Liberated. She played with the idea, turning the word over in her head. Liberated worked and was the truth. That was an accomplishment and, because of it, she earned anything she wanted. A fluffy puppy with an appropriate name like Killer or Slayer. A sexy man who wanted nothing more than to keep her safe and in bed. Life was marvelous.
“What do you think about dinner?” he asked.
“I’m not hungry.”
“No, I mean, do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night?”
“Like a date?” Even as the shadows faded over the room, she saw him blush.
“Yes, like a date, doll. Like candlelight and roses.”
A date with candlelight and roses? He surprised her when she least expected it, though that was the exact definition of surprise. A suit and dress shirt on his solid body might be her greatest weakness. Would she be able to hold a decent conversation while admiring the view?
Her heart sunk. So close and she was going to ruin it. “All I have to wear are your mom’s sweatpants and shirt. Very sexy.”
“We can remedy that hiccup.”
“What? You’re going to be my white knight fashionista?”
“I’m your whatever-it-takes-to-keep-you-happy-ista.”
Whatever it took? She should define that so he wasn’t left grasping at assumptions in the proverbial dark.
“I can run out tomorrow morning and pick something out,” she said.
“No sweater sets. Or khaki pants.”
She could hear the smile in his voice. “I don’t always wear that. I just didn’t plan on more than one outfit on my excursion to Louisville.”
“You need something short and tight.”
She laughed. “Making requests?”
“And low cut.”
“Colby!” Her cheeks heated. “I can dress myself, thank you very much.”
“Just letting you know where my mind is. Are you all done with your smiling tears?”
Her nerves tinged. Was all this to make her stop crying? “You don’t have to take me to dinner to make sure I’m not crying on your watch.”
“No you don’t, Mia. No rebuilding those walls.”
“I’m not—”
“The hell you aren’t. I’m taking you out because you like that stuff, and I like you. Simple. Don’t you shrinks know how this stuff works? All that making you happy, makes me happy bullshit?”
“I’m not a shrink.”
“But you are missing the point. On purpose, I’d assume.”
“I don’t have my credit cards or cash. I need to—”
“Cash is in the drawer in the kitchen, next to the surveillance camera you kept eyeing. Cars are in the garage. Take your pick. Keys are on a peg board next to the door.”
“I’m not taking your money.”
“You think I care about coin after dodging bullets with you? But if you’d rather just go to dinner in my mom’s sweats, cool by me, doll. I don’t care. I was just giving you my wish list. As long as you’re there, I wouldn’t notice your clothes.”
“Uh.” What to say to that?
“Tell me when and where you want to go, and I’ll make sure I’m there. Or someone from Titan, for your protective detail. I have to work sometime in the morning, but after that, we’ll do whatever you want.”
“Thank you.” Whatever she wanted? Staying right here was top on her list. Mia leaned up and kissed him. “Do you still have the NOC list?”
“I do. It’s safe.”
“Why do you still have it?”
“I’m only going to give it to my boss. He wasn’t there, and I didn’t stick around.”
“After we get rid of it, I’ll be safe?”
“In theory.”
“Very reassuring. How about in reality?”
He didn’t answer. That was several versions of concerning.
“Colby?” Worst case scenarios would begin forming if he didn’t answer soon. Heck, in the back of her mind, they’d already started.
“In reality, the fuckers will be pissed. They’ll want to do something about it. We’ll make sure they engage Titan, not you, and we’ll all come to an understanding.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“It means we work out an agreement. You won’t be worth pursuing, because the cost will be too high.”
“The cost?”
“Their resources. Their men. They’re all the way in South America. Once they know they can’t get that list, anything they do will be out of retaliation. But they’re businessmen. Everything has a price. A cost of what their time and interest is worth. Eventually, they move on. It’s dirty dollars and cents.”
“So more people will get hurt. You can get hurt.” Her voice sharpened.
“We’ve already had that conversation. I won’t get hurt.”
