by Rebecca Deel
“Because you’re EOD.”
“The threat was aimed at my skill set. If I made a mistake or ran out of time, killing me would have been a bonus for the person who commissioned the bomber. Did you recognize him? Was he one of the men in the truck at the mall?”
“Those men had dark hair and swarthy skin. This one has Nordic coloring.”
He stopped her at the alley. “Stay here while I check the SUV.” Doubtful if someone planted a bomb on his vehicle while he was inside Perk. Still, he wouldn’t take a chance with Sasha’s safety or his own. If something happened to him, she was more vulnerable.
From a safe distance, he unlocked his vehicle, then opened the hatchback and dumped his Go bag inside. Cade checked his ride for trackers or a bomb. Clean.
Cade tucked Sasha inside the SUV. A moment later, he headed for home. The lights were on in the living room and a flickering blue light indicated the medic was still awake and waiting for them.
“About time you kids got home. You missed curfew.” The medic’s eyes glinted with amusement.
“Ran into a problem at Perk.”
Matt straightened from the wall. “What happened?”
“Found a tango on site setting up two bombs.”
“Well, you’re still in one piece. You must have defused them successfully.”
“With help from Nate. The bombs were set to go off unless they were defused at the same time.”
“How much time was on the clock?”
“By the time I subdued the bomber, I had 28 minutes to work.”
“A lifetime for you.” Matt looked at Sasha. “You okay?”
“Other than needing to sit down, I’m great. My boyfriend is safe, my shop is still in one piece, and the bomber is in jail. A win all the way around.”
“Do you need anything before you go to sleep?” Cade asked.
She shook her head. “I think a hot bath will rid me of the chill in my bones.” Sasha pressed a kiss to Cade’s lips. “I’ll see you at 5:00. Good night, Matt.”
“Sleep well, Sasha.”
Cade watched her until she disappeared down the hall and closed herself into the bedroom. “Whoever ordered those bombs in Perk knows what I do, Matt.”
“Made that pretty obvious. Sasha looks like she’s holding up well.”
“She won’t be if I can’t find a way to stop this. I don’t want to lose her.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sasha leaned her forehead against the shower wall a few minutes after five the next morning. Between the late hour going to bed and the nightmares while she slept, she felt as though she hadn’t rested at all.
Sasha made quick work of the rest of her shower and stepped onto a plush blue bath mat. Once dressed, she peered at her reflection in the mirror and frowned. Wow, she looked rough. Circles under her eyes and a purple bruise where the bank robber’s fist connected with her face.
She did what she could to hide the damage from the past few days. Sasha dressed, tied on her tennis shoes, and went to find Cade.
Once again, he was in the kitchen preparing to-go cups of coffee. Matt leaned against the counter, sipping from a mug in his hand.
Sasha walked into the kitchen and both men focused on her. “Good morning. Can I help?”
“Are you hungry?” Cade asked.
“I’ll find something at PSI. I want to help Nate with breakfast.”
“He’ll appreciate it since I interrupted his night.” Cade kissed Sasha and handed her one of the three to-go cups he’d prepared. “We’re ready to roll.”
Matt rinsed his empty coffee cup and placed it in the dishwasher. “I’ll lock up and set the alarm.”
Sasha grabbed her purse and waited for Cade to check his SUV. Once he was satisfied, he returned to the door for her.
“Same deal, Sassy. Straight to the SUV.” He pulled her tight against his body and moved the toward the vehicle at a fast clip, scanning the area as they walked.
As soon as Matt was in his SUV, they drove to PSI. To his credit, Cade didn’t try to break the silence, giving Sasha a chance to drink the coffee. By the time they parked in the lot behind PSI’s main building, the brain fog had begun to dissipate.
While Matt greeted several trainees in the dining hall, Cade walked with Sasha into the kitchen.
Nate glanced up, smiled. “Morning. What are you doing in here, Sasha?”
“Need help?”
