by Maya Banks
The person sitting next to her in the middle seat got up and headed for the lavatory, and P.J. leaned into the window, hoping to get an hour nap before they landed in Nashville. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cole also head in the direction of the bathroom from several rows behind her.
When the woman who’d been sitting next to P.J. came out, Cole stopped her and the two spoke a moment. Cole turned on that infectious charm with the suave smile, and in disgust, P.J. watched as the woman became putty in his hands.
She frowned even harder when the woman returned but didn’t stop at her seat and instead continued on. Then Cole started back down the aisle without going into the bathroom and she groaned when he stepped over the person in the aisle seat and plunked down beside P.J.
“Oh come on, Cole,” P.J. muttered. “Was that really necessary?”
He grinned. “I just told her that we’re traveling together and couldn’t get seat assignments and then offered her my aisle seat a few rows back. She was happy to accommodate us.”
“And again, why?”
“Loosen up, Rutherford. You’re way too uptight. You act like last night was the end of the world.”
“Shut up!” she hissed out between her teeth. “I’m not having this conversation with you on a crowded plane.”
He turned and leaned in so he was close, and he murmured in a low voice, “It happened, P.J. Nothing you say or do changes that fact, so get over it.”
“It doesn’t mean you have to act like we’re a freaking couple now.”
“Why are you so prickly?” he asked.
There was no censure or condemnation, just honest curiosity.
“You’ve been standoffish since day one. No one can get close to you. No one can ask you questions. Hell, you know all there is to know about me, Dolphin, Renshaw and Baker. Not so much Steele, but then who does? But you act like it’s a cardinal sin for us to know a damn thing about you. What happened with S.W.A.T. sucks, but do you honestly think the team would judge you if they knew? Or is it that you don’t trust us because your last team let you down?”
She sighed and banged her head against the window. They still had two more hours and now Cole was right up in her space. No escaping. Unless she wanted to hang out in the cramped lavatory for the rest of the flight.
He shifted closer to her until his shoulder rested against hers and she could smell him. Her soap on him, since he’d used her shower. But she used plain soap, so that wasn’t what she was smelling. It was him. Clean, delicious male.
It was too easy to remember how much time she’d spent up close and personal to all that wonderful male flesh. She’d licked him and he’d licked her in return. Oh yes, he had.
She shivered.
“You cold?” he asked. “I can adjust your vent.”
She shook her head and wondered how she was going to survive the next two hours.
CHAPTER 5
WHEN P.J. and Cole left the security gate in Nashville, P.J. groaned when she saw Dolphin standing a short distance away holding a sign that said P.J. in big letters. Smart-ass. She’d usually have fun with it and give him some shit, but not today.
He grinned when he saw both her and Cole and then started in their direction. He was the epitome of cocky good ole boy. He was originally from Texas and he had the worn cowboy look down without actually looking like he was right off the ranch.
More often than not he wore jeans with at least half a dozen holes, flip-flops that made him look like he was heading to the beach and a T-shirt, usually with a snarky saying. Today’s offering was “Heavily armed, easily pissed.”
Damn but she wanted that T-shirt.
He, like Cole, was a former navy SEAL, and he’d been called Dolphin since BUD/S training, because he swam like one. The man was more at-home in the water than on land. P.J. half expected she’d find gills in his rib cage somewhere.
“Fancy meeting you here, Cole,” Dolphin said with a sly grin.
Before P.J. could contemplate removing Cole’s testicles—she knew this was going to happen!—he responded so casually that she even believed him.
“I tagged P.J. coming out of one of the gates. Figured we were going the same place so we may as well hitch a ride together.”
Dolphin frowned. “You went out of town?”
Cole snorted. “I do have a life, you know. We were supposed to be up for some extended R and R.”
P.J. cut in, relieved that Dolphin seemed to accept Cole’s explanation. “So what’s up anyway, Dolphin? Steele was as closed mouthed as ever when he called me up.”
Dolphin shrugged as he motioned them toward the doorway leading to the parking garage. “Got me. You know him. We’ll know all when Steele deems it appropriate. Me, I’m just the errand boy sent to provide P.J. a ride.”
Just then Cole’s phone went off. He glanced down and frowned as he read the message.
“What’s up?” P.J. asked and then realized how nosy she sounded.
But Cole didn’t seem bothered.
“Looks like a text that just got through. Steele says we’re meeting at his house, not the compound.”
“Oh yeah,” Dolphin said. “You didn’t know? I figure the world’s coming to an end. Us seeing Steele’s inner sanctum? This must be some pretty heavy-duty shit. I just hope to hell my OnStar can find it. Knowing him, it’s probably not on any official GPS map.”
P.J. and Cole exchanged a look. Dolphin was being a smart-ass but he wasn’t far off the mark. Suddenly she was anxious to get the hell where they were going so she could find out what sort of mission they’d been called up on.
When they arrived at Dolphin’s truck, he grabbed P.J.’s pack before she could toss it in the back herself. She climbed into the extra cab, leaving the front for Cole. She only hoped he took the hint. She found herself holding her breath as he walked around the other side.
To her relief, he climbed in the front just as Dolphin slid behind the wheel.
