by Marie Harte
“Um, she’s looking right at you, Hammer,” Deacon unnecessarily pointed out.
“I don’t find you amusing,” she said to Deacon, purposely keeping her hands away from the knives hidden on her body.
He shrugged. “Huh. What do you know? I don’t care.”
Noel interrupted, “Before we start going for each other’s throats, we have questions needing answers. Then we can start breaking up and heading for parts unknown.”
Hammer sighed, ignoring Vi, which only aggravated her more. “I’m sorry, guys. When I don’t eat, I get crabby.”
Noel looked him over. “You do look like you’re losing weight.”
She gaped. “Seriously? He’s a tank!”
“A lame tank,” Deacon said. “More like the old Abrams tanks than the newer SEP V.3 models.”
Noel frowned. “No. I’d say he’s more like an Israeli Merkava than an older Abrams. Even the older versions still kick ass.”
“Good point.” Deacon shrugged and grabbed more foil wrapped sandwiches that he put in front of Hammer. “So, Angry Assassin Who Used to Be a Nurse, did you want ham, sausage, or bacon? Or did you want a bagel instead? You never said last night, so I brought variety for you guys.”
She was taken aback by all the food that kept appearing. “Man, you weren’t kidding. And to be clear, Hammer is little more than a T-84. That’s out of the Ukraine, in case you didn’t know.”
“Nice.” Noel winked.
She winked back.
Hammer looked wounded, but that didn’t stop him from filling his big mouth with one of Deacon’s many breakfast sandwiches. He had earned it, she grudgingly admitted to herself. Though she’d be a lot happier about sexing him up again if he wasn’t trying to take charge of her.
“Hammer… I—”
“Hold on,” he said with his mouth full. After he’d chewed and swallowed, he drank half a bottle of water. “Okay. Now, before you throw another hissy—”
“You’re being an ass,” she growled.
“You really are.” Noel frowned.
“Look, I’m not trying to be. Noel, I still concede that you’re in charge. Deacon, this food is fucking amazing.”
Deacon preened. “It is, isn’t it?”
“And Vi, I’m not trying to tell you what to do. It’s just that you and I both know our enemy is after you and has been for months. It’s only a matter of time before he nabs you. And the danger is still here for the baby and the rest of us. It makes sense to hunker down while we get more information about what’s going on.”
“But only you’re allowed to leave,” she pointed out. “Great plan, General Obvious.”
He scowled. “I’m not saying no one else can go, but we should go one at a time. Noel and Deacon have lives here. That leaves you and me to go on intel runs.”
That made sense. Kind of.
“I have a source I need to talk to first. Someone nearby—on the West Coast—I can get to and back from there within a few days. I’m just asking—”
Deacon coughed, “Telling.”
Hammer glared at him before turning back to her. “Asking you to stay and give extra coverage to the ladies and little Gunnar. Then I’ll come back, hopefully with some answers we can use, and you can leapfrog, going next.”
“Oh, well, now that makes sense.” She nodded.
“That’s all great, but I still want to know why you never mentioned Angel before,” Noel said quietly.
She’d found it wasn’t a good sign when Noel turned quiet.
Deacon turned sober eyes on Hammer as well. “What he said.”
Hammer shoved the rest of the sandwich he’d been eating into his mouth and put his hands up in a token of surrender. After he’d finished chewing and swallowing, he said, “For God’s sake. So, Angel. I never mentioned her for the same reason you two haven’t shared every glorious detail of your own lives.”
“But Angel relates to the hit on all of us,” Noel pointed out.
“Yeah, and now that I’ve had a few things confirmed, I’m bringing you what I know. I had to get some questions answered first.” He wouldn’t look her way, and she realized he meant Vi’s connection to Angel. Through that he’d learned for sure that Angel was indeed the baby’s mother.
“Angel and the baby share the same DNA. She’s the mother.” He paused. “I met her before, a long time ago. And while she could have changed her looks, I’m pretty confident she didn’t. Not to get with any of us, at least.”
