Storm Warning (Security Specialists International Book 4) (10 page)

“That fucker’s mine.” Tweeter warned his brother off. “Tell Andy, Loren, and Paul. Sean Varney will deal with me for what he did to DJ—and what he’s still trying to do.”

No one would avenge the wrongs done to DJ, but him.

“We’ll back you up, little brother.” A voice in the background shouted Dev’s name. “Gotta go. It’s my turn to beat the shit out of some guys at poker. See you all later this spring. Call if you need us to do anything prior to then. Andy and I still have leave time we can use up.”

“Thanks, Dev. Tell Andy I said hi. Stay safe.”

“Planning on it. Out.”

Tweeter swept his finger to cut the call, then rested his head on the chair back and closed his eyes. It was clear in his mind he’d been training his whole life to be with a woman with DJ’s background. But convincing her they were
meant
to be together wouldn’t be easy.

He’d read her files, all of them—both unclassified and classified. Her classified file showed stellar service on ops she’d never be allowed to acknowledge. She’d turned down Officer’s Candidate School and Army Intelligence. She’d also turned down an offer to join the CIA to do on-the-ground intelligence gathering.

DJ was a war hero. She had skill sets most men would envy. She was intelligent and courageous, but underneath she was an inexperienced innocent when it came to dealing with the opposite sex. What experience she did have was bad.

Her psych evaluation described her as having a “poorly differentiated sense of self”; she’d work her heart-shaped ass to the bone to get her superior officers, or an employer, the results they desired. She’d care for everyone around her, but would demand nothing for herself.

If he had anything to say about it, that extreme self-sacrifice would change. He’d make it his life’s goal to take care of her for a change, make her see she deserved more than to exist for others, to be used as a token to win her father perks and privileges with his employer. She was more than a possession.

Soon, DJ would realize she was born to be his partner, his mate, the love of his life, and the center of his existence.

February 8th, the Main Lodge

DJ sat on the cushioned bench in the kitchen nook. Her back was to the gorgeous snow-covered mountain scenery. Instead of taking in the glory of nature, she eyed her mother shyly flirting with Scotty. The connection between the two had blossomed over the week since they’d arrived at Sanctuary, much to the amusement of the Sanctuary inhabitants.

With each day that passed, her mother shed more and more of the protective layers she’d developed over the years of living with her abusive, soon-to-be-ex-husband. Yeah, there were still times when her mother startled at a loud noise or voice or jumped when someone came up behind her suddenly. But those times were growing fewer and farther apart—mostly due to Scotty’s attention. With a light hand and a soft grumbly-bear-tone-of-voice, the former sailor was slowly but surely helping her mother put her old life in Red Bone behind her.

For that reason alone, Scotty had moved to near the top of her favorite SSI employee list.

“He won’t hurt her.”

And there was her number one favorite SSI employee.

DJ turned as Ace slid onto the bench seat next to her. He’d set his plate filled with her mother’s made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits, her mother’s cheesy grits, and some egg concoction Scotty had called a frittata on the table. She was shocked she hadn’t even noticed his approach. DJ was normally highly attuned to her surroundings, especially where men were concerned. Maybe it was because after working alongside Ace since the day she’d arrived, she’d gotten used to his presence. Her unconscious mind must not consider him a threat, which could be a huge mistake. Because under Stuart Walsh’s easy-going, friendly exterior and all that intelligence lay a deeply complex man.

Her breath hitched and her heart pounded at his sudden appearance, at his nearness. Then the heat from his body and his intoxicating scent, a combination of fresh mountain air, pine woods, clean wool flannel shirt, and his unique male musk, enveloped her like a protective force field. She took several slow breaths, breathing in even more of him. Her heart rate slowed just as fast as it had escalated.

Had it been his scent or the deep breathing that had calmed her? Her gut response to that question both scared and excited her.

Uncomfortable with Ace’s effect on her equilibrium, DJ said the first thing that came into her head. “My momma’s still married.”

DJ winced. She sounded like a whiny little girl. “Forget I said that. She deserves to be happy, and…” She inhaled sharply to ease past the lump in her throat. “If Scotty makes her happy, I need to suck it up and let her be.” She stabbed at a piece of sausage patty, shoved it in her mouth, and chewed.

“Sounds like a plan.” Ace buttered a biscuit and then slathered honey on it.

DJ shifted to see his face. He’d sounded amused, and if he had a grin on his face, she … she … well, she didn’t know what she’d do.

