“I don’t fucking get men like that,” Cage grumbles. “If I so much as looked at a lady wrong, my dad would have whooped my ass growing up.”
“Well, sometimes it’s more than just the environment they were raised in. Sometimes, there are mental health issues. In this case, alcoholism is a severe complicating factor. At any rate, the husband is unemployed, so it was hard for her to break free. I’d been talking to her in quick but secret phone calls for a few weeks. She finally managed to get herself and the kids out today, and now they’re hidden away and safe.”
“You’re an angel, Jaime,” Cage says quietly, and his tone touches me deeply.
“Not really. Just doing my job.”
“Saving people,” he corrects.
It embarrasses me as much as it pleases me to have his admiration. I’ve never dated someone who cared what I did for a living. Makes me extra sad I can’t have these same discussions with Cage about his career path or what he might want to do outside of car sales.
“I can’t believe we’re not going to see each other for almost a week,” Cage goes on to say, jerking me out of my thoughts.
“I know,” I reply glumly. He’ll spend the weekend in North Carolina, on to San Francisco for a few days, then back here to Pittsburgh a week from tomorrow.
Cage looks down at his wineglass, appearing to ponder something. He seems unsure of himself for a moment, but shakes it off when his gaze comes up with a gleam in his eyes. “Hey… would you like to come on one of my trips with me? I mean… I’ll be working either at the trade show or conference during the day, but we’d have the evenings together.”
I’m stunned at the invitation. I know we’ve been getting closer, but him inviting me on a trip is a big deal. A work trip, where I might meet some of his coworkers and learn more about that side of him.
“When are they again?” I ask, trying to will my pulse to slow.
“The San Francisco trip is going to be this coming up Sunday and back on Wednesday. The Vegas trip happens more over a weekend the following week… a Friday to Sunday.”
“The Vegas trip would be easier,” I offer. Plus, I’ve never been and have always wanted to visit Sin City. “I’ll see if I can get that Friday off since it’s a bit short notice.”
“Awesome,” Cage says. His expression says he’s excited at the prospect of me coming, but there’s still a twinge of hesitation in his voice as if he’s not sure it was a good idea to invite me.
I’m not going to let him have those doubts though, and I assure him, “This will be fun. Nice, easy, and relaxed. No pressure, right?”
“Right,” he agrees, holding his glass up. I do the same, and we tap the edges. “Here’s to a fun time in Vegas.”
CHAPTER 12
Cage
I caught a red-eye back from San Francisco. Because I can sleep well on planes, I’m fairly alert and chipper when I arrive back in Pittsburgh. I head straight to Jameson because it’s a workday, but also because my apartment is there and I want a shower.
It’s quiet when I enter the second floor from the first-floor freight elevator. The first floor is unfinished, maintaining its abandoned appearance should anyone be successful enough to break into our building. The outside looks abandoned, too, with crusted, dirty windows and graffiti along the concrete wall that borders the underground garage.
I love the secrecy of this place, ugly on the outside only to find plush opulence coupled with high-speed tech the minute people step on floors two through four. That doesn’t even account for the research and development areas that are below the basement, which look like something straight out of Shuri’s lab in Black Panther.
I head over to Kynan’s office, doing nothing more than popping my head in to let him know I’m back and going to take a quick shower. He waves me off. Rather than take the elevator up, I bound up the floating staircase to the fourth floor that houses the apartments and communal area.
Joslyn, Kynan’s wife, is in the large kitchen. Something in the oven smells heavenly.
“Hey, Cage,” she says with a grin as she mixes something else in a bowl. “Welcome back.”
I crane my neck to see better. “Whatcha cooking?”
“Chocolate cake for Jackson’s birthday,” she replies.
“Is it today?” I ask, wondering if I’m obligated to get him a present or a card at least. He’s a friend—a coworker. I have a lot, though, and I haven’t done it before.
But things have been different since moving from the Vegas office to the Pittsburgh headquarters. Things are also different since we rescued Malik from his captors.
I think the bonds are a bit tighter.
“It’s tomorrow,” she replies. “We’re going to have a little surprise party gathering in the morning. Around ten… so be here.”
“I’m actually flying out to Vegas in the morning,” I reply, leaning my arms on the counter.
It’s a trip I’m very much looking forward to. Outside of a twenty-minute presentation I have to give on evasion theories and practices at a tactical seminar Jameson is sponsoring, I’ll have the entire weekend to spend with Jaime.
She smiles mischievously. “That’s right. The tactical seminar. I heard you’re bringing your new girlfriend with you.”
I’m so shocked she would know that I stand upright. “Where did you hear that from?”
“Rachel,” she replies with a shrug. “I guess you told Bodie, he told her, and she told me. Why? Was it a secret?”
“Not really,” I admit grudgingly. I had let Bodie know I was bringing Jaime and I wouldn’t be able to hang with him and Rachel, since I sort of wanted the weekend with Jaime alone.
“Well… I hope you have a great time. But stay out of trouble. You know Sin City is called that for a reason.”
