Midnight Velvet by Jaci Burton
But there was no time. And it felt right. At this moment, she wanted to make love with Tyler. Needed it, like she needed to fill her lungs with air. The risks be damned, the control she so desired completely forgotten. She wanted this and if she had to, she’d guard her heart very carefully.
A shrill beeping shot them both upright on the couch.
Tyler swore sharply. “The perimeter alarm!” he said in a harsh whisper. “Get dressed, now! We need to get the hell out of here!”
She didn’t need to be told twice. Tyler ran into his bedroom and hurried back out, fastening his jeans and tossing a T-shirt over his head. Their almost-lovemaking moments ago already a distant memory, she grabbed shorts and a shirt and threw them on. Tyler grasped her hand, pulling her behind him.
“Should we turn out the light?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Don’t want them to know we’re aware they’re here,” he said into her ear. “Stay quiet and follow me. If anything happens to me, run down to the dock, jump in the boat and hightail it out of here—the keys are in the ignition.”
She wouldn’t think of that. Nothing was going to happen to him. She nodded and followed.
“Stay low,” he whispered as he pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans. He reached for a box in the computer desk and pulled out a couple clips of ammunition, sliding them into his front pocket. “We’re going out the back door.” He peered at the security monitor set on the floor under the desk. “They’re out front. No one’s breached the back yet.”
They crawled on their hands and knees to the back door and Tyler opened it, just as the sound of a click in the front signaled someone had tried the knob.
“Get ready to run.” He opened the back door a crack and pulled her outside.
Blood pounded in her ears. She tried to breathe normally, but already felt the dizziness of hyperventilation. She willed her body to slow down its reaction to her fear.
It was pitch-black outside, her eyes not yet accustomed to the impenetrable darkness. She relied solely on Tyler’s hand to guide her. They crouched down and crept along the stepping-stones.
“What about those other security surprises you mentioned?”
“That’ll buy us a minute or two. No more. Come on!”
The dock had seemed so close the other day. Now it stretched ahead of her like an insurmountable obstacle. They’d never make it in time. Whoever was coming for them was already in the house. Shadows appeared through the window of the dimly lit living room.
“Hurry!”
The tug of his hand spurred her on. She still couldn’t see a thing, but she’d run blind if she had to.
She heard a scream and a shouted curse coming from the house. A brief glance at Tyler told her one of his extra surprises must have caught the intruders unaware.
“A small electrical shock,” he explained. “But it’ll slow them down enough to be more cautious.”
The pier was finally in sight, barely illuminated in the weak light over the dock. If they hurried, they might make it.
The sound of voices echoed behind her. Heavy footsteps pounded against the stepping-stones like rumbling thunder. Tyler whipped her around so she was in front of him, his hand on her back pushing her forward.
“Run!” he shouted.
A sound like firecrackers burst all around her as the popping of gunfire sped past her ears. Dirt and grass flew up, slapping at her legs. For once, she was grateful for the darkness that shielded them from their pursuers’ bullets. Her throat was dry and she gasped for air as she commanded her feet to fly. She heard another pop, this one much closer.
Tyler returned fire. How could he run and shoot at people behind him? She didn’t take the time to stop and look.
Her feet finally hit the wooden deck, the echo of their shoes slapping against the boards like a homing beacon to the men chasing them. She felt a breeze as Tyler whisked by, grabbing her hand again. The rhythmic sounds of water lapping against the side of the dock signaled they’d made it.
“Hang on,” Tyler said as he swooped her up in his arms and stepped into the boat, immediately setting her down. “Get down in the bottom and stay there!”
Dammit, she wanted to help. Drive the boat or fire on the intruders, anything but lie there helpless. But she knew now wasn’t the time to argue with Tyler, so she immediately went down on the cold floor and tried to still her shaking body.
They didn’t have much time. Visions of television shows where the escapees get into the boat only to have the engine stall flew through her mind. She sent up a silent prayer that their luck would hold.
The engine roared to life and Tyler wasted no time throwing it into gear. Nevada was thankful the boat was pointed outward. He didn’t have to back the boat out to make an escape. She heard the sharp ping against the side of the craft and cringed. A bullet had hit a part of it—which part she didn’t know. She hoped it wasn’t anything that made it move.
The boat roared out of the dock and away from the men chasing them. Nevada longed to sit up and see what was going on, but she waited for Tyler to give her the okay.
They sped along in the darkness. Every bump was a jolt deep in her bones, occasionally catapulting her entire body off the deck. She’d end up bruised from this, but was too thankful to be alive to complain.
Tyler shouted over the roar of the engine. “You can get up now.”
She quickly scrambled from the deck and held on to the edge of the speedboat, making her way to his side. She leaned against him so he could hear her over the noise.
“Where are we going?”
“To the marina. About two miles from here.”
She hung on and didn’t say another word, knowing it was futile to engage in a shouting conversation. There’d be time for questions later, if they made it. No, when they made it.
