Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed, listening to her breathing. He told himself there was no way he could look into her eyes and lie to her. Oh, those eyes. They were the brown-gold equivalent of the North Star, bold and bright, lighting the way to his mind’s salvation. They radiated acceptance, and emotion as foreign to him as love. Yet he still couldn’t find his footing on the path that would take him there.
Jaden was a soldier. His world had order. He traveled most of the year. His work was dangerous. It could put her in the line of fire. She’d be a loose thread. No matter how selfish he wanted to be right then a woman like Lauren deserved so much more.
Once he heard Lauren’s breathing become steady and he was certain that she’d fallen asleep, he dressed and grabbed his motorcycle helmet.
Anger fueled his footsteps out to his bike. He fired off a text to Gunner to see if his boss was still awake. Jaden’s mind was churning and he needed to talk out his ideas.
Speaking of loose threads, Helena was becoming an issue.
Based on the text Jaden received while at the store, Helena was camping out on the island. Waiting.
He punched in Gunner’s number as soon as he stepped outside. Jaden wanted to speak to his boss without Lauren around.
“They got to the asset’s place before us. It was completely ransacked,” Jaden said quickly.
“Not unexpected.” Gunner’s calm tone grounded Jaden. His boss was right and Jaden was getting emotionally involved. He needed distance to keep his thoughts straight.
“The way they tore the place up, I’d say they were sending a message. Someone’s angry. It felt like a threat. Could be for Max.” Jaden appreciated focusing on the mission again.
“They’ve done their homework.”
“You hear from Gabriel yet on Helena?” Jaden asked, frustrated that it had already been a month since Tim’s death and they were still without any leads on the shooter.
A deep sigh came through the line. “No.”
“Where does that leave us?”
“I’m afraid we can’t do much of anything until we receive more data,” Gunner said. “It’s a watch and wait.”
“You got anyone…”
“Helena, of course. Gabriel. Me and you. I don’t want to involve anyone else. I’d rather keep this one under the radar and off the books.”
It was probably a good call considering all that was at stake. “Wish we could contact Helena directly.”
“She hasn’t surfaced yet. Neither has Gabriel. With communication equipment being compromised I won’t reach out to either one,” Gunner said.
“She’ll show up at some point.” She had to. “Menendez’s men were ready for us on the beach. Then, they found me and Lauren at the seaside condo. Her townhouse has been ransacked, and we had a tail not long after we touched ground.” How did they anticipate his every move? The cartel had to be getting information from someone on his and Lauren’s whereabouts. The new leader, whoever he was, had raised the stakes. “We can’t be too careful.”
“Agreed,” came quickly from Jaden’s boss.
“What’s the word on the brother?” Avoiding using names kept the mission less personal.
“The doctor’s hopeful for a full recover.” Gunner paused for a beat. “He took a beating.”
Jaden needed to know what he was about to walk Lauren into come morning. “Is he conscious?”
“Unfortunately no,” Gunner said.
Damn. Jaden would’ve liked to ask Max a few questions. “How bad does it look?”
“You saw the facial lacerations and swelling. His ribs are broken. They’re running tests to determine whether or not there’s internal organ damage or bleeding. They beat him within an inch of his life.” Gunner’s tone lowered, respectfully. Justice was one thing, but this was over the top. Which lead Jaden to believe this had been no ordinary kidnapping.
“Keep me posted on his progress,” Jaden said to Gunner.
“You know I will.” Gunner ended the call.
Jaden returned from the drugstore with a bag full of supplies. Lauren’s russet locks would be dyed black. Jet black. Blacker than night. This would be difficult for him because he loved her long curly hair. The way waves cascaded over her shoulders. But the waves had to go.
He set the bag down and walked into the bedroom.
Instead of finding her asleep, she was sitting up and staring at a fishing magazine he’d picked up when he first came to the stakeout.
“Where’d you go?” she asked, covering the hurt in her voice by clearing her throat.
“Store. I bought a few supplies but you should—”
“Rest? I close my eyes and all I see are men with guns. I can’t sleep.” She threw the covers off and stood up. “Let’s get this over with.”
He urged her toward the kitchen in his small rented one-bedroom apartment. With her there, he realized how empty the place had been before. The feeling had no connection to the sparse decorations. It wasn’t warm, like the feeling he had whenever he was near Lauren.
Then again, it wasn’t meant to be. This place served a purpose, he reminded himself. Anything else would’ve been a distraction.
Lauren blinked up at him from the sink where he washed her hair. Her pulled scissors from the bag of supplies and cut her tresses up to her jaw line.
He somehow thought she’d look different to him. She didn’t. Her pink lips were just as full. Her brown eyes just as beautiful. He washed the black color rinse in her hair, and the gold flecks in her eyes stood out even more than usual. “And what about you?”
“I have a bandana and some biker clothes in the closet. Sunglasses and a helmet will shield my face,” he said.
“Why do you really think they broke into my apartment? Would they really do all that just for a little money?”
They wanted something badly. He hoped for her sake it was information about Max. And yet, his gut told him something was wrong with the
