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Warwick remained on alert as they reached the address Walker had sent them. A small house perched up on the hill surrounded by forest that looked like it had been built at the beginning of the last century. No one had followed them. He was certain of it.
A pickup was parked on one side of the two-car driveway. The driver stepped out. Big dark-haired bloke with a scar through one eyebrow. He wore a holstered pistol on his hip.
“Stay here,” he said to Marley, and got out to talk to him.
“You must be Warwick. I’m Beckett.” The man stepped forward to offer his hand.
Warwick shook it. “Thanks for this. We really appreciate it.”
“Nah, it’s no problem.” He glanced past him to Marley in the car. “You both wanna come in and I’ll show you around? The guest bath shower isn’t working, but the en suite in the master is still good.”
“That’s fine.” He waved Marley in. Watched all around as she got out and came toward them, waited until she was past him before falling in behind her while Beckett introduced himself.
“Like I told Walker, this place needs a lot of work,” Becket said to her. “We’re not scheduled to start demo for another six weeks, but it should do for you guys for now.”
“I’m sure it’ll be great,” Marley said diplomatically, stepping inside after him.
The dead-end street was empty as Warwick took one last look around outside before following them in and locking the door behind them.
“It’s not that big a place, so you won’t have to worry about getting lost.” Beckett led the way and gave a quick tour.
When they got to the guest bedroom, Warwick saw a problem. It was empty.
“There’s a queen-size in the master,” Beckett said. “I brought you towels and sheets and I’ve got an air mattress in my truck if—”
“That’s okay,” Marley said. “We can share the queen if we need to.”
Warwick glanced at her, surprised. He’d thought the last thing she would want was to be that close to him. And he honestly didn’t know if he could take lying next to her with this tension between them. Not when he wanted her more than he wanted his next breath.
“I’ll leave the other bed here in case you change your mind,” Beckett said, then turned to him. “If you come down to the crawlspace with me, I’ll show you where the furnace and boiler are. They’re both kinda finicky.”
He left Marley to get settled in the master bedroom and went out back with Beckett to a wooden hatch near the rear wall of the house. Beckett pulled a small torch from his pocket, put it in his mouth and lifted the hatch. The crawlspace under the house was just that. They both had to get on their hands and knees and crawl through the thick layer of dust on the concrete floor to get around.
The furnace looked ancient. “It’s old, but it still works,” Beckett said, firing it up. Then he went to the boiler. “Pilot light’s a bit temperamental on this.” He used a lighter to ignite the tiny flame with a soft whoosh. “You might want to check it in the morning just to be sure it’s still on. Water heater’s directly above it in a service closet, along with the electrical panel. Which we’ll also be tearing out when we gut the place.”
“It’s all good,” he said, and crawled back out.
Beckett came through after him, closed the hatch behind him and stood, brushing off his clothes as he eyed him. “I don’t know the situation, but if you need backup, gimme a call. The boys and I can be here in twenty minutes.”
Warwick didn’t know who “the boys” were, but he appreciated the offer, and that Beckett wasn’t pressing him for details. Especially since Warwick didn’t have any answers for him at the moment. “Cheers.” They shook hands again.
Beckett went around front to collect the air mattress, put it in the entryway, and left.
Warwick was about to close the front door when he saw Walker’s vehicle coming down the street. It parked where Beckett’s truck had just been, then he and Ivy stepped out and started pulling bags from the back.
Warwick hurried out to help. “Hiya.”
“Hi. We didn’t know what kind of stuff to get you guys, so we asked Shae, since she knows Marley a bit,” Ivy explained, shoving bags into his arms. “And there was a small British section so I grabbed a bunch of stuff for you. Just to make sure you don’t get homesick.”
“That was nice of you.”
“It wasn’t completely altruistic. I got myself some Jammie Dodgers too.” She grabbed a few other bags while Walker stacked two cases of bottled water and carried them to the door. “And just wait until you see what else we brought you.”
“I’m in a fair agony of suspense.” He was sure that whatever Ivy had brought, it would be interesting.
