“And you can tell all this how?”
“I saw the shots land. Then I examined the body, distances, and angles, and made logical deductions.”
“And you were trained for this in the Navy? Bear with me, but I thought Navy guys drove boats.”
“I wasn’t a boat guy. I was a Navy SEAL. I’ve had extensive training and six years of combat experience. I’ve led my team in multiple assaults and extractions. I am good at what I do.” Josh got uncomfortable for a second before he recovered. “Was. Was good.”
Jenna felt her mouth drop open.
She had heard of SEALs. Of course she had. Everyone had. They were elite, tough, rare, and they were damned intimidating. That explained a great many things.
It also made what he was saying a lot more plausible. She couldn’t stop the shaking. “Well, fuck me sideways and call me Martha, that does not bode well for my chances of survival. If I don’t get shot first, I’ll have a crazy water mammal kill me in a fit of passion.”
Josh started laughing unexpectedly. “That is the first time I’ve heard that reaction.”
“Yes, well. I’m a barrelful of funny.”
Josh’s eyes fell on her for a quiet beat. With his probing gaze, it felt like he had stripped away the spikes and booby traps and stared directly into her soul. The secrets that had shaped her into the black-hearted monster that she was had been exposed. She worried that he would find her five-year-old self and, instead of turning away like everyone else, comfort that scared little girl. He would uncover all that she’d worked so hard to hide. It would tear down the brick walls she’d spent so long erecting, and unmask the raw, aching pain she tried to ignore.
“So,” he said quietly, his eyes infused with something she hadn’t seen before. It looked dangerously close to pity, but tilted enough toward sympathy that she didn’t bristle. There was something else there, too. Understanding.
“Sew buttons.” Jenna tried to put distance in her words.
He stepped closer to her. She stepped back. He was trying to comfort. She was trying to stay strong.
“We’ve determined you are a hardhearted bitch.” He gently grabbed her hand. “You are woman, I hear you roar. You don’t take shit from anybody, you don’t need pity, and you’ve had nothing more than a series of bad days. Have I got that right?” He stepped closer again, closing in on her, looking down into her eyes. His long lashes threw shadows on those golden orbs, but the soft light within was hard to miss.
She nodded mutely, trying to keep it together. A hard man with a violent past she could understand. A stony face with wild eyes she could ignore. But this slow-moving, deep, soft approach from a man that cared more about her than himself was dangerous. It was new. She hadn’t had practice in putting up defenses against it, and now he threatened to sneak in and tear down all her walls.
She couldn’t have that.
She backed up a pace, but he stepped forward again, her hand still in his. “Let me hold you, Jenna.”
“I don’t need you to.” A tear betrayed her, leaking out of the corner of her right eye. She wanted to look away, to save face, to keep her dignity intact, but those black-rimmed sunburst eyes held her.
“It’s not for you, it’s for me,” he whispered, stepping closer again.
Her back bumped rough bark. She ran out of exit room.
As she tried to think of a cutting remark to push him away, opening her mouth to deliver anything that came to mind, he leaned down and put his mouth over hers. He took advantage of her parted lips and filled her with his probing tongue.
Rushing filled her ears as the world blazed in colors. His taste, his smell, made her dizzy. She slid her palms up his hard chest and held on for dear life, riding the electricity.
He backed up a fraction. “Let me hold you, Jenna. Please.”
She relented with a slight nod. Eyes still squeezed tight against the emotional assault, she felt him turn her around and place her in the warm folds of his arms. They sank to the ground together, her tucked into him like a child. And like a child, she cried.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Josh held Jenna tightly, feeling her body finally give way to racking sobs. He had no idea about her violent past. It certainly explained a lot of things, but it was hell on his heart. He ached to cure her hurt, to take it into himself if necessary, but the only way he knew how was to hold her. To protect her against anything else life tried to throw at her. Without realizing it, Josh made a vow to do anything in his power to keep this woman from harm. He didn’t know if they had a future, or even a present, but he didn’t care. She needed him, and he was damned if he would let one more person be slaughtered on his watch.
As Jenna stilled, and her crying turning to no more than whimpers, he thought about the shooting. All he’d said was true. It looked like one guy that didn’t have complete control of his weapon. He did have a good idea how to set up shop. He had a clear angle at Jenna, and everyone else. His attempt to correct the first two botched shots with the third was quick. If she’d stayed where she was, he would have had her.
But her reaction time had been quick. The seconds of confusion turned quickly into the need to take cover. If Josh hadn’t reached her, he believed she would’ve reached the shelter of the trees in plenty of time.
The problem was, she would have made it to safety, and then she would’ve darted across the clearing to help Erika. Josh wondered if the gunman knew of that bond. An attacker would be wise to map that out and use it. It was why Josh needed to separate them as soon as he could get them to safety and figure out what came next.
Josh stroked Jenna’s hair. What came next…
He needed to locate the shooting site and get some clues as to what they were dealing with. He’d have to convince Jenna, and probably Erika along with her, to stay close so he could get them housed safely until he dealt with the threat. Above all, he needed to figure out why this group was being targeted.
