Cast in Shadow (Shadow SEALs), page 10
He was. Famished in fact. A man couldn’t exert that much energy and not be.
She laughed, stretched up his body, and planted a kiss on his lips. “Go on then. I’m going to get a shower.”
The thought of her naked and soapy and wet was enough to make him reconsider his immediate plans. Then, his stomach growled loudly, overriding his semi. He liked to think he was a virile man, but she’d pushed him to his limits, and he needed sustenance.
“Go,” she urged.
She pushed off the bed and padded into the en suite. He watched, appreciating the view, then sighed and went into the kitchen.
He raided the fridge, pleased to find some prime steaks among the items she’d had delivered. He selected two, then turned the flame on the built-in grill to preheat it. He wasn’t a material guy by nature, but if he ever had a place of his own someday, he would definitely have one of those.
Zeke found some potatoes and cut them into thick slices as well, and then he dumped them into a cast iron pan with more of the onion and pepper stash he’d raided that morning. As the vegetables sizzled, he cracked open a beer and took a moment to appreciate the situation.
He was warm and clean and not in immediate danger, about to fill his belly after indulging in a marathon of great sex. Days like this didn’t come along often. It was important to appreciate them when they did.
A soft ding sounded from nearby. Her laptop was still on the coffee table, where she’d left it earlier. Curious, he opened the lid, surprised when the screen lit up without requiring a password.
He clicked around, feeling a sense of panic when the screen went black and a skull and crossbones appeared with the message, Self-destruct sequence initiated.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he murmured, slamming the lid closed.
He heard her soft laughter and found her grinning at him from the archway. Her hair was wet. Her skin was dewy. Her eyes glittered with mischief and amusement. She was, in that moment, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
And she didn’t seem concerned in the least.
“It’s not going to self-destruct, is it?” he asked.
“No. There’s no reason for it to. It’s a conduit, nothing more.”
“A conduit to what?”
“Information. You don’t actually think I’m stupid enough to keep anything on my laptop, do you? That smells fabulous. Did you make enough for me?”
The abrupt change in topic wasn’t lost on him, but he was in too good of a mood to spoil it.
“Maybe. You do eat meat, right?”
She smirked. “After today, how can you even ask me that?”
A memory of her on her knees just hours earlier sent a wave of heated arousal crashing over him in a red haze. The woman would be the death of him.
Triumph flared in her eyes, and she turned to peer into the frying pan, nodding her approval. “Smart man. Anything I can help with?”
“No, I got this.”
She grabbed her laptop and settled on the sofa where she’d been the night before. She sat down in a cross-legged position, and her fingers began flying over the keys. She frowned at the screen several times, then stared blankly off into the distance, as if deep in thought.
Chapter Eighteen
Aggie
T wanted her to go with Zeke and let things play out, more for appearances’ sake than anything else. Refusing to continue would arouse suspicion and inspire questions, which neither of them wanted. Their chosen paths required them to be ghosts.
Or Chameleons.
Thanks to being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting herself abducted in Parryville, she was going to have to change her colors soon. But knowing T, he already had a plan in mind.
It was no big deal. She’d assumed many identities over the years. The downside was having her time with Zeke come to an end. He’d really grown on her. They had a connection, a natural chemistry, that was hard to come by. Ironically enough, it was their similarities that prevented them from ever seeing one another again. They were both loners. Transients. Unwilling and unable to commit to anyone because of who they were and what they did.
There were exceptions, of course. Aggie knew of at least two of T’s operatives who had formed “permanent partnerships,” as T called them, but Aggie didn’t think anything like that was in her future.
Zeke’s, maybe.
Attached with T’s coded message was a complete dossier on her current shadow. Zeke really was his name. Zeke Ericsson. He’d served as a SEAL and been considered one of the best until a mission went full-on FUBAR in the Middle East. Men died, highly classified weapons disappeared and wound up in the hands of the enemy, and Zeke walked away with the blame on his shoulders and a dishonorable discharge.
Aggie skimmed the highlights a second time and came to the same conclusion—it didn’t add up.
In the first place, no one man at Zeke’s level could have been behind a fuckup of that magnitude, not without a lot of inside help and someone much higher up pulling strings. In the second place, if he had been a coconspirator, the powers that be wouldn’t have let him walk away with nothing more than a badge of shame. They would have charged him with treason and made an example out of him. And in the third place, Zeke was no traitor. She knew that to the depths of her soul.
He was a scapegoat—she was sure of it. The secret agreement he’d signed was proof of it.
But why had he agreed? Why would an honorable man—a skilled, highly regarded operative—cop to something like that? Who was he protecting?
She glanced over at Zeke, grilling like the sexy boss he was. There was nothing dishonorable about him, except possibly his decision to work for a woman like Charley. He’d said it was the cash, but she wasn’t buying it any more than his signed confession that he’d been brokering deals with the enemy.
Just because he spent the day worshipping your body, taking you to heights of ecstasy you’d only imagined before then, doesn’t make him a good guy, Aggie.
