“We didn’t even check.”
“They don’t know that.”
He stops me again. “We can’t just lie to them.”
“Watch me.” I move out of his reach and return to Kayla. She smiles and sits up to allow me to assume my position and role as her support. I hold on that thought. I really am her support, not just as a backrest, but in life. At least right now. And, in turn, she’s been mine.
We really are leaning on each other. I love it and am a little terrified at the same time.
“No wine?” Emma asks as Ryan joins her.
“Sorry. The, uh…um…the…”
Why the hell is he stuttering? He’ll never make it in the field if he can’t even lie to his girlfriend. Lying to a stranger may seem easy enough—until you need to recall what you said. I jump in before he screws up this night for us both. “Food trucks were closed.”
“Makes sense,” Kayla says and curls into me. I pull her in closer to keep her warm, safe. “That’s okay. It’s at the dance. We’ve got maybe ten minutes left. People are already getting up.”
“That’s so we can dance.” Emma jumps to her feet and pulls Ryan to his. When we stare at them, they wave for us to join in. “Come on. It’s the best part of movies at the park. Last week, it was Mamma Mia. You should have seen the outfits.”
“Outfits?” I stand and help Kayla up.
“People dress the parts. It’s awesome.”
“I don’t see any costumes.”
“Why do you think there’s so much flannel and cowboy hats?”
I glance around. There really is a ridiculous amount of flannel in the crowd. That’s when I notice several—guys and girls alike—dressed in the iconic red tux jacket. As I sweep the scene, I catch two guys watching me. I don’t look away. They do. Odd. Why’d they have their attention on me? Or maybe they were eyeing Kayla. Either way, I don’t like it and keep redirecting my gaze to them. They don’t look my way again.
The movie’s love theme plays over the speakers and all the couples rock back and forth. I dismiss the two and open my arms as I smile at Kayla. “Can I have this dance?”
She smiles and walks into my embrace. We sway to the music. Hell yeah, this really is almost paradise. I hum along and run my hands up and down her back. She leans closer and joins in. We lean our foreheads together, eyes closed, and take in the moment. Grasping her hand, I hold it to my chest as I rest the other on the small of her back.
“I don’t want this moment to end.” Kayla sighs and rests her head on my shoulder. I release her hand and wrap her in my arms. “Ever.”
“Neither do I.”
“Looks like we found something else we do well together. It’d be nice if we found other things that don’t end in a fight.”
“We’ll just have to keep working together until we do.”
“I like the way you said that. We’ll work together. Like a partnership.”
“Like a relationship.” My chest tightens as those words sink in. Holy Jesus. I’m in a relationship for the first time since moving to Bainbridge Island to attend BU. It’s not like I haven’t had the opportunity. Why now? Why this woman? Why is Kayla Riggs so different?
I know why. It’s not Kayla who’s different. It’s me. She makes me want to be a better person. She makes me want to be more than who I am. I never want to let her go. Not in a month. Not at the end of summer. Not ever. The thought of holding anyone else like this, dancing with someone other than the woman in my arms, makes my world too dark. I don’t want to live in a world full of darkness. She brightens it. She brightens everything.
Sometime during our dance, the music stops. Even when it starts to rain, we don’t stop swaying. It’s our time, our moment, and we don’t want to ever let it go. We aren’t ready for reality to sink back in. The rain picks up, drenching us. Only then do we finally break our embrace and both glance at the sky. Figures we have a perfect evening, only for it to end in a downpour.
It doesn’t slow the moviegoers. Suddenly the crowd shouts, “Let’s dance!” The theme song blasts and everyone cheers as we all dance in the rain like complete idiots. Kayla’s laughing as she keeps wiping her wet hair from her face. It’s so goddamn captivating seeing her like this. I can’t look away.
I slow and pant as I stare at how stunning she is. She stops and holds my gaze. When she sucks her bottom lip between her teeth and bites down, I come undone and cup her cheeks in my hands before devouring her lips. I can’t get enough of her. Her taste. Her essence. I’ll never get enough.