“Now, I’m calling bullshit. You can get hurt. You can die.” This wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to forget the nightmare they survived and live it up in a fairy tale world. But no, he wanted to go play cops and robbers again.
“Honey, this is what I do. It didn’t change because Clara came into my life, and it’s not going to change because I’m all wrapped into you. I’m sorry.” His fingers drew down her arm, around her elbow to her wrist. “This is complicated, but I promise I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll always come home.”
The room was dark, with the setting sun long gone into the night. Moonlight bathed them, casting a milky glow across the light carpet.
“When this is over, when you don’t have to protect me, do you still want to see me?” She draped her arm over her face, hiding from his answer. If he said no, the moon would drop from the cloudless sky, leaving it sad and inky.
“Of course I do. I’m not making up the things I say for your benefit,” he said, rubbing her arm.
“You’re making it up for yours?”
He shook his head, coiling his arms around her. “Silly girl. Let me rephrase. Everything I’ve done is for your benefit, but I’ve never lied to you. We have something special. So let’s play it out one day at a time and see if it works for us. Maybe you’ll hate me on our date. Maybe you’re just using me for the sex.”
“Maybe I am.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing that’s happened to me.”
His phone rang from the nightstand. He unwound himself from her and answered. A few short words later, he was back by her side.
“So that was the bad guys calling in their surrender?” She laughed softly.
“You’re cute when you say bad guys. But nope. I have to be at the office at stupid o’clock in the morning.”
“What?”
“Early. I have to head to Titan way earlier than I wanted. So when you wake your adorable head up in the morning, you’ll be all alone. Sorry about that.”
“I suppose now you’ll tell me we have to sleep while in bed.”
They laughed together. The moment was so comfortable and fun.
“Guess so. But there’s an upside. I can vouch these sheets are softer and cleaner than that motel room’s.” He kissed her nose. “Besides, I need my beauty sleep. Hot date tomorrow.”
“Oh, me, too.”
“Must be one lucky bastard.” He gave her another kiss. “Sweet dreams, princess.”
If she had penned all her dreams and wishes and desires, this wouldn’t have made it on to the top one hundred list. It wouldn’t have made it on to the world-is-ending-time-to-make-a-list list. She wasn’t creative enough and didn’t aspire grand enough.
Never would she have envisioned a battle-tried hero offering a fantasy date and calling her princess. Never would that man fall asleep with her in his clutches. Twice. In a row.
Never.
But he was here. And this was happening. It was her unknown dream come true.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The road noise didn’t dull his thoughts. Nope. No luck for that, as they roared and complained along with the whirl of his speeding tires. Winters drummed his thumbs on the
steering wheel and picked up his burner phone a dozen times wanting to call Mia.
It was still dark out, and with dawn yet to break, what was the point of disturbing her? He cursed at blameless drivers observing the speed limit as he maneuvered his way to Titan headquarters.
He woke up holding happiness. Her sweet smell still clung to him in his truck, and the last thing he had wanted to do was slip away from the warm bed. If this job didn’t revolve around Mia, he might have told Jared he was taking a vacation. Time like that accumulated. He must have weeks available. When he busted through the door, question numero uno would have to be, Where’s the company handbook?
Surely that existed. Right?
But would it have a section entitled Don’t Do the Job? He had a date with the job tonight. A very hot date. No corporate set of rules would change that.
He snarled to no one and pulled into Titan’s secure parking. Before facing the guys, he had to lose the whole just-woke-up-with-a-naked-woman glow. It was too early in the morning for a razzing, and he hadn’t had nearly enough coffee or Dots to ease into his day.
He squeezed his eyes tight, took a deep breath, and walked to the first door. Code entered. Locking mechanism disengaging. Another door. Retina scan. Another door and another, jumping through whatever hoops Parker had going right now. Goddamn security measures. Good thing he appreciated them.
