Blind Fury

by Gwen Hernandez

  “Why don’t you call the police department and tell them about her phone call? Even if Di Ferio turns his phone off, they can at least put out a BOLO—a Be On The Lookout alert.”

  Happy to have something productive to do, she stepped into the hall to make the call. She relayed everything she could remember about her conversation with Tara, giving the detective the number of the phone her friend had used to call her. The woman sounded skeptical, but she promised to put out an alert on the couple. It wasn’t enough, but it was all Jenna could do at the moment.

  When she returned to Kurt’s office, he roused and offered her a soda, bringing back a can of Pepsi and a few magazines. She feigned interest in Men’s Health while he got back to work.

  Finally, after another agonizing hour crept by, a rangy man with military-short red hair entered the office. “It’s all set boss,” he said with a slight twang she couldn’t identify. Texas? Alabama?

  Kurt stood and introduced her to Todd, who turned his bright blue eyes her way. “Ma’am, you can’t keep your phone, but if you give it to me, I can have all the calls transferred to this one. It’s clean.” He produced a no-frills flip phone.

  Why hadn’t Mick thought of that? Of course, he’d been under a time crunch.

  Or maybe he just hadn’t wanted her to come with him.

  Pushing that thought aside, she nodded and switched phones. “Where are we going?”

  “I have a small house lined up,” Todd said. “It’s fully furnished and between renters, so the owner has agreed to let us use it for a few days.”

  A few days. One way or another, she needed for all of this to be settled…and soon. She couldn’t live her life in limbo forever. As soon as she got to the safe house, she had to come up with a plan to end this sequestration and get her life back.

  After locking up the building, they returned to Kurt’s car and followed Todd’s gray Charger out of the parking lot.

  “Here’s how it’s going to work,” Kurt massaged the back of his neck with one hand as he spoke. “I’ll have Todd and Jason outside, but they’ll be inconspicuous enough for the neighbors not to notice. There’ll be another guy inside. Everyone’s in place, so the house is already secure.”

  “Is it really necessary to have someone on the inside too?” She didn’t want to feel like a prisoner. And some privacy would be nice.

  Kurt nodded. “Just give it a try. If having him there feels too intrusive after tonight, I’ll pull him, okay?”

  “Okay.” He knew what he was doing, after all. Speaking of which… “How do I pay you for this? It has to be expensive.”

  “It’s already been taken care of.”

  How was that possible? “I know you owe Mick and all, but I don’t want to be a charity case. I don’t have a lot of money right now, but after Rob’s accounts go through probate, I’ll be able pay you.”

  Kurt gave her a quick glance before responding. “No, I am getting paid. Mick is picking up the bill.”

  Her blood warmed, even as her jaw slackened. Either Mick cared, or he was eager to get rid of her. Probably a bit of both.

  Kurt drove the rest of the way in silence, and after ten minutes Todd turned into a short driveway of a split-level home with green shutters and white siding. The small front lawn could use a trim, but the house was otherwise neat, and the neighborhood looked safe.

  An instant sense of welcome and comfort hit Jenna as she walked through the front door and up a short wooden staircase into an overstuffed living room just big enough for the full-sized couch that lined one wall. The frilly, flowery upholstery and knickknacks above the fireplace reminded her of Tara’s place.

  Worry sliced through her again. If only there were more she could do to help her friend. God, please let her be okay.

  Kurt locked the door behind them and closed all of the blinds. “It’s getting dark out,” he explained. “You don’t want to be a sitting duck once all of the lights are on.”

  No. She most definitely did not. He’d pointed out his men on the street before they parked in the garage. One was hiding in the woods behind the house. Another sat in a van that was parked in a neighbor’s driveway. How they’d pulled that off, she wasn’t sure.

  “Todd installed a wireless alarm system.” He looked around the living room and kitchen area, his jaw tight. “Say hello to the inside guy while I check the sensors.”

