by Linda Conrad
Jake figured this was going to be yet another lecture about not hurting Mary similar to the one Wes had given. He was ready for it. Deserved it.
Craig sat on the sofa and Jake sat in the lone armchair across from him.
“Mary’s mother and I are pleased by your attention to her daughter,” Craig began as he leaned forward. “It’s time Mary found someone. Jolene once imagined her youngest daughter might never find anyone who would appreciate how special she is. Your appearance at this critical time is almost too good to be true.”
Jake nodded but could hear the but in Craig’s voice and knew what was coming next. “Yes, sir. Mary has grown to mean a lot to me in the short time I’ve known her.”
“Yes, I’m seeing that in your eyes whenever you look at her. That’s why I think you should know something about her past that she might not be willing to share.”
Uh-oh, this lecture was going to start with the our-daughter-is-a-virgin speech.
Jake tried to head it off. “It’s not necessary. But thanks for the thought anyway. I believe it would be better if Mary tells me whatever she wants me to know.” That sounded like something a loyal boyfriend would say, didn’t it?
“In most cases I would agree with you, son. But Mary may not even be admitting this to herself. You see, Mark Walsh was…”
Jake held his tongue and waited for the a difficult man comment. But he didn’t get it.
“A bastard. And a terrible father. Especially to the two girls. When they were young, before he disappeared, Mark would take every opportunity to belittle them in public. Make them look small and appear to be selfish brats when they were anything but. And I’m fairly positive he also terrorized them at home.”
“He was abusive?”
Craig shook his head softly. “I could never prove any physical abuse. Mary and Lucy never showed any marks and neither ever spoke up. But I’m sure he emotionally stunted both of them.”
“Did Jolene ever mention problems at home? Why didn’t she do something to stop it?”
“I don’t think Jolene actually knew what was going on when she wasn’t around. She always worked long hours at the brewery and I believe she may have closed her eyes to what her husband was doing. Both inside and outside the house.
“It’s Mary that I have always worried about the most,” Craig continued. “Puberty is hard enough to live through without having the person who you most want to love you chipping away at your self-esteem day after day. Mary took it the hardest. She withdrew into her books and found comfort in food. And I…”
Craig hesitated, took a deep breath of air. “I couldn’t save her. By the time Mark disappeared it was too late for Mary. By then, none of us could reach inside her shell.”
Jake was taken aback for the moment, then it began to make sense. “She said she went to a shrink for help losing weight. Did she go for more than that?”
“I’m sure she did. She’s changed a lot in the past few years. Gotten stronger, more self-assured. I hardly ever see that frightened look in her eyes anymore.”
Shaken, Jake didn’t want to consider what Mary’s secret background could mean for his mission. Or what his mission might mean to Mary’s well-being when it was over—and he was long gone.
He stood on shaky legs but managed to speak in a strong voice. “Thank you. I’ll keep what you said to myself, but I appreciate the heads-up.”
“I love Mary, Jake. I love all the Welsh siblings as if they were my own children. But Mary has always been the most emotionally fragile. She seems happy for the first time that I can remember and I don’t want any big surprises to come between you.”
If Craig only knew, Jake thought sullenly. The biggest surprise of all was yet to come. A terrible storm cloud brewed on their horizon. And there was not a single thing he could think of to stop it.
Mary tilted her head to look at Jake’s profile as he drove the SUV back home. She was so pleased with how the afternoon had turned out that she wanted to shout it to the world. Her mother and Craig had gone out of their way to make Jake feel at home and welcome.
The only small glitch in her day had come when her mother had reminded her to go slow with Jake. Jolene told the story of her own first love affair, and how that had been a whirlwind romance, too. It was how she’d ended up with Mark Walsh.
Yes, that none-too-subtle reminder had definitely rained on Mary’s good mood. But she’d already been thinking along those same lines. The only problem with going slow was that when she and Jake were together, her mind seemed to take a nap. From there, her body jumped ahead and did all the racing.
As she stared over at him now, she realized that Jake didn’t look pleased at all. He clenched and unclenched his jaw. A vein stood out at his temple. Was he mad at her for some reason? Mary felt a shudder of panic, wondering if Craig had said something while she’d been out of the room.
“Are you okay?” she asked, not knowing how else to start.
“What?” He slipped her a glance. “Oh, sure. I’m concerned about an alarm system for the house, is all. I called and they can’t send anyone out here right away.”
She heaved a relieved sigh. “I suppose you could stay at the farm until the system is installed—if you want. I’m sure my mom wouldn’t mind.” Mary hoped Jake would say no, but she’d needed to make the offer.
A chuckle rumbled up in his throat. “And you would be staying in your bedroom and I could stay in the guest room? Is that what you want?”
She shook her head vigorously enough that it nearly flew off her neck. “No!”
He removed one hand from the wheel and intertwined his fingers with hers. “Thank God.”
After that, his expression lightened. The lines across his forehead relaxed and the corners of his mouth curved up in one of his charming smiles.
Mary would’ve dearly loved to lean over and plant a kiss on each of those corners. And on a lot of other places as well. It was a good thing they were almost at Jake’s house.
