A Soldier's Redemption Page 10

  A groan escaped her as he tugged her down until her moist yearning depths met his hardness through layers of denim and cotton. What was he doing? She needed to get rid of the clothing that interfered.

  But when she reached for the snap of his jeans, he stopped her and murmured roughly, “Just ride me, Cory.”

  She didn’t know what he meant until his hands gripped her hips again and he moved her against him. All of a sudden those layers of fabric didn’t seem to matter. Her hips helplessly rocked against him, demanding a solution to the problem of need.

  And as she rocked, he slipped his hands up under her nightshirt and cupped her breasts, rubbing his thumbs over her nipples.

  He might as well have plugged her into an electric socket. Shocks zinged through her, setting her alight, then zipped to her center, creating an ache that made her forget everything, everything except her need.

  “That’s the way…” He groaned the words, urging her on, tormenting her even as he encouraged her to ride the cresting wave. And somehow, by keeping them both clothed, he had set her free in an unexpected way.

  Set her free to take what she wanted as she rubbed herself against him over and over. Set her free to give in to her need without thought of anything or anyone other than herself.

  Free to be.

  Free to ride the crest of the wave all the way until she tumbled wildly into the warm waters below.

  And knew peace.

  She lay on Wade’s chest, his arms around her as aftershocks made her tremble. Her legs sprawled on either side of him, leaving her open, and each aftershock caused her to tighten them just a bit against his hips.

  She felt more safe, more secure and more relaxed than she had since…the shooting. And she couldn’t even rustle up a smidgen of guilt about it.

  Well, except that she didn’t know if Wade had enjoyed it quite as much as she had, didn’t know if he’d found completion himself. And had no way to ask.

  Silly, after what they had just shared, an experience all the more exhilarating because of the way he had brought it about, that she should feel a bit shy. But there it was.

  But oh, she never would have believed that having sex while fully clothed could actually enhance the experience, could arouse her so much, could give her such a sense of primitive freedom. In a way, she supposed, it had been an updated version of dragging her away to a cave by her hair. Little finesse, a lot of hunger, and bam!

  He’d lingered just long enough for her inhibitions to weaken, and then he’d forced her to shed them all. Quick, hot and ready.

  And damn, it felt good.

  He moved at last, just a bit, lifting a hand to stroke the back of her head, then wind a strand of her hair around his finger.

  “You okay?” he asked gruffly.

  “I’m fine,” she murmured. “You?”

  “Pretty amazed, actually.”

  At that she lifted her head and looked at him. His hard face looked softer now, and even his obsidian eyes seemed less like rock and more like deep waters. “How so?”

  “I couldn’t begin to explain.”

  She laid her cheek on his chest again. “Some things beggar words, I guess.”

  “Maybe so.” He released the strand of her hair, and ran a fingertip along the curve of her jaw. “Were you a teacher, before?”

  This man had a gift for putting a few pieces together into complete a puzzle, so she guessed it shouldn’t have surprised her that he had figured that out. “Why do you ask?”

  “Something you said. Well, actually, something you started to say and never finished. You caught yourself just as you started to say the word.”

  “And you finished it.”

  “I do that sometimes.”

  “God, you’re incredible. It’s like you read minds.”

  “I’m just observant. You don’t have to tell me.”

  “No, it’s okay. I was a teacher. Maybe I’ll teach again someday.”

  “Was there a reason they didn’t just get you a certificate here?”

  “They felt it would leave too much of a trail.” And here was reality, intruding again. She almost wanted to beat her fist on something.

  “Sorry, guess I’m ruining the moment.”

  She must have grown tenser, she thought. In some way he’d picked up on her reaction. He was amazing. In so many ways. Jim had been a sensitive guy, but not this sensitive. “No, I can’t hide for long from reality. Not now,” she admitted finally. “Not when there may be a threat.”

  “No.” A word of agreement.

  Her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. No more breaks for her today, she thought almost ruefully.

  “I think,” Wade said after a moment, “that you ought to take a shower while I go make us some breakfast.”

  “You’re going to do the cooking?”

  “I told you I know some basics. I may not be able to turn out that pasta thing you managed last night, but I can make a mean scrambled egg, and I can cook it with anything from sunlight, to a flameless ration heater, to a candle to a stove.”

  “I recommend the stove.”

  “Since it’s available.”

  She lifted her head and looked at him again. “How do you cook with sunlight?”

  “We carry mirrors for signaling. All you have to do is set it up right.”

  She nodded. “Someday you’ll have to show me.”

  He rolled then, dumping her off him onto the bed. He smiled, actually smiled down at her as he raised himself on one elbow. “Shower,” he repeated. “I’ll go make some edible scrambled eggs.”

  Then he gave her a quick hard kiss and was gone.

  For the first time in forever, Cory thought about what she was putting on. Ordinarily she grabbed a uniform from her closet, or just a shirt and jeans, not caring which. But this morning she dithered over whether she should wear a denim skirt, the brown plaid shirt with the piped yoke, or a plainer polo shirt.

