***
Vivi stood on the deck the next morning, well-rested and wide awake as she looked out at the lake that steamed slightly in the startlingly bright light of dawn. Everything was so dazzling it hurt the eyes. She was wrapped up, wearing a pair of new jeans which were a little stiff and loose at the waist, a thick, cream, cable sweater, good wool socks, winter boots and a down vest. Jed had thought of everything, even buying her lingerie and a nightshirt to sleep in. It felt weird dressing in clothes someone else had picked out for her, like stepping into a part in a play. But without his help she didn’t know where she’d be. Struggling, that was for damned sure. Scared, that was a given. Dead was a high probability.
The fact she’d kissed him—twice now—the fact she’d dreamed about doing more than kissing him after she’d gone back to bed last night and had woken feeling dissatisfied and empty made her hyper-aware of every facet of him.
That kiss had most definitely been a mistake, but probably not for the reasons Jed thought.
It had reawakened inside her the need to feel again. To be a woman again. She had nailed the mother thing but somehow in doing so she’d lost the part of herself that made her so essentially female. The desire for sex, the desire to feel desired, had lain dormant since well before her husband left her. David had started acting differently not long after Michael was born, resentful, harsh with his judgment and his censure. In response she’d put up emotional barriers and much of the physicality of their relationship had disappeared right along with it. When relationships went south, sex was often the first thing to go.
The door opened behind her and Jed stepped out onto the deck. She tensed and turned to face him, forcing a friendly—but not too friendly—smile.
He wore similar clothes to her, but his shirt was deep blue and looked good against the darkness of his jet black hair. He hadn’t shaved. It made him look rugged and perfectly suited for the outdoorsy scene.
Or just perfect.
Crap.
She met his gaze and experienced that inexplicable pull that you only got with certain people. That weird mutual desire that happened less and less as you got older, became rarer and more special. She’d thought she’d outgrown the feeling altogether. Obviously she’d been mistaken. Still, they had bigger things to deal with.
One side of his mouth kicked up. “The hair suits you.” He reached out to touch a strand of the newly dyed dark hair that escaped the cable-knit hat he’d bought her yesterday. Her hair was almost as dark as his and she thought it made her look like a witch. She brushed it under the hat, self-conscious and annoyed that she cared.
“I don’t think Michael’s going to suffer through getting his hair dyed quite so easily.”
Jed laughed. “Maybe we should just give him a buzz cut and paint his head brown.”
Vivi laughed. “He’d probably go for that.”
Jed made her forget the reality that surrounded them, and she didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. “I should have asked you to buy me some make-up so my lashes and brows match.”
“I’m hoping no one gets close enough to see your lashes, but I can pick up something from the store if it makes you feel better.”
A man buying her make-up; now that was a miracle.
“You think Michael and I should just stay here and hide?” A kernel of guilt was starting to grow inside her that she hadn’t told Jed who Michael’s father was. But if she told him now, he might change his mind about them staying, and she really wanted to stay. Wanted to hide out here in the woods for as long as she possibly could.
Had David realized they were the ones attacked in the safe house? Would he even care? He’d severed all ties with her and Michael years ago. Was it possible no one had linked them yet?
“Given the manpower being poured into this investigation I can’t see it taking too long to find these guys and take them into custody. I think the safest thing is to lay low, even though it’s tough.” He’d misunderstood her.
“Oh no, I don’t mind staying here, I love it. It’s beautiful.” She huddled into her thick sweater and looked out at the mist over the lake. “It’s good to have the chance to finally breathe again—I can’t believe I took it all for granted before.”
He moved a little closer, dipped his head. “What do you mean?”
“Life seemed so hard before with Michael’s problems. And yet I actually had it pretty easy.” She smiled at him over her shoulder. “The last few days have been like stepping into Hell. But all this makes it seem so far away…makes me appreciate everything I’ve got.” She indicated the gleaming beauty of the snow-covered woods.
