One Native.
One white man.
And he was the bridge between.
He cut his own hand. They grasped hands and took the oath.
“I swear on my life,” he stated.
Zayn did too.
“Brothers,” Dakota offered. “Until the end.”
And for that, Rogue was damn grateful.
* * * H U N T E R * * *
Thanks to Rogue, the tailor had just hooked him up with some damn spiffy threads. He actually couldn’t wait to slip into them just to play that role.
It had been a long time since he’d been able to slide into someone else’s life and be another person.
Gamble liked it.
It helped him forget his life, and how shitty it could be. When he was able to play ‘dress-up’, he was able to forget that he was nothing.
All of his life, he was invisible, so his adulthood had become the same. When he’d lost his mother young, and he’d gone to live with his old man, it was never the same again.
Gamble knew what a hard life was.
He’d had one.
His father, the drunk, didn’t give a shit about him as a kid. He didn’t grocery shop. He didn’t buy him a birthday present, but he did abuse the hell out of him for his drunken amusement.
His back was so scarred up, it was hard to forget he had a horrible past.
That’s why he liked to be someone else.
When the Blackhawks stuck him here, he really believed it was going to blow. Now, he was glad.
He felt like he could be Gamble, and now he could play another role.
At this point, anyone but himself.
Tonight, he would put on that tux, wear the glasses with the built-in camera and microphone, and play the role of a rich, problem-less gambler.
It was calming.
Whenever he would go under, he never worried. Most of the time, when working for the CIA, he wished he could stay under.
Then he could be anyone else but the abused kid from that shit rez that no one knew.
If he could stay under, he could find respect, forget that growing up was hell and that he was a man without a foundation.
Oh, he only wished.
As he pulled on the pants, he stood in front of the mirror, staring at himself. He’d pulled his hair back and popped in his one contact to hide his blue eye. He was going with green tonight.
Why?
Why not?
As he pulled on the elegant shirt, he heard her. She screamed from the bedroom one floor down.
Running down the steps, he was met by Dakota and Stella who were racing up from the main floor.
“We heard Storm.”
“I have her. She was napping. I’ll make sure she’s okay,” he said, knowing she didn’t like lots of people around her when she woke up.
Storm didn’t like to see anyone standing over her, and he didn’t blame her. After being raped and drugged, waking up like that had to be hard.
“Okay, if you need us let us know,” Dakota stated.
“I’ll call. Thanks.”
“You need to head out in an hour.”
“I’ll be ready. Let me calm her down, and I’ll be ready to go.”
They headed down the stairs, and he lightly tapped on the door.
“Storm, it’s me. Can I come in?”
“Yes, God! Yes!”
He came in, and she was disheveled, shaking, and without a doubt, he knew what kind of sleep it had been. He’d had them so many times, waking up in a cold sweat as his heart thundered so hard he felt like he was going to die from it.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I was back there again.”
Yeah, again, been there and done that.
“Well, you’re okay now,” he said, grabbing a bottle of water from the dresser and sitting on the side of her bed.
She was shaking.
“Hey, honey, do you need me to get Stella?” he asked, thinking that maybe she needed something to help her nerves. She was still going through withdrawal symptoms.
“I’ll be okay.”
“What can I do for you?” he asked, willing to help her. He’d been that broken before.
No.
She was a million times worse, and he couldn’t imagine it.
“I’ll be okay,” she whispered.
“Do you need a hug?” he offered. “When my mother was alive, that was her medicine for everything. Well, that and frybread, but I don’t know how to make that.”
She lifted her head.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
“Please,” she whispered.
He slid into position on the bed and opened his arms. This wouldn’t be the first time she let him touch her, but it would be the most contact. He only hoped it helped her.
She curled into his body and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Better?”
She nodded.
“Are we going out?” she asked, noticing he was in a pair of dress pants and an open dress shirt.
“Remember?”
She looked dazed.
Yeah, withdrawal.
“I have to help the team out. They think they know where to find one of the men who hurt you. They can’t go in. They are pretty sure they can be ID’d. I’m the only one they haven’t seen,” he stated patiently.
She didn’t speak.
“Will you be okay?” he asked, knowing that the last couple of days, spending all of their time together had created a bond.
She relied on him, and he enjoyed being needed.
It filled something in him.
“Will you come back?” she asked softly, her hand on his abs.
He held her.
“You couldn’t keep me away.”
Gamble could feel the tears on his skin. She was struggling so hard, and he knew she wouldn’t be able to move on without everyone who hurt her being dead. Until Carter Foley’s head was on a silver platter, she wouldn’t be able to heal.
“Will you be safe?” she asked.
“Of course. I’m going in with a cop. She’ll kick everyone’s ass for me,” he stated, lightly so she wouldn’t worry. It was amusing since he knew what he could do. He’d been trained to protect and kill by the United States Government. He didn’t need a cop, but he was playing Blackhawk’s game.
