by Jo Davis
“I think they saw us,” she hissed.
“Shit.”
Together they hurried for the glass patio door, and J.C. slid it open, urging her out. They rushed into the night, and she wanted to ask what his plan was, how they were going to get off the premises, but there was no time. The details could wait.
Then, disaster.
“Stop right there!”
“Freeze!”
Oh, no! “J.C.—”
Her companion whirled, pushing her behind him, and brought up his weapon. She stumbled and looked toward the house to see three guards doing the same, and in the next split second, the staccato bark of rapid gunfire rent the air. J.C. jerked and went down on one knee, returning fire.
“Emma, run!”
“No!” she screamed. Three on one wasn’t fair odds, and she wasn’t about to leave him to be slaughtered. Raising her arm, she was about to fire her weapon when more gunfire came from another direction. She waited for the inevitable agony of bullets ripping through her body, but it never came.
Instead, the three guards slumped to the patio in a hail of bullets and lay unmoving. Footsteps pounded toward her and J.C., and it took Emma a second to process the appearance of the big, imposing man in the lead. Tall, dark, broad-shouldered, hair pulled back in a ponytail…
“Emma!” the man bellowed. “Are you all right?”
“Blaze?” She blinked at the apparition that stepped up and grabbed her by the shoulders. “How did you—”
“Thank God you’re all right, baby.” He crushed her to his chest, kissed the top of her head, and said hoarsely, “Doesn’t matter how right now. Byrd’s going to get you and your friend to the chopper while the rest of us take care of Dietz and his buddies inside.”
She glanced at this man, Byrd, and burrowed into her man. “Why can’t you come with us?”
“Because I owe that slimy bastard for taking my woman, that’s why.” He pulled away and crouched in front of J.C., placing a hand on his shoulder. “You gonna make it?”
“Yeah,” her friend said, panting, expression strained. “Took one in the thigh, but I’ll be okay.”
“Good. Who do I have to thank for taking care of my girl?”
J.C. hesitated, giving Blaze a wary look, but evidently decided to come clean. “Special Agent Jackson Collins, FBI. My friends call me J.C.”
“Agent Collins, you have my undying gratitude. Next time you need a favor, you have only to ask.” Cutting off any protest the man might’ve made, Blaze turned to Byrd. “Get them out of here. I’ll help the others round up our traitors.”
“Will do.”
She wanted to cling, demand that he return with them, but this was a mission, not date night. Instead, she accepted the kiss he pressed to her lips and let him go, worried as hell about what must be going on in the house by now and what Blaze would be facing. Because Dietz surely had heard the commotion. Why hadn’t anyone inside come running?
Blaze’s bald friend slung one of J.C.’s arms over his big shoulders, hoisted him to his feet, and started off, herding her away as well. She glanced back to see Blaze disappear into the house and out of sight, and sent up a fervent prayer that he’d be fine.
He’d come for her. Just like she knew he would.
The knowledge sent a warm rush through her veins, filled her with happiness… until her night with J.C. hit her with a slap. Despite Blaze’s assertion that sex was natural, she worried that he’d see her actions as a betrayal.
Were they? Especially considering his lifestyle and the stuff he’d said about sharing? And they weren’t even officially a couple again, right? They’d agreed to see how things went — nothing more.
It was all too confusing, and she was exhausted from stress, thinking she might not survive to ever face these issues with him. She was hardly aware of placing one foot in front of the other, and before she knew it, they’d reached a clearing where two black helicopters waited.
Byrd helped J.C. into one of them, and she climbed in after them, wincing at the blood oozing from his thigh between his fingers. The flow appeared sluggish, but that didn’t do much to alleviate her worry. He deserved better than to die protecting someone who wasn’t his problem.
The pilot started the engine, and Emma jumped, looking at Byrd in alarm. “Aren’t we waiting for the others?”
“Ross will send another transport,” he said, grabbing a first-aid kit. “We need to get our Fed buddy back to SHADO and have McKay fix him up before we send him home to momma.”
