Targeted

Chapter 4

Going dark: when an operative cuts all communication for a certain period of time.

Sophie kept stealing glances at Jack as they drove down the highway, but so far she hadn’t said anything. Her hair was slicked back and her arms were wrapped around her still-shivering body. Jack had turned on the heat in his backup car, and she’d stripped out of her wet clothes into a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt he had in his duffel bag. The clothes were too big for her, but they were dry.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her as he pulled out one of his backup cell phones from the duffel. After the way he’d just carried her to safety, she should know that, but maybe she needed reassurance.

“Why should I believe you?”

“First, I gave you a loaded weapon. Second, if I wanted you dead, I’d have let that shooter blow your head off—or I could have drowned you myself back there.”

She winced at his words and her already pale face turned almost gray. Instantly he wanted to kick his own ass. Yeah, he really needed to learn some subtlety.

“Where are we going?” Her voice was even quieter now.

“Somewhere safe.”

“Where?” she persisted.

“You’re just going to have to trust me.”

“I barely know you.” She mumbled a few Spanish words under her breath, and though his knowledge of the language was limited, he was pretty sure she called him a lying criminal.

Despite the situation, he had to bite back a smile at her attitude. She impressed him with how well she was handling everything. Ignoring her annoyance, he called his boss.

“Yeah?” Wesley answered immediately.

“Are you on a secure line?”

“Of course. What’s going on?”

“Someone just tried to kill Sophie Moreno.”

“Who?”

“Don’t know yet, but they were highly trained. Got a brief look at one of the guys right before we crashed into Biscayne Bay. He was Caucasian, dark hair, couldn’t tell how tall he was.”

“Russian?”

“No way to tell, but I heard them speaking Spanish, so I’m guessing no.” He briefly filled in his boss on what had happened.

Wesley was silent for a long beat. “You can’t take her back to SBMS or the condo.”

“I know. Do you know anything about Homeland Security wanting to talk to her?”

“What?”

“I didn’t think so. Looks like we might have a leak or they’ve been watching SBMS too. Homeland Security was at SBMS waiting to question her before we were attacked. I’m en route to a safe house, but as soon as we disconnect, I’m going dark until tomorrow.”

“Damn it, Jack, I need a way to contact you.”

“Too bad.” He pressed the END button, then took out the battery. Jack couldn’t chance that someone was tracking them with a satellite. The NSA had better security than all their government agencies combined, but if there was a mole, all the security in the world wouldn’t matter.

“Who was that?” Sophie scooted back in her seat, as if she could hide from him.

He sighed but kept his eyes on the road. “That was my boss.”

“How does he know who I am? And what do you mean there might be a leak? Who are you? After what just happened I think I deserve to know.” The pitch of her voice rose steadily with each word.

Jack couldn’t afford to have her freak out now. Especially not when he was pretty sure she was in mild shock. “Listen, I know you’re scared, but I need to get you to a safe place and we really need to clean up your wound.” He didn’t know when she’d been hit, but he was assuming a piece of glass or something else had hit her at the restaurant. The outside of her left jacket sleeve had been soaked with blood, and a tiny portion covered the back of her new T-shirt.

“Wound?” She glanced down at herself and ran a hand over the front of her shirt and sweatpants.

“Blood’s seeping through the back of your shirt, so I’m assuming you were hit.” If they’d had time, he’d have cleaned it up when they first reached the backup car. But time was not on their side.

She reached around with her right hand and felt the left side of her ribs and upper back. She winced in pain when she touched her shoulder blade. “Why didn’t I feel anything before?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“Adrenaline.”

When she pulled her hand back, there were a few specks of blood on her fingers. She took in a few deep, ragged breaths.

Shit. The sight of blood used to make her sick. He’d just assumed that she’d gotten over it. Up until now she’d been handling everything relatively well. Even though he hated wasting time and stopping, he glanced in the rearview mirror and steered into a gas station parking lot.

“Lean forward and put your head between your legs,” he said quietly.

She shook her head, her breathing ragged. “I’m fine.”

“Humor me, then.”

Muttering another curse, she did as he said. He reached out and rubbed her back in small, soothing circles, careful to stay far away from the wound. The action was instinctive for him. She might not realize it, but her body needed comforting. It was pure biology. Instead of calming down, however, she tensed and her erratic heartbeat increased. He could feel the thumping against his fingers.

“Sophie? Talk to me.” He kept his words low and even.

Still leaning forward, she shook her head. “Can’t breathe . . . Today is insane. . . . We were shot at and . . . you could have drowned. . . .” She sucked in another uneven breath.

“Sophie.”

When she still didn’t respond, Jack made a decision. He knew he’d regret this later, but for now, it was the only thing he knew that would get her under control. “Look at me.” His words were a sharp order.

