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That she was in a shitload of trouble. That the panic building in her gut wasn’t simply paranoia, it was danger. The kind of danger that had murdered her mother, her friends, and had made her life hell until six years before. It told her she was in over her head here.
“Either his partner is here, or he would have arrived within minutes after I did,” she answered painfully.
He gave a subtle nod. “And I didn’t see anyone come in after you. Did you?”
She shook her head slowly. There were three entrances, impossible for one person to watch unless he were inside. Tehya had been inside and no one had entered after her, except Micah.
“No one came in,” she said softly, painfully. “They’ve been watching me long enough to know my habits, to be able to guess my moves.”
“Long enough to know if you have any weaknesses,” he reminded her.
She swallowed tightly, but forced herself not to look around. She knew everyone here. They were all regulars. That meant whoever was watching her had been here from the beginning. She had run a very thorough background search on everyone here, and they had all been above suspicion.
If Micah was right, someone was backed by a hell of a lot of money and power to be able to pull that off. Those commodities were essential to building a background that would pass a check like the ones Tehya was capable of making.
She let her gaze rove discreetly around the bar once again as regret built inside her.
She had needed to feel a part of something, and she had chosen this place because she had believed it was neutral enough, that it was safe enough. Had she been more wrong than she could have ever imagined? Who here had managed to fool her to that extent?
“The situation is delicate, then,” she murmured as she lifted the beer to her lips. “Explains why you’re in covert mode.”
She had wondered, when she had first seen him, about the slight differences in his cheekbones, the longer hair, the scar slashing down the side of his face that he didn’t really have. If a picture were taken of him, it would show other differences that she wasn’t catching in the dimness of the room. Differences that would disappear once he returned to his wife and children. Enough differences that he would never be mistaken for Micah Sloane, a personal security expert in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Yeah, that explains it,” he agreed as he turned his head and looked back at her. “Doesn’t explain why you’re here rather than safe at home helping everyone come up with the plans, the contingency plans, and countercontingency plans the boss man always requires, though.”
She was almost amused. Jordan definitely believed in contingency plans, and the countercontingencies.
She finally sighed. “All of you need to let me handle this myself.” Though she was beginning to suspect it was far worse than she imagined.
“Aw, darlin’, you know that’s not going to happen, right?” Gentle affection filled his tone. “You’re family, Tey. We don’t turn our backs on family anymore than you slacked on the job when we needed you.”
She had to swallow tightly to hold back her tears.
“I don’t know if I can do this again,” she said when Micah said nothing more. “I don’t know if I can bear losing everything I’ve built here.” She could feel the grief tearing at her chest.
“I think we both know it’s too late to back out. You can run and hide, or you can stand and fight. There’s no in-between, Tey.”
Yeah, she knew there was no in-between. That didn’t mean her choices didn’t suck.
“He told me to warn you that if you run without him, he’ll have your car targeted and disabled,” Micah continued with quiet sincerity. “And I’d help him. It’s too late to run.”
She propped her chin against her hand and stared over at him morosely. Just what she needed, Jordan finding ways to dictate to her and he wasn’t even there.
“That’s just exceptionally wrong,” she muttered. “He knows that’s just exceptionally wrong, Micah. That’s my car. It’s not his any longer.”
He rose slowly from the barstool, his black eyes glinting in the dim light.
He bent down so his lips were close to her ear. “I’m going to fade back into the shadows now,” he said softly. “Head home soon, darlin’. You’re closer than you know to possessing everything you’ve wanted for the past six years. Don’t give up just when you’ve received the chance to enter the fight.”
She almost shook her head at his advice as she watched him stroll casually to the exit, sunlight flooding the darkened bar as he opened the door, then abruptly disappeared as it closed.
If he meant Jordan’s heart, then he was so wrong. Jordan had showed her during that last night at base that, at least where she was concerned, he didn’t possess a heart. Now didn’t count. Jordan felt he had to be there with her. He hadn’t come for her because he had needed her for himself.
What he possessed instead was a sexual appetite that set fire to her own, and only drew her closer to a broken heart.
“Hey, Tey.” Journey sidled up to the stool next to her. “Who was that piece of hot stuff you were talking to?” She flashed Tehya a wicked grin as she waggled her brows suggestively.
“Someone with a complex,” Tehya sighed as she wondered who in the bar could be the enemy. She was a fool, because she couldn’t believe any of them could be a danger to her.
