by Bonnie Vanak
Kelly’s fingers tingled. The gesture was intimately familiar. Once she’d done the same, running her fingers teasingly through the silk.
Now he’d become a stranger, as intense and deadly as the gun he carried. She’d seen another side of Sam as he’d dropped to one knee, firing with fierce concentration at the shooter on the hill.
He’d help her. That was all that mattered. Kelly wished she’d never dragged Sam into this, risking his career as a SEAL. After all that he’d suffered, she did not want to cause more pain. Sam didn’t deserve this. But she had no one else.
“Thank you for believing me,” she told him as he handed her a bottle of water.
Green blazed in his hazel eyes, searing her with heat.
Wary, she took a step back, her gaze falling to the heavy pack on his shoulder. Her breath faltered.
“Are you afraid of me?” he asked, his voice husky.
Kelly shook her head. “Wary, perhaps. Cautious. I’d be foolish if I weren’t, after what happened.”
“I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“It’s not your gun that I’m afraid of,” she admitted. “It’s being with you, remembering what we once shared.”
For a single moment suspended in time, everything between them evaporated. They were once again bonded, this time by mutual agreement for a cause.
“I’m not going against my principles or values, or asking you to surrender yours. All I ask is for you to set aside your past feelings so we can work together.”
Sam closed his eyes, long dark lashes feathering against those lean cheeks. When he opened his eyes, his gaze was stark. “That’s just it, Kelly. It’s tough as hell to set aside my feelings when it comes to you.”
Her heart did a crazy flip-flop. He still cared. But his look stated the blunt truth. I will, because I must.
Just as she had to do what she must.
Something inside Kelly shattered. Her throat closed. She forced a calm smile, despite the ripping feeling in her chest. “I’ll make it easy. I have no more feelings.”
Liar.
I want you, Sam. I want the man who made love to me, who laughed and held me tenderly, the man I could trust with my life.
As the others attended to the flat tire, he took his pack, checked it and then removed his shirt.
Her breath caught in her lungs.
An intricate tattoo of ancient Celtic runes swirled from the front of his right shoulder around to his back. Making a circle around him, she studied it. Beneath the blue ink was a large, puckered scar.
She pointed to it.
“Bullet,” he murmured.
“Engaging the enemy?”
“Dakota shot me.” At her incredulous look, he gave a lopsided grin. “We were in Grenada, tracking down a voodoo priestess who was using the locals in her rather nasty ceremonies. I tangled with her, and she tried sucking out my life force.”
He touched another scar on the same shoulder, this one with teeth marks. “Here. I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, totally immobilized. Dakota saw what was happening, took the shot. Blew her away and blew a hole in my shoulder.”
She couldn’t fathom the dangerous assignments he undertook, putting his life on the line every time he deployed. Not only facing enemies armed with metal weapons, but some with fangs, claws and dark, evil magick.
“How did she get so close?”
Sam’s jaw tightened. “Was taking her into custody, barely got the zip ties on her when she started...coming on to me.”
He looked away. “I looked into her eyes for the barest moment and was lost. Next thing I felt was the pain from the bullet Dakota sent sailing into my body. If he hadn’t shot me, she would have killed me. And I wouldn’t have felt a damn thing except this bone-jarring pleasure.”
Horror filled her. She traced the tattoo with her gaze, shuddering at how close he’d come to death.
“Got inked as soon as I healed. The runes are protective, ancient symbols.”
“The knots are a reminder of your heritage,” she said softly.
His expression hardened as he shrugged into an olive-green T-shirt. “They’re a reminder not to lose my head over a woman. Pack up.”
That was Sam, navy SEAL. The colorful Hawaiian shirts he’d worn, the crooked smile, all gone. All replaced now with cool, calm efficiency, like that shown by the soldier who had handcuffed her.
Shouldering his pack, he tested the weight. Kelly stuffed water and rations into her pack, knowing that a subtle shift had occurred. He was now in charge. It didn’t matter that she knew this area. Sam had taken over, and he led the way.