Clearing her throat, she forced herself to think about another subject in the meantime. “Remember when I was talking about you coming to one of Mom’s parties? Well, guess what? Mom came up with the same idea. I didn’t even have to mention it to her.”
Jake nodded absently. “That sounds nice. When would it be?”
“Tomorrow night. She wants to throw a big barbecue out in the farmyard and invite most of the town to meet you. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Not at all. I’m one of the best grilling chefs you’ll ever meet. Barbecue is one of my specialties.”
He hesitated for a second as he maneuvered the SUV into his long driveway. Then he added, “That also means I have you all to myself for tonight—and nothing could make me happier.”
The look in his eyes as he’d made that comment was unmistakable. Heat ran along her nerve endings and nearly boiled the blood in her veins.
Okay, she thought as she jumped out of the SUV and headed for the front of the house. Now she really couldn’t wait to get inside.
Still conflicted about his role in Mary’s life, Jake barricaded them inside the house and fought his hormones. All afternoon and through the early evening he distracted them both in the kitchen with talk of the upcoming barbecue and with testing good grilling sauces and rubs.
All that time, Mary kept making it very clear what she would rather be doing. He was right there with her in spirit, but he wasn’t sure his conscience could take much more.
Then a little while ago, Mary had disappeared. At first he hadn’t been too worried. But he’d only now noticed she was being too quiet and started to worry. She’d better not have left the house. In his gut he could feel the danger lurking outside in the dark woods.
After checking the doors and both wings of the house for any sign of her, Jake reluctantly climbed the stairs. How could he ever hope to resist her? There was no hope.
Deep in his psyche, he knew what was right and what was wrong. And he’d been wrong since the very first night
they had ever made love. To keep on making the same mistake over and over seemed insane.
But that was just it. He’d lost his mind where Mary was concerned. In the middle of a mission he’d begun to wish he was in another occupation. Anything else. Covert work had long ago lost its appeal. Now he couldn’t wait to forget the Bureau and everything it had come to represent. If only he had changed jobs before he’d met Mary.
Knowing he was thinking crazy thoughts, Jake hit the top of the stairs trying to find some logical excuse for not sleeping in the same bed with her. His hands fisted at the mere thought.
After peeking into a couple of spare bedrooms, he found them as empty as he’d imagined. At last, he lightly pushed open the master bedroom door and prayed he would find her fast asleep on the king-size bed.
The sheets had been turned down, but Mary was nowhere in sight. Then he heard the shower running. He frowned at the bathroom door and his mind drifted into some kind of trance.
He walked toward heaven, shedding his clothes as he went. It was too late for him. Now that he’d tasted her, he couldn’t stay away. No other woman had ever made him this hungry. This desperate.
Naked, he eased open the bathroom door. “Mary?”
When he got no response, he walked over to the shower, pulled back the curtain and stepped in beside her.
“Jake! You scared me. Is anything wro—?”
He cut off her words by taking hold of her shoulders and lasering a kiss across her lips. Startled, she squeaked under his demanding moves. Almost immediately though, her body turned to soft, warm butter and she threw her arms around his neck.
Yes, he thought. They needed each other tonight. Why keep fighting it?
Deepening the kiss, he felt his heart racing as he turned his back to the warm spray and hugged her closer. Her skin was smooth. Wet. Hot. When she flattened her breasts against his chest and curled one long leg around one of his, Jake’s body went impossibly hard.
Dragging her mouth from his, she looked at him with burning, bright eyes. “Help me. I don’t know what to do.”
He folded his hands under her bottom and backed them both up to the tile. “Wrap your legs around my waist, I’ll do the rest.”
As he entered her in one swift move, her moans echoed off the bathroom walls. Her head fell back and she tightened her legs around him, making the taut, sweet sensation of being inside her nearly unbearable.
He nipped at her neck, feeling the fire race under his skin. Her fingernails bit into his shoulders as he thrust once. And again. And again.
Too close to hold off any longer, Jake was grateful when her shudder rolled through him and her body pulsated around him. With a groan, he followed her over with one last thrust.
Gasping for air, he let her loose to slide down his body and find her footing on the porcelain tub. But he kept his arms tightly around her as she sagged against him.
Reaching through the steamy spray, he turned off the water, but held her close for one more beat of his heart. Then he gathered her up in his arms and took her to his bed.
Outside in the dark, under a canopy of pines, the man known as the Pro trained his night-vision goggles on the second floor. Piece of cake.
His efforts of earlier this morning were about to pay off big. No one inside had any inkling of the danger they were in.
The new little game he was playing with them had turned out to be fun after all. Scaring a lawman off would take more than a couple of attempts. But this attempt would be a masterpiece.
Another couple of hours to wait. To be sure they were fast asleep.
Fingering the special cell phone he carried in his pocket, the Pro could hardly wait to place the call. The target would never know what had hit him. All of a sudden hell would surround the two of them in a wall of flames.
Maybe the guy would escape. Or maybe he wouldn’t. The Pro didn’t much care one way or the other.
Chapter 10
Jake watched as Mary crept down the stairs in front of him. It was late and they’d deliberately left off all the lights. He would’ve much preferred to still be in their warm bed. But not Mary.
