Training the SECRET (Corrigan & Co #6) (2 page)

“The killer recently
died in jail. She thinks she’s free to go back home. But there are
other men—and women—who would kill her for a chance at power.
She’s still in danger.”

“She has to know
that.”

“She does.”

“Then why?”

“Because of her dad,”
Ellie answers. “She heard he was sick, and it’s been killing her
not to be with him. This was her chance, and she took it. She went
for him.”

“Her family stayed
there, and they’re still alive? How is that possible?”

“It’s just her
father, and he is one of the most well respected men in the fighting
world. No one will hurt him because they know the fallout from all
over the world would be crazy. It’s kind of like when those guys
returned the car they stole once they realized it belonged to Mr.
Rogers,” Helen tells me.

“But that doesn’t
extend to Jade?”

“No. It broke his
heart that he couldn’t protect her, but she was just relieved that
he’d be okay.”

“I’ve never heard
of a Munroe’s Gym. If it was so famous, I would’ve. Which means
there’s something else you’re not telling us.”

The WITSEC guy shakes
his head, but Helen stares him down. “It’s not a secret anymore.
Jade’s there, and Nate’s going after her. At least I think he
is.” I nod to let her know that yes, I am going after Jade.

“Fine. Jade’s real
last name isn’t Munroe, it’s Garrett.”

“Garrett? Hunter
Garrett is her father?” I ask, swallowing hard.

Shit just got a whole
lot worse for me. If I go after Jade, I’m putting myself at risk.
Hell, I’ll be signing my own death warrant. I can see that the
WITSEC guy knows it, since he’s smirking at me.

“Not so quick to run
out and save the day now, are you Anderson?”

“What’s going on?”
Ellie asks.

“My past is coming
back to haunt me, El.”

“You didn’t really
think you could outrun it forever, did you? With what you’ve done,
it was bound to come and get you one day,” the guy reminds me.

“I guess today’s
that day, because I’m going after Jade,” I say getting to my
feet.

“Nate, you don’t
have to do this. We can send someone else. I’ll go,” Matt tells
me, almost pleading with me to stay.

“I’m not going to
turn down your help when I need it, but Jade is mine to protect. Any
risk to me is secondary. Can you have a jet ready for me?”

“Yeah. And you damn
well better call
before
you need me.”

I nod at him before
practically running out the door. I hear Ellie start to argue, but
Reina tells her to let me go first. As head of the Society, she has
access to all of my secrets, but I trust her and Matt to keep what
they know to themselves.

Jade is my only
priority right now. No one’s going to touch her, and if they do
before I get there, God help them. I lost my soul a long time ago,
but I’ll take down anyone who goes after her

Jade

I wasn’t expecting a
warm welcome from anyone other than my dad, and I was right. The big
guy I met the first night, Heath, treats me with respect because of
who I am, but no one else has extended me the same courtesy. That’s
slightly hindering my plans for the gym. It’s pretty telling that
in a small suburb that is still feeling the effects of the recession,
my money isn’t good enough to hire anyone.

I was able to order in
the equipment I wanted from a place in the city, but I can’t find
the help I need to paint or reinforce the beams in the old building.
My dad told me to just ignore it all, since he knows he won’t be
able to run it much longer, but I can’t. This gym is his legacy,
and even if he’s not going to be around forever to run it, I’ll
be damned if I let it fall apart. Especially when I have more than
enough money to pay for everything that needs to be done. I just need
some workers who aren’t afraid of getting hit by a stray bullet
meant for me.

Until then, I’m doing
all the minor things myself. Which is why I’m on a ladder right
now, trying to overcome my fear of heights while painting the
building. I’ve already gone over the whole structure with rollers,
but our name requires me to use a brush. So here I am, straddling a
ladder in my t-shirt and leggings—there won’t be any short skirts
or tight dresses for me while I’m here, it’s all about hiding
what I’ve got while I fight to stay alive.

“Oh look, the little
snitch thinks she’s an artist too.”

