CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Sugar watched Jared as he drove. He was so focused on his mission that she worried his jaw would shatter. Jared drove with one hand on the wheel, the other hand placed firmly on her knee as though he were holding her in place.
Her mind was already sprinting. Her legs felt the need to do a fifty-yard dash. Running was foremost on her mind. But she wasn’t sure if Jared thought she would run from him or to GUNS.
She sure wasn’t going to jump out of a speeding truck while it was barreling down the highway. But his grip above her knee never lessened, and it wasn’t a sweet I-wanna-hold-you clutch. It was possessive, protective, and powerful. It strangled away her nerves and concern for Jenny, just as it had her worries for Asal.
When Jared was on duty, the logical response would be to relax and trust that everything would go according to his plan. But she couldn’t. Her mouth tasted as though she’d sucked on the loose change in his console. Acrid and alkaline. Adrenaline coated the inside of her mouth, wrapped down her throat, and shredded her heart.
When Jared pulled into the parking lot at GUNS, Sugar’s Mustang was sitting in its spot. Thanking Jared for retrieving it seemed so trivial. With a crunch of gravel, Jared slid his truck into a parking space. Another blacked-out vehicle was parked toward the end of the lot, and as Sugar narrowed her eyes to stare through its tinted windows, Rocco got out and advanced toward Jared’s truck.
Both men had the faces of warriors. She’d known Roc for a while, but even in Afghanistan, she’d never seen him so ready to tangle with the devil. His eyes reached toward them like beams of dark fire. His jaw, very much like Jared’s, looked chiseled out of granite.
Instinctively, Sugar clutched her rolling stomach. Her throat ached. More bad news was on its way, and that realization was strong enough to make her eyes burn with the need to cry.
She might not be Titan level—her undercover work with the ATF had been mostly intel and research—but she knew that crying wasn’t going to make her mess go away. It wouldn’t make Jenny answer her phone or ease the death grip on her insides.
Jared squeezed her leg, his thumb softening and smoothing back and forth. The motion was so simple and so needed. Without knowing it, he’d ordered her tears to stand down and made her mind focus.
“Sugar, whatever Rocco says, we’ll handle.”
“Sure,” she lied.
Everything was going to be hunky-dory. Maybe if she said that aloud, she might believe it, too. Her leg began to bounce. Jared made a living off bad news, and she was unable to keep still. He would take whatever Rocco said, decide how to react, then execute a plan.
It was what he did. It was respectable. Commendable.
He did so to survive. But right then, she wished he would look at her and say, “Wake up, Sugar. You had a nightmare. Buck Baer never targeted your sister or GUNS.” But no matter how hard she willed it, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he clicked the window button.
As the tinted glass rolled down, soft twilight spilled into the truck cab. It did little to soften the hard edges on Jared’s or Rocco’s faces, and none of the tension was released with the infusion of fresh air.
Jared lifted his chin in greeting. “What do we know, Roc?”
“Roman took Jenny off-site. She’s fine.”
Jared looked at her. “See? Fine.”
Yeah, everything is just fine.
Rocco continued, “GSI’s on the perimeter. They had one man on the inside. Roman handled that headache on his way out. Parker picked up two heat signatures on the perimeter. GSI’s good, but not undetectable. They’re dropping transmission signals we’ve picked up. Bottom line, Buck Baer is nearby, but too chicken-shit to be onsite.”
The faint taste of blood registered on her tongue, and the inside of her cheek was raw from gnawing her nerves silent. An exasperated tidal wave swept from her gut to her lips, and just like when she’d tried to smother her earlier declaration of love, she couldn’t keep her trap shut. “If Jenny’s safe, then go find Buck already. Finish this.”
Jared shifted in his seat. “Sugar.” His eyes bored into hers, cascading a wild ambush of goose bumps from her scalp to her hips. “Take out the emotion. Assess. React. That’s our plan. Got it?”
