“Earth to Mark,” Kelsey teased. “Are you still with me?”
He turned back to her standing beside him with his glass of lemonade in her hand, not sure what she was talking about. His entire body was still tuned to Libby. He had to be ten shades of flaming red.
Libby joined them at the kitchen door. “What’s up?”
“Ah.” He squirmed. “I don’t know.”
“It’s probably jet lag.” Kelsey nudged him with her elbow, a definite twinkle in her eye. “I think Mark needs a nap. He looks kind of tired.”
He grinned. Kelsey was comfortable to be around, even when he had acted like a high school kid with raging hormones. “Yeah, something like that,” he muttered.
Libby came to his side, her hand claiming his arm as she peered into his eyes. “Are you tired?”
“No.” He beamed, wrapping his arm around her waist. “I’m fine.” He took the lemonade from Kelsey, but he caught the look in her eye. She knew very well what he had been looking at.
“So tell me all about yourselves.” Kelsey motioned them back into her living room. Before Mark could respond, they were interrupted by a gentle knock at the front door. Roy let himself in with Murphy following right behind.
“Hey, Kelsey.” Roy gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and set Libby’s suitcase by the door. His eyes were full of mischief. “Here’s all your stuff from the hotel, young lady. So Mark, you gonna introduce us, or what?”
Mark sat on the sofa with his arm around Libby. “This is my girlfriend, Libby Clifton.”
The second he said those words she noticed. She hadn’t pulled away or jumped, but that one word rippled between them. Libby glanced shyly in his direction, and yeah, he’d done good. He winked at her while she shook Roy’s hand, loving the way her eyes lit up even when she wasn’t looking at him.
“Libby, this is Roy Hudson with all the pearly whites, and that old duffer beside him is Murphy Finnegan. They’re a couple of the senior agents I work with, and I do mean senior.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” she said.
“Well, it’s sure nice to finally meet you, Miss Clifton. May I call you Libby?” Roy poured on the charm. The man had his nerve. He was outright flirting and doing it right under Mark’s nose, too.
“We were concerned for a minute or two yesterday when all the bad news started breaking. You should’ve seen the boss when we found out you had moved to Chicago. Alex about came unglued. I’m sure glad you’re safe and sound. My goodness but you’re a pretty little thing.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” Mark smacked Roy’s arm. “Let her be. Stop pawing my girl.”
“I’m not pawing.” A huge smile split Roy’s face. “I’m welcoming. And don’t you worry about a thing, Libby. I understand this fellow here will be keeping you company for awhile.”
“Oh? Mark didn’t tell me that.” Libby leaned into him. “I’m good with that.”
“Seems only fair.” He gave her a squeeze. “I mean, I am the one who found you and everything.”
“And everything.” She smiled knowingly as their eyes met. He stifled an urge to kiss her, not sure he would be able to maintain control once he started. The fear in her eyes when he had first seen her with Dirk whats-his-name was replaced with contentment. All she needed was a red swimsuit, and she would be back to herself again.
“You know,” Murphy said, “about that senior agent crack. I might be an old duffer, but I’m still ready to whoop you young pups any day of the week.” He winked at Libby. “This fellow taking good care of you, young lady?”
“He is,” Libby said. “He already saved me this afternoon.”
“Oh?” Murphy’s blue eyes twinkled. “What’s that about?”
“I intercepted a forward pass,” Mark answered as nonchalantly as if that’s all that had happened. “Just at the right place at the right time. It’s a gift.”
“And what’s this scruffy stuff growing on your ugly face?” Murphy tugged the beard on Mark’s chin. “Alex isn’t going to like that.”
“Then he shouldn’t send me to countries where men are expected to wear beards, should he?” Mark said to Murphy what he would never have the nerve to say to Alex.
Murphy shot him a sympathetic look, shaking his head like he agreed.
Libby’s gentle hand on Mark’s cheek diffused the conversation. “I kind of like it.”
“Is Alex on his way?” Kelsey interrupted.
