Chapter Twenty-Six

Eric leaned against the wall outside Tess’s bedroom. The shower had come on a few minutes earlier, so he knew she was awake.

The drive home the night before had passed in silence, then they’d slept in separate beds. If one could actually call tossing and turning and punching the pillow into submission out of sheer frustration for hours “sleep.”

He straightened and dragged a hand down his face. Before she’d shown up at the office yesterday, he’d already figured it out. When she’d said those fateful words—he’s my stepfather—mind numbing reality had slapped him in the face and left a mark that would never go away.

Tiger stood beside him, his head hung low as he looked up with accusatory eyes, as if Eric—not Tess—had been the one to lie and deceive.

“Hey, buddy.” He reached out to stroke his dog’s ears, but Tiger backed away, uttering a huff that might as well have articulated the words: You should forgive her. After watching him a second longer, his dog turned and disappeared down the stairs.

He stared after Tiger, wondering if his K-9 was right, then laughed inwardly. His dog was never wrong about explosives, and he was never wrong about people. Am I wrong?

Tess had lied about something she knew damn well was vitally important to him. On the other hand, there were always two sides to any argument, and she was right about one thing.

If he’d known about Jesse’s ties to Gant, the kid would never have gotten off so easily. Fact was, the prosecutor wouldn’t have let him off at all.

It wasn’t Tess and Jesse’s fault their mother married a sick, narcissistic psychopath. Tess had gone through hell, and if she hadn’t escaped… Fuuuck. No woman should be subjected to that. Gant and Pritchard were lower than pig shit, and he wanted to rip their heads off with his bare hands.

Tess was an amazing woman. She’d left home with nothing. No family. No friends. No money. Somehow, she’d not only survived against all odds but gotten her GED, begun studying for her masters, and become the most incredible person he’d ever met. He really didn’t know what to think or feel anymore. His emotions where she was concerned were so tied up with his quest for revenge.

A shaft of early morning sunlight glinted off the framed photo on the wall, the one taken of him and his friends at FLETC on graduation day. They’d celebrated until they’d been drunk off their asses and could barely see straight. Now, when he thought of them, the only images that came to him were of the truck exploding and the flames engulfing their bodies as he was hurled backward.

Today, he might finally get his revenge. But at what cost? He was sending Tess back into the lion’s den. If anything happened to her, the blame would fall squarely on his shoulders. For the first time since the explosion, getting revenge didn’t seem quite so important anymore.

Last night, they’d both said hurtful things, and nothing could change that. He and Tess had scars inflicted by Gant, and the bastard was still slicing and dicing them both wide open. The man was evil personified, destroying more lives than Eric had realized. He’d destroyed Tess and Jesse’s.

Not if I can help it.

With renewed determination, he went downstairs, heading into the kitchen to make Tiger’s breakfast and a full pot of coffee. Tiger stood by his bowl, whipping his tail back and forth, his eyes bright with expectation. As he went to the refrigerator, the vase of flowers Tess had brought into the house caught his eye. The petals were wilting and brown, some littering the table.

Would he ever see another vase of flowers in his house or inhale the scent of lavender from one of Tess’s healing candles again? Without her and Jesse in it, his house and his life would be empty.

Just get through the day. Maybe they could figure the rest out later.

He yanked open the refrigerator door, rattling the condiment bottles. He prepped Tiger’s breakfast then put on a pot of coffee to brew. Slurping, munching sounds came from the corner of the kitchen where Tiger was making quick work of his food.

Four SUVs pulled alongside the curb in front of his house. He glanced at his watch. Six a.m. Right on time.

He set six mugs on the counter by the coffeemaker then went to the door and opened it. Matt Connors stood on the top step, carrying a hard-sided plastic case in his hand. Behind him were his other friends, Nick Houston, Kade Sampson, and Dayne. All wore dark cargo uniform pants and polo shirts with their respective agencies’ embroidered gold badge on the shirt. CIA, Massachusetts State Police, Homeland Security, and FBI.

“Damn, Miller,” Matt said. “You look like shit.”

