The Sniper

by Kimberly Van Meter

  “How awful for your family.” She placed a hand gently on his shoulder, but her compassionate gaze made him shift with discomfort and he shrugged her touch away. He didn’t deserve her compassion. She withdrew her hand as if he’d bitten her. He immediately felt like a jerk but she didn’t give him a chance to apologize. “So you left home at seventeen and I assume you joined the military?”

  “I wasn’t old enough to join so I did odd jobs to stay alive and slept on friends’ couches until the day I turned eighteen. I enlisted and never looked back.”

  She clearly struggled with questions she wanted to ask but she held them back, sticking to the relevant parts, for which he was inordinately grateful. He hadn’t talked about Bunny in over twenty years and he was surprised by how much it still hurt to talk about her. Bunny had been such a cool kid; funny and cute but she’d also been a bit of a handful, particularly for a ten-year-old who was trying to be father and mother to two younger siblings without any clue as to what the hell he was doing.

  “How did you become a sniper?” Jaci asked.

  “I’d served a few tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and I’d gained a reputation for being a crack shot. A commander for the Marine Scout Sniper School called me one day when I was stateside again and said he’d heard good things about me. I graduated at the top of my class and then just as I was heading to a briefing for my first assignment, Tom Wyatt, the director of ID, approached me with a job offer. The commander and Wyatt went way back and he’d put in a good word for me. The money was better than I’d ever dreamed of as a basic enlisted man, and I didn’t have anyone else to worry about but myself. I started with ID a few weeks later.”

  “Did you know you were going to be killing people as part of your job description?”

  “I didn’t,” he admitted, almost afraid to answer truthfully but she’d said she could handle it if he did. “But when I was given my first kill order, I didn’t hesitate. In fact, I was determined to succeed. I wanted to prove to Tom Wyatt that he’d made the right choice in taking a chance on me. I owe a lot to Tom. He took me under his wing, for whatever reasons I don’t know, but he taught me a lot about honor and integrity.”

  “So, in a way, Tom was like a father figure to you?” He hadn’t thought of it that way but now that Jaci had pointed it out, he supposed she was right and he nodded in agreement. “Have you talked to Tom about what’s happening? Maybe he can help.”

  “No,” he answered, shaking his head. “I don’t want to get Tom involved until I absolutely have to.”

  “But he might be in danger, too. Especially if this person is a high enough ranking official within the organization to use the department credit card. You’d feel terrible if you didn’t tell him and then he ended up getting hurt,” she pointed out.

  “I just want more to go on before saying something,” he said. “Plus, I don’t want to tip off whoever’s responsible by going to Tom prematurely.”

  “Well, I hate to break it to you but we don’t have the luxury of carefully building a case. If we wait too long, we might end up dead.”

  “Hard to argue that logic,” he said grimly. He cast Jaci an apprising glance. “Pretty levelheaded for an artistic type in an extreme situation,” he said by way of a compliment. “I expected you to faint or something.”

  “Thanks. I think.” She drew a deep breath. “Well, sometimes I surprise myself. I hate that saying ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,’ because a lot of well-meaning people tried to tell me that when we broke up and I was a total mess. I didn’t get dressed for weeks.” She paused as if realizing she didn’t want to share her lowest moment with him. But instead of stopping, she met his gaze and lifted her chin, saying, “James really helped me get through the worst of it and honestly, the man deserves a medal for braving the stench of my depression.”

  Nathan felt a scowl coming on but he tried to hold it in check for Jaci’s sake. It was bad enough he’d been responsible for her pain; the least he could do was to stomach more praise of the glorious roommate, James.

  When she realized he was giving her the space to share, she continued. “But maybe our breakup was a blessing in disguise because I don’t know how I’d have handled this latest crisis without having been through the pain of losing you. So, I guess...thank you.”

  He scowled. “Don’t thank me for breaking your heart.”

  She shrugged and returned to the topic at the core of the conversation but he was caught between the urge to explain his reasoning and letting it go. In the end he swallowed his urge to explain his thought process and followed her lead.

  “Okay, so you killed people.... About how many in your career?” she asked.

  “God, Jase...how is that relevant?” he asked, extremely uncomfortable with that particular question. “That’s not something I brag about.”

  “Of course not. I’d be worried if you did. My reason for asking is because maybe the key to who’s after us is related to an assignment.”

  Wow, he hoped not. “If that were the case, we’d be screwed. I have no way of researching that information beyond what was given to me for the initial case.”

  “Maybe not. We might only have to backtrack a few years. I mean, presumably whoever is interested in killing you hasn’t been stewing for the past ten years, right? I don’t know for sure but if someone were interested in hurting you, wouldn’t they want to do it relatively quickly?”

  “Not necessarily. Maybe they were waiting for the right moment,” he said.

  She frowned. “Seems kind of weird to wait years to exact revenge on someone but I’m an impatient person so maybe my perspective is skewed. If I was mad enough to kill someone, I’d want to get it over with before I lost my nerve.”

