Hot Shot (A Hostile Operations Team Novel)(#5) (26 page)

“Have you told him you don’t want to dominate the world?”

“He knows. He just thinks if he keeps talking, I’ll do what he wants. We’re like brother and sister, really. Fight over everything but love each other just the same.”

He didn’t pretend to understand that kind of relationship, though it made him think of what she’d told him about her sister who’d been given up for adoption. He’d asked Mendez about that, asked if he knew anyone who could maybe find her. The colonel had looked at him with those unfathomable eyes of his and said he couldn’t guarantee anything but he’d see what he could do.

Gina reached for the tray and whipped the cover off. “Bacon and eggs with hash browns. I didn’t really know what you like, but I figured it had to be at least one of those things.”

“I like them all.”

She sat back when he unrolled the napkin and laid it on his lap. “I can cook a pretty mean omelet,” she said, “but I rarely get the time.”

He forked eggs into his mouth. Yeah, he felt a little pinch of annoyance because she made him think of his mother when she said that, but he knew it wasn’t a fair comparison. Gina had the luxury of ordering food in and still spending time with her child. She wasn’t ignoring Eli the way his parents had ignored him. He knew better than that after all the time he’d spent with her in going after their son. She was a good mom.

She reached out, ran her fingers over his arm. Her touch was light, as if she expected him to push her away. Instead, he took her fingers and kissed them before letting her go again.
 

“I’m thinking about buying a house here,” she said, and he turned to look at her. Her green eyes were so serious, her brow creased in worry, as if she expected him to say something negative.

He put the fork down. “That’s a good idea.”

“I thought it would make it easier for you to be with Eli.”

“And you.”

She smiled. “And me.”

He reached out and caressed her cheek. He liked touching her. “Day at a time, babe.”

“Yes.”

He picked up his fork again, feeling vaguely dissatisfied with his reply. Yeah, life was a day at a time, but didn’t he know that he wanted more of her? And he damn sure wanted to be with the kid. Why was he still hedging his bets?

“What do you want to do today?” he asked instead.
 

“I’d like to get out of this hotel. I’m going a little stir-crazy.”

He understood why she’d stayed locked up, but the threat was gone now that Metaxas was blown to bits. She could use a day out. They both could. “We could go to the Eastern Shore, drive to Waterman’s Cove or St. Michael’s. They’re small, out-of-the-way towns with charm. Wear some sunglasses and a wig, and no one will ever know it’s you.”

She laughed. “I’d like that. But what about your leg?”

He shrugged. “It’ll be fine. I’ll take it easy. But no limousines, babe. Too ostentatious.”

“No, I want to ride in your car.” She frowned. “What kind of car do you have, anyway?”

He leaned back on the couch and gave her a serious look. “You ever see that movie about the cartoon cars that live in a little town?”

She frowned. “Wait… yes, I know the one you mean.” She glanced at Eli. “Best not to say any names, you understand. Someone will want to watch the entire thing right now.”

“Right. Remember the tow truck? The beat-up one that barely runs? It’s all rusty and falling apart—and more than a little bit redneck?”

She arched an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah…”

“That’s my car.”

She blinked a few times. And then she grinned. “Okay. Sounds fun.”

He let her sit there looking at him all goofy-like while his heart thumped and a hot feeling spread through his stomach and down into his groin. Jeez, she was something. She could probably buy any car she wanted, and she was content to ride in his fictional rusty piece of shit.

“I’m kidding, Gina. I drive a classic Mustang. You won’t be embarrassed to be seen in it.”

She actually looked disappointed. “Well, hell, I was looking forward to the rusty truck.”

“We’ll stop by a junkyard. I’ll buy you one.”

She reached out and took a piece of bacon off his plate. He didn’t stop her. He liked watching her sitting there with her knees drawn up, munching on it. It was companionable. He hadn’t had that with a woman in a long time. It almost made him content.

“Such a romantic,” she said between bites.

“That’s me, babe. Romantic to the core.” He picked up another piece of bacon and held it up for her to take a bite when she finished the one she’d stolen. After she took a piece, he bit into it. “Sharing my bacon with you. I’d say that’s hard-core romance.”

Eli got up and toddled over. He walked right up to Jack and put a hand on his leg. “Bacon?”

“You like bacon, buddy?”

Eli nodded in that exaggerated way kids had. Jack tore a piece of the bacon off and gave it to the boy. He stuffed it in his mouth and went back over to plop down in front of the television.

Gina was smiling when Jack looked at her. His belly clenched tight. Yeah, there was something right about this. Being here with her. With his son. The past was fading, and the future was beginning to take shape.

“He likes you.”

“Nah, I had bacon.”

“He had a pretty traumatic experience recently, and he’s cried every time a man delivered room service. I had to ask for women to bring the food. But he didn’t cry when you showed up. He asked for your help and he fell asleep on you.”

A tight ball of emotion sat in Jack’s gut like a stone. It scared him, and excited him too. He turned to look at Eli before she could see the raw feelings in his eyes. “Then I guess he likes me. How about that?”

* * *

The day was wonderful. After a little bit of wrangling to get a car seat and fit it into Jack’s Mustang, they’d set off for the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Gina had never been there before, and she slowly fell in love with the quiet landscape far beyond the reach of the Beltway. It was green and beautiful, punctuated with tributaries of shimmering water that flowed into the huge Chesapeake. They’d crossed the Bay Bridge earlier, its tall spans giving her a glorious view of the bay and Annapolis behind them as they’d driven toward the Eastern Shore.

Once there, Jack had taken them to Waterman’s Cove, a small, quaint town with old shops and plenty of restaurants along the bay. They’d eaten at a place called Cindy’s Crab Shack where the decor was plain and homey and the food was plentiful and yummy.

