“This is a mess.” He states, looking around, he spots my uncle coming towards us.
“Go, try to get out.” He whispers, eyes wide.
“Nah, I’m good.” I say with a confident smile. I see the panic increasing in Jackson’s eyes as my uncle approaches. I just stand there looking calm and sipping from my glass.
“What are you two doing?” Kilson asks, suspicious. I gesture towards Jackson with my free hand.
“Well, you see, your lap dog here, wants me to quietly go with him. My guess is it is on your orders, but the thing is, I really don’t want to be locked up, tortured, or even killed, so I’ll pass.” I say with a sweet smile. Kilson goes to grab me.
“Sir, careful, people are watching, and she has made you look very bad tonight.” Jackson states quietly. My uncle leans forward close enough to strangle me.
“I don’t know what you think you are doing, little girl, but you will not win. Slandering my name will get you nowhere.”
I lean closer to him and in my deadliest voice I say, “Never underestimate your opponent.” He clenches his fist, going to grab my wrist, but I purposely spill my champagne down the front of him. He looks down, wiping his pants.
“Oh gosh! I’m so sorry! You better get that cleaned up before it stains,” I say loudly, catching the attention of a few people standing by.
“Sir, people are watching your exchange.” Jackson whispers. Kilson backs up and straightens his jacket.
“This isn’t over, young lady.”
“Of course not, I’m just getting started.”
Just then, the lights go out. The room is cloaked in darkness. I duck down as my uncle reaches for me. I move quickly to the left. I pull my knife out and find myself in front of my uncle again. I quickly slice his arm, his leg, his face before he can react. I love the sound of his pain. He keeps trying to catch me, but I’m too quick. I leave him and make my exit, avoiding the panicked people. Too bad I didn’t have time to kill him. A quick death is too easy for my uncle. He needs to suffer. I want to destroy him mentally and physically.
I’m already back in my car and halfway to the safe house, when I hear Charlie, “lights are back on.” I laugh out loud. It comes out a little crazy sounding.
“Are you okay?” Charlie asks, concerned.
“Damn, straight, I just proved it to my uncle.”
“Proved what to your uncle?”
“That he should have never underestimated me.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
After going over all the details of the night and a congratulatory glass of wine, I crashed in my bed, emotionally and physically exhausted. The next thing I know, there is light pouring through the bedroom window. I throw an arm over my eyes, trying to block it out.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead!” Julia says, in her way to cheerful voice.
“Argh, what time is it?” I ask, pulling a pillow over my face. She grabs it and throws it away from me. I pull up the covers, but she just jerks them back down.
“Seven o’clock!”
“And why are you waking me up?” I say grouchy.
“Um, because we are getting lazy and need to train. Be happy I didn’t wake you up at five thirty.”
“Um thanks.” I bury my head back into my pillow.
I hear her leave the room and I turn on my side to get comfortable. I’m drifting back to sleep when a splash of cold water hits me on the side of the head. I jerk up, sputtering. She just skips out of the room laughing. I let my feet fall to the ground and sit there for a moment, wiping the sleep from my eyes. My head is drenched on one side and dripping down to my comforter. This sucks.
I get up and walk to the chest of drawers and pull out some workout clothes. She is right; I haven’t been disciplined lately. I need to practice daily to keep up with my skills. I grab my katana and some throwing knives.
“Well, well, look who decided to grace us with her presence.” Charlie teases, showing those adorable dimples. I glare at him as I walk into the kitchen. Logan, Charlie, and Julia are sitting at the table, eating breakfast. I go straight to the coffee maker.
“So, things blew up after you left the party last night.” Charlie says, I stop mid-pour.
“And you didn’t wake me, because…?”
“I figured you needed to sleep, and it could wait until today.” I frown at him. I continue making my coffee. I grab an orange and sit down at the table next to Julia, across from Charlie and Logan, sipping and waiting and waiting….
“Come on, tell me already.” I demand. Charlie just smirks at me.