Yes, she did. She’d challenge him to another fricking kick-boxing match. The computer wizard had put her on her butt every day of training, which had led her to conclude he was a macho-man in geek’s clothing. She’d also learned he didn’t make any accommodations for her or anyone else. The man liked to win.

She respected that … she liked to win also, but wanted to win because she was the best, not because someone let her.

Ace turned to look at her, his handsome face, expressionless. “Is there a problem?”

Yeah, he might not be smiling on the outside over her rant about her mother and Scotty, but deep inside, he was laughing like a loon. She’d learned to read him very well in a short period of time. His light blue eyes were very expressive. They could glitter coolly with amusement one minute or turn fiery with anger the next.—As they had when Ben Crawley, one of a group of corporate security guards taking advanced personal security training at SSI, had called her a stone cold bitch after she’d rejected the man’s verbal and physical advances during a training session a few days earlier.

A warm feeling spread through her at the memory of how Ace had backed her up while she’d handled the cocky douchebag. Said douchebag and every other male who’d been present now understood she wasn’t a frail, delicate flower and that she’d defend herself verbally and physically to get her point across. The fact that Ace could’ve taken over at any time and handled the situation for her, but hadn’t, said a lot about how much he respected her and her abilities. She had no doubt if for some lame reason Crawley had gotten the advantage over her that Ace would’ve cleaned the forest floor with the moron.

She shivered, a sensual awareness that lit her core and made her heart pound, as she recalled how Ace had stood between her and the other men, giving her the ability to concentrate on handing Crawley his ass.

Crawley was now gone. Ren had overheard most of the encounter over her and Ace’s headsets—and hadn’t liked the fact the mental defective wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Ren, after personally escorting Crawley to Grangeville, had called the man’s bosses and given them a detailed report as to why, in Ren’s opinion, Crawley was a lawsuit waiting to happen. Crawley was now unemployed as Keely had gleefully informed DJ last night as they headed, along with Callie, to the indoor shooting range.

“Earth to DJ,” Ace said. “I’ll repeat … is there a problem?”

“Nope.” She turned back and decimated her last piece of sausage patty into pea-sized pieces and then mixed them into the veggie frittata and took a bite.

Ace leaned in until his hot breath whispered across her cheek. “DJ … it’s okay to worry about your mother. She’s gone through a lot. I expect your parents’ marriage had been … bad for a while.”

“Bad?” She snorted. “Try more like a freaking disaster of epic proportions.” She turned toward him and all she saw in his light blue eyes this time was genuine concern. “And the marriage was over a long time ago.”

“There ya go.” He shoulder-bumped her. “She’s grabbing onto this new life with both hands. She’s strong and resilient … a lot like her daughter. She deserves to have fun. And Scotty’s a good man. When his fiancée called off their engagement, it was as if a thundercloud settled over him. Your mom’s new zest for life has broken through those clouds. I’m thinking that’s a good thing.”

“Yeah, it is.” DJ sighed. “You won’t tell anyone about my…”

“Nope.”

“Thanks.” DJ shoulder-bumped him back and heard his low chuckle. The knot in her stomach unwound.

Ace was an easy person to be around, even with the hidden depths and his odd effect on her pulse. She picked up the honey bear he’d just finished using and drowned her biscuit in the sweet goo, then began to eat the sticky-sweet mess with a fork. She needed all the carbs she could get. With the higher altitude, she burned up calories like a bunny on speed. “What’s on the schedule for today? More physical testing?”

“Ren and Trey signed off on your physical readiness yesterday. Your oxygen uptake is well within normal range. They feel you’re ready to be tested on your mountaineering skills.”

Ace pulled out his ever-present computer tablet and pulled up the interactive map of Sanctuary.

DJ had been assigned her own tablet yesterday. While not the techno-wizard Ace and Keely were, she was good with map apps and GPS programs because of all her flight training. She’d played with her tablet last night before she’d gone to bed. It had almost been as fun as a video game. But the Bat Cave’s hologram map was even better than a game—the 3-D security map was like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Ace and Keely had a lot of fun high-tech toys. Not that DJ knew exactly how they worked, but she liked what they did.

“We’ll test your climbing skills while we check the perimeter security installations. You up for that?”

“Hell, yeah. I’ve been chomping at the bit to do some climbing.” She’d excelled at mountaineering training at the Army Mountaineering School, as part of a test program for Army pilots assigned to support Special Operations Command missions.

