“And you’re mine, Sam Kelly. You damn well better never forget that fact, mister.”
He chuckled and then kissed her again. He was about to suggest they go inside and find some extracurricular activities to indulge in when the sat phone beeped an incoming transmission.
He grimaced. “I have to take this. I’ve been expecting a call from Resnick. I need to tell him what all Rio had to say.”
Sophie retreated a few steps but held on to his hand for a bit longer. “I’ll be waiting inside.”
He watched her walk away, his heart in his throat. It happened every time he watched her. Love was an ever-changing emotion. Strengthening every day.
Halfheartedly, he reached for the phone. He’d rather be inside making love to his wife than on the phone with a man he was no longer certain he could trust. Resnick had been solid in the past. He’d brought many of KGI’s missions to them. He was largely responsible for the success of Sam’s brainchild. Uncle Sam had certainly pushed enough money KGI’s way over the years.
But they’d damn sure earned every penny.
“I need information,” Sam said bluntly as he put the phone to his ear. He was in no mood for pleasantries, not that there would be any.
Resnick had been responsible for Shea falling into the hands of the bastards pursuing her, and as a result, she’d been all but tortured, hooked to a machine that monitored brain activity so that every time she tried to reach out to Nathan with her mind, she’d received an electrical charge.
While KGI may have helped Resnick in the days following Shea’s rescue, they damn sure hadn’t forgiven him. Nor could they be certain how well intentioned he’d claimed to be.
“What is it you need?” Resnick asked.
Sam could perfectly picture the nervous, agitated bastard lighting a cigarette and sucking on it like a whore giving a blow job.
“Titan,” Sam said.
There was a long silence. Too long. Resnick’s breathing filtered over the line.
“What about them?” Resnick finally asked.
“I need to know everything you know about them and I need it all yesterday.”
“What the f**k is going on, Sam? Level with me here. Titan is or rather was some heavy-duty shit. Deep. Like as deep as it goes. But they aren’t anymore.”
“What do you mean anymore?”
“Tell me why first,” Resnick p {1D;cessersisted.
Sam’s nostrils flared. “Listen to me, you little prick. You owe me. You owe KGI. More than you could possibly ever repay. If it weren’t for me pulling Nathan off you, he would have killed your sorry ass. Hell, he’d be there kicking your teeth in now if I’d let him. I’m not playing games with you here. I need to know who and what Titan is and why they’d be after Grace and possibly Shea.”
“Fuck,” Resnick breathed. His voice came out all shaky. Sam could hear the forceful exhale as he puffed on his cigarette. “Look, Sam, back in the day, Titan was the badass. They were who you called in when no one else could get the job done. They cleaned up messes. They created them. They did whatever the hell the military or government needed done. No questions asked. Their fingerprints are all over some of the world’s biggest shake-ups. But they never existed.”
“Yeah, I know how that goes,” Sam said dryly.
“They never officially existed, but here’s the thing, Sam. As of two years ago they no longer unofficially existed either. They were disbanded, retired, whatever the f**k you want to call it. A few politicians out to make names for themselves got a little too close for comfort so they shut Titan down.”
Sam frowned. “I got a call from Rio who says differently. He told me that Titan was after Grace and that Shea could be a target too. He told me to make sure Shea was safe and that he would take care of Grace.”
“Wait a minute,” Resnick said eagerly. “He has Grace? He found her? Is she okay? When is he bringing her in?”
“He’s not.”
“What?”
“Rio isn’t taking any chances with her safety. He thinks, and I agree, that it would be stupid to put the girls together right now. He warned me about Titan. Said a lot of the same things you told me, which tells me he has firsthand knowledge of this group. If he says they’re after her, then I believe him.”
“Fuck, Sam. Fuck, f**k, f**k. This isn’t good. If he’s right, then it means that Titan has gone rogue or for hire. Which means we have no idea who they work for or what their goal is. They could be working for anyone in the world.”
“Exactly. My first priority is the safety of my family and my teams. I’ve taken steps to ensure their well-being. Rio has Grace. I believe he’d die before allowing anything to happen to her.”
“I hope you’re willing to bet that on her life,” Resnick said. “Because your man, Rio? Was Titan’s front man from its inception until he walked away several years ago. Maybe you should think about that and whether you should trust him with the woman that he claims Titan is after.”
CHAPTER 13
WHAT was she supposed to do now? Flop onto the couch? Catch some television? She stood stiffly as the others came in behind her, shedding backpacks, setting rifles aside and conversing among themselves.
She knew what she wanted, but somehow it seemed…rude. She nearly laughed at the notion that after all she’d been through, she was concerned with not being Miss Manners.
She wanted a bed. Any bed. Hell, even the floor. She just wanted to be able to relax, let go of some of the awful tension and fear. She wanted to sleep where she felt safe and protected.