Catalyst (Dogs of War Book 4)

by J. M. Madden

  Noah looked down at the top of Raine’s head. Her thick hair had long ago fallen out of the braid it had been in. She’d worn a little bit of makeup too, but it had pooled beneath her eyes from crying. He didn’t point it out to her, though maybe he should have. She was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

  And right this minute he needed her. Some of the ringing in his ears had abated, but he could still tell there was no improvement. It was so ironic that he’d hated the sensitivity for so long, but now that it was gone he realized how important it had been to him. What would he do if it didn’t come back?

  The doctor that had looked at him seemed to think he’d be okay, but the men that had been treated with Spartan and Marathon were an unknown quantity. They hadn’t lived with their abilities long enough and survived enough to know what would happen when they were injured. There was a very real possibility that he would not regain his ability if he didn’t take another dose of Marathon, and that was assuming Elizabeth would even give it to him. She hoarded the tiny amount they had in the locked safe room.

  They needed to put more enhanced soldiers into the field if they could. He drew in a breath, then went still. Shit, he’d forgotten about the ribs. Other problems for another day.

  The helicopter sent a cavitation through his chest and he glanced around warily. It was so weird not to be able to hear what was going on. The silence was literally deafening. The Delta Force sat across from him and Raine, most of them eyes closed, catching sleep where they could.

  When he got more operational, he needed to check with Green on how many of the senator’s guards they’d actually taken out. Even though he was injured, he thought for sure that there should have been more. The one that had grabbed Raine had been enhanced. Fighting him had been like fighting a bear, even with the bullet hole Raine had put into his foot. He grinned, remembering the scene. She’d drawn her knees up as much as she could and just started firing on the ground. It had been amazing, and exactly what he’d have told her to do against an opponent that size.

  The second man had been more of an unknown. He’d been happy enough to just sit back and wait for his bruiser friend to clean up. If by chance they’d been part of the four that had been in the basement firing range, where had the other two gone?

  There was a very real possibility that there were two enhanced mercenaries on the run right this minute.

  Probably not necessarily his responsibility but he’d be sure to bring it up to someone in charge. That sounded like something Rose needed to deal with.

  Noah glanced down the bench. The young girl, Lilly, was huddled with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, sitting next to one of Green’s men. She looked a little shocky, but okay.

  For the first time he wondered how Haven had done with his operation. Maybe they would see him when they got back to the apartment.

  Pressure on his chest told him the elevation was changing. Normally his ears would pop, but that wasn’t an issue this time. He glanced out the port side window to see the lights of New York City in the distance. Raine lifted her head and looked around, and he pointed to show her. Her mouth shaped into an O of delight, and she looked at him sleepily. Unable to help himself he dropped a kiss to her lips, and she turned to look out the window again.

  Within just a few minutes they landed, the huge machine settling to the tarmac with barely a bump. As they offloaded, every operator of the Deltas Force shook his hand. Clark stopped and held up his phone. Noah had seen him typing but hadn’t realized it was a note for him.

  Even though you’re a Devil Dog we’d run with you again. If you need us, call.

  Noah tipped his head at the man and shook his hand. “Same,” he told him.

  Clark winked and disappeared into the night.

  There was a car waiting for them across the tarmac, and when the door opened, he was surprised to see a dark-haired woman step out of the vehicle. Then the woman was running toward them. Noah reached for his sidearm, then realized that the girl they’d rescued, Lilly, was running toward the woman as well. They embraced like they hadn’t seen each other in a very long time and cried, and it was actually heart-warming to watch. Grimacing, he looked down at Raine, but she was no help. She had tears leaking down her cheeks as well.

  “Don’t cry, damn it. I don’t like it when you cry.”

  She looked up at him and smiled, and right there on the spot she slayed him. Noah knew that if nothing else came of this entire fiasco, he had been given insight into one of the most amazing women he’d ever met. And he didn’t want to let her go.

