“There’s something wrong here. Don’t you sense it?” Jake spat, his arms flexing.
A hush came over the two of them, and Charles’s mouth parted slightly. He fell a half step back but immediately recovered.
Jake ran his hand through his long brown hair, unable to deny the unease he felt. She’d be dead by morning. He just fucking knew it.
Charles shrugged. “Are you sure you aren’t just… imagining things?” he said, with that same cavalier tone.
Jake snarled. The fucking asshole knew that Jake was recovering, and that he was dealing with post-traumatic issues. It was the definition of gaslighting.
“Fuck off,” Jake seethed. “Fuck all the way off.” He was clenching his fists goddamn tight, so he didn’t end up popping Charles in the mouth. He wanted to, but he couldn’t take any more distractions. Not when he needed to decide what the fuck to do.
“We just need to get her to the jet,” Charles said, but before he could continue, Kate approached them from the cabin.
“Boys,” she said quietly, shivering because the snowflakes had picked up. She nodded to Charles. “Another job well done.”
Charles looked at Jake and raised his eyebrows.
Jake shook his head again. It was all a fucking mess. Their shitty plan was exactly not how you were supposed to run an op. Not when a human life was at stake.
“You are sitting ducks.” Jake’s voice grew lower and angrier, answering a question that no one asked. “You are going to be fucked if a bunch of masked dudes pop out of the woods with guns. You have no support.”
Jake tried to collect himself. The more time he spent with Aisha, the more something boiled up from within him that he couldn’t explain. It was unsettling.
“You checked the perimeter? What did you find?” Kate asked, keeping her voice low.
“Nothing,” Jake stated. “But that doesn’t mean the threat isn’t there.”
Her lips tightened. “Do you understand how important it is that we make her feel safe, secure?” Kate’s voice was so low that even he struggled to hear her.
Jake clenched his jaw. It was fucking rich as hell that Kate was reminding him to make Aisha feel safe when he was the only fucking one who had done so.
“There are thousands and thousands of lives at stake with what information she’s going to give us,” Kate continued. “Her life is on the line. And we are responsible for that.”
“I hope to fucking god you aren’t implying that I’m being cavalier with her safety.” Jake found himself pointing at Kate with a long, thick finger. “My attention is fully on this contract, and on her.”
“I think we can all see that,” she retorted quickly. A knowing look flashed across her face.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
Kate said nothing, but her expression said a thousand words.
“You have something to say?” he barked, failing to whisper.
“I’m not an idiot,” she replied. “I’m HUMINT, Jake. My job is to read people.”
He shot her a glare that threatened murder.
“You’d better fucking be smart,” she said. “You know she’s not going to be… available to you once we get stateside.”
Jake raised his eyebrows, flexing every muscle. “Available to me? What the hell does that mean?”
“She’ll either go in witness protection or get deported. Either way, it’s out of my hands. And either way, you’ll never see her again.”
It felt like a knife went through his chest. Deported?
“Does she know?” Jake demanded.
“She knew the risks when she signed. Her green card is conditional on what she gives us, which, so far, isn’t much.” Kate shrugged. “It’s a tough game.”
“This isn’t a game. It’s her life,” he snapped. “Are you fucking high?”
When Kate replied with nothing, he stared her down. He decided he didn’t like Kate. And anyone, for that matter, who wasn’t trying to help Aisha.
“Now I’m supposed to be sitting down to interview her. You’d better hope to god that she has more to discuss than just her concern for your fucking mental health.”
Jake heard the underlying threat. Or else. For both of them.
It was a low blow. What the hell did this bitch know about mental health struggles? Had she seen her friends die? Had she killed?
He was sure as hell that she’d never had to carry bodies of men on her back so that they’d get a proper funeral back home and not in some godforsaken bush in the middle of some war zone. She’d never had to wipe the blood off the faces of innocent children so the tears wouldn’t wash it into their mouths.
Jake shook the memories, knowing he had to get his shit straight. He could acknowledge two things. One: he wanted Aisha more than he had ever wanted a woman. He wanted her in every way, and he wanted her as part of his life. Two: he had to find a way to put that at the back of his mind and do his fucking job.
Kate exchanged a conspiratorial glance with Charles. He nodded. “Once we get her stateside, you will have full agency resources available to her?”
“Yes,” Kate confirmed. “I’m mobilizing people as we speak. This is a big deal.”
“Will she be safe, then?” Jake challenged her.
Kate looked at him skeptically. “We know how to keep people safe, Jake.”
Jake opened his arms and motioned to the cabin. “Is she safe now?”
“Yes, of course she is.”
“No, she’s fucking not. Get that through your head,” he snapped, his eyes ferocious. “And that’s why your whole goddamn plan is going to blow up. You are delusional. Now I know you’ve been smoking too much Canadian weed.”
Taken aback, the CIA station chief’s mouth dropped. “Pardon fucking me? We are doing the best we can with what we have—with no notice. We can’t just airdrop commandos into an allied country to flex, and we can’t just call a friend here to help. This is top secret, and that means a tight crew. And if you don’t like it, then you can leave.”
“Fuck you.” Jake pushed himself off the wall, ready to rip heads off.