She nodded her understanding. While his wound might not be life-threatening, J.C. didn’t really look great, and it was best not to take any chances.
J.C. shot Byrd a sickly smile. “Thanks.”
“No problem. You saved one of ours, so we return the favor.”
“What’s SHADO?” J.C. asked, curious in spite of his pain.
“Need to know only.” Byrd gave him a dangerous grin. “If I told you, I’d hafta let you bleed out.”
“In that case, never mind. I like breathing.”
She watched Byrd cut her friend’s pants up the seam and pull the material from the wound. J.C. grimaced as the other man began to wrap the leg tightly. To distract him, she asked, “Out of curiosity, how were you going to get us away from here if all had gone well?”
“I appropriated one of Dietz’s cars and stashed it off a country road about a mile from the house. I figured we’d get there and make a clean getaway. I’m sorry I fucked up.”
“No, you did what you could. It was a good plan.”
“Except for the part about getting caught,” Byrd added, needling him.
“Shit. Does that have to be so tight?”
“Yep. Sit back and enjoy the ride or I’ll have to give you something to knock you out. Like my fist.”
“Your bedside manner needs improving.”
“At least you’re alive to bitch about it.”
Suddenly, she glanced around in surprise. Although she hated flying in a helicopter, between the adrenaline and listening to the two men spar, she hadn’t even noticed they were airborne and under way. Wonders never ceased.
Now, if Blaze would return to SHADO safe and sound, they might finally set themselves on the right path together.
A girl could dream.
It was past four in the morning before Blaze dragged his tired, disgusted ass to the compound’s hospital to get his scratch tended. He didn’t think it needed any special attention, but Rivera wouldn’t hear of it. Nobody on his op was going home without getting their boo-boos fixed, period.
Jesus. He just wanted to get out of here and find Emma. Holding her was the only thing that would fix everything that had gone wrong with this night. Well, almost everything.
He shuffled to the desk, thinking it was too much to hope for that she’d hung around waiting for him to get back. She’d probably already been debriefed and was home by now, sleeping soundly under an armed watch. Or Michael might have ordered her to stay here at the compound in one of the spare living quarters, where it was safer.
“Blaze!”
He jerked his head around and saw her jogging toward him, beautiful face lined with worry. He barely had time to hold out his arms, and she was in his embrace, alternately squeezing the stuffing out of him and peppering his face with kisses.
“Oh, my God! I’m so glad you’re all right,” she said. “When hours went by and you guys didn’t come back, I was beside myself.”
“You were concerned about me? After being kidnapped and held hostage by that asshole? No, baby, I’m fine. It’s you I care about.”
“I’m okay, but you’re most certainly not! What happened to your neck?” Frowning, she gingerly touched the red, angry four-inch line on his throat, caked with dried blood. “I didn’t notice this in the dark.”
“Just a scuffle with a scumbag. He lost.”
“I’d hate to see what he looks like. God, he could’ve killed you,” she said in a quiet voice.
“We
ll, he didn’t, and he won’t ever be able to hurt anyone again.”
“Like Dietz.” She gazed into his eyes. “You did apprehend him, right?”
Jaw clenching, he looked away. “No. We got inside the house, and he’d vanished, along with a couple of men. They must’ve had some sort of secret way out in case of discovery.”
She appeared as disheartened as he felt. “Damn that slippery bastard! What about the guards?”
“Got most of them, and they’re in the jail below, under double security because of the breakout. None of them are talking yet, but they haven’t yet been subjected to our brand of persuasion.”
“It didn’t work with Dietz,” she pointed out.
“No, but things are getting desperate. SHADO has been authorized by the president to use whatever means are necessary to extract the information. The gloves are off now.”
“I’m sure I don’t want to know what that means.”
“You probably don’t, but you may not have a choice. You’re involved, and I have a feeling Michael is still going to want you undercover, with or without me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Of course I’ll be with you.”
