by Anna Blakely
“I wanted to tell you,” he whispered to her. “I can’t even count the number of times I almost did.”
“Maybe it was all those times we made love?” Her lips formed a sneer. “No, wait. We didn’t make love. We had sex. Hot, sweaty sex that meant absolutely nothing.”
“You’re wrong.” Mike took a step toward her. “I may have lied to you about my name and my job, but I never, ever lied about my feelings for you.”
“I wish I could believe that.” Silver streaks fell down her cheeks, but she wiped them dry.
“Baby, you can.” He closed the distance between them, thankful when she didn’t back away. “Don’t you see? You know everything, now. And we still don’t know who’s after you, which means you still need my protection. We can use this time together to start over.”
“I want to start over!” she yelled, her voice echoing off of the cabin’s thick walls. Then she huffed a breath, almost as if she were laughing at herself. “No, that’s not true. Part of me does want that, which is so fucking stupid. I mean, I find out you’ve been lying to me this entire time, and yet part of me still wants to be with you.”
It wasn’t a declaration of love and forgiveness, but her words still made Mike want to do a fist pump in the air. If there was even a tiny part that still wanted him—and she’d just confessed that there was—that meant he had a chance.
“It’s not stupid, Juliet. You love me. And I love you.”
Her brows turned inward as if she were fighting against herself. Fighting was good. That meant she was considering it, which was a hell of a lot more than he expected. Or deserved.
That’s right, sweetheart. You know I’m right. You just have to let yourself see it.
“I know this won’t happen overnight.” Mike pressed forward. “But I swear to you, if you’ll just stay here with me, I’ll prove to you that what I feel for you is real. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to you that what we have together is real.”
She walked over to the cabin’s large, picture window and looked out at the surrounding landscape. With the softest of voices, she asked him, “Do you remember our walk down to the river?”
He remembered it had been a nice, pretty day. But he’d focused more on the beautiful woman sitting next to him than the scenery.
“Of course, I do.”
“We were sitting there, looking out over the river. It was so quiet and peaceful, and I thought, this is it. This is what I want our life to be like.”
Turning around slowly, she faced him once more. The sad, almost tortured expression on her face gutting him raw.
“We can still have it, Jules.” He risked moving in a little closer. “Baby, we can have any kind of life you want. Just name it, and it’s yours.”
“I want that life.” She blinked setting free yet another set of twin tears. “I want it with you, but...”
Mike covered the remaining distance between them. Slowly, giving her plenty of time to move away if she wanted, he brought his hands toward her, cupping her face. “I want that with you, too, baby.”
“But how?” Her voice cracked. “I don’t even know what to call you anymore.”
“Call me whatever you want, baby.” Mike stared deep into her ocean blue eyes. “As long as you call me yours.”
Her breath stuttered inside her chest. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Believe in this, Juliet.” He pressed his lips to hers in a barely-there kiss. “Believe in us.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but an alarm sounded on his phone, cutting off whatever she was about to say.
Shit. “It’s the gate. Damn it, I have to check it.” Mike brushed his thumb across her soft skin. “I have to keep you safe.”
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he opened the security app Ben had him download in order to access the property’s cameras and, if necessary, open the gate remotely.
The image appeared, and Mike damn near broke the phone when he saw the face of the man waiting at the gate.
Sonofabitch. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Fucking Fuller.”
Juliet frowned. “The FBI agent?
“That’s the one.”
“What the hell is he doing here? Did Ben send him?”
“I don’t know.” Mike tapped his screen to allow the gate to open. “But we’re about to find out.”
He wanted to continue their conversation, but with Fuller headed their way, they were forced to table it. For now.
While they waited for the prick to make it down and around the road to the cabin, Mike shot off two fast and furious texts to Ben. One to let him know what a dick move leaving that folder with Jules had been and another asking why the fuck the asshole FBI agent was here and how he even knew where to find them.
The CIA agent responded almost immediately, answering Mike’s second question with a vague as shit explanation. The asshole completely ignored the first one.
Juliet hugged herself nervously while they waited for Fuller to arrive. By the time the dickhead pulled up, the entire cabin had become filled with thick, nervous energy.
Mike had the front door open before the man had fully exited his car. “What the fuck do you want?”
“Nice to see you, too, Bradshaw.” The man glanced at Juliet from over Mike’s shoulder. “Oh, shit. Sorry. You still going by Reynolds, these days?”
“It’s Bradshaw, and she knows everything so cut the crap and tell me why you’re here.”
“Why do you think?” Fuller made his way up the porch steps. “I’m here, for her.”
“Fuck off.” Mike backed up and started to close the door, but Fuller’s foot got in the way.
“I have a court order to take her in.”
Mike pulled the door open again. “The hell you do.”
“It’s right here. Judge’s signature is barely dry.” He waived a folded bunch of papers in Mike’s face. “Just like old times, isn’t it?
Snatching the papers from the man’s hand, Mike unfolded them and scanned the documents. His heart sank.
