Innocent Target

by Katie Reus

  Yeah, there were a lot of terrible people in the world. And Axel had taken out his share of them. The thought of anyone harming Hadley, using her as a pawn for money or whatever, made him see red.

  “So have you guys called the police?” Hadley asked.

  Skye snorted and Brooks simply shook his head.

  “Why not?” She looked between the two of them, clearly avoiding Axel’s gaze. He should probably just leave but he didn’t want to be away from her. Not unless she explicitly told him to go.

  “We’re not going to involve the police for this,” Brooks finally said. “Our crew is more capable of handling this kind of contract than some locals. We’ve got better technology, resources and we’re not restricted by the law. And if we’d known about it a couple days ago,” Brooks shot Axel a hard look, “we could have started digging more intensely.”

  “I’ve got a guy working on monitoring stuff,” Axel said.

  “Who are you using?” Skye asked.

  It wasn’t in his nature to share information but now was one of those times he had to. For Hadley’s safety. When he said the guy’s name, Skye nodded once. “Yeah, Isaac’s all right. He’s not Gage, but good enough.”

  “Who’s Gage?”

  “None of your fucking business,” Brooks said. “I mean, ah, none of your business.”

  Hadley snorted. “You can say the F-word in front of me.”

  “So what were you planning on doing?” Skye asked Axel. “Were you planning on keeping Hadley safe while taking these guys out one by one? It’s a pretty tall order when you’re working alone.”

  Axel lifted a shoulder. “Pretty much. But you’re right, I can’t be in two places at once. I thought she’d be safe at the ranch.”

  “If you’d told someone, we could’ve kept her locked down,” Brooks snapped, fire in his eyes now.

  “Enough,” Hadley muttered. “What do we do from here? Because school starts in a week and I’m not missing school. It was hard to get into this program and I won’t let this jeopardize my career plan.”

  That might be too bad if they didn’t figure out who had started this contract in the first place. But Axel didn’t say that. He would let Brooks be the bad guy.

  Brooks rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “From this point forward, you’ll stay at the ranch,” he said to Hadley. “And we’re going to figure out who hired someone to kidnap you and deal with him or her. That person is the real threat.”

  “What does ‘deal with’ mean?” she asked, though Axel figured she knew exactly what her brother meant.

  Instead of answering, Skye gave a sort of feral grin and popped the last part of her egg roll into her mouth.

  “Unless you have anything else to offer, you can leave now,” Brooks said, his expression hard as he stared at Axel.

  Axel nodded once. There was a lot he wanted to say to Hadley, but now wasn’t the time. Still, he couldn’t leave without saying something. “What I feel for you is real. I never meant to hurt you,” he said quietly.

  Surprising him, Hadley reached out and squeezed his hand once. Her expression was guarded but at least she didn’t seem to hate him. A small victory.

  Before she could say anything, Skye cleared her throat. “Seriously, O’Sullivan? That’s pretty weak. You’re gonna walk away after all this effort? You’ve already taken out two threats. You’re coming with us to the ranch.”

  “Skye! What the hell is the matter with you?” Brooks demanded.

  Skye gave him a hard look. “Last time I checked we were all cofounders and as far as I’m concerned this is officially a job. Plus…we all love Hadley too. Which means we all get to help with this and it’s probably better if someone who isn’t crazy emotional helps make decisions right now. And by someone, I mean you.”

  The two of them stared at each other in silence, as if they were having a telepathic conversation. Finally Brooks took Skye by the elbow and stepped into the attached laundry room, shutting the door behind them.

  Which left Axel alone with Hadley. And she was still holding his hand. Seeming to realize that, she dropped it as if he was on fire and looked down at her lap.

  The tension stretched between them, making him sick. He wished that he’d just come clean with her immediately. He wouldn’t have gotten to know her if he had, but then maybe this wouldn’t hurt so much either. Because the thought of walking away from her cut deep. “I’ll go with you to the ranch if you want,” he said quietly.

