Guilty Pleasures

by Tori Carrington

  Then Mrs. Reece said something that knocked him back on his heels.

  She smiled at their obvious closeness, then turned to appreciate the flowers and plants around the courtyard. She didn’t know what was being said. She didn’t have to know. The fact that they were seated at a kitchen table working it out…wow! While she’d had that kind of relationship with her father, well, it hadn’t really factored much into her life outside those brief patches. Her mother was quick to respond and long to change her mind. Which meant there had been long silences in between. It had started when she was five and had slammed the door on one of her mother’s boyfriends—before she’d enlarged her dating pool to include women—telling him they didn’t want him there and never to come back.

  Her mother had made her suffer for a week of silence that time.

  It probably hadn’t been the first time. But it was the first time she remembered. And it had killed her.

  Mara attempted to shrug off the unwanted emotion, not wanting to go where those journeys ultimately led her.

  Too late.

  Within a blink of an eye, she was sixteen again, standing in the small, useless kitchen of her mother’s apartment—funny, that’s how she’d always viewed each successive place they lived in, always her mother’s, never hers. None of the appliances had worked, including the refrigerator, so she’d regularly been required to go get ice in order to keep the interior cold.

  “I’m moving on,” her mother had said following a ten-day silence, punishment for Mara’s skipping school with a girlfriend and hanging out on the lush green of a golf course soaking up the spring sun.

  She’d merely stared at her mother, trying to grasp what she was saying.

  “I have an opportunity to travel with a friend to Baja. And I’m going to take it.”

  And just like that, Mara had been left without a home.

  “Where am I supposed to go?” she’d asked, hating the words as she said them, hating her weakness, hating her remaining parent’s lack of concern for her only child.

  Her mother had shrugged as she went to the bedroom closet and collected the box of her things she always kept packed. It had gotten smaller, rather than bigger, over the years and contained nothing of Mara’s that she could tell. “You have three days to figure it out. Maybe your stepmother will take you in. Wherever you end up, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I was on my own at your age. And I don’t think I turned out so badly.”

  The next day she’d met Gerald Butler. And the militia had become her home and family.

  “Mara?”

  She blinked from where she’d been fingering a cactus, not realizing she was bleeding until Reece had said her name.

  She squeezed her fingers into her palm and looked up at him.

  “Are you okay?”

  At the look of concern on his handsome face, the shadows instantly fled.

  “I am now,” she whispered, too low for him to hear.

  * * *

  JON STILL WASN’T SURE what Mara had been thinking about when he found her in the courtyard, but he did know he hadn’t liked it.

  She’d looked so…lost. So very alone.

  “So, is everything okay?” she asked.

  He stared at her, trying to make sense out of her words.

  “Between you and your mother? Are you two working everything out?”

  He grimaced.

  “Working being the operative word.”

  He still didn’t know what to make of what had happened earlier. Bettina Reece had never been anything short of the perfect housewife and mother. To see her mussed up like that, obviously having just come from bed…

  He grimaced again, hoping to erase that particular memory from his mind as quickly as he could.

  “Julie’s been calling here,” his mother had told him, once he was finished unloading on her about her activities.

  Julie.

  It seemed they both had some explaining to do.

  Thankfully that part of his relationship with his mother hadn’t changed; he could still talk to her about anything.

  “I’ve been seeing Joe since about the day he took possession of the ranch,” she’d admitted to him. “Trust me, it’s the last thing I was looking for. I’d planned to stay alone for the rest of my life. After your father…”

  She’d drifted off, the pained expression on her face hitting him hard.

  He’d then realized what an ass he was being and grudgingly apologized. He admitted it had been a shock seeing her and Joe. And, yeah, a childish part of him wished things could stay the same. But she looked happier than he’d seen her in a long, long while. And if Joe was responsible for that? Well, the least he could do was call in advance when he was going to visit.

  Then his mom asked about Mara. And he’d been reluctant to tell her the truth of the situation. So he’d merely said she was a friend.

  His mother had smiled at him in the same way she had when she’d found out that he’d gotten that skinned chin from climbing into the attic of the garage to get at his grandfather’s war medals, a place he wasn’t supposed to be.

  As he looked at Mara now, he wondered if a skinned chin was all he would come away with.

  “Come on. Let’s get your hand taken care of, finish coffee with my mom and get this thing done.”

  She stared at her fingers as if only noticing the blood now, then smiled at him. “Let’s do it….”

  18

  MARA FOUND IT IRONIC that in a matter of hours, they would visit both Reece’s home, and the only home she had ever known.

  Of course, they were miles apart, and not only in distance. Shoot her, but she didn’t think any of Reece’s family members would ever try to kill him.

