Stealth

by Janie Crouch

  Cameron kept his SIG pointed directly at Ghost Shell. “Let’s just make one thing clear from the start. If I go down, this—” Cameron rocked Ghost Shell back and forth with his hand “—gets blown to bits. Remember that. And make sure Fin and whoever else is up there knows it, too, wherever they are.”

  Smith looked annoyed now. “I’m sure everyone knows how important Ghost Shell is.”

  Damn. Cameron had hoped Smith would call out to Fin. So much for pinpointing Fin’s location. Cameron just hoped Sawyer would find him. And soon.

  “Where’s Sophia?” Cameron asked.

  Now Rick chuckled again and used his weight to make the trunk of the car bounce up and down. “She’s in here, Cam. She’s probably not real excited about that, do you think?” He banged on the trunk loudly with his fist, obviously enjoying the thought of Sophia’s terror. When there was no response from inside, Rick continued, “Nothing. Must have gotten scared and passed out. Poor thing.”

  Rick didn’t even know the half of it since he wasn’t aware of Sophia’s claustrophobia. Cameron longed to wipe that sneer off Rick’s face.

  “Look…” Cam took a few steps closer to them so he wouldn’t have to yell. All three men drew their weapons and pointed them at him. “Whoa, everybody simmer down. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I obviously made the wrong choice teaming up with Sophia and I got greedy. And I don’t expect you to trust me again or do any business with me anymore. All I want is for Sophia and me to get out of here alive.”

  “Well, you give us Ghost Shell right now and I don’t see any reason why you both can’t walk out of here,” Smith told him. Cameron didn’t believe him for a second. “Why don’t you go ahead and give us Ghost Shell and then we’ll let Ms. Reardon out.”

  “Um, I don’t think so. Why don’t you let Sophia out then I’ll give you Ghost Shell.” Cameron hoped Sawyer was in the ready position. Once Rick opened the trunk and Cameron was able to see what condition Sophia was in, he could figure out a plan. She hadn’t made any noise from inside the trunk. If she was unconscious or nonfunctional—which was all that could be expected after being locked in a trunk for hours—Cameron wouldn’t be able to assist her and keep his gun pointed at Ghost Shell.

  At best Cameron was hoping to get Sophia to his car before giving Smith Ghost Shell and the shooting started. At worst… Well, there were a lot of scenarios that fit the “at worst” profile. Especially with three drawn weapons pointing directly at him.

  Smith gestured to Rick and he jumped down from the trunk. He turned and unlocked it, pulling it up. Cameron could see Sophia’s still form lying there unmoving. Her eyes were closed. He prayed she was just unconscious.

  Rick motioned to Marco. “She’s passed out. Help me get her out of here.” Marco moved in to help as best he could with one arm in a sling.

  Cameron had no warning, but neither did any of the other men. With both Rick and Marco leaning over the trunk to get her out, Sophia came up swinging a tire iron. She hit Marco on the side of the head and he fell instantly to the ground. She hit Rick, too, but only his shoulder. He fell to the side of car, cursing vilely.

  Cameron instantly recognized this for what it was: the only chance for success they were going to have. He turned his weapon at Rick and fired two shots into his chest just as the man was pulling his own gun up to shoot Sophia. Cameron dived for the cover of the car as bullets began flying from up in the catwalk of the warehouse. He felt a searing burn in his shoulder, but pushed away the pain. A few moments later Cameron heard a scream and the gunfire from above stopped. Wherever Fin was, Sawyer had found him. That left only Smith.

  “Soph? Are you okay?” She was still in the trunk.

  “Yes, I’m all right. I think.” Cameron had never been so relieved to hear anyone’s voice in his entire life. She sounded freaked out—who could blame her?—but she was alive.

  “Can you stay in there for just a little while longer?” Cameron whispered. “Smith is still around here somewhere.”

  Sophia’s voice was strained. “Hurry.”

