Kitabı oku: «The Battling McGuire Boys»

Chapter One

“Hello, Sullivan.”

At that low, husky voice—a voice Sullivan had heard far too many times in his dreams—his head whipped up. He blinked, sure that he had to be imagining the figure standing in his office doorway. He even shook his head, as if that small movement could somehow make the woman before him vanish.

Only she didn’t vanish.

She laughed, and the small movement made her short red hair brush lightly against her delicate jaw. “No, sorry, you can’t blink or even wish me away. I’m here.” Celia James stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

He rose to his feet in a quick rush. “I wouldn’t wish you away.” Just the opposite. His voice had sounded too gruff, so he cleared his throat. He didn’t want to scare her away, not when he had such plans for her. And she’s actually here. Close enough to touch. “Should you...should you be here? You were hurt—”

Celia waved that injury away with a flick of her hand. “A flesh wound. I’ve had worse.” Sadness flickered in her eyes. “It’s Elizabeth who took the direct hit. I was afraid for a while...but I heard she’s better now.”

He nodded and crept closer to her. Elizabeth Snow was the woman his brother Mac—MacKenzie—intended to marry as fast as humanly possible. Elizabeth was also the woman who’d been shot recently—when she faced off against a killer who’d been determined to put Elizabeth in the ground.

Only Elizabeth hadn’t died, and in that particular case...it had brought Celia back into Sullivan’s life.

Now I can’t let her leave.

He schooled his expression as he said, “She’s out at the ranch. And I’m sure Mac is about to drive her crazy.” He was absolutely certain of that fact. His brother had broken apart when Elizabeth was shot. There was no denying the love Mac felt for her. “I think his protective instincts kicked into overdrive.” So did mine. When I saw you on the ground...

Because Elizabeth hadn’t been the only one hurt on that last case. Celia had also been caught in the cross fire.

But Celia didn’t appear overly concerned with the injury she’d received. “I was knocked out for a few moments. My head hit the wall.” Her calm expression dismissed the terrifying moment, but then, he knew it took a lot to terrify her. “The bullet just grazed me.”

He hadn’t realized that fact, not at first. He’d just known that she was limp in his arms.

A whole lot had sure come into crystal-clear perspective for him in those desperate moments.

“I came to make you a deal,” Celia said as she took a step toward him.

His head tilted to the side as he studied her. “A deal?” Now he was curious. Celia wasn’t exactly the type to make deals. She was the type to keep secrets. The type to always get the job done, no matter what.

During Sullivan’s very brief stint with the CIA, he’d met the lovely Celia.

And he’d fallen hard for her.

Until I thought she’d betrayed me.

“I have information you want.” She pulled a white envelope out of her purse. “I’ll give it to you, but you have to promise me one favor.”

Suspicious now, he asked, “And just what favor would that be?” She had plenty of government connections. She didn’t need him now. Never had. He knew that now.

Her smile flashed. A smile that showed off her dimples. Those dimples were so innocently deceptive. So gorgeous.

So Celia.

They made her appear so delicate.

But the truth of the matter was...Celia James was a trained killer. One of the best to ever work for the CIA.

And she doesn’t make deals.

Yet she was standing in his office, asking for one. The whole scene felt surreal to him.

“You have to agree before I tell you what I want.” She shrugged. “Sorry, but it’s one of those deal-in-the-dark situations. Promise me that you’ll be there when I call in this debt. That you’ll agree to what I need, and this information is yours.” She waved the bulky envelope a bit, as if tempting him.

His gaze stayed locked on hers. He wanted to touch her. Needed to kiss her. Instead, he stood there and forced his body to be still. “Just what information is it that you think you have?” He didn’t understand why Celia thought he’d be interested in any deal she had. He’d more than made it clear that he’d never work for the CIA again. He’d barely escaped before, when he’d been caught in a web of lies and death.

“I have your mother’s real name.” Her voice was soft, almost sympathetic.

