by Diana Gardin
Free. Free. Free.
Kicking off my shoes, I grasp them in one hand and break into a run. Crossing the short distance to the large double doors marked STAIRS, I push through them and allow them to latch silently behind me. Sucking in a deep breath, I start down the steps.
One flight at a time, Rayne. You can do this. You have to do this.
If Wagner Horton takes time to scan the security footage, that’s even better for me. That gives me time to get out of this damn building, and get to my kid. The heel of my palm pounds against my head as I hurry downward. Over and over again. As if I could thump away the memory of the sight that got me into this mess in the first place.
Just work, the same work I’ve done every day for the past eight months. Only this time, being Wagner Horton’s executive assistant gave me access to information I never wanted and wasn’t supposed to see.
A sound from somewhere above me jars me back into awareness, back to the here and now. Step by step, I rush down the stairs. When I’m crossing the threshold to the seventh floor, the stairwell door below me opens and closes.
I freeze, holding my breath.
“Rayne? I know you’re here.”
Wagner’s voice has never, ever scared me.
Until now.
I mean, he’s a tech geek turned billionaire. I never considered him to be dangerous. But the look in his eyes tonight when he discovered me in the building after hours, working late…I shudder, remembering.
I close my eyes, willing him to just go away.
Silence from one floor below me.
Brrrrrrrrrrng.
In my pocket, my cell phone rings.
Wagner’s laugh floats toward me. “There you are.”
The sound of his feet pounding up the stairs mingles with the quiet thump of my bare feet turning and heading up one more floor. Moving faster than I’ve moved ever, I throw myself through the eighth-floor stairwell door and into the hallway.
The only option I have now is to hide, or to get to the elevator before he gets to me.
I choose the elevator. Sprinting around the corner and into the hall where those heavenly golden doors lay waiting for me.
“Come, on, come on, dammit!” Stabbing at the button repeatedly, I glance over my shoulder again and again.
The elevator doors slide open as Wagner rounds the corner all the way down the hall.
“Rayne!” he screams.
The desperate sound reaches into my chest and squeezes my heart, stuttering the beats.
Frantic, I push the CLOSE button over and over again, jabbing it with such violence I’m sure to feel the pain later.
OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod.
Please…close! Close!
My voice is silent as I yell at the elevator doors. They begin to slide shut and I sag against the back wall of the box, letting out the breath I’d been holding
And then Wagner appears, looming right there.
With a yelp, I press against the back wall of the elevator.
His face is a mask of hatred and fury. He goes to stick a hand between the doors, but it’s too late. The doors slide shut.
With my heart in my throat, I ride the eight floors down to the parking garage. I know for a fact that, since only one elevator goes up to our offices, Wagner would have had to take the stairs. I have a decent head start, but I run anyway as soon as the elevator opens.
Straight to my car.
Police. I need to go to the police.
But the memory of a photo I saw on the wall in Wagner’s office every day for eight months flashes in my brain. It’s a picture of him and the chief of the Phoenix police department, smiling and shaking hands for the camera after Wagner’s money built the department a brand-new, state-of-the-art headquarters.
I’ve never thought that having a chief of police in your pocket was a real thing, but that picture sends me reeling. There’s no way I’m going there. Not until I know who I can trust.
Yanking the door open and thanking the heavens for key fobs, I start the thing and peel out of my spot. Pressing the car’s Bluetooth button, I order the vehicle to call my babysitter.
“Payton? Yeah, I’m leaving work now. I don’t have time to explain, but I need you to grab Decker, get in your car, and drive to the airport. Don’t hesitate, Payton. Do it now.”
I’ll mourn the loss of my belongings later. Maybe I can send for them.
But right now? I have to get out of Phoenix. Maybe forever. I know now that what I saw was important.
Maybe important enough for him to kill me.
I’m going to have to do the one thing I never wanted to do.
For the first time in nearly nine years, it’s time for my son and me to go home.
Jeremy
When my fellow team member Grisham Abbot strolls into the Night Eagle Security conference room a few minutes after I do, I lean back in my big, leather chair.
The seriousness and tension of the undercover mission I just led siphons off me, being replaced by the relaxed comfort of being home.