“You get any rest at all, P.J.?” Dolphin asked as he glanced in the rearview mirror.
It took everything she had not to blush. Cole made a noise that sounded like a cross between a cough and a laugh. She wanted to stick her knife right through the back of his neck. Asshole was enjoying this.
“Slept like a baby,” she said in a silky voice.
Dolphin shook his head. “I wish I had. I thought we were in for a long layoff so I went out. Hell, my head is still hurting.”
P.J. rolled her eyes. Dolphin’s nights out were legendary. He always had a new story about all the crap he got into. At least it passed the time during transit and when they were stuck in some shit hole awaiting orders or for the enemy to make their move.
“I didn’t get much sleep,” Cole said slyly.
Dolphin guffawed. “You finally get laid, dude? I was beginning to think you were considering monkhood.”
P.J. wanted to crawl under the seat. It wasn’t that the discussion was anything out of the ordinary. When she was working, she was just one of the guys. She didn’t get a pass because she was female, and she liked it that way. No way she wanted them acting all weird around her, afraid to say anything for fear of offending her.
What surprised her even more was that if Dolphin’s words were to be taken to heart, Cole had told the truth about not hopping into bed with just anyone.
“Monkhood? Nah. Just needed to meet the right woman.”
Dolphin made an exaggerated rear back with his head. “Dude! Don’t tell me you’re off the market! I knew the damn Kellys were bad influences. If we aren’t careful, we’re all going to be domesticated and ball-less before it’s over with.”
P.J. closed her eyes and willed Dolphin to drive faster.
“Nothing wrong with one woman,” Cole drawled. “As long as it’s the right one.”
“So, do tell,” Dolphin urged. “What’s she like?”
Cole grinned. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”
Thank God.
“So that’s why y
ou were out of town, then,” Dolphin mused. “How she feel about you being yanked out of her bed so abruptly?”
Cole cut a glance over his shoulder in P.J.’s direction, and she shot him a murderous glare that said If you don’t shut up, I’ll kill you.
He chuckled and drummed his fingers on the dashboard. “She was remarkably understanding. Of course, I promised her I’d be back as soon as I possibly could.”
P.J. choked and then coughed to cover the sound. She was so going to kick his damn ass over this. He was going to torture her endlessly, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it without letting everyone else know they’d slept together.
“When was the last time you got laid, P.J.?”
Her eyes widened as she stared back at Dolphin, who was peering at her in the rearview mirror. It wasn’t as if it was an out-of-the-ordinary question, especially coming from Dolphin, who had no couth. The whole “one of the guys” thing. But his timing sucked ass.
Cole turned in his seat and sent her a wicked grin. “Yeah, P.J., when was the last time you got nasty between the sheets?”
She flipped them both off and turned her gaze out the window as they flew down the interstate.
She dozed on and off, trying to block out the memory of the night before. She was jerked awake when her head bumped the window, and she straightened to see they were driving down a long dirt driveway.
“Wow,” she said.
“Yeah,” Cole replied. “Impressive.”
Acres of rolling pasture spread out on either side of the driveway. In the distance a huge pond glistened in the fading afternoon sun. Horses grazed sporadically. She hadn’t imagined Steele to be a horse person.
A sprawling ranch house was situated in the middle of the small block of acreage that was cleared. Thick forest surrounded them on all sides, and knowing Steele, he likely owned it all and controlled access as tightly as they did Fort Knox.
“Hey, did you have to give a blood sample at the gate?” P.J. said as she leaned forward.
Dolphin chuckled. “He damn near made me get out and drop trou to give him a urine specimen.”
P.J. grinned. They gave Steele shit privately, but to his face—and behind his back too—they gave him absolute respect. They might joke about how much of a hard-ass he was, but he had their unwavering loyalty.
Steele had given her a chance. Despite her past, her record. He’d looked beyond what was on paper and the fact that she’d walked away from a position on a S.W.A.T. team, and he’d believed in her.
In return she gave him one hundred and fifty percent every time.
Their team was kick-ass and she knew so without false modesty. They worked like a well-oiled machine. She and Cole were damn good snipers. Baker and Renshaw were the muscle and the brains behind explosives and tactical maneuvers. Dolphin was their utility man. He could do a little bit of everything, whatever the team needed. Steele was just one badass motherfucker and he could do it all.
Not that Cole wasn’t just as much of a badass . . . But he, more often than not, was sniping with P.J. He’d actually scared her shitless when he’d taken a bullet when the teams had gone into Colombia to rescue Rachel Kelly from a fucked-up situation.
She’d never admit it. Not in a million years.
Now it made her think of Dolphin’s own close call not so long ago.
“Hey man, you feeling okay?” she asked as they pulled to a stop behind the other parked vehicles.
Baker and Renshaw were obviously already there.
Dolphin turned with a lifted brow. “What’s this? Concern from my teammate?”
She scowled. “Of course I’m concerned. Did you get clearance for this?”
He shook his head and got out of the truck and then politely opened her door for her.
“I’m fine,” he said, when she stared up at him.
He held up his fist and she smiled and bumped it. Cole tossed her the bag that he got out of the bed of the truck, and they headed toward the doorway.
