Fatal Courage: Shadow Force International, Book 3 (Shadow Force International Romantic Suspense Series)

by Misty Evans

  “Or he did,” Jax said, “which is why they never got anywhere. Izala was getting military info from both Hayden and Pierce. Fucker.”

  Ruby rubbed her temples and blew out a tight sigh. “My brain is cramping. I need a white board or something to write all of this down on so I can visually see the connections.”

  The crease in Beatrice’s forehead eased. “That’s an excellent idea, Agent McKellen. I’m sure Dr. Oswalo has one of those around here somewhere. Trace, please go find it for us.”

  As Trace left the room, she gave Jax a pointed look while speaking to Ruby. “I think my operative could use a shower and some coffee. Why don’t you two freshen up and see if any further ideas come to you. We’ll reconvene in an hour and write all of this out on the whiteboard.”

  Jax started to argue, but Beatrice shut him down with a lift of her hand and a glare. “You’re dead on your feet, both of you, and I’ll admit, I’m tired as well. Let’s all take a break. You’re no good to me if you can’t think straight or function at full capacity should we encounter other hostile forces.”

  She had a point. While he’d prefer another round of sex with Ruby to rev him up, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Ruby needed a power nap, and it wouldn’t hurt him to catch a few winks himself.

  Besides, his boss had just admitted she was tired. He walked over, checked her pulse.

  Steady, normal.

  “What are you doing?” she said.

  “I’m worried about you. How’s your lower back? Any cramping or contractions you’re keeping from us?”

  She pulled her wrist away from his fingers, but a small smile curved her lips. “I’m fine, thank you. A nap would be nice, though.”

  “A nap, right. Whatever you say, boss. We’ll be back in a few.” He grabbed Ruby by the hand and hauled her out of the room.

  “What was that all about?” she said as they walked down a long hallway, Jax poking his head in a room.

  “Power struggle. We have them all the time,” he said. “She’s just as tired as I am, but she believes she’s invincible. On the other hand, she’s right. I haven’t slept in nearly three days and I just helped perform major surgery on a guy. As a SEAL, I was trained to handle shit like this on an ongoing basis, but I must be getting soft. I’m beat, and Beatrice knows it.”

  “Need I remind you, you survived a shooting at the club, a tornado, and a few rounds of sex with me at the B&B. The sex with me alone would be enough to make any man tired.”

  Even though she was barely putting one foot in front of the other, she gave him a wicked wink. One that caused a surge of hell, yeah in his worn out system.

  “Funny, that always seems to have the opposite effect,” he snickered, finding the entrance to a small locker room. “I can never get enough sex with you.”

  He dragged her into the room, found the three-man shower stall and turned on the water under two of them. As it heated, he shucked his scrubs, enjoying the way Ruby’s eyes scanned his now naked body. Strutting forward and letting her see how ready he was for her, he reached for the hem of her scrub shirt and pulled her close.

  Peeling the shirt up slowly, he locked his eyes on hers. She lifted her arms, allowing him to slip the fabric up over her breasts, his fingers taking advantage of her bare skin and brushing against her stomach, her ribs.

  She shivered under his light touch, her gaze breaking contact with his only when the fabric slipped up over her arms. Even then, he could see her eyes through the thin cotton, watching, waiting, wanting more.

  Jax continued his slow undressing, allowing the soft material to glide and tease the sensitive skin under her arms, her elbows, her wrists.

  He bunched the shirt around her wrists, drawing the material together in one hand and binding her wrists above her. Backing her up against the flat side of the row of lockers, he enjoyed her gasp as her naked skin touched the cool metal. She arched, her breasts rising. Lowering his head, he licked one of the rose colored nipples, teasing it into a hard pucker. He took it between his teeth, gently nipping.

  Steam rose in the room mixing with her whimpers. Another arch toward his eager mouth and he caught her breast more fully, sucking at her, drawing her whimper into a cry of pleasure.

