Page 27

FOURTEEN

PAUL

N icole was fast asleep by the time I crawled into bed.

I decided to sleep on top of the covers instead of under because it felt too intimate.

I stared at the ceiling for a bit but found myself wondering what she looked like when her guard was down.

I carefully turned onto my side and took in how pretty she was in the pale light.

Talya’s face pushed through my thoughts, and I remembered when I’d lie next to her in the morning and trace the tattoo along her back for hours.

It was our alone time when no one would bother us.

The memory faded, and I refocused on Nicole.

For someone living out of a knapsack, she definitely took care of herself.

I guessed she’d have to consider that she might have to jump on live TV at any time.

I followed her hair down to her collarbone and noticed her necklace.

The chain disappeared between her breasts, and I wished I could see what the pendant was.

I had no idea why I cared so much, but I did.

Her phone made a small ping sound, and her eyes instantly popped open. She stared at me for a moment as she blinked to clear her vision.

“Hey,” she whispered, “sorry if my phone woke you.”

“It didn’t, but it sure woke you in a hurry.” I hated that my voice sounded almost like an accusation. She seemed jumpy as she pushed up on her arms and snatched the phone off the night table.

“Can you blame me?” She huffed as she studied the screen. “I work around the Cartel for a living, I play their games, and all the while, I try not to piss anyone off to stay alive.” She flipped the covers off. “Shit.” She grabbed the hoodie I’d offered her the night before. “Do you mind?”

“Nope.” I propped the pillow up and watched her slip outside to the patio.

Once the phone was up to her ear, I leaned over and quietly opened the window a little so I could hear.

Something deep inside told me she was hiding more than her contacts from us, but it was too early to call her out on it.

She was our only hope for a fresh lead on my son, and I wasn’t about to jeopardize that.

“Hello, sir.” She seemed uneasy as she listened. “What?” Her hand moved to her mouth. “No sir, I haven’t been— I mean, I don’t think I’ve been.” Her hand slid down to her throat. “Yes, of course, right away.” She lowered the phone and looked at it, and I figured the call was over.

I eased down on the bed just as she came inside.

“Everything all right?” I yawned. “You didn’t sleep very long.”

She slipped my hoodie off and turned the lamp on. She ran her fingers through her hair, then down her neck, down her chest, stomach, hips, legs, and all the while, her breathing picked up.

“Nicole?” I sat up and saw how worried she looked. I swung my legs off the bed and walked over to her. “Hey? What’s going on?”

“He fucking got to Ben,” she muttered, still in her own thoughts, and I was instantly on high alert. She pulled off her t-shirt and shorts then stood there in front of me in her bra and panties. She slowly turned herself around. Holy shit, she was gorgeous.

“Do you see anything?” She pulled her hair off to the side. “Any cuts or anything?”

I did a quick scan of her body. “No.”

“Look again.” Her voice shook. “I was alone with him.”

“Who?”

“Bruno,” she cried. “Please look harder.” I humored her, and after I ran my fingers over every inch of her exposed skin, she seemed reassured.

“If I knew what I was looking for, maybe I could be more helpful.” I grabbed my hoodie and wrapped her bare shoulders with it.

“That was General Bruce on the phone.” She pulled her jeans on and threaded her arms through the hoodie but didn’t zip it. “Bruno planted a tracking device under Ben’s skin!”

“What?” My blood pumped ice water.

“The chopper you guys were in took a hard swing to the side or something, and he hit his shoulder. I guess it deactivated the device. He was complaining of shoulder pain.”

“I remember that.” He had rubbed his shoulder a lot after we brought him out. “We just assumed he’d bruised it.”

“Well, it got infected, and now Ben’s getting treatment. But shit, they were trying to see where he was.”

“No,” I ran a hand through my hair, “they were trying to find our safehouse.”

“Don’t you guys scan for those things?”

I nodded and thought about how horrible things might have gone if they had tracked him to Shadows. “We do whenever we cross the border, and it means their trackers are better than our equipment.” I snagged my hat off the chair. “I need to talk to Cole.”

She followed me out to the living room where the guys had Frank on speaker phone getting the same story from him.

“It seems it stopped tracking him once his shoulder impacted with the chopper,” Frank explained, and by the look on Cole’s face, the news had shaken him as much as the rest of us.

“We won’t know much more until the boys here in Washington work their magic.

