“I know what it is. I asked who is on the other end of that?” She turned in her seat glaring at him.
Honesty was always the right answer. “Ah, that would be the squad.” He gave her a tight smile and then grabbed the new bottle of red he’d gotten from downstairs and poured two glasses.
“Commander!” she barked.
Pivoting on his heel, he bit down on the top of his lip.
“Is the team watching your…” Her eyes squeezed tight with the thought and she clenched her jaw. “Are they here?” she finished.
Raising his hand, he rubbed the back of his neck. Guilt was not something he had ever been good at hiding. “Yup.”
“Oh—my—God,” she spit out, her hands flying to her face.
He broke out laughing. He couldn’t bloody help it. She’d gone ten shades redder. “Kayla,” he began, trying to stop from laughing harder. “Sweetheart, you’re beautiful and…well, I’m sure they didn’t look.” Now that was the granddaddy of all lies.
“Ohhhhh,” she groaned as if in pain, dropping her hands to her sides.
“But, I don’t think Mace is ever going to be the same again.” He lost it then, and a roar of laughter escaped him, however she was laughing too, albeit, still blushing deep hues of red.
“I’ll never be able to look them in the eyes again.”
* * * *
“What the hell is going on in there?” Tony broke in.
“Don’t know, but they’re definitely having a good time,” Cobbs said, smiling to himself. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him laugh that hard before.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet he had a good time,” Mace growled, lying beside him.
“Ah, get over it Mace,” Cobbs said chuckling. “They’re friggin’ perfect together, you know that.”
The lit kitchen glowed with warmth, and his empty stomach grumbled smelling the goodness coming from the house. They all watched from deep inside the tree line. Finally, Cobbs thought to himself, watching his old friend take Kayla into his arms. Thane was a different man when he was with her.
This last week had been hell on wheels, though. They’d all paid the price. Thane had come over to his place twice, both times getting drunker than he’d ever seen. The man was an absolute wreck, blathering about transfers and her being a hard-assed shrew that was driving him crazy. It was obviously a lovers spat, but Thane had never been in those shoes before. And he sucked at it.
“Yeah, I know,” Mace said. “I’m just fuckin’ jealous, that’s all.”
“Don’t be. I’m sure Miss Perfect is just waitin’ for you to show up and whisk her off her feet. Be patient, man,” he said with a chuckle.
“Six o’clock,” Fox jumped into the conversation.
“Mace?”
“Scanning, Lieutenant.”
Mace tensed and swung the rifle, scanning the night with the infrared.
“Ten feet in, south side, movement,” Fox whispered. “Got it?”
Mace let the site roll across the area. “Affirmative, not one of us. Tinman, you’re in the line of fire.”
“He’s here. Tinman, work to the west. Clay cover the north, Fox, maintain your position,” Cobbs ordered.
Everyone went mobile, closing in on the target.
“Now take him,” Cobbs ordered. This was it. They’d finally hooked that fucking bastard.
At the same time they rushed in from every direction, a shot ripped through the air, splintering the glass on the patio door.
Chapter Twenty-Six
He and Kayla sat down to eat, still laughing. It was like a slow-motion picture. Thane turned his eyes up to her, heard the gunshot, then the pop of glass as the bullet tore through it, the look in her eyes as she smiled at him, and the sickening feeling that tears at a soul before death.
The bullet came so close it swept through her curls. He lunged, taking her over backwards chair and all, into his arms as they hit the floor, protecting the back of her head from the slate.
“Stay here,” he ordered, pulling his weapon from the back of his pants. In a running crouch, he crossed the kitchen and slammed his hand down on the lights, pitching the room into darkness. He made his way to the patio doors, stopping—he glanced at the small bullet hole in the glass, then reached up and shut the lights off on the deck.
“Here,” she said, scrambling on her haunches up to him and placed the earpiece into his palm.
“Lock the door behind me.” She nodded. “Report,” he said when there was a break in the comms between his men.
