Deliciously Dangerous (12 page)

She gave herself a reality check. This wasn’t going to last. This beautiful place would be seized by the government. Jammer would be tried, convicted and condemned to a very long prison sentence. Callie would go on to the next mission.

She had to keep that firmly planted in her head. She would play her part to the fullest. But standing in the bright sunlight, she dreaded the moment when she would reveal who she was. She dreaded the look in his eyes and the expression on his face from learning he had been so deeply betrayed. She wished she could avoid that, but was too much of a Watchdog agent to let anyone else collar the Ghost.

The grapes were taken to the crush pad and they started to unload them. The physical labor felt good, and Callie was interested in every aspect of the production of wine.

Jim started running the grapes up a conveyor belt that took the clusters into the de-stemmer, a machine that also cut the grapes in half and made pulp out of them. She watched as the grape pulp was pumped into what Jim called a “bladder press” that squeezed out the juice.

By the time this process was complete the sun was dipping in the sky. Callie was sitting on the edge of the loading dock, resting, when Jammer came up to her and said, “Want to help me out?”

“With what?” she asked. His expression was full of mischief.

“A tradition.”

“Really? What type of tradition?”

“Stop asking questions and come on.”

He slipped his hands around her waist and very slowly let her slide down his body.

“Does this tradition involve something hard?”

“Yes, in a way.”

“Lead on.”

He brought her around the end of the crush pad to a wooden vat set up next to the building. A short set of stairs was pushed close to it.

She walked up the little flight of steps and looked inside the vat. It was filled with tons of grapes. “You want to what? Crush them?”

“Exactly.”

She laughed. Jammer went over to a CD player and pushed a button. Beautiful Italian opera poured from the speakers. Callie laughed again.

“Jim, if you would do the honors.”

Jim came over with a bucket and indicated that Callie should remove her sandals and dip her feet into the water. Jim gave them a quick scrub and then it was Jammer’s turn.

“Everything’s been de-stemmed so you won’t hurt your feet,” Jammer explained.

Callie stepped down into the vat, finding the grapes warm from the sun’s rays. She tucked her skirt into her waistband and started to walk on the grapes.

“Squishy. So this is something you do every year?”

“Yes. Jim says it makes the wine better to have some grapes crushed the old-fashioned way. Who’s to argue?”

“It’s fun,” Callie said as she started to move a little faster, pumping her legs up and down.

Jim poured each of them a glass of wine. Callie sipped and crushed, releasing the juices, the sweet smell of the grapes permeating her senses, heightened by the wine.

Around and around they went, until the grapes beneath their feet turned into pulp. Juice started to fly up as they continued to wade through the mush, the haunting Italian music a perfect backdrop to a perfect day.

At one point, she looked over at Jammer. His clothes were rumpled, his hair a tousled mess, and he had a hint of beard stubble shadowing his jaw. She’d seen him in a suit; she knew how well he cleaned up. But her heart
lurched at the carefree look on his face. This was the real man under Jammer’s sexy and tough facade.

The real man who turned toward her and got caught by her eyes as if she’d reached out and touched him. She reveled in the knowledge that Jammer couldn’t see her without wanting her. An ache spread inside her, a tangible thing that took on a life of its own.

Everything that touched her was warm—the grapes beneath her feet, the waning sun, Jammer’s dark eyes. Her breath hitched and stammered in her lungs as he drew close to her. The music swelled into an arching crescendo that brought tears to her eyes.

He captured her face between his palms, his expression mirroring the ache that had spread to every part of her. His eyes locked on to hers so intently it was a physical connection. There was communication between them though neither spoke.

He just held her gaze for the longest moment. Then he took her hand and pulled it up to his mouth. He kissed her wrist and palm.

Then without a word, Jammer led her out of the vat and across the yard into the house, through the back door.

They walked up the stairs to the bedroom. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought she was going to swoon.

He stopped in the doorway and pushed her hair from her face, framing her cheeks with his palms. “You are an amazing woman. All those intriguing layers. Peeling them away every day would be an unending joy for me. Delving into your soul and discovering every inch
of who you are, inside and out. I love your confidence and your sense of humor.”

“And when that wears off? When it grows old?” she asked.

“Life offers no guarantees. You know that as well as I do. But we are who we are, flawed, tough because we have to be, and doing exactly what our hearts dictate. It’s not a matter of getting it out of my system. It’s more a matter of integrating it into my life, so I can live that passion every day.”

She stared up into his eyes, feeling the force of every word, the complete honesty. But it did them absolutely no good.

Their relationship had been doomed from the very beginning.

