Evidence of Passion (5 page)

I’m going to take care of you.
And he had. He’d stayed with her in the hospital, then later trained her at the EOD. He’d gone on every mission with her.

Dylan was her best friend. She’d forgive him for following Mercer’s orders. A temporary mess-up.

Tomorrow they’d get back to working as a team.

Rachel hurriedly undressed and pulled back the covers. No playing card waited for her this time.

She slid beneath the sheets. They were cool, and the bed smelled of him. Rachel inhaled, drinking in that crisp scent. She pulled the covers up to her chin.

The bed was too big, and Dylan—even though he wasn’t in the room—seemed to fill the space.

She closed her eyes and tried to calm her heartbeat.

* * *

D
YLAN
STARED
AT
the closed bedroom door.

He finally had Rachel in his bed.

Only he wasn’t occupying it with her. It figured that would be his luck.

He grabbed some blankets and a spare pillow from his closet then he did his best to bunk down on the couch. Rachel had been right. His legs dangled off the end of that thing.

But comfort wasn’t exactly high on his list of priorities. Taking care of Rachel, that ranked right up at the top of his to-do list.

He shoved a fist into the pillow, trying to plump it up. Fury still heated his blood.
The maniac had been in her apartment. In her home.

Had Jack still been near the scene when Rachel and Dylan returned to her place? Watching from a distance?

What if Rachel had gone home alone? Would Jack have tried to make contact with her?

Not on my watch.
The guy would discover that Rachel was much better protected this time around. Jack wouldn’t get close to her.

The killer would be captured. Locked up.

And then you won’t ever see Rachel again, Jack.

* * *

R
ACHEL
HAD
A
NEW
LOVER
.

Rage built within Jack as he stared up at the dark building. Rachel had vanished in there with the other EOD agent, Dylan Foxx.

Jack knew all about the EOD. They’d been hunting him for years, so he’d done his best to learn all their secrets.

He knew Rachel had joined them.
Because of me.
Even as he’d fled the U.S., the EOD had recruited her, and his Rachel had only been too eager to join them.

Her first mistake.

And Jack could forgive
one
mistake.

But two? Two mistakes?

Mistake number two is sleeping with Dylan Foxx.
Rachel should know better. She’d promised to be his.

A second mistake deserved punishment. Poor Rachel. But she had a lesson to learn.

His hand lifted and his fingers lightly stroked the scar under his T-shirt. Rachel’s mark. She’d hit him with her bullet, but just like him, she hadn’t aimed for the heart.

Because Rachel knew the truth, just as he did. They were meant to be together. Two halves of a very, very perfect whole. She was the only one who could complete him.

He turned from the building, hunching his shoulders. Dylan Foxx had made a fatal mistake. The man had touched Rachel, kissed her, right there on the street. For all to see.

And I saw.

Until that moment, Jack had thought that the two were just friends. He’d kept such a careful watch on Rachel over the years. A watch she never even realized.

She’d had no lovers.
So I was told.

But now, things
had
changed for Rachel. That change just wouldn’t do. Rachel could only have one lover—
and that lover will be me.

Dylan Foxx would need to be eliminated.

Hmmm...perhaps his elimination
would
be Rachel’s punishment. When Dylan Foxx died before her, Rachel would realize just what a serious mistake she’d made.

Jack whistled as he headed deeper into the night.

* * *

A
POUNDING
ON
his door woke Dylan hours later. He kicked away the covers and, clad only in a pair of jeans, he stomped toward the door. A quick glance out the peephole showed him the identity of his visitor.

Growling in disgust, Dylan yanked open the door. “What do you want?” he demanded.

The man on his threshold just laughed. “Ah, Dylan, always a pleasure, isn’t it?”

No, it wasn’t. Dylan’s eyes narrowed as he studied Thomas “Dragon” Anthony. He and Thomas didn’t exactly get along, and a few months back, when Dylan had thought that Thomas might be the rogue agent at the EOD, he’d even...shot the guy.

