Sworn to Secrecy (Special Ops) (13 page)

“You keep telling yourself that and maybe one day you’ll be able to believe it.”

He believed it already. There was nothing to say that she would have gone into protection even if they hadn’t had sex. This wasn’t about him. This was her decision and he wasn’t going to own responsibility for that.

“Please tell me it’s more than sex,” Jet nearly snarled.

“I like her,” he stated. He couldn’t say love. He just met the woman there was no way he felt love for her. He had heard of things happening swiftly for some people. He had heard the stories of “when you know you just know; love at first sight,” and all the other romantic ramblings on love. He just didn’t feel it that fast. Lust—absolutely. Love—not yet, and he wouldn’t lie about it either.

“Like is a good start,” Jet nodded. “At least you feel something, which tells me you’ll keep in mind the heart on the inside of that beautiful body.” He turned and walked away from him, keeping watch on the fishing boat that had pulled up downstream from them. It didn’t appear threatening, but there still was no need to get cozy and turn their back on the vessel.

Alex felt a hint of frustration creep into his mind. Just because he was young did not mean he didn’t know how to treat a woman. Carissa had a great body, very desirable and definitely one that made him want to strip naked with her and take her, but he was still morally sound enough to know that using her would be wrong. He could see past that great body into the heart of a courageous woman. It took courage not to turn a blind eye to what her father had gotten himself mixed up in.

“Where is she?” He peered over the side of the boat. She should have come up for air by now. He was just getting ready to strip off his own clothes and go after her when she surfaced.

“Got it,” she handed him the watertight container sealed in a plastic bag. He handed it over to Preston before helping her back onboard.

“You were down there so long I was on my way in.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet.” She patted his cheek. “Thanks for caring, but I can hold my breath for about three minutes depending on conditions. I wasn’t in any trouble. So what happens next?”

Alex pulled a towel from the storage bin and gave it to her to dry off. “Now we secure the boat near ground and we hike back to our backup transport. We can’t go the same way out that we came in. Understand?”

“Yes,” she nodded as she towel dried her body and started putting her cargo pants and t-shirt back on. Thankfully the guys had thought of everything and Preston had made sure when they arrived in Texas that there were suitable clothes for traveling the terrain. She was going to have to do some climbing up the cliffs and the cargo pants and hiking boots would be better suited for that. Of course nobody had expected her to be diving or they would have gotten her swimwear. That swimwear wouldn’t have been a bikini; it would have been a full swimsuit. He wasn’t sure he liked Jet looking at Carissa in something as small as bra and panties and that was pretty much the size of a bikini so he was sure he wouldn’t like him looking at her in one of those either. Preston wasn’t an issue. Everybody knew he was still in love with his ex. He dated, but he never searched for a woman looking for a connection. Usually after a few months, maybe eight at the most, he was already back to singlehood and he stayed there for a couple years before venturing back into the dating pool. He blamed it on being busy, but they all knew he was looking for the woman who could erase Arianna from his mind and heart. They all knew that would never happen.

Jet on the other hand was definitely a man soon to be on the prowl. There was no secret that he and Charlie were on the fringes of breaking up. His missing their date and going to meet Alex with Carissa at the cabin didn’t help things either. Jet had told him the moment he asked how she was doing that they were probably going to have to find another place for their Friday night hangouts because Charlie wouldn’t want to see him again if they didn’t make it. Alex figured Jet would work hard to keep Charlie. He liked her. They had a good relationship from the standpoint that neither of them wanted a commitment to the extent of marriage or live-in arrangements. Maybe they could work it out. Even if they couldn’t, Alex didn’t think Jet would break the silent code of friendship and intentionally go after Carissa; but he still didn’t like the man looking at her. She had a body that could tempt an angel, and a heart that could make the Devil beg for redemption. She was a good woman with the kind of honesty and kindness that seemed so rare. He had deduced that much from the brief time they had spent with each other.

“Preston, are we clear?”

Preston gave a subtle nod to Jet. Then things were done. No matter what happened between here and the vehicle Carissa’s idea was already in motion. The good guys were going to win this one, but now they needed to stay alive. Getting killed wasn’t on their agenda.

It wasn’t going to take long to hike to the other side where their vehicle was located, but it was going to take effort because they were going to have to climb up some sharp rocks and walk through some wooded areas just to get to where they had hidden the jeep. He knew they could make it, but he was worried about Carissa. He wasn’t sure just how much she could take after free diving, but she seemed to be holding her own and keeping in line right beside them. She was a little winded but he imagined she was willing to keep going simply because she knew they didn’t have time to stop.

Preston held up one solid fist and they all knew what it meant, Carissa didn’t, but they did. Something or somebody was out there with them. They all scanned their positions, trying to see if they were facing a wild animal or getting ready to come under enemy fire. They didn’t have much room for cover. With their weapons drawn they were ready should they need to shoot.

“I think we’re clear,” Jet said low as he did another scan of the area. “But to be safe we should all keep our weapons unlocked.”