But he wasn’t impressed by her big reveal. He and his brothers had already uncovered his mother’s real last name. They already knew—

“And I have the reason she was put in the Witness Protection Program.”

Now, that information...he didn’t know. And he was sure curious about why his mother had given up her previous life, adopted an entirely new name and wound up in Austin, Texas.

For years, Sullivan, his brothers and his sister had been working desperately to unmask the identity of the killers who had murdered their parents. One dark Texas night, two gunmen had broken into the McGuire ranch. They’d killed Sullivan’s mother, then his father. Sullivan’s sister, Ava, had managed to escape and get help, but that help hadn’t arrived in time.

Years later, they were close—finally close—to unmasking the killers. They’d worked tirelessly on the case. When the local law enforcement authorities had given up the hunt, the family had formed a private agency, McGuire Securities. They’d kept working to solve a crime that would never be a cold case, not to them, and along the way they’d helped others with their investigation firm. McGuire Securities now had a top-notch reputation that drew in clients from the South and all along the East Coast.

Years ago, Sullivan had sworn he would never stop searching for the truth about that dark night, not until he’d given his parents the justice they deserved.

Celia offered the envelope to him. That white envelope looked so small and harmless in her hands, but it had the potential to change so much. “Do we have a deal?” Celia asked. “One favor, no questions asked...and you can have her past.”

He stared at the envelope, and then he looked back up into Celia’s blue eyes. “Deal.” To learn more about his mother, he would have promised anything.

A faint sigh slipped from Celia’s lips. She hurried toward him, closing the last of the distance between them.

His hand lifted and he took that envelope from her. Their fingers brushed, and the touch sent a hot, hard stab of need right through him. But that was the way it was for him when Celia was near. He saw her, he touched her and he just wanted. Some things couldn’t be changed, no matter how much time passed.

“I’ll be seeing you soon, Sully,” she said as her fingers fell away from his. “And...good luck to you.” Then she turned away and headed for the door.

That was it? She asked for a deal then just walked away? “Same old Celia,” he murmured. “Secretive to the core, aren’t you?” He put the envelope down on his desk.

She glanced back at him. Her red hair contrasted with her bright blue eyes—eyes that gave no hint to her emotions. “You know my life has to be about secrets.”

Because she was an agent. CIA. Right. He got that. She was a real-life chameleon. When he’d known her before, her hair had been black. Her eyes...they’d been green. At first he’d thought he was seeing the real Celia back then. He hadn’t known just how much of a mask she truly presented to the world. Then he’d gone to a team meeting a few days later, and she’d been blonde. With bright blue eyes.

The same eyes I see now.

She’d been able to change her appearance so quickly. She’d been able to become someone else with total ease, even adopting a new accent on command. She’d told him once that she could only be real with him.

With everyone else, she had an image to keep.

I should have believed her. But he hadn’t. When the danger had closed in, he’d turned his back on her. “Would it matter,” Sullivan asked her, aware that his voice had roughened, “if I told you that I was sorry?”

Something happened then. For just a moment, he saw a flash of emotion in her eyes.

Pain.

He hated that he’d hurt her. If he could, he’d take away any pain that she felt. He’d make sure she never felt pain again.

“Are you?” Celia asked him, cocking her head just a bit, as if it was now her turn to study him. “Are you sorry?”

He stared at her a moment, the past and present merging for him. He’d been drawn to Celia from the moment they first met. Without hesitation, he’d given in to his hunger for her. The passion had been hot, raging out of control, and when their world had imploded, he’d thought she’d been using him. Seducing him.

He hadn’t realized—not until too late—that she’d loved him.

I lost her. “Yes,” Sullivan said gruffly. “I am.”

She smiled, and it was a smile that held bite. “Good. Then maybe when I come calling for that debt, you won’t hesitate.”

“I won’t.” He crossed the room and hurried to her side. He reached out to her.

But Celia put up her hand, stopping him. “Don’t.”

He wanted to touch her. Hold her. “Why can’t we start again?” Did he sound desperate? Maybe. So what? When she’d been hurt on that last case, when she’d been lying so still on the ground, everything had changed for him. His priorities had shifted instantly.

