by Em Petrova
He skimmed his thumb over her cheekbone, studying her eyes up close. Her irises were actually made up of several shades of blue, from turquoise to pale blue sky.
He kissed her.
She moaned and parted her lips for him to probe her tongue. The soft pulls of her lips drove him to hardness again, and soon he was reaching for another condom.
Chapter Nine
“Tell me everything you learned from your meeting.” Lennon nudged open the pizza box lid and picked up two steamy slices of pepperoni and mushroom. He placed them on a dish and then handed it to Edie.
She thanked him and waited for him to get his own pizza—four slices—and they carried their plates into the living room.
She sank to the floor in front of the coffee table, and Ranger came over immediately to start begging.
“You’re in trouble now,” Lennon said. “He’ll never leave you alone.”
“I’m half afraid to feed him anything after he ate that chocolate.” She tried to ignore Ranger’s big brown eyes as she lifted a slice to her lips.
“I’ll give him something after we’re finished.” His gaze was steady on her as he waited for her to reply to his command.
She pressed her lips together. “This woman is a housekeeper for somebody named Breckham.”
He stiffened.
“You know him,” she said in awe.
He gave a nod. “Go on.”
She chewed the bite she’d taken and swallowed. “She claims she saw and heard things to make her believe he’s involved in dark things. People come to his house, money is exchanged and then they disappear into this big garage on his property. She also said he and his son don’t hold back about their dislike for Senator Arthur.”
“Breckham is on about five government watch lists. No investigation has ever been able to connect him to crimes, but—”
“I believe he backs those who do his dirty work. He gives them money and gets what he wants in trade.”
“Exactly.” He wolfed down the rest of his first slice and sipped some water. “I think the best thing for us to do is call the guys over and formulate a plan of action.”
She blinked. “The Ranger Ops team, you mean?”
He nodded and reached for his phone.
“Now?” she asked.
He met her gaze. “Yeah, why?”
“It’s just that… I’m here. Can you have secret meetings with me in the house?”
He chuckled and thumbed a group text to six numbers. Then he set aside his phone and reached for another slice.
She gaped at him. “Just like that you’ve ordered a meeting, and you’re not even worried about what to say or how to go about things? You just go on eating like it’s no big deal.”
He shrugged. “It’s our jobs. And they will love you. By the way, I told them to grab more pizzas on their way over.”
She couldn’t possibly eat now—her nerves were too frayed. She was about to meet the men of Lennon’s team, and who knew if they’d like her or believe her all wrong for their teammate.
And she had told him she was falling for him.
It might have begun as a slow burn, with her denying her interest in the hunky man. She’d avoided his advances and texts, believing she didn’t have space in her life for a man right now. Then she’d dragged him smack into the middle of a mess she’d created by attempting to shove herself in her father’s face. And now…
She slanted a look at him from beneath her lashes. She thought about walking away from him… and it hurt.
He suddenly threw her a grin that stole her breath. Damn, did the man have to be so gorgeous that her mind turned to mush just from a simple grin?
Knowing her feelings were blossoming caused even more worries, though. He was in a dangerous field of work. She wouldn’t know where he was or what he faced. He could be killed.
He set aside his pizza and scooted closer to her around the coffee table. “Hey, you okay? You have a look on your face.”
Should she tell him what was on her mind? Wasn’t that what couples did?
She pushed out a breath. “I was just thinking about how dangerous your job is.”
His face blanked, and then a tender expression took its place. “Baby… I can’t promise the future, but I can tell you that today, right here and now, I’m here for you. And I care for you more than you can even know.”
She searched his eyes. “Care for?”
He swallowed hard and then said it. “Love. I love you, Edie.”
Her emotions rocketed up inside her and spilled over. Tears burned at her eyes, and she crawled the rest of the distance to him. When she pushed him onto his back and kissed him, he brought his arms around her and held her tight.
Looking down into his eyes, she said it too. “I’m falling in love with you too, Lennon. I’m sorry it took me so long to figure out what a great guy you are.”
Smile lines appeared around his eyes. “I knew I’d break you down with all my charm.”
She pressed her lips to his, and his smile spread beneath it. After that, things got a little heated with Lennon rolling her nipples between his clever fingers and her rubbing against the bulge in his jeans, but a knock at the door pulled them apart.
When she sat up, she looked at the plates on the coffee table. Both were empty. Several feet away, Ranger sat there with his jaws spread into a happy smile.
“Oh Lord,” she groaned. “Pizza thief. I’m clearly going to have to watch you better, aren’t I?”
“He’s fine. I’ve given him pizza before. But you shouldn’t have stolen it, Ranger.” He shook a finger at the dog as he made his way to the door to answer it.
She just got to her feet as Lennon swung open the door to reveal the man he’d acknowledged on the street. Her bodyguard.
She felt a flush coat her cheeks. This man had followed her without her knowing, and it felt odd she didn’t even know his name.
