Not Without Risk (Wolff Securities Book 2)

by Jennifer Lowery

  “Shit. Here, I got your hair.”

  Kell was there, pulling her hair back, doing what Ryan should be there to do. When she finished she fell against the tub, weak and shaky.

  Kell soaked a washcloth and laid it across her forehead. “We’re going to see Rachel.”

  The town doctor and old friend of the Wolff family. “No.” She said. “I’m fine.”

  “So, you keep telling us. You’re skin and bones and sick all the time. Get up. Brush your teeth. Change. We leave in fifteen minutes.”

  With that he walked out of the bathroom. Dani stared at his retreating back. Damn the Wolff brothers and their stubborn, overbearing, alpha crap. She didn’t need it, didn’t want it. Couldn’t they just leave her alone?

  Yeah, right. When one of the Wolffs set their mind to something there was no changing it. No sense in refusing Kell’s orders. He’d only drag her there. Kicking and screaming if necessary. And since she wasn’t the kind of woman who made a scene in public, there were no other options but to go with it.

  Part of her wanted to run away. Leave everything behind. Just go. And not stop until she was far, far away. The other part still held on to the past. To Ryan. He was all around her. She wasn’t ready to leave him.

  Stifling a sob, she rose shakily to her feet and picked up her toothbrush. May as well get this over with.

  Chapter Six

  Nate woke with a start, gun aimed into the darkness. The wind had kicked up, the temp dropped to uncomfortable levels. That wasn’t what had awakened him.

  As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he listened for anything out of place. Macy’s soft breathing filled the space between them. Nothing out of the ordinary, yet something had woken him up.

  He lowered his gun, cocking his head at a tiny sound in the distance. A pebble. Dislodged by nature? Or someone’s boot? There were plenty of carnivores in the Sunnats, including brown bears. He had put Macy’s clothes in a zippered bag, but they could smell an animal carcass from twenty miles away. He couldn’t rule out one had caught the scent of the bloody clothes and came to investigate.

  Didn’t sound like a bear. They were large and cumbersome. Definitely not light on their feet. If something was out there, it was silent and nimble. Arctic wolf, maybe. Not as much threat, but still dangerous.

  Nate leaned toward the opening, listening. The stars and moon in the night sky provided some light. Nothing stirred. He didn’t hear any grunts from a bear. In fact, he didn’t hear anything but the wind.

  “Nate?”

  Macy’s worried voice broke the silence.

  “I’m here.” He said.

  “I heard something. Is everything okay?”

  “Nothing to worry about. Go back to sleep.”

  He heard the rustle of her sleeping bag. “Would you do something for me?”

  “Name it.”

  A pause. “Would you lay with me? I’m so cold.”

  It went against his better judgment, but he moved to where she lay and slid up next to her. He tucked his Glock beneath their makeshift pillow.

  “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind. Do you have another bag?”

  “No.”

  “Then we’ll compromise. Help me out of this thing.”

  He unzipped it and helped her roll out of it. She immediately scooted next to him, her head on his shoulder, arm over his midsection.

  “Cover us, please,” she said.

  He did, tucking the bag more around her than him. He was used to sleeping on the ground with much less than a pillow and blanket. He adjusted his arm beneath her, getting more comfortable.

  “We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?” Macy asked softly. “What I wouldn’t give for a long, hot bath and my own bed.”

  On impulse, he kissed the top of her head. They’d been through hell already and she still wanted to be close to him. And vice versa. What was that?

  “You’re a gentleman, Nate Wolff. Thank you.”

  She relaxed against him, letting go of her self-consciousness. Her trust made him want to pound his chest like an animal. Instead, he wrapped his hand around his Glock and let his eyes close. Nothing had changed. His number one task was to protect her. Despite how good she felt against him.

  ****

  Macy let her eyes close. Her body soaked up the warmth of Nate’s, easing her shivers. He felt like a big, hard heater and she loved it. Made her feel safe and protected with him next to her. She’d never needed that security before. Not even during some of the more dangerous places she’d traveled with Books for Change. The good outweighed the bad in that job and she’d embraced it wholeheartedly. Never did she imagine she’d end up here.

