Page 3

CHAPTER 2

Slade watched as Shadow—fucking Shadow —slid past him on her way back to the room’s entrance. Bypassing the door he’d forced his way through, she reached for the light switch on the wall next to its left.

A small lamp on the sorry excuse for a dresser behind him instantly came to life, casting a dim glow onto the woman who, moments earlier, had fought like hell to shoot him. She turned back around, giving him his first close-up look at the face belonging to the voice he secretly craved to hear.

Big, blue eyes. Light brown, barely arched brows. A sharp nose and cheekbones that were built for a model.

But it was the set of lips that looked as though they’d been created for the sole purpose of kissing that drew Slade in like a desperate moth to a tempting, desirable flame.

Holy. Shit.

Owens had given him the woman’s picture to help in his search, and Slade had seen Shadow in person earlier when he’d been surveilling her from the diner’s lot. But as he stood in her motel room, staring back at her from less than five feet away, he realized…

She’s not pretty. She’s fucking beautiful.

Beautiful.

Brilliant.

And stubborn as hell.

“Sorry to break it to you, big guy, but I’m not going anywhere.”

The confounding woman shrugged the leather jacket from her shoulders before taking it off and tossing it onto the bed. Beneath it was a black, fitted tank top that showcased every luscious curve of her feminine form.

Toned shoulders and arms framed a perfectly curved waist. “Snatched” was the term he’d heard someone use a while back. The scooped neckline of the skin-tight top gave him the barest of peeks at her mouthwatering cleavage, and those jeans hugged her hips in a way that made him wish he could grab ahold of her and?—

A purposeful clearing of her throat snapped him out of whatever momentary trance he’d just been under. Ignoring Shadow’s breathtaking appearance—and the fact that he’d just been caught ogling her like a horny teenage boy—he returned his focus to the assignment he’d been given.

Find her and bring her home.

“My orders were to find you and bring you back to Charlotte, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

“Well, no offense, Dig, but your orders aren’t my problem.”

Dig.

She’d used the shortened version of his team nickname a hundred times before, but hearing the sexy rasp of his name from a tiny mic nestled in his ear was far different than watching it fall from her kissable lips.

“I know what you’re doing,” he challenged.

“You don’t know anything.”

Oh, princess. That’s where you’re wrong.

“You think Senator Stanton executed your mother nearly twenty-six years ago, and you’ve come to Columbus to assassinate him.”

“I don’t think it, Digger.” Her feminine chin jutted upward with obstinance. “I know it was him. And while I can appreciate the fact that you’re just here following Owens’ orders?—”

“Don’t you mean your father’s orders?” he cut her off with a more accurate truth.

The woman’s tiny gasp filled the otherwise silent room.

“H-He…told you?” She stared up at him, eyes slightly widened with genuine surprise.

Slade’s head dipped in a curt, confirming nod. “Right after he told me you were there the night your mother was murdered and that you’d left him a note saying you were going after the man responsible.”

A flash of pain crossed over the blues of her eyes. “If you know all of that, then you understand why I have to stay.”

“I get why you want to stay,” he corrected, not blaming her one damn bit. “But you and I both know your chances of accomplishing what you’ve set out to do are slim to fucking none. Not to mention the danger you’re putting yourself into by coming here without any sort of backup or?—”

“It doesn’t matter.” She walked around him with purpose. “I have to at least try.”

“Shadow—”

“You’re right, though.” She began pulling off the leather Boho-style bracelet she’d been wearing on her right wrist. “It is dangerous, so you should go.”

“I’m not leaving here without you.”

“Dammit, Slade…” Shadow switched to his given name as she angrily threw the bracelet on top of the dresser. “This is my fight, not yours.”

The piece of layered jewelry missed its mark and fell over the chipped edge. The frustrated woman bent over at the waist to pick it up from the floor.

At that exact same moment, a bullet flew through the window, striking the framed mirror on the wall behind the dresser. Shards of reflective glass fell down onto the dresser with a few landing on Shadow’s hunched form.

Son of a ? —

“Stay down!”

Slade’s shouted order came as he instinctively moved in to provide cover. Another shot rang out, and splinters flew all around them as the bullet struck one of the dresser drawers to his left.

He pulled the Sig Sauer P226 Mk25 pistol from its holster at his hip while keeping his body protectively hovering above hers.

“Friends of yours?” she yelled, though her steady tone was as surprising as the woman herself.

Funny. He was about to ask her the same question.

“Don’t move,” Slade bit out sharply. Moving quick and low, like a rock-and-roll roadie, he hurriedly made his way over to the fractured window.

Keeping his back to the wall and his head out of the shooter’s range, he used his free hand to move the very edge of the curtain slightly to the side. With a set of well-trained eyes, he scanned the area he could see.

