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“She is. That’s one of the reasons for my tattoo and why it’s my favorite. She’s great, so is my sister. They would love you.”
“What about your brother? Are you close to him too?” I hear his breath catch. My head snaps to look at him. I’m not sure what I witness on his face; sadness, or maybe it’s frustration.
“I’m not ready to talk about him. Can we leave it at that?” He looks my way. It’s bitterness I see.
“Okay.” That’s all I manage to say. We travel in silence for a bit. He looks like he’s lost in his own thoughts and memories.
I have every intention of inviting Kaleb to dinner with my family this weekend. I would love for him to meet my family before I meet his. Not sure why that’s overly important to me, it just is. I blurt it out before I lose my nerve or he disappears deeper in his thoughts.
“My family is getting together for dinner Friday night. Would you like to come with me?” God, why does it feel like I’m in high school asking some guy to come and meet my parents? He stops his horse and exhales loudly.
“I can’t. I won’t be here. I was waiting for the right time to tell you, Jade.” He looks me in the eyes. I’m not liking what I see reflecting back at me at all. I bring my horse to a stop and gather the reins, turning us both to face him.
“Is it another mission? So soon?” I swallow. Please tell me no. Tell me you're taking me to some deserted island in the middle of the Caribbean. Or to bum fuck nowhere land. Just not a mission.
“Yes. We received a call from The President himself. It’s highly confidential. I thought I had a week, but I don’t. Kase called me this morning, and I have to fly out Monday morning. You and Harris leave Thursday.” I close my eyes as his words are sinking in. I know I’m cleared. But am I really ready for this?
“Jade.” His calling of my name snaps my eyes open.
“I’m fine. I can handle it.”
“I know you can. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked you to go. That’s not what I need to tell you.” My brows shoot up. What the hell else is there to say?
“What?”
“Both you and Harris have to go AWOL for this mission.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
KALEB
Fuck me. The look in her eyes is nothing short of a knife to the gut. She’ll be giving up her life in more ways than one for this mission. Every damn thing she has fought to achieve and succeeded by doing so. This shit has been beating the hell out of my brain all damn morning.
After what we shared last night, the connection we now have, talking openly and freely for the past hour, I’ve ruined it.
The fire flares in her stare. A pissed-off Jade is sexy as fuck. Every time I fucked her before our last mission, I ended up treating her like shit, ordering her around, demanding she do exactly what I said.
Things are different here at home. I’m trying like hell to make this work, to let her in. When she asked about my brother, I became lost thinking about Kane. He has no place here. I don’t want his name or his presence anywhere near her. He’s tainted. And the worst bastard I’ve ever known.
This time is for us to get to know each other on a personal level, and this mission I’m about to discuss with her could fuck it all up. I’m not going to let it happen. No fucking way. If she’s not willing to comply, then I won’t try to convince her. She means too much to me. Whatever decision she makes, I will stand by her, but she needs to hear me out. She needs to understand why The President has asked this of us.
“Baby. Before you go all crazy on my ass, you need to let me explain. Remember these orders came from The President, this is not coming from me.” She doesn't say a damn thing, only edges past me with her horse, her head down. She climbs off of him, ties his reins to a tree, and sits down several feet away from me. Fuck. She’s distracting with her legs spread out in front of her, those boots on, and those fucking shorts that have my cock hard. I’m the biggest asshole to be thinking about fucking her up against a tree out here. Christ.
“Explain then. Tell me why I have to do this. Other than for the love of my country. Which I believe I’ve proven. This is our lives. It’s all Harris and I know. We’ll have nothing after this is over. The Army doesn’t care why you go AWOL. We’ll both be discharged. We’ll lose everything. I’ll have nothing. So you tell me why? Why would I want to do that, Kaleb?” I sit here watching her shake her head in exasperation. She looks defeated. Fuck, it kills me to the point I’m ready to say fuck it. I’ll take someone else. But damn it, I can’t. No matter what, she needs to understand.
I climb off the horse and pull him over to the same tree, securing him tightly. Then I go to her and kneel down directly in front of her, placing my hands on her thighs. Not sexually, but intimately.
“Like I said, these orders came from The President, Jade. He doesn’t want ties to the Army or to him. This man is dangerous. He also has information he needs. Is this request uncommon? Yes. What I do know is, there is no way in hell he would ask someone to give up what they’ve fought their entire life to achieve if it weren’t important for the safety of our country. Besides, do you really think he’d allow you to lose everything?” I sit back on my hunches and remove my hands from her silky skin. That same sullen expression on her face increases.
“If he doesn’t want ties to the Army, then yes, Kaleb, I do lose everything. This is what those strange looks you and Harris were giving each other earlier are about, isn’t it? He knows. You’ve asked him to do it too, haven’t you? What did he say? Is he willing to give it all up?” Taking a deep, long breath, I tell her.
“He is. He doesn’t like it any more than you do. Like I told him, the decision is yours. I’ll support you either way. One thing I didn’t tell him that I need for you to know is, whatever decision you make, it won’t change the way I feel about you.” Instantly, I dread her response. I watch her hackles rise. She recoils back in shock.
“I sure as hell would hope not.” She draws her knees up to her chest.
“Christ, Jade. I apologize. Hell, maybe I need confirmation from you that it doesn’t. Fuck, I don’t know. We finally work this out and decide we're going to give this a shot, and then I drop this on you. You have to know you mean more to me than this mission. You and I have a long way to go to build something strong and beautiful. I want a lifetime. I’m fucking falling for you, Jade. Falling so hard for you that it scares the living shit out of me. I’m not going to lose you over this.”
Her manner changes right before my eyes. I see it before she even has the chance to say it. She’s falling for me too. This is a fucked-up situation we’re in, starting with the way we met and my fucked-up infatuation to make her mine.