For now, we just sit tight. Cole, make damn sure Nicole isn’t chipped. ”

“She’s not,” I replied. “I just checked her out. Not that I can be positive, but I don’t see any marks on her.”

“Copy that.” Frank sighed heavily. “I don’t have to tell you boys how serious this is. We need to change the way we handle things from now on, especially after you cross a border. Maybe check Nicole again just to be sure.”

“Agreed.” Cole cleared his throat. “Thanks, Frank. We’ll be in touch.”

Keith whistled. “That’s way too close for me. I think it’s time we beefed up security at the house as well.”

“Mike,” Cole looked at him, “maybe get Trigger and Grim on the phone, ask them to check for any Cartel trackers on their men as well. They should know about the threat.”

“On it.” Mike dipped into the next room, and I glanced at Nicole. She looked pale and uncomfortable.

“Nicole, do you mind if I give you a once-over? We need to be sure.”

“Of course, Cole. I’m not shy, and I sure as hell don’t like the idea of being chipped like a damn dog.” They went into the bedroom, and John followed out of respect for Savannah and Nicole.

“You should get some sleep. We’ve got a big night tonight,” I said once they were done.

She rubbed her head and nodded then disappeared into the bedroom again. I was wired, so I stayed up with Mark and John, who were on shift. I leaned back in the chair and rested my tired head. All I could think about was where my son was and if he was all right.

“How is she?” John broke my thoughts.

“Jumpy but focused. I think.”

“You think she’ll be able to handle the party?”

“I do. She’s used to working solo, minus her cameraman and protective team, but I think they follow her lead to a point, so this will be an adjustment for her.” I looked at the ground and thought about her other phone calls.

“What?” John read my mind.

“I’m not sure yet. Something’s bothering me about her. She’s had a few private phone calls, and they’re never more than a minute long.”

Mark rubbed his hands together. “Well, she’s got one of our phones, so we can track the number if you feel it’s needed.”

I didn’t like the idea of spying on her, but if it came down to it, I would. “Not yet, but the thought’s crossed my mind.”

“All right, guys.” Cole sat down and rubbed his face. “Paul, when you guys are at the party, we’ll take a sweep of Selena’s house. See what we can discover. It’s not far from where you will be, so if any trouble or any leads come in, we’ll meet up.”

“Sounds good.” I let that sink in.

We all went silent after that, and not long afterward, I passed out.

* * *

I stood in front of the mirror, and if I didn’t know it was me, I’d never have recognized myself.

The bright blue contacts concealed my dark green eyes, and the tribal tattoo that showed below my t-shirt made me laugh.

I knew I could never pull off a neck tattoo; that one, I was happy to leave to Grim Gates.

My cheeks were puffy, and my hair went from short to shaggy with a slight gray to it.

I still looked my age, but I no longer screamed intense army, as Savannah so lovingly described me.

“Not bad, John,” I turned and held out my arms to show him how impressed I was, “not bad at all. There’s not a chance they’d recognize me.”

“Well,” he whispered, “Eric’s supposed to be dead, so we have to make sure I did a good enough job.

” He nodded toward the bedroom where Nicole was getting ready.

“Activate your vocal box and see if she recognizes you.” I pressed the tiny button under the prosthetic and tested out my voice.

It was low and raspy. “You made me a stage four smoker?” I glared.

“I had to get creative.”

“Right.” I gave myself one last once-over in the mirror and brushed my hands down the fine material of the tux. I crossed the room and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

My stomach clenched as I took in how stunning she looked in that black halter dress.

The damn thing hugged her body in all the right places, and I blinked hard when she turned, and I saw once again how low the rectangular cutout sat on her pelvis.

Her hair was up in a low French twist, and a few pieces fell out to soften the look.

Her sparkly heels peeked out from below, and a glimmering see-through skirt showed a chain wrapped around her upper thigh.

I’d never seen anything so sexy in my life.

The memory of how she felt under my fingers as I checked her for the tracker made my head swim.

“Can I help you?” She pushed a long, sparkly earring through her tiny lobe as she glanced up at me in the mirror.

“Sorry.” I cleared my throat and was glad the prosthetics hid my embarrassment as I gawked. “I’m Dan. I’m stepping in for Paul tonight.” It felt good when her face fell. “I’m a friend of the team’s and your escort tonight.”

“When was this decided?” Her hand moved to her stomach like she was uneasy.

“About an hour ago.”