Fire and Ice (Guardians) (3 page)

Maia's eyes widened. Men didn't usually talk dirty to her. Most would be too intimidated. She looked up into Jack's slate-blue eyes, which were almost black in the flickering light. She could either dig her hands into his hair, drag his head down and shove her tongue into his mouth or she could pull away.
Two can play this game
, she thought. Summoning years of practice, Maia's eyes fluttered to half-mast, she licked her lips and stared at Jack's firm lips dreamily. She was pleased to hear his breath hitch before she smiled sweetly and said, "No."

Maia tugged her arms free and strode off to where Brett, Mike and Derek stood in a huddle. They had all had their eyes on her and Jack. Derek looked disapproving, Mike was thunderous and Brett was well, Brett. She needed to brief them on the new safe house, a bunker type structure not too far from Castle. Thank God there were less than seven hours before the whole mess was over. She was going to take up Viktor's offer of a break and head to Bora Bora.

"You can run, Miss Pierce," Jack called after her, and she could swear he murmured, "but you can't hide."

***

Raul Vergara was convicted on all counts of money laundering, narcotics trafficking and police bribery. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The list of transactions and names was released to respective agencies such as the DEA, FBI, Internal Affairs and the Department of Justice. The NPPD had taken a direct hit and sadly it would take time for the local police force to regain the trust of the public. The US Marshal's East Coast division was also getting an overhaul. A few politicians in DC had resigned their posts as investigations uncovered their involvement in the drug trade.

Mike Callahan, New Park City DA had become the city's local hero. AGS was working its butt off to make sure he stayed alive. He sure had made a lot of enemies.

Brett McCord had been whisked off to a family estate, parts unknown.

Numerous arrest warrants had been issued. Vergara's men had scattered and started moving into smaller towns to hide the merchandise waiting until the heat cooled down. Millions of dollars in drugs had been confiscated, but there's still a sizable amount floating around.
 

And there's the matter of the Russians.

Jack and Derek emerged from a meeting with the DoD representatives. Needless to say their clients were pleased with the next stage of weapons testing.

Colonel Hugo Dalton was head of Advanced Weapons Acquisition and their main liaison at the DoD. His group worked closely with specialized units within the military to assess the changing landscape of covert operations.

A new lightweight carbine and an untraceable tracking device were on the fast-track to testing and production.

"New toys for the big boys," Colonel Dalton declared jovially before stepping into the elevator with his colleagues to report back to the Pentagon.

Jack smiled wryly at Derek. "Now that was an easy sell."

"Yeah."

"Drinks back at my office? We can head out to dinner later to celebrate."

"Man, we need to stop dating each other. No hope of getting back with Isabella?"

Isabella had been Jack's girlfriend for eight months. Lasting longer than most of his other arrangements, she was gorgeous, sophisticated, good in bed and most of importantly, had not demanded much attention until two months ago, that is. Jack hated getting played. Apparently, Isabella had made it her life's mission to become Mrs. Jack McCord and studied Jack's past relationships to this end. Jack liked his independence so she had played it cool in the beginning. But when she realized Jack was not getting any nearer to committing to any future with her, she had started delivering ultimatums. Jack had not wasted any time in dispatching her ass three weeks before.

"I never go back, you know that. When I'm done, I'm done."

"Jack, you can't go on like this. You need to move on from Claire."

A flash of pain jagged through Jack's indigo eyes. Claire had been Jack's fiancée, and had been killed twelve years before in an accident that also took the life of his sister, Anna. It was a hellish time for everyone. The accident was in fact a revenge hit ordered by enemies Jack acquired during his time as a Navy SEAL. His missions were top-secret, but there were rumored to be leaks in the CIA and names involved in some covert ops were released. There was an inquiry initiated by the McCord family, but it was dropped due to lack of evidence.
 

Jack couldn't find it in himself to go through the heartbreak of losing someone he loved again. He did care for his girlfriends and was a generous lover both financially and physically, but his emotional involvement was minimal. "I'm over that."

"No, you're not."

