Anne frowned. “Jack can’t go with me. You have to have a badge and a security clearance to get inside the office where I work.”
Charlie nodded toward her computer guy. “Jonah, can you make it happen before morning?”
He nodded. “I’ll do my best.” He held out his hand to Anne. “Could I borrow your badge?”
Anne shrank back, her hand on the purse she still carried over her shoulder. “You most certainly cannot. I swore an oath. I could get fired.”
“You could die,” Jack reminded her.
Anne chewed on her lip, her gut knotting. She’d spent her entire career trying to do right by the people of her country. She prided herself on always taking the high road. Helping someone into the inner sanctum of the West Wing was almost like committing treason.
Charlie touched her arm. “Based on your informer, others could die if Trinity isn’t stopped. But you have to do what you think is right.”
“If it helps,” Declan said. “As a Marine Force Recon team, we all had top secret clearances.”
“Had?” Anne questioned. She knew what Marine Force Recon meant. They were the best of the best of the Marines.
Declan glanced at the other members of his team. “Until we were discharged from the Marine Corps.”
“Discharged?” Anne tilted her head, her gaze going to Jack. “Honorably?”
Jack’s lips thinned. “No. We were dishonorably discharged.”
Anne reeled, shaking her head, her hand tightening on her purse. “Why?”
“For doing what we thought was the right thing,” Declan said, his face grim. “Unfortunately, the powers that be didn’t agree.”
“Did you…kill someone?” Anne asked. “Is that why you were discharged?”
Jack snorted. “No. We didn’t kill someone we were ordered to kill. If we had, a lot of innocent people would have been collateral damage. We made the decision to abort.”
“I don’t understand,” Anne said. “I thought, as a country, we weren’t in the business of killing innocent people, if we could help it.”
“Someone had to take the fall for not taking out a high-powered terrorist.” Declan pushed back his shoulders and lifted his chin. “My team took that fall.” He spread his arms wide. “And now, because of Charlie, we’re fighting the good fight, helping people when the government can’t.” He stared directly into Anne’s eyes. “We understand if you don’t feel comfortable giving us your badge. We’ll find another way to create one for Jack. He will be with you tomorrow, one way or another.”
Anne chewed on the information Jack and Declan had imparted. If what they were saying was true, they’d been booted from the military because they hadn’t wanted to kill innocent people. Their government had let them down.
If the informant who’d texted Anne was correct, Trinity had somehow infiltrated the government and was planning on doing something catastrophic. She couldn’t let it happen. But how could she, a single midlevel analyst, stop anything from happening? It wasn’t as if she could spot a Trinity operative by looking at him.
She didn’t know who they were. But they knew who she was, and they didn’t want her to tip off anyone as to their intentions.
By going to work, she was putting herself at risk. If she died, no one would know that Trinity was planning something big.
She might not be anyone or know anything, but she did know something was about to go down. Since the informer had contacted her, she had to be close to either the entrenched Trinity operatives or close to the people who would be targeted. Either way, she had to find out what was going down and stop it before anyone got hurt.
Anne dug in her purse, pulled out her employee badge and handed it to Jack. “I’m trusting you to do the right thing, as I hope I am by handing you my badge.”
Jack took the card, holding her hand in his for a long moment. “I promise we’ll do the right thing. When it comes right down to it, we love this country, despite what some individuals in powerful positions have done to us. We want what’s right for the country we swore to honor and protect.”
Her fingers curled around his for a moment, then he let go and handed the card to Jonah.
Jonah nodded. “I’ll have that badge and your clearance entered into the system before morning.”
“I don’t want to know how you’ll make that possible.”
Jonah grinned. “It’s best you don’t know. Ignorance is bliss.”
Anne eyed Jack. “If you’re coming to work with me, we’ll have to have a good cover story.”
Jack grinned. “Look at you going all covert on us.”
She frowned. “I’m serious. I can pass you off as the new hire coming to train in my office. I’ve been interviewing people for the position of my assistant for a couple of weeks but hadn’t found anyone I thought could handle the workload or the stress.” She gave him a wry smile. “Guess you’ll be my selection. If your clearance has come through by morning, we’ll have to tell people your security clearance is in process, in case anyone noses around.”
“Just what do you do?” Jack asked.
“I’m an analyst for the national security advisor who sits on the National Security Council.”
Jack frowned. “That’s more than a mouthful. How am I supposed to keep up with all of that?”
Her smile twisted. “Oh, man, you haven’t seen anything yet. It’s alphabet soup at the White House.” Anne’s smile turned south. “Do you have a business suit?”