The dark of night had fully set in, making it difficult to spot whoever the hell was trying to fill them with holes. Lucky for him, difficult wasn’t the same as impossible.

There you are, asshole.

Backed in directly across the small lot was a dark SUV with no front plates. And crouched down low behind the driver’s side of the vehicle’s rear bumper was a man dressed in head-to-toe black.

Slade watched as the dickhead raised his pistol and prepared to shoot again.

“Stay down!” Slade shouted a second time, hoping like hell Shadow was following his orders to a fucking T.

He spun and dropped to his belly to avoid being hit, his gaze instantly sliding over to where she still lay. Relief mixed with fear when he saw her lying face-first on the floor, and he found himself praying she hadn’t been hit.

She couldn’t get hurt. Not on his watch. Or better yet…

Not fucking ever.

“You good?” he asked because he suddenly needed to know.

“Been better,” she quipped. “You?”

His lips twitched with the urge to smile, throwing him momentarily off guard. He rarely smiled on a good day, let alone while someone was shooting at him. Only this time, the bastard wasn’t shooting at him.

He’s trying to kill Shadow.

An inferno of rage filled his gut as another succession of bullets began cutting through the room. Slade wanted nothing more than to jump to his feet and end this shit once and for all, but the deadly projectiles that kept coming forced him to remain in place.

Shots meant for the woman lying a few feet away struck the bed where she’d recently slept. From the corner of his eye, he saw the small eruptions of feathers and other soft materials as they exploded into the air.

He needed to get her the hell out of that room, and he needed to do it right the fuck now.

Can’t go through the front…

Slade’s sharpened gaze slid toward the open doorway at the back of the small room. Thanks to his earlier due diligence, he knew the bathroom had a window overlooking the narrow alley behind the motel. It was a risk for sure, but at this point, they really had no other choice.

“Bathroom window,” he shouted as the gunfire continued. “Soon as this asshole stops firing, I want you to run!”

“What about you?” Shadow asked as she lifted her head just enough to meet his gaze. The concern in her eyes was touching but unnecessary.

“I’ll be right behind you,” he promised. “But something happens to me, you keep running until you’re someplace safe.”

“I’m not leaving you behind, Digger.”

“Dammit, Shadow, this isn’t a fucking debate. He stops shooting, I want you to keep your head down and run.”

A few seconds later, the room grew eerily quiet, and he knew the time had come.

“Now!”

They both shot to their feet, keeping their bodies low as they sprinted across the room’s stained carpet. With her gun in her hand, Shadow followed his orders and ran straight into the bathroom.

Another shot rang out right as Slade crossed one foot over the narrow threshold. The bullet struck the doorframe to his left, and he immediately ducked his head with a string of deep curses.

He was tempted as hell to start returning fire, but managed to hold back the retaliatory urge. The shooter needed to think that Shadow was either alone or already dead.

His already churning stomach twisted inside out at the thought. But if the son of a bitch believed he’d hit his mark and she was down, it could buy them the time they needed to escape.

Slade watched as Shadow went to the closed toilet, wasting no time putting a sneakered foot on top. With a supportive hand on the tank’s porcelain lid, she quickly pushed herself up off the floor.

He stood behind her, blocking her elevated body as best he could with his. It wasn’t the same as slapping a Kevlar vest on her sexy ass but, it at least offered an added buffer between her and any bullets that may still come their way.

She pushed against the window with all her might, but the painted wooden frame still refused to budge.

“It’s…stuck,” she grunted, her frustration more than a little clear.

Without a word, Slade stepped into the small space separating the toilet from the sink. He framed her with his uplifted arms, inadvertently bringing the front of his body flush with the back of hers.

“Move,” he gave the one-word order.

Without hesitation, the sexy blonde let her hands fall back down to her sides before rotating her balanced stance enough to give him room to work. He used as much strength as he could muster to slam the heel of his free hand against the window’s stubborn frame.

Again…and again…and…

There!

Layers of thick, white paint cracked and chipped as the damn thing finally broke free. Seconds later, the window was fully open, and Slade was looking outside, scanning their immediate area to confirm no additional threats.

More shots were fired from out front, but he remained focused on helping Shadow keep her balance as she began making her way through the opened window. She swung one foot outside before immediately doing the same with the other while he stayed close to the brave woman in case she started to fall.

But Shadow didn’t lose her grip or tumble uncontrollably to the ground below. Instead, as if she’d made the move a thousand times before, she pushed herself free from the window and jumped.

More gunfire blasted as Slade joined his mysterious teammate in the broken and weeded back alley. The narrow strip of rough pavement separated the motel’s back wall with a line of thick trees a few feet in front of where they stood.

