Marked (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (10 page)

Another nod, but he could tell she wasn’t convinced, and his words must have sounded just as hollow to her as they did to him. He just hoped the field office was right about that. “You’ll get a full briefing of everything in a couple hours. We’re not gonna leave anything to chance, least of all your safety.”

“I know.” She sighed, squeezed him once then pulled back to put some distance between them and Jake reluctantly released her. The wobbly little smile she gave him hit him straight in the heart. “Thanks, I needed that.”

He reached out and wiped a trace of moisture from the top of her right cheek. “Anytime. You just let me know when you want another.” Because he’d be more than happy for an excuse to hold her again. It tore him up inside to see her hurting like this.

She let out a soft laugh and he was glad to see that sparkle come back to her eyes. “I will. I’ve missed your hugs.”

Right then he was having a hell of a time reminding himself why he shouldn’t grab her and kiss her until she forgot everything but the feel of his mouth on hers, but the moment was shattered when his cell phone buzzed. A jolt of surprise hit him when he saw the familiar number.
Rycroft.
“Hey, man. How are you?” He hadn’t seen him since Pakistan back in October.

“You know how it is. No rest for the wicked,” Alex answered.

“I hear ya. And Grace?” She’d suffered direct exposure to the sarin gas during the last op to get Hassani. Minimal exposure, but still, that shit was no laughing matter.

“Grace is unbelievably amazing,” Alex said, his voice laced with satisfaction. “Clean bill of health and docs don’t need to see her for another three months until her next checkup. She said to say hi. But we’ll catch up some other time because I’m calling about business. I hear you’ve got a bad personal situation going down.”

Jake sighed and turned away slightly, aware that Rachel was watching him curiously. “You heard right. I was gonna call you about it tonight. How’d you hear about it?”

“Got a call from some Fed named Travers. He brought me up to speed. You need anything?”

That made Jake like Travers all the more. But besides granting a miracle that Brandon would still be alive when they found him, there was little that even someone as powerful and connected as Alex could do for them at this point. “Some extra eyes and ears would be good.”

“Already on it. Zahra and some other linguists are looking into the Uyghur cell Xang’s with, and hunting for any chatter about Brandon Granger’s disappearance. If we find anything of use, I’ll call you personally.”

Knowing Alex and Zahra were monitoring the situation made him feel a bit better about things. “Thanks, man.”

“You bet. Call me if you need anything else. I’ll be in touch if I hear anything.”

After he ended the call, Jake looked back at Rachel, who was still watching him. “That was Alex Rycroft, the NSA agent I worked with before. He’s a big deal there, and in the intelligence community as a whole.” As in, one of the
big
boys in that world. “He’s got people working on Brandon’s case, including an analyst I worked with before. She’s one of the best. They’ll call me if they find out anything, but he wanted me to know they’re on it. Trust me when I say that’s a very good thing.”

“I’m grateful for any help they can give us.”

Before he could say anything else, an abrupt knock sounded at the door.

Jake checked the peephole before opening it and letting the female agent in. “Rachel, this is Special Agent Celida Morales.”

“I brought you some clothes,” Morales announced to her, marching past Jake with a swish of her long, dark hair to set a small duffel on the bed. “I saw the labels on your stuff at your place and we dropped by the mall to grab something to eat on the way here, so I stopped in at Victoria’s Secret to get you some new underwear while I was there.”

Huh? “The agency paid for that?” Jake said in astonishment.

Morales cut him a bland look with her dark gray eyes. “Don’t worry about who paid for it.”

“I’ll pay them back,” Rachel said quickly, reaching for her purse.

“Pretty sure you can just give Morales the cash then,” Jake said dryly, shaking his head at the agent. She liked to come across as such a hard ass, and she was on the job, but this just proved she was still a softie underneath.

Morales narrowed her eyes at him in a silent warning not to say anything more about it. “The store was on my way, so I thought it only right she get some of that pretty stuff replaced.” She raised her eyebrows in a haughty gesture. “And you can leave now. I think you’ve seen more than enough of her underwear for one day, am I right?” She looked at Rachel, who swung her gaze to his, looking slightly uncomfortable at the thought of being left alone with the female agent.

