by Anna Blakely
“If you think I’d fire you for putting your safety above being here to answer the phone, you don’t know me very well. But, that’s okay.” Jake grinned and patted her arm. “You’ll get there. Our priority right now is finding out who was in your apartment and why. As far as the job goes, we’ll figure all that out later.”
Walking past Gracie, Jake turned his attention to the entire room. “Sorry, I’m late. Olivia wasn’t feeling well this morning, and I didn’t want to leave her alone until I was sure she was going to be okay.”
“What’s going on with Liv?” Gabe asked.
“She caught some sort of stomach bug. She seemed to be doing better when I left.” He took a seat at the head of the table and looked to Gracie. “Let’s start from the beginning. Gracie, why don’t you tell us all what happened. The more details you can give, the better.”
Gracie looked over at Nate, who gave her a wink and a nod. He could tell she was remembering him saying almost those exact words to her last night.
Everyone listened as Gracie retraced what happened from the time she got back to her apartment the previous Monday to arriving at Nate’s last night.
Nate was grateful she left out the part about him nearly shooting her ass in that alley. She also—thank you, Jesus—skipped over the felt-it-in-his-boots kiss they’d shared.
He was especially thankful for that particular omission, knowing Kole probably would’ve leapt over the fucking table and beat his ass if he knew.
“Nate said you got a look at the guy. If now is a good time”—Zade looked to Jake—“I could take her to your office and do a quick sketch. See what we come up with.”
“That’s a good idea. Come back in here when you’re done.”
Zade stood and walked around the table. “Come on, Gracie.” He grinned. “Let me show you how the magic’s done.”
Returning his smile, Gracie stood and started to follow.
“Can I come with her?” Sarah asked.
Zade shrugged. “Don’t see why not.”
Both women followed him out of the room. Jake waited until they were gone to begin speaking to him again.
“Nate, is there anything else you can think of? Anything she shared with you last night but forgot to mention?”
Only that I put a gun to her chest and later stuck my tongue down her throat.
“She told you everything she told me, Boss.”
“What are your thoughts?”
“I think it’s a big fucking coincidence that a former SEAL she was friends with is found tortured to death a few days before her apartment is broken into, and she’s scared into hiding. And I know what we all think about coincidences.”
“No such thing,” all five men said in unison.
“Okay.” Jake leaned his elbows on the table. “We need to look into Craig Wyatt more closely. Carter, I want you to dig deep. His financials, love life. All of it.”
“Boss, I’ve looked. There’s nothing there.”
“Look again. Wyatt’s death and the target on Gracie’s back have to be related somehow. We figure out that connection, we find the person behind it.”
“Roger that. I’m on it.”
They continued to discuss the situation involving Gracie before Jake shifted the conversation to an update on Alpha Team’s latest op. Jake stopped talking a few minutes later when the conference door opened.
Zade came in with a piece of paper in his hand and a worried expression on his face. Shutting the door behind him, he looked to Jake and said, “We have a problem.”
“Talk to me.”
“I got finished with the sketch of the man Gracie saw in her apartment. I gotta say, I’m impressed. Most people don’t remember that many details about someone they just caught a glimpse of. Especially in a situation like the one she—”
“Zade.” Jake said the other man’s name sternly to stop his rambling. “What did you find out?”
“I—” He glanced nervously to Kole before locking his eyes with Nate’s. “It’s not good.”
Zade handed the drawing to Jake, who immediately let out with a low curse.
“What?” Nate asked, tired of waiting for the bomb to drop. Zade looked back in his direction, but still didn’t answer. “Who was in her fucking apartment, King?”
Jake turned the sketch around for them all to see.
“Ah, hell.” Kole sat back in his chair and ran a hand down his face.
“Correct me if I’m wrong”—Matt looked at the picture more closely—“but that sure looks a lot like—”
“Achim Akmar,” Nate finished the thought, his gut churning. Sonofabitch.
“Think we should tell her?” Matt looked to Kole, but it was Gabe who answered.
“Don’t think we have a choice.”
“I agree,” Jake nodded. “Gracie’s already proven herself to be tough and resourceful. She can handle it, and frankly, she needs to know what she’s up against.
“Fuck me,” Kole bit the words out.
“Just so we’re all on the same page here,” Zade began to reiterate their theory. “The man who went after Gracie is the same guy who managed to capture and brutally murder a former Navy SEAL. Is that really what we’re saying?”
“Yeah, King,” Nate shot back. “That’s what we’re fucking saying.”
Unable to hold back the sudden need to see her again, Nate got up and headed for the conference room door.
“Where are you going?” Kole asked as Nate passed by him.
“To get the girls. The sooner Gracie knows what’s going on, the sooner we can put together a fucking game plan to keep her safe.”
Knowing he needed to calm his ass down before Gracie saw him, Nate stepped inside the restroom located across the hall. He splashed some cool water on his face and then used a paper towel to wipe away the evidence.
With his hands clenching the sides of the sink, Nate stared at his reflection and wondered when this woman had become so important to him. They weren’t dating. Hell, they’d barely even kissed.
