by Katie Reus
He continued peppering her with information as dusk fell outside, and while she created yet another file for one of the suspects, he turned on a dim light in the kitchen so they wouldn’t be in complete darkness. It was more than enough for her to work in.
Hours later she was pleased with what they’d come up with as she scanned the file. This information was gold, the type of stuff that wasn’t easily searchable online. When they were done, she looked up at him once again.
Now he was leaning against one of the counters, water bottle in hand, instead of sitting across from her. “What is it?” he asked, suddenly straightening, as if he read her mind.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about him reading her so easily. Not because she felt in danger with him. After everything that had happened, that wasn’t even a concern anymore. He was way too protective for her to worry about that. The protective edge to him made her wonder if he felt something for her.
Pushing back from her seat, she stretched her legs out in front of her. Thankfully her ankle wasn’t bothering her more than a dull ache she’d been ignoring the past couple of hours. “I want to send all this in to the office.” Because she wanted Elliott and whoever else Wesley had on this task force to combine their information. And it would show her team that she’d been working behind the scenes—and prove that Tucker hadn’t hurt her.
Tucker nodded. “Okay. Do it. I’m willing to go in now.”
“You’re sure?” She shouldn’t even be asking, because it was time, but she surprised herself with the question.
He nodded. “I’ve done nothing wrong and I want to clear the names of my men.”
His men. Tucker didn’t say anything about himself. Yeah, that was why his team had listened to him even when it was clear they’d wanted to buck his orders about not coming to D.C. Now more than ever, she was determined to help him.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called Wesley once she’d put the battery back in.
Selene picked up on the first ring, surprising Karen. “Hey. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Is Wesley with you?”
“No, in a meeting. He’s gone dark, so I can’t reach him. All his calls are being forwarded to my number. He’s pissed about what you did.” There was no censure in Selene’s voice, which made Karen breathe easier.
“He’ll get over it,” Karen said dryly.
That earned her a chuckle from Selene. “That’s exactly what I said.”
“Listen, I’ve spent the last couple hours with Tucker going over the men on that list he sent you guys. I’ve compiled a decent file for each of them.” Her questions wouldn’t be as good as a full-scale interview or interrogation, but Karen had been at her job for four years. She knew the right things to ask in a situation like this. “I’m assuming Elliott’s working on this, but I wanted to make sure before I send him everything.” And Karen planned to utilize more of her resources once she had access to her work computer.
“Yep, he’s on it. Send away. . . . You sure you’re okay?”
They had a code word that Karen could work into the conversation if she was under duress. They all had one. “Yes, I swear. And by now you’ve tracked my cell phone and have someone en route to get us. Tucker and I are at a friend’s brownstone. She’s out of town, has no clue I’m here. No one does, so we’re safe. And you don’t need to breach the freaking place. I’ll answer the door.”
“It’s just you and Pankov?” Selene asked, ignoring most of what Karen said.
“Yeah.”
“Put me on speaker.”
“Hold on.” After doing so, she laid the phone on the table in front of her. “You’re on.”
“Tucker Pankov, this is Selene Marks.” Karen didn’t negate Selene’s use of an alias. Of course the woman would use one; she always did. “We met in Miami last year. I don’t know that I properly got to thank you for your help.”
Moving like a predator, Tucker sank into the seat across from Karen, his entire body pulled taut. “Max said you guys wrapped everything up tight with that op. Nice to hear your voice again.”
“So . . . you’ve got yourself stuck in a pile of shit, huh?”
To Karen’s surprise, Tucker laughed, a real one. The action smoothed out the hard planes of his face, giving him a softer look. She wanted to be the one to make him laugh like that again. “Guess you could say that.”
“We ran those prints you sent us. . . .” Selene let out a low whistle. “They appear to be pricey hitters. Former jobs have them listed as contractors, but looking at the way they’ve been paid, I say they’re hired guns, not just personal security. And those guys are linked to the dead guy we found at the crash site of your truck earlier. He’s former Army, just like the first four sets of prints, but not a hired gun like the others. At least not well-known enough to be on any databases, and his financials don’t indicate hired mercenary. All of them were in the same division, which tells us a lot about them and whoever hired them.”
