“He was always having us over. Always was. You were never home, or sleeping.” But he’d tasted her food, seen her picture… The dark hair. The demeanour…it had all masked her. How could he have known his Susan was Lacey, Hawk’s daughter? Lacey had lived in sunny Florida, surrounded by her friends and…he’d never met her.
Dare flashed a smile and quirked a brow at him. “Ace, you look like hell. It’s not like Hawk wouldn’t approve. Lacey’s right, you were always his favourite.” Settling back on the couch, Dare stretched out his legs, looking like he was going to stay a while. He’d ditched his bandages on the trip back home. He still had a few cuts and scrapes, but nothing too serious after his brush with death. “Yeah, so the little woman is Hawk’s baby, huh?”
“Fu—”
Lacey cut him off. “You know, this is my house. I really don’t think it’s a ship, or a truck stop, or a rendezvous; it’s my house, and that’s about it for the cussing. All of you.” She shot Mac a look, then Dare. Eagle got a stare, too, and Katya grinned at her. Lacey turned to the boys and continued, “Or you can eat elsewhere.”
“So, let me get this straight.” Eagle sat forward. Of all the guys here, Eagle had spent the least amount of time around Hawk. Not because he’d not liked the man, but because he’d had commitments here, in Montana. “You’re Hawk’s daughter, and Ace never met you?”
She grinned and nodded, threading a hand through his hair. “Well, duh, no.”
Eagle shook his head and smiled.
“Sunshine, this is a bit much.”
She turned and focused on Russell with those blue eyes, soft and warm and not a bit like her dad’s. “I’m sorry, Russell, but I didn’t know you knew him, I didn’t…”
That got the guys all talking at once.
“I can’t believe you lied,” Mac started, looking like he was building up some steam.
“I’m just glad she’s alive, Wolf. Lighten up.” Dare grunted and folded his arms behind his head. “Man, you’d better have a ring around here somewhere.”
“Yeah, that shit is—”
“Mac, don’t make me have Russell throw you out,” Lacey said.
Russell grinned and hauled her down on his lap. Mac looked so offended Russell was surprised the man didn’t walk out, but he finally shrugged his shoulders and sat down after running both hands through his hair. He needed his hair cut; he still looked like some kind of beach bum.
“Well, there are a lot of SEALs, aren’t there? He didn’t train them all…” She trailed off when the men all grumbled.
Russell pulled her down on his lap. Her dad had trained them all. His unit.
“Ah, can I ask a question?” Katya grinned when everyone glanced at her. “This is all pretty funny, but what exactly is going on?”
Susan shook her head slowly. “Russell is freaking out because my dad was a chief in the SEALs way before they all went in.”
He snorted at that understatement. “That’s a bit mild. Your dad was the toughest, baddest, meanest—”
She jumped up and looked shocked. “He was not!”
Mac snorted. “Yeah, he was. He was the best goddamn SEAL we ever met. A good, solid man and it was a fu—shame that he was taken like that. He had so much life, Lacey, it sucks. Sorry, but girl, it sucked. Him gone so quick, then we find out you— Have you let Mandy think you’re dead, too?” he demanded.
“Mac, it isn’t like I’m on a holiday! There are people out there that want me dead. Dead. As in ‘they put me in the hospital for six months and I was in a coma’ dead.”
Well, that quieted Mac. It shut Russ up, too. She’d been nearly killed? He’d known she’d suffered, known those scars were more than she was letting on, but now, now he knew. The knowledge hit and took time for him, and his men, to get over. They risked their lives on a daily basis for people who never knew them, and Hawk’s girl had suffered more than even most of them ever had.
Russell rubbed his face with a hand and tried to pull her back down but she resisted. She moved closer, though, and her body heat slowly eased his pain enough to think clearly. Or clearer.
“Sunshine, let’s talk about this and the agents at the hotel. You need to call them. Better yet, I need to call them.”
“You were attacked? You didn’t call us?” Dare asked, sounding offended. He’d sat up at Lacey’s admission and pinned her with a stare that had her taking a step backwards before she could stop herself.