At the time, though, Dylan had been feeling barely sane. He’d just discovered Rachel, covered in blood, and Thomas had been at the scene. He’d ordered the man to stand down, but—

“Don’t worry, man,” Thomas said, golden eyes glinting as he seemed to sense Dylan’s thoughts. “It was only a flesh wound.”

Because Dylan had
chosen
for it to be. “If I’d wanted you dead,” Dylan growled right back at him, “you’d be in the ground now.”

Thomas stepped forward.

“What’s going on?” Rachel called out.

Dylan glanced over his shoulder. Rachel had just slipped from his bedroom. She had on—

She’s wearing my shirt.
One of his old navy T-shirts. It seemed to swallow her, falling all the way down to her knees. She looked sexy as hell in that shirt.

She also had a gun in her hand.
His
gun.

“What’s happening?” she asked as she crept closer. Her suspicious gaze was on the door. She hadn’t seen Thomas yet.

And, lucky for Thomas, he hadn’t seen her.

“It’s okay,” Dylan said, turning toward her and making sure that he put his body in front of hers. Rachel had some truly gorgeous legs. Long, golden. Perfect.

“You should get dressed,” he told her, aware that his voice sounded a little too thick. “Then come back out so we can talk.”

“I heard voices. I thought you might need me so I grabbed the first thing I saw.”

Hmmm...he wondered...had the first thing been the shirt? Or the gun?

She craned her head so she could see over his shoulder. Her eyes widened.
“Thomas?”

“Looking good, Rachel,” Thomas murmured back.

Dylan spun around, a snarl on his lips.

But Rachel laughed. “Well, considering the last time you saw me, I was covered in blood and nearly unconscious on the floor, I guess I do look better.”

Dylan didn’t like to think about that time. The rogue agent had targeted Rachel. Dylan had been so desperate during those long hours while she’d undergone surgery.

So afraid.

Before Rachel, he hadn’t feared anything. She’d changed him, and he wasn’t sure that change was for the better.

“You weren’t the only bloody one,” Thomas told her. “Your trigger-happy team leader made sure I wasn’t a threat.”

Dylan glared at him. “I told you to stand down. Maybe next time you’ll follow orders.”

Rachel’s feet padded away from him. The bedroom door closed. Good. She was getting dressed. Thomas wouldn’t be able to ogle her legs.

The way I was doing.

“Come on now,” Thomas said as he shut the door behind him. “We both know what really happened. You thought I’d hurt Rachel, and you went a little...over the edge.”

Dylan felt a muscle jerk in his jaw. “Why are you here?”

Thomas shrugged. “Mercer’s afraid you might have another one of those little
over the edge
moments since this particular case is so personal. Since your usual backup—Cooper Marshall—is out of town on his honeymoon, the big boss sent me to keep watch on you and Rachel.”

Great. Just what he needed. Thomas already seemed a little
too
interested in Rachel as it was.

Thomas lifted his hands in the air. “Consider me part of your team from here on out.”

Not what he wanted. Thomas had a reputation within the EOD. The guy was a martial arts expert, and that expertise had earned him the moniker of Dragon. His particular skill set made him the perfect killing machine—and Thomas had killed plenty of times. His specialty was hand-to-hand combat. He could kill an enemy instantly, and his prey never would have the chance to so much as whisper for help.

Thomas had been captured behind enemy lines a year ago. By the time Dylan and his team had gotten in to free the man, Thomas had already killed all of his captors.

And the man hadn’t even had a weapon.

But Thomas had been injured. Grievously so. It had been touch and go on the chopper ride out of that place. Rachel had stayed with Thomas every moment. She’d applied pressure to his wounds. She’d kept the man alive, talking to him, telling him that everything would be okay.

And Thomas had made it. He’d pulled through.

Only, now do you have too much of an interest in Rachel?
Dylan sure thought so. “Another agent will probably work better,” he said, giving a decisive nod. “I’ll talk with Mercer when we go in to the office today. Thanks, Dragon, but your services aren’t—”

“You know that I owe her.” Thomas’s cool voice interrupted Dylan’s words. “Let me repay the debt.”

The bedroom door opened behind them.

