Exchange of Fire

by P. A. DePaul

  “Bullshit,” both men said at once.

  Grady hated being talked around. “Someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” he asked, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. But now he was unclear who the enemy was. He tapped his gun against his leg.

  Sandra turned and shocked him again. Free-flowing tears coursed down her cheeks, but she had the biggest smile on her face.

  “How do you know the blond guy from the train station?” Grady tried again when no one seemed forthcoming.

  “He was the one behind you in line?” she asked, then rounded on Lethal Fuzzball Guy and thumped him on the chest. “You’ve been around all night and waited until now to show yourself? What the hell, Talon?”

  “Talon?” Grady’s inner caveman roared to life as he raked his gaze up and down the guy. “He the same man from training who gave you that knife?”

  The interloper’s eyes swung to Sandra in surprise. “Wraith, you mentioned me?”

  Good-looking Guy crossed his arms and laughed. “God, I’ve missed you. Who else could stir up so much trouble and confusion with just a few short sentences?”

  Sandra shot him a look that invited the guy to eat it before poking Talon in the chest. “Yes, I mentioned you, but don’t change the subject.”

  Grady had to consciously stop himself from putting his body between Sandra and Talon. He caught the flash of possession in Lethal Fuzzball Guy’s eyes before the man banked it. The hair on the back of Grady’s neck tingled. Just who the fuck did this guy think he was to her? He forced himself to only tap his gun against his leg instead of tearing across the room and yanking her to his side. “Did he just call you Wraith? As in Lord of the Rings or something?”

  Good-looking Guy held his sides as he laughed his ass off and said in a creepy, gravelly voice, “Yes, My Precious, please explain.”

  “You’re not helping, Romeo,” Sandra huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

  Grady’s inner caveman now beat against his brain at the sight. Her nipples poked against the fabric and the shirt barely covered her ass, leaving her thighs completely exposed . . . and don’t even get him started on the fact he knew she didn’t have on panties.

  Lethal Fuzzball Guy’s eyes traced down her legs. Grady ground his teeth. To distract the jackass, he asked, “Romeo?”

  “Sorry,” Sandra replied, then motioned to the men. “Meet Romeo and Talon.”

  Grady was more inclined to call the one Asshole instead of Talon, but decided to keep that to himself for a moment.

  “Romeo and Talon, meet Casper Grady,” she finished with a swipe of her hand.

  Romeo burst out laughing, “Casper? Seriously? As in Casper the Friendly Ghost?”

  Grady inwardly grimaced at the hated reference he’d had to deal with his entire life and drew himself up.

  “That’s too rich!”

  “Romeo,” Sandra warned.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to disrespect, but you have to admit it’s funny as hell.”

  “It’s my grandfather’s name,” Grady replied coldly. “But why do I get the feeling you both already knew it?”

  The left side of Romeo’s mouth quirked and he winked. “We may have already done some homework. But I wasn’t talking about the actual name . . . although it’s a bit old-fashioned nowadays. I’m referring to the Casper and Wraith part. Talk about destined for each other.”

  “Romeo,” Sandra barked. “He goes by Grady.”

  Good-looking Guy held his hands up in surrender. “Got it.”

  Sandra swung her gaze his way. “Grady, you don’t need the gun. You can put it away.”

  He wasn’t ready to make that call yet. “I’m good.”

  She scowled.

  Talon and Romeo both lifted an eyebrow.

  Whatever. He crushed the sticky ball in his fist.

  “Does Victor know you’re here?” Sandra asked, every bit of her posture tensing.

  Talon let out a disgusted sound while Romeo answered, “Of course not. We snuck off the job.”

  “What about the others?” She pinged her gaze between Beavis and Butt-Head.

  “On their way,” Talon answered.

  “How many we talking?” Grady asked.

  “Oh my God,” she replied, her hand shaking as she covered her mouth. “I can’t believe you guys are really here.”

  He counted to ten. There was only so much more he was going to take before he made somebody talk.

