She reminded herself that she’d known all along this was going to happen. But it sure hurt like hell.
A full hour later, she stood, rinsed off, and put on pajamas. Curling up in bed, the distant rumble of a thunderstorm comforted her. She missed Jaden’s arms around her.
He’d made a life out of being on his own. Is that why he’d pushed her away?
An annoying voice reminded her that Max was safe now. Jaden had completed this mission and was on to the next. It hurt. And a question swirled around in her head, keeping her from sleep. Why did he push her away now?
Lauren fell asleep as the rains came, thunder and lightning cracking against the sky.
When she checked the clock the next morning, she realized she’d slept nearly twelve hours. Her thoughts slammed to Jaden. He’d been the one to teach her the lesson looping through her thoughts. You can’t change someone who doesn’t want to change.
Lauren slipped out onto the tiny patio. The noon sun was already overhead. Her newly-minted black hair whipped around in a rare cool summer breeze.
When she was sufficiently awake and grounded, she decided to plug back into life and watch the news. Maybe she could catch up a bit while she got ready for work. The flower shop was closed but she needed to get in there and assess the financial damage. See if there was anything left to save of her business. She slipped on jeans and a t-shirt.
One glance at the TV and she froze.
“An operative, known as Jaden Dean, linked to a secret organization called ManTech is speaking out against evil.”
Her pulse climbed. Lauren raced to the set, cranked up the volume. Why would he do this? Why would he blow his cover?
“The ex-special forces operative not only gives away his identity, but he delivers a call to action in this YouTube video, which is going viral on the Internet…” the broadcaster continued.
Lauren blinked hard as the homemade video came up on the screen, featuring a man who was unmistakably Jaden.
“This is Jaden Orchard. The company I work for has been infiltrated by a South American cartel. Our operatives are being killed on assignment left and right. If you’re listening, assholes, you missed one. Me. You tried and failed. You want me? Come get me. I’m here in Caracas at the Parque Carabobo subway station, and I’m waiting for you.”
Chapter 22
Lauren’s heart dropped to the floor. Why would he do this? Why was he exposing himself? Taunting them. Why would he say his real name?
The shot in the video panned out to reveal several red tables and stools with men playing chess against the backdrop of what looked like a subway hub. They’d find him and kill him. What was he doing?
The doorbell rang.
Lauren answered quickly, fearing there’d be news about something happening to Jaden.
“Ma’am, it’s shift change. I need you to wait here while we secure the perimeter,” Dewey Burton, her night shift guard, said before disappearing down the hall.
Her nerves were fried. She couldn’t stop thinking about Jaden. He’d blasted his location to the world. Sitting there, waiting, made it worse.
But she’d be crazy to take off by herself, so she waited.
Once Granger Roxbury—a.k.a. Rocky—showed, she walked past him with a greeting and took off toward her shop. He must’ve picked up on her mood because he gave her space. She needed a minute to breathe, anyway.
On the walk to her shop, anxiety caused her knees to shake and her shoulders to slump forward. Her knuckles felt like they would bruise from dragging the pavement. Every step was a chore. She was tired. The physical bruises pounded and she was starting to rack up emotional ones of a similar scale.
Why would he do it? Why would he push her away and then go to Caracus to expose his identity?
A sudden thought hit her. If Jaden’s feelings had been real—and she knew in her heart they were—what if he’d pushed her away for her own good? He’d said he would do anything to keep her safe. Did that include forcing her away to reveal his own identity?
Try as he did to hide his true feelings, the pained expression he wore before he walked away tipped off his real emotions.
Another thought occurred to her. When she’d visited Max other day, he’d said “Herrr.” A woman. Was it the one Jaden had mentioned? The woman who’d betrayed him?
Frustration climbed up Lauren’s throat causing a heated rash. How could she find him now even if she wanted to? He was on another continent. He was making himself a sitting duck for professionally trained killers.
Lauren opened her shop, needing to focus on work to take her mind off Jaden. She had no cell number to use to reach him and there was nothing she could do about it. She flipped on the light switch, but nothing happened. A breaker had probably been tripped. The thunderstorm last night was the likely culprit.
“It’s probably a breaker,” she said to Rocky. “It’ll only take a second to fix it.”
There was enough light in the shop to see him nod. He moved to a position at the door and folded his arms. She pulled the emergency flashlight out from behind the counter, set down her keys, and moved to the stock room.
It didn’t take but a minute to locate the box. Power outages during storms were becoming more and more common in Texas, and Lauren knew far too much about how the power box worked at her shop because of them.
The door chimed out front. She froze. And then she remembered that she had Rocky. Relief washed over her. Plus, she had lights now. She moved from the storeroom quickly and back out onto the floor.
“Rocky?” The man was short but thick—thick arms, thick neck. He was nothing but muscle and hard to misplace. She didn’t see anyone else, either. Her heart skipped a beat, her