She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Listen, I woke up, all right? In a hospital bed, and everything was gone—Dad, the house, me. It was gone. I wasn’t given a choice. I was given this,”—she flung her hand up to indicate the house—“and a new identity, and I was told to come here. End of story.”
“End of story?” Dare looked ready to go on but Russell stalled him with a look.
“That’s about enough. Let’s take this up to the ranch—no more right now. Can’t you think what she went through?” he demanded, pulling her back down on his lap. “Listen, this will be all right.” He needed those agents on the phone. Not everyone looked as on board with that as he was. Dare looked like he was going to argue. Mac looked pissed off and offended. Eagle was serious for once, and Katya wore a worried little frown.
“Let’s think about this over dinner.” Russell glanced around at her boxes and made a decision he wasn’t going to let her say no to. “Looks like you’re packed. Load it all up. She’s coming up to the ranch,” he said.
Dare’s brows drew down and he looked scandalised. “You can’t have Hawk’s daughter live with you, Ace… That’s like…fuc—I mean, come on.”
“I’m not living with him, and I don’t think we asked you, Daren Scott.”
Oh, man. “Well, I think you should think about that. I mean—” Russell began, but she cut him off.
“No, Russell. I’ll come up, but—”
His anger started to rise. “This place is not safe, and there’s no way you are staying here. If those agents had you go in to ID someone, then they fear you’re blown.” He kept his voice low and tense.
“Fear I’m blown?” She paled. “Yeah, I kinda got that idea from the agents, but do you think someone’s found me?”
“Baby, we aren’t taking a chance.” He felt bad for scaring her, but it was best she understand she wasn’t safe any longer. Not here. Not alone. Her home, all of this hiding, wasn’t safe. If the Russian mob were after her and she’d faked her death, things were already hip deep in shit if someone was sniffing around.
“Go get some burgers, Eagle. Take Dare. Put the feelers out on anyone new to the area. Anyone. Mac you head up in the hills above the ranch. I want your eye on the house and the hills. I don’t want any surprises. I’ll contacts the dicks and see what the fuck they’re thinking.” It sure better not be using his woman as bait.
All three men nodded tightly. They knew as well as he did what could be at stake here.
On his lap, she fidgeted but stayed silent. “We’ll meet up at the ranch then head out after I settle things.”
Not surprising him, she protested immediately. “Russell, everyone knows about us. I called the cops on you, for crying out loud. Won’t these guys go up there? Maybe already be there? These guys aren’t joking around. They killed four agents. Four.”
His gut tightened at that little bit of news. “Sunshine, there’s no chance we’re staying here, and we’re only heading up there to get what I need, then we’re hitting it.”
“Hitting it? Are you crazy?”
Eagle chuckled and she glanced at him briefly before centring on him, exactly where she should be. He’d be damned if he’d ever held on to anything in his life, but he was keeping this, this woman, this chance at a life and love. He relished the chance to protect her, keep her safe. She had it all. A house, a job, a love of life he didn’t understand, even more so now after knowing what she’d gone through, but he knew she was the stronger of the two of them. She had everything but safety. A life without fear. And love. He’d give her all
three and make her so happy she’d hum around their home for the rest of her life. He could taste it. He could still taste her, his woman. Keeping her safe was what he’d been training for all his life. Or at least it felt like it.
He met her eyes and smiled down at her. “Crazy? Baby, I haven’t even shown you crazy yet.”
“Oh, Russell.” Her eyes softened, the blue darkening the way it did when he took her, brought her to her pleasure and kept her there. If he touched her, he’d fuck her, right now, apologies in advance. He stood them up, took a step back from her heat, but kept her hand in his.
“I’ll keep you safe, and these guys,” he nodded to his team, keeping her eyes with his. It was a promise, and she knew it. “They’re going to help me guarantee it.”