She wouldn’t be on this mission if she wasn’t committed to apprehending criminals and protecting the citizens of the United States.

She’d mistakenly thought this assignment would be a piece of cake.

She’d been so wrong.

Body shaking, lips trembling, she held that intense gaze, held on to it tightly, and smiled. But she didn’t get to say anything—his cell rang.

It took Jammer a moment to let go of her, a moment to pull the mantle of the arms dealer back on. The music abruptly ended outside as Jammer put the phone to his ear.

“Fuck!” he said, and closed his eyes.

Callie waited while he conversed, pacing up and
down. When he’d finished he threw the phone. It hit the pillows on the bed.

“What?” she asked softly, gently putting her hand on his arm.

“I think I’m so damn smart. I just shot myself in the foot.”

“How?”

“The shipment that Joost and Dieter promised me just got confiscated by the U.S. fucking Navy.” He ran his hands through his hair and locked them behind his neck. He leaned against the open bedroom door.

“Oh God. Where?” Callie felt her mission spinning out of control—and taking the Ghost out of her reach. She had evidence of some buys he’d done, but nothing that tied him to selling weapons to a Colombian drug lord, which would seal his fate. She pushed away her soft feelings. Something would have to be done. She was not going to fail in her mission.

“San Diego. Two planes flew my order to a small airport. The cargo was supposed to be combined with my complete shipment and then flown on to Colombia. But SEALs were there training and they entered the wrong plane. My plane. Now the weapons have been moved to the navy base. They’ll trace them back to Joost, but not to me. I’ve conveniently taken out the only man who can supply me with what I need for this deal with Fuentes. Damn, Eduardo is going to be livid. He might even cut me out of the deal. I can’t have that.”

“Since we can’t replace those weapons, then we have only one choice.”

Startled, Jammer turned to look at her. “What are you saying?”

“We break into the naval station and steal our weapons back.”

J
AMMER STARED AT
G
INA
for a moment. “Are you serious? A naval base?”

“I have contacts. I can get us in and pilot the plane.”

He saw the wheels turning in her head. Of course she would have contacts. Gillian Santiago was a very resourceful woman who had been appointed by the president; if the Watchdog director couldn’t pull strings, no one could. “So can I,” he said, warming to the idea.

“Then I say we start planning on how we’re going to do this. Let me make some phone calls and see what I can find out.”

He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. “Why are you doing this?”

“My cut is tied up in this deal, Jammer. I don’t work for nothing.”

For the umpteenth time he wondered how deep her feelings for him went. If she was in turmoil about arresting him, she never showed it. But in bed, he knew she wasn’t playacting. “Ah, business again.”

Her eyes flashed. “That’s right. I have to keep my eye on the bottom line. I’m going to shower first because I’m very sticky,” Gina said as she ducked into the bath room.

“I’ll start making my own calls.” Jammer dialed the director. At least this time he wasn’t waking him up. Stanford answered on the first ring. “Yes,” he said.

“I have a major problem.”

“What is it?”

“My weapons have been seized by the U.S. Navy. I have a warehouse in San Diego housing the bulk of the shipment. All of it is scheduled to be flown out tomorrow. Unfortunately, there was a fluke incident at the airport and SEALs entered my plane instead of the decoy one they were training with. They ended up confiscating both planes.”

“Let me do some digging. Sit tight and I will get back to you. I know someone over in the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms department. He should be aware of what is happening.”

“We can’t afford to have this deal go south. We’ll lose Fuentes, and three years of hard work will go down the drain.”

“We’re not going to lose him. I guarantee you that much. I’ll do everything in my power to get you access to the base, but you’ll have to figure out how to get those weapons out. I can even supply you with some people to help if that’s necessary.”

“Thank you. That will help.”

“And the Watchdog agent?”

“I suspect she’s on the phone with her boss right now.”

“That’s good. We’ll both have strings to pull, and
believe me, Gillian has a lot of pull. I’ll get back to you before the hour is out.”

“I’ll be waiting for your phone call.”

Gina—aka Callie Carpenter—exited the bathroom looking delectable and smelling delicious.

When Jammer went past her, he gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. He couldn’t imagine what she was thinking. She only knew him as an arms dealer. There would come a time when he would reveal to her who he really was and why he had done what he had, but that wasn’t now.

She was already turning away and dialing her phone. He went inside the bathroom and took a quick shower, washing off the sticky grape juice and the grime of the day.

After this was all over, he would lose this place that he had called home for three years. Losing Callie would be hard enough. Losing the winery would be almost as difficult. He loved it with a passion.

