Mark (In the Company of Snipers Book 2) (12 page)

He shivered, closing his eyes for a second.

Oh, yeah. She needed to stop tempting him. And her.

“Did you really catch all that on video?” she asked shyly as she changed the subject.

“Nope, but he doesn’t know one way or the other, does he?” Mark chuckled as he swayed back and forth with her in his arms.

Libby turned in his arms to face him, stoking the whiskers on his chin again. This touching seemed a little less intimate, but it still ignited a steady glow all the way to her core. “So why are you here? You didn’t come all the way to Washington D.C. just to rescue me.”

“Let’s sit down while I explain.” He latched onto her hand and led her to a nearby park bench. “I’ve been looking for you since I got into D.C. I called your friend, Marcy. She told me you would be here. Then it was just a matter of finding you.”

“But why did you need to find me?” Libby turned to face him. He’d restored his sunglasses to the top of his head again. Everything about him looked so good, all that tanned skin and the laugh lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes. She reached out to touch him, and he clasped her other hand, too.

“Remember I told you about my new job?”

She nodded, her eyes drinking him in.

“My boss sent me to Afghanistan to investigate a new drug cartel,” Mark explained. “They’ve been smuggling opium stateside when soldiers’ remains are shipped home. Some of that dope was hidden inside a few of the caskets that left Dover. We’re fairly sure that includes Jon’s.”

“But how could they do that? Wouldn’t those nice people at the mortuary—”

“No, not unless they had a drug sniffing dog.”

“But I—” Libby couldn’t finish. Of course, they hadn’t looked inside Jonathan’s casket. His body wasn’t there. There was nothing inside but a heavy-duty plastic bag of remains beneath a USMC dress uniform. Tears came with the rush of sad memories.

“I’m sorry.” Mark traced a gentle finger over her cheek. “I didn’t want you to hurt again.”

She leaned into him and closed her eyes. “No, I’m sorry. I think I’m getting over it, and then it all comes back like it happened yesterday.”

“It takes time. I know.” He brushed his hand through her hair. “But there’s more. I’m also taking you to a safe house until this business with the cartel is settled.”

“A safe house? Why on earth?” She pulled away to look at him. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. My boss doesn’t want to take any chances. For once, I agree with him. These guys are dangerous.”

“But what about my family? Are they in danger too? Who’s going to save them?”

“Don’t worry. The FBI already has them in protective custody. Jon’s parents too.”

“But I need to get my things from the hotel. I need to cancel this class. I need to—.”

“No, Libby. No, you don’t.” He braced a gentle hand under her chin. “Right now, we’re going to the safe house, and that’s all there is to it. Another agent will get your things from the hotel. You’re not leaving my sight for a minute, honey.”

Libby blinked.
He just called me honey.

“This can’t be the right place.” Mark peered up at the giant oaks lining the residential street. “Let me check my GPS.”

Libby waited patiently while he entered the address again. Yep. This was it, but there was no way his boss would live in a little cracker box home like the one Mark had momentarily parked in front of. He’d fully expected a grand mansion given the money Mr. Stewart had to be bringing down. Judging by the ultra modern office building that housed The TEAM, with its utilitarian design, black granite surfaces and polished aluminum trim, he figured the Stewart’s home would be just as lavish and twice as pretentious. It wasn’t.

Mark glanced at Libby riding shotgun and looking like she belonged there. After showing up just in time to be her hero for the day, he didn’t want to look like a bumbling country bumpkin who couldn’t navigate big cities. It was time to act like he knew what he was doing, even though he didn’t.

“Let’s see who’s home.”

“Okay,” she answered.

He ran around the rental car to get her door. The moment she swung her long legs out of the vehicle, his heart flip-flopped. The navy blue dress and heels enhanced her already slender figure, but the way she smoothed her hands over her hips to push the wrinkles away didn’t help. He was already mesmerized, and very aware of her curves. She looped her arm through his, smiling up at him on their way to Alex Stewart’s front door, if this really was his home. Mark stifled his lustful thoughts of Libby, and prepared to find out the hard way who lived here—by knocking.

