by Rebecca Deel
“But you believed Gerard without questioning him even though you knew what you were doing was against protocol. Why, Shelly?”
Sasha felt for the woman. Cade and Alex were good at this. From their line of questioning, there was something they wanted her to admit.
The other woman hung her head.
“You’re on thin ice, Shelly,” Alex murmured. “If you want to continue working with Fortress, this is your last chance.”
She swiped more tears from her face. “I love him.”
“If Nate had stepped out of the kitchen at the wrong moment, Gerard could have done a lot of damage to Sasha before one of us stopped him.”
A sharp knock interrupted them and Trent opened the door. His grim expression had Cade and Alex straightening. “We have a problem.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Cade ushered Sasha into the hall, followed by Alex. “What’s wrong, Trent?”
“Gerard was flipped.”
Alex scowled. “Who?”
“Black Dog.”
Black Dog again. For a group new to the black ops community, the company’s name popped up frequently in the wrong places.
“What connection does Gerard have with Black Dog?” Sasha asked.
“He was training with us and reporting to the other organization.”
“Espionage.” Cade rubbed his jaw. “Didn’t expect that.”
“How did our background check miss his connection to BD?” Alex asked.
“Black Dog recruited Gerard three weeks into his training and paid him cash each week. No record of the transaction so no trail for the Fortress geeks to follow.”
“What was he supposed to report? We train bodyguards and operatives as does Black Dog even though they do a lousy job of training their employees.”
Trent eyed Cade. “He was to report your movements.”
Dread coiled like a snake in his gut. “Does Gerard know why they’re interested in me?”
“Nope. He sent the information to an email address provided to him each week. I asked Zane to check into it. He says each address is a throwaway. As soon as the information on you was downloaded, the file and account were erased along with all the cyber tracks.”
“Can Z uncover the identity of the person behind those accounts?”
“Doubt it. They’re anonymous accounts routed through so many servers across the globe, tracing the origin is next to impossible and will take too much time given the pace of events unfolding in Otter Creek. He’ll keep digging if we want him to continue.”
Cade thought about it and rejected the idea. Z was too valuable a resource to waste on a fruitless search. “Is Nate still working on Gerard?”
A snort. “Not much point. He’s a minnow in a big pond.”
In other words, he’d been kept in the dark about Black Dog, given only enough information to complete his mission each week. “Payment?”
“Two hundred per week.”
“The reward when Black Dog’s objective was achieved?”
“His handler told Gerard if he brought his PSI team with him to Black Dog, he’d receive a big bump in salary and automatic leadership of his own unit.”
Alex shook his head. “He hasn’t earned his teammates’ trust. If he had, they would have walked away from PSI when he and Gary left.”
“He doesn’t think it’s necessary to earn their trust. In his mind, the most skilled member of the team should lead, period.”
“Gerard has an inflated sense of his own skills. He would have ended up dead before the year was out.”
Sasha slipped her hand into Cade’s. “His death would solve Black Dog’s problem. He can’t demand higher position or pay when he isn’t good enough to earn it if he’s dead. Black Dog couldn’t lose.”
The heartlessness of their logic left a cold knot in Cade’s stomach. “I want to talk to Gerard.” He wouldn’t be with him long, but he intended to make his point. Sasha’s life might depend on it when Cade deployed with his teammates.
“No marks,” Trent warned him. “I don’t want Josh riding me if this ends up a police matter.”
“Copy that.” He turned and cupped Sasha’s cheeks. “Stay here. I don’t want you in the same room with Gerard. You can handle it, but I can’t. Wait for me.” When she nodded, he brushed his thumb over her lower lip and strode down the hall.
He gave a short knock to warn Nate and Quinn and stepped into the room. Gerard’s face was pasty white, his hands fisted on the table. When he saw Cade, the muscles in his jaw twitched.
Nate’s hand settled on Gerard’s shoulder, making the trainee flinch. Quinn leaned against the wall, not taking his eyes off the turncoat.
