Sharpshooter (12 page)

It had just taken the little matter of fire and near death to get them together again.

He kept kissing her. He held her carefully, as if he were worried that she’d break.

She was the one to push down the boxers that he wore. She was the one to stroke his body.

He kept kissing her.

Then, still so carefully, his hands began to trail down her body. His mouth went to her neck. Licked, sucked and then he found the sensitive spot just behind her ear....

She squeezed her eyes shut and moaned.

He tossed aside her T-shirt. Licked and kissed her breasts. The touch of his mouth on her nipples, with their increased sensitivity, had her trembling.

Sydney lifted her hips. Helped him to ditch her shorts and underwear, and then she parted her thighs.

Gunner started to thrust, but then he hesitated. “I don’t—”

No, he’d better not say—

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he finished, voice rumbling.

She tried to smile for him. “You won’t.” Physically, she trusted Gunner more than she trusted any man.

With her emotions? With her heart? She wasn’t sure; the pain might come again.

At that moment, she was willing to risk it.

He thrust into her. She met his rhythm eagerly, lifting up with her hips, arching against him. He filled her, stretched her perfectly, and she gasped at the heavy feel of him inside her.

Her hands curled around his shoulders. Her legs wrapped around his hips. He thrust into her, again, deeper. The rhythm swept her away, made her forget fire and fear and nightmares.

So that she knew only him and the pleasure that washed over her and made her cry out.

He held her tighter. Gave in to his own release with a growl of her name.

Then he just...held her, cradled her against his heart and kept his hand on her stomach.

Held her, and the nightmares didn’t come back.

* * *

T
HE
RINGING
OF
the phone woke Gunner. He could hear the peal, calling out from down the hall. Swearing, he opened his eyes. He saw Sydney, still sleeping next to him.

Beautiful Sydney.

He eased from the bed, trying not to wake her. The dawn’s light spilled through the blinds. She hadn’t gotten enough sleep, and in her condition, he wanted her to get all the rest that she could.

He slipped down the hallway. Found his phone. “Gunner.”

Silence, then, “Are you
whispering?
”

Crap, he had been. He just hadn’t wanted to wake Sydney. Gunner closed the door of his bedroom and cleared his throat. “What do you want, Logan?”

“I
want
to alert you to a security breach.” His friend’s voice held a tight edge now. “I just got the call from Mercer. Someone’s been trying to hack in to the computer system at the EOD.”

Hell. The EOD agents
were
being targeted again. The attack on Sydney’s house must be the first launch.

“The thing is...our tech guys are saying that it looks like the breach came from inside.”

Now, that wasn’t what he’d expected. “Another agent?”

“Not sure.” Static crackled over the phone. “But the person used the computer system
at
the main EOD office. Support staff, techs—they’re all being investigated now. The office is under lockdown until we can figure out what’s happening.”

Gunner huffed out a hard breath. “What do you want me to do?”

“Stick like glue to Sydney’s side. If she’s the first target in this mess, there could be another attempt on her.” Logan’s voice hardened. “The files that were accessed? They were linked to Guerrero.”

“What?” Guerrero—now a dead man—had been a Mexican arms dealer. He’d kidnapped Juliana James, the woman who had recently married Logan. When she’d been attacked, Logan had damn near gone crazy.

So how did Logan have to be feeling now?

“Someone was trying to dig into the classified documents that we have on him. That same someone...he or she was looking at Sydney’s file. And yours.”

Son of a—

“I’m getting a guard put on Juliana, too.” Because Juliana had been instrumental in bringing down Guerrero—and because Gunner knew that Logan would never risk the woman he loved. “If someone is looking for some payback, they
aren’t
getting it,” Logan vowed.

No, they weren’t. Gunner would make sure that no one hurt Sydney.

Not on his watch.

She was too important. The baby was too important. The life that he might just have with them—if he hadn’t already screwed things up too much—
it
was too important.

* * *

S
LADE
O
RTEZ
STARED
across the city. He’d chosen this apartment deliberately, though no one seemed to have realized that fact. The EOD. They thought they were so smart.

Clueless jerks.

Once upon a time, he’d wanted to be one of them. But he hadn’t made the cut into the precious program. Good enough to risk his life on freelance missions, but not good enough to be brought into the fold.

Sydney had made the cut. Gunner had. Of course Gunner had.

But not Slade.

Never as good as big brother.

The EOD was paying for his apartment. Actually, Uncle Sam was paying for anything he wanted right now. After what he’d been through, they were giving him...what had they called it?
Compensation.

There’d never be enough compensation.