They carried everything into the kitchen. Marley walked in, smiled at them, and even though it wasn’t meant for him it hit Warwick in the heart anyway. “We meet in person at last. I’m just sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Ivy smiled back, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “Shae says hi. She told me you make killer biscuits and gravy so we got all the ingredients for you. Well, Walker did, your fellow Southerner. He does most of the cooking at our place, and I’ve never made biscuits and gravy in my life.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet of you. I can’t believe she remembered me saying that.”
“It was no trouble. And I know you’ve already got your own weapon, but we brought these for you guys just in case.” She opened a duffel on the floor, revealing two more pistols and a rifle. “There’s plenty of ammo in there too. Hopefully you won’t need it, but you never know.”
Looking past Marley at the tall sidelights flanking the front door, Warwick tensed when he saw another vehicle come into view at the end of the driveway.
“What?” Marley asked.
Seeing who it was, he relaxed. “It’s the sheriff. I texted him earlier.” He went to meet him at the door, and moments later, Sheriff Noah Buchanan strode into the kitchen in full uniform.
“Hey,” he said to the others. “I need to talk to Warwick in private for a few minutes.”
“We can talk in the guestroom,” Warwick said, meeting Marley’s gaze briefly on the way by. She was a people person. She’d be fine talking with Walker and Ivy alone for a bit. And he’d bet she was more than a little curious about Ivy after what she’d heard anyway.
Buchanan followed him down the hall and closed the guestroom door behind them, blue gaze steady. “I heard what happened at your rental, but I need you to run me through it from the top.”
Warwick did while Buchanan took notes, explaining how at first the intruder had been thinking about breaking in, then changed his mind for some reason and the resulting chase and altercation in the woods.
“He didn’t have a gun on him or anything?”
“A Taser. The probes just missed me and it got dumped into the brush early on. That’s the weird part. He obviously wasn’t there to kill me.”
“What then?”
“I dunno. Capture me and take me somewhere, I’m guessing.” Torture. Interrogation. Both. Then execution. Eventually.
Buchanan assessed him in silence for a moment. “Have you been a hundred percent honest with me about why you’re here and everything that’s happened up till now?”
“No,” he answered, not seeing the point in denying it. “But I can tell you that whoever that bloke was, he had serious training. His CQB skills were just as good as mine.” That was disturbing too.
“And you have no idea what he wanted with you.”
He shook his head, unwilling to voice any of his theories out loud. They were all guesses at this point.
“Do you know of anyone who might be targeting you?”
“There are people out there who might want to come after me,” was all he said.
“Because of Isaac Grey and the op in Durham? Yeah, I heard,” he said when Warwick didn’t answer right away. “Small town. Word gets around my inner circle about things like that when it involves one of our own.”
By one of our own, he meant Walker, of course. Warwick inclined his head. “Aye. It could be related to Grey.” That was his best guess, though given the number of jobs under his belt, it could be something else.
“Someone connected to Home Front?”
“Aye, exactly.”
“But no one specific?”
“Not that I can think of.”
“And you’re sure that whoever it was wanted you alive,” Buchanan answered.
“Aye. Bloke could easily have shot me down the moment I hopped the fence otherwise.” That was the rub. What was he missing? Did someone want to use him as a hostage to force someone’s hand? No point in that. He wasn’t worth much anymore as far as the UK government was concerned.
Buchanan made some more notes before continuing. “I’ve got some deputies at your rental right now looking at everything. Forensics will look for the taser, see if they can get any prints.”
“There won’t be any. He was a pro, and wearin’ gloves and a balaclava besides.”
“Well, we’ll check it all out and see if we can get anything to help ID him anyway. Is there anything else you want to add to your statement?”
“No.” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Buchanan not to betray them. It was because of exactly what the sheriff had just said. Word got around in small towns. Anyone spreading intel or their location could get him and Marley killed.
“All right. Does anyone else other than Ivy, Walker and Beckett know you’re here?”
“How do you know Beckett?”
“We grew up together. And now he’s married to my sister. So, anyone else know?”
“No.” Even Marley’s brother didn’t know their location.
“Okay, good. I’ll do everything I can to find a lead on my end.” He held Warwick’s gaze. “And if you have anything else you want to share in the meantime, you know how to reach me.”
“Aye. I appreciate it.”
