Imminent Danger (A Counterstrike Novel Book 3)

by Jannine Gallant

  “You were adorable.”

  She rolled her eyes and grinned. “Are you going to stand there gawking all day or do something?”

  “Oh, I intend to do something, all right.” He unfastened her bra and removed the scrap of lace and satin before hooking his thumbs beneath the elastic of her panties and sliding them off, letting his hands linger along the way.

  When she lay completely naked, he shed his clothes and knelt on the bed beside her. No more self-conscious than she was, completely comfortable in his own skin.

  He took her hand and held it tightly. “I didn’t suggest getting married just because you’re pregnant. I want my wife back. Without you, I’m lonely and miserable. Life is so much better together.”

  “I agree. But I’m not in a rush. Can we take this one step at a time?”

  “Whatever you need.”

  She pulled him down on top of her, the weight of him pressing her into the mattress, and held on tight. “I want to end the waiting game with that bastard,” she whispered against his throat. “I want to focus on our life moving forward. And I don’t want my good memories darkened by his shadow.”

  “Very soon, we’ll never have to think about him again.”

  With a nod, she tilted her face to kiss him. He claimed her mouth, tasting and stroking until everything but her need for Brody faded away. His skin was warm and smooth beneath her fingertips as she ran her hands up and down his back. He moved against her with the ease of familiarity, creating an urgency that left her begging for more. Arching her back, she pressed against him, feeling the weight of his desire as his breath came fast against her ear.

  “Now. Please, now.”

  He groaned as he slid inside her and held still, pressing his forehead against hers. “I need a moment, or this will be over way too soon.”

  “Then we’ll start over,” she gasped. “Brody, please.”

  He pushed hard, not holding anything back. They clung together, seeking and giving, driving each other to completion in a rhythm as old as time yet uniquely their own. When it was over, Arden collapsed against the sheets, too spent to move.

  After a minute, Brody rolled to his side. “That was pretty damn spectacular, if I do say so myself. If you weren’t already pregnant, that would have done the trick.”

  She giggled softly. “Brag much?”

  He rested his palm on her stomach and smiled down at her. “Just stating the facts, darlin’.”

  As the sun slanted in through the open blinds, striping him with light and shadows, she shifted closer, pressing her knee between his thighs. “You’re definitely amazing.”

  “I’m also sticky. And a little sweaty.” He raised a brow as he inched the hand at her waist up to her breast. “Want to shower with me?”

  “Conserving water seems like the right thing to do. The environmentally friendly choice.”

  “Well, in that case . . .” He jumped off the bed and raised her high against his chest. “Let’s go save the planet.”

  Laughing, she snuggled against him, pressing kisses to his neck, happier than she’d been in a long, long time.

  * * * *

  Brody woke slowly in the dark and glanced at the bedside clock. Nearly one in the morning. Contentment eased the tension from his limbs as he held Arden loosely in his arms. She was sound asleep, her breathing slow and regular. Rather than pull her tight against him, which was his first inclination, he slid out of the bed, knowing she needed her rest. So did he, but his mind was spinning with possibilities.

  Feeling around in the dark, he grabbed his jeans off the floor and made his way to the bathroom to take a leak. Afterward, he walked through the main room and detoured into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. Standing at the window, he could just make out the dark blur of trees on the far side of the lake in the glimmer of moonlight. The jingle of dog tags alerted him to the presence of Heidi and Hero before he saw them. They brushed by him to stand at the back door and whine.

  “Seriously?” With a sigh, he pushed his feet into the running shoes he’d left beside the dryer and grabbed the sweatshirt he’d worn on an after-dinner stroll with Arden from the peg on the wall. “Fine. We’ll take a quick walk.”

  Maybe the cold night air would clear his head and allow him to go back to sleep. He shut the door behind the dogs and headed down to the lake. They roamed ahead of him, darker shadows in the night. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he kicked a pinecone and shivered as a chill wind blew across the water.

