Undercover Texas (10 page)

Erin bit her lip. “And you’re staying?”

“Oh, yeah. You have at least three groups of people looking for you. Until Hunter regains consciousness, Dr. Jamison, I’m your bodyguard.”

Chapter Six

The pulsing surf of Santorini sounded in Hunter’s ear. The black beaches of the volcanic island gleamed against the turquoise sea. The woman across from him smiled, her eyes guileless, her expression open and honest.

Everything he wasn’t.

The backdrop of the ocean framed her blond hair. Several strands had escaped the sophisticated knot. He missed the flowing blond locks he’d seen when they’d first met. Now his fingers itched to release the captured tresses so they’d once again bathe her shoulders.

He prayed his gaze didn’t telegraph half of what he wanted from Erin. Every instinct within him shouted that her innocence was real, evoking a protective feeling that he hadn’t felt since his mom had gotten so sick.

He couldn’t stop staring at her. From the amazingly long lashes surrounding her emerald eyes, to the blush staining her cheeks, to the fullness of her lips. He wanted to hold Erin in his arms and fold her close. He wanted to touch her in ways no man had. He wanted her to cry out his name.

Erin took a shuddering breath and lowered her gaze. She must have recognized his want. God, she was beautiful with this naive, hopeful air he’d never experienced.

If only he could wash away the stains of everything he had done.

She cleared her throat. “Why did you choose Santorini, Clay?”

Right. Clay. Not Hunter. Not in this place.

Her gaze begged him to take their conversation somewhere safe. He reined in his desire as best he could. He didn’t want to scare her, but this primal force inside drew him. He scooted his chair a bit closer.

“I needed a vacation. My last job was...brutal.”

More than she would ever know. Blood, bullets, betrayal. Not from his team. Never from them. From the moment General Miller had tapped him directly out of his Special Ops training, the team had become his family. He would sacrifice everything for each of them, and he had no doubt they would do the same, but year after year the enemy became less clear. Informants turned on them; insiders changed loyalty more often than he changed socks. Hunter was so tired of the game. He still believed his organization’s work to be critically important, but fatigue gnawed at him from the inside. Bone-jarring, soul-wasting exhaustion.

“I guess the economy has made the consulting business tough,” she said, sympathy clouding her expression.

He shifted in his chair, the discomfort unwelcome—and disconcerting. Normally, he wouldn’t feel even a twinge of guilt in that minor of a lie, but with Erin his standard operating procedures felt wrong. He crumbled the napkin in his lap. The woman across from him was perfection. Better than he deserved. She took a sip of white wine, but instead of getting up and leaving, he reached for her hand.

She studied his fingers enveloping hers, but she didn’t pull away. Something inside Hunter swelled. She wanted him, too. He could feel it.

“Tell me more about your research,” he prompted, desperate to shift his focus from her extremely kissable lips.

Her eyes lit up with excitement. He didn’t understand half of the technical terms she used, but as each minute passed his belly twisted. When she mentioned radioactive isotopes and targeted exposures, his neck tightened. He could see the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security salivating at the potential weaponization for her nanosized robot. And the terrorists—they’d pay a fortune.

Did she understand the implications of her research? He wanted to tell her to stop, to use her talents somewhere else, but he didn’t want to dim the energy pulsing from her entire body. She saw the cure for cancer, treatment for epilepsy, healing of severed nerves.

Erin saw the good.

Hunter saw only the destruction.

Two opposites. She was brilliant, innovative, a prodigy. He was a homeless high school dropout with a knack for languages and a talent for surveillance and killing the enemy.

Did he need any other reason why they wouldn’t work?

“I’ve never met anyone as brilliant as you are,” he said, lacing his fingers through hers, unable to stop himself from touching her.

“Please don’t say that,” she said, trying to pull her hands away.

He gripped tighter. “Why not?”

She gulped down the rest of her wine. “I don’t want to be different. I’m sick of it. I don’t want to be the sixteen-year-old college freshman who no one wanted to talk to, or the doctoral student who couldn’t go to a bar with her colleagues because she was too young. Or the girl who got passed over for every dance and every party throughout her college career.”

With every word, Hunter understood more and more. He tilted her chin up. “Have you ever been on a date before?”

