JAEGER SPENT his days in front of either the computer screens or his files while Wren paced the floors, read from the vast array of books on the shelf in the living space, or thought so hard that his brain hurt. They had little contact, except for the occasional grunt of approval from Jaeger at a meal, or a question from Wren’s file when Jaeger needed clarification.
“So give me the full scoop on your family, Wren. Your file gives me the facts, but I always find that asking questions and getting a story can reveal much more.” Jaeger held a cup of java in his hand and perched his denim-clad legs on the dark oak coffee table.
“Your father, Seamus O’Riley, married Graciela Rincón, sister to the head of the Rincón Family. How did they meet?”
Wren took the comfy chair by the fireplace and curled his legs underneath him.
“They met in Mexico City. My mom was shopping with friends for the day. Their chaperones had let the girls go into a café by themselves for café con leche and pastries, and my dad approached their table. He said he was immediately captivated by my mom.” Wren shrugged his shoulders, and a smile crossed his lips at the thought of his mother as a giddy young girl, having her heart stolen by a brash Irishman. “He made himself comfortable, chatted the girls up, and pretty much insinuated himself into their lives. So much so that he secured an ‘introduction’ to my uncle the very next day.” Wren made air quotes when he said introduction.
“I take it your mother was sheltered?”
“Very much so.” Wren replied with little hesitation. “My uncle was already the head of the family as my grandparents were long since deceased, and although my mother was nineteen, her life truly was not her own. My dad courted her. He was the same age as my uncle, so a little older, and within the year, he married my mom. I came a year later.”
Wren looked up at Jaeger, who looked comfortable in his own skin, although he made Wren quake in his. Wren found Jaeger attractive, even with his brash attitude, and his attitude was the first feature he noticed about Jaeger―the way he carried himself with confidence, as though he owned the world. The next thing Wren noticed were his amaretto-colored eyes. They were a golden brown with tinges of yellow. Wren could get lost in the depths of them and allow Jaeger to carry him away. It had been quite a while since another man had touched Wren, since a hard body had draped over his back, pounded into him, and given him cataclysmic release. Not since….
Wren needed to stop thinking about that fateful day and what transpired in the days before it. Soon he’d testify about the incident and anything else the federal court required. If he survived he would be permitted to start anew and create a life for himself with his mother in Spain.
“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to the story than what you are telling me?” Jaeger asked.
“I’m answering the questions that you’re asking. Nothing more, nothing less.” Wren was not prepared to tell Jaeger the full load of his life, and since Jaeger didn’t ask, he didn’t offer.
“But,” Wren continued, “the chance meeting of my mother was a setup. I found out years later that my father’s family wanted to get into bed, as they say, with my mother’s family, so Seamus knew exactly who she was and where she’d be. My father may have been ruthless, but he could turn on the charm at the drop of a hat with friend or foe, and he loved my mother dearly. I never heard him raise his voice to her, and she wanted for nothing. Unfortunately her trips, baubles, whatever, were bought with blood money.”
“It must have been very hard growing up in that environment.” Wren noticed Jaeger fidgeted with his leather band and appeared to be not only interested, but concerned.
“I’m not sure if I would call it hard, per se.” Wren shifted in the oversized chair. “It was a strict environment. Not a lot of friends once I came back to New Mexico, because we lived on the compound.”
“Tell me about that.” Wren watched Jaeger’s sleek movements as he rose from the couch and strode to the kitchen for more coffee.
Jaeger continued to talk from the kitchen. “You lived in Venezuela for a while and were actually born there.” It was a statement, not question.
“Yeah. As soon as my parents married in New Mexico, my dad became the VP of one of my uncle’s coffee bean companies located in Caracas. I came the year after they were married, so I was born in South America. Of course I discovered later the business was a front for drug running.”
Wren stood when his body felt stiff. “Can we take a break for now? I’d kill for some lunch.” With that said, Wren didn’t wait for Jaeger to respond. He made his way to the kitchen.
JAEGER HAD an excellent view of Wren’s ass when he left the chair for the kitchen. His legs were long and his waist tapered, and the jeans rode low on his hips. Jaeger never believed in déjà vu, but the sensation niggling in the back of his neck made him believe he’d met Wren before.
Hyped on too much caffeine, Jaeger decided to take a walk around the grounds and check the perimeter. In the week or so that they’d been in seclusion, nary a peep rose from the monitors, so it was time to look around.
Jaeger retrieved his gun and a set of binoculars from the control room and grabbed one of the sandwiches Wren had left on the worn tabletop.
“I’m going to take a walk. I’ll be back, and don’t open the door for anyone except me. Or leave this cabin. When I close the door, I’ll reengage the alarm. If something happens you lock yourself in the control room until I get back. Got it?”
Jaeger knew he was being a prick, but he needed to get away from the kid he’d lusted after for the past days. He avoided any physical contact with him. Every time Wren was close enough to touch, Jaeger’s senses became hypervigilant and he had trouble controlling his rampant libido.
“Got it. No outside. Stay away from door. Hide. Anything else?” Jaeger sensed the sarcasm in Wren’s voice but his orders had to be followed.
“Nothing else.”
