Mercy (18 page)

“I don’t . . .” Wade shook his head as his eyes narrowed. “What?”

Enough
. “This conversation is over. I’m the boss. We’re leaving.”

When Jarrett saw Wade’s mouth drop open a second time he knew he should have led with that. Issue the order then demand it be upheld. This whole trying-to-spare-everyone’s-feelings thing was not his style. At all.

“I have condoms upstairs,” Wade said.

“So do I. That’s not the issue.”

Wade moved his bottle to the side and leaned down on the bar on his elbows. “You lost me again.”

So much for thinking he was in charge. Jarrett made a last grab for patience. “As far as I know, Eli can’t get pregnant.”

Wade shot back up straight. “Becca’s pregnant?”

“Maybe you could not yell that.”

The man’s eyes bugged. Looked ten seconds from popping out of his head. “Is she?”

Jarrett seriously considered messing with Wade until he realized this was a topic he did not find the least bit funny. “No.”

“Then I don’t—”

Jarrett held a hand. “It’s a precaution.”

“Let me get this straight. You can’t take two seconds to put on a condom?”

They’d been talking like friends instead of boss/employee, but that comment was too much. “You are about to get your ass kicked.”

“If it will knock some sense into you, fine. Let’s go.”

“I’m going stir crazy. She has to be, too.”

“So, she’s bored?”

Jarrett decided to ignore that. “I want her protected and I don’t just mean from gunfire.”

Wade dropped his head between his arms. He stood like that as he mumbled something.

Jarrett couldn’t catch the comment. “I didn’t get that.”

Wade’s head snapped up. “You know we’re headed for disaster here, right?”

There was no reason to lie about this part. “Yeah.”

“I don’t see a way you can protect the business, yourself and her.”

“And Elijah.” The weight of all the people, all the lives, weighed down on Jarrett. It was getting to be a bit much, especially with Natalie sniffing around and giving deadlines.

Elijah meant something to Wade, which meant Wade was invested. They all were. This went beyond birth control and having a place to sleep. Elijah and Becca needed answers. Someone ordered their termination. They needed to know why and who. Without that, they were in the crosshairs and would stay there, especially since Natalie insisted this wasn’t a CIA hit. Not that the woman had any trouble lying.

“Eli is just another layer of complication. Take him out of the equation and you still have a mess.” Wade said in a low voice.

Jarrett focused on the sound of clanking pots not far away. “Remember the good old days when we ran a supper club and collected money and information and everyone was happy?”

“Were you?”

He could count so few times in his adult life where he was happy. Satisfied and determined he’d conquered. Happy, not so much. He wasn’t even convinced that was a necessary component of anything. He’d survived without it when Becca left. He was a mess with her here. That had to mean something.

Instead of laying that all on Wade, Jarrett went with a shrug. “Don’t ask that because I sure as hell don’t know any more.”

“Skipping the birth control conversation, because right now I’d like to get the visual image of you two humping like bunnies out of my head—”

“Thanks.”

“Let’s talk bigger picture.” Wade spread his arms wide. “Like, what’s the long-term goal here? We can’t hide two adults in here forever, and I’m assuming you’d like to go outside at some point for something other than a birth control run.”

Questions ran through Jarrett’s head. Someone was using them all. For a long time he didn’t care, as long as he wasn’t in prison. But now he wanted to know. “I’m working on that.”

“Want to clue me in on how you’re doing it?”

This part Jarrett finally got. “I’m going to figure out a way to save everyone.”

What?”

“It was a surprise to me, too.” It had been building for days and now it was the only answer.

“Not really. It totally sounds like something you’d do.”

The insight stopped Jarrett’s mental planning. “That’s not what most people think.”

“They don’t know you like I do, being one of your early rescues and all.”

As far as compliments went, that was a pretty big one. He let it sink in and wash away some of the darkness. He’d spent a lot of years ripping people apart. Walking away from that, disconnecting, took time and money and more muscle that he ever thought he could throw. But he was out, legitimate.

Jarrett owed part of that to Wade, so he had to engage some payback. “Warning here. Eli isn’t going to like anything that happens from here on out.”

“Nothing new there. He spends a lot of time being pissed.”

Jarrett looked at Wade’s calm demeanor and feared he didn’t get it. “This could push Eli away, and I don’t know how to make that better for you.”

