by Mandy Harbin
It rang and rang. She was about to hang up when it connected.
“You’re a pain in the ass,” Hunter said.
Caitlin gasped when she heard him speak, excited to finally reach him. “You mean determined.”
“Nope. Pretty damn sure getting me in trouble with my girlfriend makes you a pain in the ass.”
If Maya was the only one that convinced him to talk to her, she owed her big time. “Well, I’m not the one avoiding calls. What does that make you?”
“Busy. Not avoiding you, darlin’. Just been swamped.”
That statement held much more meaning then it did before. “Are you talking about cars or contracts because I’ve learned there’s more to your little shop than sparkplugs.”
He grunted. “Heather has a big mouth.”
“This is not news.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, and neither is my life,” he said with a little humor, but with a finality that couldn’t be missed. His life would not be an open book to her, no matter who she was friends with. “You got questions for me. That shit better be off the record. You understand?”
She hated those words. Normally, she’d do her best to get them taken off the negotiating table, but he had personal information she needed. This wasn’t for her assignment, so she reluctantly agreed. “Fine. How do you know this guy?”
“What guy?”
She sighed. “Don’t play dumb.”
She heard someone mumble in the background, and he said, muffled, “Maya, I’m not being difficult. Fuck.” She obviously wasn’t happy he wasn’t being very forthcoming with Caitlin, and for that she was grateful. Maya had definitely earned some major girl points. Hunter muttered something else under his breath that sounded like he was cursing all women to the depths of hell before he said a little clearer, “I don’t know him.”
“What does that mean?” How in the world did he not know the guy he arranged to protect her?
“Just what I said. I know powerful people. Those people arranged it for me.”
That crashing sound was all of her hopes crumbling around her. “So you can’t tell me anything about him? What he does in the military? If he’s even in the military? If he’s a mercenary like you? If he’s even married?”
She’d been sure Hunter was the key to unlocking the mystery of Axle, but she’d been trying to open the wrong door all along.
He snickered. “Married? Why do you care if he’s married?”
“Because she likes him,” Maya called out.
Well, that woman just lost half of her points.
“Oh,” Hunter said, all serious again.
“I’m an inquisitive person. Nothing wrong with that,” she defended. “Plus, he’s around all the time and is in charge of my security. I have a right to know if he’s on the level.”
“So this is for your personal information?”
“Yes. I already agreed it was off the record.”
“Fine. I still don’t know him—”
“Hunter,” she said, cutting him off.
“But, he’s not a mercenary.” He chuckled. “Not a fan of that word, by the way. Most of our work has been contracted by the federal government.”
“Oh,” she said, genuinely surprised. If the feds used them, then maybe they weren’t the stereotypical crime syndicate she’d imagined. Unless, the jobs they did for the government were seedy assignments the feds wanted done under the radar. “Oh.”
“Caitlin,” he said, warning.
“Are you telling me the federal government pays you to commit crimes?”
“You know I’m not answering that, even though this conversation is off the record,” he said, stressing those three little, ugly words.
“Right. You’re right. I’m sorry.” There was a whole lot he wasn’t telling her, and from the sound of how deep the story went, she couldn’t blame him. She had enough things to focus on right now.
Doesn’t mean I can’t get more info out of him and his garage buddies once I’m back in the States. There was a story there, but those guys would have to agree to her prying into their business in order to make it happen. She doubted they’d let her do that.
Wouldn’t stop her from trying, though. Later.
“As far as I know, he’s not married,” Hunter said. He probably knew that topic would jolt her out of her thoughts on the Bang Shift Garage.
“Good.”
Hunter chuckled. “Maya was right.”
“I’m always right,” she yelled.
Caitlin wasn’t going to justify that with a response. “What else?” she asked instead.
“Nothing. Like I said, I’ve never met him. The feds arranged it.”
“Wow, the government must really want to keep you guys happy if they’re willing to give you whatever you want when you snap your fingers.”
“That’s far from true, but these are feds I know. Very well.”
“Who are they?”
“Nope.”
“Hunter.”
“No way. Who they are is none of your business. I’ve answered your questions. The guy watching you is legit. He really is in the military. A Navy SEAL, I’m told. He’s not a mercenary…at least not on my team.” He’d rattled off answers to the questions she’d initially asked. “Can’t really say if he’s married, but if you want, I can find out at lunch and pass you a note in study hall.”
“Funny. But I had more questions than that.”
“Don’t think there’s much else I can tell you.”
She sighed, but at least some of her fears were alleviated. Axle hadn’t been hired to protect her. He hadn’t assumed a role of a military operative. He really was one.
He hadn’t lied to her.
“He’s bossy,” she muttered, and once she confessed that, more rolled from her mouth. “He barks orders and insists on doing things his way. He got all mad when I went into a village today to question locals. The whole place was surrounded. I was only out of his view for like three minutes, and he pulled me out of there, stopping what was probably a major break in my story.”
