Fiancé by Friday (The Weekday Brides #3)(55)
Author: Catherine Bybee

A cramp in her leg had her wiggling off him much sooner than she’d have liked. “Bathtubs aren’t ideal for making love,” he said as he rubbed her hip to ease the pain.

“They’re great for cleanup.”

He laughed and looked at the floor. “And mopping.”

She sighed. “I suppose we should clean this up before retiring. Wouldn’t want our hosts to think the worst of us.”

Neil helped her from the tub and covered her with a towel. When he left the room to find something to mop up the mess, Gwen glanced at her appearance in the mirror.

I’ve fallen in love.

Chapter Twenty-Five

How was he going to leave her? You’re in deep, Mac! Real deep.

They’d made love so many times the night before, and in so many positions, he didn’t think she’d be walking come morning…but she was. They’d thrown all caution out the window with the lack of condom use and he couldn’t bring himself to care. The thought of her carrying his child made him feel like a god. And that was new.

He’d all but bullied her into marriage, lied to get his way. At some point he’d come clean…after.

Early in the morning, he’d called Rick to see how close he was. He’d made great time and was on his way up the mountain to scout out camp. Rick also made a phone call to Neil’s landline in California to get the attention of the dirtbag who stalked them. He and Rick had to think of every scenario. Raven could have access to a plane, or even a commercial flight, which would bring him there within hours. Or Raven might have to drive. It was hard to judge. Neil didn’t know if they’d wait out the guy for a few hours or a few days. In that time, he couldn’t risk contacting Gwen. If anything, Neil wanted Raven to think he and Gwen were hiding out together. The lure of a vulnerable woman was what this man went after, and Neil would exploit it to his fullest.

That beautiful woman had fluffed the pillows on the bed for the third time in ten minutes and was doing a poor job of hiding her anxiety.

“You’ll be safe here.”

“It’s not my safety I’m concerned about.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Too late.” She attempted a smile. “I’d feel better if I knew what you were planning on doing.” Gwen picked up one of the pillows and pulled it into her lap as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“We’re going to bait him, bring him to justice.” The answer was simple, the execution…not so much.

“Sounds easy. How do you know he’ll find you up there?”

“I won’t be hard to find.”

“Won’t he catch on to that? He might think it’s a trap and not show up at all.”

That was always a possibility. “I doubt that will happen. The longer this guy is hidden, the more people will be watching for him. Now with you out of harm’s way he has no choice but to come after me.”

“Unless he gives up.”

“I could gauge that better if I knew exactly why he was coming after me. But I don’t. I doubt he’ll walk away, Gwen.”

Neil moved to her side and removed his wallet from his back pocket. From it, he took a still photo of him and his regiment before their last mission.

She took the photograph from his fingers and pointed him out. “That’s you.”

Several years younger with less of the world’s weight on his shoulders. “That’s Rick,” he said as he pointed to the man standing beside him. “We call him Smiley. He’s the one coming up with me to find this guy.”

Gwen pointed to the next man. “Who’s this?”

“That was Billy. The one they say committed suicide.”

“He looks so young.”

“He was.” Now he was dead. “That’s Mickey…the only other one alive.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Top secret, and I don’t have a clue. This was Boomer and Robb.” There hadn’t been enough of them left to bring back to bury, but he didn’t tell Gwen that. “Linden almost made it out alive. They were great guys. I failed them once and can’t do it again.”

Gwen placed a hand on his arm. “I’m sure they don’t blame you.”

Someone from the mission blamed him…all of them. “I led the operation, Gwen. I was responsible for their deaths.”

She straightened her shoulders and gave him a stern look. “Is that right? Did you squeeze the trigger? Did you toss them out of a plane without a parachute?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll hear no more of your fault for their unfortunate deaths. If your military found blame, they would have held you prisoner, and that obviously hasn’t happened. It’s time for you to forgive yourself for what happened, Neil. Once you’ve done that you can move on with your life. If not, then you’ll have one sleepless night after the next until you’re jumping at every noise.”

She described his existence up until then…up until her. “How come you’re so smart?” he asked. He captured her hand and kissed the back of it.

“School of Princess. It’s in the curriculum.” She laughed.

He kissed her softly the way one would when they said good-bye. “You’ll be all right here. Stay on base,” he told her. “And don’t leave the house without an escort.”

“When do you think you’ll return?”

“A few days at most.” And because he had to give her something should he not return, he added. “If I’m not back in a week…Chuck will contact Blake.”

The smile she wore fell. “You’ll be back.”

Or die trying.

Blake stood beside his best friend Carter and watched through the mirrored glass while Dean and Jim interrogated the poor teen with a crush on Karen. Not ten minutes into the questioning, Blake knew they were looking in the wrong place.

“He’s not our man.”

Carter shook his head. “I agree.”

Juan finally caught on to the problem in the next room and started to get upset. “Is someone trying to hurt Miss Jones? Is that what you think I’d do?”

“We don’t know, Juan. Why don’t you tell us?” Jim asked.

“She’s like our mom.”

“A mom?” Dean asked.

“OK, maybe not a mom. More like a hot aunt, but she’s like family. If someone’s trying to hurt her you should be out there protecting her instead of talking to me.”