“No, I don’t.” The hairs on her arms were at full attention. She was a bowl full of reaction and had no interest in assessing anything. Go, go, go, her panic chanted in her head. The sooner Titan wiped the floor with GSI, the sooner life would normalize. “I’m not a machine, Jared, and I’m running on adrenaline. I want this over with already.”
“Love you, Baby Cakes. But calm it down and do as you’re told.” He turned his head to Rocco but kept his handhold on her.
Wide eyes. Raised brows. Hanging lips. Roc’s priceless face had to be the results of hearing J-dawg choke out something like, “love you.” But he pulled it together faster than Jared could tell him to stop the theatrics.
Jared scanned the mirrors. “Where’s our team?”
“Cash has the perimeter.” Rocco cleared his throat. “As does Brock. Nicola stayed with Asal.”
The truck vibrated as Jared registered his words. “Back up and repeat.” His words were intermixed with a growl. Sugar shivered at the overwhelming hostility in his voice. She wanted to slink back from the volcanic eruption readying to blow.
Rocco’s lips formed a thick line. “I had to. Even with Winters covering the back entrance, we needed Brock. We needed manpower.”
“He’s a fuckin’ traitor.” Jared’s fingers flexed into Sugar’s leg.
“He’s manpower, and he messed up. Deal with him later however you need to. We need his eyes and trigger finger right now.”
Slapping the steering wheel with his freehand, Jared growled, “Goddamn it!”
“Delta Team’s here, too.”
“Fine.” He gave a slight nod of approval. “I’ll deal with Brock and your decisions later.”
Rocco nodded and backtracked into GUNS.
Delta Team? What the hell is that? She wanted to hate Brock. She wanted Jared to destroy the bastard. But she’d known Brock for a while, and in a way, he was like Jared. Analytical. Emotionless. But she’d seen Jared lose his cool, spout romantic truths, and talk about the future. What if Brock was in the same situation? What if Brock couldn’t see another way out and panic had driven him to a mistake?
Still, she could never forgive him for handing her to Buck Baer. But if Brock felt love the way Sugar felt love, then, in a backward, screwed-up way, she understood, because nothing in the world would keep her sane if she lost Jared. She shook her head, snapping back to reality when Jared’s phone rang.
He snapped his fingers at Rocco, who spoke to a mic on his wrist. Rocco nodded back, and Jared accepted the call. “Baer, how am I not surprised a pussy like you would use women and children so often? Just when I thought you were the bottom of the shit-can, you take it down another notch.” He shook his head. “Man up, dick. Show yourself, and let’s do this.”
He let go of Sugar’s leg, and a wicked grin worked across his face. Jared was in the zone. This was his element, and he was good. Calm. Relaxed. Antagonizing. Exactly what he needed to be to provoke Buck Baer and let Titan, and whoever the hell Delta Team was, make life a-okay again.
He shook his head and gave a hand signal to Rocco, who powered into GUNS. “No go, Baer. But here’s my counter—”
She could hear Buck yelling into the phone but couldn’t make out the words. Jared reached over and squeezed her shoulder, mouthing, “It’s okay.” And she believed him. She felt it in her gut, which given the copper-penny taste she’d had in her mouth five minutes ago, was unexpected.
He laughed harshly. “Wrong again. Let me explain something to you. You might have used one of my men against me, but your trust was blind. That flash stick you gave Brock? You think you hacked Titan, but you didn’t do anything but give me access to GSI.”
There was a long pause interrupted by Buck’s garbled barks.
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Jared slowly shook his head. “My tech genius is better than GSI’s. Here’s how it’s going to go. Show up in the next ten minutes. If you don’t, every US Government-funded lie and cover-up will be e-mailed to Congress.”
Buck started in again, and Sugar wished she could tell what he was saying.
Jared cut him off. “Better than that, it’ll hit the inboxes of every reporter, from the New York Times to the LA Times. I know you, man. You love yourself too much. Your ego’s too big to take this hit.”
Jared paused, bounced eyebrows at Sugar, and cracked a knuckle against the steering wheel. He loved this back-and-forth routine. She couldn’t wrap her head around it, but she understood him, so it all made sense—enough sense to give her a migraine, but sense, nonetheless. Sugar pinched her eyes shut. This relationship-connection mumbo jumbo was deeper than she’d realized.