I recognize the voice,
but I don’t acknowledge him. I had a crush on Andy when I was in
middle school and he was a teen fighter, but he never paid attention
to the tomboy I was back then. I obvious dodged a metaphorical
bullet, and I intend to keep up my good luck in that department.

“You think you’re
too good to answer me, bitch?”

“Yes, actually I do.
So do us both a favor, and go away.”

“I remember when you
used to follow me around, Jade. I’m willing to give you a pity fuck
before you get killed. You might actually look good if you cleaned up
a little. But we’ll keep the lights off, just in case.”

“Umm, let me think
about it for less than a second. No.”

“You think you can do
better than me?”

“I know I can, and I
have.”

“A fighter?”

“It’s really none
of your business.”

“So, that’s a no
then.”

I shouldn’t do it,
but my mouth is working faster than by brain. “Nate Anderson. I’ve
had him, and you couldn’t dream of ever coming close to how good he
is.”

“That’s a lie. I’ve
seen his girls. Anderson wouldn’t touch you.”

“I would definitely
touch—and taste—Jade as often as possible.”

I turn so fast that I
nearly fall off the ladder. My paint can does fall, splashing all
over the sidewalk, but I barely register that fact. There he is, in
all his sexy glory, with his arms crossed and a glare on his face.

“Nate.”

“Hi, Angel. Making
friends everywhere you go, I see.”

I shrug. “You know
me, Miss Congeniality.”

“Holy shit. You’re
Nate Anderson.”

Andy’s voice breaks
me out of the trance I was in as Nate and I locked eyes. Damn, but
he’s the sexiest man I’ve ever met. And despite what I just said,
he’s one of the only men to turn me down since I grew up—and out.
I knew someone would come for me, but I didn’t expect it to be him.
I hoped and prayed that it would be, but I didn’t let myself
believe it could really happen.

Now that I take a look
around, I see the handful of fighters, along with several scantily
clad women, who’ve surrounded my ladder. I stop myself from
shuddering as I realize how easy it would’ve been for them to knock
me down. I can’t show any weakness while I’m here.

“Yeah, it says that
on my driver’s license,” Nate tells him.

“If you’re looking
for a good time, sugar, you could do much better than her,” one of
the women says, approaching him.

“No. There’s no one
better than Jade. At least not for me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I
need to help her down so I can give her a proper hello.”

Nate pushes through the
crowd, until he reaches the ladder. He holds out his arms for me, and
I gingerly climb down until I can collapse into them. He holds me
tight and then starts kissing my neck and collarbone. His neatly
trimmed beard is marking me just like I’ve fantasized about, but he
won’t let me take his mouth when I try. It’s subtle, and he does
it in a way that no one but me notices, yet it’s still there. This
isn’t my dream; it’s just an act he’s putting on to help me
out.

Once everyone realizes
they can’t mess with me—at least not today with Nate by my
side—they start to leave. After I watch the last car leave the
parking lot, I pull back and start to turn away.

“Where are you going,
J?”

“I need to finish
painting. Thanks for…you know…pretending to be into me and all.
And coming here to check on me. You can leave with a clear
conscience, knowing I’m doing just fine.”

I grab what’s left of
the paint, and make it up two rungs of the ladder before his big arms
are on either side of me, boxing me in from behind. “You think I
was pretending? That I was faking it?”

“Well, yeah. I mean,
you didn’t want to kiss my mouth.”

“The fuck I didn’t.
I dream of your mouth—and you—every night, Jade. I have since the
first day we met. I wasn’t going to take it for the first time in
front of a bunch of idiots. When I finally kiss you, it’s going to
be just for you and me, not as part of a show.”

I turn to look him in
the eye. “You want me?”

“You know I do.”

“No,” I say shaking
my head. “I don’t know that.”

He closes his eyes and
curses. “When you left, all I could think about was that I never
told you how much you mean to me. How special and beautiful and
perfect I think you are. And that I never kissed you like I’ve
always wanted to.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. The
fact that you didn’t know that without me saying it makes me an
even bigger asshole. I thought you could tell, even when I was
denying it.”

Again, I can’t stop
my mouth from speaking before my brain catches up. “It was a little
hard to see when you were making out with other women in front of
me.”