Jack’s frown deepened. “I haven’t worn a suit since my mother passed away. And that was so long ago I don’t own that suit anymore.”
Declan eyed Jack. “I have a suit that might fit. We will have to take out the length on the trousers, since you’re taller than me.”
“My butler, besides being former military, an expert in martial arts and having amazing taste in vehicles, has been known to sew when necessary,” Charlie said. “We can get that done tonight, assuming there’s enough material in the hem of Declan’s trousers to let them out.”
Anne wanted to laugh at the deepening frown on Jack’s face. “If you don’t want to wear a suit, perhaps one of your teammates would prefer to accompany me to work as my assistant.”
Cole looked up. “I’ll do it.” He grinned. “I own a suit. It’s dusty, but I’m sure it will do.”
Jack rose to his feet. “I’m going. Cole, we need you to help Jonah get me added to the employee database with the correct level of clearance so whatever badge you come up with works when I scan in at the door tomorrow.” Jack nodded toward the leader of their team of former marines. “Declan, show me what you have, so I can get Arnold started on the alterations. We don’t have much time to get things done by morning.”
“Follow me. I have the suit in my closet upstairs.”
Anne released a sigh of relief. She hadn’t wanted another man to accompany her as her protector. Jack had proven himself twice that night. She trusted him with her life. Her niggle of doubt came because of her body’s reaction to the man’s touch.
Well, she’d just have to keep her distance from him and avoid bodily contact.
“It’s a good thing you and Grace live here at the estate,” Jack said to Declan as the two left the war room and climbed up to the study. “When did you invest in a suit?” Their voices faded as they moved through the house.
Anne turned to Charlie. “What did they mean by thanks to you, they’re doing the right thing?”
Charlie glanced at the remainder of the men in the room. “I’ve employed Declan and his team to perform missions to right wrongs, help people and do things the FBI, CIA, state and local police won’t or can’t get involved in. We call the team Declan’s Defenders.”
“A kind of vigilante group?”
Charlie shrugged. “Some would say that.”
“They’re more than that,” Grace said. “They saved my life and my roommate’s life. I wouldn’t be alive today if they hadn’t come to my aid.” She gave Anne a gentle smile. “You’re one lucky woman to have them covering your six.”
“Covering my six?”
“We’ll have your back,” Cole said. “Jack will be there with you at all times. If he needs additional help, we’ll be there, as well. You can count on us.”
Anne drew in a deep breath and let it go. “Good. This is all new to me. I’m not a spy, soldier or marine. I’ve never been trained in combat. I studied tae kwon do when I was a teen, but I haven’t used it since I graduated high school a few too many years ago to remember how.”
Grace chuckled. “I’m just now learning how to fire a handgun. Declan got me my own .40 caliber pistol. It scares me to death to think of using it against another human being.” Her face hardened. “But if it’s a choice between my life or the life of someone about to attack me, you bet I will pull the trigger. I refuse to be a victim, ever again. And that goes for anyone threatening someone I love.”
Anne heard the conviction in Grace’s voice and wondered what her story was. What had made her so determined to protect herself and those she cared most about.
“If you knew my husband, you know he was murdered for what he knew about Trinity,” Charlie said. “I might not ever find the people who killed John, but I hope I can keep others from suffering from Trinity’s machinations.”
Anne squared her shoulders. “John contacted me a while back, asking me to report anything out of the ordinary in the National Security Council. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, or what appeared to be out of the ordinary, but I promised I’d help him if I could. He convinced me he only wanted to expose the people who were bent on destroying our government from within. I’m still uncertain how I can help, but if this informant is on the up-and-up, and gives me some clues, perhaps we can bring Trinity down before they have a chance to attack.”
“I hope we can. But we can’t do it without our own people on the inside,” Charlie said. “We might have to get more of Declan’s Defenders inside. We’ll work more on that tomorrow. Tonight, our goal is to position Jack as your protector. You can’t focus on anything if you’re afraid for your life.”
“Thank you,” Anne said. “For taking me in when I didn’t know where else to go. Your husband was a good man and you’re doing a great job carrying on his legacy.”
Charlie’s eyes filled with moisture. “He was good and kind and gentle. I miss him.” She closed her eyes briefly and opened them again. “In the meantime, you need a place to stay.”
“I’ll show her to a room,” Grace said. “Were you able to salvage any of your clothing? I saw the pictures of the destruction to your apartment. I’m so sorry.”
“At least I wasn’t there when they broke in,” Anne said.
“I might have some clothes you can use until you can replace what you’ve lost.” Grace led the way up the stairs to the study above.
