Sworn to Secrecy (Special Ops) (12 page)

“The package?”

He chuckled. “You’re the package, honey.”

She wasn’t sure she liked that terminology at all, but if that’s what he and his friends called the people they rescued then she could have her own fun with the label. “Well then how about unwrapping this package in the bedroom?”

He growled low. “You’re killing me here.”

She laughed. “Your friend is going to be here soon and I’d really like another night with you, Alex. You and I both know tomorrow starts some serious work on all of our parts.” She could tell he knew she was right.

“Bedroom’s back there,” he pointed.

“Then we should be back there too.”

“I agree.” He pulled her up to her feet, holding her hand with one hand, picking up her small bag with the other and guiding her down the darkened hall to the master bedroom.

Chapter Seven

“Y
our father has already gone into witness protection,” Jet’s smooth voice dominated the room and while normally Carissa might have found a voice like that comforting today it was more unnerving. He was delivering news she really didn’t want. Of course she knew that things were going to eventually have to be resolved, but she had enjoyed her brief time with Alex and she had started to feel at peace. There weren’t any bad guys out for blood; there was just the two of them and for those brief moments she was able to forget everything. But now, Jet being here and giving her the four-one-one on what had been done and what she needed to do now and what the Feds wanted from her it was all just a reminder that her life was going to change drastically and she wasn’t ready for that. She wanted normal, but she wouldn’t ever be able to have that.

“Once we retrieve what you have and get you over to the right group of people you’ll join him. Things are going to change for you for a little while.”

“Is it mandatory that I go?” Maybe she was crazy, but she didn’t want to go into witness protection. She wouldn’t go. She was sitting there thinking about her life and she didn’t want to give it up.

“Carissa,” Alex sat beside her and took her hand in his. “You have to do this. You won’t be safe without the relocation.”

“No,” she shook her head. “I’ll help. I’ll get them what they need, but I won’t leave. I won’t go into hiding while the criminals get to roam free. That’s my choice. If they want my help that’s the deal they’ll have to take.” She wasn’t going to hide. She didn’t care how much Alex and Jet protested her decision she wasn’t going to give in.

Alex stood abruptly and started pacing the floor. Jet just shook his head. “You do realize the danger you’ll be in?”

She wasn’t making this decision blindly. She knew the consequences. “Yes,” she admitted freely. “Look they can put a cop on my door, a Fed in the house across the street from me, but I’m not going into hiding. I have a life and as long as I’m breathing I’m going to live it.” The voice she found within her sounded a lot like her mother; she had that same strong, fierce way of not cowering in fear. Carissa remembered a little more about the argument her mother had with her father that day and she remembered how adamant she had been about her father listening to her. “Come as soon as you can,” she remembered her mother saying as she applied the burn cream to her leg. She had clearly blocked most of that night out and she couldn’t understand why; in bits and pieces some of that night was coming back. She still didn’t understand everything and maybe she never would, but she did know that she was not going to run and hide. This had to end. One way or the other it had to end.

“Fine,” Alex shoved his hand through his hair. “Jet will contact Preston and he’ll see what he can do.”

“There’s nothing to see about. It is what it’s going to be; I won’t change my mind.”

“You are the most exasperating woman!”

She shrugged.

“Do you understand how big this thing is?”

She nodded. She understood very well how big this thing was; she still wasn’t going into hiding.

“Stubborn,” he mumbled, along with several other words she couldn’t make out and then she started laughing hysterically. That just seemed to anger him.

“Alex, as if you would just go run and hide.”

“That’s different.”

“Why, because you’re a man? Last I checked men die too.”

“You’re…you…”

“Look, let me make it easy for you here. We had sex; it was great, but that doesn’t mean you own me. You’ve warned me of the consequences; I’m not making this decision blindly, so you can feel completely absolved of any guilt should something bad happen to me because of it.” She stood from the comfortable couch. “Now, if you want what I have we have to get back to Texas. We’re going to need a boat, and we’re going to have to go do a little digging.”

“Don’t,” he bit out the words. “Don’t lump what we did into the just sex category,” he nearly barked.

“I’m going to give you two a few minutes alone,” Jet cautiously excused himself from the room and went toward the back of the house. She realized, much like he probably did, that this wasn’t going to be a rose of a discussion. Alex was pissed.

“Alex…”

“No,” he turned to face her and she could see the rage in his eyes.

“What do you think we did? It wasn’t making love. You don’t love me. I care about you, but let’s face it; we hardly know each other. Do you have any sisters or brothers? What do you do for fun? What do you do when you’re not rescuing people? Those are things we don’t know about each other. Don’t you have to know a little more about each other before you can declare love?”

She was right and he knew it; she could tell by the look in his eyes.