“You found out who hired them?” Tucker sat up straighter, his gaze intense.
“No, but we’re working on finding a common thread. Trying to see if we can link one or all of them to someone on that list of DEA agents.”
Tucker shifted a fraction against the seat, hope flickering across his expression for a moment before it was gone and his stoic mask was back in place. “Your boss believes me and my guys?”
Selene made a noncommittal grunt. “Something’s not right here and your alleged crimes don’t match up with the profiles of you and your men. Sometimes people go off the tracks for whatever reason—money, religion, revenge—but none of that fits the profile here. The more we dig, the clearer it becomes this is a setup. A very thorough one. And just my personal opinion, from all accounts you’ve gone out of your way not to hurt Karen. Even that cop you held up at gunpoint, you could’ve just shot him but you didn’t. Doesn’t sound like a cold-blooded killer who tried to blow up the Botanic Garden.”
Tucker rubbed a hand over his face, seeming to relax for the first time since Karen had met him. “Just let me know how you want this to go down. I can come out first and your people can bring me in or Karen can leave the place first and I’ll come out next. I’ll keep my hands visible and strip off enough so you can see I’m unarmed.”
Selene was silent for a long moment, then said, “Take me off speaker, Karen.”
Without pause Karen took the phone off speaker and put it to her ear. “What’s up?”
“While Wesley’s dark, I’ve got some operational latitude. That said, after I got your call and we picked up that dead guy from the locals, I wanted to be sure we knew how you guys were tracked. Elliott came up with it, so I can’t take credit for it, but we started looking at all the immediate family members of Pankov, Brooks, Kane, and Erickson. There’s a new wiretap warrant for any family the four of them might reach out to, which makes sense after the bombing. But Elliott discovered that a few of their family members had already been under surveillance for the past month. The order originated from the DEA, but he’s not sure who from and the paperwork is sketchy. We’re going to find out, though.”
“Tucker called his parents from a burner phone when we were driving. He tossed it right after making the call, though.” Still, it wouldn’t have been the hardest thing to track them for someone with the right equipment. It just meant that someone had access to satellites and had been lucky enough to have someone in the area to hunt them down.
“He didn’t toss it soon enough,” Selene said. “Someone with a lot of resources is out for blood. That attempted hit in the middle of the day . . . I saw pictures of the truck you were in. So, answer me honestly, how would you feel about sitting tight with Pankov for another couple hours?”
Karen met his gaze again and couldn’t fight the shiver of awareness that streaked through her. “Okay.”
“I figure you can use a few hours of sleep and you’re sure as hell not going to get it if we bring you in now. But be real with me.”
&n
bsp; “It’s fine, Selene, I swear.” Though she was unsure why Selene would be asking. At this point she was running on fumes and could do with some rest. Being with Tucker made her feel surprisingly safe.
“Ortiz and Freeman have their hands full with an assignment, but when they’re done I’m sending them over to get you. Only Elliott and I are aware of this place, so absolutely no one will know where you are. I know you and Ortiz are friends and he’s one of the only guys I trust implicitly with your life. I just need to make sure you’re okay staying with Pankov. I’d pick you up myself, but—”
“Okay.” Karen didn’t need to hear any more. Wesley had left Selene in charge for a reason and if Selene wanted to wait for two men she trusted to pick them up, that was more than fine with Karen. “I could use a shower now anyway.” At her words, Tucker’s eyes flickered with surprise before his gaze went molten. He’d obviously figured out that Selene wasn’t sending someone to get them right away.
Feeling her cheeks heat up, she glanced away and wrapped up with Selene, telling her where they’d ditched the dead guy’s SUV. Of course Elliott already knew where it was, as he’d tracked them right up until they’d stolen the Jeep. Then he’d apparently lost her and Tucker. Once they’d disconnected she relayed everything to Tucker.
