Burned (2 page)

“See you in a minute.” He hung up before she could say anything else.

Zahra headed out of her bedroom and toward the front door, grimacing at the shocks of pain zinging through her right hip, buttock and thigh with every step. There was no way she could fake being able to move without the cane. Resigned, she steadied herself against the door jamb and waited for the sound of footsteps outside in the hallway. A moment later, through the peephole she saw them coming. She stood back to open the chain and deadbolt, then swung the door wide open.

Hunter Phillips, team leader of the Titanium Security group working with the NSA-sanctioned taskforce, nodded at her and stepped inside. He was a big, intimidating ex-SEAL with harsh features and an all-business attitude that made him seem unapproachable at first. He ran a hand over his short, dark brown hair, his honey-brown gaze taking in the bare state of her apartment with a single, assessing glance. “All packed, or do you need a hand?”

“No, everything’s pretty much done. Where do you want to start?”

“Bedroom, I think.” He looked past her out into the hallway and jerked his head in the direction of her room. “Let’s get the mattress out first,” he said to whoever stood outside.

Zahra turned her head to see who he was talking to and her heart gave a funny little flutter when Sean Dunphy strode in. She drank in the sight of his angular, olive toned-face and those dark, espresso eyes that missed nothing. His jet black hair was a little longer than she normally liked on a guy, styled into tousled peaks in front and falling to his collar in back, but it looked so soft her fingers itched to run through it. Dressed in faded jeans and a gray Van Halen T-shirt that hugged his muscular chest and shoulders and molded to his flat belly, she couldn’t deny that the man stirred something inside her on a primitive level.

No
, she told herself sternly.
No men, just cats for at least the next six months. You swore it in front of Claire.
Not that her fellow NSA analyst co-worker had believed her.

 But it was so, so hard to remember the vow with this man standing right in front of her.

The former FORECON Marine flashed her a smile that made his bottomless brown eyes twinkle. A slightly flirtatious gleam mixed with the mischievous glint she was so used to seeing there. “Ready to go?”

As ready as she’d ever be. “Yeah. Thanks for helping.”

He waved her thanks away. “No problem.” She propped the door wide open behind him as he followed Hunter into her room. Without being able to help them now she made her way over to the kitchen table and gingerly eased into one of the chairs, biting her lip to hold back a curse when the muscles seized again. More sweat dotted her brow and upper lip. She wiped it away and waited for the men to emerge.

They came out a minute later carrying her mattress. Sean raised his eyebrows at her as he approached, holding the back end of it. “Sitting down on the job while we do all the hard work, huh?”

She put on a smile, embarrassed and dreading the moment when he realized she was hurt. “Just taking a bit of a rest.”

He ran his gaze over her and she saw the exact instant when he noticed the cane she’d tried to hide beneath the table on the chair next to her. He stopped walking and his eyes flashed back up to hers, a frown marring his brow. Hunter stopped too and looked over at her curiously as Sean asked, “You okay?”

“Fine. Just tweaked my hip and I can’t get around very easily right now, that’s all.”

He looked like he wanted to say more but Hunter tugged on the other end of the mattress and pulled him forward. “Sit tight then and let us handle everything, okay?”

“Okay. Sorry about this.” She felt stupid just sitting there while they did all the work.

“Don’t be. We’ll be back up in a few minutes.”

She nodded, frustrated that she had no choice in the matter anyhow.

They carried the mattress through the open door and left her alone, and she was grateful. With their extensive military backgrounds in Tier-one units and superhuman observational skills, both men noticed things others didn’t. And Zahra didn’t plan on talking about her past with either of them.

****

Not quite two hours later Sean was covered in sweat and his muscles burned pleasantly from carting all of Zahra’s furniture down the narrow staircase of the apartment building. The third member of their team helping out with the move, a former Marine Scout/Sniper named Blake Ellis, pushed the solid walnut dresser back against the side of the U-Haul with a grunt and turned to face him and Hunter as he dusted his hands off.

“That all the big stuff?” he asked.

“Think so,” Hunter answered. “Just clothes and a few more boxes left after we take care of the kitchen table and chairs.”

“Next time you get to be the hired help and
I’ll
take lookout,” Sean told Ellis dryly.

The guy’s smile flashed white against his darker skin. “We’ll see.”

Sean snorted and headed back upstairs with Hunter only to find Zahra trying to roll a suitcase toward the door while balancing awkwardly on her cane, her long black ponytail swinging against her shoulder blades. From the beads of sweat he could see on her brow, Sean knew she was in a lot more pain than she’d let on.

“Whoa, what are you doing? I told you we’d handle all this,” he said, rushing over to grab it from her. Her eyes flashed up to his, a pretty hazel flecked with more green than gold, framed by a thick line of black lashes that set her eyes off even more against her dusky skin.

“I’m not a cripple.”

Though he’d only known her a week, he was already aware that whatever injury she’d sustained was a touchy issue with her. “I know you’re not. But you could hurt yourself more and there’s no reason to risk it. Hunt and I’ve got it covered.”

She held his gaze for a moment, annoyance burning in her eyes, then lowered them and huffed out a breath. “I hate sitting around when everyone else is working,” she muttered. Her cheeks were flushed and he knew it wasn’t simply because she was warm.

