Bourne to Love Emma (RED-Stone Operatives Book 1) (7 page)

“Sunday sounds great, Em.  I gotta
run.  Lock up for me.”

I grin as I remember the last time he
waited for me to lock the door.  He smiled back and I knew he was thinking
about it, too.

I closed the door and flipped the
locks.  I had a ton to get done after being down for four days and I needed to
run to the store for groceries today so I could do it without Mia in tow.

~Jason~

I’d been lying here in the dark for
over three hours now.  My body was reminding me that I was getting older and
concrete wasn’t the type of surface I needed to spend this much time on.  We
spent four hours in the same damn spot last night. 

My night-vision goggles painted
everything in shades of green, but there was nothing going on down there at
all.  Just like nothing had been going on the entire time I’d been up here.

I tapped the comm unit at my throat and quietly said, “Tex. 
What’s your status? Over.”

After a second, I heard him in my
ear, “Bourne.  I don’t have shit.  This is another bullshit recon, ain’t it? 
Over.”

“I thought we had that shit figured
out.  You think we still have issues?  Over.”

“When do we NOT have issues,
brother?  Over.”

I was smiling as I reached up to tap
my comm again when I saw it.  Fuck me.  No wonder this assignment had been
called by the boss-man himself.

“Tex.  What the fuck, dude? Over.”

“I have no fucking idea.  Circling
around for a better view.  Cover me. Over”

I kept my eye on the body creeping
toward the abandoned warehouse.  That asshole had no idea what kind of shit he
just stepped in.  My scope stayed locked on him while I waited for Tex to get
in position.

In my ear, he green-lighted phase
two.  “All clear.  I’m taking his ass down.  Keep an eye on the alley – it’s
the only blind spot from my drop.  Over.”

“Copy that.  Will wait for your
signal.  Over.”

Through my scope, I watched and
waited.  When the perp got about fifteen feet from the doors, a shadow suddenly
separated from the side of the warehouse and launched at him.  His high pitched
scream only lasted for a split second before he was on the ground and quiet.  I
kept sweeping the area, watching the alley, as Tex dragged the body into the
shadows.  I slowly started working my way counter-clockwise toward Tex’s
original location so I would have a better angle to cover him.

We gave it about five minutes.  When
there was no response to the take down, Tex cleared it.  “Off-site ASAP.  I’ll
carry him if you carry my gear. Over.”

I broke down his rifle and my own and
grabbed the duffel bags.  I kept my 9 mm out and ready.  “Copy.  Loaded up.  Let
me clear the alley before you move.  Over.”

“Copy that.”

I made my way through the darkness
around the buildings surrounding the warehouse we had been watching all night. 
Only one of them had a night guard and he didn’t do outside patrols, so we
should be in the clear.  I reached the alley and edged just inside.  All was
quiet.  As I lowered my gun and reached to call Tex to exit, I heard voices. 

Sounded like a drug deal was going
down just thirty feet away.

I clicked the comm, “Hold your
position. Over.”

I crouched down and eased closer, slowing
my breathing and focusing on the voices I could hear.  Three men.  Two
Hispanic, one white.  Maybe mid-to-late twenties.  I listened as they wrapped
up their deal and someone walked away.  The talking switched to Spanish and
started getting louder as the two remaining men moved toward my end of the
alley.

Shit.

“Plan B.  Meet you at the truck. 
Radio silent. Over,” I whispered into my mic.  The two clicks that sounded in
my ear let me know that Tex heard me and was bugging out another direction.  I
holstered my gun and grabbed my knife out of its sheath.  I wouldn’t engage
unless I had no choice – but in this part of town, they weren’t going to run
across me and just walk away.  I had wide open space just feet behind me, but
there was no way for me to stand up and get there without drawing their
attention and I had no idea if they were armed.  Killing civilians is almost never
authorized and we absolutely avoided it if we had any other option, so I sank
deeper into the darkness and waited.

They walked right past me… and then
stopped about ten feet away.  They were turned away from me, but I was still
stuck.  I waited.  And waited.  And then something moved in the trash just
across the alley from me. 

As they turned, I leapt from my
crouched position and shoved the one closest to me into the other as hard as I
could, sending them both stumbling into the wall and to the ground.  And then I
ran.  I slid my knife back into its sheath and slung the duffle handles over my
arms like a backpack.  They weren’t heavy but they were awkward and certainly
weren’t going to make this easy.  But our rifles were like a part of us – no
way was I leaving them behind.