“Biscuits are ready to come out of the oven.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Cade said. He brushed his lips over hers. “Stay with Nate, his teammates, or one of mine. No one else.”
“I’ll be fine.” She laid her hand over his jaw for a moment and placed a soft kiss on his mouth.
“I’ll be close if you need me.” With a pointed look at Nate, who nodded, he left.
Sasha found a safe place for her bag, grabbed oven mitts, and got to work. She and Nate fell into a fast rhythm, and kept the food trays full for the trainees and staff. “How do they eat this much food?” she asked near the end of the breakfast shift. She didn’t think she’d ever fed that many people in one breakfast session.
Nate laughed. “We work them hard. The trainees burn off almost as many calories as most people consume in a day.”
“Maybe. I think it’s because a professional chef cooks for them.” Everything Nate cooked tasted amazing. “I don’t know how you do this all the time. My back, legs, and feet are killing me.”
“I’ve seen the work you do in Perk. Right now, you’re exhausted and still recovering from an injury. Your body is using everything it can to heal. Did you eat breakfast before you came?”
“Does coffee count?”
He slid her a look. “You know better than that. Set aside what you want and we’ll eat as soon as the dining hall clears out.”
“Deal. Did Stella mind the call out?” Sasha slid one of the baking sheets into hot, soapy water, and started washing. There weren’t many left to do. Nate cleaned as he cooked, something she tried to do at Perk.
“Nope. She’s used to it. Sometimes Durango is deployed in the middle of the night. Other times she’s the one with a duty call in the early morning hours.”
Sasha paused, her eyebrows winging upward. “In Otter Creek? The sleepiest burg in the world?”
“Not so sleepy at night. Criminals don’t sleep. If there’s more than one crime scene in Otter Creek, a second detective is called in. Nick, Stella, and Rod trade off answering those calls.”
She smiled at the thought of Rod Kelter, another brother-in-law of Ethan’s who loved her coffee and pastries. “Do you go with her?”
“If I’m in town. I shoot the breeze with the cops setting up a perimeter. More often than not, Josh is on duty. He loves the night shift. Says it’s busy enough to keep him occupied.”
“How does he balance working as a town cop and a Fortress operative?”
“We aren’t deployed all the time. It’s better now that Bravo is stationed here permanently.”
“How often do you go out?”
Nate grabbed a towel and dried the baking sheets. “Once a month, sometimes twice, depending on how shorthanded Maddox is. You wondering how often Cade will be gone?”
“Deciding if I need to learn a new skill like knitting to keep me occupied when he’s out of town.”
“Nick’s wife, Madison, is teaching Stella to knit. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind teaching you.” He studied her a moment. “Durango’s wives help each other through our deployments. When Grace married Trent, they invited her to join them. You have a support network, Sasha. Take advantage of it.”
Nice that he included her in their number. Would the other women accept her?
A commotion in the hall outside the kitchen drew their attention. Before Sasha could draw a breath, Nate shifted to stand in front of her, gun in his hand and pointed at the door.
The door slammed open. Gerard ran into the room and straight toward Sasha, his face crimson, eyes narrowed.
�
�This is all your fault.” The former operative’s shout echoed in the kitchen. “You’re the reason I was fired.”
Sasha backed against the counter, moving as far as possible to stay out of Nate’s way. She needn’t have bothered. Between one heartbeat and the next, the chef had Gerard face down on the floor. The man struggled against Nate’s hold, screaming curses at him and Sasha.
Men poured into the kitchen from the dining hall. The first one through the door was Cade. Trent’s expression darkened when he caught sight of Nate restraining Gerard. While Quinn Gallagher, one of Nate’s teammates moved to help the chef, Cade wrapped his arms around Sasha.
“Did he hurt you?” The cold light in his eyes hinted of retribution in Gerard’s future.
Sasha shook her head.
Cade turned as Nate and Quinn hauled Gerard to his feet, still cursing. “How did you get into PSI?”
Gerard smirked.
Trent looked at Simon, who nodded and left the room. “Nate, find out everything.”
