Harlequin Intrigue June 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: To Honor and To Protect\Cornered\Untraceable (46 page)

“She can handle the case,” Evan said, as much to himself as to Sawyer and Cameron. “I believe that.”

“You be careful not to let things get out of hand, Evan. Don't take it too far.”

Evan reminded himself that these were Juliet's brothers. Brothers who loved her very much, which was why they were being so overprotective. But they knew him, knew how long Evan had carried a torch for their sister. They just didn't like that anyone would care that much about her.

“You know how I feel.” Evan snapped his mouth shut and reached for the coffee, to give himself a moment to formulate his words.

“How you feel about what?” Juliet's voice chimed in from the kitchen doorway.

Evan stopped, frozen. How much had she heard?

“Hey, little sis. We were just talking about some tracking and emergency equipment the tech department has come up with,” Cameron said.

Thank God. Evan really didn't want to get into his feelings for Juliet, with two of her brothers sitting in his kitchen, while he was wearing his pajama pants. Juliet, thankfully, had changed out of the T-shirt and boxers she had slept in, and put on yoga pants and a sweatshirt before coming downstairs.

Sawyer hugged his sister. “Yeah, Megan came up with something we'd like you to wear while undercover. It's a tracking and distress device. Only good short-range, but completely undetectable. Perfect for while you're at Cady's house.”

“We were dropping by to see what Evan thought of it. Didn't expect to find you here this early in the morning.” Cameron's eyebrow rose.

Juliet flushed just a little bit, but she was used to dealing with her brothers. “It's not what you think.”

“So Evan assures us.”

Evan poured Juliet a cup of coffee and handed it to her. How he wished it
was
what it looked like. Nothing would make him happier.

Chapter Fourteen

Getting rid of her brothers took a couple hours. Juliet loved them, she really did, but they were ridiculously overprotective. When her oldest brother was around it was even worse, although Dylan was usually the most reasonable. He understood, by experience, that sometimes no matter how traumatic the event, you just wanted to be left alone.

Juliet definitely didn't want to talk with her brothers about being in bed with Evan. No matter how innocent it had been.

And definitely didn't want to talk about how good it had been to lie there with him.

She had avoided sleeping in a bed all these months because of her fears. But being in one with Evan, she'd found her fears hadn't really crossed her mind. She'd been too busy thinking about him. About how close he was and how good he smelled.

And how she was nervous about being in the bed with him, but it was a
good
nervousness, not a bad kind.

And how she wanted to kiss him again. And more.

She knew Evan had lain in bed last night, so close, and watched her. But it was because he was worried about her, not because there was any real interest on his part.

This was all just part of a critical case for him. Undercover work. She needed to remember that.

But Juliet was definitely beginning to wish it was more.

She looked over at him, dressed all in black now, as she was, ready to go do the reconnaissance work at Cady's house. There were others who could handle it, providing details about the outside of Cady's house and his security. But both Juliet and Evan felt it important to do it themselves.

She looked forward to it, actually.

They weren't really going onto the grounds, just nearby, to see what they could see. Covered by darkness, they would be counting guards, getting a lay of the land, so to speak. Juliet suspected this entire escapade was for her benefit, and she didn't mind.

“You ready?” Evan asked.

“Yep.”

“Okay, we'll need to park a couple of miles away. We're not sure how far out Cady's guards patrol. We don't want to take any chances.”

They drove one of Omega's cars rather than Evan's Jeep, since it would be less recognizable.

“Have you got the tracker Megan and her tech people made?”

Juliet reached down and grabbed the locket hanging around her neck. “It fit in here perfectly, even behind the picture. It's crazy how thin that thing is.”

“Yeah, well, Megan's mind is pretty amazing.”

Juliet didn't bring up how she had once accused Megan of working for the very enemy Megan now worked so hard to defeat. She knew how in love Sawyer and Megan were; Juliet had never been happier to be wrong.

“Let's just hope we don't have to use it tonight,” she said, looking out the window as they drove into Anne Arundel County.

“Such a huge criminal sitting right under the navy's nose. Hard to believe, isn't it?” Evan parked the car. The Naval Academy was only a few miles away.

“Cady has a lot of gall being right out here in the open,” Juliet said as she got out of the car.

“He's very selective about whom he deals with. That's why we've never been able to get close to him. I'm still amazed he approached Bob Sinclair in the first place.”