Immediately she sat up, her dark eyes wide. Against his better judgment, he reached out to comfort her. He just wanted to wrap his arm around her so she’d calm down. Well, he wanted more than that. After she’d been plastered against him in the frigid water, he ached to feel her lean body around him once again. Because she wanted to be, not out of necessity. His fingers threaded through the curtain of her damp hair as he pulled her close. Her breathing was still erratic, and she practically fell across the console as she buried her face in his chest and dug her hands into his shoulders. Jack continued rubbing her back in soothing, rhythmic patterns until her heart rate slowed to normal. Comforting her like this was better than anything he could say with words.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled as she pulled her head back.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Immediately he missed the warmth of her body against his. Instead of removing his hand as he knew he should, he remained immobile.

When her eyes locked on his, Sophie stared at him without blinking. Her dark eyes seemed to swallow him whole and when her soft lips parted invitingly, his entire body reacted with primal awareness.

Before he could change his mind, he brushed his mouth over hers. A bare grazing of his lips over her soft ones. She let out a tiny gasp of surprise and her hands pressed against his chest as if she meant to push him away. But just for a moment. Then she clutched his shirt, grabbing onto him as if he were a lifeline.

He pressed his tongue deep into her mouth, tasting her sweet essence. For years he’d fantasized about kissing her again. It was like fucking heaven. Pure Sophie. He was consumed with greediness, already wanting more from her. Wanting to strip her bare and take everything she had to offer. As their tongues meshed and collided, a deep moan released from her. The erotic sound drove straight to his core and wrapped around the part of him he kept locked away from everything and everyone.

The part that dared to want someone for more than a night. The part that wanted to feel and experience more than meaningless sex. The part that wanted Sophie Moreno in his bed and in his life permanently. Just as they’d planned when they were younger.

Jack hadn’t been prepared for his primal reaction to her. It was even more intense than when they’d been seventeen. His stomach clenched as she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and returned his fervent kisses with a heated intensity he hadn’t expected given the situation. With his free hand he grasped one of her thighs and bunched a section of the sweatpants she wore. It was the only way he could remind himself of restraint. He wanted to rip them off her and plunge deep inside her. To feel her tight sheath clenching around his cock until they were both sated and tired. The fact that they were in a car and on the run didn’t matter.

She made a soft moaning sound into his mouth and he was afraid he might combust on the spot. Moving higher because he needed actual contact, he slid his hand underneath her cotton shirt. His fingers burned as he caressed her silky stomach. Actually touching her brought all his memories back like a raging fire. Memories and fantasies would never compare to the real thing.

When the blast of a car horn ripped through the air, he jumped back. The horn wasn’t meant for them, but it had shattered the moment just the same. Breathing hard, he forced himself to move away from her and turned the ignition back on. What was he doing? He was a government agent on a critical mission, trying to get this woman to safety and to save the country from a potential catastrophic threat. Not a randy teenager on his first date who couldn’t control his dick.

Sophie’s soft pink lips were swollen and by the dazed look in her eyes, she was surprised, but also turned on. Her damp hair was messy and framed her face in a way that made him think of raw sex. Great.

“I’m sorry . . . I shouldn’t have done that. It won’t happen again.” His hoarse, shaky voice sounded foreign to his own ears.

In response she touched a trembling finger to her lips, then leaned back against her seat. He glanced out his window to give her a moment of privacy.

“Jack?” The sound of her voice pulled him back around.

When he faced her, her eyebrows were pulled down, as if she might ask him something. Instead she leaned forward and twisted in her seat so that her back was turned toward him. “Can you see where I’m cut?”

There was some blood covering her shirt, but it wasn’t spreading and appeared almost dry. “It looks like you got hit with some glass. Probably from the table at the restaurant. I don’t want to risk taking it out right now and making things worse.”

“Okay.” She leaned back in the seat but twisted so she wasn’t pressing against the wound.

He rubbed a hand over his face and tried to banish the memory of that kiss. It was a mistake and he’d just leave it at that. This hadn’t even been in the realm of possibilities of how he’d expected things to go today. Normally he got a rush of adrenaline during firefights, but the only thing he felt at the moment was relief for Sophie’s safety. Well, that and he was still turned on. Unfortunately there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about that.

Following the signs and keeping to the speed limit, he made his way to 95 South. Technically he wasn’t going to a safe house, but Wesley didn’t need to know that. He’d purchased a place in Marathon, Florida, years back. It was listed under a bogus corporation, and it wasn’t connected to him. It was his contingency plan in case things ever went south. Only one other person knew about it, and there was no way in hell his friend would tell anyone about it.

Right now this was the best and closest option for Sophie and him to escape to. There were too many unknown variables and he wasn’t trusting her safety to anyone but himself.