Текст книги "Mine"

Автор книги: Dimon HelenKay

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 18 страниц)

THIRTEEN

The next morning Natalie stood sipping her coffee while Gabe banged together the two pots they had as he made breakfast after a long night of bedroom activities. She gave him credit for trying. Gave him credit for a lot of things.

She couldn’t imagine raising a child, only to have a sibling threaten to take it all away. It seemed incomprehensible. Also made her rethink her theory about Gabe abandoning his son. A guy who begged a woman to keep his baby, who worried about protecting him and keeping him close, would not just throw him away when he became inconvenient.

And that reimagining scared her. The son piece provided her with a protection against him. It was the one fact that made Gabe less appealing. The one part that reminded her to keep vigilant and not be thrown off by his smooth words and those hands that drove her wild. If he truly was exactly who he seemed to be, the last of her shields would fall.

She’d already shared parts of her past with him that she kept buried from everyone else. Those horrible moments she tried to forget and, in her most desperate times, pretended didn’t happen.

Joining the CIA she’d been subjected to all kinds of questions and daylong lie detector testing. All those questions. The insinuations that she was holding back. She knew the game but did fear her inner thoughts gave her away. The CIA needed to know about her past and if she could be trusted. They did not need to know she was the one who used the knife that night. She repeated that refrain every time her name got chosen for random testing.

The facts she’d hidden for so long were now out there. Gabe could turn around and use every sentence as a weapon, but she knew deep in her soul he wouldn’t. There was no escaping the truth. Something about him pulled at her and quietly shifted every rule she’d made for her life.

Stay detached and tamp down her emotions. A good plan. One she followed for years only to have Gabe blow it apart in a matter of weeks.

“Oatmeal?” Gabe’s deep voice cut through the cabin.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw him shake a packet of instant chalky-tasting food at her. She had no idea how he managed to stand there in a thermal Henley and jeans and look so adorable. He could shoot, stalk, hide, cook and make her body tremble from the inside out. His skills crossed the spectrum, and as someone who benefitted she appreciated them all.

“Sounds delicious.” She totally didn’t mean that but didn’t want to see his smile fall. But, really, the thrill of oatmeal had worn off on day two of being on the run.

He winked at her. “Liar.”

She glanced out the cabin’s front window then did a double take. There, at the edge of the trees, right before the open area of packed snow, stood a man. She could only tell that much from his build. Broad through the shoulders with a hood pulled tight against his face. High boots and a gun in his hand.

He stared at the cabin and didn’t move. His presence could be random or just a matter of a local passing through. Then her gaze went back to the weapon. No, this wasn’t someone stopping by to say hello—at least she hoped they and this guy were not that unlucky.

Shock grabbed her. Her body went numb, and the mug slipped from her hand. The metal clanged against the hard floor and hot coffee splashed up her leg.

Before she could blink Gabe was at her side, guiding her away from the spill. He stepped in front of her. “What’s wrong?”

“Someone breached the perimeter.” The alarms didn’t ring, which only highlighted the danger.

Her mind blinked in and out. This couldn’t be the guy who watched before. That man would not be so stupid as to take the risk of closing in a second time. And to stand there? No, this person wanted to be noticed. Probably welcomed a fight.

“Impossible.” Gabe stepped in front of her. A gun appeared out of nowhere. That lazy satisfied-from-sex expression disappeared, and he switched to protector mode.

Not one to wait behind she grabbed her gun off the table and joined him by the window. “How did it happen?”

“Fuck me.”

That struck her as the right reaction. She just wasn’t sure what it meant. “What?”

“He’s not inside the perimeter.”

She looked again. Maybe her eyes played tricks on her, but he seemed to have cleared the trees.

“I can’t see . . .” Her voice trailed off as she took a good look at Gabe. Watched every muscle stiffen. He knew something, and it was not good. She’d bet money on that. “What is it?”

“Rick.”

That guy was a pain in the ass on every level. “Another one of his men?”

“No, I mean actually Rick. He’s here.”

