Explosive Vengeance

by Kaylea Cross

  “After the things I’ve seen overseas, it doesn’t surprise me,” he said in disgust.

  “Me neither.” Nothing would surprise her anymore.

  Heath drove toward the lake, following Ty and Megan’s rental car to the restaurant a few kilometers out of town. “This is it,” he said as he parked out front of the Bavarian-style white plaster building decorated with brown wood. The wooden railings and shutters had little hearts cut out of them. Flower boxes bursting with fall colors of yellow, orange and crimson lined each window, giving the place a warm, charming feel.

  “Great, I’m starving. Haven’t had a good schnitzel in forever.” She hopped out of the car and waited for Megan on the curb. Inside, the restaurant was dimly lit and full. She’d reserved a table for them earlier under a fake surname.

  The hostess showed them to a table for four in the back. Chloe rounded the edge of it, intending to take one of the seats against the wall with Megan, but stopped when Heath went to do the same on the other side. After an awkward pause he grinned, pulled out the chair and offered it to her.

  “Thanks,” she murmured as she dropped into it. She always felt better with her back to the wall. They’d been trained to always be on the lookout for danger wherever they went. It was second nature for her to choose a position with some protection and the best sightlines wherever she went, but she supposed it was for Heath and Ty too.

  She ordered a beer, and they spent the time waiting for their meals telling stories—Megan and her about funny things they’d encountered in training, nothing sensitive that would give them away if anyone overheard. Ty and Heath told funny stories about some of the jobs they’d worked together as security contractors.

  Dinner was a golden brown, pan-fried chicken schnitzel smothered in hollandaise and topped with asparagus and crabmeat, served with roasted potatoes, veggies and braised red cabbage. Chloe wasted no time in digging in.

  “This is the bomb,” she moaned around a mouthful of schnitzel a minute later. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Perfection.

  “And you should know,” Megan said with a laugh.

  Chloe grinned around her mouthful. She hadn’t enjoyed herself so much in months, since that time she’d coaxed Fleur out of her comfort zone and taken her to a racy male strip joint in Paris one night for the hell of it. She’d had to get Fleur drunk to make it happen, and the results had been highly entertaining—not to mention shocking for the shy social worker.

  “We working more tonight?” Ty said as he scooped up a bite of bratwurst.

  “No,” Chloe said, looking at Heath. “There’s nothing more we can do today.” Besides, she wanted to let her hair down a little now that she was relatively safe and had backup if she needed it. It was rare that she got to be herself around anyone, and never with a man. She wanted to spend some time alone with Heath and see how things went, find out just how hot the spark between them could burn.

  She had the feeling they would be hot as white phosphorus together.

  They each had another drink, then Chloe ordered herself a slice of black forest cake, because it was criminal not to. Afterward, Heath insisted on paying the whole bill and refused to listen to anyone’s arguments.

  “Let me get it,” Ty insisted. “I owe you big time for everything.”

  “Nah, forget it.”

  “You can’t afford to buy dinner, I know what you get paid,” Ty joked.

  “You’re on the hook next time then,” Heath said, and pulled out his wallet.

  Chloe was about to stop him, not wanting anyone to be able to trace them through his credit card transaction, but he pulled out some Swiss francs instead. Then she felt dumb for thinking it. Of course he would know to pay in cash and not by credit.

  After paying he waited for her by the table as she stood, then followed the others to the front door. She liked the feeling of having him at her back, and his nearness heightened her awareness of him. “Feel like going for a walk?” she asked him.

  He gave her a sidelong glance that heated her insides, the dark stubble on his face making him twice as rugged and contrasting with the incredible blue of his eyes. “Sure.”

  It was cool outside but mostly clear, and their jackets would be warm enough. “Let’s head along the lake.”

  They said goodbye to the others, then crossed the street and started up the walkway along the lake. She breathed in the clean, fall air spiced with the scent of damp leaves. The mix of evergreens in the surrounding hills provided a stunning backdrop to the vivid bursts of yellow, orange and red turning leaves lit up by the ornamental lamp standards they passed.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, staring out over the lake and the thick forest on the other side that rose into the mountains.

