by Em Petrova
“Valentine!” Cason’s voice pulled Broshears’ head out of the game, and he looked up to see Vivian still hadn’t left the train.
“Vivian, if you don’t leave right this second, I swear to God you won’t like the consequences!”
Would she listen to nobody? A woman like her was more of a danger to the world than any help she might provide by the way of skills. And Broshears was about to turn her over his damn knee and teach her a lesson.
“Cason, if I see your face, I’m gonna punch your teeth in. Get the hell off this train. Valentine, if you don’t follow, I’ll shoot your dog.” It was a low blow, giving a threat like that. But he knew the woman had little regard for her own life, but would do anything to save one of her K-9s.
He heard her footsteps as she rushed off, which should provide Broshears with some measure of relief—if he trusted her to stay away, that was.
Penn hovered at a distance from the bomber. “What are you carrying?” he commanded in a booming voice that few men could leave unanswered.
“I-I’m not sure! I was given it. They paid me.”
“Get off him, ma’am,” Broshears ordered the woman.
“He’s my dad! What’s happening! Why are you after him?”
Penn and Broshears exchanged a look, and he moved in swiftly, bodily lifted the woman off the man and shoved her toward Lipton, who had entered the train. Lipton took the woman off with a firm grip, leaving him and Penn to handle the rest.
When Penn had the man roll over slowly and show him where the explosive was located—in a coat pocket—he made the call to get Gasper and Hepburn suited up in protective gear to come strip this bomb off the man.
As soon as they entered the train, Penn and Broshears dropped back.
He strode out, searching for Vivian. He saw her not far enough from a train that had every chance of exploding, and he strode right up to her. Defiance lit her eyes as he approached, and damn if he didn’t want to cup the point of her chin and kiss some sense into her.
He grasped her upper arm and dragged her along behind him. They passed Cason, and the man started to say something but snapped his mouth shut again. Good thing, because Broshears had no qualm with smashing his teeth in.
When he was a good distance out of earshot, he ripped his device from his ear and glared at Vivian. “What were you thinking? You could have been killed. You could have gotten everybody in that train car killed!” His voice amped up in volume.
Vivian stared at him.
“That young woman. Cason. Both your K-9s—and you. All of you could have died.”
“What do you think I should have done? Let the man get away and detonate the bomb in some crowded place?”
“You…wait…for…backup,” he said in a quiet, even tone.
She started to say something else, and he spoke over her.
“How would you feel if that woman had lost her life? If you watched Cason die before your eyes? You can’t barrel into every situation and do it all yourself, Vivian. Your job was to locate the explosive. You did that. Then you call for backup, goddammit!”
She dropped her head, and he stared at the sliver of pale scalp where her black hair parted. “You’re right, Alix.”
“Damn right I’m right!” His fury over her carelessness with her safety got the better of him, and he couldn’t stop. “That doctor believed he could go in to help the hostages and be immune to the violence. But the black and white of it is the opposite. Same goes for you—you are not immune, Vivian!”
“You’re right. I couldn’t save anybody by jumping in—not that victim in that house and not my father. But I did put myself at risk, and if something happened to me, I’d put others at risk saving me. I-I…never realized until now.” Her voice broke on the last word, the sound cutting through his anger.
He reached for her, skimming his fingers over her arm. She jerked from his touch. The action shouldn’t sting so much, but dammit, it did.
“Come with me.”
“Where?” The indignation in her voice of minutes ago faded.
“Just come.”
She nodded, and he led her to the depot parking lot to the SUV he’d driven like a fucking madman to reach her. His team had been en route when they received word that she and Cason arrived early and were beginning their search. Broshears had stepped on the gas, knowing with a sixth sense that she would wind up in trouble.
His instincts were rarely off, and weren’t this time either.
He unlocked the SUV and opened the passenger door to let her inside. She slipped into the seat, avoiding his gaze. He lingered in the door a moment, looking at her bowed head. She was beating herself up, he knew, but he had other shit to deal with.
“Please wait for me,” he said quietly.
She nodded.
He ached to draw her into his arms and comfort her any way he could. Instead, he closed the door and walked away. He barely took ten steps before Cason intercepted him.
“Don’t hurt her.” The statement blindsided Broshears.
He whipped to face Cason. “I have no intention to.”
“I saw how you were acting when you couldn’t get her to leave the train. You care about her.”
Broshears met his stare and didn’t confirm nor deny it.
“Don’t fucking hurt her, Broshears.”
He fisted his hands and took a step closer to Cason. “I already told you I have no intention of hurting her.”
“Good. Because if you do, my dog has 269 pounds of jaw pressure, and I’ll have no problem turning him loose on your balls. Got it?”
Broshears ground his molars. “I hear ya. Now get out of my face and let me finish my job here.”
When he reached the train once more, Gasper and Hepburn had disarmed the man and removed the explosive material from him. It proved to be a tiny box no bigger than what would hold a ring, but Lipton informed Broshears that it contained the same material found in Geri’s possession.
“She admitted to sending another package, and we’ve got a team of Canadians rushing to head it off before it reaches the recipient,” Lipton went on.