“There’s a good chance you won’t. Michael ordered me to remain behind when they went to rescue you. I happened to disagree.” Now that she was safe, he dreaded the thought of her working with anyone else, especially on this assignment.
“Oh, Blaze,” she groaned. “Why would you do something so stupid? I’m sure the team had it under control.”
He stiffened at her remark. “Sure. Except I’m the one who helped Byrd take out those three goons who were about to gun down you and your new buddy. Where is he, by the way?”
“J.C.? In recovery. They did surgery to remove the bullet, and he’s going to be fine. I wanted to hang around here until they’d let me see for myself, though.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet.” Okay, that came out more like a snarl than he’d intended. But dammit, it was quite a blow to learn she hadn’t been here waiting for him after all. Instead, she was here waiting on her new buddy — with whom she was apparently on a first-name basis. And was that guilt in those big blue eyes? Fuck.
“What’s wrong with making sure the man who saved my life is okay?”
“He saved your life? I think I might’ve helped just a little,” he growled.
“Of course you did! Don’t you think I know that? I just mean that J.C. doesn’t have anyone here for him. Well, not until the FBI or someone else arrives to stay with him and then take him home.” She gave him a slight frown. “Would you begrudge him when he watched over me the whole time and made sure I was safe?”
“No. But is that all he did?”
There it was. The guilty deer-in-the-headlights look. Ah, goddamn.
You reap what you sow, Kelly. What are you gonna do now, idiot?
“Never mind,” he said, holding up a hand. “It doesn’t matter.”
She wrung her hands. “Blaze, I’m sorry—”
“Don’t be. You did what you had to do… and so did I.” Her eyes rounded at that. Wasn’t True Confessions fun?
“You were with another woman?” she whispered, mouth trembling.
“No, not a woman.” He watched her figure it out, emotions playing on her face.
“Then what — oh.” She blinked at him owlishly. “Who was it?”
“I’m not sure I should say. It might make things awkward for him.” He sighed. “It wasn’t planned. We were both under an extraordinary amount of stress, and it just happened. I’m not trying to make an excuse, but we both had a need and took what we wanted. It wasn’t smart, and it probably won’t happen again, but I can’t change it.”
“You know, just a few weeks ago I wouldn’t have understood.” Her cheeks flushed, but she held his gaze.
“And now you do?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I guess we have a lot to talk about when we get away from here.”
“Do we?”
“Or not.” She shrugged, looking lost. “Hell, I never know what the rules are with you.”
“Is that what you want? Rules? With me in charge, and not just because of the assignment?”
“I said before that I was willing to give it a try, didn’t I?”
A flare of excitement shot through his blood, quickly tempered. “I want you to be certain, baby. If you’re not fully committed in here,” he emphasized, tapping the side of her head, “it won’t work.”
“I’m willing to kick my preconceptions to the curb and give it a shot.” Her tone was sincere.
“It can’t be only for me, though. You have to want it for yourself.” As much as he wanted this, she had to understand the difference.
“I’m not doing this for you, but for me. For us,” she said earnestly. “I’ve learned a few things about myself lately — that my world isn’t as black and white as I always believed — and I think I owe it to myself to explore them. Will it work? I don’t know, but I’m ready to—”
Whatever she might’ve said was put on hold as three men walked into the lobby. All three were wearing suits, one in particular appearing more rumpled and stressed-out than the other two.
Michael. Fan-fucking-tastic. Blaze might be fired and hiring out as a mercenary before this day was over.
“Agent Kelly,” Ross said coolly as the three approached. “These gentlemen are from the FBI and have come to see about Agent Collins. They’ll stay with him until he’s well enough to be transferred to another facility.”
You’re not needed here was what he really meant.
Blaze turned his attention to the pair of dour-faced suits. “Good. I can’t thank Collins enough for rescuing Agent Foster,” he said, indicating her. “She’s a damned fine lady and a valued part of our team here. I hope he’s not in trouble for doing the right thing.”