We’re still consumed in each other when the movie ends. I vaguely hear Ryan ask if they should split us up. Emma smartly responds by dragging him away. Only when I hear snickering and comments from moviegoers passing us to get to the parking lot do I finally break our kiss by nipping on her bottom lip.
She looks into my eyes, her pupils dilated. She doesn’t have to say anything. I know exactly what she wants. Without a word, we pack up and rush home, where we drop everything as soon as we close the apartment door behind us.
“I need to ask you something.” Her comment causes me to stop working the buttons on my shirt. “What you said at the park… Are you really falling for me?”
I slide closer and wipe strands of wet hair from her cheek. “I may have already fallen.”
“Seriously?” Her question comes out an octave higher than her regular voice.
I kiss her nose. “Why is that so hard to believe? I think I’m falling in love with you, Kayla. Now, are we going to keep talking? Or are we going to fool around?”
She grins and jerks my shirt open, sending the remaining buttons flying. I’ve never been so turned on in my life. “I don’t plan on sleeping alone tonight,” she informs me as she chews on my ear.
“I don’t plan on sleeping tonight,” I counter and help her out of her shirt.
With a wide grin, she leads me down the hall. “I like how you said it better.”
So do I.
22
[Jake]
It’s been the best week of my life. I’m up at least a grade in all my classes thanks to Ryan. I’ve been sleeping better than ever thanks to Kayla falling asleep in my arms each night. Sometimes it’s her room. Other times it’s mine. It doesn’t matter, only that we’re together. I wake up every morning with a ridiculous grin, and that’s before the morning orgasm.
I never thought having a steady girl would feel like this. I’m on a high that I never want to end. Is this what love feels like? Or is it a serious case of the feels? Whatever it is, I want to live in this moment forever.
Ryan and I take up the backseat of the tiny Uber dropping us at the ferry terminal. It’s either the ferry or drive around, and we don’t have an extra hour to spend on the road. I also will never ride bitch on a scooter. Uber wins.
My phone buzzes. I check the screen and frown. It’s the third time a number I don’t recognize has come up in the past few days. TREX always comes up as a blocked number, so it’s not them. I won’t answer if I don’t recognize the number, something my mom taught me. There are too many freak shows out there. If whoever’s calling wanted to reach me, they’d leave a message. So far, no voicemails. It’s probably a telemarketer. Even more reason to not answer the call.
After killing the call, I return to my forever moment and smile.
“I recognize that look.” Ryan talks to me like we’re more than forced together by the agency. Like we’re friends. We have nothing in common aside from girlfriends who hang out together. That doesn’t mean we’ve bonded.
Still, I’m curious so I take the bait. “What look is that?”
“The same look I get when I think what a lucky son of a bitch I am to call Emma mine.”
I’m not about to admit it, even though he nailed the reason. Glancing out the window, I watch the drizzle collect and roll across the glass. If I didn’t already have my heart set on landing a job with the BIFD, I’d relocate to somewhere like SoCal after graduation. Somewhere warm. Somewhere dr
y. This constant gray and rain depresses the hell out of me.
But then the image of Kayla dancing with me in the rain conjures up, drawing a sharp intake of breath from me. God, she was so beautiful at the park with the way the water coated her skin. Taking her home and licking every drop from her body was definitely the highlight of the night.
“Do you deny it?” He won’t let it go.
“We are not having this conversation.”
“The park worked, didn’t it?”
I face him. “Worked?”
“You two haven’t been fighting, right?”
How’d he know that? “So?”
“Figured it’d work.” He stares straight ahead while I study him. What’s he playing at?
I don’t care. It’s not like we share anything other than the credit when we succeed on a find. That’s the only thing I want to talk about. “What’s the deal with the Order? Why’s TREX after them? Aside from the whole world domination part.”