“This way.” Slade reached down and grabbed her free hand with his, ready to lead her far the hell away from any danger that might exist. His pulse quickened when she curled her fingers around his in what could only be described as a tight, trusted grip.

With him in the lead, they began running straight into the trees. He did all he could to prevent any limbs from smacking her as she followed.

If he’d been alone, there would have been no running, and he damn sure wouldn’t have hid. If it were just him, he’d have stayed for what he knew would be a satisfying retribution.

But Slade wasn’t alone, and the person with him was Shadow. Which meant setting aside his desire to kill for an even stronger need to protect.

Later. I’ll end the bastard later. For now, all that matters is getting her someplace safe.

He continued along the invisible path through the foliage he prayed would conceal their presence. When they’d gone about thirty yards, he came to a stop, and for a moment, he simply listened.

“What are you?—”

“Shhh.” He held up a hand to cut her off, giving the watch on his wrist a glance as he tilted his head slightly to the side.

Though Shadow looked as though she wanted to argue, the frustrated woman clamped her mouth shut and waited. Trusting her to remain quiet until he gave the all-clear, Slade kept his focus on determining their next course of action.

According to his watch, the gunfire had stopped two minutes before, leading him to believe one of two things. Either the would-be assassin felt confident he’d hit his mark or he’d gone into Shadow’s hotel room to confirm his kill.

Slade listened closely for the snapping of twigs or other signs of footfalls in the dense collection of trees. Instead, what he heard were sirens blaring to life in the distance, followed closely by the sound of tires squealing as a car quickly sped away.

“He’s gone,” he rumbled low to the woman still keeping a death grip on his hand.

He rather liked the feeling of her palm against his, as well as the fact that she trusted him to keep her safe. And he would, even if it was the last thing he did.

No matter what.

“What now?” Shadow’s gaze found his through the thin stretch of moonlight.

“We’re going to take my car and get the hell out of here before those cops you’re hearing decide to stop by for a visit. We’ll take the long way back to my hotel to make sure we aren’t followed. I’ll grab my things and then find us someplace else to crash.”

“What about my things?” She looked back in the direction of the motel. “I can always buy more clothes, but my computer’s still inside.”

Slade barely resisted a growl but understood the woman’s desire to retrieve the laptop. Computers were her life, so of course, she’d want to retrieve it. Plus, if the cops came and bagged the laptop as evidence, it could potentially lead them back to her. And that would open up a whole can of worms a lot of people—especially her father—needed to keep closed.

“Fine,” he gave in to her request. “But we need to hurry.”

“Copy that.”

Shadow’s on-mission response threatened another twitch of his lips. This time, however, he had no problems holding back a smile. Someone had just tried to kill her, and if she’d been alone…

They probably would have succeeded.

Forty-five minutes—and several side roads and extra turns—later, Slade was locking the door to their home for the night. It was his second hotel in less than a day, but unlike his previous one, this one was nestled in the thick of downtown Columbus.

On the plus side, the place was exceptionally rated, had a myriad of security cameras, and two off-duty Columbus P.D. officers working to keep the place safe. Truth be told, there was only one real negative he could find.

It was a big one, too. King-sized, even. Because the last available room in the place…only had one bed.

He wasn’t about to share a bed with the gorgeous, spunky blonde. Not in this or any other lifetime. That, of course, left the pull-out couch. And those were always too short and uncomfortable as shit.

When the guy behind the desk had informed him of the situation, Slade had been tempted to tell him to kiss his sorry ass. But then he’d caught the expression on Shadow’s gorgeous, weary face and remembered the woman had come damn close to dying less than an hour before.

This isn’t about me. It’s about her.

Serving as the Tac-Ops’ overwatch from behind a computer screen was one thing. Getting shot at from an unknown assailant standing several yards away was another, altogether.

No matter how impressed he was by her seemingly cool and steady composure, Slade could see the turmoil hidden behind those amazing blue eyes. The woman needed food, a hot shower, and sleep. Preferably in that order.

“Wow.” Shadow slid the bulging backpack from her shoulder, gently setting it down onto a cushioned accent chair to her left. “Definite upgrade from the last place.”

Her soft rasp pulled him back into the present.

“A gas station bathroom would be an upgrade from that shithole,” he grumbled, walking further into the room.

“True, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.” She continued exploring the impressive space. “That place took cash and didn’t ask questions, so it kept me off the grid. Until you showed up, that is.” Her ponytail swung through the air as she spun back around to face him. “How did you find me, by the way?” A curious frown. “And no B.S. I want the truth.”