I laugh at the joke, having no intention of us getting in any trouble. I’ll take Jaime to see the regular touristy things, probably indulge her in a show Saturday night, but past that… I intend to horde her all to myself. It’s why I told Bodie I wouldn’t be able to hang with him and Rachel. He totally understood, then proceeded to berate me again for not telling her the truth.
I know he’s right, and I promised him that I would look for a good time this weekend to break the news. I even had some demented reasoning that if she were stuck in Vegas with me upon learning the truth, she’d at least be somewhat captive, which would give me a chance to grovel and convince her to stick with me.
That’s sort of the plan, yet there’s a good chance I’ll chicken out. Which is funny. I’ve faced down enemy terrorists, flying bullets, and imminent death, and never have I thought of chickening out on a bit of it.
But this intriguing beauty by the name of Jaime Dolan has me scared to death of my path in life.
I bid Joslyn goodbye, slightly sad I won’t be partaking in the cake tomorrow. After I head into my apartment for a quick shower and a change of clothes, I trot down the staircase back to the second floor and my desk to catch up on some work.
♦
I print the short report Bodie had put together on Jaime’s brother, Brian, and stick it in a folder. I’m definitely with the digital age, but I like reading things on paper and taking notes there.
It’s a short four pages. Nothing that stands out as overly concerning. By that, I was afraid he was into drugs, to be honest. It would explain needing the periodic sums of cash.
I talked to Jaime the other day from my hotel room in San Francisco, and Brian approached her for money again. I was so proud she told him “no,” but then he really put on a sob story. She held her ground, though, even though it killed her to see him panicked.
She was pissed, too. She laid a rant on me that, had Brian been listening, he would have been sufficiently cowed.
“I begged him, Cage,” she had growled in frustration. “Begged him to just tell me what was going on, and he said everything was fine. But it’s a lie. I know it. He’s lying, and I hate liars. I can’t help him if he’s not truthful. On top of t
hat, it fucking hurts that he doesn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth. I work day in and day out where men abuse and take advantage of women all the time, and what Brian is doing now is no different. I think I need to just cut him out of my life.”
Of course, I was completely cringing with every word she unloaded on me because she was also describing the type of man I was being.
A liar.
Someone not trustworthy.
And more importantly, she’s pretty unforgiving about it too.
I’m convinced it’s not going to go well when I do tell her the truth. That my odds of keeping her after aren’t very good.
But, for the moment, I still have her, and I’m determined to help figure out what the hell her brother is up to. I can do that for her, at least.
I glance back down at the report Bodie prepared. Fencing stolen items isn’t good, and he could stand to get in a load of trouble. I suspect he might be skimming some money, and he needs to make it up. Maybe I should approach him, tell him what I know, and ask him to get his head out of his ass before he gets arrested. I’d also tell him to leave Jaime out if it because even though it appears he’s just running with some petty Irish thugs right now, they could be working for some scarier people. There’s a definite Irish mob operating in Pittsburgh. Hell, there’s one in most major cities, and they can be violent, unpredictable, and without conscience. Her brother could have bigger worries than just getting arrested by the local police. If he’s skimming, which could account for the money he needs, then he could end up with a lot worse than a conviction on his record. He could get the shit beat out of him at the very least, and there’s a whole lot worse the mob could do.
I have to figure out what to do soon, and this coincides with me telling Jaime the truth. This weekend is when I should lay it all out there, even about the information I collected on her brother.
“What are you working on?” a deep voice says, and I look up to see Jackson.
Jackson Gale is a former Navy SEAL like me. While we weren’t on the same team, we knew each other through joint training and operations. When his enlistment was coming up, he reached out and asked about working at Jameson. Like me, he loved what he did, but wanted a bit of a different environment.
And the extra money we’re paid was a huge draw.
I got him an interview with Kynan, and he vetted well. He’s been here at Jameson for just a few months, and I really like the guy.
Smiling, I glance down at the folder and close it. “Nothing big. Hey… I hear it’s your birthday tomorrow. I won’t be here, so let me wish you a happy one early.”
Jackson shrugs, sitting in the one chair beside my desk. “Just another year and another reason to eat cake.”
“You do know Joslyn’s making one for you upstairs, right?”
Grinning, Jackson’s eyes light up. “I know. My favorite… chocolate with buttercream. Where are you going?”
“Vegas for that tactical seminar.”
Jackson nods. “That’s right. Sounds fun.”
I note the sidearm Jackson has in a shoulder holster. “You heading to the firing range?”
“Just got back,” he says.
“Nice piece,” I compliment, nodding at his Walther P99. “Very James Bondish.”
“Not my preferred gun,” he replies. “I normally carry a CZ 75.”
“Czech gun, right?”
Jackson nods.
“I’ll stick with my Sig.”
“Love my Sig, too.” He laughs. It’s typically what we carried as Navy SEALs. “You miss it?”
Meaning the Navy.
Our SEAL brothers.
Sacrificing everything for our country.
I think about it for a long moment. I’ve been out for almost three years, and I’m in a far different position today. I’m three years older and wiser, too.
But I do admit, “Sometimes. I miss the brotherhood most.”
“It’s not the same here,” Jackson says, an acknowledgment of what I just said about camaraderie.
