Directly across the hall from them the door opened and Jackson stood there in shorts rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. “Don’t you two ever sleep? If you’re gonna fight, go outside or something.”
“Good, you’re here. I don’t want to explain this again.” Jas beckoned him over.
Jackson scowled at her and the grogginess fell away from him as his eyes narrowed. Abruptly he strode across the hall, taking her arm he turned her a bit to examine her side. Soon as Jackson touched her, Blaster was on his feet. Realizing what Jackson was doing, he leaned in to have a look too. Jackson grunted and let her go.
“I told you it was just a scratch,” Jas hissed.
“If you’d bothered to tell me about it in the plane, we could have avoided the nasty scene last night,” Jackson retorted, obviously not as repentant as Blaster.
“Okay. You’ve had your look.” Jas frowned and waved a hand dismissively. She was about to continue but the thunderous expression on Blaster’s face was comical as he interrupted.
“That’s it?!” Blaster demanded indignantly. “He’s the one who said it and he gets an ‘okay’ while I have to sleep on the floor?”
“You could have slept in there with him, Huck,” Jas shot back, indicating Jackson’s door across the hall. “No one said you had to sleep on the floor.”
“Hell no!” both men responded.
Jas laughed softly, her eyes dancing at the two disgruntled male faces. Happiness radiated off her. “Come in here, both of you.”
Scooping up his bag from beside her door, Blaster let her grab his other arm and drag him in her door with Jackson on his heels.
As the door shut, she beamed at them. Jas explained. “Jose just called me on the ranch line. He’d gotten a call from Liana. She’s alive but thought I was dead.”
“What? She’s alive? Those weren’t her fingers?” Blaster demanded.
“No. She was a little out of control at first and wouldn’t believe I’m alive. Jose said she couldn’t be convinced he’d just seen me. I think she knows who the bad guy is and went into hiding. She’s somewhere in Kansas. She was calling him because she didn’t know where to turn and needed some help. Jose rang me just before he stepped out the door to go get her.
“She said something about some sort of threatening message left with her mother. Liana’s gone deep cover. Jose doesn’t know the whole story so he couldn’t understand what she meant by most of it.”
“He can join the fucking crowd,” Jackson sighed. “What is happening?”
“Okay, okay, I’ll explain it as clearly as I can. After an evening at a club in Atlanta with Liana, I woke in a room I didn’t recognize, tied to a bed. In the room was a Marine officer—Robert Larkin—and my friend Liana Allacosta. Liana was bound in a sex swing. Larkin had his back to me. Liana was unconscious and bleeding and he appeared to be trying to get her out of the swing. It was obvious that I was coming out of some drug-induced state that he’d expected to last much longer. My bindings were knotted leather straps and easily escaped. Waking up restrained and naked gave me the adrenaline push to get out of there.
“I disabled Larkin, cut Liana out of the swing and pulled on some clothes. She was still unconscious and bleeding. There was a digital video camera on a tripod and I took the disk out of it, wrapped Liana in a blanket and took Larkin’s keys. Getting her to the hospital was my first priority. We were in a cabin in the north Georgia foothills.
“Using the evidence I’d confiscated coupled with the medical records which included semen samples as leverage, we both secured an honorable discharge. I was aware neither of us would live long if we tried for a court-martial so we gave copies of the disk and a full account of events as we knew them to a trusted attorney along with the medical records. Copies were made to be sent to the press should anything happen to one or both of us.
“As you know, I’ve become an actress. I’m also heavily involved in abused women’s charities.
“I incorrectly assumed Larkin was getting nervous because both Liana and I are becoming public figures. Liana runs a woman’s center that just received several awards and is getting national attention. My film career is rising. If we choose to level charges now with evidence in hand, he couldn’t quietly kill us.
“The truth is, the visual evidence I took that night isn’t conclusive. DNA on the semen samples would be but I’d have to have a matching sample. I’m now aware that match would not be Larkin. The man on the disk wears a ski mask and though his body type is similar to Larkin’s, the only defining features are a couple discolorations on his back and legs. If it’s enhanced, there might be a scar of some sort on his body. It wasn’t something either Liana or I were interested in pursuing.
“My first indication of real trouble was the news report yesterday that a plane went down in the Everglades killing everyone aboard. Our lawyer who held the evidence was on that plane. Like us, his situation has changed and risen rapidly and he’s now part of that presidential commission or whatever. When we were in the Laundromat, I tried to reach Liana but could only contact her mother who said she’d been missing for two days.
“One of the few things I remembered about the interior of the cabin from my first visit was seeing a shelf of disks like the one I pulled out of the camera. Yesterday it seemed someone was playing an ‘end game’ with me. Even you guys knew Larkin probably was not the mark. He was the cleanup boy.
“You both know I wasn’t supposed to leave the cabin. The yard around it was a minefield. Even if I’d gotten out of the house before it blew, I shouldn’t have made it across the minefield.
