X-Ops Exposed

by Paige Tyler

After making her promise to stay in the operations vehicle parked four blocks away, Gage and the rest of the SWAT team immediately headed into the fray—not to take out the thugs, but to try to rescue any of the hotel guests still inside. She’d almost turned off the monitors when she’d seen all the carnage there. Any remaining thought that the SWAT team was crooked, dirty, or anything other than the biggest bunch of heroic, dedicated cops she’d ever seen in her life was gone now. Gage and his men had gone into the motel over and over, carrying out the wounded while being shot at the whole time.

  Mac held her breath as Gage reached the second floor. The two gangs had knocked out windows and piled up furniture to barricade themselves behind while they used up what seemed like an unlimited supply of ammunition. She knew Gage and his team were good at their jobs, but she didn’t see how this was going to end well.

  Her hands were freaking shaking, she was so scared. Gage was going in there, and she suddenly realized she didn’t want him to.

  The audio system in the operations vehicle was tied into the headsets every SWAT officer wore, so why the hell couldn’t she hear anything? She darted from one monitor to the next, but the men moved so fast it was making her dizzy. She wasn’t even sure where everyone was. A minute ago, Gage had been on the stairwell, but now he looked as if he was on some kind of gravel surface. Where the hell was he, on the ground behind the building? That made no sense at all.

  Several men suddenly kneeled down in front of Gage’s camera, and she had only a second to identify one of them as Cooper before they scattered again. She almost screamed in frustration.

  Gage’s voice came over the speaker. “Three…two…one…go!”

  There was a thunderous boom and a flash of light, then…chaos.

  Mac’s heart pounded harder, almost drowning out the sound coming over the speakers. What the hell good were cameras if everything on the monitors was too fast and jarring to comprehend? There were bright flashes of light, then the pop of gunshots followed by the ear-shattering cacophony of automatic weapons being fired. Screams and shouts turned into cries of pain, but they were barely audible over the low, angry growls the SWAT team made. She’d heard the same thing when Mike and Xander had led their squads into the pitch-black office building that first day. Only this time, it was much louder.

  She closed her eyes, unable to look at the monitors any longer. Why the hell was she so terrified? She’d been in situations like this before. Heck she’d been shot at half a dozen times in the course of her career and even been near an explosion once. But she’d never been this scared.

  Because she wasn’t the one in danger. The man she cared about was. And that made it worse. She prayed Gage and his men made it through this safely.

  Mac didn’t know how long she sat there with her eyes closed. But when she opened them again, an eerie kind of quiet had descended upon the motel. She could still hear moans, whimpers, and the occasional sob, but no gunfire.

  Then Mike’s voice came over the speaker. “One clear.”

  “Two clear,” said Xander.

  “Three clear,” reported Cooper.

  The SWAT team was calling in by some kind of number pattern, letting Gage and everyone else know they were alive and that their area of responsibility had been cleared. She held her breath as fifteen numbers were announced.

  “All clear,” Gage said. “Get the EMTs in here.”

  Mac slumped down in the seat, more exhausted than if she’d run a marathon.

  Behind her, the doors of the operations vehicle opened. She jerked around to see Zak stick in his head.

  “Everyone’s running inside. What happened?”

  Mac had completely forgotten Zak had been outside taking pictures of the scene. “I’m not sure, but I think everyone’s okay,” she said. “I heard all of them over the radio at least, and they sounded okay. I don’t have a clue what happened, though.”

  Zak climbed in the truck and shut the door. “I think they blew their way in through the roof, both ends of the building at exactly the same time. There was gravel and flaming tar flying everywhere.”

  That explained the gravel she’d seen. They’d been on the roof.

  She and Zak sat in silence, watching the monitors and trying to figure out what was going on, but it was too dark and chaotic. A lot of people had gotten hurt in the little gang war, so the monitors were filled with EMTs, uniformed officers, and SWAT team members rendering first aid. The motel looked like a scene out of a M*A*S*H episode as an endless stream of ambulance gurneys rolled in and right back out.

  She was going to get sick if she kept trying to watch the crazy scene. But she couldn’t tear herself away until she knew Gage was okay. When she finally caught a quick flash of his tall, broad-shouldered form in one of the other men’s cameras, she let out the breath she didn’t even realize she’d been holding. He was safe. She could breathe again.

  Twenty minutes later, Becker and one of the team’s medics, Senior Corporal Trey Duncan, came out to give them an update.

  “Cooper and Nelson—our demo guys—blew entry points through the roof in four different places.” Becker said it so casually, as if they did stuff like this every day. Which she supposed they did. “Then the whole team dropped through, right into the middle of each gang.”

  “Are the hostages okay?” Mac asked. “Is everyone okay?”

  “Everyone in the unit is fine. A few minor nicks and scratches, but that’s about it.” Duncan frowned. “Some of the hostages are in pretty bad shape, though. At least three were shot before we even went in, and two more were hit during the rescue. The gangbangers seemed pretty intent on taking as many people with them as possible. They’re on the way to the hospital now, but we don’t know if they’re all going make it.”

