Not Without Risk (Wolff Securities Book 2)

by Jennifer Lowery

  His gut clenched. The odds of that happening weren’t in his favor. Besides, Macy didn’t have the kind of time.

  There was one thing he could do. It would be risky but he saw no other option.

  Digging his satellite phone out of his vest he took a deep breath and punched in an encrypted number. One he didn’t dare share with his brothers. He refused to ask Quinn to keep anymore secrets from Avery. And Avery didn’t need to know about Macy’s condition until she was out of the woods. Avery had been through enough. She didn’t need the added stress.

  There was one person in country that had the connections to get him and Macy home.

  And he could never tell Kell he called her.

  ****

  Shea Morrissey rubbed her aching temples and closed her dry, gritty eyes. She’d been going through video for hours and was still no closer to finding Ramil Diakameli than before.

  Stifling the urge to throw something she reached for the bottle of whiskey in her desk drawer. Just as she unwrapped the lid her cell vibrated. Thinking it was the director finally calling to ream her ass for their latest failed attempt to extract intel from a source, she picked up the phone and glanced at the number.

  She sat up straight, staring at the screen. Encrypted number. One she never thought she’d hear from. Had something happened to Kell?

  Heart in her throat, she answered, “Morrissey.”

  “Shea? It’s Nate.”

  A cold sweat washed over her. “Is Kell all right?” God, she hated the tremble in her voice.

  “He’s fine. I need your help.”

  Relief flowed through her like a dam being released. Thank God. Kell was fine. But, if Nate was calling her asking for help he must be desperate.

  This was the second time in two months a Wolff brother had called her asking for help. It was starting to freak her out. She was the last person on earth they would turn to after what she’d done.

  “What can I do?” She asked, praying it didn’t involve coming face to face with Kell. With everything going on right now she couldn’t handle that.

  “I need to get myself and a woman out of the country.”

  She leaned back in her chair. “Who’s the woman?”

  “Macy Gibbs.”

  Her back went ramrod straight. “Holy shit. You took her?”

  “No time for details. Can you help us?”

  Mind reeling, she tapped a key on her computer. “It isn’t going to be easy. They have a country-wide manhunt in force.”

  “I know.”

  “Where are you now?”

  He gave her his coordinates and she typed them in. Not a good position. Too far from China to reach safety and too close to the border to go on.

  “Geezus, Nate.” She murmured, bringing up another window.

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re doubly landlocked. Dammit.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard. “Water travel is out. Let me try…” Aware she was talking more to herself than Nate, she leaned closer to the screen. “I might have a way out. But, it’s going to be dangerous. And uncomfortable. And you’ll be going into a hot zone.”

  “What kind of hot zone?”

  “I’m going to get you to the Persian Gulf by train. I’ll send details. Iran is stirring up trouble in the Strait of Hormuz. Unfortunately, that is where the ship you need to board will be. They threatened a couple U.S. naval ships a few days ago. No shots were fired and no one was injured, but the threat remains.”

  She heard Nate curse.

  “I can’t tell you much, but the ship you’ll be stowing on is bound for the U.S.”

  “Stowing on?”

  “Sorry, no one can know you’re there.”

  “Understood. Just get us the hell out of here.”

  “Working on it.” She pulled another couple screens. “Sending locations to your phone now. If you follow my directions to a tee and don’t stray you just might make it home in one piece.”

  She sent the information to his sat phone. “It’s going to take you some time to reach the first destination. I’ll have everything in order by the time you get there. Just follow my instructions. Exactly.”

  “Copy that.”

  She paused. “Nate, I mean it.” The Wolff brothers were known to go lone wolf at the drop of a dime. She’d experienced it first-hand. Nate couldn’t afford to go off script. If he did, they would all be dead.

  “You have my word.”

  And that was as good as gold. One thing about the Wolff clan; if they said they were going to do something, they damn well did.