“Oh, I don’t know I just feel like tormenting you a little longer.” I hit him on the shoulder.
“Okay, okay.” He says with a full-on dimple smile. Holy Cow, two smiles in less than ten minutes, must be a record and what a smile! He should do it more often. It brings out his boyish good looks.
“Around two o’clock I received a phone call from your uncle. It is recorded so I will let you hear it later. Basically, he is freaking out. He informed me that the mission with security on the shipment planned for next week is cancelled. I could tell he was scared. He let it slip that you played a part in ruining everything. So, congratulations you are now the number one target. All teams are trying to track you down and eliminate you.”
“Wow! I’m putting the pressure on him and when people are pressured, they panic, and when they panic, they can make stupid mistakes.” I say with excitement.
“What else have you got for me?” I say taking his toast off his plate.
“How did you know?” He rolls his eyes but continues. “From what I can tell, he needs money badly, so he has another weird mission scheduled. It is tomorrow night. It will be at a dance club downtown. Max is the point on this one. Jackson is supervising with Tex and Boots.”
“Wait, Boots is back?”
“Yeah, apparently, he was called off his mission. His mission was ordered by your father to watch a couple college students that were hacking into the government databases. Honestly, I could have prevented it. They were just a bunch of amateurs.” He says obnoxiously. I roll my eyes. He is such a dork sometimes, a really hot dork though. What! Where did that thought come from?
“So, what is the mission?” I ask, now grabbing Julia’s toast. She slaps my hand away.
“They are the bodyguards for the newly twenty-one-year-old daughter of oil tycoon Rex Johnson. She is having a huge birthday bash at the Fire Club.” Charlie explains.
The Fire Club is an awesome night club that caters to the wealthiest. It has a techno flare to it with girls dancing on the platforms, great looking waiters and waitresses, two bars, a huge dance floor that is always packed because the DJs are insanely good. I used to go there all the time.
“Well, I’m definitely going. I know Alexis well. Julia and I used to party there a lot.” I start laughing as an idea comes to me. Everyone stops and looks at me.
“What are you planning?” Julie asks with a groan.
“How do you feel about dancing on a platform?” I ask Julia. Her eyes twinkle with mischief in response.
“Absolutely not.” Logan argues.
“Why not?” Julia huffs up. Logan glares at her.
“It is too dangerous. You could be caught.” He says. That was the wrong thing to say to Julia. Her face turns red in anger. I give Charlie a look and we both move away from the table. Julia slams her hands down on the table in front of Logan.
“I am still a trained agent of the United States government. Just because we are in a relationship does not mean you can control me. You will treat me just as you would a team member. If you don’t then we are through.” She shoves the table with enough force that Logan has to catch it before it knocks him over. She grabs a jacket and heads out the back door without a second glance. I give Logan a look and I can’t help but feel sorry for his sad ass face. Charlie is laughing and I nudge him to stop which only makes it worse.
“You poor bastard.” Charlie says to Logan, shaking his head a
s he heads to his office.
“She’s right, you know. You should trust in her abilities. Logan, you and I both know she is really good.” I stand with my hands on my hips. He gives out an exhausted sigh.
“I know. I just don’t want to see her get hurt. I know her mom will be looking for her and she is vicious.” I see the worry in his eyes. “I care about her so much.” It fills my heart with joy knowing that Julia has someone who cares about her so much. I admit I feel a little jealous too. My love life is pathetic. I’m mooning over someone that is unattainable
and now I suddenly notice how Charlie looks. What the hell is wrong with me? I think my hormones are in over drive.
“Well, I’m going to go check on Julia. Are you joining us?” I ask Logan heading for the back door. He shakes his head.
“I’ll let you guys have some girl time. I already worked out earlier this morning.” He takes a last drink of his coffee and sets it down. He places his head on his hands and gives out a pathetic sigh.
“Logan,” He lifts his head up and looks at me. “I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you being here and believing in me.” I say. He gives me a nod but continues to study me.
