Chapter 2
Cameron
I’m finishing up another round of chest presses. A shaft of pain lances through my right shoulder and I lower the free weights, then release them to the ground, trying to stifle my groan. And failing miserably.
“You’ve got to stop pushing so hard,” Beckett says when he hears me. “Do fewer reps or lower your intensity.”
I’m getting bored, itchy to get out.
I need the adrenaline, the energy. I need the escape. I need a way to keep driving out the fact that our team took a brutal hit, nearly losing three of the guys during our extraction of a kidnapped diplomat’s daughter.
And, as the last rays of sunshine start to dip below the mountains outside, I’m brutally reminded about how I buried my fiancée eight years ago on a pretty spring day just like this one.
Hell. I need a distraction.
I lever off the bench and stand, then rack the weights while Beckett starts another round of bicep curls. Before he can finish his next set, the wrong kind of distraction enters the facility.
Lacey Parker.
“Hope I’m not interrupting y’all,” she says as she walks over to us.
“We’re just wrapping up here.” Beckett lowers his weights. “But I can stick around if you don’t want to be alone.”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine. Just need to blow off some steam.”
“You hear anything from the Atlanta PD?” he asks.
“They just called me with bad news. That’s why I need to blow off steam. I still can’t believe…” her voice cracks and her blue eyes gleam. “I wish I’d paid more attention to how the other customers looked yesterday. I feel like an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot,” Beckett says.
“How were you supposed to know one of them was a murderer?’ I ask. “You were doing your job.”
She sniffles and swipes her nose quickly. “Yeah. You’re right. But I feel awful. Poor Adrian.”
Lacey’s been at Starlight Vineyards since late last night.
She called Riley after she’d discovered her friend’s body in Barringtons’ changing room.
After answering all the questions, she’d contacted her store’s company and gave them the shit news.
Cops shut down Barringtons until the investigating officers clear the joint to reopen.
And she’d been afraid to go home to her apartment and be alone with nothing but time and fear on her mind.
So, she’d called her best friend and asked if she could hunker down at Starlight Vineyards over the weekend.
I don’t blame her for wanting company.
No different than me wanting to get my ass out in the field again.
“The store’s security cameras should give the cops a better idea about them and what happened,” I say. “Then all you have to do is confirm the footage when they bring in possible suspects to ID.”
“Unfortunately, they can’t,” she says and moves around me to grab a twelve-pound free weight. “The cameras malfunctioned, or someone tampered them. Most of the video is static.”
“That’s not cool,” I say and shoot Beckett a what-the-fuck glance. “There’s no way this kind of shit should happen anymore, especially at an upscale store with a modern security system. Something clearly is off.”
“Technology. It never works when you need it.” She shrugs and starts her first reps while standing about a foot from us. “Y’all can go if you’re finished up. Like I said, I’m good.”
Every triceps press causes her hot pink, figure hugging top to rise and pushes her full breasts together. I avert my glance, but every once in a while, I steal a peek.
Damn. She’s built. Fit and strong. Yet with curves in all the right places.
Beckett’s cell phone pings and he withdraws it from his workout shorts. “Gotta go. We’re hooking up with Riley’s folks for dinner.”
While we have cell phone access in the training center, all phones are left in lockers outside the main headquarters central com room whenever we discuss our covert missions in there. Don’t want the enemy tapping into our conversations.
While we’re in the gym, we can use our phones, so I welcome the interruption and the possibility of having Lacey share the space with only me. “Sounds good,” I say easily. “I’ve still got another thirty minutes before I wrap up my session.”
“Great. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow. Go over some of the recruits we’re training, check out the other additions we’re planning to acquire,” he says, then turns his attention to Lacey. “If you need anything else, ping us. We’re here for you.”
“Thanks. I will. But I’m really a lot better now that I’m out of Atlanta for a few days.”
“Good. Glad to hear it,” Beckett says, then leaves us alone.
Lacey may act like she’s fine, but she’s doing exactly what I do when I don’t want to think about bad shit. She’s distracting herself with working out, keeping busy and trying to keep her brain from manufacturing scary scenarios.
I’m trying to stop mine from squeezing my heart with memories and unfulfilled wishes, dreams.
So, I’ll stay. Because I’ve got nowhere to go other than back to my cabin. Alone.
And she may be the wrong kind of distraction. But that doesn’t stop me from keeping her company and diverting her attention off her troubles.
As a friendly gesture, nothing more. Not because those tight black bike shorts accentuate her legs and butt, hugging her curves perfectly. And not because her hot pink workout bra continues to emphasize her high breasts and leaves zip to my imagination.
Sure. She’s off-limits but that doesn’t stop me from sticking around. I won’t act on my attraction. Not when she made it abundantly clear she wasn’t interested in me.
But I could offer her some concrete ways to feel safer, stronger. “You want to learn some self-defense moves while you’re here?” I ask.
She lowers her weight, gripping it in front of her torso like it’s a life buoy or, quite possibly, a potential projectile she can use against me if necessary. “You offering?”
Her voice is low, husky. Sexy as hell. Desire thrums through my veins, fills my cock with hot blood.
I hold my hands in front of my body to hide my reaction.
“Yeah. I’ve got a black belt in martial arts.
” I want to give her a sense of empowerment.
Even though the only moves I want to make with her are the horizontal kind, up close and naked.
“So, if you’re game, I can teach you some basic moves to protect yourself.
” From threats. She has nothing to worry about where I’m concerned.
I’d never make a move on her unless she made one first.