Rogue Operative [Wildfire 2] (The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection)

by Lynn Hagen

  Mason chuckled. “I’m beginning to think you love me.”

  “And what makes you think that, Mr. Camden?”

  “Just a gut feeling.” Mason cupped Jordan’s jaw and kissed him. It was soft, sweet, and short. “Go to bed. I’ll join you as soon as I check on things outside the house.”

  Jordan kicked off his shoes, socks, and pants, then tossed everything aside. When he went to the glass door to lock it, he froze.

  Raven was standing in the backyard.

  Chapter Ten

  “Get down!” Mason shoved Jordan to the floor just as the glass in the sliding door shattered. Jordan scrambled toward the corner of the counters and threw his arms over his head.

  “I thought he was on our side!”

  “He obviously lied.” Mason opened a small drawer and pulled out a gun. He ducked as another shot whizzed passed them. Buster and Wally began barking wildly.

  “Stay in your room, boys,” Mason shouted. Jordan hoped like hell they listened.

  “I’d say call the cops, but you are the cops.” Jordan wasn’t sure why he was joking. This wasn’t a laughing matter, but if he didn’t relieve some stress, he just might have a meltdown. “Just great, I’m wearing a T-shirt and underwear. I need my jeans.”

  Mason tossed them to him. “Stay right here, and keep your head down.”

  “You’re leaving me?” Jordan quickly pulled his jeans on. “Oh no, you’re not going anywhere, Mason. What if Raven comes through the doorframe?”

  “Call Dagger. His number is programmed into my phone.” Mason handed it to Jordan. “Tell him what’s going on and to get his ass over here.”

  Jordan’s hands shook as he dialed. If he got the chance, he’d beat Raven over the head with a frying pan. He was pissed he’d fallen for Raven’s lie.

  “I don’t want to leave you, but I need to find where he is,” Mason said. “I’m a sitting duck behind this counter.”

  “And I’m not?”

  “I’ll get you to the bedroom. I want you to lock yourself in the closet.”

  Talk about being handed a wuss card.

  “I had a feeling the son of a bitch was lying to me, and I’m gonna make him pay for the betrayal.”

  “And I just want us to live through this.” Jordan took the hand held out to him. He clung to Mason as the eerie silence surrounded them.

  “On the count of three, we make a run for the hallway. Got it?”

  Jordan wasn’t sure his legs would be able to move. He was wound tight with fear, and the thought of racing across the open kitchen with bullets flying his way had him trying to pull his hand free of Mason’s.

  Mason gave Jordan his attention for a brief moment. “I know this is terrifying, Jordan. But you have to move. Staying in one place is going to get us killed.” He placed a quick kiss on Jordan’s lips. “You have to do this. Be brave, okay?”

  Jordan nodded, although he wasn’t sure he could do what Mason asked. His mind was willing, but his body refused to move.

  “Three,” Mason said, giving Jordan no warning before he jerked him from behind the counter. Jordan kept his head low as they ran, hearing…something, and feeling the danger right on them.

  “He’s got a silencer.”

  Then Jordan wasn’t imagining those tiny sounds close by. Shit.

  Mason didn’t stop until they reached the bedroom. He eased the closet door open and nodded for Jordan to get inside.

  “I feel like the world’s biggest wimp.”

  “This is different,” Mason said. “You’re not trained for this, and I can’t take him down without worrying about you getting hurt. Do this for me, Jordan.”

  Jordan didn’t like it one bit. Not the hiding-in-the-closet part, but the fact Mason was about to run right back to the danger. What if Raven killed Mason? The only thing Jordan could do was trust that Mason was damn good at what he did. “You better come back to me.”

  “I promise.”

  Jordan would’ve argued that Mason couldn’t make such a promise, but he was shoved into the closet then. Mason made a low clicking sound with his tongue, and the dogs raced into the bedroom. He pointed to Jordan, and they moved to sit next to him.

  At least he wasn’t the only one relegated to the closet.

  With Jordan tucked away, Mason climbed out the bedroom window and silently dropped to his feet. He ducked behind the cluster of bushes, scanning the area before moving toward the back of the house.