He sighs and drops his
head. “I was trying to push you away. I didn’t really want anyone
else, and despite what it looked like, I only slept with a handful of
them.”

“Only a handful? Is
that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Yes?” he asks,
looking back up at me and biting his bottom lip.

I roll my eyes. “Well,
since I slept with my own handful, I guess I just have to deal.”

The ladder shakes a
little as his hands tighten on it and his eyes go dark. “Fuck.”

“Isn’t that what I
just said,” I say, messing with him just a little. He deserves it.

“No more, J. It’s
you and me now.
Only
you and me.”

“Is it?” I ask,
setting the paint can down and placing my hands on my hips. “Because
I didn’t hear any lofty declarations or even a request for a date.”

“You want romance,
Angel?”

“Stop calling me
that. We both know I’m no angel.”

“Compared to me you
are. Besides, despite what you’re currently wearing, we both know
you’ve got a body that any Victoria’s Secret model would kill
for.” He looks at me with his eyes blazing, and I feel myself
blush. He’s the only one who can make me turn red, and he knows it.
“Now, please answer my question.”

“I wouldn’t turn
down the chance at being romanced by you. Do you even know how to be
romantic?”

“Honestly, no,” he
tells me with a chuckle. “But I’ll figure it out. Anything else
we need to clear up?”

“You’re going to
fuck me hard after the romance, right?”

“You want sweet
romance and rough sex?”

“Uh-huh,” I say,
nodding. That’s what I should be embarrassed about, but I’m not.
I need him to know that I want it all from him.

“I can definitely
handle that.”

I know he can, and
that’s the problem. No matter what he says, and why he came here,
no one holds onto Nate Anderson for long. Even if he wants to be
held. Good thing I grew up in a boxing gym, because now that I have
him, I’m not giving him up without a fight. And I won’t fight
fair.

* * *

Nate

This romance shit may
kill me, but if that’s what it takes to show Jade that I’m
serious about her, I’ll do it. Maybe if I look at it like a
military mission, it’ll be easier. Yeah, like reconnaissance and
crap. Well, not crap. Whatever I do has to knock her socks—and
panties—off. I better just call the woman who’s like my little
sister, and ask for her help while we’re still on good terms.

Those are thoughts for
later, though. Right now I need to focus on holding this damn ladder
that gets to have Jade wrapped around it. I know she hates heights.
When I pulled up and saw that group surrounding her, I nearly lost my
mind. I almost wish that idiot who was insulting her when I walked up
would’ve tried something. It’s thoughts like those that bring me
back to my teen years, and all the reasons I should be staying away
from Jade.

I can’t do that
anymore. Not even now that I know who she really is. Once she knows
who I am, and what I’ve done, she’ll walk away. Until then, I’m
giving her the romance she wants. And the fucking—I’m only human,
after all.

“You’re quiet down
there,” she says, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Just enjoying the
view.”

“Of me in a baggy
shirt, no makeup, and Chucks?”

“Yep. Looking good,
J. Real good.”

She rolls her eyes at
me again. “Just help me down, please.”

Instead of giving her a
hand, I climb two steps and pull her into my arms, before jumping
back down. She has a death grip on me, and her face is buried in my
chest. “Don’t worry. I’d never drop you.”

“I hate you.”

“We both know that’s
not true,” I tell her as I kiss the top of her head.

“If you’re not
going to kiss me right now, then put me down.”

I set her down and
smack her ass. “When the time comes, I’m going to kiss you so
right
that your
panties are going to fall right off you.”

“And your cock’s
going to try and bust out of your pants wishing my lips were on it.”

“Well, yeah. That’s
already pretty much an everyday occurrence.”

“We’re really doing
this then? For how long?”

“Yes, and for as long
as you’ll have me.”

Which I know won’t be
very long once she finds out what I did. Her eyes are sparkling right
now, but it won’t last. Time isn’t on my side, but that’s just
karma coming back to bite me in the ass. Just like I deserve.

“Why now, Nate? Is it
because you know I might die soon?”