Trey: Red, Hot & Blue, Book 1 (9 page)

In addition to the chain restaurants, Pristina, like any other capital city, had no shortage of taxis. Trey had no trouble hailing a cab to take them to the airport. Once inside the car, he took out the untraceable disposable cell phone he’d been given by Matt and called the pilot to make sure the jet would be ready and waiting when they arrived.

Trey’s feeling of waiting for the other shoe to drop didn’t dissipate until they were on the private jet and in the air. Then the other issue on his mind had time to surface. Carly and the fact this op was over and so were they.

Matt, most likely dressed as a maintenance man, had swept the aircraft and radioed to Trey it was clean so there was no further excuse for him to delay this conversation with Carly. He gathered every bit of professionalism in his being, even sitting straighter while strapped in next to her in the plane’s seat.

Measuring his words carefully, Trey focused on keeping his voice even. “We need to go over a few things regarding the op.”

She turned and looked at him. “Okay.”

“We need to talk about last night.”

That caused her to pause a bit before nodding. “All right.”

He found himself staring at the magazine in her lap like it was the most interesting thing in the world before he wrestled his eyes up.

Trey cleared his throat. “I need confirmation you’re on birth control.”

Her eyebrows rose sharply. “Excuse me?”

“I need con—

“I heard what you said.” Gone was the casual demeanor, in its place one angry-looking woman.

“Carly. It’s important.”

“What was last night about? Really?”

“The mission.” The lie flowed smoothly off his tongue, just like he’d been trained.

“The mission? And that’s it?”

Trey nodded. “The mission.”

He saw the pain cross her face before she looked away.

Swallowing hard, he tried to clear the lump from his throat. “You didn’t answer my question. Are you on any sort of birth control?”

Her head swiveled sharply toward him. “That detail is not part of this mission.”

“Yes, actually it is. We had unprotected sex in the course of this operation.” Twice.

“Just forget it ever happened.”

Forget about it. Yeah, not likely. He shook his head and let out a deep breath. “If you don’t answer me now, you’ll just have to answer the commander when we return.”

The look she shot him was filled with hate. “Fine. I haven’t had sex in over two years, Trey. So no, I’m not using the pill or anything else for birth control. What would be the point since when I’m not ordered to by the US military, I don’t normally sleep around?” She returned to staring blindly at the same page open in her lap since this conversation had begun.

She obviously hated him now. That was probably for the best. Safer for all involved. Trey could stay professional in the face of anger. If she cried, her tears would break him.

“I’ll arrange to have the morning after pill waiting for you when we land.”

Carly, still not looking at him, blushed bright red. “I’ll take care of things myself.”

“I’m afraid standard operating procedure states in cases such as this—”

She spun on him. “Exactly how long will the military be in control of my personal life from this one favor I was stupid enough to agree to?”

“As soon as we land, we’ll go over the mission details with the commander at the base. After we get you the pills, you’ll be free to go.” Trey tried to make it all sound so routine, though nothing felt routine to him right now. “It’s for the best. The sooner you take it the better. Matt can arrange a prescription for you with Medical.”

“Matt?”

Uh, oh. That got her attention. “You knew he was on surveillance for this op. I told you before we landed.”

Her eyes narrowed. “He wasn’t just listening to us on that thing in your ear, was he? He could see us. Now it all makes sense.
Dance for me. Face the mirror. Spread your legs for me, baby.
You were putting me on display. Tell me, Trey. How many were in the audience for your little lecherous peep show last night?”

There was so much truth in Carly’s accusations, Trey felt sick to his stomach. “Too many and I’m sorry, but it wasn’t my choice and it was absolutely necessary.”

That, at least, was true for the first half of the night. The second half she was totally right about. He was a letch. There had been no reason for him to make love to her in the dark after Jimmy had already been rescued except for the fact he’d wanted to. That was something he could never tell her. He needed to maintain a strictly professional relationship with her, then maybe she’d be able to pick things up in her life and with Jack as if nothing had happened.

“Necessary?” Her voice reached a level that told him exactly how unhappy she was. “Why? Why was it
necessary
, Trey?”