"What about you Derek? You're older than I am. Why don't you have a wife and three kids?" Jack shot back, getting irritated.

Derek was 41 years old, two years older than Jack. Dark blonde with brown eyes, he was physically built exactly like Jack - lean muscle and ruggedly handsome and was not lacking female company either.

"Point taken. But it's not because I can't commit. I just love women, different women."

"I can't keep track of your women. At least I'm monogamous."

Derek sighed. "We're hopeless. Maybe that's why we're such good friends."

Jack grinned and thumped Derek on the back as they entered his office.
 

"Let's stop commiserating like a couple of old women. Scotch?"

Derek's cell phone started buzzing.

"Lockwood."

Jack watched his friend listening intently to whoever was on the other end, and tensed when Derek's face lost all color. Not good.

"Fuck! What's her location?" Derek exploded. "No... no... I don't remember the fourth encryption protocol. My cell is secure. Damn it, Viktor, just give me the damn coordinates!"

Jack was already handing Derek a pen and paper.

"Gotcha." Derek ended the call, scribbling some numbers quickly.

"I need to go. I'm taking one of our fully-equipped SUVs"

"Need backup?" Jack offered quietly.

The two friends frequently "helped" each other out in situations outside the office.
 

Derek looked at Jack carefully as if contemplating what he was about to reveal.

"What's going on?" Jack pressed, an odd nagging fear crawling over his skin.

"Come on. I'll tell you on the way. Can't waste any more time."

CHAPTER TWO

Jack was furious. He and Derek sped through New Park City heading towards the warehouse district. Maia had called Viktor for backup because the Russian nut job she had burned in her last assignment had found her. AGS had known of this danger since the attack on the safe house which was five days ago. Jack wanted to know why her people had not tried harder to contain the situation. None of the ERTs were on alert right then and it would take an hour to mobilize them by which time it would be too late. Viktor called Derek: the MDI offices were twenty minutes away from the warehouse where Maia was holed-up in.

Jack shouldn't have waited to make his move on her. He'd been trying to get her contact information from Derek but his friend had been evading his subtle inquiries. He had also tried the Private Investigator route but that had turned out to be all false information. She was a ghost. This intrigued Jack. He had other resources of course, but he did not want to tap into those markers unless he had to, as it might have raised unnecessary questions. Besides, he would have bet most information on her would be covered under black marker anyway. Heck, he should have just sat on Derek's head until he gave him Maia's number.

Now Maia was in trouble.

"I don't know Viktor Baran personally, but I'm really, really pissed at him right now," Jack said through his teeth.

"I thought she'd already gone to ground. I know she took on Brett's protective detail because Viktor was keeping her off of international radar. Instead it exposed her to the very people she was trying to avoid. I don't know the whole story. I try not to get into AGS business and Maia doesn't share, but from what I've gathered these people are bad news and now they're Stateside."
 

Derek had worked for Viktor before, and that was how he had met Maia, so he generally knew how the company operated. His former boss also called him occasionally for favors.

Their black Escalade pulled up a block from the target location. Heading straight for the trunk, they armed themselves with semi-automatic weapons, ammunition and other essential assault gear. They then snuck up the remaining block, keeping close to the shadows.

There was a black panel van parked up ahead blocking Maia's convertible.

Jack pointed an MDI heat-signature device at the vehicle and noted that there were no warm bodies in the car.

"Van is clear, let's move in."

Derek hoofed it quietly towards the entrance of the warehouse, Jack kept his eyes open for snipers and followed when his friend gave the all clear.

Taking a peek up the open stairwell, they identified three flights of stairs. Blood was trickling from the second landing.

Jack and Derek exchanged grim glances. The warehouse was eerily quiet. Whatever had happened here was over. They stuck to one side of the stairs and sidled up, guns and elbows cocked and ready to go. There was a dead man on the stairs, head partially blown off. Another was on the last flight of steps, a recipient of the same fatal shot. Jack smiled humorlessly as he thought,
Kill shots
.

