“Yes! Yes, I love you, Shrek.” She went up on her toes and melded her lips to his. Never in his life had something felt so damn right.
Chapter Seven
“I don’t know about you, but I’m all shopped out,” Lori said, holding up the multiple bags that were weighing down her arms.
They’d spent the past three hours roaming the huge, crowded street market in town, with over a hundred vendors hawking everything a tourist could want along with a ton of stuff they didn’t need. While Avery had picked up a few things along the way, she hadn’t really been into the whole excursion. That feeling of being watched had been with her since they’d left the resort, but she hadn’t seen either of the men from the bar last night, nor anyone else tailing her, for that matter. So far, whoever these assholes were, they’d only been doing reconnaissance. The intel she’d gotten from Kenny this morning hadn’t helped her figure out why she was being targeted. Liang Guo and Feng Su, both in their early twenties, were local petty criminals who’d been arrested for fights, possession of drugs, picking pockets, etc. Liang had emigrated from China about six years ago while Feng had been born to his immigrant parents on the island. Other than that, there’d been little else of importance in their histories. If last night had been the only incident where she’d felt like she was being watched, Avery might have written off the two men’s actions as simply sizing up the tourists, so they could rip them off somehow.
Avery hadn’t been surprised when Haven had called a few minutes after Kenny had hung up with a promise to keep looking into Liang and Feng. Having already been filled in by geek the night before, the younger, female Deimos agent had wanted all the details she was missing—which weren’t many. Then, before disconnecting the call, Haven told Avery to expect a knock on their hotel room door in exactly twenty minutes and to not bother with a tip—it’d all been taken care of. When Brad had opened the door, a nondescript kid around the age of eighteen or nineteen silently handed him a large, black duffel bag before scurrying toward the stairwell instead of the elevator. Brad eyed both ends of the hallway then ducked back into the new room they’d moved into the night before, locking the door behind him. Setting the duffel on the bed, he’d unloaded the cache of weapons and equipment, not the least bit stunned at how quickly Haven had arranged things. While they hadn’t left the room since moving into it, Brad had still used a bug detector to ensure there were no listening or video devices hidden in the room. He’d then set up a jammer that would prevent their cell phone calls from being intercepted, followed by several motion-sensor cameras that would send an alert to both their phones if anyone entered the room while they were out.
Now, as she walked side by side with Lori, Avery felt a lot more comfortable with the compact Sig Sauer pistol tucked in the waistband of her shorts at the small of her back. A stiletto knife was under the back strap of her bra, while a switchblade was sitting snugly under her breasts. She and Brad had discussed staying at the resort, but neither had wanted to disappoint Lori and Cameron—well, Brad hadn’t wanted to disappoint Lori. They also hadn’t wanted to try to explain a bunch of weird suspicions. As far as Lori and Cam knew, Avery had been a nurse her whole adult life. They knew nothing of her black-ops years or the number of people who’d died at her hand. While she and Lori had walked around, Avery had taken all precautions to make sure they remained surrounded by plenty of people, plus she didn’t know if the possible threat was due to her past or if it was just a coincidence—something she didn’t truly believe in. Hell, she didn’t even know if she was the target or if it was Brad, Lori, or Cam. As long as Avery stayed alert, things would be okay. Still, she was glad to hear Lori was ready to head back to the resort.
“Sounds good to me,” she said to the younger woman. “I think I hear a Mai Tai calling my name.”
Lori smiled. “I know a piña colada is calling mine.” Her eyes lit up at something over Avery’s shoulder. “Oh, here comes a taxi; let’s grab it.”
A bright, yellow minivan pulled up to the curb not far from them and let two touristy-looking men out. When they walked in the opposite direction from the women, not even giving them a glance, Avery’s tensed shoulders relaxed again. The men from the bar last night were nowhere in sight, nor did anyone else seem out of place or overly interested in the two female tourists. That still didn’t make Avery feel any better. Even after years of not being in the field, it was difficult for her not to suspect every single person within a mile radius of being a bad guy.
