by Zoe Dawson
“I’m so glad you have me all worked out, and it’s not about me. It’s about you and your choices.”
“No. This is about you. But you’re the only one who can work that out. Obviously, what I say doesn’t really matter. I’ve been down this road, Sky. I’ve loved deeply, and my previous girlfriend couldn’t accept me for who I was. She didn’t value me for who I was, just who she thought I should be. What I’m looking for is acceptance, and the last thing I want is to be with a woman who thinks I’m not good enough.”
That stabbed like a knife. Her heart squeezed painfully at the thought, but she pushed the pain away. She had to go with what she knew and ignore her gut instinct. These feelings were too new, too sensitive to be explored, so she reeled away from delving any deeper. “I do value you, and I’ve struggled with my feelings for you. I have. But I don’t see how I can reconcile my heart. It’s being torn in two.”
“I know that feeling,” he said, his eyes telling the story of the same kind of issues she struggled with. He set his hands on his hips, then dug in his pocket for the car keys and the burner phone he carried. She pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling.
“I’ll go get your laptop. I'll make it back in less than an hour. Why don't you come with me?” It was an olive branch, but she was smarting from their disagreement and was afraid she would cry.
“No. I’d rather stay here,” she said in a small voice.
He sighed and she ignored it. “Keep your phone with you at all times, then.”
She ran to lock the door and, as her knees threatened to buckle, she collapsed on to the couch and dropped her face into her hands in despair. She gulped down tears and struggled to snatch a breath that didn’t catch in her throat.
She tugged her composure tight around herself. Damned if she’d let him make her cry for what she knew was right.
So why did it feel as if she’d just lost her whole world?
Chapter Fifteen
He clutched the wheel in a white-knuckled grip and felt sick. His stomach twisted at her words. You disappoint me, Vin. They played over and over in his head. His fear was realized. She couldn’t accept him for who he was, and she used her parents’ sacrifice to keep from really living life. They were at an impasse. He wanted her understanding—that was really it and pretty simple. But her past and her sacrifice colored everything. Until she let go of that, he didn’t see how they would even have a chance.
He set his GPS for the address Beau had given him. He was coming from the Navy Yard where they had Sky’s laptop safe and sound and rendezvousing not far from here. Beau was taking a clean car, and no one was aware where he was going. This wasn’t really risky, but Vin planned to be vigilant regardless.
He stared out of the windshield and could only be happy about one thing in that fight. She was mad and hurt. That wasn’t lost on him. Maybe once she calmed down, she would see what he was talking about. Her anger wasn’t a bad thing. It gave her away, telling him that it could only be fueled by passion. If she hadn’t cared, he wouldn’t rate that kind of response from her.
All he had to do now was convince her to let go.
And hold fast to the knowledge that while she was saying no and constructing walls, in that moment when she’d looked into his eyes, there had been confusion and longing plainly there for him to see. He was good at guessing what was going on in people’s heads, and the closer he got to Sky, the more he knew. She just had to figure it out.
There was no guarantee that she would, and the fact that he didn’t quite trust her didn’t deter him. He was a Marine and an agent, confident in his own abilities. But this time he had to rely on her to come to her own conclusions. There was no way he could force the issue.
He had to accept that she might just disappear after this was over.
The short trip flew by because his mind was occupied with Sky. When he pulled into the gas station where they were supposed to meet, Vin parked his car and turned off the engine. He got out and did a quick perimeter check, not that he was worried there were any bad guys in the vicinity. It was routine, and he embraced the chance to get his mind off Sky.
About fifteen minutes later, Beau pulled up. He got out and walked over to where Vin was waiting, braced against the driver’s side door of his vehicle.
He pushed away when Beau was almost to him.
“Hey, man. You doing okay? Heard you got shot.”
Vin rubbed at his shoulder; the pain was still there but dulled. It wasn’t as sharp as the pain in his heart.
“I’m still upright and breathing.”
“I had Math disable the GPS,” Beau said, studying him as he handed him the laptop. “You look like shit.”
“Thanks. It’s good to see you, too.”
“Is that beautiful fille putting you through your paces, mon ami?”
“She’s not a girl, my friend,” Vin said, wryly.
“Mais oui, dat be true.”
“How goes the investigation?”
Beau’s expression changed, and he dropped the good-ole-boy Cajun speak. “We’ve identified most of the bodies, and we know they’re all mercenaries, when they came into the country, and what they’re doing here. That’s about it at this point. I’ve been following up every clue I have, but these bastards are ghosts.”
“How about the leak? Any luck there?”
“If there’s a leak, I couldn’t find it. The safe house database wasn’t breached, and only Miller, Strong, me, Amber and Chris knew where you were.”
“Do you think Miller or Strong was dirty?”
“If that was the case, I would expect to find money deposits, but I found nothing out of the ordinary in their bank accounts, and for the record, Chris made me investigate him and Amber while he investigated me. We all came up squeaky clean.”
“Then they found Dr. Baang by some other means.”
“Her phone maybe. That has GPS.”