Jake was still stuck back on the underwear thing. He’d seen what she wore strewn all over her room this morning. The thought of seeing Rachel in nothing but those bits of colored silk and lace shot a bolt of lust through his system. Mentally shaking himself, he changed the subject. “You okay if I go check in with the others for a bit?” he asked her.

“Sure. I need to call my mom anyway.” She put her hands in her lap, the slight tension in her face telling him she was dreading that way more than she was letting on.

He couldn’t help her with that and knew she wanted privacy for the call, so he nodded. “I’ve got my cell on me if you need me. I’ll be back within a couple hours.” He shifted his attention to Morales. “I appreciate this.”

She waved his thanks away. “Don’t worry about it. Been a while since I had some girl talk, and I’m sure Rachel could use a break from the toxic levels of testosterone she’s been exposed to so far today. Right?” She nudged Rachel with an elbow.

Ignoring Morales, Rachel kept her eyes pinned on him. “You’re coming back though, right?” Worry lurked in her eyes as she watched him.

That protective instinct he’d always felt with her flared up so hot and fast it was all he could do not to cross the room and haul her into his arms. “Yeah, as soon as we’re done with the briefing.” She seemed to relax at his words and he wished Morales wasn’t there so he could wrap his arms around her tight and say a lot more, that he’d be here for her no matter what.

Instead he nodded at them both, left and started down the hall. Time was ticking down. Only a few more hours until the drop. Rachel was going to be a ball of nerves by then.

When he came back to get her, he would make sure they were alone so he was free to soothe her and say whatever the hell he wanted.

****

As it turned out, Agent Morales wasn’t nearly as intimidating as first impressions would suggest.

When she’d first strode into the hotel room like she’d owned the place and kicked Jake out, Rachel had been uncomfortable. But the woman had not only investigated at her place, she’d stopped at the mall and paid out of her own pocket to buy Rachel some new underwear on her way over. That thoughtful gesture meant a lot to her.

Knowing Xang had invaded her home and slashed her most intimate garments had shaken her more than she wanted to admit, or for Jake to know. But Agent Morales had known, and Rachel had a feeling that’s why she’d gone to the trouble of specifically going to Victoria’s Secret to get her new stuff.

And, after a few hours alone in her company, Rachel found the woman was friendly and amazingly easy to talk to. Several other agents had come up to brief her on what to expect tonight, and also what was expected
of
her, then she’d been left alone with Agent Morales again.

As the waiting period before the drop dragged on, Morales must have sensed how anxious Rachel had been, because she’d started asking her questions that had become more and more personal. At first it had seemed like a mini-interrogation of sorts, but then Rachel had quickly embraced the conversation, glad for the distraction.

Over the next two hours they’d talked over everything, including Jake. Normally she was a very private person, but Rachel had grown so comfortable with Morales that she’d found herself telling the woman certain details about their past.

Not admitting her true feelings for Jake or anything like that, merely talking about how they met at college and that they’d been dating other people. With everything that had happened since yesterday, it felt good to be able to open up and talk to another woman, even if she only gave small details. She had plenty of girlfriends, a few really close ones, but couldn’t tell any of them about any of this until her brother was found and the investigation was over.

And if she was honest, she was curious and wanted to find out about Jake’s life over the past few years from someone who’d known him during the time she’d missed out on.

“I don’t know Jake all that well on a personal level,” Morales said now, pushing her long, dark ponytail off her shoulder to trail down her back. She had the most interesting eyes—a deep, clear gray that stood out even more because of her light bronze skin tone. “But I do know he’s a solid operator and a stand-up guy. Tuck and the other guys love him. Well, love is maybe not the right—you know what I mean.”

Something about her expression as she mentioned the other man drew Rachel’s attention. A slight softening. “You know Tuck as well?”