“This is bullshit, and you know it.” He smacked the order against Fuller’s chest. “This didn’t work before. It’s not going to work this time.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Fuller took the papers and shoved them into his jacket pocket. “You see, last time Juliet’s dipshit of a brother was here to run interference for her. But since Mikhail decided to put a bullet through his brain, your sweet little piece, here, has no choice but to testify against her father.”
“You son of a bitch!” Mike filled his fists with the front of the fucker’s pressed shirt. Pushing him back across the porch, he didn’t stop until he had Fuller’s back shoved up against one of the structure’s wooden pillars. “You don’t ever disrespect her like that again, you hear me?”
“My, my, Michael.” Fuller smiled. “I do believe you’re truly smitten with the little bitch.”
Mike’s fist was flying before even realized he’d moved.
“Don’t!” Juliet was behind him, her hands pulling him away from the arrogant asshole. “He’s not worth it.”
“That’s assaulting a federal agent, Bradshaw.” Fuller smoothed the wrinkles on his shirt. “I could arrest you for that.”
“Do it.” Mike dared him. “You won’t.”
“You’re right. I won’t. I will, however, be taking her in.” Fuller reached around him and grabbed Juliet’s wrist.
“Get your hands off her!” He pushed the prick back.
Fuller swung his fist around, the punch catching Mike square in the jaw. The unexpected move caught him off guard, and a dizzying pain exploded on the left side of his head.
He went down. Hard.
Fuck that hurt!
“No!” Juliet was there, crouching down and trying to help him. She looked up at Fuller and yelled, “You asshole!”
“I may be an asshole, but at least my daddy didn’t sell underage puss
y to the highest bidder. Let’s go.” Grabbing hold of Juliet’s arm, Fuller used his free hand to pull his weapon and point it at Mike. “Try to stop me again”—Fuller warned—“and I’ll shoot your ass.”
Seeing double, Mike licked a drop of blood from the corner of his busted lip and said, “Someone is trying to kill her, Thomas. If you take her, you’re putting her in danger.”
“She’ll be with me, dumbass. There isn’t a safer place for her to be.” The FBI douchebag yanked Juliet to her feet and pulled her down the steps.
“Jules!” Still dazed, Mike finally managed to push himself into a standing position. A dizzying wave hit, but he kept his footing and moved toward the edge of the porch. “Goddamn it, Fuller. Don’t do this. You’re gonna get her killed!”
“Sorry, Bradshaw. I’m just following orders.”
Mike’s gaze shot to Juliet’s. A look of resolve filled her defeated eyes as she stared back at him.
“This isn’t right, and you know it!” he yelled at the other man.
“I don’t give a fuck if it’s right or not.” Fuller opened the passenger door and shoved Juliet into the car. “Like I said, I’m just following orders.”
Heading down the stairs, Mike started for Juliet’s side of the car but froze when Fuller raised his weapon once more.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Fuller warned.
Goddamn it!
Mike’s gut told him the man would gladly pull the trigger. His gut was also screaming at him that the whole situation was way the fuck off.
“I’ll get you out.” Mike spoke to Juliet through the windshield as Fuller holstered his weapon before climbing behind the wheel and shutting the door. “I swear to God, I will.”
He was rewarded with a ghost of a smile and a tip of her head.
She doesn’t believe you.
Fuller put the car in reverse and spun it around.”
“I love you!” Mike shouted, praying she could still hear him.
He wasn’t sure, but he could’ve sworn he saw her mouth the words back to him just before Fuller turned the car completely around. It sped down the driveway and out of sight, carrying with it the most precious thing in his world.
Mike stumbled back up the stairs and into the house. His jaw hurt like a bitch, and his head throbbed, but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt in his chest.
He glanced down at the folder Ben had dropped by earlier. Opening it, he began skimming through the paperwork.
“What the fuck?”
Inside the folder were copies from the first case he’d ever worked for the man. Flipping through the papers, Mike searched for something, anything that could possibly relate to Volkov. He found nothing.
He brought the wrong fucking file.
“Unfuckingbelievable.”
Ben stops by while he’s in the middle of the fucking woods to bring him a worthless file. Then he hands the file to Juliet, knowing it had his real name right there, on the top fucking piece of paper.
Rubbing his chin, he couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony of it all. With a shake of his head, Mike pulled his phone from his pocket to call the asshole but stopped.
A strong, nagging feeling formed deep inside his gut. He went back through the entire chain of events, from the time Ben left the file to now.
It wasn’t right. Something wasn’t. Fucking. Right.
Mike called Jake, surprised when he answered before it barely had time to ring.
“I was getting ready to call you.”
Something about his brother-in-law’s tone heightened his already off-the-charts level of anxiety. “What’s wrong?”
“I just got off the phone with Alexandar Volkov.”
“What?” Mike’s stomach dropped. “Why the fuck would he call you? Better question, how the hell does he even know who you are?”
“He didn’t say. But he also knows who you are. Apparently, he has since before we showed up at his place.”
As far as what-the-fuck moments went, this was a pretty substantial one. Mike began to pace.
“Why didn’t he say anything?” Or shoot their asses the second they stepped foot on his property?