  “Godspeed.” She said a tight ache in her chest. If anything went wrong and caused harm to another Wolff brother, any chance she had of Kell forgiving her would be eradicated.

  “Shea?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  Anything for the family of the man I once loved.

  She didn’t say the words out loud. Instead, said, “Anytime.” And quickly disconnected. After a couple shaky breaths, she punched in another number and set her plan in motion.

  Chapter Eleven

  Where the hell had Shea sent them? The city? WTF?

  Nate stopped for a red light. Thankfully, they’d driven all day and night had fallen, offering some protection.

  Kahruba was the second largest city in the Azbakastan. Second only to the capitol city of Bahodir. Blending in would be tougher than other places. Parts of Kahruba still held on to the traditions of making the women cover themselves with a Burqa when out in public. But, an American man, no matter how full his beard, with an Azbak woman would raise flags.

  The light turned green and he followed the GPS prompt toward the first destination. Shea had sent an encrypted file with instructions. Getting Macy to a safe house where they would meet a horse exporter named Osman was the first order of business. From there shit got sticky. He hoped to hell Shea’s contacts were legit and didn’t turn them in to the authorities when they saw who Macy was. Not that he didn’t trust Shea—she’d come through when Quinn needed her help getting out of the country. But, she had a history with Kell—a damn painful one—and he couldn’t be certain of her motives.

  Didn’t matter. Shea was their only hope of getting home at this point.

  A few turns and stops later he arrived at a gated house. Not at all what he’d expected of a CIA safe house. He rolled down the window and an accented voice came through the speakers attached to the keypad.

  “May I help you?”

  “I’m here to see Mr. Green.” Nate repeated the secure phrase Shea had given him.

  “One moment.”

  After a couple tense minutes the gate opened and Nate drove through. The driveway circled around to a sprawling home that looked more like a mosque. Two men came out to meet him. One was native Azbak, the other looked American with his lighter colored hair and eyes.

  The Azbak man opened Nate’s door and stood aside to let him climb out. He towered over the man by at least a foot, but he didn’t miss the M-4 strapped across his chest.

  The American stepped forward and held out a hand. “I’m Mr. Green.” Clearly, not his real name. “You can call me Joe.”

  Nate nodded, shaking his hand.

  “Bet you’re tired after your long journey. Follow me and we’ll get you settled.”

  Joe motioned to the other man who immediately opened the back door of Nate’s car.

  Panic shot through Nate’s chest and he lunged for the man before he could touch Macy.

  Joe caught his arm. “Hold on there. Salim can get your luggage.”

  The intense look in Joe’s eyes made Nate hang back. He knew that look. It meant, ‘shut the hell up and play along in case there were eyes or ears on them.’ With effort, Nate backed off Salim as he lifted the ‘luggage’ out of the car and shouldered Nate’s pack. The weight didn’t appear to affect him at all. Stronger than he looked.

  Joe led the way into the house. As expected, the inside was as elaborate as the outside. Colors surro
unded him. Blinding, honestly.

  “You look like you could use a shower and a good night’s rest. Salim will show you to your room.”

  “I’d rather—”

  Joe held up a hand in warning. “Salim, show our guest to his room.”

  The quiet man nodded and led Nate down a hallway covered in glazed tiles that nearly shimmered in the light. They took another hallway and Salim opened a door on the left. He walked through, Nate hot on his heels.

  Salim turned and held Macy out to Nate. A sense of relief filled him when she was safely in his arms again.

  After setting Nate’s pack on the shiny floor, Salim said, “If you need anything, there is a phone next to your bed. Just pick it up and someone will answer.” Before he turned to go he pressed something into Nate’s palm. With a slight nod he left the room, the door closing quietly behind him.

  Macy stirred in his arms. Miracle of miracles her pretty blue eyes opened and met his briefly before scanning the room. “Where in God’s name are we?”

  ****

  Macy looked around the lavish bedroom. She felt like she’d been run over by a convoy of trucks. There wasn’t a place on her body that didn’t hurt.