  Sandra shifted her shoulders back. “Then I suggest we wait until tomorrow when the other two arrive so we’re not telling the story twice. But I do have one question before I turn in.” She pointed at Frick and Frack. “Why did you wait until now—”

  “To break in,” Grady cut her off to finish.

  Talon crossed his arms; the disapproval and something akin to jealousy radiating off the man was hard to miss. “Well . . . the lights here inside didn’t exactly hide your activities. Didn’t think you’d want us intruding.”

  What the fuck?

  Sandra’s cheeks turned scarlet. “You both were here the whole time?”

  Romeo held up his hands. “Depends on your definition of ‘whole time.’ I just got here a couple of hours ago after Talon called to tell me you were still alive and hiding in Ridge Creek.”

  Wasn’t that interesting.

  She held the bridge of her nose. “I need sleep. You guys find a place to crash; we’ll catch up in the morning.”

  “Nice try, Wraith,” Talon stated. “But it’s been months since we’ve seen you, and now it appears as if we have a few more things to talk about than the obvious top ten.”

  Chapter 15

  Damn. As thrilled as she was to see Romeo and Talon, Sandra had hoped to stay in this new world she had been cocooned in a little while longer. A fantasy, she knew. Everything had changed the second her apartment had been broken into and would never go back to the way it was.

  Short of walking out right now, she had no way of stopping the inevitable backlash. How would Grady react when he realized how much she had kept secret? How would Romeo and Talon react when they heard what she had let slip? Fuckety fuck fuck. Her two worlds were on a collision course from hell with her caught in the middle.

  Tension slowly rose in the room. Romeo looked openly curious and made no secret about studying Grady. Talon, on the other hand, was his usual friendly self—meaning he appeared ready to stab one of the knives he currently fiddled with into Grady’s heart. Though, judging by her former teammate’s glare, she’d be more inclined to call what rolled off him hostility than simple tension. Great.

  “Back to you mentioning me,” Talon said, breaking the silence. “What’s Lover Boy mean when he asked about a knife in training? What have you told him?”

  “Not nearly enough,” Grady shot back. His stiff back and tight shoulders would make a drill sergeant proud as he resolutely tapped his handgun against his leg. “My question seems a little more pressing. What did you mean, Romeo, when you said Sandra’s ‘still alive and hiding in Ridge Creek’?”

  “Well, I’ve got a question of my own I want answered,” Sandra announced, putting her hands on her hips. She didn’t miss the way Grady’s eyes narrowed and skimmed her fully exposed thighs. Tough shit. He’d have plenty of time to yell at her later for much more worthy things than her nudity underneath his shirt. “How did you two find me?”

  “Are you kidding?” Grady answered instead. “One, if not both, was shooting at us earlier. My money’s on him.” Grady thrust his chin toward Talon. “A normal person does not break in and lob a glow-in-the-dark fuzzball at my heart and brag about how it could have been his knife—”

  “Talon!” Sandra snapped. “You didn’t.”

  The asshole just shrugged. “It could’ve been, but it wasn’t. Just a harmless prank.”

  “Yeah, real funny to the guy who doesn’t know who the hell you are. So what were you doing all night if it wasn’t taking shots at us?”

  “Following you.”


  “What?” Sandra asked, blinking. “Why? How?”

  Talon slid his cold emerald eyes to Grady before landing back on her. “Let’s just say I got a tip while I was in for my annual evaluation—”

  “Would this be a psych eval, because I think you’re due for one,” Grady interrupted, his hand clenching as if smashing something in his palm.

  Oh boy.

  “Whatever. Kettle, pot.” Talon motioned between himself and Grady.

  “Guys, please.” Sandra held up her hand. “Talon, if you’ve been following us, then you must have seen the operative when he snuck back into my apartment. Why didn’t you stop him? He almost killed us.”

  Talon swallowed and glanced out the door before mumbling, “I got waylaid by an ancient woman beating me with a bag filled with . . . Yeah, not going there.”

  Romeo let out a peal of laughter. “I wish I could’ve seen that. I can just picture it. In my mind, that bag’s overflowing with adult diapers and prunes.”