No, of course it didn’t. But she’d thought he was a good guy before the epic sex. And the notes T had included about his service record only strengthened that belief.
His code name was Raguel. The archangel of justice. It fit him as well as Robin Hood fit her.
As if sensing her gaze, Zeke peered at her over his shoulder. “Enjoying the view?” he asked with a smirk.
She was. He was as fine-looking from the back as he was from the front. Broad shoulders and back, adorned with beautiful ink, sporting red marks from her nails, then tapering down into narrow, talented hips. A nice, firm backside, perfect for holding on to while he pistoned between her thighs, currently encased in soft, well-worn denim.
“I’d enjoy it more if you were naked.”
He laughed at that, a low, sexy sound. “Grilling naked is asking for trouble.”
“Good point,” she said on an exhale. “Speaking of, how much longer?”
“Impatient, are we?”
“Hungry,” she corrected. “I’m starving.”
“You wouldn’t be if you ate more than nuts and berries.”
She laughed. Her soul just felt lighter with him around.
“I told you, I’m not good in the kitchen.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” he said, his eyes heating. His gaze slid to the counter. No doubt he was remembering what they’d done there earlier.
“Generally speaking, if I have to cook it, I’m not going to eat it,” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken.
“Good thing I’m here then. It’s just about done.”
She closed the lid on her laptop and joined him at the table. The steak was cooked to perfection, as were the vegetables. So much so in fact that she had no problems complimenting him on his culinary skills.
“You are a man of many talents,” she told him.
He smiled smugly. “Glad you think so.”
“Where’d you learn how to cook like this?”
“I worked in a couple of restaurants as a kid. Picked up a few things.”
“Before you went into the service?”
His expression went blank. He grunted and stabbed a thick-cut fry and brought it to his lips.
“Oh, come on. I knew within five minutes of meeting you that you had special training. I doubt you picked it up by watching action-adventure movies.”
“Where did you learn your mad hacking skills?”
She shrugged. “Just comes naturally.”
He grunted. “That’s what I thought.”
“Are you still determined to deliver me to Charley?”
His eyes darkened, making her think of the sky right before a storm. “Yes. Nothing has changed.”
He was wrong about that. A lot of things had changed. Most notably, her unexpectedly strong temptation to throw caution to the wind and spend the next couple of weeks holed up with him, having great sex and learning more about him.
Perhaps it was for the best. Caring about anything or anyone was a weakness that could be exploited and used against her—or more importantly, against the people she cared about.
Another thing that had changed: she was now privy to information she hadn’t had before. Information about him. Information about the woman he was delivering her to. Both presented their share of challenges, but challenges didn’t worry her as long as she knew what she was dealing with.
And now that T also knew, she didn’t worry at all. If anything happened to her, T would rain hell down from on high.
Aggie pushed back the inconvenient pang of disappointment and kept her expression neutral. “You’re right. I should hear what Charley has to say. Should we leave tomorrow morning or head out tonight?”
Zeke narrowed his eyes, suspicious of her easy acceptance, running scenarios in his mind. She knew he was weighing the benefits of staying one more night against the risk that she would slip away.
“The sooner, the better,” he said finally. “If we leave tonight, we can be there by midafternoon tomorrow.”
She nodded, once again disappointed, but not surprised by his priorities. The mission took precedence.
It’s better this way, she told herself. A swift, clean break.
Aggie pushed away the remains of her dinner, no longer hungry, and stood. “All right then. Give me fifteen, and I’ll be good to go.”
His eyes snapped to hers. “I didn’t mean we had to leave right this minute.”
“No sense in prolonging the inevitable, right?” she asked, summoning a small, cold smile. “I’m as anxious to get this over with as you are.”
She wasn’t angry that he intended to complete his mission, because that was the kind of man he was. He did what he said he was going to do—yet another reason why him walking away with a dishonorable discharge didn’t ring true.
No, what bothered her was that had their places been reversed, she would have chosen her priorities differently.
* * *
They were on the road within the hour, borrowing the Range Rover from the garage. Zeke had been apprehensive about doing so at first because it was a “high-profile ride,” but now that she’d made up her mind, she was impatient to close this chapter and move on to the next one.
The ride was quiet, the mood subdued. Gone was that sense of easy acceptance they’d shared for a brief yet wonderful time. Several times, he offered to stop, either to get something to eat or to stretch out the kinks, but she declined.
“The sooner, the better,” he’d said, and he was right.
The GPS coordinates Charley had provided led them to a boxy two-story off the beaten path, along a remote stretch of road through a town long forgotten once the newer, faster highways had been built.
A late-model black SUV sat in the driveway, the only indication that they weren’t alone.
No sooner had Zeke pulled up to the place than a man stepped out of the front door, donned shades, and walked toward them. Black cargo pants. Black polo. Clean-cut. Utterly expressionless.
“I guess this is it,” she said quietly.
Zeke nodded, eyeing the man’s approach as if he was suddenly having second thoughts.