He stared through the window, looking out at the city, and looking right over at the building that housed his brother.

Yes, he’d chosen this location for a reason.

To keep a watch on Gunner.

The fools at the EOD didn’t realize what a threat Gunner was. They thought he was a hero. Their mistake. He’d make sure they fully realized the error of their ways.

Sydney had made a mistake, too.

She’d turned from him. Refused to go back to the way that things had been.

She should have been grateful to be with him. Of all the women—and he’d been with plenty—he’d agreed to marry her.

Sure, he’d kept a few girls on the side, the better to stop the boredom of being with just one woman, but he’d offered to marry
her.

As payback, she’d slept with his brother.

At first, the rage had been so strong that he’d been sure it would consume him. Last night, it had come close. He’d given in to his darker urges.

But now, with the rising of the sun, he realized that there could still be hope for Sydney, if she could be made to see Gunner’s true colors. Gunner would slip up, Sydney would turn from him, and Slade would be there.

It was all a matter of time.

He kept staring across at Gunner’s place.

He tried not to think about the light that had flashed on in the middle of the night. He’d been watching then, too. Through his binoculars, he’d seen that light come on. The blinds had been open. He’d seen Sydney...

Gunner...

His jaw locked.

A matter of time.

Gunner would get the payback that he had coming.

Chapter Seven

“I need clothes.” Sydney curled her toes into the thick carpet in Gunner’s living room. “As fun as it is to keep wearing your T-shirt...” Her hands lifted the hem of his navy T-shirt. “I need to go out in public with more than just this on.”

But she looked so sexy in his shirt. With her long legs stretching forever. Gunner cleared his throat. “That’s, um, being covered—”

His doorbell rang. Right. That should be her clothing. Logan had told him that he’d be sending over some articles for Sydney. Gunner hurried to the door. Glanced through the peephole. Swore. Then he looked over his shoulder. “Why don’t you...uh...wait in the bedroom? I’ll bring the clothes to you.” Because he didn’t want the man on the other side of that door seeing Sydney when she looked so...

Tempting.

Sydney shook her head, threw her hands into the air and stomped off toward the bedroom.

Schooling his features, Gunner opened the door. Cale stood there, shopping bags in his hands and a pained expression on his face. “Send me out to rescue a hostage in the jungles of the Amazon,” he drawled, the Texas slipping into his voice as he stepped over the threshold, “but please don’t send me shopping for women’s clothes ever again.”

Gunner almost smiled. He
almost
smiled, would have, if he hadn’t heard the returning tread of footsteps.

“Gunner,” Sydney called out, “I’m going to need some shoes, too—
Cale?
”

Cale gave a low whistle. Then he choked because Gunner stepped into his path. “I, um, brought you some clothes, Sydney.”

Gunner snatched the clothes from him. “Keep those eyes up,” he ordered.

Cale’s lips twitched. Gunner’s own eyes narrowed. Cale was about to get on his—

“Relax, Gunner. I’m sure that Cale has seen a woman’s legs before, plenty of times,” Sydney said, a thread of humor in her voice.

But she wasn’t just any woman. She was—

Mine.

Wasn’t that the way he’d always thought about her?

Gunner forced himself to take a deep breath. “Eyes. Up.” He gave the order once more; then he turned briskly and marched toward Sydney.

Her eyes were...twinkling. “If I didn’t know better,” she whispered, “I’d say you were almost jealous.”

Almost? Not even close. Cale was one of those annoying pretty boys you saw in magazines. The guys who could easily wear tuxes and blend in anyplace.

Gunner knew what he looked like. A walking bad dream most days. With all the scars on him and a face that was too rough and hard, he was hardly the man women wanted to take home to meet the family.

He never had been.

“There’s no need to be jealous.” She took the bags from him. “Maybe you should learn to trust me.” Her steps were quiet as she headed back into the bedroom to change.

He stilled. He did trust Sydney. In the field, he always knew that she had his back. If you couldn’t trust your team members on a mission, you couldn’t trust anyone.

Logan, Sydney and Jasper Adams—the man whom Cale had only recently replaced in the Shadow Agents—they were like his family.

They
were
his family.

“I don’t blame you for watching her walk away. That woman is a looker.”

Gunner spun around.

Cale had his hands up. “Easy there, big guy. You don’t have to worry about any threat from me.” His lips twisted. “Not that the woman would be interested. Hell, I knew from day one that she was hung up on you.” Then, softer, “Though hell if I can figure out why.”

Gunner frowned at that.