  Talon flipped Romeo off. “It wasn’t me”—he directed that line to Grady—“because I took out Granger while he lined up his next shot when you guys were in the police station.”

  “That’s what happened,” Sandra muttered, feeling as if a weight had lifted off her shoulders. The sudden disappearance of the operative hadn’t made sense, and she hadn’t really been sure if they had lost him or not.

  Grady straightened. “You killed him?”

  “Only way to stop him,” Talon replied coldly. “Not squeamish are you, Lover Boy?”

  “Hardly.” Grady frowned. “Are you saying you took out the guy while he was chasing us?”

  “Need me to talk slower?” Talon asked sarcastically.

  “Just answer the question unless it’s too complicated.”

  Talon crossed his arms. “Yes. I snuck up behind him and knifed him across his vocal cords. Enough detail for you?”

  Grady nodded. A contemplative look stole over his face, but he didn’t say anything as he tapped a finger on his hip.

  “What are you thinking?” Sandra asked, her stomach tightening.

  Grady locked gazes with Talon. “You’re holding something back, aren’t you?”

  Talon snorted. “You kidding me? I’m holding a crapload back.”

  The knot in Sandra’s stomach squeezed tighter.

  “Relating to her, asshole.” Grady pointed at Sandra. “Your tip. Why would it specifically state to come here?”

  “I was trying to be diplomatic, but have it your way,” Talon retorted. “Did you run a background check on Wraith when she applied?”

  “Of course.”

  Talon lifted an eyebrow.

  Confusion filled Grady’s face, then he stiffened.

  Fuck. “What’s going on?” Sandra asked, pinging her gaze back and forth between them.

  “He knows,” Talon said instead.

  “I couldn’t quite believe your résumé, so I ran your background check twice. When both times came up clear, I let it go.”

  Sandra’s stomach dropped. “You checked it twice?”

  “That’ll do it,” Romeo stated, the smile now gone from his face.

  “Someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?” Grady demanded, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “That’ll do what? Does this have something to do with Kansas?”

  Tension plunged into the room, and both men stared at him in shock. Sandra had the sudden urge to flee.

  “What do you know about Kansas?” Romeo demanded, stepping closer to Grady.

  Grady met everyone’s eyes head-on, not backing down from the intensity. “That you guys have a clandestine training facility out there. I know that Talon is a former teammate of Sandra’s who gifts her with knives.” He glared at her teammate as if that was a capital offense before continuing. “And judging by the reunion I just witnessed, so are you, Romeo.”

  As if on cue, Romeo and Talon turned to gape at her.

  “What the fuck, Wraith?” Talon burst out.

  “Watch the tone,” Grady growled.

  Talon ripped his gaze away and focused on Grady. “What did you say?”

  “Unless you need a set of Miracle-Ears, you heard me. Don’t take that tone with her. Besides, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out you both answer to codenames. Even you aren’t that slow-witted.”

  Oh hell.

  Talon rounded the dining room table, and Romeo moved to intercept him. Grady’s stance changed as if to prepare for the fight.

  “That’s enough,” she snapped.

  After a few tense heartbeats, Talon relaxed his stance and Romeo released his hold, but Grady didn’t listen. “Sandra, earlier you admitted to padding your résumé—with resources to back it up, I might add—being a teammate of an as-yet-to-be-explained team, and, Jesus, by the way, they think you died and came back to life. I’m tired of asking the same question. So this is the last time: What the hell is going on?”

  Everyone stared at her. The expressions ranged from glaring to suspicious. Her heart sank. She had done this. Goddamn it, why hadn’t she gone with left-brain’s choice and split town, saving everyone the heartache? Her own heart wrenched, reminding her just how invested it was in Ridge Creek (and a certain Marine). She stole a glance at Grady. Gone was the happy-go-lucky guy from the adventure center, inspiring loyalty among the staff just by being him. In his place was a frustrated, suspicious man who appeared at the edge of his patience. With a few words she could fix it or destroy everything that was left. A lump surged forward in her throat. Would Romeo and Talon see her letting Grady in as a betrayal? Probably. Could she do it anyway and trust Grady?

