Targeted (Hostage Rescue Team Series Book 2) (8 page)

Since he’d first met her through Tuck last year he’d seen her maybe a handful of times. She was only a couple years older than him, maybe thirty-three or thirty-four, but she had this way of making him feel dumb and confused all at the same time, and without any effort on her part. Maybe because she had a law degree and knew shit about everything from literature to architecture and wasn’t shy about expressing her opinion, which he actually respected a lot.

He flat out didn’t understand her though. The woman had a freaking law degree from Tulane and had given up practicing as a lawyer—along with the six-figure-a-year salary it had given her—to write romantic horror full time.

Romantic horror. What the fuck was that even? How was horror remotely romantic? Granted he’d been out of the whole dating scene for a long time and still hadn’t gotten back on that horse even though his goatfuck of a divorce had been finalized ten months ago, but he had no clue how to even relate to someone like Zoe.

The confusion part was compounded when he found himself looking at her without meaning to, or watching her for longer than was considered polite. She’d caught him doing it a few times too, but had never called him on it. Which was good. She wasn’t his type, not even close, and checking her out made him feel creepy considering she was like Tuck’s little sister rather than his cousin.

“Okay, and what about you?” she asked him now. “How are you doing?”

Huh? “Fine.” Was there some deeper meaning she was after that he was missing?

“Yeah? Work’s going okay? I know they push you guys really hard. Must be exhausting sometimes. I bet some days you’d love to take off and just lie on a beach someplace.”

“No. I love my job.”

“I know, but you must still get tired.”

He shrugged. They were all tired and usually beat up to some extent, but they’d known what they were signing up for when they first applied. Almost all of them had come from a Spec Ops or at least some sort of military background. The job was demanding and exhausting, but none of them would have had it any other way. Just like with the SEAL Teams it was an honor and a privilege to make, let alone to serve on, the HRT.

A blissful few moments of silence passed before she spoke again.

“Does it hurt?”

He looked over at her. She was studying him with an openly curious expression on her face. He bit back a sigh. “Does what hurt?”

“Having that bug up your ass.”

His teeth clacked together as he jerked his head back around to look at the road. He clenched his jaw and squeezed the steering wheel until his knuckles were white, then stole another glance at the clock.
T minus fifty minutes.
He could totally do this.

“Okay, that wasn’t very nice of me, especially when you’re doing me a favor by picking me up and taking me to Celida’s, but you do realize I’m not the enemy, right?”

He didn’t answer, mostly because right now he didn’t think he could open his mouth and say something nice.

Zoe didn’t seem to care. “Look, Tuck told me about your divorce, but I don’t think you’re aware that I knew your ex.”

It surprised him so much that he glanced over at her again. “How?”

She raised her eyebrows. “How do you think?”

Duh, he reminded himself, she’d practiced family law in Shreveport, where his ex-wife was from and where they’d been married. It was also where he’d filed for the divorce.

“Did you work on our case?” His face started to heat at the thought. There was shit in those legal documents that he didn’t want anyone to know about other than his superiors, who’d been apprised of everything because they’d had to be. And a good thing, too, since they’d saved his ass by fighting to keep him on the team after he’d been arrested. Without Tuck and DeLuca having his back at the time, his career—his life—would’ve been over.

“No,” she said and he relaxed. Even if they didn’t know each other much, he didn’t want Zoe to form an opinion of him based on what was in those documents.

Because anyone who read them without knowing him would either judge or be afraid of him. Zoe didn’t seem to do either of those things, and he was surprisingly relieved about that.

“She tried to retain me for her legal counsel initially but after meeting with her a few times I refused representation. I knew after two hours that she was manipulative and mentally ill, not to mention a pathological liar.”

Holy shit.

Clay was too stunned by that shockingly accurate summation to reply. Barely anyone had been able to see any of that in Eve—least of all him, until it was too late—not even her own parents. Only his closest friends had believed him, and a few of them only after accidentally witnessing one of her episodes when they’d dropped by for an unannounced visit. He wouldn’t soon forget that humiliating experience.