  The last thing she remembered was crawling into their uncomfortable tent.

  This was not the tent.

  She met Nate’s gaze and wanted to cry when she saw emotion shining in his. Relief. Fear. Exhaustion. And, something she couldn’t read.

  “Nate?” She said, cupping his cheek that was coarse with days of stubble. She saw his Adams apple bob as he swallowed hard. “What is it?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing. Everything’s fine.”

  Clearly, it wasn’t. Just what had happened while she slept?

  “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Sixty-three hours.”

  “Three days?” Good Lord, she hadn’t expected that.

  “Nearly.”

  Trying to wrap her head around that she let her hand slip off his face. That explained the beard. “Are we safe?” Her voice came out a low whisper.

  “For the moment.”

  Thank God. She wasn’t up for another round of dry, empty desert mountain terrain and unbearable heat. “Where are we?”

  “Kahruba.”

  Her brows flew up. “The city? Are you crazy?” She struggled to be free. They had to go before someone recognized her.

  Nate’s arms tightened around her. “We’re in a CIA safe house. No one knows we’re here.”

  CIA? Safe house? What kind of connections did this man have?

  She looked around the extraordinary room again. Against the far wall sat an extravagant circular bed covered in flowing white sheets. Sheer curtains drifted over tall windows. Blessed air conditioning.

  And…

  “Oh my God. Is that a bathroom?” She closed her eyes, got dizzy, and opened them again. Yep, still there. Not a cruel dream. She hadn’t had a real shower or slept in a soft bed in over six weeks. Her body actually ached to feel clean water and silk sheets.

  Emotions threatened but she held them back. Too much. Too fast.

  Then Nate spoke and she fell nearly over the edge for him. “How about a bath and bed?”

  All she could manage was a nod. Nate strode to the circular sectional sofa and gently set her on it.

  “Give me five minutes.”

  She watched him stroll into the bathroom, lean over the Jacuzzi tub and turn on the water. As it filled she saw him open a folded piece of paper he must have been holding in his hand. After reading it, he flushed it down the toilet, his face an unreadable mask.

  Later, she’d ask him who it was from and what it said. Right now, she wanted to immerse herself in that tub.

  Unable to wait any longer, she tore off her shirt and threw it on the floor. No bra. Good. Less to remove.

  Carefully, she rose to her feet, mindful of her injury. It hurt, but not like before. The heat and throbbing were gone.

  Somehow, she managed to remove her pants. No undies either. Curious. The thought immediately left her head when she saw Nate strip out of his black vest.

  He looked over and saw her limping toward him, fully naked, and unashamed. Wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her naked before. When he took a step toward her, she held up a hand to stop him and hobbled over to where he stood. Without speaking, she helped him remove the remainder of his clothes. He laid his gun on the vanity.

  Their eyes met. She didn’t know what she expected to see in his, but it wasn’t the warm look of appreciation. Like he’d never seen a woman more beautiful.

  That one look almost undid her. It took every ounce of her strength to hold it together because she never thought a man would look at her like that again. She was broken. Damaged, like Lady Jane.

  Before she could let that sink in, Nate swept her into his arms and stepped into the tub. Slowly, he sank down into the water until they were both immersed. She sat between his legs, his chest against her back.

  A sigh escaped her lips as hot water rose nearly to her chin. With Nate’s powerful, muscular body behind her and silky water surrounding her, she was sure she’d died and gone to heaven.

  Until Nate picked up a washcloth from the stack of linens on the side of the tub and began washing her with it. Slow, languid movements that washed away everything she’d been through. He used spicy scented soap that reminded her of incense.

  When he’d cleaned every inch of her, he poured shampoo into his hands and began massaging her head. Macy moaned as his strong fingers rubbed her scalp until it tingled.

  After a thorough washing he pushed her head under water to rinse. She surfaced, feeling like a new woman.

