Marked (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (4 page)

He looked up at her. “How sure are you, and why?”

“I’m ninety-five percent sure it’s him, because he’s been over to my place a few times. Except my brother knows him as Tim. And he worries me.”

Concern buzzing in his gut, Jake set his forearms on the table and leaned toward her. “In what way?”

“He’s creepy. Shifty. And he’s shown a really bizarre interest in me—well, not me personally so much,” she rushed to add when Jake’s expression darkened, “but my work. From the first time I met him he asked me really detailed questions about my job, the firm, what I do there and what projects I’m involved in. I gave him the bare minimum to be polite and brushed off the rest of the questions, but he wouldn’t let it go. It’s almost like he hangs out with my brother just to be able to see me, which is really weird.”

He did not like where this was going. Not at all. It was all too easy for him to picture this Xang guy developing a sexual fixation on someone as gorgeous and accomplished as Rachel. The primal male in him wanted to hunt the asshole down and pound the shit out of him as a warning to stay the hell away from her.

“Has he ever made a move on you or anything? Left you messages of some sort? Followed you?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s so bizarre. And then yesterday I found out my brother gave him access to files on my personal laptop at home. Brandon and I got into an argument about it. Then I noticed a USB drive was missing and when I assumed Tim had taken it, Brandon stormed out with Tim and the others. Later I found another drive missing as well. And the other, more worrisome thing is the stuff I’ve overheard Tim talking about. Radical, anti-government stuff. About how the country deserves to ‘burn in the hell it’s created’,” she said, using her fingers as air quote marks. “I was already suspicious that something bad might be happening, and then I saw his picture on TV.”

Yeah, none of this sounded good. “You warn your brother about this?”

“He won’t answer my calls so I left a few texts for him but he hasn’t responded to them. Even if he does, I don’t think he’ll listen until I have hard evidence to back everything up.”

“Like Tim stealing the USB drives and seeing him on the list isn’t evidence enough?”

She shook her head. “He didn’t want to believe the theft part when it happened, because he knows I don’t like the guy in the first place. And until I know for sure the guy in the picture is Tim, he’s not going to listen.”

Yeah, and that only meant she was a good judge of character, as far as he was concerned. “What would the guy want with your work files, anyway?” As far as he knew she designed high-end homes and other buildings, not banks, casinos or military installations that might be an appealing target for a hacker like Xang.

“I don’t know, but I’m betting it’s not because of a deep, burning curiosity about architecture.” She stopped when the waitress approached to offer coffee, and handed her a menu. Rachel glanced at him questioningly.

He gave her a small smile to put her at ease. “Go ahead and order something. We’ll talk more afterward.”

They ordered and the waitress left. “So,” Rachel said, wrapping her hands around her coffee cup.

He noted the lack of a ring on her left hand, and damned if he didn’t feel a long-buried spurt of hope that it might not be too late for them. Which was fucked-up. He’d had his chance to claim her and hadn’t. She’d moved on, was probably with Mr. Right now. “You think I’m onto something?”

“Sounds like. Let me make a call.” He pulled out his phone and dialed one of his contacts at the Baltimore field office, told him he had possible info on someone on the Most Wanted list, and that he could expect them to come in within the next two hours.

Hanging up, he looked at Rachel. “After we eat I’ll take you in to the local field office and we’ll see what they have to say. They’ll pull everything in the meantime and be ready for us.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She seemed relieved by the “us” part, or maybe that he’d be staying with her. Had she assumed he’d just walk away after this?

Not a chance.
“No problem.” He leaned back against the vinyl booth. “So you’re still working at that big architectural firm, huh?”

“Yes. They get some good contracts,” she said with a shrug.

“Now you’re just being modest.”

She smiled impishly and didn’t deny it, and he was reminded of why he’d always liked her so much. Rachel was brilliant and talented without any of the ego that someone with her résumé could easily have.

Taking him totally off guard, she reached across the table and drew her fingers down the side of his bearded cheek. “What’s with this?”

