Targeted

She must have felt the weight of his stare on her, because she looked up. For the briefest moment she appeared vulnerable, like the girl he’d lived with. The expression was gone so fast he could almost pretend he’d imagined it. But he hadn’t. He’d hurt her by lying about Hannah and he needed to make it right. She turned to the other man, said something, then strode toward him, closing the small distance between them.

“You ready to get out of here?” he asked.

Her eyes widened. “We don’t have to stay?”

When he shook his head she let out an appreciative sigh and it made him feel like the king of the fucking world. All the woman had to do was smile and he was lost.

•   •   •

After sweeping the hotel room for bugs, Jack shrugged out of his jacket and laid his weapon on the nightstand. Sophie was sitting in an armchair by the expansive window, staring outside, but he didn’t think she was really seeing anything. She’d been quiet the entire drive here, and he hated that she was pushing him out.

His cell phone buzzed with a text from Wesley. He shot off a quick reply and told him he’d be going offline for a while. At least until he could iron out everything with Sophie. He crouched next to her on one knee. She stiffened, completely aware of him, but didn’t glance his way. Yeah, he was going to have to work for this.

He wanted to reach out and touch her but held off. “I’m sorry I lied, Soph. I just didn’t want you worrying. I knew it would eat you up inside.”

She turned to look at him, her dark eyes guarded, almost accusing. “What else have you lied about?” There was a knowing about the way she asked that question.

He swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”

“Are you answering with a question because you don’t want to tell me the truth? I want to know your real name,” she snapped, pushing up from the chair, anger radiating off her in waves. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides.

He stood to face her, not sure how he could keep lying to her anymore. His soul couldn’t take it. “I already told you.”

She advanced on him, covering the distance between them until inches separated them. Her sweet scent wrapped around him as she looked up at him. “The truth. Now. What’s the name you were given when you were born?”

Time seemed to slow as everything but Sophie’s face funneled out around him. She knew and was just waiting for his confirmation. The vein on her neck pumped wildly. She might be nervous about his answer, but she wasn’t pushing him away. Part of his brain screamed at him to lie to her. Just give her the easy answer. But the part that cared far too much for this woman knew it was time for the truth. Still, he steeled himself for her rejection. “I think you know the answer.”

Triumph flared in her eyes. “I want to hear you say it.” Her strangled whisper sounded overpronounced in the silent room.

“Sam Kelly.” The two words dropped with the intensity of a grenade.

Without warning, she shoved at his chest. Hard. Then she slammed her fists against him again and again. “I knew it, you fucking mentiroso!” Her loud shout echoed through the room. “I thought I was going crazy!”

Jack cringed as she shouted a few other choice words he understood clearly. His Spanish might suck, but he knew enough that she’d just called him a liar. And she was right.

He grabbed her upper arms and tried to pull her close, but she struggled against him. He was desperate to keep her from pulling away. “Let me explain!”

She struggled to free herself, but he refused to let go. He couldn’t let her run out on him. Not now. Not until he’d explained things. And he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was two seconds away from sprinting out the door and never looking back. He tightened his grip. “Damn it, Sophie, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Then let me go,” she said through gritted teeth as she tugged against his hold again. Her breathing was erratic and the angry fire in her eyes scorching.

His heart was pounding like a jackhammer. “Will you listen to me if I do?”

Her jaw clenched and her body tensed, so he held firm. He didn’t squeeze because he was afraid of bruising her, but he kept her in place. “I didn’t want to lie to you.”

“Was sleeping with me part of the job?” she asked, the words a razor-sharp edge. Her eyes flashed with barely concealed rage.

His answer was immediate. “No. I never should have started something with you. That was a mistake —”

“So now you think it was a mistake!” It was as if he’d lit the main fuse on her rage. She hauled back and tried to knee him in the groin. He turned, taking the brunt of her strike against his hip.

“That’s not what I meant! I just meant that had nothing to do with the job. That was my choice.” Damn it, his thoughts got so muddled around her.

As he tried to shift away and deflect another knee shot without hurting her, she yanked one of her hands free. She slammed her fist square in his chest again and it was clear she wasn’t going to stop pounding him.

“Damn it, Soph!” Jack twisted their bodies until they were flat on the bed with her underneath him. Her blow didn’t hurt as much as being the target of her rage and mistrust. Hell, he almost welcomed the physical pain. “I couldn’t tell you the truth.”

“Fucking liar! Did you know I mourned for you? I cried for months and months when I learned you’d died. I lost so much weight I had to see a doctor. You bastard. . . .” Her voice cracked as she trailed off. She closed her eyes and looked away from him as if she couldn’t stand to look at him. Tears started rolling down her cheeks and he felt like the biggest bastard in the world.

Rolling off her, he lay flat on the bed and cursed. She instantly jumped up, hovering near the foot of the bed, watching him warily. “I could strangle you right now.”

He sat up, ready to move on her if she tried to run. “Are you going to run away or are you going to stay and talk?” Jack tried to keep his voice calm when he felt anything but. Raw panic scraped over him. If she tried to leave, he’d have to stop her, and the thought of restraining her that way shredded him.

“Why did you lie to me?” Her glare sliced into him.

“I didn’t have a choice. Besides, what would you have done if I’d waltzed into your office and announced I was your childhood friend, back from the grave?” He hated the hurt look in her eyes as she angrily swiped away the remaining errant tears, but he forced himself to hold her gaze. He needed her to know that he’d only been trying to protect her. That he’d do anything for her.

“How long have you been Jack Stone?” Her voice was cold, unforgiving.

“Since Sam died in Afghanistan.”

“You talk about yourself in the third person?” That temper flared in her gaze again, white hot and ready to burn him.

The vise around his vocal cords loosened a little. “It keeps me sane. . . .” He hadn’t struggled to bury Sam, but he had struggled to bury his past with Sophie. It had been the only damn thing that had been hard about leaving his old life behind. “How’d you know who I was?” he asked once he found his voice again.

She wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “Little things. Your birthmark, your eyes, the way you look at me, and the way you called me Soph like it was natural was a big tip-off. Then when we made lo—had sex—it was . . . intense. The way you made me come so easily, the way you touched me, it was like we’d done it before. Damn it, you even smell the same! I kept thinking I was crazy for even thinking you might be Sam. I can’t believe you let me mourn you!”

“I swear I didn’t want to lie to you,” he rasped out.

“But you did. Just like you lied about Hannah. How do I know anything you say is the truth and not part of the job? Why did they send you on this mission? There’s no way it was a coincidence we used to know each other.”

His paused for a moment as he tried to choose the right words. “Because of our history.”

Her face tightened. “So what do you want from me?”

That was easy. “Everything.”