He was surprised Selene was waiting but didn’t seem to mind. “If you want to grab a shower I’ll clean up down here. Then I’ll take one after you,” Tucker said.
“We could both take one.” As soon as she’d said the words she realized how it sounded and cursed her fair skin. Her cheeks heated up as she hurried on. “I just meant there are two bathrooms upstairs, so you don’t have to wait or anything.”
His expression barely changed as he watched her and she wished she knew what he was thinking. “I’ll wait.”
Okay, then. After e-mailing Elliott the files, she hurried upstairs and tried not to think of what it would be like to actually share a shower with someone as sexy as Tucker. She’d only seen bits of his exposed skin, namely those delicious forearms, but it was impossible to hide that built body under his clothes. She couldn’t help wondering what the rest of him looked like.
As she thought it, she was also very aware of the fact that there was only one bed in her friend’s place. The other room was used as an office. She planned on crashing after her shower and wondered if Tucker did too. Nerves fluttered in her stomach at the thought of sharing a bed with him. The thought of kissing him—or more—got her a lot more flustered than she’d thought possible. He probably wasn’t even thinking along those same lines. But if he was . . . she wouldn’t mind sharing more than just a bed with him.
Chapter 11
Going dark: when an operative cuts all communication for a certain period of time.
Tucker ran a towel over his damp hair as he stepped out of the guest bathroom. As he moved into the hallway, he tensed at a humming sound until he realized it was a blow-dryer coming from the other bathroom.
Despite what he’d told Karen, he’d snagged a quick shower while she was taking hers. He didn’t like that this place lacked a security system, but he was armed and this was a fairly safe area as far as homes went.
After another quick check of the place, he tossed his clothes and the ones Karen had left on the floor of her friend’s room into the washing machine. They wouldn’t be here that much longer, but he wasn’t sure when Karen would get clean clothes again. Then he put on a pair of sweatpants he kept in his duffel bag. He and his team were always prepared with extra clothes, and in this case he had clothes and ammo. He’d given his money and fake passports to Cole before they left the house.
By the time he was heading back up the stairs, the sound of the hair dryer had stopped and he could hear Karen moving around in her friend’s room. Though he wanted to stay up until the team from the NSA arrived, he knew he needed to catch a few hours of sleep. At this point he had no idea what the future held and he was running on fumes. Since he’d be meeting with Burkhart soon, that wasn’t acceptable. He had to be in top form when he talked to the head of the NSA.
The bedroom door was half-open, but he knocked on it anyway as he stepped into the entryway. She was wearing plaid pink-and-black pajamas she must have borrowed from her friend. They were a little long on her, so she’d rolled the sleeves up at the wrists. Still, they didn’t do anything to hide the outline of her full breasts. What he wouldn’t give to cup them, to tease them with his tongue—nope. Not going there again. He’d already had to take a cold shower to cool down, not that it had helped. Jacking off had, though. Or he’d thought it had until he saw her standing there looking refreshed and so fucking gorgeous he experienced another one of those jolts to his system he’d only ever had around her.
Her green eyes widened when she saw him, her gaze trailing over his bare chest. Shit, maybe he should have put on a shirt, but he’d known they’d be sleeping soon. At first he thought it was just shock, but then he got a hint of something else. As though maybe she liked what she saw.
Still, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. “I’ll put on a shirt,” he murmured, moving for the duffel bag he’d left at the foot of the queen-size bed. “And I’ll be bunking on the floor. Is that okay?” Mostly for security reasons, but he wasn’t letting her out of his sight for reasons he didn’t want to examine too closely.
“No,” she said quickly.
He paused with his hand on the bag. He hadn’t thought she’d care about him sleeping on the floor. It bothered him that she did. “Uh, I think it would be better if we stay in the same room. We need to stay close. We can sleep on the couches downstairs instead, though.” If he had to he’d just sleep in the hallway if she was that nervous. Because he wasn’t leaving her unprotected.