“Promise me that you will come back?”
“Of course. I won’t leave you until you tell me you’re steady and can do this on your own,” he offered. Then he wanted to make her feel better. “When I do come back for tonight, do you want me to bring you something to eat? You need to get some calories in you since you slept all day.”
“Okay.”
“What do you want?”
“Surprise me. I’m easy.”
She was.
Storm, other than being broken, was a pleasant woman to be around. She didn’t bitch, she tried to make the best of everything, and she was sweet.
Gamble could tell.
“I know this place that has some wicked gumbo. I’ll bring you some back, and some King Cake. It’s almost time for Mardi Gras in a couple months.”
“I’d like that. I should let you get back to getting ready. It’s getting dark out.”
He had an idea.
“Would you help me? I could use a woman’s touch. I don’t get out of fatigues or cargo pants often.”
She lifted her head.
“Okay,” she stated.
He let her go, and she sat up. She ran her fingers through hair to untangle it.
“I have a brush upstairs. I’ll help you out.”
She was good with that.
“I don’t know how I’ll ever leave this place. I don’t know where to go. I don’t know how to function. I feel safe here, and scared,” she said, as he held out his hand.
He knew that feeling.
“Don’t worry, Storm. It’ll all work out. I’m a believer in fate.”
“Reall
y?”
“Yes.”
Well, no, but he wasn’t going to tell her life blew, people sucked, and then you died. In this case, a lie wasn’t a bad thing.
“Come on,” he said, leading her upstairs.
She followed.
And Gamble did the job.
Only, like her, he didn’t know what he’d do either when the time came to move on. He liked the people there, and in that house, he felt calm.
And home.
Chapter Twenty-Two
One Hour
Later
S he was ready to go. As she came down the stairs in the dress that Sarah had helped her pick out, she felt like she was about to take on the world. The blue dress wrapped around her body, giving every curve the attention it deserved.
It showed off her breasts, her hips, and the long length of her legs.
Yeah, this was a showstopper.
What also showed her off was that Sarah had tucked her blonde hair into a cap and they’d picked a wig that was the opposite of her coloring. The sunny yellow was gone, and in its place was an ebony black that fell down her back and across her shoulders.
Yeah, she was ready.
As she strutted across the tile and to the family room, she could hear everyone talking about their plans for the night. Well, she knew what she wanted to do after this little adventure.
Rogue.
She wanted to do Rogue.
Cordelia just needed to figure out how the hell to get him back to her house. Maybe this dress would help.
As she walked in, it was Gamble who saw her first.
“Holy shit,” he muttered, and then began laughing.
“What?” she asked.
Everyone turned, and Rogue actually stood up, his eyes huge. It had taken him a minute to recognize her, and that was a good thing.
She needed to blend in.
The hair had done it. The color was so starkly different against her pale flesh, that he hadn’t recognized her.
At all.
“Oh, this is going to be a good undercover mission,” Gamble stated.
Sarah giggled from her place on the couch.
“I told you no one would recognize her. Cordelia is good at changing her looks.”
Rogue couldn't breathe.
She looked…
He didn’t have the words. Normally, she was in a blazer, jeans, and a gun. Now she was wearing a form-fitting blue dress, black hair, and heels that made him want to crawl and beg.
Oh, shit!
He really wished he was going out with her to that gambling game room.
“How did I do?” she asked, turning.
Gamble grinned.
“None of my other jobs were ever this good,” he stated. “I did once have to sleep with…”
Rogue punched him in the arm.
“That’s my woman. Shut it or I’ll have Zayn shoot you for what you’re thinking.”
He wisely shut his mouth.
“Did I pull off arm candy?” she asked.
Dakota was grinning. Not at her, but at the look on Rogue’s face. He looked like he wanted to kill Gamble, take his clothes, and be him for the night.
“Go kiss the girl,” he whispered when the man didn’t move.
Rogue did just that.
He crossed the room, placed his warm palm on her cheek, and slowly kissed her.
She leaned into his body, and when their lips touched, the world fell away.
“You can all tell me how good I am,” Sarah stated. “Bunny can kill and hide people’s identities. Some makeup, those heels…”
Sarah had done her job.
“I’d like you to meet Kitty. That’s her alter ego. She’s a cop by day, and a secret agent at night.”
Zayn was impressed.
“She cleaned up really good for a cop,” he stated.
“I heard that,” she said, pulling away from Rogue’s mouth. Her heart was thumping, and not because she was worried about being safe. She wanted him.
“You look beyond beautiful in that ‘I’m easy kind of way’,” Rogue teased.
It made her laugh.
“You don’t say?”
He lowered his voice.
“Stay here with me tonight,” he said. “After you finish, stay with me.”
Well, that took care of her problem. She wanted him in her bed, but she’d take him in his.
“Absolutely.”
