Close to the Edge

by Dawn Ryder

“I can’t think when you touch me.” She shouldn’t have said it. “Fuck. Sorry, that was emotional. You made it clear … last night … the way you feel.”

  He caught her around the waist, pulling her against his body and pinning her to his hard length as he threaded one hand through her hair and pulled the strands tight enough to make her his prisoner.

  “I’m a hard ass…” he growled before he kissed her.

  It was a hard kiss.

  A desperate one.

  He was moving so fast, she struggled to keep up. His lips parting hers, frantic to make sure he was kissing her deeply and completely. Jenna soaked it up, reaching for him, melting into his embrace as she kissed him back with all the hunger she had inside her.

  Dare pulled away, the sound of their panting filling the loft. “I have to get you away from me.”

  He was suddenly turning around and grabbing his shoes and socks.

  “Why?”

  He sent her a look that chilled her blood.

  “I can’t tell you, but I’ve got to get you some place safe.”

  He finished up by buckling his chest harness and checking his gun. He reached back and grabbed her wrist.

  “Which means you’re not in a safe place,” she said.

  Dare turned on her. She bumped into him and he cupped the side of her face with his hand.

  “This is my life, Jenna.” His eyes glittered with hard purpose. “I choose it and I can’t tell you why, but I need it to keep my demons on a leash.” He rubbed the side of her face. “Believe me when I say, this is the first time, you’re the first time, I’ve wanted to second-think things.”

  His face hardened, locking her outside his emotions.

  “But circumstances are not going to allow me that luxury. I’ve got to get you moving.”

  He was fast on action, turning away from her and tugging her toward the door by the hold he had on her wrist.

  It was all happening too fast.

  She didn’t have a chance to think.

  Greer was coming across the yard toward the barn, the agent looking like he was expecting a battle to erupt at any second. He fell into step behind her, his eyes moving along the roof line and behind them.

  She’d never felt so at risk.

  The reason was plain enough. Dare and his team had always been relaxed and in control except for those few moments she recalled from the docks when they had been in action.

  It was a stark difference, one that alarmed her and sent a shiver down her spine.

  They were moving her quickly. The kitchen passed in a blur as they went right into the living room of the house. There was a frantic packing party in progress—Zane, Thais, all pulling cords and shoving laptops into cases with a speed that flatly horrified her.

  They expected trouble.

  As in the deadly sort.

  “Here.” Zane tossed something at Dare.

  “Put this on Jenna.”

  He didn’t wait for her to comply. Dare opened the black ski mask and stretched it wide so he could pull it over her head.

  “Vest,” he muttered while she was still adjusting to the knit fabric clinging to her face. Greer actually opened the vest behind her while Dare pulled it up her arms and buckled it around her chest.

  He gave a node of satisfaction when it was done and the rest of the team finished.

  “Zane…”

  The agent pulled his gun and went through the front door first.

  “Clear.”

  Thais went next, weighted down by luggage.

  “If something happens … keep moving,” Dare said before they were following his team.

  Her damned heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might just bust through her sternum. Dare pulled her across the driveway and was pushing her up and into the SUV before she got a chance to even look around.

  She half fell across the seat as Dare came up behind her and pushed her into the center. “Keep your head down, Jenna.”

  Doors slammed shut and the SUV was pulling back as Dare pushed her head down. She bounced around in the seat as Zane took them down the road and around a corner. She caught just a glimpse of trees and street lamps as they went down the road. The SUV slowed down for a traffic signal and then she listened to the engine revving as they accelerated up a ramp leading to the freeway.

  Dare rubbed her back. The soothing motion of his hands sent tears into her eyes. At least having her face on her knees allowed her to keep them secret. They jolted down the road for another twenty minutes before she heard the engine slowing.

  “You’re doing fine, Jenna.” Dare was stoking her again. “We’re going to do this quick and clean.”

  The SUV was turning, accelerating, and then slowing as it turned again.