“You know better than that. The boss never leaves his office this early.” There was a mischievous smirk on Roy’s face again. “Hey Mark? Can I get your help with a couple of things in the car?”
Before he knew it, they were hauling groceries, bags of ice, and a couple coolers of beverages into the back yard. Murphy fired up the grill, while Roy set up chairs and two tables. When Mark went to check on the women, Kelsey and Libby were at the kitchen sink cleaning vegetables and fruit.
“You ladies doing okay?” he asked. “Do you need any help?”
“No, we’re fine,” Kelsey answered brightly. “I set the front door alarm, just to be safe. If anyone tries to enter, you’ll hear it. We all will.”
“You’re sure you don’t need anything?”
“Not unless you want to listen to girl talk.” With that Libby waved him out the backdoor.
He pulled her close before she got too far away. “Come here, you,” he said quietly, planting a quick kiss on her lips. “Are you sure you’re okay, I mean, after everything that happened today?”
“I think I’m the best I’ve been in a very long time.” Her fingers laced around his neck. “How about you?”
“Oh, yeah,” he growled playfully, his hands roaming over her shoulder blades and down her back, wishing they could run off to some place nice and quiet.
“Do you still need a nap?”
He caught the tease in her voice. Her hands were roaming plenty, too, playing with the collar of his shirt, smoothing the skin on his neck, and along his whiskered jaw. Her touch tingled, and he swore he could feel the fingerprints on each of her delicate fingers. His entire body seemed to be on high alert for this woman.
“Only if you’re taking one with me.”
Her cheeks turned red. Yeah, he affected her, too. A blush looked very good on Libby.
“I’d better help Kelsey,” she whispered, but then she nipped his lower lip with a quick kiss, and left him standing there with his heart in his throat.
“Hey,” Murphy called.
Mark turned in a daze sure he’d just been kissed by an angel. The amazing shift in her feelings toward him left him off balance and pleasantly warm all over. With her feminine fragrance in his nose and the feel of her hand lingering on his neck, he had to shake it off to make sense of Murphy’s words.
He felt it before he knew it. The carefree atmosphere had changed. His boss was home. Alex had come straight to the backyard, and was already engrossed in a terse conversation with Roy and Murphy.
Alex waved his junior agent to join them. “According to the FBI, two dozen men flew into the states from Afghanistan six days ago. They’ve already dodged surveillance. Presumably, they’ve connected with Castor. FBI confirms they were involved in the murder of that West Virginia family.”
“The FBI have a motive yet?” Murphy asked.
“Not yet.”
“Maybe Seinkevitz is sending another message,” Roy offered.
“To who? Castor?” Murphy asked. “Wasn’t he with them?”
“Could be it’s a message to anyone who gets in his way,” Roy said.
“But this family wasn’t in his way,” Alex argued. “These bastards intentionally sought out an innocent family and murdered them in broad daylight. What do you think, Mark? You’ve been watching Seinkevitz for the last couple of weeks. What’s your take?”
“The man’s got no problem with torture or murder, but what’s his motive? What did he get out of killing a woman and two children?” Mark asked.
Alex ran a hand through h
is hair. “What does that bastard want?”
“Do we know where his men are now?” Roy asked.
“Mother’s been looking for them since the FBI lost track,” Alex said. “She’ll find them.”
“You use my babies yet?” Roy arched a questioning eyebrow at Mark.
Mark glanced at Alex, not sure he should admit to such a huge indiscretion as infiltrating Bagram with a couple contraband bombs.
“What are we talking about?” Alex smirked. “You two got something else going on that I don’t know about?”
Roy grinned, and Mark wanted to smack him for opening his big mouth.
“It’s kind of like an equalizer,” he admitted. “Seinkevitz thinks he owns the whole village and everyone in it. Me and Harley thought different.”
“So I take it that you planned ahead, just in case?”
Mark shrugged. “Sure. I always go in country prepared. Don’t you?”
Alex only nodded, but there was that glint of amusement in his eye again, like he knew something Mark didn’t.