“Now you know everything I do. The good news is Liana’s alive and Jose is on his way to her. Bad Guy thinks I’m one of the bodies in the Georgia foothills.”
“They were close enough for her to trust him completely like this? She’d still have his cell phone number?” Blaster asked.
“Yeah. That’s why we were out drinking that night. Jose had just broken up with her because she refused to commit. Actually she was drinking. I was baby-sitting. I only had one drink. Then these two cute guys came up. She was dancing with one of them and the other offered to get me another drink. It was iced tea, for God’s sake. I figure he put something in it.”
“You think she knows who the real threat is?” Jackson asked this time.
“She has to. That’s what changed, made it time to finish the game. The drug worked differently on her than me. She’s been getting flashbacks. I knew it’d only be a matter of time before she remembered everything. But the guy had that ski mask on. I didn’t think she’d be able to identify him. Course I thought I already knew who it was anyway. We weren’t worried about that part.”
“Shit!” Blaster spat out the curse. If the Liana woman did know who the threat was, her life was in the wind. It seemed she was smart enough to know it and had gone to ground immediately. The play with the fingers had been a blind and accomplished exactly what it’d been intended to. Bad Guy must know Liana hadn’t been in contact with Jas and he’d planned to have his game over before anyone realized Liana was alive. That meant he had surveillance capabilities. He had to be monitoring Jas’ cell phone.
“You need to get out of sight. The people who know you’re alive can be trusted but I don’t want anyone else to see you,” Blaster concluded.
“What are my options? Staying out of sight here shouldn’t be too difficult. Problem is, we don’t know what the chances are of Bad Guy making the connection between Liana and Jose. And we sure don’t want to bring this battle to these folks,” Jas pointed out.
“Yeah, we can’t stay here until we know more about who we’re dealing with,” Blaster agreed.
“Time to be pirates,” Jackson said to Blaster with a crooked grin. “He sure as hell doesn’t know about that place.”
“Right,” Blaster agreed.
“Pirates? What are you two talking about?”
“The Glades have always belonged to the Seminoles,” Blaster explain
ed, “but it’s also a handy place to disappear. Pirates have long known the value of disappearing. Ever been on an airboat ride?”
“No.” Jas shifted to look at Blaster. Her brows went up at his gleeful face. “I’m guessing it’s fast, dangerous and therefore fun?”
“It can be. Let’s go.”
“Where do we get a boat?” Jas wanted to know.
“At the dock.” Blaster laughed then he sobered. “You need some downtime, Jas. I need to look after you. Let’s both get what we need, just for a little bit. Let’s steal time away from it. Tomorrow your friend will join us and we can figure what to do.” A rakish grin spread across Blaster’s face. “Come on, matey. We’ve a pirate’s booty and a pirate’s watery path to take. Get dressed so we can get out of here while it’s still dark.”
“We’re pirates now?” Jas laughed.
“Jackson, go raid the kitchen for some supplies, we’ll be down in a few minutes. Let Gray know what’s up and tell the others what you need to to keep them quiet. Rem will know how to get ahold of Jose. When Liana gets here, we can meet up and go over what we have and who this person is.”
Jackson turned to the door. “Get a move on you two. No time for kissy face.” He was gone, sprinting down the hall.
The time for modesty was gone. They needed clothes on fast to beat the sunrise. Jas stripped out of the leggings and sports bra while walking to her own bag. Behind her there was a low-timbre growl.
“See something you like, Huckleberry?” Jas asked as she plucked panties and a bra out of the clean laundry. Turning to face him with the two items in hand, she stepped into the panties first then straightened to slide on the bra.
If a man’s eyes could burn, his were. He hadn’t stopped moving for a second, nor did he take his eyes off her body. “Oh yeah, Sheena. I see something I need to lick from head to toe again and again. You enjoying this? You didn’t have to strip.” His voice vibrated with the sincerity of his need.
Looking at this woman naked and not being able to touch her was about as close to hell as Blaster wanted to come. Perfection in a live body was almost more than a man could bear. Damn well more than he could deal with. If she wasn’t already as involved with him as he could get her, he would have had to shoot someone. Or blow something up. Time to touch her was becoming as urgent a need as keeping her alive.
Enjoying her soul made it painful. If she’d just been a beautiful body, he could have relaxed. But she was more. She was Jas. A complex creature who fascinated him. She challenged his world, his point of view, his very soul. The wildcat in her seduced the insane beast within him so completely that he was breathless with awe sometimes. She met and matched him. Mate, whispered through his mind again. Close on its heels the logical side of his brain inserted, We are so screwed.
The bra in place, Jas cupped her full breasts to adjust the fit. Not that she really needed to, she did it to see him jerk as he tried to get his boots on and not look down. “Yeah, it’s part of your punishment.” She chuckled softly. “You need to be sorry and this is the best I can do in the circumstances. You’d better start convincing me you’re really sorry about last night and that it’ll never happen again.” Jas stepped into a pair of jeans that rode low on her hips. A tank top quickly followed.
