Covert Threat (A Gray Ghost Novel Book 5)

by Amy McKinley

  “I agree—and their family and friends.” Connor stood. “Get some sleep. I’ve increased the security from two to four. Nothing will get past them.”

  I hoped so. “It would help if we had our guys here.” Mike and Hayden were with Matt and Jo, working on another assignment. Jack, Keegan, Hawk, and Chris were engaged in yet another one that I didn’t have a single detail about, and Liam was helping them. Connor was the only one on our team who had been free enough to come here physically. Having him lead the security helped to take my mind off it and stay focused on Jules instead.

  “I agree. These guys have been vetted. They’ll do the job we need them to.” His heavy hand landed on my shoulder. “Get some sleep.”

  If my mind would turn off, I would.

  Trev backed the SUV down the driveway while I stared out the passenger window, humiliated. If there was something that could go wrong, it had. Aside from the lit candle, there had been nothing burning in the house the night before, and the candle wouldn’t have been enough to set off the alarm. Trev said it had to be faulty. He would have it replaced.

  It wasn’t only that. I’d woken late when my alarm didn’t go off. Alone. Trev had slept in the other room. He’d said he had to stay alert and couldn’t do that with me lying by his side. It felt like a rejection even though he was doing his job. I got it, but still.

  There was more that bothered me. My bedside clock wasn’t working. It’d stopped at 7:16, and the time had left me uneasy. I have no idea why. My head throbbed with pain just behind my eyes. Something about that exact time felt as though it held significance. Paranoia pinged through me at odd times during the day, and it currently had me in a tight grip.

  “Hey.” Trev squeezed my thigh before returning his hand to the wheel. “You okay?”

  “Yep. Tired, I guess.” My practically throwing myself at him last night and then nothing happening was embarrassing enough, so I wasn’t about to mention any additional insecurities to him. I had to be careful. I got that. The problem was that I wasn’t always positive I wasn’t at fault, and I tried to bring anything that was cause for concern to Trev’s attention. “Turn up ahead. The dry cleaner is on the right.”

  He turned where I’d indicated. “Since it’s Saturday, we should do something fun.”

  Sure… Did he miss the memo that I was where fun went to die? “What were you thinking?”

  “Let’s pack a lunch and head to the harbor. We can go out on the boat, spend a few hours on the water. It’ll be relaxing.”

  Instant tension settled between my shoulder blades, and I glanced out his window at the miles of ocean to the left. Sunlight glinted off the water. It didn’t look too choppy, but given how things had been going for me, I didn’t think I had it in me to go out on the water. With my luck, I would agree, and then a storm would roll in while we were at sea. “I’d rather not.”

  “Okay. Let’s go for a walk on the beach instead.”

  There wasn’t a trace of annoyance in his voice, and I relaxed back in my seat. “I’d like that.”

  He pulled into the strip mall that housed my dry cleaner. I jumped out of the car. “I’ll be right back.”

  The sound of his door opening made me pause, and I caught the look of amusement on his face.

  “I can go into the cleaners, Trev. Nothing will happen.”

  “I don’t want to sit in the car.” He grinned.

  I rolled my eyes. Sure, that’s why he’s walking with me. His hand settled on the small of my back. It felt right. A tiny bit of embarrassment over yesterday slid away.

  The bell jingled overhead as we entered the humid shop. We stood behind the two people standing in line. Rummaging around in my purse, I found the slip for my clothes. The woman in front of us kept turning around and sneaking glances at Trev. I grinned. I didn’t blame her. He was gorgeous, even more since I’d gotten to know him better. I’ve fallen hard for him.

  I stumbled as we moved forward and realized the truth behind that thought. Trev clutched my hip, pulling me to his side to steady me. I leaned into him as my heart pounded like a desperate inmate in an attempt to break free from my rib cage.

  His hand curled around me, and he held me against him even as the woman snuck another look at him. I caught the tight set of her lips as she saw our new position, and I wanted to laugh. She was next. In no time at all, probably because she didn’t see an opening to hit on Trev, it was our turn.

