chapter Five
Uh-oh.
Jenna had looked beautiful in her sleep, her short, blond hair framing her face, her lashes creating two crescents on her milky skin. Burrowing into his lap.
She looked no less beautiful now with her blue eyes snapping to attention and a rose-colored flush marching across her cheeks. But he knew he was seconds away from losing her.
Her head shot up. “How did I get over here?”
Would she believe him if he told her she’d inched her way toward him during the night as she’d slept? Of course, he’d helped the situation along when the top of her head met the outside of his thigh by placing her head on his lap.
“You sort of rolled over here.” He held up his hands. “You’re still fully clothed.”
Her jaw tightened.
Wrong moment to try humor. It had always worked with her before, usually defusing any tension between them. But this level of tension was a whole new ball game. They’d stumbled into unchartered areas of tension, and he had no idea how to make it better.
Cuddling her while she slept had made it worse. For her.
He’d enjoyed every second of it.
She scooted toward Gavin, still snoozing in the arms of the big chair. “No problems last night?”
Other than having his beautiful wife’s head lolling against his thighs all night and not being able to make a move?
“No problems.” He tapped the cell phone in the breast pocket of his shirt. “Can’t get any service, though.”
She smoothed her hand across Gavin’s forehead. “And if you could?”
“I’d call one of my contacts for transportation out of here. We can’t fly around in a helicopter.”
“You can just call Prospero on a regular cell phone? What’s the number? 1-800-SPY-4YOU?”
“You’re a laugh a minute.” He plucked the phone from his pocket and cradled it in his palm. “This baby is no ordinary cell phone.”
“Of course not.”
“It’s untraceable. No numbers are stored on it. You can’t do things like call back.”
“But you’re still limited by pedestrian stuff like no service.”
“True.” He dropped the useless phone back in his pocket.
She yawned and stretched, then dropped her hand back to Gavin’s forehead, stroking his skin. “We can’t take the helicopter out for another spin?”
“The bird doesn’t have much gas left.”
Her hand stilled and trembled. “You mean we’re stuck here?”
“We have our legs.” He slapped his thigh. “Are you hungry?”
“Is there anything to eat in there?” She tipped her chin toward the kitchen.
“Nothing much. Don’t know if I’d trust any food out of that kitchen, anyway.” He hunched forward and dragged his bag toward him. “I have a few snacks in here—energy bars, beef jerky, bottled water.”
“You lead a strange existence.” She folded her arms and hunched her shoulders. “Where have you been all these years?”
“Three years, Jenna.” He buried his head in the duffel and plucked out a couple of energy bars. He tossed one to her. “I’ve been overseas mostly, but I’ve been back and forth to the States.”
“Guess I missed your postcards.” She tore open the energy bar and ripped off a piece with her teeth.
He dragged in a breath. “I checked up on you, you and Gavin.”
Blinking her eyes, she swallowed. “How did you manage that?”
“I had Prospero keep tabs on you here. Whenever I could, I staked out your location...just to see you and Gavin for myself.”
She stuffed another piece of energy bar in her mouth and said, “That’s kind of creepy.”
His gaze shifted to his son, sleeping in the chair with his hand curled beneath his chubby cheek. “Not creepy at all.”
“Is that how you knew we were in Lovett Peak?”
“Yeah.” He hoisted himself up and perched on the arm of Gavin’s makeshift bed. “Do you think he’ll eat an energy bar for breakfast?”
She ignored his question, hell-bent on a few of her own.
“Did you know those men were coming after me and Gavin?”
“I figured they might try to find you again.”
“Again?” She narrowed her eyes. “Had they given up? Was I running for no good reason after your mission went south?”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“So they renewed their efforts after their first attempts, when they thought you’d stolen those plans or whatever they are.”
“Those plans are very important to Zendaris. He’s willing to do anything to get them back.”
She studied him across the sleeping form of their son. “How did you lose them? I take it we wouldn’t be in this predicament if you’d been able to turn them over to the government, correct? There’s nothing Zendaris could’ve done at that point. Game over.”
“Probably, but I didn’t have the plans in my possession for very long before they were snatched from me.”
“Did someone steal them out of the backseat of your car, or what? You always used to throw junk in the back of your car and forget about it for weeks.”
A smile tugged at his mouth despite their predicament, as she’d called it. “Not exactly. The plans were in a file on my computer. I wasn’t going to use regular email to get them to the CIA. But before I could encrypt them or get one of our computer guys on it, someone hacked into my computer and lifted them.”