“This is a nice quiet neighborhood.” Libby glanced down the sidewalk where a bushy-tailed squirrel hopped on its way to a nearby bush. “I like it. It feels like home.”

Mental note to self,
Libby likes this place. Cool. Gosh, I hope we’re not lost.

“Mark.” A smiling Mrs. Stewart met them at the front door. “I’ve been expecting you. Please come in.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. Mission accomplished. This dinky little slice of suburbia really did belong to his millionaire boss. How weird?

The dinky little place didn’t even sport a garage, only a carport and a fenced backyard. The inside seemed larger than the outside, but that had to be the artful way the furniture was arranged, that and the fact there was so little of it. The old man didn’t even have a television, at least not in the front room. A bookshelf, sofa, and easy chair with end tables graced the room before it led to a nineteen-fifties style kitchen, chrome legs, red vinyl covered chairs, and all. A black cat clock hung above the table, its long tail swinging back and forth to the ticking minutes.

“Libby Clifton.” He stopped surveilling his boss’s home to handle proper introductions. “This is Kelsey Stewart. Very nice to meet you, ma’am.”

Kelsey waved off his handshake in lieu of a hug. She was very pleasant and attractive. With her long brown hair clipped at the back of her head, she could not have looked happier. He looked twice. Tiny scars marked the side of her face. For all her cheerful welcome, there was a haunted look to her eyes, as if she was happy but in a subdued way.

“How was your flight?” she asked. “You must have been flying all night, Mark.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He looked around again, his need to understand his surroundings overcoming his need to socialize. “If you ladies don’t mind, I’d like to check the perimeter.”

“I’ll be fine,” Libby said. “You go do what you have to do.”

“We’ll fix lemonade while you’re gone,” Kelsey said. “Come on, Libby. I understand you’re from Wisconsin?”

The women’s chatter faded as Mark let himself out the front door. He had noticed the magnetic security tape on the windows as well as the keypad for an alarm inside the front door. The outside of the home appeared in good order. No windows were left opened, nor did they appear easily accessible.

He mentally strategized. The home had the usual two points of egress, a fenced back yard, and an alarm system. In case they were under attack, he could have Libby out of there in no time at all. He ran into trouble the moment he lifted the latch to the backyard gate. Two huge German Shepherd-type dogs set up a noisy ruckus.

“Whisper. Smoke. Shush.” Mrs. Stewart stepped out the back porch. Both dogs ceased barking and sat on their haunches as if waiting another command.

“Wow. You’ve got some huge guard dogs.”

“They were EOD dogs over in Iraq,” she explained. “Whisper’s the black one. Smoke’s the silver. You do know what EOD means, don’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am. Explosive Ordnance Disposal.” Mark joined her at the backdoor. “I never would’ve guessed Mr. Stewart was a dog lover though.”

“Please Mark, call me Kelsey.” She was so much the opposite of her domineering husband. The evidence that his boss had a definite alter ego was beginning to pile up. How could a woman as sweet as Kelsey stand a man as obnoxious as Alex?

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Mark.” Kelsey stopped him with a hand to his arm, a scolding smirk on her face. “You need to stop calling your boss Mr. Stewart, too. Just Alex and Kelsey. That’s all. I mean it.”

“Sorry.” He ran a hand over his head, grimacing that she really wanted him to call his boss by his first name. That was going to be hard. The man didn’t even like being called sir, but Alex? “Guess it’s the way I was raised. Being in the military only made it worse. It just kinda pops out of my mouth.”

“I know.” She chuckled as they entered the kitchen through the backdoor. “It’s very respectful, but we’re your friends. You can be yourself with us. Now, can I pour some lemonade for you?”