When the DEA had purchased this property for his cover, Jammer was at first amused. He was told that he could either use it as a base of operations, live there when not on business, or grow grapes and make wine. The last of those choices would solidify his cover.

But now that his cover was blown he had to assume a new identity. When Fuentes found out who the Ghost really was, he would be livid. The man had too much pride not to come after Jammer, whether he was in prison or not. Fuentes would be sure to murder anyone Jammer held dear. That was why he had to disappear—and he had to go alone.

He exited the bathroom, but Callie wasn’t in the room. He got dressed and went looking for her.

She was outside, pacing and talking on the phone. So he let her be. When his stomach rumbled, he decided that preparing a meal would be both a stress reliever and alleviate their hunger.

He pulled some ingredients out of the fridge and set them on the counter. He rubbed two bass fillets with olive oil and seasoning, stuffing them with sliced onions and oregano sprigs and tying them with string.

Sliding them into the oven, he moved on to the Mediterranean-inspired salad made up of garlic, anchovy paste, olive oil, grape and cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives from Spain, sun-dried tomatoes and chopped oregano.

By the time Callie came back into the kitchen, the fish was almost done and the salad was chilling in the fridge.

“Wow, that smells heavenly and I’m starving. What are you making?”

“Roasted black sea bass with tomato and olive salad.”

He started to set the table and Callie put down her phone to help.

“How did it go?” Jammer asked.

“I’m getting my gear delivered here in about two hours, and contracted four people to back us up. I also got the base plans and the rotation schedule for the guards. It’s best to use a water egress rather than a frontal assault. I’ve secured boats and scuba equipment,” Callie replied, arranging forks and knives.

“You do have yourself some nice contacts.”

She shot him a look. “Hey, I’m not just a pretty face.”

He chuckled and got a stab of pain thinking that he would never get a chance to find out all he could about Callie Carpenter. It was a complicated mess. Drew Miller was marrying Callie’s sister, Allie Carpenter, and he and Miller hadn’t parted on the best of terms. The DEA had helped her brother, Max, disappear along with Rio Marshall for their own protection. It was one of the demands he’d put to Stanford in exchange for completing the mission with Fuentes. So now that both of them were out of danger, all he had to do was worry about Callie getting on Fuentes’s radar.

He’d done his best in the three years he’d played this low-life arms dealer to keep people out of harm’s way and still obtain his objective.

“You sound like you know your way around a military base,” Jammer said.

“You could say that. I was a military brat when I was a kid, so I know the ropes,” Callie replied.

The oven timer went off. Jammer went over and took out the fish. He set the fillets on plates, then added the salad.

Callie seated herself, and Jammer set her plate down in front of her.

She breathed in the sizzling fish’s aroma. As soon as Jammer took a chair and poured the wine, she dug in.

He would never get tired of watching her, especially with that expression of pure rapture on her face.

“Where did you learn to cook this way?” she asked between bites.

Sick of ducking questions and offering half-truths, Jammer said softly, “My mother. She was a master in the kitchen. We ate like this every night.”

“That must have been fantastic.”

“It was. She was a stay-at-home mom, and all my friends were jealous when I told them that when I got home from school, my mom would have something waiting for me. It was either pizza bagels, hot soup on a cold day or my favorite chocolate-chip cookies still warm from the oven.”

He looked up at Callie and she had stopped eating. He knew she realized that he was telling her an actual piece of his life. Just as he had when she’d asked about the book in the library and he’d talked about his father.

He smiled wistfully. “I guess we were spoiled.”

“You were blessed,” she said. “Truly.”

He nodded, his throat tight. It pained him that she would never get a chance to meet his parents and that they wouldn’t get the chance to meet her.

He ached that he would have to change his life again, become someone else and sacrifice this woman who meant more to him than any woman had in his life.

She reached over and covered his hand with hers. “I was lucky, too. Very lucky with my parents.”

“Are they disappointed in what you do?”

“They don’t know what I do, Jammer, and I like it that way. They wouldn’t approve, but I have to live my life the way I see fit.”

He realized that she wasn’t talking about Gina
Callahan, but Callie Carpenter. Of course, being a black ops agent, Callie wouldn’t be able to tell her parents what she did for a living.

“What would you do if you could do anything you wanted?”

“I’ve thought about that often. After all, being an arms dealer is already starting to get old. I think I’d go to law school.”

Jammer laughed so hard he choked.

She had to slap him on the back and get him a glass of water.

“I know,” she said with amusement in her voice. “It’s an odd choice.”

He also realized that it was Callie who would become the lawyer, and she’d be a great one. She was smart and thought quickly on her feet.

“Give a guy a warning next time,” he said, his voice hoarse from the coughing.

