Bourne to Love Emma (RED-Stone Operatives Book 1)

by Paxton, MacKenzie K.

  I napped off and on the rest of the day and he worked on his laptop while keeping an eye on Mia. He slept on the couch again that night.

  Friday morning, I rolled out of bed feeling almost 100% back to normal. As I was opening my bedroom door, Jason was coming in the front door. I looked at him in surprise and he smiled. He gave me a quick hug and explained that Carla had already come and gone – she took Mia back downstairs to give me the day to try to work or rest, whichever I needed most. He had an appointment, so he was about to wake me up to let me know he was leaving. He also had a business trip that would take him out of town tonight, but he should be back late Saturday night.

  As he was leaving, after he kissed my forehead, I caught his hand in mine to stop him from closing the door.

  “I was thinking. Maybe Sunday… we could … have dinner? You and me and Mia? I owe you a good meal for taking care of us.”

  “You don’t owe me anything, Em. I’m just glad I was here and could help you. It worries me that you girls are over here on your own sometimes.”

  I laughed. “I think you’ve been trained to worry. We’ve been fine on our own for a while.”

  He smiled softly and leaned in to kiss me gently on the corner of my mouth. I could tell by the tension in his body that it took a lot for him to pull back just then.

  “Sunday sounds great, Em. I gotta run. Lock up for me.”

  I grin as I remember the last time he waited for me to lock the door. He smiled back and I knew he was thinking about it, too.

  I closed the door and flipped the locks. I had a ton to get done after being down for four days and I needed to run to the store for groceries today so I could do it without Mia in tow.

  ~Jason~

  I’d been lying here in the dark for over three hours now. My body was reminding me that I was getting older and concrete wasn’t the type of surface I needed to spend this much time on. We spent four hours in the same damn spot last night.

  My night-vision goggles painted everything in shades of green, but there was nothing going on down there at all. Just like nothing had been going on the entire time I’d been up here.

  I tapped the comm unit at my throat and quietly said, “Tex. What’s your status? Over.”

  After a second, I heard him in my ear, “Bourne. I don’t have shit. This is another bullshit recon, ain’t it? Over.”

  “I thought we had that shit figured out. You think we still have issues? Over.”

  “When do we NOT have issues, brother? Over.”

  I was smiling as I reached up to tap my comm again when I saw it. Fuck me. No wonder this assignment had been called by the boss-man himself.

  “Tex. What the fuck, dude? Over.”

  “I have no fucking idea. Circling around for a better view. Cover me. Over”

  I kept my eye on the body creeping toward the abandoned warehouse. That asshole had no idea what kind of shit he just stepped in. My scope stayed locked on him while I waited for Tex to get in position.

  In my ear, he green-lighted phase two. “All clear. I’m taking his ass down. Keep an eye on the alley – it’s the only blind spot from my drop. Over.”

  “Copy that. Will wait for your signal. Over.”

  Through my scope, I watched and waited. When the perp got about fifteen feet from the doors, a shadow suddenly separated from the side of the warehouse and launched at him. His high pitched scream only lasted for a split second before he was on the ground and quiet. I kept sweeping the area, watching the alley, as Tex dragged the body into the shadows. I slowly started working my way counter-clockwise toward Tex’s original location so I would have a better angle to cover him.

  We gave it about five minutes. When there was no response to the take down, Tex cleared it. “Off-site ASAP. I’ll carry him if you carry my gear. Over.”

  I broke down his rifle and my own and grabbed the duffel bags. I kept my 9 mm out and ready. “Copy. Loaded up. Let me clear the alley before you move. Over.”

  “Copy that.”

  I made my way through the darkness around the buildings surrounding the warehouse we had been watching all night. Only one of them had a night guard and he didn’t do outside patrols, so we should be in the clear. I reached the alley and edged just inside. All was quiet. As I lowered my gun and reached to call Tex to exit, I heard voices.

  Sounded like a drug deal was going down just thirty feet away.