Kelly released a deep breath. Sam was with her, her brain sang. And even though he wasn’t committed to the cause, he was trudging along the dusty road in his heavy boots, committing to the journey.
Whatever they encountered when they reached their destination, they would face together.
Chapter 8
“How are we getting there? The village is south, at least fifteen miles from here. We can take a chicken bus, but the closest stop is a mile away,” Kelly told him.
Focusing on cutting a hole in the leather holster, Shay didn’t answer. He finished and slid the Sig into the holster. He put on the khaki shirt. Untucked, it would serve as a jacket, hiding the gun.
The others had left after changing the tire on the Rover. Dakota had ordered Shay to sanitize the scene. So he’d burned the bodies with magick, erasing any evidence of a firefight taking place, just in case some happy locals chanced upon the place.
And then he took a powerful magnet he’d tucked into his pack and ran it over Kelly’s hip. Senator Rogers had no way of knowing the GPS chip had been designed so the SEALs could easily disable the transceiver if they needed to. Because sometimes the Phoenix Force couldn’t risk being found and have norms come after them.
Just like he didn’t want anyone else right now coming after Kelly.
“Going to hump it until we can swipe a vehicle. We’re too visible for public transport.” He shrugged into his pack and glanced at her widened blue gaze. “What?”
“Hump it?”
“Hoof it. Military slang.”
“Ah, got it.” She removed the hair clip, finger-combed through the strands and secured her long hair. “You’ve changed.”
In some ways. But not others. The old pull of sexual attraction still hung between them, crackling like a live wire. Shay wiped his face with his shirtsleeve. He didn’t know if the heat was making him sweat or the woman standing a few feet away.
Probably both.
A hint of shyness lingered in her blue gaze, contrasting with her confident demeanor. She intrigued him, this Kelly who was both courageous and intelligent. No longer the bashful girl whose sweet kisses had inflamed his blood. She’d grown into a striking woman, features and manner stamped with purpose.
He’d thought he could forget her. But this new Kelly fascinated him even more, whetting his sexual appetite in ways he’d never anticipated. The primitive male urge to chase and conquer flared to new life.
She wanted nothing to do with him.
He wanted to do everything to her. With his hands, and his mouth.
Sex was out of bounds. Shay tamped down the stray thought. Concentrate on the job, and pretend she’s a guy.
Bending over, Kelly rummaged in her pack. The move pulled her jeans tight over her deliciously rounded bottom. A sharp spike of desire hit like an arrow. He’d loved cupping her ass when they’d been together, holding her close as they kissed. Once he’d hoisted her up against the wall of his father’s elegant study, holding her beautiful bottom steady as he’d driven into her, Kelly’s tiny, excited cries bouncing off the stern portraits of his ancestors.
Shay bit back a hiss. Okay, thinking of her as a guy would not work.
But he was a professional, and this was a mission. He could deal.
Kelly knelt on the ground and spread out the map she’d retrieved. “The village is supposed to be here....” She pointed to a small pen mark closer to the border of Nicaragua and rattled off the latitude and longitude.
Despite circumstances that would rattle the nerves of a strong man, Kelly remained calm and focused. She was single-minded in her determination.
So was he. They had a job to do.
He consulted his GPS. “We’re going to follow the river we passed on the way here. There’s a footpath along the banks. We’ll avoid the main road, head into the woods and go south.”
“Can’t we just hitch a ride?”
“Locals gossip. Strangers create talk, and we need to lie low, keep the villagers from knowing we’re coming.”
“Locals are less trouble than what we might face. The more time we spend in the woods, the more likely our trail will get picked up.”
He went instantly alert. “By who?”
“By what. An ilthus. One followed me to my employee’s house. I killed it, but when there’s one...”