Blaster was done with clothes and boots, he was about done stashing the guns and knives as Jas started the process. “Baby, we don’t have enough time for me to list the ways I am sorry at this moment. Sorry we never have time. Sorry I lost my mind. Sorry you got sucked into this…”
Jas glanced at him sharply as she holstered the guns. “The attack was not your fault. Do you think you put me in danger? I was there long before I knew a thing about you.”
“It escalated the moment I stepped into the picture and started poking around. I wanted him to see me, know the Unit was involved. I had Gray do a computer search and do it loud. The point was to give the bastard a reason to get nervous. Yeah, it could be my fault.”
“Get over it, Huck. This would have gone down without you. Just so happens, I get to remain alive in the version that includes you so don’t expect me to feed your need for guilt. What is that anyway?”
Blaster held the door for her. They both carried a duffel bag as they strode down the hall. “Beats the hell outta me. Guilt is new to me but I seem to be getting acquainted with it since I met you. First in the truck when you were alone in battle because I wasn’t there and now this. Stop it.”
“Stop it?” They entered the kitchen. “Stop what? I just told you to quit it,” Jas snapped at the frowning man beside her.
Jackson glanced up as he zipped an insulated bag of food. “Why is it every time you two appear you’re either killing each other or climbing each other?”
Jas handed Blaster her duffle bag and grabbed the food bag. “Because Samuel is a sensitive, high-maintenance boy toy.”
Jackson barked out a laugh.
Blaster scowled as they all headed out the kitchen door. “Boy toy? Don’t you have to toy with me some for me to be one of those? I’m your boyfriend and I’m not high maintenance. I’m willing to sleep on the floor, remember that? That shit is damn low maintenance.”
Jas shook her head as they piled into the Escalade that was still parked at the kitchen door. “See how he is?” she commented to Jackson as both she and Blaster took the seat behind the driver’s.
“Then why are you back there with him when you could be spending time with a real man like me?” Jackson wanted to know as he started the vehicle and pulled away from the house without turning on lights.
“Because we need you to live long enough to drive us to the dock,” Blaster growled, his arm sliding around Jas. “You keep getting confused, Jack. First it was the deep cover concept and now your ability to survive touching Jas.”
Jackson chuckled as the nearly silent vehicle glided through the half-light before dawn. “Is it safe to let you two go off alone? Will there be two live bodies when it’s time to come back? It’s hard to tell which way you guys are headed.”
“Don’t stress over it. Keeping her alive should be easier if there isn’t anyone blowing things up,” Blaster responded.
Jackson raised a brow. “You giving up explosives? I thought that was your first lover.”
“Do you see the woman back here with me? I’m not giving up a thing.”
The drive out to the edge of the Sea of Grass was twenty minutes, headlights were flicked on after they left the ranch buildings far behind and out of sight.
The dock was located on ranch property and therefore a private location. There were three airboats in the water and a boathouse with two more in dry dock. Muted early morning rays glinted off massive blades as they pulled the tarp off one. The sun had just risen above the horizon when they loaded into the wide, flat-bottom boat and hotwired it. No one took the time to search for keys. Pulling away, Blaster headed southwest as Jackson pointed the Escalade back to the ranch.
Airboats are fast and loud. They’re powered by man-sized propellers. The blades are housed in a large cage and the bigger the blades, the faster the boat. These were very fast boats. Huge and ugly, they could go more or less anywhere and were created for the Glades.
An hour later the landscape had changed from the Sea of Grass to dense undergrowth and trees. They were following brackish waterways that were only passable to a shallow-bottomed boat like theirs. Jas tried not to map their route as they twisted a mysterious path through the wilderness. She wanted to relax, needed it desperately.
Last night’s dark deeds came with a cost. Exhaustion was the only reason she’d been able to sleep a few hours. Her mind crawled over the events in an endless loop. There had been no choice, had there? She could have taken off in the opposite direction from that cabin. And what? Run away? No. There had been no choice. Even if she’d known those fingers did not belong to Liana, she still would have gone the cabin. The gruesome invitation meant someone had paid a high price to summon her. It was time to stand and fight
the monsters, negotiating with them would be unacceptable. Ignoring them would have been criminal.
She looked over at the man beside her. His face was calm as sunglasses obscured his eyes, adding an air of rakish glamour to his already handsome face.
Trusting him had not been a choice either. It simply was. She’d tried not to but he was a force of nature, irresistible. He offered respect as if it were her right. Never withdrawing it or behaving as if she had to earn it over and over again. He gave it to her by never doubting her abilities, by being unsurprised at her intelligence. It was part of his appeal and inseparable from the mysterious relationship they’d developed.
He had the skills to take over. She knew he could have restrained her any time. Armed to the teeth was one thing. Guile and experience were another. He had them. Yet he’d never seemed to consider that path. The thing that apparently ticked him off was that she hadn’t let him help her. Not once had he demanded the “lead” position. He wanted to stand beside her.
Wanna Play (Ghost Unit, Book Three) Page 15