“Did you come to gloat?” Gerard asked, his voice a growl.
Durango’s EOD man shifted his hand. Gerard groaned, sweat beading on his face.
Cade watched him a moment in silence. When the trainee dropped his gaze to the table, Cade said, “I’m your target, not Sasha. You want to come at me, I’ll pit my skills against yours any day.” He placed his hands on the table. “Look at me, Gerard,” he ordered.
The man’s eyes snapped to his. Fear simmered in their depths.
Good. Exactly what Cade wanted. “If you ever go after my girlfriend again, I’ll hunt you down and gut you. No one will find your body. If you want to live, steer clear of her. Am I making myself clear?”
No response.
Cade grabbed Gerard, hauled him from the chair, and slammed him against the wall. He pressed a forearm against the trainee’s throat. When Gerard’s face reddened, Cade let up enough for the man to gulp air. “What happens if you go after my woman again?”
“I’m dead,” Gerard rasped.
Nate shifted and drew the other man’s attention. “If Cade is deployed, Durango will watch over Sasha. Leave Otter Creek, Gerard, and don’t come back.”
“We’ll be watching you,” Quinn said. “We can find you at any time, and you won’t see us coming until it’s too late.”
Cade stepped back from Gerard who slid to the floor, gasping for air and shaking. “Keep him here for another minute, then escort him off the property,” he told Nate and left. He found Sasha with Trent.
Holding out his hand, he led his girlfriend to the kitchen where he had noticed the plate of food covered in plastic wrap. “Want hot chocolate to go with your breakfast?”
Sasha gave him a shaky smile. “How did you know it was mine?”
“Bird portions, Sassy.”
“Hot chocolate sounds good. I’m not sure I can eat.” She rummaged through the huge pantry and found packets of hot chocolate mix and a mug. After nuking water, she dumped the packet contents into the mug.
While she stirred the mix, Cade reheated her breakfast and poured himself a mug of coffee from a carafe Nate kept filled for the staff. “Come sit with me.”
“Don’t you have a class to teach?”
“I have a few minutes before I’m on duty.” They sat at a table near the gym entrance.
“What happened with Gerard?”
How much should he tell her? Cade didn’t want to hide the truth from Sasha. This was the time to learn if she could handle the reality of his job before he fell hopelessly in love with her. “I told him if he targeted you again, I’d kill him and hide his body where no one would find it.”
“How did he respond?”
“Before or after I shoved him against a wall?”
She blinked. “After.”
“He slid to the floor after I released him. Aren’t you going to ask if I meant the threat?”
“You don’t say things you don’t mean.”
Cade captured her mouth with his. “You know me better than Emily ever did.”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’ve made a study of all things Cade.”
Delighted with her, he laughed. “That’s fair since I’ve made a study of all things Sasha.” Cade’s smile faded. “I’m crazy about you, Sasha Ingram.”
She cradled his face between her palms. “I feel the s
ame about you. What will Gerard do?”
“He’s to leave Otter Creek. We’ll keep track of him. If he tries to hurt you again, I’ll take care of him. I can’t lose you, Sassy. I’d never recover.” He pressed a kiss to the center of her palm. “Will you give me a real chance? Will you let me prove I’m worth the risk?”
“You have nothing to prove. I want this relationship to be real as much as you. Eight months I’ve wanted a chance with you. I’m taking it.”
A scorching kiss this time. Cade forced himself to release her and nudged the plate closer. “Eat a few bites at least before my class starts.”
Fifteen minutes later, Sasha followed Cade to the gym. He indicated a nearby chair. “You can sit there and watch. If you’d like to participate, I have two trainees who would be good training partners.”
“I’d love to learn if they don’t mind working with me.”
When the trainees arrived, Cade introduced Sasha to Kat and Dixie. The women agreed to work with his girlfriend. “What do we focus on?” Kat asked.
“Escaping choke holds.” He planned to teach her defensive moves himself.
