Carrying the cat, he headed for the bedroom. The bed was empty. Tess’s backpack sat on the floor beside the dresser. Her clothes hung in the closet and her shoes stuck out from under the bed. Naturally.
So where the hell was she? He put Griffin down and made a quick search of the cottage. No Tess.
She must’ve gone down to the beach. Should I go look for her? Maybe I should wait here. No, he needed to hold her way too much to wait.
The breeze had picked up. The storm was closing in. Why hadn’t she come back? He hoped he could find her and get back to the house before they both got drenched.
Walking up the beach, he came to the grove of palm trees he’d hidden in the day Nick and his goons showed up. He smiled at the memories and stopped to run a hand over the bougainvillea Tess had used for cover when she tried to shoot Nick. And then, she’d whirled around like a Tasmanian Devil and aimed the gun at him.
Christ, she’d looked magnificent holding that damn revolver. He could remember much too clearly the punch of desire he’d felt. You’re getting old, Max, if being threatened with a gun makes you horny. Chuckling at himself, he moved on through the grove.
He heard Tess’s voice and headed for her, wondering who on earth she was arguing with. At the edge of the trees, he froze.
Tess stumbled down the beach, followed by a man with a gun. Son of a bitch, that’s Tanner! Rage propelled Max forward before he stopped himself and yanked his temper back under control. You’re going to get her killed, you idiot. You don’t even have a gun.
Armed or not, he’d been hoping for a showdown with that bastard, and it looked like this was it. He wouldn’t let Tanner hurt Tess. No matter what it took. Keeping the two figures in sight, he crept after them, his footsteps silent in the soft sand. When they stopped at a rocky outcrop, his heart leapt into his throat. Tanner gestured with the gun. Tess’s chin shot up, and her eyes narrowed. A look Max remembered well. Stubborn wench!
Damn it, angel, please don’t piss him off. He’ll shoot you before I can figure out how to take him down.
He needed a weapon. Since he didn’t have Tess’s coins, he’d have to use a rock. Crouching, he studied his choices. The rocks weren’t as plentiful here as they were where Tanner and Tess had stopped, but he found one that fit snuggly in his hand.
Hefting it, he crept into position behind Tanner. He saw Tess’s eyes widen when he stepped into her view. Apparently, Tanner did, too. He whipped around, firing his gun. A bullet slammed into the ground at Max’s feet.
“No!” Tess launched herself onto Tanner’s back. She threw one arm across his neck, wrapped her legs around his waist, and clamped a hand over his eyes. Tanner jerked and spun, trying to buck her off. Clawing at the hand that Tess kept glued to his eyes, he fired blindly.
Lightening speared the sky. Thunder roared. Overhead, the clouds let loose. Sheets of warm, hard rain beat down, cutting visibility in half.
“Hit him,” she yelled. “Hurry up, before he shoots you.”
“Try holding him still,” Max retorted as he danced after Tanner, hoping for a clear shot at his head.
“Should I paint a bulls-eye on his ass while I’m at it? Just hit the son of a bitch. Anywhere!”
“Get off me, you bitch!” Tanner screamed, bringing the gun up and firing blindly over his shoulder.
Ducking her head to the side as he fired, she clamped her teeth on his ear. He bellowed, almost twisting himself in half as he tried to throw her off. But the agile little monkey stayed put.
Max readied his rock. As the two-headed monster spun past again, he brought it down on what he hoped was Tanner’s head, not Tess’s. Tanner grunted and staggered sideways, but the bastard stayed on his feet.
“Jesus,” Max growled. “He’s got a head like a brick.”
“So, hit him again. Harder.”
“Right. No problem.”
Max could barely see through the curtain of rain, but he brought the rock down again. Connected. Tess jumped clear as Tanner tilted forward and went down, face-first. Uh-oh. Max thought, wincing at the sharp, cracking sound Tanner’s forehead made when it connected with the rocky ground.
Avoiding the red puddle spreading out from Tanner’s forehead, Max took the gun the FBI agent had dropped and slipped it into his own pocket. With the blood coming from Tanner’s ears and the brain matter splattered over the rocks by his head, he didn’t bother checking for a pulse.
Tess came up beside him. “Is he dead?”
“Afraid so.” He pulled her into his arms. “Jesus, I’ve missed you,” he murmured. “Let me hold you a minute.”
“What the hell are you doing here, Max?” She glanced down at the body. “Oh, right,” she said and jerked away from him before he could stop her. “You came for Tanner.”
***
Tess knew she sounded ungrateful. Max had just saved her life. But the pain of seeing him again was more than she could stand. He hadn’t come for her. He’d just followed Tanner.
Max sighed and wiped the water off his face. “You want to talk about this here, or would you rather get out of the rain?”
She pushed her sopping-wet hair back. “What about Tanner’s body?”