One of them pursed his thin lips. “He might’ve been, but we’d already received communication from him forty-eight hours ago that he believed he was under suspicion. The director was getting ready to pull him out.”
The guy didn’t sound real happy about it. Like he’d wanted Collins to be in deep shit. Some assholes were like that. “Good to know. Well, it was nice to meet you, but I’m going to get this scratch doctored, and then I’m out of here.” He glanced at Ross. “Unless you want me to see you after?”
“No, it’s late. You and Foster go home and get some sleep. I’ll see you both in my office at three this afternoon.”
Not as much time as he’d hoped, but he was lucky to get that much. His boss was so pissed, there was no way anyone could miss the signals. “We’ll be there. Coming with me?” he asked Emma.
“Yes.”
They started toward the check-in desk together, but Ross caught him by the arm. “You’re not off the hook,” he said, low enough the two Feds couldn’t hear. “The reason we’re not meeting now is if we do, I’ll fire your ass, and I can’t afford to lose an agent of your caliber. You get me?”
“Yeah, I get you. But know this — given the choice, fired or not, I’d do the same thing again. Nobody stands between me and her, period. I’m sure you can get that.”
A few tense moments ticked by, but the explosion he half expected never came. He waited until Michael broke eye contact and turned away, joined the two Feds, and disappeared down the hallway before taking Emma’s hand and walking off.
He meant what he’d said. The day he didn’t go after Emma was the day they put him in the ground.
The pang of remorse Emma had felt at not being able to visit J.C. was eclipsed by the larger-than-life presence of the big man at her side. God, she’d missed him. Had come too close to never seeing him again.
And she’d hurt him. Oh, he’d acted tough, but he hadn’t been able to hide his feelings — at least, not quickly enough. Yet he’d done essentially the same thing — right? Was it different because she’d slept with a man, the opposite sex, and he’d been with someone of the same sex? Was that a double standard?
&nbs
p; Maybe. But oddly enough, it didn’t bother her to know he’d been with another man. In fact, it kind of… turned her on. More than a little. Another woman? That would’ve hurt, as she’d no doubt done to him.
Miserable, she watched as the nurse finished cleaning his cut with antiseptic and gave him a shot. Since no stitches were needed, the nurse covered the cut with a bandage and declared him fit to leave.
Thanking the nurse, Blaze took Emma’s hand and led her from the hospital, downstairs and through the compound, and out to his car.
“Where are we going?”
“Home, to sleep.”
She peered at him in the predawn light just beginning to peek over the horizon. “Home?”
“My house,” he clarified. “I’m exhausted and you must be, too. I don’t have the energy to drive you to your house and then drive myself home, even if I was willing to do that, which I’m not.”
“Why not?”
“You’re safer with me, and that’s where you’ll stay. We’ll pick up some of your stuff tomorrow. Or later today, I mean. Shit, I’m so tired I don’t know what I mean.”
“So am I, which is probably why I’m not kicking your butt for ordering me around,” she grumped.
“No, you just know I’m right and won’t admit it. If you have a flaw, that’s the one.”
“Oh, really?” He unlocked the car. She slid in and frowned at him, annoyed. “What flaw?”
“Your damned pride. When I’m wrong, I admit it.”
“I won’t dignify that with a response.”
“You need time to come up with one, more like.”
“Whatever.”
His sexy laugh made her scowl, because she knew he was right. Her pride often got in the way, like now. “Okay, you’ve got a point,” she muttered.
“What? Can’t hear you.”
“I said you’re right, you jackass. I’m probably safer at your house until Dietz is caught. Satisfied?”
“For now.” He grinned at her. “Maybe by then you won’t want to leave.”
She stared at him, unsure how to answer. Fortunately, he turned his attention to the road again and fell silent, leaving her to gather her wits. She could easily envision them together, forever. Falling even more deeply in love with him than she already was, completely entwining their lives and their future.
