Cover Fire (Valiant Knox)

by Anastasi, Jess

  His expression darkened, as though he was quite aware she was dodging the issue. “Fine. But one last thing.”

  He caught her up against him, this time catching her lips in a kiss that was nothing but fire and passion. Like a promise of what they could have had if they’d been different people, or simply met under different circumstance. With his mouth against hers, reality was consumed until there was nothing left but Seb and bright golden flames spreading through her body.

  The sound of the door opening jolted her entire system like taking a thousand volts straight to the heart. For the first time since she’d joined CI, in that moment when Seb had been kissing her, she’d been completely lost, unaware of anything else around her. Her automatic reaction sent her on the defensive and she half spun, putting herself in front of Seb and yanking out the gun she always kept concealed.

  A half grin on his face, Alpha held up his hands. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. And I’m going to pretend that’s a comm in your hand, since only a select few senior officers are permitted to carry on the ship.”

  She blew out an uneven breath as she slipped the gun away while Seb shifted to stand beside her. “Sorry, I’m a bit on edge.”

  “Since Seb was shot? Understandable.” Alpha dropped his hands, shooting an exasperated look at Seb. “Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be resting? Making out in the officer’s wardroom definitely doesn’t qualify.”

  “Wanted to give Jenna a tour of the fighter jets before she deployed,” he replied, clearing his throat after his voice came out a little scratchy.

  “Uh-huh,” Alpha drawled. “There’s certainly a great view of the jets from in here.”

  Seb took her hand, twining their fingers together. “Ha ha, very funny. We were just leaving.”

  Tugging her hand, he pulled her into a walk, passing by Alpha.

  “Right. I’m sure leaving is exactly where things were headed a second ago.” Seb shot an annoyed glare over his shoulder, but Alpha only smirked. “Just know you’re lucky Bren wasn’t the one who caught you. She’d be busting your ass if she knew you were using the officer’s wardroom for recreational purposes.”

  At the hatchway, Seb paused to send a curious look toward Alpha. “Why aren’t you?”

  His expression took on a roguish edge. “Let’s just say Mia and I were rather adventurous in our travels before anyone knew about us.”

  Seb used his free hands to cover his eyes. “Oh God, I don’t want to know what that means. Come on, Jenna, let’s get out of here before he can scar me for life.”

  His laugh followed them out into the passageway toward the transit.

  A spike of apprehension sliced through her as they waited for the transit to arrive so they could head for commerce level. They were about to get the identity of whoever had sent the kill order. She hadn’t been this nervous about the outcome of a mission since she’d been a rookie. It felt like exposing this person—whom she fully expected to be Stanton—would break away the last little piece of the ledge that had been holding up her entire life.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Using the datapad as a guide, they took a conveyer through the first sector of the commerce level and then headed across the way to a section of cafés and restaurants.

  This was finally it, they were moments away from proving—or not proving—Stanton had ordered Jenna to be killed. So why the hell did Seb feel like dragging his feet? Why was reluctance dogging every step he took as he followed a few steps behind her?

  Hell, there was no use playing dumb. He’d gone and let the girl with the too-honest green eyes get under his skin. He cared more than a little about what happened to her, now and in the future, which was why he’d gotten stuck on this idea of proving Stanton had been behind the execution order.

  And just now, in the officer’s wardroom on squadron level, something had passed between them. Something that couldn’t be expressed in words, something he’d never felt before with anyone else, like everything inside him had shifted to form a different view of the world, the pieces all settling to leave him with a sense of completeness.

  He had no idea what that meant, and honestly didn’t want to know right now. Not while he needed to be concentrating on Jenna and whatever or whoever they were about to discover.

  Jenna paused by a bench seat under the tall bows of a strand of palm trees, fronds bobbing slightly in the waft of air coming from the vents above.

  “According to the data, whoever we’re looking for is in that coffeehouse over there, sitting at one of the back tables.” She lowered the datapad and nodded at the small establishment, signs boasting of the best coffee on the Valiant Knox. There were a few people sitting at tables arranged out front, while through the windows, the place looked to be about half full.

  “So how do you want to play this?” He jammed his hands in his pockets and glanced around the crowds of shoppers and diners enjoying their time on the commerce level. In contrast, he felt like a dark cloud hovered over them, like if anyone stared at them hard enough, they’d see the shadowy lurking he and Jenna were up to.

  “We need to get in there to pinpoint who has that comm. If I don’t recognize them, I’ll need a picture to run through a facial recognition program.” Jenna had her attention focused on the shop, so she didn’t see him shaking his head.

  Did part of her still really believe Stanton wasn’t behind this? And what were they going to do? Just walk up to the table and take a happy snap of the occupant? Because that wouldn’t get them killed or anything. Although, knowing Jenna, she’d have some super-stealthy way of getting what she needed.

  Jenna tucked her datapad away. “Come on, let’s move before they do.”

  As they strolled out from beneath the palms, her expression turned carefree, her entire being relaxed as though she didn’t have a worry in the world. Wow. He’d seen her do it several times already, but still couldn’t get his head around it. That was something else. How the heck did she do that? It was almost like switching personalities.

