Page 37

“Of all the idiotic, dumb-ass ideas. What the hell is she trying to prove?” His mutterings and cursing rambled on without him registering exactly what he said. He only knew his exasperation was directed straight at Reagan Bell.

“Definitely not a good idea.”

Jackson stopped his venting long enough to see Ben leaning his frame against the trunk of a tree. His hands rested in his jeans’ pockets as if he had all the time in the world to watch his brother rage over some woman.

Ben’s validation added fuel to Jackson’s rage. “Damn straight, it’s not a good idea. Try telling Luke and Reagan. What the hell is she thinking? She’s trying to get us all killed.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I’m talking about you and Reagan. It’s a bad idea.”

“That’s why I’m turning her protection detail over to you and Easton. Luke is not thinking straight, and I want nothing to do with her.”

Ben shook his head. “Bullshit. You want her.”

“What?” Jackson’s shout was loud enough to startle a crow from a tree.

“You’re out here all worked up over something you should say no to and move on. You’ve let Reagan get under your skin. The only reason you would do that is if you were attracted to her. And I’m telling you to get over it. It’s a bad idea for a lot of reasons, the big one being she’s English’s daughter.”

Jackson narrowed his eyes as he glared at his brother. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, you do. English has protected her from his work as Legend for her entire life. No way would he approve of you bedding her and getting her mixed up with what we do. And I don’t think you are willing to get on English’s bad side just to have a little fun with his daughter. It’s not worth it, man.”

“Shut the hell up!” Jackson’s voice thundered across the property. He didn’t want to dwell on how close Ben was in his observations. “I’m not bedding her. I’m trying to look out for her the way English wants us to, but she’s determined to get herself and us killed. There’s no talking to her, especially when Luke thinks she’s right. So instead of you accusing me of wanting to screw her, you could back me up instead.”

“I do. You’re right. The plan to use her as bait is stupid. I told Luke as much when he talked to me and Easton. She won’t do it without one of us watching out for her. She won’t risk it on her own.” Luke pushed off from the tree and walked closer to his brother. “But you need to get a handle on whatever this is between the two of you. If you’re going to let her get under your skin this bad, maybe you need to step back and let the rest of us deal with this.”

“I will not be benched. I want to take down the guy who came after English.” Jackson stood toe to toe, eye to eye with Luke, with his anger barely held in check.

“Then get your shit together over this girl. We need your head in the game and not messed up over Reagan.”

Jackson held his ground but eventually stepped back. His anger shifted to incredulity. “Why does everyone assume I’m messed up over her? I don’t know her. She does nothing but push my buttons. She’s not even my damn type.”

Luke snorted derisively. “Who are you fooling? She’s smoking hot and smart and strong. She’s all of our type. But you’re the only one who’s losing his shit over her. You’ve never let anyone get under your skin the way she does. I’m telling you to squelch it before it gets out of hand. It’s bad enough the targets have identified her as a weakness for Gish. We don’t need her to be your weakness too.”

Jackson shoved his hands through his hair. “She’s not a weakness, not in the way you think. She’s reckless and stubborn. We’re trying to help her, and she’s keeping things from us and wanting to go off on her own. How are we supposed to protect her if she doesn’t trust us?”

“Why should she? Can you imagine having strangers show up in your life and not knowing which ones are out to get you and which ones are there to protect you? And the ones protecting her are loyal to the father she hates. She’s a mess, man. Rightly so, but it’s still a recipe for disaster if you try anything with her.”

“I haven’t tried anything with her. I don’t plan on it.”

Ben narrowed his eyes. “Then why let her get to you? You’re cold as ice on cases like this, but you’ve let her set your temper on edge. It’s not like you.”

Jackson exhaled through his nostrils. “What do you want me to say? This case is different, but not because of her. Or notjustbecause of her, and not the way you think. This is Gish. This is his daughter. This is his past. We’ve been with him for…what? Twenty-plus years? Why is this coming up now? What are we missing?”

“I don’t know. I keep trying to remember if he said something to us that could be a clue. Remember when he finally admitted to us he used to work for the Agency? Did he say anything relevant? There has to be something. If he thought for a minute his past could come back to bite him in the ass, he would want us to be prepared. He trained us for every scenario, but none of that is helping us now.”

Jackson remembered the day their view of their mentor changed forever. English hadn’t wanted them to know about his work with the CIA, but the old man had decided to share his story not long after learning about Jackson’s enlistment in the Army.

“I don’t remember what made him talk to us about it,” Jackson said absently, not realizing he voiced the words aloud.

“Easton heard Gish and Becky arguing about it and came to you to see if you knew. Then you asked Gish, and he decided to tell us.”

Jackson’s gaze softened as he thought back to the day when they crowded in the apartment above the bar. Back then, it was wall-to-wall stuff. In addition to English’s furniture, he had shoved in two sets of bunk beds for the boys and chests of drawers for their clothes. The boys weren’t the neatest bunch, which meant their backpacks, sports equipment and dirty clothes littered the floor until English ordered them to clean up.

“His last case,” Jackson continued to muse, lost in his own memories. “The one with the daughter who betrayed him. The CIA tried to burn him.”

“Right,” Ben drawled. “Gish tried to turn her against her family’s organization.”

Jackson nodded. “She ratted him out to her father. They tortured him for info. He got away and called his handler, who wouldn’t accept his calls. They left him on his own. But the family…what did English say about them? They were terrorists.”