Tyler maneuvered expertly in the darkness. She could only see the small areas of the lake, highlighted by the spotlight on the side of the boat. To her, it was a bunch of black water with occasional banks and trees. She’d have run them aground long ago if she were driving.
But Tyler must have night vision. They cut through the water without mishap and Nevada finally saw lights in the distance. The marina.
He slowed as they approached the near deserted harbor, then pulled into a vacant slip and stopped the engine, looping a thick rope around a wooden post.
“Here, hang on to these,” he said as he bent down and retrieved a backpack and small briefcase from the cabinet under the steering wheel. She took them from him and looked around as he grabbed a few other items. No one in sight.
“They’ll follow us, won’t they?”
He nodded, his face creased with the tension they both felt. “They’ll have to go by car. That’ll buy us at least a half hour. We’ve gotta get out of here and fast.”
“How are we going to do that?” It was the middle of the night, the marina restaurant was closed and there wasn’t another business open that she could see. Everything was locked up tight and shut down until morning.
“I have a car not far from here. But we have to hurry.”
She shivered in the cool night air, more from fear than the chill, and wrapped her arms around her waist. “A car? Where?”
“In storage at a garage.”
He grabbed the bags and started walking. She quickly followed. “What happens if they come before we get to the car?”
The worried look on his face wasn’t comforting. “Pray they don’t.”
She did just that. They headed away from the marina and up the hill toward a row of businesses. Nevada’s heart lurched as she saw approaching headlights. Would it be the men who broke into his house?
“Step back into the shadows,” he said, drawing his gun.
She waited, pressed against the side of one of the shops. Her heart raced and fear all but choked her. Finally she exhaled, relieved to see a bright yellow taxi pass by.
“Let’s go,” Tyler said, his pace quickening up the hill
He had a set of keys already in hand and unlocked the front door, quickly escorting Nevada inside. He shut the door and grabbed her hand.
“Can’t risk the lights. Hold on.”
Once again she was immersed in darkness, his hand her only lifeline. They crept along the interior wall of the building, Tyler in front of her, until he stopped. She heard the chirping of a vehicle’s security system and the lights inside the car came on.
He motioned for her to get in. She did so without hesitation, but her patience was about to run out. She needed answers.
“You keep another vehicle in a mechanic’s garage?”
He nodded as he threw the bags in the back seat.
“Why?”
“Because of what happened tonight. I like to keep my options open. One of the things you have to learn about being a field agent is to always have an escape planned out.”
“How did you know this might happen?”
“I didn’t. But in my line of work, anything is possible, including an attempt on my life. That’s why the backup car.”
“Good thinking,” she said, shaking her head in wonder. He really was her movie star secret agent fantasy come to life.
“With my background, you learn to have more than one plan.”
He opened a large sliding door at the back of the garage, jumped in the SUV and drove outside, then shut and locked the door behind them. He left the headlights off and slowly inched the vehicle toward the street. They sat there for a minute while he watched for cars, but the street remained deserted.
Finally, she exhaled. They left the area and headed toward a more populated section. Her hands still shook and she clasped them together to make them stop. There wasn’t much she could do to calm the tremors throughout her body, though.
At least she hadn’t embarrassed herself by throwing up or hyperventilating. She’d have to learn to keep her panic under control or she’d never make it as a field agent.
“Now where are we going?” They’d entered the freeway leading toward the downtown riverfront area.
“My place.”
She turned to him. “Your place? I thought we’d been staying at your place?”
He offered a half smile. “Not really. That’s where everyone thinks I live.”
“But that’s not your real home.”
“Right.”
“And now we’re going where you do live?”
“Right again.”
“Won’t they find us there, too?” That’s what bothered her most of all. How did they find them in the first place? And who were they?
“No, they won’t find us there.”
That’s what he said before. “How can you be sure?”
“Because no one knows where it is.”
“No one?”
“No one.” They approached a red light and Tyler turned his gaze on her, his eyes gentling as his lips curved in a wry smile. “Well, now you know.”
So, he had a secret hideaway.
She tried to watch where they were going, but she kept drifting from reality like a daydream, not knowing where they had traveled. Her mind was a whirl of questions, wondering who had found them, how they’d found them, and what would have happened had they been in a deep sleep instead of wide awake, almost making love on the couch?
Despite the anxiety about the night’s events, Nevada’s body still reacted to the images of Tyler hovering over her, touching her in ways she’d never been touched, eliciting responses from her she’d never given another man.
She allowed herself a brief moment of regret at the untimely interruption. What might have happened between them?
The Gateway Arch loomed closer as they approached downtown St. Louis. He lived somewhere in the heart of the city. Someplace no one knew about.
Except her. Nevada had just been given a huge gift.
Tyler Call’s trust.
Chapter Seven
It was almost dawn by the time they arrived and the idea of sleep wasn’t appealing in the least. Nevada was consumed with questions about the men who wanted to kill them.