  After I handed over my receipt, the clerk retrieved my dry cleaning then hung it on the bar next to the counter. Trev grabbed my clothes for me while I paid. We went back to the SUV, and my mind spun with how to handle the fact that I cared about him—a lot. A slight breeze rustled my hair, and I tucked it behind my ears. Key fob in hand, he unlocked the truck, opened the door for me, then secured my clothes on a hook over the side window in the back. A girl could get used to this.

  It wasn’t a far drive, and we were back at my house in record time. “I’ll just be a minute,” I called over my shoulder to Trev. I wanted to hang up my clothes. I tore the plastic covering off and turned. Wait. I ran my hand over the clothes. I swore there were a few tops that should’ve been there, and my favorite black-and-gray skirt wasn’t in the batch, either. I’d wanted to wear that to work on Monday. I flipped through the clothes, searching for the missing items. Maybe I’d misplaced them or they’d gotten lost at the cleaners.

  A tremor shook my hand before I shut my closet doors. There were too many coincidences and things that didn’t add up. A heavy weight settled over my heart. There had to be an explanation. I thought about the letter from my mom, but still saw no real reason to open it—I wasn’t in unknown danger. Everything could be easily explained. Right?

  I’m not going crazy. Thinking it didn’t ease my fears. It sure as hell felt like I was.

  The scent of lasagna still filled the kitchen, and I sighed with satisfaction, the dry-cleaning worry from earlier today a distant memory. The clothes would turn up—they always did. We’d stuffed ourselves, and I needed to move around after such a big meal. Trev and I were doing the dishes before we went for a walk on the beach. With the windows open, the sound of the waves breaking against the shore lured us outside.

  I was glad we’d checked the weather, and more so that I’d declined his offer of going out on the boat—a storm was coming through. A chill at the thought of being on the water skated over my skin. I couldn’t think about it and was grateful when Trev spoke, distracting me. “We could leave some of the cleanup for later.”

  That was crazy talk, and I rolled my eyes despite the goose bumps that danced along my skin when his hand settled on the curve of my hip. “You know I like the kitchen cleaned up right away. There’s nothing worse than coming back to a huge mess.”

  A wide grin spread across his sinfully kissable mouth. “You’re right. I can think of something else I’d rather do later.”

  He brushed my hair from my neck and pressed kisses down to my shoulder. “Stop.” I couldn’t help the giggle. “This is the last of the dishes, and then we’re getting out of the house.” His touch made it so I didn’t want to leave.

  “You want this back on the shelf in the living room?”

  I craned my neck to see what he was talking about. “Yes, thanks.” My mom’s recipe book was in his hands, and anxiety shot through my blood. I could see the corner of her letter peeking out from the top of the binder, taunting me. Once more, the odd sense of dread pooled in my gut. I had the sinking sensation that I would be reading it sooner rather than later. Something would push me over the edge, and I had a feeling that what I’d thought had been a coincidence wasn’t.

  I closed the dishwasher and hung the dish towel. I needed to get out of there. With the storm still a ways away, I wanted to take advantage of the beach. “Ready?”

  Trev tangled his fingers with mine as we went out the back door. The air was charged with the expectancy of the pending bad weather, and our pace down the walkway to the shore quickened. Wind pushed my
hair back from my face, and I dropped his hand for a second to tie it back.

  “You’ve been tense, more so than usual.” He tugged my hand after my hair was secured, pulling me closer.

  I watched the tremulous shoreline. Waves broke against the sandy embankment only to retreat into the churning mass of building swells. Then the process started all over again. Shells lay scattered along the coastline, and come morning, there would be new treasures to be found. The repetitive motion and soothing sounds did a lot to relax the tension residing between my shoulders and pounding in my temples. I let the oddities of the events over the past few days swirl in my mind before I would lay them at Trev’s feet. He waited for me to tell him what was wrong. I needed to, especially on the off chance that they were nothing. “I guess I’ve been stressed.”

