by April Hunt
White-hot rage burned through Cade’s veins.
He jumped up and was in the former CIA operative’s face before anyone else could move. “And you fucking left her there? After she saved your ass, you left a thirteen-year-old girl with those fucking bastards?”
“Cade! Stop!” Grace jimmied her way between them, her hands prying him away. “Stop!”
“Who the fuck do you think found her father’s family and dropped her off on their doorstep?” Winston glared back, not in the least bit threatened by his anger. “Grace was five when that bitch of a mother took her away from them. You think she knew their names, much less their address? Hell, she barely remembered that there might be someone out there who cared about her other than me. Unlike another person in this room, I don’t run away at the first sign of a challenge.”
Winston meant him. There wasn’t a doubt in Cade’s mind.
Before he said something he couldn’t take back, Cade grabbed his coat and stormed out into the freezing cold.
Grace had been a huge part of his world for seventeen years, and she’d been the other half of his heart for nine of them, yet she’d never trusted him as much as she seemed to trust Winston.
How the fuck could he fix that?
Cade’s previous jealousy over Grace’s nonexistent relationships with other FBI agents had nothing on the raw resentment that ate away at him now.
Inside the cabin, Grace bellowed at Winston in typical Steele fashion, but the tongue-lashing didn’t bring Cade any joy. He stayed far away from the ominous third step and leaned heavily on the porch’s railing, the wood biting into his bare palms. Fuck, he couldn’t feel it anyway, the freezing cold numbing his skin.
An undeterminable amount of time later, Grace stepped outside. Her gaze settled on him like an anvil before her hesitant steps scraped against the porch. “He shouldn’t have said that about you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s nothing I haven’t berated myself for a million times in the last nine years,” Cade said truthfully.
He mentally prepped himself to confront the judgment in her eyes, or the anger, but when he turned toward her, he saw neither. She’d folded her arms protectively over her chest and stared into the woods.
“Why didn’t you tell me any of that?” Cade wasn’t sure he was ready to hear the answer, but he asked anyway. “About the night you left? How many times did I hold you through those nightmares, and you never once said anything more than ‘it’s over now.’ Did you not trust me even back then?”
“It had nothing to do with not trusting you and everything to do with not trusting me,” Grace said softly. She turned, leaning her butt on the railing, and met his questioning look with a shrug. “Cults like the OND use the knowledge that you, the good little flock member, gave them, and they turn it into a weapon. They use it to control you, sometimes so effortlessly that you don’t even realize it’s happening until it’s too late to take it back.”
That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
He clenched his teeth until his jaw ached. “And you thought that’s what I’d do to you? That I’d use it to bend you to my will or something?”
“You were the last person who’d do that…but letting my guard down with you made it easier for others to piggyback in too. Trust makes a person vulnerable, Cade, and I wasn’t about to risk trusting the wrong people again. Look what almost happened to Rhett when I did.”
“You can’t blame yourself for the actions of someone else. Todd never should’ve roped you into his issues, and I’m pretty sure we all agree that Rossbach promoting that kind of violence is all sorts of fucked up. And don’t get me started on your mother.”
Grace emitted a humorless snort. “Thank God I take after my father, right?”
“Did she really drag you to the Reconditioning Center?”
“I had the bald patches to prove it. And you should’ve seen her face when I begged her to leave with me. You’d think I’d asked her to cut her still-beating heart from her chest.”
Cade cursed. “Your mother doesn’t have a heart.”
“You won’t hear me say anything different.” She cleared her throat, glancing back toward the cabin. “After talking to Rhett, I think I can come up with a plan of attack for getting Tank and Jaz accepted by the recruiters. It’s not perfect. We don’t know if Rossbach’s looking for the same thing he was when Sarah Brandt joined, but it’s more than we had before. And now we have this…for when we do get our official invite.”
Grace held up a thin piece of plastic. It looked like a nondescript credit card, blank except for a thin white stripe.
Cade took it and examined it front and back. “What’s this?”
“Something that might open a few doors for us while on the compound. Rhett swiped it from Rossbach’s office before Todd duped him into going to that cabin. We just have to hope that Rossbach’s as allergic to technology as he was seventeen years ago and things haven’t been updated too much.”
“So we have some kind of access card that may or may not work and a plan to paint Tank and Jaz as people with an axe to grind?”
Grace nodded. “Or electric power saws. The time for subtlety is over.”
Chapter
Five
Ten minutes into the staged protest and Hunter “Tank” Dawson and former Marine sniper Jaz Curva had already worked up a good crowd. Passing tourists stopped and watched, and a few hopped into the chant of “People Before Politics” with little urging from Jaz up on the makeshift stage.
Watching the camera feeds on Tank’s and Jaz’s persons, Grace nodded, impressed. “They’re good.”
Sitting next to her in the back of the surveillance van, Roman grunted. “That’s why we hired them. When they stop trying to purposefully piss each other off, they work well together.”
Liam messed with the video controls and zoomed the cameras a little closer in to the action. “Sounds a lot like two other people we know. What are their names again? Blade and Trace? Or something like that.”