  I clicked the comm, “Hold your position. Over.”

  I crouched down and eased closer, slowing my breathing and focusing on the voices I could hear. Three men. Two Hispanic, one white. Maybe mid-to-late twenties. I listened as they wrapped up their deal and someone walked away. The talking switched to Spanish and started getting louder as the two remaining men moved toward my end of the alley.

  Shit.

  “Plan B. Meet you at the truck. Radio silent. Over,” I whispered into my mic. The two clicks that sounded in my ear let me know that Tex heard me and was bugging out another direction. I holstered my gun and grabbed my knife out of its sheath. I wouldn’t engage unless I had no choice – but in this part of town, they weren’t going to run across me and just walk away. I had wide open space just feet behind me, but there was no way for me to stand up and get there without drawing their attention and I had no idea if they were armed. Killing civilians is almost never authorized and we absolutely avoided it if we had any other option, so I sank deeper into the darkness and waited.

  They walked right past me… and then stopped about ten feet away. They were turned away from me, but I was still stuck. I waited. And waited. And then something moved in the trash just across the alley from me.

  As they turned, I leapt from my crouched position and shoved the one closest to me into the other as hard as I could, sending them both stumbling into the wall and to the ground. And then I ran. I slid my knife back into its sheath and slung the duffle handles over my arms like a backpack. They weren’t heavy but they were awkward and certainly weren’t going to make this easy. But our rifles were like a part of us – no way was I leaving them behind.

  As I reached the mouth of the alley, I could hear them coming my way. Fuckers. I ran between two buildings and vaulted over a chain link fence – nearly getting hung up on the top because of the bags. I dodged construction equipment and was almost to the next lot when I heard them coming over the fence.

  I melted back into the shadows and listened. After a moment, a car alarm went off on the other side of where they were and they ran for it. I laughed to myself. I owed Tex a beer. I stood up and hustled my ass out of there.

  When I saw the truck down the street, I jogged to it and hopped in the bed before I thumped the cab twice with my fist and he took off. I leaned against the back of the cab and shook my head. Damn. The adrenaline high was pumping and I still couldn’t believe who we caught slinking around down there. John was going to be some kind of pissed when we called him for an update.

  Half an hour later, we were sitting in one of the “meeting rooms” at RED-Stone. It was a 12x12 room with one wall of one-way glass for observation and it was soundproof.

  Dickhead was sitting strapped to a chair in one corner of the room. We hadn’t said shit to him since he started coming to. We had put a cloth bag over his head to disorient him further and were waiting in the observation room for John to show up before we did anything else.

  Then John walked in. “I called Crash in for this. You’ve both been in the office enough that he might recognize your voice and I want him to wonder who the hell caught him. Fucker.”

  Crash was another former SEAL. We’d only worked together a couple of times, but he was damn good at his job. He spent the majority of his time in foreign countries since he just left the Teams last year and his contacts were all still hot. He was one hell of an asset to us.

  Tex cut out after about an hour of the interrogation. Technically, we weren’t needed at this point, but it felt wrong to just leave. It was already after midnight. Surprisingly, the l
ittle shit was holding up pretty well under questioning. I figure I’ll stick around a while longer and see if anything breaks loose, but I’ll leave if it’s still dragging at one.

  Chapter 8

  ~Emma~

  Heather called me this morning while I was playing “what’s that smell?” in Mia’s room. Sometimes that child of mine likes to hide things that shouldn’t be hidden. And she can’t talk well enough for me to know why that might be. It’s my own fault for letting her walk around with food at any time. I need to get better about that….

  Carla was going to watch Mia tonight so Heather and I could go dancing at Club Echo. We hadn’t been in probably six months and she called my raincheck for missing Taco Tuesday and turned it into Strip Club Saturday – but I convinced her that we just needed to drop the “Strip” and I would go. She was disappointed but I think it had more to do with the alliteration she wanted than the club she was thinking about.

  I was already showered and dressed when Carla came up to get her. I just needed to fix my hair and put on some makeup.