  Memories of how that happened threatened, trying to force their way past her barriers. She pushed them back. Buried them. They were just too painful to let free.

  Nate’s lips brushed her hair. “Relax. I got you.” He murmured.

  How he knew she’d been struggling mystified her. If not for him rescuing her when he did she’d be—

  “Macy. I can feel your tension. Let it go and get some rest.”

  “Easier said than done.” She whispered. “Can you talk to me? Just until I fall asleep?”

  For a moment, she thought he’d deny her, but then he began to speak in a low, husky voice.

  “Back home—”

  “Where’s home?”

  He gave her a squeeze. “Are you going to let me talk?”

  She smiled. “Go on.”

  “Back home, in Michigan.” He began again, emphasizing the ‘Michigan’. There’s a boat. An old runabout from the 1930s, built out of the finest mahogany.”

  “You’re telling me a story about a boat?” She asked around a yawn.

  “Shhh. This boat is twenty-five feet long with a twin cockpit. Now, this boat isn’t just a classic, she’s a beauty.”

  “Does she have a name?” Good Lord, she was jealous of a boat. Heatstroke must be scrambling her brain. Nate had saved her life. It was natural for her to feel something for him. A hero worship kinda thing. It would pass.

  “Lady Jane. Stop interrupting.”

  Lady Jane. Elegant. Proper. A perfect classic name. She liked it.

  “This lady was abandoned and left for dead in a boat graveyard somewhere in Maine. Waiting for someone to find her. Restore her beauty and put her in the water again. Where she belonged. So, someone did. Or, is working on it, anyway.”

  Lulled to relaxation by the low timbre of his voice, Macy smiled, half-asleep. Nate had a knack for rescuing women in distress. A true knight in shining armor. “That someone must have an eye for seeing beautiful things as they were, instead of as they are.”

  He didn’t answer. She hadn’t expected him to. He had replaced her horrible thoughts with those of a mahogany boat called Lady Jane. A very lucky boat indeed.

  As she drifted off to sleep she wondered how Lady Jane would look when she was fully restored. A new version of her older self. Her true self. The one buried beneath the battered exterior.

  “Lucky boat.” She murmured as sleep claimed her.

  ****

  The next morning Nate was up before the sun had finally risen in the sky. He’d gotten some sleep, but every time Macy made a sound he woke up. She’d slept through the night which was good.

  Deciding to let her rest a few more minutes, he left the cavern to do some recon to see what he’d heard last night. He tucked his Glock in his waistband, at the small of his back, and silently left the camp. The sun rose over the mountain, already warming the temps.

  He scanned the horizon for any signs of life. Seeing nothing he began tracking any footprints that didn’t belong to him or Macy. Nothing appeared out of place, so he returned to camp. The sooner they got moving, the better. That chopper yesterday had located their position. He couldn’t risk being found today.

  “Nate?”

  Macy’s whisper greeted him. She sat up, eyes darting from one corner to the other. When she saw him, her shoulders relaxed a little. �
��Is everything all right?”

  “We need to get moving.”

  She tossed her sleeping bag off. “Did you see something?”

  “No. It’s just safer to continue.”

  “Right.”

  He helped her stand. She swayed for a second, her hand gripping his forearm, before she righted herself.

  “Good?” he asked, hesitant to let go of her.

  “Yeah. Just a bit lightheaded.” She squeezed his arm. “No worries. I’m good to go.”

  She got points for tenacity. Nothing stopped this woman. Damn respectable.

  He fixed an MRE for her and packed while she ate. By the time he’d shrugged his pack on she’d finished. He disposed of the wrapper and held out an arm.

  Macy accepted his assistance, using him as a crutch as they left the cavern. Their boots kicked up dust as they made their way toward the next mountain pass. Nate could see more greenery. A good sign because it meant extra cover. Maybe a tree he could snap a branch off to use for a walking stick for Macy.

