“No.” She shook her head. “It’s riskier to make them feel useless.”
So far she’d only met two women. Esme and Mallory were happy, but she sensed some restlessness. She’d bet that restlessness was widespread among the Elect women, and she knew how quickly it could fester and become resentment. It would probably be worse with the single women, who had fewer outlets for venting. Namely a mate to take the blame.
“Maybe you’re right,” Brax said, and she turned to meet eyes that glittered with frustration. She hadn’t realized he’d come back into the kitchen. “But it’s not something we’re going to solve before dinner.” He paused. “Which I’m going up for now.”
Crap. She and Carter were supposed to be taking care of that.
Brax laughed and shook his head. “Esme and Kaden took it up earlier.”
With that he left them. Aaron disappeared through another doorway, and Jamie stood frozen in place. Family dinner. That was so not her thing. It had been just her and her mother until her junior year of high school, when her mother had died. Then Jamie had been alone until Kaden was born. The thought of sitting with a family she wasn’t a part of made her queasy.
“I don’t feel so good,” she said when Carter took her hand and started up the stairs. She paused on the landing. “Maybe I’ll just go lie down for a bit.”
He stopped and looked down at her. “Well, I guess I finally know what intimidates you.”
She wanted to deny his assumption, but it would be a lie. “That’s your family in there,” she said softly.
“And by extension yours. Kaden and I are yours, sweetheart. Don’t forget it, because I have no intention of letting you. Now let’s see more of that warrior you were downstairs.”
She was surprised to see wicked heat light his eyes, and arched an eyebrow.
“Liked that, huh?”
He pulled her into his arms then his lips lowered to hers. “Nothing quite like a smart, kick-ass woman.” His mouth brushed hers. “Especially when she’s mine.”
“Mmm. Do we have to go to this thing?” she asked, moving closer and rubbing against him. He was hot and ready, and she felt needy and demanding. How did he do this to her so fast? He kissed her again, all flirty little nips and nibbles.
Down the hall, a door opened and she heard her son giggling. “I found them,” Kaden called inside.
Carter broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. “Damn. Walk in front of me, baby, and no more teasing.”
Right. Like she’d agree to that?
The conversation only lulled a moment when they walked in. Esme and Kaden had a brought a rolling cart of food, dishes and utensils up the back elevator, and Carter steered Jamie toward it since everyone else appeared to already have a plate. It gave him a couple minutes to will away his erection and try to get the lust raging through him under control. He was only partly successful.
Jamie carried her plate and sat on the floor next to their son, in front of the coffee table. Carter took the empty sofa seat behind her. She leaned back, tilting her head to smile at him, and he couldn’t resist stealing a fast kiss. It was more of a peck, but it brought his body roaring back to life. He shifted uncomfortably, straightened and forked up a bite of meatloaf.
Brax met his gaze with one of amused sympathy. It would have irritated Carter if he hadn’t noticed the way the other man had carefully shielded his lower body. The absurdity of his new reality was only made better because he knew the benefits. Now that he’d really accepted he wasn’t human, the power and strength he’d always tempered were free. A definite bonus to a career soldier. Even better was the mating bond. He felt Jamie in his bones, and he knew they’d never willingly separate. If, God forbid, something happened to her, he wouldn’t survive it. That knowledge was also bone deep. His gaze shifted to his son, and he was filled with sudden understanding.
He knew why women protested the roles the Elect wanted to put them in. He’d grown up in the same world as them—a human world— where the loss of a spouse would hurt but wouldn’t kill the one left behind. However, despite what they’d known before, that wasn’t their world now.
He set his mostly-untouched plate down as the conversation flowed around him. He struggled with the knowledge of his new insight. He refused to do anything that would jeopardize his son’s happiness, and that meant making certain both Kaden’s parents were close and alive. The only way to truly protect Jamie was to keep her inside the compound where her enemies couldn’t find her, thereby making her miserable. But if she went back to something like her old life, the worry would make him crazy. He rubbed a hand over his face.