  “I understand why, but is there anything else that’s bothering you?” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “You know that it’s not insignificant, whatever it is. I need and want to know.”

  “I feel strange even telling you because it’s probably grief and anger over Fran’s death. She wouldn’t have killed herself—I can’t accept that. That’s the main issue. Then—it’s stupid.” I hung my head, frustrated.

  “Jules, tell me.” He hooked his finger under my chin, tipping my face up to meet his gaze.

  I pushed out a breath then dove straight to the most recent worry. “My clock stopped at 7:16 today and at that same time yesterday.”

  He pressed his lips into a tight line. “Trust me, that bothered me as well and is something I’m investigating further.”

  “It’s so random, and I’m constantly feeling like I’m going crazy. I mean, I picked up my dry cleaning and swore I was missing a skirt and two tops. When I called to check, they said I’d gotten them the last time.” I dragged my teeth over my bottom lip. “I don’t remember. It’s all building, these silly issues, and I can’t make sense of it.” It wasn’t the first time in my life that I’d felt that way. When the memories from before the accident tried to return, reality seemed to fragment, and I didn’t always trust myself. Part of me wondered if the majority of the things happening, like the candle and my things being moved, weren’t because of that.

  He tugged my hand and turned me to him, the water behind his back. “You’ve had a lot happen. You’re allowed to worry. As for the dry cleaning, we’ll look for the clothes.”

  I pushed up to my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his mouth, a sense of lightness filling me since he’d acknowledged my fears. “Thank you.”

  He tucked a piece of hair that’d come loose behind my ear. “I want to know about what’s bothering you.”

  God, he was killing me. With a small smile, I nodded, agreeing that’d I would tell him.

  He winked, and butterflies took flight in my abdomen. “Let’s walk to the pier and back. Then I guess I’ll let you talk me into sitting through that weird series you like on Netflix.”

  I laughed. “You can pretend you don’t like it, but I won’t believe you. You’re totally into it.”

  “Lies!”

  He nudged me to resume our walk, and I swatted his arm. It was rock-solid, which wasn’t unusual. Alarm screamed through my veins at the stony expression that came over his face, the one reserved for when he was on guard or there was trouble approaching. I glanced ahead as Trev shifted me to his other side so I was between him and the water.

  A man jogged down the beach toward us. Heavily muscled, he wore a pair of shorts and a baseball hat pulled down to shield his face. He was the first person we’d come across—the ominous weather kept most away.

  Still, it wasn’t unusual for someone to jog along the beach. What set my internal alarms blaring was the man’s build. Fit as the military men I’d administered injections to, he was tall with deeply tanned skin. It was in the way he moved, his height, how he carried himself, and the aura around him, which was dangerous. I couldn’t place him. Even so, a sense of familiarity flooded my mind.

  Trev dropped my hand, his body taut. I knew he would spring into action at a second’s notice should he need to. Please don’t need to. Fear clawed at my mind. Could that be the same man who’d grabbed me not once, but twice?

  The sound of his gym shoes hitting the sand was lost in the roar of the waves. The man’s head was down as he neared. A chill swept over me. Trev was tense beside me, and as the guy jogged by, he lifted his gaze to mine. Holy shit.

  Intense brown eyes bore into me, and I got the unmistakable sense he meant me harm. Trev pivoted on his heel and went after the guy while my entire body shook. It had to be the one who’d attacked and threatened me in the alley.

  Rooted to the same spot on the shoreline, I wrapped my arms around my chest as Trev grabbed the jogger’s arm and turned him around. Angry voices rode the wind, one accusatory and the other full of denial.

  My mind whirled. I was aware that Trev and his team didn’t think my attacker was anyone in the program regarding the tool kit. He had let it slip that the attacker could have been someone associated with one of the military guys, which was frightening, as the chance of catching an outsider was lower. That was a problem I wasn’t going to worry about. There was no doubt in my mind that Trev would have my back. He’d just proven it.

  Another man raced down the beach from the direction of my house and joined the discussion. After a few more minutes, Trev returned to my side.

  “Is it him?” Please let this be over.