  “Yeah, and the view’s not bad either.”

  Chloe couldn’t help but smile. The line should have been cheesy, but from him, it wasn’t. “Thank you. You’re not hard on the eyes either, by the way.” It felt good to flirt, and not have to hide who and what she was. She felt safe here for now, especially with him beside her. The novelty of it added to the magic between them.

  One side of his mouth lifted as he gazed down the pathway before them. It was practically deserted, only a few people out walking their dogs. “Did you hear how Megan and Ty met?”

  “Yeah, he was her temp SERE school instructor. She broke out of her holding cell at the camp and found Ty’s campsite out in the woods a few miles away. Then he turned her back in.”

  “Crazy story.”

  “I know, right? I’m more scorched earth with stuff like that. I’d have kicked his ass if I ever crossed paths with him again, but Megan’s more forgiving than me. And you know what? I think he suits her.”

  “I wasn’t sure what to think at first, but now that I’ve spent some time with them and watched them together, I agree.”

  “I’m happy for her. But if your friend breaks her heart, he’s gonna wind up on my hit list.”

  Heath chuckled, the low sound wrapping around her. “Ty won’t hurt her. He’s a good guy and he adores her.”

  “I hope it works out for them.”

  He shot her a curious look. “You’ve got your doubts already?”

  “Well, yeah. Long-term, committed relationships aren’t part of our skill set, if you catch my drift. But I really want it to work for them. Megan’s awesome and she deserves to be happy.” Maybe Megan could “break the cycle”, so to speak, and have something resembling a normal life.

  “I know Ty. I’m willing to bet they beat the odds.”

  Chloe cast him a shocked look. “Oh my God, you’re a Boy Scout and a romantic?”

  A wry smile tugged at his mouth, making her want to do some tugging of her own on it—with her teeth. “No one’s ever accused me of being a romantic before. And I’m pretty sure you said yourself the other night that I might not be such a Boy Scout after all.” He raised a dark eyebrow.

  Oh, damn, he was sexy, for a Boy Scout. Or maybe because of it. And that little prelude he’d given her on the couch the other night suggested he probably liked control in bed. Arousal slid through her at the thought. She’d had to be in control her entire life. If she ever got into bed with him, she wanted to be able to let go completely just once, to see what it was like. Based on what she’d seen so far, she’d bet he could light her up like an incendiary cord.

  “So I’m curious. Why explosives?” he asked as they continued walking. They’d passed the shops and restaurants now. From here the footpath continued along the edge of the lake, past homes and parkland.

  “Because they’re cool.”

  He huffed out a laugh. “To some people, I guess they are. Why to you?”

  She thought about it a moment. “I dunno, there’s something thrilling about controlling the chaos of it. Of knowing what materials to combine, and in what amounts, to get the exact result you want. Every target’s its own challenge, whether it’s bringing down a building, or blowing up a car…or something more precise
. It’s part science, part art.”

  “Did you pick that specialty?”

  “No. I wanted to be a sniper, but my personality wasn’t right for it, and there’s no way I could’ve stayed still long enough anyhow. I’m a wild child, always will be, and my instructors saw that early on. Explosives and demolition aren’t everyone’s jam, but it suits me,” she finished with a shrug.

  “I’ve only ever been on the other side of them and seen the end result. IEDs, mostly. I was lucky I never got hit directly. The worst I had it was getting caught in the blast wave a couple times. Rung my bell and then some. A lot of other guys weren’t as fortunate.”

  There was something underlying his words, something that made her think he’d lost people close to him that way, but she wasn’t sure and wasn’t going to ask. “It’s been an ugly war. I don’t use IEDs often, by the way. Too uncertain, too much risk of collateral damage. I prefer much more precise methods, to make sure no one gets hit but my target.”