“No trace left behind?”
“None.” He jumped up from the chair and paced to the window, running a hand through his hair. “Whoever stole those plans knew his way around a computer. We had our cyber-threat guys go through my PC, and they couldn’t detect anything.”
She yanked Gavin’s blanket over his shoulder and smoothed imaginary creases from it. “Maybe all we have to do is keep out of sight until whoever has those plans makes Zendaris an offer he can’t refuse.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Where you’re concerned, it never is.”
This time he ignored her. “The person who stole the plans may not want to make a deal with Zendaris at all. Maybe he wants to replace Zendaris as top-dog arms dealer and sell the plans to the highest bidding terrorist organization or rogue nation.”
“Then Zendaris will find out soon enough.” She spread her arms to encompass the small room. “Isn’t there some sort of terrorist network where that kind of news would travel fast?”
“There is and it does.”
“So, again, once Zendaris realizes you don’t have the plans, he’ll back off. We...Gavin and I will be safe.”
“Never did like the idea of relying on something out of my control to keep my family safe. I don’t want to sit around and wait for the person with the plans to make his move.”
“What does that mean?”
“Prospero is planning to go after Zendaris.”
“Why haven’t you before?”
Cade propped up the mantel with his shoulder. “He’s evasive, slippery. We don’t even know what Zendaris looks like. We don’t know where he lives. We don’t know if he has a family.”
“Wow, Prospero is really slipping.” She tossed her head, and her gleaming hair caught the weak light seeping into the room from the east-facing window. “I guess Jack Coburn isn’t superhuman, after all.”
Case shook his head and chuckled. “He’d be shocked to hear himself described as superhuman.”
“That’s how you made him come across. You idolized him.”
Jenna’s blue eyes fogged over with wistfulness. As ridiculous as it seemed, Cade knew Jenna had always felt he’d chosen Jack Coburn over her when he’d decided to join Prospero.
Well, hadn’t he? Just like his father had chosen the life of a con man over staying with his family. Cade had learned how to abandon his family at the knee of a master.
He shrugged off the mantel and circled behind Gavin’s chair. He leaned his forearms on the back, hunching over his son. “Coburn’s a good man, Jenna, an honorable man, but I didn’t join Prospero out of any blind hero-worship.”
“I guess I don’t blame you for joining Prospero so much as I blame you for marrying me when you knew darn well the life of a secret agent loomed in your future.”
He leaned farther over the chair, nearly touching her forehead with his. “That was totally your fault. One look at you, and I could no more resist you than I could turn down any cockamamy dare.”
She drew back. “Don’t change the subject. Do you have any idea who might have taken the plans from you?”
“Could be any number of people or groups, but whoever has them would want to keep his identity secret for as long as possible to keep Zendaris off his tail.”
“And keep him on ours.”
“Exactly.”
“Once you catch Zendaris, Gavin and I can stop running.”
“Once we catch Zendaris...” How many times had he repeated those words to himself? They’d taken on an almost-magical quality because they represented freedom for him, freedom to claim his family.
His gaze shifted to Jenna, watching as she ran her hand across Gavin’s new buzz cut. Would he be able to claim them? Would Jenna take him back?
He had to make sure she’d want nothing more.
“Yes? Once you catch Zendaris?”
Was she holding her breath or was he?
He cleared his throat. “You and Gavin will be safe once Zendaris is out of the picture.”
“I’m sure Prospero has plenty of enemies. How can I be sure there won’t be another one ready to take Zendaris’s place, ready to threaten me and my son?”
Our son.
“There’s only one Zendaris. With him, it’s personal.”
“You never did explain what happened on your first assignment with Prospero. All I know is you left me and then returned only to warn me to get lost and never show my face again.”
He braced his forehead against his clasped hands. “I know it must’ve seemed that way, but I warned you out of necessity. After we completed our mission, Zendaris found out about our families and vowed to take revenge.”
“That must’ve been one heckuva mission. What did you do to him?”
“We spoiled his biggest arms deal to date.” Cade closed his eyes as heat surged through his body, even the memories powerful enough to pump adrenaline into his veins.
“What did he expect, and how is that personal? These guys have to know everything isn’t going to come up roses for them all the time. He’s still in business, isn’t he?”
Cade glanced at Jenna, wrinkling her nose. “What do you mean?”
“I mean for Zendaris to want to come after you personally, you must’ve hit him on more than a business level.”
