HelenKay Dimon - Lawless

“Right. So, you understand why I can’t imagine any of them chasing me through the woods, being covert and ducking out of sight for no good reason.”

“You’re throwing out some scary words there.”

“So?”

She could shoot and run and build a camp from twigs, but that didn’t make her invincible. He wondered if she understood that. “My point is this story gets worse the more details you add.”

She glanced over her shoulder and deep into the woods behind her. “Anyway, I’d like to think if it was one of my guys, he would have helped or at least called out when I fell.”

The bad news just kept coming. Joel glanced at Cam. “And now we have a fall.”

She faced them again. “What?”

“You skipped that part before,” Cam said.

Joel guessed that was intentional. “Let’s just say your linear storytelling needs work.”

“I’ll run through all of it if you need me to—”

“I do.” Joel wanted her comment to stop right there.

She talked right over his interruption. “But since you’re here, you can come with me while I get my sat phone and then we can spread out and hunt for Mark.”

Joel caught her in the second before she took off. Never mind her tale about a stalker and the terror in her eyes only a few minutes ago. Now she was ready to head out. “I thought you lost the phone.”

“Yeah, but I know where.”

“Your definition of lost is no better than your storytelling ability.”

“We don’t have time for chitchat.” Her gaze dipped to where his fingers wrapped around her elbow, then bounced back up again. “I’m assuming you guys need to get out of here and head off to some other covert action-movie adventure, so let’s move.”

Nice try. “You’re my job this week, remember?”

“Yeah, we’re going to talk about that later.”

“Talk all you want. I’m staying.” That had been the plan before the knife and the story about the fall and every other bizarre fact she threw out, and he wasn’t changing it now.

But there was some good news here. Her feistiness clicked back into place with full force. While the verbal jabs about his job used to drive him nuts, he missed this side of her, too.

She didn’t back down. She didn’t care about his size or ability with a weapon. She understood he’d never hurt her and held her ground. Probably had something to do with having a former special ops father who made sure his precious daughter and only child could protect herself no matter what.

The attitude had gotten her in trouble more than once. Not with him, but some of the men in her father’s business, Algier Security, didn’t appreciate her refusal to be a good little girl and sit down.

Sexist idiots.

Still, she could be rough on the male ego. He glanced over at Cam to fill him in with a simple explanation. “She doesn’t approve of what we do.”

“Understood,” Cam said with a nod.

Hope wasn’t having any of it. She shot them both one of her men-can-be-clueless frowns. “That’s not true.”

Cam kept nodding, as if he’d figured out some great big secret. “Is that why you left him?”

Damn. “Let’s not go there.” This was just about the last topic Joel wanted to discuss.

Strike that. It was the last. Dead last.

“I figured it out.” Cam smiled. “She’s the ex.”

Suddenly Joel regretted that one night a month or so ago with too much beer and too much talking. Cam had wanted to know why Joel never dated and he mentioned a tough break-up. Cam clearly put it all together.

“Didn’t he tell you the story?” Hope’s eyebrow lifted. “Interesting.”

“How so?” Cam asked.

“Joel left me.”

Cam’s eyes bugged as his jaw dropped. “No way.”

“I know, right?” She shook her head. “Whatever.”

Cam whistled. “I didn’t see that news coming.”

That was enough of that. Joel cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Can we get back to the missing guy and the stalking?”

“Camp is back here.” She didn’t wait for a discussion or arguments. She headed off through the thick branches, with twigs and other debris crunching under her boots. She slowed down only long enough to glance over her shoulder and gesture for them to follow.

“Hope...and she’s gone.” Joel took a step in the same direction.

Cam slid in and blocked his path. “You dumped her?”

“Let it go.”

Cam laughed. “I think we both know that’s not going to happen.”

It was a long story and Joel knew he didn’t exactly come off well. With his messed-up upbringing, a quiet life in the suburbs wasn’t on the table. But she had tempted him, made him think even for a little while that he could do normal. Then he got offered a dream job with the Defense Intelligence Agency and, like an idiot, picked it over her.

Funny how karma nailed him on that one.

Cam leaned in with a hand behind his ear. “Not talking?”

“Nope.”

“You will.” He winked, then called out to Hope. “Hey, where was this stalker walking?”

She stopped and gestured to the line of trees directly across from her. “About fifty feet that way, running parallel with me.”

Joel tracked her white shirt as she pushed long branches out of her way and kept walking. “Notice how she acts like whatever happened wasn’t a big deal.”

“Was she ever an operative?”

“Mountain climber, archery expert, like Olympic skill level, outdoors type and can shoot better than some members of the Corcoran Team.”

“You’re talking about Ben, right?” Cam asked.

Ben Tanner was the newest member of the Corcoran Team and a former special agent for NCIS. The guy could shoot but he lacked the sniper skills of many on the team. And they never let him forget it. “Obviously.”

Cam stopped staring at Hope, and it looked like that took some control on his part. “Explain to me why you left her again? Because, gotta be honest, man, between the way she looks, the way she moves and that list of skills you just read off, I think I’m in love.”

“Get over it.”

Cam nodded, which he often did. “Ah, okay. Interesting.”

Hope’s white shirt got farther away. That meant one thing—the time for talk had ended. “Stop with that crap.”

Just as Joel lost sight of her, she peeked out from behind a massive tree trunk. “You guys coming?”

This time Cam laughed. “Your ex wants your attention.”

“Don’t call her that.” Correct or not, the term grated on Joel’s nerves. It meant she was free to find someone else, and even though he knew that was fair and the right thing, he despised the idea.

He’d spent the months away from her pretending he didn’t care when her father had called to alert him that she’d gone out on a date with this guy or that one. The old man was on a warped matchmaking mission. One that slowly broke Joel until he thought he’d go insane imagining her in bed with someone else.

“I am so happy I was available to fly you in for this op. Wouldn’t have missed this for anything.” Cam clapped Joel on the back. “Not sure who will enjoy this more—the guys back at the Annapolis office or the guys on my traveling team. Tough call.”

Both options sucked for Joel. “I could hide your body out here.”

“You’re welcome to try.”

Because Cam came to Corcoran with the nickname “Lethal” and rumor was he’d flown Navy missions so secret just mentioning the operation names would bring the FBI running with guns firing, Joel decided to switch the subject. “And this is a favor for an old friend, not an op.”

“If a businessman is missing and someone is chasing your woman, it’s an op.” Cam didn’t wait around for an argument. He headed in the direction Hope indicated as the stalker’s path. “I’ll be over there, straining to hear every word.”