He hesitated, deciding what he could and couldn’t reveal. “We saved a man’s life last night, Carly.”

She crossed her arms and stared at him. “Forgive me if I don’t understand how what we did last night saved a life.”

Trey owed her an explanation, even if he was treading a fine line regarding the rules. “This information can’t leave this plane, but Jack’s brother was being tortured in the basement of our hotel. We provided the distraction that allowed his escape. That’s all I can tell you and I probably shouldn’t have even said that much. I truly hope it’s enough.”

He watched her react as the expression of her face changed from anger to shock to understanding.

She was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. “Did your commander watch us too?”

“Um…” Trey wasn’t sure about that answer. The rest of the team, except for Matt on surveillance and Jack because he was too close to the situation, would have been occupied getting Jimmy out. The commander, however, could have very well been sitting there watching the video feed of both the guards in the basement and their room upstairs. Good thing he hadn’t thought of that last night.

“No, Trey.” Matt’s voice filled his ear. “The commander was on sight with the team.”

Carly still watched him, waiting for his answer.

“He didn’t see.” Relieved, Trey relayed that news to Carly.

She still didn’t look happy. “Will he?”

“I don’t see any reason why he should need to see it.” Unless the commander wanted to see if he and Carly had somehow compromised their cover and sent the target running. Though most likely he ran because of Jimmy’s escape, not anything they’d done in their room. Trey couldn’t tell her any of that so he left it alone.

“Will the recording of us be shown at the next boys’ night out so you can all laugh about it?”

Ow
. That one hurt.

“No, Carly. Matt’s a professional. We’re all professionals.” Thinking about sliding into her the second time for no good reason didn’t make him feel very professional.

She let out a big sigh. “If you could arrange for the prescription, I’d be willing to take it.”

He nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

Matt was obviously still eavesdropping. His voice filled Trey’s ear once again. “I’ll take care of it, Trey.”

Nothing like living life on constant display.

He should tell her the rest too, though he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Carly, there’s one more thing.”

When she spun her head to face him again, he saw the weariness in her. They both needed a good night’s rest, but she looked like she couldn’t take much more on her shoulders right now and he was about to dump more on top of her.

How he would love to say never mind and forget about the whole thing. Unfortunately, he couldn’t.

“He wasn’t supposed to, but Jack walked in and saw the live feed of us last night.” Trey felt like he needed to explain and apologize even though there wasn’t anything he could have done about it. “I’m pretty sure it was only for a few seconds before Matt got him out of there, but I thought you would want to know. I’m sorry.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Yeah, me too.” Her voice was soft and full of regret.

Chapter Nine

Carly stepped onto the tarmac and fought the urge to drop to her knees and kiss the ground. She had never been so happy to be on American soil in her life. More importantly, she was one step closer to being free of this military bullshit and Trey so she could get back to her bar and her life and forget any of this had ever happened. As if she could really do that.

Trey must have seen the need to bolt reflected on her face. He touched her arm for just a second and then dropped his hand. “You’ll have to come back to the base with me to be debriefed by the commander. Then you can go home.”

The thought of how Trey had already “debriefed” her in Kosovo flew into Carly’s head. A short, bitter laugh burst out before she could control it. That juvenile reaction made her realize she was most likely starting to lose her mind. Either that or she was giddy from lack of sleep.

She glanced at Trey as he raised a brow over her outburst like the staid poster boy for military protocol that he was. His words on the flight echoed in her brain, fueling her anger.

Standard operating procedure clearly states…

How could he be so cold and businesslike after the night they’d shared? His quoting SOP to her after what they’d done together had left no doubt in her mind that what she’d been stupid enough to assume was a real attraction between them had been nothing more than a job to him. Maybe it was her pride hurting more than anything else, which was exactly what she deserved for breaking her own rules and letting herself succumb to temptation.

In any case, he was still waiting for her to say something. “I know I have to go in. You already told me. Believe me, I’m as anxious as you are to have this thing over and done with so I can get back to my life and forget it ever happened.”