After they started teaching Sasha, he began teaching the rest of the class. Soon, the large room was filled with grappling trainees trying to get the upper hand on their partners. Cade corrected holds, adding advanced techniques for those ready.
He noticed one trainee sucker punch his partner. Cade’s eyes narrowed. The injured man clamped a hand to his nose as Cade approached.
“Price, report to the infirmary.” Matt was on medic duty this morning.
“Yes, sir.” With a final glare at his partner, Price left.
Cade rounded on Ford. “What was that?”
“He moved the wrong way.”
“I watched the whole incident. Try again, the truth this time.”
“He whines about how bored he is, that he’s ready for advanced training.”
“You tested his reflexes?”
“If he’s that advanced, he should have stopped me.”
Cade moved into him, his face inches from the trainee. “Your reflexes should have been good enough to pull back at the last second. You didn’t. You were more interested in hurting Price. You chose to land the punch.”
An insolent shrug was Ford’s response.
Cade shifted into fighting stance. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
A hint of glee lit the trainee’s eyes. By the end of the class, he was gasping for air and bruised from the blows Cade had landed.
He stepped away from Ford. “You have thirty minutes before your next session. Hit the track and pound out three miles, full speed.”
Ford’s jaw dropped. “Sir?”
“You have a hearing problem, trainee?”
“No, sir!”
“Move.”
The rest of the class fell silent as Ford raced from the gym. He eyed them. “You have time for a water and snack break before your class with Rio. Fair warning. If you’re not familiar with all the uses of duct tape, prepare to be amazed.” Laughter rippled through the gym as trainees filed from the room.
Kat, Dixie, and Sasha waited for him at the other end of the gym. “How did you do?” he asked Sasha.
“I don’t know how skillful I was, but I had fun.”
Dixie grinned. “Don’t let her fool you. Sasha did great. By the time you finished mopping the floor with Ford, she was breaking every hold we used without thinking about it.”
Outstanding. “Thanks for working with her.”
“What’s the deal with Ford and Price?” Kat asked.
“Arrogance and stupidity on both sides. Got a problem with my handling of the situation?”
The trainees shook their heads. “Price could use similar treatment when he heals,” Dixie said. “At the rate he’s going, no team will accept him in their ranks.”
“Noted. Grab some water and your duct tape.”
Both women grinned and left.
“I bet you need water, too.” Sasha tilted her head back to look him in the eyes.
“There’s water in the infirmary. I want to check on Price.”
Cade laid his hand on Sasha’s lower back as they walked through the bustling dining hall and down the corridor. The infirmary was empty aside from his friend. Matt glanced up when they entered. “What’s the verdict on Price?” Cade asked.
“Broken nose. I set it, gave him pain killers, and dismissed him from classes for the rest of the day. What happened?”
“He paired up with Ford for training exercises. Price complained about wanting more advanced techniques. Ford tested Price’s reflexes and didn’t pull his punch.”
Matt rolled his eyes. “How is Ford? Will I be seeing him in here later?”
“He’s running three extra miles at the moment. He’ll need ice packs.”
Amused, the medic shook his head. “You worked with him after Price left. Did you pull your punches?”
“He’s a tough guy. He can take what I dished out.” Cade grinned. “He’ll feel every blow in a few hours.”
“I heard you had some excitement earlier, Sasha.” Matt grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator and handed one each to Cade and Sasha. “I was in here bandaging a sprained ankle.”
“Good news spreads fast.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you’re safe. What did you do while your boyfriend taught Ford a lesson?”
“Kat and Dixie worked with me on escaping choke holds.”
“What did you think?”
“I had fun and they were patient.”
A cell phone signaled. All three checked their phones. “It’s mine,” Sasha said. A smile broke out on her face as she studied her screen. “I can go into Perk after noon. Ethan says I can open if I want, but I’ll probably need to spend the afternoon cleaning.”
“I’ll talk to Trent about taking the afternoon off.”
“You need to train with your team, especially now that Bravo is covering for Durango.”