As I reached the mouth of the alley, I could hear them coming
my way.  Fuckers.  I ran between two buildings and vaulted over a chain link
fence – nearly getting hung up on the top because of the bags.  I dodged
construction equipment and was almost to the next lot when I heard them coming
over the fence. 

I melted back into the shadows and
listened.  After a moment, a car alarm went off on the other side of where they
were and they ran for it.  I laughed to myself.  I owed Tex a beer.  I stood up
and hustled my ass out of there. 

When I saw the truck down the street,
I jogged to it and hopped in the bed before I thumped the cab twice with my
fist and he took off.  I leaned against the back of the cab and shook my head. 
Damn.  The adrenaline high was pumping and I still couldn’t believe who we
caught slinking around down there.  John was going to be some kind of pissed
when we called him for an update.

Half an hour later, we were sitting
in one of the “meeting rooms” at RED-Stone.  It was a 12x12 room with one wall
of one-way glass for observation and it was soundproof. 

Dickhead was sitting strapped to a
chair in one corner of the room.  We hadn’t said shit to him since he started
coming to.  We had put a cloth bag over his head to disorient him further and
were waiting in the observation room for John to show up before we did anything
else.

Then John walked in.  “I called Crash
in for this.  You’ve both been in the office enough that he might recognize
your voice and I want him to wonder who the hell caught him.  Fucker.”

Crash was another former SEAL.  We’d
only worked together a couple of times, but he was damn good at his job.  He
spent the majority of his time in foreign countries since he just left the Teams
last year and his contacts were all still hot.  He was one hell of an asset to
us.

Tex cut out after about an hour of
the interrogation. Technically, we weren’t needed at this point, but it felt
wrong to just leave.  It was already after midnight.  Surprisingly, the little
shit was holding up pretty well under questioning.  I figure I’ll stick around
a while longer and see if anything breaks loose, but I’ll leave if it’s still
dragging at one.

~Emma~

Heather called me this morning while
I was playing “what’s that smell?” in Mia’s room.  Sometimes that child of mine
likes to hide things that shouldn’t be hidden.  And she can’t talk well enough
for me to know why that might be.  It’s my own fault for letting her walk
around with food at any time.  I need to get better about that….

Carla was going to watch Mia tonight
so Heather and I could go dancing at Club Echo.  We hadn’t been in probably six
months and she called my raincheck for missing Taco Tuesday and turned it into
Strip Club Saturday – but I convinced her that we just needed to drop the
“Strip” and I would go.  She was disappointed but I think it had more to do
with the alliteration she wanted than the club she was thinking about.

I was already showered and dressed
when Carla came up to get her.  I just needed to fix my hair and put on some
makeup. 

“Emma, that dress is beautiful!  You
girls have fun tonight – don’t worry about us.  We’re going to eat macaroni and
cheese and watch Elmo.  This girl will know her letters and numbers long before
pre-school.”  She beamed at Mia as she picked her up and grabbed the diaper bag
I had repacked for her.

“Thanks so much, Carla.  I’m sure we
won’t be back too late.”

She waved away my comment. 
“Nonsense, you’re young and lovely.  If you get home too late, just call me and
I’ll keep her until morning.  She’s a sweetheart and I love having her at
home.”

We are so lucky.  I never would have
dreamed we would have someone as wonderful as Mrs. Martinez helping us when we
moved in.

“Okay.  I’ll check in with you and
let you know.”

“Have fun, dear.”  And she and Mia
were off to have fun.  I locked the door behind them and went to finish getting
ready.

Half an hour later, Heather handed me
a glass of wine – what she calls “pre-gaming” to help loosen us up before we
have to pay for liquid courage.  Mostly, the wine is for me.  Heather probably
hasn’t needed courage in her whole life.  She’s as bold as they come. 

“Bottoms up, babe.  Let’s go.”  She
gulped the last of her wine and handed me my tiny purse.  She looked me over
one more time – I actually got the thumbs up this time when she showed up. 
Last time she complained about my hair, my make-up and my dress.  This time I
knew what she would say, so heels were high, my dress hit me just below
mid-thigh, my make-up was heavy enough to make me uncomfortable and my hair was
half up and half down in loose curls that would bounce when we dance.  I was
learning to anticipate Heather’s tantrums.  She makes me crazy, but I can’t
imagine my life without her.

