Jase stepped out onto the porch and his hands shook. He was definitely losing his edge. He’d known Reyna only a matter of days, yet he could feel a little bit of his resistance slipping away with every smile. Every sweet, disarming look she gave him. Something he never thought possible was happening, and it terrified him.
He was falling in love with Reyna.
Jase sighed heavily. She had only been a widow for six months. She might not be ready to love again. He wasn’t even sure he was. Trying to solve the secrets contained on the laptop had brought a lot of old feelings to the surface. It reminded him of how deep his love for Abby still ran. You didn’t just stop loving someone because they weren’t with you any longer.
He circled around behind the place, then glanced back at the mountain they’d crossed. No lights showed. Hopefully, they’d be long gone from here by the time those goons discovered they’d been had.
When he went inside, he found Reyna freshly showered and setting on the sofa. She’d changed into a pink T-shirt Linda had lent her and a pair of jeans.
Jase noticed the way she favored her arm. She had taken the bandage off when she showered.
“How’s the wrist?” he asked.
“It still hurts, but it’s better, I think.”
“It probably needs to be rewrapped after our adventure of trekking across the mountain. It will help if you keep the wrap tight...” He stopped and grinned at her. It was getting easier to find reasons to smile when he was with her in spite of the ordeal they were going through. “Listen to me. Trying to tell a doctor how to do her job.”
She laughed and he loved the sound of it. “It’s okay and I get it. You’re used to taking care of yourself.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll see if I can find something to wrap it with.” He went over to the kitchen and found a dish towel. Reyna was right. He’d gotten good at taking care of himself, but having her care about him was something he could get used to.
She held out her wrist for him to examine. While he worked, Reyna found herself drawn to him. Something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. His hands were rough from working outdoors. His skin tanned. Tiny lines fanned across his eyes when he smiled. She had never seen such piercing blue eyes before. They seemed to hold his secrets close. She’d give anything to know what he was thinking, but just like Eddie, he hid behind a fortress of pain.
He scraped back a lock of sun-streaked hair that fell over his forehead and looked up. Their eyes met. Held. The liquid heat in his gaze slipped over her face, melting the chill within her that had nothing to do with the temperature. These past six months, well, she’d felt as if she’d been drowning in grief. Fear. Hopelessness. She didn’t feel that way any longer.
Embarrassed, she glanced away and focused on Eddie’s watch on her left wrist. Even though it didn’t keep time anymore she wore it for sentimental reasons. Having it close was like keeping a piece of Eddie with her constantly. It served as a reminder of the sacrifice her husband had given for his country, and for her. Eddie had loved her with all his heart and here she was having feelings for another man. A part of her felt as if she was betraying her husband’s love.
Reyna looked more closely at the watch. She realized something she hadn’t before. The crystal was cracked.
“Oh no,” she exclaimed. She couldn’t believe it had broken.
Jase saw what she did. “It must have happened during the explosion.”
“I guess so. With everything going on, I never noticed it before.” She took it off and squinted a little closer. “Jase, it looks like there’s something behind the face.”
She shook the watch and she could hear something rattling inside.
Jase held it up to the light and gingerly removed first the crystal then the face. The inside workings of the watch were missing. “That looks like the tiniest thumb drive I’ve ever seen. This has CIA technology written all over it.”
“How do you think Eddie ended up with it?”
“I don’t know.” Jase took out the drive and examined it. “Eddie must have hidden it there before he died.”
Their eyes met. The information on the drive had been important enough for Eddie not to want it to fall into the enemy’s hands.
Jase sat down at the kitchen table and inserted the drive into the laptop. “Let’s see what’s on here. I have a feeling it may be our missing piece of the puzzle,” he said as Reyna took the chair beside him. He could feel her warm breath against his face. Kept remembering the way she felt in his arms, the sweet touch of her lips against his, and it was impossible to shove her out of his head.
When the contents of the drive came up, it was both simple and shocking. A single photo that was different from the previous ones in content and quality. Jase could only guess that the grainy photo had been taken with Eddie’s phone. The photo was of some type of compound. A prison maybe?
There were people in the photo. A woman dressed in the garb of the nomad tribes of the desert so all that showed was her eyes. Something about them seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t be sure why. Had he met her in the past during his time with the CIA? There was a man standing near the woman. Jase couldn’t see the man’s face—he was staring at the woman. Still, he appeared to wield a whole lot of power. Others close by with weapons appeared to be guarding her along with the man. Who was he? Who was she? Did the presence of guards lend credence to the theory of a prison?
