Every Breath You Take (9 page)

“C’mere, hotshot.”

Brady pushed his chair back from the conference table and strode to the doorway. Lexie felt her cheeks flame but gave in to Brady’s powerful presence allowing him to tug her away from Jake. Brady put his arms around her and lifted her chin between his fingers and thumb.

“How about we make a deal, Lexie? You kick Jake’s ass if he comes on to Tiffany. And I’ll beat the hell out of Tiffany if she comes on to Jake.”

Jake’s guffaw confirmed he’d heard his buddy’s threat.

Lexie stared up at her friend, afraid if she laughed she might end up crying.

“Brady, I’m sorry. I’m such an idiot. You
know
I want you to be happy. You deserve that! And, God, to have someone as beautiful as Tiffany is great. I’m sorry I acted like a shrew. No worse. That I acted like a jealous teenager. I want you to be as happy as I am. I… I was just worried about losing what you and I have.”

“I know that, hotshot. Honey, what bigger compliment could a guy get than to have two hot babes lusting after him?”

He gave her a cocky grin. “Besides I love the idea of having a sexy chick waiting in the wings…”

“Watch it, dude,” Jake warned from the sidelines but his grin was as broad as Brady’s. Lexie punched Brady on the arm then rested her head against his shoulder.

“I love you, Brady. You’re my best friend!”

Brady’s grin softened.

“And I love you, hotshot. But love, any kinda love, ain’t meant to be kept in a safe deposit box. Lexie, I’ll always be your friend and I admire the hell out of you. You know that. I’m also jealous. Jealous of what you and Jake have. I… I’m hoping that someday, Tiffany and I…”

At that moment, Tiffany came into the room.

She pursed her lips and frowned slightly but the twinkle in her eyes gave her away.

“Hmm… once more I come into the room to find my lover snuggling up to the beautiful blonde.” She faced Jake and said in mock despair, “How do you handle these two? Obviously, you’ve got them both under control, but how do you do it? Don’t you get jealous? Don’t you want to kick Brady’s butt?”

Jake heard the concern under her teasing question.

“Tiffany, Brady and Lexie are great friends. I wouldn’t do anything to torpedo that friendship. Hell, I can use all the help I can get to manage that feisty hard-headed woman of mine. Brady knows both our foibles and knows when we need a good kick in the pants.”

He added with a grin but the expression in his eyes underscored his seriousness. “I’m the most possessive guy who walked the earth. But rather than turning all that energy on other guys who are understandably ogling the beautiful woman I love, I focus it on her. Brady is smart enough to know when my possessiveness and Lexie’s independence is getting out of control. I have to admire his guts. He’s willing to smack both of us down and we let him. He the biggest smartass I know, but also the wisest.”

Jake walked over to Tiffany and put his arm around her.

“You’ve got a great guy, Tiffany, and he’s found himself a first class woman. I wish you both the best. Just know that Lexie and I are pulling for you. We want the people we care about to have as much love in their lives as we do.”

Tiffany looked taken aback at Jake’s serious tone. Then the expression on her face lightened. She glanced over at Brady and Lexie snuggled together and then at Jake’s arm around her.

“May I be so bold as to make a suggestion? How about we exchange partners? I’ll grab Brady and try not to notice how gorgeous Lexie is, and you go get Lexie out of
my
guy’s arms. Deal?”

All four of them laughed and quickly exchanged partners.

Jake nodded at Brady. “You’ve got a smart woman there, dude. She’s as clever as she is hot. Hang on to her.”

He leaned down and kissed Lexie, his voice sounding a little gravelly.

“And so do I. Even if I have to keep reminding her. But then, reminding her is so damn much fun, why knock it?”

“I take it you all had a good evening?” Peter’s amused question brought everyone to attention.

Lexie forced herself to look at Peter. Damn, now she needed to apologize to him for being such an idiot yesterday. Before she could speak Peter put his finger over her lips and gave her a knowing wink.

“Not necessary, Lexie. But I have a confession to make. The more I see of that ‘interesting’ temper of yours, I question why I let the Big Guy have you. If ever there was a woman worthy of breaking our ‘caveman code,’ it is you, Miss Beloi.”

