Chapter 2
Draco Thornton had spent years perfecting the art of sitting still, waiting for the perfect time, the perfect place and the perfect shot.
BUD/S training had taught him the skill, multiple deployments had refined it and Stealth Operations Specialists had enhanced it into an art form. He’d learned that if a man didn’t sit still, people could get killed.
Sitting beside Cate, with his arm draped over the back of her chair, pushed this ability to a breaking point. Everything inside him screamed for action.
Too much had happened to this woman in the past two weeks.
As if Cate’s initial kidnapping, which was used to blackmail her father into engaging SOS to rescue and deliver Dr. Marta Hale, hadn’t been enough.
The subsequent highly dangerous extraction of both women from Helvetic BioSolutions’s compound had given Draco gray hairs.
He’d thought the worst was over when Dr. Hale, Cate, his SOS team and members of the Brotherhood Protectors International had stopped the release of a highly contagious, deadly virus during a showdown at the Global Health Security Summit in Vienna.
But no.
When the driver of what they’d thought was a taxi had rolled up to the curb, he’d let Draco hand Cate inside and then proceeded to take off without him, Draco had nearly lost his shit.
The driver hadn’t been a random thug hoping to steal Cate’s valuables.
He’d had a plan and had rigged the car so that the doors in the back locked, trapping Cate inside.
The driver would have taken her somewhere according to his plan, and Draco would have had no idea where to look for her.
His heart still raced at the thought of Cate in the back of that car.
She’d been incredibly brave and insanely reckless to throw herself at the driver and wrap her arm around his throat tightly enough that he’d eventually crashed.
Dear Lord, if she hadn’t done that, she’d be gone right now, not sitting beside him in a warm restaurant, eating good food, discussing the very case that had nearly lost her to him again, as if it were just another day in her life.
A flashback flooded his memory of him standing outside a hotel in Miami.
Devon Marsh had just confessed that he’d tricked SOS into rescuing Dr. Marta Hale from a cartel compound in Colombia so that he could trade the doctor for his daughter.
The memory punched Draco in the chest all over again.
He’d confessed after he’d handed Dr. Hale over and hadn’t gotten his daughter in return.
Draco had all but begged to be included in the mission to rescue Dr. Hale, hoping the mission would lead to Cate as well.
And it had.
His gaze canvassed her, taking in every detail from her long, straight sandy-blond hair to her gray-blue eyes that darkened like storm clouds when she was angry or passionate.
She laughed at something Phantom said, the sound hitting him hard, cracking open his chest. Only two hours ago, she’d been shaking so hard that he’d felt her tremble through his jacket.
Now, despite having nearly been kidnapped for a second time and facing the ominous task ahead of her, she laughed.
The woman had guts. And she had a heart she’d guarded from the first day they’d met.
He’d chipped away at the wall she’d erected around it until he’d realized that by doing so, he’d lowered the barriers to his own.
For the first time since he was a kid and his mother had walked out on him and his father, he’d been scared. Scared to love.
For a man who’d sworn he was a confirmed bachelor, this woman had come the closest to reforming him.
So close, that when SOS had, as a team, made the decision to quit the government as a secret weapon nobody was privy to admit to and pull up stakes, Draco hadn’t told her.
He hadn’t warned her or called her. Within a week, SOS had set up a private operation and moved their headquarters to the Hill Country of Texas outside San Antonio.
Draco had only had that week to relocate his entire life.
Cate’s life was in Virginia, not Texas. With her degree and her license, all her connections revolved around the DC area.
She was the daughter of Devon Marsh, a man who worked in the State Department.
Draco had decided she was better off without him, a confirmed bachelor who had nothing to offer in the way of a home, children or commitment.
He was a man who lived out of a go-bag and couldn’t tell her where he’d be tomorrow or when he might come back.
He’d decided to leave without consulting her, telling himself it was better that way for her.
The truth was it had been better for him.
He’d taken the coward’s way out, packed his truck and driven away without saying goodbye.
As each mile had passed, he’d felt as if he’d left a part of himself behind.
Looking at her now, he knew in his gut it had been a dick move. All it had done was make him want her even more. But the way he’d left had slammed the door firmly between them. She’d never trust him enough to open her heart to him again.