Derek held a finger over his lips to warn Jack to keep quiet and then waved his hand palm down, signaling for him to stop. There were distinctive sounds of slow typing coming from the top loft when to their relief, Maia's voice was heard speaking quietly on the phone, apparently talking to Viktor.

"I'm transferring the files now. Yes, I'll rig the devices with TX-3 so there'll be no traces left .... Ha! Thanks a lot .... I don't know, I need to pick up some of my gear at the locker at the train station .... I hate to stand down, Viktor, I do not like running ... I'll contact you when I'm secure .... OK .... Later."

The typing resumed.

"Maia, its Derek!" Derek shouted before showing himself, probably to prevent her from shooting first and asking questions later.

"I see the cavalry is late," Maia drawled, then her eyes registered shock when she saw Jack. "What is he doing here?"

"Glad to see you too, sweetheart," Jack shot back. His relief was so great he wanted to grab her and squeeze her. A simmering fury persisted though, as he surveyed the other two men lying dead on the floor. One appeared to have had his neck broken, the other bore no external indication of what had happened to him.

 
"They're dead," Maia stated flatly as she stood up from behind her computer. Jack and Derek reacted almost identically.

"What the fuck?"

"Hell, what happened to you?"

Maia stood before them, blood streaking down her right arm, the left hanging limply at an odd angle beside her.

"Can one of you pop my shoulder back in?" Maia asked as though she was asking for a glass of water.

***

"You ready?" Jack asked Maia. He had her left arm bent at the elbow at 90 degrees. He was standing so close, she could smell his after-shave. She hung onto his clean scent to prepare for the unpleasant business of popping her dislocated joint back into place.

Maia nodded. Then Jack without further warning rotated the shoulder and arm outward coaxing the joint back into place.

"Ah! Damn!" Maia hissed through her teeth, her eyes watered as her badly-abused shoulder slid back into its socket. "I hate when that happens." Her whisper was strangled.

"I know, babe." Maia felt Jack's lips on her hair. Did he just kiss her hair? His arms came around her in a gentle hug. God, she hated to move away from the circle of his warmth, feeling so secure in a strange way. But she remembered who and what she was and squirmed out of his arms.

"Er ... thanks, Jack."
 

"No problem. You may want to put that in a sling for a while."

Derek was working on the files on Maia's laptop. "Almost done! Shoulder back to normal?"

"Yup"

"I see you've been working surveillance on the Russians. Is that why you hung around town?"

"Yup."

"Um, hate to say this Maia, but was that a good idea?"

"That's an idiotic idea. That's a dumb fuck idea," Jack interjected, a bit too forcefully.

"I was careful," she replied defensively.

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I wasn't too discreet," Maia admitted grudgingly.

Derek frowned. "It's unlike you to be sloppy, sweetie. You need a break and regroup."

Maia chewed her bottom lip as if pondering what her friend had just said. "I'm going to pack up and come back to set the charges," Maia replied, not wanting the men to know she was doubting herself. They were so perceptive, damn them. Jack had been stirring something unfamiliar within her too because he rattled her defenses like no
 
man ever had. She was fully aware of his virile masculinity - sucking the oxygen out of the room such that she had trouble breathing smoothly in his presence. She did not need this complication right now with Reznikov at large.

She moved to her dressing area and pulled out two oversized duffel bags. To her consternation, Jack followed her, observing her like a hawk. She ignored him and started shoving clothes into her bag.

"Where are you heading?" Jack asked casually.

"It's really none of your business," Maia replied, a little more harsher than she had intended to. She wanted to keep her tone neutral, not act like he had gotten under her skin.

"I can offer you protection. I have some properties in a couple of small towns that are well-equipped to keep you hidden."

"And what's in it for you?"

"Damn it, Maia, I'm trying to keep you safe."

"I don't need you to keep me safe. You barely know me. I can take care of myself."

"I can see that. But you think this Russian whatever-he-is won't finally figure out how to get to you with the attempts he's made? Yeah, I know those mercs who stormed Castle were connected to him. I've got the resources, probably more than even the AGS."