She flushed, her embarrassment obvious. She lifted her chin in defiance. “Of course.”

“With someone you wanted?”

“Not really.” She sighed. She pushed back from the table and rose, uncertain. “I can’t believe I just told you that. I should go.”

Hunter stood and blocked her path, toe-to-toe with Erin. Her trembling frame hovered like a hummingbird preparing to flit away.

“Have you ever been kissed?” he asked, his voice a bare whisper over the surf.

She licked her lips and nodded.

“By someone you wanted?” He stroked her cheek.

She shook her head and leaned into his touch. The tension between them had grown thick and real enough to touch.

Hunter intertwined his fingers with hers. She looked up at him with such a trusting gaze she hurt his heart. Erin Jamison couldn’t be real.

“I want to kiss you,” he said, his words so full of want he barely recognized himself.

Her eyes widened.

“Do you want me?”

She leaned into him. Her lips parted in silent invitation. The patrons in the restaurant faded away.

He closed his eyes and brushed his mouth against hers, gentle and more beautiful, more tender than anything he’d known. He couldn’t tell which of them shivered. Perhaps they both did. Her softness parted and he tasted the sweetness, the invitation in each caress.

Something strong and tight clamped around his heart. Stunned, he lifted his head. Her green eyes had turned foggy.

She didn’t speak. She just stared into his eyes.

He couldn’t rip himself from the spell she cast onto him.

“Come with me,” he said, his voice shaking with longing. He dropped a wad of cash on the table and held out his hand, praying she would agree, hoping she wouldn’t run the other way.

She squeezed his hand, not letting him go.

He shoved aside his better judgment. He couldn’t resist her, even though he knew he should. Erin’s light would bathe him in warmth. He could feel it. For one night, he would experience what he’d never thought he could find.

She plastered her body against him, gripping his arm tight. “This is crazy,” she whispered. “I don’t do things like this, Clay.”

“Neither do I,” he whispered. And for once his words weren’t a lie.

Hunter led her onto the beach toward the bungalow he’d rented for the week. The waves rolled in close to them. He turned her into his arms. “Last chance, Erin. I can take you back to your room, but if we go inside, I won’t be able to resist touching you. Are you ready for that?”

She smiled and lifted her hands to his chest. “I came here to experience life for the first time. I want you to be my teacher.”

She pressed her mouth to his. He didn’t hesitate. He scooped her into his arms.

He might regret ignoring his conscience, but for tonight he would hold heaven in his arms.

* * *

H
UNTER
DIDN
’
T
KNOW
WHAT
FELT
worse, the fog in his brain or the daylight streaming in and assaulting his vision. He squeezed his eyelids shut and let out a groan.

A gentle hand pressed against his forehead.

“Erin—” he whispered.

“Just don’t try to kiss me, bud.”

Hunter’s eyelids flew open and took in Doc’s unshaven features. The man had saved his life more than once. He’d have to start a tab, and when Hunter finally paid Doc, the price would be steep.

His gaze scanned the room. Empty. His shoulders tensed and his pulse raced. “Where’s Erin?”

“In the bathroom bathing the kid.” Doc propped one combat boot on his leg. “The baby’s yours?”

“Couldn’t you tell?”

“He’s cuter than you, but I would have recognized that crazy hairstyle anywhere. I always thought you used gel to get that interesting rooster effect.”

The lips of Hunter’s mouth tilted up and he rubbed his face. “He’s my son, Doc. What the hell am I supposed to do about that?”

“I’m sorry,” Doc said quietly. “Do you have a plan?”

“Keep them safe,” Hunter said, meeting his friend’s gaze. “Even if Erin wasn’t a target, you know I can’t be part of his life.”

“Sucks.” Doc nodded slightly. “Does Miller know?”

“No one knows. Except for the lawyer I hired to set up a trust for Brandon. Just in case.” Hunter sighed. “And Leona.”

Doc rubbed in chin. “You know she and Miller came up together, right?”

“Don’t go there, Doc. She’d never let me down. Besides, once I leave this shack, she doesn’t know anything about the rest of my plan.” Hunter sat up and took inventory of his body. He moved his shoulder. Sore, but bearable. “How long was I out?”

“Twenty-four hours.”

