Shadow of Doubt (An SBG Novel Book 2)

by P. A. DePaul

The scent of roast beef hung in the air, reminding him of Sunday dinners in his parents’ home. It had been too long since his last visit . . .

  He blinked. Two years. Man, since his brother’s wedding. He was now the only bachelor left out of the four of them.

  He bounced on his toes, barely able to contain the excitement as his mind raced with possibilities.

  Maybe he’d finally get to go home for longer than a day or two. With Victor out of the picture, he didn’t have to worry about jeopardizing his family. He could still keep them safe while upholding his vows by using his part of his alias. No one questioned him before when he claimed to be undercover a lot for the FBI. Hot damn.

  Magician split her gaze between the couple and the cottage’s front door. He should bring her too. She could use the rest after surviving the past seven intense months. Don’t sound so altruistic. Okay, so the distraction of him bringing home a beautiful woman to help alleviate the hell he was going to catch for not visiting sooner may have something to do with it.

  Whomp. Cappy banged through the outer door and paused at the edge of the front porch. Two seconds later Michelle stepped out and crossed her arms.

  “What’re you guys still doing here?” Cappy barked, his hands on his hips.

  Romeo exchanged a quick look with Magician.

  Prickly and barely tempered fury rolled off Cappy and Michelle as a whole. They evidently didn’t settle the argument or give into their raging hormones . . . much as they seriously needed to.

  “We’re the Senator’s protection detail,” Magician replied with a steel edge to her tone. “Remember?”

  Cappy searched the area. “Where is he?”

  “First cottage.” Romeo thumbed toward the other house. “Making arrangements for your trip. Ted, Talon, and Isis are with him.”

  “And you all aren’t with them, why?”

  Romeo stiffened, dropping his hand. “I have something that needs your attention.”

  “Can’t it wait?”

  “No.” Romeo held his CO’s gaze.

  Cappy sighed. “Michelle, can you go with Sandra and Grady to the other cottage?”

  Her chin inched up and she narrowed her eyes.

  “It’s not a trick,” Cappy placated. “I told you you’re not under arrest and I meant it. I’ll be over in a minute.”

  She skirted Cappy, giving him a wide berth, and march-limped over the grass toward the other house. Grady and Wraith gave Cappy a quizzical glance but the man’s jaw remained hardened as he watched her leave.

  Okay, then.

  “What is it? What’s so important?” Cappy snapped, finally peering at them now that the other three had disappeared inside.

  Romeo studied his CO’s rigid posture and twitching cheek muscle. “What’s going on with you?”

  “Excuse me?” Cappy’s muscles inflated.

  “You heard me,” Romeo replied, not the least bit intimidated. “Magician, correct me if I’m wrong, but does our CO seem to suddenly have erratic mood swings, perform an uncharacteristic abundance of touching of our beautiful”—Cappy’s eyes narrowed to slits at his description—“damsel in distress, throw off a powerful claiming vibe, and exude sexual tension?”

  “Careful, Romeo,” Cappy growled.

  “Mag, wouldn’t you also agree that said damsel is doing the same damn thing?”

  “Absolutely,” Magician replied, crossing her arms. “They’ve obviously weathered a horrific event together and forged a powerful bond from that experience.”

  Romeo nodded. “And their raging attraction?” He shook his hand as if burned. “Our CO has clearly fallen for her.”

  Magician lifted her chin and beautifully completed Romeo’s thought. “I agree. Could it be outside of her allure, he’s drawn to getting a slice of his past back?”

  Cappy stomped forward until he got within a foot of Romeo and Magician. “You two need to back off and mind your own business.”

  Romeo held Cappy’s gaze until the CO looked at Magician.

  Magician swiped a strand of hair out of her mouth then broke the tense silence. “If she didn’t have the murder charge—”

  “She’s innocent,” Cappy retorted, but Romeo could’ve sworn he saw something flash in the CO’s eyes. Ah. So the man had picked up on the fact that nothing in the conversation exonerated her. As much as he hated to admit it, that made Romeo feel better. Cappy may be a lunatic about Michelle but he wasn’t a complete fool.