  He looked over at her, his expression genuinely curious. “What did you use the other night?”

  “Rigged his furnace with a charge that made it look like a gas leak. Of course they’ll know it wasn’t an accident, because the body was bound.”

  Heath shook his head. “I can’t decide if I’m a little scared, or impressed.”

  “You can be both, I won’t judge.”

  His chuckle warmed her from the inside out. “Okay, then I’m both.”

  They lapsed into quiet after that, and it was just as nice as the conversation had been. Most people felt the need to fill silence with talk. Heath knew who he was, and was totally comfortable with himself.

  But she hadn’t been kidding when she’d told him she was a wild child. Her entire life she’d had to work at suppressing that chaotic side of herself, although right now, she didn’t have to.

  She decided to shake him up a little and see how he handled it.

  They walked for another fifteen minutes or so, until they came to a spot where the footpath split, one side continuing down the lake and the other heading back in a loop to town. She stayed on the lakeside path, and chose her spot a few hundred yards up. This area was deserted, and no longer lit by streetlamps. A quarter moon gave just enough light for her to make out his features as he walked beside her.

  “Let’s stop here,” she said, leaving the path and heading for the edge of the lake. She crossed the grass and stopped on the pebbles, mere feet from water, taking in the way the moonlight shimmered on the surface. “Wonder how cold it is?”

  “Cold.”

  “Hmm.” She took off her jacket, toed off her boots.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, shock in his voice.

  “Seeing how cold it is.”

  “What? It’s freezing.”

  Ignoring him, she reached for the hem of her sweater and pulled it over her head, then undid her jeans and shimmied out of them, immediately followed by her underwear.

  “Holy shit…” He stepped toward her, glancing around them, as if afraid someone might see her.

  Not worried in the least, she wound her hair into a knot at the top of her head, braced herself, then took the plunge. She yelped as she ran into the water up to her hips, then bent at the waist and dove the rest of the way in, keeping her head above water.

  Laughing, she spun around to face him. “Yep, it’s cold.” She cocked her head. He was still standing at the edge, gaping at her like she’d lost her mind. “You coming in, or what?”

  “No.”

  Chloe grinned and arched a taunting eyebrow. “What’s the matter, you shy? You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.”

  She’d been counting on his ego kicking in, and he didn’t disappoint her.

  With a grudging half-smile, he pulled off his boots and jacket, then yanked off his shirt, giving her a lovely view of his powerfully built chest, arms, and shoulders in the pale moonlight. Then it got even better when he stripped out of his jeans, leaving him in a pair of snug, black boxer briefs that hugged his muscled thighs.

  He ran into the water, dove and a second later, surfaced right in front of her. “Jesus Christ, it’s freezing,” he gasped out, giving her an accusing glare.

  Grinning, she wound her legs around his waist and slid her arms around his neck. “Don’t worry, I’ll help warm you up.” She kissed him, swore she started to melt when he reached one hand around to cup her ass, the other holding the back of her head, a low sound rumbling up from his chest.

  Most guys would have plundered now, taking as much as they could get. Heath didn’t. Instead he seemed determined to drive her out of her skin with need. He took his time, kissing her like a man bent on giving her pleasure, stroking, caressing, not rushing her despite the cold temperature of the water.

  A minute in, he lifted his head to gaze down at her, a sardonic smile playing around the edges of his mouth. “I think I’m numb from the neck down. You?”

  “Uh oh, shrinkage?” She reached a hand between them to cup his groin, making him choke out a laugh. “Hmm, if this is you without any circulation, I’m looking forward to seeing you naked when you’re warmer.”

  With that she darted away and dashed out of the water. His splashing footsteps gave her a few seconds’ warning as she raced up the slight bank toward her clothes, then she was spun around and pinned to a tall, hard male body. This time his mouth came down on hers with single-minded intent. A man staking a claim.

  Chloe sighed and allowed her body to relax into his, those strong, solid arms banded around her, chasing away the chill of the cold air on her wet skin.

