Wicked Intentions (Steele Secrurity Book 4) (11 page)

“I knew I was being watched. All the hairs on the back of my neck were standing at attention in the parking garage. I never saw him, but I knew someone was there, so I watched my rearview mirror for a tail on my way home. Spotted him immediately. He’s not very good at being covert.”

“He most likely underestimated your cool ninja skills, babe.”

“Yeah, he did. Then he spent a long time driving around the subdivision looking for my car. So I’ve been driving the Land Rover and parking in different places around the hospital when I go to work. Using different doors to enter and exit. I’m off for the next week, though. Makes it easier for you to guard my body every day.”

“I will absolutely guard your body, several times a day.” His heated stare expressed the true meaning behind his words. “Can you take off more time, just in case?”

“I’d have to contact Becca immediately so she can get my shifts covered,” she replied, her mind drifting to her patients and how much longer she’d be away from them. “Do you have a picture of this guy I can give to security in case he shows up there?”

“Reaper has it in the file. We’ll make sure it gets to them as soon as possible. But for now, it’s time for you to take my shirt off. We have to take our shower so I can guard your body for the first time today. It’ll take at least the next hour and all the hot water.”

She slowly rose from her seat, drew his shirt over her head, and dropped it at her feet. As she stood completely naked before him, she flashed him a challenging grin. “This body? Is this the one you want to guard?”

Rebel sat back in his chair and pushed it back from the table. Arching his eyebrow in a responding challenge, he nodded slowly while his eyes raked up and down her body.

“You’ll have to catch me first.” She shrugged nonchalantly before taking off running at full speed toward the hall. Before she reached it, she squealed with playful laughter as she flew through the air and landed on his shoulder.

“Challenge accepted, little lady. But don’t act like I didn’t catch you many years ago,” he chuckled as he carried her to the master bath. “You’ve always been mine, and I’m about to remind you why.”

“
W
here did you park
?” Heather asked as she and Rebel climbed into her Land Rover. “There wasn’t a strange car in any of the driveways on my street.”

“It’s good to know I can still be invisible when I need to be.” Rebel winked. “I scouted the entire neighborhood yesterday while you were out running around—at your workout, getting your hair done, buying groceries. There’s a vacant house on the next street over, so I made a few calls, and it’s now our command center. My rental car is parked in the garage over there.”

“Were you following me yesterday?” She turned in her seat and faced him, cocking her head to the side and purposely letting her mouth fall open. Her narrowed eyes were the dead giveaway she was not pleased with the answer she already knew.

Rebel shifted uncomfortably in the driver’s seat. “Babe, you know I had to follow you. I wasn’t checking up on what you were doing, though. It was only to find out if anyone was tailing you.”

“And?”

“No one besides me tailed you yesterday,” he confirmed. “You didn’t see me, though. Did you?”

She turned to sit straight forward in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “No,” she finally admitted.

Rebel laughed, knowing that it killed her, with her fierce competitive streak, to admit that to him. “Don’t be mad. I’m trained to be invisible, and I’ve been perfecting my technique for years and years.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” she huffed. “Maybe I should have a long talk with Liz, after all. Seems there are a few things she and I both need to learn to do.”

“Don’t unleash Liz on me. She’s already threatened to kick my ass and accused me of leading her on.”

Heather burst out laughing at the visual. “I hate that I missed seeing that in person. Liz sounds like my kind of people.”

Though she’d never met Liz, Rebel had described her to a T during their nightly conversations. Since Rebel had returned from active duty, they hadn’t skipped sharing the events of their day, regardless of how mundane, for even one single night. The people in Rebel’s life were as important to Heather as they were to Rebel because they kept him company, they kept him sane. They kept him alive. They were like family to her, even if not all of them knew she even existed.

“They broke the mold when they made Liz. And we’re all very thankful for that,” he chuckled. “She’s really a great woman. Regardless of how eccentric she acts sometimes, she’s as good as gold. We all know she’d do anything for us, without hesitation. The way she’s taken care of Brianna, Reaper, Amelia, and Reaper’s parents…we couldn’t ask for more.”

Heather’s responding silence concerned Rebel and prompted him to cut his gaze toward her. The profound sadness he saw on her face struck a chord deep inside him. He took her hand and gently squeezed it. “What’s wrong, babe?”

“You’ll think I’m crazy.”

“I already do, so there’s really no danger in telling me what’s on your mind.”

She smiled because she knew all he wanted was to cheer her up. “Fair enough. It’s irrational, but I’m jealous of the time they get to spend with you. I’m jealous of what you experience with them, and I’m kicking myself because those memories aren’t with me.”