“It’s just sex.”

No way. Jarrett had seen them together. More than once he’d looked away when Wade’s growing interest worried him. “You know that’s the crap I’ve been saying about Becca, right?”

“Meaning?”

“We’re both screwed.”

Wade laughed. “Guess you might really need that birth control then.”

Common sense came rushing back and Jarrett didn’t fight it. “I’ll table that for now.”

“Because?”

“I have bigger issues to handle.”

NIN
E
TEEN

Becca spent most of the morning in the conference room, avoiding the cleaning crew that had now left the condo and looking through the information Jarrett gave her. Stacks and stacks of files. All the background on the deaths of her team members. Well, the published fake stories. She knew who they really were and what they did for a living, and no one was an accountant.

The idea made her smile until she spied the newspaper article talking about Felix Hernandez dying in a home invasion robbery. The murder didn’t even make the front page of the metro section. It was buried pages back and pure bullshit. The man was a poisons expert with serious gun skills. He’d slept only a few hours at a time, and even then sitting up and ready to fight if needed.

Yet, someone got him. From the medical report Jarrett somehow possessed, Felix went down in a hail of gunfire. She wanted to know why.

The answer was in all of this paper somewhere. She smoothed her hand over her ponytail. Being back in her cargo pants and tank top gave her confidence. Probably had something to do with feeling less vulnerable. So did the pocketknife she took out of Jarrett’s kitchen drawer.

Just as he used to demand she stay naked in the condo, he insisted she wear clothes when she came downstairs this time. She assumed he didn’t want her parading around in front of Wade, but all the intel on him suggested he wouldn’t really care if she did.

She’d welcome Wade or anyone right now. Maybe another set of eyes would help her see whatever lurked just out of reach. She’d spread everything out on the second-floor conference table from one end to the other. She stared, walked around it, rearranged it. Nothing made the pieces fall together in her head.

The lock clicked and the door swung open. The old fight-or-flight instincts kicked in and she pivoted, ready to fend off any attack. A sidekick, a punch, the knife—whatever it took.

Jarrett didn’t even look up from his phone as he stepped inside. “I need the room.”

He’d been gone all of an hour and morphed right back into the demanding, indifferent guy who wanted her naked every second. She fought this battle at least twice every day. He’d let his guard down, talk to her, then something would have the shield slamming back up again.

She had no idea what raised it this time. “Uh, hello.”

He turned around as if to leave. Actually gave her his back as his fingers moved over the buttons. “Let’s go.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You can go upstairs—”

“No.” And he could go to hell while he was at it. She’d reached the end of her patience on this dual personality bullshit. He gave her clipped orders and a boiling heat moved to her brain. No more.

He turned back around as his hand dropped. His focus switched from the phone to her. “Despite the great sex, I still own the building and I’m in charge.”

Boiling. Rage. “Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Be a giant douche.”

She thought she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. Normally this was the point where he’d double down and his jerkiness would escalate off the charts. Instead, he sighed. He was not the sighing type.

“Remember how when you got here you didn’t say anything but yes to whatever I asked you to do?”

“Only too well.” She moved some files and made room for her thigh on the corner of the table. “A momentary lapse brought on by the fear of death, I assure you.”

“The rules haven’t changed.”

“Jarrett, honestly, you’re smarter than that. The rules changed almost immediately. I am not your sex doll or your slave.”

It felt good to finally unload. For days she’d been accepting, waging a war of defiance without saying a word. Those days were over.

She no longer believed he’d kick her out or physically hurt her. Every day, in quiet moments, she saw the warmth in his eyes and felt the want in his touch. He might shout and throw around words like “betrayal,” he might even still hate her a little, but underneath he needed something from her. She was willing to give it to him if he stopped being an ass.

She wrestled with what she felt for him and how to make it extend past the web of guilt and confusion weighing her down. She wanted him, had never stopped loving him, but repairing the shattered trust required more strength than she could muster. Trust had always been her downfall anyway. Add in everything that happened between them, and the task struck her as insurmountable.

Since he hadn’t moved once she yelled, she tried again. This time in a normal tone. “If you need me to go upstairs, don’t be a dick about it. Just ask.”

“Go upstairs.” He held his phone in a strangling grip.