“I never doubted you. And just so you know, he will come around, Sparks. He knows right from wrong, just give him time.” I don’t need to ask to know he is talking about Jackson. I give a shrug and walk out the door. I meet Julia in the small enclosed backyard. She has set up makeshift dummies and is wailing on one. I come to a stop beside her. She stops and throws off her gloves. I give her a raised eyebrow.
“He drives me insane.” She states, wiping sweat from her brow.
“Men will do that.” I reply dryly.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t complain. You are going through your own man issues.”
“Yeah but listening to yours takes my mind off how crappy my love life is.” I pull my katana out of the sheath. I loosen up my shoulders and start slicing away at a wood block, pretending it’s an imaginary foe. In my mind, it looks like my uncle.
“At least you know he loves you.” I say, striking hard, taking a chunk out of the wood.
“Jackson loves you too. He is just screwed up right now. Personally, I know you don’t want to hear it, but I think you should cut your losses and hook up with Charlie.” I stop and look at her.
“Why do you say that?” I ask. Could she see me looking at him?
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” She explains. I watch her throw her knives into the fence. All hit close to the center of the painted target. I grab my knives and join her.
“Hmmmm, I haven’t noticed.” I lie, throwing my first knife. It hits the bull’s-eye on the target next to hers.
“That is because you can’t look beyond Jackson.” I pause between throws.
“I think I’m giving up on men. Are you available?” I tease. She laughs.
“Possibly.” She says, still laughing.
“Julia, can I talk to you?” Logan asks from the doorway of the house. Julia is so quick; I hardly notice her turn around. The next thing I see is a knife sticking out of the door frame inches from Logan’s face. I have to hand it to him, Logan doesn’t even flinch.
“Is that a no?” He asks, jerking the knife out of the frame. He walks slowly towards her, twirling the knife through his fingers with a smirk. Even I admit he looks hot doing that. In response, she just turns back around and throws another knife at the target. I roll my eyes at her. She is so stubborn! Logan comes up behind her and puts his arms around her. I avert my eyes, not wanting to intrude on the moment. From the corner of my eyes, I see Julia relax in his embrace. He slowly turns her around and whispers something to her. I see the mushy look she gives him and with a pang of jealousy, I leave them alone. When I reach the doorway, I see them kissing passionately. I smile sadly to myself. Yep, I’m feeling pretty pathetic.
With a sigh, I head back into the house and decide to see what Charlie is up too. It doesn’t have anything to do with what Julia says; at least I don’t think it does. I mean I just want to talk about the mission. Walking towards the office, I hear him on the phone. When I hear my name, I stop and listen.
“Carter is so much better than you. You do not deserve to even talk to her. So that is a hell no…. I mean it, Cowboy. You have done enough damage.”
“And I bet you are just so willing to pick up the pieces.” I hear Jackson’s voice on speaker. Why does my heart have to speed up when I hear it?
“I already have.” Charlie says arrogantly. I bristle at that, but then I hear Jackson and I’m completely caught off guard by the intensity of his voice.
“Are you fucking kidding me? How could you? You know how I feel about her!” He yells through the phone. My heart lifts at his declaration. I see Charlie’s jaw tighten. Then he pushes the button to take it off speaker, bringing the phone up to his ear.
“Whoa, you need to chill and get your priorities straight. I’m the one who has been by her side. You are playing your little charade with Brooklyn, knowing how much it hurts her, but you don’t care, it is all about you and how you can better your career. I’m taking the risk. I’m sacrificing a lot to just be her friend. She deserves better than me and you combined. She is brave, smart, beautiful and most importantly… she is right. You are being completely disillusioned by some righteous prick. So, when you get your head out of your ass, then maybe I will let you talk to her.” He slams the phone down, hanging up on Jackson. He runs a hand through his wavy hair. He picks up his hat and puts it on backwards.
