The Omega Team: Hot Rod (Kindle Worlds Novella) (9 page)

They reached the back of the structure with no incident and edged into the shadows.

“I’ll go,” Matt said as they sidled up to the office, flattening themselves against the stucco wall.

Sam glared at him. “I’ll go.”

He huffed a sigh. “I can’t let you walk out into the open.”

“I can’t let
you
walk out into the open.”

“I’m supposed to be protecting you, Vixen.”

For some reason, his use of her fake name grated on her nerves. Just once she wanted him to call her Sam. Just once. “And I’m supposed to be protecting you.” She set her chin and they glared at each other with matching resolve.

He broke first. “How about we see if there is a rear entrance? And go in together?”

She narrowed her eyes, searching for a hint of condescension. There was none. Not a whiff of it. “All right.” A grumble.

Together they slipped around to the back and, to Sam’s delight, she spotted a service door. She let Matt go first, but only because he seemed to want to and she didn’t want to start an argument in the middle of an already tense moment. She put her energies into covering their rear, watching for any movement in the scrub around the motel. If Cooper was out there, he could pick them off one at a time.

Her heart thrummed with tension and—if she was being honest—a hint of excitement. She was a risk taker at her core and she loved this. The screen door squeaked as Matt opened it and he froze. They both waited, hearts pounding, for any response. When there was none, he nodded and ushered her in. The hallway was shadowed and illuminated only by the neon lights coming in from the flickering sign out front.

With his weapon held up before him, Matt scuttled to the corner and peeked around, into the office, from which a rumbling snore arose. And then, to her horror, he bent low and slipped out of sight.

What the hell was he doing?
her mind wailed. If the clerk awoke, they’d be caught. If Cooper was watching the office, they’d be spotted. If—

Oh thank God.
Her heart started thudding again as Matt reappeared.

She didn’t want to explore the panic she’d felt as he’d slipped from view. As though the world was only right when she could see him. Instead, she focused on her annoyance. When he returned to her, she smacked him. “What do you think you’re doing?” she snarled, in a hissed whisper.

He lifted a finger to his lips and then held something up. It dangled there and caught the light. A key.

Without a word, he led the way to a unit on the back side of the hotel. He glanced around before he slipped the key into the lock, and then opened the door, quickly ushering her in.

He closed the curtains before he switched on the light. When he turned to her, he froze.

Probably turned to ice by the force of her frigid glare. “What the hell were you thinking, going into that office without backup?”

“I was thinking, the clerk was sleeping.”

“He could have woken up.”

“He didn’t.”

“He
could
have.”

“He didn’t.”

She threw up her hands in exasperation. “I swear to God, Devereaux. You’re going to be the death of me.”

Why he grinned, some cocky smirk, she had no clue. “I also thought it would be nice to have a place to hole up while we wait for Grey.” He lifted a finger. “And on that note…” He picked up the phone and punched in a sequence of numbers.

Though she was tempted to rail at him, Sam remained silent so she could hear both sides of the conversation. To do so, she had to step closer to him, which was a trial. Because she wanted to smack him and kiss him and…well, more. She curled her hands into fists so she wouldn’t do anything stupid like touch him, and focused.

The phone rang once before it was picked up on the other end. “Yes?” A dark voice, tense and clipped.

“It was Cooper.” No preamble. “He killed Ace.”

“Shit. Okay.”

“Vixen and I are requesting an extraction.”

“Where are you?”

“At the OK Corral.”

Silence.
“Are you serious?”

“Deadly. Coop’s still out there, armed and dangerous, so be advised.”

“Right. When you didn’t check in, I sent a team to the safe house. I’ll let them know where you are. About an hour?”

Matt glanced at Sam, though she didn’t know why. He hardly needed her concurrence. Still, she nodded.

“Sounds good.”

“I’ll let Jon know.”

“Thanks.” Matt sighed and hung up the phone. He scrubbed his face with his palm. “Did you get all that?”

“Yeah.”

“We got about an hour.” He glanced at the bathroom. “Maybe you should take a shower.”

Sam frowned. A shower sounded awesome. “I’d better wait. If Coop spotted us, we could have company.”

“True.” He turned off the light and parted the curtains with a finger, peering out into the night. They both knew this wasn’t over yet. And wouldn’t be until Cooper was caught.

She threw herself into a chair facing the door, with her weapon on her lap.

This was going to be the longest hour of her life.

Chapter Nine

Tension thrummed through him as they waited for backup to arrive. Not just because Cooper was out there and gunning for them both and not just because he was worried about her safety—though he was.

But because something had gone wrong between them.

Matt ached to fix it. To go back to where they’d been, in complete and utter concert, body and soul.

He glanced at her through the shadows. He knew he shouldn’t say it, but he couldn’t stop the words. “Did you mean what you said?”

She flicked a look at him; her eyes glimmered in the darkness. “What did I say?”

Irritation bubbled through him, an acidic grumble in his gut. “About scratching an itch? And give me the truth, Vixen. I deserve that much at least.”

She didn’t respond for a long time. Each breath in the interim was an agony. When she finally answered, it was nearly too soft for him to catch. “No.”

