Honor Unraveled (30 page)

“Pete wanted me to…
experience
this side of my husband.”

“You’re married?”

“Not yet. He is choosing a warrior for me.”

“And you’re okay with that? What if he’s mean? What if he has a disease? What if he beats you?” What if he had sick predilections?
 

“You aren’t from here, are you?”

“I’m beginning to wonder where the hell ‘here’ is. It sure doesn’t feel like Kansas.”

She frowned. “It’s not. It’s Wyoming.”

Max shoved a hand into his hair. This was fucked up. He could understand why Greer was in a snit about the Friends.
 

* * *

Ivy paced in her room. She’d showered and put on a fresh pair of jeans and a tee. Angel had parked himself outside her room in the sitting area. He was guarding her. Like a prisoner. As if she wasn’t smart enough to know this was the safest place for her right now. As if she was inconsiderate enough to endanger Kit and any of the team by leaving.

She crossed the room and yanked her door open. Angel was working on something on his laptop. He ignored her. She leaned against the doorjamb and stared at him.
 

After a few minutes, when he could no longer ignore the laser heat of her glare, he looked up at her. “What can I do for you, Ivy?” he asked, a brow lifted, his dark eyes cold and flat.

“I don’t need to be guarded. I’m not going anywhere.”

“So you say.”

“So I say. You should go back to Kit. Owen’s here. And Greer. I’m safe. I’m going to go back to sleep.”

“Good.”

“Angel. Please. Kit needs you.”

“Kit needs me to be where I’m expected to be.”

Ivy shook her head and gave up the fight. She went back into her room and climbed into her bed. She tried to put Kit and the team and the whole mess of her life out of her mind. Not an easy thing to do. Her big bed was empty and cold without Kit.
 

She remembered the way Kit had ordered Angel to get her out of there. Was that how their lives would be if they actually got together? He’d be sweet between missions and cold during them? It scared her to think that if that was the best she’d get from Kit, it would be enough. And when she thought how it had been all those years without him, she knew she’d take it.

But she didn’t have to decide yet. She had a couple more days until Friday, when Roy was coming up. Oh, hell, she should cancel that date. She didn’t want to see him or anyone. She just needed the time.

Kit wasn’t the same person he’d been. But nor was she. She was stronger. And she was self-sufficient. If they gave it a go and it didn’t work, she wouldn’t end. She could pick herself up and move on. And at least there wouldn’t be the lingering hope for a future with him.

She picked up her phone and texted Roy that something had come up and she had to cancel their date. Her phone rang a minute later. It was Roy.

“Hi,” she answered.

“What’s up?”

“Roy, I’m so sorry. I think Kit and I are going to give things a try.”

“So you’re firing me? We’ve talked a lot over these last few months. I thought we had something going. I know I should have come up long before this.”

“It’s not your fault. I didn’t expect to ever see Kit again.”

“Look, let me at least come up and meet him, make sure things are cool for you.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer. We’ll have dinner and talk. No obligations. No worry. After that, if you’re sure about your ex, I’m gone. Okay?”

Ivy sighed. “If you don’t mind the long haul up here, sure.” It was easier to cave. And she could still use the buffer of this last date.

“I’ll be in Cheyenne anyway Friday. I’ll see you at seven.” He hung up before she could argue further.

She switched off the light on her nightstand. She would keep her date—and the time it bought her. And then, she and Kit would have a long talk. She felt better for having made a decision. Though she didn’t want the date, she wanted the time. It was the right next step.

* * *

“What’s the plan, boss?” Kelan asked. “We going in after Amir?”

“No. Max has a handle on him. Let’s let this play out a little more.” He looked at his team and grinned. “If the WKB are here, who’s at home?”

“I like your thinking. Let’s roll.” Blade headed back to the team’s SUV.
 

An hour later, they pulled off near the WKB compound, parking in a blind of firm ground and scrub brush. Except for Kit, the rest of the men were dressed in night-ops gear, allowing them to move stealthily through the heavy shadows. Once they’d checked their weapons and prepared themselves, they watched the darkened compound.

“We saw the eighteen-wheeler parked by the far northwest warehouse,” Kit reminded his team. “It was also where Rodeo’s rig had been before Tank sniffed the drugs on him and his trailer a few minutes later. And, it’s the one building Max hasn’t been able to get into.”

The compound looked abandoned, even through their night-vision goggles. Dark. Still. Silent. “Greer, you seeing any movement on the cams?”

“Negative. If they have guards posted, they may be inside buildings where I can’t see them.”

The team cut through the chain link fence and moved onto the compound grounds. They’d parked as near the warehouse as they could. A few young pine trees gave them cover in a zigzag pattern leading up to the warehouse. Kit and Rocco stood guard while Blade picked the deadbolt. Val and Kelan made a quick perimeter check. The warehouse had no windows. Both the front and the back had large rolling doors and smaller side doors. It looked like a hangar. One big enough for a commercial jetliner.
 

“I’m in,” Blade said when the lock was released. Kit went in first, followed by the four other guys. They spread out to clear it. The enormous warehouse looked like a storage site for a Sam’s Club. There were racks of new tires and automotive parts. Racks of building materials and tools. Racks of paper goods and foodstuffs. One entire shelf contained homemade canned foods—jams, preserves, pickles, pickled fish, tomatoes, tomato sauce, fruits, and veggies. Next to that was a walk-in freezer full of meats and perishable foods.
 

“What the hell? They’re like preppers,” Rocco murmured.
 

“Yeah. Like they’re getting ready for Armageddon,” Blade said. “Holbrook mentioned something about that.”