Grace stopped her finger tapping and shot him a glare. “That wasn’t exactly subtle, Liam.”
“Good. Then I’m not losing my touch. And I’m not wrong.”
He wasn’t. Which was why she clamped her mouth shut.
On the way to Rhett’s mountain, she’d been nervous about Rhett and Cade meeting. She’d worked hard making sure her past never collided with her present. No one knew every sordid detail about her history with New Dawn except her therapist, and only after Grace found one she knew wouldn’t give her sympathy or, worse, pity.
Cade now knew about the night she’d escaped, and the sky hadn’t fallen down on her head, and not only that, he hadn’t looked at her any differently. A small weight had been lifted off her shoulders, one she hadn’t known was there until it suddenly felt easier to breathe, even during their close-quarters drive back to DC.
She wasn’t sure how long the temporary truce would last, but she hoped it was a lot longer than their last few.
“So where did this down-with-the-patriarchy approach come from?” Liam asked, turning back to the monitors. “I mean it’s good, but we wouldn’t have thought of this on our own.”
“I wouldn’t have either if it weren’t for Sarah’s deleted social media posts. Once Brandt handed over the missing pieces, it was pretty easy to see which direction we needed to go.”
“That’s it? No other epiphany-inducing activities? Mental exercises? Or…physical ones?”
Grace slowly spun in her chair, and as expected, her cousin was struggling to swallow his laughter. “What exactly are you asking?”
“You to obviously kick his ass,” Roman answered for him. “Man, leave it alone.”
Liam chuckled. “Where’s the fun in that? But since you asked, dear cousin, I was referring to the fact that you and Cade went off all night last night and only resurfaced this morning. And with a brand new plan of attack. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”
“Roman’s right. You do want a swift k
ick in the ass. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
The van’s back door opened, and Cade climbed inside. “Tell me you guys see something that I don’t out there. It’s been two hours, and the recruiters haven’t moved more than three feet.”
Grace reached for the bottle of aspirin, a headache forming behind her eyes. “This isn’t working. They’re not making an approach. It isn’t enough.”
Liam shook his head. “What more can Jaz and Tank do?”
“Nothing. They’re doing everything that I asked. It’s just not what Rossbach wants.”
“Then what does he want?”
Grace rubbed her temples. He wanted power. He wanted influence. He wanted the kind of influence that gave him power over others. The answer suddenly kicked her in her own ass.
“He wants to win.”
“Like what? A fucking card game?”
“The adoration of others. Of everyone.” Grace shoved down nerves that rose the second she realized what had to happen. She slowly stood and prepared herself for the arguments she was about to get. “Especially of the one that got away…the one he couldn’t win over.”
Silence took over the back of the van for three entire seconds as her words sunk in.
“No way,” Liam broke it.
“There’s got to be another option,” Roman added.
“Not a chance in fucking hell,” Cade growled.
“If I don’t show myself, then we don’t have a chance in fucking hell.” Grace took her time staring both cousins dead in the eye before turning to a red-faced Cade. “Teague Rossbach’s an opportunist, but lucky for us, he’s also a narcissist. Failure isn’t an option for him because it makes him look bad in front of his adoring followers. And how does a cult leader fail?”
“He loses one of his flock.”
“Exactly. With me coming back, he’d seem even more powerful, both to himself and to his people.” Grace tugged on her coat to give her hands something to do.
Roman scrubbed a hand over his face and cursed. “I don’t like it. At all.”
“You don’t have to like it for it to be the only logical solution.”
Lord knew she didn’t.
Seventeen years of freedom, of living life on her own terms, was about to end. Even if her stint in the OND was temporary, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the repercussions would be lasting.
She couldn’t let that stop her. If she did, she’d not only be failing Sarah Brandt but herself. She’d be giving Rossbach and New Dawn power over her all over again.
No. Way. In. Freaking. Hell.
“You guys brought me here to help you find a way to get on the inside. This is it. We can’t let this chance pass us by.” She put Liam in her crosshairs, and her cousin flinched.
“Shit. I don’t like it when you look at me like that. What do you need me to do?”
“Alter my background. Keep things as close to the truth as possible.”
“That’s not a problem, but what do you want to do with your service record? I can’t make your years with the FBI disappear.”
“Saddle me with a disciplinary action or two.” A small smile slid to her face. “There’s probably already one or two there to work with. And we’ll bring Director Vance in and see if she has any additional ideas.”
“Okay. Sure. I’ll get on it.”
Cade shifted his body in front of the exit. “Can we think about this for one extra minute?”
Grace shrugged. “I already thought about it last night and this morning. It was always one of the fallbacks in case things didn’t go the way we hoped. And newsflash, that’s exactly the point we’re at right now.”
“Good of you to clue us the hell in, but you even said it a few seconds ago…we brought you in. That doesn’t mean you suddenly get to change the rules on the fly.”
She tilted the badge on her hip for him to see. “This right here says that I can. Where’s yours? Oh, that’s right. You don’t have one anymore.”
They stared each other down, neither one willing to break first.