Anne followed. “How long have you been with Charlie and Declan’s Defenders?”
Grace grinned. “Since the beginning. I presented them with their first mission.”
Anne shot a glance toward the pretty young woman. “Were you being targeted by Trinity?”
She shook her head. “No, but my roommate had disappeared. Declan helped me put the pieces together, and ultimately, we found my roommate. Declan saved my life in the process.”
“They’re as good as Charlie claims they are?” Anne asked.
Grace nodded. “The best.”
Anne felt a little better about handing over her badge to the team. And she felt better knowing she didn’t have to ferret out Trinity and their plan of attack on her own. With Jack watching her back and Cole and Jonah scouring the internet for clues, they might have a chance of discovering what was going to happen before it actually occurred.
She hoped she was right.
* * *
JACK ENTERED THE suite assigned to Declan and Grace. They’d been together since Charlie first hired him. It was because of the work Declan had done helping Grace stay alive while searching for her roommate that Charlie had come up with the brilliant idea to establish a team of trained combatants to handle situations outside of the police and federal agencies’ hands.
Declan had never been happier than he was with Grace. After being separated from the military for doing the right thing, he deserved to be happy.
Declan crossed the sitting room and entered the bedroom he shared with Grace, opening a closet at the far end. He sorted through the shirts hanging there and dug deep into the back of the closet, eventually pulling out a white dress shirt and charcoal gray suit. “The suit was tailored to fit me, but I think we’re about the same across the chest.” He handed the shirt and blazer to Jack.
Jack tried on the shirt over his black T-shirt. It appeared to fit just fine. The sleeves were a tad short, but they would work. He slipped his arms into the suit jacket and pulled it over his shoulders. It fit his chest and waist, but the sleeves would need lengthening.
“Try the trousers,” Declan said.
Jack kicked off his shoes, shucked his jeans and slipped his legs into the trousers. “They’re a little loose around the waist and hips. A belt will keep them in place.”
Declan patted his flat belly. “Guess I’m putting on a little weight. I might need to step up my exercise routine.”
“We’re just built differently.” Jack looked at himself in the mirror. “If we can let out the pant legs two inches and the sleeves at least an inch, this will work.” He removed the suit, dressed in his jeans and shoes and faced Declan.
His team leader handed him the hangers with the shirt and suit. “Are you up for playing the part of Anne’s assistant tomorrow?”
He nodded. “I suppose so. Although I’m not quite certain what exactly all the people who support the National Security Council actually do.”
“Let’s see if Cole and Jonah have made any progress on that badge. While we’re in the war room, we can do some research on the NSC. Since you’ll be a new hire, you won’t be expected to know much.”
“I’ll need to know how things work in order to look for potential moles or covert terrorists hiding among the people working around Anne.”
“Good point. It’s not like having an enemy pointing a gun in your face.”
Jack’s jaw tightened. “No, it’s more like having an enemy smile to your face and then shoot you in the back as soon as you turn around.”
“True.” Declan led the way down the stairs to the kitchen, where they found Roger Arnold, the butler.
He listened to Jack’s instructions and nodded. Then he took the suit and shirt. “I’ll have them ready within an hour.” Arnold left the kitchen.
“Let’s see what Cole and Jonah have come up with.” Declan motioned toward the study and descended into the war room via the trapdoor.
Cole and Jonah stood beside a printer/laminator in the corner of the room. When it spit out a badge, Jonah held it up. “Cross your fingers,” Jonah said. He slid Anne’s card through a reader that quickly blinked green. Then Jonah slid the new card through the machine.
Jack held his breath. When it blinked green, he let go of the breath he’d been holding. “It works here, but will it work to get me into the West Wing?”
“It should.” Jonah handed him the card and shut down the machines. “I’ve set it up just like Anne’s, with all the security access codes embedded in their database.”
“You were able to access their database that quickly?” Jack shook his head, amazed at what Jonah and Cole were capable of.
“Of course. It’s a government system. The Russians and Chinese aren’t the only people capable of hacking into it.” Jonah snorted. “It has so many back doors that anyone with a little knowledge can get in.”
“I’m glad you’re on our team,” Jack said. “I’d hate it if you went over to the other side.”
Jonah held up his hand. “Been there, done that. John Halverson recruited me out of that nightmare. I can still access the dark web, but I’m not selling secrets, and hopefully, I’m not someone’s target.”
Jack exchanged a glance with Cole.
