Special Ops Rendezvous

by Karen Anders

  “I assume you suspect I had something to do with your brother’s death and that’s the reason for this subterfuge.”

  He wasn’t one to pull punches, but she guessed that was true because he was a Ranger and those kinds of guys hit things head-on. There was something unsettled in his eyes, something apprehensive, with just a touch of fear there, too.

  “No, going undercover was John’s idea, Sam. He wanted you to be safe, but he didn’t want to break or damage your trust with him. So he asked me to be totally discreet. I got a job at the spa to stay close. But I will admit that after my brother’s murder, the thought had crossed my mind. My brother asked me to follow you for a reason. Now I wonder if it got him killed.”

  “You don’t think I killed him?”

  “He was concerned about you, Sam. He thought you needed protection. Why would I think such a thing?”

  “Because I wasn’t sure. Olivia, I have memory loss and sometimes I black out and do things I don’t remember.”

  “You didn’t kill my brother. I don’t believe that.”

  “Thank you for that.” He glanced away, then back. “Dr. Owens hired you to protect me?” That made him smile wryly. “Damn, Dr. Owens,” he said, shaking his head. “He thought I needed protection...yet he was the one who suffered for trying to help me.”

  “So you think his murder has something to do with you?”

  “I don’t know, Olivia. I truly don’t, but it feels like he was...assassinated.”

  That jolted her with a sudden fear of who was behind this, but it wasn’t going to get her to back off. There was more here with Sam, but they were just getting started and she would get Sam to open up to her later when he trusted her more. Because now that she was here, she had no intention of leaving until she got to the bottom of her brother’s death and the threat to Sam. Sam was very much alive, and Olivia believed he was in danger.... She knew he was in danger. Walking away from this wasn’t an option. She owed that much to John.

  But even with that determination, her stomach knotted. She tried to get detached from her brother’s murder and think like a private investigator, but she couldn’t quite get to that level of objectivity. She said, “What do you mean? The police won’t tell me anything.”

  He looked at her as though he didn’t want to go on.

  “Tell me, Sam. I can take it. I need to know.”

  He crossed back to her and stood close, his voice a low rasp, his teeth clenched. “He was shot in the head. A kill shot that, to me, says professional.”

  Her stomach jumped and tumbled. That information was certainly cause for alarm and made it clear why Sam was worried. “Even if that’s the case, I intend to find out who killed my brother.”

  He set his jaw and looked past her into the darkened kitchen. “Olivia, you don’t have a clue what you’re up against. I don’t know who could be involved here, but ever since Mike and I were captured and imprisoned, I haven’t trusted my government. Hell, I can’t even trust my own memories. What I have of them.”

  “Why don’t you trust them?”

  “I’m only telling you to convince you of the folly of pursuing this.” The reluctance in his voice indicated to her that he was clinging to his training and the “need to know” edict that he lived by. What he was telling her must be classified information. “Very few people knew where we were on that mission. It had to have been compromised. I can hardly remember the details, but what I do remember feels like a damn ambush. I don’t trust the army and I don’t trust the CIA, even though they rescued me. I don’t even know if I’m going back, if I can even get my memories back and feel fully functional again.”

  Olivia watched his face, saw the way his jaw hardened against the uncertainty of his life, saw the anger in his eyes and the vulnerability that lay beneath it, and her heart ached for him. He was close to her, leaning slightly toward her to make his point. She wanted to cup his jaw, give him some comfort. The memory of her hands on him came back at her with a sizzling jolt, the feel of his hot, slick muscles beneath her palms. She had totally tried to remain cool, but with each stroke of her hands over his skin, she’d lost that impartiality in the heat of him.

  It was clear that he was attracted to her, and that gave her a thrill. His blue eyes dipped to her mouth and she shivered at the thought of him leaning in, pressing that mouth against hers, the tactile memory of his body only fueling the sudden need. They stared at each other.

  She held his gaze for what felt like an eternity. Then he broke it and stepped back out of her reach, battling with the temptation that only made her heart pound that much harder at the sheer promise of giving in to it.

  “I’m sorry for what you went through. I’m sure it was horrible, intense and extremely terrifying,” she said with compassion. “But the fact remains that my brother was murdered and I’m sticking like glue to the man who may be the key to discovering who killed him. I can’t back down. John wouldn’t want me to.” Her voice was a bit unsteady as the emotion and enormity of what she was saying sank in. “I’ve lost my brother and I can’t...won’t abandon my promise to him to protect and help you, Sam.”

  “There are some dangerous people out there, and you might be out of your league, he said, clearly exasperated as he ran both hands over his short hair.

  The movement only tightened his powerful biceps and drew attention to his face. With his closely cropped hair, his maleness and his striking looks were pronounced, which made his impact on her even more of a gut punch to her senses. She could only marvel at how calm her voice was. “I’m aware of that.” That calmness seemed to set him off. His eyes went a hot blue and he was in her face again. He clasped her upper arm roughly and shook her slightly.

  “Dammit, Olivia. I won’t be able to sleep at night knowing you could now be in danger because of me. I can’t bear another innocent death on my hands. If you are going to continue with this investigation against my advice, then you are sticking close to me, rather than blunder into something that will get you killed.”