“I’m sorry you heard that.” He says without turning around. I’m standing there stunned, just thinking how right Charlie is. Jackson has not been there for me. Charlie has. And I don’t think I have ever shown him how much I appreciated it. I come up behind him and without a word; I lean over and wrap my arms around his shoulders laying my head on top of his. He gives out a sigh and puts his hands on my arms.
“Thank you. No one has ever stood up for me or believed in me like you do.” I say.
“It’s fine.” He says gruffly, his hands lingering on my arm.
“No, I’m serious. You believed me before anyone else. I couldn’t have gotten this far without you.” I say, coming around to his side. He looks up at me with those green eyes. There is a new intensity in them. He turns to face me, still sitting and grabs me around the waist, pulling me toward him. I know what he wants, and I can’t bring myself to stop him or myself. Do I want to stop? My arms wrap around his neck and he lifts his face towards mine as I lean down to him. Our lips are a breath apart when…. BAM! The back-door slams shut, and I hear stomping in the kitchen. I pull away from him and he reluctantly drops his hands from my waist. I avoid his eyes.
“Carter, that…” I interrupt him before I can hear him say it was a mistake.
“I’m going to check on Julia. She seems upset.” He gives me a knowing look. He knows I’m avoiding the almost kiss. I take a breath when I reach the kitchen. What the hell am I doing? I love Jackson! There is no doubt I still love Jackson. I’m just confused and lonely. Yep, that’s it. Watching Logan and Julia, just reinforces my loneliness. That is all it was, I try to convince myself.
I hear the footsteps pounding up the stairs. Logan walks into the house. I give out a huff.
“What the hell happened now?” I ask, annoyed. What is up with these two?
“I told her I loved her, and I wanted her to be safe. I told her I was going in her place tomorrow night. I wanted her thoughts on my plan, and she flipped out.” I give him a questioning look.
“What’s your plan?” I ask, somehow knowing the reason for Julia’s temper tantrum.
“Well, I figured I would be your man power. I will lure the birthday girl someplace private and then we will take her.” The plan sounds good to me, but for a newly in love girl, it doesn’t sit well when your man is with someone else. I should know.
With that, my thoughts drift back to Jackson and Charlie. Charlie is a good guy and has been so sup
portive of me. I admit I find him really attractive with his surfer boy good looks. Then there is Jackson. Do I love him? I can say a wholeheartedly yes, but what if I’m allowing our past blind me from who he has become? He is drop dead gorgeous and until now has been my rock. I need closure with Jackson before I can even think about anything with Charlie. Wait, what if Charlie doesn’t want anything? What if he isn’t over his heartbreak? Maybe I’m reading too much into things?
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t notice that Logan has left the room and from the sound of it, he is on his way to see Julia. I barely notice that Charlie has come up behind me.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asks, pushing past me to get to the refrigerator. I’m suddenly aware of his proximity and how good he smells. He grabs an energy drink, shutting the door and then leaning against it. He opens the drink and takes a swig, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Yeah, just thinking about the best way to go about this mission.” I say, pulling my hair out of the ponytail. The hair tie gets knotted in my hair and I groan in frustration. Charlie sets his drink down and comes toward me.
“Here.” He says, turning me around. His fingers gently work to remove the hair tie.
“Well, I think Logan’s plan sounds pretty good. I have an idea on how to help things along. I should be getting an update soon. After I find out their security measures, we can figure things out more clearly.” He hands me the hair tie. I start to turn, but I notice his fingers are still in my hair, lightly brushing it with his fingers. He pulls on a lock slightly and I can tell he is wrapping it around his finger. He releases it and steps away from me. I release a breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding. I turn towards him.
“Thank you.” I say, not meeting his eyes. He tips my chin up with his knuckles. My eyes meet his.
“Hey, stop acting weird. I know you have unresolved feelings for Jackson. I’m not asking for anything more than your friendship. I admire how you are handling everything. I would never put any more pressure on you. I’m on your side.” He caresses my cheek and I notice the gold flecks in his eyes.
No Regrets Page 17
