Page 49 of Kane (Ghost Ops #4)

Chapter Thirty-Five

“What the fuck is she doing?”

It was Ghost’s voice on the comm. Kane didn’t know, but his heart was in his damned throat. When her brother had hit her the first time, because Kane recognized the sound of flesh connecting with flesh, he’d taken the blow in his soul.

This hit, though. He heard her grunt, heard the whimper of pain, and he wanted to rip Jackson’s fucking head off and spit down his throat.

“I don’t know,” Kane said roughly.

“Targets at ten and two,” Ethan said into the comm. “Blaze and Chance neutralizing.”

They’d followed a couple of miles behind Daphne. He wasn’t sure she knew they were listening when she was belting out Bad Company , but he’d gotten a chuckle out of it. They all had. She had attitude and spirit. Still didn’t mean he wanted her in there alone, but it’d been the only way.

Ghost had called Agent Corbin when they were a few minutes out, as a courtesy. She’d sworn in a way that’d shocked the hell out of everyone. Diana was usually so unbothered, but this time she was clearly pissed.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” she’d ordered. “We’re on the way.”

“Fuck her,” Ghost had said when the call went dead. “Stick to the plan.”

Which is how they found themselves cutting the fence and breaching the premises. Thanks to Daphne’s calm recitation of how many men were with Jackson, they knew that two were unaccounted for—provided he’d been telling the truth about having eight men along for the ride.

The team had found the two inside the fence, stationed so they could presumably watch the perimeter, and now they would be dealt with. Left seven men on the inside, including Jackson.

And two hostages.

“You can’t make me,” Daphne said, and Kane braced. “Cut his fingers off, cut mine off, but you won’t have any money unless you let him fucking go. Now. ”

Goddamn she was brave. And insane. He was going to shake her and hug her—and shake her some more if she got out of this alive.

Nobody said anything as the Ghost Ops team crept closer. Two men on the catwalk, the rest in the office with Daphne and Warren.

“In position,” Blaze said.

“In position,” Chance added.

Both men were ready to breach the building through the windows and neutralize the men on the catwalk. Seth had found a schematic of the building and the exits, so they knew where they needed to be for maximum impact.

Sweat dripped down Kane’s face. He didn’t bother wiping it away. Fucking tactical vests with plated armor were hot.

He worried that Daphne didn’t have something protective. But there’d been no way to equip her with anything that wouldn’t be obvious. If she’d sauntered into her brother’s temporary lair with a ballistic vest, he’d have taken it away.

“Escort the dweeb to the front gate,” Jackson said, his voice dripping with contempt.

“No escort,” Daphne said. “He walks out of here on his own. He can take my SUV and drive away. Once I know he’s gone, I’ll give you the money.”

There was silence again. And then, “Fuck this shit,” Jackson growled. “Ain’t no traitor bitch telling me how to run my business. He stays. Don, start with the pinkie.”

Warren’s voice was muffled, probably because they’d gagged him, but it was clear he was screaming.

“Go!” Ghost cried.

The team swarmed the warehouse, throwing a flash bang to startle and confuse the occupants, and arrowed for the office. Two men burst from the door, pistols in hand. Kane took one out with his Sig while Ethan got the other.

Two more men emerged from a door farther down. They were neutralized just as quick. That left Jackson with Daphne. Kane reached the office first while the team fanned out to make sure the warehouse was truly clear.

If Daphne was dead, there wouldn’t be anything left of Jackson to bury. Kane knew Jackson had to be a crack shot like Daphne, but he couldn’t waste time hanging around outside the office to assess the situation before he went in.

He burst through the door, weapon at the ready?—

And came up short as soon as he cleared the entry. Daphne’s head snapped up, the pistol in her hand swinging toward him. Until she realized it was him and her hand dropped to her side.

“Dammit, Candy Kane, you scared the crap out of me.”

“Sunshine,” he croaked. “What did you do?”

She stood over her brother like an avenging angel. Jackson lay on the floor, curled in on himself, moaning.

Kane recognized that pose. It was the pose of a man who’d had his nads punched into next week.

“Not as much as he deserves,” she said in a colder voice than he’d ever heard her use as she seated her weapon in the holster. He’d never thought a woman holstering a gun was sexy before, but daaaammmn. She looked like fucking Lara Croft, Tomb Raider.