“I have something for you.”
She lifted a brow.
“Uh, what?”
He pulled a big glittery broach out of his pocket. It was full of sapphires and diamonds.
Sarah smiled.
Yeah, her friend was happy, and that was all she wanted for him. They let the man do his thing, and it was beautiful to watch it go down.
This was Rogue finding his balance.
He was finding his peace—with Cordelia.
“Wow, that’s…something.”
“I stole it from a woman’s collection on one of my first jobs. I’ve held onto it for all these years, and now I know why. I think it was meant to be yours.”
Her heart skipped.
She wasn’t accustomed to men buying her things, and she certainly wasn’t accustomed to a man stealing a giant rock and adorning her with it.
She glanced over at Sarah, and the woman nodded.
“Rogue, you shouldn’t have, and I mean that since it was obtained illegally.”
It made him laugh.
“There’s my cop. She’s definitely under that wig,” he teased, but then went serious.
“Will you wear it for me?”
She understood why he needed her to do it. She was going to this thing with some other man, and he wanted to share something with her.
“Cordelia says no,” she stated.
He looked disappointed.
“But Kitty loves her some sparkles!” she said, making him smile.
“Well, Kitty is a lucky woman. I own a few,” he stated. “Oh, and this one…,” he began flipping it over. On the back, there was a tiny black circle. “It’s a mic and a tracker, in case something happens.”
He turned.
“Which will not happen because if Gamble loses you and tries to come back without you I will personally make sure I kill him.”
The man laughed.
“Geez. You lose one woman once…”
Rogue looked horrified.
“Slick, chill. I’m kidding. I won’t lose your babe. I’m really good at my job.”
He hoped so.
Rogue pinned the gorgeous broach to her dress.
“If I lose this, how much trouble am I in?” she teased, as he slipped his fingers into her dress to get the clasp in place. He gave her chills with just a touch.
“No trouble. What’s a quarter of a million dollars between people who love each other?”
She almost fell over.
Literally.
“Christ! That’s all kinds of wrong.”
He adjusted it.
“It belonged to royalty. It looks perfect on you.” Yeah, and he knew why. She was his queen. This tough, rugged cop, who wore that jewel like it was a ticking bomb, but did it for him, was amazing.
He loved her.
He always would.
Tucking her hand into the crook of his arm, he escorted her to the couch. When he sat, she tumbled into his lap.
“Are you ready for this?” Dakota asked.
“Yeah, I’m ready. I studied everyone’s pictures, and I am going to be looking out for Tasunke Harris and Chesky Jensen.”
They were glad she was ready.
This was so very important.
“Where will you be?” asked Cordelia, knowing that the rest of these people wouldn’t be sitting around just waiting.
“We’re going to be following you,” Dakota stated. “Rogue and I will be sitting outside the place as your backup. Zayn is going to stay here with the women.”
Stella pulled out her pink gun and all of
the men raised their hands like it was a stickup.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked. “Now this?”
They laughed, but Zayn carefully took the gun from her and unloaded it.
“My sweet Stella, you’re a menace.”
She snorted.
“We will have your back,” Dakota told Gamble and Cordelia. “If it smells off, Gamble, get out. It’s not that important.”
Somehow, he didn’t believe that. Storm was sitting there, and he knew this was for her. The last three people were on the lam, and he wanted to give her that peace.
“Copy,” he stated.
“The glasses will take video footage of the people in there,” Rogue stated. “They are not going to pick them up if they scan you. That’s the latest technology, and I use it when I…”
Cordelia lifted a brow.
“When I want to look dapper.”
She laughed.
“Oh, I bet.”
He grinned wickedly at her.
“Anyway, scan the crowd as you walk, and we’ll see who we can find there. If Chesky is there doing business, we are going to shut him down.”
That worked for all of them.
Zayn handed Gamble the address and gave him the scannable code that would be needed at the door.
“If you need help,” Zayn offered, “call for it. Don’t be a hero, Gamble. While you can risk yourself, don’t risk Cordelia.”
“I won’t,” he offered. He got to his feet and held out his hand.
“Kitty, shall we?” he asked.
Rogue had never felt anything more powerful in his life. That emotion of jealousy swamped him—especially when she took his hand in hers. It felt like someone was trying to steal his precious jewel away, and Rogue did NOT like it.
At all.
They watched as Gamble escorted Cordelia out the front door to a car they’d ‘procured’. Dakota pulled on his gear, and he waited for the man.
“Uh, are you coming?”
He blinked.
“Yeah, I was thinking.”
“Oh, we all know,” Zayn stated. “Someone was thinking about a whole lot of ‘KITTY’,” he teased.
“Bunny?” he asked, needing her help.
She punched Zayn hard.
“Jesus! None of you have a sense of humor anymore. NONE of you!”
Absolution: The Hunter Mercenary Series (Book Two) Page 52