“It’s a dilemma, isn’t it?” Brax spoke to him mentally.
“At least my sister isn’t an ex-cop with tactical training.”
Brax snorted. “No, she’s just the sister of a former special forces soldier who made sure she knew how to fight.” He paused. “She also has breaking and entering skills I don’t want to examine too closely.”
“Don’t put that one on me. She learned that on her own.”
“Then she taught you.” Brax sounded irritated and bemused at once.
“What can I say? We had an interesting childhood.”
He felt Brax sober at the reminder that Carter and Esme had grown up outside the Elect, their mother prisoner of a madman who hunted them still. Neither Brax nor Carter had anything to say after that. He focused on the conversation flowing around him, which was mostly Kaden telling Merilee all about his life and coming to live with the Elect. Eventually things wrapped up. Brax helped Esme reload their used plates and utensils to the cart and roll it away, and Carter and Jamie left to make the meeting that had been arranged before dinner.
Brax’s office was packed. They found a corner behind Brax’s desk. He walked in and swept a harried look around the room. “Let’s do the reports first,” he said, waving Aaron and Mason forward.
“We’ve had some activity outside the wall, though no one has tried to come over. Looks more like recon. As for Stine, he’s awake and he knows he’s being watched. We follow him for a while, but if he wants to disappear, he can. We already know he has at least one telepath. My guess is he’s got a lot more, and they’ve learned evasion techniques. He’s still keeping the major parts of his routine, though.”
“Trying to draw us out,” Brax concurred and turned to Aaron. “Anything from the FBI?”
Carter perked up. This was about the warrant issued for Jamie, but Aaron just shook his head. “My sources haven’t come up with jack except the actual warrant. The file is classified and the agents listed on the warrant may or may not really exist. The warrant is real, though. I verified it with the judge that signed it.”
“Give Gabe the names. Maybe he can find something.”
“Already on it, boss,” Gabe piped up from somewhere in the back. “Haven’t found anything yet, but I’ve got a whole alphabet soup to, um, search.”
Which was just a euphemism for hack. A few weeks ago, Carter wouldn’t have approved, but the whole game was changed now.
“Let me know,” Brax said.
Before he could go on, an older group came to the door.
“You need a bigger office, son,” said a man who could be Brax in fifty years. Since Carter had heard about him from his sister, he assumed the man was Brax’s grandfather.
“Yeah. For our newcomers, this is my grandfather, Elias Lee,” Brax said, standing. “Why don’t we take this to the dining room?”
That was where things got really interesting. Among the group, Carter spotted at least one senator, a mayor, and a retired general who gave him a stern once-over. Elias, sitting at the head of the table, was obviously in charge. Even Brax deferred to him.
“You asked for this meeting,” Brax said respectfully. “Does that mean you’ve found the source of Stirling’s funding?”
Elias allowed a flinty smile and nodded at the general. Carter struggled to place his name or where he’d encountered the man before. Zach l
eaned in next to Carter and whispered, “That’s Mallory’s grandfather, Jenson White.”
The name triggered his memory. When Carter had been a young officer, the general had been in charge of covert missions. By the time Carter met him at a political ball in DC, he’d retired. But he’d obviously stayed in the game.
“It’s buried in a group that doesn’t even have a name, but I have some of the players.” He slid a piece of paper to Brax, then looked at Carter. “I believe you’ll recognize one or two, Major.”
And wouldn’t that suck? Brax handed him the list, which read like a who’s who of black ops. Carter sighed. One or two his ass. He’d met or worked with at least half the people named, most of whom were either Special Forces or Intel.
“These are verified?” he asked and was relieved when the general shook his head.
“Only a couple. The others have been transferred to ops so secret even my sources can only find hints of them.”
Carter looked at the list again. “These guys are antiterrorism experts, mostly. I seriously doubt they know what they’re involved in.”
