TRACELESS

by Helen Kay Dimon

  No matter how clear the message, Rich appeared to ignore it. He hitched his chin in Bruce’s general direction. “Why should I listen to you?”

  Reno nodded. “Good question.”

  And there it was. Luc stepped out of the way just in time. The words had barely left Rich’s mouth when Bruce stepped right into Rich’s face with a hand wrapped around the back of his neck. With his other hand he pressed a knife against Rich’s throat. “Want to ask again?”

  Rich thrashed until the knife pricked skin, then he went still. “What are you—”

  “Do not move unless you want a deeper cut.” Bruce grabbed Rich’s bulletproof vest in his fist and dragged it right up to his throat, nearly chocking him. “Tell your friends to step back before I slice you.”

  Rich didn’t hesitate. Didn’t move, either. “Listen to him.”

  “Good.” Bruce leaned in even closer to his prey. “Now I have one word for you.”

  “What?”

  Luc had to give Rich credit. His voice stayed steady and he didn’t beg. He used his free hand to wave his men back and Luc guessed that one gesture saved a bloodbath.

  “Deniability.” Bruce emphasized all six syllables. “We don’t want details. Details put you in danger. Makes you usable to guys like Connor and a liability to us. The kind of liability a sharpshooter might eliminate with a shot to the forehead.”

  When Bruce shoved him away, Rich stumbled back. He came to a halt and tugged on the bottom of his vest. “You made your point.”

  “Good.”

  For one more beat, Rich held Bruce’s stare then turned to Luc. “So what now? We have them trapped in a shack. I say we blow it up.”

  Tempting, but not the plan. If he had his choice, Luc would take that tactic and cut his losses. But his boss was a very angry man with a definite plan. A powerful man bent on revenge. “We need them to escape. To believe they got away and turn sloppy.”

  Rich snorted. “Why?”

  “The plan hasn’t changed.” Bruce jumped in before Luc could answer. “We want Connor and his wife on the run. The others are expendable and it’s time for them to go.”

  The other men mumbled but Rich put the feelings into words. “You think this Connor is a guy you can mess with? Track down like an animal? No way.”

  But Luc understood this part. He had a wife once. Lost her in an instant at the hands of a drunk driver. He knew what he would do to bring her back. What lengths he would have employed to protect her if he could only go back in time, including taking the killing blow for her. Worse, he was intimately familiar with how a man pushed to the edge was capable of anything.

  “When he’s out on his own, without backup and trying to keep his wife alive, he’ll fold. If we have her we can make him do anything. Racing across the country was just the start.” Luc spoke with absolute certainty.

  He didn’t have to guess or wonder. He didn’t even need to hear it from his boss. The fear in Connor Bowen’s voice over the phone said it all—his wife came first.

  Rich didn’t look convinced. Even in the limited light, the frown lines and twist of his mouth were clear. “He didn’t strike me as the collapsing type. It’s more likely he’ll double down and become a killing machine.”

  The grating sound of Bruce’s knife sliding into a metal sheath stopped conversation and drew all of their attention. “Let’s get back to the team and discuss what we do to get rid of them this time around. I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of losing men.”

  “And we can’t afford to be down many more.” Last thing Luc could do was call in reinforcements. This job had a ticking clock and the countdown had started. “So we separate and destroy.”

  If possible, Rich’s frown deepened even further. “Meaning?”

  “I think explosion does have a nice ring to it.” Luc had the supplies piled in the back of his nondescript truck, just waiting to light up the sky before morning dawned. Nothing would trace back to him, not even the truck he bought for cash under a fake name.

  Bruce’s dark chuckle echoed around them. “I like the finality of your suggestion.”

  They could think whatever they wanted so long as they got the job done...this time. Luc scanned the dwindling group. “You have one assignment.”

  Something in his tone had even Bruce looking around. “Which is?”

  “Connor stays, but don’t let the other team members get out alive.” It was the one sure way to knock the man off his game. Take out his friends and leave him reeling.

  And to save his own hide, that is exactly what Luc promised his boss only a few minutes ago he would do...and he’d deliver.

  * * *

  Holt lowered his fist and gave the all-clear signal. The group started walking again under the blanket of stars. Whatever he heard out among the red rocks and tree stubs must have turned out to be innocent. Possibly an animal and clearly nothing with a weapon. With his tracking skills, he’d know. Which was why Connor put Holt in the lead.

  After a brief argument where Connor insisted Jana wear his bulletproof vest, they’d slipped out of the shack one at a time, with Shane and Holt in front drawing attention away from Jana. Connor doubted she even understood the tactic. Reality was, with the lineup then and gathering of his men around her now they’d have ample warning if someone went after her. They’d all sacrifice their lives for her.

  Their willingness to die for her, for them, mattered to Connor. He didn’t take that sort of devotion for granted. He appreciated all of his men and grew more grateful every day for their agreement to throw in with him. People depended upon their skills and he’d come to expect them to stay honed and ready.

  They ran drills because he insisted, but he knew they’d keep in shape and sharp without any prodding from him. That’s who they were—solid and stable. The very best at their jobs.

