Midnight Action (7 page)

“I hate this.” Sullivan’s gray eyes flashed as he voiced the bitter complaint to the other men. “We should be helping the boss.”

It was rare to see Sully so distressed, though Liam didn’t blame him one bit. Their boss’s order for them to stay put didn’t sit right with him either. He’d been trying not to think about it, had even suggested a night of poker to distract himself and the others, but nobody had bothered dealing the cards yet; the unshuffled deck sat in the center of the table, along with the men’s unopened beer bottles.

“But your girl is helping them, right?” asked David “Ash” Ashton, the newest member of their team.

The question was directed at Ethan Hayes, who shook his head. “Juliet left this morning for South Africa. She’s on another job.” He rolled his eyes. “Besides, can you really see Jules enjoying herself on a fact-finding mission with Noelle and Morgan? The woman is built for action. She’d go nuts.”

From his seat across the table, Sullivan finally seemed to relax, casting Ethan a grin. “Action, huh? I hope you’ve been giving her all the action she needs. If not, I’m perfectly happy to step in and take over.”

Ethan flipped up his middle finger. “In your dreams, dude.”

“Oh, for real. I dream about Juliet every night, mate.”

“Remember what I told you in Belarus?” Ethan’s hazel eyes took on a deadly glint. “Touch her and you’re dead.”

Sullivan sighed. “You’re so possessive, rookie. Jeez. Share the wealth.”

Now the other man looked smug. “I ain’t the rookie anymore, Aussie. You get to pick on Ash now.”

“Hey, don’t go bringing li’l ole me into this.” Ash’s Tennessee drawl always seemed to thicken when he was pulling his aw-shucks, good-old-boy shtick.

Ash had been around for only three months, but Liam already loved Morgan’s newest recruit. Ash was young—twenty-three or so—but he was smart, highly trained, and damn good at following orders. The kid also had
ladies’ man
written all over that chiseled face of his, and Liam had no doubt that Ash’s messy dark hair, laughing green eyes, and crooked grin had charmed the panties off numerous ladies.

“Hey,” Ash suddenly said. “So what exactly
is
the deal with Morgan and that Noelle woman? Did they date or something?”

The other men snickered.

“Morgan doesn’t ‘date,’” Liam answered with a grin. “I’m pretty sure he just fucks and runs.”

“So he used to fuck her?” Ash pressed.

Sullivan shrugged. “Sure seems like it, mate, but he’s never confirmed or denied it.”

“He hates her guts,” Ethan spoke up. “We know that much.”

Ash sounded thoughtful. “If he hates her, why did he fly off to Paris with her?”

“You ask us this as if we’re in the loop,” Liam said dryly. “But trust me, we’re the last people to know the important stuff. If you want details, go upstairs and ask Abby. I bet she knows.”

“Dude, I’m not going anywhere near her unless I have pickles or ice cream on hand, and we’re out of both because she ate them all.” Ash sighed. “Pregnant women are scary.”

“Well, then you’re shit out of luck, because we never know shit.”

“Aw, Boston, are you jealous about not being part of the inner circle?” Sully taunted.

“Damn straight,” Liam retorted. “’Cause you know what happens when you’re in the inner circle? You get to hook up with a hot chick. Case in point—Kane. Second-in-command and he lands a hot redhead. Trevor—team leader for most gigs, marries a hot blonde. Former rookie over here”—he hooked a thumb at Ethan—“gets to lead an op in Belarus and winds up with a hot brunette. I rest my case.”

“And don’t forget about D,” Ethan said in response to Liam’s theory. “Also in the inner circle, and hooked up with Noelle. So...you might be onto something.”

“Wait—what?” Liam blinked in surprise.

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, like you didn’t suspect.”

“You’re messing with us,” Sullivan piped up. “No way is D screwing around with Morgan’s archenemy.”

“I’m pretty sure he is,” Ethan replied, shrugging. “Or at least he was at one point in time.”

“Bullshit,” Liam argued. He didn’t know much about D’s background, but he knew the guy’s
personality
, and, well, he couldn’t imagine that prickly asshole getting involved with a woman. Or a man. Or pretty much anyone, really. The tight-lipped merc didn’t form attachments. Hell, he barely spoke more than five words at a time.