Getting justice for his parents? Hell, yes, he would do that. He’d made a vow to himself, to his family, and he would keep it.

But getting Celia back in his life? Back in his bed? That was his immediate goal. Holding tightly to her and never letting go had become his obsession.

“We can’t start again because you nearly destroyed me before,” Celia said. “I needed you, and you left me.”

He flinched at her soft words. Celia wasn’t pulling any punches.

“But...” Celia shook her head. “You were always one fine marine, and you were incredible as a field agent.”

Until he’d been taken. Because he’d been distracted...

By her. No, it hadn’t been Celia’s fault. None of it had been. Sullivan had been the one who wasn’t on his game. He was the one who hadn’t taken enough precautions. And he was the one who’d been afraid of what would come in the aftermath of his capture.

Even then, I didn’t want her hurt. Even then, I was afraid of what could happen to her...because of me.

Her gaze was still on him. “I know that when you give your word,” she added, “you mean it.”

His hands fisted because the urge to reach out to her was too strong. He wanted to touch her. To see if her skin still felt like silk. Her scent—sweet, light—rose and wrapped around him.

“I’ll see you again soon,” she said. Then she opened the door. The heavy carpet swallowed her footsteps as she left him.

He stood there a moment, fighting the past and trying to figure out what the hell he should do in the present.

Go after her.

His head snapped up when he heard the ding of the elevator. And then Sullivan was racing down the hallway. The rest of McGuire Securities was deserted, so no one witnessed his frantic run. And it was frantic. But he couldn’t just let her go, not like this. His hand flew out and he stopped the elevator, activating the sensors in the doors right before they closed.

Celia’s eyes widened as she started. “Sullivan, what are you doing?”

What he should have done the first moment he looked up and saw her standing in his office.

“I gave you the envelope.” She sounded dazed. “Have you even looked inside it?”

No, he’d left it on his desk, unopened. Priorities. He strode into the elevator.

She backed up against the wall. It was the first time he’d ever seen Celia retreat from anyone.

“I missed you,” he gritted out.

Her lips parted.

“And you don’t get to just vanish again.”

Before she could respond, Sullivan leaned forward and he kissed her. His hands pushed against the elevator wall on either side of her head and he put his mouth on hers.

Her lips were still parted, just a bit, and his lips met hers in a hot, openmouthed kiss. She tasted so sweet—even sweeter than he remembered—and Sullivan’s heart drummed wildly in his ears. He held his body carefully away from hers, only touching her with his mouth. Touching her and trying like hell to seduce her with his lips and tongue. He kissed her a bit deeper, a bit harder, savoring her because it had been far too long since he’d been with her like this.

Far, far too long.

Dreams weren’t enough for him. Memories weren’t getting him through the long nights any longer. He needed her. Not a ghost. The real woman.

His Celia. But even as he deepened that kiss—

Her hands pressed to his chest and she shoved him back.

Sullivan’s breath sawed out as he stared down at her.

“Do you like hurting me?” Celia demanded.

What? “No, hell, no.”

“My life isn’t some game. My emotions can’t just be jerked around by you because you’re in the mood to push my buttons.” Her lips were red and plump from his kiss. Her eyes glittered with fury and passion.

“I wasn’t—”

“In case you missed it before, Sullivan...” Her chin lifted. “Our marriage is over. You signed the divorce papers, remember?”

And he felt that shot, right in his heart. “Yes, I remember.” He wished he could forget. I thought I was doing the right thing. I was poison. She didn’t need me.

Though he’d always needed her.

“Get out of the elevator. When I need you, I’ll be back.”

He turned away from her. Exited that damn elevator. No one else was on the floor. It was way past operating hours. He wasn’t even sure how she’d gotten up to his office.

Celia has her ways... Celia can do anything... Hadn’t he heard folks say that about her time and again when he’d been working with the CIA?