Eric pursed his lips. “Back atcha, bro.” Then he grinned and gave his friend a giant bear hug, lifting him several inches off the ground. Considering Matt was about six-three and over two hundred pounds, that was no easy feat.

“Eric.” Nick came next, shaking his hand and clapping him on the back, followed by Kade, who did the same.

“Where are Markus and Jaime?” Eric asked.

“Don’t know.” Kade frowned. “Wherever they are, they’re not answering their phones. They’ve gone dark.”

Eric raised his brows. Markus was known to disappear on them, often for months at a time. Jaime, however, was the all-time poster child for staying in touch.

“They’ll turn up,” Kade reassured him. “They always do.”

“Hope so,” Eric muttered.

Dayne took up the rear, closing the door behind him. “Your girl up yet?” He nodded to the stairs.

“She’s in the sho—” Your girl? Was she his? No. She’d never really been his, and she definitely wasn’t now. So why were Dayne’s eyes glinting with amusement and the rest of his friends staring at him with shit-eating grins on their faces? “Tess”—he glared at Dayne—“is in the shower.”

Kade’s grin widened. “Oookay.”

“Is that coffee I smell?” Nick asked, rescuing Eric from more chiding.

“Yeah. It is.” Eric scowled at Dayne and Kade, then led the way into the kitchen and began pouring coffee.

He handed Matt and Nick their mugs first, noting the gold wedding bands on their fingers. He’d expected them to dig right into their coffee, but they set their mugs on the table then whipped out their phones and began comparing baby pictures.

Matt had been carrying around a lot of baggage, but since marrying Trista nearly two years ago, he was more lighthearted than Eric had ever seen him. Matt’s baby, Little Joe, was close to a year old, while Nick and Andi’s new baby, Rose, was a few months younger.

Nick’s eyes lit up as he handed Matt his baby’s photo. Nick had nearly been killed last year when a gun dealer had shot him in the chest. From all outward appearances, he’d fully recovered, and judging from the way the man’s biceps and chest filled out his shirt, he was back in fighting form.

“Get a load of these guys.” Kade jerked his thumb to where Matt and Nick oohed and ahhed over each other’s pictures. “They are so whipped.”

Eric snorted. Like him, Kade and Dayne were still single, but as he eyed his other two friends, he began to feel like an outsider, as if he were losing touch with Nick and Matt. They were happier than he’d ever seen them, and there was no doubting the reason. Their wives and their babies.

Watching these hardnosed cops grinning like they’d just discovered the Holy Grail left him feeling… What?

Envious.

After a lifetime of swearing off marriage and kids, he wanted what Matt and Nick had. He couldn’t pinpoint when his views had changed, but changed they had.

“You okay?” Dayne rested a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll get through this.”

“Yeah.” He took a swig of coffee then pointed to the plastic case Matt had set on the table. “Is that it?”

Matt set down his mug. “Yep.” He unsnapped the heavy clips and flipped open the case’s lid. Nestled safely in gray foam padding were a small digital monitor and a syringe.

“Dayne filled us in.” Nick’s expression screamed skepticism. “This is one crazy-ass plan.”

“She won’t like it.” Eric eyed the needle with extreme trepidation. “But it’s the best we could come up with.”

Deftly, Matt plucked the syringe from the case.

Damn, he hated needles.

…

Tess dug into her pile of clothes, undecided. What did one wear to a meeting with one’s homicidal stepfather?

Whatever the hell I want.

Settling on a royal-blue V-neck T-shirt, a pair of beige cotton capris, and matching slip-on flats, she dressed then fished in her bag for the penknife and shoved it in her pocket. Couldn’t hurt to have a little added protection, and if there was ever a time to be extra cautious, it was now. Her life depended on it, and Jesse was depending on her.

She closed her eyes and swallowed the twin lumps of grief and guilt clogging her throat. This time, I’ll be there for you. I promise. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she stepped into the hallway and closed the door to her bedroom.

Her bedroom.

Funny how she’d begun to think of it that way, especially considering that, one way or the other, last night was her final night under Eric’s roof. No sense dwelling on circumstances she couldn’t change and wouldn’t begin to know how to fix. The best she could hope for was that tonight she’d be sleeping in her own bed, in her own apartment back in Springfield, and Jesse would be snoring away on her sofa.

Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she’d barely eaten in the last twenty-four hours. She was so on edge, there was no way she could possibly stomach any food. What she needed was coffee, lots of it to make up for getting little sleep. Every time she’d drifted off last night, her mind had gone in opposite directions. One to the sweet moments she and Eric had spent making love. The other to the immense disappointment that plagued her thoughts now.

I hurt him, badly, and I was wrong about so many things. But he hurt me, too.

She could never be with a man who pre-judged her based upon her past. What she needed was a blank slate with someone who didn’t know where she came from and, most importantly, one who could love her. For so many reasons, Eric could never be that man.

Voices drifted up the stairs, one of which sounded decidedly like—

Tess flew down the stairs, stopping short in the kitchen doorway and confirming her suspicion. “Nick!” She flung herself into Nick’s arms, nearly bursting into tears at how good it was to see him. Since he’d married Andi, Nick had become her best male confidant.

“It’s good to see you, Red.” Nick winked a gray eye, and she smiled at the affectionate nickname he’d begun calling her. He held her a moment longer then set her on her feet. “I won’t start in on you for not telling Andi and me what was going on down here.” He cut Eric a stern look. “You, either.”

Eric watched Nick from narrowed eyes, his body radiating a curious tension.

Tiger insinuated himself between the two men, his muscles quivering as he watched Eric, and she understood what the dog was doing. Tiger sensed Eric’s unease and wanted to be nearby to intervene if necessary.

What the hell is that about? The two men were closer than peas in a pod.

Wordlessly, Eric rested his hand on Tiger’s head.

“Andi’s worried sick about you.” Nick tugged on one of her curls. “So am I.”

“Thanks for the guilt trip.” Although secretly, she was glad to have friends who cared about her. It was another aspect of her teenage years Harley had stolen. Friends. “That’s exactly why I didn’t call. I didn’t want to worry you, and there was nothing you could have done.”

“Nothing?” He clasped her shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “We could have been there for you. That’s what families do, and we’re your family.”

Her eyes began tearing at the sincerity of his words. Given how messed up her family life had been, she couldn’t possibly have known about the support they could provide during difficult times.

“Thank you, Nick.” As she said the words, she found Eric eyeing his friend with a decidedly annoyed glint in his eyes. “That means a lot to me.”

The instant Nick dropped his hands from her shoulders, her world suddenly felt lonely again. Springfield was Nick and Andi’s home. It was where their life was, not hers. Flemington was the only place that ever called to her heart. But Eric was there, and she couldn’t bear the thought of being so geographically close to him while being so emotionally far away.

“Hi, Tess.” Matt reached out to give her a quick hug. “You may not remember me. We met once at the Dog Park Café, and then at the hospital when doofus here”—he jerked his thumb at Nick—“threw himself in front of a bullet.”

“Butthead,” Nick shot back.

“Of course, I remember you.” Matt and his pretty wife, Trista, had been at the hospital nearly every day while Nick was recovering. She turned to the giant of a man standing next to Dayne, leaning in to give him a quick hug. “Hi, Kade.”

Kade’s hazel eyes were warm as he grinned. Like the rest of Nick’s friends, he’d been to the hospital to see Nick, but she’d forgotten the man had two of the most adorable dimples ever to grace such a masculine face.

She turned next to Dayne, who’d been leaning against the granite counter, quietly sipping coffee. Since her no-holds barred tell-all yesterday, there was a measured look of understanding in his gaze.

“Along with that thing I told you last night not to doubt,” Dayne said, “we’ve got your back. Don’t ever doubt that, either.”

Those twin lumps of grief re-formed in the back of her throat. Despite Dayne’s reassuring words, she did doubt what he’d said about Eric last night. Eric’s hard face confirmed it.

He’ll never understand, and he’ll never forgive.

“What thing?” Eric asked.

“Thank you. All of you,” she said, ignoring his probing question. “I realize you’re just doing your jobs, but—” She swallowed as the lumps in her throat got bigger. “I appreciate you being here for Jesse and me.”

