Читать книгу The Men In Uniform Collection - Barbara McMahon - Страница 37

“OH, CRAP, BOONE,” KATE SAID. “I should have kept my mouth shut.”

Boone poured himself some more coffee, feeling like a total shit. “It’s my fault. I should have just told her. I didn’t think.”

Seth was putting his equipment back into his bag, being his usual meticulous self. Everything in its place so he could retrieve it in an instant. “It’s not as if you were trying to spy on her. You’re just trying to catch this freak.”

“I know, but she has a point. She’s been terrorized by this asshole invading her privacy.”

“Go talk to her.” Kate came up to him and touched his shoulder. Not a usual move for Kate, so he knew he should pay attention. “We need to get it together for the next act, but I don’t want to leave when she’s so upset.”

Boone turned to face his two comrades. “I don’t know that she’ll want to talk to me. If she kicks me out, I won’t blame her.”

“She’s not going to kick anyone out. The woman still needs help, now more than ever.” Kate got herself some coffee, and went back to sit with her papers. “I’ve got a few questions for her on some of these men. See if she’s willing to talk, okay?”

“I’ll do what I can.” Boone reached into his pocket and pulled out the RFID that the vet had removed. He tossed it on the table, then headed down the hall. He knew Christie was in the bath, which wasn’t the ideal conditions for a talk about privacy. He’d knock and see what her reaction was.

Not that he was any good in this kind of situation. Give him a room full of terrorists, and he was the man, but a single upset woman? That was enough to send him cowering in a corner. Hell he deserved a chewing out, and she deserved to give it to him. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her more.

He stood at the door and tapped it quietly.

“What?” came the muffled voice from inside.

“It’s me. Can I come in?”

“Why, you want to take pictures?”

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the door. He thought about last night. How it had felt to be with her, to care about her. “No, I want to apologize.”

“Great, thanks. That makes everything okay.”

“Right, you’re right. I was an idiot, and you get to be mad as hell.”

“What?”

“I said—”

“Oh, just come in, for God’s sake.”

He tried the door, but it was locked. “I can’t.”

“You mean to tell me between the three of you, you can’t jimmy a bathroom lock?”

“Hold on.”

He went back to the kitchen and asked Seth to lend him a hand. Boone knew how to get in using C4, but since that seemed a little much, he got Seth to use his handy kit. It took less then a minute, and Boone knocked once more before he opened the door.

Although his intentions were completely on the up-and-up, the moment he saw her naked in the tub, his body reacted. Even before the humidity got to him, he was sweating, and as he walked over to take a seat on the closed toilet, he felt the pressure in his jeans.

For her part, she just sat there watching him, her neck cradled in the pillow, the fragrant water holding up her breasts. Water droplets shimmered on her moist flesh, but she didn’t take notice. She was too busy staring daggers at him.

“I was a jerk,” he said.

“Go on.”

“I should have thought, and I didn’t. I was so focused on the job that I didn’t take your feelings into account. I’m sorry.”

Christie closed her eyes and let her head fall back. “Where are the cameras?”

“In the bedroom, the living room and the kitchen. I also have one on the front door and by the window in the guest room.”

“So basically, everywhere.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you actually see him come into my bedroom?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“There was no way to identify him. I got a general shape, size, but nothing concrete.”

She looked at him again, and he squirmed under the glare. “Did it ever occur to you that I might be able to figure out who he is? That his shape and size would ring a bell?”

“No, it didn’t.”

“Okay, so we know that you shouldn’t quit your day job to become a detective. Do you still have the tape?”

“Yeah. We’ll take a look at it as soon as you’re ready.”

She didn’t respond. She also didn’t stop staring at him.

“I don’t expect your forgiveness,” he said. “You say the word, and I’m out of here. Seth and Kate will take over. They’re damn good and they know the situation. You won’t have to worry.”

“You want to bail?”

“No.”

“Then don’t. But I swear to God, if you lie to me again, I’ll use my new skills with my gun to shoot you where it hurts the most. Is that clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Okay then. We’ll look at the tape together. Then we’ll get on with it.”

“Fair enough.”

“Do we have a plan?”

“We do. Seth and Kate are going to come back tonight, but they’re going to put on a show for the geek.”

“A show?”

Boone nodded. “They’re going to tell us to get ready. To pack up for an indefinite period of time. We want the geek to believe we’re going underground.” He kept his eyes on her face, because every time they dipped below her neck, he forgot what he was saying.

“And this will do what?”

“Force the geek to come inside the house.”

She sat up in the tub, revealing a lot more. “That’s it? That’s the whole plan?”

He focused. Again. “No. You’re going to tell him that you don’t care where you live because you and your boyfriend are going to be married. And then you’re going to show him your engagement ring.”

She looked at him for a long time. Finally, she sighed. “So where’s this ring?”

He watched a single drop of water quiver on the tip of her nipple. “Ring?”

“I’m going to wave an engagement ring around?”