  Mac shook her head.

  “Sergeant Dixon asked me to tell you that he’s going to be here for a few more hours,” Becker said. “He thought you might want to call it a night.”

  Then he and Duncan left to go back to the motel.

  Zak glanced at her after the two cops stepped out of the operations vehicle. “Silly question, but I’m guessing you’re going to stay?”

  “Yeah. I want to hang around and make sure they’re all okay.”

  He grinned. “I thought so. You gonna need me at the compound tomorrow?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’ll see you at the paper.”

  After Zak left, Mac turned her attention back to the monitors, patiently waiting to catch another glimpse of Gage.

  * * *

  Gage was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. All he wanted to do was go home, fall into bed, and pass out for a few hours until the alarm went off and he had to get up and do it all over again. But Mackenzie insisted he needed to eat, and kept telling him that until he stopped at the next fast-food drive-through they came to.

  “Don’t stare at the burrito,” she scolded gently. “Eat it.”

  He forced himself to take a bite, closing his eyes for a moment as the spicy beef filling hit his tongue. Maybe he wasn’t too tired to eat after all. Next to him, Mackenzie bit into her own burrito.

  Gage had been surprised to find her waiting for him when he’d climbed into the operations vehicle. He thought she’d left hours ago. But she told him she’d wanted to wait. It might be selfish, but he was glad she had. Seeing her beautiful face after the long-ass day he’d had made him feel a little less exhausted.

  The two incidents he’d gone on weren’t the only reason he was dragging. The other was the argument he’d gotten into with his pack that morning after PT. He’d thought that after yesterday, his guys wouldn’t mind sitting down with Mackenzie for a one-on-one interview, but they’d been flat-out pissed off at the idea.

  “That’s too damn bad because you’re doing it anyway,” he’d told them. “If it’s any consolation, you won’t have to put up wit
h Ms. Stone snooping around much longer.”

  “How do you know that?” McCall asked.

  “Yeah.” Kendrick’s eyes narrowed. “Just how involved with this reporter are you? Is there something going on that you haven’t told us?”

  Gage bit back a snarl. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  Cooper looked up from the graphic novel he was thumbing through. “He means, are you sleeping with her?”

  Gage had been so shocked he’d just stood there staring at his explosives expert like a damn pig with a Rolex.

  “Well, are you?” Cooper demanded.

  Gage had to clench his hands into fists to keep from slugging the man. Getting into a brawl with Cooper might be satisfying as hell, but it would only confirm what he and the rest of the men feared—that he was letting his attraction to Mackenzie cloud his judgment and it was putting the Pack at risk. He understood where their concern was coming from, even if it was misplaced.

  “No,” he said as evenly as he could manage. “We’re not sleeping together.”

  “Bullshit,” Xander snarled. “We can smell her all over you.”

  Gage didn’t even realize he’d moved toward his senior squad leader until Mike stepped in front of him and put a hand on his chest.

  Brooks moved to stand next to Xander. “Sergeant, how do we know she isn’t playing you?”

  “She’s not playing me,” he growled.

  “How can you be sure?” Mike asked.

  “I just know, damn it!” he snapped.

  That probably wouldn’t be good enough for them, but he didn’t know how to put it into words. Mackenzie might have come here looking for a story that first day, but something in his gut told him that wasn’t the reason she kept coming back.

  Xander swore under his breath. “It’s not just about her finding out about us, Gage. Having her around is dangerous.”

  Gage frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “For one thing, you’re not thinking clearly,” Xander said. “Hardy sent his goons to rough you up and you don’t seem to give a damn.”

  “Like hell I don’t.”

  “Yeah? Well, you haven’t mentioned what you’re going to do about it.” Xander shook his head. “Anyway, it’s not just that. She’s putting off pheromones all of us are picking up, and it’s affecting some of the younger wolves. To say it’s a distraction is an understatement. It’s going to get someone killed.”

  That’s when things had gotten really ugly. Not everyone in the Pack agreed with Xander, and the guys had taken sides. And the ones who went against Gage weren’t only pissed about Mackenzie, they were calling him out as Pack leader. There’d been a few stare downs over the years, but it’d never gone further than that, and certainly never with any of the more senior werewolves. But this fight was going to make the scuffle in the weight room the other day look like child’s play. Blood would definitely be shed.

  Or it would have been if Cooper hadn’t defused the situation with one simple question.

  “Mac’s The One, isn’t she?”

  Gage didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. The rest of the Pack retracted their claws, suddenly more interested in debating whether the myth was real—and what that meant for the Pack. If Mackenzie Stone was really The One for him, would it keep her from spilling their secret if and when she discovered it? Did the intense attraction have the same effect on her, too?

  Gage hoped to God it did, but he didn’t know much about it. Unfortunately, neither did Cooper. But before Gage could say anything, dispatch had called about the hostage situation at the mall.

  “Should we drive through again and get you another burrito?”

  Mackenzie’s soft voice interrupted his thoughts and he looked down to see he’d not only eaten the entire burrito, but had practically licked the wrapper clean, too.