“I’ll take it out of you when you’re healed up, promise. Why don’t you head down to the truck and wait there? Hunt and I’ll bring down the table and chairs then grab the last of the boxes.”

“Yeah, okay.” She reluctantly released the suitcase and started for the door, her steps slow and deliberate. Sean squelched his automatic instinct to reach out and steady her, knowing it wouldn’t go over well. While it was hard to watch her limp away and not do anything, he respected her need for independence and didn’t want to embarrass her further by making a big deal out of it. He held the door open for her though and received a murmured thank you.

When she disappeared into the elevator he turned around to find Hunter standing beside the kitchen table, waiting for him. “What’s the story with her, do you know?” Sean asked him.

“No idea.” He gripped one end of the table. “Shall we?”

Hunt was such a warm and fuzzy kinda guy.

Sean lifted the other end and together they carted it down to the truck. Zahra was sitting in the passenger seat in the cab with the door open. She was chatting away with Ellis, who strung more words together than Sean had ever heard him use in one conversation and was clearly eating up the chance to talk with her. Lucky bastard.

Three more trips up to the apartment and everything was out. Sean did one last sweep of the place before locking it up and meeting the others down at the U-Haul. Hunter was already at the wheel of the SUV behind it. Ellis was still blabbing away to Zahra. Seriously, what the hell could they possibly be talking about this long? The guy honestly wasn’t that interesting. Sean walked up to where Ellis had his arm braced against the open passenger side door and cleared his throat to get his attention.

The sniper turned his head and one side of his mouth lifted in a semi-smirk. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, how about that? Guess you must’ve missed us bringing down the last couple of loads, huh?” He said it in good humor, since Sean easily trusted his life to Ellis’s observational skills. If anything suspicious had happened, Ellis would’ve noticed and alerted them immediately.

That annoying-as-hell grin widened. “Guess so.”

Sean thrust out his hand, palm up. “Keys.”

Ellis frowned. “I’m good driving her.”

“Hey, you got the cushy lookout job, I get to drive her. Hand ‘em over.” He opened and closed his hand.

Shaking his head, Ellis offered Zahra an apologetic look and dumped the keys in Sean’s hand.

“See you guys there,” Sean said cheerfully. He pushed Ellis out of the way to shut Zahra’s door for her and gave her a wink. She smiled and settled back against the seat to wait for him to slide behind the wheel, while Ellis got into the tail SUV with Hunter.

Starting the engine, Sean glanced over at her. Her expression was calm and she was putting on a good show of being relaxed but he knew she was worried. And he didn’t blame her. Since the bombing two days ago that had almost killed Gage, the team’s second-in-command, they’d all been on edge. At least the lines of pain seemed to have faded around her mouth and eyes. “How’re you holding up?” he asked now that they were alone.

“Good.” He didn’t miss the way her gaze strayed to the side mirror and the view of the apartment building as they drove away.

“Alex vetted this new place himself, so it’s secure. Only he, the director and our team knows the location.”

“I know. I’ll feel better when this is all cleared up though.”

“Yeah, we all will. I’ll be glad when Gage gets back too. I like the way he runs things with Hunter.”

She looked over at him. “Have you heard from him and Claire? Is he healing up okay?” She’d been working at NSA headquarters in Fort Meade when Sean had come in to tell her about the bombing. For fear the rest of the team’s locations had been compromised by the mole as well, she had  to move to a new place. Knowing how much she treasured her privacy, her boss, Alex had thankfully allowed her to stay alone rather than temporarily live with some of the others.

“Hunt talked to him last night and Gage is doing fine. His hearing’s not a hundred percent yet but that’s no surprise.” Especially considering the tough SOB had been blown up in that explosion at the safe house. “They’ll be back Sunday night.”

Zahra turned her attention to the road in front of them and shook her head. “Glad he’s okay. Man, Claire’s been through so much, especially having just lost her brother.”

Sean nodded. “Sucks that she has to come back and deal with his estate on top of all this.”

“At least she’s got Gage. He seems rock solid when it comes to dealing with bad stuff.”

“He is. Great guy to work with. What about you? You need to call anyone?” With their current state of heightened security she couldn’t divulge what was going on, but the NSA didn’t expect them to vanish off the grid completely. As long as they were careful and used discretion, they could still maintain contact with close friends and relatives.

“Just a few friends and I’ve already told them I’m moving.”

No family? He filed that information away, more curious about her than ever.

She got quiet after that and he was pretty sure it was because she didn’t want him asking any more personal questions so he made due with small talk during the twenty minute drive to her new place. He pulled up to the townhouse complex in the middle class neighborhood and cut the engine as Hunter and Ellis parked behind them.

“All clear?” Sean asked via his earpiece, just to double check, though he hadn’t noticed anything suspicious.

“All clear,” Hunter responded. “I’m taking watch this time and you guys can unload the truck.”

Not about to argue with the boss, Sean smirked as he climbed out of the truck and went around to open Zahra’s door. He helped her down to the sidewalk, taking the opportunity to enjoy the feel of the firm curve of her waist against his fingers and the warm, spicy scent of her perfume. Over the past week that scent had become seductive to him and he’d spent the past few nights fantasizing about what he’d do to her if she ever showed an interest in him as a man rather than just a co-worker. She tried to hide it but from watching her he already knew Zahra was an innately sensual woman.