  Haven was there as well, and it was good to see him again whole and apparently still sane. The guy started talking as soon as they walked up to the car and Raine shook her head at him, murmuring a few words. Then Haven looked at Noah, and the empathy in his eyes was staggering. Noah gritted his sore jaw and looked away, not needing any more emotion than what he was already dealing with. He climbed into the SUV so that he didn’t have to see them. Or their looks.

  Raine climbed into the back seat with him and rested her hand on his thigh. Noah rested his own on top of hers but stared out the window as they headed back to the safehouse. They parked in the underground garage, then headed for the elevator. Raine must have been thinking further ahead than he had, because before the doors had even closed, she’d dropped her bag, backed up to him and shifted his arms over her shoulders. Noah thought this was incredibly forward of her, considering the company they were in, then his head began to swim and he listed to the side. He tightened his arms around her and trusted her to keep him vertical. “Fuck,” he breathed, nausea swimming again. He buried his nose into her hair and breathed her in, trying to man up.

  When he eventually opened his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, it was to see the girl holding the elevator doors open expectantly, with pity in her eyes.

  When they walked in the door of the CIA safehouse, it was more of the same. Rose was there as well as the General that was backing them, and the space was packed with people. Watching them bicker and fight, it was like watching a movie at the theater with no volume. So much noise that he didn’t have to listen to. Then everyone looked up at him and for some reason, Noah felt like he was under scrutiny in particular, though he’d walked in with six other people. Disgusted, he turned and headed to his bedroom. Maybe he could get a shower and close his eyes for a few minutes. They would head back to Arlington in the morning.

  There was an unfamiliar, open suitcase on his bed. Apparently, the CIA was asking him to move.

  The woman Belladonna stopped next to him, moving her hands apologetically. “Don’t worry about it,” he growled. Moving to the dresser he snatched up his bag, making sure he had his phone charger and toiletries. She tried to get in front of him to say something again, but he dodged her, looking out over her head.

  Raine was there, just like he hoped. Her gaze flicked to his bag, then beyond his shoulder, and back. She nodded with understanding, walking forward. When she was close enough, he leaned down to her ear, remembering to modulate his tone. “Can we go to a hotel or something to crash?”

  She nodded immediately, blinking her tired eyes. “I’ll get my bag,” she said.

  Noah moved toward the front of the apartment, ready to leave. People were still watching him, probably pitying him, and he didn’t appreciate it. He just wanted gone from here.

  Raine met him within just a couple of minutes and they were out the door. Even facing the thought of another elevator ride wasn’t as bad as facing the shit in there for another minute. Fuck them.

  Chapter 13

  When they got to street level, Raine pulled up hotels on her phone. There was one literally half a block down, toward the park. That’s where she headed, Noah’s hand on her shoulder all the way. When they walked into the lobby, she almost had second thoughts. It was beautiful in here. White marble everything, and a doorman. The woman at the front desk smiled kindly, though, in spite of how Raine knew they looked. She hande
d over the Silverstone credit card and didn’t even blink at the receipt. Once she was given the room key, she followed the woman’s pointing finger.

  Noah seemed relieved when she led him into the stairwell, and he gave her a crooked smile. “I don’t think I could have done another elevator.”

  “Me neither,” she mouthed to him, scrunching up her face. “You weigh a ton!”

  He grinned fully and swatted her behind to get her moving. Raine grinned, glad she could get him to banter.

  They went up four flights of stairs, then through the door. Their room was the third on the left and it was pretty stunning. She’d asked for a two bedroom, and this one did not disappoint. It had deep green carpet and marble bathrooms, similar to the front lobby. And the beds looked positively scrumptious!

  It would be criminal to lay on them right now, though. Looking down she knew she had at least four different peoples’ blood on her knees, dirt, and grime, probably even glass. Her hair felt almost sticky it was so nasty from sweat and stuff. She turned to look at Noah. “Can you shower on your own?”

  “I think so. Why don’t you order us some room service? I’ll eat whatever you order.”