“That’s possible but seems unlikely. The company she works for must have that in deep encryption.”
Vin opened his mouth. “Before you even ask, yes, I looked into Admiral Bartlett. No red flags on him. I delved into Russell Coyne like a pit bull into a juicy T-bone. There’s nothing to indicate that he’s involved in any way. He’s got a large number of Navy contracts in addition to corporate ones. What would he gain from kidnapping his own employee?”
“Only one thing I can think of. Sky’s working on a top-secret project. How did his financials look?”
“Tight. He’s leveraged, but what business isn’t? I couldn’t find anything suspicious there.”
“Sky called him. That’s why I wanted the laptop. He says he needs some data from her for a meeting he has at the Pentagon at the end of the week. Check that out for me and let me know what you find out.”
“Will do. What about her, Vin? Could she have gotten herself into something she couldn’t get herself out of and she’s using our shiny shields…or…um…your shiny shield to hide behind?”
“I don’t think so.”
“And which head are you thinking with?”
Vin clenched his teeth. “Not the same damn head you were thinking with when you got involved with that lovely JAG friend of Amber’s.”
Beau surprised him by laughing.
“What is so damn funny?”
“You like that hot little scientist. Can’t say I blame you.”
“That’s not exactly professional,” he said, though he knew Beau could see right through him with bro-radar.
“That belle femme is going to change your life.”
“Thank you, Dr. Phil.”
“This gives me ragging rights, mon ami. At least you’ll have someone to console your tears.”
“Very funny.”
Beau laughed. “I know. I can’t wait to tell Amber.”
“Yeah, you’ll get a lot of help there. She thinks you’re a womanizer, especially after the JAG friend of hers got her heart broken.”
“Hey, that’s her fault
. I’m always up front. Women just sometimes don’t choose to hear what I’m saying.”
“You keep telling yourself that, mon ami, and when you get tagged and bagged by some little cutie you can’t resist, the tables will be turned.” Vin thought back to how he’d left things with Sky. “I’ve got to get going.”
“Be careful. This was a well-thought-out mission using a deadly merc force. They want her for something big, and they’re not going to stop coming for her. Watch your back and call us if you need us.”
Vin nodded and said, “Call me as soon as you have information on Coyne. Dig into him deeper.”
“All right. I will. I don’t disregard your hunches. They’ve panned out too many times. But maybe I should look a little deeper into Dr. Baang?”
“You can, but you won’t find anything.”
“How can you be sure?”
“She might be one of the smartest women on the planet, but she’s a terrible liar—her face gives away everything she’s thinking.”
“Maybe she rehearsed it.”
“My gut tells me no.”
“Are you sure it’s your gut….”
“Don’t finish that sentence. I don’t want to have to shut you up.”
Beau chuckled. “You’re sure there’s not a remote chance she’s playing you?”
“If she is, then I should hang up my badge and gun.”
Beau turned to go, then smiled and turned around. “I’ve got your back.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Thank me when this is over and I can get on with giving you shit for, oh, a few years ought to cover it.”
“You find out who’s after her, you can rag on me as long as you like.”
“Then I guess I better make sure that not only do the good guys win, but that you get the belle femme.” He waved goodbye as he walked away.
Vin got back in the car with Sky’s laptop, setting it on the passenger seat. He wished that Beau could make it possible that he would get the girl, but right now, he wasn’t so sure the girl would cooperate.
When he got back to the cabin, it was close to noon. Sky was sitting by the fire, staring into it. As the door opened, she started and met his eyes.
Hers were sad and conflicted. He breathed a sigh that they weren’t cold and distant. She reached down in her lap and stood. The multicolored scarf in her hands, she came up to him and took the laptop case, walking over and setting it down on the coffee table. She returned to him. Without a word, she draped the scarf around his neck.
He grabbed her hands and squeezed. But she only pulled away. “I made lunch. Just some soup and a sandwich. Help yourself.”
“Thank you, but I’m not hungry.” He left the living room as she was plugging in and booting up her laptop. Inside the bedroom, he stripped off his sweater and picked up a long-sleeved flannel shirt. He rolled his shoulder a few times. Going into the bathroom, he pulled the bandage away from the wound. It was still tender but looked pretty good. He discarded the bandages and pulled on the shirt and buttoned it.
Walking through the living room to the front door, he could see that Sky was already deeply immersed in her data analysis.
How he had fallen for another woman who couldn’t let him be himself was beyond him. His heart clenched as he pulled open the door. He stretched out both shoulders and his back. Going down the stairs, he headed for the wood pile and grabbed up the axe sitting next to two big piles of wood.
He pinched the axe between his legs and rolled up his sleeves. It was nippy out, but once he got going, he would get hot. He’d been inactive too long. It was time to get his blood flowing and get his mind on something else besides the woman in the house.
Was she as conflicted as she said?
The axe came down, splitting the log in two, but Vin took it slow until he warmed up. Hours later he’d split all the wood, and it was getting dark. He’d taken off his shirt because he’d been overheated, but now that he’d stopped, he was feeling the chill. He shrugged into the shirt, gathered up an armload of wood and went back inside the cabin.
