Chapter 14

“GET YOUR HEADback in the game, Sawyer, or you’ll be sitting on the sidelines,” Brent snapped.

Sawyer’s ears burned with fury and embarrassment. Couldn’t fault his boss for the dressing down. No question he deserved it, but Brent didn’t have to do it in front of his principal. “It won’t happen again, sir.”

Brent’s ice-blue eyes glittered with his fury. “That wasn’t what you wanted to say to me.”

The man could read minds now? A truly scary thought. “No, sir.”

“Say it.”

“I don’t want to get fired.”

His boss snorted. “You’ve never worried about that before. Spit it out before you choke on it, Chapman.”

“I deserved the dressing down.”

“No, you didn’t,” Janie protested. “You’re being unfair, Brent.”

The man in question held up his hand. “Let him finish, Janie. Go on, Chapman.”

“You usually do it one-on-one, not with the principal present.”

Brent inclined his head. “Fair enough. You’re right. But this isn’t a normal case. This is personal.” His voice rose. “You screwed up protecting a woman Rowan and I care for a great deal. I trusted you with Janie’s safety, and you let me down. I won’t let that slide.”

“I didn’t ask you to. I should have caught the van sooner, and I was distracted. That’s on me.”

“You bet it is,” Brent snapped. “You’re lucky you, Janie, and Jesse came through that situation without a scratch. As it is, you still have to explain to Bear why his vehicle needs body work. Again.”

He winced. “Believe me, I haven’t forgotten.”

“Oh, trust me, Chapman. When he gets through with you, you’ll wish you’d paid more attention to your surroundings.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You said you were distracted. What was so interesting that you let down your guard?”

He remained silent. If he admitted the truth, Sawyer feared Brent would remove him from Janie’s security detail. He didn’t want to step away from the job.

Brent narrowed his eyes. “I don’t hear an answer from you. Do we have a problem here?”

Oh, man. The quiet, icy voice told Sawyer he was skating on thin ice and almost ready to break through to freezing water. “No, sir.”

“Then what was the problem?”

“I was the problem,” Janie said.

Sawyer froze. She knew he was struggling to remain objective where she was concerned?

Brent’s eyes flicked to Janie. “Explain.”

“I was nervous about working with Ian, which in retrospect was stupid. Sawyer was trying to help me get ready for the sketching session.”

Close but not one hundred percent accurate. Brent was sharp. Sawyer doubted he’d buy that explanation.

The boss grunted. “Rowan wants to talk to you. My assistant will show you to an empty office so you can call her.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me, Brent?”

“Caught me.” He smiled. “Go. Rowan is eager to catch up with you.”

“What about Sawyer?”

“He stays. He’ll find you in a few minutes.”

He sighed. Yep. Didn’t figure his boss had bought Janie’s explanation.

Janie stood. “I want my bodyguard back in one piece.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Brent waited until Janie closed the office door behind her before he rounded on Sawyer. “I want a straight answer, Chapman. Now.”

“Janie.”

“What about her?”

“She distracted me. It’s not her fault. It’s mine.”

His boss stared for a moment, then groaned. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, sir.”

“We’ll develop a reputation as a matchmaker if this trend continues,” Brent groused. “So, I’ll ask you what I’ve asked every other operative in this situation, and that includes your teammates. Are you sure you can do your job?” He held up a hand before Sawyer could answer. “Think hard before you answer me. If you tell me you can handle it and you’re wrong, Janie will pay the price. I guarantee if anything happens to her, you’ll answer to me and Rowan.”

He didn’t know which was worse. They were both fierce. Sawyer thought about his growing feelings for Janie. They would be a problem, he admitted. Not enough of one to stop him from protecting her with his life. “I can handle it, sir.”

“If you can’t, I need to know immediately. Shove your ego aside and do what’s best for her. Hear me?”

“Yes, sir. You have my word.”

“I’ll hold you to it, Sawyer. Dismissed.”

Sawyer got out while he could, not breathing until he closed the door behind himself. The knot in his gut relaxed slightly now that he was out of Brent’s office with his head still attached.