He walked in carrying two six-packs of beer. Switching both to one hand, he hooked an arm around Lennon, and they delivered a single thump to each other’s backs.
Seeing all this testosterone in one space was making her feel like a complete weakling. When they broke apart, the man fixed his gaze on her.
“Hi, Edie.”
“Hello.” She came forward and held out her hand. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”
“Penn.”
“Thank you for watching out for me.”
He gave her a quirk of his lips. Did every rugged manly man give that crooked smile? Maybe there was a course on how to do it. Any woman would be shivering with pleasure at seeing one crooked smile let alone two at once.
“Come in and take a seat. I’ll put the beer in the fridge.” Lennon walked out of the room, leaving her alone with Penn.
She didn’t know what to say to a man who’d probably seen her pick her workout pants out of her butt. “So you’re in the Ranger Ops?”
He shook his head. “That’s my brother Nash.”
“Oh.”
“I’m in securities. I go where I’m asked, and I set my own pay scale. These guys are stuck with whatever OFFSUS gives them.” He grinned at Lennon as he returned carrying both the chairs from the kitchen set.
“Now I’m more confused. OFFSUS?” Her inner journalist was taking notes as quickly as possible.
“Operation Freedom Flag Southern US division,” Lennon said on his way to the entryway. There he plucked up a heavy-looking bench as if it weighed ounces. He carried it back and set it across from the sofa.
Her mind worked over his words. It was shocking how much the common person didn’t know about the American government. The fact they were trusting her with this knowledge made her feel closer to Lennon.
He and Penn polished off the pizza, and Edie nibbled on a slice too, since Ranger had eaten what was on her plate. Listening to the guys discuss mundane things—baseball scores, a local craft beer joint that had opened a few miles away—left Edie in wonder. These men protected people
with their lives, but they were just ordinary guys.
The knock at the door had Ranger barking and running to it, and Lennon got up to let the rest of the team in. Five chiseled men entered the living room, and suddenly it didn’t feel so spacious.
Penn clapped Nash on the back and they bro-hugged. When they did, Edie saw the family resemblance.
When a man identical to Lennon walked in, she sucked in a gasp. She spun to Lennon, and he shot her a grin. “Didn’t know I had a twin, I take it.”
She shook her head, staring between them. From height to features to mannerisms, he and this man were the same. If she’d come into a room to see him, she would have believed it was Lennon.
“Edie, this is my brother Lincoln.”
“I go by Linc.” He extended a hand, and she shook it. A closer inspection revealed Linc possessed more scars and some burn marks on his hands too. She watched as the pair embraced, and thought of how proud their momma must be—and what trouble these twins must have given the poor woman in their youth.
The other men crowded in.
Lennon slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her near when he introduced them to her. She locked their names into her mind and said hello.
Edie couldn’t help but stare at each of them, as rugged and dangerous as the next. Three pizzas were scattered on the coffee table, and the dog paced back and forth, hoping for a chance to steal more for his supper. The guys dug in and ate like they hadn’t had food in weeks.
When the boxes were empty and beers cracked open, Lennon looked at everyone. “We all know why I called this meeting.”
They nodded. Edie knotted her fingers, tense.
They were here because of her actions. If she had never gotten up at that speech, she wouldn’t be targeted and her father would be on his own. She didn’t know whether to feel ashamed or relieved that the senator was finally getting some backup from Ranger Ops.
The man named Jess spoke out. The fierce expression he wore softened as he turned his gaze on her. “I’ve done some digging and made a connection.”
Her heart thumped hard. Did she want to hear this?
“Investigators have dug into the senator’s opponents before, looking at their supporters and those who donate campaign money. But I looked into those who support the senator instead.”
“Oh no,” she whispered. “I suspected something like this.”
Lennon, seated next to her on the floor, placed a hand over hers where they twisted in her lap. “What did you find out, Jess?”
“It seems the senator accepted campaign money from an advocacy group. They gave him twenty thousand dollars for his upcoming run for the seat in the Senate.”
“What is this group’s interest? Gun laws?” she broke in.
Jess tipped his head. “In a way, I guess you could say that. Their interest is vague, at least on the books. Off the record, though, I suspected it could have other ties. Turns out, I’m right.”
He pulled out his phone. “The figurehead of the group is Richard Duncan. A nobody, as far as I can see, just a nerd who’s into politics. Until you look at his family history and discover his brother is tight with another group, and that one is headed by a George Breckham, Jr.”
Her head snapped up. “This information is right there on the surface, yet the authorities haven’t discovered it and connected the dots? They’ve let the attacks continue on my father.”
Jess sat back on the sofa and eyed her. “I believe the senator might have known what he was getting into.”
“Which is…?” she prompted.
“That the group would have leverage over him.”
She swallowed hard. “But their ideas are clearly not on the same track as Senator Arthur’s or else they wouldn’t attack him and his… family. You think he went into the agreement, and accepted funds from the group, knowing this?”
