THE GUARDIAN (Taskforce Series) (28 page)

Just then the sound of a car, rare because of their location at the end of the street, had him glancing out the window. He didn’t immediately recognize the sleek, burgundy Jaguar circling the
cul-de-sac
outside, but his sixth sense urged him not to dismiss it.

“Honey, have you seen that car before?” he asked when it slowed and parked, its rear fender facing the house so he couldn’t see the driver.

Naomi looked out the window by the dinette table. “Oh, yeah. I saw it here yesterday. A man was taking pictures of the river.”

Jackson
’s antenna for danger shot straight up in the air.
Taking pictures?
In the same instant, who should step out of the car but Magdalena Xenakis Alexandra?

Speak of the devil,
he thought grimly
.

Watching her strike out toward the house in jeans that fit her shapely body like a glove, his hormones immediately started celebrating while his brain cautioned him that she was probably up to no good
.

“Toby!” he shouted, turning off the stove before he burned breakfast. “Naomi, go wake up Mr. Burke.” He waved her toward the back hall when she balked. “Go on.” The minute she was out of sight, he stalked toward the door and snatched it open.

Lena
pulled her hand away from the doorbell and took a healthy step backward.

“What are you doing here?” He raked her gauzy blouse for any signs of a hidden camera. She must have left her purse, and hence her pistol, in the car, and he didn’t see anything on her person that could conceal a lens, but he didn’t put it past her to not be wearing a wire
.

“We need to talk . . .
Jackson
,” she said with wide, watchful eyes.

The sound of his name on her lips made his heart stop before it took off galloping. “Come inside.” He didn’t leave her much choice. Hauling her into the kitchen, he shut the door behind her, spun her around and thrust her against the door’s facade in order to thoroughly frisk her
.

Memories of Wednesday night and how sexy she’d looked with her breasts bared and her thighs spread scorched his senses, making it nearly impossible to keep his touch impersonal as he patted her down. Dipping his fingers into her jeans pockets, he discovered a set of car keys. He felt up under her gauzy blouse for a concealed listening device, but the only things his hands encountered were full, soft breasts encased in a snug tank top
.

At her sexy-sounding gasp, he swung her about and caught her chin in his hand, turning her head from one side to the other to examine her earrings and the silver choker at her throat. Neither looked capable of concealing a camera. He even gave her sequined sandals a cursory glance.

“Satisfied?” she asked when, at last, he let his hands drop to his sides
.

“Hardly,” he grated through clenched teeth. Christ, just standing before him, exuding her seductive scent, she had an arousing effect on his body. If not for Toby and Naomi’s presence, he would take her, right here, right now against the wall.

Just then, Toby barreled into the kitchen with his hair disheveled, stubble on his jaw, and a yellow T-shirt that read: ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND FIREARMS. WHO’S BRINGING THE CHIPS?

“We have a visitor,”
Jackson
announced to Toby’s astonished face. “She’s clean.” Curling a hand around her elbow, he marched her unceremoniously through the living area. “Stay inside while we talk to our guest,” he instructed a wide-eyed Naomi.

Lena
let herself be escorted through sliding glass doors onto a shady deck.
Jackson
’s colleague joined them, pulling the door shut to keep the preteen out of earshot
.

“Sit,”
Jackson
said, pulling a chair away from the wrought iron table topped by glass and an open umbrella.

Wincing at his suspicious tone, Lean stiffly obliged. He dropped into the chair opposite hers, while the other agent chose the chair between them. A moment of tense silence ensued, and then
Jackson
said, “Talk.”

Lena
narrowed her eyes at him. “I am not a dog.” She had expected him to be upset, but was common courtesy too much to ask?

“Amen to that,” drawled the other agent, shattering the hostile atmosphere with a wolfish grin
.

Jackson
shot him a look that said,
Shut the fuck up
. “Tell us why you’re here,” he commanded. “Please,” he tacked on.

Lena
shivered under the cool shadow of the umbrella. Eyeing
Jackson
’s hard face, she wondered, with a pang, where the man was who’d sworn to woo her with a fine meal and a soft bed.

“I’m here to warn you, that’s all,” she told him stiffly, “I don’t want to jeopardize your situation at Gateway. I swear it.”

The mistrust radiating off him scarcely seemed to subside.
Lena
glanced hopefully at his colleague, who had yet to be introduced. That man, at least, seemed to be withholding his condemnation
.

“Warn me of what? How long have you known who I am?” he tacked on before she could answer his first question
.

“Less than a week—though I’ve questioned your identity from the start.” Her gaze skittered over him. Dressed in a heather-gray Polo that matched his silvery eyes, she had to admit the preppy look suited him far more than a sleeveless T-shirt. “Even when you dress like a thug, you don’t look like one,” she said
.

