Looking Glass Falls, Idaho
Present Day
Quinn, no, not Quinn. Kennedy. Kennedy was here. He shook his head, looking back toward Koyama' from the porch of his tiny house nestled in the foothills. He’d designed and had it built so that if you weren’t looking for it, you’d miss it. It was a deceptive place; there was a secret exit in the floor of the house that led via a tunnel to one of the old mines. He still had enemies, on both sides of the fence, so he’d built his home well away from the main compound at Koyama'. If they ever came looking for him, most likely they would end him but leave his family be. And why would they come after him? Because he’d betrayed both sides. Why had he done that? For her. To keep her safe and free her from the clutches of those who wanted to destroy her.
There had been a time he’d thought about building a much larger home, a home he could share with her. He’d thought to claim her and start a life together here on the ranch he’d grown up on. He and his brothers had talked about sharing the ranch but having separate homes. Once that dream was ground into dust, he’d decided that a luxuriously appointed 650 square foot house was enough.
Cole tipped back the long-neck bottle and drained the last of his beer. He walked inside, tossing the bottle into the recycling bin as he passed. It had been a long day and an even longer time since he had let his lion out of his cage, so to speak. Cole removed his clothes and called the beast forward, closing his eyes as he did so and allowing the magic to flow over and through him. He opened his eyes and was back to his primitive self, the self that felt the most free.
Nosing the door open, he walked out onto the deck, let the moonlight fall all around him, and roared into the night sky. Bounding off the porch, he galloped toward the open range where his ancestors had lived for more than two centuries. As he ran, he could feel the stress and tension leaving his system while he settled into a rhythm, putting distance between himself and his house, himself and the ranch compound, himself and Kennedy.
He’d known she was in Seattle and known that she was a high-price, highly successful defense attorney. He should have also known Cash would reach out to the best. Now, she was here, and he needed to figure out how he was going to deal with that problem. He could have sent her away, could have demanded she send someone else or refer them to another lawyer of her caliber. The problem was that there wasn’t anyone else—at least not anyone he’d trust with his brother’s life.
Cole ran along the riverbank, letting his enormous stride eat up the miles. He scattered a herd of deer that had come out of their hiding places to feed and drink by the running water. Usually, he tried to avoid the prey animals that came out at night, but tonight he couldn’t be bothered. He needed to stretch his muscles and let the cares of his human existence fall by the wayside, or at least retreat, so he could clear his head.
On the side of one of the hills that wound through Koyama', he rushed up the path, ducking under low-lying branches and crashing through the brush. When he emerged at the top, he had the entire plateau to himself. The full moon and stars shone their light over the land and into the sky, relieving the inky darkness of its power to cast the world in shadows.
Cole roared to the heavens once more before he began to make his way back to his home in the wilderness. As he galloped, it felt like the rhythm seemed to be attempting to pound a message into his brain. Ancient, indigenous people in various parts of the world had communicated over long distances by means of the language of the drums. As his paws hit the trail that wound back to the house, he felt as though the pounding of his paws to the earth was trying to send him a message. Thoughts of Kennedy kept reverberating through his head and the arousal her name sparked surged through his system. Maybe this was the opening he’d never been able to figure out. Cyrus was dead; Cade had claimed his bonded spirit. It wasn’t only bad things that came in sets of threes, but good things as well. Was Kennedy finally being here, out of her normal existence and confined to his, what he’d been waiting for?
He pushed that possibility away. That possibility led only to madness. The moon called to him, mocking him. But wasn’t claiming a human as one’s bonded spirit a kind of foolhardy chaos? Was this his chance to make right what he’d put so wrong all those years before? If Cade had the courage and tenacity to reach across the years to lay claim to Trey, could he not do the same with Kennedy?
Kennedy woke as the sun was casting its first light over the mountains to the East. She’d had a restless night. Thoughts, memories, and desire for Cole Waverly had filled her senses, her mind, and her dreams. Just as he had seven years ago, he invaded her every thought and emotion. She felt as though someone punched her in the gut, causing her to sit up and draw her legs into her chest.
“You’re still the most beautiful thing when you sleep,” Cole drawled from where he leaned against the dresser and looked at her from over the foot board.
“And you still have no sense of boundaries. Get out, Cole.”
“No,” he said simply, a sly grin lifting the corners of his ever-so-sexy mouth ever so slightly.
“I should have known you would never respect the job I need to do here. I can get my things packed and the firm will send another attorney.” She adjusted the blanket around her body.
“No. You’re the best at what you do, and that’s not idle flattery. I remember how you don’t like that.”
“I’m surprised you remember me at all,” she snarled, angry for allowing herself to be put in this position.
“Ouch, but completely untrue. You might be surprised to hear that I’ve never forgotten anything about you. When I close my eyes, I can still feel your pussy clamping down on me as your nails dug into my back, and you yowled like a wildcat. Tell me Kennedy, did any of those boys you tried to take up with pull you beneath them and make you cry out for them as you writhed on their cocks?”