He saw the sheriff out and returned to the kitchen. Walker straightened from leaning against the countertop. “Ivy and I have to get going. You guys need anything else?”
“No, I think we’re set for now,” Marley said. “Thank you for all this, we really appreciate it.”
“We already told her we’re not taking any money from either of you, so don’t bother arguing,” Ivy said as she walked toward him, then lowered her voice to a murmur when she got close. “I like her. You take good care of her.”
“I will.” Anyone trying to get to her would have to go through him and his dead body first. And he wasn’t easy to kill.
She stopped, hazel eyes intense. “But if anything feels off and you want backup, call and we’ll be here. No questions asked.”
He nodded, knowing she not only meant it, but that she could back up that claim both technically and tactically.
“Yeah,” Walker added. “If you need anything, just holler.”
“Will do.” He wouldn’t call them unless it was necessary, but if it was, he wouldn’t hesitate to have them watch his and Marley’s backs. That’s how much he trusted them. “Cheers for this.”
“No problem.” Ivy shot him a wink and clapped him on the shoulder on the way to the door.
Warwick locked up behind them, waited until they drove off before pulling the curtains and blinds shut on every window that had them. Marley followed suit, beginning in the kitchen. “That Ivy is something else. Is she really as badass as I think she is?”
It was a relief that she was making conversation. “Aye, and then some.”
“Amazing. I’ll have to have her over for drinks and find out more once this is all over.”
More guilt hit him. Her life was on hold because of him. He’d dreamed so many times of sharing a roof with her again. But never because of a situation like this. “I really am sorry, Mar.”
She stopped and looked back at him over her shoulder, long auburn hair spilling down her back. So damn beautiful she made him ache. “I believe you. But it doesn’t change anything if you still won’t tell me what’s really going on.” Then she turned to face him, pulled a wet wipe from a package on the counter and crossed the kitchen toward him.
She stopped less than two feet away, close enough that her familiar, intoxicating scent hit him. Close enough that he could see the warm flecks of amber in her big brown eyes as she reached up to gently dab at the blood under his nose.
He didn’t dare move. Barely even dared to breathe while she carefully cleaned his face, her touch so tender it simultaneously eased the tight knot in his chest and made him want to crush her to him and never let go. Claim that soft, sexy mouth again. Kiss her until she was clinging and begging for more.
And he would give her all of him. Nothing held back this time.
When she was done, she lowered her hand and searched his eyes for a long moment. Then her gaze dipped to his mouth and a rush of pure need ripped through him. Made his fingers clench to stop himself from reaching for her. Knowing that if he touched her intimately again, there would be no going back. For either of them.
She cleared her throat and stepped back, breaking the spell. Leaving him strung taut as a wire. And if they had to share a bed later it would be even harder. “Why don’t you go shower and get cleaned up. I’ll fix us something to eat.” She turned away before he could answer.
He made himself walk down the hall to the master bedroom and into the en suite. Finally got a good look at himself in the mirror. He was a damn mess.
He stripped, wincing as the sore spot on his side pulled with the motion, and caught sight of the bruise forming on the left side of his rib cage where the attacker’s boot had slammed into him. It could’ve been a hell of a lot worse.
The old pipes groaned and rattled when he started the shower. As soon as it was warm enough, he got under the spray and began soaping himself. He thought of Marley just down the hall and instantly got hard.
He ignored his poorly-timed erection, finished cleaning up, then toweled off and dressed. In the bedroom he checked his phone for messages, and opened the email account he rarely used anymore. A string of emails popped up. Including one sent less than an hour ago.
Come in now or she’s fair game.
There was a picture of Marley beneath it, showing her walking to his front door this morning.
He’d been right. “Fuck me,” he muttered, opening the file in a full-screen format. Who the hell had sent this? He didn’t recognize the sender’s address. There was nothing to figure out who had sent it or where the email had originated.
But he knew someone who probably could.
He rang Ivy.
“Need us to turn around?” she asked the instant she picked up.
“No, but I need your help tracin’ an email. I need to find out where it was sent from, and if possible, who sent it.” Though he was guessing the second part wasn’t going to happen. But if anyone could do it, it was Ivy.
She didn’t hesitate. “Send it to me and I’ll get on it right away.”