His calm demeanor didn’t crack at her comment or the less-than-nice tone in which it was delivered. No surprise there.

At least she’d been able to change into her own clothes on the flight. That helped her feel more grounded, more normal. She’d had enough of Candi’s clothes, especially those damn high heels. They caused too many memories, not to mention blisters.

With blisters that made even her sneakers hurt, Carly limped into the meeting room behind Trey. There she faced five men whose heads all swiveled immediately in her direction when she entered. Wishing she could crawl beneath the linoleum, she wondered again exactly how much they all knew.

From the doorway she spotted Matt and felt her face heat at the knowledge he for certain had watched the whole sordid performance Trey had put on the night before. That pissed her off all over again until the sight of Jack made her forget her anger and embarrassment took over.

She didn’t have long to feel ashamed however, because they were barely inside the room when Jack leapt forward, red faced.

“You rotten son of a bitch.” He pulled back his fist and let the punch fly, clocking Trey with a blow that would have leveled a smaller man.

Carly hopped to the side to avoid Trey who took a step back when the blow threw him off balance. The entire team seemed to hold its collective breath, but no one moved a muscle to either help or stop the fight. Carly too stood frozen in place except for the wild pounding of her heart.

Trey’s head had whipped back from the hit, but he stayed put and didn’t even raise a fist. He stared calmly at Jack as if waiting for the next punch, but it never came. Instead, Jack stepped forward and grabbed Trey in a bear hug, audibly squeezing the breath out of him. “Thanks for saving my brother.”

She saw the expression of shock cross Trey’s face as he accepted the embrace. When they broke apart, he touched his jaw, working it from side to side. “You’re welcome.”

Jack came to her next. He raised a hand to her cheek and smiled. “Hey, darlin’.”

Carly returned his smile hesitantly. How exactly should she act in this situation? This guy had an obvious crush on her and had just seen his best friend screwing her on camera. She’d like to know the standard operating procedure for handling that one. “Hi, Jack.”

He leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss across her cheek. “I’m so glad you’re home safe.”

The commander stood in his office doorway, watching the whole exchange and not looking very happy. “You three, in my office.”

“Three? Me too, sir?” Jack sounded surprised.

“Yes, you.” The man turned and walked to his desk obviously assuming they’d follow, which they did.

Carly walked behind Trey and Jack when Matt grabbed her hand and slipped a pill bottle into it. Managing an embarrassed nod, she clutched the prescription in a tight fist. Could this get any more embarrassing? As she entered the office behind Trey and Jack, she had a feeling it could.

“Close the damn door, McAfee.” The commander delivered his order like a man who was used to being followed without question.

“Yes, sir.” She did as she was told.

He waited until she had before he laid into Jack. “What the hell is going on, Gordon?”

“Nothing, sir.”

“It didn’t look like nothing to me.” When Jack remained silent, the commander addressed Trey. “Williams, would you like to fill me in?”

“No, sir. I mean there’s nothing to be filled in on, sir.”

“So you’re going to tell me you two beat the hell out of each other after every mission?”

Trey kicked at the floor with the toe of his sneaker. “He didn’t exactly beat the hell out of me, sir.”

The commander raised a brow. “No, I suppose he could have hit you harder if he really wanted to. I’m going to assume your little show out there was a one-time event. Am I right or wrong?”

“Right, sir.” Jack and Trey spoke in unison.

“McAfee.”

Carly jumped. She had been eyeing the water cooler and deciding if she could take the pill without anyone noticing when he called her name.

“Yes, sir?”

“Good job. Go home.”

“Sir?”

“Go home. The two heavyweight champions here can take care of the paperwork and the debriefing. If I need you for anything, I know where to find you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He smiled. “Thank you, McAfee. Oh and remember, not a word to anyone.”

A bitter laugh burst out of her before she could stop it. “They wouldn’t believe me if I told them, sir. But no, not a word.”

She couldn’t wait to be on the other side of the door and away from them all. Being the third side in this little triangle was more than she could deal with right now. Glancing from Jack to Trey, she got out of the office as fast as she could.