Warren Trigg made a noise. Daphne gasped and rushed to his side, removing the gag with trembling fingers and then throwing her arms loosely around his shoulders.

“Warren, oh Warren! I’m so sorry! Are you okay? What did they do to you?”

Kane wasn’t surprised at the stirring of jealousy, but it went away just as quickly.

Daphne was his. She loved him. But Warren was her friend, one-time boyfriend, and she felt responsible for him.

She was a decent, lovely person and she cared about people.

He wouldn’t dim her shine for all the money in Fort Knox.

He went to stand over Jackson, who coughed and sputtered and tried to talk but couldn’t find the air. Kane dropped to a knee to zip tie the motherfucker’s wrists and ankles.

“Kill… Bitch…” Jackson wheezed. “Fucking… Bitch!”

“Careful, dickhead,” Kane growled as he stood, “Or I’ll let her finish the job and shoot your ass. Much as I’d like to do it for her, I don’t think she needs me to.”

Jackson glared, his face red, and then coughed so hard Kane thought he was probably trying to make his balls drop again. Fucker.

Ghost and Seth filled the door, took in the scene, and went to administer first aid to Warren. Blaze, Chance, and Ethan arrived soon after. Daphne, freed of the need to tend to Warren’s injuries, went to Kane’s side, eyes brimming with tears. He opened his arms and she threw herself into them.

“Can we go? I want to go home and shower, then I want to lie in bed with you and not talk to anyone for the next twenty-four hours.”

Kane kissed the top of her head. “Not yet, babe. Diana’s on the way.”

“Oh. Was she mad?”

Kane snorted. “Understatement.”

He ushered her over to the desk and set her down on it. Then he tipped her head up to study her face. Her cheek was red, and she winced as he touched it. “He hit me.”

“I heard. Killed me to hear that and know I couldn’t stop him.”

“It’s okay. I got revenge.” She pointedly looked over at her brother and then at him again. “He punched me in the stomach too. Hurt like hell, but I braced like you taught me. Made it a lot better.”

Anger crackled like lightning inside. “We need to get you checked out along with Warren. Make sure nothing’s damaged.”

“Okay. I don’t think it is, though. I can breathe without pain, and the achy feeling isn’t quite as bad as it was.”

He drew a shaky breath. “What happened, Daph? You went off script.”

She sighed. “I was just so angry, and I was afraid you wouldn’t get here in time. So I decided to bluff. Without me, he couldn’t get the money anyway.”

“We heard that. But what did you do to him?”

“When the flash bang went off, he was distracted. They all were. I closed the computer and then swung it at his head. He didn’t see it coming, but he also didn’t go down the way he did when we were kids.

He reached for me—and since I was still sitting in the chair and he had to get close, I kicked him in the balls.

Then I punched him in the gut and brought the computer down on his head again. Think it’s broke now,” she grumbled.

He hugged her tight and breathed in the warm, sweet scent of her. He’d been scared for her, scared of losing her.

“I never want you to have to defend yourself again, but I’m fucking glad you know how.”

“Thanks to you.”

The slamming of car doors penetrated the warehouse. A minute later, Diana Corbin and a team of FBI agents swarmed the building. Diana lowered her gun when she stepped into the office and surveyed the scene.

“Dammit,” she yelled to no one in particular.

“Might want to check those shipping containers, Agent,” Ghost said as he strode toward her. “Could be something interesting.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you telling me…? How do you know?”

Ghost winked. “Face it, Diana. We’re better at this than you are.”

Uh-oh , Kane thought.

Ghost had poked the dragon. And the dragon was glaring like she’d just found dinner.

Early morning sunlight shafted through the blinds and across the sleeping woman at his side. He thought about getting up and making breakfast, but he didn’t want to wake her. He would lie there beside her until she woke up, and he would thank God for every moment he could do so.

That she was alive. That she’d knocked down all the walls around his heart and forced him to let love in.

He’d forgotten how it felt, that boundless warmth and contentment, and he welcomed it now.

Love wasn’t perfect, he knew that, but he’d been young and dumb the first time and so had Hannah.

They might have weathered the storm, but he would never know.

