Every Breath You Take (7 page)

She headed to the door.

“Tell you what, Jake. You and Brady and Peter can update Tiffany on the hell we’re facing. I presume Dan sent over photographs of the girls. When you give Tiffany the gory details, don’t sugar-coat the facts. Heads up, Tiffany. Three young girls were brutally murdered. The primary responsibility is mine. The guys will try to cover for me. I presume you’re smart enough to see through their bullshit.”

Jake quirked a surprised brow then frowned. “Lexie. Wait. Don’t go. Tiffany can benefit from your input. Hell, you masterminded the whole goddamned operation.”

“Yeah, I did. Didn’t I, Jake?” Lexie sniffed dispassionately. “And look at where that’s got us.”

Jake rose and was at her side before she reached the door. He grasped her arm. His voice was low, commanding.

“Lexie, I would like you to stay.”

Lexie tossed her head and shook her arm free from his grasp. “No can do, Jake. I’m tired and I still have three classes to teach and then I’m going for a run.”

She tossed Tiffany a caustic smile. “My students aren’t anywhere near what you’re accustomed to, Tiffany. They are merely aspiring national champions. Kids with big dreams and high hopes. A big difference from the hotshots you train.” Ignoring Jake’s deepening frown she added, “In the next couple of days, you’ll have to stop by the dojo. Maybe we can spar a few rounds. If I’m not here, you’re welcome to use the equipment any time you wish.”

Lexie felt Jake’s troubled gaze but she ignored it. Brushing his arm away, she plastered what she hoped was a reasonably pleasant smile on her face.

“Welcome to San Francisco, Tiffany. I know Brady and Jake are thrilled you agreed to join their company.”

Tiffany’s narrowed gaze confirmed that she saw through Lexie’s plastic pleasantry and caught the jibe about the company.

Obviously accustomed to dealing with slights, Tiffany’s tone was even, unruffled.

“I hope you are happy to have me as well, Lexie. Everything Brady has told me makes me feel like I know you. And of course, you were the most important person in the world to Anthony. He raved about you.”

If she’d driven a knife through her belly, Tiffany couldn’t have hurt her more. When Brady fell for Tiffany, Lexie had put aside the fact that when the guys first met Tiffany years ago in Korea, it was her brother Anthony who’d fallen for the redhead. Lexie could still remember Anthony’s telephone call. He told Lexie in a voice filled with awe, that if he could fall in love, it would be with the lovely Tiffany. Their various missions kept the two potential lovers apart… and then Anthony was killed.

Tiffany’s casual mention of Anthony was the final straw in a horrible couple of days of painful events. Lexie acknowledged Tiffany’s words were innocent, that she didn’t intend the agony they caused. Lexie bit down hard on her lip, not trusting herself to respond.

Tiffany shot her a troubled frown but nevertheless once again reached out.

“It will be nice to work on a team with another woman. Especially one who has as many skills as you do, Lexie.”

Lexie scoffed.

“Sorry, Tiffany. But I’m not much of a team player. Ask your new partners. The best I can do is to try to stay out your way.”

Lexie didn’t need to look behind her to know the looks the men must be exchanging. Hot tears burned her eyelids. Damn, under ordinary circumstances Brady would be chasing after her. With one teasing taunt after another he’d soon have her laughing at her foolishness. That thought made the hurt worse. It underscored that with Tiffany on the scene, her relationship with Brady would never be the same. He’d need to focus on his woman, not his best friend’s woman.

Lexie groaned. God, she was acting like a spoiled teenage girl. Miffed that a new girl had come to their school and it looked like she would be more popular with ‘the boys’ than Lexie was. To top it off, the new chick stole Lexie’s best friend. Lexie closed her eyes not knowing whether to laugh at herself or cry. She decided to do both. On the longest running trail she could find. It was a cinch she couldn’t stay in the dojo after her classes. With her luck Tiffany would be there surrounded by a circle of fawning men wanting to see the latest and greatest from the hottest fucking martial artist around.

UUGH!!! She looked up at the sky and murmured a silent prayer. Please, God. Help me.

