Jacob

by Kris Michaels

  Tori buried her head in his neck. “I’m so sorry, so sorry.”

  “Hey, now…you didn’t do anything wrong baby. You told me you still had nightmares. It’s okay. I’m here, Tori. Just relax, baby. You’re safe.”

  Chapter Eleven

  A quiet knock on the bedroom door pulled Jacob from the bed where he had been holding Tori long after the tears abated. He threw his flannel shirt at Tori, who had bolted from the bed right behind him. Within seconds, Jacob was at the door, wearing only his jeans, a Winchester in his hand.

  The instant he opened the door, Doc’s concern registered. Jacob recognized the quiet intensity and professional demeanor immediately. He had seen it too many times in too many hellholes not to know something was wrong. “I checked on Keelee. Her fever has spiked. I need to give her some antibiotics, but I can’t get her to answer me about allergies. Ask Tori if Keelee is allergic to anything.”

  Tori pulled the door open wider wearing only Jacob’s flannel shirt. Her eyes were red and puffy. Damn. There was no way Doc wouldn’t know she’d been crying. Thank God Doc was smart enough to know what was going on was none of his business.

  “No. She has no allergies.” Adam nodded as they all went back into Keelee’s bedroom. “What are you giving her?”

  “This is a stabilized form of antibiotic that we use in the field.” He thumped the syringe. “Tori roll her over. I need to administer this in deep muscle tissue.”

  Jacob smiled when Tori looked at him blankly. Jacob rolled Keelee over. “Bare a cheek for your sister, Tori. She is getting a shot in the ass.”

  “Oh shit, she is going to be pissed.”

  Adam applied the alcohol and said almost to himself, “I rather have her pissed and healthy than happy and dead.” He administered the shot.

  Throwing the blanket back over her, he nodded. “I got it from here.”

  Jacob gathered Victoria and led her out of the room. “Come on, honey. Doc is the best. She’ll be okay.” Tori nodded and allowed him to push her out of the small room.

  After closing the door, he circled her in his arms. “Couple more hours until daybreak. We have a long hard day ahead of us and we both need some sleep. Come on, gorgeous, bed for you.”

  He pushed her ahead of him into the bedroom and pulled the sleeping bag back waiting for her to crawl in.

  “I’m sorry Jacob. The dreams, sometimes they are so vivid, it takes a while before I can go back to sleep.”

  He pulled her into his chest and stroked her hair as she settled against him. “If you can’t sleep, at least relax. I got you baby. Nobody is ever going to hurt you again.” His hand combed through her hair in a repetitive soothing motion. He forced his own muscles to relax when he heard her breathing regulate and deepen. How she survived the hell she had been put through he would never know.

  *

  Jacob followed Tori out of the bedroom as the sun started to rise. The faint lightening of the gray, overcast sky did nothing to warm the bitter cold temperatures.

  Doc stood by the fire pouring himself a cup of coffee. Tori grabbed two cups and held them out for Doc to fill.

  “How is she?” Worry riddled her quiet question.

  “She has pneumonia. Her temperature’s gone down, but it’s not at an acceptable point. She’s been vomiting and is dehydrated. I don’t want to start an IV unless I have to, but I will if she begins to retrograde. Needless to say, she and I won’t be riding out of here today.”

  Tori handed Jacob his cup of coffee and took a drink from her mug. “Jacob and I can move the herd down to Hell’s Canyon by ourselves. The old cows know where we are going, and there aren’t any deep breaks that we can’t cover. We’ll leave our supplies, and we can send any extra the men haven’t used back up to you. Bring her down when she’s feeling better. If she gets worse, we’ll get a helicopter to come up here and take her to Rapid City Regional Hospital. Is your satellite phone still charged?”

  Doc nodded. “Three-quarter battery. Should last for a while.”

  Jacob drank his coffee as he looked at Keelee, asleep on the couch. Doc had evidently moved her for the warmth of the fireplace. “Doc, you okay being up here alone?”

  Adam looked at his boss. “Hell no, Skipper. I’m afraid of the dark and I think I might just break down and cry.”