She half thought he’d break the thing in two. “I can see you’re unwilling to cede any ground on this issue.”

“Yes.”

“Fine, I’m patient. We can just sit here until you do.” She swung her foot back and forth. Would have whistled if her mouth hadn’t gone dry. Fighting with him fired her up, but a level of wariness remained.

“I’m trying to believe we’re having a ten-minute conversation about this.”

Since logic and stubbornness didn’t win him over, she tried common sense. “Why would I leave? You said Bast was coming for a second meeting.”

“I know. I set up the damn meeting.”

Seemed none of the tricks in her arsenal were working today. That didn’t mean she’d back down. He wasn’t the only one who could dig in. She crossed her arms over her stomach and watched his gaze dip to her chest. Then she remembered, no bra.

Ah, yes
. There was that trick. Not this time. She needed to prove they could work through something while keeping their clothes on.

She snapped her fingers to win back eye contact. “Then just ask.”

He blinked a few times. “Becca—”

“Jarrett, you’re an adult and I am done pretending you rule the world.”

“I can put you on the street.”

The ultimate threat. He hadn’t pulled that one out for days. Amazing how the words still slashed through her, whipping and ripping everything they touched.

The jackass.

She lifted her chin and dared him to do it. “Go ahead.”

Tension streaked through the room, cutting through the sudden silence.

They settled into a staring contest. When he didn’t say anything, she lifted an eyebrow in a silent “bring it on” message.

“Fine.” He gritted the word out through clenched teeth. “Would you go upstairs for a few minutes?” Every word sounded harsh as if covered in sandpaper.

“Please?”

He pointed at her. “Don’t push your luck.”

The man had no ability to lose with grace. She shook her head as she walked over to stand in front of him. She held out her palm. “Give it to me.”

“What?”

Poor thing looked ready to smash a fist into the wall. She understood the feeling. It washed over her quite often when dealing with him.

She wiggled her fingers. “I need the keys and secret passwords and whatever the hell else a human has to use in this place to pass from one floor to another.”

“The security card stays with me.”

Apparently he wanted her to magically appear on another floor. “You are the very definition of stubborn.”

“Right back atcha, sweetheart.”

“It appears we’re at another impasse.”

He swore under his breath. “Come with me.”

Turning around, he took off. Didn’t even wait to see if she’d follow. She’d chalk it up to his confidence in his power over her, but she really thought he was tired of dealing with her. She was fine with either outcome. She’d made her point. The bullying and sexual game playing, other than the fun mutual kind, was over.

Using more strength than seemed necessary, he lowered the black door to the security keypad. The plastic cracked under the treatment. Rather than swiping his card he typed in a sequence. Seven-nine-zero-two-eight. She knew because she went up on silent tiptoes behind his back to watch him do it.

The elevator doors slid open. She stared inside. “Why not use the card?”

“It’s synched to me. If I use it here, I have to use it upstairs. You can use the code one-one-four-nine-eight to get into the condo. It’s a guest code.”

Good thing she’d been trained to memorize numbers. “Let me guess, you’re changing the number tomorrow.”

“This afternoon.”

“Your trust is lovely. Really.” She stepped on. Thought about slamming the door shut in his face.

He must have sensed it because he put his foot in the threshold and hand over the door vent. He leaned in. “Trust has to be earned.”

“Jackass.”

Now he smiled. “As if you’re the first person to point that out.”

•   •   •

She made it upstairs and inside the condo. First thing she did was find a pen. With the guest codes for the elevator and condo now tucked in her bra, she headed for the office. Jarrett had something planned and she had every intention of watching it through the security cameras.

Sitting down, she pulled out the keyboard and started typing. The second-floor hall popped up. Her gaze went to the open conference room door but not inside. But someone would come. She could feel it. All she had to do was wait.

•   •   •

Jarrett stood at the far side of the conference room table, looking at the documents Becca put together. Not that he saw a damn word. The black lines blurred as he wrestled to get his anger back under control. Between Becca pushing him and Elijah declaring he’d be in the conference room, ready or not, for a meeting, Jarrett had just about had it with the former Spectrum agents.

Damn ungrateful. Both of them.

He looked up in time to see Elijah walk in. Scowl, stiff shoulders and all.