Chapter 7

Lexie pounded along the trail, running faster and farther than she ever had. If someone had asked her to describe the sights along her twenty mile round trip she would have been clueless. Her eyes never acknowledged the ocean at her left or the majestic forests on her right. She passed through crowded thoroughfares and quiet tree-lined streets—none of which made it past her mental gatekeeper. Instead she’d focused on the jumbled pictures in her ever busy mind. Unlike Master Wan and Jake, she’d never mastered the centered peacefulness of meditation. ‘Quiet mind’ as the experts called it eluded her. She’d tried over the years, but sitting quietly allowing her raging thoughts and fears to fade away into ‘nothingness’ was beyond her. Running for endless miles or beating a bag were her drugs of choice for maintaining her sanity.

She wondered if Tiffany could meditate. She sneered. Of course Tiffany could. She’d probably written the seminal book on the benefits of transcendental meditation for special operative bad boys. With her picture on the book jacket, no less. Probably with the buttons on her USC uniform casually unbuttoned to show off her impressive torso. Lexie managed a grim smile at the idea of a semi-naked Tiffany on an ‘academic’ book cover that was required reading for special ops wannabes. If nothing else it would occupy a critical place under their mattresses instead of the ubiquitous Hustler or Playboy magazines.

Lexie was self-aware enough to know that focusing on Tiffany was her way of protecting herself from the agony of the murdered girls. The girls’ deaths and her indirect role in the hideous murders had rocked her to her core. Tiffany’s arrival was just one more reminder of what they were up against. Solving the murders and bringing down
Mr. E
. would require the best of their ace team. A team Lexie wasn’t sure would work for her. Whether she could fit. Working with two, no, with Peter make that three, hard-assed military hotshots who worked together like a well-oiled machine was challenging enough. Now add one more crack military undercover dynamo who also happened to be gorgeous and it was even less likely Lexie would fit in. Oh and don’t forget, that the new ‘guy’ on the squad was a renowned martial artist maybe as good as—or better than—Lexie.