“I think it could be, though.” I think back to how diligent we were as an organization in tracking down Malik and rescuing him. We never served a day together in the military—he was in the Marine Corps—but I feel as close to him as some of my Navy SEAL teammates. “We’ll eventually have experiences that will bond us tighter.”
“And I am more than ready for one of those types of missions,” Jackson replies almost wistfully. Those are the words of an adrenaline junkie, and I recognize it so clearly because I’m the same way.
I point a cautioning finger at him. “Just remember… not all the work here is exciting like what we did in the Navy.”
“Boy, don’t I know that.” He chuckles with a roll of his eyes. “I had to babysit Bebe’s kid and mom a couple of months ago.”
He’s referencing when we found out someone had a hit placed on her, and her mom and son were moved out to a safe house in California. Jackson and Ladd were our two agents sent to protect them.
“Got to take the slow and easy with the blood pumping assignments,” I point out.
“And I’m more than happy to do so, just as long as I get my fair share of blood pumping ones.”
I also understand that.
He has me curious though about something he just asked me. “What about you? You miss the Navy?”
“Sometimes,” he replies without thought. “Believe it or not, it’s the order and how regimented things were that I miss. Having rules provides security. Makes things easier.”
It’s a fair point, but the longer I’m out, the more I don’t miss all that structure. I suppose he’ll get there too.
“So, what made you go in?” I ask, because I don’t have anything better to do at this moment other than to ponder Jaime’s immature brother. Besides that… I like to get to know the men I might end up in a combat situation with. The trust has to be built, and we don’t have the luxury of time to do that the way we did when we completed BUDs with our SEAL teammates.
“I’m third generation,” Jackson replies, almost as if he’s embarrassed about it. “Grandfather and father both Navy, so there wasn’t really any other choice for me.”
“They expected you to?”
“Yeah… but I mean, I wanted to. They didn’t force me. I was glad to enlist, but I just never really explored other options.”
That’s a lot of pressure to live up to that type of legacy, and something immediately strikes me.
“Assume they retired from the Navy?” I ask, but I don’t wait for an answer. “How did they feel about you getting out and coming to work in the private sector?”
Jackon’s expression darkens, his jaw clenched slightly. “They weren’t happy at all. Took it as a betrayal of my country.”
I whistle low through my teeth. “That’s kind of harsh.”
“They don’t realize I’m still serving my country. As much as I’ve tried to explain what Jameson does, it’s not good enough to live up to the Gale family name. Now the best they can hope for is I get married, my wife pops out a son, and they can groom him for a career in the Navy.”
“Dude,” I commiserate. “That just blows.”
“It is what it is,” he replies with a shrug as he pushes up out of his chair, indicating the conversation is over. But before he leaves, he nods at my desk. “Anything you need help with since you’re leaving tomorrow?”
Most of my work is in order. After any mission, there’s a lot of debriefing and reports. In between missions, there’s a lot of training, studying, and working out. I almost shake my head and thank him for the offer, but my eyes land on the folder with Brian’s information.
“Actually,” I say as I pick up the folder. “This is a bit unusual, but I need someone tailed for a few days.”
Jackson’s eyebrows shoot high, but his lips curve into a smile of interest. He sits back down in the chair.
“My girlfriend’s—”
“Wait,” he exclaims, holding a hand up and givin
g me a skeptical look. “You have a girlfriend? Playboy, love ’em and leave ’em Cage Murdock has a girlfriend?”
“Yes,” I growl. “I can learn new tricks too.”
Jackson laughs, motioning with his hand for me to continue with my request.
I take a breath. “At any rate, her brother Brian is into something shady, and he keeps trying to hit her up for money. She’s obviously worried about him, and I’m worried about her.”
Handing the folder over, I tell him, “Bodie ran a quick background check. No record, but word in the local PD is he’s on their radar and known to hang out with an Irish gang affiliated with stolen goods.”
“You want me to tail him and see what he’s up to?” Jackson asks, flipping open the folder.
“Yeah… for a few days. It’s off the books, though. This isn’t a Jameson case. It would be a personal favor, and I’d owe you one.”
“You wouldn’t owe me anything,” he mutters as he reads the report. “I’m on it. I’ll have something for you by the time you return Monday.”
I stare at him, slightly in disbelief. It’s a generous offer, but I will absolutely make sure I pay him back somehow. “Thanks, man.”
“That’s what brothers are for,” he replies. In a moment like this, I realize I have a camaraderie here that might not be exactly the same as the Navy, but it’s just as damn good.
CHAPTER 13
Jaime
Cage pulls out of me with a sigh, having just wrecked me with a spectacular orgasm. By the sounds of it, he had one as well. His lips move over my collarbone, up my neck, to the sensitive spot just below my ear. I should be pushing him away, having felt boneless not but five seconds ago, but the minute his teeth press against my skin, a shock of lust and longing pulses between my legs.
He slides farther up, kisses my jaw, and then hovers his face right over mine. He holds most of his body weight off me, but enough is pressing along my length that I feel hot and needy again.
I reach up to brush a lock of his hair back from his forehead. “How can I want you again already? Have you cast some type of magic curse over me?”
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