by Lora Leigh
“They were moving into the driveway when Noah and I slipped in,” Nik said. “I couldn’t get in position fast enough so I elected to take those coming in behind the garage instead.”
“They moved in stages, Jordan,” Micah reported. “They were looking to see what defenses she had. They hit the patio first, then moved into the driveway exit, then the back garage door. It was well coordinated, armed, and manned, with about two-minute intervals set between each.”
“Did they suspect we were there?” Noah questioned. “Ten men is a lot for one little girl.”
The pain was like an inferno tearing through her sensitive flesh, but it wasn’t the first time that had happened. She had taken her first flesh wound at age twelve and her first bullet at fifteen. She hadn’t forgotten what it felt like. But this time, it didn’t incapacitate her.
“You can thank the little girl for that,” Micah grunted, glancing in the mirror once again. “Until her disappearance into the Elite Ops, Tehya Talamosi was well known for her ability to do serious harm to the men sent after her.”
Jordan glanced over at her once again to catch the quick blinking of her eyes and the sheen of moisture on her cheeks.
“They suspected I had help. Then next time, they will come prepared.”
“They suspected,” Jordan affirmed. “There’s no doubt in my mind they knew. I’m just very, very curious how they knew, because it’s not possible we were seen.”
He knew his men.
“We never saw them either,” Noah pointed out. “Yet, they knew when she left the house.”
“They know too much,” Jordan agreed. “It’s time we figure out how they know, what they know, and who they’re telling.”
As they discussed security, logistics, and plans, Tehya found herself deliberately blocking them out. It was that or begin screaming, howling from the pain, both emotional as well as physical.
The flesh wound on her right shoulder was nothing compared to the agony tearing through her heart, though.
Her house. Her home.
It was destroyed.
Her little patio, her beautiful little kitchen.
Her wide open living room.
It was all ruined.
She stared straight ahead and tried not to think about her house. The thick, soft rugs she had spent so much time searching for, the comfortable furniture she had bought with relaxing laziness in mind, the gleaming wood floors that she polished once a week.
It had been her haven, and now that haven had been taken from her.
Her throat was tight with unshed tears, her insides vibrating with rage at the thought of strangers tromping through her home.
Her home.
She had had so little in the past that she could call her own. For the first time, she had believed she could finally live rather than simply exist.
How wrong she had been.
“Are you okay?” Jordan was looking down at her. Obviously becoming concerned as she sat silently beside him.
Could he see the paleness of her skin, possibly the glitter of tears in her eyes? At least he couldn’t see the blood slowly easing down her arm.
“I’m fine.” It took effort to make herself sound normal. To hold back the tears that wanted so desperately to fall. She sounded hoarse instead, and a few tears had escaped.
She’d learned long ago, a lifetime ago, that tears didn’t help, the pain didn’t abate because they were shed. Not the pain in her heart or the pain from a gunshot.
“Sure?” His fingers tucked beneath her chin in a gesture that she should look up.
“I’m fine.” She pulled from him easily before staring ahead once again.
From her side, she heard the subtle little growl from Nik, an indication of disappointment, or disapproval. But thankfully, if he had glimpsed the wound, he was keeping his mouth shut.
“Boss, long-range link.” Noah handed Jordan the larger satellite-connected link. “We have backup online.”
“Who’s backup?” she asked Nik quietly, wondering if the team attached to the Elite Ops for ten years was the same team providing backup now.
“We have a small team of marines currently on leave. Emergency backup. We’ve had them waiting in case they were needed.”
For a group that wasn’t government backed or government funded, the Elite Ops had always had several military groups as well as advanced weapons at their disposal.
“They got away.” The satellite-communications link was jerked from his head minutes later and thrown carelessly to Noah who caught it easily. “Son of a bitch. That would have never happened if Clint and Reno were here.”
They got away. Everyone of them.
Tehya stared through the windshield ahead and drew in a deep, shaky breath.
Whoever had invaded her home, whoever had torn aside the shield of safety and security that she had built for herself over the past months, had escaped.
“The team has the house secured and are checking the doors for prints but my guess is they’re going to come up empty,” Noah spoke then, obviously listening on his own link. “The team commander is dealing with the authorities as Tehya’s cousin. Everything’s covered.”
Tehya gripped her arm tighter. The hard thudding of her heart was pushing blood through her veins and straight to the wound. She could feel the liquid dripping to her jeans, dampening her thigh. She could feel her heart breaking, raging. They had dared to attack her home.
“Head to D.C.,” Jordan ordered Micah. “Let’s get her secured, then we can figure out the rest of it.”
Tehya shook her head.
She felt her breathing hitch, felt the tears want to fall. She could feel the blood at her temple as it eased down her cheek from where the splinters from the bullet striking the door frame had slashed her skin.
The wound in her chest hurt worse, though. Her heart.
Someone had stolen her home from her, not just invaded it.
“Why wait this long to strike?” Micah asked as he hit the interstate heading to D.C. “She said herself she felt she was being followed for weeks. Why not attempt to take her sooner, before she had help? Or hell, when she least expected it?”