  Raine nodded, moving to the phone on the desk. There was a menu book and she ordered half a dozen things, as well as several drinks. If Elizabeth complained about the bill she would pay it herself.

  Noah had gone into the left bedroom, his door open just a crack. Raine went into the other one, dropping her bag to the floor. There were clean clothes in the bottom, she just had to dig for them. Shower, first.

  The hot water felt phenomenal. Her body felt slightly abused. No one had actually hit her or anything, but her tummy muscles were sore from straining against the guy that had tried to take her. And she had some small injuries to her knees from the glass she’d been on. Thank God Noah had taken a final look behind as they’d left. She didn’t want to imagine what would have happened if those men had actually kidnapped her.

  Raine used the entire miniature bottle of shampoo, and the conditioner after. Her hair would take hours to dry completely, but she didn’t even care. She would go to bed with it wet. She had a feeling that as soon as she got food in her tummy she was going to crash, hard.

  Wrapping a towel around herself, she went to dig in her bag. This was her last pair of clean panties and t-shirt. Her sleep pants were bundled in the bottom and they weren’t as fresh, but it was better than the spare pair of jeans. Finger combing her hair she left her bedroom just in time to answer the knock at the room door. After signing for the food and walking the server out, she stuck her head into Noah’s room. She’d raised her fist to knock, then realized he wouldn’t hear her.

  Noah stood with the broad expanse of his shoulders to the door. Raine wanted to walk in and run her hands over them, just to see if his skin was as smooth as it appeared to be. There was a giant tattoo covering one whole shoulder, but she needed to be closer to see what it was. On the second shoulder he had a healed gunshot wound, shiny with scar tissue. Crap on a cracker, he had an incredible body. Then he dropped the towel.

  Raine knew she was gawking, but she was frozen to the carpet, staring at his beautiful ass. It was sheer perfection, and she wasn’t normally an ass woman. She much preferred hands, and that delicate area at the base of the neck where it ran into the shoulder. Raine blinked, getting lost in the thought of tracing her fingers down those areas. Now was not the time for that kind of stuff. Very carefully she backed out of the room, pulling the door shut most of the way. He would come out when he smelled the food, she hoped.

  Uncovering the food, she found the chicken breast she’d ordered for herself, and the side of roasted vegetables. It looked really good. Cracking the top on her Diet Pepsi she poured it over ice and dug in. Noah came in a few minutes later in a black t-shirt and a fresh pair of BDU pants. Her gaze stuck on those pants for a moment, wondering if the front looked as good as the back had.

  Surely, yes. Jerking her gaze back to the plates, she took off the covers to show him what was available. He took the hamburger immediately, scraped off the tomato and doused it with ketchup.

  Raine cocked her head at him. “You don’t like tomatoes?”

  He shook his head, taking a monster bite out of the sandwich.

  “How is ketchup different?” She laughed, pointing at the bottle, eyebrows raised.

  Noah grinned at her and shrugged, then winced. “They’re very different creatures,” he told her solemnly.

  She gave him an odd look, making him chuckle. “Damn it, quit making me laugh. I hurt.”

  “Sorry,” she mouthed, reaching for the fork to finish the chicken. It didn’t taste bad but the vegetables were a little too… odd.

  Noah plowed through his burger in a few bites, his jaw working. The left eye was still pretty swollen, but it seemed to be a little better. Maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part.

  Raine reached for the bowl of melting ice cream at the same time he did. Then they grinned at each other. Raine handed him a spoon, shifting her chair closer to the couch where he sat. “I’ll share.”

  Noah leaned over, spoon out, then stopped, obviously hitting a painful spot. He straightened on the couch and breathed for a moment. Raine shifted over to the couch beside him and held out the bowl. He took it from her, and she took her spoon full of vanilla ice cream. They shared it all the way to the bottom, then Raine leaned back against the cushions. She patted her belly. “I’m full,” she told him.

  Noah’s gaze followed her movement, lingering on her middle. “Doesn’t look like it.”