Winters blew through the ops nerve center, straight into the kitchenette, hoping to hell someone had brewed a pot already. Nope. No luck. Not even a leftover box of candy in his stash. Christ, he felt like a chick. Mood swings. Candy cravings. He needed to cut that shit out.
“What’s your problem, Winters?” Parker eyed him when he stalked back into the computer hub. Despite the heat pouring off hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of electronics, the room was icy cold. “You blew out of here yesterday like you were avoiding enemy fire, and today, it’s like you have the shakes.”
“I had places to be.” Guess clearing his mind didn’t work. “Where the fuck is everyone? I thought this was an ops meeting, or was I wrong?”
“When did you start wearing a watch?” Parker spun round in his chair, regarding him with even more curiosity.
Shit. Should he just wear a sign that said hook, line, and sinker, or just fess up that there was a woman in his bed he wasn’t fond of leaving. He rubbed a hand over his face.
“Never mind. Just ready to wrap this up. This job’s been a headache.”
“Dude, you are a headache. Since when did you give a shit about complications? I thought you fed off pandemonium.”
There were Grade A assholes who’d fucked with him and Mia. He could forgive someone going after him. But not her. Messing with her earned a place in his crosshairs.
Winters flashed Parker a shut-the-fuck-up glare when Jared walked into the room, filled to his eyebrows with the usual piss and vinegar. He was an Army Ranger and had been trained by the best to be the best. The military got all they could out of him before he took his Chief Motherfucker in Charge attitude and turned into a very tidy profit for all involved.
“He has a point, Winters.” Jared studied a topography map on the table.
“What? That I don’t wear a watch? Or that first one in didn’t turn on the coffee?” Winters glared at Parker.
A few other men shuffled into the room, and they all took seats around a large table, bitching about the ungodly time of day. Parker spread out a handful of glossy papers, and everyone shuffled through the pile. Jared nodded to Parker, signaling for him to begin.
“I retrieved shots from the traffic cameras, toll booths, and security footage at the places Winters stopped.” Parker took some photos from the men and arranged them in chronological order. “Airport. First motel.”
Everything looked legit. Parker could pull any picture anywhere there was a camera. That was for sure.
He pointed to additional shots on the table. “These two men followed Winters from the Nation’s Capitol to Derby City. They’re employed by Juan Carlos Silva. A Colombian cartel. They trade mostly women and drugs.”
Jared growled. “I’m sick of cartel kingpins trafficking girls.”
Aren’t we all?
Parker tossed out another photo. “This ugly fucker is Diego Cortes, reportedly one of Silva’s top men. He was behind the grab at the airport. Probably panicked after you dismembered his team and hired a couple of street punks to fill ranks. He also came after you at the second motel.”
The guys were shuffling through the eight by ten glossies. Winters didn’t need to see them. He lived it. He caught a smirk from Parker.
Parker laid out another photograph, very deliberate, and tapped it. “Here’s the karaoke bar where Winters engaged them. Police records indicate Cortes and another man were found dead in a car trunk.”
Like a donkey kick to his gut, Winters saw a shot from a security camera, Mia pinning him to the wall. Goddamn, Parker. The man was going down.
Someone in the room made kissing noises. Someone else laughed. They were all going to get a beating.
Winters looked at the glossy again. It was defendable. A variation of a honey pot scheme: the operative must act otherwise engaged to lure in the enemy. The maneuver worked every time and was in all their book of tricks. But it wasn’t a move that needed a Polaroid. He would kill Parker later. Knock him out cold.
Every man in the room focused on that photo—with Mia’s hair loose and wild around her shoulders, her lips very much pressed against his neck, and his face showing just how into that lip lock he was—he’d never live that down. Ever.
He’d have to kill everyone in the room.
“Fuck you very much, Parker.”
Parker laughed and rolled his head back. It’d be better if it just snapped off.
Winters groused and tried to move forward. “So what’s the deal? More of Silva’s men are on their way? They think the NOC list’s still in play?”