“Leave it. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to kill him. He hit his head on a rock when he fell.”
“So we just leave him there?” she demanded in disgust.
“He’s doesn’t care, angel. He’s dead. And this is a foreign country. I’d rather not spend the next few weeks in a Mexican jail while they scratch their heads over this.” He brushed more rain out of his eyes. “I don’t like it, either. But the safest thing to do is to drive into the village in the morning and tell the police there’s a body on the beach.”
As much as she hated it, she knew he was right. And she owed him. “Come on back to the cottage, then.”
They walked in silence until they reached the grove of palm trees near her cabin. Then Max cleared his throat. “I didn’t come for Tanner. I came to find you.”
Hope bloomed in her heart. “You did? Why?”
“Levi came to see me this morning. He said you still love me. Is that true?”
Oh, God. Horrified, she bit her lip. Max’s pity was the one thing she couldn’t take from him. “Levi had no right!”
“Is it true?” he repeated. When she didn’t answer, he stopped walking and took her by the shoulders. “Will you please answer the question?”
“No.” Tears spilled from her eyes, but with the rain pounding down, he’d never know.
“No, you don’t love me, or no, you won’t answer the question?” His arms slipped around her, and his mouth covered hers.
God, she’d missed this—his kiss, his touch, his warmth, the smell of him. Her traitorous body took over and responded, her mouth kissing him back, her arms winding around his neck.
“No, I won’t answer the question,” she said when he lifted his head at last.
“That must mean you love me.” He ran his lips along her jaw. “Besides, you’re wearing my old shirt.”
Sensations pummeled her. Water poured down in a deluge as he rained kisses over her face. She wanted him so much. But it would cause her even more pain when he left again. “Damn it, Max. Why are you doing this?”
“I can’t help it. And it’s the only way to keep you here so you’ll listen to me.” He tightened the embrace and kissed her again. “Now, will you answer my question? Please, Tess.”
She gave a long, weary groan. “I can’t go through this again, Max. I just can’t. You have no idea how much you hurt me.”
“You’re wrong. I do. And all I can say is I’m sorry. But if there is any possibility you’ll give me another chance, I need to know.” His voice was low and uncertain. “I love you, Tess.” He brushed back her wet hair with his fingers, kissed her forehead. “I need you.” His mouth found hers again before he continued. “I have to know if what Levi told me is true. And only you can tell me. Am I too late?” He traced the outline of her lips with his finge
r. “Please, just tell me if you still love me.”
How was she supposed to handle this? She had no defense against the tenderness in his hands, the love in his eyes, or the plea in his voice. And she didn’t have the will to turn away.
Her throat was so tight, she couldn’t speak. All she could do was nod.
“Tell me with words,” he whispered. “I need to hear you say it.”
He loved her. And wanted her love in return. All she had to do was believe him. Trust him. Her heart sighed, her throat eased.
“Yes, I love you. And probably have from that very first night, when you held me in your sleep.”
He grinned and crushed her against him. “In that case, I have something for you.”
“What?”
“This.” Pulling a small box out of his pocket, he slipped a diamond ring on her finger. “I want to marry you and raise a family.”
“Children? But I—”
He shushed her with a kiss. “Don’t tell me you won’t. I can’t let you go. Not now, not ever. And Jonas’s already planning our wedding.”
“Jonas?” This was coming too fast. She couldn’t take it all in.
“I called him this morning before I left and told him I was coming after you. I asked him if he’d rather come to Virginia for the wedding, or have the wedding come to him in Salt Lake City. He wants to do it in Salt Lake City. And he wants to stand in for your father and give you away.” When she gaped at him, he laughed. “Did you really think I’d leave that sweet old man out of our wedding? After everything he’s done for you?”
“But— ”
He cut her off. “Marry me. I want to have children with you, Tess. You’ll be a wonderful mother.”
“How?” she asked in a panic. “I’ve never had a family, Max. I don’t have a clue how to be a mother.”
“So? I’ve never been a father. It’ll come naturally to us. And if it doesn’t, we can be clueless together. But we’ll learn. And we’ll help each other. We’ll give our children the love you never had. There’s a small shop for sale that would be perfect for your costume business if you want to start it up again. I spotted it this morning on the way to work and made an offer on it before I left Virginia.” He took her face in his hands. “Hell, I’ll even use my CIA connections to smuggle Griffin home with us, if you’ll just say yes.”
Speechless, she curled her fingers into his rain-soaked shirt. Everything she’d ever wanted was right there in his eyes. For her. She’d been running all her life, she realized, looking for where she belonged. Now, she knew. She belonged with him.
“I swear I’ll never let you down,” he continued, running his fingers over her shoulders and down her arms. Clasping her hands, he pried them off his shirt and brought them to his lips, kissed her knuckles. “So, how about it?”