John Halverson had collected a strange group of operators to staff his team. For that matter, Charlie was continuing his legacy by hiring a Marine Force Recon team that had been dishonorably discharged. Jack couldn’t judge anyone, not after how their careers in the military had ended.
Cole motioned for Jack to join him in front of the monitor. “You’ll need to know a little about the offices and people you’ll be coming into contact with who support the National Security Council.”
“Just what is the National Security Council besides the president and all of his security advisors?” Jack asked.
“Just that. The council is headed by the president of the United States. The most prominent people on the council are the vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense, secretary of treasury, national security advisor and director of national intelligence.”
For the next hour, Cole and Jack went over the names and faces of the people involved in setting foreign policy for the US government. By the time they finished, Jack’s head was spinning.
“If the informant thinks Ms. Bellamy is the closest person to the sleeper agent, you need to stick with her. Pay attention to them. There are a lot of government officials, committees, directors and more in Washington. We can’t begin to monitor all of them.”
“That’s what’s scary,” Jack said. “I’ll send you the names of the people Anne works with most.”
“We’ll run background checks on them,” Cole said.
“They wouldn’t be in the positions they are without having been through background checks,” Jack pointed out.
Jonah nodded. “True, but we’ll go a step further. The dark web is a great place to go if you want the dirt on just about anyone.”
Feeling a little better about the task ahead, Jack stepped outside to grab a breath of fresh air. All the talk about government positions, councils, offices and more had left him wondering how anything got done with so many people involved.
Jack left the study through the French doors leading out onto an expansive porch that wrapped around the side of the house. A garden stretched out before him, luring him away from the house. The sky had cleared, the stars shining bright and the metropolitan area glowing to the northeast.
Scents of roses and honeysuckle filled the air, calming him. He wondered if Anne was having any trouble falling asleep after the eventful day she’d had. Having been chased several times and nearly killed, she was probably lying awake, afraid to close her eyes.
As if his thoughts had conjured the woman, he saw her ahead of him, sitting on a bench in an arbor. Though her face was in the shadows, he knew it was her.
His pulse quickened and his feet carried him forward several steps before his mind kicked in, reminding him that he couldn’t get involved with the woman. She didn’t need him jinxing her. If this tasking was to work, he had to keep a level head and a safe distance, emotionally.
With that in mind, he didn’t have to ignore the woman.
Jack announced his presence by clearing his throat softly.
Anne jumped to her feet and spun to face him, her eyes wide and white in the semidarkness.
“Oh,” she said, her body sagging. “It’s you.”
“Sorry, were you expecting someone else?”
“No. Not at all. I’m just a little spooked.” She wrapped her arms around her middle. “Aren’t you? After all we’ve been through today?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been through my share of danger.”
“How do you cope? I can’t even close my eyes without seeing men jumping out of trucks with scary military-grade rifles.” She shivered.
“You never get used to it, but if you dwell on it, you never get any rest.”
She rubbed her arms. “Well, I can’t turn it off that easily. Frankly, I’m scared.”
“Then call in sick tomorrow.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I’m helping the national security advisor prepare the agenda for the council meeting to be conducted a few short days. I have to be there.”
“What if you’d died today? Isn’t there someone else to take over?”
Anne frowned. “That’s supposed to be my new hire. I’ve been too busy to find and train someone to help out.”
“The national security advisor couldn’t prepare for the meeting himself?”
Anne shrugged. “He’s a very busy man. He meets with many of the other directors and committees so that he’s fully familiarized with the important items that will be on the agenda. That wouldn’t leave him enough time to pull it all together.”
“Sounds like you’re what we call key personnel.”
She laughed. “I guess. Though I’m sure if push came to shove, Mr. Louis could find someone to help. I like to think I’m irreplaceable, but no one really is.” She lifted her chin to the sky and drew in a deep breath, letting it out on a sigh. “Why did it have to be me? I’m not the right person to spy on others. I keep my nose down and do my job.”
“I’m sure you do more than that, or your informant wouldn’t have tagged you.”
“I’m beginning to think the informant might just be flushing out anyone who had anything to do with John Halverson. That way they can get rid of them and have open season on anything they have planned in the government.”
Jack nodded. “In that case, it wouldn’t hurt to find your informant. Cole and Jonah are still working on that. Tomorrow, we need to get you a new phone. We’ll take a page from your texter’s book and buy a burner phone that can’t be traced as easily.”
“If the person who sent the texts is on the up-and-up, how will she get word to me?”
“I don’t know, but I’m assuming she has her methods and will find a way.”
Anne nodded. “Well, I’ll do my best to introduce you to the people I work with most. Then I have to get some work done. You might have to do some sleuthing on your own. I can have you deliver stuff to different departments to get you in.”