  Their progress was slow. The sun beat down on them. Macy limped heavily beside him, pulling on him more and more.

  “Is that water I hear?” Macy panted.

  “Ibi River.”

  “Can we stop there for a minute? Refill our canteens?”

  He’d pushed her hard today. Necessary, but risky. The river would be more sheltered. Safer. And, he did need to refill them. “Can you make it?”

  She nodded, breathing hard. Nate put more of her weight on him, practically carrying her. They had reached the valley. Grass replaced dirt, the terrain easier to trek. The valley sloped as they approached the river, putting more pressure on Macy as she tried to walk on an incline. She stumbled a couple times, crying out, but it didn’t stop her.

  When they reached the riverside, he eased her down onto a boulder and shrugged off his pack. Not a lot of shade or big trees here. Macy’s face was red. From exertion or sunburn he couldn’t tell. Either way he needed to keep her out of the sun as much as possible.

  “Turn away from the sun,” he suggested.

  She did, sliding around on the rock so she faced the river, her leg stretched out in front of her.

  “Need a couple pain relievers?” He asked.

  “Please. And water. My mouth is as dry as a desert.”

  “Let me refill the canteens.” He made his way to the edge of the river and crouched down to dip them in. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled. He knew that feeling. Something was wrong.

  He dropped a purification tablet in each canteen then capped them as he scanned the horizon. Nothing moved. Nothing he could see anyway. He’d learned to trust those hairs on the back of his neck in the military. They hadn’t steered him wrong yet.

  Rising to his feet, he strode back to Macy. He handed her a canteen. “Give it a couple minutes before you drink.”

  “Everything okay?” At his raised brow, amended, “You know what I mean. You seem…tense.”

  Surprised, and not all comfortable that she’d read him like a book when most couldn’t, he unzipped his pack. “Nothing to worry about.”

  “So, there is something?”

  Finding an energy bar, he handed it to her along with two pain relievers. He decided not to lie to her. She’d proven she could handle most anything.

  “Nothing I can prove. Just a feeling.”

  She swished the water in her canteen. “Sixth sense?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Someone is following us?” She looked around.

  “Possibly. Likely.”

  “That doesn't make me feel any better.” She muttered.

  “Best to be aware.”

  Those hairs bristled again. Dammit. They were sitting ducks out here. “Sit tight. I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait. Where are you going?”

  “Hunting.”

  Her face paled. “You’re going to leave me here?”

  He crouched down, pulled a Sig Sauer from his pack and handed it to her. She stared at it a second before setting the canteen down and taking it.

  “Have you ever handled a weapon before?”

  “Airsoft.”

  Didn’t expect that. How did this woman continue to surprise him? Life with Macy would never be boring.

  Whoa.

  Nate took a mental step back. Those ridiculous thoughts kept popping up in his head. What the hell? He’d never been distracted on a mission before. Bad shit happened when his eye wasn’t on the ball. His brother had learned that lesson the hard way and the family was still trying to deal with it.

  “This is a little different than airsoft.” He said. “For now, just point and shoot.”

  Macy nodded, turning the gun over in her hand.

  “Safety is here. Make sure it’s on until you’re ready to shoot.”

  “Got it.” She met his gaze. “Don’t make me have to use this.”

  “I’ll do my best.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze before heading upriver. He stuck close to the water, following it around the bend. The hairs on the back of his neck didn’t alert him to any danger, but he felt like he was being watched. Animal? Human? Couldn’t be sure. All he knew was something or someone was out there. And he had to find them first, before they got to Macy.

  He scoured the ground for footprints. Some human, some animal. Most were indiscernible. In a crouch, he moved further along the riverside, his hand trailing the ground. A slight indent in the soft soil gave him pause. Leaning closer, he traced the heel print of a boot. Not a hiking boot, but combat. Like those worn by Diakameli’s soldiers. He’d seen enough of them to know when they had attacked his family on their own soil.

