Page 23

J uliette

“Try and keep him in line, Juliette. It’s going to be tough.

But he does have a few weaknesses that might help you,” Stone said as we stood just outside the airport.

He’d walked with us outside, his flight ending in Dallas.

The destination told me nothing about where we were going and I hadn’t asked.

“Oh, yeah? Tell me,” I answered as I slyly glanced toward Kage. The two men were close. That was easy to see. But there was something between them. A tension. Maybe a secret. I’d felt it almost from minute one.

“He has a thing for pancakes smothered in peanut butter before being slathered in maple syrup.” Stone grinned as if he’d just unveiled the biggest secret of the year.

Kage fisted his hand, playfully sticking it in his friend’s face. “Fuck you.”

“Back at you, buddy.”

“That sounds…” I started. “Disgusting.” Stone and I laughed together and I could tell by the look on Kage’s face his buddy was telling the truth. “Five million calories to boot.”

“Hey. When you’re short on supplies and need some heavy carbs and protein, it ain’t bad.” Kage rolled his eyes as if furious, but I caught a slight twitch of his upper lip. It was good to see him more relaxed.

It was good to be alive.

I shuddered from the awful thought, the quick image of the two soldiers holding me captive forcing an irregular beat to my heart.

I was free and safe. Kage was going to keep me that way.

I bit my lip as the two men continued bantering.

The air was sticky, the sweltering heat making it difficult to breathe.

Maybe that was the pressure I felt. I’d yet to talk to my dad. I didn’t know what to say or how he’d react. Now that I was back on American soil, I didn’t know what to think or feel any longer and that bothered me. I shook it off when I noticed the two men shaking hands.

For a few precious, brief seconds, I’d felt closer to Kage by massaging him. The activity had been nice, comforting to me and he wasn’t complaining about his neck hurting any longer. But as soon as Stone had caught us, Kage had returned to his prickly self.

“Thanks for your help, buddy,” Kage said.

“That’s what brothers are for. Maybe that’s something for you to remind yourself of every so often.

Remember. Never out of the fight.” The way Stone issued the last few words was different.

They meant something to both of them, either a private motto or maybe something from the time spent in the military.

While I wasn’t certain, the look they shared was so private, so connected that I knew in my heart the two men would do anything to help the other.

I didn’t really have that. Sure, I had my girlfriends, and they’d had my back with ugly breakups, commiserating with me regarding horrible bosses, but this was entirely different.

And I was jealous.

“Take care, Juliette. Seriously. Don’t allow the demons to become a clusterfuck in your life. Then the monsters will have won.” Stone held out his hand for a shake and I couldn’t help myself, throwing my arms around him.

He stiffened at first, obviously shocked. “Thank you for helping save my life.”

“I can’t take any credit.” Stone relaxed, hugging me back, but keeping his hold loose. “But you’re welcome.”

I sensed the man was uncomfortable or simply wasn’t used to anyone thanking him. When I pulled away and glanced at Kage, I realized why Stone had acted that way.

Kage’s expression was one of jealousy.

Was he kidding me?

He’d all but shut me down as if what we’d shared meant absolutely nothing, but he was acting like a green-eyed monster with a good friend? Oh, Jesus. I grabbed the only possession I had, the stupid bag of cheap clothes from Kage’s hand and walked away by a few steps, Tank dutifully following me.

Maybe it really was true that most women preferred the company of dogs to men.

I could certainly see why.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Kage asked, the tone entirely too authoritative for my liking.

“Somewhere away from you.”

He kept pace with me for a few seconds before pulling me to a stop.

“We’re still not completely out of danger yet, so you won’t just walk away from me.

You’ll tell me where you’re going at all times, even if it’s to the bathroom.

You’ll follow my orders and won’t engage with anyone you don’t need to.

And under no circumstances do you tell anyone who you are. ”

I’d already sucked in my breath while he was barking to keep from lashing out at him. When I blew out the hot air, I used his face as a target.