“Christ. At least she confessed.”
“If she isn’t lying.”
He couldn’t say whether the woman was savvy enough to lie in such a stiff interrogation or not. She seemed like a harmless older woman with a medical condition and a semi-crazy significant other. He never would have guessed her capable of this.
“The train bomber was paid to hand-deliver the package. When his daughter insisted on joining him for the journey, he didn’t know how to say no. He figured the package was safe or he wouldn’t have been asked to carry it.” Lipton shook his head, and Broshears did too.
“What a fucked-up situation.” He thought of Vivian waiting for him in the SUV. At least she better be waiting. That led to him thinking about Cason challenging him. The son of a bitch cared about her enough to ask Broshears not to hurt her…
He wouldn’t be so generous if the roles were flipped.
But he had enough sense to recognize his feelings for Vivian Valentine were shifting.
She had no clue what he meant about that doctor. Maybe he really should give one of those interviews the reporters were nagging him for. He didn’t want the book contract or movie deal—but maybe it was time to inform the world of heroes, that sometimes they ended up being saved. The doctor and military men had to be rescued when they had intentions of being the rescuers.
The bomber and his daughter were taken into custody. The Xtreme Ops swept the train and depot for more explosives and found none. What seemed to be hours later, he finally headed to the SUV.
Vivian opened her door and looked at him. “The animal hospital called. Zack can come home.”
All anger had completely trickled out of her tone.
He nodded. “Let’s go get him.”
“Home sweet home, huh, buddy?” Vivian watched Zack hop on three legs. He still wasn’t bearing weight on the dislocated hip, but the vet told h
er he should as the joint stabilized once more.
For the moment, Zack was confined to her kitchen where he had all the amenities of a doggy five-star hotel, including food and water, a cozy bed, an extra blanket and his favorite stuffed penguin toy.
He explored the space, circled it twice and then went to his water dish and drank half the bowl. When he collapsed onto his bed, she moved forward to pet him and check the gauze bandages covering the worst of his burn wounds.
“He won’t require the cone of shame?” Alix’s deep voice came from nearby as he squatted to watch what she was doing.
“No, he’s a very intelligent dog. If he starts chewing, I’ll tell him to stop and he will.”
“That’s good. They always look so pathetic in the cones.”
“Have you had a dog wear one?”
“Yes, my dog growing up, Sonny. He ripped open his leg squeezing under the fence in an attempt to escape and impregnate the neighbor’s dog. Wouldn’t leave the stitches in, and he even went crazy and managed to tear off the cone once. The worst patient. Not like you will be, isn’t that right, Zack?” He reached out and stroked the dog’s neck. He thumped his tail and lay down.
Vivian looked at him in awe. “I don’t know much about you besides you’re a special operative who can hammer a pepperoni and mushroom pizza.”
His eyes lidded. “I think you know a bit more than that.”
The insinuation in his voice had her insides turning to warm goo. Their gazes clung for a moment, and she looked down at Zack again. “I meant I don’t really know where you’re from. What your background is.”
His smile could melt hearts and make them beat for him alone. A lot of men his age, especially military men, took wives young. Why didn’t he?
“All-American story—mom and dad, only child, two pets, a cat and dog. Middle class family.”
“Did you play football in high school too?”
“Yup.”
She grinned, envisioning him in his tight uniform pants hugging his muscled body.
“My childhood was pretty unremarkable and happy. No demons sent me running to the military. I got enough of those when I enlisted.”
She eyed him. “You said something about a doctor and rescue mission.”
His expression dimmed. “Yeah… Some people were taken hostage, and a doctor went in to be a hero and treat them for illnesses and injuries. But they took him hostage too, and the American government sent in a platoon of soldiers after them. But that backfired too, then I led a team in after all of them.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You got them all out?”
“Every man recovered. Three fatalities, and later one man died of infection from his wounds.”
“It’s a little like the old lady who swallowed a fly, then followed it with a spider and a bird. I…” She rubbed the edge of Zack’s blanket and then looked up at Alix. “I guess I can see why you were so upset that I went after that guy on the train. What I did could have snowballed.”
He nodded.
Her throat burned with regret and shame.
Alix dropped from his crouched position to take a seat on the floor, legs stretched out and his spine against the kitchen wall. “Talk to me, Vivian. What was going through your head when you disobeyed a direct order to stand down and went after that bomber instead.”
She swallowed hard. “I guess my first thought when I have to make a decision is what would my father do?” The silly tears began to tumble down her cheeks, a waterfall that couldn’t be stopped. “I was thinking about my dad—making him proud. What he’d do. What he did do.”
“And lost his life doing? Do you have a death wish, Vivian?”
“Not at all. I want to be at the top of my game. But I couldn’t save that man who died the same way my dad died. And if any harm had come to the bomber’s daughter today…I couldn’t atone for that either.” A sob lodged in her throat, and she held it in, chest heaving.
Alix scooted close to her, and Zack, seeing her distress, lay his head in her lap. With all this comfort, she drew in a deep breath and found that her tears had cleansed a bit of her remorse away. Alix’s words woke her up as well—next time she faced down a difficult situation, she might not make the same choices.
