Nauti Intentions (38 page)

“This is insane.†Her voice was thick, worried. “I used to get like this, before moving here. I always knew when Dayle was going to show up,

when he was going to try to pressure me into marrying one of his buddies.†She sneered the last word. “I always knew when he was going to find a

way to hurt me or Natches.â€

“Dayle is dead, Janey. I saw the body when Natches was there. He’s gone.â€

She swal owed tightly. “But he left something,†she whispered. “Someone who hated him enough that they think punishing me wil get back at

him.â€

He breathed out roughly, checked the mirrors, watched the street careful y as they neared the house.

“Someone crazy,†he told her. “And no one is going to hurt you.â€

He turned onto another side road. It didn’t make sense. No one was fol owing them, but he could feel the sights on the truck, feel the danger rol ing

around them like a dark, oily wave.

He looked out the windshield. There was no place a shot could reasonably come from, not with the shelter of the buildings and the trees.

He turned down another street, coming from another angle into the street his house sat on. The closer they got, the thicker was the feeling of danger.

He pul ed off into an al ey, stopped the truck, and shut off the lights. Mark and Tyrel moved in behind him.

“Stay here.†He opened the glove box and pul ed free his backup weapon. Checking the clip and flipping on the safety, he handed it to her.

“You know what to do?â€

She nodded, staring back at him with wide, fear-fil ed eyes.

“Good girl. I’m just going to talk to Mark and Tyrel . I’l be right back.â€

She licked her lips nervously but nodded.

“Stay safe for me, baby.†He cupped her cheek, bent his head, and kissed her quickly before stepping from the truck. The dome lights were

disconnected; there wasn’t even a glimmer of light as he stepped from the truck.

“I wondered if you felt it.†Mark was armed. He carried his automatic rifle close to his leg, between his body and the truck. “Closer we get, the

thicker it is.â€

“Question is, how many are we dealing with?†Alex murmured.

“Can’t be more than one.†Tyrel rubbed at his jaw. “Every indication we have is a single stalker. Whoever it is has some serious shit

going on, though. I’ve been feeling this since we left the restaurant. We were fol owed, somehow. When you started cutting through town and taking

other routes, it eased. But the closer we get to the house, the more nervous I’m getting.â€

Alex nodded and glanced around the al ey. Instinct, they cal ed it. A sixth sense for danger that made no sense to anyone except those who had

managed to survive because of it.

They were sheltered by the garage at one side and a stand of pines that bordered a yard across the al ey. It was a short, narrow little road protected

from al sides. Alex’s house was on the next street over. There wasn’t a lot of cover going in, but there weren’t a lot of places to hide, unless

someone was stalking from the neighboring trees and yard.

“We could cal the Mackays in,†Tyrel suggested. “Have them come in quiet.â€

Alex shook his head. “If we don’t show up soon, the stalker could get spooked and run.â€

He was torn. Catching the stalker while they had the chance was imperative. He was waiting on them at the house. Slipping up on him would be easy,

Alex thought. Alex knew this place like the back of his hand. It was home territory; he knew the shadows and how to move within them.

“Other options?†Mark questioned him.

“Send Janey to the marina and we go in on foot,†Alex murmured.

“Think she’l go?†Mark asked.

Alex sighed. “No.†He looked back in the truck and met her worried, concerned gaze. She didn’t like being out of this conversation.

“Stay with her and we’l check it out,†Mark suggested.

Alex shook his head and stared around the al ey again. He was the best tracker there, and that left only a few options. They had a chance to catch the

stalker here and now, or they could wait and let the bastard surprise them another day. But he had Janey with him.

“Mark, do you stil have the extra communication sets you stole from headquarters?â€

Mark stared at him blankly, then grimaced. “Fuck, how did you know I had those?â€

“Are they in the truck?â€

“In my travel bag.†He sighed. “Backseat of the truck.â€

“Get them.â€

Mark loped back to the truck and eased the back door of the dual cab open as Alex turned to Tyrel . “You and I are going to scout around a bit.

