Echoes at Dawn

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 fuck 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 fuck 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, fuck, fuck. 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.

Rio took a step toward her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Diego is going to take a look at you. I thought you might like a shower first. I have a shower and a tub. Wi ~C;Fronted a bell you be okay on your own or do you need help?”

Heat singed her cheeks and for a moment her lips went numb. What the hell was she supposed to say to that? Even if she couldn’t bloody well get herself into and out of the shower, she sure as hell wasn’t going to ask him to come in with her.

“I can manage,” she said in a low voice.

“Okay, then I’ll show you to the bedroom where you’ll sleep. After you get out of the shower, Diego will check you over and by then I’ll have you something to eat. You have to be starving.”

She blinked in confusion. It had been so long since she’d eaten a normal meal that she’d forgotten what it was like. She’d lost weight and she could feel her ribs protruding against her skin. She probably looked like a damn gaunt scarecrow.

She rubbed over her slim abdomen as she stared down, almost as if expecting some sign of life from her belly. Truthfully the idea of food didn’t appeal to her at all, but she knew she should at least make the effort.

“Come on,” Rio said gently.

She let him guide her through the living room and down the hall past a series of rooms. At the end, he opened a door, flipped on the light and gestured her inside.

It was a large room. Huge, in fact. And it looked masculine. It was then she realized that this must be his room. She shook her head and took a step back.

“I can’t take your room. Surely there’s another one I can have.”

Rio smiled and shook his head. “Nope. Taken by the other guys unless you want to bunk with one of them.”

Her forehead crinkled and he laughed, making her realize her expression had reflected her horror over that idea.

“I’ll take the couch. I just need a blanket. Not even that really. The couch will feel like heaven.”

“Grace,” he said, lightly touching his finger to her lips. “Shut up. You’re staying here with me.”

Her eyes widened and her legs started to tremble.

“Don’t look so afraid. I’m going to be camping on the floor next to the bed. The others will be just down the hall. I want you to feel safe and you will be. We’re going to do all we can to make sure you’re protected.”

“You can’t sleep on the floor,” she fretted. She pulled up her hands to wring them. Somehow the image of him lying on the floor while she slept in such wonderful comfort made her feel guilty. He was already doing so much for her.

Rio smiled again. “Honey, the floor of my house is far superior to a lot of the places I’ve slept in the past. I have some pretty damn fine linens. A down comforter and a few down pillows and I’ll think I’m staying at a five-star hotel. Now stop arguing with me and get into the shower. I’m sending Diego in after half an hour, so if you don’t want him seeing what he shouldn’t, you need to hurry it up. I’ll be in right behind him with food.”

Her eyes watered suspiciously and she swiped at one with the back of her hand. A hand that was dirty and shaking.

“And don’t you dare cry on me either,” he warned. “A woman who’s survived all you’ve survived doesn’t cry. She holds her head up and dares the world around her to fuck with her.”

Her lips trembled upward into a smile, but his gentle reproach just made her want to cry all the more.

To her surprise, he gently gathered her in his arms and hugged her. His big arms surrounded her and his chest was a soliestbed. Td wall of support. He held her there, smoothing a hand up and down her back to comfort her.

“It’s going to be okay, Grace.”

Such simple words and yet so powerful. Full of promise and encouragement. She hadn’t realized just how badly she needed them. She closed her eyes and rested her head just below his chin. Then she carefully slid her arms around his waist and pressed herself more fully against him, enjoying the comfort of another’s touch.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He ran his fingers through her hair and then gently pulled away, his hand still stroking her hair away from her face. “Go on now. Get cleaned up and feeling human again. I’ll put out something for you to wear.”

What she wanted to do most was to lean back into his arms and wallow in the warmth and comfort of his embrace. She was starved for touch. Affection. Human contact that wasn’t forced on her.

She missed her sister, and here, standing in front of this man who’d hugged her, she felt the loss of her sibling more keenly than ever before.

“You say you promised Shea,” she said huskily. “So you know her. You’ve seen her and talked to her. How is she? Is she safe?”

Rio’s eyes softened and he once again touched her as if he knew just how much she craved it. “How about I promise to tell you all about it once you’ve been tended to and had something to eat. Better yet, we’ll talk over dinner.”

Grace nodded and slowly turned toward the bathroom. She fumbled for the light switch and trudged inside. She barely took in the gorgeous bathroom. All she wanted was a shower and bed. She spared a glance at the huge tub but decided it would take too long.

She leaned into the large shower stall, turned on the water as hot as she could stand it and then stepped back to strip out of her tattered clothing.

She looked like something out of the zombie apocalypse.

As she stepped into the shower, she clipped the door with her side. Pain shot through her rib cage, and wincing, she pushed herself under the spray, standing there a long moment, her chest heaving as she sucked in deep breaths.

Finally the pain subsided and she began the arduous task of soaping her hair and body. By the time she was done, she was exhausted by the effort it had taken her to do something so simple.

She was careful as she rubbed the towel over her body. There wasn’t a part of her that didn’t hurt in some way or another. Her arm was still weak but she was relieved to note that the swelling had gone down and the bruising was already fading. It only bothered her when she flexed and extended her fingers.

After wrapping a towel around her hair, she then pulled another of the big, soft towels around her body and went back into the bedroom.

She saw clothing laid out on the bed and headed toward it. She was halfway there when she abruptly pulled up, realizing she wasn’t alone in the room.

Clutching the towel tighter around her, she cast a wary glance in Diego’s direction.

“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” he said softly, almost like he was trying to calm a wild animal. “I thought Rio had let you know that I was going to examine you.”

“H-He did, but…” She clamped her lips shut to prevent the warbling and then tried again. “I’m not dressed. I mean he said he’d leave clothing out for me.”

“I need to check you over before you dress,” he said.

She took an instinctive step back.

He put his h">Hand she and up. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll get Rio. He should have been here by now with your food. It wasn’t my intention to frighten you. He was supposed to be here when I looked you over. Tell you what. I’ll go see what’s keeping him. There’s a robe in the closet you can put on until we get all this sorted out.”

He opened the closet door, and a moment later came back with a thick, white robe. He laid it beside her clothing on the bed, flashed her a reassuring smile, and then went for the door.

Grace’s shoulders sagged. Then she grabbed for the robe and hurried back to the bathroom before anyone else came into the bedroom while she was wearing nothing better than a towel.

RIO was heading down the hall when he met up with Diego. He stopped and frowned. “I thought you were going to take a look at Grace?”