The other man smiled and strode back to him to give a kiss of his own. “We will.”
Then they were gone, and Noah was alone once more. In the silence, his memories tortured him. No longer able to suppress them, he turned on the television to help drown them out a bit. There wasn’t much on except the early morning news. He lay back in the bed still warm from the bodies that had spent the night there, making love in various ways. It smelled like sex, too, and it helped to ease the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was safe. Haley and Sev could be counted on to ensure the safety of everyone else. He propped up a couple of pillows and tried to relax. The television droned on with news and ads. One for a local college played and with a jolt, he sat up. Damn it all, they had the wrong poet. Jumping up, he stumbled his way into his jeans and ran to find Ms. Mac.
* * * * *
Haley raced down the Massachusetts Turnpike toward the exit to Storrow Drive. She was driving because this was her turf, although she knew Sev hated being a passenger. He liked control, but so did she, and they were both spoiling for a fight. In so many ways they were perfect for each other, yet she knew last night, as wonderful as it had been for them as well as Noah, was the last time they would make love to each other. There was no way to reconcile his need to protect her and her need to protect others. Even now, she could see out of the corner of her eye how tense he was. He was worried about her, she suspected, although he hadn’t said anything. He knew better, yet she knew him too well not to see his thoughts.
Her phone rang. She had plugged it into the dash, so she reached over and hit the speaker button. “What?” she demanded as she exited the Pike and whooshed through the Fast Lane section of the tollbooth.
The clipped voice of Ms. Mac came through. “Mr. Turner has something he needs to tell you.”
“Haley, Sev.” Noah sounded out of breath. “I fucked up. We’ve got the wrong nineteenth-century poet. It’s not Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It’s Ralph Waldo Emerson.”
“Huh?” As she sped down Storrow Drive, she tried to make sense of this new revelation.
“Is there an Emerson Bridge?” Sev asked.
Haley shook her head. “No. There’s an Emerson College.”
Noah’s voice cut in. “That’s what made me realize it was Emerson. I saw an ad for the college on television. I’m sure that it’s Emerson.”
“Are you sure it’s a bridge?” she asked, slowing down, no longer certain where she should be headed.
“Yes.” Noah’s voice sounded strained. Poor guy. His memories were back but not enough to make everything clear.
She racked her brains, trying to see the connection. Bridge. Emerson. Revolutionary War. Poet. Poem. “Fuck me!” she exclaimed and jammed the car fast enough to catch the next crossover to the west side of the road.
“What?” Sev demanded.
She spared him a glance. “It’s not the Longfellow Bridge in Boston that they’re going after. It’s the Old North Bridge in Concord. Or as Emerson termed it ‘the rude bridge that arched the flood’. That’s where the British started getting their asses handed to them after they killed a few guys in Lexington.”
“Yes!” Noah’s excited voice confirmed. “That’s it, that’s where they’re planting a bomb and it will be set to go off sometime during the day.”
“When tourists are around,” added Sev with disgust.
“Exactly,” Haley confirmed. “We’ve being giving these terrorists too much credit. Yes, they want symbolism and a lot of deaths, but they don’t have the brains or stomach to maneuver around the kind of security Boston or even Lexington has right now. Concord gives them enough of what they’re after, only with a lot less security to deal with. We should have realized it from the beginning.”
She turned back onto the Mass Pike, heading west. It wasn’t the most direct route to Concord, but it would put her first on Route 128 and then Route 2. She could go a lot faster on those roads than the local ones that cut a more direct path. “Ms. Mac, please notify everyone of the change in location, but we’ll have to go in quieter now. We can’t afford to upset the populace and we want to catch the bastards in the act. No one’s getting away this time.”
“Agreed,” was the clipped reply and the phone went dead.
Haley looked at Sev. “Hang on.”
* * * * *
Sev watched Haley give final instructions to the other operatives in a low tone. They were twenty strong now, and all hidden away in the town of Concord near the Old North Bridge. Recon had confirmed six guys were working in the Concord River under the bridge. They were planting explosives in the quiet of the morning, hoping to kill God knew how many people later in the day. The plan was to form a ring around the assholes and close in on them as stealthily as possible, kill or capture all of them. The entire operation was hoped to occur without alerting the locals as to what was happening and even more hopefully, without any of the explosives going off.
It would help if none of their people got shot and killed, too, Sev thought. And by their people, he especially meant Haley. She was something to watch, though, he had to give her that, and he knew a sense of pride as well because he had trained her. Her thick hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, her luscious body covered in dark fatigues and a flak jacket. She’d never looked more fuckable to him, and the memories of what they had shared the night before pumped blood to his cock. Of course the adrenaline itself had him semi-hard already. The thought of Haley in his arms, welcoming him into her heated core stiffened him even more. The thought of her going into danger, however, had the opposite effect.
