Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“So, Griffin. Is that with a Y or an I? I’m Savanna without the H, so I was just curious.”
Before answering, Griffin glanced over at Jesse from where he sat shotgun. The man was driving his gray Dodge Ram on I-65 into the city, checking the rearview and side mirrors every few seconds. With A.J. leaving, Jesse had demanded to stay by Savanna’s side, even for a short trip to her townhouse. Considering how he’d handled the three intruders last night, Carter and Gray had given in to his demand.
Griffin turned to address Savanna in the back seat. “I didn’t know there were any Griffins with a Y.” He gave her a slow smile. “But my first name is actually James. Not that I want you calling me that.”
“James?” she repeated as if the word were foreign to her, and she needed to roll his name around in her mouth a little.
“Yup, James Griffin Andrews.”
Her tongue peeked out between her lips, and heaven help him, why’d that have his dick waking up?
Was she gorgeous? Absolutely. He’d studied her dossier during the flight to Alabama, so he was already aware that she was a beautiful woman even before meeting her. He just hadn’t been prepared for the up close and personal version.
But she was their team’s new client. And then there was the fact that her husband, a Teamguy buddy of A.J.’s, had been brutally murdered by terrorist bastards who’d broadcast it on live television for the world to see. So yeah, there was that. A big, huge THAT.
He sure as hell didn’t need any below-the-belt reaction to her. But he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t gotten a semi when she’d had her hands on his chest in Jesse’s kitchen. Or when he’d swiped the pad of his thumb across her smooth cheek and imagined running his tongue along the same path.
She looked casually sexy in her dark skinny jeans and short brown ankle boots, with a loose-fitting white tee tucked in just at the front. When she’d removed her Roll Tide apron, he’d spied a few thin gold necklaces dangling around her neck instead of her late husband’s dog tags, which he half expected.
“So, Griffin with an I, why do you go by that instead of James?” Was she nervous and trying to make small talk?
“Well, Savanna without an H, my mom always preferred my middle name to my father’s, which is James. So, she called me Griffin.” He caught Jesse side-eyeing him with a disapproving scowl on his face. Shit, he was acting borderline flirtatious, wasn’t he?
“Oh, I see.” Savanna scooched back a little as if feeling the need to add distance between them.
Even though the sun had set, there was still enough ambient light from outside to see that she was assessing him like a sudoku puzzle she couldn’t quite figure out. Good luck with that.
He honestly had no clue why he’d divulged that bit of personal information. He never told anyone his first name was James, especially not a gorgeous woman.
She tucked her wavy, shoulder-length hair behind her ears, revealing two small gold studs he hadn’t noticed earlier. Probably because he was distracted by the glimpse of cleavage he’d gotten when he’d dipped his chin to look down at her while she’d walked her fingers up his chest.
Being a sniper, as well as a red-blooded man, he was always grateful for a clear view and a perfect angle. And her scooped-neck top had provided just that. Was he an ass? Affirmative. So, that was another reason he ought to behave himself. He had a feeling A.J. wouldn’t hesitate to punch him in the jaw if he found out Griffin had so much as looked at Savanna sideways. He hadn’t held back on socking his own brother, so Griffin wasn’t eager to find out what A.J. would do to him.
And what was the story with her and Shep? There was a story, right?
Am I on one of Mom’s soap operas? Shiiiit.
“I heard you were in the Army.” Griffin faced forward while redirecting the conversation to Jesse. He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to tolerate Savanna staring at him with those gorgeous hazel eyes, and if she licked that pouty bottom lip again, he might launch himself into the back seat.
“Ranger.” Jesse’s answer still didn’t quite square up with what Griffin had heard happened last night and how he’d handled three trained men. Most likely, hitmen or mercenaries. Sure, they may not have had guns, but three to one while Jesse also had to keep Savanna safe wasn’t an easy task.
