Ultimate Prey (Book 3 Ultimate CORE) (CORE Series) (36 page)

“Lola has goals.”

“And they are?”

She pushed off the wall, then rolled onto her side, using her good arm as a pillow. “I’m finished with this conversation.”

He turned off the flashlights. Guilt had him too restless to close his eyes. “You know I care about Lola. I’m sorry, I should never have implied—”

“It’s fine,” she said on a quiet sob. “And it’s true. But she’s my baby, no matter how old she is. I…I talked her into moving to Chicago. Actually, I guilted her into coming and made it seem like it was her decision.”

He slid to the floor, then curled next to her. “Why?” he asked, and rubbed a hand along her side.

“I didn’t want to be alone. After Andy died, I could see the restlessness in Lola. Losing her father had been hard on her. She was still in high school and started talking about applying to colleges in New York, or maybe going to university somewhere in Europe for a few years. Instead of encouraging her, I planted other ideas in her head. Helped find her jobs in LA, encouraged her to live with me while she went to college. She’s not stupid or gullible, but she’s sweet and loves me.” Cami twisted, then touched his arm. “Do you really think I did wrong by her?” she asked, a catch to her voice.

“No. You’re a great mom. But…you don’t have to worry about being alone.” He slid his hand along the blanket, then squeezed her hip. “You have me.”

“Don’t you mean,
had
? I said a lot of awful things to you today that I didn’t mean.”

He grinned. “I think you meant most of what you said, and I also think I deserved some of the shots you gave me. But I said things I didn’t mean, as well. I love you and I don’t want to lose you. When this is over, I hope you’ll consider giving us another chance.”

She wrapped an arm around him. “I can’t walk away from you, and not just because I’m scared of being alone. I love you, too.”

“I’d kiss you right now, but I stink and—”

Her lips brushed against his. “I love you. Even when you stink.”

“What about when I’m being controlling?”

She gave him another kiss. “We might have to work on that,” she said, then let out a low groan. “My arm is killing me. I need to roll back onto my other side. Do you want to share my blanket?”

Once she readjusted herself, he pulled the blanket over both of them, then spooned her against his body. As her breathing regulated, and he lay in the dark listening to the sounds of the Everglades, he said a prayer. They might have survived today, but he wasn’t sure they had a chance in hell of making it through tomorrow. If they did, he’d find a way to make Steven pay for his sins.

He’d spent his life following rules and adhering to the law. But Steven had made a mistake coming after him and placing Cami’s life in danger. He pulled her closer as he remembered bandaging her wounds. Hatred and vengeance settled deep inside him. They would survive this. They would move on with life, marry and live happily ever after.

Steven wouldn’t.

One way or another, even if he died in the process, he would make sure the man never left his hunting grounds.

*

“If you’re not lying beside me, I’m not going to be able to sleep.”

Lola hung her head and smiled. If only Ryan knew how romantic those words were. She knew he wasn’t about romance, though, but about safety. She looked over her shoulder, just as he emerged from the tent. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m a night owl.”

“I tend to be, too.” He sat beside her. “But given the circumstances, today’s an exception. It’s been a long time since I’ve hoofed it for over twelve hours. For the first time, I feel old.”

The spot they’d chosen to camp for the night offered a break in the trees. Like a mocking half-smile, the moon hung in a sky riddled with stars, giving her just enough light to make out the contours of Ryan’s face. “How old are you?” she asked, rubbing her shoulders to ward off the chilly air.

“Thirty-five. You?”

“I turned twenty-nine last month.”

“Now I really feel old,” he said, his tone teasing.

“Thirty-five isn’t old.”

“That’s easy to say when you’re still clinging to your twenties.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I wish I could go back and redo things.”

She did the math. “You weren’t with the SEALs when you were twenty-nine. When did you start your business?”

“About six months after I left. My brother is a silent partner. Between the money I had saved, and the money he’d invested, I was able to buy the business from a friend of Barney’s.” He picked up a stick, then drew random lines in the dirt. “Business was slow at first. So slow I thought I’d have to close months into starting it. But then I took a risk—I’m talking second mortgage risk—added the ice cream parlor and souvenir shop, got a website, did a bunch of advertising, and a year later, I was in the black. From there, I expanded, bought another boat, and another, then I bought a rental property.” He half-laughed. “Then another. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s paid off. My house isn’t as nice as my rentals, but I’m doing better than I ever thought.”

“You should be proud of yourself,” she said, happy for him, yet disappointed with herself. He’d been two years younger than her when he’d started his business. At twenty-seven, she’d been on her twelfth job. Or was it her thirteenth?

“What about you? I know you just started working for CORE this year, but what’d you do before that?”

What hadn’t she done? “I was finding my way. Tell me about your brother? You said he’s a silent partner. What’s he do for a living?”

“There you go, avoiding a question with another one. Why do you do that? I mean, you ask me something, I tell you.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you work for the CIA, instead of CORE.”

She
had
been avoiding his questions, which was bad on her part considering how honest he’d been. But she was afraid he’d think less of her if he knew the truth. Did it really matter what she told him, though? They’d eventually go their separate ways and she’d never see him again. Which, for some unexplainable reason, bothered her.

God, she couldn’t even be honest with herself.

She liked him. A lot. And wished they’d met, not only under different circumstances, but in Chicago, where they could date and come to know each other without having to worry about saving her mom and Ian, or stumbling over tripwires and snakes. Since that wasn’t the case and they were, as Ryan had reminded her multiple times, partners, she owed him the same trust he’d shown her.

“I’m embarrassed,” she finally admitted. “You’ve set goals for yourself and followed through with them. Me? Not so much.”

“Why do you say that? It’s my understanding that your boss doesn’t just let anyone work for him.”