“Oh no, I mean, you don’t have to put on a shirt. And we can share the bed.” Her cheeks flushed pink and, fuck him, his dick went hard—okay, harder than he already was.
He stood and picked up his bag, holding it low and hoping he looked casual and not as if he was trying to cover up his annoying erection. He’d always been in control of his dick. Always. Until, apparently, Karen. “I’ve had worse sleeping conditions than this. With a blanket and pillow, I’ll be good to go.”
She shook her head and stuck her chin out. It was slight, but he’d noticed that she did it when she was being stubborn about something. Like when she’d told him she wasn’t leaving him to get shot by the cops. She’d been so fierce and determined he’d known that arguing with her would have been pointless. And okay, he hadn’t wanted to leave her anyway. “That’s stupid. Our first meeting was you kidnapping me.” He winced at her words, but she half smiled as if it didn’t bother her before continuing. “I’m just saying I think we’re way past any sense of formality or whatever. I’m freaking exhausted and I know you have to be. I bet you and your team were up super early planning to grab me. And while you might be used to crazy days like today, you need to sleep too. If you try to sleep on the floor I’ll just get down there with you. Which will make you feel guilty and then you’ll end up in the bed anyway. So just give in now and save yourself—and me—a headache.”
He blinked in surprise, an unexpected grin curving his mouth. The woman was an absolute force of nature. “Fine, the bed it is.” God help him, he really hoped it led to more than just sleep. Which was a stupid thought considering the circumstances, but the thought of being able to hold her, kiss her . . . He shut that thought down.
She gave him a real smile and for a moment he forgot to fucking breathe. Actually forgot to draw in a breath. It was like a punch to his solar plexus. The woman was stunning.
“I knew you’d see it my way,” she murmured, still smiling as she turned from him and pulled the covers down.
Her friend had some kind of Arabian Nights theme happening with the striped red, gold, and purple comforter and a billion pillows—which Karen shoved onto the floor.
“I don’t know why she needs all these pillows,” she muttered, shaking her head.
That was when he realized he was still standing there like a moron.
Moving into action, he shut the door and locked it, then pulled his weapon from the back of his waistband. “This is loaded,” he said, laying it on one of the dressers next to the head of the bed. “I’ve got another couple weapons in my bag and extra ammo if we need it.” He hated the spark of fear in her gaze, but he had to say it. “I doubt we will, but just in case. And . . . I just need to get this out. If shit goes haywire and something does happen, I need you to run. Okay?” She had to be safe. Not just because he was the one who’d dragged her into this mess, but because some intrinsic part of him couldn’t deal with it if she wasn’t.
“Okay.” She said it a little too quickly and there was no conviction in her voice.
“Karen—”
“Tucker, I’m so tired my eyeballs actually hurt,” she said, sliding into the bed and pulling the covers up to her waist.
“Me too,” he murmured, sliding in next to her, propping a hand under his head. He knew how big he was and tried to keep to his side of the bed so she’d have more space. If it had been a king-size bed, it would have been easier, but even with a queen, his feet were pretty much hanging off the thing and his shoulder touching hers.
She lay on her back too, but looked stiff, so he half rolled onto his side. “If you want you can curl up against me. I know I take up a lot of space.”
To his complete and utter surprise, she did just that. Hell, he hadn’t exactly expected her to; had been thinking she might tell him to take the floor after all. And it made that insane protective urge swell up again.
Tucking her head against his chest, she curled right into him and gently laid her hand on his side. There was nothing sexual about her touch, even if he wanted there to be. Then she let out a contented sigh, her breath fanning over his skin. She might be lean, but there was an incredible softness to her. He wasn’t sure if it was the circumstances or her, or probably a combination, but he couldn’t ever remember feeling so drawn to a woman before. She brought out too many damn feelings in him. He didn’t hate it.