Chapter Seventeen

At the first light of day, Jamaal knocked on Lacy’s bedroom door. Jake rolled out of bed, pulled his jeans on, and opened the door, blocking the view of his lady in bed. Lacy stretched, still sore, still tired, and still wishing there was another way. She did what any woman would. She eavesdropped.

“What’s up?” Jake asked.

“I’m, umm, gonna run over to Moe’s, you know, and get that suit for you like I said I would,” Jamaal whispered. “You got any bills on you?”

“It’s okay, Jamaal,” Lacy called out. “I’m awake.” He might as well know she was with Jake now.

Jake tugged his wallet out of his back pocket and removed a few denominations. “This is all I’ve got. Don’t spend it on booze.”

“Would I do that to you?” Jamaal chided.

“You know damned well you would,” Jake growled. “Just remember, the lives of those little girls depend on us. No one else knows what we know. It’s got to happen today.”

“I know, I know. You and your lady friend get ready while I’m gone. I’m buying three metro tickets for the trip on my way back.”

“Thanks,” Jake said earnestly. “We’ll be ready to go. I’ll make breakfast while you’re gone.”

“You’d do that for me?”

Lacy flung a wrist over her forehead. Jamaal was such a kid at heart.

Jake grunted. “Hurry back.” When he closed the door, he flopped onto the bed beside Lacy. One look at his thoughtful face, and she knew he was thinking the same thing she was. The best laid plans and strategies of any military op they’d ever been on had never gone as planned. The unexpected always happened and things could still go horribly wrong today. Plus, they were grossly ill equipped for the task ahead. Poindexter had the world at his disposal. All they had was each other.

“I need to use your phone,” he said quietly, his index finger tracing the line of her jaw. “I have a friend who might be able to help us today.”

She pulled the blankets to her neck and sat against her headboard. “You do? Who?”

“Zack Lennox. He’s a good guy. Always ready to lend a hand when I need him. I trust him more than I trust myself. The guy he works for owns a security company of ex-snipers. Name’s Alex Stewart. Most of the work he does is for federal clients, but he’s got a stellar rep. They’re both Marines like us, and Zack does undercover work for Alex all the time. He’s been inside China, North Korea, and just about everywhere American interests are at risk.”

He sounded hopeful. For the first time, so did Lacy. She eased out of bed, embarrassed she’d left her robe at the end of the bed. “Don’t look.”

A glorious smile broke out over his face. “But I like to look at my woman. She’s the only thing in this world worth looking at. Who else should I look at?”

His telltale wink stopped her short. She dropped the robe she’d just picked up off the floor. “Well, since it’s you.”

He grinned, his hand outstretched for hers. “How about I make the call and we grab a quick shower together before Jamaal gets back?”

Lacy fell into his open arms. “Works for me.”

“Good morning. Lennox household. LiLi Lennox speaking,” Zack’s oldest daughter brightly proclaimed over the phone.

Jake’s lips curled into a smile. Zack’s three girls were the cutest little bugs on the planet, and Jake was convinced that LiLi was a nine-year old genius.

“Hi, LiLi. This is Jake. Is your dad there?”

“Uncle Jake!” she squealed. “Mommy, it’s Uncle Jake! When are you coming back to see me? I’m doing chores so I can earn enough to buy a telescope. I want to see all the stars.” Oh, yeah, she was pretty sure she was going to be an astronaut when she grew up too. Or a scientist. Or the President of the United States. Her vocation changed with the days.

He smiled at Lacy, wrapped in the blankets and still snug on the bed beside him. She’d get a kick out of meeting LiLi. Zack Lennox was family, the kind a guy chose for himself. Zack had been a little rowdy when he’d first gotten home from Iraq, but that was over now. He’d spent a lot of money on the high life back then, but he’d never quit on his buddies. “It’s almost Christmas, LiLi-bug. How about I come visit the day after so you can show me what Santa brought?”

“Okay,” she squealed again. What was it with little girls? Always loudly exuberant and right in his ear, too. “But Uncle Jake, Daddy’s not here right now. He has important work to do. Do you want to talk to Mommy?”

“Sure, thanks LiLi.”

“Love you, Uncle Jake. Bye!” she yelled as she handed the phone off to her mother.

“Hello, Uncle Jake.” Mei’s mellow voice was a little easier on his eardrums. “I’m glad you called. It’s been too long. How are you? The girls are expecting you for Christmas Eve, you know.”

