Forged in Steele

CHAPTER 23

MAREN sat next to Steele on the couch in the sitting area of the jet where they’d relocated as soon as they had taken off and gotten into the air. Her anxiety was clear and the minute they’d gotten from their seats and moved to the back, she turned to Steele, agitation clear in her eyes.

“I know you have a lot of questions,” she said in a low tone. “I have a lot I need to tell you. Just you,” she emphasized. “I know Sam and the others will want—deserve—answers, but what I have to say is for you and you alone, and I don’t want to talk about it where we could be overheard.”

Her voice had risen with each word and she’d grown more upset the longer she spoke. He smoothed a hand over her cheek, moving her hair behind her ear.

“I just want you to rest,” he said in a soothing voice. “You don’t have to say or do anything you don’t want. Okay?”

The relief in her eyes was crushing. He pulled her into his arms, not caring if anyone else saw them. She rested her head against his shoulder, her soft breaths pushing her chest against his.

“Thank you,” she choked out. “God, I’m so glad you’re here. I’d begun to lose hope that I’d ever be free again.”

His hold tightened around her. “I would have never stopped searching for you, Maren. I would have found you even if it meant turning the entire goddamn world over.”

She lifted her head to stare up at him, her eyes soft and drooping with fatigue. “Kiss me,” she whispered.

“That you don’t ever have to ask me for,” he said as his mouth descended on hers.

He wasn’t forceful. That wasn’t what she needed. She needed comfort. Reassurance. And so he gave her the tenderest of kisses, gentleness he would have never said he possessed. But for her, he could and would do anything.

She sighed into his mouth and then sagged against him, closing her eyes.

“Lie down,” he said gently. “You need to rest, Maren. I can only imagine how exhausting this has been for you. Sleep now. We have hours yet until we land. I don’t want you to worry about anything. I’ll take care of everything and you.”

She hugged him tightly and then carefully lowered herself, arranging herself on the couch so that her legs extended to the end and her head was pillowed on his lap.

He caressed her forehead and cheeks, running his fingers through her hair in a soothing motion until finally she drifted off and her breathing deepened, signaling her sleep.

He stared at her for the longest time, absorbed in his thoughts, his fears of what she would tell him and what it might mean for them both. He must have drifted off, exhaustion finally overtaking him, because when he opened his eyes, his head was lolled back against the seat and he was staring straight up at the ceiling.

He checked his watch to see that several hours had passed. He lowered his head and reached up with his free hand to work the knots from his neck.

“She still out?” Rio asked. “I checked on y’all earlier, and you were both passed out.”

Steele glanced up to see the other team leader standing in the aisle leading into the seating area. He nodded but didn’t extend an invitation for Rio to join them. Unfortunately Rio either didn’t get the hint or outright ignored it.

Rio plopped down into one of the chairs situated at an angle from the couch where Maren and Steele were. He put one foot up and stared over at Steele.

“Hancock is of the mind we owe him, or rather I owe him now. And he’ll collect. No doubt about that.”

Steele scowled. “He needs to stay the fuck away from us. He’s already caused enough trouble.”

“That’s true enough, but he’s also done us a favor by handing over Maren. I still don’t know why he did it. It’s uncharacteristic of him to give a damn about anything other than his objective. But I swear, for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why he waited so long to take out Farnsworth. It didn’t make any sense to me why he would allow Grace to be taken when he had every opportunity before to take Farnsworth down. He had access and opportunity and yet he didn’t take Farnsworth out until after Grace had healed his daughter. He put Grace at enormous risk and yet he pulled Maren because he thought Caldwell was close to harming her?”

Rio paused and Steele glanced at him. “You figured it out now?”

“It sounds crazy, but the only explanation I can come up with is that he wanted Grace to save Elizabeth before he took Farnsworth out. The minute she healed Elizabeth, he shot Farnsworth.”

Steele sent him a skeptical look. “So you think this guy has a heart under that rigid exterior.”

Rio nodded. “I may have written the thing off with Farnsworth as Hancock just being Hancock. Never know what he’s thinking. He’s like a machine. No emotion. No feelings. But now he gave us Maren because he feared Caldwell was going to make a move on her? That’s two I can’t explain other than to think he actually has a soft spot beneath the icy exterior.”

His eyes gleamed with sudden amusement.

“Might say the same for you too, ice man.”

Steele’s eyes narrowed. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Just that behind that cold-as-ice exterior is an actual heart. Not like you to take a mission so personally, but you’ve been pounding the pavement and going without sleep to find Maren.”

“She means something to this organization,” Steele bit out. “She’s not an anonymous mission like so many of our others. We actually know her. She’s helped us out many times. Of course I’m going to take it personally. Just as I did with P.J. when she went AWOL and just like I’d take it personally if any member of my team were in trouble.”

“Uh-huh. Whatever you say,” Rio said with a grin.

“Fuck you, man,” Steele said rudely.