Roy mouthed, ‘Good job,’ and gave Mark the thumbs up sign.
“How’s he moving the rest of his product?” Alex asked.
“Through the silk route like every other cartel over there.” Mark focused on his boss instead of the grinning black man beside him. He and Roy would definitely be having a talk later about the true meaning of covert operations. “He moves it straight north into Russia.”
“He doesn’t have another stateside operation?”
“Not that we could tell,” Mark answered, “but you’ve got to remember people over there are afraid to talk with us. He runs a brutal program against anyone who gets in his way.”
“Air Force investigators have Gutierrez’s replacement in custody. They moved in too fast. We still don’t know who Castor handed the product off to here in the states. How’s Arzad?”
Mark smiled at the abrupt shift in conversation. “He’s good. Real good.”
“Is he still matchmaking?”
“You know about that?”
“Yeah. Of course.” Alex shook his head. “He was always pestering me to get married, too. Did he do the star routine with you guys, the stars are like our family thing?”
“He did.” Mark chuckled. This was his first friendly conversation with his boss, and it was all because of a gnarly little Afghani on the other side of the world. “He’s quite the character, isn’t he?”
“He is that.” Alex clapped a hand to Mark’s shoulder like they were friends. “You and Harley did damn good work over there. Sorry I had to call you home early.”
The backdoor opened as Kelsey and Libby carried the fruit and vegetable trays out, ending the business conversation.
“It’s about time you girls joined us.” Alex went straight away to help carry the trays.
“I thought I heard you back here.” Kelsey beamed to see him.
Mark watched the transformation. The second the trays were on the table, Alex whispered something in her ear. She blushed, smiling up at him with something like hero worship shining on her face. The haunted look was gone. He kissed his wife, his hands on her waist as if they were going dancing. This was no ‘Honey, I’m home,’ kiss. The tender scene was almost intimate, like they had forgotten they weren’t the only two people in the backyard.
Alex transformed again when he turned and extended a welcoming hand to Libby, still keeping Kelsey tucked under his arm. “And you must be our missing Miss Clifton. Welcome. I’m Alex Stewart, Kelsey’s husband. Good to see that Mark tracked you down. He’s one of my best agents, you know. I knew he’d find you.”
Mark about dropped his teeth. One of my best agents? That was news.
“Yes, Mark caught up with me this afternoon.” Libby shook his hand, glancing around the yard. “I never dreamed that a safe house would look like this, though. I was expecting bars or something, you know, like in the movies. Maybe some guys in black suits and dark sunglasses.”
“I guess if you need to be in a safe house, this is as good as any.” Alex chuckled as he surveyed his back yard, too. “So tell me, how long have you known Mark?”
Mark heard the question from across the yard where he stood with Roy and Murphy. Libby’s gaze zeroed in on his.
“It feels like forever.”
Fourteen
Before long, the steaks were grilled to order, and everyone’s plate was full. Alex and Kelsey settled at the picnic table chatting with Libby. Mark made another security sweep of the front and back yards before he sat to eat with Roy and Murphy. Alex seemed quite the gentleman with the ladies. He laughed and joked, and for the most part, was pleasant. Libby looked comfortable, so Mark took a seat where he could keep track of the entire yard. It worked to everyone’s advantage. He wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off of her if he sat any closer.
Kelsey was simply stunning. It seemed she had instantly become Libby’s friend, and went out of her way to make her comfortable. For that matter, Alex did, too. Libby laughed at something he had just said. It looked more like she was chatting with old friends instead of people she had just met.
“Looks like you’re deep in thought.” Roy pulled his chair alongside Mark’s.
Mark raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, guess so.”
“Those two have quite the story, you know.” Roy nodded toward Alex and Kelsey.
“It’s nice to see there’s another side to him.”
“What you really mean is it’s nice to see he’s not always a complete ass, right?”
“Something like that.”