The general nodded. “Some of them are yours. Have a way to reach them?”
“If they’re in the area, I can probably find them.”
Two of them were his—Lieutenant Vin Toler and Sergeant Jack Martin. They’d had a drop system if anyone got in trouble. Carter would bet the lieutenant and sergeant had set one up here if Stine had told them Carter was involved. It seemed likely that Stine knew who Carter was. Stine definitely knew Kaden was his son.
A young female stepped up to his side and held her hand out. “Can I see the list?” she asked softly.
He had to remind himself the woman, Livie, wasn’t much younger than him when he looked down to meet her eyes. Olivia Allen was an experienced Army intelligence officer who’d resigned her commission about the same time he had. They’d known each other, worked together a few times. He’d been stunned to find she was the only female working in the Elect’s security. Apparently at the end of her Army career several months ago, she’d come to Tampa for a police job. Aaron had met her and known immediately she was Elect. He’d recruited her to Brax’s security. She worked but kept to herself, had a separate barracks room and didn’t socialize—rarely left the compound if she wasn’t on duty. But she’d worked in intelligence for several years, which meant briefing the guys in the field and sometimes more in-depth, detailed work. Carter assumed she would know some people on the list—definitely the ones she and Carter had worked with together. He handed the paper to her.
She took a breath that sounded both shocked and expectant, which he found surprising for a woman who rarely showed anything.
“Martin—Jack Martin—called several weeks ago,” Livie said. “I didn’t know the number, so it went to voicemail. He heard I was in Tampa, wanted to know if we could get together. I never called him back.”
“Why didn’t you?” Carter asked gently.
“Come on, Major,” she joked, but he heard a bitter edge. “You know what ‘get together’ means.”
He did. He also knew how interested his former sergeant had been in her. What had happened to sour that?
“Did you save the number?” Brax asked, not unkindly.
Her nod was reluctant. “I have it.” And she didn’t sound happy about it.
“All right,” Brax said, glancing at this watch. “I don’t think everyone needs to be in on this. Meeting over. I’ll be in touch.”
Carter was glad Brax had dismissed everyone and suspected it was in deference to the bitterness and hurt Carter heard in Livie’s voice. Something unpleasant had happened there, and tough as she was, Brax wasn’t about to make her relive it in front of the whole clan.
“I need Mason, Carter, Livie and Jamie in my office. Gabe, you come too.”
Once they were alone, Carter turned to Livie. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” She shrugged. “You know him. You know how he is. Do I strike you as his type?”
Not exactly, which meant his showing up in Tampa and trying to contact her made zero sense.
“As far as she knows, though, it’s the truth,” Jamie said.
“Don’t do that, okay?” Livie asked, rubbing her temple. “I haven’t learned to block everything, and it hurts like a bitch.”
“I thought your talent was telekinesis,” Carter said.
“Yeah, with some telepathy thrown in. I guess they’re connected.”
“It’s all connected in the end,” Brax said. He looked at Carter. “How do you want to do this? You try your system or go through her?”
“I haven’t seen any kind of indication he knows I’m still here, Carter. The last message was weeks ago.” She blanched like she’d given away something she hadn’t wanted to.
“How many messages?” he demanded.
He could see she wanted to smudge the truth a bit. “A couple a week until three weeks ago,” she replied.
The same time that Carter, Kaden and Esme joined the Elect. No fucking way was that a coincidence.
“You never answered any?”
She shook her head, and he believed her. He didn’t need to consult Jamie.
“Carter, you contact him,” Brax said.
“No!” Livie stepped forward. She took a deep breath. “No. In his last message he sounded like maybe he thought I was in trouble. He’s checked with the PD. He knows I’m not there, but he seems to think I’m still in the area. Or did. Someone is feeding him information, and there’s no telling who or what that is.”
Brax gave her his forbidding alpha glare. “You should have come to us before.”