  Connor checked the comm again. “Davis?”

  “I just tried.” Shane shook his head. “Got nothing.”

  Pebbles crunched and their feet fell in a steady cadence. When they broke through a mass of trees and over the rise of loose rock, Holt motioned for them to crouch down.

  Up until then Jana had stayed quiet and marched along beside Connor. She had his belt in a loose hold between two fingers. If he walked too fast, she’d tug and he’d slow down. They’d rehearsed the system and used it the last time someone grabbed her.

  Back then they didn’t know each other and he’d had to run through the silent signal and convince her not to talk during their escape. This time she knew making noise could get them all killed, and didn’t question.

  Squatting on the balls of her feet, she leaned into his shoulder and whispered against his cheek. “What’s happening?”

  Every muscle pulled tight from the adrenaline rushing through him. He wanted to sprint to the car and lock her in a seatbelt and send her away. Beating that instinct back took most of his energy, but he still wanted to touch her.

  With a hand on her lower back, Connor pointed to the clearing ahead and the dark jeeps that blended into the skyline. “That’s our ride.”

  Holt took a final look around then nodded. “We’re clear.”

  “Wait.” Jana caught Connor’s arm as he started to rise. “Those men could be anywhere.”

  Connor understood the fear and doubt. She’d been manhandled—something he still couldn’t think about without being swamped by homicidal rage—and threatened. She’d survived a hail of bullets and him tackling her. He couldn’t exactly fault her for expecting danger to lurk under every rock.

  But they couldn’t sit still. Waiting made them easy to locate and even easier to hit. “We’ve got two cars. Shane and Holt are going to head out and warn Lampari and the other office workers you gave the contact information for, as promised.”

  Connor breezed over the other man’s
name. Dead wife or not, Connor didn’t buy Marcel’s story. More than once over the years Connor had caught the man staring at Jana. They’d get together for events or during those times when Jana picked up some of the charity’s work to ease Marcel’s load. His gaze would linger when it landed on Jana and his smile would brighten.

  No way did that guy view Jana as a daughter or whatever ridiculous thing she thought. Connor knew how a man looked at a woman he wanted to take to bed, and he saw that need in Marcel. Saw and wanted to pound it right out of the guy.

  Jealousy didn’t sit well with Connor. Up until a few months ago Jana didn’t try to inflame it. She brushed off his concerns about her dear old boss while insisting she felt nothing but admiration for him. But when she wanted space and needed time away, Marcel threw his arms wide open and she ran into them. That act ate away at Connor. Burned right through him.

  He forced his mind to put it aside. To compartmentalize. He’d sweep her to safety and then they’d talk. Later when the danger cleared and he knew she couldn’t be dragged into whatever mess from his life sucked her under this time, he’d unload and demand she do the same.

  Time had passed and his anger switched from intense and fiery to a slow burn. He had a front-row seat to Davis putting aside his fears and starting a life with the woman he’d always loved. They had a baby on the way. Talk about walking into danger.

  Davis worried and planned and ruthlessly separated his home life from his work life. His brother Pax talked about proposing to his girlfriend, and Joel and Ben were both on the road to forever with their significant others.

  They’d all figured out a way to marry the danger of the job with the life they wanted. Connor once thought he had, too, but it had slipped away from him and he wanted it back. He’d grab it no matter how much of his dignity he had to sacrifice to do it.

  But he had to get her out of this situation alive first. That meant delivering the news sure to raise her defenses. “You’re going with Cam.”

  “Where?” One word loaded with frustration and accompanied by a rush of red to her cheeks bright enough for him to see in the semidarkness.

  “What are you doing in this scenario?” Holt asked.

  Grateful for the reprieve, Connor went with Holt’s question over Jana’s. “Heading to the charity office and seeing what we have there.”

  Cam shot Connor the side eye. “You want backup?”

  The conversation kept rolling along but Jana didn’t. She stopped right in the middle of the open. Stood still as if daring him to a debate. “Where am I going with Cam?”

  “You need to keep moving.” Connor reached for her but she shrugged away.

  She wasn’t stupid. She knew this was the kind of stand he would hate. The way Holt scanned the horizon and grumbled under his breath, he didn’t care for it, either.

  Not that the joint foul mood affected her. She crossed her arms and stared Connor down. “Explain what happens after we get into the cars.”

  “There’s a private plane at a small regional airport nearby.” Connor had memorized the schematics and had numerous alternate plans. All of them involved getting her back to Maryland and into a secure building. “You and Cam will get on and figure out how to get word to Davis.”

  “Without being able to contact us, he could already be on the way here,” Cam pointed out.

  A reasonable thought but not one Connor entertained for even a second. “Not possible.”

  Holt glanced over his shoulder, finding Connor. “You warned him away?”

  “I told him this could all be a scam to attack the office in Annapolis. Lure me out and then go after the house.” The place they all worked but where he and Jana lived.

  Davis agreed with the worries. Even if he hadn’t, Connor would have made his second-in-command promise not to send another team out to Utah.