Even through the thick growth of whiskers he felt her touch like an electrical shock across his cheek. Jesus, what the hell would it be like if she ran her fingers over his naked body? His heart rate kicked up at the thought and he shifted slightly against the seat.

For a second he struggled to form an answer. “I’ve uh, been working overseas. On a job with another security team.” Titanium Security, to be exact.

Her smile widened. “It looks good on you. Very badass.”

He laughed at the compliment, pleased that she liked what she saw. “Thanks.”

“And what do you mean, with another security team? Did the people at you-know-where not come to their senses and give you your dream job yet?”

He appreciated her faith in him and that she was being careful with her wording here in public. He didn’t like people knowing he was a federal agent, and he hated the inevitable questions it always brought. But Rachel had known that making the HRT was his dream ever since leaving the Army to join the FBI, which he’d done right after graduating from college.

“Technically I was on loan for the job,” he explained. “My full-time job’s pretty great, though. Demanding, but I love it.”

Rachel blinked, then frowned and lowered her voice. “So…you made it?”

He merely smiled and took a sip of coffee, neither confirming nor denying it.

“Oh my God, you did!” She beamed at him, the warmth of her smile hitting him right in the sternum. Damn, he’d missed her, more than he’d even realized until she’d walked through that door a few minutes ago. “I’m so happy for you. Not that I had any doubt you’d make it someday, because they’d be stupid not to have you.”

Her absolute faith in him and his abilities touched him. And because he couldn’t discuss it in public and didn’t know how to respond, he changed the subject. “You look good.”

Her gaze snapped to his, and he saw a flash of feminine awareness there before she masked it. “Thanks. You do, too.” She let her eyes travel over his upper body, and if he wasn’t mistaken there was an appreciative gleam in her eyes. “You’re bigger than you used to be.”

“Yeah, a bit.” He’d put on a solid fifteen pounds of muscle since joining the HRT, due to the relentless PT and training. He ran a hand over his chest, pleased when her gaze tracked the movement. He couldn’t help it if he got off on knowing she liked what she saw, and that she seemed to still be attracted to him.

Clearing her throat, she darted a quick glance down at his left hand, wrapped around his cup—checking for a wedding band?—then up to his face. “Are you and Linda still—”

He shook his head once, the movement emphatic. “We never got back together after you last saw us at dinner that night.”

She blinked in surprise. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was for the best.”

“Oh,” she said again. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he detected a hint of confusion in those pretty hazel eyes. “May I ask why?” she said softly. There was a slight note of accusation to her words, maybe even hurt as to why he hadn’t told her. He wasn’t ready for that conversation yet, but he could answer the question she’d asked.

Because she wasn’t you.
He didn’t have the balls to tell her that much though. Not yet, anyway.

“Mostly we just weren’t compatible. Once I started with the agency, my training and travel schedule got even more intense. Minimum term of my current job is four years, so if she wasn’t willing to live with my schedule the way it was back then, then she sure wasn’t going to be happy with what I do now, so…” He trailed off, letting Rachel figure out the rest of it herself while sparing her the details about the slow death of the relationship.

Looking back, he couldn’t believe they’d both stayed in it for as long as they had. When he thought of all the fights about him not being there enough, the lengthy silences and absences, Linda’s frequent teary outbursts and the cold shoulder when he returned from a training trip or course, it seemed so stupid. “The split wasn’t bitter or anything. In the end we both recognized that we should have ended things way sooner. She’s engaged now, to a cop in New Orleans.” But enough about that. “What about you?”

She shook her head. “No, no one since about five months ago. We weren’t a good match, as it turns out, much like Landon and I weren’t.”

The guy she’d been dating back in college. Jake withheld the comment that he could have told her on day one that Landon hadn’t been good enough for her.

He didn’t think any guy was though, least of all him, but if he ever got the chance, God knew he’d treat her right. Rachel was the sort of woman you cherished. And he definitely would.

As a poignant silence spread between them while they stared at each other, Jake knew they were thinking the same thing: that they were both single and available. Finally. After all this time.