“That bad, huh?” Brent’s assistant smiled at him.

“I’m lucky to survive relatively unscathed.”

“Caught him on a good day.”

He chuckled. “Where’s Janie?”

“I took her to the small conference room where she wouldn’t be disturbed.” Her eyes twinkled. “And where she wouldn’t hear your conversation with Brent.”

“I appreciate you sparing my reputation with the client.” He walked down the hall to the conference room and paused in the doorway when he heard Janie laughing.

“Everything all right?” Brody asked as he exited the elevator.

“Barely.”

“What happened?”

Sawyer recounted events since he and Janie left the safe house early this morning.

His team leader flinched. “You’re lucky.”

“I heard that from Brent a few minutes ago, along with several other things.”

Brody moved closer. “Got something to tell me, Sawyer?”

“It’s Janie.”

“What about her?”

“She’s getting under my skin without even trying,” he muttered.

“That’s usually the way it works, my friend. Will Brent allow you to stay on Janie’s security detail?”

“He better,” Janie said. She stood in the doorway, her gaze locked on Sawyer. “I’ll insist that he stay on as my personal bodyguard. I don’t trust many people in this situation, but I trust Sawyer and the rest of your team.”

“Good to know,” Brody said. He squeezed Sawyer’s shoulder. “Let me know when you’re ready to go. I’m taking the next watch shift.”

“Copy that.”

As his team leader passed, he whispered, “Good luck.”

He might need it. Maybe he really was losing his situational awareness when Janie was around. He did not know that she was standing in the doorway behind him. “Should I apologize?”

She held out her hand. When he clasped it with his own, Janie drew him into the conference room with her and closed the door. “I don’t want an apology, Sawyer. In fact, I’m relieved.”

“Why?”

“It’s good to know I’m not in this boat by myself.”

Stunned, Sawyer stared at her. “You’re serious?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve been trying to figure out where the lines between reality and fantasy were drawn. Everything seemed real to me. I know you said the only time you lie is in the course of your work, but I’m your mission right now. I didn’t know if what I was feeling for you was one sided or if perhaps the interest went both ways.”

Thank God. “Definitely both ways. I shouldn’t, though.”

“Why not?”

“Sweetheart, as you heard in Brent’s office, any distraction could be fatal. Are you willing to take that risk?”

“One hundred percent ready. I trust you, Sawyer.”

“Even after what happened a little while ago?”

“You protected me. That’s what happened. So, yes, I’m good with you doing more of the same.”

He cupped her cheek with his palm, reveling in his right to touch her. “You’re a special woman, Janie. I’m honored to be part of your life.”

“Even if I come with a guarantee of trouble?”

“So do I. Will you reject me because of it?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Then we’ll be fine. You might want to hold off on committing to a relationship with me.”

“Why?”

“My team is on deployment rotation every other month. That means I will be gone much of the month that we’re on duty. The month that we’re here, we train hard. When Brent is shorthanded, he might have to activate us for a short-term assignment.”

“All right.”

He stilled. “You’re okay with that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I may be out of the country for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and funerals.”

“I’ll stay busy while you’re gone. Will I have a way to speak to you during those deployments?”

“I can arrange that.”

“Good. Do it.”

Sawyer eased closer. “Are you sure? I’ll understand if you want time to think about it.”

“I’m sure. Sawyer, I’m a grown woman. I can call a home repair professional if something breaks that I can’t handle alone while you’re gone.”

“I’ll leave you a list of people Fortress uses for home emergencies like that. If anything else comes up that’s not covered by the people on the list, call Brent or Zane. Both of them have a complete list of vetted repair people we trust inside our homes.”

“Problem solved, then.”

He couldn’t believe how accepting Janie was of the challenges that came with a relationship with an operative. Of course, she hadn’t dealt with the long absences yet. “My teammates’ wives and Jesse’s girlfriend spend a lot of time together when we’re deployed. They’ll invite you to join them. The loneliness can be difficult to handle.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting and spending time with them.” She nuzzled his palm. “Stop worrying. I have a business to run. If I have a problem with the separation from you, I’ll spend time with your teammates’ women and work more in the shop so I can spend time with you when you return.”