“About time you two got here,” Steele said from the front porch. “Where you been, Coletrane? I figured you’d be here long before now.”
“Was out of town,” Cole said easily. “Thought we were getting some R and R. I caught up with P.J. at the airport and Dolphin gave us both a ride in.”
Steele grimaced. “Yeah, sorry about having to call you up.”
“So what’s going on, boss man?” Dolphin asked. “Why did you call us up so quickly? Must be some heavy shit going down, right?”
Steele turned and motioned them inside. “I’ll give you the report with the others. We don’t have a lot of time.”
CHAPTER 6
THEY stepped inside the spacious foyer of Steele’s home, and P.J. curiously took in as much as possible as he walked the two steps down into the sunken living room.
It was all male, rugged and outdoorsy. It had the look of a hunting lodge. Rustic. Something you might find in the mountains alongside a trout stream.
Wood floor, cedar furniture, huge stone fireplace. There were several taxidermy pieces, from a huge elk over the fireplace to the mule deer mounted directly across the room facing the elk.
A bear rug covered the floor in front of the fireplace, and several other animal hides were either pinned to the walls or covering the backs of the furniture.
It looked like a hunter’s paradise. And, well, Steele was essentially the biggest badass hunter there was. He just happened to hunt men along with what other big game he hunted.
To her surprise, when they entered the living room, Donovan Kelly was seated with Baker and Renshaw on one of the far couches.
Van, as he was called by those close to him, ran KGI with his brothers Sam and Garrett. More recently their younger brothers, Ethan, Nathan and Joe, had joined their ranks, but the three older Kellys essentially ran the show.
Donovan was the computer geek, and while some people would look at him compared to his hulking Neanderthals for brothers and immediately think nerd, Donovan was a badass through and through. P.J. had a lot of respect for him.
He was quiet. Didn’t need to be loud to get his point across. Plus he was smart, and for P.J. there was nothing sexier than a smart man. And if he happened to be a complete badass too? The perfect package.
“Hey, there they are,” Baker called out as he scrambled off the couch.
There was a moment of fist bumping and grasping of hands as the team reunited. One would think they’d been separated forever instead of just three days. But they also knew that in their line of work, there was always the possibility that one of them wouldn’t come back from a mission.
It was a reality they lived with, and it made them closer. While P.J. might cringe at the thought of having people close to her, this was essentially her family. A whole bunch of big brothers. Well, except for Cole. She’d pretty much axed any chance she’d ever look at him as a sibling. Not that she ever had anyway.
Steele and Donovan were both looking at her oddly, and she couldn’t shake the sensation that somehow everything she and Cole had done the night before was on her face for the world to see.
Donovan moved to her side, gave her a greeting, but it seemed grim. Alarm prickled up her spine. This had nothing to do with any silly self-consciousness she was feeling. Donovan wouldn’t be here at all if this weren’t a pretty damn important mission.
“Have a seat,” Steele told everyone.
He and Donovan both remained standing as the others slouched on the couch and in the chairs. P.J. made sure to grab the only available spot left on the couch next to Baker and Renshaw, forcing Cole to take one of the unoccupied armchairs across from the sofa.
Steele took a deep breath. P.J. honed in on his mood with pinpoint accuracy. He was hesitant, which flabbergasted her, because he wasn’t the hesitating type. Steele was nothing if not to the point.
“I apologize for calling all of you up after you were promised time off. Something came up, though. Something big.”
P
.J. and the others leaned forward. Everyone had gone completely still at his announcement, because, indeed, it would have to be big to elicit this kind of reaction.
Steele turned to Donovan, who stepped forward, his expression one of utter seriousness.
“Carter Brumley is one of the largest traffickers of children in the world. He likes them young, preferably in the range of eight to twelve, and he deals exclusively in females.”
The hatred in Donovan’s voice was evident to all, and now it made perfect sense to P.J. why he was here and why the team had been called up. Above all things, Donovan had a soft spot for children. Women and children, but particularly kids.
He had a hand in every single mission that dealt with children, whether they were missing, exploited or kidnapped.
“He’s public enemy number one in a number of countries. Many agencies have gotten close, but no one has been able to take him down. He’s smart, but he’s also lucky and he has more lives than a cat.”
“We going after him?” Dolphin asked.
Steele silenced him with a look.
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Donovan said grimly. “An opportunity has presented itself that we can’t pass up. But in order to get close to him, we’re going to have to use unorthodox means.”
P.J.’s brow went up at that.
That was when both Steele and Donovan looked directly at her.
“Brumley’s right-hand man has a predilection for petite brunettes with killer legs. He likes them toned, small busted. Not too small, but not overly endowed.”
P.J. had the sudden urge to cover her chest with both arms as she stared at the men in mortification. They were all but assessing her charms in front of God and everyone.
Her lips curled in disgust. She was being such a goddamn girl. Here, she was one of the guys. Not a one of them would be so much as blinking an eye if they were talking about each other’s dick size.
“He also has a big mouth,” Donovan continued on. “We got a tip from a prostitute he had an association with that he’s a talker. With enough alcohol and encouragement, he’ll air damn near anything.”