“Do you recognize either of these people?” Jase asked.
Reyna studied the photo, then shook her head. “Not really, but it’s hard to say. The photo quality is poor. Who do you think they are?”
He glanced at the woman in the photo again. “I’m not sure.” Why did she look so familiar...?
Jase remembered what Reyna had told him Eddie had said. Tell him I’m sorry I wasn’t able to prove what happened.
“Do you think this photo is part of the proof Eddie was talking about when he spoke to you last? Was your husband trying to figure out what happened to our team?”
She nodded. “Possibly. It certainly makes sense.”
He studied the photo closely and saw something he hadn’t noticed before. The woman was armed. She wasn’t a prisoner at all. The man next to her appeared to be Arab. He was smiling at the woman as if they knew each other. The woman’s skin appeared tanned from her time in the desert. She could be Arab but Jase wasn’t so sure.
Still, she reminded him of...
“I don’t get the connection, but it’s late and we’re both exhausted. Let’s try and get some rest. Hopefully, things will look different in the morning. I’ll just take a quick shower and then the room’s all yours.”
From the bedroom, Jase heard the bed squeak followed by silence. Once Reyna had fallen asleep, the quietness of the cabin settled around him and still he wasn’t able to relax.
As a distraction, he grabbed his phone and checked to see if there was service yet. The weather had played mayhem with it for hours. He barely had one bar but it was more than he’d seen all night.
He dialed Aaron’s number and through the crackling of the bad reception, his friend picked up.
“Jase, I glad to hear from you. I’ve been so worried. I’ve tried to reach you for hours and wasn’t sure you and Reyna made it out safely. I spoke with Tim.”
Jase breathed a silent prayer of thanks. “We did but just barely. I received Tim’s call a few minutes before men in a chopper opened fire on us. We made it out, but they destroyed your garage and barn along with the workshop. I think it was deliberate.”
“They want you alive for now. They can’t kill you until they get what they came for, and they need to find out who else you’ve told about the files. They’ll keep coming after you, Jase. And when they get what they want...”
Aaron didn’t need to finish. He didn’t need to. Jase understood. Once they had the laptop, he and Reyna would be expendable.
The phone lost service again and he had to redial.
“Were you able to reach Kyle?” The words rushed out. He needed to make the most of the service they had.
It took Aaron so long to answer that Jase wondered if perhaps the call had been dropped again. “No. I sent your message to the secure email address you gave me. There’s been no answer. I’m not sure how much longer we should wait for the Agency’s help.”
The lack of contact from Kyle wasn’t a good sign. And that, coupled with the length of time it had been since he’d last heard from his friend, caused Jase’s bad feeling to double. He didn’t want to think about Kyle being dead, but there was a very real chance it could be true.
“You’re right, we can’t hold off much longer. We’ll need to find another way out of here.”
“And I can help with that,” Aaron assured him. “I spoke to my former commander. He knows what’s going on and he’s agreed to send in a team of Special Ops to extract you and Reyna. And guess who gets to lead them?” Through the static on the line, Jase could just make out Aaron’s chuckle and he was happy to join in.
“I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have on my team.”
“Happy to hear it. We just have to figure out where and when. Our window of opportunity is limited. There’s another winter storm on the way and it looks like it’s going to be worse than the last. It’s supposed to hit sometime midday. When it does, we won’t be able to get a chopper airborne to get you out.” Which meant he and Reyna would be in this alone.
Jase pulled out his map and scanned it for possible locations. “There’s an old military base north of Steamboat Springs. If I remember correctly, it’s been deserted for years now. We’ll meet you at the landing strip.”
“That’ll work.” Aaron paused a second and Jase could hear him talking to someone. “We’re looking to meet at ten-hundred hours. That work for you and Reyna?”
He checked his watch. It was just past four in the morning. The base was two hours away. If they left early to take in the possibility of bad weather, that left them with several hours to survive before leaving for the meet. “We’ll be there.”
“We can’t wait long,” Aaron warned. “If you’re not there by half past the agreed-upon time, we’re going to assume something went sideways.”
Jase understood what that meant. There’d be no exit plan. No help.
“In the meantime, stay safe. This is almost over, I promise,” Aaron assured him.