“Nobody knew we were coming here,” Carissa assured them in the lowest tone she could. It didn’t matter if they had managed to keep her return a secret there was a high probability that somebody had figured out Preston wasn’t still in the office. Maybe somebody had followed him. Although he was sure Preston would have noticed somebody following him…unless they were one step ahead of him in their ability to tail without being seen.

He didn’t have time to dwell on the matter when he saw the red dot on Carissa’s body. He pushed her out the way so quick he didn’t have time to evade the bullet that was meant for her and it hit him clear in the chest.

Chapter Eight

R
apid gunfire was all she could hear, and she still didn’t care about what was going on. She cared about the fact that Alex was down on the ground lying there lifeless while some big guy with way too much cologne on held her down. She had deduced that he was trying to protect her but she wanted to get to Alex. She had been screaming for Alex. Maybe she could have done something to help him, save him, but the jerk using his body to hold her down was immovable.

Another round of rapid fire, a few loud pops and then utter silence told her it was either over or all the good guys were dead and she, and the guy on top of her, would be next. She had gotten him killed. She had gotten Alex killed and she would never forgive herself for that. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.

“You boys should be glad we tailed that guy otherwise you’d all be dead right now.” A loud feminine voice spoke as Carissa struggled once again to free herself. This time the man moved and the second he did she was on her feet running to Alex. She threw her head on his body and cried for him. “Alex,” she wept. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

“I am smart enough to wear a vest you know;” his voice held humor in the tone. Her head shot up fast and she looked at him. His eyes were open and looking right back at her. She slapped his shoulder hard.

“You scared me.” She complained.

“I got shot. It takes a while with those types of rounds to get your wind back.”

“You still scared me.” She glared at him before swooping down and lavishing sweet kisses all over his cheek and his lips. “I’m so glad you’re alive. You saved my life—again. Thank you.”

He placed his hand in her hair and pulled her in for a passionate kiss that gave him a taste of those trembling lips.

“I’ll take that now,” the federal agent took the flash drive from Preston as Carissa and Alex got to their feet. She felt a sudden sense of loss because she had banked on getting that information to the press being her way to stay in Texas. It wasn’t just her business at stake; she wanted to stay with Alex. They were just starting something that could be great and she wanted to explore it and see where it went. Men like him didn’t just come around every day.

“No matter,” Preston shrugged. “By now the media is already having a field day reporting the contents of that,” he pointed to the device. “And I’ll tell you it’s all going live. It’s not the stuff you can shut down with a phone call.”

“Yeah right,” the agent quipped.

Preston shrugged once more. Maybe his nonchalant attitude is what made the agent check the validity of his statement because one phone call and several twisted facial expressions later and they all had an answer to the truthfulness of his statement.

“How did you pull that off?” She barked as she shoved her hand through her short cut blond hair.

Carissa wanted to know the same answer.

“That is one nicely equipped boat,” he stated. “I don’t wait until I’m landlocked to take care of business. So now that you know the rest of the United States, and probably the world at this point, knows about what’s going on there won’t be any easy way to make Miss Jones here disappear. I know how you Feds like to conveniently lose people sometimes.”

The agent mumbled several curses before walking over to the other agents. Jet and Preston joined her and Alex in their little corner of the mess that surrounded them. “They sent a lot of people after me.”

“Yes they did. I counted eight here. You’re safe now. That list is out there and nobody is going to take a chance on killing you. They’re all going to be too worried about covering their own butts. You can breathe a little easier now.”

She nodded as she clutched Alex’s hand. “What about my father?”

Preston shrugged. “I don’t know. That will be up to the Feds on how they continue to pursue that, but for right now just count your blessings that you survived this.”

“Thank you,” she looked at them with the appreciation she had in her heart. “Thank you for saving my life, and for keeping me safe. I know that’s not part of your job, but thank you.”

Alex pulled her closer to him. “We always return the package, Carissa—even if the package doesn’t always want to be returned.” He winked and she laughed.

Alex shook off the tension of the day and took a long, hot shower. He was still trying to come to terms with his feelings. Carissa had told him she was staying in Texas. She felt safe enough and the authorities thought she would be safe enough, to just have a little added security detail instead of going fully into the Witness Protection Program. He knew of the discussion because right on site she had told the Feds that she wasn’t going into their program and the agent had assured her that it probably wouldn’t be necessary for her to go. He didn’t know what happened after they led her away. He was sure he would find out. Preston had the ability to find out anything, plus Carissa had told him she would call as soon as she could. Right now it was a wait to see game for him, but if nobody knew anything by morning he was going to make a few calls just to get an update.

By way of their rescue missions he would say that his, though complicated, was a success. Thanks to his friends for being his backup otherwise things could have gone differently. He would have gotten her out and back to the states, but she could have still ended up dead had they not gone the extra mile to ensure her safety as well. He loved his job, especially on days like today when the package arrived home safe and the bad guys didn’t get away.