Chapter 16
“I don’t like it, though,” Jace grumbled.
Taryn put a hand on his thigh and said, “I’ve been in danger for years.”
“I wish there was another way. I don’t like you being in that position.”
She smiled sadly. “I have to get my sister out. If there’s even a chance at that, I have to be there. I can do this. Especially with you there.”
Cooper sat forward in the chair. “You’ll have a much better chance of freedom with us along.”
“It’s a good plan,” Marlee added.
Jace ran a hand down his face and rose to his feet. “So much can go wrong.”
“Which is why I didn’t want you to do anything at all,” Taryn said. “Now do you understand why I tried to leave?”
He turned back to her and looked into her green eyes, then lowered himself to the couch and took her hand in his. “I do.”
“Good,” Cooper said as he clapped his hands together once. “We need to get a plan going.”
Marlee asked, “Taryn, do you know the address of where you were held? We need the schematics of the structure.”
Taryn rattled off an address that the other woman quickly wrote down in the pad of paper she pulled from her purse. Then Marlee ran to the kitchen, returned with a laptop, and began working.
“We’re going to need more than just the two of us,” Cooper said.
Jace pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Brice has a kid now. I don’t want to include him.”
“As if he would stay back,” Cooper replied with a snort.
Jace looked up at his friend. “Frankly, I don’t want you to go, either.”
There was a pause as Cooper glared at him. “If you tell me it’s because you’re afraid I’ll get hurt, I’m going to punch you in the face.”
“You’ve got Marlee,” Jace began.
“Who will be right in the middle of this,” Marlee declared in a no-nonsense tone.
When Jace looked at Taryn, she shrugged as if to say that he was on his own.
“Stop being an idiot,” Cooper told him. “You need me. And you know it.”
Jace blew out a breath and threw up his hands in surrender.
“You better call Caleb and Brice,” Marlee warned as she glanced up from the keyboard.
Jace’s and Cooper’s phones went off simultaneously. Jace pulled his out of his pocket and saw that Caleb had sent a message through their group text, saying that he and Brice would be over shortly. Obviously, Clayton had spoken to them, as well.
“There’s someone else I think we should call,” Cooper said.
Jace had already thought of it. “Cash.”
“Yep,” Cooper replied with a smile.
Jace nodded. “Get ahold of him. I’ve got a couple of guys I can call.”
“Hold up,” Taryn said. “Both of you are acting like you’re putting together an army.”
“What do you think Clayton is doing?” Jace asked her. “He’s getting men.”
Cooper shot her a wry grin. “It’s either us or the authorities. We’re trained in stealth and special reconnaissance, and we have no ties to Boyd, so nothing will get leaked to him.”
Taryn shook her head as she looked at the ceiling. “I just want to be free of all of this. I want to make my own decisions and go where I want. I want the same for my sister.”
“Then trust me,” Jace urged her. “I know it’s scary, but this isn’t far removed from what Cooper, Brice, Caleb, Clayton, or I did for the military.”
Cooper shrugged and said, “Only this isn’t sanctioned by our government.”
“If any of you get caught by the authorities, things will be bad,” Marlee told them.
Jace didn’t look away from Taryn’s face. “We aren’t going to get caught by Boyd, his men, or the authorities.”
“You’re very cocky,” Taryn said, but there was a smile on her face.
Jace shrugged as he returned her grin. “Our government spent a great deal of money to train us. They used us for their operations for years. So what if we use it to our benefit? Especially when someone we care about is in serious trouble.”
“Most people would’ve told me to go to the police or the FBI,” Taryn said.
Jace reached up and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “It’s a good thing you don’t talk to those people.”
Taryn chuckled and touched his face. Once more, Jace felt her pull. He didn’t care that they weren’t alone. The woman who had stolen his heart was back in his life, and he didn’t want to waste another moment not kissing her.
“We’ve got company,” Cooper said as he got to his feet and went to the side door.
Jace didn’t move. He lowered his head to Taryn’s and pressed his mouth to hers. For a heartbeat, he didn’t move. Then he began slowly moving his lips over hers, nipping and kissing. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her as his tongue moved past her lips to tangle with hers.
She sighed, the sound going straight to his cock that had already begun thickening with arousal.
The world fell away as he deepened the kiss, giving in to the hunger, the temptation that was Taryn.
The feel of her soft body against his was everything he remembered and more.
Now that she was back in his arms, he was never letting her go again.
He had lived without her, and he had been miserable. She made life better, brighter. She was the other half of his soul. He’d known it the day he first saw her—the day he fell in love with her. People didn’t believe in love at first sight, but he did. Because he’d experienced it with Taryn.
She ended the kiss, then pulled back and smiled up at him. “We’re being watched.”
“I don’t care,” he told her. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for too long.”
Caleb said, “Don’t stop on our account.”
Taryn laughed, and Jace briefly closed his eyes. Now wasn’t the time to do everything he wanted with Taryn. It would have to wait until this nightmare with Boyd was over. Jace made his arms loosen so he could release her. Then he looked over to find Brice, Caleb, and Clayton watching him.
Clayton slapped a hand on Brice’s shoulder as he walked past to enter the living room. He took the vacant chair and stretched out his long legs. “What’s the time limit on this mission?”
“I have to be back by midnight tomorrow,” Taryn said.
Brice took off his Stetson and laid it on a table before running his hands through his dark brown hair. “That leaves us thirty-eight hours from right now.”
“And where are we going?” Caleb asked.
Jace inwardly smiled when Taryn took his hand. “Fort Worth.”
“Add in travel time, and we’ve got about thirty-six hours to formulate a plan,” Brice said.
Clayton popped his fingers. “I’ve made some calls.”
“I’m getting ready to,” Cooper said as he held up his phone and stood to walk out of the room.
Jace met Clayton’s gaze. “I’ve got a couple of calls to make, as well.”
“Then go do it,” Clayton said.
Jace hesitated as he licked his lips. “Clayton, you’ve been a brother to all of us. You’ve gotten us out of trouble, guided us, and led us more times than I can count. But you have a wife and kids. A ranch.”
“You telling me I’m old?” Clayton asked without any emotion on his face.
Jace looked at Caleb and Brice, but both shook their heads, telling him he was on his own. Jace took a deep breath and tried to find the words, but he couldn’t. “Never mind.”
“I’m not an idiot,” Clayton said. “I’m nearing fifty, and while I still train, I’ve not been out in the field for some time.
I’d like nothing more than to join all of you on this mission, but my skills are being put to another use.
The calls I made are favors that could mean the difference between life and death for all of you. ”
Jace didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, Taryn didn’t have that problem. She smiled at Clayton with tears in her eyes. “Thank you. For everything you’re doing. All of you,” she said as she looked around.
“You’re making Brice tear up,” Caleb said.
Brice gaped at him. “What? I’m not crying.”
Caleb rolled his eyes. “I saw you wipe at the corner.”
“I had an eyelash in my eye.”
“Whatever. Let’s get to planning. Time is ticking,” Caleb said.