  “Mask and vest off.”

  Greer pulled her up by the back of the vest. She let out a sigh of relief as the mask was removed, lifting her hands to brush her hair out of her face. Dare was unbuckling the vest as Jenna caught Thais looking at her in the little vanity mirror on the inside of the sun shade in the passenger seat.

  “Hair and make-up.” Thais was turning around, offing a brush. “You have bed head.”

  “No time,” Zane announced as he slowed down for another turn. “Drop point.”

  Thais shoved the brush toward Jenna as the SUV glided to a stop. Dare was pushing the door open in the same moment. He pulled her through the open door as Greer tossed a windbreaker and backpack at him.

  A second later, the SUV was pulling away and Dare tugged her into a storm drain.

  It was a huge cement pipe. A dark trail of algae marked the bottom of it but the water was long gone.

  “Fix your hair.”

  Dare was shrugging into the windbreaker, covering his chest harness and badge. Jenna tugged the brush through her hair a few times before Dare was gesturing her down the drainage pipe.

  “I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t have a choice.”

  It wasn’t that she questioned whether or not he’d spoken, it was what he said that gave Jenna pause.

  He sounded like he cared.

  Don’t go there …

  Dare pulled her deeper into the tunnel. It wasn’t really dark because sunlight was streaming in from the opposite end where Jenna could see the dry river bed. Above her head, traffic was flowing down the interstate they were walking beneath. Dare pulled her to a stop before they made it to that opening.

  “This is why I can’t get involved,” Dare continued.

  He was looking at her, showing her something Jenna had never seen in his eyes before.

  Regret.

  He caught her by the upper arms. “What I do is dangerous.”

  “I just left a house wearing a ski mask and body armor,” she muttered. “I’m pretty clear on the dangerous part.”

  He shook his head. “Someone killed my other witness while she was in interrogation lock up.”

  Jenna felt her eyes widen.

  More like bug out …

  “That sounds mega bad,” she said.

  Dare nodded. “It means we have a leak. One with a lot of resources. My team is being scuttled to protect them.”

  He offered her the backpack.

  “Supplies including cash and untraceable wealth. Keep it hidden, use only what you need, you’re going to be traveling for a while.”

  He pressed it against her chest. Jenna clasped it, trying to get her brain to keep up.

  “But … Where…”

  “Walk out there, head north…” Dare pointed. “Walk under as much cover as you can, stay on the rocks to avoid leaving tracks. Keep going until someone shows up to get you.”

  “What?” She looked at the dry river bed. “I’m just going to know what stranger to trust?”

  Dare cupped the side her face, bringing her gaze back to his.

  “Trust me, Jenna, you’ll know.” He jerked his head behind them. At the far end of the tunnel, Thais was waiting, the black body armor and ski mask on. “The kind of people who I’m i
nvestigating know me. I’m marked, anyone on my team is marked. You have to disappear without me.”

  “You’re going to put yourself out as bait…”

  Dare nodded.

  Jenna fought the urge to retch.

  “Don’t,” he warned her softly. “Don’t think about me. I knew what I was getting into.”

  “So I shouldn’t realize how much danger you’re putting yourself into on my account?” she demanded.

  His lips twitched, flashing her that grin that made him far too handsome. “You were spot-on to tell me it was my fault you were here. I can’t even say I’m sorry because I’m not.” His fingers tightened on her cheek before he was moving back.

  “I’m too selfish to truly regret knowing you baby,” he said.

  She felt like he was ripping himself away from her.

  He was …

  There was a hardness to his expression, one she’d seen the first time he’d interrogated her. He was going to do whatever he felt was needed, no matter the cost.

  He pointed behind her, ordering her to go.

  Jenna slowly smiled and crossed her arms over her chest as she stood in place. He grinned in response, shaking his head.

  Turning around took more effort than it should have.