His heart felt as though it scrambled around in his chest as he pictured what the hour was going to bring. The two of them were going in head-on to confront the terrorists. She would be not only in danger, but the central target of it. The urge to lock her away in the trunk of the car was strong. He beat it back. She was a professional and damn good at what she did. So was he, and together they would prevail. He had to believe that. It wasn’t simply for the sake of the people who might be harmed if they failed. He didn’t want to lose her. Being with her again had made that point clear to him. He had to find a way to live with her and their respective careers. Now that he had reconnected with her, in bed and out, the thought of living without her was intolerable. The problem resided within him, so the solution had to as well. He pulled himself back into the present as she broke off from the rest of the group and came toward him.
“It’s time,” she stated simply and stared him in the eye. If she was looking for doubt, she wasn’t going to find it.
“After you, ma’am,” he replied. Pulling his gun from his shoulder holster, he attached the silencer to the weapon and stood at the ready.
Haley narrowed her eyes at him for only a moment before she nodded and started off. They crept in from the street side of the bridge past the visitors center. As they crouched behind cover, they could see two men in high waders under the bridge. Two other men were on land, armed and keeping a lookout. They couldn’t see the last two, but knew they were there also working on the bridge. Sev and Haley waited until voices over their earpieces confirmed everyone was in place. Haley turned around and gave Sev the sign to advance.
In a running crouch, guns held out in front, they approached the men on land. Haley sprang up at the last moment and yelled, “Government agents, freeze!”
At the same time, another operative came from the other side of the bridge with the same command, and agents waded through the river on either side. The Sons did as expected, they fought, preferring to die than to surrender. Haley took out one as soon as he raised his gun to fire at her. Sev trained his eyes and gun on the second lookout. This one was as suicidal as his friend. He aimed his weapon at Sev, but Sev had already planted his feet for a shot that brought the bastard down.
He heard shouts and several more pops of silenced weapons. His people were trying to keep everything as quiet as possible and so far, the terrorists hadn’t been able to get off an
y rounds. After making sure he had killed his target, Sev looked back at Haley and his heart lurched at the sight of a man rising from the bank of the river. His brain did the math quickly, realizing there was a seventh man who had been well hidden. The guy was a few yards behind the operatives, who were dealing with the terrorists planting the bombs. No one other than Sev could see him rising out of the reeds like some swamp monster, and the asshole was bringing up his weapon toward Haley.
Without thinking, Sev started running toward her, holding out his own gun in the hopes of taking down the new menace. Remembering what happened at the warehouse, he gave a shout. “Haley, ten o’clock,” he warned, trying to give her the guy’s location. He kept going to get close enough to shoot the guy just in case. He needn’t have bothered, he realized in a spurt of admiration, pride and love. His woman was good at her job. She had already detected the movement and spun around to meet the danger. With a two-handed grip, she fired her gun and dropped the man.
Haley raced over to the water’s edge to make sure her target was down for good. Looking calm and cool, she walked to the edge of the water to see if her people had everything else under control. They did. Two of the terrorists in the water had chosen life rather than making a political statement. Haley looked over her shoulder and gave Sev a bone-melting smile before barking out orders.
“Demolition, get in there and secure the explosives.” Her voice was strong and rang with command.
When the head demolition man gave her the thumbs-up, she sauntered over to Sev. The smile was broader now. She stopped in front of him and looked him right in the eye before she floored him by wrapping him in her arms for a big hug.
“Holy shit!” she exclaimed in his ear. “We did it.” Pulling back, she looked at him with a wide grin that slowly faded. “I miss going on missions with you,” she confessed in a low voice. “I miss you.”
Sev swallowed past the lump in his throat. He couldn’t believe she was actually saying the things he wanted to hear most. He needed to make sure the reply he gave her didn’t screw things up between them. “I miss it, too. I forgot how good you are.” Dropping his gaze, he continued. “I guess loving you clouded my memories and my judgment.” He stared her in the eye. “You did this.” He tossed his head to indicate their surroundings. “You positioned people perfectly and timed the takedown equally perfectly.”
With a roll of her eyes and shoulders, she said, “We missed the seventh man. That’s not going to look so good in the report.”
“Bullshit. The guy was a minor glitch. You took him out, no problem.” He swallowed again. “I’m proud of you.”
Her eyes widened at the admission, but whatever she might have said in response to his praise, her attention was taken by others needing her time. She turned at the sound of her name and went to deal with prisoners and explosives. Sev sighed and turned to help clean up the bodies. The good citizens of Concord, Mass., would hopefully never be the wiser about what had happened in the early morning in their town. He and the others had done what they had hoped to do, stopped the attack, saved lives. Noah was getting back his memories, too, and that was another thing to be grateful for. The one question was where Sev and Haley stood. Was Haley in love with Noah? Was it too late for Sev, or could he still make things right with her? He had to know, and he had to try. As with any mission, failure was not an option.
* * * * *
Haley was grateful she and Sev ended up with several other operatives in the car with them for the ride back to their offices. If they had been alone, she wasn’t sure what she would have said to the man. He’d said he was proud of the way she had run the mission, and when push had come to shove, he’d trusted her to take care of herself, sort of. She knew he had tried to protect her from the seventh man, but she also knew that she hadn’t needed the help. He knew it, too. She couldn’t keep thinking about that. Sev had been her own personal hero for so long, and apparently he still was. It meant more to her than anything that he valued her skill.