  He grinned and crumpled the wrapper. “Nah, I think I’m good.”

  She didn’t look convinced. “You can have some of mine, if you want.”

  “Thanks, but I think it’s time we get you home. It’s late.”

  She didn’t protest as he started the car. It was well after midnight and she looked as exhausted as he did. She finished the rest of her burrito in silence, then leaned back in the seat.

  Gage had to resist the urge to pull over just so he could see if her lips were as sweet as he remembered from that afternoon. He tightened his grip on the wheel and forced his attention back to the road. Xander had been right. He didn’t think clearly when he was around her.

  Xander was right about something else, too. Mackenzie was a distraction to the team. Gage had thought they were tense because they were worried she’d stumble on their secret, but now he realized it was because her pheromones were making them crazy. Mackenzie was jonesing bad for him and his pack knew it.

  Gage thought again about what Cooper said. He’d never believed the myth about every werewolf having one perfect soul mate waiting somewhere out there for him. He’d always thought it was something werewolves came up with to explain why they had such shitty luck with women. They had shitty luck with women because werewolves were moody, secretive, aggressive, and just plain crappy at connecting on a human level. Or so he’d thought. But maybe Cooper was onto something. Maybe Mackenzie was The One.

  What else explained why he couldn’t think clearly when he was with her? Because he’d dated a lot of women, and none of them had ever had this kind of effect on him.

  And how do you know she’s not just playing you?

  Brooks’s words echoed in his head. What if he was so blinded by Mackenzie that he couldn’t see what was right in front of him?

  Gage glanced at her as he pulled into the parking garage. She could barely keep her eyes open, she was so tired. Looking at her right then, he was ashamed for even thinking she might be using him.

  “Do you want to come in for a while?” Mackenzie asked when they got to her door.

  Man, he wanted to. But he needed to put some space between them if he was ever going to sort out the jumbled mess of emotions he was feeling.

  “It’s late and we’re both beat.” He brushed her hair back from her face. “Rain check?”

  “Of course,” she said, then frowned. “Are you sure you’re not too tired to drive home? Maybe you should stay and sleep on the couch.”

  He chuckled. “If I stay, something tells me neither one of us will be getting any sleep. I think it’s better if I go.”

  “Okay.” She gave him a stern look. “But you have to promise to text me and let me know you got home, okay?”

  “I will.” He tilted her face up to gently kiss her on the mouth. The feel of her lips under his was enough to make him say the hell with it and take her up on her offer. He needed to get out of here. Now. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She smiled and went up on tiptoe to press her lips to his once more. “Count on it.”

  Damn, she was making it hard to believe she wasn’t The One. Why else would it be so hard to turn and walk away from her?

  Chapter 8

  Mac usually needed four alarm clocks set five minutes apart and positioned in different places around the room to force herself to get out of bed in the morning. And that was when she got up at a reasonable time like eight o’clock. But last night, she’d set all four clocks for 6:00 a.m. so she could get to the SWAT compound before Gage had to run off and save the world like he’d done yesterday.

  But he and half the team were already loaded up and ready to roll by the time she pulled into the parking lot. Not about to let him leave without her this time, Mac jumped in the passenger seat of the SUV Gage was driving.

  “You’re perky this morning.” Gage gave her a sidelong glance as he followed the big operations vehicle out the gate. “Guess you slept well.”

  After everything she’d seen yesterday at the hotel, i
t wouldn’t have been a leap to think sleep would be a long time coming last night. But she’d gone to bed with only one thing on her mind—Gage. And thoughts of him had brought her the best night sleep she’d had in…well…forever.

  Mac’s smile quickly turned into a frown when she noticed the tight lines etched around Gage’s mouth. He looked more exhausted than he had when he’d dropped her off at her place.

  “Did you get any sleep last night?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I got a few hours. But unfortunately for me, I don’t look as good as you this early in the morning, especially when I haven’t had my coffee yet.”

  Gage must have noticed her concern, because he chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m off duty for the next two days, so I’ll be able to catch up on my rest.” The look he gave her made her breath hitch. “Unless I have something better to do, of course.”

  “Like have dinner together?”

  The words sounded casual enough, but her pulse was going a mile a minute. All she could think about was what had happened between them the last time they’d had dinner together.

  A grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. “You feel like Chambre Francaise again?”

  She licked her lips. “I thought maybe I could make dinner for you again. Say tonight?”

  His grin broadened. “Sounds good to me.”

  Mac opened her mouth to ask what he wanted for dinner, but the radio squawked with a bunch of static, then all those codes and police jargon Zak always translated for her. Gage picked up the hand mic and spoke a few terse sentences into it. Something about maintaining the perimeter and not using any sirens.

  “So, what do we have?” she asked.

  “Drug lab…meth probably.” He glanced at her, all business now. “An anonymous caller reported all of the typical telltale signs of a meth lab. They also reported seeing automatic weapons, so the on-scene commander asked us to go in first.”

  Where just a few moments ago, a warm, pleasurable sensation had been, now a cold, stomach-clenching fear existed. She’d almost forgotten what Gage did for a living.