  For the first time in his life, he was in love, and Mason would do whatever it took to protect Jordan. He couldn’t imagine a life without his electrician. Then again, he couldn’t understand how he’d lived so long without Jordan in his life.

  Head in the game if you don’t want it blown off.

  Mason was just about to creep around the corner when a hand landed on his shoulder. He spun, ready to take down whoever was behind him, and realized it was Raven.

  His handler pressed a finger to his lips. He nodded toward the backyard. It was suicide, but Mason looked away from Raven to see what he was nodding at.

  A dark shadow moved between the trees. Cloud cover prevented the moonlight from revealing the person to Mason.

  Where in the hell was Dagger? Was that Dagger? Was Raven playing him again? His questions were answered when Mason spotted Dagger coming around the other side of the house, unaware someone was lurking by the trees.

  Before Mason could warn him, Dagger spotted the shadow and ducked down. Did that mean Raven wasn’t the man sent to kill him? Mason was damn confused and he didn’t like being confused.

  Raven raised his rifle and looked through the scope. The shadow disappeared, and Raven cursed under his breath. “We’ll have to get closer,” he whispered.

  Mason didn’t know who to trust right now. He didn’t like Raven at his back. He didn’t like not knowing who was out there hidden among the trees. For all he knew, Raven could still be the bad guy in all of this.

  And just how many players were on the damn board? Was there someone in the house? Had the agency sent a team to take Mason down?

  He wanted to shoot everyone and be done with it.

  Taking a huge risk, Mason moved to the back of the house and ran for cover near Dagger. He’d take his chances with Dagger rather than Raven. He’d known Dagger for a long time, and the guy had never screwed him over.

  Hopefully that still held true once the dust settled.

  “Was that Raven Tandem?” Dagger whispered.

  Mason nodded. “And I don’t trust him,” he mouthed.

  Dagger narrowed his eyes, then looked toward the trees when the shadow reappeared. The clouds parted just enough for Mason to get a good look at who was hiding.

  His entire world came to a screeching halt. No, that couldn’t be. Mason had to be seeing things. “Dad?”

  Mason dove for the ground when Dexter Camden aimed his gun at him and started firing. If he thought he was confused before, that was nothing compared to how he felt now. Why on earth was his father shooting at him?

  And what the fuck was Dexter doing here in the first place?

  Dagger and Raven fired at Dexter as Mason scrambled for cover. He shut down his confusion and shock, relying solely on his training to keep him alive.

  He signaled Raven and Dagger, and the three moved toward the trees, keeping to cover as they converged on Dexter.

  “What the fuck, Dexter?” Mason yelled. He pressed his back against the brick fireplace as a bullet whizzed by his head.

  “Nothing personal, son,” Dexter called out. “Owed someone a favor and this is what they wanted me to do.”

  “To kill me?” Mason tried to think, tried to recall anyone who had this big of a grudge against him. He came up blank.

  “Where’d he go?” Dagger looked around. Raven was nowhere in sight. Had he gotten closer? Was he now creeping toward Dexter to take him down?

  If anyone was going to kill Dexter Camden, it was Mason. The bastard had walked out of his life with no warning, no goodb
ye.

  And now he worked for the agency? When had that happened? Had Dexter worked for them all this time?

  “I don’t like this,” Dagger said. “Something doesn’t add up.”

  Mason agreed. “Where’s Raven,” he said more as a statement than a question. They’d been moving together toward the same goal, but now Raven was nowhere in sight.

  “I got your six,” Dagger said. “You go after your dad. I’ll hunt the other guy down.”

  Mason didn’t like splitting up. There were too many variables and not enough clear lines. He made it to the trees, then something pressed against the back of his head.

  “Drop your weapon nice and slow,” Dexter said. “No sudden movements.”

  Mason was still grappling with the fact his father was here, a part of this chaos. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Uh-uh,” Dexter said. “That’s not the right question.”

  Mason had no idea what that meant and didn’t waste time trying to figure it out. He had too many questions of his own to ask, but kept them all locked inside him. He’d gone these many years without knowing the answers, and he could go the rest of his life without asking them.