The smirk faded as Quinn and Nate forced him toward the hall. “Where are you taking me?”
“You think you’re tough going after an innocent woman,” Nate said. “Let’s see how you deal with me.”
Blood drained from Gerard’s face. “I know my rights. I want a lawyer.”
“Do we look like the police?” Quinn shook his head. “You wanted to play in the big leagues. You got your wish.”
“Somebody help me.” The former trainee’s voice rose to a shout. No one interfered. Trent fell into step behind them.
Sasha noticed Josh Cahill leaning one shoulder against the wall, his expression neutral. His teammates, Alex and Rio, stood on each side of him. She twisted in Cade’s arms. “What happened? One minute Gerard is spouting off curses and vowing revenge. The next he’s scared out of his mind.”
“It’s Nate,” Alex said after the rest of the trainees were herded from the kitchen and into the gym for a session with Josh and Rio.
She frowned. “Gerard’s afraid of Nate?” Sasha didn’t understand. The chef was one of the sweetest men she’d met.
Cade’s arms tightened around her. “Nate’s a great guy and an amazing chef. He’s also one of the best interrogators in the business. Alex is right behind him.”
Surprised, her gaze shifted to Alex. Ivy adored her husband and he treated her with gentleness. Anyone with eyes could see Alex would do anything for his wife.
“The military trained us well, Sasha.” Alex took a step toward her, stopped as though afraid she would bolt if he came too close to her. “We need to know if Gerard had anything more in mind than a stupid bid for revenge. Nate will obtain those answers for us.”
“What about Josh? Won’t this be a problem for a cop?”
“Nate knows how far he can go. He won’t cross the line.”
Alex watched her, waiting for her reaction to Cade’s revelation about him. Did he expect her to reject him? Fat chance of that. He was a friend in the same line of work as Cade. She wouldn’t reject either of them. “I should be able to open Perk tomorrow. Stop in. I’m trying out a lemon poppy seed muffin. I’d like your opinion on whether or not it should have a permanent place on the menu. The muffin and coffee are on me for being a taste tester.”
The cautious look in his eyes disappeared, replaced by relief. “Can’t pass up that deal. I’ll be there if you can let me in a few minutes early. Josh has us running at 6:00 tomorrow.”
“No problem.”
With a nod, Alex went the same direction as Josh and Rio.
“Are you finished in here?” Cade asked.
“Almost. I have two more pans to wash. After that, I need to take care of the serving dishes in the dining hall.”
“I’ll get them.” He kissed her. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Not rejecting Alex.”
“Never.”
“Even if you found out he is a world-class sniper?”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. A shooter and an interrogator.” Sasha wrapped her arms around his waist. “I know you are Bravo’s EOD expert. What other special skill do you have?”
His lips curved. “Tracker.”
“Is that how you found me in Crime Town?”
“Partly. I also watched Gerard’s team. They ranged themselves close to the building where they hid you.”
Nice. Her boyfriend was not only skilled, he was smart.
After another lengthy kiss, Cade retrieved the dishes in the dining room while she finished washing the final two baking sheets. Once the coffee dispensers and serving dishes were ready for use during lunch, Sasha followed Cade to the suite of offices.
At least that’s what she’d assumed. Behind one of the doors, Simon sat in front of a bank of screens. On one of the screens, Sasha watched her arrival from earlier in the morning.
“Anything?” Cade moved a chair to the table for Sasha.
“Take a look.” Simon indicated a screen in the middle of the array and tapped a few keys on the keyboard.
People came and went from the front entrance of the main building. Trainees and staff members. A female trainee Sasha remembered from Cade’s combat class appeared on screen, walking through the lobby. She stopped and turned toward the front door. She opened it, talked to someone Sasha couldn’t see. A moment later, Gerard pushed past the startled woman.
“Does he go anywhere besides the kitchen?” Cade asked.
“Nope. He knew where Sasha was. He must have gotten the information from Shelly.”