Fuck. What she wanted to do was hit the streets. Meet with her snitches. Wear one of her ‘street’ costumes that allowed her entry into any brothel in the District. Sure it was dangerous. But what wasn’t? She knew the streets would be buzzing with chatter about the murders. A night of prowling the District in one of her many disguises and meeting up with some of her sources was sure to pay off. As it was, she’d put out the word that she’d pay top dollar for any information about the scum who’d killed the girls. But to get the information she paid for, she needed to be on site. No one would come to her. That truly was dangerous, for them
and
for her. No, she needed to meet the shadowy figures on their turf. She hadn’t told Jake what she’d done, of course. But then when had she had the time? Her ‘team’ had spent most of the afternoon briefing Tiffany. A task she reminded herself with a shiver of guilt, she’d refused to participate in.

~~~

It was dark when she reached the Jai Li Center. Master Wan’s study door was closed. Lexie quieted her footsteps thinking that if the gods were with her, her sensei and Jake were enjoying one of their after dinner cognacs. The two most important men in her life had become close friends. Jake’s father had been an Army Colonel and was killed in an overseas clandestine mission when Jake was just a teenager. In the last year, the solemn Chinese man became more than a father figure for Jake, he became a trusted confidant. Just as Jake revered the wise elderly man, Master Wan respected the accomplished hero who’d begun to fill the empty hole in the household left by Anthony’s death. Moreover, Master Wan made no secret of his delight that someone as strong as Jake had fallen for the feisty, headstrong young woman Master Wan called his ‘spirit daughter.’

Lexie opened the door to hers and Jake’s quarters and breathed a sigh of relief at the darkened room. She closed the door behind her grateful that she could avoid Jake for the moment. If she was truly lucky she could be in and out of her shower and safely tucked in their bed where she could pretend to be asleep when he arrived.

Stripping off her sweaty running clothes, she cranked the shower up to steaming. Ten minutes with hot water beating on her quivering muscles restored her spirits somewhat. Smothering herself with fragrant lotion, particularly rubbing it into the tight knots on her neck and shoulders, also helped. It wasn’t the same as Jake’s caring ministrations the night before, but the best she could do, given that she intended to avoid her lover tonight.

She skimmed a pair of silky tap pants over her curvy butt and yanked on a matching halter. It was one of Jake’s favorite outfits, but then he loved all of her lingerie, the silkier and sexier the better.

When she came out of the bathroom it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark bedroom. A flickering of red and gold from under the door to their sitting room was the only light. Coupled with the crackling sounds and smell of burning pine logs it was evident that not only was there a fire in the fireplace, but that a particular man—one she’d hoped to avoid tonight—was sitting in front of that fire. Lexie hesitated then screwed up her courage. She wasn’t naïve enough to think that she could get by without facing Jake. She stood for a moment with her hand on the doorknob then assumed a casual pose and opened the door.

Whatever élan she’d hoped to convey skittered off her like oil on a scalding griddle. Her jaunty greeting stuck in her throat at the sight of the big man lounging in the over-stuffed leather chair in front of the fire. Jake studied her through half closed eyes like a casual scientist observing a helpless bug pinned on a light board. A bug that he intended to dissect at his leisure.

Lexie choked back the moan that rose in her throat. Even now when the last thing she wanted to do was to talk to him much less listen to him, she couldn’t stifle the wave of sensations that flooded her core. Goddammit. Why did she let Jake do this to her? One look at the sexy man, his long legs stretched out in front of him, his bare feet crossed at the ankles, sent shivers of excitement snaking up her spine. A tight black t-shirt hugged his broad muscled shoulders and revealed his bulging biceps. Even his hands were big, strong. As though he could capture her in his grip with little or no effort. That he had on many occasions proved the point.

She clung to the door jamb, but was unable to resist his unspoken command when he motioned to her to enter. His quiet intensity magnetically drew her toward him. Clenching her hands into tight fists she crossed her arms over her chest. She wished she had thought to put on a robe, something more than this scanty revealing outfit. Inwardly she scoffed at her foolishness. It wouldn’t matter if she was wearing rubber wading boots and a knee length poncho. Jake would undress her with his eyes, stripping off her clothes one piece at a time until she stood bare, naked and vulnerable before his probing gaze.

The only comforting sight was the bulge tenting the front of his tight jeans. At least he was as aroused as she was. She scoffed at the thought. As though his arousal put them on an equal footing. Never. From the moment he gazed at her, his animal-like presence filled the space between them. He sat across the room, relaxed, easy, a sleek panther stalking his prey knowing that she was his to mold, to shape and drive to erotic abandon. At times like this Lexie despised Jake’s power over her as much as she craved it. If only the balance of power could be more equal. But for the moment, the memory of her childish departure earlier made her more vulnerable to him than ever.

His mouth quirked up at the corner in what could have been the beginning of a smile. But his dark blue gaze confirmed that mirth was not the emotion he was feeling.

She met his gaze. “I…I thought you were gone.”

“No such luck, Lexie. I’m here.”

She tossed her head and moved toward the sofa. She was eager to crouch in the corner and grab a throw pillow to cover her semi-naked body.

He shook his head, his eyes narrowing further.

“Uh uh. Don’t sit down.”

He pointed to a spot in front of him.

“Here, Darlin’. Stand here. I want you in front of me where I can see all of you. I’ll tell you when and where I want you to sit.”

When she raised her chin and glared at him, his responding grin was devoid of mirth.

“Did you think you could avoid me tonight, Lexie?”

She sniffed. “Apparently not.”

He smiled and took a long sip of the amber liquid in his glass. A half bottle of Makers Mark sat on the table at his elbow.

“Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”

She aimed for nonchalance but missed when her voice shook. “What… what was
what
all about?”

Jake studied her for another long moment.

“You’ve had a hard couple of days, Lexie.”

She shrugged. “Yes, and so?”

“Lexie, the murder of the girls would be a horrendous blow to anyone. Even someone as strong as you are.”

At his careful phrasing, her temper rose. She squared her shoulders and snapped.

“Stop patronizing me, Jake. Say it. Say that I spoiled Brady’s big day. The arrival of his stunning woman.”

Jake squinted at her. “No, Darlin’. I think the only person who looked unhappier than you when you marched out of the room was Brady.”

Lexie felt a wave of shame remembering her childish actions and the troubled look on Brady’s face. But she refused to stand here and let Jake interrogate her like she was a petty thief.

“Look, Jake. I’m sorry. I will apologize to Brady in the morning. I behaved badly.”