All he knew was that he’d finally let her go. He wouldn’t use her as an excuse anymore to keep his feelings bottled up. He didn’t think she’d ever wanted that for him anyway.

It was not only possible to love again, it was miraculous. What a fucking dumbass he’d been to resist. Daphne was his miracle and he’d almost fucked it all up.

The sunlight moved across the bed until it caressed Daphne’s face.

The red spot on her cheek was turning darker where her brother had hit her.

He wished like hell he’d found a reason to put a bullet into Jackson O’Malley, but the dude had stayed curled on the floor, coughing and moaning, until Diana Corbin and her agents arrived. Too late then.

Daphne’s eyes fluttered open. Warmth filled their green depths, and his heart squeezed. She loved him despite all he’d done to make sure she didn’t. He was a lucky bastard.

“Morning,” she said, her voice rusty.

“Morning. How you feeling?”

She frowned as if taking inventory. “Pretty good all things considered. My cheek hurts, and my stomach is still a little sore, but I think I’m fine.”

Diana had taken over last night when she arrived, which was good because she didn’t have to hide who she was, and she’d called the paramedics.

They’d thoroughly checked both Daphne and Warren out.

Warren had to go to the hospital for observation.

He had a concussion and a couple of cracked ribs.

Since they didn’t know what else might have happened to him, they’d taken him in.

Daphne was fine, thankfully. If she’d had to spend the night in the hospital, Kane would have been right there in a chair by her bed, holding her hand and watching over her. Instead, he’d gotten to hold her in his bed all night long.

“That’s good, though I wish he’d never hit you.”

“I know, but it could have been worse.”

He didn’t want to think about it.

“I love you,” he told her. It was easier every time he said it.

“I love you, too. And I’m not sorry I rushed telling you yesterday, though I wasn’t planning on it for a while yet.”

He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m not sorry either. Needed to get my head out of my ass, and you forced me to do it.”

She grinned. “Oh, I’m sure your head will still be in your ass sometimes.”

“Probably.”

“So what do we do now?”

His gaze dropped to her naked breasts. “I can think of a few things.”

“Oh, I can too. But I meant about us. I know I kind of teased you about moving in here, but we don’t have to move in together if you don’t want to. We can date for a while, see how it goes. I know this is a big step for you.”

He rolled her to her back as she squeaked, settling between her hips.

“We’re not seeing how it goes, Sunshine.

You’re mine and I’m yours. You can move in here because I know you love it.

Ethan already told me last night he’s going to stay in the other house with Alex.

Can’t promise you we can buy it, though.

It’s part of the shared property. And I know there are things you still don’t know about what me and the guys are doing here, so I have to ask you to accept that for now.

But if I can give you this house permanently, I will. ”

She traced his mouth with a finger. “I love the house, but I love you more. If we can’t keep it, we’ll find another one. Provided Diana keeps me out of whatever goes down with my family.”

“I promise you she will.” He kissed the tip of her nose.

“Need you to know something else, babe. I know I have a bit of a reputation for charming women, and I’ve deliberately leaned into it, but you don’t have to worry that every woman you meet in town is someone I’ve been with.

I took some of them out, yeah, but that’s as far as it went. ”

She blinked. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you faked being a man-ho?”

“Yeah, I did. Mostly. Not a monk, but I also didn’t fuck around with anyone in this town knowing I had to live here and face them in the Piggly Wiggly or the Dawg from time to time.”

Daphne laughed. “Oh my God, you almost sound like a prude. Like you seriously didn’t bang anybody because you might see them while shopping for toilet paper or, gasp, condoms?”

He dropped his head to her breast, sucked one beautiful nipple into a tight little point, and she stopped laughing.

“Brat,” he murmured against her skin as he moved to the other nipple.

Her fingers curled into his shoulders. “Old man,” she gasped as he nudged her wet opening with his cock.

But her legs spread wide and he slid all the way home, groaning with the rightness of it.

He took her over the edge—twice—and then took her to the shower where he did it all again.

Then he made her breakfast, listening to her plans for redoing the kitchen someday, waxing the floors to a shine, and hanging curtains, and knew there was no place else he’d rather be.

Life with Daphne was fucking perfect—and he was going to revel in every moment of it.