“Come on,” she whispered with a giggle. “I’m starving. We forgot to eat dinner.”
“Late-night snacking isn’t good for you.” It was a half-baked attempt at coaxing her back to bed, but he knew it wouldn’t work.
“You’re as bad as my therapist. All right, I’ll eat celery and run an extra mile tomorrow. I just need something in my stomach or I won’t sleep.” She wrapped his terry robe tighter around her waist and went up on tiptoes to dance down the stairs.
“We could turn on the lights,” he grumbled.
“This way is more fun. I guess you’ve never been to a slumber party.”
Yes, he had. Every time they slept together was a party. He was becoming more and more addicted to it every day.
Grateful that he’d stopped upstairs long enough to put on a pair of jeans, Jake wished he’d also taken the time to slip into a pullover sweater. It was damned cold in here.
Mary was nearing the bottom of the stairs when she stopped dead. “I smell…”
In the glow coming from the kitchen nightlights, Jake saw Mary turning back to him. “It smells like smoke in here,” she whispered.
“Maybe it’s coming from outside. Sometimes the wind shifts and the scent of a neighbor’s chimney smoke seeps in late at night.”
“No…” Mary tentatively stepped down on the wood-planked floor.
She looked to the right, toward the kitchen and the western wing of the house. Then, she turned left.
“Jake, something’s on fire! I see smoke in the family room.”
She’d already taken two steps toward the family room before it hit him and he pulled her backward. “Don’t go any farther. Run back upstairs, get your cell phone and call the fire department.”
“We have 911 service,” she said without hesitation. “I’ll call.”
As she passed him on the way up the stairs, he made a few more demands. “Put on your shoes and grab your purse. Come back downstairs in less than three minutes. It’s important.”
“But I don’t see any flames.”
“Just do it.”
She nodded and flew up the stairs. Before she was even out of sight, Jake was on his way to the kitchen to retrieve the weapon he had secreted in a floor safe under the stove. He would rather Mary not see where and how he’d hidden the .38, but knew he needed to be armed.
After taking the weapon in hand, he hurriedly checked the chambers. Before his next breath, a small explosion rocked the house. Mary! Shoving the .38 into his waistband, he ran toward the sound, praying the explosion had not been on the second floor. “Jake!”
He saw Mary, stopped on the staircase and staring wide-eyed toward the floor below her. Flames shot outward from the family room toward the stairs and front door. Rivers of fire licked at the bottom of the stairs where she stood.
He opened his mouth to tell her to stay where she was and he would come for her, but she turned and ran back up the stairs before he could get the words out. “Mary, no!” he called after her.
Jake tried to follow her, but blasts of heat and a rain of cinders threatened to sear his clothing. Turning on his heels, he dashed back into the kitchen, put a wet rag to his nose and pulled a ten-pound bag of flour out of the pantry. Back at the stairs, he began pouring the flour on each stair, dousing flames as he went. He tried to keep from succumbing to panic, worrying about Mary upstairs on her own. He had to get to her.
As he began making a dent in the blaze on the lower stairs, Mary appeared right above him. She was covered head to toe by a wet blanket and held another in her hands.
“Here.” She bunched up the blanket and threw it down the stairs toward him. Then she covered her face and made a dash for it.
In the distance, Jake could hear a siren. Another soon joined the screeching sounds of the first.
Mary’s shoes hit the floor at the bottom of the sta
irs as she grabbed him by the arm. “Cover up and let’s get out of here,” she shouted.
Like dozens of tiny fireflies, sparks from the inferno in the family room swirled around in a breeze that had to be coming from an open window. But he hadn’t left any windows open or unlocked.
Sounds of the holocaust grew deafening in his ears. Snapping and popping, flames raced along the floorboards and up the walls in fiery ribbons. Smoke curls glided through the air, floating into other rooms and heading up the stairs like living, breathing intruders.
Mary tugged at his arm. “Come on.” She started for the front door, but Jake dug in his heels.
She swung on him and a muffled cry reached his ears from under her blanket. “What’s the matter with you?”
Wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, he withdrew his .38. “We can’t run straight out the front door,” he yelled. “It could be an ambush.”
“What?” Her eyes opened wide at the sight of the .38. “No way.”
He pulled her close, tucked her under the cover of his arm, and headed for the kitchen door. When they reached it, he dragged Mary along with him, flattening them both to the protection of the wall beside the door. Then he chanced a look outside, searching the grounds nearby. This section of the land had once been used as a kitchen garden and an old six-foot fence protected the entire area. From what he could see in the dark, no one was lying in wait for them within the garden fence.
Clear air prevailed on this side of the house, too. His gut told him the fire must be contained to the family room and the eastern wing of the house. Meanwhile, sirens wailed through the starry night, growing closer by the second. The sounds gave him hope of making it outside without a sniper picking them off.
Tugging Mary along with him, Jake chanced it and dashed for the garden gate. By the time he had unlatched the gate and hidden the weapon under his shirt, blue and white strobe lights were lighting up the entire night sky. Honey Creek’s volunteer fire department vehicles and sheriff’s cars were already on the scene.