“Guess so.”
“Talk to me. Explain your concerns, maybe I’ll understand them.”
He scratched the bare skin on his head, scrunched his face up and blew out a breath. “I wish I could. Thing is, I just feel it,” he said pointing to his gut. “She’s dangerous, a loose cannon and someone’s gonna get blasted. You didn’t see the way she ran into that gunfire the other day, you didn’t see the look on her face when she pulled the trigger to take down a man. Now that I know the whole story behind her, it makes me even more nervous.”
“Okay, I understand that, I really do. You think she’s a hot-headed, glory-seeking wannabe. But we have the chance to change that and maybe save her life. Between the four of us we can teach her how to be good without being stupid.”
“I didn’t say she was glory-seekin’ or a wannabe. She has skills, good skills. She has a bureau education which means she’s smart. But she’s a rogue and that don’t set well with me.”
Sam sensed a story there, a reason for his mistrust. “What happened, Rico?”
“Who says anthin’ happened?”
“You do. Your face, your eyes.”
“Sorry, Sam, no sob story of mistrust from me. I just take my team’s lives seriously, that’s all.” He turned, looked at her right in the eye. “You listen to the voice in your head about things. I listen to my gut about things, and my gut is screamin’ trouble. I’m sorry if they don’t agree, but I have to listen to my warnin’ system.”
She couldn’t blame him for that. So why was he sensing trouble and she wasn’t being warned about anything.
Trouble for one does not mean trouble for another, her guide whispered.
She mulled the words around inside her head. Did that mean Rico was in danger from this woman? Now she was unsettled about the whole thing.
“Will you at least give it a try?” she asked.
“I’ll give it a try, but know this, Sam. She gets no special treatment from me. She either does what the rest are expected to do or I’m done with her.”
“That sounds fair.”
“I just don’t want ta see her for the rest of the day.”
“Okay. I’ll pass that along. I’ll leave you to it then. But I want you to promise me if there’s anything you want to talk about you come and find me.”
“Will do.”
She left him, satisfied that he would give it a chance. But she still felt odd about it. She hoped the jog back to base would clear that uncertainty from her mind, unfortunately it didn’t.
“How’d it go?” Kong asked when she approached him.
“Okay. He agreed to give it a try.”
“That’s something, but you don’t seem too happy about it,” he said wrapping his arm around her.
She rested her head against him and slid her arm around his waist. Being close to him made things better. “I’m not sure about all this, Mark. Something isn’t sitting right with me.”
“Did you request advice?”
“Yeah, I was told trouble for one doesn’t mean trouble for another.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I don’t know. Mark, he has a strong feeling that this isn’t good and I have to respect that.”
He turned, pulled her close to him and looked into her eyes. “I’ll tell ya what. We’ll all keep our eyes on her. First sign things aren’t right we’ll report it to Cannon and I’m willing to bet she’s booted off base.”
“Sounds good.”
He placed his finger under her chin and lifted it. “You okay? You have dark circles under your eyes.”
“I’m fine, just a little tired.” When he leaned down and kissed her, a burst of energy sizzled up from her toes. “Keep that up and I’ll have all kinds of energy.”
“Put it in reserve babe, your uncle’s waiting to talk to you.”
“Yeah, you coming?”
“No,” he said looking across the training field. “I think I’ll go have a chat with my buddy.”
He kissed her hard and deep again then pulled away. Her head spun making her sway. That was unusual, she thought.
“Lunch together today?” he asked walking away.
“Sure.” She turned, took a step and everything went white. Her body slumped to the ground. Cold sweat seeped from her skin and her stomach rolled.
Far off in the distance she could hear someone talking to her but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Hands touched her back and felt her forehead. What was happening?
“Ma’am, are you okay?”
Sam turned her head. The face in front of her was blurry. She blinked several times until it came into focus. She saw a very young man staring back at her.
“Do you need me to get Mr. Cannon or Kong?” he asked.
His eyes held deep concern. “No. That’s okay, I’m fine.”
“Sorry to say, ma’am, but you don’t look fine. You’re all pale and sweaty.”
“Just give me a moment,” she told him and hung her head. The sweating stopped and her head cleared. “Help me up, would ya?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He stood in front of her, grasped both her hands and allowed her to lever herself up instead of pulling. When she was sure her legs would hold her, she released him.
“Thank you,” she said smiling.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to get someone for you?”
The poor kid was scared. He held his arms out ready to catch her if she fell again.
“Actually I’m feeling much better. Let this be a lesson to you,” she said brushing off her pants, “make sure you eat a healthy breakfast before a workout.”
“Always do, ma’am. At least your color is coming back.”
“Yeah? Good, can’t go walking into the boss looking like death.”
“No, ma’am. You do look much better.”
“What’s your name?” she asked wanting to ease his concern.
“Recruit Pearson, ma’am.”
“Well, Recruit Pearson, let’s keep this little incident between you and me, shall we?” The last thing she needed was four worried men hovering over her constantly.