Keeping an eye on their surroundings, Avery followed Lori who quickly spoke to the dark-skinned driver through the front passenger window, giving him the name of their resort. When he responded with the same fare amount as it had cost them to get there, Lori opened the rear sliding door and jumped in. Out of habit, Avery checked the bench seat and floor behind the middle seat before climbing in and shutting the door. They could have taken the rental car, but the concierge at the resort had advised them to take a taxi since parking was chaotic and overpriced in the area around the market. After seeing it for themselves when they’d first arrived, Avery had been glad they’d listened to the man.
“Hello, beautiful ladies,” the driver said with a huge grin, showing off several missing teeth. As soon as they were settled in their seats, he pulled away from the curb and maneuvered into the local traffic. “I see you enjoyed the market today.”
“Yes, we did,” Lori agreed. “I don’t know how I’m going to get all of this home in my suitcase though.”
“A lot of tourists have that problem.”
As the two chatted amicably, Avery turned sideways in her seat, facing Lori, so she could inspect the vehicles behind them to see if they were being followed. By the time they’d left the busy streets surrounding the market and moved onto the quieter main road that lead to their resort, Avery was almost convinced they didn’t have a tail. But then a white van appeared behind them, speeding to catch up. Avery tensed. Her hand settled on the gun at her lower back, ready to draw and fire if need be.
Their driver noticed the vehicle in the rearview mirror and turned the steering wheel enough that they hugged the dirt shoulder of the road yet maintained the speed limit. He didn’t seem concerned. “Some people are always in a hurry. Don’t they know we’re on island time?”
The vehicle never slowed down as it veered around them and kept going, disappearing around a curve. Avery released the weapon and forced herself to relax. Jeez, this was supposed to be a stress-free vacation. Well, at least her relationship with Brad was progressing better than she’d hoped for. She’d been so worried when she’d realized she was head over heels in love with him. For the first time in her life, she wanted a future with a man more than she wanted her next breath. There’d been other men in her life, but none of them had had her dreaming of growing old with them. They’d been a fun way to pass the time, and, when the relationships were over, she’d moved on without any regrets. Now, she was glad none of those affairs had worked out because they’d led her to Brad. The man she loved. The man who loved her. The man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
A short curse from the front seat precluded the driver slamming on the brakes. Tires screeched as Avery and Lori, unrestrained, were thrown against the backs of the front seats. Avery’s head and shoulder exploded with pain as the vehicle spun around, sending her crashing against the door and smashing the window into tiny pieces. She had no clue what had caused the driver to lose control, she just hope they survived the accident. Lori screamed in pain as the two were tossed around the back seat. The taxi went off the road, coming to an abrupt stop when it collided with a tree.
The loud chaos ebbed until a quiet stillness took over. Avery’s head spun. Every inch of her body was in pain, but, as she’d learned long ago, that was good because it meant she was still alive. She slowly pushed herself upright. Lori was wedged between the bench seat and the back of the driver’s seat, her shoulder at an unnatural angle. Blood flowed from a cut along her hairline, but s
he was conscious and groaning. Their driver, however, was not. The man was slumped over the steering wheel. Avery reached over to help Lori, but suddenly hands were grabbing her and pulling her out the destroyed window. Her gold necklace got caught on something and snapped from her neck. She struggled, but the trauma her body had endured had sapped her strength. Her stomach threatened to revolt as her head swam, darkness trying to overtake her. She was being carried with no care for her injuries. She heard a sliding door and was dropped unceremoniously into the rear of a van. A pain-filled cry escaped her. Seconds later, Lori was thrown in beside her, along with all their shopping bags. The door slammed shut, and the van started rolling, then accelerated to a high rate of speed. Avery fought unconsciousness, but the bastard won as her world went black.
Chapter Eight
Brad couldn’t believe he was smiling as he and Cameron strode down the dock. It’d actually been a good day hanging out and fishing with his daughter’s boyfriend. Maybe it was because Brad had been so relaxed after the night he’d spent making love to Avery. Admitting you were in love with a woman, really in love, made for some amazing sex—not that they’d had any trouble in that department before.