  Her head popped up, her eyes widening slightly. “You don’t have to do that. You’ve done more than enough for a stranger. And thank you for keeping me safe.” Her cheeks flushed slightly and she looked away again, this time at a spot over his shoulder.

  “I know I don’t have to. I want to.” He kept his voice low, wishing he could say everything he wanted to. That he’d started to fall hard for her, that he’d never meant to hurt her, that he’d do anything to keep her safe.

  A few moments later, the other two stepped out of the laundry room, Skye looking pleased with herself and Brooks looking a little like he wanted to rip Axel’s head off.

  “If you want to join our crew for this job, we can use you.” Brooks’s expression was dark. “And the only reason I’m agreeing to this is because I’ve looked at your file and you’re not a complete asshole. I know how you got started, and I can at least guess the rest of the details. Plus I know the rest of your background as well. You’re not useless, and if you’d wanted to hurt or kidnap Hadley, you could have done it already. But you’re on a short leash.”

  Axel simply nodded. He was a year older than Brooks, and while they hadn’t worked any missions together, he knew the other man’s reputation in the Marine Corps. And they’d both been honor grads—different graduation years.

  “It’s up to Hadley,” Axel said quietly. “But yes, I want to be involved. I want to completely neutralize the threat to her. No matter what happens, I’ll hand over all the information I have.”

  Hadley was silent for a long moment and just when he was convinced she was going to tell him to get the hell out, she gave him a surprisingly soft smile. “You can come to the ranch.”

  Tension eased from his shoulders but he simply nodded. He wasn’t sure what to make of her wanting him there. It could mean absolutely nothing other than she simply wanted the extra protection. But the stupid part of him wished she wasn’t completely disgusted by him and wanted him in her life. Maybe even wanted to finish what they’d started at the condo.

  A man could hope.

  Chapter 11

  —Badass with a big heart.—

  “So…how are you dealing with all this?” Skye asked quietly.

  “You don’t need to handle me with kid gloves.” Hadley turned to stare at the window, watching the countryside pass in a blur of shapes, unsure how to answer that question. Because she had no idea how she was handling anything. It was a lot to process and she was slightly horrified with herself for not being more horrified about what Axel did for a living. Of course she wanted to talk to him more about it—in private—but wondered if he’d even tell her.

  “I’m not trying to. But you just had a lot laid on you. Like the fact that the guy you may or may not be sleeping with is a hired killer. And that someone put out a contract to kidnap you. And you were attacked at school. That’s a lot for anyone with training to deal with, let alone a civilian. It would be normal if you decided to freak out.”

  She softly snorted. “I’m not going to lose it.” Not yet anyway. She might have a breakdown later when she was alone, but that wasn’t normally how she handled things. She’d grown up keeping her feelings private, not letting anyone know her business. It was one attribute she’d gotten from her mom.

  “Well I’m here if you need to talk.”

  “Will you share that file you have on Axel with me?” Because she wanted to know more about him.

  “Sure, but he’ll probably tell you anything you want to know.”

  “Yeah right,”
she muttered.

  “Nah, he will. I can tell and I’m good at reading people.” She said it so matter-of-factly.

  Hmm. That gave her something to think about. “So why did you ask him to come to the ranch?” Because Brooks definitely didn’t want him here but Skye hadn’t seemed to care at all what her brother thought. The only reason Brooks had probably acquiesced was because he wanted to keep an eye on him and Darcy was at a condo instead of the main house. Her brother could be fiercely possessive of his fiancée—another reason she adored him.

  “You want the truth?” Skye asked.

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “Because he looks at you the way my husband looks at me. The way Brooks looks at Darcy. And the way Mercer looks at Mary Grace. He’s not going to hurt you. And if we all get pulled in different directions with this whole operation, I like knowing that we have someone who will protect you with their life. Don’t get me wrong, we would too, but he’s not going to let you out of his sight. Not for anything. It’s a logical decision to bring him in on this. Brooks is just being a protective older brother.”