  Tori burst into a fit of giggles and pulled Jacob towards the door. “You got breakfast, Doc. We’re heading to the animals.”

  Just for good measure, Jacob waited until Tori got her coat on and walked out the door before he whistled. When Doc looked up, Jacob threw him the finger. “You’re an asshole, Cassidy.” Doc’s laughter followed him out the door.

  *

  Tori and Jacob headed out. She watched Jacob use a bull whip to start the herd moving down the slopes. The tired cows resisted the move at such an early hour and would’ve preferred to lay in the high meadow chewing their cud. Her man expertly used the whip to crack the air above the cow’s ears making them lurch forward down the canyon towards their meeting with her father. She marveled at the natural way he sat his horse, and she was amazed at how quickly his wound had healed. He moved his arm as if he’d never been injured.

  After several hours of pushing the herd, she could see her father and Jacob’s men working the cattle down from breaks. As the herds mingled, her father emerged from a break in the canyon chasing a calf back to the fold. He quickly stood in his stirrups and looked her way. She knew when he realized Keelee and Doc weren’t with them. An ear-shattering whistle from Frank drew Chief’s attention. Tori saw him motion to the Indian for him to take over. Of course, her dad would ensure the animals were kept moving down the mountain. The Cherokee nodded and immediately assumed control. Frank galloped over to her. His natural gruffness seemed intensified. “Where’s your sister?”

  “She’s sick and is laid up at the line shack. Doc’s given her some antibiotics, but she’s still out of it. We need to send a rider up with any supplies you have left.”

  *

  Frank didn’t hide his concern. Jacob glanced over at Victoria. “Honey, would you go ask Dixon to collect the supplies? One of the team can take them to the line shack.” Tori nodded and spurred her horse to a gallop heading out.

  Jacob sat his horse and squared up on the father of the woman he loved. “Frank, Doctor Adam Cassidy is the best combat doctor in the world and my friend. He’ll take care of your daughter, and she’ll be safe with him.”

  Frank turned in his saddle and made sure Tori was gone. “How bad is she?”

  Jacob shrugged. “Adam felt he could take care of her. If he needed assistance, he would ask for it.”

  The old man rubbed his graying stubble. “Alright, I’ll play it your way.”

  The older man shifted in his saddle watching the progress of the cattle. “Are you taking Tori out of here soon?”

  Jacob nodded. Damn. He really liked this in-your-face old man. “Yeah, I am. As soon as my company needs me, I’m gone. I want her with me. We’ll work together in Virginia.”

  Frank spat on the ground and looked up at Jacob. “If you take her, you damn well better have a plan on how to take care of her if you die in an op overseas. She’ll never come back here to live. You damn well know that as well as I do. Not in her nature to be a country mouse anymore.” With an irritated grunt, Frank spurred his horse to chase a calf that had decided to head up the mountain.

  Jacob watched Frank cut off the animal and head it back down the hill. Well, what in the hell do you do with that King? The old man hit the mark though. Victoria didn’t belong here. She belonged with him in D.C. He did need a plan on how to take care of her. He wanted a lifetime commitment, but his longevity wasn’t a guaranteed thing. Frank was a smart old fart. Jacob chuckled. He would set up everything for Tori. She’d never want again.

  Tori rode back across the ridge to him and pulled up with a smile. “Chief will take the pack horse up to the line cabin. He should be able to make it back by just after dark.” Jacob nodded an
d glanced again at the old man who was working the herd. That man knew and cared about his daughter. Jacob spent the rest of the trip to the ranch working out details for Tori’s care in his mind.

  It was full dark when Jacob, Drake, and Dixon finished feeding and grooming the horses after settling the cattle. Jacob looked up as Chief rode in out of the dark. “Doc okay?”

  Chief grunted. “Yeah, he’s worried about his woman.”

  Jacob chuckled. “Did he say that?”

  “Didn’t have to.”

  Jacob nodded. “Put up your horse then head on to the house for dinner. Aunt Betty saved you some fried chicken. I need you to set up secure comms in one of the small rooms downstairs off the library. I want complete privacy and encrypted channels back to HQ. Three days away from the operations center is killing me. I need to know what is going on no matter what Gabriel says.”