“Oh, you want the truth?” Slade took another step toward her as feelings of betrayal sparked an unexpected rush of anger from deep inside. “That’s rich coming from the woman who vanished without so much as a word to the team who counts on you to keep our asses alive while we’re in the field.”

Because yeah, that shit still pissed him the hell off for a slew of reasons.

“I had something I needed to take care of.”

“You mean, you had someone you needed to kill.”

Showing no signs of backing down, Shadow’s unintimidated stare remained locked with his. “I haven’t killed anyone yet, have I?” An obstinate brow arched high as she crossed her arms at her chest.

The move inadvertently pushed her full, perfect breasts together in such a way he couldn’t help but think about how perfectly they’d fit in his palms.

“I don’t know what you have or haven’t done because you took off on your own instead of coming to us for help,” he bit back. “Jesus, Shadow. You of all people know what me and the guys are capable of. Why the hell wouldn’t you come to us with this?”

“Because this is my fight, Slade. Not the team’s. Not my father’s. Mine.”

His heart thumped when she used his real name for the second time that night. Over the comms, she always referred to him as Digger or Dig. Never Slade.

Truth be told, he preferred the nicknames because they reminded him of his days as a SEAL. The other name—the one his drug-addicted mother had given him the day he was born—reminded him of all the days that had come before.

Growing up dirt ass poor. Never knowing for sure when he’d get his next meal. Listening to the other kids at school talk about all the cool shit they got for their birthdays and Christmas and then going home to a run-down apartment that smelled like stale cigarettes, whiskey, and sex.

But there was something very different about the way Shadow said his name. Something he couldn’t quite pin down. The only thing Slade knew for sure was that he liked it far more than he probably should.

No probably to it, dickhead. She’s one of the team, remember? That means keeping your damn hands to yourself.

It also meant she had the team’s support, whether she wanted it or not.

“Your fight is our fight, princess. I would have thought by now you’d know that.”

“I’m not dragging the team into my mess, and I really wish you’d stop calling me that.”

“I’ll stop calling you that when you stop acting like a spoiled brat.”

Pain that had nothing to do with what happened tonight clouded the fire in her eyes. “What did you just say to me?”

Shit. He hadn’t meant to say that part out loud, and to be honest, he hadn’t actually meant those words at all.

She wasn’t acting spoiled. She was being standoffish. There was a difference, and he damn well knew it.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Damn right, you shouldn’t have. I didn’t ask you to come here, Slade. In fact, I did everything I could to keep from getting you or anyone else involved.”

“Really? If that’s true, then why did I see you and Baker Rawlins chatting it up inside that diner up the road from your motel?”

“How did you…” A look of understanding fell over her in an instant. “Baker. That’s how you found me. He gave me up, didn’t he?”

“He was worried about you,” Slade told her the truth. “And given what happened tonight, I’d say he was right to be.”

“Didn’t give him the right to rat me out like some narc.”

“Rawlins is solid, and you fucking know it, which is why he told me about your scheduled meeting when I reached out to him for help in tracking you down.”

“He was worried.” She scoffed.

“Yes, Shadow. He was worried. So were Owens and the team.”

“And you?” Her head tilted slightly to the side. “Were you worried about me, Dig?”

She’s baiting you.

“Of course, I was.” Slade couldn’t bring himself to lie. But then he added, “You’ve saved our assess time and again. I couldn’t very well leave you hanging out here on your own.”

Her head straightened at that last part, and he immediately knew he’d said something wrong. But whatever it was, Shadow didn’t say. Instead, she walked over to her backpack and hoisted it up and over her shoulder like before.

“I’m going to take a shower.” She turned away and started walking toward the open bathroom door.

His lungs emptied with a sigh. “Shadow, wait, I?—”

“It’s Alice, by the way.”

It was Slade’s turn to frown. “What?”

The confounding woman stopped shy of entering the other room and brought her pretty eyes back to his. “You keep calling me Shadow, so I’m assuming my father never told you my real name. But since you did save my ass tonight, I figure you deserve to know the truth. My name is Alice Owens, I’m thirty-two-years-old, and I’m the only child to have ever been born to Rafe and Amanda Owens. But something else you should know, and I mean this with every fiber of my being… You can take me back to Charlotte in the morning, but don’t think for one second that means I’m going to stop.”

She didn’t wait for him to respond before disappearing into the bathroom. She shut and locked the door behind her, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the room.

Alice.

The badass computer genius who had quite literally saved his and his teammates’ lives more times than he could count was named…Alice.

It was simple. Normal. So innocent and sweet.

Slade had always wondered about the fiery woman’s name. He and the team had their best guesses. But not once in all the time he’d known her—albeit from afar—had he ever once considered “Alice” as a plausible contender.

What surprised him even more was just how much he liked it…as well as how much he liked her.