He nodded, instantly distracted. Libby had just bent over the arm of the couch in the front room, reaching for something he couldn’t see. It was what he could see that detonated a heated explosion in his body. Every ounce of blood fled from his brain. The sight of her very trim backside and curvaceous hips took every last intelligent thought right out of his head. He couldn’t look away, his eyes memorizing the smooth curve of her profile, the gentle swell of her breasts as she leaned over, and the way the buttons of her dress parted just enough to catch a glimpse of her bra. White. Lacey. Thirty-six Bs. Hmmm.

“Earth to Mark,” Kelsey teased. “Are you still with me?”

He turned back to her standing beside him with his glass of lemonade in her hand, not sure what she was talking about. His entire body was still tuned to Libby. He had to be ten shades of flaming red.

Libby joined them at the kitchen door. “What’s up?”

“Ah.” He squirmed. “I don’t know.”

“It’s probably jet lag.” Kelsey nudged him with her elbow, a definite twinkle in her eye. “I think Mark needs a nap. He looks kind of tired.”

He grinned. Kelsey was comfortable to be around, even when he had acted like a high school kid with raging hormones. “Yeah, something like that,” he muttered.

Libby came to his side, her hand claiming his arm as she peered into his eyes. “Are you tired?”

“No.” He beamed, wrapping his arm around her waist. “I’m fine.” He took the lemonade from Kelsey, but he caught the look in her eye. She knew very well what he had been looking at.

“So tell me all about yourselves.” Kelsey motioned them back into her living room. Before Mark could respond, they were interrupted by a gentle knock at the front door. Roy let himself in with Murphy following right behind.

“Hey, Kelsey.” Roy gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and set Libby’s suitcase by the door. His eyes were full of mischief. “Here’s all your stuff from the hotel, young lady. So Mark, you gonna introduce us, or what?”

Mark sat on the sofa with his arm around Libby. “This is my girlfriend, Libby Clifton.”

The second he said those words she noticed. She hadn’t pulled away or jumped, but that one word rippled between them. Libby glanced shyly in his direction, and yeah, he’d done good. He winked at her while she shook Roy’s hand, loving the way her eyes lit up even when she wasn’t looking at him.

“Libby, this is Roy Hudson with all the pearly whites, and that old duffer beside him is Murphy Finnegan. They’re a couple of the senior agents I work with, and I do mean
senior
.”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” she said.

“Well, it’s sure nice to finally meet you, Miss Clifton. May I call you Libby?” Roy poured on the charm. The man had his nerve. He was outright flirting and doing it right under Mark’s nose, too.

“We were concerned for a minute or two yesterday when all the bad news started breaking. You should’ve seen the boss when we found out you had moved to Chicago. Alex about came unglued. I’m sure glad you’re safe and sound. My goodness but you’re a pretty little thing.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Mark smacked Roy’s arm. “Let her be. Stop pawing my girl.”

“I’m not pawing.” A huge smile split Roy’s face. “I’m welcoming. And don’t you worry about a thing, Libby. I understand this fellow here will be keeping you company for awhile.”

“Oh? Mark didn’t tell me that.” Libby leaned into him. “I’m good with that.”

“Seems only fair.” He gave her a squeeze. “I mean, I am the one who found you and everything.”

“And everything.” She smiled knowingly as their eyes met. He stifled an urge to kiss her, not sure he would be able to maintain control once he started. The fear in her eyes when he had first seen her with Dirk whats-his-name was replaced with contentment. All she needed was a red swimsuit, and she would be back to herself again.

“You know,” Murphy said, “about that senior agent crack. I might be an old duffer, but I’m still ready to whoop you young pups any day of the week.” He winked at Libby. “This fellow taking good care of you, young lady?”

“He is,” Libby said. “He already saved me this afternoon.”

“Oh?” Murphy’s blue eyes twinkled. “What’s that about?”

“I intercepted a forward pass,” Mark answered as nonchalantly as if that’s all that had happened. “Just at the right place at the right time. It’s a gift.”

