She’d go to jail for this, but it beat the alternative, right? Her family was everything to her.
“There’s always a choice,” Jack said calmly. “Let me guess, they got to you too? Is this by choice or by force? I know how the Conglomerate works.”
“By force,” Jade said meekly.
“They can’t force you to do anything,” Jack continued. “Whatever you’re scared of, we can help.”
“They’ll go after my family.”
“Then, we’ll protect them. This isn’t worth killing an innocent man over.”
Jade laughed sharply and held the needle closer to Carr’s neck.
“He’s not innocent.”
“True,” Jack admitted. “But that’s not how we do things here. He’ll pay for his crimes, just not like this.”
Her hand began to shake a bit. Could they really help her? Would Gray Tower be enough to protect her family? More importantly, would her parents really condone this behavior? Is this what they would want for her?
She dropped the syringe.
One of the security guards grabbed for her. She figured as much as soon as she surrendered. The guard seized her roughly and hauled her away from Carr.
“Don’t hurt her,” Jack told him. “She’s not the enemy here, and she did the right thing.”
A voice cut in from a hidden speaker.
“Bring her to the War Room,” said the voice of Miles Bryant. “We need to talk. Now.”
Jade wondered as she was being escorted out of the room whether or not what Jack had said was true.
She’s not the enemy here.
She sure felt like the enemy right now.
✽ ✽ ✽
Kat sat tensely in the War Room. The cavalry had gathered, including Miles, Keira, Alex, Logan, Jack, Ryan, and Mercer. It was all hands-on deck and rightly so. They had another mole. How the heck could this have happened?
She watched as Jade was escorted into the room by two security guards. They plopped her down in a chair. Kat wasn’t sure what to feel about Jade. Sure, they were work colleagues, though she didn’t interact too much on that side of the business.
Kat certainly didn’t like the idea of her working for the Conglomerate even if she said they were forcing her into it. The last guy they caught doing work for the other side tried to kill her, after all.
She shuddered at the thought of Brenden. Then, she remembered what Jade had said in the interview room.
They’ll go after my family.
Kat could certainly understand that. Despite having a terrible home life, she knew that there were families out there who loved and cared for each other, maybe in a similar way that she loved the people at Gray Tower. They were her family now, and she was okay with that.
Miles stared at Jade intently, but there was nothing harsh about his expression.
“How long have you been in contact with the Conglomerate?” He asked.
And she began a long tale about her boss at the CIA and his Conglomerate connections and how she was pulled into it all by threat. When she left, it was under the assumption that they’d leave her alone, but of course, that only worked until they needed her for something. They had needed her to take out Carr, and so they threatened her again.
Kat knew it was a terrible situation to be in, and she felt bad for Jade to have to deal with it.
“Okay, Ms. Larsen,” Miles said after she was finished. “I’m not going to lie and say that I’m not a bit ticked right now. However, I understand why you did what you did. I also am relieved that you didn’t go through with it. That gives you a lot of points in my book.
“However, there’s one thing that’s bothering me. Why didn’t you say something about this before? We’ve been hunting down information about the Conglomerate, and you had all this experience with them. Why keep quiet?”
Jaded fidgeted nervously and said, “If they would have found out that I was giving you information, they would have killed both me and my family. I kept quiet out of self-preservation.”
Miles nodded and said, “I understand. Well, this has been one hell of a morning, but I’m all about using anything that we can to our advantage. We now have another Conglomerate agent in our corner. We can use that. It might not be right away, but we can use Ms. Larsen when the time is right.”
Kat sat, shocked. Jade looked about the same.
“Wait,” Jade began. “You aren’t…firing me? Or putting me in jail? Or both?”
“Seems to me like you did what you thought you had to do,” Jack interrupted. “But unlike Brenden, you ultimately made the right call.”
“Jack’s right,” Miles said. “However, I’m going to let this be known right now that there is to be absolutely no more Conglomerate drama from you, Ms. Larsen. Do you understand?”
She nodded meekly.
“Good,” Miles continued. “I feel like we need to hand over Mr. Carr to the U.S. government. Now. I’m so sorry that you didn’t get a chance to interview him, Ms. Larsen, but it seems our time is up with him.”
Jade’s expression brightened a little, but then she frowned.
“I’m not sure that they’ll buy that.”
“It’s the best I can do,” Miles said. “Hopefully, they’ll realize Carr is out of their reach and will back off the whole thing. It’s not like we don’t know their dirty little secrets about the super soldier armor.”
Jack laughed.
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” He asked with a grin on his face.
“Unless you have a better idea?” Miles said.
Kat had to smile. The meeting had started out tensely, but it had greatly relaxed. Her anxiety had gone down quite a bit as well.
Miles turned to Jade and said, “Stay at HQ until your contacted again. See what they say and document everything you receive. No more lies. Everything is out in the open. Got it?”
Jade nodded.
“Great,” Miles continued. “Let’s get Carr moved. They’re waiting on us anyhow. Put a security detail on Ms. Larsen—not because I don’t trust her, but I don’t want her harmed. Meeting adjourned.”