“They know she has help.” Tehya felt Jordan lift his arm to rub at the back of his neck in irritation. “I was careful coming in and I haven’t left her house since arriving. Either they saw one or more of us going in or the house is wired.”
“The house isn’t wired. I checked while she was at the bar,” Noah said.
“We’re not going to figure this out now.” Jordan’s tone was savage. “We will figure this out though, and we’ll figure out who’s behind it.”
“Then we really get to have fun,” Micah mused as they sped toward D.C. and the plan Jordan had obviously decided to put in place.
Tehya stared down at her lap, her eyes closing momentarily.
Someone was playing with her, she decided. A cat-and-mouse game in which they had decided to raise the stakes with this attack because they feared she would soon have protection. They had to have suspected or known Jordan was there, that was the only answer.
“Whatever they have in mind, let’s see if we can’t up the ante for them,” Jordan decided.
“We weren’t seen,” Noah assured him. “We were still pulling together the backup team when her alarm went off, triggering the alert I placed on my cell phone. We barely arrived in time to catch that second team. We wouldn’t have if we had actually moved farther than just down the street.”
“They knew when to attack,” Tehya stated faintly. “Are you certain we’re not being followed?”
“We’re not being followed.” Micah gave a quick shake of his head. “We were out of there before anyone could catch us. Trust me, Tehya, no one’s following us and there’s no tracker on us, you should know better than that.”
Yes, she knew better than to doubt the fact that the team knew exactly how to protect her.
“I knew better, Micah.” Her smile, directed at the rear-view mir
ror, betrayed her by shaking perilously. “I’m sorry.”
“We’re an hour and a half from D.C.,” Noah said then, quietly. “You can make it up to me when we get there by making Jordan chill out for the night. You know how he tries to work us into the ground just because he’s pissed.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” she promised, her voice still too raspy.
“An hour and a half is too long.”
Tehya felt her breath stop in her chest as Nik spoke up then, his voice a harsh, dangerous growl.
Jordan shifted to stare over her head at the other man.
“She’s been shot, Jordan,” he said.
CHAPTER 8
She was fine.
She was fine.
Jordan had to keep repeating the words to himself as he they made the drive to D.C.
A quick stop to ascertain the damage, then Nik had taken the front passenger seat for Noah who moved to the far back as Jordan quickly bandaged the arm while Micah drove.
Had the assailants meant to strike her?
Jordan couldn’t help but think that they hadn’t. For some reason, the bullets had seemed carefully placed. As though the wound was meant to confuse and frighten her, nothing more. Make her vulnerable and easy to capture.
The low-level explosion in her living room had been more for effect and noise than anything else. Each move had been designed for one purpose, to corral her. To weaken and disorient her.
As Noah drove to their destination, Jordan let his fingers play with the curls that cascaded over the arm wrapped around her shoulders.
He’d managed to get a painkiller in her by lying and telling her it was an antibiotic. The dosage had been more than enough to knock her out and force her to rest during the drive. There wasn’t a chance in hell she would have taken it otherwise. Tehya detested taking pills for any reason. Even the brutal headaches she often suffered were simply dealt with rather than drugging up, as she called it.
She would be madder than hell once she awoke, though. The last time he had slipped a painkiller into her, she had suffered from a brutal headache that lasted more than a week. That last day he’d gone to her suite to check on her and found her nearly incoherent with pain. At that point he had simply had enough.
But she had awakened without a headache. She’d been mad enough to throw a glass at his head, but she had been refreshed and clear-eyed rather than weeping in pain. It was a choice he made easily. Especially this time. What he saw in her eyes made him insane. He had to find a way to force her to rest.
Force her to close those haunted emerald eyes and ease the pain that filled them. Force the ragged, uneven breaths that were holding back sobs to even out.
She was breaking his heart.
From the moment those wide eyes had met his as they realized someone was attempting to gain entrance into the house, they had shattered with the knowledge that her security was being stolen.
Knowing she had been found, knowing someone was following her, wasn’t nearly as destructive to her as the attack on her home. What they had done to her tonight, Jordan could easily kill over. The men who had violated her home had damaged it so severely, that they might have irreparably damaged the roots she had finally found the courage to put down.
“We’re ten minutes out,” Noah said quietly. “Nik is texting Kell Krieger.”
Jordan gave a brief nod. “I want to get her to the Four Seasons. We can’t layover at the senator’s place. The risk to Kell’s family is too high.”
“We haven’t been followed,” Micah protested irately. “Damn, has Tehya’s lack of confidence in me, fucking affected you too, Commander?” There was no heat in his voice, but there was definitely irritation.
“Would you bet Risa and your children’s lives on it?” Jordan asked him. “Would you take us into your home if you had any other choice?”
Jordan stared into the rearview mirror, watching the former agent’s expression. He knew Micah’s training, and he knew they weren’t being followed. That didn’t mean they couldn’t be tracked.
Micah grimaced. “Four Seasons,” he stated.
“I thought you’d see it my way.” Jordan nodded. “Our only contact with Kell or Senator Stanton will be no more, no less, than required as a close acquaintance and business associate unless we have no other choice. Our first contact will be made at the party tomorrow night.”