“Sounds good. Does the office building have a map?”
She smiled. “Actually, I have one you can borrow. I created it when I started working for the NSA. I got lost one too many times trying to find my way around.”
“It’s getting late,” Jack said. “Shouldn’t you be hitting the sack?”
“I don’t know that it will do much good. I’m too wired.”
“Have you considered taking a long, hot shower?” he asked and immediately imagined her naked beneath the spray. No, this wasn’t a good direction for his thoughts to drift.
“I will.” Anne inhaled deeply and blew it out. “But for now, I’m trying to absorb the zen of this garden. I’m hoping between the roses and the honeysuckle, I’ll calm down.”
“How’s it working for you?”
She laughed. “Not so great until you came out.”
“Does that mean talking to me is helping?”
She tilted her head. “Surprisingly, yes.”
“Why is it so surprising?”
“You’re not someone I’d consider calming.”
Jack chuckled. He knew he shouldn’t encourage her, but he couldn’t help it. “How so?”
“Well, for one, you ride a motorcycle. That screams bad boy all over the place.”
“A lot of people ride motorcycles,” he pointed out.
“True. Maybe I’m stereotyping, but I think of motorcycle riders as rebels.” Her gaze swept over him. “And you look like a rebel. Or someone with something to hide or someone who doesn’t like to get too close to anyone.”
Her comment took the wind out of his sails. “It doesn’t always pay to get close,” he admitted softly.
“If you don’t get close to people, you miss out on some of the best life has to offer, even if it’s only for a short time.” Anne turned away, leaving her face in profile, half bathed in starlight, the other half hidden.
“You talk like someone with experience in loss.”
She nodded. “I lost my husband to cancer when I was thirty. We had four years together.” She turned toward him. “I wouldn’t trade those four years for anything. Who did you lose?”
Her question was so unexpected and blunt Jack reeled backward. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He’d lost so many. His mother, Kylie, Jennifer, Razor, Kemp, Matheson—the list went on. Getting close to someone led to pain. The faces of all those he’d lost scrolled through his mind like a movie reel.
Her hand on his arm startled him, bringing him back to the garden and the scent of roses and honeysuckle.
“Of the people you’ve lost, would you have avoided them had you known you were going to lose them?”
He didn’t answer, his chest so tight he could barely breathe.
“Your life has been that much richer for having known and loved those people,” Anne said.
Jack gripped her arms. “It hurts too much to lose someone you care about.” He shook his head. “I don’t ever want to feel that kind of pain again.”
Her eyes rounded as she looked up into his, her lips lush and kissable. “But you miss out on the love and joy, the laughter and happiness if you’re afraid to open yourself to the pain.”
“I can’t,” he said, through gritted teeth. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.” Then she did something surprising. She lifted her lips to his, and before he knew what he was doing, he’d pulled her to him, his mouth crashing down over hers.
Her body melted against his. Her hands against his chest rose to circle around his neck, drawing him closer. She opened to him, her tongue meeting his in a dance so erotic it set his blood on fire.
Jack tangled one hand in her hair, the other smoothing down her back to press her closer, the hardness of his erection pressing into her soft belly.
When he had to come up for air, he drew in a ragged breath. “That…shouldn’t…have happened,” he said like a runner gasping for air at the finish line. He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’ll ask Declan to get someone else to go with you tomorrow. I’m not fit to be your protector.”
Anne shook her head and leaned back to stare up into his eyes. “It’s been an insane day. Our emotions are high. This could have happened to anyone.” She stepped out of his arms and smoothed her hands over her shirt, her gaze anywhere but at him. “I still want you.” Her eyes widened and she shot a look toward him. “I mean, I still want you to come with me. You’ve saved my life twice. I trust you to keep doing it.”
He raised his hand as if swearing on a stack of Bibles. “I promise not to do that again.”
She held up her hand to stop him. “Don’t. Just don’t. I’m not mad. In case you didn’t notice, you weren’t the only one kissing in that scenario.” She pushed her fingers through her hair. “Let’s call it a night and reboot this relationship in the morning.”
He nodded and waved a hand toward the house. “Go ahead. I think I’ll stay out here for a few more minutes.”
Anne hesitated for a moment, then turned and entered the house.
Jack remained out in the garden, mentally kicking himself for having kissed the woman. He couldn’t take it back, and he couldn’t erase the feeling her lips had left on his. He wanted to kiss her again.
And again.
But that just couldn’t happen.
Anne’s life depended on it.