  With his other hand, he untied the drawstring of her pants, slipping his fingers inside. Oh, yeah. She was ready for him too, her folds slick with moisture. Kissing her deeply, he allowed his fingers to mimic his tongue, diving in, drawing back, diving in again.

  She bucked her hips, driving her pelvis into his hand, more sounds coming from her throat, encouraging him. A few more skilled movements and she was close to climax, her body demanding he speed up his tempo and give her what she craved.

  Like always, his own body demanded the same, a quick, hard coupling that would leave them both gasping for air. In the back of his mind, the niggling thought that this could be their last time made him slow down. When Hayden woke, they’d have their answers to the questions boggling all of them. They’d have a solution.

  He’d done his job; captured the fugitive. Whatever the outcome—whether Elliot Hayden was guilty or innocent—the mission was over.

  Which meant Ruby would most likely go back to the CIA, regardless of her renegade behavior. Her boss liked operatives who got the job done, and Ruby did that. She might get another reprimand and a few more months of probation, but she’d go back to being a spy because she loved the work and the Agency needed her. She’d throw on a wig and change her appearance and all would be well.

  And that, right there, friends, would leave him in the dust of her wheels as she beelined out of his life once again.

  So he slowed it down—his fingers, his tongue, his mind. Taking his time and soaking her up. Memorizing every sound she made, every brush of her body against his as she rocked her way toward an orgasm. He wanted to remember everything. The way she smelled, the way her eyelashes lay against her skin, the way her tongue danced with his.

  “Please,” she murmured into his mouth. “Jax…please.”

  Ah, yes. He loved to hear her beg. Loved the feeling of making her so crazy with need that she would lose her cocky, over-confident self long enough to plead—instead of demanding—that he get her off.

  Under his breastbone, a new feeling broke open. Warmth spread inside his chest as if all his blood had suddenly turned to syrup, gliding over his battered heart, his always tight ribcage.

  Fuckin’ A. He wanted that feeling to continue.

  The only way for that to happen was to keep this woman in his life. Here, now, always.

  “Tell me what you want,” he murmured, teasing her lips with tiny nips of his teeth. “Tell me, Ruby McKellen, what you really want from me.”

  “Everything,” she whispered without hesitation. “I want it all.”

  Another wave of release and joy spread through his system. Jerking the shirt off her wrists, he freed her, letting the fabric fall to the floor as he went to work on the pants. Once he had her fully naked, he lifted her from the floor, her legs going around his waist, as he carried her into the showers.

  Chapter Nineteen

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  RUBY DREAMED ABOUT Jax. Wind swirled around both of them and she was struggling to hear something he was saying—reading lips had never been her strong point and the damn wind was too loud, too strong. She cried out as it ripped him away from her—screaming his name as she flung her arms out to try to catch him, and…

  The door to the hospital room banged open, wrenching her from the dream. She sat up before her eyes were fully open, realizing she was still naked under the sheet and Jax, lying next to her, was naked as well.

  “Sorry to disturb you,” a nurse named Molly said, “but your friend is lucid. He’s fading in and out so you better come quick if you want to talk to him.”

  Jax threw his legs over the edge of the bed, kissed Ruby on the nose. He snatched up the fresh sc
rubs he’d grabbed from the locker room as Molly disappeared, letting the door close behind her.

  His voice was rough as he spoke. “Shit, what time is it?”

  They’d fallen into a deep sleep after their love-making—which was the only way to describe what Jax had done to her. He’d made love to her until the water in the locker room shower ran cold. Then he’d carried her—because she hadn’t been able to walk, her legs were so weak—into this room where he’d made love to her again. Slowly, skillfully, masterfully. For hours, she’d left the rest of the world behind and surrendered herself to him and his amazing hands and lips.

  As she scrambled for her clothes, she felt happier than she had in months. She and Jax had reconnected in a way that was even more than she could have hoped for. She wasn’t sure at this point what the future held for her job-wise, but she’d figure it out. Troubleshooting was a strong point. She’d free Elliot and figure out where this thing with Jax was going. The future seemed full of possibilities.

  She squinted at the clock on the wall across the room. “0100 hours,” she told him.