True. He hated to let her out of his sight now that he knew she was in danger. Black Dog wouldn’t hesitate to use Sasha to reach him. “If one of the members of Durango can go with you, I’ll train with my team.” Otherwise, no dice.
Quinn agreed to accompany Sasha and help with the cleaning.
“Don’t leave the shop for any reason without Quinn. He volunteered to be slave labor. Use him.” Cade brushed her mouth with a quick kiss. “I’ll swing by Perk after we finish. We’ll pick up dinner from Delaney’s.”
“Sounds great. Don’t worry, please. I’ll be fine.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“I’ll be fine.” Famous last words, Sasha thought as she stared at the mess in her coffee shop. Black powder had settled like soot over everything. “How could they make this much of a mess?”
Quinn Gallagher, her voluntary bodyguard and cleaner for the afternoon, whistled. “Beats me. If I made a mess like this at the house, Heidi would have my hide. This will take a while to clean.”
Hours. She was looking at hours of work. She had looked forward to dinner with Cade and Matt. Her dinner would be a midnight snack. “I hope I have enough cleaning supplies.”
“If you don’t, we’ll call Ethan and have one of his cops pick up what we need. His people made the mess. They can run an errand.”
In the kitchen, the black powder wasn’t as thick, but still disheartening to see. Sasha wished there were three of her to tackle the job. She tossed her purse into the cupboard and grabbed her cleaning supplies. “I have large rubber gloves you can use.”
“Hand them over and let’s get started.” He pulled out his phone and sent a text, then went to work.
Sasha scrubbed her sink, counters, and cabinets while Quinn mopped the floor. Before starting on the appliances, she heard voices in the dining room.
Customers? She hated to turn them away. Maybe she could offer a discount for their orders tomorrow.
Sasha followed Quinn into the other room and skidded to a stop. Th
e shop was full of trainees and the other members of Durango with the exception of Nate, all armed with gloves, cleanser, sponges, buckets, and mops.
She turned to Quinn. “You arranged this, didn’t you?”
The operative lifted one shoulder. “Cade would have done it had he known what you faced. You’re one of us now, Sasha. We help each other.”
“Thank you.” She hugged him, called out instructions and thanks to the new cleaning crew, and returned to the kitchen. When footsteps sounded behind her, she turned to see Kat and Dixie.
“What needs cleaning in here?” Dixie asked.
“The front of the appliances, doors, and knobs. I have to check the pantry for supplies and to see if the police have been in there.”
They had. Thankfully, she kept everything in easy-to-clean containers, but the shelves were full of them. Kat and Dixie finished first and joined her in cleaning the pantry. Working with them made the time pass fast.
They were interested in her relationship with Cade. Sasha was careful, not sure how much information was safe. She enjoyed having something positive to discuss.
When they finished in the kitchen, Sasha and the two women returned to the front. The volume of work the operatives and trainees had finished amazed her. Sasha might have a chance to eat dinner with her boyfriend after all.
At six, she shooed her volunteer labor force out the door with the promise of free coffee the next time they were in Perk. Quinn and his teammates remained behind. Between them, they finished the last of the cleaning.
Sasha climbed on a barstool, grateful to sit down. She might beg Cade for another shoulder massage. “I would still be working if you hadn’t called in reinforcements, Quinn.”
“We’re glad to help.” He turned as the rest of Durango arranged themselves nearby. “You and Cade, huh?”
“Do you mind?”
His brows drew together. “Of course not. He’s a good man who has been nuts about you since he moved to town. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather see happy than Cade. He took a bullet for me once. Did he tell you?”
Shock rolled through Sasha. “What happened?”
“Mission over in the Sandbox. I was cut off from my unit. I knew my teammates were coming, but the odds on me staying alive until they arrived weren’t good. A Ranger unit fought through enemy lines to reach me. I didn’t know a Taliban soldier had me in his sights. Cade dove on top of me to knock me from the line of fire. Took a bullet to the leg saving my hide.”