  “I’ll take your silence as your answer.” Sandra could hear the icy hurt lacing his Southern drawl as he stepped back toward the hall.

  She nibbled on her bottom lip. Time to find out. She took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Before coming here, I used to be an operative for a clandestine organization.”

  “Wraith!” Talon burst out at the same time Grady halted and replied, “I already stated as much a second ago. Want to try again?”

  Chapter 16

  Grady waited impatiently for the next words to drop out of her mouth. Judging by Talon’s and Romeo’s fierce frowns and not-so-subtle signaling for her to shut up, they were anxious too.

  Her tone paled another shade, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes. “The reason I’m called Wraith—”

  “Think about what you’re doing,” Romeo warned, his face no longer smiling prettily.

  “Believe me, I have,” Sandra answered, then focused her tired hazel eyes on Grady. “You know how you have the grim reaper tattooed on your arm?”

  “Yeah,” Grady drew out, a sense of foreboding stealing through him.

  “That was me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “As you probably remember from your years in the Marines, job tasks varied from day to day within a unit, but each person had a specialty.”

  Grady definitely did not like where this was going. “Sandra, just spit it out.”

  She swallowed and cast somber eyes at him. “Within Delta Squad, I used to be a sniper.”

  “Fuck,” Talon whispered, swiping his hands through his hair. “You just broke the oath.”

  “A sniper,” Grady repeated, not sure he’d heard right.

  “Yes.” Her hands wrung together, and her posture radiated nervous regret.

  He blinked. “You’re trying to convince me that the same woman who won’t play any of the shooting games in the arcade because they’re ‘too violent’ is a sniper?” Grady almost wished he was being punked, but Talon’s whispered outburst and the tense, resolute atmosphere didn’t allow for that wish. “The same person who told me she didn’t want to attend the team-building event on Wednesday because it has laser tag used to lie down behind a long-range rifle and shoot people?”

  Sandra winced. “A customized Remington, and only at bad guys.” A flash of despair crossed over her fa
ce.

  Before Grady could ask about it, Talon exploded with, “She was one of the best damn snipers I’ve seen until she died.”

  “Talon!” Romeo rounded on his cohort.

  “What?” the prick retorted. “She’s already confessed it. He needs to get over himself and stop looking at Wraith like she belongs in a nut farm.”

  Grady’s heart constricted. “Died.” That was the second reference to her death. What the hell did it mean? The sense of foreboding grew. Did he even know this woman at all?

  “Fuck,” Talon said again, this time casting a guilty glance at Sandra. “Sorry.”

  Sandra nodded and dropped onto a dining room chair and clasped her hands together. “It’s okay. I think he needs to know anyway.”

  Romeo pulled a chair out and situated himself at the table. A piece of silver winked out from the edge of his black V-neck, hanging from a silver necklace. Same emblem Sandra always wore. “Cappy’s going to blow a nut when he hears about this.”

  “Then it’s a good thing he’s got two of them,” she replied, her tired voice laced with steel.

  Talon moved back to the screen door, his shoulders stiff as he gazed outside. “You’re not just talking about yourself, you know,” he said in a low voice. “To appease Marine Man’s curiosity, you’re compromising all of us.”

  Grady assumed he was supposed to feel guilty and back down, but fuck that. Too much had happened too quickly, and he was in the goddamn middle of it. The woman he was falling in love with didn’t even resemble the ominous picture that seemed to be emerging. He needed to know for his own survival how bad this was going to hurt.

  Just as he opened his mouth to prompt her for a response, Talon lunged to the side and slapped the lights off. The unmistakable sound of the screen door opening was cut off by two people grappling.

  “You’re damn right I’m going to blow a nut,” a deep, gravelly voice boomed behind him, sounding like a chain saw.

  Grady whirled, aiming his Beretta at the disembodied threat coming from the living room. A viselike grip clamped on his right wrist just as the weight of an arm dropped over his and a body pressed into his side.