There were soft mumbles from around the table as people started to get up and leave. Maybe Kat and Jack could finally have some time to themselves? It had been a blur since they had been back, and it hadn’t helped that he had been recovering for most of that time.
When Jack attempted to get up, Miles looked at him and said, “Oh, no. Not you, Mr. Hunter. You need to do your debrief on the mission.”
“Wait,” Jack stammered. “Ah, fuck. You’ve got to be shitting me!”
“Would you rather get it over with now or after your surgery?” Miles countered.
“Now,” Jack grumbled. “What about Kat? Doesn’t she have to do one?”
“I did mine yesterday,” Kat said with a shrug. “What do you think I was working on all day?”
“What about Logan?” Jack asked.
Logan, who had almost left the room, turned and laughed.
“Don’t drag me into your shit, Hunter. I got mine done yesterday too, so did everyone else. I can’t help it that you were snoozing the whole time.”
“I got shot!” Jack exclaimed, shaking his head.
“I thought you were by the book, Hunter,” Logan said, waving his hand as he left the room.
Kat smiled, realizing that things were starting to get back to normal. The people that she knew and loved where getting back into the swing of things. They really were her new family.
Well, now that she thought about it, one thing had changed. She had a relationship—with Jack Hunter of all people. Kat had no idea how this was going to go, but she felt excited for the first time in a while.
When she got up from her seat, she leaned over and kissed Jack on the cheek, not noticing the stares of the other Gray Tower employees who were still in the room.
Chapter 28
Jack stretched out on his couch in his Gray Tower apartment and groaned. His shoulder felt like shit, but he
refused to take any more pain medication. After all this time of no mind-altering substances, he now hated the feeling of being doped up. That notion was a victory in and of itself. He had grown a hell of a lot in six years. Maybe he was finally reaching maturity?
He snorted at the thought.
Nah, though Kat might make a decent guy out of me yet, he thought wryly.
It had been a week since his surgery, and although he wasn’t in stabbing pain, it would be a long recovery ahead. The bone had to mend in his shoulder, plus all the torn ligaments and muscle. There’d be tons of physical therapy involved as well once he was doing a bit better. It may be months before he was available to go back on active field work.
That usually would have been a scary thought for him, but now with Kat, he was actually looking forward to a bit of downtime. That was more time that he could spend with her. They had already been glued to each other ever since they got back from the island.
“Do you need anything, Mr. Man Baby?” Kat asked, laughing as she handed him a mug of tea and sat down next to him with one as well.
“What the hell is this shit?” Jack asked, staring at the steaming mug.
It looked like piss water to him.
“Chamomile tea,” Kat said simply. “And what did I tell you about the cussing?”
“What the heck is this stuff?” Jack corrected himself, trying not to smile.
Kat was determined to make him a better man, and it was working too. Jack felt like he had softened up a bit since their fling on the island.
“Better,” she said and sat down next to him, nuzzling against him.
Damn if it didn’t feel good to have her right next to him. The warmth of her body plus her soft flowery scent made him crazy with desire.
They were both currently in sweats and both had taken time off to recover a bit from what had happened on Faraway Cay. Jack obviously needed to for medical purposes, and Kat just needed a damned break. Miles had graciously allowed them both to take as much time as they wanted. During that time, they had spent every waking moment glued together
It had been fucking wonderful.
Jack took a sip of his tea and felt mildly annoyed. He’d prefer some coffee right now, but Kat had told him that caffeine this late in the evening would keep her up all night. She didn’t mind that when she was working, but when she was off, she preferred normal hours and a normal sleep schedule. Meanwhile, Jack would have preferred it if they were having sex all night, but alas, he was apparently too injured for that right now.
Damned Nathan, he thought, though he had no ill-will toward Logan’s brother.
Nathan had done what he thought he needed to do, and in reality, Jack was lucky to be alive. Logan’s brother could have easily shot to kill, but apparently the guy had a decent head on his shoulders, minus the part about joining the Conglomerate.
Even then, Jack understood why. He and Nathan were not that different in that they had found a purpose with a military organization after a stint of substance abuse, though from what Jack understood, Nathan had still been drugged up during his days with the Conglomerate.
Jack wondered where Logan’s brother was now, but there was obviously nothing he could do. Just like John Stratton, he would appear when he was ready.
He looked over at Kat and smiled.
She knew that he was pleased that she had started to get used to his way of communicating and was now just flinging all his annoying statements back at him. In turn, he was a lot softer around her. The tension that had been there before the island had completely disappeared, and now they just felt like a normal couple.
She leaned in and kissed him, her lips gently brushing his.
Damn if Jack wasn’t in heaven.
✽ ✽ ✽
Kat couldn’t quite get enough of Jack, and even though they hadn’t actually had sex since their time on the island due to Jack’s injury, she was enjoying having a physical relationship for once in her life. It was kind of awesome that she had such a hot boyfriend, after all, though she was still getting used to it.
“Why are you so fucking amazing?” Jack asked when she pulled away from a delicious kiss.
Kat did her best to glare at him without laughing.
“Freaking amazing, and I just am.”
She laughed.
“Yeah you are, and thanks for that correction there, beautiful.”