  “Your turn.” She said, glancing at the glass-doored shower. With her wound, she couldn’t turn around and sit on her knees. The shower, however, would work perfectly. “Into the shower, sailor.”

  Nate’s arm slipped around her chest, just above her breasts. Close to her ear, he said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He shifted his erection pressing against her bottom.

  Macy smiled, fighting the emotions rushing to the surface. He would never know how good he made her feel. It empowered her. Healed her. Enforced her attraction for him. If she’d learned one thing during this ordeal, it was to live life in the moment because you never knew if it was your last.

  She rested her chin on his corded forearm. “I want to do this.” The words slipped out. Even she wasn’t sure what she meant.

  Nate’s forehead dropped into the hollow between her neck and shoulder, his breath warm against her skin. “We don’t have much time here. You need to rest and heal.”

  Although she’d slept three days she still felt like she could sleep three more. But, she wouldn’t push him. In truth, she was so discombobulated right now she didn’t know up from down.

  As if reading her thoughts, Nate swept her into his arms, stepped out of the tub, wrapped her in a giant towel and put her to bed. Effectively making the decision for both of them. He tucked her in, kissed her forehead and returned to the shower. Her eyes drifted closed with the image of his rock-hard body in her head.

  ****

  Nate braced a hand on the wall of the shower and lowered his head to let the jet spray pound away the lust ripping through his body. Lust he had no right to feel. Macy didn’t deserve it and he couldn’t risk it. Falling for his charge had worked out in the end for Quinn, but not without consequences. Deadly consequences.

  Avery had suffered three days of captivity and torture and she was still healing. Macy had suffered six weeks. That kind of trauma would leave scars for life. PTSD for sure. Macy hadn’t even begun dealing with what she’d been through. He understood her need to keep the past at bay until they were safely back home and she was safe to face it. It was easier to bury the pain. Pretend it didn’t exist.

  He knew first-hand about that. Sometimes he’d rather bury the grief he felt over losing a brother. A brother and brother-in-arms. He’d lost teammates before, but never a sibl
ing.

  Thinking of his brother worked to douse his hunger for Macy. Helped him put things back in perspective. Focus on the mission. This was a very temporary reprieve. The note Salim had passed him reinforced that. They were safe for the next few hours but a crapstorm was coming and they were going to be right in the middle of it.

  He scrubbed the sweat and grime from his hair and body before getting out, wrapping in a towel and returning to the bedroom. He dressed quickly and slid into bed next to Macy. She made a small sound and rolled up next to him, curling her body around his.

  Nate pulled her in closer, inhaling the spicy scent of her hair and skin. Something tightened in his chest. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, she had scared the crap out of him when she didn’t wake up in the car. Hell, he’d been ready to perform CPR.

  The only explanation he had was that the woman from the village gave Macy something to make her sleep. He refused to think of the alternatives. She was conscious now, her leg healing amazingly well, and that was all that mattered. His growing feelings for her were of no importance.

  Not if he wanted to keep them alive.

  That was going to take all of his focus and energy.

  Chapter Twelve

  Dani stared down at the paper in her hand. Lab results from her doctor’s appointment Kell insisted she go to. As expected she’d been warned to stop taking the valium to help her sleep. And, to start taking better care of herself. Eat more. Sleep more. Yeah, right. How could she sleep in the bed she’d once shared with the only man she’d ever loved?

  But, it wasn’t the doctor’s instructions that had her stomach in knots. It was the test result at the top of the page. Pregnancy test: Positive.

  The paper slipped from her hand, drifting to the floor. Numb, she left it there. Pregnant? What a cruel twist of fate. How could life take away her true love and leave her behind with a child growing in her belly? A child who would most likely resemble his father and make her miss Ryan even more. How could fate ask her to raise a child, who would never know his father?

  A sob climbed up her throat. A child she may have caused injury to with the drugs she’d taken so she could sleep and not dream. The doctor had run some tests, but it was too soon to tell if she’d caused any malformations or other consequences.