by Anna Blakely
“Gracie, I—”
Not this time, buster. She threw her hand up. “If you’re going to apologize for kissing me again, just save it. Please.”
His brows rose and he shook his head. “No.” He closed the distance he’d put between them and rested his hands on her hips. “I’m not apologizing, Gracie. Not for kissing you, anyway.”
Still skeptical, she waited for him to explain.
“I like you.” One corner of his mouth rose, forming his lips into a hot-as-hell half-smile. “Of course after that kiss, I’m pretty sure you got that.”
“It’s still nice to hear you say it,” she whispered back.
With a silent laugh, Nate admitted. “Yeah, I guess I have been throwing out some pretty big mixed signals lately.”
That was a serious understatement. She was beginning to feel like a batter at home plate, trying to figure out what the hell her coach wanted her to do.
“Alright.” He looked her right in the eye. “Then let me be clear. I like you, Gracie. A lot. And after this is all over, I’d really like to take you out.” He licked his lips. “See what this could turn into.”
Gracie realized Nate was nervous, too. The man had just pulled his gun and chased after a van carrying the two men who’d tried to kidnap her. He’d done so without even blinking an eye, yet, this made him nervous.
It was absolutely adorable.
“I-I’d like that, too.” Her voice shook.
Okay, so maybe he isn’t the only nervous one.
Giving her that sexy half-smile she was beginning to love, he whispered. “Good.” Then, clearing his throat, he got a little more serious. “The thing is, right now, I need to stay focused on keeping you safe. Which means I can’t be distracted with”—he paused a moment—“whatever’s going on between us.”
“I understand,” she told him truthfully.
He still felt the need to reassure her. “It’s not that I don’t want you, Gracie. Trust me, I do. I just can’t run the risk of you getting hurt because my head’s somewhere else. So, this”—he motioned back and forth between them—“is going to have to wait until we catch the bastards who are after you. I hope you can understand that.”
“I do,” Gracie whispered back. “Really.”
With a gentle hand, he brushed some hair away from her face. A low, growling sound came from his throat as he studied the swollen area.
“I’m going to kill them.”
“What?” Gracie felt her eyes widened. “Nate, no.”
A fierce hatred crossed his face. “They almost took you from me. From Sarah and Kole. Not trying to scare you, sweetheart, I’m just giving you fair warning. Anyone tries to hurt you again, they’re dead.”
“O-okay.” Because, really. How else does one respond to such a statement?
With a smirk, Nate said, “I’d better go get West before he sends Kole back in here to nag us again.”
Minutes later, Nate stayed by Gracie’s side while she gave Detective West her statement. After saying their goodbyes, she took a deep breath and got ready for her meeting with Jake and the others.
With her hand in his, Gracie followed Nate out of Jake’s office. If anyone thought it odd to see the two of them holding hands as they entered the other room, they didn’t say anything.
Nate waited until she sat down in the open chair next to Sarah before taking his own seat to Gracie’s left.
She looked at her sister, whose knowing eyes moved from her, to Nate, and back again. With an almost indiscernible shake of her head, Gracie silently told her now wasn’t the time to talk.
“Gracie,” Jake addressed her directly.
Nervous for a whole other reason, she looked at her boss. “Yes?”
“Are you sure you’re okay? Matt’s Bravo Team’s medic. He can check you out.”
“I’m fine, Jake.” She glanced around the table at the others. “Really. I have a small headache, and I’m sore. Other than that, I’m good.”
“If you start to feel worse or have any dizziness or nausea, let one of us know right away,” Jake ordered kindly.
“Yes, sir. I will.”
Moving on, Jake took a deep breath and dove in. “I know this has already been a long and eventful day for everyone, but given the turn of events, we need to have a game plan in place before we leave.”
With the remote in his hand, Jake turned on the interactive board and looked at Nate and Kole.