Dylan glanced at Rachel. She’d dressed in fresh jeans and a T-shirt. She’d picked up a small overnight bag last night, right before he’d hustled her out of her place. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked younger. Vulnerable.

But the truth was that Rachel Mancini really was far from defenseless
or
delicate. She’d been a marine, then a Marine Corps Judge Advocate. In the courtroom, she’d been a powerhouse. Then, when she’d joined the EOD, Rachel had proven herself time and again. She put her life on the line. She fought to protect her teammates.

Now they would protect her.

Sorry, Rachel, for what’s coming. But I won’t keep risking you.
He’d created his own plan last night when he’d tossed and turned on that lumpy couch.

“Thomas is our backup on this mission,” Dylan said.

“The mission?” Rachel repeated.

“Apprehending and containing the assassin known as Jack.” As Mercer had said, that was priority. He inclined his head toward Thomas. “Welcome to the team.”
And if you mess up, if you put her in any jeopardy, you’ll answer to me.

Thomas nodded back to him. Dylan knew that his message had been received. Loud and clear.

Good. The Dragon’s reputation didn’t scare Dylan. If Thomas did anything to endanger Rachel, Dylan wouldn’t stop until he’d destroyed the other man.

* * *

J
ACK
STARED
THROUGH
his scope as the three EOD agents filed out of Dylan Foxx’s building.

The scope focused on them, one at a time. The man in front was new—dark hair, tall, muscled. He walked with the same
too-aware
tenseness that Dylan Foxx did.
Ex-military.
At the EOD, they pretty much all were.

That didn’t give them an advantage.

I’m ex-military, too.
Only they didn’t know that because they didn’t know anything about him. To the EOD agents, he was a ghost.

Well, he was a ghost to everyone but
her.
Rachel knew him for the flesh-and-blood man that he was.

He focused on Rachel. Her hair was pulled back. He didn’t like that. He’d told her time and again to wear her hair down. He preferred it free around her face. She knew he was out there, and she should’ve worn her hair for him.

The scope stayed on her. But then...then Dylan moved. The guy positioned himself right in front of Rachel.

Jack’s back teeth ground together as he leaned in for the shot. It would be so easy. He could fire right then. The bullet would find its target, and Dylan Foxx wouldn’t be a threat any longer.

But Rachel was too close to Dylan.

Jack was a good shot, damn good, but Rachel was so unpredictable. She might lunge at the last moment. She might grab Dylan. Try to shield him.

The bullet could hit her.

No, it was safer to wait. A better moment would come.

Dylan and Rachel climbed into the back of a black SUV. The new agent hurried around to the front and jumped in the driver’s side.

The vehicle rushed away.

Jack put down his weapon.
Next time.

But his gaze tracked to Dylan’s building. Hmmm...just what could he learn inside that place?

He put his weapon back in his car. To the rest of the world, it looked as if he were carrying around a guitar case. A little trick he’d learned from one of his favorite movies a long time ago.

He slipped into the building. He’d scoped out this place a time or two before.

He entered Dylan’s place through the front door. There was a fire escape, but going that way would just attract too much attention. The alarm began to beep, but a few fast strokes and some quick rewiring of the base pad had shut the system off.

Then he turned and stared at Dylan Foxx’s home.

Know your enemy.
That was rule number one for him. Whenever he had a new target, Jack made it his mission to learn everything he could about that person.

It was time to learn Dylan Foxx’s secrets.

He walked past the couch and glanced around. No family photographs. No mementos. The guy was a soldier, through and through. No, a shadow.

Are you trying to be a ghost, like me?

Jack had on gloves as he quickly searched through Dylan’s desk. Again, no photos.

The guy’s computer was password protected. Getting past that system shouldn’t be a problem, either, but he’d save it for a bit later.

Jack entered the bedroom.

Pillows and what looked like extra blankets were piled onto the bed. And...

He stepped closer to the bed. It was faint, but he caught Rachel’s scent in the air. She’d been in the bedroom, in the
bed,
with Dylan Foxx. His breathing came faster as the blood within his veins seemed to boil.