  “Sam, I’m a private investigator, not some innocent woman off the street. I understand the danger and the consequences.”

  His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re getting into. I can use just about any weapon to kill—silently with a knife, with a gun from a distance, and even my bare hands.... The people we could be up against have all those abilities and one thing I don’t have.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A complete and utter disregard for human life.”

  She met his tough gaze with her chin up and her eyes hard. She took in the wild gleam of pain in his expression, the muscles and tendons that stood out in his neck, the heavy rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. She suspected most women in her shoes would back off, turn around right now and bolt, trying to get as far away from Sam Winston as was possible. But Olivia wasn’t one of those women. In fact, Sam intrigued her, a devastating combination of warrior and hero.

  “I’ll be careful.”

  He smiled then, but it wasn’t in amusement. “That’s right. Here with me.”

  “I don’t think that’s—”

  “It’s nonnegotiable, Olivia.”

  “Don’t get high-handed with me, Sam. I make my own decisions.”

  He let go of her arm and stepped closer, and she tensed. She tried not to show it, but the man unnerved her. The stabilized world she lived in had suddenly become filled with this irresistible and wholly captivating man who had a very destabilizing effect. She wasn’t sure what to do about that. She wasn’t a shrinking violet, and Sam would have to get used to that. She faced things head-on, too.

  His eyes went hard and flinty, and she had to resist the urge to shiver. He had intimidating down to a science. Gone were the soft eyes and the soft tone. In their place was blue granite and a flat, steely voice that b
rooked no argument—something she would expect of a man who lived by his wits and honed strength, one who was used to giving out orders. “You’re moving in here with me until this is over. I won’t take no for an answer. We’ve just become roommates.”

  “Giving me ultimatums only makes me want to be contrary,” she returned flatly.

  He did smile then and it relieved the tension in his face. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? I’m not too happy about it, either, Olivia.”

  “Are you using reverse psychology on me?”

  He laughed. “Would that work?” He sobered. His gaze locked on hers, so intent, so focused. So trustworthy and steady. “Okay, then do it for me so I can sleep at night knowing that if you need me, I can be there in a flash.” He said it quietly, but somehow the softer tone wasn’t the least bit comforting. In fact, it only served to unnerve her further.

  She had to take a breath because he made her lungs feel compressed. “Now you’re preying on my emotions, but I’m inclined to let you win this one. Safety in numbers and all that. We’ll make a good team.”

  “I’m not exactly a team player. But you’re not the only one who owes something to your brother.”

  She told herself she was agreeing to stay with him for safety reasons. But that might have been the biggest lie she’d ever told herself. Even though this man stirred her blood, she wasn’t a pushover. But it was clear he was dangerous in so many ways—to her equilibrium and maybe to her very life. She was going to have to be vigilant about both. A cocky loner wasn’t exactly her type. They didn’t usually play nice with others.

  “This Lone Ranger act doesn’t work well within a team.”

  “Would that be Team Owens?”

  She tilted her head. Okay, he was quick on the uptake.

  “I’ll show you to my guest room. The bathroom has an extra toothbrush in it and I can find you something to sleep in.”

  She nodded, her heart fluttering just thinking about being under the same roof as Sam. He headed toward the back of the house and she grabbed her purse and followed him. He opened the door to a modest room with a bathroom.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  He disappeared through the doorway across the hall, and Olivia set her purse on the bed. She would have to go to her apartment and pick up some things tomorrow. She also still had arrangements to handle with her brother’s funeral, which was the day after tomorrow.

  For a moment, the loss of her brother overwhelmed her and she closed her eyes against the sudden stab of pain, her arm banded around her waist.

  “Olivia?”

  She started. She hadn’t heard him come up to her.

  “Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “I was just thinking about John. Were you planning on coming to his funeral?”

  “Yes, I was.”

  “It’s the day after tomorrow.”

  “I know.” He looked sad and guilty all over again.

  She couldn’t even tell him it wasn’t his fault, because she didn’t really know if it was. All she knew was that her brother was dead after hiring her to watch one of his patients. That patient was in some kind of trouble that Olivia couldn’t even fathom. After the attempt on his mother’s life and the involvement of one of his army buddies in the shooting, it was clear it was on a much deadlier and wider scale than she’d ever dealt with.

  She couldn’t imagine what Sam was going through. He looked stressed, but that wasn’t a stretch. He was seeing her brother for therapy. Whether that had to do with his military service, the turmoil in his private life right now, or something else, Olivia couldn’t guess. She was determined to get answers regarding John’s death.

  But she wasn’t going to back off and let her brother or Sam down.

  “Let’s get some sleep,” she said. “We’ll tackle it in the morning when we’re fresher.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.” He held out a camouflage T-shirt that was large enough that it would come to her about midthigh.

  She accepted it and their hands brushed. His were as warm as she remembered his skin had been. There she was again, thinking about him totally naked. When he’d gotten that hard-on, she couldn’t help wondering if it was because she’d been touching him...okay, not in a therapeutic way. She probably was the one who caused it. She couldn’t seem to feel sorry about that. She liked the fact that she turned this man on.