Being forced to go on a hike in the woods and then have a gunman show up couldn’t be a coincidence. It had something to do with some problem in New York that their boss—or whoever this Don was—knew about and was trying to protect them from.
Josh needed a word with this boss.
But first they needed to get out of these woods. They were sheltered for the moment, but for how long?
Where the hell was Jax?
Sometime later, after she had cried herself hoarse and quieted, Jenna felt Josh stir. Her head was on his shoulder, her face against his neck. Her body was crushed in his arms, which hadn’t relented their care even though her flare of emotion had sputtered and extinguished. His shirt was a mess with her snot and tears, but he didn’t seem to mind.
At his movement, she lifted her head and looked out from the protection of his big body. A cop was standing at their feet, looking down on their tangled limbs.
It was one thing to let go with a stranger that she felt oddly close to; it was another to do so in public.
She made a surprised sound and hastened to stand on her own two feet. Josh’s arms tightened, trying to keep her put.
“Let me up,” she scolded.
With seemingly great regret, he unfurled his arms and let her stand up out of them. Jenna took a step away and surveyed her surroundings as the cop watched Josh climb to his feet.
Lewis was on a stretcher, his shoulder heavily bandaged. His face was still pale, but the hard lines of pain were gone. He’d probably been given meds.
Ada was still almost catatonic. Erika and Mike were holding on to each other for dear life, but it seemed like the wildness in their eyes was subsiding. They had a blanket wrapped around them as they huddled together, but it didn’t look as though they wanted to leave the shelter of the trees. Jenna didn’t blame them.
Before she could figure out what had happened to the rest of the groups and Karen, she heard her name. She turned back to the police officer, sliding her tough shell over any lingering, embarrassing emotional vulnerability.
“Miss Anderson, I presume?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I would like to ask you a few questions.”
Jenna waited, with no outward sign of acceptance. She didn’t deal with cops well. When a girl spent most of her young life in trouble, cops weren’t the good guys.
“I’ll take that as approval.” His dark eyes flickered to Josh, but Josh’s face was blank as usual. “Did you see the shooting?”
“I didn’t catch your name,” Jenna said in an icy tone.
As hoped, the cop’s eyes hardened. He’d just slipped from Good Cop to Bad Cop, she had no doubt. She had always preferred to deal with this side of a police officer. There was no false-friendly crap. No hidden truths or veiled threats. Everything was out in the open.
“Sergeant Banks, ma’am. Jack Banks.”
“Yes, I saw the shooting, sergeant.”
“Please tell me about it.” He didn’t take out something to write with.
“I was calling the man that was shot a disgusting pig, or something along those lines, because he admitted to jacking off while watching me swim naked. Seconds later he was falling on me.”
Wariness overcame Jack’s features. He glanced at Josh.
Apparently he wasn’t used to dealing with someone like her. He probably hadn’t worked in a city for any length of time.
Sighing, feeling weak and shaky from the highs and lows of adrenaline, Jenna leaned back against the tree and watched the melee of people being shepherded and tended by a swarm of police. The tour was over for the time being. Those people were having too much fun anyway.
“A Mr. Lewis Hudson was also shot. Did you see that happen?” the officer asked.
“No.”
“When did you notice he had been shot?”
“After I got Dale off me, I think. I saw him clutching a bloodied shoulder.”
“And you and he were romantically involved?”
As she suspected, the sergeant had been given the story already. “At the beginning of the trip. Turns out, he had cheated on me, so I dumped him and threatened him.”
He paused and lost some of his stiffness. He wasn’t used to being Bad Cop. More was the pity. “Jenna, I am trying to help you here.”
“This isn’t my first interrogation, sergeant. I don’t need help—I have nothing to hide.”
His eyes sparkled, like he thought this was all one big joke. “Fair enough, Miss Anderson. Shall we ask the hard questions now?”
Off kilter, unsure what this guy’s angle was, since police officers usually didn’t have a sense of humor as far as death and possible criminal activity were concerned, quite rightly, she said, “Yes, please.”
“Did you threaten the deceased?”
“Yes…”
“And you already admitted to threatening your ex-boyfriend because he—”
“Cheated on me, yes.”
“I see. So out of the group, the two people you disliked were shot by an unseen shooter.”
“Your deductive reasoning has rewarded you with a correct assumption, sergeant.” She almost added, Job well done! But thought better of it.
The officer fell silent as he looked at Jenna. “Are you trying to get arrested, Miss Anderson?”
“When I’ve got this much stacked against me, I’m usually called in on basic principle, but only a great fool would think I hired a hit man to kill Dale in the middle of the woods, on a vacation I didn’t plan nor want to go on, with no phone to organize it, and while standing right next to him so as to possibly catch a bullet for my trouble. Are you a great fool, sergeant?”
His eyes flashed. She couldn’t tell if it was malice or humor. Or both. She got a tingle of apprehension. “Have you had a few run-ins with police in the past?”
“I have a colorful record.”
He nodded like he’d figured as much. “Just so we’re clear, did you hire a hit man to kill your ex-boyfriend and your coworker?”
“Nope.”
“Do you have proof?”
Jenna looked at him closely. Were cops out here this dumb?
