He rose abruptly, nearly knocking the chair over, shoved it out of his way, and caught her chin in his hand. He hadn't intended to touch her, or even acknowledge her, but he couldn't stop himself. "Stay close to the house," he warned gruffly and bent to brush her mouth with his.
Heat flared instantly, the moment his lips feathered against the soft curve of hers. His hand slipped to the nape of her neck, tilting her head for a better angle, so his tongue could delve deep, teasing, stroking, exploring her incredible mouth. He pulled away abruptly--self-preservation required it--and pressed his brow to hers, breathing deep. "You remember one thing. You decide you want to get married, it's going to be to me."
Briony watched him stalk outside, slamming the kitchen door behind him. Both eyebrows raised, she turned to Ken.
"Close your mouth, honey. That's Jack trying to be romantic and failing miserably. Don't let him get away with that shit either. If he's going to ask you, make him do it all the way. You know--down on one knee, looking stupid."
Briony nearly choked. "That's just mean, Ken."
He leaned close to her. "If you do it, Briony, tell me first so I can videotape it. I could blackmail him for the rest of his life."
"He would never get on his knees for anyone," she pointed out, gathering dishes and taking them to the sink. "It would never happen."
"You could just be wrong, Miss Jenkins." Ken pushed back his chair and caught up his hat. "I think, for you, he'd do just about anything."
Briony watched him saunter out the back door and walk along the path toward the shop, taking the same direction Jack had. She took a deep breath and turned around, surveying the large kitchen with its wood floor and large beams. It was beautiful to her--the wide open spaces. It looked--and felt--like a home to her.
She glanced back to the window, her gaze searching for Jack. "Why do I feel so strongly about you? Why do I feel like I know you better than you know yourself?"
She set the dishes in the sink and wandered through the house, exploring the various rooms. It was obvious to her that the two men had planned each section of the house carefully. Ken's style was distinctly different from Jack's--yet there were touches here and there that reminded her of his twin. He liked Western motifs and music, yet he had a gun cabinet beside his bed and another in his office--just as Jack did. Jack had shelves of books everywhere.
Briony retrieved the pregnancy book and carried it into his office. She stood in the doorway frowning. The office was finished, walls in place, a beautiful one-of-a-kind desk that she suspected Jack had built, piles of papers, and a box containing a brand-new computer. Beside the box was another carton containing paper, but it was open and there was a column as long as or longer than her arm of paper spread across the desk and onto the floor. She went closer to examine the handwritten notes.
Two separate masculine scrawls, one stating in very crude terms that Ken could shove the computer somewhere impossible to shove and Jack wasn't opening the thing. Ken answered with a long dissertation about computers being a necessity in their new business venture and Jack could just come out of his cave and quit bellyaching. The rest of the notes were a daily ongoing argument about who would get the computer up and running. Ken was adamant that it was Jack's job since he was going to have deal with all the actual people, and Jack stated that he absolutely wasn't touching the machine under any circumstances.
Briony took the computer out of the box and found that it was a fairly decent model, one that certainly could be used for the type of business Ken wanted to try. She spent the next hour putting it together and hooking up the various cables and connectors, along with backup batteries and surge protectors and finally the printer. She doubted if Jack would actually use it, but she loaded the software programs Ken had purchased for it anyway.
Sinking into the chair, she opened the pregnancy book, and skimmed each chapter carefully before retrieving a black permanent marker from the desk drawer. With great care and precision she blacked out every reference to caffeine she could find in the book. "Don't ever try to come between a woman and her coffee, Jack," she murmured aloud.
Briony sat back with a satisfied smirk before going through the book again, this time reading with much more diligence, blacking out everything she didn't approve of and making her own notations in the margins, before closing the book and taking it into Jack's bedroom. She left it on his dresser, right where he would be certain to find it. Laughing, she went back into the kitchen to make the men lunch.
She found the brothers in Ken's wing of the house, in his bathroom, finishing up the last of the tile, wrangling with each other, much like all the notes on the computer. Both men wolfed down the sandwiches and lemonade while she surveyed the large room.
"This is beautiful, Ken. Both of you really like space."
Ken nodded. "We thought a lot about what we'd need before we designed the house." He grinned at her. "Of course we hadn't really considered children."
"Well, the second bedroom would easily make a room for the baby," she pointed out. "The room isn't finished in Jack's wing, but it doesn't seem like it would take that much to get it ready before the baby comes."
"Babies," Jack corrected. "We're having two."
"I'm not thinking about that." She gave him a quelling scowl. "One is all I can assimilate right now, so stop saying that to me. The doctor could be wrong."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "We saw the two hearts and heard two heartbeats. I don't think there's much doubt, baby."
Briony glared at him again and flounced off. "Go back to work."
The feeling of being home stayed with her throughout the day as she did laundry and thoroughly went through the pantry to get an idea of what she had to work with for meals. As she did, she made lists of anything she thought they could use, so the next time one of the twins went into town he could pick up more supplies. It didn't matter how much she told herself not to get too comfortable, this place--and this man--seemed to fit.