  Cameron tried to apply pressure to the wound on his shoulder as he got up. He kicked Marco’s and Rick’s guns away from them as he walked by their motionless forms, just in case. Outside Cameron could see the flashing lights of law enforcement vehicles on their way. Evidently Burgamy had figured out where they were. Cameron still had Ghost Shell in his possession.

  “Cops are coming, Cam,” Smith called out from behind Cameron’s car. “Time for both of us to go.”

  “I don’t think so, Smith,” Cameron responded. Now that he knew where Smith was, Cameron began to make his way across the warehouse, silently. No more talking from him.

  “The only way we get out of this is together, Cam. If we both get caught, I’ve got connections, but you don’t. I’ll make sure all this gets pinned on you and Sophia. You don’t want Sophia to go to jail, do you, Cam?”

  Just keep talking, jerk. Cameron was almost to him.

  “Give me Ghost Shell, we’ll all get out of here and let bygones be bygones. You can see the lights, Cam. They’re almost here. No need for us to get arrested.”

  Cameron stepped around the end of his car and brought his SIG up against Smith’s head, since Smith was still looking the other way, thinking Cameron was with Sophia. Keeping his gun firmly against Smith’s skull, he reached over and grabbed the man’s weapon out of his hand before he could turn it on Cameron.

  “Actually, you’re right, Smith. There’s no need for us to get arrested. Just you. You’re under arrest, you son of a bitch, for the murder of a federal agent, kidnapping, assault and a whole slew of things too long to even mention here.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “All I’m saying is that watching you come flying out of that trunk, tire iron swinging, was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” Cameron sat in a reclining hospital chair, one arm wrapped around Sophia with her snuggled up against his uninjured side. His other arm was in a sling from the bullet he’d taken at the warehouse, which fortunately hadn’t done any permanent damage.

  Sophia wanted to get up to make sure she wasn’t hurting Cameron or making him feel uncomfortable, but every time she made any sort of movement away from him he would tuck her more thoroughly back to his side.

  Not that she wanted to be anywhere else.

  “True story,” Sawyer called from his seat across the room.

  “There’s no way you could’ve seen it from where you were,” Cameron scoffed at Sawyer.

  “I don’t have to have seen it.” Sawyer winked at Sophia. “A woman like Sophia, jumping out swinging? Hell yes, that’s sexy.”

  Sophia felt her cheeks burning.

  “Don’t let them embarrass you, Sophia.” That much softer sentence came from Dylan in his hospital bed. He seemed to be out of the woods, but still recovering from the beating he had taken at the hands of Smith’s men, two of whom were now dead while two, Smith included, were in custody. Ghost Shell was safely back at Omega Sector, although Sophia understood there was some sort of incident where Sawyer had tripped and accidentally punched his boss.

  Sophia had been told about the incident earlier today by Juliet, Cameron’s sister. She also worked at Omega, although not as a field agent. At least not anymore. She had stopped by earlier to check on her brothers and promised to be back later that day after she tried to smooth things over with their boss for her brothers as best she could.

  “So, are you guys going to get fired?” Sophia asked, desperate to turn the topic of the conversation to anything but her and the tire iron.

  “Nah.” Sawyer’s confidence was reassuring. “Like I put in my initial report, I am just such a clumsy bastard. I tripped over my own size twelves and just happened to catch Burgamy in the jaw on the way down. Bad luck all around. Then everything just happened so fast. We were trying to call
a medic and Dylan here came stumbling in and we just made a judgment call.”

  Sophia looked up at Cameron from her nook in his shoulder. “Really?”

  Cameron just shrugged.

  “Besides,” Sawyer continued, “we had it all under control from the beginning at the warehouse. Perfect plan, perfectly executed.”

  Sophia saw Cameron roll his eyes. Whatever the plan had been, it definitely hadn’t been perfect. But she didn’t push it any further. She just didn’t want Cameron or Sawyer to get in trouble because of her.

  “All right, kiddos, I’m out for a few hours if you’re going to be staying here for a while, Cam.” Sawyer stood up. “I better go help Juliet keep Burgamy from torching my desk. I’ll be back in a bit. Try to stay out of trouble while I’m gone.”