“The DNA proves none of us are the father,” Deacon said.
“Right. But that locket had Angel’s name on it. And that code was meant for me, yet she left it for Noel. I needed to know more before I told you guys.”
“The link is definitely between the three of us and Angel.” Noel watched him. “So, the code?” He laid the locket on the table before them. “She included this with the duffel of baby gear she left for Gunnar. On one side it reads Angel. On the other, this code.”
Vi peered closer. “X6TFL. It’s not a license plate or street address? Nothing came up when you ran it?”
“Nothing.” Noel sighed. “It could be a lock combination, but we’d have no way of knowing where to go looking for a lockbox, if there even is one.”
“It’s not,” Hammer said, his voice deep. “The X6 Protocol we learned in training. Business speak for destruction and termination sequences.”
“That’s the only X6 I know of.” Vi nodded.
“Right. And the TFL?” Noel shook his head. “I have no idea on that one.”
“See, that’s how I knew for sure Angel left that part of the message for me.” Hammer sighed. “She was a good person. At least when I knew her best, during my training. We had a lot of the same classes, and Angel in particular hated the ethics class. TFL was our code word for Too Fucking Lame.” He gave them a sad grin. “Any class we hated we labeled as TFL.” He paused, his eyes narrowed on the locket. “But she also used that to describe anyone she didn’t like. For a time, three people had that designation. Jonas Hood, Michael Scoria—whom she really hated—and…” He frowned.
“Hammer? Who else?”
He cleared his throat. “And Big Joe. She didn’t like him at first, because he was so hard on all of us. Me especially. Remember, he oversaw training on recruits he recommended. Angel and I were under his watch. We never saw him, but we knew he was there.”
Vi hated to hurt him, but it had to be said. “This is yet more evidence against our handler.”
“Your handler too?” Noel asked, though he had likely already suspected as much.
“Yes.”
Deacon’s eyes brightened. “So, what’s your designation? Seductress? The Nurse? Oh, maybe you’re the Sinner? I’ve heard a lot about Sinner and Saint. Never met either of them though.”
“I’m never telling you. Any of you,” she said, including Hammer.
“I feel so hurt. So unloved.” He shoved a burrito in his mouth and groaned. “Yet this food makes me not care so much.”
Deacon smiled at him. “Glad you like it. I’m charging you for all this.”
“Jackass.” Hammer shot him the finger while eating.
Noel narrowed his eyes at Deacon. “Okay, obviously you need to get back to work. I’ll fill you in on anything you miss.”
“And…dismissed.” Deacon gave him a mock salute, waved to Vi and Hammer, then left.
To Hammer, Noel said, “I don’t suppose you’d care to share your source or what you’re after?”
Hammer shook his head. “Not until I get concrete answers. No sense in presenting another theory until I can prove at least some of it.”
“Right. But you can’t take Violet with you?” Noel answered for him. “Of course not. Fine. Violet, you stay with us. I have some questions for you, and I think I might be able to fill in some answers if Hammer hasn’t already.”
She didn’t want to stay.
“It’s purely selfish of me, but I’m worried about Addy. I stay home to watch Gunnar wh
ile Addy’s alone at school. Solene’s got Deacon to protect her. Addy has the hidden security cameras I installed at her school and classroom. I do my best to be nearby when I can, but that means bringing Gunnar along. It’s not an ideal situation.”
She felt for him.
“Yeah,” Hammer added. “That’s why chasing after you was giving me nightmares. I worried I’d end up finding you only to learn Addy had been kidnapped again.”
Noel grimaced. “Fortunately, I have my eyes and ears open, and we’ve seen nothing suspicious. But that doesn’t mean we’re not being watched. I know whoever’s got it in for us isn’t going to be finished until Deacon, Hammer, and I are dead.” He turned into Ice between one heartbeat and the next. “And I’m done waiting.”
She sighed. “Fine. I’ll stay. I get it.” She glared at Hammer. “But before you take off, we need to get a few things straight.”
He mock-saluted her and continued eating.
“Geez, Hammer, where do you put it all?”