  “Enlighten us,” Romeo taunted. “If she didn’t have the charge, would you—”

  “You know who we work for, what we do, how we live.” Cappy cut off the question again. That’s telling. The man yanked a pair of sunglasses out of his side pocket. “We can’t settle down and have normal lives with white picket fences and doting civilians.”

  “I’m pretty sure the original founders, Sam and Thane, never meant for operatives and the civilians they told to die,” Romeo stated flatly. “That was Victor. Geez, the guy’s sitting in jail because we have evidence he murdered those two just to take over. That should be all the grounds you need to realize this could be the start of a new era.”

  Cappy shifted his gaze into the distance.

  “I don’t know what happened in Colombia, but it’s undeniable it left her scarred inside and out,” Romeo said quietly, knowing he was about to royally piss off an already angry man, but he needed to wake the guy up and make him admit his feelings . . . at least to himself so his head could get back into the game. “Is she too damaged then?”

  Magician sucked in a breath and stared at him.

  The muscle on Cappy’s jaw ticked and his physique somehow seemed much larger. “Fuck. No.” His hands clenched into fists and he inhaled. After a moment he replied in a lethal voice, usually signaling imminent violence, “The hell she survived in Colombia only makes me admire her more. The scars on her body humble me and are a testament to her strength. She’s beautiful in every possible way and I’d gladly bring her back from the brink every damn time. None of us deserve to breathe the same air as her.”

  Wow. Romeo blinked. Had that come out of Cappy? “Damn, that was poetry.” A small spike of something resembling too close to jealousy reared its head.

  ***

  Cappy stared at the silent cottage across the street. He noted stupid details like how the ivory siding matched all the other houses, how the maroon shutters adorning every window also hung on other cottages, blending nicely with the sand-colored brick, and how the hedges were uniform, right down to leaf size across each front. The consistency and balance comforted him . . . such a contrast to the chaos now ruling his mind, heart, and life.

  A steady breeze washed over his still-bare chest, driving a cool chill down his spine. He really needed to put a shirt on before the neighbors took interest in their front-yard drama.

  “Talk to us.” Magician rested her hand against his forearm.

  He shifted his weight evenly over his feet. Maybe he should trust the pair he sent in during missions when navigating and manipulating human emotions were involved. They were experts in reading people and their instincts were usually spot-on. His big mouth had already spouted enough to confirm their accusations about his personal stake in Michelle anyway.

  Cappy rubbed the back of his head. “Talon may be an asshole, but he said something that’s stuck with me.”

  “Can’t wait to hear this gem,” Romeo muttered.

  “Right after he accused me of leading with my little head, he eloquently pointed out how Michelle has hero worship and I have a rescue complex. Together we’re both screwed up.”

  “And you listened to him?” Romeo asked, his eyebrows up in disbelief.

  “I can’t believe you took advice from Talon,” Magician stated with obvious displeasure. “Dr. Warm and Fuzzy he is not. He can only see one thing.”

  “Wraith’s
decision to be with Grady instead of him.” Romeo tag-teamed. “He’s bitter and raging and spewing his twisted view of relationships . . . and you’re paying attention.”

  True.

  “Besides,” Romeo continued, plucking at his designer suit, which flashed a section of his shoulder harness, “don’t we all have rescue complexes? Isn’t that why we’re so good at what we do?”

  Magician squeezed Cappy’s arm. “Trust me, you may literally be her hero, but she’s not looking at you with stars in her eyes and placing you on a pedestal.”

  A small chuckle burst from Romeo. “Quite the opposite I’m learning from the little bit of time I’ve spent around you two. Cap, she sees you.”

  Cappy opened his mouth but Magician spoke first. “You should be asking yourself a larger question. If she stayed in your life, would she push you to be a better person or feel like an anchor pulling you under and holding you back?”

  Cappy opened his mouth but Magician held up a hand, silencing him again. “I don’t want an answer. That’s something you need to think about for yourself.”

  A bird tore off from the edge of the cottage’s roof, its wings flapping as it cawed. Cappy followed the bird’s flight across the baby-blue sky.