The words rang in her head. She tried to make sense of why that would happen or how Gabe could know. She’d seen his brother’s photo. Finding intel on him proved tougher thanks to his black-ops work. He knew people who could bury his information and keep him off the grid to aid in his work. But she’d seen early ID photos.

That’s what confused her now. With the hood and jacket she couldn’t even tell what color this guy’s hair was. “Do you recognize the coat or something?”

Gabe checked his gun as he grumbled under his breath. “The cocky way he’s standing there.”

“That’s not enough.” When Gabe didn’t answer, she tried again. “Right?”

Could it be? She tended to study people, looking for identifying traits. With all her training even she couldn’t see through inches of down and make out a face intentionally covered. Certainly not from a distance of fifty plus feet away.

“For better or worse, he’s my brother. I can pick him out of a crowd.” Gabe didn’t stick around and debate the point. Didn’t even put on a coat. He unlocked the door and opened it.

A rush of cold air blew over her. White flakes danced on the air as a new round of flurries swirled. She reached out to grab his arm but missed. He moved fast and sure. Lunging steps took him to the small porch then down two steps. The cold didn’t affect him at all. He tightened the hold on his gun and fended off the wind with a shirt meant to layer under things.

She started after him then stopped. Scrambled to find her boots. Shoving her feet in them, half turning her ankle as she tried to stomp her right foot in over the stiff material. Then she was off, trying to keep up.

Gabe might be sure about their newest watcher’s identity but she wasn’t. Not yet. Until a lightbulb turned on for her, she planned to keep her gun close and be prepared to fire. If that guy—whoever he was—lifted his weapon, she would blow a hole through his hand. That would teach him to sneak up on people.

She hit the snow and her boots sank up past her calves. She immediately regretted not grabbing her coat and thicker socks. The delay would have limited her time refereeing this showdown.

Not that Gabe acted as if he needed any help. “Hey, wait.”

He didn’t even spare her a glance. “Get back in the cabin.”

No way was that happening.

She kept making her way, ignoring the burning cold assailing her limbs. With each step the walking got harder, but she pushed on. Catching up proved tough, but that ceased being a problem when Gabe stopped ten feet away from their unwanted visitor and aimed a gun at the figure bundled in a jacket.

This close she could see the man stood right on the edge of the safe side of the perimeter. She had no idea how Gabe had spied that from the distance to the cabin. Eyesight issues aside, she did understand how the protection barrier worked. Gabe said he’d set traps and warning sensors a certain number of feet apart, all around the cabin right where the wooded area broke open. The guy’s foot had to be near the line. Natalie half wished he’d touch it.

“Gabe, no.” The man didn’t put the gun away, but he did reach for the string keeping his hood tight against his head and shoved it back on his shoulders. “It’s me.”

Gabe didn’t lower his weapon. Kept it leveled right at his brother’s head. “I know.”

So much for the concept of brotherly love. Not that she could blame Gabe. Not after what he’d shared.

The informal ID proved correct. Natalie really didn’t need an updated photo to confirm this one. Rick and Gabe looked alike. Rick was a bit slimmer with more of a lean runner’s body. A narrower face and lighter hair, but the same stern expression and a familiar way of standing.

She decided to try to slice through the suffocating tension. “Why are you here?”

Rick finally looked at her. His gaze traveled over her then over Gabe. “We should go inside before you two freeze.”

Not a bad suggestion, but she didn’t want him inside or anywhere near the place where she’d been staying with Gabe. Welcoming Rick felt like a betrayal even as her toes began to tingle.

She tried a more tactful approach, though she had no idea why she bothered. If these two planned to kill each other, she’d stand back and watch . . . then jump in to save Gabe. They had reached that point. The one where she couldn’t stand to think of anything happening to him. Damn him.

“If you step across that line you run the risk of—”

Rick cut her off while his gaze traveled back to Gabe. “It’s a warning perimeter. You have weapons set up to fire at other spots, but not here.” The man had the nerve to smile. “I’d say someone taught you well, but since most of that came from me, I’ll refrain.”