Gina had worn her hair in a ponytail, and she’d put on a Baltimore Orioles cap with the bill pulled low to help hide her face. She’d worn a pair of sunglasses, naturally. She’d finished the outfit with jeans, a pair of Converse instead of her trademark heels, and a loose T-shirt that she half tucked in. She was slouchy and casual, and the farther they went from the city, the happier she was.

Eli was well-behaved and currently preoccupied with a learning toy she’d given him. They were strolling along the waterfront and Jack was pushing his stroller. He’d insisted on leaving the cane in the car, so they were taking it slow and easy. The sun shone down on the water, and boats bobbed gently in the harbor. It was the kind of place that felt natural and free, and Gina’s heart was light as they ambled down the boardwalk.

She slanted her gaze at Jack, and her heart turned over the same as always. He was so damn handsome, so strong and self-contained. He didn’t need anyone. He was a rock unto himself. Women stared at him as they passed. What wasn’t to like? Tall, golden, hard-bodied man pushing a baby. It was enough to make ovaries everywhere explode.

If they only knew what he was capable of in bed.
 

“I like it here,” she said after a few quiet minutes. “It’s peaceful.”

He nodded. “Yep, not a mob in sight. Though don’t take the cap off. Pretty sure that would change even here if they knew who you were.”

She sighed. “It’s been a long time since I could be anonymous.”
 

He stopped and leaned against the railing, his back to the water. And then he opened his arms and she went into them. They stood there for a long moment, just holding each other. His cheek was against the top of her head, and his hands lay lightly against the small of her back.

Then he straightened and pressed his mouth to hers. Gina sighed, leaning into the kiss, but he broke it before she wanted him to. She clutched her fingers into his shirt and stood there staring at the logo on it as if it contained the secrets to the universe. So many emotions rolling through her. It was like she’d swallowed a hurricane. Parts of her were chaotic and dangerous, and other parts were calm and sure.

A car came up the street. The top was down and the radio blared. Gina’s words echoed back to her from a song and she turned to look as the girls drove by, singing and laughing.

“That’s why I do it.”

“It makes you happy to see them happy. Singing your songs, dancing to the beat.”

“Yes.” She squeezed her shoulders up around her ears for a second as the heat of happiness and, yeah, even embarrassment, flowed through her. “Those songs are pieces of my life. Makes it seem like it wasn’t in vain if someone gets joy or finds comfort in my words.”

He ran a finger along her jaw, frowning. “You deal in joy. I deal in death. We’re polar opposites, babe.”

Her heart thumped. “You deal in justice.”

“Yeah.”

She didn’t like the darkness in his tone, or the look in his blue eyes. Faraway, like he was somewhere else instead of with her. Times like these, she felt as if she could never understand him.

“Why don’t we head back? Cassie should be at the hotel by now.”

She’d called her nanny this morning and arranged the flight because she could no longer put off her obligations. She’d thought about asking the firm for another nanny, but Cassie was a good kid, and Gina knew what it was like to need someone to believe in you. So long as she made sure that a bodyguard was with Cassie and Eli at all times while she was working, everything would be fine. Not only that, but Eli was used to Cassie. She’d been a part of his life for ten months, and he didn’t need someone new when there’d been so many upheavals in his life recently.

The thought of leaving Eli and Cassie for even a minute made her stomach churn, but she had to let life return to normal. Stavros was dead and though there would always be crackpots, that couldn’t stop her from living. She had a nanny because she needed help—and she had to use that help or quit working and become a recluse. If she did that, then Stavros won. She wasn’t going to let that happen.

She was also having her assistant find a real estate agent so she could get a house in DC. Though maybe she could have one here. She looked at the peaceful surroundings and pictured how wrecked that would all be if she moved in.

In Europe, she could live in a house on a cliff overlooking the Med and no one would pay her much attention. Here, things were different. She sighed her disappointment.

“Something bothering you?” Jack asked.

She shrugged. “No, just thinking about how peaceful this is and how much I’ve enjoyed this outing.”

He squeezed her hand. “There’ll be more.”

Her heart lurched. “Will there?”

He pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “I think so, yeah.”

She felt warm inside as they headed back toward where he’d left his car at the restaurant. It was only a short walk.
 

“Goddamn,” he said softly as they turned a corner.

Gina’s stomach fell. There was a small crowd of people gathered around the car. The girls that had driven by with the radio blasting her song were also there, their car parked nearby and still thumping out the beat of another dance tune that had gone to number one.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have taken off the glasses in the restaurant.”

“You can’t fucking eat in the dark, Gina. It’s not your fault.”

Their waitress had seemed more interested in Jack than in her, but when Gina thought about the looks the woman had kept slanting at her, they took on a whole different meaning now. She’d thought the woman was jealous of her good fortune to have a man like Jack.

“Maybe we should call a taxi. I can send someone back for your car—”

“No.” His voice was a whip in the air. “We drove here together, we’re driving out together like normal fucking people.”

“They don’t mean any harm, Jack. It’s the price of my success. I owe them.”

“You don’t owe them anything but the happiness they get when they listen to your songs.”

She put her hand on his arm. “It’s okay. We’ll get through it. I’ll sign a few autographs and we’ll go.”

“You take the stroller. I can’t protect you if I can’t reach my weapon.”

She blinked. “You’re armed?”

She didn’t know why she thought he’d left the gun in the car, but of course he wouldn’t have. He looked down at her like she’d lost her mind. “It’s what I fucking do, Gina.”

“Right then.” She swallowed. “Just don’t shoot anyone, okay?”

His teeth ground together. “Not if I can help it.”