Zoe continued. “I’m sorry you went through all that and I’m sorry for what she did and how she treated you. But you made the right call in getting out and ending the marriage because I honestly don’t think she’s ever going to change. Narcissists never do. They can’t. And that’s not your fault. Staying with her would have been like serving a life sentence and you deserve way better.”

Wow. The agency had sent him to a therapist for an entire year after he’d separated from his wife and never once had she said anything as remotely comforting as Zoe just had.

“Anyway, I just meant that I hope you know not all women are like that. Truly.” And then she shocked the hell out of him by reaching out and rubbing his shoulder with a gentle hand, as though to soothe him. Her touch sent unwanted sparks of heat along his skin.

He inclined his head, trying to ignore the feel of her hand on him but it was damn distracting. “I do know that. But thanks.” Though yeah, it was a struggle sometimes to shake himself out of his cynical mindset now, especially when it came to women. And he knew there was still no excuse for what he’d done to land him in jail. Even though his record had been cleared of all charges, that incident was something he still wished he could go back and change.

“You’re welcome.” She gave him a gentle smile that stirred something inside him he’d thought long dead and kept her hand where it was, cupping it around the ball of his shoulder as though she didn’t want to lose that simple connection with him.

He glanced at the clock again.

T minus forty-five minutes.

Clay mentally shook his head at himself. Jesus, he was gonna need an appointment with another therapist at the end of this trip.

****

Celida opened her apartment door and grinned as Zoe threw her arms around her and squeezed. She smiled. Zoe gave the best hugs in the entire universe.

Returning the strong embrace, she looked over her friend’s shoulder at Bauer, looming behind her like a gruff grizzly bear with his rich chocolate brown hair in need of a cut and a face full of scruff that hadn’t seen a razor in at least a week. His bright blue eyes held a slightly wary look.

“Good to see you, Zozo,” she murmured into her friend’s hair, currently dyed a shocking combo of fire hydrant red and jet black.

“You too,
bébé
.”

God, she’d missed that NOLA accent and the musky scent of Zoe’s perfume.

Zoe released her and stepped back to look at Bauer. “Are you coming in?”

“I gotta head out,” he said, and his refusal didn’t surprise Celida in the least.

Zoe tilted her head. “Are you sure you don’t want at least a beer or something?”

“Nah, I’m good.” He looked like he was desperate to escape, which Celida found funny since he was nearly six and a half feet of raw, badass alpha male and apparently couldn’t handle the thought of being alone with her and Zoe for twenty minutes.

“When’s Tuck off work?” Zoe asked him.

He shrugged his impossibly wide shoulders. “Not sure. Depends.”

“And even if they let him go, he was going to try and stop by to see his dad after,” Celida answered.

Zoe’s head snapped around, her black-ringed golden eyes wide with surprise. “Oh.” It was clear she hadn’t expected Celida to know about Al’s condition. “He told you?”

“Today.” Along with a whole lot of other important things Celida was still wrestling with. “You sure about that beer?” she asked Bauer.

“Yeah, but thanks.”

“Okay, well, thanks for driving her over.”

“No problem.” He looked at Zoe, seemed to hesitate for a second before blurting, “See you later,” and turning to go.

“Hey, wait.” Zoe dropped her bag and turned to him, going up on tiptoe to wrap her arms around his neck and hug him. Bauer’s discomfited expression was so priceless Celida had to fight back a laugh, but he patted her back gently with one big palm. “I’ll be by your place to visit you guys in a day or two,” Zoe added as she stepped back.

Bauer seemed frozen by the announcement for an instant. “Uh, okay. See you.”

When he turned to go Zoe picked up her bags and entered the apartment. “He’s a hard one to read,” she muttered as she shut the door and wheeled her suitcase into the kitchen.

That surprised her. “You think?” Stoic, grim and anti-social. Didn’t seem that hard to read to Celida.

“I think his divorce fucked with his head. Well, his ex sure did anyway,” she amended.

“He was married?” Celida found that idea both shocking and fascinating. Bauer didn’t seem the marriage type at all, let alone the kind of guy a woman would want around long-term.

Zoe waved her words away. “Forget I said anything. Okay, you look good. Are you good?”

