by Dale Mayer
“Do you believe in heaven?” she whispered. “I desperately want to believe that Marge is someplace better.”
“I believe there is something else beyond us all,” he whispered against her ear, rocking her in place. “And you know that she’s there. Hold that thought. Believe it.”
She smiled because he understood. Even if she didn’t for herself, she knew Marge had believed it. She’d been a staunch Protestant, and a firm believer that she would go to heaven. In her heart, Lissa knew if there was a heaven, Marge was knocking on the front door right now and that there’d be no problem letting her friend in. She was one of the good people in the world.
“Now go to sleep.” He shifted her body slightly so she could curl up, spooned next to him like the previous night.
And with his arm wrapped around her body, his hand cupping her breast, she snuggled deeper and smiled. “What if I don’t want to?” His chuckle rippled through her back, making her body vibrate on the bed. She laughed as she rolled over. “Okay, you’re right. I am tired. But maybe in the morning?” she asked hopefully.
Warm lips nudged her neck and ear. “I’d be happy to oblige now, but in theory, you should be too tired to do anything but sleep.”
With a little wiggle to a better position, she shifted closer to the growing ridge at her hips. When he shifted, lifted her thigh and slipped inside, she gasped and arched.
“Oh, dear God,” she whispered.
“Okay?”
“Better than,” she cried out on a whimper.
With his hands on her hips, he moved slowly in and out, not doing anything more than enjoying the moment, and the sensation of being one with each other.
The climax when it came, took her by surprise.
Big waves of peace. Not ripping through her. Not exploding inside. Instead a gentle wash of sensation that rolled over and through her with joy.
Tremors still surged through her when she closed her eyes and dropped off to sleep.
Something about him was so damn caring.
“I could love him,” she whispered to herself. “I really could.”
And she smiled as she drifted off.
*
Could she? That was something he wanted but hadn’t exactly expected. This had all happened fast. Too fast. Maybe. And maybe not.
She was special. He had never denied that. But he hadn’t expected to feel what he was. Or to experience the depths of her emotions either. But no doubt, this would be a connection he’d miss.
He held her close against him and let sleep take him too.
He had no idea what was going on in this world, but he needed to be fresh and ready for anything.
When the alarm ripped through the compound several hours later, he bolted awake and stood, ready for whatever danger was present. Turning, he was quick to get his prosthesis on and then dressed. By the time he looked at the bed, Lissa was sitting up with the bedcovers clutched to her chest, staring at him in shock.
“What was that?” she asked.
“An intruder alert. Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Oh, hell, no.” She bounced out the other side of the bed and jumped into her clothes.
A sight he would’ve enjoyed any other time but not now as he was exposed.
She turned to look at him as she watched him pull his pants up over his prosthetic leg.
Hardly any light filtered into the room, but enough was here that he knew she’d see some of it. But what she said afterward surprised him.
“The next time we go to bed, I want to explore your body. It seems like you’re always taking care of me. But you’re so big and beautiful, I really want to appreciate yours too.”
And damn if he didn’t feel an erection coming on. Just the thought was so damn enticing. He brushed it all aside and said, “Next time.”
And now he’d do his damnedest to make sure that there was one because that thought would keep him on the edge, and full of anticipation, until it happened.
But first they had a problem on the compound.
He slipped over to the door and held out his hand. “You’re to stay with me. No going off in any other direction. I need to know exactly where you are at all times.” In his other hand he held his handgun.
She looked at it and swallowed. “It’s likely to be them, isn’t it?”
“I sure as hell hope it is. I’m more than ready to beat these assholes to the ground.”
“Me too. Lead the way,” she said with a smile.
He opened the door and peered around the edge of the doorframe into the darkened hallway. With his hand firmly grasping hers, he led her to the stairs.
For better or worse, he’d rather have her at his side than anywhere else.
Now to find out what the problem was.
Chapter 17
With her heart pounding, she followed Stone into the dark hallway. She had no idea what time it was, but moonlight came in the window at the end of the hallway so she’d estimate two in the morning. She called that the witching hour. That’s when every asshole came out to do their dirty work. And for all the nerves rippling through her chest, closing in tight against her, she felt fine because she was with Stone.
With the grip of his fingers on her hand, she knew he had no intention of letting her go. And that meant she was exactly where she wanted to be. Of course the circumstances could be different, but she was damn glad she wasn’t alone.
Downstairs on the main floor Levi stood in the center of the lobby, searching in all four directions as if looking for something to indicate where the trouble was. Just as suddenly as it had started, the loud clashing alarm stopped.
Silence reigned. Normally she’d be delighted, but right now, she just took that as another bad sign. She felt Stone’s hand tighten on hers.
He gave her a quick reassuring smile, brought her hand up to his, and dropped a kiss along her knuckles. Instantly her stress eased.
If he wasn’t worried, then she would let him handle this. Apparently it was what he did. She trusted him. So far he hadn’t let her down. Neither did she want anything to happen to him. He was a hell of a good man.
He led her toward the kitchen, and they stopped just short of the doorway. He peered around the corner and then took her inside. In a low whisper, he said, “Rhodes, what’s up?”