“Mikayla has Tehya’s wardrobe nearly completed. She was able to use the sizes from the weekend attire she made for her just before we disbanded.” Nik was proud of his wife, a successful dressmaker whose name was increasingly being shared among the elite as “unique” and a “must-have” when it came to their social attire. Fortunately, with the additional seamstresses she’d hired, she was able to get the dresses Tehya would require completed quickly.
Jordan gave a short nod as he forced himself not to hold Tehya too close. He wanted to pull her close enough that she melded with his flesh. That he could heal her pain simply by wishing it done. Damn, he couldn’t bear what he knew tonight had done to her.
“Stanton and Krieger are going to require updates as well as mission planning,” Noah said quietly. “Arranging that could be difficult if we’re going on acquaintance only and using your real identity.”
Jordan gave a shake of his head. “We’ll invite them to lunch at the Four Seasons to discuss various business concerns Kell and I share. We can take care of everything there.”
“We’ll need to come up with explanations for our presence as well,” Noah reminded him.
“We weren’t expecting this, and you didn’t plan for it.” There was an edge of smugness in Noah’s tone.
“Don’t bet on it,” Jordan snorted. “When we arrive at the Four Seasons, contact John and Travis; they’re already there and you’ll find our suites are waiting for us.”
Nik chuckled lightly. “Haven’t you given up trying to catch him without a plan, Noah?”
Noah snorted. “Not in this lifetime. One of these days, I’ll catch him, though.”
Jordan’s lips quirked at his nephew’s response, but Noah wasn’t kidding. He’d been trying to catch Jordan without a plan for as long as he’d been walking. Thankfully he just hadn’t been around to see the effects when Jordan overlooked an angle. There was a reason he was so fucking careful.
“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Micah chuckled. “Hell, you’re just like him, Noah. We all are since working with him. One of these days it will be our kids trying to catch us without a plan.”
Noah and Nik both responded with amused groans, but Jordan couldn’t regret the training he’d drilled into them for so many years. Even Tehya hadn’t escaped, and the proof that she had listened lay in the carefully packed emergency bag she’d had ready when it came time to run.
Just as Noah had proved himself when he contacted a nearby retired Special Forces commander and two of his men to move into the apartment over his garage and watch over his home and family on the small rise next to it. And the others had made arrangements for their families as well. Just in case.
“Make sure the men we hired to cover Grandpop, Sabella, and Grant are in place,” Jordan told his nephew. “I don’t expect trouble there, but I’d rather be safe than sorry once we begin flushing out whoever is giving the orders here.” Contingency plans, back up positions. He was accused often of being a paranoid son of a bitch, but that was preferable to the alternative.
“We’re moving up on the Four Seasons,” Micah said as he maneuvered the Hummer through the streets toward the exclusive hotel.
“Contacting John and Travis,” Nik announced, his harsh voice darker, deeper than normal as he glanced back at Tehya sleeping in Jordan’s arms.
She was like the kid sister of the unit, Jordan knew. During the months they had been out of touch with her, they had tried to maintain their distance, believing it was what she wanted.
None of them had ever imagined that Killian had used the time he had been at the base, before the group had disba
nded, to reprogram her phone.
The satellite phone and the Viper had been “gifts” from the Ops that would allow them to always be in contact with her. Just in case their identities were cracked or the team were somehow threatened.
“Travis and John are taking care of camera surveillance at the hotel while Lilly and Bailey are running interference,” Nik reported as he held his phone to his ear. “We’ll pull up to the rear entrance where Lilly and Bailey will get you to the suite without being seen. Micah, Noah, and I will take care of the Hummer and collect another secured vehicle.”
Jordan gave a tight nod before maneuvering Tehya carefully in his arms, wincing at her mumbled moan.
The small, drowsy whimper pierced his heart. The painkiller he had given her was a powerful one and still, the pain had slipped past it enough to pull a low cry from her as he moved her.
“In ten, Jordan,” Micah advised him. “Ten, nine, eight…”
At one, the vehicle slowed to a crawl as Jordan pushed the door open and stepped from the vehicle with Tehya in his arms.
Lilly Harrington Caine, Travis’ wife, was at the door, swinging it open as Jordan rushed past her. Just inside, John Vincent’s wife, Bailey Seaborne, a former C.I.A. agent waited patiently.
“We have twenty seconds on surveillance interference,” Bailey told him quietly. “We’re using the staff elevator.”
They stepped inside the open elevator as Lilly followed then quickly inserted an electronic key, overrode the normal controls, and hit the button for the top floor.
“You have the Presidential,” Bailey told him. “John checked you in night before last. Micah, Nik and Noah have the attached suites on each side. We’ve received the intel on the attack on the house via Commander Reece and we’ll have that to you as soon as John and Travis return.”
“Reece?” Jordan questioned roughly as he shot her a furious look. “And how the hell did he get anything on it, let alone intel?”
Bailey gave a brief shake of her dark head. “I have no idea. But he was in contact with your backup team within seconds of them going in and coordinated satellite and strike intel with them. He wants contact ASAP and he’s questioning his exclusion from the Op.”