  She wrapped her hand around his forearm. “Would you chill? And stop glowering. You’re supposed to be enjoying yourself.”

  “Sorry if I don’t find the prospect of sneaking up on some killer CI agent entertaining, especially considering my recent stint on med level,” he muttered.

  She poked him in the ribs and he jerked away. Damn, he’d always been ticklish there. When she tried it again, he dodged her finger and sent her a glare, which only made her laugh.

  “I think you’re enjoying this a little too much.”

  “It’s not hard to enjoy myself when I’m with you. And when I take into account that I could very easily be dead right now.”

  Well, hell, he couldn’t argue with that. After the close call at Harley’s he probably should have adopted the philosophy, himself. Plus, there was no denying he felt the same way—when he was with her, things didn’t seem so bad. Sappy and cliché as that was.

  “Come on.” She tugged him toward the doorway of the coffeehouse.

  Seb forced his shoulders to relax and took a calming breath, then stepped into the café, breathing in the dark scent of brewing coffee and the mouthwatering aroma of freshly baked pastries.

  Jenna weaved between tables then slid into a seat by the far window. He sat across from her and glanced down as the screen inset into the tabletop flashed to life, displaying what the café had to offer. She pulled her datapad out. “The person we’re looking for is behind me. Four tables down, back corner near the staff doorway.”

  Seb folded his hands loosely on the surface as he covertly scanned the tables until he found the right one. Two people sat there, a man and a woman, but the shadows, and the fact that they were both half turned away from him made it impossible to identify them. Except, the woman had a wealth of curly red hair, setting off his alarm bells. But since he couldn’t see her face or her companion, he wasn’t going to say anything or jump to any conclusions… Actually, he was jumping to all the conclusions like a d
amned acrobat, but outwardly he was going to keep his shit together.

  “I can’t see clearly, so I don’t know how we’re going to get that photo.” There, that came out in a perfectly even tone.

  Jenna raised her head and half turned, signaling the waitress. If he hadn’t been watching closely, he would’ve missed the quick glance she took in that direction.

  When she turned back, her expression had taken on a tense edge. “I know who the woman is.”

  “It’s that chick Stanton had with him when he came to see me on med level, isn’t it?”

  The waitress came over and the two of them hurriedly ordered coffees to go.

  “Carrie. She’s a protégée CI agent, one of the top operators waiting to come up in the field. From what I’ve heard, CI has been promising her a promotion to independent active agent for over a year, but there hasn’t been a spot or a handler available.”

  He glanced across the café again, just in time to see Carrie and her companion stand. “They’re on the move.”

  Jenna ducked her head, turning to stare out the window.

  Seb was about to turn away, when the man moved into direct light. Even though he’d been expecting it with every step they’d taken to get here, a low wave of shock still rippled through him when he got a clear look at the senior CI agent.

  “Stanton.”

  Jenna froze, like it had been the bad news she hadn’t wanted to get. As the CI agents approached, Seb forced himself to drop his gaze, pretending to scan the menu on the tabletop.

  In his peripheral vision, he watched as Stanton and Carrie navigated the tables, heading for the exit. When Stanton drew even with him, the agent seemed to notice him, hesitating for a fraction of a second before continuing on.

  Once they left, Seb blew out a ragged breath and sagged back in his seat. “Stanton made me.”

  Jenna turned back to him, her expression hard, but shadows haunted her green gaze. “It doesn’t matter. No offense, but even if he thinks you’re hiding something, he wouldn’t see you as a serious threat. He thinks most of the FP squad has more testosterone than brains.”

  “If it keeps him off my case, then whatever. I’ll wear it.”

  She speared him with a serious look. “But it’s not going to keep him off your case, especially if he’s also the one behind the attempts on your life.”

  “You don’t think it was actually him?”

  “No, he’s more of a delegator.”

  “Could he have ordered Carrie to do it?” He hadn’t thought his attacker was female, but he hadn’t exactly been paying attention while he’d been distracted with the whole staying alive thing.

  “It’s possible. Once I would’ve said Stanton would never sanction any kind of action on board the Knox against our own people. But now…” Jenna ran a hand through her hair, looking unsure for the first time since he’d met her. “I just don’t know anymore.”

  Damn it, she’d been their armor to this point, holding strong against everything. He couldn’t let her crumble.

  “We knew this was coming. It’s the only answer that makes sense.”

  She leaned across the table, a furious light burning in her eyes. “Don’t you get it? My handler tried to have me killed. In fact, for all he knows, he did have me killed. This means the order to take me out had to come down from higher up.”

  Seb started to shake his head, but the waitress returned with their coffees. While he settled the tab, Jenna slid out of her seat and headed for the exit. He jogged a few steps to catch up with her, grabbing her arm to pull her to a stop.

  “Just hang on a second. You don’t know for sure that’s what went down. We already talked about the possibility he was acting independently. Why have you changed your mind?”

  She dropped her full cup of coffee into a waste chute. “Because I know him. He might not be the most straightforward or faultless person, but he was my one constant. More than half of everything I know, probably the only reason I’m alive today, is from what he taught me. I just can’t see how he’d suddenly go off the books, or what reason he’d have to kill me. No, it had to come from higher up. There had to be something I did, or something I know, that CI wanted buried. If only I had time to work out what that was.”