The other team leader just kept grinning and casting that smug, knowing look in Steele’s direction. As if Steele would be spouting personal shit with Rio anyway. The two had to work together, but it didn’t mean Steele had to like it. And he damn sure wasn’t going to have some fucking touchy-feely moment with the other man.

“The others getting some rest?” Steele asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from its current topic.

Rio nodded, but amusement still glittered brightly in his eyes.

“My team needs the downtime,” Steele said. “They’ve been working nonstop over the last months turning over every stone in our search for Maren. We were overdue before this mission came up.”

Too late he realized he’d put the focus squarely back on his obsessive, exhaustive search for Maren. Fuck it all. But he was going to make it clear that he was off the books for a long damn time. No way in hell he was going to leave Maren when she needed him most.

Rio nodded. “My team is rested up. And Nathan and Joe’s should be turned loose anytime. They’re competent. We’ll pick up the slack while your team gets some R and R. Just make sure to include yourself in that scenario. But then Maren could probably use some help in the short term. I don’t see her going back to Costa Rica after what happened.”

Steele scowled again. “Hell no, she’s not.”

He didn’t know exactly what the short term held. He knew he needed to get Maren back stateside and give her time to recover from her ordeal. Her family was frantic with worry, and they’d want to see her as soon as possible, but no way in hell was Steele going to allow her to run off on her own. It was highly likely Caldwell would be watching her family, if he wasn’t already. And now that Maren had escaped him, who was to say he wouldn’t go off the rails and try to get her back?

Beside him, Maren stirred and he looked down to see her eyes flutter open. For a moment there was confusion and her eyes were cloudy from sleep. Then she blinked and relief flooded her gaze when it connected with his.

“Hey,” he said softly.

She glanced around the small sitting area and when she saw Rio, she froze.

As if sensing her discomfort, or maybe just opting to leave them alone, Rio stood and made a hasty departure back to where the others were sitting.

“Where are we?” she murmured.

She struggled to sit up and he helped her, keeping the blanket tucked around her.

“We’re over U.S. soil,” Steele said. “Should be landing in less than an hour.”

Relief once again settled into her blue eyes. Her shoulders sagged and then she wiped her face with both hands, scrubbing back and forth.

“You can use the bathroom to freshen up if you need to,” Steele said. “Or if you’ll tell me what you want, I can get it for you.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. Really. Nothing a really long bath won’t cure. I’d kill to be able to soak for about an hour.”

“Done,” he said gruffly.

She bit her bottom lip and glanced nervously at him. He hated that look. Like she was afraid of his judgment somehow. Or that she was afraid to tell him something she feared would change his opinion of her somehow. Did she think he’d hold anything Caldwell had done to her against her? Fuck that.

“Can you take me somewhere, maybe a hotel after we land? I really don’t feel like being at the KGI compound right now. I know Sam and the others will have lots of questions, but honestly right now I just want to take a really hot bath, call my family and sort this out for myself before I have to explain it to anyone else.”

He frowned at the mention of a hotel. “You’re coming home with me. You can have your bath and make your phone calls there. Sam can wait until you’re ready. For that matter, there’s nothing he really needs to know unless you want to tell him.”

Her eyes widened. “That isn’t necessary, Steele. Really. I don’t want to be a bother. I know you value your privacy. A hotel is just fine. I can call my parents and then go there. I’m sure they have to be worried out of their minds.”

He shook his head. “My place. No arguments. Besides, no way in hell you’re going to your parents. Not yet anyway.”

“What?”

“It’s very possible that Caldwell will be monitoring your family. Especially since you escaped. It’s too dangerous for you to be in the open until Caldwell has been taken down. Your parents and your brother have been notified of your safe return. Sam is also arranging for protection for your parents and your brother in case Caldwell does something stupid. They’ve been told that you’ll be in touch as soon as you get back to the U.S.”

“You really think they could be in danger?” she asked anxiously.

He hated the fear and the worry in her eyes. She’d experienced far too much of both already. But he wouldn’t lie to her either.

He nodded. “It’s a good possibility. We can’t afford not to assume the worst.”

She sighed and her face fell. “I’m sorry, Steele. I hate to be such a bother to you and to the rest of KGI.”

He nudged her chin up with his fingers. “You aren’t a bother and you’re damn sure not going to apologize to me. We clear?”

A small smile flirted with the edges of her mouth. “We’re clear.”

“Good. Now when we land, I’ll drive you out to my house. Sam can wait for whenever you’re ready. After you’ve had a chance to rest and get your bearings, you can call your folks so they know you’re okay. And you and I will deal with everything else.”

Anxiety crept into her gaze again, and his stomach knotted as he wondered what she had to tell him that worried her so much. He wanted her to feel safe telling him anything at all, but there was no magic wand for him to wave to make her trust completely in him. All he could do was make it clear with his words and his actions that nothing she said would change one damn thing about the way he felt about her.

“Maren,” he said quietly.

She glanced back up at him.

“You’ll get through this just fine. Trust me. I’m not going to leave you to deal with this alone.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. “I just hope you still feel that way when I’ve told you everything.”