Griffin briefly contemplated whether or not he ought to mention he’d met Jesse’s sister, Rory, last year on an op. Jesse most likely had no idea what all went down off the coast of Puerto Rico last October. Or that Carter’s team had locked his sister up in Carter’s house on the island. Technically, it was to keep her safe, but Jesse may not see it that way.
He’d most likely have come at Carter or me swinging tonight if he knew.
“I was also with the 75th Ranger Regiment before . . .” Was it still a secret? Cat was out of the bag that the Unit existed, and he had no plans to write an autobiography. He’d leave that to the SEALs. So, he supposed he could share. But I’ll keep a lid on the Rory thing.
“Delta,” Jesse finished for him. “I heard Carter was Delta, and you two worked together before joining Gray. Figured you were part of the Unit too.”
“Delta Force. That’s similar to DEVGRU, right?” Savanna softly asked. “SEAL Team 6?”
He twisted in his seat to observe her again and nodded.
“How long have you been retired and in the private sector?” she followed up with another question, so he kept his attention riveted on her and that nervous lip tucked between her teeth.
“About a year ago, Carter pulled me over to the dark side,” he replied with a wink. Turn off the charm, man. But it was second nature at this point.
“And—” Savanna prompted him to continue.
“Sugar,” he cut her off and faced forward. “I’m not an open book.” Hell no. “How about you go ahead and tell us now why you think you might be in danger?”
“I’d rather wait,” she softly answered.
Griffin twisted around again to find Savanna’s head down, focused on her hands now clasped in her lap. Was that guilt? What was she hiding?
“Well, maybe while I’m down here in Bama, I’ll get my first CONUS kill.” He was trying to lighten the mood with some humor. Dark humor, sure. But that’s how he rolled. How he and the guys back in the day had to roll to keep their sanity. “Looks like you got yours.” Attention back ahead, he shifted his eyes and looked at Jesse. “Unless you’ve already popped your Stateside-kill cherry?”
“First Stateside kill? That’s horrible,” Savanna spoke up, and at least he’d distracted her.
“It was a joke,” he said with a sigh. Mostly.
Jesse tightly gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and Griffin couldn’t help but wonder if Jesse, like many veterans, was fighting an internal battle right about now. Killing that man last night had most likely triggered some bad memories for him.
“She was lucky to have you with her last night,” Griffin felt the need to remind Jesse in case he was , in fact, fighting some demons about what he’d done.
“He morphed into John Wick last night,” Savanna commented, and Griffin smiled at the fact she sounded impressed and not disgusted by that.
Maybe Rory hadn’t told Jesse all of the details of the danger she’d been in last year because her brother would have gone into John Wick revenge-over-his-dog rage mode?
“Huh. Well, who doesn’t love John?” Griffin smiled, not that she could see it since he had his eyes on the truck’s side mirror off to his right, checking that there were no suspicious vehicles following them. “You’re strapped tonight, though, right?”
“I have a piece in a lockbox under the seat.” Jesse unglued a hand from the wheel and jerked a thumb behind him. “You have an extra for her?”
Griffin almost laughed. The baker girl with flour and sugar on her cheeks knew how to shoot? Before he could respond, Savanna spoke up.
“I hit the range frequently. My husb . . . Marcus made sure I was an excellent shot.” There was a painful pause mid-sentence, but she pushed through it.
Reaching behind his back for the 9mm holstered beneath his button-up shirt, Griffin turned to offer it to her. “I’m going to hope you don’t need this, but here.”
Savanna hesitated but accepted the gun, then stared down at it, a nervous-puppy look on her face. Not ideal for someone holding a loaded firearm. Practicing at the range was worlds different than aiming or firing at a live target.
He cocked a brow, one she probably couldn’t see as the evening darkness began to seep in and overwhelm the cab of the truck. “You sure you want that?”
“Actually, no.” She shook her head and offered it back to him. “I don’t want a, um, CONUS kill, or a foreign one. Or any for that matter.” She was trembling hard enough that he was able to clock the shakiness despite the darkness.