He was less than amused.

“Is that all, Sergeant at Arms?” I was going to salute him but thought that might cause him to be a pain in the ass companion for the next hundred years. Or however long I had to endure being around him.

“That’s for starters.”

“Fine. Then what’s my name? You know, for the regular folk we might come in contact with, so you don’t need to shout, ‘hey you’ from across the room.”

His eyes initially opened wider, but they fell to the usual dark and dangerous stare in a few seconds. “Very funny.”

“I’m not kidding.”

This time he took off walking. “Just make something up. I don’t care.”

I stood where I was, planting one hand on my hip. “Fine. I will. You won’t like it though.”

“Par for the course. Come on. Let’s hit the road.”

“Are you going to be decent enough to at least tell me where we’re going?” I tried to keep up with his long strides, but it was as if he was purposely testing my leg. Why did I have a feeling he had a cruel streak running through him and if left unchecked could become a pain in my ass?

Wait.

He already was.

He stopped short just after we crossed the road leading to the parking lot holding Enterprise rental cars. “Durango.”

“Where?”

“Colorado. That’s something else. If and when I allow you to talk to anyone you know, you will not tell them where you are. Is that understood?” There was something even more powerful in his tone. The sound was unnerving.

“Even my father?”

“Especially your father.” He took off walking again and I knew at that point it was useless to try to ascertain why. Was there something going on with my father? Had he been hurt? Was he dead? Panic rushed into me.

“Wait. Talk to me. Is my father alright?”

He shrugged.

“Don’t you dare do that, Kage. I’ve been told nothing.” I stopped walking on purpose.

The brute of a man didn’t seem to notice for a few seconds; finally turning to face me, he ripped off the cheap yet sexy sunglasses we’d purchased.

Together. Ugh. I hated the sound of that.

There was no together with him. There was nothing with him because he wasn’t going to allow anyone to get close.

“Listen up, buttercup. You’re still in danger. I don’t know all the specifics of what we’re dealing with, but the longer we stand out here arguing, the more chances the bad guys will have of finding you.”

“Here?”

“Here.”

I groaned and walked around him. “We’re not arguing because we barely talk to each other.”

He grumbled under his breath. I was certain he was cursing the day he’d met me. Well, same here. Yes, he’d gone above and beyond the call of duty, but would it kill the man to be decent enough to be around?

“You’re a difficult woman,” he said and pointed toward a row of trucks. Of course the big he-man would choose a truck. I bet he owned two of them if not more. And a big motorcycle too, matching his huge ego.

“You better believe I am. Now, about my father.”

“He’s fine.”

“Then why can’t I talk to him?”

Kage kept walking, finally stopping by a black Dodge Ram. I just rolled my eyes. He remained quiet, opening the back door and tossing the bags inside before ushering Tank inside.

After closing the door, he walked closer, crowding my space. “You will when the time is right, but only when I say it is. You get that? I’m the one in charge.”

“Oh, I get it,” I said, crossing my arms to keep myself protected.

He was way too close, his body heat explosive.

I was tingling all over and hating myself for it.

“Now, why don’t you crawl into the tough guy machine and turn the air on?

It’s too hot to have Tank inside even for a few seconds.

Do you know how quickly he’ll overheat? Less than two minutes. ”

His nostrils flared, his entire body tensing, but he said nothing, merely spinning on his heel and storming toward the driver’s side. The engine was started in seconds even before he slammed the door.

I tapped my foot on the pavement, cursing him up one side and down the other. He was the most difficult man I’d ever been forced to deal with.

Seconds later, he threw open the door, not bothering to stick his head out. “Are you coming?”

My answer was obvious, yet I didn’t mind making him wait just a little bit longer.

His sigh brought me a smile.

I walked around to the other side, forced to wait since the passenger door remained locked. I cocked my head, making a face. Only then did he hit the unlock button.

