Fatal Pursuit (The Aegis Series) (18 page)

“No.” Disappointment flashed in Marley’s eyes, and she turned away before Jake could say,
Hell yes
. “We were just saying goodbye. Are you all set?”

That aggravating grin returned to McKnight’s face, only this time it was laced with victory as he glanced toward Jake and then focused on Marley. “Yeah. Ready to get on with my life, that’s for sure.”

Marley brushed by Jake and headed for the door. Jake turned, wanting to reach out for her and pull her back, wanting to finish what they’d started, wanting to hold on to her. But McKnight moved past him before he could do just that and said, “I can’t wait to see what you’ve done to your place.”

The air whooshed out of Jake’s lungs, as if he’d been sucker punched in the gut. She was taking McKnight to her place? To her house? In the three plus years the two of them had worked together—closely together—she’d never once invited him to her place. Hell, she’d never once let him drive her home after work when the roads had been icy.

Pull it together, man. She’s not yours. You don’t even want her to be yours, remember?

Jake’s head grew light and an odd tingle took up space in his belly. Reaching for his coat, he swallowed hard to distract himself from his shaking fingers..

Crisp, cool air slapped him in the face when he stepped off the plane, but his feet drew to a stop when he spotted the sleek black Escalade parked on the tarmac, and Mason Addison standing near the hood.

“Dad.” Marley dropped her bag on the ground and closed her arms around her father’s broad shoulders. “What are you doing here?”

Mason’s salt-and-pepper hair caught the light from the plane as he drew back from his daughter, highlighting the silver strands. At five-eight, Marley wasn’t a small woman, but next to her father’s six-four frame, she looked tiny.

“Eve told me when you were due back. I wanted to meet you.” He looked over Marley’s shoulder toward McKnight, and a worried look passed over his weathered features. “Holy mother of God. I don’t think I really believed it until this minute. He really is alive.”

Marley let go of her father and turned toward McKnight. From his vantage, Jake couldn’t see McKnight’s face, but he could read body language. And McKnight’s was so rigid, Jake could tell the man would rather be back in a Colombian jungle than with Marley’s father.

The animosity in McKnight’s voice when he’d been talking to Marley on the plane about her father ricocheted through Jake’s mind. He moved quickly down the aircraft’s steps, unsure what the guy was going to say, what the hell he’d do for that matter.

“Addison.” McKnight spread his stance, clenched his hands into fists at his side. His voice dropped to a menacing whisper. “It’s been a long time. Too long.”

Shit. Jake glanced at Marley. She was standing way too close to her father if McKnight decided to launch himself at the man.

He pushed his feet forward to get to her, to pull her out of the way. Before he could reach her, Mason stepped past his daughter. Every muscle in McKnight’s body went rigid.

“Marley!” Jake lurched for her. She twisted at the sound of her name. McKnight glanced his way. Jake was still two steps away when Mason wrapped his arms around McKnight’s shoulders and hugged the man.

Jake’s feet shuffled to a stop. Marley looked up at him like he’d just lost his mind. “What the heck is wrong with you?”

McKnight’s body was still as stiff as a board, but his hands were no longer clenched into fists, and Mason was muttering something about being sorry, about being glad he was back, about making everything right.

McKnight nodded once, then Mason let go of him and, with a beaming smile, turned Jake’s way. “Ryder.” He captured Jake’s hand in both of his. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you brought this man back. I wish someone would have told me. Omega would have been down there in a heartbeat.”

“He didn’t do it on his own,” Marley said before Jake could answer. “In fact, it wasn’t even his idea.”

“She’s right.” Jake glanced down at Marley, relieved nothing had happened and that she was okay. But the minute his eyes locked on her, he had a flash of her in the jungle, building that camp and taking care of both of them, saving him from those natives, even planning and finding McKnight. Awe rippling through him. Awe for everything she’d accomplished, even when he’d thought she couldn’t handle it. “It wasn’t me. It was her. It was pretty much all her.”

Marley turned wide, surprised blue eyes up to meet his. And like it had in the jungle, when he’d watched her dance around that
fire, heat exploded in his belly, and every inch of his skin burst to life.