We’l leave Mark here with Janey. He’s good at feeling trouble. If the stalker doubles back, he can get her out.â€

Tyrel nodded. “We need to get her to our truck, though. You’re blocked here.â€

Alex opened the door quietly and motioned Janey out. As she eased across the seat, he picked her up and carried her to the other truck.

“Don’t leave me here without you, Alex. Please,†she whispered as Mark jerked the front door open and he slid her inside.

He and Tyrel took two of the communication sets and slid them into place on their ears and at the sides of their necks. Testing reception between the

three of them, they nodded quickly.

“Alex, please,†she whispered again.

He turned to her, touched her cheek, and stared into her worried eyes. “It stops here, Janey. You’l be safe with Mark. I promise.â€

Her eyes closed as a pain-fil ed grimace contorted her face.

“I love you,†she whispered when her eyes opened, the soft, fierce words striking into his soul. “Do you hear me, Alex Jansen? I love you.

Don’t you let yourself get hurt again.â€

God, she fil ed his soul. How the hel was he supposed to handle this kind of emotion?

“I’m yours,†he whispered. “I’l always come back to you, Janey.â€

Then he turned away from her. He had to, or he’d never be able to leave her there.

“Keep her safe, and cal the Mackays. We’l be back within twenty,†he told Mark. “I want this bastard tonight.â€

He had the most experience. As Mark had stated before, he and Tyrel had been out of the game for a while. They didn’t have the reflexes or the

sense of predatory awareness Alex stil possessed.

Mark would protect her with his life, Alex had no doubt of that. But Tyrel had always been a natural at the hunt, while Mark’s instincts had been more

refined. He could sense it coming, but he wasn’t as good at pinpointing the direction it was coming from.

Alex would have been a hel of a lot more confident with a Mackay here. Natches would have been nice. He didn’t like trusting her to anyone else.

But the stalker couldn’t know where they were. Whoever it was was watching his house, not the trucks.

The dome lights to the trucks had been disengaged weeks before, so no one could have detected their presence. She would be safe here.

“You be careful.†Mark nodded to Alex before turning to his lover.

His lips kicked up in a knowing grin as Tyrel , just as broad, as tal , and as strong as the other man, lifted his fist. Mark and Tyrel touched fists, but the

gesture was strangely intimate despite the fact that it was the same action often used between soldiers in the field.

This had a gentler quality to it. Male to male, lover to lover, their smiles a bond that went deeper than some male/female kisses Alex had seen.

It blew his mind every time he saw it. Until Mark and Tyrel had come to him years before and revealed that they were lovers, he had never guessed.

“Weapons.†Mark turned from Tyrel and reached into the backseat. He returned with knives, handguns, ammo clips, and backup ankle weapons.

Alex and Tyrel weaponed up before Alex dipped into the front door, jerked Janey to him, and took his kiss. A deep, tongue-thrusting kiss despite her

whimper, her attempts to hold on to him. Pul ing back from her, he pressed his fingers to her lips. “Twenty minutes,†he whispered. “Do as Mark

says, Janey. Stay safe for me.â€

She nodded jerkily.

Janey could feel the fear shaking her apart from the inside out. She moved across the console to the passenger seat as Mark eased into the vehicle

and closed the door softly behind him.

Darkness surrounded them. Janey had lost sight of Alex within seconds of him moving away from the truck.

Mark flipped his cel phone open and hit speed dial. “Natches. Back street across from Alex’s house. Come in quiet, lights off. We have the

stalker on-site and Alex and Tyrel are moving in.†He was silent for a second. “Confirmed. I have her with me and we need backup.†He flipped the

phone closed and turned to grin at her. “Cavalry is coming.â€

“Alex should have waited,†she said worriedly, fighting the fear and the tears that would have escaped.

“He and Tyrel are the best at this that there is,†Mark promised her, flashing her a smile. “They’l be back in twenty, your stalker bleeding

and moaning in pain, and everything wil slide back to normal for al of us.â€

She gripped the gun Alex had given her, staring around in fear. It was too dark. There were too many shadows. And Alex wasn’t with her. He was

out there, in danger.