It’s like I’m two different Jeremy Teagues: the one who kicks ass during a security or black ops mission or the laid-back jokester I tend to be when I’m not working. Sometimes they get in each other’s way.
Sometimes they fight for supremacy.
Grisham eyes me, one hand shoving through his short blond hair as he comes to a stop across the table beside his usual seat. “You recover from whatever it is you think you saw at the airport this morning?”
Inhaling, I try not to flip back to that moment in the airport. But the memory creeps in anyway, regardless of how hard I try to fight it…
We’re just passing under the decorative model of a single-engine plane hanging overhead into the baggage claim area when a mane of long, raven hair catches my eye. My stomach flips, my muscles tighten, and my back teeth grind together.
Fucking hell. That hair.
She turns, her profile facing me, and everything inside me stills.
My steps stutter to a stop, and I’m pretty sure the air in my lungs does, too. Everything around me, the airport crowd, the noise, fades away, and it’s like I’m staring through a tunnel of mist and fog and the only thing I can see at the end of it is her.
Because, swear on my dog, it’s her.
I’d scoured the airport after that, my head swiveling left and right, my eyes roving. Searching.
There’d been rows of taxis lined up in front of the terminal, and that ghost could have disappeared into any one of them.
Or I could have just been losing my fucking mind. More likely.
Because I exorcised that ghost a long time ago. I don’t need it to start haunting me again.
I snap back to the here and now as Grisham begins to lower himself into his chair. I ignore his question and lean forward. “Let’s grab a beer after we debrief.” I lift my brows, hoping he’ll accept the invitation. I’m still feeling the need to unwind, let loose a little after our op.
He stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Man, I’ve been away from my fiancée for almost a week. There’s no way in hell I’m going anywhere but home after we give Jacob the rundown.”
I feign a heavy sigh, but I knew his answer before he’d said it.
“Whipped,” I mutter.
“Damn right.” Grisham’s statement comes with a proud smile.
Jacob Owen strides into the room. “Let’s debrief, gentlemen.” His tone is wry as he sends me a pointed stare.
He leans over the low, rectangular table where, as a team, we use painstaking research to plan our missions. Clasping his hands together, he looks at Grisham and me in turn, holding our gazes as he assesses our reaction. His blue eyes, webbed with lines that are the only indicator of his middle age, stop on me.
“First black ops government contract. First time leading a Night Eagle mission. A lot of firsts for you in the last few weeks, and for the firm. Right, Brains?”
I nod my head and hold steady under his scrutiny. I’d give
my left nut for Jacob Owen, pretty sure the whole team would. Adjusting to normal life again after Special Forces is difficult. For some of us, it’s impossible. But Jacob gets it. And when he brings one of us into the fold at Night Eagle Security, we thrive.
Finally, he speaks again, this time addressing both Grisham and me. “You did good, boys.”
Letting out a breath, I lean back in my seat and listen while Jacob fires questions at us about the intel we received that will bring down not just the Miami part of the arms ring, but the South American branch as well. He informs us that in a few months’ time, we’ll be leaving for Costa Rica on a second mission to first infiltrate, and then help the CIA eliminate, this nasty operation for good.
When our debriefing comes to an end, Jacob shakes both of our hands and glances at Grisham.
“Ghost,” he barks.
Grisham “Ghost” Abbot leans forward, his elbows connecting with his knees as he locks eyes with his future father-in-law. The ex-SEAL earned his nickname with his uncanny ability to sneak up on enemy forces in the field. Grisham Abbot is the strategist of our group. He’s a planner, an analyzer by nature, and that skill works to our advantage when it comes to nailing down the nitty-gritty details of a potential operation.
“Sir.”
“Get home to my daughter. She’s missed you.” Jacob’s lips twitch.
As we leave Jacob’s office, I want to pump my fist in the air. I want to shout “Hell Yeah” now that I know for a fact that we’re going black ops again.
I’ve been with NES for a little over a year. In that time, we’ve specialized in personal security for clients who can afford to pay the price for the best protection out there. In the past six months or so, Jacob has been in talks with some government agencies. His connections there have asked us multiple times to protect foreign dignitaries, their families, and other important international people who are working or vacationing close by, and we’ve excelled at every single one of those assignments.
