Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
ENZO
I have that feeling in my gut again.
The one that tells me, despite everything seeming completely normal, that something bad is about to go down.
Like the feeling I got when I called Tyler right before his wedding, congratulating him and saying how much I wished I could be there.
I was due to go back to Afghanistan days before his wedding, so the best I could do was FaceTime and a gift. My old teammate was out of the Army by then, ready to settle down with his new wife and start a family, and I couldn’t have been happier for him. But I remember getting this weird feeling, so I told him to watch his back.
He laughed at first, then sobered. “I will, man. But we’re going to have dozens of former and active military there. I think we’ll be okay.”
Tyler was okay. But another former teammate wasn’t. Nora, who served on the other split team, ran into some serious trouble. Fortunately, it all worked out, and now she’s safe and happily married herself.
In the past, whenever I’d get that feeling, I never knew what to expect. An IUD up on the road ahead? A bomber hiding in a closet? Tangos appearing in a location intel deemed to be safe?
This time I have a pretty good idea of what’s coming. Maybe not the exact execution of it, but it’s going to involve Thomas, and possibly some of his asshole friends.
I’m conflicted. Part of me wants him to just make a move already. The other part wants me to shield Winter for as long as I can. Because however he does it—stealth attack on the house at night, some kind of attempt at the store—and as well as we’ve prepared, it’s still going to be terrifying for Winter.
She insists she’s okay. It would be easier to believe her if her nightmares weren’t increasing in frequency. And I haven’t missed her reluctance to sit outside, whether it’s on the porch or the patio, and how she clings to my hand every time we go to the store and back.
I hate to watch her struggling. And it makes me even more determined to end this for her. Even if it strikes a little fear inside me about what’s going to come after.
Not that Winter has said or done anything to make me think she intends to break up with me once Thomas is finally in custody. She talks about going for hikes and going to visit her aunt and spending more time with my friends. And each day, she opens up even more to me. Physically—like when she boldly unbuttoned my pants and jerked me off last night or when she let me go down on her first thing in the morning. And emotionally—she’s told me about how hard it was losing her parents, how alone she felt, and how it all came back during those terrible nights of captivity.
Still. I worry. What if she decides Bliss isn’t the place she wants to live anymore? What if the bad memories are too much? I would do long-distance, but if she wants to move out of state and I’m here with everything Uncle Caleb left to me… I don’t know.
Would I give it all up for Winter?
Would she want me to?
“Enzo.” Winter comes into the living room, freshly showered and dressed in yoga pants and a gently-worn shirt with the UVM logo on it. I know she doesn’t think it’s sexy, but I sure as heck do.
Tight pants that show off her sweet little ass and slender legs I like to imagine wrapped around me? The shirt she wears without a bra that shows her nipples as the early autumn evening starts to cool? I think she looks so much sexier like this than any of the form-fitting outfits I used to see women in the bars wearing.
“Hey, hun.” I shove my concerns aside to be dealt with later and focus my attention on Winter. “You ready for the movie?”
She grins and heads over to the couch, dropping down next to me and snuggling into my side. “Absolutely. I’ve been wanting to watch it ever since I heard the book was being made into a movie.” Very seriously, she adds, “Most of the time, adaptations are pretty crappy. But I like the actors, and the author worked on the script, so I’m hoping it’s good.”
Since I never read the book and all romance movies seem the same to me—two attractive people, some kind of miscommunication that could be cleared up with a two-minute conversation, and some grand gesture at the end—I just nod at her. “I hope so, too.”
Winter tucks her bare feet under my leg and leans over to kiss my cheek. She gazes at me with this soft expression before saying, “I know you don’t really like these movies. Which makes it more special that you watch them so often with me. I…”
“What?”
Her cheeks go pink, and she says in a rush, “I’m just so happy when I’m with you. Everything is just… better. And how I feel about you… I don’t know how to explain it. Kind of like this feeling in my chest that keeps expanding, like it’s almost too big to fit. But it’s the best feeling in the world.”
My heart actually stops for a second.
This feeling of rightness sweeps over me.
Yes. I think I’d give it all up for her. If she let me.
Swallowing back against the surge of emotion in my throat, I hug Winter to me and kiss the top of her head. When I can trust myself to speak again, my voice comes out gruff. “I know what you mean. It feels like that for me, too.”
