FIRE (Elite Forces #2)(32)

“I’m coming.” I stretch my arms above my head, my muscles pulling tight. The first thing I’m gonna do tomorrow morning when I wake is work out. It f*cking sucks that I have to start out with half the weight I was using before. It’s going to feel like I’m lifting a brown paper bag instead of what I’m used to.

I close down my laptop. I’ve been studying the area where the crazy-ass f*cker came close to killing me. I remember him saying he had a home back in the woods somewhere. I remember him calling it his kingdom, or was it his domain?

“I’ll find you, Ty, and when I do, you’re going to be praying to the devil to take your f*cking soul.”

I lock up the house, grab the charger to my phone, and make my way to my bedroom before I fall to my knees. Jade’s already in bed.

The sight of her in my bed has my cock coming to life. If I didn’t notice how exhausted she was when we were having dinner, I’d flip her ass over and make love to her nice and slow. But she needs a good night’s sleep. She hasn’t slept in a bed since before we left, because she was at my side the entire time I was in the hospital. She either slept in the recliner or next to me once I was able to succumb to the pain of having her that close to my body.

“You’re beautiful,” I tell her. My skin itches to be close to her, and I want to hold her and feel her warm body up against mine.

“I’d be even more beautiful in your arms.” Good choice of words, baby. I strip out of my clothes. Her gaze travels down to my rock hard cock. I quirk a brow and she smiles.

“Yeah. One look and you have me hard.” It’s the truth.

I twist my body around to shut off the light, never taking my eyes off of her. Once I make it to my bed, I welcome her sliding her ass as close to me as she can get. My cock jumps at the feel of her as it rests in the curve of her tight little ass.

“Go to sleep, baby.” My arm rests just below the swell of her breasts, and my face is buried against her neck and into her hair.

“Kaleb.”

“Yeah.” My eyelids are heavy as I answer.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Mrs. Maverick.” That seems to get a chuckle out of us both.

“About that,” she whispers.

“It’s ok. Just go to sleep, Jade.” Someday, I think to myself before I fall into a deep sleep, where I dream of her instead of succumbing to the nightmares of the torture I’ve endured that have been tormenting my troubled mind.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN


JADE


I’ve been sitting on the porch for over an hour, watching the door to the office I watched Kaleb disappear behind.

Our bags are in the back of the SUV and I’m ready to go.

We slept for nine hours straight last night. I don’t think I moved the entire time. I would have kept on sleeping if he hadn’t had to get up and work out, and then rush out the door to have his so-called private meeting with Kase and the President.

Now I sit here, worried out of my ever-loving mind. I’m about to unglue my ass from these steps and bust in there. My gut tells me that whatever the hell is going down in there, I’m not going to be a part of, and that pisses me the f*ck off.

Kaleb wants to protect me, and I love him even more for that. But, damn it, can’t he see I want to protect him too? That the thought of him going somewhere without me, especially when he isn’t in the right state of mind, not to mention he isn’t healed, is tearing me apart?

What pisses me off even more is my hands are tied. If these orders come from the President, there isn’t a damn thing I can do.

I’m startled when my phone rings beside me. I glance down, wondering who the hell would be calling at eight o’clock in the morning. I fumble, picking it up when I see Mal’s name flashing on the screen.

“Where have you been?” I say sarcastically. I’ve been worried about her. Worry seems to be all I’ve been doing lately. I’m sick and tired of it. I want normal. Whatever the hell that might be.

“Hello to you too.” The sound of her voice alone pulls a beaming grin across my face.

Then, like I’ve been hit over the head with a two by four, it dawns on me and slaps me in the face. I haven’t heard a word from Harris either. That’s unlike him, not to check in with me. They’re together. I know they are.

“What you been doing, Mallory? Or should I say, who?” I laugh, my over-active temper subsiding because it’s my best friend on the other end of this line.

“Ah. Jade Elliott. The clever smartass is back. Welcome home. I missed you.” Yeah, right. I bet she did up until she hooked up with Harris.

“So. Harris, huh?” I stand, my ass is numb from sitting here.

“Yeah. He called me. God, Jade, he is one hell of a…”

“Stop. I don’t want to know.” I’m not about to tell her I know. Well, technically, I don’t. But still, I’m not telling her a thing. Especially when she keeps going on about how sweet he is to her. I listen as she carries on for our entire conversation about him. How he left for the base an hour or so ago but promised to call her as soon as he could.

I’m happy for her, I really am. I know Mallory though. Sometimes better than she knows herself. I’m not about to burst her bubble with my worry. Mallory isn’t cut out to date a man who has to leave at the drop of a hat to go fight for his country, ready to sacrifice his life. She’s a wonderful person and the best friend anyone could ask for, and she may have a mouth on her with no filter, who tells you like it is, but Mallory worries more than anyone I know.