“That was a helluva fish you brought up, Brad,” Cameron said. “Damn thing put up a good fight.”
“Not bad for an old man, right?”
The younger man’s mouth flapped a few times. “Th-That’s not what I meant, sir.”
Brad raised an eyebrow at him. “What? The Marines didn’t teach you how to take a joke?” The relief that crossed Cameron’s face was enough to make Brad laugh.
“Ha! All right, you got me.”
Reaching the end of the dock, they turned right to head back to the resort, which was only a short distance away. Brad stuck his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts. The 9mm subcompact, with the filed off serial number, in the back of his waistband felt reassuring despite it being illegal. Like most men and women in the military and law enforcement, he felt naked when not armed. “So . . . what made you choose the Marines?”
Cameron glanced at him as if the question had caught him off guard. They’d met three middle-aged men from Florida on board the boat and had spent most of the trip conversing with them, in between catching a bunch of fish, so Brad hadn’t asked Cameron many personal questions. But sometime during the trip he’d found himself joking and laughing with the young Marine—and liking him. It was as if once his daughter had been removed from the equation, the two men had ended up on equal footing, even with an almost-thirty-year gap between them.
Brad wasn’t thrilled the guy was sleeping with Lori—well, he didn’t know that for sure, but Avery was probably right, and they were consenting adults—but his daughter could’ve done far worse when choosing a boyfriend. Cameron reminded Brad of the Deltas under his command, after they’d finished their special-ops training and joined the ranks of an elite brotherhood of men who would lay down their lives for each other and innocent people they’d never met. He was pretty sure Cameron would survive the intense MARSOC course and become a Marine Raider. At least, the kid would never be under Brad’s command, so he guessed it was a good thing they were in different branches of the military.
“My dad was a Marine. He was KIA in Desert Storm while my mom was pregnant with me.”
Brad’s mouth flattened. “Sorry to hear that, son. I lost quite a few friends over there myself.” He’d been several ranks lower during the Gulf War and a green Delta, fresh out of the intensive, six-month OTC—Operator Training Course. His first mission overseas had earned him his first Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Several other members of his team had earned them as well. The mission hadn’t been pretty, but they’d all survived. He couldn’t say the same for several missions that’d followed.
They walked in a heavy silence for a few moments before Cameron spoke again. “My mom wasn’t thrilled when I told her I wanted to enlist instead of going to college, but she understood I wanted to honor the man who gave me life and gave his own, so I could live free. My father had put in a request for Force Recon a month before he was killed. I wanted to do what he never had the chance to.” Many of the USMC Force Recon units had been integrated into MARSOC after it was formed in 2005.
“I’m sure he would have been proud of the man you’ve become.”
A sad smile spread appeared on Cameron’s face. “Thanks. I like to think so.”
Brad reached up and placed his hand on the younger man’s shoulder, stopping him short. “And you’re the kind of man my daughter deserves. You have honor and integrity, and you make her happy. That’s all I want for her.”
His eyes grew wide. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome.” Brad started them walking again. “Just don’t fuck up and hurt her because they’ll never find your body.”
Cameron laughed as the melancholy mood that had settled around them lifted again. “Yes, sir. Understood.”
They reached the entrance to the resort, and Brad nodded at a man who exited and held the door open for them. “Thank you.” He then turned to Cameron. “C’mon. Let’s go find our women and a few beers.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Ten minutes later, the two ended up in the lobby again after failing to find the women in their rooms, out by the pool, or anywhere else in the resort. Brad pulled out his cell phone and called Avery, leaving a message when it went to voice mail. “Hi, baby. I know you’re not a big shopper so that means my daughter is doing some serious damage to her credit cards if you’re still at the market. Give me a call when you’re on your way back. Cameron and I will be at the bar by the pool. Love you.” He disconnected the call and pointed at the younger man. “First beer’s on you.”
