Troubled Paradise (Gray Tower Book 2)

by J. M. Brister

  Ha! She thought. That’ll teach them.

  She knew what she could do, and she was proud to show it off. Heck, she even had done well with the social aspect of the mission. Her biggest issue had been Jack, and well, that had resolved on its own.

  Kat smiled, thinking about how glad she was that she had gone on this mission. Otherwise, she would have never known how Jack felt about her. The first half of their trip had been wonderful. She had lost her virginity to a man that she now knew she loved.

  The second half of the trip, however, left something to be desired.

  That was okay, though. It was over now, and she could concentrate on the future, which hopefully entailed seeing a lot of Jack.

  Kat looked out at the sea.

  It was beautiful, though the sun was now high in the sky, and it was getting downright hot. She wished that this could have been a safe vacation with Jack. Maybe they could come back down to the Caribbean at some point—not in the Bahamas, though. She had had enough of this particular set of islands.

  She watched as Logan strolled over to her, still in combat gear—save the helmet and face mask. He smiled slightly, though she knew he was thinking about his brother.

  “So, when did this happen?” Logan asked, pointing to her and Jack.

  “When did what happen?” Kat asked, suddenly nervous.

  She really didn’t want to talk about her relationship with Jack. Sure, Logan had trained her, and he was one of her best friend’s fiancé, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to spill her guts right here and now. Perhaps she could play coy?

  “Don’t give me that,” Logan told her. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  Nope.

  That wasn’t going to work. There wasn’t much that could get by Logan.

  “Oh,” she mumbled, feeling her face grow hot. “It just kind of…happened.”

  “I can see that. Is this something that’s going to continue once you both are back?”

  She hesitated.

  They had talked about this, hadn’t they? Even though they had been together for only a brief while, she couldn’t imagine being without him.

  “Oh, I hit a sore spot,” Logan continued. “I’ll stop bothering you about it. It’s not really my business to pry.”

  There was a stretch of silence.

  “Yes,” came a hoarse reply from beside her after a moment.

  “Jack!” Kat exclaimed.

  “Hey,” he muttered, his eyes opening slightly. “How long was I out?”

  “About an hour,” Logan admitted. “To be honest, I’m surprised you’re awake. We slipped in some pain meds. Sorry.”

  Kat looked at Jack. Did that screw up his sobriety time or something? It suddenly horrified her that him protecting her had messed up his sober time. He had played it off on the island, but she knew better. Plus, she wasn’t sure what would happen if he started back up again with the drinking and whatnot.

  As if reading her, Jack said, “Don’t worry about it, Kat. I’m not going to go crazy like your father. Everyone deserves proper medical care, regardless of their previous background.”

  She nodded.

  “That seems logical,” she agreed.

  “So, what’s going on with you too?” Logan asked, smiling. “Apparently, Jack thinks you guys are an item now. How do you feel?”

  “Are you always this nosey?” Kat asked.

  “Only because all of Gray Tower was in my business with Keira and I,” Logan said, chuckling.

  “I want to be with Jack,” Kat said firmly.

  “Great,” Jack said. “Now that we have our bases covered, excuse me while I pass out again for a bit.”

  Kat bent down and kissed him on the forehead, noting that he was already asleep.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  After two days of tense craziness, Miles could finally relax—at least a little bit. Candice had sat next to him in his office through the whole mission. She had wanted to see what Gray Tower was really like, so he had showed her—everything.

  “I’m proud of you, Miles,” she said softly. “I don’t know many people who could pull off a mission like that and get everyone out safely.”

  Miles shrugged and said, “It’s my job. I care about my people, and I only hire the most fully capable.”

  Candice smiled and said, “Yes. I know that you do. You’ve always surrounded yourself with the best. Thank you for allowing me to get a glimpse of your world.”

  Miles bristled.

  She was his wife. Why couldn’t she be a part of his world too?

  “You could always stay with me,” he said quietly.

  She sighed, shaking her head.

  “I don’t know, Miles. I appreciate that you were able to spend time with me, even though you were busy, but how am I supposed to know if this will last? You’ve been so obsessed with Jasmine’s death. I know it’s hard, but it’s been over a decade now. At some point, you need to just realize that things happen.”

  “Things don’t just happen, Candice,” Miles told her. “I…probably should tell you what I know now. I’ve found out a few things within the last year, and it’s big.”

  Candice frowned and said, “What do you mean?”

  Miles had wanted to tell her for months now, but it never seemed like the right time. Plus, they hadn’t been on speaking terms. But now that she was here…

  “The group that put that bomb on the plane is called the Conglomerate. They are a shadow organization, though I have no idea what their end goal is. Money? Power? Intel on them has been few and far between.”

  Candice stared at him. He knew that she was trying to process the information. For the longest time, Gray Tower had just been about correcting other people’s problems. This had been the first time that they had gotten real information on the people responsible for his daughter’s death.

  “You mean…you actually found them?” She asked, looking as if she were in shock. “You finally know who they are?”

  “Yes,” Miles said firmly. “And there’s more.”