  Such a simple question yet the answer would tell him so much.

  He inhaled and the smell of roasted meat made his stomach growl. Damn, he hadn’t eaten since last night. Hopefully he could catch a bite before they left for the airport. A door slammed shut and Talon paused at the edge of the small porch next door. The hat shielded his eyes, but Cappy could still feel the man’s gaze assessing the group. Right. He had a job to do.

  “I won’t compromise this team.” Cappy turned to head to the first cottage.

  “You don’t have to compromise,” Romeo called out with utter conviction, stopping Cappy’s retreat.

  Cappy pivoted.

  “A new regime has taken over,” Romeo implored, his handsome face impassioned by his words. “There’ll be no more urban myth under the Senator’s rule. No more operatives dying for the sheer fact they want to retire or leave the life. No more civilian casualties for loving one of us and vice-versa.”

  “You don’t know that. We only have Wraith and Grady to go by and they were a specialized circumstance.” Cappy slapped the sunglasses on his face. “Are you asking me to be the guinea pig? To risk Michelle for a see what happens?”

  Romeo squared his shoulders. “No. Once all the bullshit of Colin’s murder gets resolved and hopefully you find out you’re right about her innocence, we’ll protect her if it comes to that. But it won’t.”

  A new layer of guilt stabbed at Cappy—as if he didn’t have enough of that malignant emotion already. He shouldn’t harbor any doubt about her innocence, but he did. In his heart he knew she didn’t do it, but he had to face reality. She hadn’t given them one shred of evidence to support her claim and he couldn’t risk his team’s reputation and safety based on a feeling. He had followed his dick once. Never again.

  “Like I said,” Cappy replied in a firm voice. “I won’t compromise this team for my own selfish want.”

  “It’s not the choice you think it is.”

  “I’m not willing to take the chance. No matter how I feel about it, it wouldn’t be fair or right to ask her to always be waiting for me when every time I leave there’s a strong chance I might not come back. She’s been through enough.”

  Chapter 35

  “I think we’ve got a problem.”

  Cappy froze in the space between the hall, dining, and living room. The strain in Romeo’s voice and the stricken look on Ted’s face as the two huddled behind his laptop at the dining room table made the acid in Cappy’s stomach churn. The little bit of peace he’d found in the steamy shower evaporated.

  “Talk to me,” Cappy demanded, attaching the gun holster he had paused to clip to his belt at the declaration.

  Grady, Wraith, and Magician appeared in the entrance of the kitchen and Isis and the Senator moved to stand beside him.

  “Ted picked up chatter coming from the Greenwood police department,” Romeo reported, straightening from his hovered position.

  “It was coded so I asked Rom—Raymond to help,” Ted explained, the hairs sticking up on the back of his head swaying as he talked. The computer wizard shot a worried look toward the hall but luckily it remained empty.

  Cappy’s gut tightened. “What’s the problem?”

  “They’re coordinating a raid on a residence,” Romeo stated bluntly.

  “Fuck,” Cappy uttered, placing his hands on his hips. “Do we know where?”

  “No,” Ted answered, “only that they’re going to strike within the hour to apprehend ‘a fugitive.’” His fingers formed quotes at the last words.

  “And Sonya and I can’t call the police or FBI asking about it without calling attention to the fact we’re here,” Romeo interjected, his voice tight with tension. “It’d bring up too many questions as to why we’re spending time here.”

  Cappy glanced at his watch. 2:33 p.m. The plane should be at the airport in the next fifteen minutes. “Well, Senator, looks like you got your wish,” he said tightly, and the politician stiffened beside him.

  “What’s going on?” Michelle emerged from the hallway, her hair still damp from her shower. She fiddled with the long-sleeves on the only other T-shirt Talon had bought—black with a large sword pointing down on the front and TO-DO LIST: 1. BUY A SWORD 2. NAME IT KINDNESS, 3. KILL PEOPLE WITH KINDNESS running down beside it.