Too late for that, she thought, opening the passenger door.
“I’ll see you inside,” Zeke offered, reaching for his own door.
“Don’t bother. Your mission’s complete.”
He frowned at that.
“You know, the Rover suits you. You should keep it.”
The man who approached the car pulled her door open further, then tossed a thick envelope onto the seat she’d just vacated, and said, “The final installment.”
The sound of the door closing resonated through her, more significant than the simple closing of a vehicle door should have sounded.
“If you’ll come with me, please,” the agent said.
“Lead the way.”
Aggie straightened her spine, lifted her chin, and walked into the house behind him. She was proud of herself. She didn’t look back once.
Chapter Nineteen
Zeke
Zeke watched as Aggie moved away from him. Her head was held high, her body language relaxed, as if she were heading in for coffee with friends. She didn’t look back once. His chest tightened and squeezed, building to a painful crescendo when the door closed behind her.
His hand was still on the handle. He got the door open a scant six inches before it was forcibly closed by a second man who’d appeared out of nowhere, dressed almost identically to the first—a study in black SWAT gear. Same close-cropped hair, blank expression, and fucking mirrored aviators.
“My instructions are to deliver her to Charley,” Zeke said, which wasn’t entirely true. When he’d called the night before to give Charley an approximate ETA, she’d thanked him and told him he would receive final payment upon safe delivery of the package. She never actually said she’d be there personally to accept.
“Charley is awaiting her arrival at a secure location.”
Zeke frowned. “Charley’s not here? Perhaps I should accompany her—”
“She’s no longer your concern, Mr. Ericsson.”
The guy shifted slightly, just enough to let Zeke know he was heavily armed. When Zeke made no move to leave, another man appeared. Then another. Zeke looked around, then spotted the glint of metal aimed his way from a sniper on the roof about the same time a tiny red dot appeared on his chest.
What the fuck did I just do?
Aloud, he said, “Right.”
“Phone, please.”
The guy standing just outside the open car window held out his hand. Zeke reluctantly put the shiny black burner into it.
“And the picture.”
“Long gone,” Zeke lied.
The guy stared at him through his mirrored shades for several long moments, then gave a single head nod to his colleagues and stepped back.
Zeke shifted into reverse and backed out of the drive, heading back toward the main road. The flat plains stretched out beyond the town, making it impossible for him to pull off without being seen, and he had no doubt he was being watched.
His chest tightened again, and he rubbed at it absently. What was his problem? He’d known this was how it would end. He’d been hired to do a job, and he’d done it. He had money in his pocket and was once again free to go wherever and do whatever he wanted.
He drove until he came to the next town, then pulled into a roadside gas station. He picked up the envelope and peered inside. Bundles of cash, more than double what he’d already been paid up to that point. Enough to cover his expenses for the next couple of years, more if he was careful.
It made the weight on his chest even heavier.
He filled up the tank, emptied his own, and got back in the Rover.
“Fuck it,” he said to no one in particular. Instead of continuing on, he went back the way he’d come.
The black sedan wasn’t in the driveway. He knew before he even got out of the Rover that he was too late. The place was empty, and Aggie was gone.
He went inside anyway and gave the place a thorough once-over. There was no indication that anyone had stepped foot in the house in the last twenty years, and no clue where they might have gone.
Zeke raked his hand down his face and stood in the center of the living room.
“FUCK!” he shouted into the empty space around him.
Chapter Twenty
Aggie
After Aggie entered the house, she was led to the back and told to wait. Her escort appeared to be listening to something via an earpiece. He wasn’t as personable as Zeke, nor as easy on the eyes. He was all business, almost robotic in his speech and mannerisms. Given the choice, she preferred Zeke’s long hair, tattoos, and slightly rough around the edges manner.
Within minutes, her escort signaled to another guy who had come in behind them, and they ushered Aggie out the back to a waiting SUV, identical to the one that had been out front. She glanced toward the driveway as they circled around toward the road. The Rover was gone. Apparently, Zeke had gotten over whatever second thoughts he might have been having. For a few minutes there, she could have sworn he hadn’t wanted to let her go.
It was just more wishful thinking on her part, nothing but romantic notions she’d wrapped around a man who had seen her as a job. A job with benefits.
Of course, she’d benefitted, too. The sex had been fantastic. If it hadn’t meant as much to him, well, there wasn’t anything she could do about that.
Regardless, it didn’t matter. Whatever had been between them—real or imagined—was over. Zeke had his cash and could cross her off his to-do list. Aggie took a deep breath, pushed Zeke out of her mind, and focused on her upcoming meeting with the enigmatic Charley.
Other than terse but polite commands, no one spoke to her. They drove for a short time, arriving at an unremarkable airfield, where she was shuttled aboard a waiting helicopter. Once seated, she was blindfolded and fitted with noise-canceling earphones.
It wasn’t the first time she’d been in a chopper, but it was the first time she’d done so without the ability to see or hear. The sensation in her belly was exaggerated, exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