Yeah, he’d picked up the phone to call her a number of times. Each time, he’d stared down at the screen where her name was displayed and hadn’t been able to come up with any words that would undo the damage.
She hadn’t wanted him to be the guy to provide the protection she needed. She’d asked for anyone else.
Though it had hurt, Draco couldn’t blame her. He’d fucked it up. If he were her, he wouldn’t want anything to do with him either.
Deep down, he knew he was the right man for the job. He would do anything to keep her safe, risk his own life, take a bullet for her.
“Thornton.” Hammer’s voice pulled Draco out of his musings. The big man had circled the table and taken the empty seat beside Draco.
“Sir.” Draco gave the leader of the International division his attention.
Hammer tipped his chin toward Cate, who was talking with Phantom about his most recent mission in Texas. “You’ve got point with Ms. Marsh.”
Draco nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Do you need a team for backup or any assistance? I have the manpower to spare. Just say the word. I already put in a call to your boss, Royce Fontaine to let him know we’ll be working together and that our headquarters and team are at your disposal.”
“Thanks. It’s good to have local support.
” Draco’s gaze briefly swept over Cate before he faced Hammer and shook his head.
“Cate’s used to working alone. As a PI, she likes to disappear in plain sight.
Having me along will make it hard for her to fade into a crowd.
At least she could pretend she’s on holiday with a boyfriend.
Adding more people will only compound the problem. ”
Hammer nodded, his lips curling at the corners. “A couple on vacation. Makes sense. You can take photos, and no one would question it.”
“It’s a good cover.” Draco hoped Cate would agree. She might punch him in the face for the suggestion, and he’d take it because he deserved it.
Hammer tipped his mug and took a long swallow of his beer before placing it back on the table.
“Dmytro will follow the money and the phone records as far as they take him. He’s reaching out to contacts in England to see if they can locate Freddie Hackett.
I’ll set you both up with communications devices, a vehicle and our numbers where you can reach us day or night.
My team is at your disposal, and we’re licensed to operate in-country.
That will allow you to carry as long as you don’t do anything crazy.
” His lips tipped upward. “I don’t relish explaining you to the Kantonspolizei. ”
Draco nodded. “Understood.”
All humor left Hammer’s face as he leaned closer, shoving his mug to the side. “Whoever sent that driver had to have been watching our building. They had to know which female was Cate before she got into the vehicle. Taking off with her wasn’t a warning. It was an attempt.”
Draco’s gut and fists clenched. “I know.”
Hammer stared at him for a long moment. “Don’t get comfortable.”
Draco snorted. “I haven’t been comfortable since I left Miami.”
Hammer’s gaze held Draco’s a moment longer before he gave a quick nod. “Then we understand each other, and you’ll let me know when you need backup.”
“I won’t hesitate,” Draco said.
“That’s what I want to hear.” Hammer pushed to his feet.
As if on cue, the others around the table rose and moved toward the door, pulling on their coats.
Cate stood with Marta, hands clasped together.
Marta’s brow furrowed as she spoke in a low, fierce tone that made Cate’s own eyebrows form a V over her nose.
Crusher stood behind Marta like a man guarding the best thing that had happened to him.
After all Crusher and Marta had been through together, Draco figured Crusher had a right to feel that way. By the looks they exchanged between each other, Marta reciprocated the sentiment.
As Draco reached for his jacket and the backpack he’d brought with him from Hammer’s headquarters building, he found himself envying his teammate. Crusher had been much like Draco, a confirmed bachelor with no intention of marrying.
Until he’d met the right woman for him, that woman was a super-smart scientist, proving that opposites really did attract.
He wondered how it felt to be able to freely admit to loving a woman, to finally take the leap into commitment.
A hand on his elbow brought him back to reality. Draco turned to find Devon Marsh standing beside him.
“Walk with me,” Marsh said.
Draco recognized the man’s words as a command, not a request, and fell in step with him.
Marsh led him into the narrow hallway between the private room and the front of the restaurant. Here, the air smelled of coffee from the kitchen and fresh rain off the street coming in on a breeze through an open window.