  Nathan swallowed a small chuckle at the idea of Jaci trying to kill someone. She was so tenderhearted she grimaced when she swatted flies. However, something about her logic sparked his memory. He leaned forward and logged on to his computer again, accessing the file for a job he did right before he and Jaci broke up.

  Jaci noted his change in demeanor. “Did you remember something?” she asked, leaning forward to look over his shoulder.

  “Maybe,” he answered, then realized in order to explain his gut feeling, he’d have to explain the true reason they’d broken up and he didn’t want to do that.... Not yet. He closed his laptop and looked to Jaci, saying, “I need to do a little digging on my own and I don’t want to put you at risk.”

  “Nathan, we already covered this,” she said with a small sound of impatience. “You can’t protect me from every little thing that isn’t to my liking. I’m not made from porcelain and I resent you treating me as if I’m a fragile basket case. Frankly, I’m beginning to wonder how you saw me if you think I was this unstable.”

  “I don’t think you’re unstable but I hid a lot from you, Jase.”

  “If you don’t think that I’ve already figured that out, you’re insane. You have no reason to hide anything from me anymore. Just spit it out, already. I promise I won’t go into hysterics.”

  “I will but I need to do it on my own timetable, and not be pressured into it,” he said.

  “Sorry, but in case you haven’t noticed, we don’t have the luxury of time. Just treat me as you would a coworker,” she suggested and he stared, wondering if she’d lost her marbles. Jaci? A coworker? Even if he hadn’t just spent a good couple of hours doing the mattress mambo with her, there was no way he’d ever consider Jaci as anything resembling a peer. Not because she wasn’t smart or capable but because he didn’t want to contaminate what he held in his heart for her. Ugh. Next he’d be spouting poetry and throwing rose petals at her feet. “I need more time, okay?” he said a bit brusquely as he rose and she followed with a frown marring her beautiful face. “What?” he asked.

  “You’re doing it again. Damn it, Nathan, when are you going to
trust me?” she asked, plainly disappointed with his decision to shut her down. “This isn’t fair. I can’t just sit back and pretend that we’re vacationing in the middle of nowhere while you play the hero.”

  She searched his gaze for a long moment, waiting for him to capitulate, but he wouldn’t—not on this. When he told her the truth about everything that had led up to their breakup, it would ruin any sense of stability she had left. It was bad enough that she’d seen her best friend die right in front of her and he’d had to drag her from her life. Time would come soon enough that she’d have to know the truth but maybe, if he were lucky, he’d find the son of a bitch behind all this and end everything before he’d have to share the details.

  “You might be ready, but I’m not,” he told her, and left it at that. He knew she didn’t like his answer but that was too bad. “Are you hungry?” he asked and was rewarded with a dark look for his trouble.

  Before he could say anything else, Jaci gave up in disgust and walked away. Nathan let her go with an inward sigh.

  Ah, hell, why couldn’t she just leave it be?

  Chapter 11

  Jaci had planned to spend some time cooling off but she’d realized if she didn’t say anything, he’d never answer questions. Nathan was a fan of “ignore it and it will go away,” but she wasn’t. Determined to shake some answers out of the man, she went back downstairs.

  Nathan looked up from his computer as she descended the steps, surprised. “Did you change your mind about eating? I thought we could make something together.” She knew this was his attempt at a peace offering but food was the last thing on her mind.

  “When we broke up you said that you were bored and you just couldn’t be with me any longer. But then you started watching my every move like some deranged stalker, which is how you knew I was in trouble that night in the alley.” She hesitated before continuing. “And there’s one more thing.... The way you touched me—makes me wonder a few things.”

  “Such as?” he asked, his gaze narrowing with dislike at her rendition of events thus far. She ignored his scowl and continued.

  “I think you lied about your feelings. Why did you break up with me?”

  Nathan sighed. “Jaci, I already told you I don’t want to talk about that. Don’t you think we have bigger problems?”

  She nodded. “Absolutely. But you won’t let me help and you won’t answer questions about the case, so that leaves me with dealing with the questions that have always been in my mind. And since we have nothing to do, no television to watch, no phones...I might as well get the answers to questions that are of a personal nature.”

  Nathan looked as if he’d rather eat nails but she didn’t feel sorry for him one bit. He’d brought this on himself. If he would just open up to her and tell her the freaking truth maybe they could get past all of this. She settled on the sofa with an expectant expression. “I’m ready when you are.”

  “You want me to admit that I lied? Yes, you’re right. The reasons I told you for breaking up were not truthful. But does it really matter? The bottom line is we couldn’t be together. As far as I’m concerned that’s all that still matters.”

  “Well, I disagree. I want to know why you broke up with me. Right now.”

  “I won’t tell you.”

  “I won’t stop asking.”

  They squared off, a test of wills with no obvious victor, and she knew Nathan hoped she would give up. But she was stronger than she was before and she’d learned a few things. “You can try to steamroll me but it’s not going to work. Your actions don’t make sense. One minute you’re breaking my heart and the next minute you’re saving my life. You’re crazy if you think that I can’t put two and two together.”

  He scowled, his voice rising. “You are the most difficult, irritating, stubborn woman I’ve ever met. Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘curiosity killed the cat’?”