He held a foot out. “My size thirteens. I can’t help it. I’m a growing boy.”
The baby monitor came to life, and Noel excused himself to get Gunnar out of his crib.
After he left, Hammer looked around, saw no one, then gave Vi a huge kiss.
“Ew. Eggs.”
“And bacon and sausage. Deacon is hell on wheels in the kitchen.” Hammer sighed. “Look, I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I’m coming on too strong.” To her surprise, he turned pink. “I’m not trying to boss you around or anything.” He downed the rest of his water, refilled it, then drank the rest in one big gulp. “I just worry, that’s all. And before you say I’m clouded by sex, I worry about Noel and Deacon too.”
“Bull.”
“Well, okay. I’m not as worried about them, but I do worry. Vi, they have so much to lose now.” He waved around the house. “Noel’s got Addy and Gunnar. Deacon has Solene and a baby on the way. Me? I have the job.”
She didn’t like hearing that. “You are not expendable.”
He met her gaze and tried to play off what he’d said. “I know that.”
“I don’t think you do.” She yanked him closer and made him sit on a stool so she could look into his eyes. “You are not the sacrificial pawn in this weird game of chess the enemy is playing. So quit fucking around with all this talk of everyone having something to lose but you.”
“Now I didn’t say that.”
“Oh?” She poked him the chest. “What did you say exactly?”
He dragged her close, so she stood between his splayed knees. “I said I have the Business. Work keeps me going. That’s all I have. What I want to have, now, that’s a different story.”
Her heart raced. The look in his dark brown eyes impossible to resist. “What do you want to have?” she asked in a whisper.
“You, Vi. I want you.”
He kissed her, and this kiss was full of tenderness and hope. Nothing to rile her libido, though just being near him did that.
The lethal contractor pulled away from the kiss and cupped her face in his hands. “You’re all I want.”
The moment was so incredibly tender and romantic, and so unlike the usually teasing, bull-in-a-china-shop Hammer.
She didn’t know what to say.
Noel cleared his throat.
She turned around to see Noel staring at them, his mouth open. “Well, if she won’t say it, I will. Damn, son. That was one hell of a proclamation.”
Ten
Hammer hated that he’d said what he’d been feeling and Noel had overheard him. To make matters worse, the bastard had found an excuse to leave the baby with them while he left to do something out of the house.
Now he was stuck holding the kid while Vi avoided him.
It had been two hours.
He sighed.
The baby squirmed to be put down, so he let the kid crawl to his toys in the living room and sat to watch him.
Vi had left him for target practice downstairs, though Noel refused to grant her access to his security room without Hammer down with her.
“What’s wrong with the truth, Gunnar?” he asked the boy, who was currently shoving plastic rings in his mouth. “I mean, I do want her. That’s the truth. Why is that such a big deal? She wants me back.”
But did she? For sex, sure. They were more than compatible. More like combustible. Yet Vi had been clear she only wanted him for physical pleasure. No dating or coupling up.
And he felt the same… Mostly. He had felt that. But now he wanted something more. Fuck. He had no idea what he wanted. Thoughts of Vi in danger sent him into mini-panic mode—a first for him. Hammer didn’t do stress or worry. He focused on the job and got shit done.
Vi was a professional. She should come and go as she pleased. Yet not being around her made him anxious. She’d almost been caught last time. What if they got to her before he’d had a chance to figure out for sure who the hell was after them?
No way in hell it was Big Joe. He’d stake his life on that. With Scoria locked up in prison in Russia, he had to look at Jonas Hood. The likelihood Jonas had survived was looking up. The Diablo Blanco Cartel had gone down as a result of Deacon, Noel, and Hammer’s actions nearly two years ago. The Prince had gone down as well.
Hammer knew Deacon was looking into what connection Jonas had had back then to the events in Sinaloa.
But what bothered Hammer even more was the knowledge Angel had considered Jonas TFL. Too Fucking Lame. Angel had complained about Jonas for having so many girlfriends, never committing to anyone. She’d loathed the guy. But the TFL on the locket had nothing to do with ethics class. It had to be about someone.