He couldn’t help himself. Sawyer slid his arms around her and hugged her. “You are such a gift.”

“You’re an unexpected blessing,” she murmured. “I never expected to survive the hijacking in Mexico, much less meet someone who wanted to start a relationship with me. I have dated little recently.”

“Lucky for me. I’ll make it worth your while.”

She squeezed his middle.

A sharp knock sounded on the door, and Brody peered inside the room. His eyebrows soared when he saw Janie in Sawyer’s arms. “Breaking news for the class, buddy?”

“We’re officially dating.” He could make of it what he wanted. Sawyer knew this was the right woman for him. Whether Janie felt the same about him was anyone’s guess.

A soft whistle from his team leader. “Does Brent know?”

“Not in so many words.”

“He’s aware we’re attracted to each other,” Janie added. “If he balks, I’ll sit him down and have a talk with him.”

Sawyer and Brody stared. “You’re kidding, right?” Brody asked.

“No, I’m not. If I can’t get through to him, I’ll enlist Rowan’s help. Between us, we’ll make him back off.”

Whew. From Sawyer’s experience, no one argued with the boss and won. “You might get by with that. If we did it, Brent would suspend us.”

“I don’t work for him. He can’t suspend or fire me.”

“Don’t get on Brent’s bad side on our account,” Brody warned. “Not worth it.”

Her gaze locked on Sawyer’s. “It definitely is.”

Brody turned his attention to Sawyer. “Ready to go?”

“Any word from the interrogation team?”

“Not yet. They’ll let us know when they have something.”

“It needs to be soon.”

“I hear you. They know the stakes, Sawyer. They’ll move it along as fast as they can.” He led the way from the small conference room. “Zane is running the sketch through the databases. No results yet.”

They rode the elevator to the garage level and walked to two SUVs parked side by side.

Brody tossed him a key fob for the loaner SUV. “You lead. I’ll bring up the rear.” He pointed at Sawyer. “Stay focused.”

“Yes, sir.” Man, he would never live down his mistake. His teammates wouldn’t allow him to mess up again. He glanced at Janie. Now that she was his, Sawyer had even more reason than ever to stay focused.

He opened the passenger door for Janie, scooped her into his arms, and set her on the seat. After handing her the seatbelt, he bent and brushed his mouth over hers, a light, barely there caress. Hopefully, she would give him permission to share an actual kiss with her soon. Trust had to be built between them first. He didn’t want to push past boundaries she wasn’t willing to move.

Sawyer climbed behind the wheel and drove from the garage. In the time they’d been with Ian and Brent, the security had remained heightened but not at the same level as when they raced through the gates.

Grateful for security’s help, he made a mental note to communicate with the head of ground security to express his appreciation for their help.

He joined the traffic flow on Harding Place and headed for the Interstate. Sawyer threaded his fingers through Janie’s, caressing her soft skin.

While driving, he constantly scanned the mirrors and the traffic ahead of him. They arrived in Hartman without incident.

In town, Sawyer drove squares for a while to be sure he hadn’t missed a tail. The last thing he wanted to do was lead the enemy right to their doorstep.

Janie glanced at him. “I assume we’re not lost.”

He chuckled. “I’m making sure we didn’t pick up a tail.”

She lapsed into silence, content to hold his hand while they drove.

Sawyer purposely stayed away from Natural Bliss in case the enemy lurked nearby.

When he was satisfied Janie was safe, Sawyer turned toward the safe house outside of Hartman. Fifteen minutes later, he drove around to the back and parked the SUV. “We’ll wait while Brody checks the house.”

“Should you go with him?”

“Clearing the house would go faster,” he admitted.

“Go on. I’ll be fine out here.”

“Stay inside the vehicle. Don’t open it for anyone. You’ll be safe, but if anything frightens you, honk the horn.”