Jess gave a shrug. “I don’t know what was in his mind, but I know fundraising is rough on politicians. A group comes up and hands you a check for twenty grand, you could find yourself influenced.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe he would have done something like that. He stands for stricter gun laws while retaining the citizens’ right to bear arms. He wouldn’t risk his entire platform for money.”
“Do you think they tricked him then?” Lennon asked her.
“They might have. But like Jess, I don’t know.”
Lennon turned her hand over in his, studying her fingers too intently. “If anybody could get in there and ask him, it’s you, Edie.”
She stared at Lennon in shock. “I’m supposed to just waltz in and ask the senator whether or not he knew he was siding with this group? One that not only didn’t have his interests in mind but could be funded by Breckham? And Breckham is a suspected mafia head with links to illegal weapons traders? What good will knowing this do? The senator and his family deserve to be protected. This has to end regardless of whether or not he signed a deal with the Devil.”
Lennon gave a nod. “You’re right. We’re trying to end it… and you going in there to ask could give us the opportunity to steal in from behind. The senator’s being watched. You’re being watched, Edie.”
She jerked her head to look at Penn. He nodded.
Her heart thumped faster.
“So I’m the bait,” she said.
“We’ll keep you safe.” Lennon took hold of her hand and squeezed.
“It’s a solid plan.” The leader of the group, Nash, but everyone called Sully, eyed them all. “We make it known Edie’s going in to speak to the senator. They’re both tailed, and we can keep that controlled. Remember, we’re in charge of the game. Then once they make their move, we stop it.”
She looked into Lennon’s eyes. It was a solid plan, wasn’t it?
He seemed to hear her mental question and nodded. “I’ll be there with you, Edie. I’ll protect you with my life.”
Her voice wobbled as she said, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Chapter Ten
Lennon had gone over the plan of attack a dozen times just this morning. He walked himself through each step, his focus on keeping Edie safe, and right through to the end result of the Ranger Ops team finally stopping the attacks for good.
Edie hadn’t spoken much in the two days since they’d met in his living room and laid out the path. How could he blame her? She wasn’t only putting herself on the line. To truly put a stop to the attacks, to give her back her life, she had to rely on the Ranger Ops, which was stressing her.
When she had spoken, it was to tell Lennon that there must be some other way besides him leading the team in there. That she couldn’t live with herself if something happened to them.
He drew her onto his lap and held her close. “I know all that. But this is what we do, and you’ve got to put your trust in us. In me.”
She hadn’t said more than a dozen sentences since that moment, and he was growing more concerned as the time to roll on the action approached.
Since she was out for a walk with Ranger right now, he was given a chance to touch base with Jess, who was on the intel part of the operation.
Jess walked into the house and closed the door behind him before looking around. “She here?” he asked Lennon.
He shook his head. “Out with the dog. We’ve got a few minutes to connect with her phone before she comes back.”
“Tell me again why you don’t want her to know you’re doing this? Is this some controlling man thing with you? Making sure your girl doesn’t text other guys?” Jess settled at the computer desk in front of Lennon’s system, which was up and ready to go.
“Hell no. I trust Edie. But she’s already freaked the fuck out. If she knows we’re hacking her phone and the senator’s in the meantime, she won’t want to text. But we both know we need to know what’s in his phone—and we can only get into it via hers once we give her the number to text him for the meeting.”
Jess nodded. “All right, give it here.”
&nb
sp; Lennon handed over her phone. It was going behind her back to tap her line, and when it was all over, he planned to tell her about it. She was nervous enough about reaching out to her father and requesting he meet her without knowing everything that was private and personal to the senator was subject to the Ranger Ops team.
Jess took the phone and pressed some buttons. A screen popped up but disappeared in a flash. He handed it back to Lennon.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Everything she texts will be seen on the app I created. And we will have access to everything she connects to, even by brief texts. We could hack the fucking Pentagon with this software, man.”
“Let’s hope she doesn’t have a friend working for the government, then. I don’t relish being put behind bars, all from your genius evil.” Lennon set her phone back on the coffee table, where she’d left it.
Jess looked at him. “You good, man? You seem stressed.”
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“This is your woman we’re talking about, not some ordinary mission.”
“None of them are ordinary, are they, man?”
Jess chuckled. “Guess you’re right. What I’m saying is, you love this woman and everything that happens is going to affect you or her. Which means both of you.”
Lennon ran his fingers through his hair. “I got this. I’ll be fine. We just need to count down the minutes now.”
Jess stood. “I’m off. I’m getting in a date before liftoff.”
Lennon followed him to the door and bumped his knuckles against his buddy’s. “I’m sure you mean you’ll be getting liftoff on this date.”
Jess waggled his eyebrows. “You bet your ass I am.”
Laughing, Lennon closed the door behind him and glanced back at Edie’s phone. It looked exactly the same as before, but now things were different.
He’d gone behind her back.
But it was to ensure her safety, in the end. Anything they had on the senator would help them with their plan to lure in his attackers… the same people the senator had warned Edie to hide from.