“Chatter on the wires says that Juan Carlos Silva is furious. If you hadn’t killed his man, he would have done it for you. Silva wants the NOC list and the girl. He’s offering her up as an incentive to his men.”
An incentive? Oh, hell no. Give me the coordinates. I’m going in.
Jared cleared his throat, silently issuing him an order to stick his ass to his chair.
Parker poked his finger on the war room’s large flat screen. “We’ve heard that Silva’s men have showed up here, here, and here.”
His fingerprints left smudges everywhere he touched.
Bring on the assholes. Winters was ready to end this shit.
Parker pulled up a new map on the big screen. Bright white dots blinked along his path from Kentucky to Virginia. “Everything shows that the Silva teams followed you back to DC. They’re likely already here again and have searched Mia Kensington’s office and home.”
“Which safe house did you stash her at?” Jared asked.
“She’s not at a Titan safe house.” Winters tried to add an uninterested inflection and focus on the screen of illuminating dots.
He could hear the wheels grinding in each head around the table. All stilled. Every set of eyes narrowed on him.
“Pray tell, Winters. Where might little Miss Mia Kensington be if she’s not a Titan safe house?” Jared arched his eyebrow.
Winters had heard of a slow clap before, but this was a slow laugh. Each man coughed a chuckle, then another, until it was a full-scale assault. Fuck them.
“She’s at my place. Leave it alone.”
“With Clara?” Parker piped in for good measure.
“And your mother?” Jared asked, though his rigid tone was the same as always. Boss man lifted an eyebrow, even smiled a little.
Winters pressed his lips into a tight, thin line. “I might just kill all you fuckers. What’s it to you, anyway?”
Now even Jared laughed and leaned back in his chair. “Well, hell, Winters. This is kind of cute. What do you think, boys? Winters found himself a girl?”
They all drum rolled on the table and hollered.
What did he expect? Of course, they’d find out. He wasn’t trying to keep her a secret. But the safe house revelation didn’t need to come on the heels of the honey pot photo.
“Screw you all.” It was the only thing he could think to say when he wasn’t cursing them each by name. So he said it again, and again, and again, only making the room more and more raucous. Damn it.
After what Jared apparently determined was the appropriate amount of misery, he settled into his normal gruff self. “All right, all right. Enough with Winters’s bullshit. Silva will go after that list again in DC. It’s his last chance to get it before our client destroys it. We’ll arrange for Winters to do the drop off. Parker, you and lover boy will ensure Mia’s safe when she matriculates back to the real world.”
Winters’s phone beeped, and dread sunk to the pit of his stomach, landing hard. Knowing what the sound meant before he looked at the phone screen, he interrupted Jared. “We’ve got bigger problems.”
“Yeah, your phone is set to annoying,” someone called from the back of the room.
“The perimeter alarm at my house was breached.”
He pushed the stored number in his phone, reaching out to Mia. No answer. He hit redial. C’mon, c’mon. All he wanted was a quick hello. Still no answer. He hung up and punched each number into the phone to make sure the number dialed right. More ringing. Nothing. He pressed the end call button and dropped his head, muttering a prayer and a promise.
“Winters, don’t you have an alarm on your gate?” Parker asked. “And sensors on the fences? If those didn’t go off, then it’s just Mia triggering it. I mean, if no one has come on to the property—”
“Don’t be stupid, man. It can be done. Even with as good a system as I have.” He hit the redial button once more. Just to be sure. “Something’s wrong. Parker, hack my security system. And don’t bullshit me. I know you can do it.”
Parker looked at Jared, who nodded, and Parker pushed away from the war room table to a keyboard under the wall of flat screens. Winters checked his phone while anxiety blossomed. It was early, but Mia would be up by now. She should be answering the burner phone. His fingers jabbed as he dialed his home number. Same result. She wouldn’t pick it up anyway.
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