Why the hell hadn’t Angel just sent him a note? Why all the code bullshit?
“Because she lived for that crap,” he told Gunnar, feeling sad. The Angel he’d known had thrived in the cloak and dagger aspect of their job. She’d had so much fun playing at being James Bond while lethal in her own right. And she absolutely loved puzzles.
So, the locket. It had to mean something that she’d left the baby with Noel. Noel, who’d immediately done the math and come back with Shadow and Destroyer in connection to the Sinaloa job.
Angel’s name sat on one side of the locket. The natural conclusion would be that the father’s name had been engraved on the other side.
Scoria had no connection to Ice, Shadow, and Destroyer.
Jonas Hood did.
Jonas Hood was TFL, and he’d excelled in the X6 protocol throughout his career.
It had to be the Prince, didn’t it? Which meant the bastard had been alive the past year and a half doing God knew what. Now if Hammer could just get a DNA sample and rule the guy out as the father, he could focus elsewhere. He needed that DNA.
He had to get to Big Joe. And since he’d spooked Vi, she might as well sit with the kid while he sought answers.
“Come on, Gunnar. Let’s go find Aunt Vi.”
Gunnar grinned at him, adorable with drool running down his chin, his dark brown eyes sparkling with joy. His two tiny teeth poked from those pink gums, and Hammer felt for the little guy.
Gunnar scooted to him and put his hands up.
Hammer picked him up and carried him toward the kitchen when Gunnar started to cry.
“What’s wrong, buddy?” He patted the boy on the back, felt a dry diaper, but checked to make sure in the boy’s room.
Walls painted a light gray, the room had a crib and a padded chair that rocked. Gunnar’s name had been tastefully stenciled on one wall in a variety of colors. Stuffed animals, including the soft blue official Seahawk he’d bought for the boy—screw the Bears—sat on shelves above a wooden changing table.
“Nope. You’re dry. And still upset.” Hammer winced as the crying got louder. He bundled Gunnar back into his diaper and onesie then carried him to the kitchen, looking for a cold teether.
Months ago, when they’d all taken turns watching the baby, Hammer had had no idea how to care for an infant. But over
time, he’d done his research. And he’d been looking into teething, especially, since Gunnar had first popped out a tooth last month.
Grabbing a teether from the freezer, he stuck it in the boy’s mouth and rocked him while he hummed a tune he remembered from long ago, a song his mother liked to sing.
It made him nostalgic for that sense of innocence, for knowing he’d always be protected while with his parents. They’d been rich but not snooty, caring about the world. Donating to those in need and funding so many good causes. The Montgomery name used to mean something.
And then his parents’ secret activities had gotten them killed. And he’d been left all alone.
Until Big Joe had found him.
He owed everything to his handler. Everything.
There was so much his friends didn’t know, so much he wished he could share with them but didn’t dare. What would they say if they knew?
What would Violet say?
Hell, he’d told her wanted her and she’d been avoiding him ever since.
Why had he though they might have something more than a good time in bed between them?
“Because I’m a moron, that’s why,” he muttered to Gunnar, who looked up at him with wide eyes as he gummed the teether with all his tiny might.
“Yeah, but a cute moron,” Vi said from behind him, shocking the hell out of him that he hadn’t heard her.
He pretended he’d known she was there, cursing his inability to maintain a good defense. What if she’d been the enemy? He’d be dead by now.
He turned with a fake smile in place and blinked.
She reached for the baby, the sweetest smile on her face.
“Vi?”
She cradled the boy, bouncing with him gently and patting his back. “Kiss me,” she said to Hammer.
Not wanting to do anything but obey, he did.
She tasted so fine, he wanted to eat her right up. Instead, he eased back after a short moment.
She kissed him again and sighed his name against his lips. “Hammer…” She closed her eyes then opened them, looking at him with something akin to the way he’d been feeling about her. Or was he the only one crazy in lo—lust? Only lusting after the woman, moron.