She made a mental note not to call Gabe a dick again. This guy was a dick. “How subtle of you.”

“I have never been accused of that, sweetheart.”

Make that a sexist dick. She started to wonder how Rick and Gabe came out of the same household. “Well, sweetheart, even without traps, Gabe and I still have guns.”

“Gabe might be pissed, but he won’t kill me.”

“I will.” She didn’t regret the comment. She meant it, and when she saw Gabe smile out of the corner of her eye, just for a second, there and then gone again, she relaxed. Rick might think he controlled the situation but he was dead wrong.

With a heavy exhale, Rick tucked his gun behind him. “I came to check on the two of you.”

For some reason that annoyed her. Everything this guy said had her wanting to punch something. “We’re fine. Now, leave.”

Rick’s eyebrow lifted. “I see why you like her.”

No, he didn’t get to engage in light banter. Didn’t get to joke with Gabe. Not on this topic or any other. Not while she was around. “You want to date me, too? Or maybe hitting on Gabe’s woman once was enough.”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah, she knows.”

Rage pulsed off Rick. His mouth fell into a flat line and tension almost had him puffing up. “What the fuck, Gabe? You won’t tell Brandon but you tell her. You sure work fast. Screw a woman for a few weeks and she comes running to your side.”

Gabe took a warning step in Rick’s direction. “Her name is Natalie, and she is under my protection. One more wrong word and I will give in to the clawing inside me and wipe you off the earth.”

The man just got more and more attractive. She decided to thank him for that later. After she let Rick know how little she thought of him. “But, really, keep being a condescending ass.”

“It’s too cold to stand out here without the proper weather gear.” Rick kept falling back on that argument.

The guy wasn’t wrong. Not about this. The cold seeped through her sweater and into her bones. Much more time out here and her teeth would start chattering. Her words would slur. With a lower than normal body temperature she’d always been susceptible to cold, and today she could not afford that weakness. “We can go back inside.”

“I’m going to follow.”

Maybe it would be faster to shoot him. She was starting to wonder. “You are such—”

“Enough.” Gabe finally lowered his gun. He nodded toward the ground in front of Rick. “Take a giant step, about three feet and slightly to your left.”

Rick scoffed. “That’s a bit dramatic.”

“Teacher or not, you missed a trap.” Gabe swept an arm out to the side. “If you don’t believe me, step wherever you want.”

Score one for the middle brother. “You shouldn’t have told him.”

Gabe kept talking. “We go inside and you have ten minutes to tell me why you’ve been sending men after us and what the CIA hopes to accomplish with this bullshit.”

Before he finished Rick started shaking his head. “You know I can’t—”

“That’s the only deal to make here, Rick.” Gabe shrugged. “My terms or you crawl home.”

Rick looked from Gabe to her and back again. “Fine.”

Part of her thought Gabe had let his brother off too easy. The other part understood the garbled it’s-confidential talk. She’d been trained in CIA-speak for years. Punishment for divulging details came swiftly and hard.

Since Rick worked outside of the CIA, had his own company, the rules might be less strict, but he had to sign an oath. Had to make promises. Had to have a special clearance and pass through a bunch of crap before he could look at one file. His livelihood and those of the people who worked for him depended on him never showing his hand. On him being willing to take a bullet if that’s what it took.

She tried to drum up some sympathy for the position Gabe put him in now. Tried and failed.

She glanced at the cabin, and when she looked back again Rick had crossed the danger line. They all took off for cover. No one talked. The only sounds came from the sway of the trees and crunch of the ice on top of the snow. The thumps of their footsteps echoed around them. Their strides outpaced hers so she hurried to keep up. No way was she getting left behind by these two. By the time she got the door open she’d likely have a bloodbath on her hands.

After making the trek and pounding their boots on the porch to knock off as much of the snow as possible, they walked inside. Gabe slammed the door behind them and turned on his brother. “Talk.”