  He told her about Orson Carr, the prototype armor, the Conglomerate soldiers, and the information they had found on the document dump.

  Candice sat and listened to the whole thing, nodding as he went. Her face was expressionless, but he knew there were tons of emotions running through her right now. Hell, he was still having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that his family had gotten caught up in some international scheme to steal armor plans.

  When he was done, she sat there, speechless for a moment.

  Finally, she said, “That’s a lot to process, Miles. Thank you for sharing this with me. I understand now why you’ve been so busy. I also understand why you didn’t tell me sooner. Perhaps I just wasn’t ready for it yet? I know it’s been so long, but you just don’t get over losing your child.”

  “I know,” Miles said quietly.

  There was a long silence before Candice said, “And you said that Orson Carr is in Gray Tower custody?”

  “Yes,” Miles said. “We’ll get him medical attention, and then we’re planning on an interview tomorrow before we have to hand him over to the U.S. government.”

  “Can I be there? I mean, for the interview? I need to know.”

  “Absolutely, though not in the room. We’ll have a place where you can watch.”

  Then, Miles paused, thinking of the implications.

  “So, if you’re going to be here tomorrow, can I assume that you’ll stay in one of the guest suites here? Or, would you prefer a hotel? Alex can get whatever you need set up.”

  “I have a hotel room booked, but I was more thinking of staying here.”

  “Great,” Miles said. “You’ll really like the accommodations, and the food is slowly but surely getting better.”

  Candice laughed and said, “I’m sure the food is fine, but I was more thinking of staying in your apartment.”

  Miles froze.

  Did she just suggest what he thought she had? It h
ad been so long since he had made love to her. The thought of it made his blood run hot.

  “If that’s okay with you,” Candice continued, a bit more uneasily this time.

  “No!” Miles exclaimed, a little too loudly for his liking. “That would be amazing.”

  “Great,” she said with a sly smile. “Now how about you help me get settled in, and then we can grab a late lunch?”

  “Yeah. I’d like that.”

  They never made it to lunch.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Nathan made landfall late that afternoon. It had been a little bitch trying to get to the main island on one of the inflatable boats, but at least there had been enough fuel. The boat ride itself hadn’t been too bad, and he had been grateful for decent weather and calm seas. His helmet had built-in GPS, so he was able to navigate easily. He’d have to disable all the electronics in his suit if he wanted to disappear.

  He’d also be taking the armor with him.

  Nate knew that there were limited suits available as they cost a shitload to make. That explosion on Faraway Cay had cost the Conglomerate over a billion dollars of lost tech. They’d go nuts over it. He just hoped that they didn’t go after Gray Tower for it.

  It was possible that the Conglomerate didn’t know and wouldn’t know either. Hell, his team hadn’t known. It had been a complete surprise that there was another mercenary group there. Nate also found it interesting that Sasha had neglected to report it. She was a piece of work.

  Well, a dead piece of work.

  He sighed as he pulled his boat up on a remote part of a beach and began taking off his armor.

  Sure, Sasha had her good traits—such as being fucking awesome in bed. Nate had hit that a couple of times. She had made her rounds through the top Conglomerate soldiers. Still, when hearing that she had killed a civilian all bets were off.

  Nate shook his head, remembering that she had killed herself so that the Conglomerate didn’t get to her first. He wondered if he was now in the same boat. Perhaps they would think he died in the explosion?

  That was wishful thinking. They had a way of knowing things. If they found out that he was not only alive but had betrayed them, it would certainly be a fate worse than death. Nate would be on the run for the rest of his life.

  He had to laugh at that.

  The people who he thought had given him some purpose were going to end up killing him eventually. He should have opened his eyes and realized what had been going on sooner.

  Nate stared at the armor once he had taken it off. He couldn’t let it get back in the hands of the Conglomerate. One more suit could do a ton of damage and give them an advantage.

  But he couldn’t keep it either. He’d have to hide it somewhere and then go into hiding himself. Nate did have some stuff stashed away just in case. He could take that and disappear. Hopefully, he could stay ahead of the Conglomerate.

  Still, he mourned the possibility of seeing his brother again. It had felt good to see him again after all these years, and Logan had been surprisingly good about meeting with him. Nate hadn’t been sure how that would go, considering all the shit that he had put his family through.

  Sighing, he began making plans to disappear forever—if that was what it took.

  Chapter 24

  Jack opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of a bland medical room at Gray Tower HQ, heaving a sigh. He was certainly glad to be off that fucking island. He was glad to be alive. And he was really glad that Kat was unharmed. He didn’t know what he would do if something had happened to her.

  They now had a bond that was unlike anything else he had experienced. It had started when he had saved her life when Brenden had gone nuts and had continued on to their island adventure—if that was what he wanted to call it. For the most part, it seemed like island hell to him.

  The bond might not have been the same as what he and his teammates had. It was certainly different from what he and Logan had. Yet, it was there, and he loved her even more for it.

