He knew she was being truthful, not hurtful. She was giving him facts, her tone all Jaimie and a clear reprimand. He wanted to smile, relief flooding him. Satisfaction.
There was no one else. Not even Superman. I’m not going anywhere again, Jaimie.
She sighed and turned into him, her head finding a niche against his shoulder.
Until the first time Griffen orders you into the field.
That’s work, Jaimie. You aren’t going to be upset when I go to work.
How are you ever going to know he isn’t sending you out on a suicide mission?
That brought him up short. He trusted Griffen. He knew the sergeant major. The man was a patriot through and through and he always stood for his men. He was tough, but he took the heat from the politicians. Part of the reason Mack had agreed to the program was because they would all report directly to Griffen. He didn’t send his team out lightly.
Jaimie, I’m telling you I want you to stay with me. Be with me.
And I don’t doubt it for a minute, Mack. She let go of his fingers and he immediately felt bereft. My head aches and I need to sleep.
No nightmares, then.
And tell Joe I’m really not happy with him either.
Mack shifted, leaned in to kiss her temple, and rose. “She’s not happy with you, Joe.” He didn’t bother to keep elation from his voice.
“I figured that,” Joe said. “I’m going back to my suite. The place is a dump but it’s home, unless your men tore it up.”
“They left it intact.”
Javier, he’s on the move, Mack warned. “How long you figure you’re staying around?”
“Until Sergeant Major pulls me off the duty. And that isn’t going to be until we find the bastard coming at her.”
“Sounds personal to me,” Mack said.
“You bet it’s personal,” Joe said, for once shaken out of his usual calm. “She’s mine. I’ve been protecting her for months. I’m not about to turn her over to you or anyone else. So forget asking your sergeant major. I’m going to find the bastard who put that body on her doorstep and whoever is targeting her for assassination. Not on my watch.”
Kane and Mack exchanged a long look as Joe crossed the room, checked Jaimie’s pulse, smoothed back her hair, and then, without another word, went down the stairs.
Ethan did a slow somersault from where he’d been clinging like a spider in the rafters and landed in a crouch. “You know, boss, you just might have a rival for Jaimie’s affections again. And this time, I don’t think he’s scared of you.”
CHAPTER 8
“You’re not cooking for all the boys, Jaimie. You’ve been ill. You couldn’t get out of bed for two days.”
Jaimie gave a little dismissive sniff and brushed past Mack. “I want to cook dinner for them. Kane already bought the groceries for me. And why does he have that bruise on his jaw?” She glared over her shoulder at Mack.
Mack shrugged. “I think he ran into a door.”
“That’s what I thought you’d say. You’ve been glowering at each other since I’ve been up. Why don’t you kiss and make up instead of walking around like a couple of bears with sore teeth? You always make up, and the longer it takes, the more we all have to suffer.”
Mack didn’t reply, but came up behind her. Close. Very close. So close she could feel the warmth of his breath on the back of her neck.
She threw her elbow back and caught him in the ribs. “I mean it, Mack. Go make up. I hate it when the two of you stomp around and growl at each other. What’s wrong with you?”
“I went to Sergeant Major and asked for protection for you,” Kane said.
Jaimie whirled around and found herself up against Mack’s body. She felt his inhale, whether at the brush of her body against his or at Kane’s admission, she didn’t know.
“That’s no surprise.”
“It was to me,” Mack said. “He didn’t discuss it.”
“Jaimie’s my sister, Mack,” Kane said, his tone one of exaggerated patience. “I don’t have to discuss it with you. She left. She wasn’t going to let it go. I know her, the way she thinks, and she wasn’t going to drop her argument against Whitney. She was going to try to find proof for you.”
“You knew he was going to watch out for me anyway,” Jaimie pointed out, stepping away from Mack.
“From a distance, Jaimie. I wanted someone on you up close, where when you tripped up, they’d be able to send a report to Griffen and he’d contact me. That was the arrangement.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Mack demanded.
“Because the sergeant major wanted something in return,” Jaimie guessed, her eyes locked with Kane’s. “He did, didn’t he?”
Kane shrugged. “I knew what you’d do, Jaimie, and I wasn’t about to let you get your neck chopped off.”
“I’m not giving him my data. That’s what you promised him, isn’t it?”
“That and how you do what you do.”
“That’s too bad, Kane, because, had you asked me, I would have volunteered the information to you had I known how I do it. But no way in hell will I ever turn over my proof of Whitney’s crimes to Sergeant Major Griffen. He’s entrenched in the GhostWalker program and probably embroiled up to his medals in Whitney’s scum.”
“I can hack your computer.”
“You don’t have the skills to hack me. And neither do Sergeant Major’s little experts.” She tilted her chin at him, her eyes dark and stormy.
“Maybe, but Javier does.”
She smirked at him. “Maybe, but I don’t think so.”
Kane’s jaw tightened. “You anticipated me trading for protection.”
All trace of amusement faded from her face. “I know you just as well as you know me. The minute I saw that dead body, I knew it was a warning. I knew I was getting close to Whitney’s protectors. Then you showed up here because of a wrong address.”
“Wait a minute,” Mack said. There was a note in his voice, a strain of underlying anger that had Kane moving back out of harm’s way. Quiet. Nasty. That dangerous tone that made Mack who he was. “Are you telling me that Sergeant Major traded information for Jaimie’s safety? He actually knew she was in harm’s way and made you pay a price to protect her?”
“Mack,” Kane said.
Mack’s teeth snapped together. “You watch her, Kane. I’ll be back later. I think I’ll go have a chat with Griffen.”