“You need to listen to him,” Hunter said, brooking no argument. “He’s there to protect you. You shouldn’t make it difficult for him.”
“He shouldn’t stop me from doing my job.”
Hunter hesitated, then said, “Sounds like to me y’all need to communicate.”
“He’s around me every waking minute.” The last thing she needed was more time with him. He incited something within her. Anger. Passion.
Emotion.
She didn’t know how to deal with that.
“Yet, you call me late at night, halfway around the world, to ask if he’s married when you could’ve asked him yourself?”
“It’s not that simple.”
He laughed. “Women. Always making everything so damn complicated.”
“Yeah, yeah. Point taken.” Realizing she’d gotten everything she was going to from Hunter, she wrapped up their conversation and ended the call. She was still mad at Axle, but maybe Hunter was right.
She needed to reason with Axle, make him understand how important her work was so he could help, not hinder, her progress. She didn’t expect him to go out of his way to get the answers she needed, but it’d be nice if he wouldn’t work against her either.
Sounded good in theory, but it was going to be easier said than done.
Chapter Nine
This woman was going to be the death of him.
After the close call they’d experienced the first day out, Axle had been relieved the following days’ flyovers had gone off without a hitch. Although sitting next to her in a helo most of those days had put him on another kind of edge. Her knee would brush his accidentally, and his cock would twitch, not caring she hadn’t meant anything by it. And then there’d been the times she touched him on purpose to get his attention and point to something. He’d had to force himself to follow her direction and not gape at where her hand was on his arm, shoulder, hand, leg. Once she even reache
d over and touched him without looking at him, and she’d grazed dangerously close to his groin area. No amount of mental explanation could stop his cock from stirring.
Yep, she was killing him. One nonchalant touch at a time. Even though the light touches had been damn near maddening, it’d been a break from the intensity of their shooting practice. The time in the helo had helped him focus on Burge’s revelation and pushed him to regain his focus. She was a job, and he had a responsibility to ensure her safety.
Nothing else.
The faster, the better.
Especially since she didn’t seem to understand how important it was for her to follow orders all the time. No matter what. He had no idea how she ranked his instructions, but it was always a crapshoot with her whether or not she would fucking listen to him. Like yesterday in Nangarhar, Axle had watched her from several feet back while she’d interviewed locals for several hours. There’d been a couple of young Afghan men who’d gotten a little too close for his comfort, and he’d quickly put himself between Caitlin and the tribe members. She’d been quick to follow his command then. He knew jumping in caused some of the people surrounding her to be apprehensive, but he didn’t care. It was her safety that mattered. Regardless, she’d managed to ease the tension with those she’d been talking to and had quickly gotten back into her groove. Things had been smooth again…until she’d decided upon herself to go into one of the huts without okaying it with him first.
Because he sure as shit wouldn’t have allowed it.
And she goddamn knew it.
Pushing aside his irritation from yesterday, he watched her for a few more seconds, trying not to glare at her and probably not succeeding very well, before focusing on the interpreter. Axle wasn’t familiar with him, but Lorenzo had worked with the Afghan man a few months ago on some other assignment and had vouched for him.
Not that Lorenzo’s word meant anything. The few times Axle had been around him, he got a weird vibe from the dude. He was aware he had no grasp on journalism, nor did he have the desire to figure it all out, but it seemed the videographer liked doing things his way. Shouldn’t Caitlin have some control over how the news piece was recorded? The man tended to lead Caitlin in his direction, rather than accepting her input and letting her report how she wanted. Axle didn’t have to understand filming the news to know he didn’t like that. This was her gig, though, so he let that part slide.
Lorenzo’s pushiness didn’t stop there. When the cameraman wasn’t focused on controlling their work, Lorenzo flirted with Caitlin. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that. She’d chatted and laughed with him while they’d been working together these last few days, but she’d also kept a little distance between them, only getting close enough to review some footage. Still. Seeing him make pass after pass at her? Yeah, that pissed Axle off. He had no right to be mad, but it left a bad taste in his mouth nonetheless. And if it made him not like the guy even more, he didn’t give a fuck. He didn’t have to be buddies with Lorenzo to protect Caitlin.
He knew the basics about Lorenzo, but he didn’t trust him or his word. Just because he’d said the interpreter was stellar didn’t matter. He’d had Asad checked out before letting him near Caitlin.
Pulling his gaze away from Lorenzo and Asad, Axle took out his binoculars and scanned the area. His guys had set up a perimeter and checked in on schedule, but Axle preferred to doublecheck. He hated surprises, especially the dangerous kind. It was better to be prepared than caught unawares. Every fifteen minutes, he personally scanned the border of the village, looking for any threats. It only took a few seconds, but it was worth it for his own peace of mind.
When he finished his sweep, he turned to where Caitlin had been standing with the guys working with her.
“Shit,” he breathed. Ice shot down his back. She wasn’t standing there anymore. “Not again.”