  Thinking of Kat, he searched for her in the room. He wasn’t sure what time it was as he had been in and out of consciousness all day. The pain drugs didn’t help with all of it, though he would be happy to get off them soon enough. It was odd for him to be so buzzed out. After years of being sober, he now hated the feeling of being out of control.

  He sighed, looking around.

  The only thing Jack knew for certain was that they had arrived back in the states, and that they were all safe at HQ. He supposed that he’d be told more at some point.

  When his gaze found Kat, he noted that she was sitting on a chair facing his bed, laptop sitting precariously on her lap. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, and her glasses had slid down her nose a bit.

  He almost chuckled at the sight, feeling glad that she hadn’t let the last few days get to her too much. It was still his same beautiful Kitty Kat.

  “Hey,” he said quietly.

  She jerked her head up from her laptop and smiled.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Eh. I’ve been better.”

  That may have been an understatement.

  Kat laughed, sitting her laptop down on a table. She came over to the side of his bed and bent down, kissing him on the cheek.

  Jack had no idea why a peck on the cheek felt so damned good. He did know, however, that he was glad Kat was finally taking initiative with their relationship. She wasn’t that timid woman who somehow didn’t feel like she was good enough anymore.

  “Do you feel like eating?” She asked. “It’s after dinner, but I can run and pick you up something from the cafeteria.”

  Jack stared at her.

  “Or, I can get you take out if you give me enough time to drive into town,” she offered. “It will take a little bit for me to get there and back, but the food is better than what they have in the cafeteria. Alex told me she’s working on that, but who knows, right?”

  She kept chattering on about this and that, oblivious to the fact that Jack was just staring at her in awe.

  He was starting to realize that he did not deserve this wonderful woman. She had been the one with the self-esteem issues, thinking that she somehow wasn’t “good enough” for him. In reality, it was he who wasn’t good enough for her. He wasn’t even sure if he could improve enough to be the man she deserved.

  “What?” She demanded when he remained silent.

  “Just thinking,” he finally admitted.

  “About what?”

  “That you’re too good for me.”

  Her demeanor perked up quite a bit.

  Then, she laughed.

  “I know, but that’s okay. We’ll make it work.”

  Jack stared at her, stunned.

  Did she just make a joke? Was that confidence coming from her?

  He had to admit that it made him way too happy to see her like this. They had been through a hell of an ordeal, and he wanted to make sure that she was okay emotionally. Perhaps she was tougher than he had originally thought?

  “I see that you’re learning how to dish it back to me,” he said, laughing.

  “Yep,” she said, grinning ear to ear.

  Jack reached up and grabbed her with his good hand and said, “I love you. You know that, right?”

  Shit, he thought. Why’d I just say that. Take it back. Take it back. I can’t take it back.

  Maybe he didn’t want to take it back? He meant it—that was for sure. Why was it a bad thing that she knew?

  “Oh!” She exclaimed. “That was…unexpected.”

  Jack tensed.

  “And apparently not reciprocated.”

  “No, no, no. Sorry. Jack, you know I love you.”

  He smiled, and she kissed him gently on the lips.

  It was a soft and supple kiss, and if he wasn’t hooked up to a hospital bed, he’d have tried to take things further. Kat tasted so fucking good. She was driving him insane to the point that his dick was rock hard.

  When she was done, he l
aughed and said, “Just FYI, though, I’m not going to propose to you like that idiot Logan did with his gal.”

  “Oh, thank goodness for that! I would have said no anyhow. We should probably get to know each other first.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Oh, plus you’d need to go get me a kick-ass ring beforehand.”

  “Oh yeah?

  They both laughed.

  Jack couldn’t remember the last time he had been this happy even despite being shot and having to fight for his life. Hell, that was only this morning, now that he thought about it.

  They sat and talked for a bit until a woman entered the room in a doctor’s coat, a stethoscope around her neck. Since Jack was familiar with all the important new hires, he knew that this was Dr. Morgan McKay, the resident physician at Gray Tower HQ. Once their medical area was finished, they had staffed it immediately.

  Dr. McKay was quite cute—not as pretty as Kat, mind you—but she was attractive with dark brown hair that she kept in a long ponytail and brown eyes. The thing that Jack liked the most about her was her bedside manner, which was impeccable in his humble opinion.

  Jack knew that McKay was young and was only a year out of her residency. However, Miles had wanted someone who wasn’t jaded from the medical profession. She was also someone with discretion. There were missions where she had to work with larger hospitals to manage care if it was too much for her to handle. That required a bit of manipulation on her part, but she was good at that sort of stuff.

  Also—and most importantly—she was a damned fine doctor and an amazing surgeon to boot.

  “How are you doing, Jack?” Dr. McKay asked cheerfully.

  “I could be better, but at least I’m not dead.”

  “That’s the spirit,” the doctor said playfully. “I do have some news for you, though. I looked at the x-rays of your shoulder, and we’re going to have to get you into surgery tomorrow to repair some of the damage to the bone and ligaments.”

  “Great. Just what I needed,” he said sarcastically.

  Then, he thought for a moment.