“Too long in one place. We need to get out of here. Thanks, Doc. I feel human again.”

“Good. You’re going to need all your strength. I heard from Daniel.”

“How is he?” Hunter asked, his voice low. The operative had been kidnapped and tortured for weeks around Christmas. He’d barely survived.

“It took a good six months, but physically he’s mostly healed. Emotionally...I’m not convinced,” Doc said. “He asked about you.”

“Why? I haven’t seen him since we broke him out of that dungeon in Bellevaux.”

“He’s trying to get reinstated for active duty. He heard your name mentioned in the facility where he goes for his postcaptivity shrink visits.”

Hunter shuddered. “I bet he hates those.”

“Oh, yeah. But he said someone dropped a hint that you might be suffering some sort of breakdown.”

Hunter shoved back the bedding and placed his feet on the floor, testing his balance. He weighed this new information in his mind. “That doesn’t make any sense. I’m supposed to be on vacation.”

“Look, Hunter, I would argue this is just a snafu except for one thing. Your name has made it on a search list. Someone is looking for you. I had to do some fast talking—and grand theft—to get here. There are suits combing the area for you. Air, bus, train—they’re all being watched.”

Hunter rose and paced across the floor, a flurry of curses escaping him. “That screws up the next phase of my plan. I wanted to take a small plane to Texas. Logan set me up with the lawyer. He lives in Carder.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I’ve got to get rid of Erin and Brandon.”

“Are you planning to feed us to the alligator?” Erin asked, standing in the doorway with a washed and polished Brandon on her hip, her expression frozen and unreadable.

“That’s not what I—”

“Da—” His son reached out his arms.

Hunter’s knees shook and he stared at the grinning baby.

Doc cleared his throat. “I’m heading outside for a few.” He left the room and softly closed them inside.

Brandon squirmed in Erin’s arms. “Da...Da...Da,” he chortled, stretching out to Hunter.

Reluctantly, she passed the squiggly baby over. Hunter took him and settled his son in the crook of his arm.

“Da!” Brandon grinned.

Hunter worked his throat around the knot that had risen in it. “When—”

She shrugged. “It’s an easy word to say.” She twisted her fingers in her lap. “What did you mean you have to get rid of me?”

He shoved his hand through his hair. “Look, it’s all part of helping you disappear. Erin and Brandon Jamison died in that fire. You no longer exist.”

“I’ve thought about this, Hunter, but I can’t believe someone can’t help us. The FBI, somebody. I know you’re just trying to protect us, but it’s not your job. It’s mine. I’m glad you’re better,” she said, “but this is too much. We need to go back to our life.”

He could feel the frustration rising within her, but that was nothing compared to his own. How stubborn could one woman be? How could he make her believe him? “Erin, your work makes you valuable,” he said, his voice rising. “These men are ruthless. I’ve known more than one person to just disappear. I refuse to pick up the paper someday and have you and our son another statistic.”

“Isn’t that what we are already?” Erin challenged.

“But you’re safe.”

Brandon leaned back and stuck his thumb in his mouth. He lay cradled against Hunter’s chest, content and happy. The slight weight stung Hunter’s eyes.

This wasn’t what he wanted, but it was what had to be.

Hunter put his hand on his son’s head. “If I can find you a new life, a new identity, then you have a chance to start over. You can be safe, and no one will ever know. It’s the only way.”

“But my work, how could I continue it? Long distance?”

“You wouldn’t. You are too innovative, too special. They would know. Your new life will have to be completely unrelated. If anyone were to suspect—”

“No more research,” Erin said quietly.

“Not as a scientist.”

Erin hugged her arms around her body. “I’ve worked my entire life to succeed at a profession I was born to work, and you’re telling me that my career, my dreams are simply gone?”

He leaned forward. “Is your job worth your life? Or our son’s?”

* * *

T
HE
OPPRESSIVE
HUMIDITY
CLUNG
to every inch of Erin’s skin. She tugged the clingy T-shirt she’d bought. She wanted nothing more than an air-conditioned house, her laptop and Brandon. Without Hunter.

“There has to be another way.”

Brandon wriggled in Hunter’s arms and tugged at his father’s nose. He was fascinated by his daddy, just as Erin had been.

For a week she’d believed Clay was absolutely perfect.