  When he reached the large, flat rock near the shore, he dropped down onto the hard surface and braced his palms behind him. The beauty of the night with waves gently lapping against the rocky beach and the moon playing hide-and-seek behind the clouds soothed his soul. He was going to be a father again. The knowledge set off a burst of joy and made his heart beat a little faster. The news had shocked him to his core, but when the truth had finally set in, his first instinct had been to hide Arden away someplace safe. His second had been to head straight back to Boston to root out the threat to his family and destroy it.

  He’d done neither. She’d made it clear she wasn’t happy with his proprietary attitude and tendency to make decisions without her consent. Even though an urgency to act immediately and decisively gnawed his nerve endings, he’d give her the few days she’d asked for, here at the lake where she felt most at peace. Hopefully by the time Ellie and the girls returned, Luna would have a solid lead on Thanos’s whereabouts. A burning desire to take the man down destroyed the calm he’d felt only minutes before. With deliberation, he let out a long breath, and then jumped when his phone rang.

  He pulled the cell from the rear pocket of his jeans and glanced at the screen. Luna. The hair on his neck rose as he swiped to connect.

  “Something must be wrong or you wouldn’t be calling me in the middle of the night.”

  “Thank God you answered. I’ve been trying to reach you for over two hours, but the damn calls go straight to voicemail.”

  “What happened?”

  “Thanos is in Whitetail Crossing. He used the credit card I was tracking at the general store in town sometime this afternoon, but it took a few hours for the charge to pop up on his account. When I got the alert and couldn’t reach you, I hacked into the store’s computer system to see what he purchased.” Her voice rose. “He bought a disposable cell phone, some aerosol spray paint, duct tape, and a bag of fertilizer. There were a few other things, but—”

  “Shit. He’s planning to blow something up.”

  “The phone could be wired to act as an ignition device from a remote location, but he would have had to plant the materials at the site. I hope to God no one was sneaking around Arden’s cabin earlier this evening.”

  “No, but we went for a walk after dinner.” He pushed up off the rock and headed toward the cabin. “I’ll get a flashlight and see if anything looks suspicious. In the meantime, I’m getting Arden the hell out of there.”

  “We should be to Tamarack Lake in just under an hour. When I couldn’t reach you I . . . uh, woke up GQ, and we hit the road.”

  “I don’t know what to say. Thank you—”

  The explosion rocked him backward. Wood fragments rained down on the ground, and a big chunk of flooring with nails protruding landed two feet in front of him. The night sky lit up as fire burned into the kitchen on a gust of wind through the empty space where the porch had been.

  “Arden!” His shout was drowned out by the roar of flames consuming the rear of the house. Dropping his phone, he ran toward the back corner of the cabin . . . and went down hard when one of the dogs tripped him. Sprawled on the ground, the breath left him in a whoosh just as the kitchen window blew out in a spray of glass.

  “Shit! Arden!” Scrambling to his feet, he sprinted toward the bedroom. Smoke poured through the gap between the bottom rail and the window sill. He tore out the screen and shoved up the sash. Taking a deep breath, he covered his mouth and nose with his sweatshirt and hoisted himself throu
gh the window.”

  Inside, the room was pitch dark, the air clogged with smoke. He hadn’t gone a yard when his foot hit something soft. Unmoving. His heart nearly burst through his chest. Bending, he scooped Arden off the floor and turned back toward the window. He passed her through the opening and leaned over to lower her to the ground.

  A shrill yowl sounded beside his ear, and claws dug into his back. Brody smacked his head on the rail and saw stars. Coughing and choking, he crawled the rest of the way through and leaped down as the cat shot off into the night.

  “Arden.” Lifting her into his arms, he ran toward the lake, gulping in fresh air with each step. She was completely limp, her head hanging. Fighting panic, he laid her on the grass, pinched her nose with his fingers, and breathed into her mouth. After a second resuscitating breath, her chest rose and she coughed.

  “Thank God.” His eyes watered, and tears ran down his cheeks as she dragged air into her lungs and coughed some more. “I’ve got you, babe. Hang in there.”