“It kinda helps when your mom is engaged to your boss. I doubt Ian would have hired me otherwise.”

“I think you’re selling yourself short. You said you have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Fortunately I haven’t had to see you use a gun, but it sounds like you can hit a target. You have a black belt in
Jiu Jitsu
, you’re smart, learn fast and work well under pressure. I’m sure Ian’s more impressed with you than you realize. Plus, you did take down five bad guys by yourself, right?”

On paper, she sounded pretty good, if all of it were true. “Criminal justice was actually my minor. I majored in theater.”

“I knew it,” he said, satisfaction in his tone. “When you told me you wanted nothing to do with acting, I kept wondering how that could be? Your parents had to have some influence on you. Between their connections, the way you look and—”

“I never wanted to be an actress. That was my parents, mostly my mom. And, before you ask, I
can
act. I just didn’t enjoy doing it.”

He dropped the stick and leaned back on his hands. “I bet it’s a lot of pressure.”

“You were a SEAL. I think you know more about pressure than I ever will. I’ve seen documentaries on what you guys had to go through to pass your training. Did you really swim one hundred meters with your feet and hands bound?”

“I did. But that ended up being a cake walk compared to some of the other exercises we had to go through during training.”

“See, that’s what I mean. That’s
real
pressure.” She crossed her legs and leaned back so they were shoulder to shoulder. “At first, I did like acting, but didn’t like the roles I was given. There are only so many parts for a half-white, half-Asian woman. I did some films as a kid, no speaking parts. I was either the token Asian kid in a classroom, or an extra on a set for a Vietnam War film. Because of my dad, I also did a few choreographed martial arts stunts. It was fun and exciting, but as I got older, I learned about the reality and the dangers. All I had to do was look at my parents.”

“Meaning?”

“My mom couldn’t break free from her ‘scream queen’ roles and after they stopped producing the
Evil that Lurks
movies she had a tough time finding work. It was only when she tried theater that she started making a name for herself again—nearly twenty years after she’d hit the peak of her career.”

“And the danger?”

“My dad died while performing a stunt that should have been routine. So you can understand why I didn’t choose that route.”

“I’m sorry, Lola. I envisioned you living this great life in some Beverly Hills mansion and never having to worry about much.”

She pushed up, then hugged her knees. “I
did
have a great life. We weren’t living in a mansion, but I wasn’t denied much. Being out here, being with you, I’ve realized that I need to grow up.”

He chuckled. “What the hell are you talking about? Come on, Lola. I told you to stay out of your head. From where I’m sitting, I think you’re doing just fine.”

Frustration had her hugging her knees tighter. “That’s because you don’t know me. CORE is my twelfth or thirteenth job. What’s pathetic is, I can’t remember.”

“So what? I did plenty of odd jobs when I was in high school and college.”

“My jobs were
after
I graduated from college, I’m not counting before then. If I did, the list would probably jump to twenty.”

He sat up, then turned to face her. “Let me get this straight, you’re bent out of shape and soul searching because you can’t commit to a job?”

“Exactly. I quit everything. Or I screw up so bad, I’m fired. For example, my mom got me a job in the casting department at the studio. I lasted one month. I mistakenly sent a group of little people dressed as Santa’s elves to the wrong set. The director of a gladiator movie was expecting hulking, oiled-up, half-naked giant guys, and ended up with elves. Which threw off production by days, costing the studio thousands of—it’s not funny,” she said over his laughter.

“I would’ve loved to have seen that director’s face. Or Santa’s, when he saw his elves were half-naked gladiators,” he said, then laughed harder.

She couldn’t help joining him. At the time her screw-up had been humiliating. Looking back now, it was rather funny.

When his laughter died, he pried her hands from her knees, then held them. “I don’t know why you’re beating yourself up because you couldn’t make up your mind over what career to choose.”

“It’s more than that. I can’t seem to make a decision without checking with my mom first.”

“And that’s a bad thing? Do you know how many times I wished I would’ve asked my folks for advice, instead of being thick-headed and thinking I know it all? If I had, I probably wouldn’t have gone into the Navy or became a SEAL. But if that had happened, I wouldn’t have met Dante, or—”

“Be stuck in the Everglades with me, trying to catch a killer and rescue my mom and Ian.”

“I was going to say that I wouldn’t have met Cole and a number of other men who’ve taught me what being part of a team is all about, and that it’s okay to be afraid, even when you’re trying to be a hero.” He laced his fingers through hers. “And for the record, I’m glad we met. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

“I see we’re back to telling tall tales,” she said, then regretted her words when he dipped his head and loosened his hold on her hands.

“If that’s what you want to think.”

Damn it. Why couldn’t she take a compliment and believe it? She might have just met Ryan, but he was an honest and straightforward man. Today, he’d proven she could trust him with her life, so why couldn’t she trust herself? Why couldn’t she let go of those deep-rooted insecurities and believe that she was good enough to be here with him? Or work for CORE?

“It’s not,” she said, recapturing his warm hands before he pulled away. “I’m sorry. Please understand. I never felt like I was part of CORE’s team. This was just another job my mom helped me land. At first, I loved it. Researching and brainstorming clues and leads…I loved the mystery and when I helped solve a case. I still do. But the assignments Ian gives me are boring, and I’ve been so scared of screwing up that I haven’t pushed for harder cases. I didn’t think I was good enough to partner up with any of the other agents and worried my inexperience would place one of us in danger. What’s funny? Last night, while I was pulling a burnt apple pie from my oven, I was already talking myself into reconsidering my future with CORE.”

“That’d be a waste,” he said, lacing their fingers again. “But you make the decision that works best for you. Not your mom or anyone else. And, for the record, I might like to tell stories to tourists, but anything I’ve told you today was the truth. I am glad we met, and I am glad you’re with me during this.”