  Cappy’s mouth twitched but he managed to not laugh at the display of Talon’s twisted sense of humor. Michelle had on a fresh pair of sweatpants and her limp was still pronounced. From the frown pulling at the edges of her mouth and the stiff way she held her body his woman’s-emotional-radar gave a “Still Pissed” reading. Great.

  “I’m changing the plan. You’re now coming with us,” he announced, trying resolutely not to stare at her lips. The very ones he had avoided kissing senseless the second she finished slamming him with the knowledge he was her anchor . . . which he probably should’ve have handled better when she had leaned into him. In hindsight, jumping back like she had a disease wasn’t the smoothest way to say no. Not a great leap to understand why she was angry at him. Again.

  “I am?” She blinked.

  “Yeah.” Cappy turned back to the team. “Ted, call Talon back from recon. I need him to do a little grab and dash for me. Isis—”

  “Wait.” Michelle held up a hand. “What happened to SCK’s babysitting me?”

  Tension coiled in his gut. “We just received word the Greenwood police are going to raid a residence,” Cappy explained, feeling the anxiety mounting. They needed to be gone, now. “Since we don’t know where, I’m not taking chances. You’ll be safe on the plane.” He drilled her with his gaze. “Make no mistake, you’re not stepping one foot off the aircraft. I’m just using it as a safe harbor until this gets cleared up. Capisce?”

  Her chin lifted and a scowl creased the smooth skin between her eyebrows. She didn’t verbally answer him but dipped her head once.

  Good enough. “Sonya, Raymond.” Cappy focused on the meddlesome duo. “Since you’re acting as the Senator’s detail, I’d like you to go too. Ensure she stays put and no one boards the plane while the Senator and I are gone.”

  “Check,” they both replied in unison.

  Wraith wended her way through the group and wound her arm through Michelle’s. “Come on. If we don’t jump in the SUV now, all the good seats will be taken.”

  “You’re coming too?” Michelle asked.

  Wraith smiled wickedly. “I’m not missing the chance to hang out on a private jet.”

  Talon filled the doorway, blocking their exit.

  “I have a job for your particular skill set,” Cappy informed him, “and you’ll have only minutes to accompli
sh it.”

  The broad smile eclipsing his face let Cappy know Talon knew exactly which skills he meant. “My favorite kind.”

  “I figured,” Cappy snorted. “I assume Ted filled you in on the change of plans?”

  “Yep.”

  “Good. Then after you meet us outside of the airport, come back here. You and Grady need to stay with Ted.” Cappy shot him a hard look then swung to include Grady. “Let me make one thing clear: no touching, taunting, or even breathing on each other. Capisce?” He pointed. “Ted’s your priority. Got it?”

  The two grown men slid each other looks like they planned on testing the limits of the order like little kids.

  Romeo cleared his throat. “You know, maybe I should stay behind. Sandra and Sonya are more than capable to protect Michelle.”

  Cappy closed his eyes and counted to ten, wishing he could go to one hundred, but he didn’t have the time. “Fine. Drive us there so you can keep the Suburban, but don’t come back here just to babysit them all night. Help Isis gather everything for Ted to review.”

  Romeo nodded, taking a set of keys from Magician.

  “Senator, can you give Isis your keys? She’ll take your rental far away from here.” Cappy pulled the sunglasses off the collar of his T-shirt.

  “Already arranged,” Isis boasted, jingling the set from her finger.

  “Excellent. Let’s go.”

  ***

  Cappy dug his shoulder into the back of the middle bench seat and slid his gaze behind him as casually as he could. He banked on the cover of his sunglasses to hide him sneaking a peek. Again.

  Wraith knelt in the open area created by the folded down third row and fiddled with Michelle’s hair. His operative piled the length on top of her head and proceeded to secure it with bobby pins. Michelle, in the meantime, had the coveralls Talon “borrowed” from the airport over her spare set of clothes and was in the process of zipping the front closed.

  The coveralls seemed to dwarf her frame, which was exactly what he had hoped for. He had asked Talon to procure a set big enough to hide Michelle’s curvy body without looking ridiculously too big. Mission accomplished.