“He was a lot worse before Kelsey came into his life. That man’s been through some tough times, but he’s got something special in that little lady of his. See what I mean? Look at those two kids. See how they’re always touching each other? My heck, they act like a couple teenagers.”
Mark looked across the lawn. Roy was right. Alex had an arm draped comfortably across Kelsey’s shoulder, while her hand rested lightly on his knee. They did look like kids. He wasn’t going to admit to anything. So Alex had a decent streak? Big deal.
“Guess we all have our stories.”
“No. Not like those two you don’t.” Roy leaned in like a conspirator about to share top-secret intel. “There’s a helluva lot you don’t know about that guy over there.”
“Whatever.” Mark lowered his voice. Last thing he needed was his boss to overhear.
“Did you know his first wife and little girl were killed in a car accident?”
Mark shook his head, still watching guardedly.
“His daughter died instantly, and his wife died on the street while the paramedics were trying to save her. It happened when he was overseas, still in the Corps. By the time he got back home, there wasn’t anything left to do but their funerals. Damn near destroyed him. He still blames himself. Then he went through two nasty divorces. The man couldn’t win to save his life.”
“Two divorces?” Despite himself, Mark was listening. “Was he nuts?”
“No.” Roy shook his head sadly. “He was just hurting, trying to plug the sucking hole in his heart. You know how it is. You just lost your best friend. It’s a helluva lot worse when those best friends were your wife and your little girl.”
Mark saw Alex through different eyes. That explained a lot.
“And poor little Kelsey was married to a sonofabitch who tried to kill her.” Roy’s voice turned to a whisper. “He murdered her two little boys.”
“He did what?” Mark hissed. This was an incredibly tragic story that did not translate into the happily ever after couple who sat chatting with Libby. He shot another glance to Alex. How could the man look so—normal?
“Yeah. Those little guys were only two and four years old. Damn shame that.” Roy shook his head sadly.
“So that’s how she got those scars on her face?”
Roy nodded somberly. “She might not look like it, but she’s one tough little cookie. Thought you ought to know since you’re part of The TEAM
now. Her ex had another go at them about a year after they got together. Almost killed ‘em both.”
By now Mark was hanging on every word, but Murphy interrupted with a pitcher of beer and three clinking glasses.
“That’s another story for another time.” Roy scooted his chair over to make room. “You thirsty or something that you need three glasses, old man?”
“What’s this old man crap I’ve been hearing all night? First Mark. Now you? I was just hoping you two would help this old man drain a pitcher, but I can always leave.”
“Sit on down.” Roy chuckled. “What? You getting sensitive in your old age?”
“There you go again.” Murphy poured a foamy round as he settled between Mark and Roy. “Just remember, you might not look it, but you’re a year older than me. Now grab a glass you guys. You’re looking awful serious over here. What’s up?”
Roy took a dripping full glass and nodded across the yard. “Just giving Mark a history lesson.”
“Oh, that.” Murphy shook his head and poured a glass for Mark. “If I’d known that’s what you guys were so quiet about, I would’ve stayed with the food. Get on with it.”
Roy lowered his voice. “I was telling Mark what happened when the boss took her out to his cabin near Seattle.”
“I thought his cabin was closer to Tacoma.”
“Tacoma? Nah, Spanaway’s up by Seattle.”
“No, it ain’t. That’s why they ended up at Tacoma General Hospital.”
“You sure, Murph?” Roy scratched his head like that would help him remember.
“I’ll get a map if you want, but I spent a lot of time in a—”
“Guys.” Mark interrupted the squabbling older gentlemen. “Get on with it. What happened next?”
“Okay, Tacoma then,” Roy conceded the argument. “Anyway the week off didn’t turn out like Alex planned.”
“No, sir, not one bit.” Murphy muttered.
“Like I said, her ex was a sonofabitch. He’d already tried to kill her and Alex once before. This time he brought some of his buddies with him. They burned the cabin down. Alex figured he could get most of them before they got him. Didn’t work that way. He only got four.” Roy smoothed a hand over his head.
Mark (In the Company of Snipers Book 2) Page 13