  Cameron nodded. “No problem. Let me know if you need me to come help put out fires.”

  Sawyer walked over to the chair Cameron and Sophia were lying in. “Sophia…” He held his hand out to her. Sophia tried to get up from Cameron’s side, but Cameron wouldn’t let her. Sawyer saw it all and chuckled. “No, don’t fight him. I’m glad to see Cameron’s finally got the good enough sense not to let someone like you go. Better late than never. Welcome to the family.” He winked at her then turned and headed out the door.

  Sophia was mortified at what Sawyer had said. Would Cameron think Sophia meant that as a clue about where she wanted their relationship to go? “Um, I’m sorry Sawyer said that. I don’t know what he meant.”

  “I do,” Cameron told her, head laid back peacefully against the chair, eyes closed.

  “You do? Oh, good.” Sophia was all but stammering so she stopped talking. But then couldn’t help herself. “What? What did he mean?”

  Cameron turned so they could look face-to-face at each other. “He meant that I’m in love with you and I’m going to spend however long it takes to make you understand that and convince you to marry me.”

  “Uh…uh…” Sophia couldn’t seem to remember any words in the entire English language.

  “It doesn’t have to be right now,” Cameron continued, smiling at her and stroking her hair away from her face. “We can take as long as we need. As long as you understand that I’m not letting you out of this chair until you say yes.”

  There was a chuckle from the bed. Sophia had totally forgotten that Dylan was there trying to rest. But she didn’t care about Dylan being there, didn’t care if the entire hospital could hear them.

  “Do you really mean that? You didn’t suffer any sort of head injury last night, did you?”

  Another chuckle from the bed.

  “No.” Cameron chuckled a bit, too, but then his laughter faded. “I promise I am of very sound mind. Soph, when I found out Smith had you, it had never been more clear to me that you are the most important thing in my world.”

  Sophia started to speak, to assure Cameron of the same thing, but he put his finger over her lips to hush her. In his eyes were all the emotions she had always wanted to see. “I’ve lived without you for five years, and have cursed my own stupidity each day. I don’t want to live without you anymore, Sophia.”

  This was the man she had loved for years, whom she had given up on ever having a future with. Sophia scooted up so she could press her lips to Cameron’s. “Then don’t.”

  * * * * *

  While investigating a series of deaths in the Sonoran Desert, Border Patrol agent Sam Cross comes face-to-face with Jolene Nighthawk, the woman he once loved beyond all reason. Now, as the two join forces to get justice for the voiceless, old sparks reignite even as someone wants to make sure their reunion is cut short…

  Read on for a sneak preview of

  BURIED SECRETS by Carol Ericson.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The dark clouds barreled over the Catalina Mountains, and the skies opened. The rain pelted the highway, steam rising from the scorched asphalt. The first monsoon of the season had hit the Sonoran Desert with a vengeance, gleefully dousing the hot, thirsty landscape.

  Jolene slammed on the brakes of her truck, her back wheels fishtailing for a few seconds. She pounded one hand on the steering wheel and shouted. “Learn to drive!”

  She couldn’t risk getting into an accident right now, not with her cargo. Her cell phone rang from the console, and she glanced down at the display showing her cousin’s name before answering and switching to speaker.

  “Hey, Wade. What’s up?”

  “It’s Gran.”

  “Gran, if you’re just going to keep borrowing Wade’s phone, why not let me get you one of your own?”

  “I don’t know why I just can’t get my old phone back.” Gran clicked her tongue. “This is not progress.”

  Jolene twisted her lips. “Landline phones were discontinued on the reservation, Gran. They figured everyone had a cell phone.”

  “They figured wrong.” She coughed.

  “Are you still congested?”

  “It’s nothing. I called to find out when you were coming over. Wade told me you left town for a few days.”

  Her pulse picked up speed. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. Does something always have to be wrong? I just wanted to visit with one of my favorite granddaughters. Where did you go?”

  Jolene took a sip of water from the bottle in her cup holder. “I was in…Phoenix, visiting friends.”

