Page 9 of Traitorous Lies (Prey Security: Charlie Team #6)

Chapter

Five

“You doing okay, princess?” Jax glanced sideways as he asked.

Beside him, Monique trudged along through the forest in the pitch dark, cold and hurting, but not a single complaint had fallen from her lips.

Not at all what he would have expected from the Kerr princess before he’d met her.

When he’d gotten on that plane to fly to France, he’d expected to find a spoiled little rich girl. One who was used to getting what she wanted and who would throw her weight around, and her money, using it to manipulate and buy people off.

Only Monique wasn't that way at all. She’d told him she didn't like rich, boring, stuffy guys, and it was clear there was attraction between them.

Attraction that would be easy enough to ignore if it were all there was. But from the second their eyes met, he’d felt something weird settle in his chest. While he was making no claims that it was love at first sight, it was something. Like some primitive part of him had laid a claim on her.

It didn’t help that she was sweet and shy yet knew what she wanted and lived her life to the beat of her own drum.

If that wasn't enough, the fact that she had been willing to quite literally buy his life with her body would have done it.

There was something special about this woman, and he was finding with each passing minute that he didn't want to let her go.

Too bad he wouldn’t have a choice.

There was no way he was going to be able to keep from her forever why he’d been at that party, and why he’d made contact with her.

Once they found their way out of the forest, he’d contact his brothers, and if they weren't already on a plane after he’d missed the check-in then they’d hop right on one.

When his team didn't come back, Samson Kerr would eventually find out they were all dead, leaving his daughter behind as a witness. Would he allow the only daughter he’d claimed as his live?

Or would she now live with a target on her back until they were able to prove that Samson was involved in his stepmom’s rape and then subsequent plan to have her and Jax’s dad eliminated from the equation by having them branded traitors and killed?

“You know if you're going to ask me a question, the polite thing to do would be to listen to the answer.”

The soft, teasing voice drew him out of his head, and he found Monique smiling up at him, her face in the dim light painted with amusement despite the exhaustion clinging to her.

“Sorry, princess,” he said sheepishly. “Thoughts are just running a mile a minute.”

“I get that. I'm a little in shock, too.”

Her big, gray eyes looked up at him with confusion, clearly aware that there was more to him than he’d let on, but there was trust, too. Despite everything they’d been through in the last few hours, she believed in him.

It absolutely gutted him that her trust was misplaced.

He’d keep her alive, protect her with everything that he had, but in the end, he was going to turn out to be just another person who had used her, and Jax had the feeling that was a long list.

“You said you had training, but … I didn't know you meant you could single-handedly kill six people without breaking a sweat.” Her tone was a clear invitation for him to fill in the gaps, and he was trying to figure out how much he could say without telling her everything.

It wasn't like he intended to withhold the information forever, but right now, he was the only thing that was going to get Monique safely back home. If he lost her trust, he had no guarantee she wouldn’t go running off and try to do this on her own.

No way was she going to pay the price for his choices any more than she already had.

“Served in the military,” he told her, completely honestly.

For the moment, she just couldn’t know that he worked for Prey.

The second that cat was out of the bag, she’d want to know if he was there for work, and once she got that out of him, it would only be a matter of time until she realized she was the job.

Immediately, she stopped walking, moved up onto her tiptoes, the hand he wasn't holding landing on his pecs, above his heart, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for putting your life on the line to keep people like me safe.”

If he’d expected her to look down on him because of his career choice, he would have been sorely disappointed. Once again, Monique had shown she was nothing like the public perceived her to be.

“No need for thanks,” he said, a little awkwardly.

“Course there is. And I’m going to venture a guess that you were special forces. The way you handled that …” She waved a hand behind them where a mile away lay the six dead bodies he’d killed. “Says you were one of the best of the best.”

“SEAL,” he acknowledged. There were women out there who would love to get him into bed just because of what he’d been. While Monique was clearly impressed by his job, she wasn't looking at him like he was a piece of prized meat.

She was looking at him like he was a hero.

Worse, like he was her hero.