Mason grinned, let go of Jake’s hand, and wrapped one arm around his daughter’s shoulders. “For some reason that doesn’t surprise me. She’s just like her old man.” He looked over at McKnight. “The guesthouse is yours.
My personal doctor is on his way
to look over you. Anything you want, you just have to ask.” He glanced down at his daughter. “You’re coming back to the farm with us, right?”

“I . . .”

Marley’s gaze was still locked on Jake’s, and Jake’s pulse was suddenly pounding, his hands inching to pull her away from her father and into his arms.

She blinked, breaking the connection, and looked toward McKnight, then up at her father. “Yeah. I-I guess so.”

“Great.” Her father let go of her and moved toward the SUV. “McKnight, take the front. We have a lot to talk about. Marley, hurry up. Amelia should have breakfast ready by the time we get back.”

The two men moved for the vehicle, and Marley reached down to pick up her bags. Jake grabbed her pack and duffel before she could and lifted them, anxious to keep her with him, frantic to come up with any reason for her not to leave just yet. “Amelia?”

She looked toward the bags in his hands, then took a step toward the back of the SUV. “Thanks. Amelia’s my father’s new assistant. I’m pretty sure she’s more than his assistant if she’s at the farm at four a.m. Even you don’t make me come in that early.”

No, but he suddenly wanted her around that early. And not for work.

“She’s also my age.” She opened the back of the vehicle so he could toss her bags inside. “How’s that for ironic?”

“More like awkward. Been there. My father never dated a woman his age—ever.”

A half smile curled her lip. “Yeah, I guess you would understand.”

She knew all about Linus Ryder’s love of younger women. Luckily, Jake’s father had never been stupid enough to marry any of them, so Jake wasn’t continuously supporting them. But every now and then, one would call Aegis looking for the man, completely floored that he’d actually had the nerve to keel over from something as ordinary as a heart attack. And Marley, the saint that she was, usually handled the calls because she knew how much they upset Jake.

She tugged on the door and closed the back, then looked up at him. “So, thanks for, you know, going with me. I know you had other, more important things you could have been doing these last few days.”

No, there wasn’t anything more important than her. Going after her hadn’t even taken a second thought. That tingle came back to his skin, and he tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans so he didn’t do something stupid—like grab her and kiss her.

“You mean thanks for pissing off your brother, getting in the way, aggravating you beyond reason, and generally mucking things up all the way around? You’re welcome.”

She smiled. A wide, beautiful smile. One that lit up her eyes and made him remember the way she’d danced and smiled around the fire. One that sent the blood pounding in his veins all over again. “Yeah, that. But I guess I deserved it since I stole your plane.”

He glanced toward the jet, then back at her. “Well, maybe just a little.”

Her smile faded, and she bit into her lip. A sexy nip that made him think of the way she’d bit his lip in the galley. How it had surprised him. How it had made him absolutely
wild
. “I guess I’ll see you on Monday?”

“Right. Monday.” Damn, he’d lost track of days. Today was Saturday, which meant he had an entire weekend to sit and think about everything that had happened between them and try to decide what the hell to do about it all.

“Okay.” But she didn’t move. Didn’t step toward the back passenger door. And neither did he.

Part of him wanted to grab her and never let go. Another part wanted to run. His track record with women was such shit, he was afraid of making a giant mistake and ruining what they already had. And as much as he complained about her sass and independence, he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.

“Well,” she finally said. “They’re waiting.”

Right. Waiting for her.

She took a step past him, but he moved faster and reached for the door handle before she could. Without opening it, he said, “You sure this is a good idea?”

A frown tugged at her lips. “Jake, do you honestly think my father would put my safety in danger by bringing someone he didn’t trust back to the farm? You’re worrying for nothing. You saw the way my dad reacted to him. You yourself have told me numerous times that Mason Addison is a crazy-good read of people. Gray is exactly what he appears to be. Nothing more. Trust me, I’m perfectly safe with him.”