  Jenna jumped in surprise when an overweight man with dark hair and glasses stepped out of the shadows from the hallway. Kurt disappeared down the stairs without even introducing them.

  “Hey,” the stranger said softly, his eyes serious. “Is it okay if I stay?”

  Her stomach took a dive when she realized it was Mick. “You’re the inside man?” she asked. Of course, Kurt had been in on it. Mick must have asked him to keep her out of the loop.

  He nodded, still watching her warily.

  How did she feel? Relieved, angry, elated, in love. “What’ll we do if the police come here to talk to me?”

  “We’ll have advance warning.” He moved closer.

  “You just walked out of your building dressed like that?” She took a step forward and pushed his padded belly.

  “It was close. A cop actually stopped me, but he didn’t recognize me. He just wanted to show me my own picture and ask if I’d seen myself.” He chuckled. “It was surreal.”

  She pressed on his chubby cheeks, amazed by his transformation. “How did you do this?”

  “Cotton balls.” He turned to pull them out and throw them away. Instantly, his strong jaw and the hard planes of his cheekbones reappeared.

  She lifted her hand to remove the glasses that were distorting and dimming his eyes, and placed them on the counter. “I like you with dark hair,” she said, running her hands through the soft strands, unable to keep herself from touching him.

  He caught her hands in his own and brought them to his mouth for a tender kiss. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the plan. I didn’t want you to have to lie for me if the police intercepted you.”

  The residual anger she’d been feeling drained away. This man protected her with his every move. “Rob must have told you what a terrible liar I am. I never got away with anything in high school.”

  “He might have mentioned it once or twice.” Mick shifted away and released her hands. “I didn’t think you were even capable of dishonesty until this morning.”

  She hated the pain in his eyes and the fact that she’d put it there. Pressing his cheeks with her palms, she held his gaze. “The only reason it worked is because I’ve always wanted to be with you. I just had more than one motive. But”—she cut in quickly before he could say anything—“I hated myself for using you like that. That’s why I backed off.” Couldn’t he see? Couldn’t he understand?

  His jaw hardened, but he didn’t pull away. He cradled her head and studied her mouth, sending little jolts of desire through her veins. “I wish we didn’t have these lies between us, Jenna.” His arms bundled her tightly to his chest and he sighed, resting his cheek against her hair. “You’re the one who could have changed everything for me.”

  What did he mean by that? Her mind and heart raced, and she had a sudden sinking feeling. If she had any tears left, she would have cried.

  Tara sat on a rickety easy chair and put a hand to her jumpy stomach as she watched Colin pace. They’d arrived at the “safe house” just before sunrise after traveling over rutted roads that wound through the rolling hills of horse country about twenty miles northwest of her townhome. The single-story farmhouse would have been quaint, but the large wraparound porch sagged, the wood siding had lost most of its once-white paint, and the roof shingles were curled and cracked.

  The interior didn’t inspire any more confidence. The scuffed wood floors were covered with fraying area rugs and worn furnishings. Dusty oil paintings of forests and rivers hung on the walls. The entire place must have been decorated with yard-sale or thrift-store finds.

  She wanted to believe
Colin was trying to protect her, but could she trust him? He hadn’t tied her up or anything, but he also hadn’t left her side since he’d caught her listening in on his phone call. They had immediately packed overnight bags and hit the road.

  He’d told her to lie to Jenna about where they were, but she hoped her friend had gotten the message.

  “It’s to keep you safe,” he’d said. “I don’t know who’s listening. The boss knows you overheard me talking to him, and he doesn’t like loose ends.”

  She’d trembled at the thought, suddenly cold and scared. He’d hugged her close and apologized for getting her involved in this mess, but his touch no longer had the ability to thaw her.

  “Why’d we come here?” she asked now, pulling her knees up to her chest.

  “I wanted to get out of D.C. but stay close. I’m supposed to make sure you don’t talk,” Colin said. “The boss meant something more final, I’m sure, but if I can keep you off the radar until this blows over, you should be safe.”

