Blaze: A Small Town, Nerdy Girl, Opposites Attract, Protector Romance (Ghost Ops Book 1)

Chapter 39

It was a bright,sunny morning when Blaze deposited Emma at the door to her office, backing her against the wall and kissing her silly before he managed to break away and leave her with a dazed look on her face.

He was hard as he walked out into the parking lot, but by the time he reached his truck and climbed inside, he was getting himself under control. He started the vehicle then turned to look at the back of the Sutton building.

Damn, what had he gotten himself into?

Because there was no way this was a one-and-done kind of thing. He’d already fucked her twice just this morning, and he wasn’t nearly satisfied yet.

The second time, he’d only intended to make her come before letting her up to get dressed. By the time she’d shattered, he’d been harder than steel again.

And even though she’d said she wasn’t going to move today without feeling him, he’d rolled on a condom and pounded into her until they’d both shuddered and groaned.

“You okay?” he’d asked in the aftermath, feeling guilty for taking her when she was already tender.

“Yes. And don’t you dare apologize for any of it,” she’d whispered in his ear before nibbling his earlobe and sending a shiver of fresh excitement into his balls. “I’m happy.”

He was happy, too.

When Blaze turned into the parking lot at One Shot Tactical, the sight of a familiar black Escalade made his gut tighten. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe Agents Corbin and Ackerman were back to join the range.

Or maybe Agent Corbin wanted to tangle with Ghost again. There’d been sparks between those two, whether they admitted it or not.

Ghost might, but Blaze was pretty sure Diana Corbin would not.

She was beautiful, but too cool. Not Blaze’s kind of woman at all, though she might be Ghost’s. Who knew?

He shifted into park, grabbed his range bag, and stepped onto the pavement. When he entered the building, Chance and Kane were in the break room, Ethan and Seth were on range duty, and Ghost was nowhere to be found. Neither were the FBI agents.

“What gives?” Blaze said as he set his bag down and grabbed a donut from the box on the counter. He didn’t need a donut, but the eggs and toast he’d had for breakfast weren’t doing it after the exertions of the morning.

“There was a break-in at Royal Shipping a couple of nights ago,” Chance said as if none of them were aware. “Shots fired. The FBI’s talking to everyone who visited the facility in the last, I dunno, two weeks?”

Blaze frowned. “How shocking. They say anything else?”

“Nope,” Kane said, polishing off the donut he’d been eating. “It’s Corbin only today. Alex is, uh, taking her on a tour.”

“Guess we’ll find out what she wants when they return,” Blaze said, biting into his donut.

“How did Emma do alone last night?” Chance asked. “She call you for anything?”

Blaze swallowed and tried to look nonchalant. “She decided it was wise to stay with me after all, though it was mostly for the kitten. She doesn’t wanna keep Sassy in her apartment in case Marsh tries to break in again.”

Chance’s face hardened. “Because she’s afraid he’ll hurt the kitten.”

“She thinks he’s capable of it.”

“Motherfucker,” Kane muttered. “I can’t stand any asshole that hurts animals.”

“Agreed. But that’s not going to happen because we’re gonna find the prick and make sure he never bothers Emma again, am I right?”

“Damn straight,” Chance said.

Blaze wished it was that easy, but Simon Marsh had done a good job of evading detection so far. If he’d rented a car, they couldn’t find a record. His cell phone and credit cards still hadn’t been used. He knew how to keep from leaving a digital trail, and so far he didn’t seem to have any online presence that Seth could find.

It was possible that once he’d planted that Barbie on Emma’s bed and the police started looking for him, he’d decided to stay away from Sutton’s Creek until the pressure eased.

Maybe they’d get lucky and he’d stay away, but Blaze wasn’t relaxing his vigilance an inch until they found the fucker or the police did. No sane person left a bound and gagged doll in a pool of what was supposed to be blood and then left for good.

“How’d it go with Rory last night?” Blaze asked.

Chance’s face went blank as he shrugged. “You were there. I got dinner, she was polite, the end.”

“Yeah, but I left early.” Blaze slid a glance at Kane, who was more than willing to spill the goods.

“Rory was polite, but our man here fucked all chances he might have had to get into her panties because he ignored her all night. No matter how nice she was, no matter that she spoke to him without a hint of her usual annoyance at his mere existence, he gave monosyllabic answers and pretended she didn’t exist.”

Chance looked mildly constipated as he snapped back. “Look, she was nice to me last night, but it isn’t going to last. If I’d been nice to her, she’d have yanked the rug out from under me already. She was nice because I ignored her.”

Blaze shook his head. “Dude, your call, but like I said before, if you’d just talk to her normally, she wouldn’t be so prickly. You might get somewhere then.”

“Who said I wanted to get anywhere?” Chance managed to look affronted.

“She’s gorgeous, man,” Kane said. “If you don’t want to get all up in that, I sure do.”

“Nobody needs to get up in that,” Chance growled. “Rory Harper is off limits because I don’t feel like listening to you assholes complain when either she or Theo kick you out of the Dawg and ban you for life because you pissed her off or broke her heart or whatever. Food’s good, beer’s good, and it’s right here in town. Do you want to drive to Huntsville for a beer at a bar? Neither do I, so forget that woman exists.”

Kane held up both hands. “Fine, fine. Just pointing out she’s hot and you’re an idiot for not getting to know her better when she gave you the chance.”

Chance rolled his eyes. “She wasn’t trying to give me a chance. She was feeling guilty for punching me. Besides, she met a guy for breakfast yesterday right after she hit me, so I don’t think she cares if I talk to her or not.”