  “Emma, that dress is beautiful! You girls have fun tonight – don’t worry about us. We’re going to eat macaroni and cheese and watch Elmo. This girl will know her letters and numbers long before pre-school.” She beamed at Mia as she picked her up and grabbed the diaper bag I had repacked for her.

  “Thanks so much, Carla. I’m sure we won’t be back too late.”

  She waved away my comment. “Nonsense, you’re young and lovely. If you get home too late, just call me and I’ll keep her until morning. She’s a sweetheart and I love having her at home.”

  We are so lucky. I never would have dreamed we would have someone as wonderful as Mrs. Martinez helping us when we moved in.

  “Okay. I’ll check in with you and let you know.”

  “Have fun, dear.” And she and Mia were off to have fun. I locked the door behind them and went to finish getting ready.

  Half an hour later, Heather handed me a glass of wine – what she calls “pre-gaming” to help loosen us up before we have to pay for liquid courage. Mostly, the wine is for me. Heather probably hasn’t needed courage in her whole life. She’s as bold as they come.

  “Bottoms up, babe. Let’s go.” She gulped the last of her wine and handed me my tiny purse. She looked me over one more time – I actually got the thumbs up this time when she showed up. Last time she complained about my hair, my make-up and my dress. This time I knew what she would say, so heels were high, my dress hit me just below mid-thigh, my make-up was heavy enough to make me uncomfortable and my hair was half up and half down in loose curls that would bounce when we dance. I was learning to anticipate Heather’s tantrums. She makes me crazy, but I can’t imagine my life without her.

  We took a cab to the club and hardly waited in line at all to get in – which is remarkable for a Saturday night. Laughing, Heather dragged me straight to the bar for a shot of tequila. Patrón Silver, of course. Several guys at the bar were already looking our way so, being Heather, she licked the back of MY hand and put salt on it instead of her own before she took her shot and chased it with the lime wedge. I rolled my eyes and licked her hand before taking my shot. The attention we garnered was a lot more than it had been five minutes before.

  Now that we had been properly loosened up, we hit the dance floor. By the second song, the alcohol was doing its job and I was feeling the beat like it was being played just for me. Heather and I always stayed together and, now that she has John, she has no reason to leave me behind to dance with someone else.

  In the middle of the song, a nice-looking guy stepped into my bubble and started dancing with me. He was tall with dark hair and eyes and adorable dimples in his cheeks. I smiled at him and Heather smiled at both of us. The next song, though, was a bump and grind song and he put his hands on my hips and pressed himself against my backside. I made eye contact with Heather and she yelled “I need another drink!” so I turned and shrugged at the guy in apology…sort of.

  Heather laughed at me all the way to the bar. “It’s Jason, isn’t it? You can’t even rub your ass on another guy because you want him, right? I knew it!”

  I felt my cheeks heat and knew there was no way out of this. “I invited him to have dinner with me and Mia tomorrow

  night.”

  Heather squealed and did a little jump before she hugged me tight. I laughed at her enthusiasm. “That’s so great, Em! I’m so proud of you!”

  “It’s just dinner Heather….”

  “Bullshit. You’ve already kissed him and told me you have some panty-melting chemistry! That is NOT going to be ‘just dinner.’”

  I opened my mouth to deny it or argue or something. And then I just shut my mouth and smiled. She’s right. It’s not going to be ‘just dinner.’ I don’t want it to be. I want to see if there can be something bigger and better than just being neighbors. I was terrified, but excited. Basically, thinking about it makes me feel sick. But I think maybe I’m ready to find out if Jason and I can have an actual relationship….

  Heather ordered two fruity frozen drinks for us now that she knows I’m not going to be getting freaky on the dance floor with some random guy. When we got to a table to sit down, her phone rang. She mouthed that it was John, so I mouthed that I was going to the restroom. She waved me off and smiled.