  “He’s denying he knows you or has crossed paths with you before. The guard will detain him, and Connor will check what he’s said to find the truth.”

  Another guard joined the first, and we cast a wide berth around them and the jogger as we made our way back to my house.

  “I want you back inside.” His grip was viselike without hurting. “We’ll know more in a few minutes. There’s a chance it’s the same guy.”

  We made it back and slipped through the sliding doors to my kitchen, where I fell into a chair to wait for news. There was a chance that it would all be over after they questioned him… or not.

  Wispy clouds feathered the blue sky, and a gentle breeze ruffled Jules’s hair. “You sure you want to do this?” I paused, trying to read her expression. After yesterday’s jogger incident, I was surprised she wanted to go near the beach. He’d shaken her up. I’d texted Connor and had him detain the man until we learned more. We ran his information, but nothing came up. There was no reason to hold him. Even so, something didn’t add up with the way he’d looked at her.

  “Of course I do.” Her red lips curved into a smile. “It’s a beautiful day, and I want to hang out with you on the water.”

  Not even an hour after I’d left her at work, she’d called and asked me to pick her back up. The weather was unseasonably warm, and she’d said there was no way she could stay inside when it was so nice out and suggested going out on my boat. I’d almost dropped the phone. It was the first time she’d shown an enthusiastic willingness to go out on the water. I wanted to question her odd behavior but was too happy to take her out. She needed to be able to safely have fun and relieve some stress.

  Her fingers curled around my extended hand, and I helped her on board. I’d toyed with moving my boat to Maine and joining most of my team. Building a house on the immense amount of property we’d all pooled together to buy for just such a reason was tempting. I wasn’t the only one holding out, though—Connor and Hayden lived in California. And since I’d met Jules, I wasn’t sure it would be in the cards for me to move.

  After untying the ropes of my high-performance speedboat, I pushed away from the dock. Jules moved to the chair next to the captain’s seat, and I got us moving at a slow clip out of the no-wake canal. A few minutes later, I was able to open up the motor. A wide smile stretched across her face, and I found myself grinning as well. Whatever caused her to overcome her fears of being out in the deep water and on a boat was fine with me. I wouldn’t push the issue.

  “Go faster!” she shouted over the sou
nd of the motor and sea spray as we cut through the swells.

  I increased our speed. The front end of the boat sliced through waves and slammed into the larger ones. A carefree laugh drew my gaze again. God, she was beautiful.

  Forty-five minutes later, I dropped anchor at her request. I’d planned to go for a short ride and head back in. Last time when we had been on a boat together, aside from our dinner under the stars, she’d gotten pretty freaked out.

  Sun glinted off the water, and the boat rocked and swayed. I pulled two waters from the cooler and handed her one. A mischievous sparkle lit her eyes.

  “Let’s go for a swim.” She winked before standing and shimmying out of her tiny white shorts. The teal sweater was next, her bracelet jingling with each move. I stood as she tossed her white silk panties and bra in the growing pile of clothes.

  Shit. I tore off my shirt and shoved my jeans down as she dove into the water. When I surfaced, she ducked under until she came up inches from me. I snaked my hands around her and drew her close. Goddamn, she felt amazing, her soft, silky skin sliding along mine. While treading water, I dipped my head to hers and kissed her. Her legs wrapped around my waist, and her arms clung to my neck in a tight squeeze. I almost pulled away, concerned that she was panicking in the water, until her tongue plunged into my mouth and all thought left my brain.

  Water splashed up to our chins, and I released her mouth. Kissing in the water wasn’t exactly easy, and that’s all we could do in deep water. “Maybe we should go back in the boat.”

  “I want to swim.” She grinned before ducking out of my arms and taking off at a fast freestyle away from the boat.

  Who the hell is this woman? For a few seconds, I watched her confident strokes before taking off after her. My mind continued to puzzle over the change in her behavior and the almost bitter taste in my mouth. I let her get a head start then dove in after her. We had at least an hour before she said she had to get back to work. I wasn’t going to waste a second of it.