  You knew he wasn’t the sticking-around kind …

  Yeah, but tears still stung her eyes. Walking into the morning light made the water droplets sparkle where they were hanging off the ends of her eyelashes. She shrugged the backpack onto her shoulder and ventured out into the dry riverbed.

  It was time to begin a new chapter of her life.

  * * *

  Her scent was still clinging to his skin.

  Dare watched as Thais was handed off to a set of agents who had no idea who she was. They were handling her like a civilian, and his very capable Shadow Ops agent was bristling. Not that Thais allowed it to show on her face. No, the only real tip-off was the fact that if anyone took a close look, they’d notice the rather bored look in her eyes that betrayed how much she wasn’t afraid of anything. She’d played bait before. In body armor and wearing a ski mask, anyone tailing them would follow her.

  Dare turned and walked down a length of sidewalk. He ducked inside a pharmacy and headed for the prepaid phones. He tossed cash down on the counter and made his way outside before punching in the number the two agents had handed him on a slip of paper.

  “Glad to hear you’re alive,” Kagan answered.

  “Jenna?”

  “She’s being handled,” his section leader replied. “I’ll have your ride find you.”

  The call ended. That was Kagan’s style. Short and to the point. Normally Dare thrived on it. Today, he realized he would have liked to know more about Jenna’s circumstances.

  You can’t ever know anything about her again …

  It was exactly what he’d thought he’d wanted out of life. The path he’d chosen and worked his ass off to put his feet on.

  So why the doubts now?

  Dare wasn’t too comfortable with knowing he was asking himself that question. Ji Su’s death proved he was in far too deep to ever contemplate something like having a relationship.

  And yet, he was thinking about Jenna. Recalling the details of her scent, the way her pixie haircut swished around her face and made her look playful. She stuck her chin out when she was getting ready to stand up to him, and he loved her curvy butt.

  A Jeep slid up to the curb in front of him. Dare opened the door, frowning as he recognized Greer.

  “You don’t need to remind me of the definition of scuttle.” Greer had a military-grade desert hat pulled down over his head. The brown-and-tan fatigue fabric went well with the dented-up Jeep.

  “I disagree,” Dare informed his teammate. “Because you’re here and you should be gone.”

  “Not leaving you,” Greer responded, his attention on the traffic in front of them. “Not now or ever.”

  “This shit with Carl is going to get nasty.”

  Greer headed for the freeway. “The moment Tyler Martin sold us out, there was going to be no way it was going to be settled without blood.”

  Dare nodded. “Too bad killing Tyler Martin didn’t teach Carl Davis to leave us alone.”

  “We’re messing with his money supply,” Greer replied. “Kirkland keeps Carl in front of every voter. The media empire his father built is too complex for Carl to not want at his disposal. Why do you think Kirkland is a mega-music sensation? His songs are given priority on the airwaves and in television and movie productions.”

  “It’s going to be a fight to the death, Carl Davis or Shadow Ops,” Dare said.

  Which was why he had to stop thinking about Jenna.

  “You’re thinking about the girl.”

  “When are you going to tell me what the deal is with your sister?” Dare countered.

  Greer surprised him by bristling.

  “Now I really need to know,” Dare said after a few miles.

  “Because it gets under my skin?” Greer’s Scottish accent was bleeding through, proving the subject was a sensitive one.

  “Because I can’t back you up if I don’t know what to look for,” Dare answered. “You were tearing into Caxton’s men pretty deep.”

  Greer changed lanes to go around slower traffic, his knuckles white because he was gripping the steering wheel so hard. “Sorcha is an operative.”

  Dare made a motion with his hand suggesting Greer should continue.

  Greer snorted. “Those bastards want me to forget she exists. Won’t even give me a fucking phone number to reach her with. The truth is, I got this badge to make sure I had enough security clearance to talk to me own blood.” He snarled softly and cut Dare a warning glance. “Put any of that in my file, and I’ll rip your balls off.”