  I wound my way across the room to the restrooms and turned toward the women’s room when someone grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around, slamming my back into the wall. I was so surprised that I didn’t even try to fight as he shoved me to the end of the hallway across from the men’s room.

  In the dark corner away from the crowd, my brain finally grasped that it was my ex-husband, Dan, holding me against the wall by my throat. He leaned into me and I could smell the alcohol on him. He didn’t look the same – thinner, his face was gaunt.

  “You come in here and shake that ass and dance with your girlfriend and tease every dick in this room like you’re too good for all of them. Probably fucking that guy from the park, letting him fuck you how I used to fuck you, sucking his dick and letting him put his fucking hands on you….”

  I tried to move back so his hand wouldn’t be so tight on my throat since I was struggling to breathe. That was a bad idea. Dan slid his hand up from my throat and grabbed my face so tight I knew there would be bruises later. He smashed his mouth on my mouth and pressed his body against mine. The wall pressed against my shoulder blades painfully and his body was plastered against me from knee to chest. I tried to twist my face away from his but he tightens his grip on my jaw and forced his tongue into my mouth.

  I tried to keep my mouth closed but his grip on my jaw is so painful, it’s easier to just stay still while he kisses me. He wedged his knee between mine and pushed his thigh in between my legs as his right hand began working its way under my skirt. I could feel his erection against my hip. That was when it finally hit me that I was in trouble.

  And then, my hands were pushing against him and I was trying to yell as he finally reached the edge of my panties and I felt his fingers against my skin. He clamped his hand back around my throat, cutting off my air so I couldn’t call for help. I couldn’t push him off me, I couldn’t get my leg free to try to hurt him and there was no room between me and the wall to let me back up at all. I was completely trapped and I couldn’t breathe! Both of my hands were pulling at his hand and arm, trying to get him away from my throat.

  As he wedged his fingers under the edge of my panties, he half yelled in frustration and yanked against the fabric. At that moment, a man turned into the hall to use the bathroom. Dan’s hand was clamped on my throat and his other hand is under my skirt. The man called out “Jesus, get a room, horny fuckers.” He glanced at us as he pushed the door to the bathroom open. And thank God he saw something that made him stop.

  “Hey! What the fuck, dude!” He grabbed Dan by the shoulder and yanked him away from me. Dan took a swing at him, but the other guy knocked his arm down and Dan stagger
ed back.

  “You owe me, you bitch. You owe me.” He turned and walked away.

  When the stranger turned toward me, I had slumped into a heap on the floor, staring at where he’d been in complete disbelief over what just happened. I can’t even put it all together in my own head. The craziest thing was that I hadn’t even been scared of him until he shoved his hand under my skirt. Yeah, Dan’s an asshole and I still can’t believe how things ended between us – but he’s not a rapist. He had women practically throw themselves at him even when he was married. I never in a million years would have thought he’d try to pull what he just did.

  “Hey. My name’s Ian. Are you here with someone? Can I help you up? Do you want me to call the police?” He was crouched in front of me but not touching me. I could see that he was nervous, but he was being so gentle with me. I held out my hand and he pulled me to my feet. When I stumbled forward on my high heels, he wrapped an arm lightly around my shoulders.

  I pointed out Heather without speaking when he asked where I wanted to go. He walked with me back to the table where Heather was people watching and enjoying her drink. When she sees me, she raises an eyebrow at the guy I’m with at first and then her eyes snap back to my face and she jumps up from the table.

  “What the hell happened, Em?” She is almost yelling and starts to turn toward Ian as if he’s to blame.

  I forced myself to say something before she started yelling at him. “We just need to go. It was Dan.”

  “Dan, your ex, Dan? What the fuck did he want? What did he do to you?”

  I said thank you to Ian and told Heather I just wanted to go home. Ian said he would walk us out, just in case.

  Heather pulled her phone out of her purse and told me she was calling John. I heard her telling him that Dan had been here and he’d attacked me when I went to the bathroom. I knew he was asking questions when Heather turned away from me a little, but I was starting to feel numb and knew I was going into shock.