So, why did the thought of an evil bastard like Achim Fuckstick Akmar coming anywhere near Gracie fill him with such terror?
He couldn’t explain it, but the second he saw that picture in Jake’s hand, all Nate wanted to do was drag Gracie away to someplace safe. Somewhere he could make sure nothing bad ever happened to her again.
You’re scared because you care about her.
“No shit, asshole.”
Great. Now he was talking to himself. What the fuck was happening to him?
Rather than wait for another response from his inner self, Nate did his best to shake off his concerns and headed to Jake’s office. He knocked and opened the door, but the room was empty.
Assuming Kole or one of the other guys got the two sisters while he was in the restroom, Nate walked back to the conference room. But when he got in there, Gracie and Sarah were nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Gracie?”
Matt gave him a confused look. “I thought you went to get her.”
“I did.” Feeling the need to clarify, he turned to Jake. “I went to the restroom, then your office. They’re not in there.”
Kole stood and headed for the door. “Well, they couldn’t have gone far. I mean, this place is only so big. They’re probably in the ladies’ room. I’ll go get them.”
He’d just stepped into the hallway when his phone buzzed with a new text notification. Pulling it from his pocket, Kole glanced at his screen. “You’ve gotta be shittin’ me.”
“What?” Nate went to his friend’s side.
“They went across the street to get some coffee.” Kole held up the phone to show Nate Sarah’s text.
“Gracie seemed like she was getting pretty tired in there,” Zade spoke up. “Sarah mentioned going for coffee when we were done with the sketch. Said something about wanting to stretch their legs before coming back in here.”
Nate took a menacing step toward him. “So, you let them go alone? Knowing who’s
after Gracie, you just let them walk out of here, unprotected?”
“Hell, no,” Zade stood his ground. “I told them to wait in Jake’s office for one of us to come back and get them. Jesus, Carter. I’m not a fucking idiot.”
“It’s right across the street, and mid-morning.” Matt tried to diffuse the rapidly growing tension in the air. “That place is always packed this time of day, so they probably figured there’d be plenty of people around.”
“Yeah, ’cause no one’s ever been taken against their will in public before. Jesus,” Nate growled as he spun on his heels and headed toward the office reception area. “I’m going to go keep an eye on them.”
“Right behind you.” Kole walked swiftly in order to catch up.
Both men left the office and made their way to the elevator at the end of the floor’s main hall. Nate ground his teeth together to keep from howling out in anger. Apparently, Kole still noticed.
“I know you’re worried about Gracie, Nate, but you really need to take it down a notch. Realistically, the chances of something happening to her this time of day, right across from where we work are…” Kole thought for a moment. “Fuck, I don’t know. You’re the genius; you do the math. My point is I’m sure they’re probably fine.”
Nate knew he was over-reacting, but couldn’t seem to control the overwhelming fear he felt for Gracie. The primal need to protect her was a living, breathing thing.
They’d lost her once, already. He sure as hell didn’t want to lose her again.
“Maybe you’re willing to risk her life on a probably, but I’m not.”
Several seconds of intense silence filled the air as the elevator continued its decent.
“You know,” Kole finally spoke up again. “At this point, Gracie’s pretty much already my sister. Yet, you’re the one acting all caveman right now. Makes me wonder if there’s more to her staying at your place last night than either of you are letting on.”
Shit. Game face, game face, game face.
Keeping his eyes on the door in front of him, Nate acted as casual as possible. “Meaning?”
“Oh, come on, man. You know damn well what I mean. Did something happen between you and Gracie last night, or not?”
Turning to face Kole, Nate did his best not to lie to his friend for the second time. “You told me to stay hands-off, so that’s what I’m doing. Now, will you please stop looking for shit that isn’t there?”
Surprisingly, Kole gave him a half-grin before turning away again. “I believe you.”
“Thank you.”
“But, for the record, if it did happen, I wouldn’t be completely against it.”
Whoa. “What?”
Still looking straight ahead, Kole shrugged a shoulder. “I’m just saying. I did a lot of thinking this week. When we couldn’t find Gracie, I realized the only thing that really mattered was knowing she was safe. And happy. So, as long as Gracie chooses to be with someone who can ensure both those things, I guess I can’t really complain too much about who it is.”
Nate didn’t know quite how to respond to that, so he remained silent. Kole, however, had more to say.
“You’re the one she trusted enough to go to. You’re the person she felt safe with when all this shit went down.” Kole glanced over at him. “I don’t know, man. That just says a lot to me, I guess.”
Huh. Well, ain’t that a kick in the crotch?
One of the main reasons Nate had pulled back last night was because he kept hearing Kole’s voice in his head, making him promise to keep things platonic with her. He didn’t know if that meant he was ready for a relationship or anything, but Nate was damn sure certain about one thing.
If Gracelynn McDaniels ever tried to undo his belt again, he sure as fuck wasn’t going to stop her.
“I can pay for the coffees, Sarah. It’s the least I can do after all the worrying I caused you.”
“Put your money away, sis. This is my treat.”