“While you two were giving your statement to Detective West, Gabe and I went through the video feed from the building’s external security cameras. Because the driver remained inside the van and was wearing a hat and sunglasses, we couldn’t get a clear picture of his face for identification.”
“It’s the man from my apartment.”
All eyes went to Gracie.
“I-I recognized his voice when I heard him shouting at the other guy,” she explained.
“What did he say?” Nate asked from beside her.
“He told the man who had ahold of me not to worry about the lawyer and just get me into the van.”
Sarah gasped, and Gracie reached for her sister’s hand. Kole nearly lost it.
“They were after Sarah, too? What the fuck?”
“Gracie, how sure are you that the man behind the wheel was the same one you saw in your apartment?”
Lifting her chin, Gracie straightened her shoulders. “I’d stake my life on it.”
At this point, she pretty much was.
“Okay.” Jake took her word for it. “So, we know the driver was Achim Akmar.”
Though, fearful of the answer, Gracie asked, “W-who is he?”
“I’ll fill you in later,” Nate offered.
Jake continued. “Thanks to Gracie’s admirable attempt at fighting off the second assailant, our facial rec software was able to find a match.”
The man who’d hit her appeared on the screen, causing a shiver to race down her spine once more. Noticing this, Nate reached over and gave her forearm a light squeeze. Thankful he was there, she gave him a small smile and covered his hand with hers.
“Fucking hell,” Matt growled from across the table.
Looking to his teammate, Nate asked, “Who is he?”
“Adrian Walker.”
“Thought you might recognize him, Turner.” Jake commented.
Matt began to rub the back of his neck. “Unfortunately.”
“Since you’re familiar with Walker, why don’t you go ahead and share what you know.”
Sitting up a little straighter, Matt told the group about the man on the screen.
“Adrian Walker was a member of a FAST platoon I tagged along with on an op a few years back. I served as their medic for the duration of the mission.”
Nate leaned over closer to Gracie and quietly explained, “FAST stands for Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team. It’s part of the Marine Corps Security Forces Regiment.”
Confused, she addressed Matt. “So, this guy was on an anti-terrorism team and then, what? He left the Marines to become a terrorist, himself?”
“Yep.”
It was obvious Matt was still very much affected by what happened.
“Why would he do that?”
Matt shrugged. “Same reason people do all sorts of crazy, stupid things, Gracie. Money.”
Jake clicked another button, and the picture on the screen switched again. Looking back at them now was a group of soldiers.
Gracie immediately recognized Matt, appearing almost invincible in his camo combat gear. Standing to his right, looking every bit as patriotic as the others, was Adrian Walker.
“Six years ago—” Matt began. “Their team and I were stationed near a small village a few miles south of Kuwait. We were guarding a high profile naval installation. One involving nukes. Everything was going as planned. Then, one day, Walker just up and vanished.”
“He went AWOL.” Zade surmised.
Matt nodded. “At first, we thought he’d been captured by the enemy. Spen
t weeks busting our asses looking for him. Every day we’d wake up, thinking that was going to be the day we either got a ransom demand or worse, a video of Walker’s execution. But, nothing ever came. A few months after the op ended, I learned he’d switched sides.”
“Walker began selling US military intel,” Jake jumped in. “Names of men and women currently serving. Locations where they’d been stationed and what their objectives were. If he knew it, he found someone willing to buy it.”
“So, he fucked us.” Gabe sounded almost as pissed off as Matt.
Matt pointed at the picture. “Thanks to that bastard, the entire military intelligence community was chasing its own ass for months. They had to re-route and re-plan all kinds of shit just to keep our people safe. More recently, he’s turned gun for hire. The problem is he’s always a step ahead and stays just outside our reach.”
“Until today. Our girl, here, nearly took him down.” Zade looked at Gracie and winked.
Gracie felt herself blushing but did her best not to react. She never did like being the center of attention.
“That’s right,” Jake agreed. “Walker’s back, and apparently, whoever he’s working for now has hired him and Akmar to take Gracie.”