“No?” He stared at her. “Did you say no?”

She sighed. “I said no.”

“So it wasn’t just a fling?”

“I didn’t say that.” Her voice was far too sharp. In a
methinks the lady doth protest too much
kind of way.

“But it was spectacular.” He held his breath.

“It was…fairly spectacular.”

Okay. He could live with that. He tried to hide his smile, then remembered it was too dark for her to make it out. Silence settled around them once more, but he could hear her shifting in her seat.

“Who hurt you?” he asked. The question hovered there in the ether. He felt her shock radiate the room.

“What?”

“Someone hurt you. That’s why you’re so gun-shy.”

“I’m not gun-shy.” She cocked her SIG, to prove a point, perhaps.

He chuckled. “You can’t fool me. I see through your façade,
Vixen
.” And yeah, he’d love to know her real name, because that sure as shit wasn’t it.

Instead of contradicting him, she murmured, “We all have our façades, Hot Rod.”

“And what is this animosity you have for Hot Rods? Where does that come from?”

She made a sound, like a growl. “My dad loved them.”

Shit. Not what he’d expected to hear. “Your dad? Was he the one who caused all this resentment?”

“What is this, a therapy session? Mind your own business.”

“I want to know. What did he do that pissed you off so much? Did he hurt you? Abuse you? Ignore you?”

“He left me. All right? He left me. He went off to war and didn’t come back.”

Ah.

“I’m…sorry.”

She laughed, though there was no real amusement in it. “Not as sorry as I was. Mom fell apart. Crumbled. Our entire life went to shit.”

“I’m—”

“Don’t say you’re sorry again.” There was a tremor in her voice, one that indicated she was close to tears. “Or I won’t tell you the rest.”

“Okay.” He wanted to hear the rest. Needed to.

“Then there was Jimmy. My mom’s new boyfriend.”

“Jimmy? Classy name.”

“For a classy guy.” Sarcasm, like a thick cloud, choked the room.

“And he hurt you too?”

“You could say that.” A bleakness joined the cynicism and they danced in the dismal silence. “And then…there was the worst one. The worst betrayal of all.”

“Who was he?” He almost didn’t ask, but he had to know.

“The man I loved.”

Ah. A stake in the heart.

“When things got bad, unbearable with Jimmy, I turned to him for help.”

“And?”

“And he ignored me.”

His heart ached for her. Yeah, three men pounding down her spirit would cause a woman to build walls. To resist anything tender and fine.

“Apathy is the worst, I think,” she said, almost musingly. “Worse than anger or rage or desertion.”

It ripped him apart that she’d known even one of those. Still, that was all in the past. If one could not turn the page on it, the past became a prison.

“So now you don’t trust any men?”

“I trust Jon.”

“Of course. But that’s not what I meant.”

“And what did you mean, Dr. Freud?”

“You know what I meant. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there, to have something real with a man, after what you’ve been through. Do you think you have the courage?” Yeah, it was a risk, going on the offense like this, but it was a risk he had to take. He couldn’t let her just walk away, out of his life. Not without at least trying. Not without giving what they had a chance.

“Who the hell do you think you are to talk to me about courage? You don’t know a damn thing about me, about who I am. About who I’ve become. What I’ve had to endure.”

He leaned forward and whispered into the shadows, “Then tell me, Vixen. Tell me everything.”

He thought, for a brief, delusional moment, that she would. But instead she snorted derisively. “You’re just like them,” she said. “I know it.”

But she was wrong.

Too bad he couldn’t prove it to her once and for all.

You’re just like them.

The words echoed in her head, hollow and harsh.

It wasn’t true. She knew this to the core of her being. He wasn’t like Jimmy, for sure. But she couldn’t release her bitterness, her resentment, her desire to hurt him, long enough to take it back.

Though she wished she could.

She wanted nothing more than to melt into this fantasy he incited in her head, of an end to loneliness, an end to running from her own needs.

She was tired of standing alone. Tired of feeling empty. Tired of denying herself the depth and beauty and oneness they had shared in that cave.

But she’d lived with her bitterness and mistrust for so long, she couldn’t give it up. She wasn’t sure who she would be without it.

He’d asked her if she had the courage to try, and that had hit her hard.

Was she craven? Was she just afraid? Was all her cynicism and toughness just a cloak woven from fear?

She didn’t like the thought, but it was probably true.

Still, opening up to him could devastate her. That was definitely true.

What she should do was just tell him who she was. Then he would understand why something real and lasting between them was such a joke. She opened her mouth to do just that, but a knock on the door forestalled her.

Matt glanced at her and then checked his watch. Sam didn’t need to check hers to know that an hour hadn’t passed. It was too soon for Grey’s men to have reached them.

“Come out, come out wherever you are.” The singsong voice sent a shiver down her spine. Because, crap, she knew that voice. “Come on,
Vixie
. I know you’re in there.”

Before she had a chance to react, Matt sprinted across the room, caught her arm and pushed her into the bathroom. “Lie down in the tub,” he barked.