Juliet asked, “Are you worried? Do you think Cady is suspicious?”

“He hasn't survived this long without being so. But I don't think he's any more suspicious of us than he is of anyone else.”

Juliet wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse. “Let's hope it stays that way and that I don't do anything to freak him out.”

Evan squeezed her hand. “You won't.”

They left the car and walked through the shadows until they reached the top of a very small hill just outside the gated property line of Vince Cady's estate. From here they had a pretty clear, although not complete, view of the house and grounds. But there shouldn't be any danger of them being caught.

They both stood silently, using night vision goggles to study the premises for a long while. Juliet counted two sets of three roaming guards passing by every eight minutes.

“Do you see the ones on the roof?”

She moved her focus upward. “Roger that. Looks like two sets of two.”

“Yeah. That's a pretty well covered place. Cady definitely isn't taking chances.”

“If we have to get out of there in a hurry, it's going to be nearly impossible.”

“I know.” Evan's voice reflected all the solemnity Juliet felt. It was going to be more important than ever that she keep it together and do her job.

“Let's get the amplifier planted.”

Juliet followed Evan down the hill, closer to the wall that surrounded the property. They needed to get the device as near as they could without it touching the structure, which probably had some sort of sensor.

“Why does it need to be so close?” Juliet asked quietly.

“It helps amplify the signal of your tracker, but it also contains a small explosive. Not enough to do any real damage, but enough to cause a distraction if we need it.”

“That makes me feel a little better.” Sometimes being just a couple seconds ahead of everyone else was enough when you were undercover.

They weren't expecting a guard on this side of the wall, so far away from the others, but evidently Cady even had someone patrolling the exterior. Juliet's gaze flew to Evan's as they heard him coming toward them.

The guard was alone and talking on his radio, so evidently he wasn't aware they were there. But that wouldn't stop him from bringing this whole operation crashing down on them if he caught them.

He'd be directly on them in just a second.

Juliet felt a moment of panic as Evan grabbed her by the waist, spun her around and pushed her to the ground. Knowing he was trying to get them under the cover of a fallen tree, she slid back as far as she could, and he scooted with her. She didn't let the fear overwhelm her. It was Evan this close to her; it was okay.

He didn't have time to turn around before the guard came by, which left Juliet and Evan in a lover-like embrace. She quickly pulled her dark sleeves over her hands and wrapped her arms around Evan's neck, trying to cover as much of his exposed skin as possible.

Both of them were silent as the guard passed by only feet from where they hid. He began walking away, then stopped.

Juliet's heart hammered in her chest. Had he seen them? Could he have possibly seen the amplifier?

Evan's arm moved just the slightest bit, and she realized he was removing his weapon from his shoulder holster. There was no way Juliet could get to hers, the way they were wound together, bodies pressed up against each other from chest to toe. And Evan was facing the wrong direction to shoot.

His hand skimmed up to where her arms were wrapped around his neck. Silently, he pushed his Glock into her hand.

If the guard became a dire threat, Juliet was going to have to be the one to take him out.

There was no doubt the man was armed. Like the other patrols they had seen, he carried a modified HK-33 submachine gun. The guard might have orders to shoot on sight. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that, but Juliet had to be ready.

Evan trusted her to be.

Why was the guard still stopped? Did he see something? Sense something was off?

Juliet relaxed minutely against Evan when the man lit a cigarette in the darkness. He didn't know about them at all; he was just trying to get away with having a smoke on the boss's dime.

Evan and Juliet waited as the guard took drag after drag on his cigarette. Although Juliet didn't relax, she knew there was no way he would be casually smoking if he suspected there was anyone hiding nearby.

Evan obviously knew it, too. Because Juliet could feel his fingers begin to trace up and down her back. All of a sudden she was very aware of all the places their bodies were touching.

All
the places.

Evan ran his hand down her spine and splayed it over her hip, pulling her the slightest bit closer. His hot breath rushed across her neck.

The guard finished his cigarette and reported in on his radio that all was clear and he was headed to the south end of the property.

Juliet and Evan didn't move from where they lay, although she relaxed the arm that held the Glock. Evan's hand remained on her hip, his hard body pressed up against hers.

She couldn't hold back a little sigh when she felt the breath against her neck turn into little kisses there.

Evan rolled onto his back, but didn't release her, so she rolled over on top of him. Neither spoke as he threaded his hands into her hair and pulled her lips down to his.