  But it would be smart to keep her distance now that she didn’t have to pretend to date him. They could do away with that altogether. Well, she could pretend, couldn’t she?

  “Good night, Olivia.”

  “Night, Sam.”

  He left and closed the door behind him. She set the shirt on the bed and went into the bathroom, finding the spare toothbrush and toothpaste. She washed her face and brushed her teeth, still pondering Sam’s mental state.

  Once that was done, she stripped down to nothing but her undies and pulled the shirt over her head. The soft cotton settled against her body, and her skin flushed as she thought of this fabric having at one time been against Sam’s hard chest, broad shoulders and thickly muscled back.

  She slipped beneath the covers and wondered how she was going to even get to sleep. So much had happened in just two short days.

  She’d have to watch herself and try to find her professionalism somewhere in all that melting she did around Sam.

  Any way she sliced it, Sam Winston was trouble.

  Chapter 4

  Sam started awake, standing in the middle of his room again. His chest was heaving as if he’d been running. His skin was slick with a cold sweat, his shoulder throbbing. He felt sick with fear, the taste of it like bile in his mouth. He was shaking as if he were freezing, but it was warm in the room. Waves and waves of pain, that’s all he could remember. Unending. When he reached for some remnant of the nightmare, there was nothing there.

  There should have been.

  Plenty.

  These bits and pieces of what had happened to him were almost more torturous than actually remembering. Maybe.

  The blank place where his memory should be was a wall of darkness.

  A black freaking hole.

  He walked on shaky legs back to his bed and sat down. Sam eased in a steadying breath, reaching down deep inside himself for calm.

  He hovered on the edge of panic and he didn’t know why.

  He wanted to call Dr. Owens. He had even risen to go look for his cell when he stopped and...felt that panic inch a bit closer.

  “Damn!” he said into the quiet room. Maybe it was because his defenses were down or it was because he needed Dr. Owens, but tears pressed on the backs of his eyes. He wanted to rip out the heart of the person who had stolen Dr. Owens’s life. If he ever found out who that was...and if it was because of him...that was something he would regret for the rest of his life.

  The panic intensified and Sam thought he was going to jump out of his skin. Then deep brown eyes flashed in his memory. Then that caramel hair and that soft, kissable mouth. He took a deep breath and the panic receded a little bit more. Olivia’s curves. How she had felt against him, her shapely butt pressed against his groin, the warmth of her skin beneath his forearm. He took another breath and more of the panic retreated.

  He went into the bathroom. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His pupils were dilated and he wasn’t sure if this was from the fear, the memory of Olivia or his nightmare.

  He turned on the shower and stripped off his shorts, soaked with sweat. The warm water felt amazing. As amazing as Olivia’s hands running over him, giving him relief from the pain. His skin was sensitive as he soaped up and rinsed himself off, the memory of his reaction to what he couldn’t remember being replaced by thoughts of Olivia, thoughts about her wet and soapy against him, her delectable mouth on his, his hands all
over her.

  He got hard and lost in the fantasy, desperate to push his failure to find peace, to understand what had happened to him, and to make a damn difference away from him. Unable to help himself, he cupped his raging erection and leaned one hand against the wall as he imagined himself deep inside Olivia. He bit his bottom lip as the pleasure built, wondering, imagining how she would move, how she would feel, slick and warm. He came hard, grunting with the spiraling pleasure. Damn, that woman turned him on and she’d been what he needed to push back the darkness.

  Outside the shower, he toweled himself off, still vibrating from his powerful orgasm. He went to his dresser and pulled out another pair of army-green cotton shorts with Army Strong stitched into the hem.

  He walked out into the hall and then into the kitchen. He pulled a cold bottle of water out of the fridge and unscrewed the cap and downed the whole thing in a few gulps, then grabbed another one.

  “Sam?”

  He started and spilled water down his chest, grimacing and gasping as the cold liquid hit his hot skin.

  She blinked in the light from the kitchen, her expression apologetic. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “Olivia?” Her hair was tousled around her face with a half-lidded sleepy look that said she’d just rolled out of bed. The thought of her all warm and soft against him arrowed right into his groin. She looked luscious in his oversize shirt. It fit her like a dress. He liked that she wasn’t at all self-conscious around him.

  That heated fantasy came back to him and he reached for a towel, dragging his eyes away from her.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m sorry I woke you. Just a nightmare.” He wiped off his chest, displacing his dog tags as Olivia’s eyes followed his movement. Was she looking at him or what he was doing? His blood surged.

  “I thought I heard running water.”

  “I took a shower.”

  Her eyes traveled over him and he got his answer. She was looking at him. Definitely. In the past, he wouldn’t have hesitated in making time with a woman. But this was Dr. Owens’s sister and...well... He rubbed the back of his neck. Hadn’t he just jacked off thinking about her? He was an idiot and, on top of it, he was so messed up. All he could allow himself to do was think about it. But his mind went there anyway. He knew that reality would be much better than his fantasy.