At this, the other agent threw back head and roared with laughter
.

Jackson
glared at him again, his eyes shooting fire.

“I would never betray your cover,”
Lena
rushed to assure him. “I might have at one time, but things are different now . . . between us.”

Emotion flickered on his face and was gone. Then he asked in the same cold voice, “What do you want to warn me about?”

His tone left her with little hope of reconciliation. “When I couldn’t find any criminal records on Abdul Ibn Wasi, I made the mistake of sending your image to my boss,” she admitted. “This was right after you broke into my place. I was royally pissed and hungry for retaliation.” 

Her news met with ominous silence.
Lena
looked down at her bracelets and idly turned them. “I asked him to help me identify you.” Biting her lip for courage, she looked up and met
Jackson
’s chilly stare without flinching.

“So your boss identified me,” he guessed, with crisp consonants that betrayed his disgust. “Did he say how?”

“With the help of a senator.”

The agents shared a baffled look
.
 

“Which senator?” asked the other man
.

“I don’t know. Peter never said. But now he’s all worked up about Gateway being under federal investigation. He thinks Uncle Sam is violating the civil rights of Muslim Americans, and he’s going to blow your cover,
Jackson
. He took pictures of the two of you leaving Gateway yesterday. Then he followed you here and took pictures of your vehicles and your daughter.”

Jackson
visibly paled beneath his tan. “No,” he exclaimed, pointing a finger at her. “You get those pictures the hell away from him. I won’t have Naomi targeted by Five Percenters trying to get back at me.”

“It’s okay—”

“No, it is not okay!”

“The pictures of her are all blurry,” she assured him. “Plus, he’s not going to publish them. Peter might be a jackass, but he’s only trying to make a political statement; he would never put a child at risk.”

Jackson
’s jaw muscles jumped. “You’d better be right about that.”

“I am.” She pushed the apology through a strangled throat. “And I’m sorry, about everything.” The disillusionment radiating off him made her want to crawl into a dark corner and cry. “If I’d had any idea this would happen, I swear I never would have asked for Peter’s help in the first place. I take complete responsibility. And, if it’s any consolation, I can warn you when Peter’s exposé is on the verge of publication.”

“How long do we have?” the other man asked
.

Glancing at him,
Lena
was relieved that he wasn’t looking at her as if she’d initiated a countdown to Armageddon
.

“It depends how deeply he wants to dig before he goes public. But I’ll find out,” she promised.

Jackson
shoved his chair back without warning. “You should have left the area when I goddamn asked you to.” For a moment, he loomed over her like he had something else to say, but then he left without a word, stalking into the house and sliding the door forcefully shut behind him.

Stung by his condemnation,
Lena
crossed her arms to ward off her sudden chill. Tears of self-pity and remorse stung her eyes, but she refused to shed them with the other agent eyeing her so closely
.
 

“So, you want to stay for breakfast?”

The hospitable inquiry drew her attention to his crooked smile. His devil-may-care attitude might have cheered her if she weren’t so stricken by
Jackson
’s condemnation
.

“I should go.” She started to rise.

“Stay.” He came up out of his chair just far enough to lay a hand on her shoulder and push her back down. “The damage is done,” he reasoned. “Might as well stick around and watch the day get better.”

“That’s very philosophical but—”

“Tobias,” he introduced himself, holding out a hand for her to shake.

She did so, noting that his hands were powerful and square, just like the rest of him.

“Nice to meet you, but I really think
Jackson
would rather I leave.”

“Don’t be so sure,” he said with a wink.

Just then, the glass door opened, and
Jackson
stood at the threshold looking back and forth between them. “Might as well stay for breakfast,” he said tersely.

Eyeing him in surprise,
Lena
read nothing in the rigid lines of his body but betrayal.

“I don’t want to intrude on your family time,” she balked.

“Stay,” he repeated in a tone that brooked no arguments. “Toby, go tell Ike what’s going on.” Swiveling toward the kitchen, he left the door wide open
.

“Be right back,” Toby said to Lena as he jumped up to do
Jackson
’s bidding
.

Alone,
Lena
took in the view. The
Patuxent
River
, calm and cerulean blue, kissed the sandy beach at the end of a long run of steps, where folding chairs and a red plastic bucket suggested happier times. Considering how furious
Jackson
was, it was gracious of him to invite her to breakfast. Or was he merely holding her here while he waited to see what the powers that be wanted him to do with her? That was probably it
.
  

Sensing she was being watched, she glanced back at the glass door and found
Jackson
’s daughter standing just inside staring at her.