Mark tried to reassure her again. “The major has always known what he was doing. Trust him.â€

“I trust him.†She trusted him with her life, but he wasn’t here and she couldn’t see him. She had turned and was staring through the

passenger window, her gaze delving into the darkness, when she heard the windshield shatter.

TWENTY-THREE

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Janey felt the pinch of something in her shoulder as she turned to Mark. His head had slammed back, his eyes widening in shock, a dart buried in his

neck.

Janey reached, scrambling to the side of her seat to jerk it out.

“Mark. Oh God. Mark.â€

He was struggling to start the pickup, the motor cranking as Janey felt dizziness sweep over her. The gun fel from her hand and terror swept over her as

she heard the locks to the truck disengage. She felt around her shoulder and pul ed out a dart embedded there.

“Comm.†Mark’s voice was raspy as he struggled to pul the smal , black communications device from his neck. He shoved it at her.

“Alex. Move. Move.â€

Janey struggled against the darkness trying to sweep over her. Reaching over Mark’s now-stil figure, she fought to reengage the locks, to secure

the truck. Her shoulder throbbed. She felt as though she were moving through water, weighed down, her vision and her tongue thick as cold air swirled

into the vehicle.

“Move, bitch!†Hard hands gripped her hair, jerking her back, pul ing her along the seat and through the door until she col apsed to the ground.

Alex would be coming. She knew he was. He would be running. She just had to delay.

“Get up or I kil that little fairy in the truck. Fucking queer. He doesn’t deserve to live.â€

The pressure against her scalp was agonizing. Janey cried out with the pain, struggling to her feet and fighting to hang on to the slender

communications device Mark had pushed at her.

Her hands were shaking, a sense of vertigo slamming through her as she lowered her head to hide her efforts to tuck the device into the band of her

jeans, beneath her shirt.

“God, this was almost too easy.†The voice, disguised somehow, was gloating. “I knew where they’d come in at. I knew where they would

park. I was smarter. I was better.â€

Janey struggled against the hold as she was dragged through a yard. It was dark, late, for some dumb reason no one on this street had a dog in their

backyard; now, how stupid was that?

She could feel the edge of hysterical laughter bubbling in her throat.

“Don’t worry, bitch. He walked right into my hands.†The voice was familiar but she couldn’t place it. She shook her head, praying she

had activated the right button on Mark’s communications device and that Alex was able to track her.

If he didn’t track her, she was dead. Hel , she was probably dead anyway.

“If you don’t step it up, I’m going to just shoot you and get it over with,†the voice snapped. “And I would, except that spineless little

brat of mine needs to understand success. Stupid little bastard. He’s so fucking weak. Always arguing over what I want to do.â€

Augusta Napier, Hoyt’s mother.

Janey could feel her body trying to shut down, her mind fighting to escape the reality of the knowledge. Augusta was a friend of the Mackays. She knew

the other woman was il . Hoyt had said she was sick; everyone knew she had been battling cancer. How had she found the strength to do this?

“Almost there, you little tramp.†Augusta pushed her through a dark, tree-sheltered yard. “Your lover had no idea how close I was, did he? And

I outsmarted him. Sometimes it’s just too easy to outsmart a man.â€

Janey couldn’t quite make her senses work. She stumbled at the sound of a heavy door lifting, then she was tumbling, fal ing. She hit the stairs and

rol ed down them, feeling the painful bite of each strike of wood against her body.

The door was closing then. A cel ar door. Many of the houses on this side of town were older, the cel ar doors built on an angle outside the house and

leading to the basement or storm shelters.

Beneath her cheek was cool cement. The dank, musty smel of the air clogged her nostrils and had her choking, fighting to breathe.

“Come on.†She was picked up and tossed onto a couch. “You need to put some weight on, girl. You’re too skinny.†Then she cackled.

“Oh wel , too late to put some weight on. Tonight is the last night of the rest of your life.â€