We took a cab to the club and hardly
waited in line at all to get in – which is remarkable for a Saturday night. 
Laughing, Heather dragged me straight to the bar for a shot of tequila.  Patrón
Silver, of course.  Several guys at the bar were already looking our way so,
being Heather, she licked the back of MY hand and put salt on it instead of her
own before she took her shot and chased it with the lime wedge.  I rolled my
eyes and licked her hand before taking my shot.  The attention we garnered was
a lot more than it had been five minutes before. 

Now that we had been properly
loosened up, we hit the dance floor.  By the second song, the alcohol was doing
its job and I was feeling the beat like it was being played just for me. 
Heather and I always stayed together and, now that she has John, she has no
reason to leave me behind to dance with someone else. 

In the middle of the song, a
nice-looking guy stepped into my bubble and started dancing with me.  He was
tall with dark hair and eyes and adorable dimples in his cheeks.  I smiled at
him and Heather smiled at both of us.  The next song, though, was a bump and
grind song and he put his hands on my hips and pressed himself against my
backside.  I made eye contact with Heather and she yelled “I need another
drink!” so I turned and shrugged at the guy in apology…sort of. 

Heather laughed at me all the way to
the bar.  “It’s Jason, isn’t it?  You can’t even rub your ass on another guy
because you want him, right?  I knew it!”

I felt my
cheeks heat and knew there was no way out of this.  “I invited him to have dinner
with me and Mia tomorrow

night.”

Heather squealed and did a little
jump before she hugged me tight.  I laughed at her enthusiasm.  “That’s so
great, Em!  I’m so proud of you!”

“It’s just dinner Heather….”

“Bullshit.  You’ve already kissed him
and told me you have some panty-melting chemistry!  That is NOT going to be
‘just dinner.’” 

I opened my mouth to deny it or argue
or something.  And then I just shut my mouth and smiled.  She’s right.  It’s
not going to be ‘just dinner.’  I don’t want it to be.  I want to see if there
can be something bigger and better than just being neighbors.  I was terrified,
but excited.  Basically, thinking about it makes me feel sick.  But I think
maybe I’m ready to find out if Jason and I can have an actual relationship….

Heather ordered two fruity frozen
drinks for us now that she knows I’m not going to be getting freaky on the
dance floor with some random guy.  When we got to a table to sit down, her
phone rang.  She mouthed that it was John, so I mouthed that I was going to the
restroom.  She waved me off and smiled.

I wound my way across the room to the
restrooms and turned toward the women’s room when someone grabbed me by the
shoulder and spun me around, slamming my back into the wall.  I was so
surprised that I didn’t even try to fight as he shoved me to the end of the
hallway across from the men’s room. 

In the dark corner away from the
crowd, my brain finally grasped that it was my ex-husband, Dan, holding me
against the wall by my throat.  He leaned into me and I could smell the alcohol
on him.  He didn’t look the same – thinner, his face was gaunt. 

“You come in here and shake that ass
and dance with your girlfriend and tease every dick in this room like you’re
too good for all of them.  Probably fucking that guy from the park, letting him
fuck you how I used to fuck you, sucking his dick and letting him put his
fucking hands on you….”

I tried to move back so his hand
wouldn’t be so tight on my throat since I was struggling to breathe.  That was
a bad idea.  Dan slid his hand up from my throat and grabbed my face so tight I
knew there would be bruises later.  He smashed his mouth on my mouth and
pressed his body against mine.  The wall pressed against my shoulder blades
painfully and his body was plastered against me from knee to chest.  I tried to
twist my face away from his but he tightens his grip on my jaw and forced his
tongue into my mouth. 

I tried to keep my mouth closed but
his grip on my jaw is so painful, it’s easier to just stay still while he
kisses me.  He wedged his knee between mine and pushed his thigh in between my
legs as his right hand began working its way under my skirt.  I could feel his
erection against my hip.  That was when it finally hit me that I was in
trouble.

And then, my hands were pushing
against him and I was trying to yell as he finally reached the edge of my
panties and I felt his fingers against my skin.  He clamped his hand back
around my throat, cutting off my air so I couldn’t call for help.  I couldn’t
push him off me, I couldn’t get my leg free to try to hurt him and there was no
room between me and the wall to let me back up at all.  I was completely
trapped and I couldn’t breathe!  Both of my hands were pulling at his hand and
arm, trying to get him away from my throat.

As he wedged his fingers under the
edge of my panties, he half yelled in frustration and yanked against the fabric. 
At that moment, a man turned into the hall to use the bathroom.  Dan’s hand was
clamped on my throat and his other hand is under my skirt.  The man called out
“Jesus, get a room, horny fuckers.”  He glanced at us as he pushed the door to
the bathroom open.  And thank God he saw something that made him stop.