“Heather, whether you’re physically with me or not, you are in every memory I have. Everywhere I go, everything I see, every emotion I feel, you are at the center of it. I understand exactly what you mean because I feel the same way when you tell me about things you do with Becca and your other friends. One reason why I share everything with you is so you’ll feel like you’re a part of it, too.”

“I know, and I do the same with you. I told you it was irrational. It’s mostly because I miss you so much. And because hindsight is twenty-twenty. There are so many things I’d do differently if we could just go back and start all over again.”

“All we can do is make it the best it can be from now on.”

“You’re right. And we will.”

He pulled into the valet parking area of the Sterling Luxury Resort and handed the keys to the attendant as he got out. When he stated the room number, Heather’s head jerked in his direction and her brows furrowed, but she remained silent. Rebel led her inside, his hand possessively on her lower back, and into the elevator. He retrieved the keycard from his pocket and slid it into the reader before pressing the floor number.

When the doors closed, Heather turned to him. “You have a room here?”

“We have a room here, if we need it. It’s on a secure floor that only we can access. If I need to pull you out of harm’s way, you can stay here with Brianna, Chaise, and Liz. Sara will be in and out since Steve is still in the hospital.”

“I didn’t put two and two together when I first met Steve. He’s my patient, but it was just recently that I learned he’s Noah’s father. I probably sounded like a lunatic when I realized it,” she laughed. “This is a very elegant hotel. So, Brianna’s family owns it?”

“Yes, her father built a luxury hotel empire from the ground up. He reserved this entire floor for us. There are several three-bedroom suites at our disposal.”

“And the house in my neighborhood?”

“We’ll use it to coordinate our activities and keep the focus away from this hotel. The more we come and go from here, the more dangerous it makes it for everyone staying here. It’s too likely that someone from Rashad’s cell will see us and use the hotel customers to get their point across.”

The elevator doors slid open, and Rebel took Heather’s hand in his as they strode to the door of one of the suites. They could hear the voices coming from inside—the laughter, the teasing, the sounds of friends and family enjoying the company they were in. Their eyes met, and they each knew what was in the other’s thoughts.

“You’re a member of this family, Heather.” Rebel inclined his head toward the door. “When you meet Brianna, Chaise, and Liz, you’ll see it doesn’t matter that you didn’t know them before now.”

“Okay. I’m ready.”

He opened the door and walked through with Heather in tow directly behind him. “Here she is, everyone. Say hello to my wife, Heather.”

Before the door closed behind them, Brianna, Chaise, Liz, and Sara had surrounded Heather in a flurry of excitement. The ladies made their introductions while Rebel joined the guys at the table, reviewing the assignments and the information they’d been provided from their contact. The only one who was still missing was Shadow.

“I’m so glad you’re here with him, Heather,” Bull called out across the room. “You have no idea how pissy he gets when you’re not around.”

“I can’t believe you’ve all kept her a secret from us all this time. What the hell is that all about?” Brianna retorted. “Every one of you knew about her and never said a word.”

“I’m afraid that’s partly my fault,” Heather admitted.

“It’s mostly mine, though,” Rebel corrected as he moved back to her side. “We were already married before I joined the service. One training led to another, one mission led to the next, more dangerous mission. When I graduated college and became a Green Beret, there was just too great of a chance she’d become a target while I was out on assignment somewhere. Keeping her off the record was the best solution at the time.”

“And when you left the service?” Brianna put her hand on her hip and raised her eyebrows at him.

“By then, we were already set in our routines, and we were both protective of our relationship.” Rebel shrugged. “And I knew you’d give me a hard time and tell me what an idiot I’ve been.”

“You’re damn right, I would have.”

The room erupted in laughter, including Brianna, and Noah wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Cut them some slack, babe.”

“Braxton is covering for me,” Heather replied with a sideways smirk at Rebel. “I’m a little headstrong at times, and I insisted on keeping my independence. My family and friends have always been here in Houston. He was gone on assignments a lot, especially in the early years when he was a Ranger and then a Green Beret. His deployments were shorter but more frequent, and I was in nursing school, so it’s not like I could just up and move anywhere. By the time his missions slowed down enough, we were both used to it. It’s just the way it has always been.”

“Maybe we should’ve nicknamed her ‘Rebel’ instead of you,” Bull teased.

“Rebel One and Rebel Two,” Noah joked. “Heather, you haven’t met my brother before now. This is Silas Steele.”

“Now that we’ve met you, don’t expect us to just let you go,” Chaise asserted. “I’ve never believed a long-distance relationship could work, but you two have made a believer out of me.”

“Don’t go getting any ideas,” Bull warned. “I’m not sleeping without you every night.”

“So you’re the one, huh?” Liz spoke up at last. “You should probably come around more, my girl. I’ve had to call this one down a time or two for flirting with me.”