  Wow. Okay, more stuff to digest. So much stuff. “Despite everything…I still kind of like Axel.”

  Skye nodded once. “I understand that. I know what he does for a living but…I’m definitely not judging.”

  Hadley started to respond when she saw a bundle of fur on the side of the road. “Stop!”

  Instead of stopping immediately, Skye glanced in the rearview mirror, where Brooks and Axel were following them. She turned on her emergency blinkers and slowed before pulling onto the curb of the two-lane highway. They’d be at the ranch in about ten minutes and it was late enough that there weren’t many people on the road.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think I saw a dog back there. Or maybe a cat.” Hadley was already unbuckling her seat belt, but Skye put a hand over hers.

  “You stay put,” the other woman said, pulling out her phone. She quickly texted Brooks, using voice to text.

  A moment later Skye’s phone buzzed. “Brooks is going to check it out. If it’s an injured animal, we’ll bring it back to the ranch.”

  All of her instincts told her to get out and help the animal, whatever it was. “I can go look—”

  “Nope.” Skye shook her head once for emphasis. “Look, if we’re going to keep you safe, you have to listen to us. That means if we tell you to duck or get inside or whatever, you have to listen without asking questions.” She glanced in the side mirrors, then the rearview.

  Hadley knew that she was right because of this particular situation, but it was something she’d have to get used to. At least for the time being. “Okay.”

  Skye looked at her phone again after it buzzed. “It’s a dog. They’ve got it.”

  “Is it injured? If so, what type of injuries? Do we need to take it to a vet?” There was a lot she could do on her own, but if it needed surgery they needed to get it help now.

  Skye blinked once as she kicked the vehicle into gear. “That’s literally the gist of what I know. It’s a dog.”

  Rolling her eyes, Hadley pulled out her own phone. She thought about calling Axel, but in the end decided to simply text her brother with questions. She didn’t have the energy to talk anymore, not to anyone.

  She just hoped the dog was okay. Right now, she was going to focus on that and not Axel O’Sullivan or his haunted blue eyes, big callused hands and the groans he made when he came.

  Nope, not thinking about any of that right now.

  * * *

  “What do you think we should name the dog?” Hadley asked as she finished brushing through the fur of the mixed-breed puppy. She guessed the puppy was part Shih Tzu and something else. “We need to call her something. At least until we find out if she has an owner or not,” she added when Skye didn’t respond.

  At least the puppy hadn’t been injured as far as she could tell. And she was also fairly young, maybe a year old, with good teeth. Hadley couldn’t be sure about the age, but it was right around the time some people who had dogs decided that they weren’t so cute anymore and got rid of them. Usually because they hadn’t taken the time to train them correctly.

  “I don’t know,” Skye said. “I don’t know anything about dogs.”

  “Well she certainly likes you.” Hadley ran a brush over the mutt’s fur. It had taken an hour and a half to cut her filthy, matted fur off, then rinse her off and give her a thorough washing. And then she’d had to dry her—which the puppy hadn’t liked—and now Hadley was simply brushing her short, soft fur.

  But the puppy kept wiggling, making little whining noises as she looked at Skye who was sitting cross-legged against the opposite wall in the bathroom, watching the tiny ball of fur warily. “I don’t know about that,” Skye muttered.

  “Oh yeah?” Hadley let go of the cute animal and she immediately raced at Skye, jumping into her lap and licking her face.

  Skye scrunched her nose slightly but nuzzled the dog just the same. “At least you smell good now.”

  “I like the name Princess,” Hadley said, mainly because they just needed to call her something.

  “Gross. No.” Skye shook her head.

  “Okay, what name do you like?”

  “I can’t name this thing. Then it will never leave me alone,” she said even as she started rubbing the dog’s belly.

  “Okay then how about Queenie?” Hadley held back her laughter, knowing that Skye would absolutely hate the name.