“Funny you should mention that.” Cade crossed in front of Jenna to grab his blanket rumpled on the floor. “We, my Prospero teammates and I, thought the same thing.”
“Were any of Zendaris’s people injured or killed during your mission?”
“A few.”
“Any women or children?”
Cade clenched his jaw. “We don’t attack women and children. That’s his M.O.”
“Okay, okay.” She held up her hands. “Family members, maybe?”
“Could be. We’re not sure.” He folded his blanket and reached for Jenna’s. “I told you, we don’t know much about him. Don’t know what he looks like. Don’t know anything about his family.”
“You knew enough to prevent that first deal from going down.”
“Good intelligence all around on that job, but we’d like nothing more than to nail the guy...in person. End his career.”
She sighed. “Sounds good to me, too.”
Gavin stirred and fluttered his eyelashes. He opened one eye, sleepy at first and then widening as he took in his surroundings. He bolted upright.
“Shh.” Jenna scooted into the chair beside him, nudging him with her hip. “It’s okay. Do you remember coming to this place last night?”
“In the helicopter.” He pointed a finger at Cade. “With him.”
“That’s Cade. He’s going to be with us for...a while. A little while.”
If he had anything to say about it, he’d be with them a lot longer than that. He’d left shortly after Gavin was born, so he had a lot of smiles to make up for.
Cade dug another energy bar from his pocket and waved it at Jenna. “Will he eat this?”
“Candy bar!” Gavin bounced in the chair, aiming a hopeful look at his mother.
“Not really.” She took the bar from Cade and ripped one silver-foiled corner. “Do you want to try it?”
Licking his lips, Gavin nodded.
Cade now regretted not getting the chocolate-covered ones. The kid was in for a rude surprise.
Jenna broke off a piece and held it out to Gavin. He pinched it between two small fingers and shoved it into his mouth.
Wrinkling his nose, he stuck out his tongue, half-chewed bits of energy bar clinging to it.
“Gavin, do not spit that out.”
“It’s not a candy bar. I want eggs.”
Cade sucked in a breath and cupped his hand beneath Gavin’s chin. “You can spit it in my hand.”
Gavin didn’t need an engraved invitation for that. He spat the little ball of goo into Cade’s palm, while Jenna’s brows disappeared beneath her blond bangs.
“Uh, let me get rid of this, and then we’ll find some eggs.”
When he returned to the living room after dumping the glob of food into the trash and washing his hands, Jenna had folded the rest of the blankets and was holding a bottle of water to Gavin’s mouth as he drank.
“Where are we going to get eggs?”
“A diner.”
“Where are we going to find a diner with a helicopter pad? Oh, yeah, no helicopter. How are we going to reach a diner on foot, with lugging bags and a kid?”
He dangled a keychain from his finger. “Where there’s a Prospero safe house, there’s usually a Prospero safe car.”
“There’s a car parked out here somewhere?” She dabbed Gavin’s dribbling chin with the hem of her fleece shirt.”
He swung the keys around his finger. “I found these hanging on a hook in the kitchen. There’s definitely a car key on this ring.”
“Where’s the car?”
“There’s a road on the other side of that bunch of trees. It’s probably parked there. A car couldn’t get through the trees.”
“What about the helicopter?”
“I have to get rid of it.”
“How do you get rid of a helicopter?”
“Blow it up.”
She clucked her tongue. “You Prospero agents are nothing more than a bunch of adolescent brains in men’s bodies—high speed chases, blowing things up, disguises.”
“Yeah, it would almost be fun if it weren’t deadly serious.”
“Believe me, I know how deadly serious it is.” She combed her fingers through her gleaming strands. “Do you think I have time to take a shower before we blow up anything?”
“Sure. I hope you don’t mind if I skip mine.”
She paused, digging her nails into her scalp. “Because we’re still in danger.”
His eyes darted toward Gavin. “Yeah.”
“Then I’ll skip it, too. Let’s blow this joint...not literally. Don’t get any ideas.”
“Will you and Gavin be okay here while I check the shed? I’m going to look for tools, materials or anything else we can use.”
“If you can’t find anything, how do you plan to blow up the helicopter?”
He shrugged. “It still has some gas in the tank. One well-placed bullet and kaboom.”
“Gavin and I will come with you.”
“Good idea.”
Cade shoved the keychain in the front pocket of his jeans and pulled on his parka.