She turned her gaze to Josh. His stupid stony face made no show of his thoughts, but his eyes glimmered with that mocking light.
Something was definitely off here.
“Are you mocking me, sergeant?” she asked, not quite able to retain a confident voice. She half wondered if she was dreaming. “I wasn’t aware cops had a sense of humor.”
Jack started laughing before relaxing his stance. “In answer to your question, Miss Anderson, I am not a great fool, though I do appreciate the reference to Princess Bride. Here is the dilemma: Chuck here is—”
“Josh,” Josh interrupted.
Jack’s eyes widened briefly and flicked back and forth between Jenna and Josh. “Excuse me,” Jack went on smoothly. “Josh is under the impression the shooter might not be finished. We need to get your friends out of the woods and under protection until we can understand what is going on.”
“Then what?” Jenna asked.
Jack’s brow furrowed. “Well, we would like to keep you somewhere safe until the shooter is caught, and then release you to go home.”
“I’ll just return home, if that’s okay. I don’t need protection. I have a job to—” She felt Josh’s hand tighten on her arm. She looked up in surprise.
“Jax, keep her safe until I get back,” Josh said from over Jenna’s head. “I want to find the shooting site. I’ll meet up with you before you get out of the woods, or I’ll see you at the station. Shooter was probably looking for another vantage point when the cavalry showed up. He’s probably around, and he may or may not take another shot on your way out.”
The sergeant, who was either Jack or Jax, but who definitely was friends with Josh, nodded like he was used to taking orders from Josh. His dark eyes took her in, and if she wasn’t mistaken, put her on a large scale, taking her measure. She wondered if he would point at her, call her a witch, and then burn her at the stake when he was through.
Before he left, Josh pulled her roughly to the other side of the tree. This was his version of privacy, apparently.
“You are not leaving my care until the threat is neutralized, is that clear?” he said savagely. “I said I would see you safe, and I intend to.”
“Josh, sex does not an obligation make. You don’t have to feel responsible for me because we shared some bedtime.”
The wildness that crouched deep in Josh’s eyes sparked, anger and passion boiling. Shivers coated Jenna’s body as her sex swelled, his kind of danger insanely turning her on.
“Don’t insult me,” he growled.
She tried to unclench her jaw to argue, but fear wouldn’t let her. He had a manic, untamed gleam in his eye that tolerated no leeway. He had made up his mind about this, and she would get his bodyguard services whether she wanted them or not.
She didn’t know whether to be outraged or extremely touched.
She settled for mildly indignant.
He led her around the tree and deposited her with Jack. “Don’t take any shit from her.”
Jack snorted and Jenna huffed. Josh was obviously gloating over his victory.
He squared her to him and bent for a crushing kiss, bruising her lips and stealing her breath. When he relented, he lingered, his lips lightly touching hers. “Stay smart, and stay safe. I’ll see you soon.”
He kissed her again, softly this time, filled with longing and electricity. Her body warmed and her hands looped around his neck of their own accord. He was unhinged, but worse, he was dragging her into the crazy pot with him.
“Watch her,” he said when he finally let her go. A moment later, he was melting into the trees.
After a silent moment where Jenna desperately tried to get back her breath, Jack said, “Soo…”
“No questio
ns. We aren’t friends.”
“Because I’m the enemy?”
“Yes.”
“Even though I am a friend of a…”
“A friend, and yes, even though.”
“Fair enough. Right this way, please, Missus Anderson.” He said her name in the style of The Matrix. That damned movie!
He took her arm as if she was in trouble, which was pretty standard when she dealt with cops, and they walked through the trees to a cluster of boys in blue, milling and flocking around. Jack gave some barked instructions in a similar style to Josh’s, but lacking the raw power that demanded obedience. He was still plenty good at it, judging by the grown men now scurrying away.
Lewis lay on his stretcher in a one-man trailer attached to a golf cart. Within the golf cart sat Ada, disheveled and silent.
Jenna put her hand on Ada’s shoulder. “How are you?”
The woman started and looked up with rounded eyes. Seeing it was Jenna, she sagged. But remained silent.
Totally screwed up, then.
Jenna patted the woman, not sure what to say.
She moved on to Lewis, wanting to check in. He’d cheated, but part of her realized that she’d pushed him away before that. It didn’t make it right, but she understood, at least a little. Given that she’d immediately hooked up with Josh, without regrets, made her resigned to just let it go.
“How are you?” she asked.
He looked up at her with medicine-induced glazed eyes. “I don’t blame you, Jenna.”
That pissed her off a little. Apparently Lewis was a great fool. “For which? Getting you shot, or planning to ruin your career?”
“For fucking that Nazi.”
Jack stiffened.
Her sympathy dried up and then turned brittle. “Wow, Lewis,” she said with a serial killer’s calm. “What gave me away? Was it the look of satisfaction on my face? Jealous you were never able to put it there yourself?”
“I cheated, Jenna. That was wrong. So you needed to sow your wild oats. But settling for a woods guide? What does that say about you? And he is violent. He probably has a police record. You aren’t getting any younger, sweetie. This type of stuff really has to stop.”
Unexpected Hero (Skyline Trilogy Book 1) Page 20