“Roger that.” Jase disconnected the call and breathed a sigh of relief. It felt as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders. They just had to stay hidden a little while longer.
He rubbed a hand over his weary eyes. If they survived this nightmare, he knew in his heart he didn’t want to let Reyna go.
There was no denying his feelings for her were growing. But did she feel the same way? She’d been through more than most people went through in a lifetime and she was still processing it. Was it too soon? He prayed not, but only God knew.
He glanced out at the dark night. He was exhausted down to his very bones. Today promised to be another difficult day and he needed rest. Who knows what they’d encounter on the drive to the base tomorrow.
He stretched out on the sofa and put the Glock under the pillow next to him. Still, his thoughts wouldn’t shut off. The past was right here with him taunting him like a puzzle he couldn’t solve. He was haunted. By the unsolved questions concerning the attack. The identity of the woman and man in the photo. But mostly by his attraction to Reyna.
Jase spent the rest of the night fully clothed, snatching moments of sleep only to awaken from dreams of Abby. At times, she appeared close enough to touch. He’d reach for her only to have her turn into Reyna before his eyes.
He wasn’t sure when he had finally fallen asleep. The last time he looked at his watch it was after six in the morning. He awoke just as the first bit of sunlight edged its way through the curtains in the room and he finally abandoned sleep entirely.
Jase stretched and winced at a couple of new aches and pains. He glanced at himself in the mirror in the living room. The past life he’d lived as a spy showed on his face every day. Each death-defying mission, each kill, had left its indelible mark in the etched grooves around his mouth, the squint lines around both eyes. The furrow between his brows. He prayed with time the memories of the things he’d done in the name of justice would fade.
She had slept like a rock. Exhaustion had a way of doing that to a person. The smell of fresh brewed coffee awakened her, calling out to her from a deep sleep.
Reyna grabbed the clothes Linda had given her and went to shower. She looked so pale. The past six months had taken their toll on her emotionally and physically.
She dressed quickly and followed the smell of coffee to the kitchen. Jase was there. He stood with his back to her, staring out the window. Tall. Strong. Handsome. Dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans, he looked so good.
She must have made some sound, because he turned to her. She could feel her cheeks growing hot under his probing gaze. He took his time looking away. He’d seen something in her expression.
“Coffee’s fresh. Want some?” She nodded and sat down at the table.
Jase poured a cup and brought it over to her.
She cleared her throat. “Thank you.” She felt awkward with him and she wasn’t sure why. What had changed? Was it him—or her feelings for him?
“There’s been news from Aaron. He’s assembled a team to get us out of here. We’re meeting him at ten.” Jase quickly ran through the details. “Soon we’ll be safe and hopefully we’ll be able to figure this all out.”
And when it was over, where did that leave them?
When she couldn’t formulate an answer, he came over to where she stood. “We’re almost there, Reyna. We just have to keep fighting for a little while longer.” When he gazed into her eyes, the intensity in his expression took her breath away. He looked like he was going to kiss her, and she wanted it as much as she wanted her next breath. She wanted...his heart.
Her hands cupped his face, drawing him down to her level. She yearned to feel the gentle press of his lips against hers. But it was not to be. Jase simply tugged her up and into his strong embrace. Her head resting against his heart, Reyna could hear its thunderous beat. It was just the two of them facing an uncertain future.
He let her go. He looked into her eyes and said, “You once asked me what my dreams were. Well, they’re simple. I want a chance at a future beyond living in the shadows. I want to feel normal again. I want a chance to...love again.” His voice cracked and she could see the fierce longing in his eyes. “I want to have a family, Reyna,” he declared fervently. “I want what you do. I think we both deserve it.”
Reyna’s breath stuck in her throat. She did, too. She hadn’t realized until she met Jase just how desperately she wanted all those things. Their gazes lingered. She’d give just about anything if they were having this conversation as two normal people not running for their lives. It was a bittersweet feeling to know she wanted love again and knowing that they may not live long enough to see if there was a chance for them to be together.
“We should collect our things. I want to be on the road soon.” His voice was still a little unsteady. She understood. She felt it, too, but she wasn’t ready to send the moment.
He moved away and she reached for his hand. “Jase.”
He turned to her. “What is it?” he asked, and he looked so tormented. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t give him any promises just yet.
“Nothing. Only, I’ll be so happy when this is all nothing more than a nightmare.”