by Elle James
Mustang grabbed her hand and yanked her into the broom closet inside the office. He managed to pull the door almost all the way closed without clicking the lever, as the outer office door burst open.
Emily stood in the circle of Mustang’s arms, her pulse pounding and her breath lodged in her throat.
Through the gap, she could see the shadow of a man leaning over to grab up the cell phone that was still ringing. He hit the answer key and turned to leave.
Something shifted behind Emily. A broom or a mop, she didn’t know. But it made just enough noise to alert the man in the other room.
He spun toward the door they were hiding behind. Still holding the phone to his ear, he paused.
A shout sounded in the hallway.
The man pocketed his phone, pivoted on his heel and raced out the door.
A distant voice called out, muffled by walls and doors. It sounded like someone yelling, “Mustang! Emily!”
Mustang’s hands gripped her arms and his head lowered in the darkness until his lips found hers. “We need to talk. Later. Right now, I need you to stay here. I have to warn Declan in case those thugs are still hanging around. I’ll be back when I’m sure the coast is clear.” He dropped a kiss on her mouth and then stepped out of the closet.
“Mustang.” Emily reached a hand out and grabbed Mustang’s arm.
He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips.
If anything happened to him... Emily swallowed hard on the lump in her throat. “Be careful,” she whispered.
Chapter Fourteen
Mustang peeked out the door of the office and checked the hallway. It was empty. He held his gun in front of him as he eased out into the hall.
“Mustang! Emily!” Declan’s voice called out, this time a little more clearly but muffled by walls.
Mustang thought he’d heard the man who’d been in the office with them run off to the right. Declan’s call came from the direction of the stairwell. He glanced in both directions. If he went after the people who’d been looking for him and Emily, he’d leave her exposed. They might return and find her hiding in the broom closet.
Instead of racing after the bad guys, Mustang hunkered low to the floor and held his handgun pointed at the opposite end of the hallway from where Declan would emerge. He’d provide cover for his team as they entered into the hallway and remain close enough to Emily to keep her safe.
As he suspected, Declan emerged from the stairwell a few seconds later. He dove into the hallway, rolled to his feet and came up aiming his weapon at Mustang.
Mustang raised a hand and spoke in a low tone that wouldn’t carry any farther than his team leader. “It’s me. But there were others here right before you arrived.”
Mack and Snow emerged behind Declan and the three of them joined Mustang in front of the office, holding their aim on the other end of the hall.
Declan glanced over Mustang’s shoulder. “Where’s Emily? Is she all right?”
Mustang nodded. “She’s hiding in there. I don’t want her to come out until I know for sure someone isn’t going to shoot at her.”
“Good. Stay here. We’ll clear the building.” Declan started forward.
“With just the two of you?” Mustang shook his head. “Where’s Gus?”
“He stayed behind with the PI and called for the police and an ambulance.”
“Is Phillips still alive?” Mustang asked.
“He had a pulse, but he’s pretty banged up and he wasn’t wearing a helmet. I don’t know if he’ll make it.”
Mustang took in a deep breath and slowly released it. “I didn’t lay eyes on all of the men who followed us into the warehouse, but I would guess there were three or four by the sound of their footsteps. You’ll be outnumbered.”
“Only three?” Declan’s teeth flashed in a grin in the shadowed hall. “Remember that time we were outnumbered twenty to six?”
“We’re not in Afghanistan,” Mustang reminded him.
“Yeah,” Declan said. “But I heard gunfire earlier. I’ll be dammed if I let those bastards take potshots at my men. Stay with Emily. We’ve got this.” Declan took off running toward the other end of the hallway.
Mack and Snow followed. They disappeared through what appeared to be another stairwell.
Mustang entered the office and locked the door behind him. He’d have to wait until Declan returned before he could leave with Emily.
“Did I hear right?” her voice sounded in the darkness.
“Hear what?”
“Jay Phillips might not pull through?” she said, her voice catching.
“You saw what happened,” Mustang reminded her. “He flew through the air. And he wasn’t wearing a helmet. The landing itself could have killed him, even if the impact of the car hitting him didn’t.” He realized how harsh he sounded and added, “Gus is with him. He called an ambulance and the police. He will stay with Phillips to protect him until they arrive.”
He crossed the room to stand in front of her shadowy figure, wishing he could see her face and the expression in her eyes.
“It’s just... He didn’t do anything to warrant being killed,” Emily said, her voice so soft and ragged Mustang barely understood her words. “It’s not fair.”
“And all you did was interpret for him and witness a man being led around the embassy. A man who is now conveniently missing. You don’t deserve to die any more than Phillips or Blunt,” Mustang reminded her. He pulled her into his arms.
Emily melted against him, her cheek on his chest, her arms going around his waist. “How many people will be hurt by these people?” Her fingers curled into Mustang’s shirt.
“I don’t know,” he said and smoothed his hand over her soft hair.
“When is this going to end?” she whispered.