“Hey!  What the fuck, dude!”  He
grabbed Dan by the shoulder and yanked him away from me.  Dan took a swing at
him, but the other guy knocked his arm down and Dan staggered back. 

“You owe me, you bitch.  You owe
me.”  He turned and walked away.

When the stranger turned toward me, I
had slumped into a heap on the floor, staring at where he’d been in complete
disbelief over what just happened.  I can’t even put it all together in my own
head.  The craziest thing was that I hadn’t even been scared of him until he
shoved his hand under my skirt.  Yeah, Dan’s an asshole and I still can’t
believe how things ended between us – but he’s not a rapist.  He had women
practically throw themselves at him even when he was married.  I never in a
million years would have thought he’d try to pull what he just did.

“Hey.  My name’s Ian.  Are you here
with someone?  Can I help you up?  Do you want me to call the police?”  He was
crouched in front of me but not touching me.  I could see that he was nervous,
but he was being so gentle with me.  I held out my hand and he pulled me to my
feet.  When I stumbled forward on my high heels, he wrapped an arm lightly
around my shoulders. 

I pointed out Heather without
speaking when he asked where I wanted to go.  He walked with me back to the
table where Heather was people watching and enjoying her drink.  When she sees
me, she raises an eyebrow at the guy I’m with at first and then her eyes snap
back to my face and she jumps up from the table. 

“What the hell happened, Em?”  She is
almost yelling and starts to turn toward Ian as if he’s to blame.

I forced myself to say something
before she started yelling at him.  “We just need to go.  It was Dan.” 

“Dan, your ex, Dan?  What the fuck
did he want?  What did he do to you?”

I said thank you to Ian and told
Heather I just wanted to go home.  Ian said he would walk us out, just in case.

Heather pulled her phone out of her
purse and told me she was calling John.  I heard her telling him that Dan had
been here and he’d attacked me when I went to the bathroom.  I knew he was
asking questions when Heather turned away from me a little, but I was starting
to feel numb and knew I was going into shock.

I heard Heather and Ian talking as
Heather wrapped an arm around my waist and we made our way to the front of the
club.  He told her what he’d seen and what happened when he intervened.  I
tuned them out and stood there feeling like my mind had been wrapped in cotton
– a combination of the alcohol and the shock, I guess.  After a few minutes,
they usher me forward like bodyguards and help me into the dark sedan parked in
front of the club.  I don’t recognize the guy driving, but Heather seems to
know him and tells him to take us to her house.

“Heather.  No.  I want to go home.  I
need to see Mia.  I just – I just need to go home.”

“Em.  I don’t want to leave you
alone.  You need to talk about what happened – you NEED to fucking press
charges against his ass.  Carla has Mia.  She’s fine.  You just need to stay
with me tonight.”

“I can’t deal with this right now.  I
need to go home.  I don’t want to talk about it yet.  I just want to go home.”

Heather just stared at me before her
expression changed and she started typing on her phone.  After she had
exchanged a few messages – with John, I assume – she tells the driver to take
us to my building.

After she walked me to my door, I
basically kicked her out.  I’m fine.  The building has excellent security.  I
was going to leave Mia with Carla tonight and I would get her in the morning.  I’m
fine.  Really. 

She finally left and I stripped out
of my cute dress and sexy heels and stared at them in a puddle on the floor.  I
can still hear Dan’s ranting about being a tease.  I shudder as I step over the
clothes. 

I took a hot shower and scrubbed my
skin pink before dressing in a tank top and pajama pants and curling up in my
bed.  I pulled all the blankets on top of me and shiver.  I’m so cold.  I closed
my eyes and see his face distorted by so much rage.  I opened my eyes again. 
Sleep is not going to happen for me.

~Jason~

We were finally getting somewhere
with the interrogation.  The boss and I were still watching from the
observation room when Crash finally got him talking.  He was throwing truths in
with some not-so-true things, though, so we weren’t quite where we needed to
be, yet. 

John left the room to take a call and
came back a few minutes later.  When his phone started buzzing again, he
started to leave and then stopped and sat back down.  I glanced at him and saw
him staring at me with an odd expression on his face.

“What?”

He just looked at me for another
moment and then said, “I need you to do me a favor.”

“Okay….”  I wait for him to tell me
what’s going on.  John and I have worked together for three years now and,
while we have a lot of mutual respect for one another and have a good rapport
outside of work, we aren’t really ‘friends’ per se.  So a favor was definitely
new territory for us.