by Lori Foster
“Arizona,” the guy called out. “You okay?”
That stalled Jackson. They knew each other? He didn’t relax his stance, but he did reevaluate.
Arizona stomped up to the doorway, with Alani not too far behind her.
“Get back inside,” Jackson ordered.
Ignoring him, Arizona glared at the armed man. “What are you doing here, Spence?” she demanded.
“Spencer,” he corrected.
Incredible. Jackson didn’t take his attention off the big man, but their greeting confirmed that they knew each other.
It didn’t explain why the guy was armed, at his door or so conspicuously present during a sting.
“You’re still being followed.” And then with his gaze locked on Jackson, Spencer asked, “You know him?”
Arizona nodded. “Yeah, and if you’re thinking of shooting him, I’d think again.”
“Why?”
“For one thing, it’d just piss him off.”
The guy hesitated, then shook his head and lowered the gun. “That mouth of yours.”
Feeling like a dupe in a play, Jackson kicked out, hitting the guy in the chest. The big man staggered but didn’t fall, and he didn’t drop the gun.
“Jackson,” Arizona wailed.
Wasting no time, Jackson jumped on him, ready to end the farce, but…it didn’t go quite as easy as he expected.
Spencer gave as good as he got.
As they pounded each other on the ground, trading strikes, Alani fretted.
Arizona yelled, “Enough! For the love of God, Spencer, just let him take your weapons, will you?”
Amazingly, Spencer stopped fighting, which allowed Jackson to land a really solid punch to his jaw. He cursed but didn’t fight as Jackson relieved him of a gun, a stun baton and a really nasty switchblade.
“I’m not here to hurt her.”
“Then why?” Jackson put the blade of the knife to Spencer’s throat. “What do you want?”
“To collect a few bounties, one in particular.” Ignoring the knife, he spit blood to the side, then dropped his head back. “Badge is in my back pocket.”
Eyeing him suspiciously, Jackson sat back on Spencer’s thighs, keeping him immobile. “Get it.”
At his ease, Spencer lifted a hip and dug out the badge. He held it up for Jackson.
Huh. Spencer Lark. Looked legit enough. “So you’re a bounty hunter. What does that have to do with me?”
“Not a damned thing.” Spencer came up to one elbow and glanced at Arizona. “But like the fucking Pied Piper, she’s got a string of crooks dogging her heels. I want them.” He gave Jackson a slick smile. “And they’re here.”
“Not yet they aren’t.”
“You’re sure of that?”
“Very sure.” Trace or Dare would have alerted him. “If you’re saying they’ll show up—” which Jackson hoped was the case so he could settle things “—then—”
In the next second, Spencer tossed him back while bounding to his feet.
Impressed—a little—Jackson said, “You’re fast.”
Working his bruised jaw, Spencer said, “Not fast enough, apparently.”
Knowing he was disarmed, Jackson gave him an opportunity to explain. “Let’s hear it, but make it the short version.”
“I’ve been trailing a trafficker for months now.”
Gasping, Arizona said, “Me, too,” making both men lock their jaws.
“I met Arizona at a bar where she shouldn’t have been. The same bastards I’m after now were there that night. Thanks to her, they got away from me.”
“You’re blaming me for that?” Arizona demanded. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have had them!”
Undaunted by her interruption, Spencer continued. “It didn’t take me long to figure out that she uses herself for bait.” Grim-faced, he glared at Arizona. “She knew they were following her, not the other way around.”
When they both stared at her in disapproval, Arizona gave a negligent shrug. “That’s my unique way of cornering someone.”
Jackson wanted to pull out his hair. He felt sick. Defeated. How long had Arizona been playing that game? And how the hell had she survived so long? All that time, while he thought he’d made her safe, she been throwing herself into the path of destruction.
Correctly reading Jackson’s expression, Spencer nodded. “You see my dilemma. I want the bounty—”
“But not with her as a casualty of the process.”
“That’s about it.”