Rick’s gaze went to the coffeepot sitting on the burner then to Gabe’s hand. “Maybe you can lower your weapon.”

She didn’t even notice Gabe still covered Rick. Seemed like a smart idea to her. “If he does, I’m still keeping mine right where it is.”

Rick unzipped his coat as his stare stopped on her. “I’ve been hired by a group within the CIA that’s concerned about your loyalty.”

“That’s bullshit,” Gabe said. “She hasn’t shown one sign of disloyalty or breaching her extraction agreement.”

“I happen to agree. It’s why I took the job, so I could control the reports back to the concerned party and keep you both safe from some trigger-happy assassin sent out here in my place.”

She didn’t buy it. Rick was setting himself up as some sort of avenging angel. Him, the guy who had his hands all up in his brother’s business. He was supposed to be the one to save them all? No way. “So, you’re my savior now?”

He exhaled as if to say he was bored with her questions. “I’m trying to help.”

Gabe walked around the room until he stood near the kitchen. This time he lowered the gun, but it remained in his hand. “That’s new.”

All traces of lightness left Rick’s face. “Do you want to have it out right now?”

“There’s nothing to fight about. You fucked the woman I was seeing. Didn’t care what she meant to me. Then when you hit some sort of midlife crisis brought on post-injury—”

“Watch it.”

“—you decided to have a kid by taking mine.”

Of all the things that could tick Rick off he picked a shot at his age. She would never understand men. But focusing on his comments proved easier than thinking about Gabe’s. What she meant to me . . . The words had the gears in her mind spinning. For whatever reason she hated hearing about this other woman, the one who held two MacIntosh men enthralled.

“You telling me you wouldn’t try to find out if a kid you thought was yours actually was?” Rick asked, in a low, soft voice that carried a note of threat with it.

“Not if he was my nephew and was doing well and loved.” Gabe’s shoulders fell. “Goddamn it, Rick. Why would you put him through this?”

“You mean you. Why would I put you through this?”

Gabe threw up his hands. “Okay, fine. Why do this to me?”

“That’s the point, little brother. This isn’t about you.”

Gabe moved like lightning. He flew across the room. Gun gone, he grabbed Rick by the throat and pinned him against the back of the door. “Your time here is up.”

If she hadn’t been standing there she wouldn’t have believed the change. So primal and unexpected, yet not a surprise the longer she thought it through. The man who held her while she unburdened about her father vanished. Turned into a giant ball of fury. Looked ready and quite able to kill at any moment.

Rick didn’t panic, but he did try to break Gabe’s hold. Clawed at the hand tightening on his neck. “Let go.”

“No.”

Rick dropped a hand to his side. Moved it around to his back.

That’s all she needed to see. She whipped her gun up and aimed it.

“I wouldn’t do that.” She moved to stand next to Gabe. “See, he’s related to you. I’m not.”

“I don’t get it.” Rick tried to shake his head but Gabe held him steady. “You sat in an office all day. What’s with the sudden need to rush to Gabe’s defense?”

“Please test my skills. I’m begging you.” Not that she would do anything in front of Gabe unless he was threatened, but Rick didn’t need to know that.

After swearing under his breath, Rick dropped his hands to his side. Lifted his chin. “I’m actually trying to get the CIA totally off your backs.”

Gabe hesitated a second before letting his vise grip go. “Since when?”

“I was threatened to make it happen or else.”

She didn’t get the comment. “What?”

“Your lawyer sent Elijah Sterling to see me. That guy’s record . . .” Rick blew out a long, ragged breath. “It can’t be real.”

Leave it to Eli to swoop in and provide backup. “I ran his team. It’s real. He’s that scary.”

“Thanks to some well-placed comments by him, I have something to work with. I’m going to push back on the people who hired me,” Rick said to Gabe. “Make it clear Natalie’s leverage and this hidden information she compiled is not something you play around with. Buy a bit of room, let them see everything is okay, or at least convince them that they have a lot to lose if they don’t ease up.”

“How much time will this take?” Gabe asked.