When I jumped inside, I immediately grabbed the seatbelt. “I’ll go with you. As long as we can get something to eat. I’m starving.”

Another sigh rumbled from his chest, this time more exaggerated. “Women.”

“What does never out of the fight mean?” I asked as I grabbed three French fries, sliding them into ketchup then licking the sweet red substance off each one with careful consideration.

Kage stared at me the entire time, even lifting an eyebrow.

“What?”

“You licked the ketchup off your fries.”

“How observant of you.” I pulled the cheeseburger into my hands, comparing my remaining two thirds to the fact he’d chomped down his in three bites. He’d inhaled his food and he was taunting me about how I ate mine. “So, what does it mean?”

“We’re friends now?”

“I doubt we’ll ever be friends, but as soon as Stone said those words, both of you shared a moment.”

“We didn’t have a moment.”

“Right. Of course you didn’t. Is it some binding thing?”

He grabbed some fries off my plate, skipping the ketchup. “Something like that.”

“Everything with you is like some big trade secret. Is that based on the secretive missions you were on? Or just a guy thing?”

He leaned over and as soon as he did, his natural scent crushed out the delicious aroma of the heavenly food. “What happened on our missions changed every man in our unit.”

“No women?” Maybe I was fishing, but I couldn’t help but think his distaste for women, which was entirely too obvious, came from some personal and unpleasant experience.

“None to date, at least in team six.”

“Because the missions were too dangerous?”

“Something like that.”

“Okay. I’d love to hear about your missions.” Now I was stretching. I took a bite of my burger and he lowered his gaze to my mouth. The man had a way of making me entirely too self-conscious.

How often had he sighed around me? Way too often. I glanced down at Tank, who remained dutifully by our side. We’d found a place that allowed dogs and he’d gotten his own special cheeseburger at my insistence for his bravery.

And for putting up with his father’s grouchy attitude.

“Lady, you don’t want to hear about the missions,” he said gruffly.

“Why?”

“Because,” he said before yanking his napkin into his hand, wiping his mouth and tossing it on the table, “some things we did to people you wouldn’t be able to understand.

The things we witnessed were what nightmares are made of.

And the things we remember and dream about are harmful to anyone’s mind.

Just trust me. You do not want to hear anything. ”

I could tell by the flash in his eyes that his dreams were brutal.

That’s why he’d been fighting in his sleep.

I sat back, uncertain how to converse with him any longer.

I’d tried to remain silent while he’d driven for almost three hours before agreeing to stop, but I needed more grounding.

I needed answers. I was worried and heartsick, uncertain of my future or why I was being forced to spend time with him.

Maybe it wasn’t that bad. At least he was decent eye candy. Okay, he had the kind of good looks that could haunt my dreams, but for an entirely different reason.

“I’m sorry,” I said. What else could I say?

“Never say you’re sorry.”

“Let me guess, you’ve never told anyone you’re sorry.”

I’d be damned if he didn’t grab another handful of my fries. “Nope.”

“Why is that?”

“Because everything I do is intentional.”

“Oh, wow. A man who knows what he wants. I’m sure you take it too.” I wasn’t certain how to react to his overabundance of confidence other than to wish I felt the same.

I wanted to scream at the man. Why did everything need to be awkward with him? Why? I wanted to pound my fist on the table.

“The motto is from SEAL Team Six. It just means that every day we must lead by example, get up after getting knocked down, train for war, and always fight to win.”

He didn’t look me in the eye when he said it.

“That’s… amazing.” I could tell how much being a SEAL had meant to him.

But there was a strong reason he’d retired and I doubted it had to do with age.

Not since my godfather had tasked him to rescue me.

My godfather was a tough old bird, a man of principle and honor.

That meant Kage Rollins was highly respected.

“You should never say you’re sorry, Juliette.” He took a beat staring directly into my eyes. I don’t know why, but it felt as if he’d allowed me to see just a small part of the man inside.

Sadly, I also had a feeling I’d never be allowed to see it again.