  “You need to figure out who the real enemy is here,” Dexter said. “Put the pieces together, boy. Think.”

  “Oh, I put the pieces together a long time ago, old man. You walked out and never looked back. You don’t deserve my trust.”

  “I know.”

  Mason frowned. Dexter sounded disappointed and a bit sad. Was this some sort of mind game? Mason ground his teeth. All Dexter was doing was trying to lower Mason’s guard.

  That wasn’t going to work. Spinning, Mason swiped his leg outward, unbalancing Dexter and making him hit the ground. He disarmed his father and pointed his own gun at him. Dexter held his hands up.

  “I’m not the enemy, son.”

  “Bullshit,” Mason spat.

  Mason’s attention was jerked away when Buster and Wally howled and barked. Someone was in the house. He glared at his father. “Who’s with you?”

  “No one.”

  He cocked the hammer back. “Tell me the truth for once in your miserable life or I’ll end you.”

  “I came here to save you, Mason.”

  Mason turned his head when something inside the house crashed. Those precious seconds cost him. Dexter was on his feet and battling with Mason for the gun.

  A shot fired, but it wasn’t from the gun in Mason’s hand. He needed to get into the house. He needed to check on Jordan and his dogs, but he was too busy in a fistfight with his father.

  “Damn it, Mason!” Dexter shouted. “I told you, I’m not the enemy.”

  “You just slipped into Wildfire unseen to say hello?” Mason didn’t believe him. “After leaving me twenty-one years ago?”

  “That wasn’t my choice,” Dexter argued. “Your mother demanded that I leave when she found out what I did for a living.”

  “You’re full of shit.” Mason slugged him square in his jaw before turning and racing toward the back door. He ran through the broken frame to find Dagger lying flat on the kitchen floor.

  “Your boy shot me. I’m gonna kill the fucker!” Dagger’s shoulder was a bloody mess.

  “Raven shot you?” Mason should have listened to his goddamn gut. Instead, he’d let Raven fool him…again, and Dagger had paid the price for his error in judgment. Hopefully Jordan wouldn’t pay the price, too.

  Mason gripped the gun tightly as he made his way toward his bedroom. Buster and Wally growled as he approached the doorway.

  “I know you’re out there,” Raven said from somewhere inside the room. “Come on in and join us.”

  “Get out here, boys,” Mason commanded. Wally and Buster exited the room, their teeth bared, the hairs along their spines standing on end. “Go to your room.”

  He didn’t want his dogs shot, and Raven didn’t seem interested in keeping them in there with him. Buster looked at Mason with a cocked head. Wally whimpered, as if protesting leaving Mason.

  “Go,” he whispered, and the dogs obeyed. Now Mason had to save Jordan.

  “Did you really think you could retire?” Raven asked.

  Mason swallowed around the lump of fear as he moved to stand in the doorway. His heart nearly gave out when he saw Raven standing on the other side of the room, the bed between them. Jordan stood in front of him, and Raven had his gun pressed against Joran’s temple. “People like us don’t retire, Blade. You got too much valuable information stuffed in that head of yours to simply walk away. You’re a fucking security risk that I can’t allow to live.”

  Mason glanced past Raven’s shoulder. Dexter stood outside the bedroom window, his gun aimed at Raven. Mason gave an imperceptible shake of his head. He couldn’t risk Jordan getting hit.

  “Why the game?” Mason asked. “Why not kill me in the bathroom at the tavern?”

  “Because I knew I was followed here and I had to flush the person out,” Raven explained. “What a surprise to discover it was your old man.” He narrowed his eyes. “Now Dexter will have to die, as well.”

  So his father had been telling the truth? That didn’t matter. Showing up to save Mason did not erase all those years of neglect. He’d done fine so far without Dexter in his life and he didn’t need him now.

  “Let him go,” Mason said. “Jordan has nothing to do with this.”

  “I can’t leave any witnesses behind.”

  “I trusted you,” Mason growled.

  “Then you shouldn’t have become a threat.”

  Jordan’s eyes were wide as he stared at Mason. To his credit, his lover didn’t beg Raven to let him go. It wouldn’t have done him any good, anyway. Raven had come to Wildfire to clean house, and that was what he planned on doing.