Hell, most of his family didn’t even know about the work he’d done for the government. Most of them didn’t know a thing about Celia.

Mac knew.

And Sullivan...he’d tried so hard to forget her. An impossible task.

Before the elevator doors could shut, he lifted his hands, pushing against them. His gaze held hers. “What about when I need you?” It was a question torn from him.

She blinked in surprise. Or maybe in shock. A faint furrow appeared between her eyes.

“You said that...when you need me, you’d be back.” Sullivan inclined his head toward her. “What about when I need you, C? What then?” Her old nickname rolled off his tongue. C. So simple, but...

It was our link. Only I called her that.

Back when she’d been his.

She laughed. It was a hollow, bitter sound. Not Celia’s real laughter. He’d heard that light, musical sound once before. A lifetime ago. When would he hear her real laughter again?

“Oh, Sullivan,” she said, her lips twisting in a cold smile. “We both know the truth. You’ve never really needed me. You wanted me for a time, but you never let me get close. When the chips were down, you turned on me.”

Because he’d been told she betrayed him. Told again and again as his blood drained out in a dark, dank hellhole.

“Don’t do that again,” she warned him. “Don’t turn on me. I...I don’t have a lot of options. I have to count on you.”

“You can.” He would never betray her again, and Sullivan would do whatever was necessary to prove that to her. He exhaled slowly and backed away. His hands fell back to his sides. The elevator doors began to close. “And just for the record...I think I need you more than I need anyone or anything else.”

He saw the flash of surprise on her face.

Then the doors closed.

* * *

BREATHE. BREATHE. BREATHE. Mentally, Celia James repeated her little mantra.

Only it was hard to breathe because she could still taste Sullivan. She could still feel his lips against hers. And when he’d dropped his last little bombshell on her, she was pretty sure her whole world had spun out of control.

She hurried across the darkened Austin street. She could hear the distant buzz of traffic. Random horns. Voices drifting on the wind. But...

Sullivan. Sexy Sullivan McGuire. He was what consumed her right then. And that was the problem with him—he always slipped past her guard. He always made her too nervous and aware. She couldn’t afford the way he made her feel, not now. Not with all the other craziness happening in her life.

She was leaving the CIA. Leaving the agency that had been her life for far too long and...

I’m being hunted. She had enough going on without developing a new addiction to Sullivan.

Right...as if that were a new thing. She’d been craving him from the moment she looked into his green eyes. Then she’d heard the deep rumble of his voice. Seduction. Just straight-up seduction. She’d been lost before they’d even shaken hands and had been officially introduced.

She’d never looked up and just wanted. Until Sullivan, she’d always been so carefully controlled in all aspects of her life. But Sullivan had pretty much obliterated her control. He’d made her want to live for something other than the job.

When he’d left her, the job had been all she had left.

I won’t make the same mistakes with him. Not this time. This time, she called the shots. He owed her.

Time had been kind to Sullivan. He was tall, fit, with powerful shoulders that had only gotten broader in the years they were apart. His dark hair was still thick, and her fingers had itched to slide through those heavy locks.

No, her fingers had just been itching to touch him. Sullivan had always attracted her. Like a moth to the flame, she’d been pulled right to him.

Not the same mistakes. Not!

Celia jumped into her car. She cranked the engine and drove away as fast as she could.

She’d only gone about four blocks before she realized she was being followed. That was four blocks too many. She should have spotted the tail instantly. But she’d been distracted...

By Sullivan.

Her hands tightened around the steering wheel. She’d thought that she’d made a fairly clean escape when she’d sneaked down to Austin. She hadn’t realized that the hunter on her trail had gotten so close.

And dammit, I led him straight to Sullivan.

Because if the guy on her trail had been waiting outside McGuire Securities...then he’d know about Sullivan and her connection to the McGuires. She’d gone to Sullivan for help. She hadn’t intended to drag him straight into her nightmare. At least, not this fast.

She kept her left hand on the wheel even as her right activated the car’s Bluetooth so she could call Sullivan. She’d memorized his cell number days ago—she had a knack for remembering pretty much everything. One of the reasons why she had been a good agent.