Kit walked the long length down one of the aisles. The warehouse was as long as a football field. His flashlight illuminated the edge of an industrial mat. He moved his light over the floor around them, back the way he’d come, forward as far as the light would go. This was the only mat he saw. The huge shelving units on top of the mat had wheels. Again, an anomaly: none of the other shelves had wheels. “Kelan, give me a hand. I want to see what’s under the mat.”

Kelan and Rocco came over and helped Kit move the rack aside. Kit folded the mat over, revealing a huge hatch door.
 

“Greer, we found a door to something underground. Can you take a look and see if they pulled any permits?” Could be they found the hidey-hole for the WKB’s contraband.

“Copy that. Give me five.”

The guys walked around the warehouse, taking stock of the inventory stored there while they waited to hear back from Greer.

“Kit, several of the structures on the compound pre-date modern building codes, so no permits were pulled for them. There was a permit for the warehouse you’re in, but it has a poured concrete foundation, so no lower levels. However—and you’re not going to like this news—a Titan I missile silo was built in that spot in 1959 and decommissioned in 1964. It was abandoned for several years, then sold to one Jefferson Holbrook in 2002, when that warehouse was built.”

Kit cursed. He looked at his guys. “Tell Owen what we’ve found. See if you can figure out where the other escape hatches are. There should be at least three if this is a Titan I silo.”
 

“Roger,”
Greer answered.

“Kit,”
Owen came over the radio.
“I’m here with Greer. He’s heading up to you with some eyes to install. I want them set at each hatch. I’ll get those coordinates up to you shortly.”

“Copy that.” He looked at the guys. “The WKB have forty-five thousand square feet of subterranean space, depending on what they’ve done with the place. Our job just got a whole helluva lot harder.”
 

Ivy walked down the hallway from her room to the public rooms. The house was quiet. She was hoping the guys were otherwise occupied. She really didn’t feel like having a confrontation right now. Roy was a nice guy. If Kit had never come back, he might have been a contender.
 

She passed the den, the kitchen, the wine cellar, the dining room. Her tension was palpable as she crossed the entranceway and stopped at the threshold to the living room. All the guys were there, except Max and Greer. They wore solemn faces. The silence in the room was unnerving given how raucous the group of them usually was. The men looked her over. Kit’s face was a void, cut from stone. Ivy glanced away.
 

This was wrong. She was done dating other guys. She didn’t want to do this tonight. She pivoted on her heel and started toward the front door, deciding it would be far more comfortable to wait for Roy outside than here in the frosty living room of Ty’s house.

“Ivy,” Kit called out, stopping her. “Please join us here.”

She didn’t turn around. “I think I’ll wait for him outside.”

“I think you’ll wait for him here. With us,” he countered.

She turned back to face him. He was standing in the middle of the room. Gone was the void that had held him enthralled. Rage now poured off him, spilling from his wide shoulders. She shook her head. More than anything, she wished she’d successfully canceled the date.
 

“I want him to know he’d better take goddamn good care of my woman. I want him to come in and meet me so he knows what’s waiting for him if he’s anything less than a gentleman.” He smiled at her, a primal baring of his teeth that lifted the hairs on her neck.
 

Oh yeah. This evening was heading straight to the annals of date-night catastrophes.

Val came over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he led her into the living room. “You look really pretty tonight.”

“Thanks, Val.”

“May I get you a glass of wine while we wait?”

“Sure.”

He went behind the bar and poured a glass of Shiraz. She followed him to the bar, grateful for the excuse to have her back to the room. She sipped the deep burgundy liquid, letting it linger a moment on her tongue before swallowing. When she looked up, Owen was standing next to her. His pale gaze was deeply unnerving. She’d had little opportunity to chat with him since her arrival, and she knew that was by choice. The look he gave her was only slightly warmer than full-on hatred.

She sighed and set her glass down on the bar as she turned to face the room. “Okay. That’s enough.” Her gaze swept around the room, meeting the eyes of each man. “I won’t be seeing him after tonight.” She looked at Kit. “I’m done dating.”

“That a fact?”

The doorbell chimed. For some reason, Ivy jumped. Silence blanketed the room. She looked at Kit, half wishing he’d come up with an out for her. His gaze latched on to hers as a muscle pulsed in his jaw. This was something she’d set in motion. She’d be the only one getting herself out of it. And after having Roy make the trek up here, the least she could do was sit and have a meal with him. It was just a dinner

Owen pulled away from the bar. “I’ll get it.” Ivy followed him to the foyer.
 

“Hi. I’m Roy. I’m here for Ivy.”

Roy offered his hand, and Owen took it, meeting his eyes with a hard gaze, his response slow enough that his hesitance was clear. “I’m Owen.” He stepped back.
 

Ivy smiled and came forward, interrupting that strange exchange. “Hi, Roy. Come in. Meet my friends.” She held a hand out, but he took hold of her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Was the drive terrible?” she asked.

“It was long.” He gave her a quick smile, then looked beyond her to the room full of men, all of whom had come to their feet. His eyes locked on Kit. How he knew he was the one he should be most wary of without having been introduced to him, Ivy couldn’t guess.

Ivy took his arm and led him forward. She rattled off the guys’ names. “And this is—”

“Kit. I know.” Roy held out his hand. He was a few inches shorter than Kit. Ivy wondered if he felt the difference as they stood eyeing each other. “Heard a lot about you.”

“Yeah.” Kit didn’t take the bait. He did end the handshake, at last. “Enjoy your dinner.”
 

“Let me get my things.” She scooped up her purse and sweater, then faced Roy. “I’m ready.”

He and Kit were silently eyeing each other. She linked her arm in Roy’s. Neither of them missed the way Kit’s eyes dropped to her arm, his gaze narrowing at the gesture.

“Goodnight, guys,” Ivy said to the room. “No need to wait up.”