  Chief nodded and led his horse to the barn. Drake and Jacob hung over the stall watching Chief take care of his animal. “Guess you get to see the new art.”

  Chief looked up from his work and scowled at Drake before he looked questioningly at Jacob.

  Dixon assumed a position next to his twin and chuckled. “Yeah, great analogy Drake. Pretty as a picture.”

  “Analogy? Damn it Dixon what is with you and these four dollar words? You’ve been reading that damned thesaurus again, haven’t you?”

  Chief finished putting out the feed and sighed. “What the fuck are you two babbling about now?”

  Dixon closed the stall door as they exited. “It seems Aunt Betty has daughters and one of them is here.”

  Chief shook his head and growled. “What is this? Fucking mating season?”

  Drake laughed and thumped Dixon on the back. “If only! This ranch is the twilight zone and if we don’t watch it, we’ll all get sucked into an alternate cowboy reality or maybe down a wormhole into a geosynchronous universe.”

  Dixon agreed. “Yep. Before you know it, we all will be pushing cows for a living married to gorgeous country girls. Hey wait! Geosynchronous universe? Really? Geo-fucking-synchronous? What the hell is wrong with plain ol’ parallel? Where do you come up with these words? I swear Drake you’re just trying to dog me. I’ve the same education you have and you don’t hear me talking like some butt-clenched, bow-tied asshole.”

  Jacob tuned the twins out. God knew he had enough practice. Those two never shut up.

  Chapter Twelve

  Per Frank’s instructions, Jacob took over the library instead of using one of the smaller rooms downstairs. When he worked late into the night, Tori stayed with him; usually falling asleep on the couch. Jacob looked over his monitor at the woman who slept on the sofa. It was 2:30 in the morning and he still had’n’t finished the paperwork waiting for him.

  The intelligence reports and mission briefs he dealt with were second nature. Running the damn business, fielding the reports from finance, human resources, intelligence, IT, and security were almost enough to make him walk away from it all. He hated it. He and Gabriel held a nightly teleconference and video meetings going over countless issues. Once Tori’s security clearance had been vetted, updated, and transferred, she helped by organizing his efforts.

  In his opinion, stepping up from Alpha team leader to COO had turned into a punishment rather than a promotion. A field agent by nature, the administrative nightmare associated with his promotion prompted Jacob to take every possible mission in order to avoid death by paper cuts. Now he had no way to escape the paperwork, and he anguished over the decision on whether or not to walk away. Astonishingly, Tori had helped him bridge the gap from operative to management.

  Several weeks ago, he’d had an enlightening conversation with Tori. “Look, basically, you moved from working one small operation to a large one. Same problems, just on a different scale.”

  Jacob leaned back in the plush leather chair and scowled at her as she sat on the edge of his desk. The headache from staring at the stacks of paper tightened like a vice. “Yeah? How so?”

  “Security issues for example. If you were on an op and you had a breach in security what would you do?”

  “Find the vulnerability, seal it¸ work the ramifications, report the damage, and ensure it couldn’t happen again.”

  She smiled at him. “Exactly. Now if your security department informs you of an issue involving an unauthorized disclosure of classified information what would you do?”

  Jacob’s eyebrow’s rose. “Find the vulnerability, seal it, work the ramifications, report the damage, and ensure it couldn’t happen again.”

  Tori shrugged. “Same with finance right? If funding is not available, you work alternatives or secure obtain other funding. Human Resources, if you need more people you hire and train them. If your team has issues because of…” she used her hands to put up air quotes, “…‘bad actors’, you either retrain them or get rid of them.”

  That conversation became a turning point for him. During the last month, he had actually put effort into being the COO Gabriel wanted him to become and used his talents on a scale he never dreamed possible. A month ago he couldn’t imagine not being Alpha team’s leader. In reality, the thought of not leading his men still shot a wave of ice through his veins. Yet he knew without a doubt when the missions eventually ended, he would be satisfied running the company.