“I’m good,” she replied with a grin. Just a few scrapes and bruises and a faint ringing in her ears. She loved that Zoe cared so much. Maybe if she kept saying it out loud she’d actually
be
good. “You want coffee?”

“I’d kill for a beer,” Zoe said, dropping into a chair at the kitchen table. “So, Tuck told you about his dad, huh?”

“Yep. How come you never told me?”

She sighed. “He asked me not to. Said he didn’t want anyone else to know and that you were going through enough of your own shit anyway.”

Yeah, that was something Tuck would say. Celida twisted the top off the beer and set the cold bottle down in front of her. “I wish I’d known. I hate that he’s been going through all of that without anyone but you to talk to.”

Zoe raised a sardonic eyebrow. “Gee, that sounds like someone else I know and love.”

Touché. Celida hid a reluctant grin. “Hey, I lean on you, don’t I? That’s a big step for me.”

“You kind of lean. But not really. Which is why I have to keep flying up here to
make
you lean for a couple days every few months. Stubborn girl.”

“Well, you know how it is. Some lessons learned the hard way never die.”

“True.” Zoe took a long swig of her beer, her eyes assessing Celida. “Very interesting, how Tuck spilled his guts to you right after what happened this morning on base. He say anything else?”

Leave it to Zoe to cut to the chase. “He did.”

Zoe set her beer down and leaned forward, her expression eager as a puppy’s. “And?”

Celida scratched the back of her neck, which suddenly felt hot. “And he… We’re kind of in a relationship now. I think.”

Her friend’s face had lit up initially, but at the last part she frowned. “You
think
? My cousin better be worth more to you than just
thinking
you’re in a relationship with him. You’re either in or out, and if you’re out I’m gonna strangle you.”

Jeez, what was with their family and ultimatums about relationship parameters? “I know he is. And yeah, I’m in.” That was so frightening to think about.

Zoe raised both eyebrows. “But? I sense a but.”

God, she didn’t know if she had the energy for this conversation right now. Or ever. “No, just… It’s a pretty big shift, going from barely seeing or talking to him to this. Lots to think about.”

Zoe narrowed her eyes and took another sip of beer. “You know what’ll happen if you hurt him, right?”

Celida snorted, having heard the threat before. “You’ll smother me in my sleep, stuff me in your suitcase and take me back to Louisiana by bus where you’ll feed my corpse to the gators.”

Zoe tipped the neck of the bottle at her. “Exactly.”

The thought of even inadvertently hurting Tuck made her cringe. “God, Zo, I don’t ever want to hurt him. I’ve just…never done this. Ever.” And it was fucking scary, to be honest.

Zoe’s face softened. “I know,
bébé
. But don’t hold back from him just because you’re afraid. He’s not gonna hurt you or just up and walk out on you, I promise. He’s not wired that way. You guys could make each other so happy if you’d only try.”

She felt so stupid to be admitting her uncertainty to Zoe, who loved wholeheartedly and without reservation even after going through a bad marriage and less awful divorce. Celida was afraid to open herself up to a man that way—truly open up—even with Tuck, and she had none of Zoe’s excuses. Just the loveless and rejection-filled example shown to her by her mother over and over until she’d been old enough to leave home. She could still hear the warning her mother had drilled into her after live-in boyfriend number four had up and left them when Celida was thirteen.

Never give a man your whole heart, Lida. If you give him that then he has all the power and he’ll destroy you with it. Mark my words.

Oh, she’d marked them all right. Too well. Pretty pathetic, to still be holding onto that out of distrust, but for whatever reason she’d just never been able to move past it.

“Hello?” Zoe prompted, leaning farther forward. “You’re gonna try, right?”

“Yeah,” Celida answered. “I’ll try.” She owed it to herself as much as she owed it to Tuck. It was all still so new, the idea of being in a relationship with him, exhilarating yet scary.

“Anyway, with what happened this morning his work schedule’s likely to be all over the place so I don’t know when he’ll be able to come over next. In the meantime, my boss called and told me I’m officially not allowed to come into work tomorrow.” She rolled her eyes in annoyance and Zoe grinned. “So I’ve decided that tomorrow there’s something important I need to do instead, if you’re game.” For Tuck. Though he’d never know about it. She just needed to do it.