The sunset was spectacular and Briony went out onto the porch to watch it. Both men were in the shop now, working away on something she couldn't see yet. She was fairly certain Jack was starting the cradle and they were making plans for the spare room in his wing to be finished.
Briony stepped off the porch and inhaled the slight wind, taking the crisp mountain air into her lungs. The house was spotless and dinner was simmering. She'd even managed to whip up a pie for dessert. She felt safe and secure. Jack and Ken left her alone to do whatever she wanted while they went about their business. Occasionally, Jack would touch base with her, brushing her mind with some anecdote about Ken, and it made her feel even more a part of him--of the bond the twins shared--as if she really did belong.
She had found herself smiling throughout the day, and the strange part was that although she really missed her family, there was no pain, there were no migraines, no forcing herself to do things that hurt like hell. She could be happy here in this place--she was happy.
Briony examined the front yard first, noting where she'd put in flowers if the property was hers. There were two really good locations, and on the side of the house there was a garden already planted in long, neat rows. Fencing caged the area in, to keep out the deer and other animals, and she could see it was on a water system, fed by the spring.
She'd never considered that Jack and Ken would have a garden, but she should have. They could probably live on their mountain for months--maybe years--without needing anything from the outside.
She began to jog, enjoying the feel of her muscles as they stretched. Twice she jumped into the lower branches of trees, just because she could. It was no wonder the men loved it up here.
"It's about time to quit," Ken said. "You can't work all night anymore, Jack. You've got yourself a woman and she's not in your pocket yet."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you have to do a little courting, bro. You know, actually make nice."
"You're really enjoying yourself, aren't you?" Jack
demanded, giving one last pat to the wood lying on the table. His head jerked up and he suddenly took off running, snatching up the rifle beside the door.
"What the hell?" Ken snapped, breaking into a run to match his brother's.
"Someone triggered the alarm just inside the grove of trees to the left of the house," Jack said, tossing his brother his rifle as he sprinted past. "The strobe started flashing. Make sure Briony's safe. Get her into the tunnel and wait for me."
Ken picked the weapon out of the air on the run, breaking off to sprint for the house. He burst through the door, shouting Briony's name, heard the echo ring through the empty rooms, and his heart sank as he turned to follow his twin.
Not here, Jack. She's gone.
For a moment Jack thought a vise squeezed his heart. Pain flashed through his chest--real, physical. His gut twisted into hard, cramping knots. Damn it! Briony! Answer me now! He kept running, staying in the shadows of the trees, using scent, breathing away fear for her, anger that he hadn't been watching her close enough.
What is it, Jack?
The sound of her voice brushing through his mind like a caress was almost more than he could comprehend. For a moment he didn't believe it and he kept running, using enhanced speed so that he was a mere blur flashing through the grove. The guns were solid in his hands, so familiar they seemed a part of him, and all the while his mind was working, planning out his strategy to ferret out the intruder and eliminate the threat. Then he comprehended--knew she was alive, knew they hadn't taken her. His legs actually went weak in reaction--something that had never happened to him before in his life.
Take cover; go up into the trees and blend in with your surroundings. Stay very still. Ken will come to you. His voice turned hard, as his heart settled. She had a lot to answer for and it wasn't going to be pleasant. Damn her for making him feel what amounted to terror, for causing him to lose--even for a moment--his equilibrium.
Briony didn't ask questions. The icy cold in his voice warned her--Jack was beyond angry with her. She glanced right and left to ensure she was alone, and leapt into the lower branches of a tree, climbing fast to the thicker canopy, changing colors as she did so to blend with the foliage. She wore beige trousers and a soft gray and beige shirt. She hoped the neutral colors helped to camouflage her in the dense leaves.
It wasn't that she'd forgotten she was in danger--it was just that she'd felt safe. Stupid, stupid mistake. She'd come to Jack Norton for lessons in survival, and she had the feeling she was about to get one she'd never forget. There was nothing politically correct about Jack; he was quite capable of extreme violence, but never once, not for one moment, did she believe he would hurt her. And where had that trust come from?
Briony crouched in the tree, trying to figure out how and why she was with Jack. Why were they such a good fit? Because she knew they were--even if he didn't--and she was going to hold on to that when he came for her, fiercely angry for her stupidity.
The wind was stronger in the canopy, and she inhaled, hoping to catch the scent of any intruder and to figure out just where Jack and Ken were. Jack, she picked up right away, moving fast toward her. There was someone else, someone who didn't bathe often and smelled of animals, pungent sweat, and dirt.
There's a man just south of you, Jack.
Her warning wasn't needed. Jack knew the precise location of the man wandering through his property--and he knew by the smell who it was. He whistled and signaled Ken to circle around and get behind the intruder. Stay where you are, Briony. I don't want him to see you.
Ken moved into position, settling into the high branches of a tree, rifle in hand, eye to the scope. It's old man Brady.
Jack swore softly. Could be a trap. It would be like the bastard to use a helpless old man. Watch your back, Ken, and keep an eye on Briony.
I'm watching your back. You be careful. I'll take him out if I have to.