She had discussed with him that though she didn’t mind cuss words on occasion, they probably would do better if he wasn’t flinging them around her quite so often. Kat understood that it was common for soldiers to cuss up a storm, but she wasn’t one of his buddies. She was his girlfriend now.
“Hey, I almost forgot,” Jack said, pointing toward his bedroom. “There’s a gift in there for you on the dresser.”
Kat grinned.
The guy that she had initially called Jack the Jerk was actually a pretty sweet guy—once you got to know him, of course.
“Oh, a gift! What is it?”
“Go get it and bring it back. I’m injured.”
“Man Baby,” Kat grumbled as she walked off to his bedroom.
He could get up and move around just fine. His arm was all slung up, and although it was still painful, he may have been milking it a bit to get attention out of her. She didn’t mind, but she thought it was hilarious.
When she got to the simple room with just a bed with a blue comforter and a couple of dressers, she found a wrapped box sitting in the corner. Though she had been sleeping there with him, for whatever reason, she either hadn’t noticed it or he had just pulled it out.
Kat brought the gift back to the living room couch in the open-concept kitchen, dining room, and living area. The apartments weren’t huge at Gray Tower, but they dealt with the small space effectively. Of course, she hadn’t been in her room for what seemed like ages. Once Jack had gotten out of surgery, she had packed up a lot of her clothes and had pretty much moved in with him.
When she sat down on the couch, Jack grinned and told her, “Open it.”
She tugged at the gold wrapping paper, noting the box was medium in size but not necessarily that heavy. Kat wondered what could be inside. When the paper came off and she opened the box, she began to cry.
“Mr. Snuggles!” She exclaimed, taking the little thread-worn bear out of the box and hugging him excitedly. “How did you get him? I thought he was blown to pieces in the explosion.”
“I had Logan grab some Gray Tower gear back in our room, including your bear. Of course, that was before I knew the place was wired to blow. Luckily, everyone got out safely, including Mr. Snuggles.”
“You didn’t have to do this,” Kat said, tears now freely falling down her face.
“Yes, I did. It’s important to you, so it’s important to me.”
Kat kissed him again, this time deeper. He grabbed her with his good arm and pressed her close to him, beginning to explore her mouth with his tongue.
“I want more than this,” Jack murmured huskily after a moment’s break.
“You’re recovering,” Kat pointed out.
“Didn’t stop us last time on that beach. I’ve been fantasizing about that ever since.”
Kat’s heart fluttered, and her womb clenched. Heat radiated down her body as she thought about sex with Jack. Her clit throbbed with anticipation. She wanted him so badly that it hurt.
“Stand up and bend over the couch,” Jack whispered.
She giddily complied.
Jack moved behind her, pulling down her sweatpants. He did the same to his.
One finger slowly entered his pussy, moving back and forth slowly. Then, it changed to two fingers. His thumb found her clit, and she moaned softly as he massaged it.
“You’re so fucking wet right now,” he told her, his voice low and sexy.
She could feel an orgasm building as she pressed into his thumb, but before her pleasure could build anymore, he removed his hand.
Tease, she thought.
It was on
ly a few moments later, though, that she felt the tip of his penis move to her entrance. She cried out when he entered her, slowly but surely. His good hand steadied itself on her bare ass and he began to move in deep, methodical strokes. Why did this have to feel so freaking good? Why was he absolutely amazing at sex?
“Do you like that?” He breathed, pumping harder into her.
“Yes. Yes!” She cried out, orgasm building again.
“Do you know how fucking good you feel? I could get lost inside of you.”
With his dirty words whispering from behind her, she grew closer and closer until she exploded in wave after wave of pleasure. A few strokes later and Jack stilled, breathing hard. She felt the delight of his penis jerking as it spurted rounds of semen into her.
Afterward, they plopped back on the couch, exhausted. Kat could see that Jack was hurting, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. She definitely felt like sex with him kept getting better and better, or maybe she was getting better at it? Kat realized that it hadn’t been that long ago that she had been a virgin.
“It’s been too long since we did that,” Jack told her.
She nodded and said, “Agreed, but you did get shot and then had some extensive surgery.”
“Well, still. It’s hard to keep my hands off you…Or, in my case, maybe I should say hand as in singular since I can’t use my other one?”
Kat smiled.
She loved this. Though she had never had a boyfriend, she had had more fun being around Jack than she had in a long time. But still, there was one thing missing…
“Hey, it’s time,” she said, giving him a sly wink.
She had been nagging him about this all week, and he had finally agreed to it earlier in the day, something about him trying to do a better job knowing her interests, since she had spent time before the missions going shooting and learning self-defense.
“Gah,” Jack groaned. “Really? Right now?”
“Yes,” she told him firmly.
“Fine, but I’m not going to like it.”
“You have no idea if you will or not. Keep an open mind.”
One hour later, Kat was chuckling to herself as Jack maneuvered the mouse in order to kill some elven soldiers who were about to pounce on him. Her laptop was sitting on him, and he hadn’t moved since he had started. Apparently, The Ancient Manuscripts: Skyedge was a bit more addicting of a computer game than Jack had realized.
Troubled Paradise (Gray Tower Book 2) Page 23