“I thought Jackson was going to buy you a beer and tell you all about it.” He sets his jaw and keeps his attention forward.
So did I. “We never got around to it.”
“The Order is nothing more than a high-powered mob. They’re forcing their way into the colleges to recruit new members. The last thing we need is a new generation of corruption. My dad tried to stop them, but got too sick to keep going.” He looks at me. “I’m going to finish what he started.”
Damn, he’s got that intimidating look down when he talks about shit he hates. He regarded me with that same cold hatred in his eyes our first day sparring on the mat. When he falls silent and returns his attention to the front, I do the same. Besides, we probably shouldn’t be talking about this in an Uber. What if this driver is a member of the Order?
Ryan and I don’t talk again until we’re on the ferry and halfway across Puget Sound. I’m standing at the bow waiting for Seattle to come into view. The fog and dreary drizzle is so thick I can barely see the front of the ferry, let alone the city we’re thirty minutes away from docking. It’s cold, wet, and the sun is hidden behind a dense cloud cover. The salty mist coats my face and jacket. I shove my hands into my pockets and suppress a shudder.
I’m alone on the front of the boat until my partner joins me. “Hey.”
“’Sup.”
“I’ve been thinking.” He steals a glance before staring at the water and picks at the peeling paint on the railing. “What if I do something wrong? Say the wrong thing? What if I get there and they won’t even let me in? My dad was the one invited, not me.”
“Relax, dude. Just be yourself.” It works for me.
“That’s the problem. What if being myself isn’t good enough?”
Wow. This guy is seriously messed up. I don’t know how to answer that question. He’s as insecure as Kayla. She constantly questions if she’s good enough. She’s more than enough. So is Ryan. Again with the parallels. I don’t like it, so I change the subject.
“How’s your dad?” Bailey told me about his father’s brain tumor. The doctors aren’t expecting him to live through the summer. It’s already almost the end of May. I never really knew my dad. That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t suck losing him. I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if I actually knew the man.
“My brother is with him. He hasn’t left his side in months.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.” Classic avoidance. Kayla does the same thing, addressing a question by avoiding the answer. “How is he?”
He shrugs and sucks in a quick breath through his nose. “He’s, uh…”
“You don’t know, do you?”
Dropping his gaze, he shakes his head.
“Why wouldn’t you call him? Go visit him? It’s not like he’s across the country. He’s across the Sound.”
He remains stubbornly silent. Sure, now he shuts up.
“Ryan, you won’t have him around much longer. It sucks, but it’s the truth. You need to see him before it’s too late.”
“You don’t know how hard it is to see him like that. He’s not the man he used to be.”
“He’s still your dad,” I fire back. “Hell, if I knew where my dad was, you bet your ass I’d visit him. He’s in and out of prison. Last I checked, he was back in.”
Ryan studies me before offering, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry you didn’t visit him while he’s still here to visit. Trust me, I’d be at his bedside to take advantage of every second you have left with him.”
“You’re right,” he declares with a nod, shocking me. “Do you think we have enough time to make a quick stop before we meet up with TREX?”
I slap him on the back. “We’ll make the time, buddy.”
TREX HQ
Bailey paced in front of the glass doors of the Seattle apartment building TREX used as a combination housing for agents and safe house for assets. Ryan and Jake were supposed to be there already. She gave them the address. They both had smart phones. TREX-issued. TREX-required. They knew how to use any one of the plethora of apps to get the directions.
TREX should have pulled the cadets off this mission and brought in seasoned agents. It was too big a target, too important a find to leave it to a couple recruits. What if they screwed this up? The agency would lose the lead on the Order. They needed this.
“They’re late.” Bailey flopped into one of the chairs lining the walls by the elevator. “Swanson’s a bad influence on my intel recruit.”
“They’re both your recruits,” Jackson corrected as he picked at his nails. “Just because one’s a field agent doesn’t make him any less of an agent. You sideline agents are all the same, always thinking the higher the IQ, the better you are. Let me tell you, sweetheart. It takes more than a big brain to succeed on a find.”