He stood behind her, close enough she could feel his heat. “You can relax for just a little while.” He rubbed her upper arms, almost as if he couldn’t stop himself from touching her. It felt so natural, so calming that she closed her eyes and released some of the built up tension.
She wanted him to pull her against him and hold her.
He didn’t.
“It won’t be forever, Vivi.” His warm breath brushed her ear. She didn’t think he was necessarily talking about being on the run. He was talking about them.
Obviously he thought she was the hearts and flowers type, not the realist that life had made her. She placed her hand over his, staring out at the gleaming ice that sparkled like a thousand diamonds as the sun rose. In her experience happiness was fleeting, even when someone wasn’t trying to kill you.
“I don’t need forever. Maybe I just want something for right now.” And if that didn’t tell him she wanted to be with him without any long-term strings, she didn’t know what would.
The sound of a car engine had them both tensing.
“Inside, now.” Immediately back in bodyguard mode, his hand went under his jacket, and he urged her toward the door. She stumbled inside and quickly hid behind the curtain of the window near the front door to see who’d arrived. Michael was still asleep. Had the bad guys tracked them down? Jed had seemed so confident they wouldn’t.
She was about to grab the shotgun when a beat-up truck pulled in front of the cabin belching out a cloud of black smoke. A slender woman with a long, blond ponytail jumped out of the cab and threw herself into Jed’s arms.
Vivi blinked. Oh good lord, she’d just offered herself to a man who was involved with someone else.
Jed returned the hug and then pulled quickly away. A line of disappointment marred the brow of the all-American beauty as he stepped back. She looked all tall and slender, the cheerleader type. Vivi’s inner class nerd shrank back. She recovered and snorted—because cheerleading was such a life skill? But every teenager who’d survived high school knew it was so much more than that.
Sheesh. Who the heck was she to judge this woman like some jealous girlfriend meeting the ex? She was nothing to Jed Brennan. No one. Work. Annoying work who kept throwing herself at the man.
Embarrassment rose up her neck and into her cheeks. Ugh. Well no one said being a woman was easy, and at least she wasn’t being shot at.
The blonde said something and then hitched her thumb over her left shoulder with a questioning smile on her cherry gloss lips. Jed glanced at the cabin, but he didn’t appear to see Vivi. Harsh lines cut down around his mouth. A grimace twisted his lips. He did not look happy. He turned back toward the woman, shaking his head. He didn’t want the woman to come in even though she clearly expected to.
Who exactly was she? A girlfriend? The mysterious Angela?
There was a small child in a booster seat in the back of the truck. Vivi backed up a step. Was the child his? It would explain why he was so great with kids. Was this woman an ex-wife or significant other he hadn’t mentioned?
Suddenly she felt foolish, the same kind of foolish as when she’d realized her husband had been doing more than paperwork when he stayed late for work. But she had no right to feel like that. Jed Brennan owed her nothing. They didn’t have a relationship outside the threat to her son’s life. How could watching this table
au hurt even a little bit after everything she’d been through?
All it had taken was a spark of chemistry and a few kind words to slip past her guard. She turned away and saw Michael standing in the hallway between the bedroom and kitchen and stiffened her spine. “Hey, sweetheart.” She walked toward her son. “Come on. Let’s get you fed.”
She heard the truck start up again and rumble away. Jed came in a few seconds later, but she avoided looking at him and he went straight to his room, closing the door with a soft snick.
***
Shame washed over Jed’s entire body. He dragged a hand over his face and wanted to sink into the ground. Nausea swirled inside him, doing tricks in his stomach.
It had been obvious to him each time he came back since Bobby died—hell, since even before he died—that Angela wanted to renew their old relationship. They’d dated on and off all through high school, but like most jocks, he’d been casually indifferent and certainly never intended anything permanent. He’d broken off the relationship when he’d gone to Michigan State, assuming she’d just move on.