Jack snapped his teeth together to keep from swearing at his twin. He took a deep breath and let it go, letting the ice replace the adrenaline rushing through his veins. We do this one by the book, Ken. We have no choice. She's primary, you're second. I take out the enemy and you protect Briony.
You're going to be a father, Jack. Your life...
Don't you fucking argue with me over this. Get to the primary and provide protection.
For the first time in their working relationship, Ken hesitated. Jack bit back another command, still running, until he was within a couple of yards of the intruder. He was wearing the color of the forest on his skin, and his clothes reflected his surroundings so it was nearly impossible to see him. He froze in place, making no sound, waiting for the old mountain man to come to him. Ken had no choice but to protect Briony and leave the target to Jack.
Brady O'Conner had lived in the forest for more than thirty years. He lived mostly in a cave several miles to the east of the Norton property line, and lived by trapping animals and eating roots. He sometimes came to Jack and Ken when he was hungry, mostly in the winter, or if he was injured and needed medical aid. He didn't talk much, and as far as Jack knew, he had little contact with anyone off the mountain.
If he's not alone, they're good. I can't spot anyone. The forest is quiet; animals and birds going about their business. I say he's alone, Ken reported.
Jack couldn't detect the scent of another human through the ripe odor Brady gave off. He waited until the man was nearly on top of him before stepping out of the shadows. "Brady. What brings you my way?"
The older man startled, pulling back with a gasp. "I didn't see you there, Jack." The faded eyes darted left and right. "Ken around? He said you had extra from the garden this year."
Ran into him about three weeks ago, Ken confirmed when Jack relayed the information.
"We'll fix you a bag of food, Brady," Jack said. "You see anyone around in the last few weeks? It's been quiet here."
The old man shook his head. "Hikers and campers don't come up this way much. Good thing too. Too many damn people if you ask me."
Jack's built-in radar zinged off the chart. Too many damned people, Ken. He shared the answer with his brother. I don't like the way he said that.
Neither do I. You stay on him, Jack. I'll get him the supplies.
The blade lay up against Jack's wrist where it couldn't be seen. I'm in position. Get it fast and let's get him out of here. He indicated the ground. "You want to sit and wait for Ken?"
"I'm outa coffee."
"He'll bring it." Again, Jack sent the information to Ken.
"Now you mention it, I did see someone nosing around the falls a couple a days ago. I think they took my supplies. I'd hid 'em in the root cellar." The old man cackled at his own joke. His root cellar was actually a network of roots in a small cavern just beside the falls.
"Who did you see nosing around, Brady? What did he look like?"
"Big fella, talked real low like you do."
"Did he want anything?"
Brady shrugged. "He just wanted to know about the elk. Said he was a hunter, but he wasn't hunting elk."
"How'd you know?"
"Tracks everywhere, but he didn't even look at them. I think he took my supplies. Saw a partial track by the cave, and it was his all right. Damn thief."
Supplies are in the usual drop.
"I'll look into it, Brady. Meanwhile, you take what Ken gives you and go to your winter place. Ken left the bag for you in the usual place. If the big guy was looking to tell the Rangers where you are, they won't be able to find you."
Brady nodded and muttered to himself. They exchanged a few more pleasantries and Brady shuffled off. Jack followed him, careful to stay out of sight, while Ken retrieved Briony.
She jumped down from the branches of the tree, landing in a crouch, her gaze touching on the hard angles and planes of Ken's face as she straightened. "You're angry with me."
He caught her wrist and began walking back to the house, taking her with him. "Damn right I am, but I'm angrier with jughead, so you
can breathe easier, I won't take your head off like you deserve."
"You're angry with Jack? But I did this, put us all in this position, not him."
"No, he just has to make sure I'm tucked away where no one's going to shoot me while he's taking all the risks. It's time he knocked that shit off."
Her breath hitched in her throat. "I should have been more careful. I'm sorry, Ken. Neither of you should be in danger because I wanted to take a walk."
Before Ken could respond, Jack came striding into the yard. He moved fast, fluidly, a muscular fighting machine, his face dark with anger.
To Briony's horror, the men came together, faces hard, jaws set, gray eyes as turbulent as a lightning storm. In that moment they looked exactly alike--raw power--warriors of old, equally matched.
Ken swung his fist at Jack, a hard jab to the face. Jack barely slipped it and slammed both hands hard into his brother's chest. The blow rocked Ken, but he stepped closer, not away, staring straight into Jack's eyes.
"Back the hell off," Jack snapped. "You don't change procedure in the middle of a mission. We do what we've always done; it's how we stay alive. You know that. Get your head out of your butt."
"I'm not hiding behind you anymore, Jack. If anything had gone wrong..."
"What kind of crap are you talking? You've been guarding my back my entire life, not hiding behind me. Is the entire world going to hell? And you!" Jack whirled around to face Briony, fury in every line of his body.
He advanced on her, his fingers settling around her upper arms like a vise. "You never forget you're in a combat situation. Not for one minute. Do you understand me? You could have been killed, or you could have gotten someone else killed." He punctuated each word with a hard shake. "This isn't a game, Briony. Someone wants you in a lab where they can experiment, not only on you, but on our children."
Conspiracy Game Page 26