“Sorry.” She giggled and took another bite of her meal. Shortly after that, they left their empty plates and drifted out into the night.

“It is simply breathtaking here,” she said. She sat down on the edge of the pool and dangled her feet in the water. Jammer settled behind her and did the same.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she sighed wistfully. “Have you thought about what you will do after this deal with Fuentes is done?”

“Do more deals,” he lied.

“Why? I mean, you must have amassed a fortune, and arms dealing is such a risky and dangerous profession.
It would be smart to get out. I can tell how much you love this place. Why not make wine?”

“I’ll think about it,” he said. The fact that she was so intuitive about him made him both happy and sad. He wasn’t going to be able to stay here once Fuentes was arrested.

He kissed the nape of her neck. She sighed and leaned her head back, resting it on his shoulder.

It gave him better access to her throat. He slid his lips along the column and sucked her earlobe into his mouth. She shivered in his arms and twisted her head, presenting her mouth to him for a kiss.

“Hey, you two lovebirds. We’ve got work to do.”

A heavy bag dropped on the pool deck. Callie and Jammer turned to find Drew Miller and three other men standing behind them—one Asian, one blond and a man with dark hair drawn into a ponytail.

Callie got up and rounded on the newcomers. “Drew! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?”

Miller glanced at Callie for only a brief moment. Without broadcasting his intentions, he walked up to Jammer and socked him in the jaw. Coldcocked, Jammer took the blow that drove him back and into the pool.

When he surfaced, he could hear Callie cursing the man out, but Jammer calmly walked up the stairs and faced Miller.

“Jammer—” she said, glaring at Drew.

Jammer held up his hand. “No, I deserved that.”

“You’re a slick bastard, Jammer. I’ll give you that.
But I owed that to you for Tina,” Drew said, his eyes narrow and filled with vindication.

“I get it.”

Drew did quick introductions. “This is Kyoto, Michaels and Frost. Well, let’s get going. We only have a few hours to get this show on the road. Midnight is the bewitching hour, my friends,” Drew said, picking up the black bag and looking at Callie. “The gear you wanted is in here.”

They went into the kitchen and cleared off the table. Drew pulled out the map of the base.

“The front part of the facility is heavily guarded, but the approach to the airstrip isn’t as bad and the guard rotation changes at twelve midnight. It’s the best time to infiltrate the base and hijack the airplanes. Do you need me to fly shotgun, Gina?”

“Yes,” she said. “The rest of you hightail it out of there once we rev up those engines.”

The three men nodded.

Just then the doorbell rang and four more steely eyed men dressed in black entered Jammer’s residence—courtesy of Director Stanford.

Jammer made the introductions and said, “Gear up. Let’s take our merchandise back.”

C
ALLIE SAT NEXT TO
J
AMMER
in the black SUV as they rode to the water, where they would switch to boats. She already had her scuba gear on. She’d memorized the map and was thankful that Gillian had pinpointed exactly what hangars the planes were in, as well as the type of plane.

Callie could fly just about anything, but it was nice to know in advance what she was up against.

She glanced over at Drew, who was driving. He was an extremely capable agent, but a bit of a rogue. When he had hit Jammer, she thought she was going to faint. But Jammer had taken it, and he had the bruise darkening his jaw to show for it.

She was being a fool. She
knew
that, but she still reached up and ran the back of her fingers along the swelling. Jammer turned his head slightly to acknowledge her caress.

She dropped her hand and tensed as they approached the area. It didn’t take long to inflate the boats and speed to the point where they had to go into the water.

They swam around all the obstacles until they were able to make landfall. Once they hit the beach, all scuba gear was discarded and one of the men bundled it up and swam back out.

Drew automatically took point, heading for the hangars dead ahead. He whispered, “Watch out for guards. They should be thin, but it’s best not to take any chances.” With hand gestures, he made his intent well known: move forward.

They stayed low, and Callie was happy to see that clouds had obscured the moon as they made their way up to the gargantuan hangars. Frost did his magic to disable security, and they all ducked in.

The cargo planes were sitting side by side in the hangar. Callie started to move toward one, but Jammer grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. He kissed her soundly and then let her go.

“Be careful.”

“I will. You, too.”

“I’ll see you both in Colombia.”

Drew nodded and whispered to Kyoto, “Find the controls and get those doors open as fast as you can. Let’s get these birds ready for takeoff.”

Jammer jerked his head at one of his men and Callie watched as they disappeared into one of the planes. Callie and Drew entered the other.

Settling herself in the pilot’s seat, she went through a preflight check very quickly. Just as they started the engines, the doors to the hangar opened.