Without hesitation, he moved to where he’d last seen her, eyes scanning the thin crowd. Like yesterday, they were in a small village, mud houses surrounded them, and the locals moved about, probably curious about the newcomers and their helicopter. There was no sign of her.
He tapped his comm. “Bravo Team One, no eyes on Charlie, come in.” Caitlin’s codename was Charlie. He’d chosen it since it was the military phonic for the letter C. He wanted to keep her actual name out of radio communications, and it was short for Charlie Foxtrot. Clusterfuck.
“This is Bravo Team one. Charlie and Lightweight are beside the house on your two. Over.”
“Copy,” Axle said as he headed toward the house just to his right. Lightweight wasn’t phonic for shit. But he figured he’d stick to utilizing the first-letter-of-the-first-name method, and it was a better option than Loser for Lorenzo.
Axle rounded the corner at a dead speed, not caring if he startled the locals. His heart raced in more than just effort and that only served to piss him off more. He wasn’t scared about fucking up his mission. He was worried. About her.
Yeah, he was seriously pissed.
He knew the guys on his team would keep eyes on her location, especially after the chewing out they received yesterday. He had no doubt she would be exactly where they said she was, but Jesus Christ, the moment his gaze found her, she’d be lucky if he didn’t wring her damn neck!
“Whoa,” Lorenzo said, stepping to the side to avoid getting barreled over by Axle. “What are you—”
The locals she was speaking to shuffled back right as Caitlin looked over her shoulder. She turned around quickly to face him right as he came to a stop inches from her.
“What’s going on?” she asked. He could see she was genuinely puzzled by his sudden appearance, but there was also something flashing in her gaze. Irritation.
He glared at her and tried to rein in his emotions. He was losing his shit. Fuck, he hated being anything but methodical. Never in his life had he ever been rash. Not in his personal dealings and sure as hell not in his career.
His comm was firing off as his men were checking in. He needed them to stay in position, so he answered, “False alarm. Do not un-ass.”
Caitlin’s shoulders relaxed before turning toward the men she’d been speaking to, but most had scattered.
“Hashem,” she said, and waved at him. She took a step in the man’s direction, but Axle grabbed her arm.
She whirled. “What?” she said, barking the word at him.
He blinked at her, still trying to collect his thoughts. He didn’t know what was coming over him, but the thought of her being out of arm’s reach was unacceptable.
“You and I,” she said, slowly, “are having a talk later about you letting me do my job.”
“Talk all you want, but from now on, I’m standing right beside you.”
She gaped at him. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
“How am I supposed to get anyone to talk about the military strike if I have a military man strapped to my hip?”
“Not my problem.”
She dropped the hand that held the mic and stepped closer to him. “This right here is why we’re gonna have a conversation later. For now, I need to speak to these people before you up and decide it’s time to leave.” She turned, and he followed when she started toward Hashem. She glanced over her should once, and he was skilled enough in detecting soft sounds that he didn’t miss the quiet, “Asshole.”
He’d have to agree, but he was through letting her have her way. She probably didn’t think he’d been very forthcoming so far. He had a feeling that would be the gist of their conversation later, but it was high time she figured out just who was in charge here.
Caitlin didn’t learn anything new on today’s excursion, so instead of mentally going over information on their trip back like she’d hoped to be doing, she’d gone over just what she wanted to say to Axle. Her thoughts had been all over the place, though. From cussing him out to pleading with him, she hadn’t figured out the best course to take with him once they talked.
And they wer
e going to do just that as soon as they landed. This conversation was long overdue. Hunter had been right. Plus, she couldn’t afford another wasted day on this story. She and Axle were both adults. They both had jobs to do.
Once they were back on base and she was far enough away from the noise of the helicopter, she turned to Lorenzo.
“Send me the raw footage you have when you get back to your room. I need to see what I have to work with.” She hadn’t gotten much from the people, but there was always a chance he’d captured something.
He smiled. “You could always come with me and watch it. I think you could use a break away from all this to focus on work.” His pointed glance at Axle was not missed.
“No more field trips today, kiddos,” Axle said, stepping up to them. “We can set you up in a meeting room here if you need to keep working. One big enough for all of us.”
True to his word, he hadn’t left her side since announcing she’d have a new shadow. She almost found it sweet he was so concerned.
Almost.
It just showed her when he got something stuck in his head, he was determined to see it through.
“There’s something else I need to take care of,” she told Lorenzo. She’d love to go over the material with him, but now wasn’t the time. “Go ahead and send me the video from today, and I’ll message you with any questions I have.”
If they set up in the meeting room right now, Lorenzo would have to wait for her to finish her little chitchat with the stern sailor. That’d be rude of her to ask, but no way did she want a room full of witnesses for her conversation with Axle either. He was too much of a stickler for rank and order when he was around other people, and she needed him to be somewhat understanding to her plight. They needed to be alone if she was going to have any chance at getting through to him.
“How about a drink then?” Lorenzo asked. “I mean, if we’re taking a break from work, might as well enjoy it. And you’ve been working really hard. You deserve some downtime.”