We sit like this for a few minutes, at least, as I breathe in her soft scent and memorize the feel of Winter’s body pressed against mine.
I never knew just holding someone could feel like this. Like she’s a part of me I didn’t realize was missing, and now I don’t feel complete without her.
Finally, Winter pulls away from me and gazes at me with those mesmerizing emerald eyes. She kisses me, first lightly, all tiny nips and strokes of her tongue, and then more deeply. As the kiss continues, I go from the normal state of arousal whenever Winter touches me to a throbbing, insistent pressure.
I want to be inside Winter so badly, and I think if I made the first move, she wouldn’t say no. But I meant what I said to her. Whatever happens between us is in her hands right now. It doesn’t matter that Thomas didn’t force her. He still hurt her. Touched her. Traumatized her.
There is no way I’m having sex with Winter until she’s sure she’s one-hundred percent ready.
When the kiss ends, we’re both breathing heavy, and her lips and cheeks are flushed. Indecision moves across her features, and her little teeth worry her bottom lip.
Not quite ready yet , I decide.
And since I don’t want Winter to have one more thing to worry about, I kiss her lightly and say, “I have something for you. I was going to wait, but now I don’t want to. Would you like to see it?”
“Another surprise?” Her brows wing up. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Well, I already did.” Grinning, I kiss her nose before getting up from the couch. “I can’t return it, and trust me, I don’t want it for myself.”
I quickly go into the office closet and grab the box I have tucked in the very back, behind the old boxes of baseball cards I used to collect with Uncle Caleb. When I get back to the living room, Winter eyes the large, brown box and blurts, “Enzo! That box is huge! What in the world…”
This time when I sit on the couch, I put the box on the cushion between us. The flaps are closed, but not taped shut, and I gesture at it with my chin. “Go ahead. Open it.”
Anticipation and excitement fill Winter’s eyes, and a possible future flashes in front of me—sitting in front of the Christmas tree, piles of presents around us, handing a cheerfully wrapped gift to her and watching her face light up with happiness.
After a moment’s hesitation, Winter pulls the flaps back. Inside, there are fifty paperback books, still with that new-book smell, all by her favorite author.
“Oh!” Winter stares at the books before looking back up at me. Smiling, she says, “Enzo. This is wonderful. I only have her books on my Kindle. This is so much better.”
“It’s not just that,” I explain. “Look inside them.”
Brow furrowing, she takes out one of the books and starts to flip through the pages. But she doesn’t have to go far before she makes a little eeep of surprise. “Enzo!”
This time, she’s not just surprised. Her eyes are wide with shock. “You got it signed? To me?”
My heart thuds hard. “All of them are. I emailed her and asked if she could personalize them. On the website, there’s just an option to have them signed with her name. But I thought this would be better?—”
“Enzo. I can’t believe you did this.” Winter picks up another book and finds the next inscription. She looks at it for a moment before her gaze rises to mine again. This time, her chin is wobbling. “This is… I would never have…”
Suddenly I’m nervous. “Do you like it? I was going to build a shelf in the office for them to go on, but I haven’t gotten a chance to yet. My idea was to have them on display, but then I didn’t want to wait to give you the books, so?—”
Shit. Why would Winter want the books on a shelf here when she probably wants them at her house instead?
“I love it.” She puts the book back in the box and gets up, then sits down on my lap, straddling me. “I love it. I love them. It’s… this is the best gift.”
Her hands frame my face and she kisses me. Her eyes are bright with tears. “I love this, Enzo. So much. And I would love to see them on a shelf in the office. Then when I’m working I can look over and see them. And maybe we could put out some of your baseball cards on display on another shelf, and…”
Trailing off, color rises in her cheeks. “Well,” she amends. “You don’t have to put out the cards. It was just an idea.”
“I love the idea.” And I do. Winter’s books, my baseball cards, and maybe some photos of her family and mine…
Shit. What am I thinking?
I’m making plans like it’s a given we’re going to be together. Not just for a few weeks or months, but much longer than that.
Still. When I think about that shelf with all our things blended together, I like it. A lot.
“I think it’s a great idea, hun. I’ll get to work on that bookshelf tomorrow.”
The alarm isn’t loud, but it wakes me instantly.
But after decades in the Army, I don’t need blaring sirens and flashing lights. Even in sleep, my body is still alert, picking up on the smallest change in my surroundings.