On the other hand, unless D was living a life of celibacy, he had to get his rocks off sometimes, and Liam realized Noelle was probably the best candidate for that. She was smokin’ hot, but not a woman you’d ever want as a permanent fixture in your life. For a man like D, that must be a damn good arrangement.

“Well, if he’s doing her, he’s one lucky bastard,” Sully muttered.

“No way,” Ethan disagreed. “That woman is terrifying.”

“Yeah, but she’s also the hottest chick on the planet. I’d do her.”

Liam had to sigh. “You’d do anyone.”

Sullivan, of course, didn’t refute that. The man made no secret of the fact that he enjoyed sex. A lot.

Liam had witnessed and participated in his fair share of Sully’s hookups, and those he hadn’t experienced firsthand had been recounted to him in excruciating detail by the cocky Australian. Which meant he knew damn well that Sullivan wasn’t picky when it came to sex, and yeah, he also knew that Sullivan swung both ways, but he honestly didn’t care who the guy slept with. Men, women—Liam wasn’t one to judge.

Except...Aw hell,
bad
idea thinking about Sullivan with another man right now. Bad fucking idea.

“I’m gonna take a walk.” He rose abruptly from his chair, averting the men’s gazes. “If we’re not playing poker, I might as well get some exercise.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Ethan stand up too. “Yeah, I should go in and gather my gear. We’re heading out soon.”

Liam headed for the stairs on the other side of the terrace, all the while wishing the boss hadn’t inflicted this mandatory downtime on them. He would’ve killed to join Ethan and the others in Ecuador, to have a mission to concentrate on, but Morgan’s orders were set in stone, so Liam had to suck it up and stay on the compound.

“Wait up,” he heard Sullivan call from behind him. “I could use a walk too.”

He hesitated on the bottom step. But for the life of him, he couldn’t think of a single excuse for why Sully couldn’t join him.

The two of them fell into step with each other, heading away from the pool area toward the cluster of ceiba trees at the edge of the backyard. Tangled vines and thick undergrowth spanned the ground beneath their boots, which didn’t make a sound as they walked through the brush.

Liam breathed in the familiar scents of the jungle, the damp earth and acrid rot and sweet flora. A gap in the sweeping canopy of trees allowed a sliver of moonlight to light their path, and that same shard of white light also illuminated Sully’s features, those rugged good looks that never failed to make women swoon.

“Being around those two makes me feel old,” Liam remarked in a glum voice.

“Ethan and Ash?”

“Yeah. They make me wish I was still in my twenties.”

“You’re only thirty-two. That’s closer to your twenties than you think. Besides, thirty is the new twenty.”

“I don’t get why people say that,” he grumbled. “It doesn’t make any sense. Twenty is twenty. Thirty is thirty. End of story.”

“You really need to stop thinking in black and white, mate,” Sullivan said with a chuckle.

It wasn’t the first time his buddy had accused him of that, but Liam didn’t know how to think any other way. Right and wrong, good and bad—that was how his brain worked. He operated on logic, thought things through, weighed each and every action before carrying it out.

Sullivan was the impulsive one in the friendship, the one who jumped first and asked questions later. His spontaneity had led him into a shit ton of precarious situations over the years, and lately it was Liam who’d taken on the role of keeping Sully in check, forcing his friend to consider the consequences before he went off half-cocked.

“Why do you want to be twenty so badly?” Sullivan asked curiously. “You feeling unfulfilled? Wishing you could go back and redo shit?”

“Nah. I’m happy enough with where I am.” Liam pushed a low-hanging branch out of his way and moved deeper into the lush vegetation. “But sometimes I miss my younger, optimistic self. You know, the guy who saw the world as sunshine and rainbows and all that crap.” A twinge of embarrassment crept into his voice. “I always figured I’d be married by the time I was twenty-five. Have a couple of kids by the time I turned thirty. You know, normal life stuff.”

Sullivan sounded amused. “Is that what you want? Marriage, kids, normalcy?”

“One day, I guess.” Liam paused. “You?”

“Fucked if I know. I don’t think ahead, remember? I live for the moment. Besides, I’d make a terrible husband, and an even worse father.”

Liam stopped walking, shifting his head so he could meet Sullivan’s eyes. The moonlight danced over his friend’s face, emphasizing a strong jaw and vivid gray eyes.

He swallowed a groan. Now was not the time to be staring at his teammate’s pretty mug. The time for that was...never. He should
never
be checking out the man.