  Raine thought he might have just been looking at her breasts. Of course, she hadn’t put her bra on to go to bed, she thought with an internal laugh.

  Then he looked away, his jaw working. Something was bothering him. She bumped her leg into his hip and he looked at her. “What?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing.”

  Raine leaned up beside him, her tummy muscles protesting, and looked into his face. She lifted her eyebrows in question and his mouth moved.

  “I’m sorry I made you leave the safehouse,” he said eventually, looking at her out of his good eye.

  Raine shook her head. “You didn’t,” she said clearly, making sure he was looking at her.

  “I’m sure you probably wanted to stay over there with Haven,” he started, and she frowned.

  “I think Haven is fine. Do you think he’ll go back to Arlington?”

  Noah shrugged. “Not sure. He’s kind of leapt ahead in terms of rehabilitation.”

  Raine nodded. That was an incredible understatement. Ideally, she hoped he came back to the building for evaluation, but she wasn’t sure he needed any more assistance. Knowing Elizabeth, though, he would be welcome there the rest of his life if he wanted. It could be a moot point if they CIA planned on recruiting Belladonna. She could be housed at the Elton Recovery Building as well. If Belladonna was as strong as she appeared to be, she could be an incredible asset to the residents there.

  Noah gave her a look and she realized he had something else simmering on his mind. “I wanted to thank you for having my back, both literally and figuratively today.”

  Grinning, she made a motion between them. “Ditto.”

  When he looked confused, she lifted one brow. “You came for me, remember the big guy you fought.”

  “Oh, yeah. I didn’t even think about that. Not sure I had a choice. I just knew he was taking you and I wasn’t going to let him.”

  “I appreciated that,” she said, leaning up to give him a kiss on his bruised cheek.

  “I have to admit,” he murmured, leaning into her, “watching you shoot his foot was pretty ingenious.”

  She grinned in spite of herself, ridiculously happy with his praise. “Really?”

  He nodded. “It was enough to protect yourself till I got there.”

  “He was enhanced, too, did you notice?”

  He nodded, eyes lifting away from her lips. “I knew one of them were. I
couldn’t tell exactly which one until you shot the other guy. Protecting my back again.”

  “Any time,” she told him seriously.

  Noah leaned into her and brushed a kiss across her lips.

  “I didn’t like being over there with the group anymore. It was like I could feel their pity.”

  She didn’t contradict him, because some of them had been pitying, which was ridiculous. “You don’t deserve pity. Your hearing will come back. It just may take a while.”

  He stared at her for a long moment, then nodded. “I think it will too, actually. Thank you.”

  “No thanks needed.”

  Leaning her head into his shoulder, she sighed. They needed to get to bed, but it was so easy just being here with him. Even with his having to lip read, they understood each other fine. She yawned, hand over her mouth. Her lids were getting heavier. “We need to get to bed,” she told him, pushing to her feet.

  When he stood next to her, Raine reached out and drew him into a hug. When she drew back, Noah brushed his lips against hers. Then again.

  “I don’t want to let you go,” he murmured. Then he lifted her mostly wet hair. “Let’s go dry this.”

  Taking her hand, he led her into his bathroom. Raine was almost asleep on her feet, but she watched as he plugged in the blow dryer. Then, more competently than she’d expected, he blew her hair dry. Once it was done, he ran his fingers through the long strands. “Come lay with me,” he whispered. “I just want to sleep with this spread across me.”

  Too tired to argue, she followed him to his bed. He tucked her into one side, then went around the room turning off lights and setting his phone on the bedside table. Then his big body settled in behind hers. Raine sighed at the feeling, loving him for taking care of her. Then she was gone.

  Noah tried to sleep. He really did. At first his ribs were hurting so bad that he couldn’t lay on his side. So, he rolled flat and pulled Rain up so that her head rested in the hollow of his shoulder, with all that glorious hair spread over his chest like a blanket. He was glad she was asleep because he had a raging erection from the feel of the silkiness on his belly.