“Maybe we can’t say we love each other, but I do care what happens to you.”

“And I care what happens to you, but I don’t think that means love. I don’t know. I’ve never been in love, but I don’t think I’m ready to declare it now.”

“I know,” he sighed. “That doesn’t mean that I like your idea. I think it’s a really dumb idea.”

She laughed. “Maybe it is, but I’m going with it. Besides, with what’s on that flash drive I won’t need witness protection once it goes public.”

“Public? No, I don’t think the Feds are going for that.”

“I don’t think the Feds are the best option here. If I can get this thing to a news outlet, at least a copy of it, the list goes public with all the information and I won’t have to cower in fear. We can still get the evidence to the Feds, but at least this way whoever else is behind this thing, whoever has managed to not end up on that list—and I’m sure that’s still a lot of people who didn’t end up there—they’ll be afraid to come after me. This is my plan, Alex. I think it’s going to work.”

“It might,” he admitted. “It’s risky, but it just might work. Let me talk it over with the guys. We know some people we can trust and I think Preston has some media connections. I think we can make this work. I hope we can make this work.”

She hoped so too. It was her idea that it could work. Nobody would risk coming after her, or so she thought, once the list was out. Right now, the people on that list wanted to stop it from becoming public knowledge. Even if she gave it to the Feds she wasn’t sure the flash drive would just vanish and then she and her dad would still end up dead. This way—her way—meant the list would come out publically. The evidence would be out there, on the Net, in the newspapers and on every network nationally, maybe even internationally too. The thing they’re willing to kill for will already be out there. Maybe that would buy her, and her father, freedom from the fear of catching a bullet one day.

Alex didn’t like the idea of keeping Carissa out of the protection program; it was too dangerous, but on the other end of things she did have a point. If they took the information public she stood a better chance at staying safe than she did if they just pushed everything into the legal proceedings arena. She would probably never make it to court. Preston and Micah had agreed as well and with all four members of the team in agreement the cards were dealt; now they had to play them. They needed to win this one. Her life depended on it.

With the risks hanging over their heads, he, Carissa and Jet headed back to Texas. He could have kept her in that cabin forever because she was safe there, but that would have just been avoiding the issue and he didn’t go in for avoidance when it came to things like this. Meet them head on, fast and hard, was his motto. There was no room for fear because fear would get them killed.

They met up with Preston while Micah handled the business of keeping the men who were watching their office busy. Preston had told him the guys in the car were definitely federal. The guy acting like a vagrant on the street corner was probably one of the OTG members; in fact he was sure of that. So, as easily as he breathed, Preston gave both watchers the slip, leaving Micah behind to provide just enough activity to keep them busy with him as not to risk having their mission of the day disrupted.

The boat was easy to acquire, thanks to the extensive group of friends Jet had. It wasn’t as if they had appropriated funds to buy one of their own. The plane was a necessity; the boat would have just been a toy and there wasn’t room in the budget for unnecessary toys.

“So we’re here, dead smack in the middle of Lake Georgetown, what’s next, Carissa?” Alex and Jet turned at the same time. Alex heartbeat tripled from arousal and the possessive streak that hit him like a hurricane wave. “What are you doing?” He growled.

“Taking my clothes off,” she said as if that should have been obvious. Well it was obvious actually. She was stripping down to her bra and panties. “I’m not going in the water fully clothed or I’ll be a sopping mess by the time I get back on deck.”

“We can go down for it.”

“You can’t,” she smiled at him. “I know exactly where I left it buried and what I left it buried in. You would exhaust too much time searching for it when I can go down on one trip and get it.”

“You’re free diving. Can you hold your breath that long?”

“Of course. How do you think I got it down there?” She did a few breathing prep exercises as she stood before him in a pair of black cotton bikini cut panties and a basic black bra. She looked divine. It took all his strength to focus on the mission and not the barely covered woman standing in front of him.

She picked up the spade and stepped up onto the platform at the edge of the boat. “I’ll be right back,” she winked at him before diving overboard.

“She likes you a lot more than a few nights of sex, Alex.” Jet’s tone was one that told Alex he was ready to lecture him on how to treat a woman. He didn’t need lecturing. He wasn’t the kind of man to use anybody, especially not a woman just for sexual gratification. If he wanted sex he could get it. He wasn’t a bad looking guy and he had no trouble attracting the ladies when he went out. If he wanted sex he could hit the bar and pick up somebody, but that’s not the kind of man he was and his friends should have already known that.

“I’m just saying if you don’t feel anything for her cut the ties now because there’s no questioning the fact you’re part of her reason for not going into the Witness Protection Program.”

“Dude, seriously? She has a business she would like to keep running and she’s independent. She doesn’t want to go into hiding. It’s not about me.”