Deadly Target [IAD Agency 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (10 page)

Slade hadn’t been as lucky.

Her friend had dark demons riding him, and her love for him had her heart aching when she saw those demons rising closer to the surface, like they were now. Slade was one of those people who had not escaped a horrible past, but he did his damndest to try to overcome it. Mikayla loved him like a brother and knew that the fear that lived inside him was unwarranted.

Over the years of serving with him in the military, and now with IAD, she and Slade had become family. Mikayla knew Slade was aware that she was capable of protecting herself, but he now considered her part of the small, select group of individuals he would die for.

Or kill for.

“I’m fine, Slade,” Mikayla assured him. “What are you doing here?”

He heaved out a sigh and leaned forward in the chair that creaked in protest of his massive size. “When you were brought into the hospital, they called Brett as your emergency contact. Since I was in LA with him, I flew out. He’s finishing up some business, but he’ll be here soon. The wonder twins will come by this weekend for a visit too.”

Mikayla groaned. “You guys didn’t have to come here. I’m fine, really.”

“They had to restitch your leg and they said you were damn close to having hypothermia,” Slade gritted out. “What the hell happened to ‘I’m just going to take it easy?’”

She sighed. “This was me taking it easy.”

“Clarify.”

Mikayla sighed again then quickly explained what had happened down at the river, leaving out the incident in the truck with Gage. Slade leaned back in his chair. “The kids are all okay. I asked the nurses, knowing you’d ask when you woke. The two little girls, Megan and Lindsey, were asking for you. They were in bad shape, but they should recover completely.”

“Good. I’m glad. I’ll stop in and see them before I leave.”

“Now,” Slade said casually as he studied her with piercing light-blue eyes that gleamed like blue ice. “Would you care to tell me why you arrived at the hospital an hour after the kids did? I know you were practically a popsicle when you left the site of the accident with Gage Stark instead of in an ambulance.”

Oh, shit.

Slade’s voice lowered. “Am I gonna have to go hunting, Lynx?”

“No,” Mikayla said quickly. “No, it’s fine. Everything is fine.”

“Since you’ve been sleeping I’ve done a little reading up on this Gage,” Slade said. “An actor? Really?”

She barely held back a groan. “Gage isn’t an actor anymore. And don’t give me that look. You love his movies. I know you do. You’ve dragged me to enough of them over the years.”

“Doesn’t mean I won’t fuck his shit up if he steps out of line with you,” Slade growled.

Sweet Jesus, not this. Mikayla had recently witnessed the chaos that had ensued when her friend Tara had initially hooked up with her fiancé Julian. Their male IAD counterparts had gone all Alpha male on poor Julian and Mikayla feared what they would all do to Gage if they were ever in the same room. Not that she had a relationship with Gage. They’d simply had sex and now they were done.

End of story.

“There is nothing between us, Slade. Gage is…he’s not looking for a relationship. And I…well, I don’t think he could deal with the real me.” That was obvious by the way he practically dumped her at the entrance of the emergency room and ran. Hell, she was surprised that he had even bothered coming in to see her settled and hadn’t drop-kicked her out of his truck instead. It hurt more than she thought it would, but then again, she’d known it was the way it had to be. They weren’t good for each other and she needed to stay away from him.

“Ah, it’s like that then,” Slade said roughly, the sympathy clear in his voice. “Well, your vitals are back to normal. Let’s get you checked out of here and get you home.”

“I’m all over that.”

* * * *

Gage sighed with relief as the sight of home came into view. Earlier when he had pulled up to the hospital he knew he was better off just leaving Mikayla to the medical staff, but he couldn’t just leave her there by herself. He should have left after she was checked in, but instead he’d paced the floor of the waiting room like a caged animal, waiting impatiently to hear that she was all right. Only after the doctor had confirmed she was fine did he finally leave.

Putting distance between him and Mikayla didn’t help to get her out of his mind though. With every mile he drove further away from her his mood had darkened, until he was ready to rip someone’s head off by the time he got home. It was a good thing that Katie and his brother Dylan were busy in the office they had built a mile away from the main residence.