But what were his choices? He moved himself away from the cabin, leaving the ill-advised plan in his wake. He didn’t know where he was going—he just couldn’t stand beside them anymore.
Aside from berating Kate and Charles, trying to get them to fucking listen, what else could he do? Kidnap the girl?
She’d be royally fucked then.
As he marched around the perimeter yet again, snowflakes danced down faster from the dark pillow of cloud that hung low overhead. Jake didn’t have a cell with him to check the forecast. He’d left it in a lockbox at the embassy, knowing full well that certain jobs required zero tracking capabilities. Sometimes Jake just had to be off the grid.
But there was one thing Jake had learned—there was always a late winter storm.
6
Jake’s footsteps silently took him up the winding cabin staircase and straight toward a particular room, where a particular person was being held. He knew how to be unseen and unheard—he could even move through a small, quiet cabin without tipping off the agents that peppered it. Like a ghost, the former black ops SWO slid into the bedroom, shutting the door without a sound.
And sure enough, there she was.
Sleeping?
In the shadowy room, lit only by a small amber light in the corner, he realized that the raven-haired siren was deep in a dreamy haze. Squaring himself against the doorframe behind him, unwilling to take the extra three steps to reach her bed, arousal washed over him as he watched her. She was hot as fuck, and he wanted to fuck her hard.
As she exhaled with a moan, her naturally red lips parted for a brief moment, forming the most erotic pout he had ever seen. He felt physically stunned. Like he shouldn’t move. That was the guarded, logical side of him. The devilish, carnal side urged him to get closer and touch her where he wanted to. Of course, he already knew—in detail—what he wanted to do to her. It flashed befor
e his eyes and involved a great deal of rope and submission and commanding her around.
Luckily, Jake was saved from his own deep hunger because Aisha awoke in a fright, her long black hair framing her heart-shaped face on the pillow. In warning, he put his finger to his mouth. Snapping upright with a start, she quickly slapped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming.
He spoke in hurried, hushed tones. “We need to talk. Now.”
“Yes?” she said, flustered. Her concern brought an orgasmic blush to her cheeks while she absently smoothed her hair back. The dog part of his mind envisioned her briefly with that very same flush as he planted his head between her legs and drew every last scream out of her.
“Who do you know in this house?” he whispered, ignoring the need he felt.
“Aside from you, just Kate.” She didn’t hide her curiosity. “Why?”
A good question. An astute woman.
He rubbed the scruff on his chin thoughtfully. “How well do you know Kate?”
“Not that well personally, if that’s what you mean.” She fidgeted with the blanket. “I didn’t spend a lot of time alone with her when we were in Lyon.”
The mention of France reminded Jake of her European boyfriend, and his skin crawled. He didn’t know why, but he fucking hated that guy. And that’s where Jake’s questioning went sideways.
“Is that where you met him?” His jaw flexed, and a thirst rose in his throat.
Blinking up at him, she tried to satisfy his line of questioning, “Yes. I met him at school years ago. He was the one who first…” But she shook her head, her voice trailing.
“First what?” He took a step toward her, his presence filling the space between them. He needed to know. Something wasn’t right about how that guy had looked at Aisha.
She shook her head, and he saw tears welling. “Jake, I—”
“Tell me,” he commanded, taking another half step forward.
“He encouraged me to defect when we were in school so that he could… propose.” She rubbed her face in embarrassment. “He said he would sponsor me and save me from my father.”
“I thought you said it wasn’t like that between you two.” Jake was bearing down on her. “Is that what he is expecting now?”
“No.” Her voice grew pinched, and he saw the deep concern in her eyes. “It didn’t work out last time, and my father punished me ruthlessly. This time, Leo told me it would be different.”
“He helped you again.”
“Yes.” She nodded, but her voice seemed uncertain. “He helped me escape the hotel and my bodyguards, and he drove me to the embassy.” She shook her head like she could barely believe it.
Jake started to see how events had brought her to him. It was all happenstance, unplanned. At least for her. But what was Leo’s game?
“Why did he come here?”
“For the G20. Meetings. Leo is with the French government now.” Her eyes were downcast, and Jake knew something was up. “He told me Kate would be at the embassy. He said he couldn’t tell me how he knew…”
It felt like the air was being sucked out of the room. Jake’s deep unease was validated.
Was she being set up?
“Aisha, is there anything else? What are you not telling me?”
The tears prickled through her lashes, and a pained look crossed her face. “Oh, Jake. There’s so much more…”
Jake rubbed his hands through his hair. This beautiful woman was staring up at him with those intelligent, inquisitive eyes. God. Even crying, she was so damned seductive. She sat before him, hands in her lap, just letting the tears flow while she held his gaze.
“I can’t fail,” she whispered.
Something in Jake screamed that he couldn’t fail either. But when Aisha looked at him with despondency and distress, he realized he had been staring blankly at her.
“Jake?” Her voice cracked. “Are you leaving soon?”
He let out a long breath and turned to leave. He pressed his hand on the doorframe, unwilling to look back at her. He couldn’t see those eyes again and tell her the truth. He didn’t have any fucking choice. They wouldn’t listen to him. He had no options unless he planned to fucking kidnap her and get her to the jet himself.