“Ma’am?”
“I’m asking you not to tell anyone. It’ll just get certain people upset and neither one of us needs that. Because if they get upset, I get upset.” She winked at him, hoping she made her point.
“Yes, ma’am. Between us, no one else.”
“Thanks. You better get to where you belong. I don’t want you getting into trouble because of me.”
“You’re sure? You don’t want me to wait until you’re inside?”
“That’s not necessary, Pearson. Go on, get.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He turned and jogged away then stopped, turned back and gave her one final look.
She shooed him away with her hand and flashed a big bright smile. When he was finally gone she let out a long breath. What the hell was that all about? Maybe her blood sugar was too low and that jog out the field was a little more than her body could take right now. Thinking that explanation made sense, she made her way into Walt’s office.
“Hey, did you talk to him?” he asked without looking up at her.
“Yeah. He’s gonna give it a chance.”
“Good.”
“He has a real bad feeling about this, Uncle Walt, and in all fairness you should take that into consideration.”
Walt laid his pen down and looked up at her. “I am, Sam. That’s why I wanted you to talk to him. Any insight on what the story is?”
“Nothing other than she is some sort of trouble for him.”
“But not the team, or the base.”
“Not as far as I can tell. Not getting much help. Mark said we’d just keep our eyes on her and the first sign of trouble we’d report it to you.”
“He said that?”
“Yes, he said that. Is that a problem?” she snipped.
“No, Samantha, no problem,” he said leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.
&nb
sp; “Sorry.”
“No problem. You feeling okay? You look a little pale?”
“Tired and hungry that’s all. In fact I think I’ll go see cook and see if he’s got any pastries left.”
“Try some real food,” he said as she stood.
“In the mood for something sweet. Oh by the way, Ricochet requests that Ronnie stay out of his way for the rest of the day.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks, Uncle Walt. Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?” she asked just before she walked out the door.
“Thank you, but I have other plans.”
“All work and no play makes Uncle Walt a lonely man.” She said wagging her finger at him.
“Don’t worry about me, Sam. I’m just fine.”
* * * * *
The rest of the day went as planned. Ricochet taught the recruits how to camouflage themselves with what was available. Each one made their own suit of twigs and weeds, he inspected it and then showed them how to use it properly.
All in all they did well for their first shot at it. He returned to base feeling good about what he was doing. Funny Sam should ask if he missed the military. He hadn’t given it a second thought since he left. This place, W&S, felt like home. Sam, Cannon, Hannah and Raya were all new members of his family. The gatherings and special occasions were important to him.
He walked into the team’s barracks and gathered his dirty clothes from this morning to take home and wash. When he exited, the recruit he’d had his eye on for his exemplary performance this morning was lingering outside.
“Hey, Pearson, you look lost. What’s up?”
“Can I talk to you, sir?” He asked standing at attention.
“Shoot.”
“I was asked to do something that I don’t feel comfortable with, sir.”
Ricochet could see the turmoil in his eyes. “Stand at ease, recruit.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“This thing you were asked to do, was it one of your fellow recruits who asked?”
“No, sir.”
“One of your superiors?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What makes you feel uncomfortable with it?”
“I don’t think its right.”
“Is it going to endanger your life?”
“No, sir.”
He didn’t like this. If the kid had a problem with one of them he should be talking to them, not him. But the fact that the kid trusted him enough to talk said something.
“Look. When you’re in trainin’ you’re asked to do things that you don’t think you can do. We push you to find out if you have what it takes to do this job.”
“This has nothing to do with training, sir.”
“It doesn’t?”
“No, sir. It’s personal.”
Well hell that changed things a bit. Was this something he really wanted to get involved with?
“How personal?” When the kid’s eyes rolled around and he started chewing on his bottom lip his patience ran out. “Speak freely, Pearson. It’s the only way we’re gonna get through this.”
“One of my superiors had a problem. I was there to help. This superior asked me to keep the situation between us. I feel someone should know for the sake of my superior. Sir, if this was just a job thing I wouldn’t be talking to you right now. But the situation could affect my superior’s life if they were called out on a mission.”
That did change things. “So you’re sayin’ somethin’ happened to one of my team and you feel it could endanger their lives.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Spill, Pearson.”
“Smoke collapsed.”
Ricochet jerked backward. Something was wrong with Sam. His heart raced as he rubbed his chin. “Explain.”
“Sir, she just finished talking with Kong, he turned and left, she turned and fell to the ground. When I got to her she couldn’t hear me, couldn’t see me and was sweating like a pig. Her eyes were dilated and she was as pale as can be. I don’t like betraying her confidence, sir, not one bit. Please understand that. I have nothing but respect for her but I don’t mind saying she scared the hell out of me. I stayed with her, helped her up and made sure she was steady on her feet and then she sent me away.”
“After she asked you to keep it to yourself.”