“Maybe there’s a charmer hidden under the grizzly bear exterior.” Cale’s hands dropped. “Some women go for the guys who growl.”

Once more, the jerk almost made Gunner want to smile. Mostly because he’d said,
“I knew from day one that she was hung up on you.”

“How are you going to handle things with Slade?” Cale asked him, still keeping his voice low. “Because I’m going to assume that the ridiculous plan of giving her up—”

Gunner’s brows climbed. Had that plan been so obvious?

“Yeah, I figured out that martyr bit earlier. Forget that. I’m going to assume that’s over now?”

Sydney was pregnant. There was
no
way he’d leave her now. “I’ll always be there for my brother.”

“And for her?”

No one could make him leave Sydney. Last night, hell, he still couldn’t believe she’d opened her arms to him last night. That she’d given him such pleasure.

Did it mean that she still cared? Just how
much
did she care?

The real question...
can I make her love me?

“I’ll stay close to Sydney,” he said, trying to keep any emotion from his voice.

Cale raked his face with his gaze, considering. “That was the order, right? Logan said you were to keep her at your side, and I’m to do backup duty, watching you both.” Cale’s stare drifted around the condo. “This isn’t the most secure place, you know. All of these windows...”

But Gunner liked the windows. After he’d been held prisoner and tortured on a mission gone bad, he’d needed to find a place that let him look out and feel free.

It was the same reason he’d helped his brother get settled in another nearby building. One that would give Slade views so that he knew he wasn’t trapped.

Free.

“Just know that I’ve got your back, man, okay?” Cale said. “I’ll be there for you and Sydney.”

That was good to know. Gunner nodded.

Cale hesitated. “Logan told you about the Guerrero file?”

“Yes.”

“You know...you and Sydney were on the list of EOD agents who were targeted for takedown.”

Gunner rolled his shoulders. A few months back, Cale Lane hadn’t been working for the EOD. In fact, the EOD had been hunting Cale. They’d thought that he was responsible for the murders of three EOD agents.

Cale was an ex-Ranger and an ex-mercenary. His psych profile had shown that he was prone to highly aggressive tendencies and that he could prove to be unstable.

Too late, they’d found out most of that profile was garbage, and then they’d realized that Cale was being set up. They’d started working together, and they’d tracked down the real killer—a man who was systematically working his way through a list of EOD agents who needed to be eliminated.

The killer had never had the chance to finish his kills. Never had the chance to take out Sydney or Gunner.

“This could be related to those attacks. Guerrero, the EOD agent hits...it could all tie together,” Cale said, voice tight.

Gunner nodded. He feared, suspected, the same thing.

“If this is the case, then the EOD has one powerful enemy, one with a grudge against you and Sydney.”

The bedroom door squeaked open. Gunner looked over his shoulder. Sydney was clad in jeans and a fresh shirt. She’d put on her sneakers and was coming toward them with a smile on her face.

“You haven’t told her,” Cale murmured.

No, not yet, he hadn’t.

“Better update her on the way,” Cale said, “because Logan wants us all in for a briefing in an hour.”

Figured.

Sydney’s smile faltered. “Gunner? What’s going on?”

He exhaled slowly. He’d never sugarcoated when it came to a mission. Of the Shadow Agents, Sydney was the best at gathering intel. There was nothing that woman couldn’t get a computer to tell her, so Gunner knew that Logan would want her in the office, working with the other techs to recover data and try to pick up a trail on the hacker.

So he just told her the plain truth. “The EOD may have been compromised.”

Her eyes widened.

“And it looks like the breach came from the inside.”

* * *

S
YDNEY
HURRIED
OUT
of Gunner’s building, her steps too fast, but adrenaline was pulsing through her. First the arson at her house, and now someone had hacked into her file? Definitely a personal attack, and she wasn’t about to stand by and do nothing.

She was going hunting.

“I’ll follow you,” Cale said as he exited the building after them. Sure enough, she saw his car waiting a few feet down the road. Cale and his cars. The man loved the classic rides. His vintage Mustang was parked at the edge of the street. Gunner’s truck waited in his reserved spot. Being a special agent did have its perks, and having your vehicle close by in case of a government emergency, well, that was important.

Sydney nodded. “Thanks, Cale, I’ll see you at the—”

Gunner slammed into her. Sydney’s breath was knocked from her body as she tumbled toward the ground. Gunner twisted, trying to cushion her as she fell, and in that split second she just wondered...what the—

A loud
crack
sounded.

Gunfire.

She reached for her own weapon, a weapon she’d taken from Gunner’s stash in the condo. Gunner had taken her down behind the truck, giving them cover behind that vehicle. As she pushed up into a crouch, his hands flew over her.