  A mixture of bitterness, rage and a strong rush of vengeance roared inside him. The urge to hunt the bastard who murdered his brother nearly choked him. Forcing it down, he scoured the area for more tracks. Nothing. The bastard knew how to hide. Question was, why send only one man? Diakameli didn’t operate that way. He surrounded himself with an army, and sent one whenever he needed something taken care of. Solo missions didn’t fit his M.O. But Nate knew those boots. They were standard issue Azbakastan Army.

  So, who the hell was out there?

  Chapter Seven

  Minutes passed. Still no Nate. Every noise made her jump, gun aimed and ready. God help her if she actually had to use it. Just the thought made her stomach turn.

  Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to relax. Every muscle in her body felt like it was coiled tighter than a spring. Fight or flight response. Although, the former wasn’t exactly an option with the way her leg throbbed. Blood tinged her pants where it had seeped through the bandage. Right now, that didn’t bother her as much as being alone and worrying about Nate. What if he didn’t come back? What if something happened to him? She’d be alone out here.

  Granted, she knew to follow the river in order to reach civilization, but where could she really go? With a bounty on her head, she could trust no one. With her wounded leg, walking and running wasn’t an option. Nate practically carried her everywhere now. On her own, she wouldn’t get far.

  But, if necessary she would do whatever it took to survive. She’d suffered worse in that hellhole of a room Aziz had kept her in. She’d survived that, she could this too. Although she could use a little break from the crapstorm raining down on her. Her nerves were fried.

  Nate would come back. She had to believe that. He was the most capable man she’d ever met. Strong, smart, tenacious. With skills that went beyond the ordinary. There was definitely more to him than meets the eye. And she wanted to dig deeper to find out what lay beneath that handsome outer layer.

  The thought sobered her. That wasn’t going to happen. Nate knew her as a broken woman. How would he ever see past that? Hell, even she worried she’d never be who she’d once been. Impulsive, spontaneous, with a passion for her work that overwhelmed some people who didn’t understand her. Avery had. Probably why they became such good friends as well as coworkers. Avery was like h
er kindred spirit. Determined to make a difference in the world one girl at a time. And they had forged through opposition, hostility, resentment and pure hatred.

  Until that fateful day when they crossed paths with Ramil Diakameli.

  Images of her coworkers and friends burning alive filled her head. The deafening sound of a missile hitting their vehicle, sending her, Avery, and Scott careening down the mountain. Scott yelling at them to stay down as he tried to save them. The heat. The pain. The raw terror of being burned alive.

  Macy shuddered. That would have been a cakewalk compared to what she’d gone through. Capture was so much worse. The pain went on with no end in sight. Until it became one endless cycle of misery.

  One that lived on inside her head every time she closed her eyes.

  Her head began to swim. She forced the memories back. Not the time. Or the place. A breakdown was inevitable, but not now. Not here. Once she was home, safe in her apartment in New York she’d purge the past six weeks from her system. There, she could grieve and ugly cry without anyone around to witness it. She didn’t like people seeing her cry. It wasn’t pretty. And, it made her vulnerable. She hated that. It wasn’t her. She was an all-in, gung-ho, let’s-do-this kind of woman. No time for tears.

  Blame it on her mother who saw it as a weakness to show emotion and got angry whenever Macy cried. Until eventually she stopped showing it and cried in the privacy of her room after her mother had gone to bed. She’d never once seen her mother cry. Or show much of anything except anger. That seemed to be her go-to response. Nothing Macy or her father did earned them an I Love You, a hug, or even a word of encouragement. She tried to rein in her impulsive nature to make her mother happy, but it only seemed to upset her more. Her dad used to tell her that her mother wasn’t really mad; she was just having a bad day. Then he’d kiss her on the top of the head and quietly leave the room. To Macy, her mom had a lot of bad days.

  Shaking herself out of the past, Macy laid the gun across her lap. Sweat rolled down her back. Her hair stuck to her neck. Good God it was hot here. She glanced at the river gurgling over smooth rocks. What she wouldn’t give to lay down in that water and let it cool her off. Cleanse the dirt and grime from her body. Wash her hair.