“Yeah.”

“Boone, maybe I should get out of the tub and get dressed.”

“No, don’t.”

“Pardon?”

He jerked his eyes up. “Sorry, what?”

She laughed. “Good to know that no matter what the uniform, boys will still be boys.”

Boone stood, giving himself a mental whack on the head. He turned toward the door. It was just safer that way. “Okay, the ring. Yeah, we’ve got one. Kate brought it. Oh, and she wants to talk to you about a couple of men from your past.”

“Which ones?”

“She didn’t say. Were there any that were, you know, more than just casual relationships?”

“A couple.”

“Really? Who?”

“Why,” she asked, a smile in her voice, “jealous?”

“No, no. Just trying to figure this thing out.”

Water sloshed, and he pictured her getting out of the tub. All that naked flesh dripping with warm, sweet water. He discreetly adjusted the boys, but it didn’t help a whole lot. Then he tried to think of something really unsexy, but every image turned into naked Christie.

The water sounds stopped, but then he heard other stuff. A soft footfall, the towel slipping from the rod. “You probably want to get dressed,” he said. “I’ll go to the kitchen and wait.”

“No, don’t.”

He turned to find her wrapped in her towel. Her hair was still tumbled atop her head, and her skin still looked damp and warm.

“There’s still some things to discuss. Aside from the plan, which I want to go over again. But this…I need to hear this from you. Alone.”

Boone nodded. Whatever she asked, he had to give her the truth, as long as the truth wouldn’t get her killed.

“I really appreciate what you told me about Nate, but I need more. I want to understand. What did he do that was so terrible someone had to blow him up with a bomb?”

“Christie…”

She sighed as she sat at the side of the tub. She reached down and pulled the plug, then dried her hand with the edge of the towel. “I don’t give a shit about the danger. Been there, doing that. Just talk to me.”

Boone walked over to the other side of the tub and sat down, angling himself so he wasn’t looking at Christie. “We were recruited by a special ops group, an offshoot of the CIA who worked with the Pentagon. All of us were picked for our particular specialties. It was just good luck that Nate and I were both selected for the team. I’d also worked with Seth.

“Our assignment was in Pristina, Kosovo. We were to get to a rogue scientist working there. Destroy the lab, and everything in it, then get out.”

“When you say ‘get to’ you mean kill, don’t you.”

“Yes.”

“What went wrong?”

“Everything. The scientist wasn’t who we were led to believe. The information we were told to destroy had nothing to do with terrorism. When we protested, this black ops group decided to clear up the misunderstanding by killing all of us, the scientist included.”

“But—”

“Yeah. It surprised the hell out of us, too. And that’s it. That’s all I can say.”

“So how is it going to end? With you dead? All of you?”

“No. We just have to get the truth to the right people. But the truth would have to include proof.”

Christie didn’t say anything for so long, Boone had to look. God, she seemed so sad. Not crying, but almost.

He went to her side and took her hand in his. “He was a hero. For real. He stood up for his principles, for what was right. You have to remember that.”

She sniffed, then met his gaze. “Sounds like you were all heroes.”

“Naw. Just grunts following orders. We were just smart enough to know who to take our orders from.”

“Boone, is this plan going to work?”

“It’s our best shot. If he thinks we’re leaving, for good, he’ll have to make a move. And he’ll have to do it before Seth and Kate come back with the new identities, which gives us our window of opportunity.”

“What if he decides to solve the problem like that special ops team did? By killing us both?”

“He wants you too badly for that,” he said. “He may be insane, but he’s not crazy.”

Her lips quirked up. “Was that a compliment?”

“It was trying to be.”

“I appreciate it. But I don’t think you’re right. I’ve read too many real-life stalker cases where the bad guy thought if he couldn’t have the girl, no one could.”

“We’ll be ready for him. Whatever he does.”

“We? As in you and me, or you, me, Kate and Seth?”

“The whole gang.”

“Good. I’d hate to have our futures depending on my shooting skills.”

“You could do it if you had to. But you won’t. Trust me, we’ll have it covered.”

She stood up and went to the center of the room. She didn’t move for a while, then she dropped her towel and reached for her panties.

He watched as she dressed herself. Panties—white and lacy, but not a thong, unfortunately—and then her bra. It was one of the most erotic things he’d ever seen. She wasn’t trying to turn him on. The opposite was true, he thought. She was simply dressing, as she would if she were alone. Or with a longtime lover.

It hit him that this was a new experience for him. He’d seen a lot of women dress, but it was always after sex, or after a shower, and there was always a show of some kind, whether purposeful teasing or casual indifference. He knew and they knew it was all part of it. The post-game show.

