Disavowed(26)
When he didn’t say anything or ask more questions, Briar let out a breath of relief and showed him the rest of the place. A basement with a built-in bar and entertainment system, then upstairs where the master bedroom, both kids’ rooms and a guest room took up the entire floor. Each bedroom had its own connecting bath and commanding views of the mountains. The ultimate vacation home.
A smile quirked DeLuca’s mouth. “What if I never want to leave?”
She found herself smiling in return. “I wouldn’t blame you.” She slid her hands into her coat pockets. “So that’s it. Once we’re all locked in, we’re pretty safe. And if anyone sets foot on the property, the system will alert us.”
He nodded, still watching her. “I’ll go unpack the truck.”
“All right.”
Down in the great room she lit the kindling beneath the logs waiting in the grate. DeLuca brought in his duffel and her ruck, as well as the few bags of groceries his guys had grabbed for them. Briar locked the door and set the security system, then put the food away. When she walked back into the great room, DeLuca was standing in front of the fireplace, his body silhouetted against the dancing flames. Since he couldn’t see her, she allowed her gaze to drink him in, lingering on his broad shoulders and lean hips.
He glanced over his shoulder at her and for a moment she faltered, suddenly nervous at being alone with him here. A slight smile softened his face. “We all secure?”
She nodded and found her voice. “Everything’s set up.” She looked away from him, her body humming from his masculine presence. Nerves danced in her belly. Now what? “You want some more coffee? I can make us—”
“Go to bed, Briar.”
Her gaze snapped back to his. God, the way he said her name, all deep and sexy like that, made it feel like he’d trailed his fingers across her bare skin. “I’m okay for another few hours.”
He shook his head. “Go crawl into one of those comfortable beds upstairs and get some sleep. You need it.”
She knew she did. But…
Faint amusement glittered in his eyes, the corners crinkling slightly. “I’ve got this. And if anything happens, I’ll come get you.”
Briar hesitated. The need to stay vigilant and take care of herself was ingrained in her on the deepest level. It felt entirely wrong and bizarre to entrust her safety to someone else, and yet she knew DeLuca was more than capable of keeping her safe. Sparks danced in her stomach as she held his gaze, mixing with the flutters. She mentally shook herself. The sooner Janaia got here, the better.
“Okay, but only for a little while.” Annoyed at herself and her instinctive reaction to him, she turned and headed up the stairs, feeling his gaze on her the whole way.
****
In the crude kitchen of the hunting cabin about a mile from the motel where the target had stayed the night, George booted up the laptop and used the special program to activate the tracking beacon. It was a new technology and practically undetectable since it was made up mostly of plastic components. Few metal detectors could find it, and it was so small it was easy to plant on a person or vehicle without any risk of someone seeing it.
The storm had shut the roads down but the target had been wounded and wouldn’t have gone far anyhow. After searching the surrounding area and calling all the local motels and hotels, one front desk clerk had confirmed a group of big men escorting a woman into a room. All it had taken was that tip and a bit of recon and voila, George had the license plates of all three vehicles registered to the HRT.
Following such highly trained agents by vehicle would have been too dangerous, not to mention stupid. The orders were clear, to kill this rogue agent by any means necessary. A terse response had come in reply to the message George had sent, relaying that the target was still alive. The man behind this op was not happy about the turn of events and wanted everything taken care of within the next few hours.
All three of the possible target vehicles had left the motel just before four-thirty a.m. Two had turned off the highway about forty miles west of Golden and carried on to Denver. The remaining vehicle had continued west. It had to be the target’s vehicle.
A few keystrokes and the beacon blinked in green on the screen from the satellite feed. The target was now in Glenwood Springs. Or rather, just outside of it.
George zoomed in with the satellite, the image on the ground obscured because of the heavy cloud cover. But it was enough. A single house on a big property in the hills outside of town. The lone vehicle, a dark SUV, was parked beneath what looked like a covered carport.
After memorizing the address and directions, George shut down the laptop, grabbed the gear by the back door and headed out in the snow to the pickup truck waiting in the driveway. It didn’t matter how many HRT members were at the safe house acting as guards.