Kidnap her.
A fear filled him—but he wasn’t scared of fighting or getting hurt. He was scared of failing. Failing her.
An image of tearful eyes quickly flashed across the forefront of his mind—but they weren’t hers. In Mosul, a crumbling city during a dark time, captive women fleeing the tyranny of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant threw themselves at him. They were desperate to escape Daesh. Desperate to survive. Their dark eyes pleaded with him as he fought through the city. He promised them. He promised them everything. But Jake never could save any of them.
He kneeled on the packed dirt and rock where a blown-apart building once stood, holding a young mother’s long, thin body in his arms.
“Take me with you.” The young ISIL bride choked as blood poured out of her mouth.
He tried to wipe it off her cheek, but it only bloodied his gloves.
“Don’t leave us.” The woman coughed. “They’ll kill us.”
Sniper rounds flew through the sky and pierced the woman’s soft flesh as he held her in his arms. Just as he saw the light go out of her eyes, all went dark.
Jake closed his eyes, breathing the scent of blood, burning rubble, and death.
“You can’t fucking save them.” The faint voice of Senior Chief Liam Blackshot haunted him in the darkness. “They are the enemy. We don’t take prisoners.”
“I have no choice,” he said into darkness.
“Jake.” A soft, concerned voice behind him brought him back to reality.
He caught his breath, pupils dilating. He was back to a cabin in the woods. The flashbacks hadn’t been that bad since he’d been in the Sahel. Since he’d come to terms with the fact that he was no hero. He was a stone-cold killer.
Looking over his shoulder at her, Jake’s eyes darkened as he observed the woman on the cabin bed. She was Arab, not Persian. Hurt, but not dying. There was something about her that drove the seam of his mental control. Something about the deep passion she fueled in him.
“Promise me something,” he said in low tones, ready to rip open the door and get the fuck out.
“Okay,” she said slowly.
“Promise me that you won’t trust anyone else.”
The intensity of his gaze fell on her, but for the first time she didn’t shift. “I promise—if you promise to stay.” She gave him a coy little smile. “And I’ll try to relax.”
Jake stifled a groan and moved silently out the door. He didn’t know what the fuck to do, but he knew he was no goddamn hero. Maybe her chances at survival would be better with Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
7
Watching Jake disappear through the door nearly broke her heart. But she didn’t feel that first crack until she followed him down the stairs and saw his masculine form through the window, moving through the shadows toward the cars.
Toward his car.
It was too dark to see much, but the distinct roar of his Mustang’s engine dropped her stomach. He was really leaving.
Gasping, she moved quicker down the stairs, only to be greeted by Kate’s suspicious glare.
“Ready to have a conversation?” The reedy blonde tucked a lock of hair behind her ears.
Aisha’s eyes drifted over to the living area beyond a small doorway. She could hear a fire crackling, and the other agents moving about.
“Okay,” she breathed in submission.
The fire inside the tiny, plaid living room crackled furiously, filling Aisha’s nose with the sweet scent of burning wood. Exhausted, emotionally as much as physically, she clasped the oversized knitted blanket closer around her: her armor against the prowling agents.
With cheery, friendly faces, they brought over a warm mug and a tray full of steaming hot food. Aisha’s mouth
started to water. When was the last time she’d eaten? Showered? Slept for more than a few hours? She was beyond a wreck. It was amazing that she’d kept it together this long.
“It’s nothing fancy, but it will keep you warm and full,” Kate said as she sat down with Aisha.
“Thank you so very much.” Aisha bowed her head again and reached for a dinner roll, her stomach grumbling. She felt like she could eat a horse. Even the size-four pants were beginning to feel loose. How much stress weight had she lost?
Aisha swallowed back some water and spooned some hot chicken stew into her mouth.
The station chief of Yoman narrowed her eyes. “We need to talk about your father.”
“I know.” Aisha crunched the bread crust, dipping one small piece in the stew. There was no way any of it was halal, but it was about survival at that point. And what was the sense in observing when she failed to believe? Despondent, hurting, she felt that God had deserted her.
“This is going to be the first of many conversations,” Kate explained slowly. “We are going to get you to the States, where you can start a new life. And all we need from you to make that happen is what you’ve already offered.”
“Information,” Aisha confirmed, not feeling ready to do what she’d promised.
“Yes,” Kate nodded, bringing a hot tea to her mouth from the side table. “Information is what you have. That’s what my organization wants.”
The CIA agents flitted in and out of the room, observing her and moving out to chatter. Aisha exhaled, wishing Jake hadn’t left her. The cabin felt so empty without him. She couldn’t get his thick, heavily tattooed arms off her mind. The memory of his hands on her gave her shivers. She felt desperate again for his touch, but denied it at the same time. Denial was all she had. Especially when her own two feet seemed barely able to carry her.
Jake’s words filled her mind. Don’t trust anyone.
But what choice did she have? Aisha gazed back at the intimidating station chief awaiting her information.
She relented to the inevitable. “He’s working with the Saudis. Do you know that?” Aisha began reluctantly.
Guarding Aisha Page 6