It was subtle, but Rachel noticed the agent broke eye contact as she answered. “Yep, we were partnered together once upon a time, worked some investigations early on before we went on to bigger and badder things.” She shook her head fondly. “Agents have to serve two years as a Special Agent to hone their investigative skills before they can apply to HRT, so that’s how that happened. Those guys, they live and breathe their job, which is good considering how demanding it is.” Her smile faded and her gaze turned speculative as she focused on Rachel once more. “You think you could handle that? I mean, if you and Jake ever got together?”

Rachel ducked her head and rubbed the back of her neck, uncomfortable as hell in the face of such a direct and very personal question about her complex feelings for Jake. She chose her words with care. “Let’s just say that if anything ever
did
happen—hypothetically,” she qualified, “his job wouldn’t be a problem for me. I know that kind of lifestyle wouldn’t be easy, but I’d make sure I was supportive. I know what making the team meant to him, and I know what staying on it means too. It’s his dream.”

Morales smiled and gave a satisfied nod, and Rachel felt like she’d just passed some sort of test. “Good to hear. Well,” she said, rising in her sexy black suede pumps from where she’d been perched on the foot of the bed. “Anything else you wanna go over before I leave?”

“I can’t think of anything else, except will you be working on my brother’s case?”

“Absolutely. I work domestic terror cases so Xang’s involvement means I’m all over this. You’ve got the A-Team behind you on this one.” She gave Rachel’s shoulder a firm pat. “Don’t worry about the drop tonight. You’ll do great. And aside from the rest of the team, Jake will be on you like your own personal shadow.”

A knock on the door stopped Rachel from responding, but when Morales opened the door and Jake walked in, Rachel’s heart leapt in her chest. His dark gaze zeroed right in on her, filling her with a sudden feminine awareness. Her nipples tightened and her pulse accelerated.

“How you doin’, hon?” he asked, the endearment hitting her square in the chest. He used to call her that, toward the end of their final year in college. Back when they’d been close and wanting to be closer. “Morales been taking good care of you?”

“I’ve been amazingly pleasant and easy to be around, haven’t I?” she said to Rachel. “And I already told her, it’s Celida. None of this ‘agent’ stuff between us girls.” She sauntered to the door, her full curves highlighted by the snug gray skirt suit she wore, a few shades lighter than her eyes. “You guys call me if you need anything.” She shot a glance at Rachel over her shoulder. “You know, if you have any more uh…questions about anything.” She gave a subtle tip of her head toward Jake and raised her eyebrows.

“I will,” Rachel said with a smile. “Thanks for keeping me sane the past couple hours.”

“My pleasure, doll. See ya ‘round, farmboy.” She popped Jake in the shoulder with a fist on her way out the door, hard enough to knock him sideways a few inches.

“I like her,” Rachel announced after Jake shut the door. She felt light years better than before the visit.

“Yeah, she’s pretty great, and a damn fine investigator according to Tuck.” He put his hands into his pockets as he looked at her. “So, they told me they already brought you up to speed on everything about tonight. You ready for this?”

“Yes.” More than anything she just wanted to hurry up and get it over with so they could get Brandon back safely. She knew what she was supposed to do, where she was to go, what to say if anyone suspicious approached or spoke to her. They’d been vague about the security detail accompanying her tonight, but she knew Jake would be there no matter what and that made her feel infinitely better about the whole thing.

Everything else was out of her control so she refused to allow herself to worry about it. “When do we leave?”

“Ten minutes.”

“Oh.” That had come up way faster than she’d expected. Nerves twisted her belly at the news.

His expression softened in understanding and he held out a hand to her. “Come here.”

Something about the softly spoken command and the heat in his eyes as he gave it sent a shiver of primal awareness through her. She rose and walked over to him, aware of the pulsing silence in the room and the way her blood raced in her veins as he watched her. Jake waited until she’d halted a foot from him before reaching his hand up to stroke it over her hair, down to her left shoulder.

The gesture was both tender and intimate, the warmth of his fingers against her neck making her pulse jump. Gazing deep into her eyes, he brought his hand around in front of her and opened his fingers to reveal a tiny bit of plastic.

“Your earpiece,” he murmured, tucking her hair behind her left ear as he held out the device for her. “Slide it in and tap it once to activate it.”