This last mission, sending us to infiltrate the illegal arms organization in Miami, was not only the first time I’ve taken the lead on an op, but also the first time we’ve had an official “black ops” contract with Uncle Sam as a private contractor.
Deep cover, secret mission…everything that comes with it is my element. I fucking love it. The reason they call me Brains is because I have an obsession with techy gadgets for the field. I have a whole room dedicated to storing all of the tools and equipment we may need for a mission or an assignment, and I love stocking it up and keeping it up-to-date with everything current in the world of tech and gear. This job is in my blood, and I could never imagine doing anything different.
My adrenaline is still pumping from everything we accomplished, and I know when I get back to my house, the first thing I’ll need to do is run.
Grisham and I file out the metal sliding door into the lobby.
Ronin “Swagger” Shaw claps me on the back as soon as the office door is closed. “Nice, guys. Heard you kicked some ass.” I accept congratulations from the man who’s been my teammate and best friend for years. First the army, then the police academy, then NES after we met Jacob while working on a kidnapping case.
Dare “Wheels” Conners, our other teammate and the man who can drive anything out there like a goddamn stuntman, follows suit with a fist bump.
When I’m in this office, in my city, with my people, I’m home. There’re no surprises, no unexpected bullshit the way there is when I’m on a mission. It’s how I like it.
And it feels good to be home again.
But as I’m back in North Carolina, weaving through the Wilmington streets on my drive home, my brain drifts back to long, black hair, flawless, olive skin, and the endless sea of blue eyes I once almost drowned in.
It couldn’t have been her.
About the Author
Diana Gardin is a wife of one and a mom of two. Writing is her second full-time job to that, and she loves it! Diana writes contemporary romance in the Young Adult and New Adult categories. She’s also a former elementary school teacher. She loves steak, sugar cookies, and Coke and hates working out.
Learn more at:
DianaGardin.com
Twitter: @DianalynnGardin
Facebook.com/AuthorDianaGardin
Also by Diana Gardin
RESCUE OPS SERIES
Sworn to Protect
Promise to Defend
BATTLE SCARS SERIES
Last True Hero
Saved by the SEAL
Man of Honor
NELSON ISLAND SERIES
Wanting Forever
Ever Always (novella)
Falling Deep
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To keep her safe, he’ll have to uncover all her secrets…
Rayne Alexander. A face I never thought I’d see again, and one I never could forget. Nine years ago, she left town—and me—without a backward glance. But now she’s back, with a haunted look in her eyes and a feisty attitude that didn’t exist when we were teenagers. Seeing this grown-up—and sexy—Rayne is something I wasn’t prepared for…and it’s bringing up feelings I’d thought I’d buried years ago.
Although I want to demand answers from Rayne, working on black ops at Night Eagle Security has taught me that it’s sometimes better to keep my mouth shut. So when I catch her hiding a photo of a little boy, I’m curious. When I see her jump as her phone rings, I’m concerned. But the second I notice a car following her home, I know she’s hiding something. Something dangerous. And while I may not know why she left or why she’s back, if there’s someone out there Rayne is afraid of, I’ll make damn sure that threat is eliminated.
By saving her, he might just save himself…
I’m broken. I have been for seven years. Ever since my wife was murdered while I was deployed overseas. I was protecting our country, but I should have been protecting her. I haven’t looked at another woman since—but then Olive Alexander crossed my path. She stirs up feelings I thought were long dead. So when her house is ransacked after she receives a threatening message, I know I have to step in and keep her safe. I failed my wife, but I won’t fail Olive. Unfortunately, Olive isn’t exactly ready to accept my help…
With her sexy-as-sin pencil skirts and sleek ponytails, Olive clearly doesn’t let anything—or anyone—mess up her perfectly ordered life. But years spent working as a special ops soldier has taught me how to read people…and I know Olive is hiding something. When my covert mission for Night Eagle Security collides with Olive’s past, I’ll have to get her to open up—or risk losing her. And losing Olive is not an option. If she’s in danger, I’ll defend her…even if it costs me my life.
This second chance was worth the wait…
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Gabe and Steph know that love comes with risks, but if they’re brave enough, this second chance might just bring them the love of a lifetime.
The higher the risk, the harder the fall.
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