Gage knew he should have checked in on work, but seeing the lights on in their offices had Gage driving home instead of stopping. In his mood it was better off if he kept people away from him until he didn’t feel like he was ten seconds away from exploding. He just wanted to go inside, take a hot shower and forget today ever happened.

But of course he couldn’t be so lucky.

Gage parked in front of the large house watching as Sebastian came out, carrying two bottles of beer with Wulf trailing by his side. His cousin Sebastian was tall with the same Stark green eyes as Gage and he kept his dark hair cropped short like he did when he was in the Army.

Sebastian set the beer down on the railing and stood on the wraparound porch, leaning against one of the posts as he lit a cigar. Wulf raced down the steps, tail wagging as Gage got out of the truck. He leaned down to rub his hands though Wulf’s fur when Sebastian’s voice reached him.

“Took a detour, did you, cuz?” Sebastian’s knowing drawl darkened Gage’s mood even further.

“Back off, Seb,” Gage snapped as he walked up to join Sebastian on the porch. Gage took the offered beer bottle and ripped the cap off then took a deep pull of the dark liquid.

“We got all the kids out safely,” Sebastian stated after he took his own drink from his bottle.

“Good. Glad to hear it,” Gage said, setting the bottle down so he could shove both of his hands back into his pockets. Shit, it was freezing outside, but Katie had made a no smoking rule inside the main house that everyone abided by, hence the smoking on the porch.

“What’s got you in such a mood? Is the woman okay?”

“Yeah, Mikayla’s fine.”

Sebastian tapped his cigar with his finger as he eyed Gage’s brooding expression. “Ah hell, you fucked her, didn’t you?”

“Goddamn it, Seb.”

“I guess that’s one way to warm her up.” Sebastian laughed. “Can’t say I blame you. What’s the matter, Gage? She get under your skin?”

‘It’s not like that.”

“So,” Sebastian drawled out as he watched Gage brood into his beer. “What’s the problem? Did you strike out?”

Strike out? Hell, no. Gage could still feel her like a phantom touch. He could still smell the sweet lemon-vanilla scent of her on his skin. Damn it, he wanted to feel her under him again, her legs spread wide with those beautiful violet eyes watching him as he took them both over the edge of madness. His carnal thoughts skidded to a halt as he heard his cousin’s low chuckle.

Sebastian watched the emotions flicker over Gage’s face and saw a look that he had been hoping to see on his cousin’s face for far too long. He saw hunger, a passion that had been absent in Gage’s life since his accident. Now, it would just be a matter of getting the stubborn son of a bitch to admit it. “So, you didn’t strike out. Was she any good?”

“Fuck you, Seb.”

“Sorry buddy, you ain’t my type. A woman who looks like that would have to be good. You like this woman or what?”

“Mikayla is…she’s not for me.”

Stupid bastard.
Sebastian could see his cousin had it bad. It was the fucking Stark curse that had him running scared, just like all the Stark men. It was like an anvil hanging over their heads, waiting to crush them. Sebastian took a casual stance, keeping his voice light. “Okay, so you had her. Either fuck her again or forget her. She’s just pussy, right?”

Gage’s eyes flashed hot with anger as he stared back at Sebastian. There it is, Sebastian thought. Now, to push him a little further. “So, you done with her or what?”

“Mikayla isn’t interested in our brand of kink, Sebastian.”

He grinned at Gage, throwing fuel on the fire. “Ah, so that’s the problem. She didn’t let you tie her up and spank her pretty little ass? I could make her like it. Now that you’re done with her, I guess I can try my luck.”

Sebastian barely had time to blink before Gage was in his face, his hands holding Sebastian up by the collar of his coat. “You stay away from her,” Gage snarled. “I’m telling you that she isn’t for us. Either of us.”

Sebastian’s expression sobered. “Damn your stupid ass, Gage. I wish I’d never introduced you to the lifestyle.”