It would feel very good to get home. Time to start getting things back to normal, though she had a strong suspicion she’d never feel normal again.

***

Trey gladly handled the mission follow-up without Carly. Having her there would have taken more mental capacity than he had after the night they’d spent together doing everything except sleeping. Of course, Jack was still there right next to him like the living breathing personification of his own conscience. A constant reminder he’d not only stepped across the line with Carly, but had also trampled all over Jack’s toes in the process.

To Jack’s credit, following the initial punch he’d thrown he’d acted pretty much normal as he and Trey waited on line with the rest of the team to turn in all equipment they’d been issued for the op.

Then came the paperwork—the bane of the existence of every man and woman in the US military. Trey sat at his desk with a form in front of him and a pen in his hand, but being prepared with the necessary items didn’t get the papers filled out any easier.

The task was simple enough. He was going to have to write an account for the expenses he’d charged to John Smith’s credit card for things like the rental car and the taxi, but he’d barely filled out his name because he wasn’t really there. Instead, his mind was at Carly’s.

Jack sat at the desk next to him, scribbling away. He looked down at his own nearly blank page. This was going to take a long time at this rate.

He sighed and Jack glanced up at the sound. “That paper’s not going to fill out itself while you stare at the wall.”

Trey laughed. “I guess I didn’t take whatever speed writing course you did.”

It seemed he and Jack were just going to forget about the obvious and go back to being friends even though his jaw still hurt like hell. The bruise was already starting to show but it didn’t matter if getting it out of his system had helped Jack get over what he’d seen. He owed Jack that much.

“You just need the right motivation, that’s all. The sooner I get done, the sooner I can go get a beer.”

That captured Trey’s wandering attention. No wonder Jack was in such a hurry to finish his paperwork. He was anxious to get to Carly. Trey bit the inside of his cheek to try to stop himself from asking the question, but it came out anyway. “You going to Carly’s?”

“Yup.” Jack’s single spoken word carried far more meaning today than it normally would. He was in fact telling Trey he was still going after Carly, no matter what had happened in Kosovo.

His stomach clenched. “Maybe you should give her a little time. It’s been a tough couple of days.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to ask Carly out?”

Trey frowned. “Me? No, of course not.”

Jack raised a brow. “Why not?”

“I don’t need the distraction of a girlfriend right now.”

Glancing down, he tapped a finger on Trey’s blank report. “You look plenty distracted to me already.”

For a man who talked like some country hick, Jack could be really perceptive sometimes. He was dead-on this time and Trey had a feeling his distraction wasn’t going to get any better either, particularly if Jack ended up dating Carly.

He shook the unpleasant thought off.

“Yeah, well. It’s been a tough couple of days for me too.” Trey sighed and then dropped the pen. “Look, Jack. I have to say this. I’m sorry. I’m sorry it had to happen and I’m really sorry you had to see it.”

Jack shook his head. “I know, Trey. You had to. Matt explained it to me. It was his idea and it saved Jimmy, so how can I hold it against you?”

The first time had been Matt’s idea and necessary, but the second time? That incident was all Trey and the guilt over it nearly overwhelmed him as he took in the sincerity of Jack’s expression.

“I’m fine. We’re fine.” Jack waved a hand to indicate the two of them. “And I’m sorry I punched you. It’s just…no stud likes to share his filly, you know?”

Trey wouldn’t have worded it that way exactly, but… “Yeah, I know.”

“Finish that up. I’ll wait for you.” Arms folded, Jack leaned against his desk.

Trey shook his head. “No, you go ahead. I think I’m going to try to stay out of her face for a while. Things have been a little awkward since we, uh, were, um together.”

Jack laughed. “Yeah, I can imagine. Actually, that’s all I can do is imagine, not having experienced it myself.”

Trey winced. All may be forgiven, but not quite yet forgotten.

“But it’s fine,” Jack continued, “One day when Carly and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary, the three of us will all get together and laugh about this.”

Anniversary? Shit. Trey thought about Jack and Carly married. Nothing about it was remotely amusing. He forced a smile and said goodbye to Jack, even as the iron vise tightened around his chest.