He continued, “And if it could get any worse, Baer, then here it is. If you don’t show up, I will personally make sure that every cartel king, every arms dealer, every fuckin’ person you’ve ever made a buck off, knows who you are, where you live, and that you like eating cock for dinner. You’ve got eight minutes by my count. Show up, and may the best man win.”
He hung up the phone and, with a cocky grin, threw it on the dash. “And that’s how it’s done.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Never had her mind drawn a blank. This combination of tactical ability and psy-ops had stunned her speechless.
“Nothing to say. Let’s go inside.” He opened his door, then turned back and caught her wrist. She slid hard into an embrace of ripped muscles and weaponry. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Trust me, and this will be over soon.”
She nodded.
“You trust me?”
“Yeah.”
“You love me?”
“I love you.” Sugar sucked in a deep breath, not wanting to leave the confines of his truck tucked under his arm. “Damn it, Jared, you act like this isn’t a big deal. You told me to stay alive, and you better do the same.”
He pulled back and leveled her with confidence that made his eyes twinkle. “Piece of cake.”
“I’m serious. You die, and I will never forgive you.”
He nodded, amused. “Baer doesn’t have a chance.”
“Come home to me.”
“Always.” The amusement was replaced by a fierceness and a promise.
Always. That sounded good, because if he didn’t, her sanity would shatter, never to be right again. “Promise me, Jared?”
His eyes intensified. An all-consuming force radiated from him. “You want a promise, Baby Cakes? How about this? Marry me. Crap timing, but there it is, Sugar. I’ll come back to you. Always. Forever. But you gotta tell me that it’s two ways.”
What the… She couldn’t comprehend the words he’d thrown down. They sounded familiar. They seemed logical, but as if she’d just looked at a simple word for too long, she was certain her understanding had to be wrong.
“Sugar?”
Dumbfounded, she shook her head. Jared had just proposed marriage while the countdown was on to kill Buck Baer. She didn’t have time to think about her screwed-up parents, their cheating and lying, and how they had tarnished her views on the matrimonial institution. She had no time to ponder how her folks had driven her away with their gambling and lies. They defined her view of marriage. And she’d never taken the time to correct that idea.
But then, she’d known Winters and Cash. They were good men. They had married women they loved, and their lives were all smiles and sunshine. Sugar’d had those thoughts about Jared, as terrifying and impossible as they seemed. They were illogical, absolutely incomprehensible, because she had no idea why she would want to get married, especially when her parents’ marriage had been so awful.
But now, marriage was offered up by an equal who respected her. He got her. He understood her mindset and liked her attitude.
She wasn’t anything like her parents. She and Jared were a team. He loved her, and she loved him. They didn’t fit into some Hallmark greeting card category, but they fit. Long term. Forever. Just like she wanted—
“Shouldn’t take that long to answer me.” He looked at his watch. “Like I said, I had a lot to talk to you about. This wasn’t how I planned it. My proposing in a parking lot or you fumbling in shock.”
“I’m not—”
Gunfire burst in the distance, and she jumped. Her gaze flew to his. His dark eyes narrowed, assessing. He readjusted his earpiece, and Sugar recapped what she knew. Rocco had just gone inside. Jenny was safe, but Winters was at the back of GUNS. Her throat went dry. Her breaths wouldn’t come.
Jared had transformed to Titan commander without missing a second. “Winters. Roc. Come in, boys.” With a quick flick of his wrist to check the time, he reached out again. “Who’s got eyes on Winters or Roc?”
Someone answered. Not knowing killed her. Winters had a newborn. Rocco had… Who the hell knows about any of these guys? But Rocco’s life was important, too.
“Good deal.” Jared gave her a sharp nod and a thumbs-up. “Just keeping GSI on their toes. Let’s go.”
Jared was out of the truck and to her door before she could jump out. Snagging her hand, he pulled her toward the front door. They whipped inside, and he pounded them down the hall to her office. “Weapons and clothes?”