This wasn’t. Christie wasn’t trying to get him to call the next day, or to touch her, or to notice her at all. She wasn’t trying and she was the sexiest women he’d ever seen. Even with her slightly baggy jeans, and even when she sat on the toilet to pull on white crew socks. He was stunned at how badly he wanted her. That bit before when she was in the tub? Nothing. A twitch. This? This was a full-on body spasm, an electric shock. He wanted to make love to her all night long. He wanted to wake up to her the next morning, and see her hair a mess, and he wanted to see her yawn, and scratch and do all the things a person does when they aren’t trying to be someone else.

“Boone?”

He stood up so fast he almost slipped on the rug.

She looked at him, puzzled. All her clothes were on. The jeans, the shirt, the sneakers. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Sure. Why don’t you go on and meet with Kate. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Oh, okay. Sure.” She headed for the door, but paused before she opened it. “For what it’s worth, I think the plan is a good one.”

“We’re a good team.”

“Oh, and before I forget, thank you. For last night.” She smiled at him, then left, closing the door behind her.

He sat down again, amazed at his incredibly horrible timing. He liked her. The woman was in a living nightmare, and he was thinking about asking her out on a date. Which was crazy, because the last thing she needed was him in her life. He wasn’t just a wanted man, he was a marked man. They’d been running for too long for their luck to keep holding out. As soon as they caught the geek, Boone had to disappear again. He had to go back to his world of shadows and lies.

The worst thing he could wish on Christie, aside from the stalker, was to have anything at all to do with him.

KATE WAS AT THE KITCHEN TABLE with Seth. As soon as Christie walked in, Seth got up and went to the sink to rinse out his cup. Christie took the hint and sat down next to Kate. “You wanted to ask me some questions?”

“Yeah, thanks.” She moved a picture over, one of a guy Christie had dated three years ago.

“What can you tell me about him?”

“Alan? He was a nice guy. Kind of unfocused. He kept trying different careers.”

“Ah.”

“What, that makes a difference?”

“Yeah, it does. A lot of stalkers have trouble maintaining jobs. They don’t do well socially.”

“That’s not Alan. He fancied himself a renaissance man, but mainly he just got bored easily. He was a popular guy, went to a lot of parties.”

“Okay,” Kate said, pulling another picture out. “What about him?”

She almost didn’t recognize the picture. “That’s Ed, but when I knew him, he didn’t have that much hair. Or the mustache.”

“What was he like?”

“Nice. Really nice. The kind of guy you’d want to bring home to mother, if your mother wasn’t mine. He loved chess and he was into Asian cooking. He made sushi a lot.”

“What happened between you?”

“It was a long time ago.”

Kate gave her a curious look. “I remember why I broke up with every guy I’ve ever been out with.”

“Okay, yeah. He was too nice, okay? He wanted to please me so badly, it was like screwing an abandoned puppy. I couldn’t take it.”

“So you like it a little rough?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to step on any toes.”

“What else do you need to know?”

Kate glanced at Seth, who didn’t move one facial muscle, then back at Christie. “How was he socially?”

“He got along with people. He just wasn’t real aggressive. He liked his cat. A lot. But he wasn’t weird. Just nice.”

“Okay. We won’t cross him off the list just yet.”

“There’s no way in hell he got fiber-optic cable with pinpoint cameras. The guy had trouble setting up his VCR.”

“Noted.”

“Is there anyone you can think of who could do that? Who was particularly good with electronics?”

“Dan had a very high-tech home theater. But I don’t think he set it up. But he did have an iPod, and a laptop. Used those a lot. On the other hand, so did most of the men I dated. Most every guy I know likes his toys.”

Kate looked at Seth again. “True.”

“Believe me, if I’d gotten any weird vibes from any of these guys, I’d say something. I would. But they’re just guys.”

Kate put the pictures back in the folder. “It’s very possible this was someone you met casually. Someone you smiled at once, and never gave him another thought.”

“That sure narrows down the field.”

“Stalkers are sick. Yours just happens to be an electronics whiz. Did Boone tell you about the plan?”

“Yes, he did. He also said you had a ring?”

Kate nodded, then got her purse from the floor. She pulled out a small plastic baggie that held a diamond engagement ring. “It’s real, so try not to lose it.”

Christie took the bag and pulled the ring out. It was lovely. A nice-sized solitaire in a platinum setting. “Is there a story behind this?”

“Yeah, and there’s not a chance in hell I’m telling it.” Kate closed her purse.

“You sure you haven’t dated any of those guys?” Christie asked, nodding at the file.

“Nope. Just carbon copies. I don’t know where all the good ones are, but they sure keep their distance from me.”

Christie sighed. “I hear you. They’re all taken or gay, or good in the sack and nothing else.”

“Good in the sack?” Kate opened the file. “Maybe I should date some of these guys.”

It was nice to laugh, to sit back in her own kitchen with good people who wanted nothing but to help her. It was nice to have a moment that wasn’t about terror.

BOONE STOOD IN THE HALL by the kitchen, wondering how long he should wait to walk in. Hearing Christie talk about the men in her life made his situation a lot less complicated. He was just another guy. Good in the sack but nothing else. He just wished knowing that didn’t make him feel like hell.