Jake looked over his shoulder toward the silhouetted men inside. They were both facing forward, deep in conversation, neither paying an ounce of attention to them.

Maybe Marley was right. Maybe the guy was harmless. Maybe Jake was just reading into things because he was jealous her ex was still alive and getting in the way of whatever this was going on between them.

“You’re losing it . . .”

Eve’s words in the office just before he’d rushed off to Colombia to find Marley echoed in Jake’s head. At the time he’d ignored her, but now he couldn’t deny the fact there was a big chance his radar was off because his emotions were all over the stinkin’ map where she was concerned. And they had been for longer than he’d realized.

Pulling the door open quickly, he moved out of her way. He needed to take a giant step back before he did something he’d regret. Before he ruined things for good.

“Monday,” he said, holding the door open for her so she could climb in. “Bright and early.”

She didn’t move. Just stood still and stared at him. And he knew she was waiting for him to say something else, but he couldn’t. Because as much as he still didn’t trust McKnight, the one thing he could say to make her stay wasn’t something he was ready to admit, even to himself.

She pulled her gaze from his and climbed into the car without another word. And as he shut the door and watched the vehicle pull away, he caught McKnight’s gaze in the side mirror.

No, that wasn’t just jealousy in the other man’s eyes. There was something more there. He was something more.

And Jake was determined to find out what.

M
arley pushed the potatoes around on her plate, then moved her fork to the steamed broccoli, unable to focus on anything Gray was saying. She wasn’t quite sure how she’d gotten herself into this situation, but the last place she wanted to be was having a quiet, candlelit dinner with the man in her father’s ritzy guesthouse.

“You’re not eating.”

“Huh?” She looked up. He was sitting across from her at the dining room table wearing a green sweater that matched his eyes and stretched across his broad shoulders. Firelight flickered over his handsome features and accentuated his blond hair. And not for the first time since they’d come home did she wonder why she wasn’t attracted to him like she’d been before.

“Your food.” He nodded toward her plate. “You’ve barely touched your dinner.”

“Oh.” She glanced down. “Sorry. I had a late lunch. I didn’t realize you were cooking. If I’d known,” she lied, “I would have waited.”

Her phone buzzed on the table beside her plate, and she reached for it quickly, a shot of disappointment rushing through her when she realized it was just her father texting to see how dinner was going.

He was pushing her toward Gray. She wasn’t naïve enough not to notice. Five years ago, he hadn’t wanted her dating the man, but now it was like he was waiting for her to fall into Gray’s arms. She knew it was because her father felt guilty over everything that had happened to Gray and because he was trying to mend his battered relationship with her, but his one-eighty in attitude was making her head spin.

“He’s not going to text you, you know.”

She let go of her phone and glanced up. “Who?”

“Ryder.”

Marley’s pulse picked up speed, and she quickly let go of her phone and reached for her fork. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. I saw the way he looked at you. Judging from your reaction, you saw it too.”

Marley’s pulse turned to a whir in her ears, and a whisper of guilt—all that guilt she’d carried for five years—rolled over her like fog creeping along the valley floor. “Ryder and I are just colleagues.”

“You sure about that?”

His posture was relaxed, one forearm resting on the table, his other hand gently swirling the red wine in his glass. But his eyes were as focused as she’d ever seen them, and she knew what he was asking even though he didn’t come right out and say it. More of that guilt rushed in, making her feel even worse. “Gray—”

“It won’t work between the two of you. You know that, too, right?”

“I—”

“He’s not a team player,” Gray went on. “He’s an I-guy. He always has to be in control, always has to call the shots, is always the one telling everyone else what to do.”

Marley’s throat went dry, and the protest died on her lips. Gray was right, that was Jake to the letter, but she didn’t want to agree with him. Not when she didn’t know where he was going with this.

“Tell me if I’m wrong. I bet he’s never had a long-lasting relationship. He views women as expendable. Good for a night or two but not much more. The people who work for him probably don’t like him all that much, but they put up with him because he pays them well. And I’m guessing he doesn’t hire too many women to work in his little black ops company. Why would he when women just get in the way?”