When Rhodes turned around, she gasped. She hadn’t seen the silent figure against the wall between the two windows. She couldn’t get any closer to Stone, but she tried. In the dark, Rhodes looked to be one big scary-ass dude. And she realized she was snuggling up to Stone, who was one of the baddest-looking dudes she’d ever met.
Rhodes’s low whisper finally penetrated her mind. “No sign of an intruder in the house, nor did I see anyone in the yard. But something tripped the alarm.”
Stone nodded. “Haven’t had it tripped accidentally by animals since we fixed the height.”
“Doesn’t mean it couldn’t be something bigger though.”
“Who’s in the control room?”
“Ice, and Levi’s heading there.”
“I’ll take Lissa up and leave her with them and come back down. We can do a full sweep together.”
“Make it fast,” Rhodes said. “Don’t like sitting here. I’ll check to make sure we don’t have any of our weaknesses compromised.”
Lissa was still trying to figure out what that last part actually meant when Stone led her to the hall and then the stairway. He never said a word as he took her to the top floor. She hadn’t been up here yet. He brought her down to a simple door that could’ve been a bedroom or closet for how innocuous it looked. He knocked once, then twice, then again. Without making a sound, it opened under his hand.
Ice stood there. She glanced from Stone to Lissa. Then she opened the door wider. “Come in, Lissa. Grab a chair over by the corner if you like.”
She turned toward Stone as Lissa made her way inside the small room full of computers and monitors—as in one hell of a security system. In
the background she heard Ice say to Stone, “Looks like somebody tried to climb the fence at the top of the ridge.”
“I’ll go check it out,” Stone said. “Just keep watch. Let’s make sure that wasn’t a decoy.”
“So far there’s no sign of anything else outside,” Levi said. “Merk went down to check out the two entrances.”
“Send Harrison with him then,” Ice said. “Everybody needs to be in twos right now.”
Stone frowned. “We’re a little short on men for that.”
Ice turned a pained gaze on him. Lissa was surprised he didn’t melt. Ice might be less than half Stone’s weight, but something was just so damn commanding about her.
Their voices dropped into a hushed whisper, then Stone left. The door closed as silently as it had opened, and Ice returned to her chair in front of the monitors.
There wasn’t a whole lot for Lissa to do or say, so she stayed quiet and watched. She’d never seen a system like this. Not only was it massive, but it appeared to be cutting edge. On the monitors she could see various sites outside—the buildings in the compound—as well as rooms inside the house.
She had no idea where Stone was actually going. She studied the monitors, hoping to catch sight of him.
Then she gasped and leaned forward. A man dressed in black with a weapon of some sort, appeared to be on the ground by the fence. In a low voice she asked, “Is that Stone?”
“No,” Levi’s voice was curt. He picked up a headset, put it on his head, and said, “Stone, can you hear me?”
She watched anxiously as the man on the ground lined up a rifle. Shit. Pointing at somebody or at the house itself. Either way was bad news. Stone was going out there, and he was unprepared. She clenched her hands into fists as Levi continued trying to raise Stone.
Levi switched to calling someone else.
There was only silence.
“Logan, we’ve got a sniper on the top fourth corner. He’s taking aim. Stone went out alone.”
Then Levi’s hands fell to work on the keyboard. Apparently whoever was on the other end of the communication line had answered. She could hardly sit in the chair. To know Stone was walking into an ambush was more than she could stand. She jumped up and walked to the window, like that would help, as if she could see something and yell at him.
Instantly Ice snapped, “Sit down.”
She turned back, not quite understanding, and then realized if she was in the window, she was a target too. Quickly she moved behind the stone wall and slowly sank to the floor. And then the shakes came.
She wrapped her arms around her knees and tucked them up close to her chest.
“Just stay where you are. You’ll be fine,” Levi said.
“Or you can go back to the chair. Just don’t stand in the window where your reflection will show. Enough targets to keep track of right now. We don’t need you getting hit by a sniper,” Ice said.
Lissa raised her gaze to stare at Ice, who was doing a damn good job of modeling her name. “How can you guys be so calm?” she cried in a low voice. “When you talk about snipers, shooting, and killing people, you don’t even blink,” she finished weakly.
“We’re used to it. This is what we do.” Ice’s focus never left the monitors in front of her.
Lissa watched Ice as she clicked on a few keys, and something shifted on the screen, but Lissa hadn’t really realized what had been there so didn’t understand what was there now. It was confusing, but at the same time, almost awe-inspiring.
“We’ll look after you,” Levi said. “You’ll be fine.”
“I’ll be fine?” she cried out. “I don’t give a damn about me. What about Stone? He went out into an ambush.”
Both Ice and Levi turned to look at her. And maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she saw approval in both their expressions.
Maybe it was just what she had wanted to see. She lifted her head, her gaze to the monitor, and gasped. She pointed. “I just saw a flash.”
And realized that the sniper had fired. Most likely on Stone.
*
Stone realized almost instantly that his comm unit was out. Although a problem, not a major one. He could hear the tapping of Morse code on his headset. And that was good enough for him. He listened to the series of dots and dashes. A sniper was on the hill.