“You’re welcome,” Matt said. “You can thank Eric for calling us.”

Eric watched her silently, his expression guarded. There was no way to know what was going on inside his head. He cleared his throat. “Let’s get to it.”

“Right.” Matt picked up an odd-looking silver gun from a plastic case she hadn’t noticed before.

She stepped closer to get a better look. “What is that thing?” It didn’t look remotely like any gun she’d ever seen before.

“It’s a subcutaneous injector syringe.” Matt gave the case an affectionate pat. “A little gift from the CIA.”

“A gift?” Warning crept up her spine. “It looks like an evil ray gun from a science fiction movie.”

“It is. Kind of.” Matt chuckled, which did nothing to set her mind at ease. “When Eric called late last night and explained the situation, I thought of this little beauty. Given whom you’ll be dealing with, you’ll probably be checked for a wire, but they’ll never find this tracker. Without a wand specifically designed for this unit, it’s completely undetectable. When I inject it beneath your skin, you’ll barely feel it.”

Five sets of male eyes looked at her.

“Whoa.” She held up both her hands. “You are not sticking that thing in me.”

“Yes, he is.” Eric moved behind her, urging her to sit in the chair beside Matt, but she resisted his efforts, pushing backward against his chest, which had other undesirable effects. Like pressing her flush against his warm body and breathing his freshly showered scent into her lungs. “Tess.” He turned her in his arms. “If we get separated, I’ll have no way to find you unless you’re wearing a tracker, and this is the only way Gant can’t detect one. Please,” he added, his features softening.

“Okay,” she replied, but couldn’t stop eyeing the injector gun in Matt’s hand as if it were a snake about to strike.

He set the gun back in the case, rolled up her sleeve to her shoulder, then tore open a small packet and took out a wet gauze that he rubbed several times over the meaty part of her upper arm.

She bit her lip. This is crazy.

Behind her, Eric surprised her by resting his hands on her shoulders and massaging them gently, reminding her of all the other wonderful things his hands had once done to her body.

Tiger plunked his muzzle on top of her thigh, looking up at her with big, sympathetic eyes. The dog probably had no idea what was going on, only that she was in dire need of comfort.

“I hear you whip up a mean tofu burger,” Dayne said. “Maybe you’ll make one for me someday.”

“You’re kidding. You actually eat tofu?” She laughed then felt a tiny sting on her arm.

“All done.” Matt pressed a clean gauze to her arm. “Just hold that there for a minute.”

“That’s it?” Can’t be. She’d barely felt a thing. “You did it already?”

He nodded. “When this is over, I’ll remove it just as easily.”

“Wow.” She lifted the gauze for a second to inspect the injection site, but it was barely visible. To her dismay, Eric’s hands left her shoulders and he quickly returned to the other side of the table. He probably can’t stand being near me.

Dayne chuckled, sharing a conspiratorial look with Eric. Only then did she understand. Eric hadn’t been touching her because he wanted to. He’d only been distracting her while Matt stuck her with that needle. Doing her best not to dwell on the truth, she narrowed her eyes on Dayne. “You don’t really eat tofu, do you?”

Dayne laughed openly. “Not a chance.”

She laughed with him, releasing some of her tension. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“How does something so tiny transmit?” Kade asked. “What’s the power source?”

“Radiation,” Matt answered matter-of-factly.

“Are you serious?” she practically shouted. “You did not just inject me with something radioactive.”

“Relax.” He tucked the dastardly injector-gun back into the case. “It’s a minuscule amount from a non-harmful isotope. But it has limitations.”

“Such as?” Eric narrowed his eyes.

“A small radius—about half a mile—and it won’t last more than four hours.”

Resigned, she gave Matt a weak smile. “Will I at least glow in the dark so you can find me?”

“I doubt it.” He winked. “Remember, Cinderella, you’ve only got four hours. After that, the tracker goes dead.”

“Got it.” In more ways than one.

Her stomach rumbled again, but not from lack of food. This time, it was from outright fear. If the tracker went dead, no one would know where to find her. If they couldn’t find her, they didn’t stand a chance of rescuing Jesse. Which meant they would both be dead.