  Finally she told herself to stop being ridiculous, pulled on fresh jeans—in Florida jeans were rarely worn except when it was cool, but here everyone wore them even if it was hot—and the gold polo shirt. She even added a bit of lipstick and mascara, from among the few personal possessions she’d been able to bring with her: nothing that wouldn’t fit into a suitcase.

  Good smells reached her as soon as she opened her bedroom door. Apparently Wade had added some bacon to the menu from the groceries he had bought yesterday, and from the aroma she could tell he’d brewed fresh coffee. Not only a second cup today, but a second pot. Now that was an extravagance she hadn’t enjoyed in far too long.

  When she entered the kitchen, she found the table already set. The bacon was draining on a paper towel over a plate on the table, and a stack of toast stood on the counter beside the toaster, already buttered.

  “You can cook,” she said with surprise.

  “Told you. What do you think happens when we’re at some small firebase on our own? We take turns, and God help the guy who can’t even make a decent breakfast.”

  A little laugh escaped her.

  “And here it’s easy. You even have a toaster. Take a seat. I’ll bring you coffee.”

  She sat, saying, “I thought you guys had prepackaged meals. What are they called?”

  “MREs. Meals, Ready-to-Eat. Three lies in three letters. I won’t give you any of the slang names for them.”

  “But you cooked anyway?”

  “When we move, we move fast and travel light. Try to live off the land. Besides, what you eat affects how you smell, so it’s best to eat local diet as much as possible.”

  She noticed his consistent use of the present tense, and wondered if he really found it that hard to put his years as a SEAL in the past, or if the present situation had just put him back in the mental mode as if he’d never left.

  “I never would have thought of that,” she said as he joined her at the table with the toast and eggs.

  The eggs were perfectly cooked, not too dry or moist, though he
evidently hadn’t whipped them. But why would that occur to him, considering he had done most of his cooking in the field? He’d spiced them with just a hint of cayenne, too, making them more savory.

  “Perfect,” she said, complimenting him.

  One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “Thanks. I hate overdone eggs. I’ll eat them, but I won’t like it.”

  For a man who said he didn’t know how to converse, he was doing a darn good job of it. Maybe something in him had begun to open up, too, as it had inside her.

  Almost as soon as she had the thought, he clammed up again. They ate breakfast in silence and hardly said a word as they washed up afterward.

  But then, after they moved back into the shadowed living room, he said, “I’m going to call the sheriff.”

  And ugly reality came crashing back down.

  Wade called Gage then excused himself to jog around the block. He didn’t say why he was going, but Cory figured it out without having to ask: he was going to make sure the guy he’d noticed yesterday wasn’t hovering around. She spent the time pretending to tidy up the house, although all she really needed to do was some dusting. She’d done all her major housework just a few days ago, and while the dust hadn’t really built up since then, it gave her an excuse to keep moving, and moving seemed like a good way to hold her fears at bay. Barely.

  Wade returned to the house at the same time Gage arrived. They entered together, Gage in civvies, and joined Cory in the living room. Before she could even greet Gage or put down her dustrag, Wade said, “I didn’t see him.”

  Cory wasn’t sure that eased her mind at all, given what Wade suspected. She dropped the rag on the table, brushed her hand quickly against her jeans, then shook Gage’s hand and invited him to sit. “Coffee?”

  He shook his head. “I’m fine. Thanks, Cory. So let’s cut to the chase. Wade said next to nothing except you needed to see me.”

  Cory nodded, then sank slowly onto the Boston rocker. Gage took the easy chair again, and Wade the end of the couch nearest to her. She looked at Wade. “You explain. Please.”

  “Okay.” Wade leaned forward, resting his elbows on his splayed knees, and folded his hands. “I knew from the outset Cory had something to be afraid of. I was here when she got that call, after all, the one she called you about.”

  Gage nodded. Cory noted he wasn’t giving a thing away. He wasn’t likely to speak a word until he was certain who knew what, and what they thought was going on. Protecting her secrets.

  “Anyway, I won’t bore you with all the irrelevant details, unless you think you need them. I’ve been on WITSEC operations overseas, and by early this morning I realized that Cory must be in Witness Protection.”

  Gage immediately stiffened. “I don’t think…”

  “Relax,” Wade said. “No one else would guess. I figured it out because I was here, I could see the fear, and some of her omissions were glaring, to say the least.”

  Gage swore and looked at Cory. “I’m sorry. I never would have brought Wade here if I’d ever thought someone would figure this out.”

  “It’s okay,” Cory said. “I’m not upset that he knows. Far from it. And honestly, I think he’s right when he says no one else would guess. He figured it out because he had the experience to put the pieces together.”

  “I hope so,” Gage said flatly. Right now he wasn’t looking too friendly.

  Wade appeared untroubled by the reaction. Or maybe he had just gone back to his inner fortress. Cory surprised herself by hoping like hell that he hadn’t. She didn’t want him to go back to that. She kind of liked the man he’d revealed himself to be, even though he had as yet revealed little.

  “Anyway,” Wade continued with little expression, “I also figured out why someone might have made that phone call, and I remembered something I would have caught on to immediately if I hadn’t spent the last six months trying to lose most of what I learned as a SEAL.”