  “Man, you stink at this. I’m going to call her C-4.”

  “Wait…what?”

  “C-4. It’s my favorite type of explosive.”

  Hadley started to laugh, but stopped when she realized Skye was serious. “You can’t name a dog that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Seriously?”

  “You told me to name her.” Skye pushed to her feet, taking the puppy with her. “Should we feed her or something? Is there even any food here?”

  “Yeah, there’s a bunch of dog stuff in one of the pantries here. I think my dad used to have a dog. Or maybe one of the ranch hands. We should also take her outside and see if she has to go to the bathroom.”

  Skye nodded and continued carrying the puppy, who was soaking up all the attention. Skye seemed to like the affection too, which Hadley found interesting. “I’ll take her out back if you want to get some food ready?” Skye said as they reached the expansive kitchen.

  “Sounds good.” Hadley was really curious what her brother was doing with Axel and Gage—the hacker had shown up at the ranch right around the same time they’d arrived. She knew they must be going over whatever information Axel had, but she wished she was part of it. Brooks had sort of railroaded her and told her that he’d tell her everything later.

  Which felt a lot like a lie. As if he was trying to appease her so he could only give her certain information. If someone wanted her kidnapped and whatever else, she had a right to know all the details. But she was still digesting everything about Axel and simply didn’t have the energy to push back too hard against her brother.

  She found dog bowls that were much too big for C-4—and holy crazy they couldn’t actually name the dog that—and put a little puppy chow in one and water in the other. She even found a bed that was much too huge, but it would do for tonight. By the time she finished setting everything up, Skye strode back in, the puppy at her feet and her phone in her hand.

  She half-smiled, clearly distracted when she saw Hadley. “C-4 did her business and I need to meet up with your brother. What room are you planning to stay in?”

  “The one I always stay in.” Brooks had made it clear that the room on the second floor he’d designated as hers was only hers. It was huge, nearly double the size of the room at her house, had a walk-in closet with clothes in her size and had clearly been professionally decorated. He’d recently added a framed photo of the two of them to one of the dressers.

  “Oh, right. Okay. Then it wouldn’t hurt for you t
o get some rest. You’ve had a long day.”

  “That’s all you’re gonna give me?”

  “Sorry, hon.” Skye scooped up the puppy. “There are some things I won’t go over your brother on. He’ll let you know what we’ve found in the morning, though, I promise.” Hadley started to argue, but Skye added, “I’ll text you later what room Axel is in.”

  “Why would I even care?”

  Skye simply laughed. “You can do what you want with the information.”

  “Did you want me to keep the puppy?”

  “Nah…I’ll probably just take her bed into our bedroom.” She motioned to the doggie bed Hadley had pulled out. “If she whines I just take her out to poop or whatever, right?”

  “Yeah. Just let me know if you want me to take over. I don’t mind.”

  “Nah, I think I’ve got this.”

  If that dog didn’t have an owner, Hadley was pretty sure she’d just found one.

  Hadley made her way to her bedroom, the one her father and Brooks had proudly showed her when they’d first invited her here. They’d been so adorable and nervous. Her dad didn’t actually live in the main house—which Hadley was pretty certain would be considered a mansion—but on another smaller home on the property.

  Which reminded her, she needed to call him. She was pretty certain Brooks had already told him everything so she wanted to check in with him. By the time she reached her room, her phone buzzed.

  It was from Skye. He’s on the first floor in the room with the cowboy stuff. Northwest corner of the house.

  There was certainly no doubt who “he” referred to. And Hadley knew which room Skye was talking about too. She’d gotten the grand tour months ago and that room was pretty much on the opposite side of where hers was. Damn, Brooks wasn’t messing around.

  But…he also didn’t get to tell her what to do. She made her own decisions, and the truth was, she wanted to see Axel. Wanted some answers. And maybe…something else. But she wasn’t going to think about that now.