Cade cursed and turned to Liam. “Fudge up my background to go along with hers.”
Grace’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”
“Because when you designed this operation, you made it a two-person undercover-lover assignment.”
Shit. She did. Being a dark op meant no comms and no link to the outside. It was too dangerous for a single operative, which meant—
A slow smile spread on Cade’s face, telling her he realized what she did.
“That’s right, Special Agent Steele. Tank’s out of the running because he’s already been seen with Jaz, so unless you’re willing to give the term kissing cousins a new definition, I’m the only available choice to be your second.”
Liam coughed. “I think I threw up in my mouth a little.”
“Shut up, Liam,” Grace and Cade said simultaneously.
Grace sighed. She hadn’t thought that far ahead, but backtracking wasn’t an option. As much as she hated the idea of flaunting herself in front of New Dawn, it needed to happen. And it needed to happen with Cade by her side.
Literally.
“Fine,” she said reluctantly. “We’re a couple. But bring your lips within an inch of mine, and I won’t hesitate to bite them off your face.”
A mischievous glint flickered in Cade’s gaze as it dropped to her mouth and back. “I’m not opposed to a little biting, if you remember. I know I remember you being pretty fond of my lips…among a certain few other attributes.”
Roman cursed. “Now I threw up in my mouth.”
Grace ignored them all and, after tossing Roman her badge, reached for the door. “Call your contact at DCPD and have them come in and break up the protest in about fifteen minutes. In the meantime, we need to go out there and literally show my face.”
“You think they’ll recognize you?” Roman asked.
“I think that I resemble my mother enough that they’ll be encouraged to make an approach. Once they do, I’ll hit them with the name.” For the first time in her life, being Rebecca Steele’s daughter was going to get Grace what she wanted.
Cade muttered under his breath. “I can’t believe I’m letting this happen.”
“It’s cute that you think you have any say in it.” Grace ignored the hand he offered and hopped out of the van. “Fifteen minutes,” she reminded her cousins. “Give Cade and me enough time to poke our noses around the protest.”
“Got it.” Roman was already dialing his cell and gave them a quick look. “But I’m putting in my formal Not It when it comes to telling Knox about this hare-brained idea.”
Cade closed the van, and then the two of them crossed the street toward George Washington Park. Twenty yards away, Tank and Jaz were still going strong, and the New Dawn Seekers loitered around the outskirts. Watching.
Despite the quickly dropping temps, people filled the park, some walking, some bundled up and playing on the grassy knoll. It wouldn’t be much longer until the area would be hit with their first snowstorm or, worse, ice.
Nothing brought the nation’s capital to a standstill more than slick roadways.
“Over there.” Grace veered left toward the mobile coffee truck that would put them in direct sightline of the Seekers.
Not even chocolate would chase away the sudden angry mob of butterflies in her stomach, but it was worth a try. She waited for her turn, and when it came, Cade’s arm handed the barista a twenty from over her shoulder. “Two large hot chocolates. Extra whip.”
Grace tossed him a glare before turning back to the teen. “And I’ll take a large coffee—on him. Black. No sugar.”
The girl’s attention bounced between them. “So two large hot chocolates with cream and a naked black coffee?”
Cade shook his head, amused. “I guess make it one hot chocolate.”
“Got it.”
“I thought—and I’m pretty sure this is a direct quote—‘black coffee is just another name for battery acid.’
Since when do you do coffee?”
Grace’s chin lifted in defiance. “Since I decided I wanted a coffee and not a hot chocolate.”
After graciously thanking the young woman, she locked her eyes on him from over the rim of her hot cup and took her first sip. Battery acid would have been an improvement, but she forced herself to swallow, nearly gagging.
Cade smirked knowingly. “Good?”
“Mmm. Just what I needed.” She stepped closer to the iron railing separating the park from the river.
“Sure you don’t want to switch?” He offered her his foam-laden hot chocolate, and her mouth salivated.
Was that cinnamon? “I’m good.”
A swift breeze blew in off the Potomac River. Grace tugged her hat further over her head, but hair escaped the knit cap and swirled around her shoulders. Before she could corral it, Cade’s hand caught the loose strand and slowly tucked it behind her ear.
His fingers, gloveless, stroked along her cheek a little longer than necessary, and his gaze strayed down to her mouth. She licked it on reflex and heard him suck in a soft breath. “You’re killing me here, Gracie.”
She pretended she didn’t hear him. That was all she could do, because if she let herself fall into that conversation, she’d end up with her lips fused to his. If what happened six months ago proved anything, it was that her brain wasn’t attached to her body.
Logically, she’d known that falling back on old habits—and naked fun-time with Cade—was a horrible idea. But she also knew from experience how that horrible idea never failed to make her eyes roll back in her head and her body scream for more.
For her and Cade, sex had never been a problem, except for the months he’d been deployed. But then on his first weekend back, they’d always made up for lost time. There was one distinct R and R where her cousins drew straws to see who had to show up at her dorm to make sure they were still alive.
Liam still claimed the image of Cade’s naked ass was burned onto his retinas.