Jenna zipped up Gavin in his jacket and stuffed his hands into his mittens. “We’re going outside. Stay right beside me.”
Cade’s gun, concealed in the pocket of his parka, bumped
his thigh as he crossed the room and opened the front door of the cabin. No snow had moved in overnight, and the crisp, cold morning nipped at his cheeks.
He glanced both ways before stepping onto the porch. The serene scene mocked their circumstances. This cabin could be the perfect setting for a cozy family getaway...or a romantic interlude.
But the stillness didn’t fool him. That chopper sitting less than a mile away represented a huge target. He had to get rid of it.
He stomped across the frozen ground with Jenna and Gavin keeping pace beside him. Jenna had a firm grip on Gavin’s hand, even though his head was swiveling in twenty different directions, trying to take in his surroundings.
He liked that his boy carried an air of adventure and mischief about him. Jenna had done a good job not turning him into a scared, little rabbit, even though she’d had every reason to do so.
They reached the door of the shed, secured with a dull silver padlock. Cade dragged the keys from his pocket and selected a small one from the key ring. “I think this one should do it.”
“You Prospero boys think of everything, don’t you?”
Hooking his finger around the padlock and lifting it, he said over his shoulder, “It’s a good organization, Jenna. We do good work, important work. And we get zero recognition for it. Sometimes the work we do is even denied by our own government.”
“I know that, Cade.” She put her gloved hand on the slick sleeve of his jacket. “I just wish it hadn’t been you called to this duty.”
His gaze locked with hers. The heat crackled between them despite the frosty air. He wanted her back in his life, and he planned to pull out all the stops to get her there even if he had to go into hiding with her and Gavin until Prospero brought down Zendaris.
Zendaris had ripped Cade’s wife and son away from him. If Zendaris hadn’t made it his mission in life to discover the identities of the agents involved in that raid, and then followed up by targeting their families, Cade could’ve been with Jenna these past three years. He could’ve been there for his son.
Other agents had families. Hell, even Jack Coburn had a family.
He brushed a wisp of hair from Jenna’s red cheek. “I’ll make it up to you. I swear.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and Cade didn’t know if it was the emotion between them or just the cold air. Whatever the reason, she ducked to scoop up Gavin’s mitten, which had fallen to the ground.
Cade turned to the shed. Tugging at the lock, he inserted the key and yanked it free. The wooden door swung open. The shed didn’t have electricity, but the doorway and a window on the back wall afforded enough light to illuminate the small space.
Cade shuffled inside with Jenna and Gavin close behind him. Shelves lined the walls with all manner of tools and supplies filling every inch of them. “I’m surprised nobody has discovered this place yet and ransacked it.”
“Must be the giant P on the door indicating Prospero property.”
“I never get tired of your humor, Jenna.”
Gavin zipped between them, arms outstretched, making a beeline toward one of the shelves.
“Whoa.” Cade grabbed the hood of Gavin’s jacket and he bounced backward into Cade’s legs. “Oops. Sorry about that, but you can’t go running around in here.”
“You don’t have to yank him around like he’s a terrorist. He’s three.” Jenna stepped between them and brushed off Gavin’s jacket like she was brushing off Cade’s cooties.
“Really?” Cade ran his knuckles across Gavin’s head. “Because I thought he was sixteen.”
Gavin giggled and held up three fingers. “Three!”
Cade cocked his head. “Must be the haircut.”
Jenna pursed her lips against the smile wobbling there. “He broke away from me. I guess all this stuff—” she waved her arms around the interior of the shed “—looks irresistible.”
“Looks irresistible to me, too.” He let his gaze caress her soft, tousled hair and her face, rosy from the chill in the air.
She jerked her head toward the junk on the shelves. “Do you think you’ll find what you need here to get rid of that chopper?”
“I think I should be able to rig something together.”
“Then we find the car that you’re so sure is located somewhere around here?”
“Prospero’s safe houses are all outfitted the same—
out-of-the-way places or plunked down in the middle of a busy city block, water, electricity, a change of clothing, weapons and some means of transportation.”
He jingled the keys in his hand. “I know there’s a car in our future.”
Jenna opened her mouth, probably to respond with another sarcastic comment about Prospero, but a loud bang had them all jumping in place.
“That can’t be good.”
Cade scrambled for the door and peered over the tree line at a column of black smoke. All of his senses switched into the on position. “Looks like we won’t have to blow up that chopper, after all.”
“Y-you mean?”
“Someone beat us to it.”