“Yes, sir. She said it was because she didn’t eat this morning, but, sir, I grew up in house full of women, the only boy. I’ve seen things, heard things young boys shouldn’t know about until they’re men. This didn’t have anything to do with not eating.”
Oh this wasn’t good. “Okay, son. Do me a favor and keep your eye on her. If anything else happens you come to me right away.”
“Yes, sir.”
They both turned and parted company. Now he had a decision to make. Did he confront Sam with it, go to Kong and tell him or do what he’d instructed Pearson to do, just keep an eye on her? If there was a medical problem it really wasn’t any of his business. Hell, maybe Kong already knew and they were just keeping it hushed for the time being.
“Like I needed this,” he grumbled walking toward his car. When it rained it poured.
By the time he got home he’d convinced himself that if there was a serious problem with Sam, Kong knew about it. As long as Kong knew about it there wasn’t any need for him to confront her about Pearson’s concerns. He had to give the kid credit. He recognized a problem with a team member and made a call to report it. In a real-life mission it could have meant the difference between life and death. The kid had the makings of good operative.
After a day like today he was in need of release. When he got home he pulled out his personal phone book, ran his finger down the names until he found one that caught his attention. Each woman had her own particular attributes. Some were good for a quiet evening, others good for a night of loud music and few drinks. That was what he was in the mood for tonight.
He picked up the phone, dialed and before long had a date lined up. He had enough time to shower and make a call to his moms and check in. The hot shower went a long way in removing the irritation of Veronica Holter from his system. An evening spent with a beautiful woman would wash away the rest.
He reached for the phone when a soft knock sounded on his door. It was so faint he actually thought he imagined it. When he heard it again he frowned and walked to the door. It probably was one of the neighbor kids locked out again. He seemed to be the one they came to when there was trouble. That was probably it, so he fixed a friendly smile on his face and opened the door.
The smile quickly disappeared, replaced by a suspicion. Yep, this day just wasn’t going to let him go. Now his trouble was following him home.
“Hello, Ricochet.”
“Miss Holter,” he replied with his hand firmly on the door knob, ready to slam it shut. “Something I can do for you?”
“I was hoping I could talk with you,” she said smiling.
“I’m on my way out.” What the hell could she possibly want to talk about that couldn’t wait until tomorrow?
“I won’t keep you long.”
It was obvious she wasn’t going to leave until she’d had her say so he opened the door farther and stepped aside. Bad decision. She passed by him leaving a faint, soft scent of flowers in her wake. His gaze followed her. Instead of the black boots, tight pants and fitted blouse he’d seen her in twice already, she was wearing a simple tan sundress with low-heeled sandals.
He tried not to pay attention to the way the heels made her calves curve up under the material of the dress. Nor did he want to notice how her hourglass figure was accented by the black belt hugging her trim waist. He particularly didn’t want to see the voluptuous cleavage that the low-cut v-neck was displaying. Her hair was even different this time as well. Instead of the simple ponytail, her hair hung in thick ringlets down her back and around her face.
He slammed the door and rubbed his eyes. Keep in mind who she is, he warned himself. All that scent and fancy packaging
doesn’t change who she is. He folded his arms across his chest, cocked his hip out to the side and gave her a blank look. At least he hoped it was blank.
“I wanted to apologize for today,” she started.
Had her eyes been that soft and shiny today?
“I really didn’t mean to sneak up on you the way I did.”
Wow, her lips were plump and silky looking. Was she wearing that glossy stuff, or was it natural, he wondered.
“My curiosity got the better of me.”
“Curiosity killed the cat,” he said flatly trying to keep his focus on her words.
“Yes, well, you are a hard one to get close to.”
“Not really.”
“So it’s just me you want to keep at a distance.”
He was at a loss for words. His mother brought him up not to be intentionally cruel, but how was he supposed to reply without hurting her feelings?
“You do know the lack of an answer is one? I don’t know what it is you have against me, but I’d like the chance to correct any wrong I’ve done.”
“Why?” She was trying too hard, his gut was cramping from the bad mojo she was sending out.
“Why? You do want to make this hard,” she muttered crossing her arms over her breasts.
The move forced more flesh over the edges of the material at the v. He clenched his jaw and averted his eyes. He was making it hard?
“Whether you like it or not, Ricochet, we’re going to be working together. I prefer staring out on the right foot.”
“You call eavesdroppin’, hidin’ and disruptin’ a trainin’ session startin’ out on the right foot? Where I come from that could get ya killed.”
“I realize I intruded on your turf but…”
“Intruded on my turf,” he laughed interrupting. “That’s a good one. I don’t give a rat’s ass if you’re on base. What I care about is my men’s attention, which I don’t have when someone’s sneakin’ around. Trainin’ is number one on that base. If you can’t live with that then you need to rethink your stay.”
As soon as he finished talking he knew he’d struck a nerve. Her body tensed, her hands fisted, and those big round brown eyes morphed into slits. This will be interesting, he thought to himself.
Ricochet's Rogue (Agent of Mercy, Book Three) Page 7