“And possibly Sarah, too, from the sounds of it.” Kole looked to his fiancée, his loving eyes filled with worry.
“But, why?”
Gracie knew she sounded desperate, but she didn’t care. Someone had just tried to freaking kidnap her, for crying out loud. She should at least know the reason why.
Gabe addressed her directly. “Are you sure you can’t think of any reason these guys would be after you?”
“No!” She sighed. “Don’t you think, especially after what just happened, I would tell you if I knew something?”
Gabe put his hands up defensively. “Had to ask. I’m sorry.”
Nate gently rubbed his hand up and down her back. When she turned to him, Gracie saw something different in his eyes. It was the exact same look each of the other men had.
“You know something, though. Don’t you?” She glanced around the room, her gaze landing on Jake’s. “If you know what’s going on, then tell me.” When the room remained silent, she raised her voice. “This is my life we’re talking about. My family’s life! If you know—”
“We don’t know anything for certain,” Jake cut her off. “But we do have reason to believe that what’s been happening to you is somehow related to Craig Wyatt’s death.”
Gracie felt her eyes grow big as saucers. “Craig? I-I didn’t even know he’d been killed until the day I came in here and saw that horrible picture.”
“Gracie, did Wyatt ever give you anything?” Gabe continued his questioning. “Any sort of gift or maybe something he asked you to hold onto for safekeeping while he was in the hospital?”
“No. He never gave me anything. The patients weren’t allowed to give volunteers gifts. It was against hospital policy.” When Gabe didn’t respond, she said, “You still haven’t told me why you think Craig’s murder and what happened today are related.”
Rather than respond, Gabe looked to Jake. Thankfully, he shared their theory with her.
“We have reason to believe Achim Akmar—the man who broke into your place and you say was driving the van today—is the same man who tortured and killed Craig.”
“Oh, my God.” She didn’t even try to hide the shock she felt from that revelation.
“Which means, boys and girls,” Jake addressed the entire room. “This is now official R.I.S.C. business.”
Nate’s gaze moved from hers, then to Kole’s before his focus landed on Jake.
“You know, the only way we’re going to be able to stop either of these men is to find out who hired them and why.”
“I agree.” Jake set his gaze on Gracie. “Which is why we’re going to need you to disappear again.”
Chapter 9
“Hold up. You want Gracie to stay with Nate?”
Nate looked over at his best friend’s fiancée. “Gee, Sarah. Your confidence in my abilities is overwhelming. I’m touched, really.”
Her expression changed from shocked to sympathetic in less than a second. “I’m sorry, sweetie. That came out wrong. I have no doubt you can do your job. I just assumed Gracie would stay with me. I mean, she’s my sister. Kole can protect us both.”
“Gracie needs to be someplace else because she’s your sister.”
Sarah looked even more confused by Gabe’s statement. “I don’t understand.”
With his elbows on the table, Gabe leaned forward and explained. “Akmar mentioned leaving the lawyer. That’s you. They were after you, too, Sarah.”
“That makes no sense. You said this Achim guy wanted Gracie. She’s the one they nearly…” Sarah’s voice cracked, and Kole grabbed ahold of her hand while Gabe continued with his thoughts.
“My guess? They weren’t expecting your sister to be there. Prior to today, she’d gone dark. Most likely, they thought they could use you to get to her.”
To that, Nate added, “The fastest way to get a person to come out of hiding is to use someone they love.”
“That was the whole reason I didn’t come to you in the first place,” Gracie told Sarah. “I was afraid that man would follow me and end up hurting you. I wasn’t going to risk something happening to you, sis.”
“Yet, you had absolutely no problem going to Carter and risking his ass.” All eyes shot to Zade, who gave her a wide grin before looking at Nate. “I think I like her even more, now.”
Flipping his teammate the bird, Nate ignored the snickers from a couple of the guys.