  “Whoa.” Reece leaned over to correct the wheel where she’d accidentally driven over the line and onto the right shoulder.

  Damn.

  The sun had long since set, taking with it the power to chase away shadows. They needed darkness in order to do what had to be done, but night was always the time when ghosts felt the closest. In this case, ghosts of relationships past.

  Gerald Butler…

  She gave a sad internal smile. How dynamic he had seemed when she first met him. Attentive. He’d seemed to fill all the holes in her life with ease, pulling her both to him and into the fold of the militia family when she’d needed him most. The compound was where she’d learned to live in harmony with others. There had been a certain symmetry to the lifestyle. A kind of commune, only with guns. They each were assigned their duties, and when the day was done, they gathered together around a fire to talk until they each drifted off to bed.

  She understood now how very young she’d been. And because of her circumstances, so very vulnerable. But she had always believed Gerald had loved her, even though she had left when she was eighteen, served a brief stint in the military then lived pretty much solo ever since.

  How stupid she’d been.

  “Pull over.”

  She looked at Reece. “What?”

  “I said pull over. Here. Now.”

  Thinking he’d seen something she hadn’t, she searched her rearview and side mirrors. Had the FBI been watching his mother’s house? Had they picked up their scent there and were tailing them?

  She didn’t see anything.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Damn it, Mara, just pull over.”

  She did so, kicking up dust as the right wheels went over the side of the road into the desert sand. She pulled to a stop and the dust clouded around the Blazer, completely engulfing them.

  As soon as it settled, Reece got out of the car. She got out, too.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, coming to stand next to him on the other side.

  She found him staring off into
the eastern horizon where a full moon was just beginning to rise.

  “Reece?”

  “Shhh…” he said.

  She looked at him, the moon, then him again.

  “Reece, what in the hell is—”

  He took her by the arms and kissed her.

  Mara gasped, shocked by the unexpected move.

  He slid his mouth against hers, hotly. She resisted. This wasn’t the time for making out. She had to finish this. Clear her name. Find a way to get back to familiar territory before no territory was ever familiar again.

  The thought caught her off guard.

  But Reece persisted, his attention all consuming.

  Soon enough, she was responding to him against her own will. Opening her lips, welcoming his tongue…

  Her backbone sighed and she surrendered to the moment, kissing him in the light of the full moon. Kissing him until not a thought remained in her head beyond him, right now, his mouth.

  He slowly pulled away, then held her close.

  She heard the thrum of his heartbeat beneath her ear. Felt the warm cotton of his T-shirt. Smelled his detergent and his skin.

  She remembered earlier, when she’d turned off the road and climbed on top of him, needing him on a physical level she hadn’t been able to ignore.

  Was that what this was about?

  “I needed to wipe that look from your face,” he said quietly into her ear, his fingers caressing her scalp where they’d tunneled through her hair.

  “I don’t understand.”

  He pulled back to gaze down at her. “Mara, I…I can’t imagine what must be going through your mind now…or what you were thinking back at the house when you pricked your hand on that cactus. But whatever it is, you need to find a way to get a handle on it….”

  She looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Was she really that transparent?

  She tried to move away, but he prevented it.

  “I think we should postpone this,” he said.

  “What? No way.”

  He set her on her feet away from him, still gently but firmly holding her upper arms. “Look, Mara, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather go into a hostile situation with…when you’re operating on all twelve cylinders. Right now, well, you’re distracted.”

  “I’m not distracted.”

  He raised a brow. “Oh? Then you meant to go off the road back there then? Is that what you’re telling me?”

  “I didn’t go off the road. I merely veered a little onto the shoulder….”

  She knew she was fighting a losing battle. He was right. She was distracted.

  She drew in a deep breath and he released his grip. Then she took off into a dead run.

  “What the hell?” he called after her.

  “Be back in a half hour,” she said. “A good run always helps me concentrate.”

  Within a blink he was next to her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Running with you, of course. Now hush up and pick up the pace….”

  * * *

  FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER, they were back in the car and Mara was laser focused on what lay ahead.

  They’d both cleaned up using the now warm bottles of water remaining. While they didn’t want to smell like soap, they didn’t want to reek, either. Any kind of overpowering scent might be enough to give them and their positions away, especially if there were dogs around. And complete secrecy and cover was a necessary component to the success of this mission.

  Mission.

  Yes. Given what they were about to do, and where they were about to do it, this very much resembled a military operation. They would be invading a well-armed, well-protected compound of which any small country would be proud. And there were only the two of them, with no backup, to do it.

  She shivered.

  At the store earlier, she’d picked up two short-range radios. They’d synced them to the same channel. While they didn’t plan to be apart often, there was always a chance they’d get separated. And if they did, they needed to be able to communicate with each other.