He stowed the weapon, feeling better with his piece where it belonged, and a few minutes later, once they were in the city, Jesse parked down the street from Savanna’s townhouse as planned by Carter and turned off the engine.
Griffin promptly exited the vehicle and went around to open the door for her.
“How chivalrous of you. And unexpected.”
Griffin knew she meant it as an insult, but the sass in her voice and the way her gaze slid up and down his body had his blood heating when he needed to focus.
“Stay by my side.” He issued the command in a clipped tone of voice, irritated that a woman had so quickly and easily derailed his attention while on a mission.
Jesse maneuvered to Savanna’s left, and they kept her close between them as they made their way to the rear of the townhouse. Heads on a swivel.
Carter was waiting at the back door, and with Jesse now at Savanna’s six, Griffin led the way into her dark kitchen.
Beckett, one of A.J.’s brothers, and also the sheriff in Walkins Glen, had the body hidden as a John Doe at the local morgue for now. But he must have sent some men he trusted to her townhouse to wipe away all evidence there’d ever been an invasion or a death. The place smelled of bleach rather than stale blood, thank God. Savanna didn’t need to walk into that. And until they knew what and who they were dealing with, they didn’t want the local PD or FBI taking over the case. Not that they didn’t trust either, but as far as Griffin was concerned, he and his team were better suited to handle a situation that might involve breaking a few laws.
“Okay, now that we’re here, what’s the story?” Carter came out of the shadows alongside Gray.
“It’s in my bedroom.” Savanna reached for Jesse’s arm and looped hers with his as if needing an assist to walk.
The story is in your room?
Griffin and the others followed Savanna and Jesse upstairs and made their way down a short hallway to her master bedroom.
Carter held a flashlight low to the ground to follow her movements and offer them a slight view of what this mysterious woman was doing.
Savanna released Jesse’s arm and knelt by her bed, then reached for something underneath. She pulled out a suitcase and lifted her eyes toward the light.
“This is the only thing I can possibly think of,” she said in a soft voice before leaning over and unzipping the bag.
Carter aimed the flashlight inside the bag to reveal banded stacks of hundreds. An entire suitcase of cash.
“Who are you? A bank robber?” Griffin spoke up, unable to hide his shock.
Savanna shook her head as Jesse dropped down by her side and reached for a stack of bills, clearly taken aback by what he was seeing.
“No, but I’m pretty sure it’s a criminal who has been sending me this money on a regular basis,” she confessed. “A lunch box containing ten thousand dollars packed inside a much larger box is sent every month. No return address, but I assume it was sent domestically.”
“Did you save any of the original packages? We might be able to still track a location,” Carter said.
“No, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I never knew what to do with the money, either. Still don’t, so I’ve been storing the money under my bed. I can’t spend dirty money.”
“Why would a criminal send you money? When did this start?” Jesse’s voice was tense as he dropped the bills back into the case, which appeared to contain enough dough to buy a nice vacation villa in the Caribbean.
Savanna slowly rose and sat on her bed, her attention remaining on the suitcase. “It started a month after Marcus died.”
Griffin’s eyesight began to adjust to the lack of lighting, aside from the flashlight, and he watched as Jesse stood and drew his hands to his hips.
“Marcus’s brother?” Jesse’s low-pitched and concerned tone was a red flag.
Savanna nodded and remained quiet. Was she ashamed?
“Right. Your file mentioned your husband’s brother wasn’t exactly an upstanding citizen,” Griffin said at the memory of what he’d read on the plane, but her brother-in-law didn’t seem to be in her life, so they hadn’t thought he’d have any connection to the threat. Maybe we were wrong.
“No, he’s definitely not.” Savanna shook her head. “Nick’s a thief,” she added what they all already knew. “A safecracker, and one of the best in the world from what I’ve heard.”