Gage jerked away and picked up his beer. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. I’m a Dom, Gage. I need certain things to get off. You don’t. Instead you use it as a way not to connect to anyone.”

“That’s bullshit,” Gage argued. “I need it just as much as you do.”

Sebastian shook his head slowly. “No, you don’t. I need the control. You use it as an escape. But if you’re too chickenshit to give it a go with Mikayla then that means she’s fair game.”

Gage didn’t see it coming. One minute he was drinking his beer, then the next he was on his cousin, a red haze blurring his vision and making it impossible to think. The men were equally matched, both of them pounding the hell out of each other until they both lay in a snowdrift on the front lawn, panting for breath. Wulf watched from his perch on the porch, too used to the men fighting to be alarmed. Instead, the dog simply sat watching them with his head cocked to the side.

“Feel better now?” Sebastian asked.

“You’re such an asshole.” Gage sighed.

Sebastian laughed then cursed at the pain of his split lip as he sat up. “Someone had to knock some sense into you. Seriously Gage, you’ve got to stop doing this to yourself. You run for cover every time you even think you might be interested in a woman. You can’t keep living like this.”

Gage held back a groan as he sat up next to his cousin, bracing his arms on his knees. “She’s not for me, Seb. There’s a goodness in her I would fucking kill if I was with her. God, you should have seen her at the river. She’s got a bum leg and still, she just went after those kids like it was nothing. She was so cold and blue when I pulled her out of the water. I’ve only known her for a few days, but I can’t remember being as terrified since…”

They were both silent for a moment as both of them remembered Gage’s accident. “Maybe she’s stronger than you think.”

Gage shook his head. “There’s something about her that just makes me want to protect her. She’s just a sweet woman, too soft for my temper or what I’d want from her. I’d end up destroying her.”

Sebastian sighed. “You don’t know that. This fucking Stark curse. Do you really believe it’s real?”

“Don’t you?” Gage turned to look at him with bleak eyes. “Isn’t that why you haven’t claimed Roz?”

Sebastian snorted even though a part of him clenched inside. “That woman is no submissive. Roz is a little hellion. I’d spend all my time trying to fuck her into submission.”

Gage laughed. “But you’d have a lot of fun in the process.” He sobered and looked out over the white landscape. “No, I just have to stay away from Mikayla, no matter how much I want her. It’s better for both of us. Now, let’s go inside. My balls are freezing.” He got up and held out a hand to help his cousin to his feet.

Yeah, Gage thought as he walked inside. He wasn’t good for Mikayla. Now he just needed to find the willpower to stay the fuck away from her.

* * * *

The Twisted Tap was more crowded than usual for a Thursday night, even though it was ladies’ night and people packed it in for the half-price drinks. Tables were filled with patrons all celebrating the good work done by the citizens of Serenity that led to all of the children being saved from the accident the day before.

Gage sat slouched in his chair in the back of the bar, hidden in shadows as he preferred, wishing to hell he were anywhere but there. He was definitely not in the mood for a party. Hell, he was barely fit for any human interaction, but his family had insisted he come with them tonight for the celebration. He had been ready to tell them all to go to hell until he had seen the veiled hope in his little sister’s eyes.

He couldn’t say no after that.

The crowd of people bothered him and the loud mixture of talk and laughter irritated the hell out of him. But he was here. Gage glanced up as the chair next to him was pulled out and his friend Nick sat down. Dressed in plain clothes that signified he was off duty, Deputy Nick Cooper took a long pull of his beer before setting the glass down on the table.

“You trying to scare people away with that frown?”

Gage snorted. “Didn’t seem to work with you.”

“Naw, I’m just immune to the Stark stare. I get enough of it with you and the rest of your crew. Especially from your sister.” Nick laughed. “You need to lighten up, buddy.”

Another chair was pulled out on the other side of the table, and Gage’s younger brother Dylan flopped down. “I’ve tried telling him, Nick. He’s been like a bear with a sore paw all fucking week. We had a new client come to the ranch today and I swear he almost passed out when he met Gage.”