The tension grew thicker in the room. He could do this anyway, without her approval. He could simply shove her over his shoulder and lock her up to keep her safe. But he wanted her to accept that he could provide for her, protect her, give her a life and love her like no other.
“All right, Russell.”
“That’s my girl.”
“Yeah, if you’d called us, we’d have had this in the bag months ago.” Dare was one brave guy, because she shot him a look that Russell had already learned he should be cautious of.
Dare simply grinned and winked. “Sorry, babe, that doesn’t work on me.”
Jealousy raised its head again. “Maybe my fist will.”
If he didn’t know better, he might have thought he’d earned some brownie points with his little Sunshine. She grinned up at him and moved into his arms, looking like a cat with the cream. How had he not known her when his buddies had? He remembered hearing about her—they all had. She’d been with Mandy, Tazz’s sister, more often than not, but not once had Russell caught more than a glimpse of Lacey from a distance. Hawk had wanted him to meet her in a bad way and something had always held him back. Fear most likely, because Hawk’s daughter had a reputation for being one beauty of a girl, inside and out. Hawk had asked him to meet her, and that alone had made Russell’s balls draw up in fear. The man had kept all the guys away from her. To think he’d wanted to introduce him to his daughter had scared the piss out of Russell.
“Right, we’ll meet up when you head out. Going further north?” Mac asked.
He knew they should. The hunting cabins would be perfect. No one would be able to get a mile from them without them knowing it. The cabins sat on a summit, overlooking the area for miles. The land there was bare of trees, too. Anyone coming in or out could be spotted with plenty of warning to get ready. But somehow, that didn’t feel right. If there was a hit on Lacey, the hitman would know about Russell, and everyone in town knew about those hunting cabins. He’d taken hunters out with his stepdad for years. Anyone sniffing around would find out within minutes about those cabins. He was beginning to think Montana wouldn’t do. The States might not do, when it came down to it.
While he was thinking, Eagle and Katya got up and ready. Dare shot him a glance but Russell held back from saying anything. The cabins felt wrong. His gut was never wrong.
Mac got right in Lacey’s face, clearly still pissed off with her. “Gonna call Mandy?”
Lacey stiffened in his arms. He surrounded her in his embrace, tightening his arms to hold her close to his chest and glared at Mac.
“I don’t know where Mandy is, Mac. Not since she left,” Lacey said quietly.
Mac looked pale. What the hell? It was gone the next second, but the man still looked unhappy. Russell knew there had been something between Tazz’s little sister and Mac, but, by the look of his buddy, Mac might have lost something he wanted back, only to find out it was still missing.
“I thought you’d have heard from her.”
Lacey shook her head, looking unhappy.
Time to go. He couldn’t help Mac out right now. “Right, we’ll be back within the hour.”
Next to him, Lacey didn’t say a word, but Russell felt her shiver in his arms—not with pleasure, but with fear. He needed to talk to those agents.
Chapter Twenty
Lacey knew Russell hadn’t given up on the agent idea, or the idea of her living with him. But how could she stay with him if he might get killed because of her? If someone was looking for her, then they were both in danger.
Yes, Russell was a big bad SEAL, but he was also one man, or one among his team. Still… There had been five agents with her the day she was hit. Five men. They’d all been killed but one. The remaining man was now in a wheelchair—might always be in a wheelchair. How could she let Russell chance something like that?
“I’ve decided.”
Jerked out of her misery, she glanced away from the window to watch Russell’s profile. He looked grim, stern, centred, the way he’d been when they’d first met, all those weeks ago. She’d thrown him. Even learning she’d been on the run and in hiding hadn’t compared to his reaction to learning who her dad was. She knew her dad had been a legend among the SEALs. Knew he’d trained only the best men for the toughest job on the planet. But he’d also been her dad. He’d given up the life of a SEAL when her mom had died. He’d done it for her, to be there for her.
Russell had paled, looked a bit shaky, too, when he’d learned who she was. He’d known her dad. Somehow, that made her love him even more. If that was even possible. She thought she might love him so much it was unhealthy. The feeling was so deep, she worried.