Besides, she was completely blown away by the size of his condominium. On the twentieth floor of the most prestigious residential apartment building in the downtown area, Tyler’s place had a panoramic view of every landmark, including the Gateway Arch and Mississippi River. To say she’d been stunned would be an understatement.
“The men who broke in were with the drug cartel,” Tyler said as he handed Nevada a cup of coffee.
She murmured her thanks and tucked her feet under her on the plush couch in the oversized living room. “How do you know that?”
He smiled. “It’s my job to know. I got enough of a glimpse of them to see a couple familiar faces I’d been tracking before. Guys from the warehouse.”
“Who could have told them?” She took a sip, comforted by the warmth of the cup against her hands. Hopefully it would replace the chills she’d felt for the past few hours. Several sips later, she placed the coffee on the table next to her and grabbed the notebook and pen Tyler had given her. They had work to do.
“My first thought was that my internet connection had been hacked. But that’s just not possible. It couldn’t be an internet tracking system, because I’m on a private server with enough security our own government couldn’t breach it. So it had to be someone at the agency who knew about what happened and that you were with me. Someone inside sold you out, sold us out.”
Dread dropped her heart to her feet, her mind whirling with the possibility that someone at the NCA was a traitor.
It wouldn’t do any good to dwell on the fact they could have been killed last night, or that in the space of a few days, she’d been constantly on the run for her life. Now they were both running and Tyler didn’t trust the agency any longer. That meant she had to rely on him and him alone to keep her alive.
For someone who’d taken care of herself since she’d been barely adult, that was a bitter pill to swallow. She had to learn to do this herself. Despite her reservations, both personal and professional, about Tyler, she needed to rely on him right now.
He was her teacher. At least professionally.
She shuddered at the images flitting across her mind. Images of personal things he could teach her. Her response to him back at the other house was enough for her to know she had much to learn about sex and men.
About this man.
He shrugged and leaned back against the plump cushions of the easy chair, his bare feet propped on the table. “There weren’t that many people who knew you were with me, or who knew about my place in the country.”
“Then let’s start there. Name them.”
“Legend, of course.” Tyler pulled his hand through his dark hair. “I can’t believe he’d be working against the agency. He’s as devoted as they come.”
“That may be what you think, but you know as well as I do that some of the most trustworthy and loyal agents have turned bad before.”
He grimaced. “I know.”
“Are you and Legend friends?”
“I thought we were. But friendship and business are two different things. And money changes people.”
She caught the glimpse of disbelief followed by his sigh of resignation.
“Either way, he goes on the list of possibles,” he said, his facial expression scrunched as if he found the very thought distasteful. “All right. Next on the list would be anyone who had access to the commander’s files or was close enough to either him or Legend to know what had gone down at the warehouse.”
They made the list, which included the assistant commander, a handful of other field agents and high-security-clearance analysts.
“Who else? Surely not the commander.”
He threw a sharp glance at her. “Why not the commander? Right now, we’re simply making a list of who had the knowledge of your whereabouts as well as my address. Comma
She nodded and wrote their superior’s name down. “I can’t believe he’d turn bad.”
“Like you said, it happens to even the best agents. I don’t want to assume anything,” he said as he rose and motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen. “If we start trying to eliminate suspects based on our personal perceptions, it could get us killed.”
He pulled a frying pan out of the long pantry in the brightly lit kitchen. White tile countertops and pale ash cabinets gave the room a cheery look. The stainless steel appliances added shine to the already luminous area.
“Eggs?”
She nodded.
“How?”
“Any way you’re fixing them.” She busied herself by making toast and pouring orange juice while Tyler worked on the eggs and bacon. They ate at the glass kitchen table nestled in a cozy nook overlooking the river. The tiny white blinds were half drawn to shut out the glare of the sun rising outside the bay windows. It was going to be hot again today.
Sitting here with Tyler seemed natural, comfortable. They were eating breakfast together, talking about their day. Okay, that part wasn’t natural, but the rest of it was. Not many couples had days like they’d been having lately.
Couples. Why had her mind compartmentalized them that way? She forced the thought away. That’s what happened when she spent too much time inside. Too much time to think.
Nevada loved being outdoors. Despite the sometimes overwhelming humidity, she loved fresh air and sunshine. Now she felt cooped up, unsettled—more like a prisoner than someone being protected.
And she sure as hell hadn’t been given any training yet. Unless the command to run for her life constituted training.
She was getting pretty damn good at that. But eventually she’d have to stop running. Eventually she’d have to face the bad guys and she’d damn well better know how to deal with them when that day arrived.
She watched Tyler read the paper and sip his coffee. The morning sun highlighted his almost blue-black hair, which currently tipped rakishly over his forehead. Whenever he glanced at her, his dark eyes heated her more than the rays of sun peeking through the half-closed blinds.