Striding back out to the bar that overlooked the pool and ocean, Brad’s eyes narrowed when he spotted a couple sitting at one of the tables. The dark-haired beauty was wearing sunglasses and a pink bikini that had the human dogs around her slobbering despite the man sitting next to her—a man they didn’t want to fuck with. He was tall, lean, and in peak physical condition, a fact that couldn’t be hidden by the T-shirt and cargo shorts he was wearing. His long, blond hair was pulled back and tied at his nape, and his eyes, which Brad knew were blue, were covered by dark sunglasses. What made him dangerous was the fact he probably knew well over two dozen ways to kill someone—so did his woman. Luckily for Brad, the two were on Uncle Sam’s side. T. Carter and Jordyn Alvarez were Deimos operatives. In other words, they were both spies and assassins for the US. Jordyn was good friends with Haven and Avery, and she and Carter had also been on the mission when Haven had been shot in the back, effectively ending her career as a field agent. The couple had stood by her during her long recovery, which is how Brad had met and gotten to know them. The question was, though, what were they doing at his resort in Aruba?
Smiling, Carter held up his beer to the newcomers as they approached. “Barton, my good man. Fancy running into you here. Pull up a chair. This must be your daughter’s boyfriend. The fact he hasn’t been dumped out in the middle of the ocean yet impresses me.”
Jordyn chuckled. “That’s a good thing, Cameron. It takes a lot to impress him, trust me.”
His eyebrows shot up at his name being spoken, and Brad was certain that wasn’t the only intel the woman had gotten from Haven. She’d surely given all the information she’d gathered when Brad had asked her to do a background check on the younger man after finding out his last name. Brad could have gone through Ghost or one of his other operatives, but he preferred to keep his professional life separate from his personal one—at least as best he could. While she hadn’t given him many details, Haven had assured him his daughter’s boyfriend appeared to be an upstanding guy, and Brad should just chill and get to know him the way most fathers would.
Cameron stared at Jordyn. “Well, since I don’t know you, it’s kind of hard for me to trust you at the moment.” His tone was polite despite his wariness. The man had good instincts and r
esponses, which would serve him well in special ops. His gaze went to Brad. “Friends of yours?”
“You could say that.” He pulled out one of the empty chairs at the table and sat, indicating for the Marine to do the same. “T. Carter, Jordyn Alvarez, as you’ve obviously learned, this is Cameron McGee.” He gave the younger man a reassuring nod. “Avery mentioned you and Lori when she was talking to Haven last night on the phone. Carter and Jordyn work with Haven.” As far as Lori and Cameron knew, Avery was exactly as she appeared to be—a long-term-duty nurse, helping a US-government employee recover from a spinal injury. Haven, they’d been told, had been injured in a car accident while in China where she’d been working as a translator for the US embassy. Now, she lived in Texas while still translating documents and doing research for the government.
A curvaceous waitress in a black sarong and bikini top stopped at their table. “Can I get you anything, gentlemen?” she practically purred.
Her very-interested gaze blatantly flitted from one man to the next, lingering on Carter and ignoring Jordyn, who growled and pulled off her sunglasses, revealing her blazing, chocolate eyes. “As long as it comes out of a bottle, sweetheart, and I’m not talking about the bleach you use on your hair. Trust me, you’ll earn a bigger tip if you stop drooling over my man.”
Carter dipped his chin down, trying to hide his amused grin, as the waitress’s jaw dropped. Brad and Cameron quickly ordered a beer each, and Carter raised his, silently indicating he’d take another Corona with lime. When the bleached blonde scurried away, Jordyn tossed her sunglasses onto the table as she glared daggers at the woman’s retreating back. Carter’s shoulders started to shake as he snickered. “Jealous much, baby?”
“What? That’s the third time she ignored me in the last half hour, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit here and watch her salivate over you.” Mournfully, she looked at the half-finished strawberry daiquiri on the table in front of her. “But I guess that means I can’t order another one of these. She’ll probably spit in it. Damn.”
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