  Final sounded ominous, and a shiver ran through Tara’s already cold limbs. But the look on Colin’s face was sincere. She wanted so badly to believe him and go back to the way things were before last night. But he was obviously tied in with some bad men, and didn’t that make him one of them? “Why were you keeping tabs on Mick and Jenna?” she asked.

  He sighed and rubbed his lips before meeting her eye. “At first it was just a job. One that would keep me home from the desert for a while. After I met you, I wasn’t so eager to leave town.”

  Her stomach dipped, and for a split second the pull she’d felt toward him from the moment they met was back. Shaking off her foolishness, she asked, “I mean, why does someone want them watched? Why did Jenna’s house get ransacked and blown to smithereens?” Her voice had risen in frustration, and she realized she was standing now, looking down at Colin, who was sitting on the ugly brown couch next to her chair.

  “You know I can’t talk to you about any of that. Besides, the less you know, the better.” He took her hands, scowling when she pulled them away. “I don’t want you to get hurt too.” Reaching out, he skimmed his fingers along her cheeks with a feather-light touch before letting his hand drop away, dejected. “I’m falling in love with you, Tara, and I hate that this is coming between us. But I can’t let you go until I’m sure you’re safe.”

  Oh my God, were those tears in his eyes? “You’re falling in love with me?” Yesterday she had felt the same way. He’d had her thinking crazy thoughts about weddings and babies and buying a house together. She’d started playing with the name Tara Di Ferio like some silly teenager with a crush. “You’ll have to forgive me if I find that difficult to believe right now.”

  She crossed her arms and stepped out of the column of warmth he created just by being near. It was hard to think, hard to hold onto her anger, when her body kept dredging up memories of their past week together. In bed and out, he’d been everything she had ever wanted in a man. Was he too perfect? Was he just playing a game? But if he loved her, didn’t that change everything?

  He was the protective type by nature. That was part of what had drawn her to him in the first place. His methods might be a bit Neanderthal, but what if his heart was in the right place?

  Colin leaned back on the sofa, holding the edge in a death grip. “Can’t we just pretend we’re on a vacation? I promise when this is all over, I’ll take you home.” He pinned her with a look of raw pain that tore at her heart. “I’d never hurt you, baby. Please. I’m trying to protect you.”

  Some of the ice around her heart cracked at the sight of her big grizzly bear begging for her to believe in him. Maybe he was honestly trying to do the right thing by her. If he had stolen her away for an impromptu holiday, wouldn’t she have considered it the most romantic thing in the world?

  Honestly, she wanted to trust him. Because as much as she tried to convince herself that she didn’t really love him, she did.

  In answer to his plea, she pulled her shirt over her head and slid off her pants.

  His breath caught in his throat as he watched in shock. Then he lunged for her.

  Mick inhaled Jenna’s sweet scent, his body tightening in response to their embrace. What was it about her that reduced him to a lovesick fool? If he had any sense of self-preservation, he’d back away now, but instead he tightened his embrace, bringing them as close together as possible.

  “I knew you were quick, but…” Kurt stood at the top of the stairs smirking.

  “Damn it, Steele.” Mick glared at his friend. “Try pounding your stumps next time.”

  Jenna inhaled sharply, as if she were worried about how Kurt would react to the comment, but he just chuckled. “Sorry, man. I’m programmed for stealth.”

  Mick rolled his eyes and pulled away from Jenna.

  She looked bewildered and ready to cry, her beautiful eyes wide and glassy. Her betrayal had built a wall between them, but his secret was what had started it all. Guilt gnawed at him.

  “Okay, the lower level is secure. I’ll get out of your hair if you check this floor,” Kurt said, giving him a quick questioning glance.

  “Sounds good,” Mick said, getting to work.

  Kurt left after giving Mick an untraceable prepaid phone with all of his team members’ numbers programmed into it. Thank God for the man. After Rob, he and Dan were Mick’s closest friends. Mick could trust him to take care of Jenna for him and to shelter them both from the law.