“Hold on.” Keeping Spencer in his sights, Jackson withdrew his cell and put in a call.
Trace picked up. “I take it he’s someone you know?”
“Not me, Arizona. He says he’s a bounty hunter, maybe following the same people we want.”
Wasting no time, Trace asked, “What’s his name?”
“Spencer Lark.”
“Give me ten minutes.”
“Thanks.” Jackson disconnected the call.
Laconic, Spencer asked, “This is an operation?”
“Something like that.”
“Great.” He again glanced around the area before zeroing in on Jackson. “So we can either continue with the pissing contest or we can get inside and make some plans.”
Not for a second did Jackson trust him. He didn’t know him, but he sensed that all the treachery was coming to a head. “Already got a plan.”
“Yeah, well, I hope it includes locking Arizona in a closet. Apparently that’s what it takes to keep her out of trouble.”
That was one taunt too many, and Arizona shocked Jackson by launching herself at the big man.
Rather than dodge her, Spencer appeared to anticipate the move. He caught her to him, swung her up, and Arizona ended up dumped over his shoulder.
When Spencer held her there, Jackson started to react, but seeing how careful he was with her and hearing no complaints from Arizona, he held back.
To Alani, the guy said, “Excuse me,” and he carried Arizona into the apartment.
Shocked by it all, Alani met Jackson’s gaze—and cracked a smile. “Oh, my.”
“It needed only this.” Never trusting things to be what they seemed, he ushered Alani back into the apartment, too. His phone made a sound, and he glanced at it to see a message from Dare.
Three simple letters. WTF?
He shook his head. Seriously. What the fuck was going on?
He couldn’t wait to find out.
SPENCER STOPPED IN THE living room and dropped Arizona down to the couch. With alacrity, he backed away from her.
Alani could understand why. The younger woman appeared more than furious. And it didn’t take a genius to know she had a very short fuse and the audacity to back it up.
Jackson drew her to a halt just inside the front door. He closed it, then leaned back on it. “Why the hell didn’t you stay in the kitchen?”
Though the turn of events had been more than fascinating, Alani turned to Jackson. He had a lot to explain. “Arizona didn’t want to stay.”
He grunted. “If you start following Arizona, you’re going to find yourself dealing with a lot of trouble.”
So much frustrated affection filled his words that Alani smiled and leaned into him.
Perplexed, Jackson said, “I will never understand you.”
“I know.” She let out a sigh. “Jackson, why didn’t you tell me this was all part of a grand plan?”
He surprised her by saying, “I should have. I’m sorry.”
Ever since Arizona had shown up, she’d been caught in a whirlwind of emotions. The way Jackson and Arizona interacted like siblings added new insight to his personality, emphasizing his big heart. He’d taken a wounded, abused girl and made her family.
How could she not love him?
Arizona certainly did. Alani glanced at her again. She was by far the most exotic and the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen.
Long dark curls hung down her back. Smooth caramel-colored skin con
trasted sharply with light blue eyes, fringed by long, lush lashes. Tall and slender, but with Barbie doll curves, Arizona would turn heads wherever she went.
That is, if her “drop dead” attitude didn’t turn people away.
It hadn’t deterred Jackson, and it sure wasn’t deterring Spencer, either. At the moment, he and Arizona were engaged in a furious, whispered debate. Their gazes were hot enough to set the apartment on fire.
She shook her head. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“Gotta roll with the punches. But yeah, I didn’t see this one coming.”
It struck her that Jackson might not be the one to blame this time. “It was Dare and Trace, wasn’t it? They wanted me kept in the dark?”
“They worry about you.” He cupped the side of her face in that tender, attentive way of his. “Doesn’t matter now anyway. Arizona has thrown a kink in the works. Soon as Trace finishes his check on our newcomer, we’ll have to reevaluate everything.”
So now was Jackson’s chance to come clean with her. Would he? “Everything being…?”
Spencer moved away from Arizona. “I’m interested to hear this myself.”