  A soft mewl from the couch captured his attention immediately. Her nightmares weren’t frequent, but when they hit they messed her up. Her eyes flicked rapidly behind her eyelids and her breathing came in the now familiar shallow, short pants. Small muscle contractions jerked her arms and legs convulsively. Jacob left his computer and walked over to the couch. Carefully, he picked her up and lifted her into his lap. His lips found her forehead and his hands smoothed her hair away from her face where perspiration had allowed it to cling.

  “You’re safe, baby. I got you. Nobody is ever going to hurt you again.” Jacob closed his eyes and waited for her to wake up. Her body trembled and jerked with fear as she came around. He paused for a moment to make sure she knew it was him and pulled her tightly against his chest. “Same dream?”

  Her head moved side to side against his chest slowly. A sense of helplessness gripped him once again. Something new tormented her tonight. Phenomenal, just what she needed. Jacob knew she would always have these memories, but it shredded his self-worth knowing he couldn’t help her. The terror of what had been inflicted on her was something she rarely allowed anyone, even him, to see.

  “You didn’t sleep last night either. What’s triggering the dreams, baby?” His hand traveled up and down her arm trying to still the trembling of her body.

  “I don’t know. The doctor I was seeing said there didn’t have to be a trigger. It’s the same with the anxiety attacks. There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, different, and the next thing you know I’m spinning out of control. I can’t breathe. The fear paralyzes me. It’s not a rational response, no rhyme or reason.”

  “When was the last time you had a session with your doctor?” He felt her tense in his arms. “Baby, you went through hell. It’s alright to need someone to guide you through your recovery.”

  Jacob felt moisture on his shirt and pulled her away from him. Tears. God, he hated all female tears, but hers in particular killed him. “Ah baby…don’t cry. You’re home. You’re safe, and I’ll never allow anything to happen to you again.” He kissed her softly before he continued. “In the morning, make an appointment to go see the doc. I’ll go with you if it makes it easier. Besides, I would like to meet the person who has been helping you.”

  Tori actually chuckled. “He isn’t typical for a doctor. Dr. Wheeler looks more like he belongs in a motorcycle gang than a shrink’s office.”

  “Yeah? Maybe I’ll go just to protect my claim on you.” Realizing he was only half teasing he tipped her chin and smiled at her. “Can’t have you falling in love with anyone else.” His lips lowered and softly kissed her nose.

  Tori smiled, wiped away th
e tears from her cheek, and put her head on his shoulder. “I’d like you to come with me. Thank you.”

  Jacob leaned back in the huge leather couch and sighed. She was everything to him.

  “Are you done with work for tonight?” Tori’s finger played with a button on his shirt.

  “Hmmm…yeah, I can be. I was waiting on a response from Jason. He’s in California working a massive fraud case some defense contractor found and hasn’t checked in. There’s a mission that may require me to tap his expertise.”

  “What’s Jason’s expertise? He’s a cop right?” Tori’s voice was husky with exhaustion.

  “No, Jason was a fighter pilot. His F-15 had a catastrophic failure during a training sortie. He ejected and fucked up his back.”

  “That’s the brother who was addicted to pain killers?” Her fingers stopped tracing his button. Lifting her eyes to his, she waited.

  Jacob gave her a sad smile. “Yeah. Once he got clean he took the LSAT and went to law school. He’s a lawyer now. Damn good one. My brother, Jared, is a cop.”

  “Is Jason’s back okay? I mean, does it still cause him pain?”

  “He doesn’t talk about it. Works out compulsively. Said he swapped one addiction for another. Dude is bigger than I am.”

  Tori grinned, “Bigger than you? Not possible.”

  Jacob lifted her off his lap and pressed her back into the seat of the couch as he straddled her. “Aw baby, you say the sweetest things.”

  Her hand wandered down his chest feeling his muscles ripple as she continued. Palming his massive erection she pushed and squeezed at the same time. His head reared back and a growl of desire came from him.

  “I need you. I need you in me, now,” Tori said.

  “Oh darlin’, you don’t have to tell me twice.” His lips lowered to hers taking her mouth in a heated assault. Her shirt and bra were off in a matter of seconds and his hands made quick work of her jeans and thong. Standing to strip he looked down at her beautiful flawless body on the dark brown leather couch. So perfect and all his.