  “And that is?”

  “First let me explain a method we used a time or two in operations. You don’t always have a clear idea of who your target is. Sometimes you don’t have a photo, or even a decent description. So what we would do was try to scare a group of potential targets, then watch who took the most revealing action.”

  Gage nodded slowly. “So you’re saying you don’t think that phone call was a prank.”

  “It might well not be. And the reason I’m suspicious is because we saw the same guy at two different places yesterday. He followed us into the parking lot at the grocery, then we ran into him again in the aisle.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “That alone wouldn’t. However, when we were walking home from the park together yesterday afternoon, I saw the guy again. Driving a different car down the street out front.”

  “Hell.” Gage scratched his head almost irritably.

  “I realize, of course, that some people have more than one car. I realize that call may indeed have been a prank. But when you put it all together with Cory’s being in protection because she’s the only person who can identify the man who murdered her husband, it doesn’t pay to ignore coincidence.”

  “No. No, it doesn’t. But what would you say is the revealing action Cory took? Because I don’t see that she did a thing.”

  “Except take me in. And the guy who’s watching might not have seen me arrive before the call. Actually no reason he should have, because he wouldn’t have been looking for telltales until after the call…and I arrived basically right before it.”

  Gage nodded slowly. “It’s possible.”

  “The thing is,” Wade continued, “if you assume he’s got his eye on, oh, say half a dozen women who’ve moved here sometime over the last year, and he has to watch all of them, he’s going to be looking around at one after another to see who did what after the phone call. And after the call he sees two things: Cory and her friend Marsha go to the pound and pick out a dog for Marsha. That might have been enough to point a finger at Marsha except that then Cory comes home and a very short time later she emerges to go to the grocery store with me.”

  “And you could easily look like a bodyguard.”

  Cory spoke. “I think Wade is right, Gage. Especially when you consider that I not only suddenly have Wade living here, but we went shopping together. Ordinarily when people do that, they have a long-term relationship of some kind. But Wade wasn’t in my life until the day before yesterday. In fact, when I look back at it, it could easily have appeared that I was doing the shopping and Wade was just there.”

  “Okay,” Gage said. “And then you saw him again in the afternoon. In a different car.”

  “And he didn’t even glance at us,” Wade remarked, “while the woman in the car ahead of him smiled and waved.”

  “Most folks in Conard County smile and wave. We’re pretty sure someone is an outsider when they don’t.” He rubbed his chin then looked at Cory.

  “But you can’t identify him as the man who killed your husband?”

  “No, he didn’t look anything like that man. I’d have noticed instantly if he had.”

  Gage cocked one eyebrow and looked at them both. “You know how thin this is?”

  “Very,” Wade said immediately.

  “But it’s still not something I can overlook. Give me a minute to think.”

  For an instant, crazily, Cory heard the Jeopardy music in her head. Where had that come from? She looked at Wade and saw a man who was infinitely capable of waiting when necessary, one who might prefer to be moving, but one who could also sit as still as a statue when he chose. He chose to be a statue right now.

  Finally Gage spoke. “Okay. The way I see it is that while we can’t be sure, Wade is making a good point about revealing actions. The guy who is after Cory may not know her appearance has been changed. They don’t often do that in Witness Protection, but given that he can’t find anyone who matches her appearance exactly, that kind of provocation would make sense, assuming he somehow found ou
t where she is. And the only way I can think that he would have learned that is if he got the info from someone who works for the Marshals.”

  Cory’s heart skipped a beat then climbed right into her throat. “I didn’t even think of that,” she whispered hoarsely.

  Gage’s dark eyes turned her way. “It’s been a year, Cory, so it’s obvious the Marshals succeeded in making sure no one followed you. So the only way this guy could have any idea you’re here is if someone in the program talked. Some kind of leak.”

  “My God,” she whispered. Her skin started to crawl with fear and anxiety again. “What else might he know?”

  Gage shook his head. “I don’t know, but if Wade is right about that call, then he didn’t manage to find out your new name. So whatever someone leaked, it was minimal, or this guy would have your name and address.”

  “Yes, that’s true.”

  “And it would be my guess that you didn’t follow the usual protocol of using the same first name you had before, along with a last name that starts with the same initial, or he’d just as good as have your new name and address.”

  “No, they told me that’s what most people do but one of the Marshals…” Her voice broke, then steadied. “One of the Marshals was a good friend of my husband’s. He seemed more worried than the rest, and he was the one who suggested I come up with a totally different name.”

  “Did you?” Wade asked suddenly. “Totally different? Or could there be a link between your name now and your past?”

  Cory bit her lip. “My mother’s name was Cory. And her maiden name was McFarland.”

  Wade looked at Gage. “He could find that out, now that he thinks he might have located her.”

  Gage nodded. “All too easily. Assuming he bothers to look.”

  “Why wouldn’t he look?” Cory asked, her heart still beating a nervous tattoo.

  “Because, assuming this guy does indeed know where you are, he may feel he’s already got all the information he needs. I can’t read his mind, Cory. I just know we have to take steps.”

  “What kind of steps? Are you going to call the Marshals?”