Sawyer leaned over and brushed his mouth over hers, then exited the vehicle and locked it. He met Brody at the nose of the vehicle. “Let’s get this done so I can get Janie inside.”

The two men entered the safe house, and each took one floor. Within five minutes, they’d cleared the house. No signs of intrusion. Excellent.

Sawyer returned to the vehicle and opened the passenger door for Janie after he grabbed his Go bag from the cargo area. He escorted her inside and reset the alarm.

“Any problems?”

She shook her head. “What about in here?”

“No signs of an unwanted visitor. We’ll check every time we return to the house, in case our location has been compromised.”

“What’s next?”

“Lunch. After that, Brody and I will see what we can learn from the interrogation team and get an update from Zane. Do you have work you need to do for your shop?”

“I need to place another order for supplies. I noticed that we’re running low on several items.”

“You can work on one of our laptops. No one will trace your location with our laptops. We have built-in protections.”

“Nice. I never would have thought about that danger. I’m glad to know that you and your team are aware of it.”

“We have items to make good sandwiches.”

Brody nodded. “Sawyer can grill and put killer sandwiches together.”

“And breakfast,” Sawyer added. “Don’t forget that.”

“Right. Breakfast, too. If you want anything fancy, though, you’re on your own. Neither one of us is any good in the kitchen.”

“Sandwiches are fine. If we want something else, I can handle kitchen duties.”

“Thank God,” Brody muttered. “I’d prefer not to gain fifty pounds on this assignment.”

Sawyer snorted. “You’d have to put yourself on a diet and up your own workout regimen to lose the weight.”

“Since I’d rather not run over five or ten miles a day, I’m glad to have other options than your food, buddy.”

“Wuss,” Sawyer teased.

His team leader rolled his eyes. “I’ll leave the lunch portion of the program to you while I check the perimeter.”

“Go. We’ve got this.”

Brody turned off the alarm and went outside.

“We just got here. Why is Brody checking outside?”

“First, Brody isn’t that familiar with the property. We each memorize the terrain and check the perimeter every 20 to 30 minutes. If anything changes, we’ll recognize it immediately.”

She sighed. “So much goes into protecting me every minute, doesn’t it?”

“We want you safe, Janie. We go through the same procedures every time we’re on a protection detail.”

“I did not know you do so much work.”

He took her hand and drew her into the kitchen. “Stick with me, kid. I’ll teach you everything I know.”

“Deal.”

Together, they threw together stacks of sandwiches. Janie goggled at the pile of food on the platter. “That’s enough to feed an army, Sawyer.”

He shrugged. “High metabolisms plus a high-powered training regimen. We train hard to be prepared for anything at a moment’s notice. The terrorists don’t let us stop to catch our breaths. We have to be in better shape than they are to beat them in a fight.”

“Are you?”

“Oh, yeah. Brody doesn’t let us slack off. Even if he did, the trainers at Personal Security International, the training arm of Fortress, would catch it and take us off deployment rotation until we were back in shape.” He grimaced. “Brody would get the worst of it. The trainers don’t mess around. Most of those men and women were Special Forces. They don’t put up with less than one hundred percent effort from every operative. We don’t want to get on their bad list. They have devious minds with inventive and painful training sessions. None of us wants to spend extra time with them. As it is, we have to go in for retraining every six months. It’s a brutal two weeks. We all hate it, but the training works. We’re in better shape than most active Special Forces units.”

She sat down abruptly. “You really could have carried me for miles, couldn’t you?”

He nodded.

“I did not know, Sawyer.”

“No reason you should.”

“I’m impressed and in awe of what you’ve accomplished.”

He was silent a moment. “Does the amount of training we have to go through bother you?”

“No. In fact, I’m grateful. It means you’re more likely to come home to me in one piece. Next time you go to PSI, thank the trainers for me.”

Man, wouldn’t that give Durango, the primary trainers for Texas Team, a real laugh? “I’ll do that.”

They just sat down together at the kitchen table when Brody returned. He looked at Janie. “Call your brother.”

“I’d planned to ask soon if that was permissible. Why?”

“He’s at your store, demanding to speak to you.”