Looking horrified, Gracie started shaking her head. “No. That wasn’t it. I thought maybe you could help, that’s all.”
Nate squeezed her shoulder and smirked. “He’s just teasing you, sweetheart.”
“Oh.” Relief filled her beautiful eyes. “Good. Because I was really careful to make sure no one followed me to your apartment.”
“I know.”
“Carter,” Jake stole his attention. “You got a secure place you two can go to lay low for a while?”
“Yeah, I know a place.”
“Good. Kole, what about you? I think it’s a good idea for Sarah to be out of sight, as well, until this whole thing blows over.”
Kole gave Sarah a half smile. “I was going to surprise you with a pre-wedding getaway.” He shrugged. “Guess now’s as good a time as any.”
Sarah gave her fiancée a loving smile. “That was really sweet of you.”
“You know me. I’m all about the sweetness.”
Sarah laughed, which Nate knew had been Kole’s goal.
“Kole, be sure to give Gabe the address where you’ll be staying. Take your work phone and leave your personal cells here. One of us will let you know when it’s safe to return home. Nate, same goes for you.”
“Got it.”
“The rest of you…” Jake looked at the other members of Bravo. “I want you back here at oh seven hundred. Go home and get a good night’s rest. It may be your last for a while.”
The team stood, along with Sarah and Gracie. Matt, Gabe, and Zade all wished Nate and Kole well, vowing to do what it took to make it safe for them to return.
Nate followed Kole, Sarah, and Gracie to the doorway, but Jake’s voice had him pausing.
“Hey, Nate. Hang back a minute. I wanted to go over a couple things with you before you leave.”
To Kole, Nate said, “Wait for me up front.”
After those three left the room, Nate turned to Jake. “What’s up?”
“Shut the door and have a seat.”
With an uneasy feeling in his gut, Nate did as his boss instructed.
“This place you’re taking Gracie to. How secure is it?”
“It’s solid. I’m going to rent a cabin at Lake Livingston. My parents used to take us there every summer.”
Concern passed through Jake’s eyes. “These people are good, Nate. If you went th
ere as a kid, there’s a chance they could figure that out.”
Nate shook his head. “We always met up with another family. A guy my dad grew up with. They lived near there, and Dad’s friend would always make the reservations in his name. He’d get there early, pay for everything, and then Dad would pay him cash for our half. There’s no way they can trace it to me. Plus, the business has changed hands several times over the years.”
Jake considered this a moment. “I’d still use an alias, just in case.”
“Roger that.” Several seconds of awkward silence passed before Nate asked, “Was that all you needed?”
His boss looked at him with an assessing eye. “You got this one?”
What the hell? “Are you asking if I can handle this assignment, Boss?”
“I know you can do your job. I just want to make sure you have your head on straight where Gracie is concerned.”
Forgetting who he was talking to for a moment, Nate shot back with, “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Jake rested his palms on the table in front of him and locked his arms. “It means I have fucking eyes, Carter. Jesus, man. You can practically cut the sexual tension between you two with a goddamn knife. So, before I put her under your protection, where you’ll be sharing a tiny as fuck cabin, I want to hear you say the words. Are you good to watch her? If the answer’s no, I’ll put her with Gabe. And if you tell me that’s what needs to happen, I will respect that decision.”
Christ, this was not something Nate wanted to discuss with his boss. Or anyone else, for that matter.
“Gracie and I aren’t”—he thought about how to word it—“We haven’t,” Nate paused again, clearly not helping his case any. “I’m good, Jake. I’ve got this.”
“Good to know.”
McQueen stood straight, finally putting Nate out of his misery. Almost.
“Look, Nate. I get it. When someone you care about is in danger, you want to be their first line of defense. But, I also know when emotions get involved things can get messy. People tend to make mistakes. And in our line of work, those mistakes can get people killed.”
More than ready to put an end to the uncomfortable-as-fuck conversation, Nate stood and pushed his chair in.