“Yes.” She freed her hands and launched herself back into his arms. “Yes, yes, yes! I couldn’t possibly miss out on a scandal like this.”
“Scandal?”
“When the CIA descends on a Utah crime family for wedding cake and champagne, the media’s going to have a field day.”
He laughed and swung her around in a circle. “I see what you mean,” he said as he set her back on her feet. “Even better, with the guest list full of all the black ops people that I know and the ones Levi knows, the whole wedding may have to be classified.”
She hugged him hard. “A black ops wedding. Jonas will be delighted. Oh, I do love you, Max.”
“And I love you. More than I can say.” He scooped her up and carried her toward the cottage. “My plan for tonight was to wake you up and not let you go back to sleep until you’d forgiven me. But since you already have, I’ll move straight to Plan B.”
“Which is?”
“Getting you out of these wet clothes and showing you how much I love you.”
She laughed and nuzzled his neck. “You should always have a Plan B.”
EPILOGUE
Wednesday, June 18, 3:26 p.m., the country estate of Jonas McKenzie, outside Salt Lake City, Utah:
Levi found Jonas in his study, cradling his head in his hands.
“What now?” he groaned.
The old man looked up, his face grim. “I just got off the phone with the warden in Draper. They have absolutely no clues in Nick’s murder.”
“I know it hurts to lose someone you love,” Levi said, ignoring the prickles of guilt. “And I’m sorry for your pain.”
“I’m not grieving.” His eyes full of doubts, Jonas picked up a fountain pen and twirled it between his hands. “I lost my grandson long before Nick actually died.”
“What is it, then?”
“The warden told me they’ve never seen a case with so little evidence. They’re thinking that the whole shower fight might have been staged just to kill Nick.”
“Does that surprise you?” Levi chose his words with care. He didn’t believe in lying to his friends, but that didn’t stop him from being evasive. “He was murdered in prison, and those guys stick together.”
“I’m suspicious, not surprised.”
“Suspicious of whom?”
“It would take someone like a black-ops specialist to pull off a murder in front of two dozen inmates without leaving any clues or witnesses.” Jonas’s eyes had narrowed. “What do you know about this?”
“I guess Nick pissed off somebody nastier than him.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
Stalling, Levi crossed to the wine decanters on the hutch and poured himself a glass of burgundy. “If you’re asking if I contacted someone at the prison and had them take out Nick, the answer’s no.”
“Stop hedging. I’m asking if you had something to do with this. Anything at all.”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“Probably not, but you’d better tell me anyway.”
Levi took a seat by the desk. “The only thing I had to do with it was to whisper in someone’s ear that Nick was still a threat, and not only to Tess.”
The blood drained from Jonas’s face. “You went to the KSS! You contacted Graves.”
“Aye.”
Jonas dropped his head back in his hands. “What’d you promise him?”
“Nothing.” Uneasy, Levi got up to pace. “I just reminded him Nick was as much a threat to the KSS as he was to Tess, and he was out of my reach.”
“Only you could get away with something like that.”
“Graves listened to reason, that’s all.”
“And what does he expect from you in return?”
“Nothing.”
“Uh-uh. At the very least he thinks you owe him a favor.”
Levi shrugged. “Well, I do. And I acknowledged that.”
“Just what I was afraid of.” The expression on Jonas’s face spoke volumes. “I know you’d have done anything to save Tess, but I sure wish you’d talked to me first.”
“I owe a favor to the bloody Mormons. How bad can it be?”
“Not to the Mormons. To the Kolob Secret Service.” Jonas’s sigh held both resignation and concern. “There are some things you need to know. But you’d better sit down to hear them.”
From the tone of Jonas’s voice, Levi figured he’d also better have something a mite stronger than wine.
THE END OF BOOK 1
About the Author
Award-winning author, Pepper O’Neal is a researcher, a writer, and an adrenalin junkie. She has a doctorate in education and spent several years in Mexico and the Caribbean working as researcher for an educational resource firm based out of Mexico City. During that time, she met and befriended many adventurers like herself, including former CIA officers and members of organized crime. Her fiction is heavily influenced by the stories they shared with her, as well her own experiences abroad.
O’Neal attributes both her love of adventure and her compulsion to write fiction to her Irish and Cherokee ancestors. When she’s not at her computer, O’Neal spends her time taking long walks in
the forests near her home or playing with her three cats. And of course, planning the next adventure.
Genre: THRILLER/SUSPENSE/ROMANTIC ELEMENTS
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, businesses, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. The publisher does not have any control over or assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their contents.
BLACK OPS CHRONICLES: DEAD RUN
Copyright © 2012 by Pepper O’Neal
Cover Design by Dawné Dominique
All cover art copyright © 2012
All Rights Reserved
eBOOK ISBN: 978-1-937329-60-0
FIRST PUBLICATION: August 25, 2012
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Black Ops Chronicles: Dead Run Page 33