  Dare sent Greer an equally hard glance back. “I survived my family’s slaughter. My Dad took on big drug pushers and they killed my Mom and siblings in front of him. She shoved me in a cabinet, promised me a slice of cake if I stayed quiet. I walked past her body on the way out the door. This badge is how I deal with it.”

  Greer sent him a surprised look. “Guess that explains why you turned the girl loose.”

  “It was for her protection.”

  Greer scoffed at him. “Ye could have sent her to the nest and you know it. Saxon would have let you join his happy team of married agents.”

  He could have.

  Dare wanted to move past that idea, but it clung to his mind as the sun set.

  He’d known her less than two weeks. There was no reason to be hung up on her. Logic dictated he scuttle her and stick to his life plan. There would be other women he’d enjoy sex with before returning to the job he’d pledged his life to.

  So why did he feel like such a fool this time?

  * * *

  “You’ll know…”

  Jenna heard Dare’s voice in her head as the sun was setting. Her feet were killing her, she was starving, and she’d sweat so much, she felt like a glazed donut.

  But she knew him when she spotted the guy.

  He was built like a linebacker. As in a really effective linebacker. His head was shaved and he had a look in his eyes that reminded her of professional mix martial-arts fighters. A love of the action that would override anything like pain. He fought because he was addicted to the thrill of flesh-on-flesh contact. Pain was just proof of his own invincibility.

  He was hunkered down beside a huge boulder. Even on his haunches, the guy’s head was level with the middle of her chest. Jenna stopped and felt every one of her aches as she stared at the guy, but she faced him with a steady look because there was no way she was going to shirk.

  “Guess you’re ‘the guy,’” she said.

  He pushed to his feet and contemplated her. “Name’s Kagan.”

  * * *

  Vitus Hale knew Washington D. C.

  But not in the same way other people did. He was an ex-SEAL, which only meant he was retired from active duty. He
pressed his thumb into a fingerprint scanner and waited for it to identify him.

  Retirement had once been a profane word.

  Now? It represented a happiness he’d been too young and stupid to understand. The door in front of him slid open, allowing him inside what looked like a very neglected hallway. There were cobwebs along the edges of the ceiling and tracks in the middle of the floor where people had walked. Vitus moved down its dingy length, making two turns before he stopped and pressed his face against another scanner that would use his retina for identification.

  This time, the door that slid open was double sealed and reinforced. There was a marine on duty, armed with a high-powered rifle. He was encased in a bullet proof case that had a narrow slit for the muzzle of his rifle to poke out of. He watched as Vitus stopped at a third identification station and waited for a thermal scan of his face.

  When the system cleared him, he offered the soldier a salute before moving down the hallway. He’d made it almost all the way to his wife’s quarters when Damascus came around a corner and threw herself at him.

  “Princess…”

  She let out a sigh before he smothered it in a kiss. Vitus pulled her as close as her distended belly would allow. Even so, their daughter kicked him before he released his pregnant wife.

  “She’s your baby completely.” Damascus smoothed a hand across her belly. “I don’t get a moment’s respite.”

  Vitus grinned, placing his hand over where their unborn baby was wiggling. “I seem to recall you being more than spunky a few times.”

  “Spunky and obnoxious are two vastly different things,” Damascus informed him with a twitch of her lips. “This kid has got to be a boy. I don’t care what the sonogram suggested.”

  Vitus followed his wife into her underground living space. The top-secret labs she worked in were sealed to prevent leaks of the highly contagious pathogens being researched there. Diseases that could so easily be applied as weapons of mass destruction if they made it into the hands of some fanatical nutcase who believed he was serving some higher being by wiping out a section of the population.

  “Now tell me why you’re here, Vitus Hale.” Damascus turned on her husband.

  “To see your mother.”

  Damascus had propped her hands onto her hips. Her belly stuck out, pleasing him in a way he’d never suspected it might.