Gracie put the twenty back into her wallet and closed the flap on her purse. She was lucky Jake was able to get it back from his detective friend. Apparently his brother was a member of Alpha Team, so she guessed that made things a little easier.
The barista at the other end of the counter called Sarah’s name, and the two women went over to pick up their drinks.
“I’d love to sit here and enjoy these, but we’d better get back to the office.”
Gracie agreed with her sister. “Yeah. I’m sure Nate probably had a conniption when he realized we came over here unsupervised.” She took a sip through her straw and swallowed some of her delicious caramel Frappuccino before asking, “Is Kole like that, too?”
“Like what?”
“All...what’s the word?”
“Overprotective?”
“That’s it!”
Sarah laughed. “You think?”
Holding up her phone so Gracie could see it, Sarah showed her the text Kole had just sent ordering them to keep their asses there and not move until he and Nate got there.
“I am curious, though.” Sarah stopped talking for a minute to give them time to squeeze through the crowd of people. “I mean, I get why Kole is that way with me. We’re engaged to be married.”
Gracie threw in, “Not to mention the whole stalker incident.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Sarah shook her head. “But, back to my original thought. Why is Nate so overprotective of you?”
Gracie’s heart thumped a little harder. “What do you mean?” she asked way too innocently.
“You said you two are just friends, right?”
“Yeah.” Friends who shared a hot and heavy, incredibly amazing kiss in his bedroom. “So?”
“So…” Sarah drug the word out. “I saw the way he kept looking over at you in the conference room earlier.”
He did? “H-how was he looking at me?”
Her sister raised a brow. “Like he was thinking about being a whole lot more than just friends.”
Gracie had thought that, too, when he was kissing her last night. But then he’d apologized for it and had been acting pretty distant ever since.
Remembering the regret in his voice when he’d started the whole, you’re-so-beautiful-but speech, Gracie said, “Well, I don’t know what you thought you saw, but I can assure you, it wasn’t that.”
They finally made their way out of the coffee shop and back onto the sidewalk. Gracie was about to push the button on the light pole so they could cross the street safely when Sarah’s hand grabbed her forearm.
“Gracie, wait.”
Doing her best not to spill her drink, she turned toward her sister. “What?”
Sarah looked torn, like she wasn’t sure if she should say whatever it was she was thinking.
“Sarah?”
With a look of sincerity and love, her sister said, “I just want you to be happy. You get that, right?”
Gracie smiled. “Of course. I feel the same about you.”
“I know you do. And I thought you should know, Kole and I both agreed that, if you and Nate want to date or whatever, we won’t stand in your way.”
Laughing, Gracie hugged her sister. “Well, thanks for that, but trust me. Nate isn’t interested in being anything more than friends.” Unfortunately.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”
Still grinning wide, Gracie shook her head at her sister. “I say so. Now, come on. We’d better get back before he and your fiancé decide to run over here and rescue us from ourselves.” She pushed the button.
“Uh, oh.”
“What’s the matter?”
“We’re too late.”
Gracie followed Sarah’s line of sight across the street to their building’s entrance. Sure, enough, Nate and Kole had just come through the doors and they did not look happy.
Gracie couldn’t help but focus solely on Nate. He’d rolled the sleeves of his white button-up to the middle of his sinewy forearms and was standing with his hands on his hips,
glaring at her.
She stared back, wondering how the hell the man could look pissed off and sexelicious, all at the same time.
“Just friends, my ass.”
Blinking, Gracie looked over at her sister. “What?”
“You can’t hide shit from me any better now than you could when we were younger. You’re totally into him.”
“Am not.” The bold-faced lie fell right off her tongue.
“And he’s just as into you.”
“No, he’s not.”
“Are you kidding me? Look at how mad he is right now. The man practically has lasers shooting out from his eyeballs.”
Gracie looked back over to where Nate was still waiting. “He’s upset, so that means he’s into me? That makes absolutely no sense, Sarah.”
“Sure, it does.”
“In what universe does that make sense?”
Her sister rolled her eyes again and sighed. “If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t be so worried. And because he’s worried, he’s pissed. Kole does the same thing with me.” A wicked grin formed on her face. “It’s a major turn-on when he gets like that.”
“You get turned on when your fiancé is mad at you, and you’re trying to give me advice about my dating life?” Gracie teased.
“I know.” Sarah laughed. “It’s totally twisted, but what can I say? It works for us.”
Both women started laughing, and Gracie looked back at Nate. She thought about what Sarah had just said, and yeah. She could see it, now.
Still giving her the same you’re-gonna-get-it look, she could almost feel his nervous energy from all the way over here.
“It says to walk.” Sarah grabbed her elbow. “Come, on.”
The closer they came to the men, the more turned on Gracie felt. Too bad her apartment was still marked as a crime scene. She and her vibrator could really use some serious quality time about now.
All she’d have to do is replay the memory of that kiss over and over, and she’d be able to release the tension that had been building up ever since last night.
“What’s going on?”
Sarah’s voice snapped her back into focus. “Huh?”
“What are they looking at?”