He nodded. “Good. Not everyone takes to climbing especially at this altitude and these conditions. We’ll take the snow mobiles to get from one set of arrays to the next. But we’ll be snow-shoeing and climbing to actually do the inspections. Some of the security installations have registered as erratic.”

“Erratic? Is someone testing your security?”

“Could be. But most of the ones that are blinking in and out are situated on highly exposed and rugged terrain. So they could’ve loosened up from high winds, rock fall, or an avalanche—all of which has happened at one time or another. I try to check the arrays routinely whether they need it or not.”

“When was the last time you checked them?” she asked.

“Right before you arrived.” A fierce frown tightened his lips.

“Then you suspect something.”

“At this point, I don’t suspect anything other than several arrays aren’t working properly.” Ace blanked out his expression once more and shrugged. “We have redundant systems, so we haven’t lost our security perimeter.”

“No red blinkie lights of strangers on the holo-map?” She began piling empty plates to carry to the sink.

Ace laughed, a low, raspy rumble that did strange things to her insides and raised goose bumps on her skin. “Nope, no red blinkie lights.”

DJ slid out and carried the plates to the sink where Scotty was doing clean up. The older man smiled at her. “Heard you aced your weapons’ test on the range last night. Keely and Callie wondered why you never tried to qualify as a sniper?”

“I liked flying helicopters more.” DJ placed the dishes in the sink. “Plus, I had a choice of special programs and figured the extra training at the Army Mountaineering school would be more useful for my tours.”

And it had. The one time she had a “hard landing,” she’d found all the climbing and survival skills she’d learned had kept her, her crew, and her V.I.P. passengers alive until help arrived to extract them.

Scotty placed a hand on her arm as she began to rinse the plates to load in the dishwasher. “I can do that. You go weapon up with Tweeter. Never know what you two might find out there. Your momma and I got this.”

The older man must’ve overheard their plans for the day.

“Thanks, Scotty.” DJ turned to join Ace, who waited for her by the back exit from the kitchen. She hesitated and then turned back to Scotty. “Don’t hurt my momma, please,” she spoke in a tone that only the two of them could hear. “She’s been hurt enough.”

Scotty’s expression turned hard, but his tone was gentle. “I swear I won’t hurt a hair on that precious woman’s head. And if I ever meet up with your pa, well, he won’t be the one walking away from the confrontation.”

“Good. And I’ll cover your ass if and when that ever happens.” She patted him on the arm and walked over to the counter where her mother spoke with Keely who was feeding Riley.

DJ hugged her mother. “Love you. I’m going out with Ace. I expect we’ll be gone for most of the day.”

“Be careful.” Her mother returned the hug and then looked at Ace. “I’m making fried chicken for dinner, my bacon-flavored green beans, mashed red-skin potatoes and gravy, with sugar cream pie for dessert. So, y’all might want to be back in time to get some.”

“Ma’am. Consider that a date.” Ace eyed DJ. “Ready, partner?”

The way he said “partner” and the look in his eyes shot straight to the heart of her so fast and so hard she swore her insides had been struck by lightning. She took a second and breathed through the sizzling sensation before responding.

“Hell, yeah. Let’s go. I want to check
you
out on
your
mountaineering skills.” She walked over and punched him on the arm, a very solidly muscled arm. “I perfected my skills in Army Mountaineering School and in a war zone. Where’d you polish yours?”

Ace snorted as he took her arm and gently urged her into the back hallway. “The school of Walsh when I was really small. Then later, Dad sent me and Keely, when she was old enough, to a mountaineering school in Colorado run by an ex-Army mountaineering specialist. My only getting-shot-at-while-climbing experiences, I had here. Lots of bad asses think they can come onto Sanctuary and take whatever in the hell they want.”

DJ had heard some of those local war stories. Dan Morgan, the Sheriff, had shared some of them after a few beers at Ma’s. He wanted her to know what she’d gotten herself into by joining SSI. Then the man had asked her out. She’d turned him down. The Sheriff was a player as was Price Teague. She’d turned Price down the first night she’d spent on Sanctuary. Besides Crawley, several other males taking SSI’s corporate personal security programs and other male SSI recruits and operatives had asked her out. She’d turned them down also.

The only man who hadn’t asked her out … was Ace—and, dammit, that bothered her. A lot.