But apparently she’d been more upset than he’d expected—and Bobby had been there to pick up the pieces. What he hadn’t realized was Bobby had been in love with her the entire time she and Jed had been dating.
Jed was such an ass. If he’d known his friend had feelings for Angela, he would have stepped aside. Bobby was like a brother to him, and he’d known even back then that, although he liked and admired Angela, he didn’t love her.
Considering his day job, you’d think he’d be able to get over the guilt of something so minor, but Bobby’s death had hit him hard, hit his family and the whole community hard. Angela had seemed almost relieved. They’d been having troubles with their marriage; being deployed was hard on anyone. At the back of his mind Jed couldn’t help wondering if she’d told Bobby about the fact she’d kissed him, maybe lied about his response. Was that why Bobby hadn’t written to him during the entire month before he died?
Was Jed the reason his best friend was dead?
Christ. He didn’t need this angst. He was a federal agent. He was looking for killers. Hiding from terrorists. Protecting Vivi and Michael from people who wanted to shoot them. This was real and vital and important. It wasn’t frickin’ high school which was how Angela made him feel.
He pulled himself together. He wasn’t here to figure out women troubles, although they were multiplying all of a sudden. Vivi had pretty much given him the green light for a quick fling, not seeming to understand that she might not be in the right mindset to make that sort of decision.
The desire to wrap her up in a giant hug on the deck earlier had almost gotten the better of him. Yeah, hug, that’s what he wanted to do to the hot redhead with the sharp mind and vulnerable eyes—not something that involved a wall and a pair of legs wrapped tight around his waist. And seducing a woman he was supposed to be protecting was such a great idea. Even if she thought she was fine with it, she wouldn’t be fine with it. Shit, he knew women.
He was all too aware of how flawed a human he really. He looked in the mirror and tried not to hate himself because, honestly, he wanted to go for it. Spend their nights hot and naked with him buried deep inside her. But it would be a massive mistake in the long run, and he didn’t want her or Michael to get hurt.
He went out of the room and plastered a smile on his face. He had work to do.
Keeping these two safe and seeing if they could pry the lid off Michael’s memories was his top priority. He had an idea that might work, but it required no pressure and lots of patience, which was hard when the clock was ticking.
“Hey, Mikey. How’s breakfast?”
The kid gave him a tentative smile. His lips going back to droopy and sad afterward, but that was a smile. Vivi passed Jed a coffee, then put milk and sugar on the table.
“Thanks.” His voice was gruff, emotions still close to the surface.
“Old friend?” The seemingly innocuous question made him pause and take a good look at her.
Was she jealous? Or just naturally curious?
He didn’t play games. Not with people’s emotions. He’d lost the only woman he’d truly loved to a sadistic killer. Games had always seemed ridiculous after that. Probably why Angela’s antics pissed him off so much. Mia would have liked Vivi—that thought came out of nowhere.
So he held those piercing, blue eyes and gave it to her straight. “Angela and I dated in high school. She married my best friend from high school, but he died a couple of years ago in Afghanistan. She’s struggling to cope, and I think she wants to fall back into old habits.”
She blinked. He saw immediately that she hadn’t expected him to be that open with her. Her trust issues were showing. She surprised him then by revealing another little bit of herself. “I think I had one date in high school—it was awful, a total disaster. No one wanted to date the class nerd except the male equivalent, and I scared the poor guy half to death when I demanded a kiss.” Her eyes were amused. The woman could probably take her pick of the male species now, but she chose to see herself as the reject, rather than a beautiful and intelligent woman. Her ex had done a real number on her.
“High school is a zoo. Some people have it, some people don’t.” He winked and she snorted—it made her seem more approachable, less nerd-turned-goddess. “Just wait until Michael is in high school, the girls will be flocking.”