As if gauging Spencer’s reaction, Jackson said, “I knew someone had been after us, but I didn’t know who, and I didn’t even know where to start. Then Arizona told me the same silver BMW that tried to run us off the road had been following her.”
Spencer nodded. “The cocky bastards make it easy for me to spot them in that flashy car.”
Arizona brightened. “So you were going to use me to lure them in?”
“No.” Jackson scowled ferociously. “I would never do anything to endanger you.”
She deflated.
Seeing Arizona’s expression, Alani said, “Jackson loves you. Of course he wouldn’t put you at risk.”
Spencer quirked a brow while Arizona and Jackson stared at her.
Leaning into Jackson again, Alani said, “You’ve never told her that you love her?”
Arizona looked so ill at ease that Alani was ready to clout Jackson if he didn’t give the right answer.
“It’s never come up, but of course I do.” He wrapped an arm around Alani. “Like a kid sister.”
Arizona rolled her eyes, but a dusky rose flushed her skin. Grudgingly, she admitted, “Love you, too.”
Alani noted the lack of a qualifier for Arizona. Did she fancy herself in love with Jackson? Or was love just so alien to her that she couldn’t separate one type from another?
“Great.” Spencer relaxed again. “So if the drama’s over, can we get back to the action?”
Nodding, Jackson took Alani’s hand and led her over to the couch by Arizona. He sat down beside her. “I wouldn’t set you up to be followed, but since you said they were following you anyway, it gives me an opportunity to trap them.”
It all came together for Alani. “The best way to keep everyone safe is to end the threat once and for all.”
“Forever looking over your shoulder, dodging shadows. That’s no way to live.”
“It’s worked for me so far,” Arizona complained. “But whatever. Why don’t I just go out there now and when they come for me, you can grab them?”
“No.”
Spencer said, “Hell, no.”
As if to sway Jackson, Arizona said, “I’ve got my gun.” She lifted up one leg of her jeans to show a black nylon ankle holster fastened around her trim leg with Velcro. She patted it lovingly. “I’ll be fine.”
Livid, Jackson held out a hand. “Give it to me.”
“What? No way.” When Spencer snarled, it prompted Arizona to turn her cannon on him. “You can just be quiet! You have nothing to do with anything.”
Too quick for Arizona to react, Jackson ripped open the Velcro and took the gun and holster from her. He thrust it at Alani.
With two fingers, she held it away from her body. “Um…” Though Trace had taught her to shoot, it still made her uncomfortable to handle a gun. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Just hang on to it for a minute.”
“Oh.” She looked around but saw no place safe to put it. “Okay.”
Taking her compliance for granted, Jackson again caught Arizona’s shoulders. “I have this under control.”
Hoping to help him convince her, Alani said, “I’m sure he does. He’s very good at this sort of thing.”
As the only person squeamish about a gun, Alani got a lot of attention from the other three. Giving a lame smile, she got up to put the gun, holster and all, in her purse.
On the off chance Arizona decided to take it from her, she didn’t want to be a sitting duck.
When Jackson’s phone beeped, he eased out from between the women and moved away to check it. Everyone watched him, anxious for news, but Alani also watched Arizona.
And Arizona was busy watching Spencer with a sort of defiant uncertainty in her demeanor. That particular look told Alani so much.
Though there wasn’t much difference in their ages, Jackson was right—a whole world separated them.
“Your name cleared,” Jackson told Spencer.
Too restless to sit, Spencer prowled around the living room. “Must be one hell of an operation for you to know that already.”
“I get by.”
“You’re not a cop.”
Jackson smiled and, without bothering to reply, moved closer to discuss the situation with Spencer.
While they talked, Alani tried to think of a way to help Arizona. Angry tension radiated off her in waves, gathering force with each second that passed. The awful burden of her hurt kept her confrontational. Alani understood that natural protection mechanism—people couldn’t very well disappoint Arizona if she didn’t care enough to let them.
Insolence, bravado and antagonism hid a lot of pain.