“For the record, demand my presence again and I will shoot you.” Jarrett was sorry he didn’t have a weapon on him. “This time I won’t go for a shoulder wound.”

Elijah stood in what could only be described as a fighting stance, with his hands behind his back and his feet slightly apart. “I need a status.”

“On?”

“You’re confining me to the condo and messing with my files in the conference room.”

These days this guy threw blame in every sentence. Never mind he’d had Jarrett arrested or came asking for help when he didn’t deserve it. No, this shithead thought everyone owed him something. Jarrett once again wondered what Wade saw in the guy. He insisted there was more to Eli than the anger festering now, but Jarrett didn’t see it. From his experience, hot sex only went so far.

Reaching for his last bit of patience, Jarrett repeated the explanation he’d given Wade. “I’m trying to figure out a way out of this for all of us.”

“You think you can get to the bottom of this mess faster than I can?” Elijah leaned in. “I’m fucking trained for this work.”

“And that got you really far, didn’t it?”

“Don’t test me, Jarrett.”

“And do not threaten me, Eli. This is a game you will lose.”

Wade appeared over Elijah’s shoulder. His gaze flicked from Elijah to Jarrett. “What’s going on in here?”

Sonofabitch
. Jarrett wanted to keep Wade out of this. Had sent him on a storage room run downstairs to get him away. Nothing was going right today.

“Our guest is dissatisfied,” Jarrett said.

Wade’s eyes narrowed as he stepped up even with Elijah. “Eli, why are—”

“Because someone had to.” He held up a hand as he turned on Wade. “You make promises. You tell me to be patient. We’ve got that bitch in the building and—”

“Enough.” Anger filled in all the space left behind by Jarrett’s expired patience. He let the white-hot rage pouring through him wash over everything. “You’re done here.”

“You think you can kick me out?”

“I’ve officially reached the point where I don’t care how long you survive outside these walls.” The phone in Jarrett’s pocket buzzed, but he ignored it.

Elijah shook his head. “Holy shit, you’re going to do it.”

The dropped mouth suggested the man finally understood he’d gone too far. About fucking time, as far as Jarrett was concerned. “Yes, you’re leaving. Consider this your half-hour countdown.”

Elijah didn’t move. “Not that. I mean, you’re going to turn over whatever files you originally held back.”

“What are you talking about?” Wade asked as he grabbed for his phone.

“He has leverage to keep the CIA out of here, to keep all law enforcement away, and he’s going to give it up. For her.”

Jarrett should have seen Elijah putting the pieces together. “This is not your concern.”

“It’s the only answer to why you’re alive and not rotting in jail.”

Wade’s gaze kept roaming as he clenched his cell. “Let’s calm down.”

“Listen to me.” Elijah grabbed the phone out of Wade’s hand and chucked it across the room. It smashed against the wall next to Jarrett and broke into pieces as Elijah turned on him. “I’m not letting that happen. Whatever you have is protecting all of us. Without it, we’re dead.”

“Eli, what the fuck?” Wade’s yelling now matched Elijah’s. “There was a building alarm.”

“Tough shit.” Elijah whipped a gun out of nowhere and aimed it at Jarrett.

He should have seen that coming as well. The man was on the edge and trained. He’d been frisked, but Wade had firearms, and Jarrett guessed Elijah found them.

Jarrett refused to flinch or show any sign of fear. “You will never make it to the front door.”

Elijah laughed. “You think Wade will kill me?”

“No, me.” Becca stepped from behind Wade, taking his gun out of his belt as she went.

While everyone froze, the barrel pressed against the back of Elijah’s head. A second later, she shielded her body with his much larger one.

That fast, Wade whipped out a second weapon from his ankle and aimed it at her. “Drop it.”

The standoff snapped Jarrett out of his stunned silence. “Wade, no.”

Anger pulsed off Wade. “Now, Becca.”

“I will kill Elijah.” She shoved the gun until he lifted his hands. “See, he’s smart enough to know I’ll do it. Follow his lead here, Wade.”

Wade looked at Jarrett. He nodded for Wade to listen to her because he needed to defuse this . . . whatever it was.

When she shifted, Jarrett saw the gun in one hand where it aimed for Elijah’s head and the knife she held to his throat with her other hand. Wade must have seen the double attack too because he slowly lowered the weapon to the conference room table, swearing and shaking his head as he went.