“Soon, sweetheart,” he assured her, though he had no idea when that might be. He held her for a long time, wishing he could hold her forever and protect her from all the troubles that might come her way. He’d only known her for such a short time, but his attraction to her was so strong he couldn’t deny it.
“Mustang?” A soft tap on the door sounded, pulling Mustang back to reality. He stepped away from Emily and went to the door.
Declan, Snow and Mack stood in the hallway. Declan had a flashlight, the beam casting a bright glow in the dark interior of the abandoned warehouse’s corridor.
“We didn’t see any sign of your attackers anywhere. We checked throughout the warehouse and every one of the offices attached. We even performed a perimeter check of the exterior. The police have arrived.”
Emily stepped up beside Mustang.
He slipped his arm around her waist and she leaned into him.
“Has the ambulance arrived?” she asked.
Mack nodded. “It has. They loaded Phillips into it and had him hooked up to oxygen and an IV as they left for the hospital. Gus rode with him in the back of the ambulance.”
“Come on,” Declan said. “Let’s get you back to the Halverson estate before anything else happens.”
Mustang couldn’t agree with his team leader more.
“I’d rather go to the hospital and check on Jay’s status,” Emily said.
“Gus will be there with him. He’ll keep us informed of Phillips’s progress,” Declan assured her. “You’ll be better off at the estate. You don’t want to put anyone else in danger of becoming collateral damage if the attackers follow you to the hospital.”
“They could go after Jay,” Emily pointed out.
“He’s out of it for now. He won’t be talking to anyone anytime soon.”
“Did anyone collect the backpack he was wearing?” Mustang asked. “He had a tablet inside it with a photo that could help us understand what’s going on. He sent it to us, but the tablet might have more.”
Mack turn
ed around and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “You mean this backpack?”
Mustang nodded. “Have you checked the contents? Was the tablet still inside?”
Mack slipped the straps off his shoulders and opened the backpack, from which he pulled the device, its screen shattered. “Let’s get it back to Cole and Charlie’s computer guy. They should be able to hack into the device and retrieve the data.”
They spent an hour with the police, giving a detailed description of what had taken place, describing the van that had hit Jay Phillips and then rammed the car Mustang had been driving into the warehouse.
Mustang made certain Emily was allowed to sit in the back seat of Declan’s vehicle throughout the questioning. He wasn’t going to leave her exposed anymore than he had to. When the police were done with them, he climbed in next to her and pulled her against his side.
Declan and Mack rode up front, each watching for trouble at intersections and keeping an eye on the rearview mirror.
By the time they passed through the gate at the Halverson estate, Emily had fallen asleep against Mustang’s chest.
Declan pulled up to the front of the house and parked just as Arnold appeared, opened the door to the truck and helped Emily down. Still groggy, she stumbled on the first step.
Mustang swept her into his arms and carried her into the house and up the steps to the bedroom he would share with her that night.
“I can walk, you know,” she said, though she snuggled into him rather than struggled to be free.
“I know, but it’s faster this way. Besides, you have to be exhausted.”
“No more so than you.”
He shook his head. “I can go several days without sleep and still function.”
She yawned into his shirt. “I don’t know how you do it.”
He deposited her on her feet in the bedroom, closed and locked the door and then pushed the chair against the French doors and another in front of her hallway door, as he had the night before. Just the thought of her standing out on the balcony and being pushed over the edge made his skin crawl. He shuddered at the mental image. He checked under the bed, in the closet and in the bathroom before declaring, “The room is safe.”
“Good.” Emily smiled. “I’m not sure I have the energy to fight off an intruder at this point. I’m going to get another shower. After running through that abandoned warehouse, I feel like I picked up several pounds of dust.” She gathered clothes and ducked into the bathroom.
Mustang entered the adjoining room, leaving the door open between them. He jumped in his shower and rinsed off, straining the entire time to hear even the slightest sound from the other room. Once he finished, he toweled dry and slipped into a pair of shorts he’d sleep in. Normally he slept naked, but he figured sleeping in the nude was pushing the boundaries of the new relationship between himself and Emily. Yes, they shared an amazing kiss, but expecting it to progress to sleeping together naked was presuming too much.
He pulled a T-shirt over his head as he entered Emily’s bedroom.
The shower was still going, but soon shut off. A few minutes later the door opened and Emily stepped out, wearing a fluffy, white, terry-cloth robe, her long legs bare below the hem.
Mustang’s groin tightened.
She’d combed her damp hair straight back from her forehead and her cheeks were clean and pink from the hot shower. As she stood in front of him, her cheeks grew even pinker. Emily tugged at the terry-cloth belt around her waist and cleared her throat. “I’m tired, but I doubt I’ll sleep much.” She shifted her gaze from his and looked around the room. “Why don’t you take the bed and I’ll sleep in the chair?”
He shook his head. “It’s your bed. You need the sleep more than I do.”
Her lips twisted. “But you didn’t sleep much last night. Even marines have to recharge their bodies.”
“I catnap. It’s enough.”