Jaeger breathed a sigh of relief once the wooden door separated him from Wren. His skin tingled, his scar burned, and his heart rate accelerated. Adrenaline pulsed through his system, and Jaeger wasn’t sure if it was the mission, the lanky protectee, or a combination of both.
Making quick work of the sandwich, Jaeger satisfied his hunger in four bites. He wiped any crumbs from his mouth with the leather band and continued on his trek.
Scanning the area left and right, Jaeger made his way through the thick foliage and checked for footprints, broken twigs larger than what small game could make, and anything that seemed out of the ordinary. The woods were quiet and still—eerily quiet and still, especially for high noon.
Now on high alert, Jaeger crept over wood debris and soft earth and attempted to be as silent as possible. As a sniper, he knew the necessity of complete silence and stillness, but trekking through the crisp foliage proved more difficult than he liked. He needed to get to higher ground and scan the area. Something didn’t feel right.
He continued to walk for an hour or so, paying careful attention to every sound. Nothing moved, and to the untrained eye and ear, everything would seem calm and serene. But to Jaeger—suspicious by nature—something was off.
When he spied a small outcrop, he placed the handgun against the small of his back and the binoculars around his neck and climbed to the top of the thirty-foot cliff. Finally in his element, he lay down on the warm earth, melded into his surroundings, and slowed his breathing. Jaeger peered through the binoculars and tilted his head. Something was out there. The feeling simmered in his blood. He knew it with everything in his being and training, and they never failed him.
Jaeger might not be a patient man, but he had time. He’d sit in the stillness until he was satisfied that nothing was amiss. The sun was high, and small droplets of sweat trickled from his neck and down his back, but he didn’t move.
He had a clear vantage point to the tiny cabin, the surrounding area, and the gravel drive. Nothing stirred in the vicinity. And then he saw it. A slight glimmer. It might be nothing, but Jaeger didn’t believe in coincidences. Something in the distance caught his eye—a reflection. Without the scope of his rifle, Jaeger had to rely on the allowable distance of the binoculars ―about three miles. A watch catching the reflection of the sun. Two men with backpacks. Hikers? He thought not. From what he could see, the men were too neat to be random hikers, even if they had a cabin in the vicinity. Their boots were too clean, and their jeans and backpacks might as well have the tags still on. They looked more like they belonged in a cantina, sipping tequila.
They seemed to be hiking with a purpose while trying to appear nonchalant and looking for something. Could he and Wren be the something? And if so, how were they discovered? The men were still three miles from where they were staying, but Jaeger didn’t want to take any chances. He elected to watch for a tad bit more and then to retreat to the cabin and contact his SAC. If they were after Wren, Jaeger had the advantage. By their clumsy movements, they appeared to be randomly searching in hopes of finding their treasure. What concerned Jaeger was that they were even in the vicinity. Only a leak could place them in that secluded section of the Adirondacks. Not coincidence.
The air soon began to change as the afternoon dwindled. Jaeger watched the men scan about a mile radius of where he first spotted them and then retreat in the opposite direction—away from his cabin. Still, Jaeger would have to move Wren to a different location. But where?
If he contacted the marshal service and if there was a leak, he’d be placing both their lives in danger, especially the witness he was charged to protect. On the other hand, Jaeger needed to contact his SAC and at least give him the heads-up that they might have been compromised. Maybe Agent Chase was not on the up and up, and if that was the case, Jaeger was up shit creek.
Leaving the security of the outcrop, Jaeger began the trek back, aware of the outlying area and the stillness.
He approached the cabin and deactivated the alarm to let himself in. Wren slept on the couch, stretched out like a cat and hogging the entire area. Jaeger reset the alarm, strode to the comm room, where he opened up a secure line that would scramble the IP address and reroute it all over the world. If anyone attempted to hack into his system, they’d be hard-pressed to follow the trail. In less than two minutes, SAC Chase came onto the line, and Jaeger typed.
Sir, I think we’ve been compromised.
Your reason?
Something I saw. No details available.
Do what you think is best. Should I set something else up?
Jaeger didn’t reply back right away. He was deep in thought. He trusted his boss, but he always relied on his instincts, and they screamed at him to trust no one.
No, I’ll handle it.
Do you need anything from me? You know what is expected? Three weeks.
Yes, sir. I am well aware. But I feel at this time things are not the safest. I’ll make a final decision within twenty-four and then send you a message. Until then I’ll be off-line.
Stay safe.
Jaeger shut down the chat and rescrambled the address. He sat for a bit and watched the screens, but nothing moved. The two men he had seen could be nothing or could be something, but Jaeger couldn’t take chances. And as he told SAC Chase, he’d make the final decision within the next twenty-four hours. He had a feeling they’d be on the move by tomorrow night. The one thing in his favor was that the men, if they indeed were after his witness, didn’t look like the outdoor type and might not traverse the woods in the dark. If need be he and Wren would leave the Adirondacks and keep traveling or go deeper into the forest.
Wren needed to appear in court in three weeks. They had a vehicle, camping equipment, and enough supplies to sustain them on their own. And a bag full of cash. It would have been nice to stay in one spot, but so be it.