But thanks to Jackson, Alani had finally moved on. Not once had she had a nightmare with Jackson at her side. He filled up her world so completely that it was impossible to dwell on negativity or fear.
He’d saved her.
Now maybe she could help him save Arizona.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
THEY WAITED ALL DAY, and nothing happened. Jackson knew Dare and Trace were more than used to long stake-outs, but as the sun began to sink in the sky, his uneasiness grew.
Through codes, they’d stayed in touch, but kept actual phone conversations to a minimum.
Alani had long ago fixed food for everyone, and she kept refilling his and Spencer’s coffee cups.
But Arizona didn’t eat. She didn’t talk.
What bothered Jackson the most was how she grew edgier with each hour that passed. He’d seen it before, how the strain built until it could break a person. Waiting for fate to fuck you over was never easy. Most people preferred to face an issue head-on.
For someone like Arizona, a woman driven to confront her demons, laying low would be a certain type of hell. He wished for some way to help her, but she’d rejected conversation with everyone, including Alani.
That hadn’t slowed Alani down, though. She’d continued to chat at Arizona every so often as if she weren’t being rebuffed. He admired her optimism, compassion and tenacity.
She looked up, caught him watching her and blew him a kiss.
Amazing Alani.
She hadn’t shown a single sign of jealousy over Arizona. No, she got it. Really got it.
All of it, including Arizona’s emotional wounds.
Jackson knew then, without a shadow of a doubt, that he loved her. And he knew with even more certainty that he didn’t want to be without her. He needed her in his life in a million different ways.
She wanted to experiment and explore her newfound sexuality, so he wouldn’t pressure her. But as soon as they wrapped up this sting, he’d show her how good a life together would be.
Arizona went to a window to look out. “How long are we going to do this?”
Calm personified, Jackson said, “As long as necessary. If it’s getting to you, why do
n’t you take a nap? I know you didn’t get much sleep.”
“Get real.”
Yeah, he couldn’t see Arizona dodging out to rest. “Then put on a movie, or grab a magazine or something. Might as well get comfortable.”
As if it was somehow Spencer’s fault, she shot him an evil look and stalked down the hall in search of reading material.
It was another hour before the call finally came.
Dare this time, not Trace, and he wasted no time sharing his news. “We have them.”
Slowly, Jackson came to his feet. “Details?”
“Two carloads. Seven men. Loaded down with enough weapons to be a small army.”
They’d come prepared. “Any problems?”
Dare ignored that to say, “Trace convinced one of them to talk.”
Yeah, Jackson knew how convincing Trace could be.
“The head guy says you were the main target, but they wanted Arizona almost as much, and Alani, too, if it’d hurt you. They had a sniper rifle. If you’d stepped out again—”
“Or if you hadn’t been keeping watch.” One way or another, they wanted him dead. Too bad he didn’t plan to accommodate them.
“The dumbasses set up about forty yards from us. Trace picked off the shooters first, then I went in with his cover.”
Jackson got such a rush when a plan fell into place. “Have fun?”
“Actually, yeah, I did.”
Jackson glanced back at Spencer. The bounty hunter stood at the alert, willing to forgo the find if necessary but waiting for the verdict.
Jackson asked Dare, “Everyone still alive?”
“More or less.”
“Perfect.” Jackson covered the phone. “How good are you, Spencer?”
Looking even bigger than his nearly six-and-a-half feet, Spencer met Jackson’s gaze dead-on. His mouth barely moved when he said, “I have very personal reasons for making sure they pay.”
“Yeah? I don’t suppose you want to tell me about it?”
“No.”
Because it’d mean he could get back to loving Alani, Jackson accepted that. Speaking into the phone again, he said, “With a little help to ensure no one gets away, we could let the bounty hunter take them off our hands.” And that’d leave them free to wrap up other details.
Dare had a few things to say about that—things Jackson wouldn’t share with his audience. He met Alani’s gaze, stared into her eyes and knew she’d be a problem. “We’ll ensure he follows through.”