“And what’s this scruffy stuff growing on your ugly face?” Murphy tugged the beard on Mark’s chin. “Alex isn’t going to like that.”

“Then he shouldn’t send me to countries where men are expected to wear beards, should he?” Mark said to Murphy what he would never have the nerve to say to Alex.

Murphy shot him a sympathetic look, shaking his head like he agreed.

Libby’s gentle hand on Mark’s cheek diffused the conversation. “I kind of like it.”

“Is Alex on his way?” Kelsey interrupted.

“You know better than that. The boss never leaves his office this early.” There was a mischievous smirk on Roy’s face again. “Hey Mark? Can I get your help with a couple of things in the car?”

Before he knew it, they were hauling groceries, bags of ice, and a couple coolers of beverages into the back yard. Murphy fired up the grill, while Roy set up chairs and two tables. When Mark went to check on the women, Kelsey and Libby were at the kitchen sink cleaning vegetables and fruit.

“You ladies doing okay?” he asked. “Do you need any help?”

“No, we’re fine,” Kelsey answered brightly. “I set the front door alarm, just to be safe. If anyone tries to enter, you’ll hear it. We all will.”

“You’re sure you don’t need anything?”

“Not unless you want to listen to girl talk.” With that Libby waved him out the backdoor.

He pulled her close before she got too far away. “Come here, you,” he said quietly, planting a quick kiss on her lips. “Are you sure you’re okay, I mean, after everything that happened today?”

“I think I’m the best I’ve been in a very long time.” Her fingers laced around his neck. “How about you?”

“Oh, yeah,” he growled playfully, his hands roaming over her shoulder blades and down her back, wishing they could run off to some place nice and quiet.

“Do you still need a nap?”

He caught the tease in her voice. Her hands were roaming plenty, too, playing with the collar of his shirt, smoothing the skin on his neck, and along his whiskered jaw. Her touch tingled, and he swore he could feel the fingerprints on each of her delicate fingers. His entire body seemed to be on high alert for this woman.

“Only if you’re taking one with me.”

Her cheeks turned red. Yeah, he affected her, too. A blush looked very good on Libby.

“I’d better help Kelsey,” she whispered, but then she nipped his lower lip with a quick kiss, and left him standing there with his heart in his throat.

“Hey,” Murphy called.

Mark turned in a daze sure he’d just been kissed by an angel. The amazing shift in her feelings toward him left him off balance and pleasantly warm all over. With her feminine fragrance in his nose and the feel of her hand lingering on his neck, he had to shake it off to make sense of Murphy’s words.

He felt it before he knew it. The carefree atmosphere had changed. His boss was home. Alex had come straight to the backyard, and was already engrossed in a terse conversation with Roy and Murphy.

Alex waved his junior agent to join them. “According to the FBI, two dozen men flew into the states from Afghanistan six days ago. They’ve already dodged surveillance. Presumably, they’ve connected with Castor. FBI confirms they were involved in the murder of that West Virginia family.”

“The FBI have a motive yet?” Murphy asked.

“Not yet.”

“Maybe Seinkevitz is sending another message,” Roy offered.

“To who? Castor?” Murphy asked. “Wasn’t he with them?”

“Could be it’s a message to anyone who gets in his way,” Roy said.

“But this family wasn’t in his way,” Alex argued. “These bastards intentionally sought out an innocent family and murdered them in broad daylight. What do you think, Mark? You’ve been watching Seinkevitz for the last couple of weeks. What’s your take?”

“The man’s got no problem with torture or murder, but what’s his motive? What did he get out of killing a woman and two children?” Mark asked.

Alex ran a hand through his hair. “What does that bastard want?”

“Do we know where his men are now?” Roy asked.

“Mother’s been looking for them since the FBI lost track,” Alex said. “She’ll find them.”

“You use my babies yet?” Roy arched a questioning eyebrow at Mark.

Mark glanced at Alex, not sure he should admit to such a huge indiscretion as infiltrating Bagram with a couple contraband bombs.