“I asked him the same question. Said he knew how you felt about his daughter, and that you’d do whatever it took to keep her safe. Figured your protection was better than anything he could provide, so...he went along with it.”
“Jesus Christ.”
And the hits just keep on coming.
“Exactly. After we left, Volkov started digging. Looking for anyone with a motive to hurt him or Juliet.”
When Jake didn’t say more, Mike damn near shouted, “And?”
“Mike...Volkov thinks his son Ivan is behind the attacks on Juliet.”
“Ivan? Why the hell would he want to hurt his sister?”
“According to Alexandar, the same lawyer who got him a new trial thinks he can do the same for Ivan. For reasons he didn’t bother sharing, Alexandar was willing to take his chances, even if it meant Juliet were to testify against him this go around. But Ivan—”
“Wouldn’t,” Mike finished for his friend. “Motherfucker.”
“It gets worse.”
Worse than Juliet’s own brother taking out a hit on her?
“While he was in prison, Alexander became best buds with one of the guards,” Jake continued on. “He’s been his eyes and ears ever since he got out, and apparently he’s picked up on a lot of shit. Mostly about how, once he’s released, Ivan plans to take over the family business.”
“But if Alexandar’s released for good, too, then how can he...ah, fuck.” The horrifying realization hit Mike square in the chest. “Ivan’s planning to take out his father, isn’t he?”
“Alexandar believes so, yes. First he has to get rid of the one person he believes will stand in the way of his release.”
Juliet.
“You get a name?”
Since Ivan is still behind bars, he’d have to have someone on the outside doing his dirty work. Someone smart enough and ruthless enough to orchestrate the attempts on Juliet’s life.
“I did, and...you’re not going to like it.”
At first Mike didn’t understand what Jake was saying. Then, as if the stars of hell had suddenly aligned, he understood.
“It’s Lopez, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry, man.”
He let loose with a long string of curse words. Storming around the cabin, Mike wanted to hit something. No, he wanted to hit Lopez.
“I’m going to kill him,” he growled.
“Mike.”
“No, Jake. I’m serious. I’m going to rip his fucking heart out of his chest and shove it down his goddamn throat.”
“Mike...”
He paced some more. “He was here, you know?”
“Lopez? When?”
“About an hour ago. Asshole stopped by to give me some bullshit file. I was outside cutting wood, so he gave it to Jules, and...” He stopped walking and frowned. “Wait. He was here in the cabin alone with her, Jake. He had the perfect opportunity to take her out, then. Why didn’t he?”
“Lopez is smart, Mike. Think about it. He knew you were close by. He does something to make Jules scream or whatever, you come running. You see him, his game is over.”
“So why even stop by in the first place?”
“My guess? He wanted to check out the situation. See if your guard was down, maybe?”
“The file he gave her had my real name in it, Jake. Juliet knows the truth.”
“How much of the truth?”
“All of it.” The betrayal in her eyes would probably haunt him forever.
“Wait a minute. Lopez drops by, hands Jules a folder he knew would blow your cover, and then leaves.” It was a comment, not a question.
“I know.” Mike shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Actually, it does.”
He frowned. “How?”
“The fucker knows if he can put
a wedge between you two, it makes her vulnerable. More susceptible to someone else’s influence. Someone like, say, a government agent.”
“Lopez left, remember? He didn’t even lay a finger on her.”
Thank fuck.
“And he won’t.”
“I’m not following you.”
“Think about it, Mike.” Jake tried to make him understand. “Lopez hasn’t been doing this shit on his own. He wasn’t the one who broke into Juliet’s house in Houston. He didn’t pull a drive-by on your place or blow it all to hell. A guy like that...that’s not his style.”
His mind finally began to catch up. “He’d need someone else to do it.”
“Someone with enough authority to make luring her away from you seem legit.”
Someone with authority...a government agent...
“Fuller.”
“Who?”
“Ah, God.” Mike doubled over and tried to breathe. His physical reaction to the fact that he’d just watched the woman he loved drive away with a killer was enough to damn near bring him to his knees.
The room began to spin. The throbbing returned. His chest heaved with the effort it took to draw in a full breath, and it was all he could do not to empty the contents of his stomach all over the floor.
“Mike?” Jake’s voice sounded muffled. “Goddamn it, Mike. Talk to me!”
Juliet needs you. Pull yourself together, Bradshaw. She needs you.
Legs quivering, he stood and put the phone back to his ear. “He’s got her, Jake.”
“Who?”
“Thomas Fucking Fuller. He’s FBI.”
“How the hell did he—”
“He was here, too. About ten minutes ago. Had a court order to take Juliet into protective custody so she could testify against her father. I looked it over, but...shit. I was pissed and...damn it, it could’ve been fake, for all I know.”
Motherfucker!
With an animalistic growl, Mike swiped his hand across the kitchen table, the move sending the file and all of its contents flying through the air.
“Keep it together, man,” Jake urged. “We’re going to figure this out. We’ll get her back.”
“You’re over two hours away, Jake.” He went into the kitchen. Opening one of the drawers, he grabbed the keys to the truck Ben had left for them to use. “I’m all she’s got.”