  She drew in a deep, calming breath. Yes, she was nervous. Her adrenaline was running high. But she was focused. Together.

  A glance in Reece’s direction told him he was the same.

  She finally pulled off the road a mile away from the compound’s southeastern perimeter and killed the engine. They sat in silence for a few moments, staring out at the relative darkness. Clouds skidded across the face of the full moon, dulling its brightness before moving on. She’d have preferred no moon, but there was no way she was putting this off any longer. It was only a matter of time before the FBI, militia goons or even another bounty hunter caught up with them. And then where would she be?

  Exactly where Butler and his followers intended her to be—behind bars serving time for a crime she didn’t commit.

  Or worse, dead.

  “Ready?” she asked, taking a shuddering breath.

  “There.”

  She climbed out of the Blazer and he did, too. They checked their radios one last time, put on their bulletproof vests, fastened their ammo and gun belts, then stood looking at each other.

  She leaned up and kissed him, briefly but fully.

  “What was that for?”

  She smiled. “Luck.”

  Then she set off on a moderate jog toward the compound, with him following close behind.

  She knew where the compound cameras were located and which places to avoid, but there was always the possibility they’d updated their security system.

  Before she knew it, they were at the perimeter and the electrified, razor wire fence. She watched as Reece worked to reroute the dangerously high voltage flow of electricity, leaving a stretch safe without setting off any alarms to the disruption. As soon as he gave the thumbs-up, she went to work cutting out an entry in the chain link large enough for them to get through.

  Then they were inside.

  Butler’s personal quarters were about a half mile to the west. The closer they got, the denser security would get.

  Thankfully, the compound was in northern Arizona and tree cover was plenty. The group leaders had reasoned that they couldn’t be easily watched or tracked from the outside or above.

  What it also meant was that she and Reece could move with some ease once inside, moving from pine to pine, keeping to the shadows, which were few due to massive security lighting.

  A quarter of a mile in, she heard some conversation. She stopped and motioned to Reece, only he had already drawn to a halt. She listened for a minute, unfamiliar with the voices. She glanced toward the left. Reece nodded and she led the way.

  Another two minutes and they had Butler’s quarters within eyeshot.

  Okay.

  Mara stopped to gain her bearings, mentally reviewing her plans.

  Butler’s quarters were made up of a small, one-bedroom cabin set well apart from other structures. There wasn’t another building or cabin for at least two hundred yards in any direction. He valued privacy above all else.

  Butler wasn’t there, of course; he was behind bars awaiting trial. But there was a light on in the place, indicating someone had taken up residence while he was away.

  Damn.

  She heard a dull thump.

  She swiveled, her gun held at the ready to find Reece grinning at her fifteen feet away. He gestured downward. At his feet was one of the militia guards. She remembered the guy well. He’d been the first to object to her inclusion in the “family” and watched her every move like a hawk. A very hungry one.

  Criminy. She was thankful Reece had her back.

  All right. This was where they were to part company. She was to make a move on Butler’s cabin while Reece would provide cover. She sin
cerely hoped she didn’t need it. There were at least a hundred militia members at any one time on the compound. While she and Reece were well armed, they weren’t armed well enough to fight off that many unless they got a head start.

  Well, then, they’d just have to make sure they got a head start, wouldn’t they?

  If they needed one at all.

  Reece came to stand next to her and readied the heavier of his loaded weapons so they leaned against nearby pines within arm’s reach. She did the same with two shotguns she would be leaving behind, although she was still strapped with four automatics and extra ammo.

  She watched him take the bow he’d brought from over his arm and repositioned the quiver of arrows.

  Mara took a deep breath. This was it.

  She met his gaze and held it for long moments.

  It seemed in that moment, she’d known him forever.

  Yet a quiet internal voice whispered, Please, I’ve just found you. Don’t let me lose you now.

  She closed her eyes, took a deep breath then looked at him again, giving him a thumbs-up.

  Then he did something that rocked her to the soles of her boots: he placed his finger against his pursed lips, then pressed them lightly against hers.

  She smiled and he nodded, indicating it was time for her to go.

  She readied herself to skirt the trees to the side of the cabin even as Reece took aim, his target a guard near where she planned to enter. She silently counted, watching as the man neared the tree line then began to turn around.

  Whoosh!

  Reece shot and the arrow caught the guy in the upper arm. The guard’s hand automatically went to the offending object, but before he could pull it out, he dropped to his knees and then fell forward altogether as a result of the knockout agent Reece had applied to the tip.

  She nodded at him.

  Her turn.

  She took off at a fast run.

  Please, let this all go according to plan….

  19

  DAMN.

  The instant Mara was out of eyeshot, Jon experienced his first dose of pure fear. So long as he could see her, he was okay. But now that he couldn’t…