Spoken like a true field agent. She blew out a breath and fought to check the door. Or her watch. Again. They didn’t have time for this. TREX needed agents who respected the chain of command. If they couldn’t follow a simple order of showing up on time, what else would they disregard? “The ferry docked hours ago.”
“Maybe they missed it and are driving around.”
“They should have called. I’ve texted each of them several times.”
“Out of range?”
She glared and thinned her lips. “Stop making excuses for them. They should be here by now.”
“And we’ve gone full circle.” He pushed out of the chair and moved to one of the floor-length windows, keeping his back to her. When he brought his hands to his hips, Bailey knew. He was just as annoyed by their tardiness.
After another tense fifteen minutes of Jackson and Bailey taking turns pacing, a cab pulled up to the curb in front of the building and out stepped the late recruits. Bailey’s irritation faded when they walked into the building and Ryan stepped out from behind Jake. His eyes were red, swollen. “What happened?”
He wouldn’t answer and kept his head down. Jake pushed Ryan behind him. “We went to visit his dad.”
“You weren’t authorized to do that.” Bailey snapped her mouth closed when Jake glared before nodding at Ryan. She glanced at him, saw how beaten he looked, and swallowed thickly. It was a terribly heartless thing to say. “I’m sorry, Ryan. How’s he doing?”
He shook his head and kept his attention on his feet. Again, Jake spoke for his partner. “He’s in good spirits and loved having both his sons there.”
“He…” Ryan whispered. When he lifted his eyes, they were filled with distress. Bailey had seen that same look in her dad’s eyes when he’d realized Grams wasn’t leaving the hospital after her surgery. “He couldn’t talk. He tried, but he… He just couldn’t.”
“He communicated just fine, buddy.” Jake slapped him on the shoulder. “You saw how he couldn’t stop smiling when you walked into the room. He even laughed when you and Derek got into it over who’s the better Batman.”
That comment drew a slight lopsided grin from Ryan. “Yeah.”
�
��You sure?” David exited the elevator, his phone to his ear. “When did the guest list change? Something smells off about this. Why would they change it at the last minute? No one on the list is that important. Send a copy to my phone. No McKoy, I’m not doubting you. I’m not. You’re a real pain in the ass.” He grinned. “You too, brother. Give Bethany my love and kiss that nephew of mine. See ya.”
He ended the call and announced, “Change of plans.” As soon as he spotted Ryan, he tensed. “You okay, kid?”
Ryan wiped at his eyes and inhaled sharply. “I’m fine.”
“Good.” He tucked the phone in his pocket. “Swanson, you’re going in.”
“No, sir.” Ryan shook his head. “I can do this.”
“I have no doubt, but we just got our hands on an updated guest list. Most of the names are local celebrities and political badasses, your dad included. There’s one name we found—D. Mara—who’s not adding up. Do either of you know that name?”
They exchanged glances and both shook heads.
Being an old movie buff, Bailey spoke up. “Demara is the main character in The Great Impostor. It’s a Tony Curtis classic.”
“A movie based on the real Demara. It’s no coincidence the name on this list is a play on one of the best con artists of all time. We think that’s our anonymous donor.”
“Why not send me in?” Ryan asked.
“Because of the name that just showed up.” He regarded Jake. “You’re BFF, Gerald Murphy. You’ve already got the in.”
“How?”
“By calling him and letting him know you’re in Seattle and arranging to meet up before you head out tomorrow.”
As if on cue, Jake’s phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the number. “Damn telemarketers. This is like the fourth time this week.”
David put his hand in front of the phone before Jake killed the call. “Answer it.”
“I don’t answer unknown calls.”
“You do now. Put it on speaker. The rest of you, don’t even breathe.”
The Heat Is On (TREX Rookies Book 2) Page 20