Uncomfortable with the secrets he was keeping and the knowledge that as soon as they spilled out he’d lose a chance with Monique he hadn't suspected he would want, he abruptly stopped walking.

“This should do,” he announced.

“Do for what?” Monique looked around them, obviously wondering why he’d chosen this particular spot when it looked the same as every other part they’d walked through over the last thirty minutes.

“To spend the night.” They’d put some good distance between them and the van, enough to buy them some time.

Sooner or later, someone would realize the team he’d killed never returned and come looking for answers. When they saw six dead bodies and his and Monique’s not amongst them, they’d search this forest to try to find them.

When that happened, he wanted Monique far away from danger.

But he wasn't stupid.

They’d both been in a bad car wreck and they were both injured. He’d bet everything he owned Monique had a concussion, and while she’d plugged along without complaint, he knew she needed rest before she crashed.

“I usually enjoy camping,” Monique said. “But then again, I usually have a tent, a sleeping bag, and a whole ton of supplies.”

“I’ll build us a fire. That will keep us warm and keep animals away. Tomorrow, I’ll find us something to eat, and at least we have water.”

After killing the men who had abducted them, he’d raided the van and come up with nothing other than some bottles of water.

It seemed that those men didn't think to be prepared for any situation. His clothes were suitable for walking, but Monique’s silk and tulle ball gown and heels were not.

Since the first man he’d killed was the only one not covered in blood, he’d told her to wear his clothes.

Something she’d reluctantly done, only agreeing if she could wear his suit jacket underneath.

There was no denying that the caveman part of him loved the fact that she wanted to wear his clothes, so agreeing had been no hardship.

Now he tugged on the hand he held and moved her so she was facing him.

Not willing to pass up on what could be his only opportunity to touch her before she learned he’d used her and hated him, Jax ran his hands up her arms, loving the way she shivered and her pupils dilated.

Settling them on her shoulders with his fingers stroking the base of her neck, he bent his knees so they were eye to eye.

“Between shared body heat and the fire, we won't freeze overnight,” he assured her. “I might not be as comfortable as a sleeping bag in a tent, but I'm not the worst thing to sleep on.”

“Not the worst,” she agreed as her gaze dipped to scan his body. “Definitely not the worst.”

Giving her his first real smile in hours, since before they’d been run off the road, Jax pulled her against him and held her in a tight embrace. “I swear to you, Monique. I will take care of you and get you back home safe and sound.”

“I believe you,” she murmured, nuzzling her face against his neck.

Those simple words, spoken with such a pure heart, wiped the smile from his face. This woman believed in him with zero reason to, and all she was going to get for her blind faith was a heavy dose of betrayal.

November 1 st

1:12 P.M.

“It is not!” Monique exclaimed, absolutely positive she was right.

There was no way that could be true.

That just wasn't possible.

Nobody could like that.

“Totally is, princess,” Jax said, and the corners of his mouth twitched a little, making her doubt that he was telling her the truth. Unfortunately, she didn't know Jax well enough yet to always know when he was teasing her.

Yet.

The word had slipped into her mind without conscious thought on her part.

But as she considered it, Monique realized she did want to get to know Jax better.

She’d liked him from the first moment she laid eyes on him, and the way he’d killed for her was surprisingly hot, and oh so protective.

It definitely appealed to her poor little neglected heart, and she absolutely loved how he was so attentive to her, constantly checking on her and doing little things to make the whole ordeal a little bit easier.

Yep, getting to know him better when they were safe was a must.

Maybe that spark she’d felt at first, the pull toward him that only grew stronger the longer they spent together, was all wrong. Maybe this wouldn't go anywhere. Maybe it would turn out to be nothing.

But maybe it would turn out to be everything.

How could she not give it a chance?

If it turned out to be nothing, no harm, maybe she’d at least wind up with a new friend.

That would be something because she didn't have many of those.

Most people only saw her last name and thought if they attached themselves to her, some of that wealth and prestige would somehow rub off onto them.

Not Jax though. He seemed to like her more the more he found out she wasn't the Kerr princess she was made out to be.