“Yes? What have you decided?” She wasn’t sure if she liked his making decisions for her.
“I’m not calling you Sarah. Or Lacey.”
She choked on a laugh at the unexpected comment. He sounded stubborn, as if forcing something on her, like not using the chainsaw. He looked so serious, as if this was a huge thing. A name. That was all. Lacey came from her dad—he’d said she’d always carried around a little scrap of lace with her when she had been a toddler, would scream bloody murder if anyone took it from her. He’d nicknamed her Lacey. At school, they’d always called her Sarah. At home, Lacey.
“All right. Susan is nice.” He was shaking his head before she’d finished. “Not Susan?”
“Nope, Sunshine. That’s what I’m calling you.”
Warmth filled her slowly. She suddenly couldn’t stand the small distance between them. Pushing his console up, she scooted tighter to his side and only felt better when his big arm circled her, pulling her into the heat of his side. She rubbed her face against his chest, loving how strong and warm he was.
“That’s a bit difficult to put on a driver’s licence, big shot.”
Russell drew her head up and kissed her quickly, reluctantly looking back up at the road. He was so casual-looking when he drove, but she knew he was watching everything, and could and would react to any danger.
“Nothing’s going to happen to you again. You know that, don’t you? Nothing. And don’t even think of running. If I have to tie you to the bed, I will. But we’re ending this running. Now. You trust me, don’t you?”
Her stomach tightened at the sudden silence between them. Russell drummed his fingers on his steering wheel and shot her a few worried frowns. There was simply too much to say for her to say anything. She trusted him—more than trusted him.
“Yes, Russell, I do, but… This is the Russian mob. They have money. So much money.”
He didn’t say a word, but kept his arm around her as he drove up the long, winding dirt road to the main house. He felt so good—warm, hard and so strong. He would protect her, she knew that, but if those guys knew where she was… What would stop them from killing him and taking her? Or killing her?
Much sooner than she wanted, they arrived at his ranch. Russell parked the truck in front of the house, shut the engine off, and turned to her.
“Come here.” He tugged her around to face him. Grey eyes watched her closely. He still needed to shave, but he looked less wild, more settled than he’d been when he’d arrived hours before. He also looked focused.
“This isn’t g
oing away. You can’t run forever. You know that. The Russians are big, but if they contracted this out we can do some control, manage it so that this time it does look like you were killed. I need to know why they didn’t believe that. I need intel, and you are going to have to trust me.” He brought her hand up and kissed her fingertips before he cupped her hand on his warm cheek. “You’re cold. Let me do this. Give me this. Trust me.”
She knew what he wanted. He wanted to fix this. Protect her. Save the day. He was a soldier, and all of them were heroes at heart. It was why they joined, why they went out, why they bled. Her dad had. Russ had. But if she gave him this, he could very well get hurt or drive her crazy with his over-protectiveness. She wanted the life she’d glimpsed during those weeks with him, the carefree days and nights with nothing to worry about but what this thing between them meant, and what to wear to drive him crazy.
“Sunshine, you gotta give me this. You’re bruising my male ego, here.”
That made her laugh and snuggle up to kiss him. “I’ll bruise more if you get all bossy or hurt. I don’t want you hurt, Russell.”
“Bossy, huh? I think you need that. A boss.”
“Huh, I don’t think so.”
He grinned that big smile she loved, tipped his head down and rubbed his forehead against hers. “You scare the shit out of me. Hawk’s daughter, all mine, and hell, if you aren’t in more trouble than I’ve ever been in my life.”
The brat! She choked on a laugh and pushed at him, trying to get him off without much luck. “It’s not like I went looking for it.”
He eyed her sceptically and straightened, opening his truck door and getting down before turning to help her to the ground. He watched her again before smiling softly.
“I always wanted to meet you. Scared spitless every time Hawk had me out to your place, but yeah, I wanted to meet you.”
“You were? You did? But, why—? I mean…”
Billi Jean Page 29