She lifted her chin. She wasn’t budging. He wanted to paddle her sweet little ass or kiss her. He wasn’t completely sure which. He’d never had a woman willing to put herself out there for him the way Jessie did.
“Fine,” he said. “Have it your way.” Reaching inside his bomber jacket, he pulled his Glock, turned, and aimed it at the three approaching men. “The lady says she doesn’t want me to bruise my knuckles, so I guess I’ll just have to shoot you.”
Jessie gasped. The three men stopped dead in their tracks.
“He’s a former Special Forces soldier,” Jessie rushed to tell them. “You’d be smart to go back inside.”
They grumbled something between them. One of them started forward, but another pulled him back. “Don’t come around here again,” the third man warned as they sauntered back into the bar.
A relieved smile broke over Jessie’s face. “Now, see how easy that was?”
Bran just shook his head. He couldn’t hold back a grin. “You are really something, lady.”
She glanced back over her shoulder, saw more people drifting out of the bar. “I think we’d better go.”
He followed her gaze. “Good idea.”
Neither of them spoke as he drove back toward the hotel, watching his mirror and checking their surroundings, making sure he wasn’t being tailed.
“There’s something I haven’t told you,” Jessie said as the lights of the Holiday Inn appeared up ahead.
Bran slanted her a glance. Her uncertain expression didn’t bode well. “Yeah, what’s that?”
“Those terrorists locked up in ADMAX? One of them is a domestic terrorist named Joseph Konopku. He instigated power blackouts in Wisconsin. He was also involved in a thwarted attack using potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide in the Chicago subway system.”
“Chemical weapons.”
“That’s right.”
Bran considered what would happen if the missing munitions were detonated in an underground facility like a subway.
“Fuck,” was all he said.
* * *
Bran had been in a foul mood ever since they got back to their modest hotel suite. He was worried, she knew, about what steps to take next. A wrong move could get both of them killed.
And because she was Danny’s sister, he felt a deep sense of responsibility for her safety. After their conversation in the Mexican restaurant, she knew he still carried a great deal of survivor’s guilt. He blamed himself, at least in part, for Danny’s death. She could see the weight he carried on his usually straight shoulders. But just because she had gone to him for help didn’t mean she expected him to carry all the burden.
It was well after midnight, and he was still sitting in front of his laptop. Jessie came up behind him and slid her arms around his neck.
“Let’s go to bed. I’m pretty sure I can take your mind off criminals and murder, at least for a while.”
He looked at her over his shoulder, and she saw a flare of heat in his amazing blue eyes. “I’ve still got some work I need to do.”
“I was thinking maybe we could start again in the morning.”
The heat turned to flame as he shot up out of the chair and swung her up in his arms. “Jesus, I think I’ve created a monster.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Really?”
He grinned. “I think I’m the luckiest guy in Colorado.” Cradling her face between his hands, he kissed her, long and deep, and carried her into the bedroom.
Their lovemaking was slow and easy, both of them exhausted after such a long day. She was sure Bran was still being careful with her, making sure he didn’t do anything to upset her. But nothing about him reminded her of Cummings, and she was beginning to want more, want the demanding lover she sensed beneath his careful concern.
Still, when she awoke the next morning, she felt content in a way she hadn’t in a very long time. Bran was on his phone when she walked into the living room in her white terry robe, following the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. She yawned as she poured herself a cup and refilled Bran’s mug on the table next to his computer.
“Looks like you’ve been hard at work while I’ve been sleeping the morning away,” she said, picking up on his serious expression.
“I talked to Tabby, told her we found Weaver, that he’s locked up in ADMAX but still giving orders. She hasn’t come up with anything more on the offshore account, but she’s still working on it. Mara Ramos’s plate