“A week?” Rick shrugged. “Hell, I don’t know.”

“Good.”

The word clunked in her brain. An unending run away from some unseen threat? No, thank you. “How is any of what he said good?”

“Rick is going to handle his end, which will support all the threats Bast is making on your behalf.” Gabe talked slowly, emphasizing each word. “We’ll lay low while all of that shakes out.”

She knew he was trying to tell her something, but she didn’t get it. Didn’t really want to. They were talking about her life like it was nothing more than a cheese sandwich to be bargained for and discarded. She expected that from Rick. Not Gabe. “You trust him? You think whoever is paying him will just back off because we’re all waving threats around?”

Gabe nodded. “Yes.”

“Of course,” Rick said at the same time.

They seemed so sure. Both stared at her with an annoying stop-worrying expression. As if she was the one out of line here. “Up until right now I thought you both were pretty competent.”

Gabe stared at her for an extra beat before turning to Rick. “It’s time for you to go.”

“A storm is kicking up.” Rick touched the tab to his zipper as he glanced out the window.

“Then you should move fast.”

“Gabe.” Even she thought that might be taking the vengeance angle too far. If something happened to Rick out there, Gabe would not forgive himself. Forget how mad he might be, this guy was his brother, and Gabe had proven over and over again to be decent.

“I don’t believe for one second hanging out here for the rest of the day and tonight was his original plan. He has a plane waiting or some mode of transportation.” Gabe shot his brother a skeptical look. “I’m just wondering why you came all the way out here to deliver this news yourself.”

“Didn’t think you’d believe one of my employees if I sent him out here, talking in code and shouting about Bast’s arguments and Natalie’s leverage.”

“True, but Andy can reach me.”

This time Rick zipped his coat. “He hasn’t been all that helpful to me on this operation.”

She knew she’d liked Andy. “I wonder why.”

“I’ll walk you out. Make sure you leave.” Gabe grabbed his jacket with one hand as he shoved his brother toward the door with the other.

•   •   •

Somehow they made it out onto the porch. The snow had started to fall, a bit harder now than earlier. Gabe knew because he’d spent the early morning walking the area around the cabin, looking for tracks or any other signs of life. If he had known he could have stayed in bed with Natalie a few more minutes and let Rick come to him, he would have.

Natalie. Gabe shook his head. Fought off a smile.

She’d been on his side through this battle. Got all furious on his behalf over Rick’s choices about Brandon. Gabe often wondered if the world flipped upside down who would defend him. Now he had an idea. Had no clue what to do about it or think about her, but her loyalty meant something.

If a man could wrangle her into a relationship, she wouldn’t cheat. That might be a low bar for some men, but not him. Combine that with her resilience and sexiness and he was having a hard time thinking about anything but her.

Rick turned right before starting down the porch steps. “She’s not your type.”

True in some ways but not in others. The main difference is that with other women, Gabe had counted the days until it ended. With her he dreaded the day it would. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Come on, Gabe. I told you the truth about what happened in the past because I thought you deserved to know.”

He didn’t pretend to misunderstand. This wasn’t about Natalie or work. “You told me because it was expedient to get what you wanted. Brandon.”

“I love that kid.”

The word grated across Gabe’s nerves. Before the admission and epic fight a comment like that would have filled Gabe with pride. It would signal that Brandon would always have family. Now everything Rick said came delivered with two edges, both sharp and dangerous. “So do I. Try to take him away from me and you’ll see how much.”

“You think he’ll love you any less if he finds out you’re his uncle and not his father?”

That question played over and over in Gabe’s head. Had for what felt like forever. “We will never know.”

“I need this, Gabe.” Rick blew out a long breath. “I’m not letting this subject drop.”

There it was. The constant threat that sucked the life out of everything else. “And I’m done talking. Have a nice hike.”

Gabe turned around and shut the door before Rick could say anything else. But one day, soon and before he was ready, Gabe would have to hit this horrible issue head-on. Then he’d see how much blood mattered.