He drew her against his side, and she laid her head on his shoulder. Moments passed in silence, and her mind was starting to move toward how warm and solid his body was against her…and how good he kissed. How his callused hands gliding over her body drove her crazy.
And his fingers buried deep—
Her phone buzzed, reminding her of all his calls she’d ignored. She grabbed the device from her pocket and brought it to her ear. “What’s up, Hunt?”
Alix stiffened.
“We’re being sent south tomorrow to check out a freight packaging center. The authorities have reason to suspect the bomber woman might have used other facilities besides the post office or by paying a carrier to do her dirty work,” Hunt said through the phone.
Her heart squeezed at thoughts of Geri and how far she’d gone from the sweet, harmless woman Vivian knew.
“Yes... I’ll be ready. What time?”
A beat of silence followed. “Is Broshears there?”
Her heart quickened at the edge in Hunt’s voice. She could do without this protective big brother act Hunt put on.
“Yes, he’s here.”
Alix’s head snapped to the side. They stared at each other until she dropped her gaze.
Hunt’s silence on the other end left her wondering if maybe it wasn’t all a big brother act. Finally, he said, “I’ll pick you up at six.”
“I’ll be ready. Thanks for letting me know, Hunt.”
She ended the call and issued a sigh. Alix echoed it, though his contained a bit of a grumble like a bear being woken from hibernation too early.
“What did he want? To throw threats at me again?”
She jolted. “What!”
“Your friend Hunt,” he stated the words very deliberately, “has feelings for you.”
She shook her head. “We’re friends. Colleagues. That’s all.”
A gleam came into Alix’s eyes. “He’s starting to realize that, I’d say.”
“What did he threaten you with?” She didn’t want to know.
“Said he’d sic his dog on my balls if I hurt you.”
“Oh my God!” She slapped a hand to her mouth, shock and amusement mingling for the upper hand. Amusement won out, and she expelled a giggle.
He drew her against him again, and she stretched her fingers over the hard plane of his spine while stroking Zack’s head in her lap. “We leave at six a.m. We’re going—”
She stopped dead. “Who will stay with Zack? He can’t be left alone. I wasn’t thinking. I have to call Hunt back and tell him to get another handler.”
“I’ll stay with Zack.” Alix’s rumbled words had her straightening to look at him.
“You can’t do that. You have your own duties. You can’t be a pet sitter!”
“I can and will. Zack trusts me, and I’ll stay with him. Don’t argue with me anymore, woman. I’m helping you and that’s that.”
“Alix…” She craned her head to brush her lips over his stubbled jaw. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He tilted his head against hers. “It’s the least I can do after what Zack did for me.”
Chapter Eight
Broshears came out of the bathroom and stared at the outline of Vivian’s curves on the bed. She’d pulled the covers up to her chin and he saw by her hunched pose that she was still kicking herself for what happened today.
When he passed the door she’d left open to hear Zack in case he whined, he inclined his head to listen. He heard nothing but the faint whir of the furnace.
He quietly crossed the room in the event he was wrong and she really was asleep. But as soon as he slid under the covers, she gave a hard twitch.
“Your feet are icy!”
“Is that an invitation to
warm them up?” He snuggled close, bringing her against his chest.
“Don’t you dare put those cold things on me!”
He rumbled a laugh and thought about teasing further but tucked his feet from her legs. As soon as he buried his nose in her hair, his cock began to swell with desire.
“I feel that,” she said against his chest.
“It’s the scent of you. Drives me crazy.”
Her breathing hitched, and she looked up at him. “It does?”
“Mmm.” He nuzzled her throat.
After a minute he realized she wasn’t responding with sexual cues and he raised his head to look at her.
“I’m sorry about today, Alix,” she said softly.
His heart squeezed hard at the remorse steeped in her tone. “Honey, don’t think about it anymore. It’s over. And I’m not mad.” In fact, he was fully aroused, his cock rock-hard against her lower abdomen.
She gave a little shudder and a minute later he heard her deep, even breathing that told him she’d fallen asleep.
Not exactly the reaction he wished for, and now he was trapped in bed with a semi-naked woman and a hard-on, which was the equivalent of ‘all dressed up with no place to go.’
He contented himself with holding her for the moment. Having a conversation in bed with a woman that went beyond pass me a condom or I’ll try to call you proved to be a new skill set for him. With other women, he never cared what they were thinking or if he saw them again.
But Vivian was different—and in one swift gulp of her sweet, feminine scent, he realized why.
He was falling for her.
Hard.
Damn hard.
Maybe he’d already fallen all the way.
Love? How the hell could that happen?
Yet there it was, a shining star glimmering on the horizon of his mind, making him ask more questions. Like did watching over a woman and guarding her emotions cause a man to lose his mind?
She jerked in his arms and gasped out. Leaning over her, he searched her face. Her eyes were wide and filled with confusion.
“It’s all right,” he soothed.
“Did I hear Zack whine?” Her voice was a rasp.