  His morning hard-on was big and she wished they had time for her to help him with that. He made a painful face as he forced it under the waistband of the scrubs, then gave her an evil grin as he saw her watching him. “Later,” he said, as if reading her mind.

  Later, right. They had to get to Elliot while he was awake.

  “I’ll hold you to it,” she said, hurriedly yanking up her own scrubs.

  The hallway was too bright compared to the room, forcing Ruby to blink a few times for her eyes to adjust. Jax’s long legs ate up the linoleum and she had to double time it to keep up. They turned a corner into a separate wing and found Trace and Beatrice coming from the other end.

  They met in front of the door that Elliot was behind. Jax didn’t slow, yanking open the wooden door and holding it for the others. “Let Ruby do the talking,” he told Beatrice, and it sounded like a warning to Ruby’s ears.

  A surge of pride went through her system. Silly, but true. She should be the one to talk to Elliot—he trusted her and he didn’t know Beatrice or Trace. His feelings for Jax weren’t exactly great, either.

  So while it was a solid tactical move on Jax’s part, it felt like something more. Especially as Ruby met his eyes and he gave her a quick nod. A nod and a look that said you got this.

  She strode into the room feeling ten feet tall.

  The nurse, Molly, was checking Elliot’s vitals. He was pale as a hospital sheet. Not the one he lay under—the clinic’s bedding was a soft blue. But if he’d been in a normal hospital, he would have won in the white category.

  His eyes were closed, his mouth slack. Molly released his wrist and scurried out as the four of them surrounded the bed.

  “El,” Ruby said quietly, reaching down and taking the hand Molly had placed on top of his stomach. “It’s me, Ruby.”

  His mouth worked a moment and his eyelids fluttered. “Ru…Ru…”

  “Yep, it’s me. You were shot. Jax saved your life and we brought you here to recover. The bullet’s out and you’re going to be fine. Do you remember what happened? Who did this to you?”

  His eyelids opened a crack, blinked closed, opened more fully. His pupils were unfocused, though, as he met her gaze. “Ruby?”

  She combed back a hunk of bangs from his forehead. “Yes, El. I’m here. You’ve had surgery and are groggy, but you’re going to be okay thanks to Jaxon.”

  Elliot swatted at the oxygen tube in his nose. “Jax…?”

  She drew his hand away from the tubing. “He saved your life.”

  Beatrice shuffled her weight from one foot to another. Ruby understood her impatience but there was no hurrying this process.

  “Elliot, you need to rest, but before I leave you, can you answer a couple of questions for me?”

  A light squeeze of her hand.

  She’d take that as a yes. “Tell me who shot you.”

  Elliot shook his head, slowly rolling it from side to side. He seemed to notice the others circling the bed, his gaze landing on Jax and staying there. “I…can’t…”

  Ruby felt her confidence draining away. “El, we know about Nightshade, about Commander Pierce. Were you looking for him?”

  Elliot’s gaze meandered back to hers. “Pierce?”

  “Were you and Keon James searching for him in Marrakech?”

  “He’s…a…alive.”

  Sounded like a statement. She’d take it as such. “And Al-Safari was helping you find him, wasn’t he?”

  At the mention of Al-Safari’s name, Elliot stiffened. “Stay…away.”

  “We know about Al-Safari, too,” Ruby said, rubbing his hand to calm him. “The man who died in Morocco wasn’t Abdul Al-Safari, was he? The real Abdul Al-Safari is still alive. Facial recognition confirms he was at the club the other night. Did he kill Keon James?”

  The pressure on her hand increased. “Can’t…go there.”

  “We’re nowhere near the club, El. Do you remember going to the police station and posing as a Homeland agent to get Little Gus out of questioning after the shooting at the club? You drove him out of Chicago to a small town called Pottersville. To an abandoned feed mill. We found him there, dead, along with the go-bag I gave you. Did you kill him or did someone else?”

  A bob of his head that might have been a nod yes. But yes to which part of her question?