“There are others.” He thought all they faced was a hard trek to the village in rough and unknown terrain. Now there could be creatures on their tail. What a total GF. “Dammit, Kelly, why didn’t you tell me before?”
Kelly flushed at the rough, commanding tone he used when pointing out royal goat flusters to other SEALs. “Excuse me, I guess it slipped my mind when you handcuffed me.”
Whoa, okay. Shay dialed it down. Way down. He softened his voice. “Tell me everything you know about these things. I’ve never seen one.”
“An ilthus is a creature transformed from a normal animal. It’s a mutated creature, created by dark magick. It’s twisted and malformed by power, its mind melded to do the bidding of the one casting the spell.”
“Deal. Give me the 411. Small, or large? Are we talking moose or squirrel?”
“Think squirrel with big teeth and a malformed body. They don’t like using domestic animals, because those have a connection to humans. Smaller animals are easier to manipulate, and less obtrusive. Mostly they’re sent as scouts to sniff out the trail of a target.”
He glanced around the deserted roadway, the high rise of ground and the forest. “So if I see a cute, furry rodent armed with teeth the size of dinner knives and an attitude, I’ll know to feed it peanuts and bullets.”
The ghost of a smile touched her mouth. “They prefer pistachios.”
Shay checked his sidearm and screwed on the silencer. “I should have read my horoscope. ‘Be sure to pack enough ammo. You will run into deranged mutant squirrels and lightning bursts from crazy Arcanes with ego complexes. Oh, and be careful crossing the street. Make sure to look both ways for oncoming evil overlords.’”
A laugh that sounded suspiciously close to a sob tore from her throat. “Bullets won’t help much. Magick does, but you drain your powers trying to fight them, and before you can recharge, whap! The evil Mage overlord throws you under the bus. Or in this case, down the stairs. Thump, thump.”
Insight hit him. “That’s how they got you, isn’t it?”
“I was on the yacht, trying to free Billy. Nearly made it, but I ran into a little problem. Oops,” she whispered.
“When your team raided the island. I wasn’t suntanning. I heal in sunlight and was dumped out there to heal, so they could...”
Bile rose in his throat.
“They could what?”
No answer. Shay clasped her shoulders, forcing her to turn and meet his gaze. “Kel, what did they do to you?”
Shadows haunted her eyes. “They wanted my contacts. I wouldn’t tell them. They found them anyway. And they kept...beating me. They’d dump me into the sunlight to heal and then start over.”
Rage filled him. His hands shook with the urge to kill the Arcanes all over again. Kelly was innocent. And she’d said nothing about the beatings, the torture. He gently cupped her cheek, feeling soft skin beneath his calloused palm.
“Hell, I had no idea. The triskele didn’t protect you?”
“I’d given it to Billy to protect him. I could take what they gave me. Until the last time. Billy gave it back because I guess I looked a little worse for wear.”
Kelly had taken the brunt of the beatings. The gorge rose in his throat, along with protective rage. He wanted to hold her close, whisper promises that no one would ever hurt her again.
“I got through it thinking of you. The times before, when we were together. I remembered how much you cared, and then I remembered how much I missed you,” she whispered.
Red suffused her face.
“I thought you had no more feelings for me,” Shay said quietly.
Kelly struggled to contain the moisture brimming in her eyes. But a tear slipped free and cascaded down her cheek. It dropped onto her shirt, a splash of acid on his heart.
She turned around. Shay gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze. He wanted to enclose her in his arms and promise no one would ever hurt her again.
But he couldn’t. Because eventually, he’d have to turn her over to the Mage authorities. And this time, he’d be the one hurting her.
Chapter 9
The harder Kelly tried to fight her emotions, the more tears slid down her cheeks. Yeah, I have no more feelings for you, she thought humorlessly. Every time you touch me, I want to fall into your arms. But you’re a damn land mine, Sam. And I’ve come too far to get blown up.