  On a low groan, Heath broke the kiss and gathered her to him, tucking her head into the curve of his shoulder. “If I wasn’t so worried about your core temp and public indecency charges, I’d get on my knees right here and warm you up from the inside with my tongue,” he muttered against the side of her neck.

  Chloe shivered, and not just from the cold, totally on board with that plan. In spite of her chilled skin, her insides were raging hot. Arousal raced through her, settling in a relentless ache between her legs as she imagined his lips and tongue stroking her aroused flesh.

  The shrill ringing of her phone pierced the quiet. Damn. Only three people had the number, so it must be important. And he was right, they needed to get dressed and warmed up. “Ah, hell. I’d better check that.”

  She pulled away and fished her phone from her jacket pocket as she began getting dressed. “It’s Megan. Probably wondering what happened to us.”

  She hurriedly tugged on her clothes—no easy feat trying to drag denim up wet legs. When she turned to Heath, he was already dressed and reaching for his jacket. But she still remembered exactly what he’d looked like with all those muscles covered in brushstrokes of moonlight.

  “Hey,” she said when Megan answered, rubbing her free hand over her arm. “You calling to make sure we’re both still alive?”

  “No, I feel pretty confident you two could take care of yourselves if any assassins followed you from the quaint Bavarian restaurant,” Megan answered with a laugh. “You coming back to the house soon?”

  “Maybe.” She looked back at Heath, who stood watching her, wishing they could have more time alone together. This had been fun and magical. She’d never forget it. “Why?”

  “I’ve been in contact with Kiyomi back at base. Thanks to a few leads we’ve been following, I think we might have a possible location on your suspected Valkyrie. Her name’s Eden. Can you come have a look at what we’ve got?”

  Snapping back into operator mode, Chloe motioned for Heath to follow her and started for the path. “We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Back at Laidlaw Hall, Kiyomi stood next to Amber in an upstairs bedroom recently converted into an office. A bank of computers was spread out before them on the wide desk as they talked to Trinity via a highly secure video chat on the laptop in the center.

  “Is Megan bringing Chloe back here?”
Amber asked.

  “Not yet,” Trinity answered, only her head and shoulders visible. The former Valkyrie was back in the U.S. right now, working with “retired” NSA legend Alex Rycroft and the small team he’d put together there to help find the other Valkyries. Trinity was the eldest, and Kiyomi and the others looked up to her as the unofficial team leader. “Chloe won’t come on board until she’s rescued a shipment of women being trafficked out of North Africa into France.”

  Kiyomi’s stomach clamped tight at the mention of the human trafficking, but Trinity continued.

  “Megan’s feeding us details as she can. She and Ty are staying with Chloe to assist, along with Ty’s friend.”

  “The former PJ,” Amber said.

  “Yes. We’ve vetted him thoroughly. Everything checks out, so he’s on board with us for the time being. Now,” Trinity continued, her deep blue eyes focusing on Kiyomi through the screen. “You think Chloe may have had contact with one of our kind over the past few months?”

  Kiyomi stepped a little to the right so the webcam could get a better angle on her, aware of the way Amber watched her with interest. “Yes. I think it’s Eden.” She was almost positive it was.

  Trinity’s expression never changed. “Why do you think that?”

  “Gut feeling. The timeline and everything Chloe said lines up with it being Eden.”

  “Because?”

  “Last I heard a few years ago, Eden was doing jobs in North Africa. Her appearance and fluent French would make her blend in perfectly there. If that’s where Dubois is shipping these women from, then it’s even more likely Eden knows about it and got involved with what Chloe’s been doing.”

  “How do you know her?” Trinity asked.

  “We were trained together in certain areas. CQB, self-defense, seduction techniques. The program cadre had already decided we were the right candidates for going after targets up close and personal. Soon after we finished that second training phase, she was moved into toxins, and I was moved into…more intimate things.”

  Trinity nodded, her deep blue eyes serious and full of understanding. “Ah.”