  The man had a child on the way. Even more basic than that, Connor had imposed strict rules about the entire team being together. It couldn’t happen. Ever. They split up jobs to eliminate the risk of losing everyone in one horrible moment.

  “In other words, we’re on lockdown protocol.” Shane’s voice carried on the quiet night.

  “They are all at headquarters—Ben, Joel, Davis and Pax, along with the women. No one leaves. They shoot first.” Connor knew he could depend on Davis to carry out those orders. “And no matter what, they do not follow me out here.”

  “Smart, but not that helpful right now.”

  “I’m not leaving without you.” Jana talked right over Cam. Her voice stayed soft but the underlying thread of steel was tough to miss as she faced Connor.

  He’d seen the argument coming. It took Jana a long time to get there, but she eventually did. “This is nonnegotiable.”

  She nodded. “Exactly.”

  He glanced around at the rapt audience. They all stared at Connor as if waiting to see how he’d wiggle out of this one. In between watching the area, Connor spied the amused expressions. He knew they’d ride him for months about this.

  “I need a second with my wife.” Connor emphasized the word more for her benefit than theirs.

  “Okay.” Shane clapped his hands and pointed in the distance. “We’ll check the cars and look for tracks.”

  Connor barely listened. All his concentration centered on his wife. The woman with the lifted chin and fire in her eyes in front of him.

  Holt still stood there. “But we need to move soon.”

  “Yeah. I got it, Holt.”

  Connor realized something in his tone must have worked because the men turned away and scattered. They went from watching, with their gazes switching from him to her, to taking off.

  Connor opened his mouth but her words stopped him. “No, Connor. Don’t even try.”

  “Fine. Get in the car.” He refused to argue about this. Not when the answer seemed so obvious.

  “Someone is after me, not you.”

  Since she seemed determined to fight, he complied. “They kidnapped you to get to me, which I would point out has always been my fear. That’s the reason behind the drills and weapons lessons. That’s why I ran the background check on the woman you met in exercise class.”

  It all seemed reasonable to him. They needed to be cautious. The more the news of the team’s work spread, the more wary he became. There were corporations and countries who wanted Corcoran out of business. That put a target on her back and kept him on edge.

  He was about to explain that when she did that woman thing. Made a clicking sound with her tongue as she rolled her eyes. He’d seen the display before and wasn’t a fan of either move.

  “Don’t use this situation as an excuse for your paranoia.” Her voice dropped from chilly to ice cold.

  Paranoia? “What is that supposed to mean?”

  She waved him off and tried to pivot around him. “Nothing.”

  He stepped into her path, blocking whatever hasty exit she had planned. It wasn’t as if she had a lot of options for getting out of here. There wasn’t a road or building for miles. Just acres of tumbled rocks and red sand.

  In the category of bad ideas—getting into their personal issues in the middle of nowhere, with gunmen lurking in the darkness somewhere—this was a real contender. “I’m not going to fight with you.”

  “Of course not.” She didn’t snort but the sarcasm in her voice sounded like she wanted to.

  She lost him again. “Meaning?”

  “Why would you bother?”

  The conversation slid downhill as their voices rose. He didn’t even know what they were talking about. “Maybe we could take a second and cool off.”

  “Fine.” She tucked her hands in the front pockets of her pants and rocked back on her heels. “But I think you just proved my point.”

  “Are you kidding me with this? You are
my number one priority.” There is no way she could think anything else. “Keeping you safe is all I care about.”

  “Exactly.”

  Frustration washed over him until he thought he’d drown in it. He threw up his hands because he had no idea what else to say or do. “What are you saying, or trying not to say, while you make me work for it?”

  “I want a marriage, not a jailor.”

  He stepped in close and ducked his head until they met straight on, face-to-face. “Any chance you’ll soon stop talking in cryptic sentences?”

  She blew out a long, exaggerated breath. “Why do you think I left?”

  He refused to let his mind wander there. He wanted to believe the decision centered on her being restless, not that she needed space. Not that Marcel offered her something or promised anything.

  Truth was, Connor had no idea. They talked daily for the first few weeks. She’d insisted she needed time and that she’d be back, but then the weeks passed into months and the call frequency dipped.

  The last few talks ended in fighting because he couldn’t let the Marcel piece go. Connor hated that guy and all he represented—someone with similar interests to hers, who fought beside her once years ago to help people, who didn’t institute precautions designed to protect her but which ticked her off.

  Being away from her had ripped him apart. He lied to his team at first, not wanting them to know he’d failed and lost her. Then he stopped offering any excuse and they stopped asking about her.

  Only Cam knew Connor had planned to come out and get her. He’d had it set up until Joel got lost on a job in the middle of nowhere West Virginia and took Cam along with him. That delayed everything another few weeks, but Connor was here now. He could say anything.

  He went with the soft version of the pain knocking through him. “I think you walked away from me because you wanted something else.”

  Her eyes softened and her hand swept over his cheek. “I want you. Only you. That has never changed.”