Page 64 of Peace Under Fire

While the dude might be one of his best friends, and a damn fine operator, Squish had no illusions about his personality. There was a reason his buddy had been nicknamed Grumpy.

The dude could be a downright prick sometimes.

CHAPTER 15

What in the world is going on with Jacob?

All the touching, the defending, his amusement when she’d insulted his friend.

This was not the same man who’d glowered and snarled at her for the past year. Good lord, trying to adjust to the man’s mood swings was giving her a headache. Although some of the drumming in her skull was undoubtedly due to her head colliding with the dashboard nine hours ago. Man, it seemed like so much longer than that. Days ago. An eternity even.

The pain meds Jacob had given her back in Virginia Beach had long since worn off. She should have asked him for another dose before they’d left the plane. But the swelling along her temple had gone down thanks to the off and on icing and she’d decided to tough it out. Pain pills left her mind floaty and she’d wanted full access to her mental faculties. Of course, she hadn’t expected a miles-long shuffle through the snow.

Okay, sure, maybe it was more like a little over a mile, but the snowy hike had been a total surprise. They had sturdy four-wheel drive vehicles after all. There was a driveway that went right up to her front door. There shouldn’t have been any walking involved.

“Look sharp,” Crusher whispered as he rose from his crouch. “We’ll hit the main building first, then fan out. The holes in the walls should have ventilated the building and the gas they used has probably dissipated by now. But point team will check it out first. Remain outside until we give the all clear.”

She suspected the admonishment was meant for her. She was the inexperienced one on their team, even if this was her home and she was familiar with the territory.

Crusher paused in front of Mandy. “Keep an eye out for anything that seems out of place, anything that might help us find your sisters.” He glanced at Jacob, who’d drawn his weapon from its holster and was holding it pointed toward the ground, his index finger on the trigger guard as he’d shown her earlier. “Take your time in there. Let her have a good look around. Billy, Grumpy, Ajax, Fabio, and I will sweep the place. Brick and Nostradamus are on your six. If we run across this sister of hers, we’ll call for you.”

Mandy frowned. “Shouldn’t I be calling for JoAnn? If she’s hiding, she won’t come out for you. But she might for me when she hears my voice.”

Crusher shook his head. “If she’s in there, we’ll find her. We won’t approach her, but we’ll find her. If someone else is in there, calling out for your sister just lets them know we’re nearby.”

While Crusher’s explanation made sense, it left Mandy with an uneasy feeling. What if JoAnn was in there and they didn’t see her? But the worry that the cockroaches were near kept her sister’s name locked in her throat.

As they left the safety of the woods, Mandy tried to see her home—or former home—through her companions’ eyes. Being away for so long made it easier to look at it impartially.

Had the place always been so bland? So ugly? All that boring gray? All that stifling concrete?

Jayla had wanted to plant flowers beneath the windows and along the doors. But Giulia and Kaylee had forbidden the attempt to soften the place up, claiming the plants would lessen the effectiveness of their security system. But would they have? They could have planted flowers or plants that were short, that couldn’t be used as camouflage.

Jayla had wanted to get a dog, too, now that Mandy thought about it, but their older sisters had squashed that idea as well. Mandy couldn’t remember exactly why, something about fleeing at a moment’s notice and not having time to look for a pet. Or maybe it was because they hadn’t wanted to risk a pet’s death if the compound was targeted. The cockroaches would make every effort to subdue her and her sisters without physically harming them, but they wouldn’t make the same effort for a dog or a cat.

They should have gotten a pet anyway. They should have planted the flowers. They should have made some effort to live a satisfying life. Her throat tightened. They’d wasted so much time hiding, trying to play it safe. Twenty years of self-imposed prison. Twenty years of fear.

She wasn’t sure what they could have or should have done differently. They’d had legitimate reasons to be afraid, legitimate reasons to hide. They faced real consequences if they were found. But there must have been some middle ground they could have taken, some tactics that would have kept them safe without imprisoning them.

As though he sensed the grief churning through her, Jacob stroked her arm. He didn’t hug her this time. It was a simple, soothing touch, before he nudged her to follow Crusher, but it was still a touch. Something he’d avoided like the plague prior to today. The weird dichotomy between his past actions and his present ones sent her thoughts full circle.

What in the world is he up to?

He’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in her, made it clear they had no future. She’d accepted that and moved on. She didn’t appreciate him muddying the waters now. Six weeks ago, she would have welcomed this apparent change of heart. But six weeks ago, she’d been naive. She’d been sucked into fairy tales of soulmates and true love.

She wasn’t so gullible any longer. Not after getting her illusions and then her heart shattered.

But she was curious. Why was he acting like he cared about her now? Was he under orders to keep her happy and pliable? But that didn’t make sense. They must know that until she had her sisters back, she wasn’t going anywhere. He was stuck with her. He didn’t need to pretend an affection he didn’t feel to prevent her from running.

Crusher led them to the corner of the building that housed her old living quarters, and then along the wall to the front door. The snow was shallower here, crustier but easier to traverse. The concrete wall was icy and hard as it brushed her arm. She could feel the winter burn even through her coat. The holes the cockroaches had punched through the walls were at eye level and partially blocked with puffs of white that looked like cotton balls. There were so many more holes than she’d remembered from the video.

Her sisters hadn’t stood a chance.

When they reached the front entrance, Crusher, and the one they called Billy, flanked the door. Jacob pulled her to a halt several feet behind them and pressed her up against the wall. Grumpy and the other two men Crusher had mentioned—she’d already forgotten their names—sidled up behind their point men.

Even with the drama taking place in front of her and the possibility that they might be greeted with bullets, Mandy was far too aware of the long, hard pressure of Jacob’s body against hers.

He was just protecting her, she knew that, using his body to block any potential threat from getting to her. But knowing why he was pressed against her did nothing to mitigate her body’s response. It didn’t stop her muscles from softening, or heating, or her mind from tiptoeing into fairytale land—again.

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