Had been.

He answered on the second ring. “Sullivan.”

“It’s me.” She glanced in her rearview mirror. The headlights behind her were getting ever closer. Surely the guy wasn’t going to hit her? Not on a public street.

“Celia, what—”

“Watch your back. I think I brought my trouble straight to your door. I—” The car behind rammed into her, and Celia’s words ended in a sharp scream. Even as that cry escaped, she tightened her grip on the steering wheel and fought to keep her car steady.

“Celia? Celia?” Sullivan roared.

“Watch yourself,” she said.

Her car had hurtled forward at the impact, but, thank goodness, she hadn’t hit anyone or anything else. She shoved the gas pedal down as hard as she could. Her car shot forward, but the vehicle behind her, the one with the shining lights—

Killed the lights.

“Celia, what is happening?” Sullivan demanded.

She cut across the lanes, moving fast. She knew this city well, so she’d be able to disappear. Hopefully. But if that guy hit her again...

What is he thinking? Attacking in public?

“I’ve got company,” she said as she fought to keep both her voice and the car steady. “The kind that isn’t so friendly.”

“Where are you?” he barked.

“Escaping,” she told him honestly. And she was. She’d just turned down a dark side street. Celia turned off her own lights and whipped into the nearest parking garage. “Bye, Sullivan.”

“No, Celia, wait—”

There was no time to wait. There was only time to survive. She was good at surviving. Celia jumped from her car and ran as fast as she could toward the shadows of the parking garage. She wouldn’t have much time. She could already hear the engine of the other vehicle. An SUV waited a few feet away, and she rushed behind it, crouching down just as the squeal of tires reached her ears.

I knew my time was limited... I just didn’t realize how close the hunter was to me.

Her heart slammed into her chest as the car braked just a few feet away. She reached into her boot and pulled out the knife she still kept strapped to her ankle.

Some habits sure did die hard.

She slipped around the SUV, keeping low and making certain not to make so much as a sound. The way she figured it, Celia had three options.

Option one...she could try to break into one of the parked cars and get a ride out of there. She would have to switch cars and temporarily borrow another if she went with the escape-in-a-vehicle option, because her car—with its busted bumper—wasn’t going to get her far.

Option two...her eyes narrowed as she searched the garage’s dim interior. Instead of stealing—um, borrowing—another car, she could rush for the nearest exit and escape on foot. Escaping on foot gave her a maneuverability advantage, but it sure wasn’t the fastest option.

And, finally, she had option three.

She could fight.

Since she was armed with a knife and she had no idea what type of weapon the hunter had, fighting might not be—

“I know you’re out there, Ms. James,” a man’s booming voice called. “So why don’t you just save us both some time? Come out here...and let me put a bullet in your lovely head.”

So he has a gun. Good to know.

“Because I have only one directive. Kill you. And I won’t stop, not until you’re dead.”

That news was just rather unfortunate. Too bad for him, though. The unknown man wasn’t going to achieve his directive any time soon—she had no intention of dying.

Her gaze slid to the red Exit sign she’d just spotted.

Knife versus gun wasn’t such a good fighting option.

So I think I’ll go with my second choice. Time to run...

* * *

“CELIA? CELIA?” SULLIVAN ROARED. But she wasn’t answering him. The line had gone dead.

He shoved the phone back into his pocket, grabbed the white envelope she’d given him and then he rushed out of his office. He was in the elevator before he realized—hell, he had no idea where Celia was. He only knew she was in trouble. That she’d called him—telling him to watch his back.

And she’d screamed.

She could be hurt. And I don’t know where she is. I can’t help her.

The elevator took him to the ground floor. He rushed outside. Looked to the left. To the right. He didn’t see anyone, but he wasn’t going to stand there and keep making himself a target. He hurried to his car. Jumped inside.

“Celia...” Sullivan whispered her name as he cranked the vehicle and pulled away. “Where in the hell are you?”