Michael choked on his cereal and milk splattered on the counter. Jed slapped him on the back, threw a paper towel at the boy, and let him clean up while he got out his own bowl of cereal. Vivi hovered. “And just because you don’t say much, kid, don’t think that’ll stop them.” Jed gave an exaggerated shudder and leaned closer to Michael’s ear. “Girls like the strong, silent type.”
Michael pulled a gross face and showed a mouthful of cereal. Vivi looked like she was doing her best not to berate him for his manners, but she made herself turn away and wash the dishes. Jed was hard to gross out. Two brothers and too many serial killers to mention.
“They also like guns.”
Michael’s eyes gleamed as they locked onto the weapon Jed flashed in his shoulder holster.
“So you probably wouldn’t want to know how to fire one of these, huh?”
Michael’s eyes bugged, big and round, begging him as plainly as words.
Vivi looked between them and let out a ragged breath. She threw the dish towel down on the counter. “Fine, but only if I get to learn too.”
Jed shared a look with the kid. Michael blinked in surprise. “What d’you think, Mikey? Should we let her?”
The grin that broke out on the little guy’s face actually caused a stab of pain just below Jed’s sternum. The smile lit up the whole room. Despite everything he’d been through, despite being scared down to his marrow, he could still smile.
No way was he letting anyone hurt this boy, or his mother. He tapped the kid’s knuckles and they finished their breakfast in easy silence. When he caught Vivi’s gaze, it showed a mixture of hope and defeat; hope that they could actually fight the people who were after them, defeat that her world had irrevocably changed and there was no going back to what it had been before. There was something else in her gaze that looked suspiciously like admiration. He swallowed and concentrated on his cereal. She obviously had terrible taste in men.
***
Pilah walked into the hospital. The weapon was in her tote, concealed in a lunch bag. There were a high number of police officers walking the halls. People were still clearly on edge. One officer’s gaze raked over her and came back for a second look, but it wasn’t suspicion. The man’s eyes lingered on her tight jeans and small waist, drifting higher in a way that would have made her husband rant and rave. She stuck her chest out just a little and lifted her chin. There, Adad, that’s what you get for dying.
She walked to where William Green had been yesterday and frowned when she got to the ward only to find he wasn’t there. She retraced her steps to the n
urses’ station.
“Oh, he’s been moved to a private room. I thought you’d have known.”
Pilah shook her head.
The nurse led her along the corridor. Police officers and some sort of security people came out of the room that the nurse stopped beside.
Pilah looked up at the wall of solid muscle and testosterone that stalked down the halls. Ice-cold fear swept down her spine. The group went into the room across the hall.
“Who are they?” she whispered. She knew. She knew exactly who they were and what they were doing. She gripped her bag tighter.
The nurse pursed her lips and shrugged, waving her inside the private room.
William Green lay hooked up to a machine that measured his heartbeat and various other monitors. The bandage around his head was pale against the warm, pink flush of his face.
“Will they come back in here?” Pilah was worried she was overreacting, but the men had certainly seemed intimidating. Did Sargon really think she could ever get the drop on someone like that? Surely not. But she had more to lose than they did. A lot more.
“Some bigwig is visiting soon. They’re doing security checks everywhere. I couldn’t even park today without one of them checking my little car for explosives.”
“Why would they search in here?” Pilah asked.
The nurse avoided her gaze. “I couldn’t say.”
It was actually going to happen. Pilah didn’t know how she felt about that but maybe, just maybe, the man in the shadows would keep his promise and rescue her daughters and if so, she would keep hers.
“Do you mind if I just sit with him?” Pilah asked the nurse.
“Not at all, just make sure you talk to him, or read to him. It’s good for him to hear a familiar voice.”
Pilah took the man’s hand. It was warm and dry. She squeezed his fingers but got no response. She was sorry he’d been hurt. It had seemed so much easier during the planning stages, so simple to “take out” an imaginary foe. Pilah regretted everything she’d done, but it didn’t even matter anymore. She had no choice.
Cold Pursuit (Cold Justice) (Volume 2) Page 18