“Are you hurt?” he demanded.

Sydney gave a quick shake of her head. Not hurt, just
mad.

Another hit? In less than twenty-four hours?

Gunner yanked out his phone. An instant later he was saying, “Logan, get a team on my street
now.
A shot was just fired.” His gaze glittered as it held hers. “It came from the northwest corner, the James Fire Building. I saw the damn glint of light right before the bullet came at Sydney.”

Gunner was a sharpshooter, one of the best she’d ever seen, so
of course
he’d know where that shot originated.

“Cale’s clearing civilians now, and you get that team here ASAP.”
He shoved the phone back into his pocket and yanked out the gun that had been holstered beneath his jacket. They’d both left the condo armed, just in case. When you knew you were being targeted, you never went anywhere without a weapon at your side.

“I want you to stay down,” Gunner told her. “Stay behind this truck until backup arrives.”

She knew what he was planning, and it was not going to fly with her. “While what? You race up to that building and face the shooter on your own?”

“I can’t let him take any more shots! Civilians could be at risk.”

The street had been nearly deserted when they came out. Just a young couple, walking down the sidewalk. Cale had gotten them clear, but what if someone else came out?

“You need cover,” she told him. “I can provide it for you.”

He shook his head. “You’re the target, and I’m
not
letting him take another shot at you.” His gaze dropped to her stomach. “Neither of you.”

Her heart was racing too fast. “You can’t go in alone.”

Sirens were wailing. Yes, thank goodness. Someone had called the cops—could have been someone from the building, could have been Logan. Logan knew how to get the local officials to instantly jump into action.

“The cops are going to be here any second,” Gunner said as he tilted his head to listen to that approaching wail. “They’re going to scare the shooter off.”

Because most shooters ran at the first sign of cops, except for the shooters who’d staged the attack to bring local enforcement
into
the danger zone.

In Gunner’s eyes, she saw that same knowledge.

“I have to make sure no one else is at risk.”

Because he was Gunner. And that was just what he did. Sydney nodded grimly. “I won’t be able to give you much cover. He’s too far away.”

Gunner pressed his lips to hers. “I just want you to stay safe.”

Then he was gone. Damn him, he was rushing right out into the open. She lifted up, keeping as shielded as she could, and raised her gun. If she saw the glint of that weapon coming from the northwest, she
would
—

There was no glint from a weapon. And the sound of gunfire didn’t break the stillness of this morning. Gunner kept to cover as much as he could as he ran toward the building.

No shots were fired.

Sydney still didn’t relax her guard.

She stayed there, armed, ready to do anything necessary if she saw Gunner get threatened.

Soon the cops were pulling up and rushing toward her, rushing for the building on the northwest corner. Logan
had
already briefed them. Now it was just a matter of seeing if they could catch the shooter.

She glanced toward the building.
Gunner.

* * *

T
HE
J
AMES
F
IRE
Building was abandoned, due to be demolished in just a few weeks so that a new apartment complex could be built in its place. Isolated, private, it was the spot that Gunner would have picked himself if he had to take out a target on the street below.

So as he’d led Sydney to his truck, Gunner’s gaze had automatically risen to that building. A reflex act. He’d scanned the windows, then seen the glint—a glint that didn’t belong. He’d pushed Sydney to the ground.

Just in time.

He’d actually felt the bullet rip right past his skin.

Now he was in the building, moving quickly but quietly, just the way his grandfather had taught him. The element of surprise was what he needed. If his prey was still inside, stupidly waiting for another shot...

I’ll get you.

But then Gunner heard the thunder of footsteps. His prey was running down the stairs. If he wanted to escape, the shooter
had
to take the stairs. The electricity in that place had been cut off weeks ago, and judging from where Gunner had seen that rifle glint, the man would have been up on the tenth floor.

That was a whole lot of stairs to take. And if the man was armed with just that rifle, he wouldn’t be able to aim that thing well as he ran down the stairs.

A grim smile curved Gunner’s lips as he started up the stairs. No rustle of clothing, no tap of his boots, no sound at all. Higher, higher, he climbed.

Those rushing feet came closer and closer.

Then he could see the man, his legs rushing fast down the steps.

“Freeze!” Gunner roared. He wanted this man taken in alive. He wanted to know why he was targeting Sydney—or, more likely—why the guy had been
hired
to take the shot at her. Would the boss risk getting his hands dirty like this? Out in public, with a limited means of escape? Doubtful, but Gunner would make this man turn on his boss.