  Elliot worked his mouth again, his tongue snaking out to wet his lips. “Tried…to save…him.”

  “Here,” Jax handed Ruby a cup of water from a nearby cart.

  Of course, the man’s mouth was dry, making his attempts to communicate harder than they had to be. Duh, why hadn’t she thought of that?

  So much for my interrogation technique. Ruby held the cup, complete with a straw, so Elliot could drink. A long sip later, he laid his head back and licked his lips once more. “Better,” he whispered.

  “Who did you try to save? Little Gus?”

  She handed the drink back to Jax and started to launch in again, but Elliot held up a shaky finger and closed his eyes.

  Damn, was he going to fall back asleep already? She hadn’t gotten anything substantial from him.

  She was about to shake him when he started talking. “The Moroccan 5…had Nightshade. Needed to find him. Caught the 5, but they had turned Pierce over to Iz…Iz…”

  “Izala,” Ruby finished for him. “Al-Safari knew where Pierce was, didn’t he? He offered to get the location in exchange for his freedom.”

  Another bob of Elliot’s head. “Izala kept moving him…or so we thought.”

  “Al-Safari was dicking you around, wasn’t he?” Jax interjected. “He’d ask for military intel to feed to a source who claimed to have a lead on Pierce, then the lead would turn out to be nothing. So you kept feeding him intel, and he kept you chasing your tails.”

  “Brought him in, faked the capture by Moroc…Moroccan intelligence.”

  “But it wasn’t him,” Ruby said. “He knew you were onto him. Knew he was going to end up in prison or worse, so he sent a double to take his place. You were instructed to kill him and make it look like a suicide. Is that it?”

  Elliot’s eyes cracked open. He stared at his hand where Ruby’s was interlinked with it. “I thought it was him, but…”

  “It wasn’t.”

  “No.” He motioned for another drink. Jax gave it to him this time.

  After another long sip, Elliot released the straw and offered up a long-winded sigh. “After you,” he said, looking directly at Ruby.

  Her confidence was back, but a cold drop of fear fell into the pit of her stomach. “After me? You mean, Al-Safari was after me? Why?”

  “Izala wants you.”

  The drop of fear morphed into a snowball. “Why would Mohammed Izala want me?”

  Elliot dropped his gaze to the blue sheet and their hands, his lips drawing tight.

  Zeb made an entrance, interrupting them, and all eyes, with th
e exception of Elliot’s, turned to him.

  “We have company,” the old guy said, fiddling with his cell phone. For the first time since Ruby had met him, Zeb seemed nervous. He gave Beatrice a pointed look. “I think you’re going to want to take this one personally, B.”

  JAX WAS TORN. He needed to stay with Ruby and find out more about the bombshell Hayden had just laid on them, but he also needed to see who the “company” was that Beatrice was heading out of the room to deal with.

  As if reading his mind, Ruby touched the top of his hand and cocked her chin at the backs of Hunter and Beatrice, filing out the door. “Go. I’ll stay here with El.”

  And see what else I can find out…the words hung unsaid in the air between them.

  He gripped her hand, and thought of the weird triangle the three of them—her, Elliot, and him—were still forming all these months after Marrakech. “You sure?”

  She nodded. “I’m sure, now go.”

  His gut cramped but he let go of her and headed out the door.

  He jogged to catch up to the others, Beatrice’s belly not slowing her down much. If he had to guess, the mystery guest wasn’t the enemy or they’d be knee-deep in gunfire already, trying to protect the doctor and staff as well as Hayden.

  No, if he were a betting man, he’d say their mystery guest was a noncombatant, but one who could turn pretty downright violent if he wanted to.

  And he might just want to, considering his pregnant wife was in the field being shot at by an unknown source.

  Jax just prayed their visitor didn’t decide to take out his frustration and anger on him.

  Turning the corner, he pulled up short, because, yesiree, there was one angry former SEAL with his feet planted and his arms crossed looking like six kinds of angry.

  But, hoo-wee, that look morphed into relief and unconditional love the moment Callan Reese saw his wife.