Sky didn’t even look up. He cleaned out the debris from the smoldering fire and took it out back to dump it.
Once he was back inside, he reset the logs and tinder and started up another good blaze. He was good and hungry now. Since it looked as if she wasn’t interested in stopping what she was doing, he took a quick shower and heated up the soup, eating in the kitchen what she’d prepared for lunch.
His shoulder was throbbing a bit, and he took some painkiller and sat down in a chair by the fire and placed his gun on the side table. Sky’s head came up when the steel hit the wood with an audible sound.
Her gaze went to the Sig, and the glaze over them receded. She looked momentarily scared, as if she’d forgotten where she was. She must have gotten lost in her work.
“You expecting company?” she asked, eyeing his weapon.
“I’m always prepared,” he said, rubbing at his shoulder.
“Does it hurt?” she asked, remorse and concern in her voice.
“It’s fine,” he said and dropped his gaze. He could see that she stared at him for a few more moments, then with a resigned expression on her face, she went back to work. He hoped that it sustained her. He doubted it did, but the decision to change her life wasn’t in his hands.
He drifted off to sleep to the sound of the rat-a-tat of her keys.
When he started awake, he wasn’t sure what had brought him out of a deep sleep. But then he heard it. A footfall. He looked to the couch to find Sky sleeping, then his gaze went to the laptop.
Fuck. That was it. He didn’t know how they had done it, but it was the laptop. Her need for her work had given them away.
He was up and moving before he completed that thought. He slipped his hand over her mouth, and when her eyes popped open and she registered that it was him, he pulled her up, grabbed their coats off the hook near the door and ran for the bedroom. Handing her coat to her, he shrugged into his own. The scarf she’d given him was in the pocket, and he draped it around his neck as she pulled on the black knit hat and a pair of gloves. As they passed the bed, she grabbed up the fanny pack.
Tucking his firearm into the holster at the waistband of his jeans, he silently opened the window and looked out. He picked up a faint rustling and the sound of hushed voices. They had very little time. He picked Sky up and dropped her out the window and followed her, taking the time to close the window behind him.
He took her hand at the same time he reached for his gun. They rounded the house, and he holstered his weapon, pulling her tight against the house to hide in the shadow. A man crept up the back steps. Vin reached for the knife in his pocket and released the deadly blade. The bastard had a semiautomatic slung over his shoulder, and Vin was sure there were more mercs ready to explode into the cabin. He turned to her and put his index finger against his lips. Her eyes were wide and terrified, her breath shallow. He stealthily stepped around the edge of the porch, staying low, moving like a sniper with a target in sight. He waited, his nerves drawn to a lethal edge. As soon as he heard the door crack from force, he leaped at the guy and took him down without a sound. He stripped him of his auto and slung it over his shoulder. Then he vaulted the porch railing, landing with a thud next to her.
He grabbed her hand and bolted for the car, but as soon as he saw it, the hood up and the engine disabled, he changed direction. Dragging her into the woods with him, his keen sense of direction honed from all his perimeter walks, he got to the blind in moments.
He lifted it as he heard a loud, foul stream of Russian come from the cabin. The guy was pissed. Sky gasped, and her head whipped toward the cabin. “Get in!”
“Vin.”
“Now,” he growled.
She scooted forward, and he crouched, draping the blanket he’d jerry-rigged with tinfoil to temporarily block the infrared scope any smart merc would carry as part of his gear and tucked it over her. “As soon as they pass, hightail
it for the road. Use the map to find the sheriff’s office and lay low until I get there. Do you understand?”
She nodded, her breathing too fast. “Don’t hyperventilate,” he ordered. She made an effort to calm her breathing. She looked up at him with scared, pain-filled eyes. Giving her a reassuring look, he let the blind fall.
He sidestepped into the woods and took cover as six big silhouettes poured out of the cabin’s back door. The frantic yelling started up again as they tripped over their buddy.
He ran down to the river’s edge and hid to the side of the boathouse. As he coated his face with mud, he pressed Chris’s number, but Beau answered.
“Beau, it’s me. I think the laptop was bugged. Listen—”
“You were right. I checked on that meeting at the Pentagon. There wasn’t one. Coyne lied to her. Chris and Amber went to pick him up. I found out other—”
“There’s no time for that, Beau. Dammit. They found us.” Vin rattled off the address where they were. “Get a chopper fast and get here yesterday.” Vin stepped closer to the boathouse to hide his heat signature. “We’re heading to Newport and the sheriff’s office.”
“On it!”
Sky used every trick she knew to keep her breathing even, but the terror inside her threatened to overtake her. Vin was good at his job. That she already knew. But, oh, God, she thought over and over like a litany in her head, Let him be all right.
She heard footfalls near the blind, and then men passed her by. She waited several seconds more. She was just about to lift it and escape to the road when she heard an inhuman sound of pain.
“Dr. Baang, we have your Special Agent Fitzgerald. Come out now or we’ll kill him.”