Marley’s stomach rolled, and she reached for her wine. “You seem to know a lot about a man you’ve barely met.”

“I know him because
I was him
, Marlene.”

She swallowed the sip of wine and met his gaze. His unwavering, intense, burning gaze that seemed to look right through her.

He sighed and leaned back. “Five years in a Colombian prison makes you reevaluate your priorities. I was Ryder. I did all that shit. I told people what to do, had to be in control all the time, and I used women because I didn’t have a reason not to. I started dating you to get in good with your father so he’d give me the best assignments. It was a stupid thing to do. I knew you deserved better, but I didn’t care. I even knew you were planning to break things off with me before I left.”

A lump formed in her throat. “Gray—”

“No, don’t try to make me feel better. I was a shit, and we both know it. But I’m not that guy anymore.”

He leaned forward, gently pulled her hand away from her wine glass, and closed his fingers around hers. “I wasn’t lying when I said the thought of you kept me alive. It did. It also made me realize you were the best thing in my life. I have a lot to make up for, but because of you, I have the chance to do that. And I want to do that with you.”

Marley’s heart beat fast against her ribs. “I don’t—”

“Look, I know your life is different now. I know you think you’ve got this thing going with Ryder, but we both know that’s never going to work out. It’s a fantasy. It can’t be anything more because he doesn’t appreciate you the way I do. I won’t hold you back, Marlene. I’ll never tell you what to do. If you give me a chance, I’ll prove to you that I’m the guy you should be with.”

“Gray, I . . .” Pressure condensed in her chest, made it hard to breathe. She let go of him and pushed back from the table, needing air, needing a moment to think. Grabbing her phone, she turned, frantically searching for her purse. “I-I have to go.”

“Marlene, wait.”

There it was. On the entry table. Hands shaking, she crossed to it and tossed the strap over her shoulder.

“Let’s,” he said at her back, “let’s talk about this.”

She stopped at the door and looked up at him. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she needed to make him understand. This was too much. It was all just too much.

“I heard what you said. I did. And I get it. I’m just . . .” She looked around the entry, searching for the right words. “A week ago I thought you were dead, and now you’re asking me to make a decision about a future I didn’t even know was out there. I can’t think. It’s happening too fast. I can’t—”

“Okay.” His big hands landed on her shoulders and then slowly traveled up and down her biceps. “Okay, just breathe. I know that was a lot to throw at you. It’s just . . .”

He hesitated. Blew out a breath. Stared at her. “When you see the end of your life, you realize what’s important. It’s not money or possessions or the past. It’s people. And when you have a chance to live again, you don’t want to wait to start that living. Time is precious. Life is precious, Marlene. It can be gone before you know it. We spend our lives worrying about things that don’t matter. Spend way too much time wasting it on people who will never be able to give us what we need. I don’t want to do that anymore. I know what I want, and that’s you. I can make you happy. Your father knows it too or he wouldn’t be pushing us together.” One side of his lips curled in a sexy half smile. “All you have to do is give me a chance to prove that to you.”

Her mind drifted to what a future with him would look like. She’d loved him once—or thought she had. But how could she be sure she’d ever feel that way again when that so-called love had faded so fast? And if she did what he asked, if she gave him a chance, what would happen with Jake?

The memory of Jake’s mouth moving over hers, of his hands traveling down her spine to grab her hips filled her head. Jake’s. Not Gray’s. She’d sensed Jake wanted to say something to her when they’d been standing beside her father’s car, but he hadn’t. And suddenly, she needed to know what he’d been holding back. Needed it like she needed air to breathe.

“I have to go, Gray.” She reached for the door handle at her back and pulled the door open. “I-I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Marlene, just stay. Finish your dinner.”

No, she couldn’t stay. She needed to see Jake, needed to talk to him, needed to figure out what the heck was really happening between them once and for all. She stepped out on the front porch and then moved down the steps, snow crunching under her shoes as she headed for her car.

Her fingers shook as she shoved the keys in the ignition and started her Audi. One glance up as she backed around told her Gray was still standing on the porch, watching her go.