“You lie down in the tub.”

“He’s here to kill
you
.”

“He’s here to kill you too.”

“Goddamn it, Vixen, do what I tell you.”

“I’ve never been biddable.”

“Tell me about it.” He lifted her bodily and placed her in the tub; the ancient porcelain was thicker than clapboard walls and more likely to withstand a hail of bullets.

She glared at him. “I am not going to allow you to risk your life for me.”

“You have no say in it.”

“I most certainly do.” She crossed her arms and fixed him with the most stubborn expression she could manage.

He didn’t seem terribly impressed, as though he were used to it by now or something. “Lie down.”

“No.”

“Vixen—”

His command was cut off as the first round shattered the window and splatted into the far wall of their tiny haven.

“Shit!”

She wasn’t sure which of them had spoken, or perhaps they’d cursed in tandem. She grabbed his hair and pulled him into the tub on top of her as more bullets peppered the room. Sam held her breath and held on to Matt as smoking rounds whizzed and zinged and splattered all around her. Chunks of wood and glass and tile showered them as a thousand rounds battered their refuge.

She thought for certain this was it. This was the end.

She looked up at Matt and their gazes tangled. They both knew. There was no escape from this.

And then, without a word, without a thought, without a fear, they came together. One last kiss. One last furious exchange.

And it was delicious.

If she had to go, this was the way she wanted it.

With him. With his weight on top of her, his lips locked with hers, sharing his breath, his warmth thawing her frigid heart.

It would have been a glorious end.

But it wasn’t. Not yet.

The hail of bullets ceased. Matt lifted his head and cocked an ear, listening in the deafening silence. He stilled as he heard it. A footstep crunching on broken glass and shattered timbers. It had to be Cooper, skulking in to see what damage he had wrought.

Judging from the sheer volume of fire, he hadn’t come to this rodeo alone. Likely, he had a platoon of Don Reymundo’s men outside with weapons locked and loaded. If he had a chance at taking Cooper down, this was it. Obviously he was sure he’d managed to kill them. He wouldn’t be expecting an attack.

To his annoyance, when he hefted himself from the tub, Sam followed. He tried to push her back down, telling her without words to stay put, but apparently she didn’t speak that language. She just kept popping back up as though to protect his flank.

He didn’t need her to protect his flank. He needed her to stay where it was safe. He glowered at her, but again, she ignored him.

Cooper’s footsteps neared the bathroom and slowed. Matt edged into the corner of the room, so Cooper would have to expose himself to look in. He shoved Sam behind him in case Cooper got off a shot before Matt could take him down.

As for the cartel’s henchmen? He’d deal with them later.

Tension crackled as Matt watched intently for a hint of Cooper’s presence.

His heart gave a leap as the muzzle of Cooper’s SIG appeared. Matt sucked in a breath and aimed.

Wait.

Wait.

And now. As his once-friend peered around the ravaged doorjamb, Matt fired.

The explosion seemed deafening and was followed by a feral yowl. He’d hit Cooper, but only winged him. In the cheek, if he wasn’t mistaken. If he survived, he’d have a scar for life. Served him right, the arrogant fuck.

“Goddamn you, Devereaux,” he bellowed. “I am going to fucking flay you.”

“Not if we get you first.”

Matt glared at Sam. There was no point in antagonizing Cooper. The bastard had the upper hand and they both knew it. But they also both knew they had few options.

She motioned to him that they kneel and Matt complied. She was smart and had a way of reading her adversaries that he couldn’t deny. Indeed, when Cooper reached around the corner again, his weapon blazing, he aimed too high.

Matt made a sound, as though he’d been hit and Sam cried out as well, but then she bit her lip, knowing it was smarter to remain silent. Cooper let off a couple more rounds and then, satisfied that he’d completed his job, sashayed into the room.

They were ready for him and hit him with a blazing round of fire. He took three in the chest and staggered back, collapsing onto the floor. His weapon went skittering into the shadows.

“Did we get him?” Sam asked in a whisper.

“I think so. Stay here.” He scuttled toward Cooper, only slightly exasperated that she followed. He liked having her by his side, he found. He liked it more and more.

Cooper was splayed on his back and unmoving, but Matt knew better than to make any assumptions. He nudged Cooper’s foot with the muzzle of his weapon and it flopped lifelessly back. He was unconscious at best.

Another scream of gunfire from outside made him lunge for cover. He hunched over Sam in a misguided attempt to protect her from danger. She didn’t want to be protected and wriggled free. “Cut that out,” she snapped.

But before he could snap something pithy back at her, they both realized that the barrage wasn’t directed at them, and there was answering fire.

The cavalry had arrived. Thank God.

He shot a speaking glance at Sam and smiled as he stood, but she wasn’t looking at him. She was staring into the demolished room and there was a look of alarm on her face.

He followed the direction of her gaze and horror curled through him as he saw Cooper pull another weapon from his holster and point it at Vixen’s heart.

Things moved quickly them, but in agonizing slow motion at the same time.

Matt lurched to the left to block the shot, but at the same time she whipped around, putting herself between him and the bullet.