Stone changed directions and came around the back, creeping up the hill on the far side so he could see where the sniper hid. Stone lay down flat on the ground and studied the layout. They’d all done extensive night training here to make sure they knew every inch of this section. As Harrison said, the weaknesses were the ones that got you. And Stone had no intention of letting an asshole like this get into their place.
The sniper made no sense. He was taking a hell of a chance. Probably not a professional as much as a hired gun. For some, the distinction was nonexistent, but for Stone, it was major. Professionals were soldiers with lots of arms and military tactical training. A hired gun was somebody who would pick up a gun and shoot. Often they were damn good too.
But they didn’t have the same background or discipline as the mercenaries. Stone heard a ping. Flattened on the ground as he was, it came nowhere near him, but gave him enough data to see where the shooter was. Stone picked up his night goggles and checked out the sniper, realizing Levi had been right. Black jeans, black T-shirt, and what looked like a hunting rifle. Not a professional, mercenary, or terrorist. They’d have better weapons.
So who the hell was this and why? Stone studied the layout and the man’s exit avenues. With any luck, Harrison could set up on the one, and Stone the other. Between them, they’d pull this guy off his perch and bring him in. To that end, Stone shifted down the hill as quietly as possible.
There had been no rain in a long time; the ground was dusty. Both good and bad. It made for a smoother walk but left a trail. He went from peak to peak, saw a little bit of wild grass, and made his way over to it. He tested his comm system again and found it now worked. He sent a message to Harrison, telling him where everything was happening. They could use a few more men just in case. He didn’t know how fast this shooter could run. It would be easy enough to end up in a long-distance pursuit. Something Stone didn’t want.
Not when weapons were involved.
The sniper would have a vehicle somewhere close. It needed to be found and guarded. If the other men on his team used the hidden passageway, that would take them out around the corner of the road and effectively pin anybody between them. It would extend to the far ridges too.
A passageway they needed to complete fast. This was the second time the compound had come under siege in as many months. Sure they’d had half a dozen other jobs in the meantime, but this wasn’t cool.
The compound was meant to be home. To be safe and secure. There’d been talk about some of the men moving out, living in the closest town, and that was always an option. Levi was also talking about bringing in contract men that they all trusted but who would live in various parts of the country. That was also good. But nothing quite like the tightness of the unit who lived or fought together.
From his new vantage point, Stone lifted his weapon, lined up a shot, and slammed a bullet into the fence post in front of the man’s head.
His cry echoed across the valley. Realizing he’d been found out, the man ran straight downhill. He made no attempt to hide his tracks. This was a flat-out race for freedom. Only Stone was already halfway down the hill himself.
“Stone, I see him,” Logan snapped in his earpiece. “I’m on the road. I should be able to cut him off.”
“You do that. I’ll meet you at the far side on the compound. Let’s make sure this asshole doesn’t get away.” Harrison’s voice disappeared as quickly as it came.
Stone grinned. This shooter had no idea what he was up against. They were effectively boxing him in. Pretty damn soon they’d have him. As Stone watched, he saw the headlights shine over the compound as Logan drove out of the gates. He quickly made his w
ay across the low ridge, so he could see down the other side. Sure enough an old beat-up truck sat below, Logan driving toward it. The sniper was farther out than Logan; but Harrison would grab the intruder soon. So which direction would the man take? Stone hoped the sniper would break toward Stone. He wanted to get his hands on him.
Knowing Levi was watching the situation, Stone considered the possibilities. “Levi, I need you to be ready.” And he quickly explained the options for the sniper.
“Got it,” Levi said calmly. “Rhodes and Merk are searching outside the compound. Rhodes is in front of the compound, Merk the opposite side.”
Perfect. Stone squatted down and watched. He’d have to make a decision as soon as the man came around the bend. And sure enough, the sniper caught sight of Logan pulling up behind his truck. He hit the brakes and came to a complete stop.
Which way would the shooter go?
Stone grinned with anticipation. Let him come to me, please. The sniper broke to the right—in line with Stone’s path.
Chapter 18
When the action started, Lissa bolted to the chair beside Levi. “Oh, my God! He got him,” Lissa cheered.
“Of course he did,” Ice said complacently. “Stone’s big, but he moves like a panther. And he is very good at strategy.”
“I believe you,” Lissa said. “I’ve never seen the warrior in him quite like this. Sure, in Afghanistan, he was there and played a huge part in getting us out, but I think Merk and Rhodes were actually in the room and blew the window bars off.” She sat back, relief washing through her. “It is something to see Stone in action.”
“He’s a good man.” Levi stood up, took off his headset, patted Ice on the shoulder, and turned, walking out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
As Lissa watched on the monitor, she could see Stone shepherding his prisoner to the truck where Logan was. It took a few minutes, but then both vehicles were driven into the compound, convoy style. She realized that’s where Levi had gone. To handle business down in the yard.
“I wondered if Stone’s leg would’ve affected him,” she admitted. “We haven’t really talked about his disability, but, from watching him on that hillside, I’d never have known.”