  “I’m not a cat. Quit changing the subject.”

  A crease appeared between his brows and if she wasn’t mistaken, he began to sweat, which she found amusing. The big bad gunman was squirming. And was she a terrible person for enjoying that?

  “I’ll tell you what I think. You broke up with me because of something that happened with your job. Not because you stopped loving me or because you couldn’t stand the idea of monogamy but because you were trying to protect me from something. Am I right?”

  “Yes, damn it. Are you satisfied? Is that what you wanted to hear? Yes, I still care for you and I don’t want to see you get hurt but it doesn’t change the fact that we can’t be together. I will walk away from you as soon as I know that this is finished. So don’t get any ideas that we’re riding off into the sunset together.”

  Oh, the nerve of that man. “What makes you think I would ride off into the sunset with you? Regardless of the reasons why you broke up with me, the fact remains you broke my heart. I just wanted to know the reasons why. I believe I’m entitled to at least that.”

  At her pointed statement he had the grace to look chagrined. A moment of charged silence passed between them and then he said, “I was just trying to keep you safe.”

  “Well, it didn’t work, did it?” Jaci looked away. “So let’s try something new. No more lies. No more evasion. Just try leveling with me and see how that works.”

  Nathan held her stare as if assessing her ability to handle whatever he could throw at her and when her gaze didn’t waver he relented. “Okay,” he capitulated with a sigh. “But if I agree to tell you everything, you have to stop questioning my decisions. My ability to keep you safe is directly related to your ability to listen and obey. Without question.”

  “I have an issue with that word ‘obey,’” she said, narrowing her stare and wondering how the hell she’d manage to blindly follow someone she didn’t really trust any longer. But she supposed he had a point. She nodded grudgingly. “Okay. I’ll try.” He seemed to understand that was the best that she could offer and accepted with an abbreviated nod. One battle won, now for the war. She drew a deep breath and prepared herself. “I want to know about the real Nathan Isaacs, not the carefully crafted cover version of the man. I’m ready.”

  * * *

  The prospect of telling Jaci everything made Nathan’s stomach cramp. He hadn’t been held accountable to another human being in his personal life since he’d walked out the front door of his parents’ home. He told himself he preferred the role of the lone wolf, answering to no one. But as Jaci sat there waiting for him to begin he couldn’t escape the feeling that he was about to change the game by confessing his sins.

  “When we met I was on sabbatical,” he began, rising because he couldn’t bear to sit still while he shared details of the past. “Tom had said that I needed a break. I’d done a blitz of assignments and he worried that I was heading for burnout. Considering I was his top sniper, he said he wanted to protect the department’s assets. At first I didn’t want the rest. Somehow the suggestion to take a break had seemed like I’d done something wrong but Tom made me realize that everyone needed a little R & R now and then, so I agreed to a one-month break. And that’s when I met you.”

  “At the coffee shop,” she said in a soft tone as she shared the memory from her perspective. “Sometimes for a change of scenery I liked to go to the coffee shop to work. I like to people watch. And you fascinated me the minute you walked through the door.”

  “With that red hair, you were hard to miss.” Nathan refrained from telling her that the minute he’d seen her, everyone else in the coffee shop had disappeared. She’d been wearing a snow-white sweater that had made her red hair all the more brilliant, and jeans that hugged her curves and made him want to get a handful of that amazing body. In short, she’d set his blood on fire. He cleared his throat to remind himself to stick to only the necessary parts of the story and continued. “And we started talking.”
r />   “You asked me what I was drinking—”

  “Chai tea latte, extra whipped cream and no foam,” he remembered with ease. Jaci, he would learn, had a raging sweet tooth. She bit her lip in an endearing manner at his sharp memory and he had to force himself to keep in mind what was at stake. “One thing led to another and we went on a date or two, which lead to so many more I lost count. My whole sabbatical was taken with trying to find more ways to spend time with you,” he admitted.

  “Yeah, same here. I put off a lot of clients that month.” She laughed. “I’d never met anyone like you.”

  He could believe that but she’d had no idea just how true that statement was. He cleared his throat and focused. It was easy to recall the good stuff—there’d been plenty of memories to choose from—but Jaci knew about those. He had to shed light on the dark places. “You remember that night someone broke into your place?” he asked, getting straight to the point.

  She frowned. “Yeah. You surprised a burglar in my apartment,” she said, then paled. “Are you telling me that was no burglar?”

  He nodded reluctantly.

  “Then, who was it?” she whispered, almost afraid to ask.

  “I never found out who he was—he managed to hit me with a surprise left and bail out the window, but he dropped the knife on his way out.”

  “How do you know he wasn’t a thief, though? They can carry weapons.”

  “Generally speaking, burglars take the easy stuff. Jewelry, electronics and other easily grabbed items. Nothing was touched and there was cash lying on the dresser in the bedroom. No,” he said certainly, “that man was there to kill you or me. Possibly both. It was sheer luck that I got there before you.”

  She shuddered, unable to hide her reaction to her first brush with near death. “Do you think it was the same guy in the alley?” she asked.