He buzzed her on the cheek and added, “Having the extraordinary Major Anderson join us only make me envy these guys more. Now I have two women to lust after. How about we make part of our mission, finding another woman as gorgeous as you two, so that I can join the ‘hot couple’ crowd?”

Lexie gave him a quick kiss then shook her head.

“Peter, you know darn well that every woman who sees you is gaga over you. Even the blind ones. Your problem is that you’re like Jake and Brady were before they met Tiffany and me. Like them, you prefer a crowd of eager women fighting over you rather than settling for just one.”

Jake sidled up between them pointedly nudging Peter aside. “Lexie’s right, Peter. It’s not easy giving up all that adulation. That’s why you need to find someone as righteous as these two. They make a bevy of babes superfluous. Keeping up with Lexie, and I know Brady will agree about Tiffany, is as much woman as any man could handle.”

Lexie smiled seeing the consternation on Peter’s face. She had been with him enough to know how women fawned over him—and how much he enjoyed it. But wow, talk about a catch. The woman who snared him would be lucky indeed. But from what she had seen of Peter’s response to the flock of eager females fluttering around him, it would be a while before any of them could catch him.

Jake motioned to the group.

“Now that we’ve concluded our morning quota of Oprah, let’s get down to the business of life and death. Dan called earlier to confirm that we will all be at the meeting this afternoon. News of the young girls’ deaths has reached the highest echelons. Now the Mayor and even the governor are getting involved. They are on Commissioner Roberts’s ass and naturally they want answers now! I don’t envy Dan. Whenever politicians start feeling the heat, like stink on shit they land on the people who are already working the hardest.”

He glanced over at Lexie.

“We briefed Tiffany on the case, Lexie, so we are all up to date. Before we scope out next steps, do you have anything you want to add—anything new from your sources?”

Lexie was grateful that Jake gave her an opportunity to speak without mentioning her mad dash from the room yesterday. She shrugged, now was the time to test Jake’s concept of team. And see if she could fit within it.

“I’ve put a lot of money out on the street, Jake. The District is buzzing over the girls’ deaths. But the only way that I’m going to be able to get real answers is by going to the sources—all of them.

Jake eyed her, the lines around his mouth tightening.

“What does that entail, Lexie?”

His careful question confirmed he knew exactly what she meant but was giving her a chance to explain. She appreciated his effort but knew that they had to deal with this issue head-on if they were going to be successful

“I need to get out on the streets, Jake. Go to the District. None of my sources can come to me. A long time ago we stopped calling or even texting. We constantly sweep our phones and computers but the guys we are after have as sophisticated equipment as we do. No, at this point I need some face to face time with my crowd. I have to hear what they’ve got and compare information. The only way I can tell what’s real is by seeing which facts line up.”

“How do you do that, Lexie?”

Tiffany’s question seemed sincere and Lexie sensed that Tiffany was giving her a chance to explain before one of the guys shut her down. For a quick moment, she allowed herself to wonder if having another woman on the team could be helpful—especially when dealing with a bunch of overprotective men. She knew from Brady that Tiffany had often been the only woman on a mission. She’d probably learned a lot about how to convince a bunch of men that she knew what she was doing. Lexie had always opted for acting first and explaining after, hoping that Jake would eventually give in. But she knew those days were over.

Lexie shrugged.

“I need to go undercover. I have a lot of disguises. They can get me into any brothel in town without being recognized. You’d be surprised how young, old or foreign I can make myself look.”

Lexie ignored Jake’s rigid expression, instead she focused on Tiffany waiting to see how the Major would play it. To her surprise, Tiffany immediately agreed.

“I think that’s a great idea, Lexie. The two of us can go together.” At Brady’s grunt, she added, “Hell, Brady, Lexie will be better protection than I’ve ever had—except when I worked with you and Jake. Usually I had to rely on some wussy GI who was more concerned about protecting my butt than accomplishing the mission. And yeah, I make a great street walker. Every guy I meet thinks my boobs and red hair make me a whore. I decided a long time ago to stop fighting what nature gave me and take advantage of it.”

Tiffany laughed when Brady frowned. She leaned over and chucked his chin. “C’mon, Macho Man. You know it’s true. Tell me one op I did with you two when I wore anything more than a miniskirt and five-inch heels? And we won’t discuss what I wore on top. Or didn’t wear.”