The question was where did they go from here?
She took a quick look at him sitting next to her. God, he was beautiful. She wanted him. She loved him. Now that she’d tasted him again, felt him move within her body once more, it physically hurt to think of having to let him go. The question was whether she could give herself up to be with him. The thought of that hurt, too. Closing her eyes briefly, she sighed silently before stealing another glance at the man beside her. This time she caught him doing the same to her. While his expression was unreadable, there was a definite heat to the look in his eyes. The piercing gaze he gave her in that brief second sent a charge throughout her already jazzed system. The normal high of the mission rush was joined by hot arousal, her sensitive body trapped by her clothes. She wanted to rip them off and pump up the speed of the car to release some of the tension building within her. It didn’t help, either, when she took one more look at Sev and saw how his clothes also appeared to be too tight, at least around his lap.
God, what a tangle. There had to be a way for her and Sev, but in the meantime, there was the mission debriefing to complete. And they couldn’t forget Noah. His memories were coming back, and that was a minor miracle. He would need help, though, and the night the three of them had shared might have complicated things even more on a personal level. Her feelings for the younger man ran deep, but it was Sev she loved. It was all too much to deal with at the moment, so she concentrated on driving and told her body to wait.
* * * * *
Noah didn’t wait in his room for Haley and Sev to come to him. He was done with waiting. The last few days had left him passive and feeling frightened and helpless. Well, that was over with, thank God. His memories were tumbling all over themselves, vying for his attention. In many ways it was worse than not remembering. Memories he would have preferred to keep buried were being resurrected unbidden and it was difficult to deal with them all. He needed time still, lots of it, and Ms. Mac and Dr. Alvarez had a place for him to go. He would get rest, training and counseling and if he wanted to continue with this organization, Ms. Mac assured him they wanted him back on the roster.
He wasn’t sure at the moment what he wanted, except he did need to see the two people who had cared for him and helped him survive this miserable time. No way he could take off without saying goodbye to Haley and Sev and simply hope the two people he cared so much for would find their way back to each other. As he approached the conference room where the debriefing had taken place, he saw the two of them through the open doorway. They were alone and sitting on opposite sides of the big table, as far from each other as they could get. Maybe they had needed that space to finish the task at hand, but now they needed to bridge the gap. He was determined to help them do it. When he walked into the room, he was rewarded by smiles from both of them.
“Noah.” Haley was the first to get up and come over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. Returning the gesture, he pressed his body into hers and lost himself one last time in the sensation that was uniquely Haley. His cock bumped up against her belly and a vision of thrusting into her core arose with his tacit consent. For a few seconds, he pictured making love to her and let the arousal course through him. He would miss her, but she was not for him. He pulled away before his erection became too evident.
“Congratulations on a successful mission,” he said, smiling and stepping out of her arms.
“It’s all thanks to your memories,” she replied.
“Which I might never have recovered in time without your help, without both your help,” he added, looking pointedly at Sev.
The other man had come around to their side of the table, yet held back. Noah would have none of that. Closing the gap between them, he took Sev in a more crushing hold than he had given Haley. This was another man, after all, and the hard muscles of them both required a stronger touch. Once more, Noah’s cock responded, only this time, it was met by another hard bulge instead of the soft curve of a woman. For long se
conds, the two men held each other before Noah broke the embrace and stepped back. This was also not the person for him. Somewhere there was a woman or a man who was right for Noah, someone he would love with the same undying passion he knew these people held for each other.
He backed toward the door. “Thank you both for being my friends. I’m taking off now for rest and treatment. I don’t know what the future holds for me exactly, but I do know you two are my best friends, and that’s never going to change.”
Haley gave him a teary smile. “Good luck, Noah. I’m sure you’re going to be fine.”
“Of course you are,” Sev added in a gruff voice. “We’ll keep in touch.”
“Good,” Noah replied. “I’d like that, but there’s something even more important I’m going to ask you to do.” When they stared at him with concerned, eager faces, he let them have it. “Stop being such stiff-necked, prideful assholes. You love each other, so find a way to make it work.” Turning his back on their shocked faces, Noah stepped off into his future.
Sev was pretty sure the look of shock on Haley’s face mirrored his own. Their friend was back and had just handed them their hearts on a platter. The funny thing was Noah was right, abso-fucking-lutely right. Sev loved Haley and he was pretty sure she loved him back. They had broken up over an issue that could be resolved with a little give and take on both their parts. Whatever Haley might be thinking, Sev knew he was prepared to bend, to compromise, to man up and accept the reality that he couldn’t put the woman he loved in bubble wrap and keep her safe. It was time to lay everything on the line and make things right between them. Stepping forward, he cleared his throat, causing her to shift her gaze from Noah’s retreating back to him.
“I forgot how mouthy the kid could be.”
Haley gave him a rueful grin. “He’ll make a great team leader someday.”
“Yes, he will,” Sev agreed. “The same way you made a great team leader today.” When she waved in dismissal of his praise, he overrode her. “You did, Haley. You know what you’re doing and you do it well. You can take care of yourself, and it was wrong of me to deny your competence and let my fears try to govern your life.”
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