuts as a necklace.” She smiled sweetly.