Feeling his gentle touch, she stiffened. Tears always got to Sam and brought out his masculine tendencies to comfort and protect. She couldn’t risk emotions around him.
You don’t want him to see you still care, because it hurts too much.
Searching through her gear for something to wipe her streaming eyes, she kept the backpack as a shield between herself and Sam. And then a clean blue bandanna dangled in her face.
Muttering thanks, Kelly wiped her face and then stuffed the soggy cloth into her backpack.
“Always keep a spare. Never know when Renegade is going to have one of his weepy moments. The wolf cries at Hallmark commercials and specials on Animal Planet.”
He winked.
“Let’s go.” Enough of the waterworks.
But he caught her wrist. Kelly felt his physical strength, but his touch was absolutely gentle.
“Listen, I won’t let anyone get to you, okay? I’ll keep you safe.”
Long ago, he’d made the same promise and then vanished. It hurt too much to think how shattered he’d left her. “I’m fine, Sam. Those days are behind us. I don’t need you. Not as my bodyguard. Just get me to the village, help me bring those kids home and...”
With a hard tug, she freed herself and dusted off her hands. “Your duty is done. What we had between us is long gone. And I never want it back. I’m sticking to my own kind after this.”
The tender look vanished. Sam shouldered his pack. He set off at a steady clip, the broad expanse of his back rigid as brick. Hoisting her pack, she followed him as he hugged the road’s edge and headed into the woods. Despite his heavy boots, Sam made little noise in the undergrowth. She became painfully aware of each branch crackling beneath her soles, every snapped twig.
Intense heat stripped her energy. Sweat dampened her shirt and molded her jeans to her body. When they reached the wooden bridge spanning the river, he glanced upward at the sun and turned south.
A narrow dirt path flanked the steep riverbank. Her sneakers were worn and slipped in the mud. Kelly brushed away a tendril of hair, hating the silence between them, but knowing it was best.
With every step Sam took, she felt him slip emotionally away from her. The SEAL was fast, moving quickly. He wasn’t a Mage, she thought grimly. He was a dam
n Pegasus, the mythical horse with wings.
“Can we take a small break?” she asked, gasping.
Sam turned into a small clearing in the woods. When they were off the path and out of sight, she sat down and unscrewed her bottle of water. Sam uncapped his, drank deeply and then wiped his mouth. His flat gaze studied her without emotion.
“How long have you done this?” The silence between them was too thick, too tense.
“Long enough. You ready?”
Kelly replaced her water. Sam peered into her pack with a frown. “You only packed two bottles of water.”
“I have a small drinking problem. I’m trying to cut back.”
“Always pack enough water. You never know how long you’ll be on an op. I’ll save a bottle for you. I thought you were smarter than that.”
Kelly’s temper rose. “Excuse me, Petty Officer Shaymore. I didn’t take army survival training like you. I got a little sidetracked trying to rescue Mages.”
“Navy. I’m navy. And if you’re going to use titles, it’s chief petty officer. I worked damn hard to study and pass the chief’s exam for enlisted men.”
Kelly trudged after him on the path as he took off again. “Enlisted? Why? You’re college-educated, Sam. You should be an officer.”
“I am an officer.”
“Noncommissioned.”
No reply.
“Maybe being a commissioned officer was too tough? Doesn’t seem so. You enjoy being in charge and giving me commands.”
The taunt worked. He stopped hard and turned. Kelly took a step backward.
“It’s different when you’re a SEAL. I signed up to spend time in the field, not behind a desk. Being enlisted meant more time in action, as an operator, not a paper pusher. It meant discipline, training and learning to control my emotions.”
He took a deep breath and then blew it out, as if struggling with those emotions. “The navy saved my sorry ass. I was mindless with rage and grief over what your father did to my family. If not for the navy, I’d be dead by now.”
Guilt twisted her stomach. Kelly couldn’t skirt the issue lying between them like a land mine. “There are no words to say how sorry I am about what happened to your family. But my father didn’t do it.”