“Bullshit,” Liam said gruffly. “I think you’d be a great father.”

“Doubt it, mate. I’m just a shallow playboy who travels the world on his boat, remember? Besides, with my ADD? I’d be the dad who forgets his kid at the grocery store.”

Liam laughed. “Nah. You’d be the coolest dad on the block. Husband, though? I dunno. You’d have to learn to keep your pants zipped first.”

“Hey, if my pants stayed zipped, your sex life would plummet into obscurity, Boston.” His friend smirked. “I’ve gotten you more ass than you could ever get on your own.”

“Bull-fucking-shit. I don’t need your help getting laid. The ladies are
all
over me.”

Sullivan heaved out a sigh. “Yeah, of course they are. With your Black Irish good looks and million-dollar smile? Chicks don’t stand a chance.”

Discomfort rolled through him like tumbleweed, forming into a knot at the pit of Liam’s stomach. Sullivan was such a natural flirt that it was impossible to know when he was actually flirting, and when he was just fucking around.

“Let’s head back,” Liam said awkwardly. He took off walking again, not checking to see whether his friend was following.

High up in the trees, a monkey screeched, reminding him that they weren’t alone in the jungle. Nocturnal creatures scampered along the branches over their heads, and the hum of insects echoed in the humid night air. The low buzz was almost soothing, and Liam felt the tension draining out of him as he listened to the familiar sounds.

They were halfway to their destination when he abruptly stopped by the massive trunk of a tree whose roots started aboveground and were nearly as tall as he was.

“You really think you’re nothing but a shallow playboy?” He drew his brows together pensively. For some reason, it bugged him that Sullivan viewed himself that way.

The other man wrinkled his forehead. “What? No, of course not. I was just talking stupid.”

Liam’s lips twitched. “You tend to do that a lot.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

The tension returned in full force when he realized his friend was studying his face, almost like he was trying to burrow his way into Liam’s mind. Those gray eyes narrowed, lips parting slightly as their gazes locked.

Liam’s breath caught. “C’mon, let’s go back to—”

“Don’t move,” Sullivan murmured.

He froze, unease washing over him.

Ever so slowly, Sullivan took several silent steps closer, until their bodies were nearly touching.

When he lowered his hand to his waistband, Liam’s blue eyes widened.

“Sully...” One hoarse word, laced with confusion.

“Don’t. Move.”

With lightning-fast accuracy, Sullivan whipped out his KA-BAR and stabbed the blade five inches to the left of Liam’s head.

Right between the eyes of the reddish pink pit viper that had slithered out of the thick foliage.

“Fuckin’ hell!” Liam started to laugh as Sullivan grabbed the highly poisonous snake by the tail and held it up. “Thanks, man.”

“No prob.” Sullivan tossed the dead snake on the thick vines beneath their feet. “Happy to save your bacon, Boston. C’mon, let’s go.” Then, seemingly oblivious to Liam’s current state of emotional turmoil, he sauntered off.

Christ.

Liam watched the other man’s back for a moment, then let out a breath and trailed after him, all the while trying not to think about what had just happened. Right before his teammate had reached for that knife, Liam had thought...

Nothing. He’d thought nothing.

You thought something
.

Fine. Okay. So maybe, just maybe, for one teeny moment, he’d thought his best friend was going to...

Well, kiss him.

But that was crazy. They were just
friends
, for fuck’s sake. Neither one of them was interested in...something more. It was stupid of him to think Sullivan had been making a pass at him. Or that the inexplicable gleam that for one brief second had crossed Sully’s eyes had actually been
lust
.

For
him.

Gulping, Liam banished every crazy thought from his head and followed his teammate back home.

•   •   •

Early the next morning, Morgan dunked his head under the shower spray and let the cold water soak his body. It didn’t help. He was still hot and edgy and as primed for sex as he’d been last night.

He really had to stop kissing the woman. He’d done it twice in less than a year, and both times his mouth landed on hers, his brain screamed betrayal.

He shouldn’t let her get to him, but she did.

He shouldn’t want to fuck her.

But he did.

The rush of water muffled his aggravated groan. He braced both hands on the white-tiled wall and tried to banish all thoughts of Noelle’s warm, pliant lips from his mind. Tried to ignore the raging hard-on that not even the cool water could get rid of.

Eventually he just gave up. The rock between his legs wasn’t going anywhere, not unless he gave it some relief.