“Why?” she asked coldly. “He’s my problem, and trust me when I say he doesn’t want to be my problem.”
She took a deep breath and turned to Carter. “Despite his personal failings, you know he’s a stand-up guy. He’s a good soldier. If he’s involved in something illegal and underhanded, he doesn’t know it.”
Carter tended to agree with her assessment, though he ached at the pain in her eyes. Suddenly, he realized what was going on with her. Martin had turned away from something incredible. A bond that was beyond beauty.
“We could set up a meeting. Blow it off. Take him somewhere else, where we control the sitch,” Gabe suggested.
Carter could see Brax was unhappy with the idea but was considering it.
“I think that’s a bad idea,” Carter said. “As far as we know he doesn’t have a clue that Livie is one of us. We shouldn’t expose her unnecessarily.”
She looked ready to protest when Jamie backed him up. “I agree. It’s a bad idea. Carter should try to make contact.” Her support surprised him until she went on, “If he does, I’ll go with him to the meeting.”
“Fuck no,” he said.
“It’s me they want,” she countered reasonably.
“I don’t care.”
He’d just got her back. He wasn’t about to risk losing her again. She fell silent, but the look she gave him made it clear she hadn’t given up. He had a bad feeling he wasn’t going to win this fight.
Chapter Four
It took a day of arguing and cajoling, but Jamie won. When Carter left the compound in the evening, she was in the passenger seat. Martin and Toler had insisted on a private meeting with Carter. He hadn’t bothered to tell them she was tagging along. With luck, they wouldn’t realize it.
The meeting had been set up at a popular bar. Jamie hopped out a couple blocks early and walked casually through the evening crowd. She had a new haircut and darker hair color, contacts that turned her green eyes brown, casual attire that hid two Glocks on her person and a discreet earpiece. Her new image worked. She received several looks of male interest, but no undue attention. She couldn’t give her talent or her profession credit for that knowledge. It was nothing more than the instinct a woman honed after years of looking over her shoulder, walking cautiously through dim parking lots, and fending off unwanted advances.
She entered the b
uilding first and took a seat at that bar, sipping at a beer when Carter walked in. She felt the mental connection between them throbbing like a beacon, felt his pulse of awareness through it as if he were holding her. She watched in the mirror over the bar as he went straight to the two men, their targets, sitting in a darkened back corner. They leaned back indifferently, nursing beers like a couple of businessmen taking a break after a long day.
To the casual observer, at least.
Jamie saw something very different. They were both big, powerful men. Their eyes took in everything. She was pretty sure they’d recognized her when she came in—they’d watched her just a fraction too long before moving on dismissively. She’d decided it was best to let the situation play out. Wait and see. She heard everything as Carter reached their table.
“Major. Been a long time,” Martin said. Jamie recognized him from the photo Livie had provided before they left the compound.
“It’s just Carter now. I retired, remember?”
“So what are you doing in Tampa?” the other guy, Toler, asked.
“My son is here.”
“And his mother is wanted,” Martin said softly, leaning close. “I bet she can hear every word we’re saying.”
That was her cue. She heard Carter’s sigh through her earpiece as she stood and carried her drink with her. She was forced to sit on his right with her back to the room. It made her twitchy.
Martin glared at her, still leaning forward, and snarled. “Where is Livie? God help you, she better be alive.”
She caught Carter’s arm before he could lunge over the table.
“I haven’t done anything with her, but you apparently think I did,” Jamie replied.
“There’s no point in lying,” he sneered. “And so nice of Carter to deliver you to us.”
So they had laid a trap just in case. She’d expected that and prepared for it.
“You should hold that thought,” she said, almost kindly.
One click on her a phone and a prearranged text went to Livie’s phone. Seconds later, she was taking the seat next to Jamie. Livie pinned the surprised men with an angry stare and went straight to the point.
Warrior: The Elect, Book 3 Page 4