  Her haunted gaze cut away from him, and she walked off.

  He didn’t want to believe that CI were the ones who wanted her dead, because it meant there was almost no chance he could save her. No one went up against CI and lived to talk about it. Even though the guy had clearly been more to her than just a handler, and the truth would break her heart, he was going to hang on to the notion Stanton had his own reasons and wasn’t playing by CI’s rules any longer.

  He followed her to the conveyer, and they rode back across the sector, Jenna’s expression troubled and closed off. Her tight posture, the shadows in her gaze, made a frustrated tension build within him. He wanted to help, but didn’t have the first clue how to do that. Sure, he could play lookout and help her tamper with doors all over the Knox, but when the throw down came, he was pretty much useless. How did a person go about proving the guilt of someone as slippery and slimy as Stanton?

  Plus, how would he feel if he found out Commander Yang or Bren had ordered him killed? It was a scenario he couldn’t even begin to comprehend, but yeah, he’d be pretty damn hurt and pissed. He could only imagine a fraction of the pain and betrayal Jenna was feeling.

  The question was, what did she plan on doing about it?

  Once they neared his apartment, he couldn’t keep his churning thoughts silent any longer.

  “What are you going to do now?” he asked the back of her head as she strode a few steps ahead of him.

  “Go deeper. I need to find out exactly where the order came from and why. But to do that, I’m going to have to get off the Knox, maybe head back to Earth and see if my contacts can get me into CI’s HQ.”

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop outside his door, chilled apprehension flooding through him. “Hang on just a minute. Sneaking around the Knox is one thing, but you’re talking about infiltrating one of the most secure agencies in the galaxy. If that’s not suicide or scaling the heights of stupidity, I don’t know what is.”

  Glaring at him, she jerked her arm free. “Yeah, it is a suicide mission, but I’m dead anyway. Eventually, somehow, CI will find out I’m still alive, and send someone else to take me out. So I might as well take it to them and find out why I got scrubbed.”

  She stalked into his apartment, and Seb took a minute to blow out an agitated breath and shove a hand through his hair. If she left the ship, he couldn’t follow, and he couldn’t help her anymore. And that knowledge burned a big fat hole right through the middle of his common sense. When he followed her inside, it was to see her throwing a few possessions into her bag.

  “What the hell? You’re not going right now are you?”

  She cut him a hard look, hurrying over and grabbing a fistful of his shirt, leaning up against him. “Bugs, remember?”

  He clamped his hands on her shoulders and backed her up, until they were in his bedroom and the door shut behind them.

  “I have my answers. I need to move before my cover gets blown.”

  Seb tightened his grip when she tried to shrug out of his hold. “Yeah? And what about me? What about CI trying to take my number? That doesn’t matter anymore?”

  She jerked against his hold again, but he towed her closer.

  “You can go to Yang once I’m gone, tell them everything, get twenty-four-hour protection.” She gave up resisting and stared at him, her expression detached.

  But those green eyes gave her away—no matter how she schooled her facial features, he could see the deep shadows of hurt in her gaze. Those eyes didn’t belong to a hard-assed, unfeeling CI agent. They belonged to the person he’d gotten to know in the past few days, the one who wasn’t playing the role of girl-next-door, because it really was her at heart.

  “I can’t even begin to understand h
ow deep this has cut you, but don’t go running off on some half-cocked mission and get yourself killed trying to infiltrate the most scary-ass spy agency in the galaxy when we don’t know all the details. I still have to believe Stanton had his own reasons.”

  The hurt in her gaze deepened. “And what reasons could they possibly be? I’ve been working with him for years. He might be an ass sometimes, but we respected each other, and he’d never do anything except follow orders, down to his dying breath.”

  Seb slid his hands up, until he was cupping her face. “Does that include until your last dying breath as well?”

  “I appreciate your help, but this is far as I can take it. You have to let me go, Seb.”

  Her words sent a violent shock through his system.

  “I can’t.” His voice came out hoarse. “I can’t let you go, Jenna. Not like this. Not if it means letting you walk off to get yourself killed.”

  “I shouldn’t have let you help me in the first place.” She shook her head, gaze roaming over his face. “This is how it was always going to end.”

  “No.” He pressed closer to her. “I don’t accept that, I won’t.”

  Her expression took on a rueful, resigned edge. “I was dead the moment they handed me the assignment. Whatever time I have now is just an unexpected bonus, and I need to use every second I’ve got to find the answers.”

  He clamped a hand around the back of her neck. All the tension, frustration, and apprehension of the past days collided within him, churning to combustion point. “Do you have to be so goddamn fatalistic?”

  Before she could reply with some other line about riding off into the sunset, he leaned down and caught her mouth, his kiss hard and entirely unforgiving as he rode the cresting desperation within him. He didn’t have a damn God-given clue why the thought of losing her was snapping the strings of his control like a piano tuned too tightly, but he didn’t have the brain power to think about anything. His need for her increased with every beat of his heart, and suddenly, all the reasons he’d given himself for resisting her seemed ridiculous.