There was no hesitation, no faking, no fear. Only heat. Evan kissed her as though he couldn't get enough of her. A knot of need twisted inside her.

They broke apart from the kiss, breathing heavily. This was neither the time nor the place to give in to what they were feeling. Evan pulled her in for one more brief kiss, then got up from the ground and helped her up, too.

With a minimum of words they set up the amplifier/detonator close to the wall and began the trek back to the car. They saw no sign of the guard.

Juliet handed Evan's weapon back to him. “I'm glad I didn't need to use this.”

“Yeah, it would've been weird kissing you with a dead body lying right next to us.”

Juliet rolled her eyes at Evan's black humor. “Not to mention the two dozen guards that would've been chasing us once they heard my weapon fire.”

They reached the car and Evan turned to her, cupping her cheek. “You did good, Jules. You kept your head, didn't panic, didn't fight me when we had to roll under that log.”

“Well, I was pretty scared.”

“It's all right to feel scared. It's what you
do
when you're scared that's important. You handled it like a trained agent. Nobody can ask for more.”

Juliet didn't say much on the way back to DC. There was too much she was thinking about. Evan was right; she had handled the situation with the guard well. She hadn't panicked, not even when Evan had grabbed her and all but threw her down.

Because her mind was used to Evan. Not him throwing her to the ground, but him being around. His presence. His touch. Even his smell.

Evan had been gentling her over the past two days as if she were some sort of wild mare. Accustoming her to his touch, getting her mind to accept his presence as normal.

And although Juliet didn't like to compare herself to an animal, damned if it hadn't worked. After a split second of fear, she hadn't even worried about Evan's proximity; had only focused on the real danger: discovery by the guard.

The scene kept playing through her mind as they returned the borrowed car to Omega Headquarters and headed back to Evan's town house. For the first time Juliet felt assured about her abilities as an agent as they went undercover at Cady's mansion tomorrow. She might not be completely up to speed, but she would be able to get the job done. They would be able to recover the drone codes before anyone was killed.

She and Evan walked through his front door. He took off his jacket and hung it over one of the kitchen bar stools. How had Juliet never really noticed how ripped Evan was? His black T-shirt didn't do much to hide the muscles of his biceps, pecs or abs. Thank God.

Evan turned to the fridge for a couple water bottles. He took a big sip out of one, leaning back against the counter.

“You want?” He held up a bottle, his dimple showing with this smile.

Looking at him, Juliet realized she did indeed want.

Evan. Right now. Tonight.

She knew he wanted her, too. That much had become evident while hiding under the log. This wasn't just an undercover op for Evan.
She
wasn't just an undercover op for him.

This time she didn't plan to take no for an answer. She had let the attack steal too many months of her life. She didn't plan to let it have even one more day. She wanted Evan and she knew he wanted her.

What was that saying? Leap and the net will appear.

Juliet leaped.

She slid her own jacket off and walked over to him. “Yeah, I want.” She took the water bottle out of his hand and put it on the counter.

She pressed herself flush against him and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. His hands instantly moved to her hips. She pulled his lips down to hers.

Yes. Finally. That was what she had been craving. His warm lips against hers. Evan tried to keep it soft and light, but Juliet had no interest in that. She pulled him hard against her and stood up on her tiptoes so she could get even closer.

“Juliet,” Evan murmured against her mouth. “I'm not sure we should—”

She became even more aggressive in her kiss. “Not sure we should what?” Juliet finally asked.

Evan broke away just for a moment so he could look her in the eyes. “I just want to make sure this is what you really want.”

“I'm pretty sure I want this more than I want to continue breathing.”

With that, Evan scooped her up by the waist and spun, placing her on the kitchen counter. He grabbed her hips and slid her forward so they were as close as possible. And kissed her again, stealing her breath.

Yes, this was how Juliet wanted to feel, had thought she would never feel again. Evan's lips brushed over the underside of her jaw and down her neck. She couldn't stop the soft moan.

“I've waited a long time for this,” Evan murmured against her throat.

“It's been a long time for me, too.” Juliet found she could say it without bad memories coming up to swamp her.

Evan pulled back a little so they were looking eye to eye. “I've wanted you for years, Juliet. But it was never the right time.”

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer. “Well, it's the right time now. For both of us.” Then she reached down and pulled Evan's shirt over his chest and head, letting it fall to the ground. Heat coursed through her. Everywhere their bodies touched was on fire.