  As Mason stood there trying to figure out how to get Jordan away from Raven, Buster ran into the room, snarling as he leapt at Raven.

  Raven fired his gun at Mason.

  Jordan dove to the floor as Mason dodged the bullet.

  Mason and Dexter opened fire. Mason dove toward the bed, unloading his clip, and Jordan scrambled under the bed until he reached Mason, Buster crawling right beside Jordan.

  Raven’s gun dropped as he crumpled to the floor. Mason shoved to his feet and rounded the bed. He grabbed Raven’s weapon from the floor. His handler’s chest was riddled with bullet holes.

  “Mason!”

  Mason rushed back to Jordan and pulled his lover into his arms. Jordan shook like crazy as he expelled an anguished breath.

  “I gotcha, babe.” Mason hugged him close. “It’s over, hon. It’s over.”

  “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!” Jordan buried his face in Mason’s neck. “I thought he’d killed you.”

  With one arm still wrapped around Jordan, Mason reached down and scratched Buster’s head. “I can’t even be mad at you for not listening to me, buddy.”

  Buster wagged his tail happily as Wally padded into the room, his tail wagging as if waiting to be praised, too.

  Mason remembered his father. He looked toward the window, but Dexter was nowhere in sight. Mason led Jordan into the kitchen where Dagger still lay. “I tried to get to Jordan, but Raven got the drop on me,” Dagger said.

  “He won’t be getting the drop on anyone anymore,” Mason said. He helped Dagger to a sitting position and examined the wound. It was a through-and-through. Dagger would live.

  When Mason heard crunching glass, he spun and aimed his gun at the person who stepped through the doorframe. It was Dexter. Mason lowered his weapon, though he had the urge to shoot his old man on principle alone.

  “The agency sent me to take Raven down,” Dexter said as he came to a stop, studying the gun in Mason’s hand. “They knew he’d become unstable and he had to be eliminated.”

  Jordan cocked his head to the side and frowned. “What are you doing here, Mack?”

  “You know my dad?” Mason asked.

  Dexter held out his hand to Jordan. �
�We’ve met, but let me introduce myself again. I’m Dexter Mack Camden.”

  Epilogue

  The agency had sent in a team to clean up the mess at Mason’s house, making it look as though there had never been a gunfight. The medic on the team had taken care of Dagger’s wound, too.

  Mason couldn’t say the same for his handler. No amount of stitches or bandages would put Raven back together. He’d been taken from Mason’s in a black zippered bag.

  Thankfully his house looked as good as new—the bullet holes plugged and painted over, the blood spatters gone. His back door had even been repaired.

  The agency didn’t mess around.

  “The director knows you want to retire,” Dexter said as he and Mason stood in the backyard. “You have his blessing, just as long as you keep your nose clean and your mouth shut.”

  Not that Mason was looking for anyone’s blessing, but it was nice to know he could enjoy his life with Jordan without having to constantly look over his shoulder. “That won’t be a problem.”

  “I don’t think you’ll listen to anything I have to say,” Dexter said, “but when your mom asked me to leave, I thought by doing so, I was keeping you both safe.”

  “You could’ve reached out to me at any point,” Mason argued.

  Dexter tucked his hands into his pockets. “You had a chip on your shoulder and something to prove. I knew that look, seen it many times. Our reunion wouldn’t have gone well, but I’ve watched you over the years, made sure to keep tabs on where you were and what you were doing.”

  Mason hadn’t known that and wasn’t sure how he felt about all of this. He had hated his father for so long, but the story his mother had told him about his father walking out had only been a half truth.

  “I know you need time to digest this,” Dexter said. “But if you can find forgiveness in your heart, I’d like to be a part of your life again.”

  It was a lot to think about and Mason wasn’t ready to make a split-second decision about their relationship.

  Dexter patted him on the shoulder. “You got a good man.” He smiled as he looked Jordan’s way. Jordan was running around the backyard with the dogs. It looked as though Jordan needed time to himself, to process everything, and spending time with their boys was his way of doing that.