“Out. Cole. Now.” He didn’t move. “What do you want?”
“No. I used to love to watch you sleep. Did you know that? I loved seeing you relaxed, lying softly in my arms.”
“Really? And here I thought you used that time to plot your deceptions. Did you count on me to be so blissed out from the way you fucked me that I would either not notice or not care?”
“My deceptions?” he asked as he stepped away from the dresser. “I’m not the one who wasn’t using her real name. I’m not the one who’s history is a fabric of lies, ruses, and half-truths.”
“No, you’re just the guy who lied about everything else, then then left me to deal with the fallout.”
“Fallout? Not much of a fallout that I could see and for the record, I was coming back. I did come back, and I would have taken care of the problem.”
“And what was I to do? Wait for you to come riding in on your great white steed and save me? Considering you’re the one who put me in that position, the likelihood of you being my knight in shining armor was slim to none.”
Cole shook his head. “What did they tell you? Why didn’t you even give me a chance to explain?”
“Explain what, Cole? That you were a traitor? Why aren’t you spending the rest of your life in Leavenworth? Or Guantanamo?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he said moving toward her more aggressively.
“It doesn’t matter. Either you get out and leave me to get your brother out of this mess or I’ll resign and go back to Seattle. Tell me, Cole, did you kill Cyrus? I remember you had nothing kind to say about him in Italy.”
“No, I didn’t. And for the record, neither did any of my brothers. We may have wanted the old bastard dead—certainly we had cause—but none of us would have shot him in the back and we sure as hell wouldn’t have set up my little brother to take the fall. I wish we had another viable option, but we don’t. You’re the best at what you do.” He turned to leave, thank God, but then stopped and turned back. “I don’t know what they told you, but I’m sure it had no relationship to the truth. You need to know that I never would have let them harm you. Never.”
He pivoted on his heel and walked out. Every instinct in her wanted to get up and run to him, to bring him back, to believe whatever explanation he may have told her, but she didn’t. Instead, she fell onto her side, curled up, hugged the pillow to her body, and sobbed into it.
In the past, she’d merely given in; this time, she tossed the pillow across the room and sat up on the edge of the bed. “No,” she said to the door. “You do not get to do this to me again.”
Leavenworth? Guantanamo? Just what had the boys from the Agency told her? He knew whatever had happened after he’d left had enabled her to walk away from them and get them to create a phony background that could withstand some vigorous checking. He wondered if she’d actually ever attended Georgetown. Everything had become so confused when they were in Naples.
Naples, Italy
Seven Years Ago
Two men sat in a casual coffee house on the outskirts of Naples. Their table was far enough from the patrons that they felt safe to talk.
“We’ve had some intel from one of our contacts down on the docks. It seems our old friend, Aaron Mosby, has a large arms deal in process. One of the splinter cells out of the Middle East is looking to make a name for itself,” said Cole Waverly of NATO Intelligence. “We’ve been hearing rumors for a while, but every time we thought we had a thread to pick up and follow, it evaporated.”
“So why are you bringing this to Navy Intelligence?” asked Peter Hutchinson. “Why not report it up your chain of command or bring it to HQ?”
“Because I think we may have a mole in NATO Intelligence and this whole thing smells like an Agency op.”
“But why me? You asked for me specifically.”
“Because you served with my brother, Cash, and he vouched for you,” answered Cole as he looked him in the eye. “I know I’m way out of bounds, but I also know there is something hinky going on. Mosby doesn’t have the bankroll for this size of a deal. Where did he get the money? How did he get the contacts? He’s always been a small-time dealer. I’ve made inquiries through channels and every time I think I’m getting somewhere, I run into a roadblock.”
“Mosby has come onto our radar of late. We’ve had people watching him. We never saw you.”
Cole grinned. “I’m good at what I do. What do you know about the new JAG attorney, who got assigned here last month?”
“Quinn Borland? Not much, why?”
“I think she may be an Agency plant.”
Hutchinson nodded. “That might make some sense. Normally new JAG attorneys come in looking to make their bones. They’ve been assigning her to administrative matters, and she’s just been going along.”
“Any way you can find out what she’s working on? Her clearance? What files she’s looking at?”
Hutchinson shook his head. “No. I tried to talk to her and got brushed off and not in a try again sometime way, but a drop dead and never speak to me again kind of way.”
Cole laughed. “Not used to rejection? Cash had some pretty ripe tales about the two of you. Don’t you know? Nothing is off limits to a little brother with a good bottle of whiskey.”
Hutchinson smiled. “Throw in a good cigar, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
Both men laughed, grateful for a moment to be able to let their guards down.
“Any idea what time Quinn’s shift ends?” asked Cole.
“No, but I can find out. You really think she’s Agency?”
“I don’t know that she is, but then I don’t know that she isn’t. Right now, if I don’t know for certain what side you’re playing for, I assume you’re the enemy.”