Hearing the genuine concern from two of the women in Zack’s family never failed to soothe Jake to his soul. Damn, he loved them. Lacy had just joined him. Pulling her into his side, he winked down at her. “I’m real good for a change, Mei.” Zack’s wife, he mouthed. “I can’t make Christmas Eve, but I’ll be sure to stop by the day after Christmas if it’s okay with you. I’d like you to meet someone.”

“Oh?” Mei asked a thousand questions with that one word. “As in a woman someone?”

“Yeah,” he answered with a quick kiss to Lacy’s forehead. “Lacy Wright is definitely a woman. But listen. Will Zack be home later tonight?”

“No. He’s on a local stakeout of some kind. You know how it is. If he told me who he’s watching, he’d have to kill me, but give me your number. He always calls in the evening to tell the girls goodnight. I’ll have him get in touch with you then. Will that work?”

“You bet.” Jake passed Lacy’s phone number onto Mei and ended the call with a sigh. “Damn, Zack’s working today. Looks like we’re on our own.”

Lacy pulled her knees up under the covers. “Are we sure Rafe will fall for the blackmail ploy?”

The feel of her silky legs against his thighs sparked the image of another go around, but his heart wasn’t in it. The clock was ticking for all those frightened girls in those disgusting videos. “Pretty sure. Besides, it’s the only leverage we’ve got.”

“Then let’s shower. I need some time with you before Jamaal comes back.”

What should’ve been another magical encounter turned into gentle washing of each other’s bodies, gentle kisses, and tender embraces. He couldn’t tell if Lacy was crying or not, but the light in her eyes was tempered with the seriousness of the mission. They rinsed, toweled each other off, dressed, and were in the middle of making pancakes when Jamaal returned.

He’d done good. The three-piece pinstriped suit he’d brought with him fit the bill perfectly. A dapper hat came with the get up, but Jake opted out of that one. The fluffy black feather tucked in the band of that hat wasn’t the look he was going for.

Jamaal plunked it on his head with a wicked leer. “Good. I’ll keep it.”

“You would,” Jake muttered as he flipped the last pancake onto Jamaal’s plate. “Anybody ask about the outfit you’re wearing?”

Jamaal almost looked offended. He didn’t seem to mind the Good Samaritan logo stamped across his chest. “What’s a matter? You don’t like ’em or something?”

Lacy lifted her eyebrows waiting for Jake to reply, but all he did was roll his eyes. If Jamaal was happy in sweats, who was he to argue? Food silenced any further chatter, but it didn’t work with Lacy. She’d only taken one pancake, but didn’t eat any of it. All she had was coffee.

Jake took his half-filled plate to the sink and hers along with it. “I’ll do dishes when we get back,” he promised, hoping that would project her thoughts past the dangerous mission they’d set their hands to.

Jamaal kept shoveling his pancakes into his mouth, but Lacy caught Jake’s eye. Worry etched her face and her pretty eyes were subdued. This wasn’t a day for smiles.

“Let’s do this then,” he said. Latching onto the suit hanger, he headed into her bedroom to change. “You did get the burner phones, didn’t you?” he asked Jamaal over his shoulder.

The big guy thumped his new-used jacket pocket and kept on eating. He’d shopped well and he’d needed the jacket over his sweats. Their money was gone, but Jake didn’t mind.

He dressed quickly and made Lacy’s bed when he was done. After they returned tonight, he planned to mess that bed up good and ask her to marry him. It was early and he knew the chance she’d marry a guy like him was slim, but guys like him never knew what would happen next. He had to strike while the iron was hot.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Jake sucked in a deep breath and blew it slowly out through his nostrils. There was a day not too long ago that he was the guy in charge, the sergeant, the baddest badass, and the go to guy. For good reason. He’d led his men into firefights that turned ugly real quick, but he’d also led them onto success and then back to base. He’d kept them alive. There’d been days he’d lost more ground in Afghanistan than he gained, but there were victories, too. Most of all, he’d honest to God loved every last one of his troops. Male or female didn’t matter. They weren’t much to look at, but damn it, while in that godforsaken country, they were his.

His eyes strayed to the wooden cross on Lacy’s wall. “You know we’re going into hell,” he told the man hanging there. “If you love her as much as I do, you’d better ante up and send us one of your damned Christmas angels, and he’d better be packing.”

As usual, the man on the cross promised no such thing. Not like that was a surprise.