“Goddammit,” Cobbs swore, and then broke through the tree line onto the lawn. The other men emerged at the same time. “Tinman, Mace, what have you got?”
“Jackrabbit got away,” Mace said. “He’s driving a late model dark sedan. That son of a bitch is fast.”
“Now he knows we’re waiting for him,” Cobbs said as he reached the group. “Our cover’s gone.”
Mace turned toward the house. “Where’s Kayla?”
“In the house. The bullet passed through her hair,” he stormed. The men took a step backwards seeing the anger radiating from him. “How the hell did he position himself there without you seeing it?”
“There’s only one answer to that,” Fox, always the voice of calm, said. They all turned to him. “He’s trained like us.”
Mace cracked the round from the chamber and laid the weapon in the crook of his arm. “I thought he was a knife man. What’s he doin’ using a firearm?”
The Commander swung a look past all of them. “He wasn’t trying to kill Kayla,” he stated. “He was trying to take me out.”
“Are you thinking he’s a SEAL? I don’t believe it,” Mace argued, shaking his head.
He and Cobbs glanced at each other, the idea a sickening one. “Maybe he just got lucky or he was a SEAL, but I’m not willing to believe he’s active anymore. He wouldn’t have missed if he was. But if he’s got our training, and understands how we operate, that’s a problem.” The patio door opening pulled their attention to the house. Kayla stood under the moonlight, but she didn’t venture out. He waved her over, but he could see her shaking her head. Even in a moment as serious as this, he started to laugh all over again.
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Cobbs said, giving him an odd look.
“Nothing. Listen, you men stand down for the night. I’m going to keep Kayla here with me for the next few days. Mace, come with me.”
“Already on it, Commander,” he said walking toward the house, knowing he wanted him to find the bullet. It might give them a lead, but he didn’t miss the hesitation in Mace’s step. “What’s wrong with him?”
Cobbs grinned. “Puppy love, boss.”
“Huh.” He watched him enter the patio door. Kayla had already disappeared inside, no doubt running for cover, embarrassed the guys had seen every glorious part of her. “Don’t think she’ll be looking you in the eye any time soon,” he said chuckling.
Cobbs grabbed his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You know what, old friend, I got a good feeling. Don’t worry, we’re gonna get him.”
“Always trusted your instincts, but it’s time the gloves came off.”
“Shark?”
“Nope, Kayla.”
* * * *
Curled up under a blanket on Thane’s soft leather couch with a big mug of tea in her hand, they talked about mundane things. Over Christmas, she’d met his entire family. His father had been in the Navy as well, but retired and was living in Arizona with his mom. His brother and two sisters lived in L.A. with their families.
“They all loved you. My sisters keep bugging me to bring you over for dinner,” Thane divulged.
“They’re good people, but I didn’t expect anything else.” She raised her mug to her lips. “You’re lucky, ya know. I wish I had a family.” She sighed and placed her mug down. “I guess you always want what you can’t have.”
“You can borrow mine any time you want.”
She laughed. “Thanks.” Givi
ng the pillow a fluff, she stretched out, feeling safe and content. “I owe you so many thank yous I’m losing track.”
“I’m not counting.”
His eyes strayed leisurely down her bare leg, stretched out on the couch, making her feel more beautiful than she knew she was. Running his hand through his hair, he gave her a look, the one that always heated her through and through. After all this time, he was still the most handsome man she’d ever known. “You’re never going to transfer me, are you?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I just wish you would have come fifteen years ago.”
She burst out laughing with the thought. “We both would have been locked away by now. We drive each other crazy, Commander.”
“We’re always going to spar, Kayla. That’s who we are. We like challenge, and we challenge each other.”
“Friends don’t bicker as much as we do.”
Thane gave her a deep look, but he didn’t deny it.
“Commander, why do they call you the Ghost?”