  He wrapped the robe she was wearing more snugly around her as sirens wailed in the distance. When the high-pitched blare drew closer, he carried Arden around the blazing house, staying well away from falling embers.

  She coughed and hacked against his shoulder, managing a few words. “My animals. Help them.”

  “The dogs and Henry are out of the house. Just focus on breathing.”

  Fire engines rolled into the yard a moment later. Organized chaos ensued as men hauled out hoses, dragging lines to the lake. Brody carried Arden straight to the ambulance that pulled up behind the trucks.

  Two attendants jumped out and approached him.

  “She inhaled smoke and needs oxygen. I got her breathing again. You should know she’s pregnant.”

  An older man in full turnout gear ran up as Brody lowered Arden onto the stretcher one of the paramedics pulled from the back of the ambulance. “Is anyone else in the house?”

  “No people, but there are chickens and rabbits and bee hives by the shed if you can keep the fire from spreading to it. The house animals are out.”

  “I’ll make sure my men know.”

  The captain hurried off as the female attendant took his arm and urged him out of the way. “Give us room to work. We’ll take good care of your . . . uh . . .”

  “My wife. Her name is Arden Grant. Our baby—”

  “Was she unconscious, sir?” The other paramedic, a young man who looked barely old enough to drive, adjusted an oxygen mask over Arden’s face and checked her blood pressure.

  “Yes, but not for long. The smoke was pretty thick in the house. I got her out a couple of minutes after the explosion and resuscitated her quickly.”

  “How far along is the baby?” The woman clamped something onto Arden’s finger, and a machine beeped to life.

  “Just over two months.”

  “Her oxygen levels look good.”

  Arden reached up to move the mask. “I was trying to get to the window, but I got light headed. I fell right before Brody reached me. I kind of faded out for a moment while he was carrying me.”

  “Don’t try to talk, ma’am. Just rest. You’re going to be fine.”

  Before the kid could adjust the mask again, she gripped his wrist. “What about my baby.”

  The woman smiled at her. “You’ll need to have a thorough checkup with your OBGYN, but it doesn’t sound like your baby will have experienced any ill effects. Your numbers are good, and you’re responding well.”

  Brody frowned. “You’ll drive her straight to the ER, right? I don’t want to take any risks with her health.”

  “If that’s what she wants, of course we will.”

  Arden struggled to rise up on one elbow. “I feel much better, and the nearest hospital is thirty miles away. I can go to the doctor tomorrow.”

  He was shaking his head before she finished speaking. “Not a good idea. Why—”

  “Because I’m more concerned about—Hero! Come here baby.”

  Brody turned as the dog ran up and whined, then poked his nose against the hand Arden held out.

  “Where’s Heidi, huh?” She glanced up at him. “Can you check on the rabbits and find Henry. I’m sure all my bees flew away as soon as the smoke got to them.” Tears ran down her cheeks, leaving tracks through the soot on her face. A roar sounded as part of the roof caved in, and she cringed. “I can’t believe this!”

  Stepping up beside her, he brushed hair from her cheek. “We’re safe, and that’s what matters.”

  “I know, but everything I have is gone.” Her voice broke, and she coughed against her hand.

  “Things can be replaced, and we’ll rebuild the house.” He motioned toward a pickup that had pulled up out of the way of the emergency vehicles. “Your neighbor just arrived, hopefully to make himself useful. I’ll talk to him about taking the chickens and rabbits.”

  “Thank you.” She flopped back against the pad, obviously exhausted.

  Brody met Jim Downey before he reached the ambulance. His face was creased in lines of worry.

  “Is Arden okay?”

  “A little smoke inhalation, but the paramedics say she’ll be fine.”

  “Thank God. I couldn’t sleep and was standing out on my front porch when the emergency vehicles went by with sirens wailing. The flames were visible from my place. How can I help?”

  “Arden’s first concern is for her animals. I hope the rabbits survived the smoke, or I have a feeling that’ll be the last straw.”