That bit of info effectively ended the conversation. The back door opened with a chime, and the three of them looked at each other. Voices carried down the hallway, though they couldn’t hear what was said. A moment later, Ghost walked by with Diana Corbin.

Blaze went to the break room door to listen in on the conversation happening out in the hall.

“That’s the facility, Agent Corbin. You’ve seen where we keep the ammo and weapons shipments, the training ground, the range, and these offices. I’m not sure what else I can offer. I’m also not sure how this helps your investigation, but like I said, we aim to cooperate.”

“Mere curiosity, Mr. Bishop. Your company’s was the most recent inquiry into Royal Shipping’s services.”

“I didn’t think that was a crime. We need someone impeccable to handle weapon shipments.”

“I never said it was. As I said before, we’re following all avenues of investigation, no matter how unlikely. It’s my job to be thorough.”

“Of course,” Ghost replied. “I understand. But we’re new to the area, and this is beginning to feel a little like harassment. We’re inquiring about services from several shipping companies. We just happened to pick Royal Shipping first because it’s close, and their website is slick.”

There was a moment’s hesitation before Diana Corbin’s voice, smooth and unflappable, spoke again. “As I said, we’re following all avenues of investigation. I assure you no harassment is intended. Though I have to admit you’ve intrigued me with the use of that word.”

“I don’t see why. I’m trying to run a business here, ma’am, and I’ve cooperated as thoroughly as I can. I didn’t tell you to get a warrant for my containers, did I? I showed you how we’re using them. I’d have thought the FBI would applaud us for taking extra measures to secure our equipment.”

“I can see you’re upset, Mr. Bishop. I’ll show myself out.”

“Not upset, Agent Corbin. And I always walk a lady to the door.”

“As you wish,” Agent Corbin said. Sounded like her teeth were firmly clenched when she spoke that time. “Before I go, however… Did I mention we’ve viewed security footage from Royal Shipping’s cameras? There were five men, all dressed in tactical gear. We were able to see where they went over the fence.”

“I would expect nothing less,” Ghost replied, sounding bored. “Isn’t it fairly standard for warehouses like that to have cameras these days? Anybody can put in a system with equipment ordered online anymore. Doesn’t mean it’s the best system possible or has the highest resolution. Probably should have put one inside too, though. Might have gotten a better look at those guys. Did they steal anything?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied, ignoring the question about what was stolen. “We’ve had a forensic team do a thorough investigation for evidence. They found blood and fabric on the barbed wire where the men went over. It’s being analyzed as we speak. I expect we’ll have an ID within days.”

Blaze turned to exchange a look with Chance and Kane. Why was this woman so persistent? It was as if she knew something about them, which should be impossible. Their records were sealed. They were ordinary. Everything about their cover had been carefully thought out and executed. Their DNA wouldn’t turn up in the system. The bloodwork would come back inconclusive.

Thatwas going to piss her off.

“Wow,” Ghost said, sounding shocked. “That’s amazing y’all can work that fast. I’m truly impressed. But should you be telling me this? I’m a civilian these days, not a military man or even an FBI agent. Or are you here to recruit us? Former military guys do make pretty good agents, I understand. Is this a test?”

Kane smirked. Blaze suppressed a chuckle.

“Not here to recruit anyone, Mr. Bishop. Just thought you’d like to know we’re not wasting any time finding out who broke into Royal Shipping two nights ago.”

“Pleased to hear it, ma’am. Gives me confidence in law enforcement. Let me walk you to the door now. I’m sure you have a busy day ahead.”

Soon as they heard the tinkle of the bell, Chance whistled low.

“Damn, she’s like a dog with a bone. She’s not giving up easily.” He put his hand on his arm. “Gotta admit she worries me.”

“It’ll be fine. HOT and Ian Black were in charge of our information. They wouldn’t let our DNA stay in the system.”

Ghost stalked in, looking like someone had pissed in his cornflakes. He went over to the coffee pot and slung more coffee into his Stanley.

“That fucking woman,” he muttered after he’d taken a sip.

“She seems mighty fixated on us,” Blaze said.

Ghost nodded. “I can’t figure out why. The surveillance equipment hasn’t been disturbed, so they still don’t know it’s there. Even if they’d found it, there are no prints or identifying information. She was here the day after you two visited the facility. And she’s showing up at the Dawg now. I talked to her last night, and she didn’t say one fucking thing about any of this shit. Just said she’d like a tour of the facility because she was thinking about joining.”

“You didn’t believe her, did you?”

“Fuck no. She’s fishing. That woman either has extraordinary instincts, she’s psychic, or someone’s leaking information at a higher level, which could explain a lot.”

“I thought the FBI was being handled,” Chance grumbled. “Not gonna be happy if she shows up here with handcuffs and hauls me off.”

“That’s not happening,” Ghost said. “Your blood won’t match. As for the FBI, I don’t fucking know what’s going on. But you can bet I’m about to find out.”

He slugged some coffee from his Stanley and growled that he was heading into the SCIF to make a call.

“I’d hate to be on the other end of that phone,” Kane said.

“Me too. But there’s no way he’s calling the White House and bitching out President Willis,” Chance said. “At least I hope not. I’d rather not be jobless and homeless by nightfall.”

“Nah,” Blaze said. “He’s definitely about to chew some ass, but it won’t be hers. Somebody on her staff, probably. Bet Special Agent Corbin is packing her bags for a new posting by the end of the day.”

A door banged and someone came running down the hall. Seth slid into view, holding his phone up, screen visible. Not that they could see what was on it. “I just got an email about Simon Marsh.”

Blaze’s gut tightened. Hallelujah. “Please tell me he’s been arrested.”

“Not quite. He’s dead?—”

“Dead? How?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. He’s dead. He’s been dead for three years.”