The incessant buzzing of my phone and the flashing message on the screen are more than enough to thrust me into battle mode.
Winter is still wrapped in my arms, her head pillowed on my chest, and it’s with a sharp jab of regret that I gently jostle her awake. As I rub her shoulder, I pitch my voice so it’s low and urgent. “Winter. Wake up. It’s time.”
Her eyes fly open and she jerks her head up, nearly bashing me in the nose. In the dimness of the living room—we fell asleep on the couch and hours later, the TV has gone dormant—her face is in shadow, but the whites of her eyes are visible.
“Enzo.” It’s a strained whisper. “He’s here?”
“Yes.” I lift her off me and get up from the couch. Reaching my hand out to her, I say, “The perimeter alarm was triggered. We need to move.”
Winter blinks, and I can tell she’s trying to force away the last dredges of sleep. “Okay.” She takes my outstretched hand, her fingers trembling as they wrap around mine.
We’ve gone over this, so she follows my lead without question. The two of us move like shadows through the darkened house, quickly heading into the kitchen and over to the pantry door.
When we get there, I open the door and urge Winter inside. She hesitates for a moment, her hand convulsing around mine. “Enzo. Please.” The wobble in her voice tears at me. “Be careful.”
There’s a small nightlight in the pantry, just bright enough to cast a faint glow across her fear-stricken face. She bites her lip, chin jutting out, and her chest is rising and falling much too quickly.
Shit. I hate this.
I hate leaving Winter in here, scared and alone.
I wish I could reassure her; hug her and kiss her and promise that everything is going to be okay. I wish I could hold her until she stops shaking and the terrified look in her eyes goes away.
But I can’t. We’re in it now, and there’s no going back.
“It’s going to be okay.” Palming her cheek, I hold her gaze. “Lock the door behind me. Stay in here. No matter what. Do not come out until I get back.”
“Okay.” Her voice is so tiny. “I won’t.”
I shouldn’t take the time, but it’s impossible not to. Just before I close the door, I press a hard and fast kiss to her lips. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
But her expression still haunts me. The terror and worry etched in the lines of her face, the ghost-like pallor of her skin, how dark and frightened her gaze was as she silently pleaded with me to be careful.
This isn’t how I wanted it—leaving Winter in the pantry we converted into a safe room while I’m outside going after Thomas. Even though I know she’s safe in there, with the reinforced door that only locks from inside, the weapons Winter’s been trained to use, fire extinguishers and comm devices and a hidden egress to the basement.
It’s still not enough to completely quell my irrational worries.
But this isn’t the time for emotion. Now I have to concentrate on the mission. Tagging our tango and taking him down while making sure there’s enough evidence to add additional charges to the ones already filed against him.
I’m not screwing around with this guy. There’s no way I want him getting out on a technicality. I want to see him locked away for the rest of his life, so Winter never has to worry about him coming after her again.
Although. If I accidentally kill him, I can’t say I’ll be sad about it.
The house is eerily silent as I hurry to the go-bag I have set by the door, just as we wanted it. In comparison to most home security systems that are designed to scare the intruder away, we don’t want Thomas to know we’ve spotted him. We want him to get close to the house, to think he’s gotten past my defenses.
That’s why the alarms are all set to alert only by phone instead of the loud sirens most regular homeowners would choose. It’s also why all the security cameras around the house and property are hidden, and why I had Alec install an invisible fence around the yard.
Thomas won’t have a clue that we’ve spotted him until it’s too late.
My phone vibrates with an incoming text just as I’m slipping my Ka-Bar into one pocket and a wad of zip-ties into the other. I glance at it, scanning the message Ronan sent to our group chat.
Tango at the east side of the yard, headed toward the shed. Only one heat signature. Moving NE to flank him.
A second later, Gage replies.
In the treeline, 45 degrees NW of him. Approaching slowly.
I shoot back a quick reply.
Winter is safe. Leaving house and heading east along the back. Do not engage until my signal.
Then I put the night vision goggles on and quietly slip out the back door.
As soon as I’m outside, everything shifts.
I’m not a civilian anymore.
I’m Special Forces, one of the longest-serving Green Berets in my battalion, the sniper that never, ever missed.
All my training and experience culminates here.
He is not going to get another chance to hurt Winter.
While it’s not the plan to shoot Thomas, if it comes to it, I won’t hesitate.
Whatever it takes, I’m putting an end to this.