“I’ll talk to her.” He pushed away from the table and held out his hand to Sasha.
They returned to the gym. Josh, Alex, and Rio turned at their entrance. Although the trainees were engrossed in their hand-to-hand combat techniques, most of them made note of their progress across the front of the gym.
Josh’s eyebrow rose as they approached.
“Shelly,” Cade said.
“You need Alex?”
“Wouldn’t hurt.”
Durango’s leader signaled the sniper. Alex tilted his chin in acknowledgment and walked toward them.
Cade made eye contact with one trainee and motioned for her to follow him.
When the woman turned, Sasha recognized her from the video surveillance feed. Instead of puzzlement and shock in her gaze, it was fear.
Cade clasped Sasha’s hand and led her from the gym. Shelly followed with Alex bringing up the rear. More than one of the trainees watched their progress across the floor with uneasiness in their eyes.
They walked down the hall toward the offices again. Somewhere down the corridor, Sasha heard a muffled shout of pain. When she jerked, Cade squeezed her hand and kept moving. They entered a room with a wooden table, four chairs, and no windows. On one side of the room was a mirror.
Sasha frowned. The room reminded her of interrogation rooms in movies or television programs. That’s when she noticed the camera in the corner. She thought about what PSI trained their people to do. Maybe this was where they taught trainees how to resist interrogation if they were captured by the enemy.
Suspecting how skilled these men were, Sasha wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of an interrogation.
“Sit down, Shelly.” Cade’s voice was almost gentle. He motioned for Sasha to sit in the chair against the wall.
“Yes, sir,” the woman whispered. She sat where Cade indicated, her gaze on the table in front of her.
Silence blanketed the room. The longer no one spoke, the more anxious Shelly grew. She fidgeted, her gaze darting to the door, looking for an escape.
Sasha didn’t blame her. Her skin was crawling and she wasn’t the one about to be questioned.
Finally, Cade flicked a glance at Alex who had positioned himself behind Shelly.
“Why did you let Gerard into the building, Shelly?” Alex asked.
She flinched and eased forward to put as much space as possible between them. “Tony wanted to apologize to Ms. Ingram for scaring her in Crime Town.
”
Disbelief filled Alex’s gaze. “Did you know he’d been released from PSI and Fortress?”
A visible swallow, then, “Yes, sir.”
“What’s the rule, Shelly?”
“Never to admit unauthorized personnel into a building on our campus.”
“Why?”
“Security threat.”
“And yet you broke that rule.”
“I didn’t think anyone would mind. Tony wanted to make things right. He should be allowed to do that.”
“The rules are in place for a reason. What did he say when you opened the door for him?”
Shelly’s mouth gaped and she glanced at Alex over her shoulder for a moment before facing forward again. “How did you know it was me?”
Alex placed both hands on the back of her chair and leaned down to speak softly in her ear. “Answer my question. What did he say to you?”
The woman glanced at Cade, then Sasha, terror in her eyes.
The sniper slammed his palm on the table, making Shelly jump. “What did he say?” he snapped.
“He wanted to know where Cade’s girlfriend was.”
“Nothing else?”
“Just what I said before. He explained why it was important to let him in.”
Cade placed both palms on the table and leaned toward her. “You’re training to be a bodyguard. Why would you put Sasha’s life in jeopardy?”
“He didn’t want to hurt her, just explain his actions and offer an apology.”
Sasha’s boyfriend pulled out his cell phone and sent a text. A moment later, his phone chimed. “You don’t believe he wanted to hurt Sasha.” Cade tapped his screen and turned it so the trainees could see.
Sasha couldn’t see the video from where she was sitting, but she heard the audio. The kitchen also had a security camera she hadn’t noticed.
By the end of the segment Cade played for Shelly, tears ran down Shelly’s face, her hand clamped over her mouth. “Does this look like he wanted to apologize to my girlfriend, Shelly?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. That’s not what he said he wanted to do.”
“He lied to you. Do you always believe everything people tell you?” Alex asked.
“Of course not.”