She placed her palm on the sensory reader of her gun safe, then pulled a change of clothes from her desk as Jared unloaded every gun and ammo box she had stored there. She would feel more in control the second she got out of his oversized clothes and into something that wouldn’t trip her or fall off if she had to run.
Quickly ditching his sweatpants and shirt, she dressed in boots and a bra. Jared, still loading and laying out an artillery, stole a second to watch as she shimmied into her clothes.
He gave her a once-over, from her black baby-tee to her leather boots and the holsters strapped around her waist and to her thigh, then handed her a Glock. “Point the barrel at the door until I come back.”
His thumb stroked her wrist as he placed the gun into her open palm. It was as much as she would get out of him right then. As quickly as they’d come in, he was out her office door, and she was alone. Raising the weapon in one hand, she used the other to switch on a television screen that showed the footage from each security camera stationed around GUNS.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Once Jared had stashed Sugar safely inside her office, he ducked down the hall to go back outside. Each security camera he passed pivoted, following his motions. Sugar had her eyes on him, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. She knew what Titan did. But she didn’t need to see it. He would do whatever it took to eradicate anything dangerous to his world. And Sugar was his world. If that meant tearing apart Buck Baer, bare-knuckled and blood-flying, that’s what he would do.
Occasional chatter crossed his earpiece—check-ins and status updates. Jared had plans for Buck Baer. Whatever Baer thought he was showing up for, they’d both agreed that this was their last stand. More formal than the usual Titan throw-downs, this one would be very different from the battles he waged against the usual sickos just to earn a paycheck. This would be nothing less than a duel.
He pictured Sugar’s logo. Pink dueling pistols. How appropriate. A blacked-out Explorer pulled into GUNS as he pushed through the heavy front door and moved into position. Baer had made it with seconds to spare.
Parker’s voice carried into his earpiece. “We have movement on GSI’s perimeter positions.”
“Shift. Stay on your targets,” Rocco followed.
Confirmations came through. Brock’s voice grated on Jared’s nerves. As Delta Team checked in, Jared took a second to mentally commend Rocco for taking initiative. Delta Team was a good move. They were an arm of Titan that Jared let handle the grayer-meets-invisible ops. Titan had as many on-the-books assignments as they did off-the-books assignments. Delta Team had non-existent assignments. Titan ver
sus GSI ranked as non-existent.
Under Jared’s watchful eye, Baer’s door cracked, and he emerged better suited for a business meeting than a field standoff. While bullets weren’t flying and a chopper wasn’t hovering, Jared could tell Baer had softened. The corrupt jerk might like a dirty fight, but he hadn’t been the one pulling the trigger.
Jared’s trigger finger was well practiced. His palm tingled as it hovered over his holster, ready to draw a weapon like a Wild West cowboy itching for a high-noon standoff.
A familiar feeling crawled down his back—an awareness that this showdown equated to more than finishing a job. Every job up to that point had helped or hindered someone else. His clients. Their victims. His marks. Their enemy.
This time, it was all about him.
He took a step forward, into the parking lot. Baer did the same. They didn’t pass along pretend pleasantries.
No games. No small talk.
It was the end of their decades-long battle.
Both men locked eyes and readied to kill. Their dance continued, each sizing up prey to be slaughtered, taking slow steps forward. Each tactical-booted footfall crunched on tiny rocks. Jared’s confidence made his lungs cool, refreshed. Easy breezy breathing. He readied his body and his mind as though he’d been preparing his whole life for—
Hell. A light-silver Volvo station wagon pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop in the middle of their standoff.
Remaining in place, Jared willed the car to pull out of the parking lot. It didn’t, and his concern escalated when he glanced past the idling car toward his enemy. Baer was never interested in the well-being of the innocent. Women and children didn’t garner any special treatment from GSI. Cases in point, Sugar, Asal, and Brock’s family.
Adding as much menace and forewarning as he could manage in three words, Jared hollered as a woman stepped out, “GUNS is closed.”
The Titan Series: Military Romance Boxed Set Page 77