She gripped the steering wheel in both hands as she passed the monstrous main house on her father’s property and turned down the long tree-lined drive that led to the highway. Lights burned in the windows, but she didn’t stop. Couldn’t handle listening to her father drone on again about Gray, at least not right now.

She flipped her headlights to low beam as she pulled onto the highway and headed toward Louisville. Cars passed going the opposite direction. Horse farms with their white pristine fences rolled across the
snowy,
dark hillsides, but she barely saw them. All she saw in her mind was Jake. All she thought about was their night together in that village. All she felt was a warm, aching thump in the center of her chest, followed by a flutter of nerves that rushed through her belly.

The drive into Louisville seemed to fly. It wasn’t until she was already in the suburbs, moving slowly through neighborhoods, looking for Jake’s street, that she realized she didn’t have a clue what she was going to say to him.

She couldn’t just barge in and demand to know how he felt about her. He’d never answer. Those nerves kicked up until her fingers trembled against the wheel. A little voice urged her to just go home, but she didn’t want to. She
needed
answers once and for all. Which meant she had to come up with a legitimate reason for going to his house after dark on a Sunday night.

She found the street, took a right onto the icy road, and drove slowly as she glanced at house numbers. The street was wide, with big old oak trees lining the road on both sides and two-story middle-class homes on large lots. Snow was pushed up against the curbs, and the houses were nice—wide porches, shutters hanging on windows, neatly manicured trees and, she guessed, lawns under all that snow. But they were a far cry from the mansion where Jake had grown up, which now housed Aegis headquarters. And they were nothing like any of the luxury properties he owned around the globe.

The properties. She could use that as her excuse. She still had the paperwork he’d yet to sign for the properties he wanted to sell somewhere in her car.

She spotted his house at the end of the cul-de-sac. A two-story craftsman style home that looked only a few years old. His Tahoe was parked out front. She pulled around and parked in front of his house. Killed the engine. Tugged off her seatbelt. But couldn’t get out. Looking up at the house, she sat where she was and stared at the warm glow inside.

Her heart pounded hard. Her skin grew damp. What the heck was she doing? This was a stupid idea. He was going to see through her excuse like tissue paper. She could get the paperwork signed tomorrow—Monday morning—at work. As soon as she walked up to that door, he was going to say just as much. But even if he let her in, even if they started talking, what would she do if he told her something she didn’t want to hear? Was she ready for that?

She swallowed the lump in her throat. Stared down at the steering wheel. She didn’t know what answer she wanted from him, but tonight was not the night to ask the question. Not when she was still so tired and stressed and . . . scared. Scared of making the wrong choice, scared of not having a choice, but, mostly, scared to death of getting her heart broken. And as much as she didn’t want to admit it, he was the one person who had the power to do just that.

Decision made, she started the engine, pressed down on the gas, and turned out of the cul-de-sac. But in her desperate attempt to flee, she gave the engine too much gas, and the car lurched forward. The tires skidded toward the right. Her adrenaline shot up when she realized she was going sideways. She tried to turn into the skid to gain traction, but there was nowhere to go. Before she could even correct, the front of her car slammed into the base of the streetlight.

Her head cracked against the window to her left. Her body shot forward. Pain spiraled across her skull as she slumped over the wheel. Wincing, she tried to lean back, but the car felt as if it was suddenly spinning.

She pressed a hand against her forehead, drew her fingers away, and saw the blood. Her stomach rolled. Glancing out the windshield toward the front of her car, she spotted the dented front end of her vehicle.

The engine had died, but the lights were still on. She tried to start the car again. Panic pushed at her as she turned the key, but nothing happened. She pressed down on the gas and turned the ignition. “Come on. Please.”

A banging sound against the glass made her jump and yelp. Marley jerked away from the driver’s door, then felt her heart sink.

Jake stood outside her window wearing a loose sweatshirt, jeans, and snow boots. And he was looking at her like she’d just lost her freakin’ mind.

Which, considering everything that had happened, she was pretty sure she already had.