  “Rain’s rolling in.” Gran sighed. “I felt it in my bones two days ago.”

  “It’s already hit up here, confounding all the drivers from out of state. I’m just south of Tucson, so it’s following me down to Paradiso.” She cranked on her defroster. “It’s going to be a good soaking.”

  “Well, you keep track of those weather patterns more than I do.” Gran sniffed and said something to someone in the background—probably Jolene’s cousin Wade. “There have been a few changes in town since you left.”

  Jolene rolled her eyes. Gran loved to gossip. “In two days? I doubt that, Gran.”

  “You know that young Border Patrol agent, Rob Valdez?”

  “Pretty face, pumped-up arms? Yeah, I know Rob.”

  “He’s off the market.”

  “What market would that be, Gran?” Jolene clamped her mouth closed against the laugh bubbling against her lips. She knew exactly which market Gran meant.

  Gran huffed out a breath. “The marriage market, Jolene. He and some young woman left on an extended vacation together.”

  “A vacation? You’re kidding. That seals his fate right there. He might as well attach a ball and chain to his ankle.”

  “Oh, you can laugh, but he was an eligible bachelor, one of the few left in town.”

  “Nice guy, but not my type. Too young for one thing.”

  “I know your type, Jolene, and the loss of Rob isn’t so bad given the other news I picked up while you were gone.”

  Jolene’s jaw tightened for a second. “Don’t keep me in suspense, Gran. What is this other blessed event that occurred to counteract Rob Valdez’s vacation with a woman?”

  Gran paused for maximum dramatic effect. “Sam Cross is back in town.”

  Jolene’s hands jerked on the steering wheel, and a wall of water from the puddle she’d veered into washed over the side of her truck. She swallowed. “Sam’s back?”

  “I know Sam is your type.”

  Jolene gripped the steering wheel. “Sam is married. That is most certainly not my type.”

  “He’s divorced.” Gran moved the phone from her mouth and yelled, “Just a few more minutes, Wade.”

  Jolene snorted. “He’s been back for two days, and you already know his marital status? I doubt it, Gran. He would never leave his daughter.”

  “He had lunch at Rosita’s yesterday, and Rosie told me he wasn’t wearing a wedding band and when she asked to see pictures of his daughter, he showed her pictures on his phone of the girl but none of his wife.”

  Tea
rs stung Jolene’s eyes, and she blinked them away. “That’s it, then. No wedding ring and no pics of the wife. You and Rosie are quite the spies.”

  Gran lowered her voice. “You don’t have to pretend with me, Jolene.”

  “Sounds like Wade wants his phone back.” Jolene cleared her throat of the lump lodged there and said, “I’ll drop by the rez tomorrow. I have something to do tonight when I get home.”

  “Drive carefully and come over any time tomorrow.” Gran must’ve handed the phone back to Wade without hanging up, as voices floated over the line before Wade cut off the call.

  Jolene blew out a long breath. What was Sam doing in town? It must have to do with work. He wouldn’t be in Paradiso long, and she could probably avoid seeing him. She hoped she could avoid seeing him.

  She drove the rest of the way to Paradiso hunched over the steering wheel, the rain not putting her on edge as much as the task before her. She could do it. She had to do it. As her father had taught her, sometimes the ends did justify the means.

  Twenty minutes later, as she rolled into Paradiso, the rain came in with her, lashing through the town, flooding the streets. By the time she pulled into her driveway, the storm had spent itself with the dark clouds rushing across the desert and breaking apart at the border, as if an invisible wall existed there.

  She pressed her thumb against the remote-control button in her truck that rolled back the garage door. She slid from the vehicle and took a quick glance around her neighborhood before opening the back door of the cab. She pulled out her overnight suitcase and set it on the ground, and then she grabbed the duffel bag on the back seat with both hands and hauled it from the truck.

  She hitched the strap of the bag over her shoulder and lugged it into her garage, wheeling the suitcase behind her. She stashed the duffel under a counter next to her ski boots and bindings, nudging it into place with the toe of her wet sneaker.