  “The chickens are still alive since I can hear them squawking. I’ll take them home with me.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that, and so will Arden.”

  As they walked toward the shed, staying out of the way of the firemen, Jim stopped to stare. “Jesus. What the hell happened?”

  “The asshole who threatened her in March upped his game.”

  “Shit. Looks like you’re both lucky you didn’t get trapped inside.”

  The kitchen end of the cabin was a blackened hull. Only the living room walls were still standing. Streams of water sent up billowing clouds of soot and ash, but the fire was mostly out. Brody shivered, imagining what could have happened if he hadn’t been awake.

  “At least the shed is intact. I’ll corral the damn chickens while you get the rabbits. I think she has a couple of pet carriers in there that you can use.”

  “Okay.”

  Twenty minutes later, they’d loaded up the animals. Brody stood back while Jim spoke to Arden, who was wrapped in a blanket and sitting on a folding chair next to one of the fire engines. The ambulance had left while he was occupied, and Hero and Heidi lay on either side of her chair, their noses resting on their paws as they kept close watch on all the action. The other man squeezed her arm and then walked away.

  When she brushed tears off her cheeks, he approached and squatted beside her. “You hanging in there?”

  Arden nodded. “It’s simply too much to process. My home is gone. My business is destroyed. My Jeep is a melted pile of scrap metal. I feel so damn . . . lost.”

  “The bees will come back, or you’ll start over. You have a home with me, and we’ll rebuild here. As for the Jeep, we’ll replace it. I know you’re angry and grieving.” He gripped both her hands in his. “You sure as hell didn’t deserve any more trauma.”

  “That doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. I want to scream and shout and swear. And then I want to look Thanos in the eyes and drive a freaking stake through his heart.”

  “I’ll take care of him. I promise.” The need for revenge burned hotter than the flames that had consumed her home. “We’ll go back to Boston and put the wheels in motion. Sooner, if Luna can track him from here.”

  Arden frowned. “What do you mean?”

  He pointed to a pair of headlight beams illuminating the trees along the access road and smiled. “Here comes the Calvary, right on schedule. We’ll end this nightmare. Now.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The threadb
are fabric of the chair in Sheriff Underwood’s office reeked of cigarette smoke, but Arden was too tired to care. She smelled worse. Leaning her head against the padded back, she wondered when they’d be allowed to leave. Not that she had anywhere pressing to go since her home was nothing but a pile of rubble and ash. Exhausted tears pressed against her lids as the need to sink into self-pity obliterated all other emotion.

  The sheriff wasn’t taking I don’t know for an answer, and Brody clearly didn’t want to get into the specifics of their history with Thanos. The standoff had continued for some time, both men getting more frustrated by the minute.

  “You’re telling me a random poacher broke into Ms. Grant’s cabin back in March, and now a different random stranger set off a blast that burned down her home. I’m not buying it.”

  Reaching over, Brody squeezed her hand, seeming to sense she was near her limit. “I’m not trying to sell you anything. I didn’t see the arsonist last night, and my suppositions aren’t worth shit. Can we get the hell out of here? Arden has been through the wringer.”

  “The sooner I get some answers, the sooner we’ll be finished. I think you know plenty. Pending a full investigation, the fire chief is pretty certain some kind of explosive under the back porch was set off remotely to start the blaze. That implies the unsub has a degree of technical knowledge and some serious motivation.”

  “Your average fourteen-year-old can go online and figure out how to make an incendiary device.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s not much of an exaggeration, so let’s look at motivation instead. Who would want to hurt your ex-wife?”

  “I’m pretty certain I was the target, not Arden.”

  The only sound in the sheriff’s office was the ticking of the clock on the wall above the filing cabinet. He uncrossed his arms and gripped the edge of his desk. “Care to elaborate.”

  “I’m sure you did your homework after our last encounter. You know I work for Counterstrike. Doing what we do, I’ve made enemies. That’s the best answer I can give you. There are dozens of suspects.”