Except now they hardly knew each other anymore and the demanding tempo of his job meant any woman in his life would have to come a distant second to his work schedule. Rachel wouldn’t be any happier in that situation than Linda had been, and with him gone so much it wasn’t fair for Jake to ask her for that kind of sacrifice right out of the gate.

But that didn’t mean the attraction and the feelings weren’t still there. Time and distance hadn’t done a damn thing to diminish those. They were every bit as strong as they had been, at least on his part.

Rachel sat back with an almost relieved expression when the waitress appeared with their breakfasts. They steered clear of discussing their relationship statuses throughout the meal. While they ate they made small talk about mutual friends from their college days, when he’d been there using his GI Bill.

He couldn’t help but let his attention wander to her hands and mouth. She had graceful, delicate hands with slim fingers. He’d always thought they were one of her most beautiful features, along with her pretty hazel-green eyes.

As she forked up a bite of crepe his gaze transferred from the elegant French manicured nails to her mouth and he stared at those full, pink lips while she chewed. Since meeting her he’d had countless fantasies about those hands and mouth, about what they’d feel like on his skin as they roamed all over his naked body.

He’d also had plenty of fantasies about the things he’d do to her if he ever got her naked beneath him. He wanted to find out what she felt like, the sounds she’d make while he explored her naked body with his hands and mouth.

It had started back when he’d still been with Linda, near the end, and they’d never gone away. Fantasizing about Rachel while he’d been in another relationship wasn’t something he was proud of, but at least he hadn’t acted on his growing feelings for her back then. He wasn’t that much of an asshole.

Rachel glanced up from across the table, caught him staring, and that was enough to kick his brain back out of the gutter.

He stole covert glances at her throughout the rest of the meal, enjoying just being near her again. Rachel had an innate, graceful sensuality he wasn’t sure she was even aware of, and it was so damn sexy he had to force himself to hold his answering desire in check and stop from reaching out just to touch the curve of her cheek. The urge to touch her, lay some kind of claim to her right here in front of everyone was damn near overwhelming.

When the waitress came back to gather their plates he snagged the bill before Rachel could and paid it over her protests. “You can get it next time,” he said, glad when she didn’t argue or say there wouldn’t be a next time. Now that she’d reappeared in his life, he didn’t ever want to lose her again.

Bullshit. You know you can’t just be her friend. You never could.

It was true. He’d been very aware of that as the weeks of their final semester passed and his feelings for her intensified. So had Linda.

Pushing a pang of regret away, he stood and grabbed his jacket. “Ready?”

“Yes.” She followed him to the door. “Should I follow you, or…”

“I’ll drive. It’s not far. Come on.” He led her out to his truck and opened the door for her. It was a long way up into the cab, and when she went to put her foot on the running board, he took her arm and helped boost her up into the front passenger seat.

She flashed him an almost shy smile at the contact and tucked a shiny lock of hair behind her ear. “Thanks. And thanks for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome.” He shut the door, rounded the hood and slid behind the wheel. It felt surreal to have her sitting next to him after so long. He had few regrets, but at that moment he wished he could go back and fix his mistakes—break it off with Linda early on instead of stubbornly trying to stick it out, and admit the full extent of his feelings for Rachel. Not that he hadn’t had his chance right after they’d broken up.

Even after he was single he’d held off on going after Rachel because he wanted to be fair to her and he’d recognized that he wasn’t ready to be in another committed relationship so soon after coming off a failed long-term relationship with Linda. Part of him had realized that what he felt for Rachel was even more intense and he’d known he wasn’t in the right headspace to give her what she deserved. And in the time he’d taken to find his center again and fully realize what she meant to him, she’d moved on.

He’d told himself six months ago that there had to be a reason. That it was for the best.

What a bunch of bullshit.

He’d promised himself more than two years ago that if he ever crossed the line from friends to lovers with Rachel it wouldn’t be for a fling. Simple fact was, with her it was all or nothing and back then he’d known he couldn’t give her all of him.