  But, he couldn’t hide out forever. Someone wanted them silenced. He needed to end this game, and he had a bad feeling that he might have to tell Jenna—and a lot more people—the whole truth in order to make it happen.

  Maybe Rob shouldn’t have asked him to keep what had happened to himself. If he’d known what Mick and Jenna would go through, would he have acted differently? But while revealing everything to her might heal the rift between them, it wouldn’t keep her safe. The only way to do that was to make sure the whole world knew what had happened.

  Dreading his decision, but certain of his course, Mick finished checking the sensors. Then he discarded the baggy pants and sweatshirt and changed, glad to be back in his own jeans.

  A few minutes later, Kurt brought them pizza under the guise of a delivery driver, and Mick sat across the ornately carved dining table from Jenna, watching her pick the pepperoni off her piece to save it for last. He could get used to this, eating every dinner with her, sharing a home, talking as if they weren’t surrounded by armed guards in a strange house.

  She licked her fingers and wiped them on a paper napkin. “Rob once told me the team had nicknamed him Plato because he was such a deep thinker. Did everyone get a nickname?”

  “Not everybody,” Mick said, “but most of us. It’s more common among the contractors than it was in the Air Force. Pilots excepted, of course.”

  “What was yours?” she asked, peering up at him with a hint of a smile.

  Damn. Was she flirting with him? He shook his head. “Uh-uh. Not telling.”

  “Always the secrets,” she said with a mock pout. “Tell me some of the others.”

  What was her game? Was she trying to get him to think about his team—about Afghanistan and Rob—or was she just making conversation? “Well, we called Colin Grizz or Grizzly, because, you know, he’s built like a bear, and kind of gruff.” Two could play this game.

  She frowned and studied him for a minute, then apparently chose to ignore his attempt to stall the topic. “What about Dan?”

  “Someone tried to call him Molly, since his last name’s Molina.” Mick smiled at the memory. “Uh, that didn’t go over too well, so they started calling him Jumper because he started out as a PJ like us.”

  She leaned toward him, looking more relaxed than he’d seen her all day. “Who else?”

  He took a bite of pizza and drew the moment out. “Riz because his last name is Rizzoli. Beavis, because he looks like the guy from ‘Beavis and Butthead.’ Nothing too original.” He thought for a mi
nute. “Flipper. Former Navy SEAL. And, yes, Flipper was a dolphin, but it stuck anyway.”

  She giggled. He liked the sound. Too much. “Come on,” she begged. “What’s yours?”

  “Maybe I don’t have one.”

  “Yes, you do.” She popped a slice of pepperoni into her mouth and looked at him over the box. “What if I guess?” Her eyes glittered with heat. She was flirting.

  “Go for it. I’m still not telling.”

  “But what if I guess? Don’t I get anything?”

  “What do you want?” he asked, cautious but intrigued.

  She looked down, suddenly serious. “You know what I really want.”

  “I assume you’re not talking about another roll in the sack.”

  A blush stained her cheeks, but she pursed her lips in distaste. “You sure know how to make a girl feel special. I’ll give you that.”

  “It takes two, Jay.”

  Slouching in her seat, she crossed her arms and stared at the pizza crust she’d left behind. “Touché.”

  He decided to throw her a lifeline. After all, he’d made a decision. Not an easy one, but he hoped it was the right one. He took a deep breath. “Fine. If you guess correctly, I’ll tell you everything.”

  “Seriously?” She narrowed her eyes at him and straightened in her chair, balling her napkin in one fist.

  Okay, this probably wasn’t the best way to go about it, but he wasn’t ready to just release something he’d clung to so tightly. He needed to work up to it. “Yes.”

  She gave him an incredulous look, followed quickly by a sad shake of the head. “Well, obviously you don’t think I’m going to get it then.” The napkin unfolded and she pulled it into little strips, the sound loud in the otherwise silent house. “Earlier in the week you said you didn’t want me to know the whole truth of what happened, and now you’re willing to give it up in a game?”