Lexie stared at Tiffany. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Was it possible that Tiffany, the Army Major, had figured out a way to build on her best “assets” and still be part of the team?

Brady glanced at Jake and spoke for the team.

“I hate to admit it but you’re right, Tiffany. That body of yours has done more good for the United States Army than a platoon of Rangers. It makes me mad as hell, but it’s true. Both you and Lexie are natural saboteurs. Real Mata Haris. Now, if Jake and I can just contain our territorial instincts, we might be able to take down a bunch of evil men who think women are good for one thing only.”

Peter also glanced at Jake before he spoke.

“I agree, with Brady, Jake. The evil men we are after have created a flourishing business degrading and exploiting women. It will be deliciously ironic if our best weapon to bring them down is two women who are as vicious as they are beautiful.”

Jake’s were dark, his expression implacable. Along with the rest of the group, Lexie waited in silence for his response.

When he finally spoke his words were measured.

“This is a difficult decision.”

Lexie sucked in a deep breath afraid to hear the verdict. If he disagreed, she knew in her heart, she would go ahead with her plan. The thought of openly defying Jake frightened her but she also knew that she and maybe Tiffany were the best weapons they had.

Jake ran his hands through his unruly hair and fastened her with a hard stare. She knew this was hard for him and appreciated that he hadn’t dismissed her outright. She was frankly shocked when he answered.

“I agree. This may be the best and only way to get the information we need. However, I have other concerns. In addition to the danger that is involved, you two have never worked together.” He looked from Tiffany back to Lexie. “You’ve never been partners. The rest of us have worked together in some combination but you and Tiffany have not.”

Uneasy fingers crawled up the back of Lexie’s neck. Jake was right. Not only was she agreeing to work with Jake and the other men she knew, but she was agreeing to take on Tiffany as a partner.

As if he could read her mind, Jake interjected, “I think you owe it to each other to see what kind of a partner you each will be—what the other can depend on.”

Lexie couldn’t hide her surprise.

“What… are you saying, Jake?”

Jake’s lips turned up in a slight smile.

“I’m saying that I want to see how the two of you do in the ring before I send you out together.”

“You want us to…
fight
?”

He nodded. “Exactly.”

It took a moment for Lexie’s incredulity to morph into anger.

She scoffed, “What are looking for, Jake? A cat fight? Want to see a little hair pulling? A couple of hot sweaty women wrestling on the ground? Shall we slather ourselves in oil?”

Brady leapt to his feet fanning himself. “Be still my heart!” He turned to Lexie, a huge grin on his face, “Would you, hotstuff? The oil, I mean?”

Jake and Peter both laughed.

Brady put up his hands. “No, this is serious, Jake! It’s dangerous. If they’re as hot together in the ring as they are outside of it, I might have to renege on my ‘no-
ménage a trois’
vow.”

Jake shook his head in mock dismay at his outrageous partner, but didn’t hide his grin.

“Yes, Brady, it is serious. Unlike you, I am very serious. Although it’s sure to be entertaining—at least for you, Peter and me—it’s important that Lexie and Tiffany know each other’s skills. They need to know what they can expect if they get in a dangerous situation—which is a given.” He added, giving Lexie a teasing wink. “Don’t worry, Darlin’, I’m assuming you’re relatively evenly matched. Although Tiffany
was
a master CQC trainer.”

Lexie glared at Jake and then at the other two men who were clearly enjoying the scene. Knowing that if she refused, they might think she was afraid of Tiffany – or even worse that she might not be able to beat her. To tell the truth the thought had occurred to her. She was glad to see that Tiffany looked as annoyed as she felt.

Glancing at Tiffany’s jeans and t-shirt, she sized her up.

“What are you? A size six, or an eight? We’re about the same. You can borrow something of mine.”

Refusing to give Jake the satisfaction of acknowledging him, she motioned to Tiffany.

“I have sparring outfits in the dressing room.”

As they passed by the three men who were all clearly amused, Lexie jabbed a finger in Jake’s chest.

“You really are an asshole!”

Jake laughed. “Yeah, Darlin’, I am. But then I always was.”

Lexie whirled away refusing to answer him.