He set his mug down on the side table. Leaning back, he rested his head against the chair and stared at the ceiling. “Red gave me the name,” he said quietly.
She sat silently, waiting to see if he would add anything.
“Everyone has a team name, usually they get it because of what they do, like Caleb, calling him Stitch because he’s a corpsman or,”—He paused—“sometimes it’s because of a skill or idiosyncrasy, like Fox. Briggs is the best tracker I’ve ever seen. It just gets coined and sticks. Like your name. Mace gave it to you. When he saw you for the first time, he said you reminded him of Snow White.”
A soft laugh left her lips and she nodded at him. “I’ll remember that next Halloween.”
“I think I would have called you Ariel—after the Little Mermaid. She’s tenacious and sweet, quick with her wit, and beautiful.” His gaze dropped to his lap, and his jaw tightened.
A small flame dared to flicker in her heart.
“My name,” he continued, “isn’t any of those things. I got it because Red said I could kill a man faster than my target realized his life was over.” With his head down, he nodded slowly. “I’ve killed a lot of men, Kayla.”
She clearly heard the bitterness in his words. The muscles jumped in her legs, and before she knew it, she was in his lap. He clutched her in his arms and rested his head against her chest as if finding comfort in her beating heart. Minutes ticked by before she said, “It’s better to die quickly than slowly,” she whispered into his hair. “That’s how I want to die.”
He leaned back and ran his finger across her cheek. “I won’t let you die, Kayla.”
She offered a small smile even though she didn’t believe the Commander could do anything to stop the Blood Shark. He’d get his chance, and if he didn’t take it soon, she’d give it to him. Alpha squad couldn’t protect her forever. The thought of dying didn’t really matter so much. She wasn’t leaving anyone behind. How she died might be a different issue.
“Why?” His expression hardened. “I don’t understand why…” His grip tightened. “Why did you stay so long when he kept hurting you?”
Every muscle in her body twitched, and her breath caught in her lungs as a wave of nausea swooped through her stomach. Oh, God, he knew. How long?
Thane’s expression folded with pain. “Your husband tried to break you, but he couldn’t do it, and it pushed him over the edge, almost taking you with him.”
A perfect storm of emotions flooded her. Her first instinct was to bury her head. Over the years denial worked best when she didn’t know what to do. “Who told you?”
“Christmas Eve the cop told me it was your husband, attempted murder and when. Manchester filled in the rest.”
“Everyone knows?” she whispered, feeling ashamed.
“We know everything, sweetheart, including what happened to you as a little girl.” He watched her carefully. “We haven’t decided whether when this is all done, we’re going to go find your ex-husband and finish the job Lapierre didn’t.”
“No, Commander. You don’t understand.”
“If it would have been me instead of Lapierre, I would have killed him.”
“A headstrong woman might seem cute for a while but it wears off quickly.”
“You’re making excuses for him? Kayla—you were admitted thirty times to the hospital. How many times didn’t you go?” he asked, squeezing her tighter. “How many times did you just hide the bruises?”
“Please don’t look at me like that.” Her fingers brushed his forehead, trying to soothe the wrinkles. “It’s been ten years, Commander. I’m not going to buckle under pressure at work if that’s what you’re worried about.” She tried to withdraw, but he clutched her hips. “I can’t stop the nightmares. They’ll always be there, but I don’t have to be here. You can transfer me.”
Taking her hand into his, he said, “I know all those things already. You may cope, but it never goes away. I’ve seen it too many times in weaker men. You were at war for years, Kayla. You’re a survivor, and you hide it well, but now that I know, I see it all the time. In the things you do, like pulling away.” He brushed her cheek. “And it tears me up to see it in you.”
“Put your energy on catching the Blood Shark, Commander. I’ll help any way I can.” She paused, and offered him a grateful smile. “I might have weak moments, but I always find my feet again.”
A breathy, sad laugh escaped him. “Why don’t you just hang on to me for a while?”