“Bull feathers,” she exclaimed. “If you won’t take the bed by yourself, then at least sleep in it with me.” She lifted her chin. “I’ll stay on my side. You won’t even know I’m there.”
Mustang snorted. “Sweetheart, I’ll know you’re there. Hell, I’d know you were anywhere in the same room.” He shook his head again. “I can’t sleep with you.”
She frowned. “Why?”
He captured her gaze with a hard one of his own. “Because if I sleep in the same bed as you, I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself. It’s best if I sleep in the chair.”
Her eyes widened and her tongue swept across her lips as if they’d suddenly gone dry. For a long moment she just stared into his eyes. Then she whispered, “What if I don’t want you to keep your hands to yourself?”
Mustang closed his eyes tightly to block the image of her standing there in that robe, the valley of her breasts visible in the neckline and her long legs so tantalizingly toned and silky. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Gentle hands touched his chest.
He blinked open his eyes and stared down into Emily’s eyes.
“Funny, but I think it’s the best idea we’ve had all day.” Her words came out warm and husky, melting into every pore of Mustang’s body.
He gripped her arms.
That was his first mistake.
Pulling her close was his downfall.
The terry cloth did little to disguise the curves of her body beneath the robe as she pressed against him.
A groan rose in his throat. “Emily, I’m supposed to protect you, not take advantage of you.” He knew he should push her away and take a step back, but his hands refused his brain’s logic.
“I think I’m the one taking advantage of you.” She lifted up on her toes and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss.
When her mouth touched his, a firestorm of sensations blasted through his veins. He slid his hands down her arms and onto her hips, pulling her even closer. “I’m barely fit to be around people after being at war for so long,” he said, burying his face in her hair.
She chuckled, the sound like silk sliding across his skin. “I’ve been so busy building my career, I don’t even know how to be with a man. You might find me...lacking in experience.”
He leaned back and smoothed a strand of her hair out of her face. “Sweetheart, you’re pushing all my buttons, so you must be doing something right.” Then he kissed her, taking her mouth in a long, sensuous caress.
When she opened to him and returned the kiss, they were closer than they’d ever been and yet he felt as if he couldn’t get close enough.
When he finally came up for air, Emily slipped her hands between them and untied the belt on her robe. She stepped back and let the garment fall open, revealing that she wore nothing beneath.
Another groan slipped along Mustang’s throat. He cupped her chin and tilted her head up to his. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
She nodded. “I left my nightgown in the bathroom...on purpose.” She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows in a challenge he couldn’t refuse.
“If at any time you feel uncomfortable, just say the word and I’ll back off,” he said, already pushing the robe from her shoulders. He paused with his hands on the terry cloth, a frown pulling his brow low. “Wait.”
Emily’s brow knit in confusion. “For what? I thought it was settled.”
He grinned and left her standing in her room to race into his. It took him thirty precious seconds to locate what he needed and return to where they’d left off.
Emily had pulled her robe back up over her shoulders and closed the edges. “Did you change your mind? I don’t want you to feel any obligation toward me other than protecting me. I hope I didn’t push you into a corner. Like you said...if you feel at all uncomfortable, I’ll back off.”
Mustang laughed and pressed a finger to her lips. “Shh. I haven’t changed my mind, but we c
ouldn’t go any further without this.” He lifted her hand and dropped an accordion of condoms into her palm. “I don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“My only regret is that we didn’t get started sooner.” She tossed the condoms on the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hold me, Mustang. I need to feel your body against mine.”
Her words echoed Mustang’s own thoughts. He pulled her against him and scooped her up by the backs of her thighs, wrapping those long, sexy legs around his waist. The robe swung around them.
Emily removed her arms from around Mustang’s neck and shrugged out of the robe over her shoulders. “I’m not experienced in the art of seduction,” she said, “but I learn quickly.” The robe dropped to the floor.
He walked her to the bed and set her down on the edge, running his hands from her hips into the curves of her waist and up to cup the swells of her breasts in his palms.
She tightened her legs around his middle and arched her back, pressing against his hands.
Mustang pulled back long enough to yank his shirt over his head.
Emily dropped her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. She pressed her lips to his naked ribs, kissing him there and flicking her tongue against his skin. All the while her hands got busy in the elastic of his shorts. She slipped inside them to cup his backside, pulling him closer. Then she worked his shorts over his hips and down his thighs, easing his erection free in the process.
Impatience won out and Mustang shimmied free of his shorts and stepped out of them to stand naked in front of Emily.
She smiled, her lips forming a seductive curl.
He laid her back and parted her thighs, kissing a path from the bend of her knee to her center.
In less than two days he’d come to care for this woman. Not because she was the job, but because she was smart, sexy and courageous in the face of a deadly threat. She didn’t care that he wasn’t in the military anymore. It wasn’t even a factor as she hadn’t known him when he’d been a marine. She wanted him for who he was now.
Mustang parted her folds and thumbed the nubbin he knew would bring her pleasure, really wanting her to like making love to him. He wanted that so much because he couldn’t see one time being nearly enough.