“He has told me all about you, Liz.” Heather smiled broadly. “And believe me, I’ve already given him a piece of my mind for his antics with you.”

The mischievous gleam in Liz’s eyes was unmistakable. “You and I are going to get along just fine.”

“As much as I’d love to continue this conversation, we need to get to work and catch this asshole as soon as possible.” Rebel stopped the conversation before it got out of control.

Rebel turned and walked to the table without checking to see if the others had followed. He began reviewing the original case file and the latest intelligence Silas got from his contacts on Rashad and Turan. “Heather, come here for a minute.”

When Heather reached him, he handed her a picture of Rashad. “Have you ever seen this man before?”

“Yes. At the hospital. He’s been on my floor a couple of times in the past week. Is this the one who’s following me?”

“That’s him. His name is Rashad Samir. His brother wanted to kill me because I’m the one who killed his father in a raid on his compound ten years ago. They were just kids then. Rashad will try to take the opportunity to exact revenge on behalf of his brother.”

“But based on our latest intel on Rashad, he and Turan were complete opposites in the way they work, like day and night opposites. Turan was a socially inept techie who could make a computer dance on a stripper’s pole. He was dangerous as far as the havoc he could create through the internet, but he didn’t offer much in the man-on-man category.

“Rashad is the polar opposite of his dead brother. He’s not a tech expert in any sense of the word, but what he lacks in computer skills, he makes up for in explosives. This guy could teach one of our explosives experts a thing or two. He considers it a form of art and prides himself on finding new and exciting ways to blow shit up,” Silas explained.

“Great news,” Rebel deadpanned. “So we’ll get to see a fireworks show up close and personal.”

“It’s far too likely to happen with his training and background,” Silas confirmed. “We can’t take any chances.”

“Heather, you’ll have to stay away from the hospital until this is over. With his profile, he wouldn’t hesitate to take out as many patients as he can in his quest to hit us. We’ll have to plan this just right. We have to let him know you’re taking time off without him realizing we’re feeding him the information. You’ve already been avoiding him, so it would raise too many red flags if you just suddenly went back to your regular routine,” Rebel explained.

“So, I need to go back to work one day, let him see me accidentally on purpose so he can hear me while I tell Becca I need to take time off. Is that about it?”

Noah smiled knowingly, immediately picking up on her no-nonsense wit. “You got it. What do you need us around for?”

“For the eye candy and the company,” she quipped. “I have everything else covered.”

“Oh, yeah. You’ll fit right in with this bunch. No doubt about it,” Noah laughed.

The pride and admiration that shone on Rebel’s face was reserved just for her, and she knew it without question. Guilt filled her, squeezing her heart like a heavy vise and virtually paralyzing her lungs, making it hard for her to breathe. She hid the pain of her regret behind her smile, but the ominous feeling that she’d realized what was important far too late wouldn’t go away. If anything, it was multiplying with each tick of the second hand.

It felt as if she was watching a timer on a deadly bomb count down, but she was powerless to stop it.

Please don’t take Braxton away from me now
, she prayed silently.

“Do you need me anymore?” she asked.

“Always,” Rebel replied. “But you can go get to know the ladies while we finish going over these files if you want.”

“Okay,” she replied softly. “You know where to find me if you need me to take over and show you boys how it’s done.”

Rebel chuckled and pulled her close to him, his arms wrapped around her waist, the adoration glimmering in his eyes. “You can show me how it’s done all night. For now, I need to figure out how to stop the bad guy.”

Amelia’s cries broadcasted throughout the spacious room from the speaker of the baby monitor. In her peripheral vision, Heather saw Brianna rise from the couch and rush toward the bedroom to soothe her newborn. But the connection between Heather and Braxton held their eyes firmly locked on each other, to both comfort and share whatever strength they could muster for the other. No amount of time could lessen the loss they felt, but it did give them both time to learn to handle the pain.

“I love you,” Rebel mouthed.

“I love you more,” she mouthed in reply before releasing him.

He watched as she strode across the suite and sat beside Brianna to coo over Amelia. When Brianna offered to let Heather hold the baby, Rebel watched with amazement as his wife took the tiny baby in her arms, held her close to her bosom, and softly kissed her little pink baby cheeks.

Silas, Noah, and Bull began talking about the contents of Rashad’s file and pulled Rebel out of his thoughts, back into the conversation. While actively participating with his team, he kept one ear attuned to Heather’s conversation with the other ladies. They were dying to pry into the more intimate details of their married life, but socially acceptable decorum kept them in check. When he realized not even Liz had blurted out the questions she wanted answered, he knew Reaper must have warned them before they’d arrived at the hotel.