The last thing she wanted was for him to think he had to take care of her. “I’m sorry about this evening. I don’t have any crazy thoughts or expectations in my head. I’m a normal woman, and I guess I just…” He tried to suppress a harsh case of amusement at her discomfort, and she glued her attention to the fireplace, feeling ridiculous.
The clock in his living room ticked loudly, the silence in the room too silent.
“I think,” he began, placing his fingers under her chin, prompting her to look at him. “You’re afraid if you rely on someone it’ll make you vulnerable. Since that day when you fought for your freedom—and I know you fought with everything you had—you’ve tried to prove you don’t need help.” He swayed his head and his gaze deepened with memory. “It’s easier that way,” he murmured, repeating the words she’d said to him months ago.
He might as well have ripped a knife through her heart like a pirate slashing through a sail, making her spill the truth. Tears welled in her eyes. What could she say? She couldn’t hide and she couldn’t stop the tears. “I think I’ll turn in. Good night.”
“Kayla—” His jaw tightened as he searched her eyes. “The question is whether you can ever trust a man again?”
She shook her head, and pushed against his shoulders, his muscles hardened beneath her fingers. “I think I should go back to work tomorrow.”
“Fine, but I want you in my arms tonight,” he whispered and leaned over brushing his lips against hers. “I need you next to me.”
“Commander—”
“When you argue with me, it makes me hungrier for you. So if you want some sleep,” He paused grinning at her. “I suggest you come quietly.”
“Commander—I’m not girlfriend material,” she blurted. “I’ll just piss you off. I guarantee it.”
His face cracked open with a laugh. “If you don’t get in my bed, Ms. Banks, I’ll have to consider you an unfriendly. You’re under house arrest, with me.”
The look on his face told her he wasn’t kidding. Those blue eyes of his bit into her. “I’m not scared of you.”
“Kayla, I know you already are. There’s only one place for you to run, and it’s right into my arms.” He leaned over, kissing her deeply. “It’s where I want you to be.”
She leaned away from him, but his hands grasped her rear end as he shifted his weight to rise. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. Don’t let go of me, Kayla,” he breathed into her mouth, setting her skin on fire as his lips cascaded
down her throat. Heat, pain, promises, they were all open for her to see in his eyes. “You take…” He paused searching for words. “You take all the ugliness away. Please, never let go of me.”
He was revealing his weaknesses, to her. She didn’t deserve them. “You can’t possibly want me. It’s not right,” she said, the air was becoming harder to take in. He rose, bringing her with him. His hardness rubbed against her stomach and settled between her legs. “Commander—”
“It sounds like you’re arguing with me again,” he said.
The feel of his thick shaft growing between them called to all her senses, all of them erotic and needy. “You’re damn right I’m arguing,” she murmured, feeling his strength around her and her body responding with an inferno of heat.
Reaching the bedroom, he laid her down on his king-sized bed, the sheets crisp, cool and still chaotic from before. “I want to make love to you, Kayla—all night.” He reached for the buttons on her shirt, releasing each one with purpose and the brush of his lips. The muscles in her stomach rippled with excitement, and a little bit of fear. “We’re staying home tomorrow.”
“Home?” she squeaked.
Slowly he raised his eyes to her. “That’s what it feels like when you’re here. It feels—warm, and I never knew it wasn’t until you left last week.” He sucked her breast deeply into his mouth, then licked and nipped it until the fire between her legs seared her whole body. “I’d love to make you come just touching and tasting these,” he said, then grazed his teeth across her nipple, gently.
A tremble rippled through her, and she knew he felt it.
Laying kisses all the way up to her lips, he stopped, lingering there. “No one’s ever loved you all night before, have they?”
“No,” she stuttered, her mind turning into a foggy mess. “What? Well…ah.” An expression so hot filled his gaze it made hers widen.
“I’m going to make you feel as beautiful as you are,” he vowed with a seductive growl.
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