Red-Hot Santa (12 page)

He blinked up to find Max smiling at him. “Got it.”

The hostile wasn’t the only one she’d gotten. She had him as well…?.

The thought filled the void left by the fleeing urgency, large and loud and undeniable.

And it concerned him nearly as much as the idea of her being harmed.

Yes, Max had him. Lock, stock and two smoking barrels.

Somewhere down the line, their friendship had evolved into a hot affair then rushed toward something much more.

The question was, what was he going to do about it?

The answer that immediately came to him was the same as his response about what to do with the situation at hand—he intended to escape as quickly as he could…

MAX COULDN’T PINPOINT exactly what, but within the squeeze of a trigger, something had changed. Jackson, well, he was behaving oddly. Not like the Jax she knew, either as a friend, or a lover.

Directly after he’d climbed off her captor, he’d stalked away as if upset; with himself or her, she couldn’t be sure. And when he came back after checking the area, he seemed to pointedly keep his distance, avoiding her gaze and leaving her questions—even simple ones—unanswered.

Jackson, Max and what was left of the team hiked toward the rendezvous point with Jax in the lead. He appeared to be sweating more than she had ever seen him do before, his handsome face set in deep, somber lines.

Her heart still beat heavily from her brief hostage stint. She’d never had control taken from her in that way before, but training had served her well. She’d been reviewing her escape options and had felt confident of success when Jackson had appeared from out of nowhere and taken the guy down.

They reached the clearing and stopped, Polson propping his hands against his knees. “Where they at?”

Max looked at Jackson who looked at the sky. A chopper was supposed to come in and pluck them out, then take them to a nearby landing strip where a plane was waiting.

Only there was no chopper.

Was Lenny to have radioed first?

If so, they were out of luck. The radio had been shot along with Lenny.

“We wait,” he said stonily.

“For how long?” Polson demanded.

Jackson stared at him, then turned away. Max felt his distance as cold as any December wind now blowing back home.

“Shut up, Polson,” Taylor said, earning agreement from the other four team members where they hung around on the perimeter, keeping an eye out even as they focused on their leader.

They couldn’t stay long. Not now that it was obvious they were being pursued. It was important they get out of the area as quickly as possible.

“We’ll wait fifteen,” Jackson said.

“And then?” Max asked.

He didn’t say anything. Instead he shrugged off his sack, placed it on a nearby rock and went to the side of the river where he splashed water over his handsome face.

She wanted to stalk after him, demand to know what was going on.

Instead, she let her own sack slide to the ground where she sat on it, watching as Polson and a few of the others did the same.

Fifteen minutes came and went with each of them searching the sky, while keeping a furtive eye on the surrounding jungle.

Nothing.

Polson pushed from his sack and paced. “They’re not coming.” He issued a staccato litany of profanity. “I’m beginning to think we were never meant to get out of here alive.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Jackson said. “What purpose would our deaths serve?”

“Once they knew the mission was unsuccessful?” Polson asked. “I don’t now? To save a buck and cut risk?”

Max rubbed her forehead. Even in the military sometimes decisions were made not to retrieve if the target area was too hot. But never to save a dollar.

Could Polson be right? Were they expendable? Just another entry on a spreadsheet?

Jackson finally glanced at her, the shadow in his eyes unreadable. She steadily returned his gaze. Then he walked to his sack, bent and opened a side pocket, sliding out what looked like little more than a glorified cellular phone. But she knew it was a satellite phone.

Relief flushed through her, complete and overwhelming.

Polson let loose an excited shout that sent birds fleeing from neighboring trees.

Selznick hit him in the arm…hard.

“What? Oh. Sorry.” He ran his hand over his close-cropped hair and back again, grinning. “It’s just I feel like a deathrow inmate who’s just been granted a reprieve.”

Jackson frowned at him. “Yeah, well, don’t get too excited. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do anything to get us out of here.”

“Hell, give me the phone and I’ll call my sister,” Polson said. “She’ll fly over and rent a car to drive in if she has to.”

Jackson ignored him and turned to walk away.

Max had no fear. She knew Jackson would get them out, even if they had to hike to the next village and buy their way out.

What concerned her more than their current predicament was what was going through his head.

That frightened her more than being taken hostage again. Because while she knew how to survive a hostile situation, she wasn’t so sure she knew how to survive if he turned away from her.

LOOKING INTO MAX’S pain-filled and questioning eyes was too difficult, so he made a point of not doing it.

Jackson placed the call directly to Lincoln Williams rather than through Lazarus Security for two reasons: one, he knew Linc would ask him no questions and would put his government connections to quick use and two, he’d prefer his brother Jason not know about this.

Five minutes later, he broke the connection and stood staring at the quiet forest. Linc had promised to get back to him within minutes with exit details.

“Jax?”

The quiet question in Max’s voice touched a spot so deep inside him, he was afraid he might never close it off again. He looked at her before realizing he shouldn’t have, taking the moment to drink in her face.

Even all smudged and dirty, with remnants of camo paint, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. Oh, maybe not strictly physically, but that wasn’t the point. What he knew of her inside, the way her mind worked, the way her heart worked, it all combined to make her the most beautiful person he’d ever been lucky enough to cross paths with.

And it was because of that, he couldn’t allow this, whatever was happening between them, to go any further. He’d only hurt her. And he couldn’t bear that.

Only the idea of stopping what had already started, was hurting him. Go figure.

An immediately recognizable light of hope sparked in her green eyes.

He forced himself to look away.

The satellite phone rang. He turned and answered it, pacing some ways away first.

“Got it,” Linc said.

Two minutes later he had a plan. It wasn’t an ideal one. But it would get them all out of there alive and in one piece.

Which was more than anyone had expected a half hour ago.

Pointedly ignoring Max, he slid the phone into his sack and then hoisted it onto his shoulders.

“We’re out of here. Let’s go…?.”

14

MAX’S BONES SAGGED as she exited the military transport plane and descended the stairs to the Colorado Springs tarmac. The December wind blew hard, freezing her teeth, reminding her Christmas was next week…and that the cold outside had nothing to do with the cold that gripped her from within.

They’d left with sixteen and returned with eight. Polson was the only surviving member from the other team.

The reality ripped straight through her.

She’d confronted some pretty hairy situations during her six-year stint in the service, but nothing that resulted in such a high mortality rate. While still in the thick of things, you learned to push such realities aside, adrenaline helping keep you focused.

But now that she was home and reality was more about Christmas carols and colored lights, the contrast made her dizzy.

As did Jackson’s odd behavior.

She watched him as he shook hands and shared a hug with a tall, dark man near the arrivals building. Was he the one responsible for helping with their exit? She’d chance a yes. While she’d like nothing better than to express her appreciation for the man’s assistance, right now she didn’t think she could handle any more icy treatment from Jackson for fear she might shatter.

She guessed it went without saying she was grateful…?.

Back in the clearing in that godforsaken, hostile-filled jungle, Polson had balked at the thought of more hiking when Jackson had issued a curt, “Let’s go.” Max reminded Polson that even if they had to make wings out of feathers they found on the ground and fly out of there, they would do what it took.

Of course, she’d had no idea at the time that the journey ahead of them would be as long as the journey behind them. They’d trekked fifteen klicks toward the coast, one of the most dangerous hot spots for warlord activities, ditching their sacks and all but the most basic of their weaponry outside town before going in to rendezvous with their contact. Polson had nearly shit himself when they’d approached a group of well-armed men who looked much like the hostiles they’d already encountered. In fact, Max wouldn’t be surprised if they’d been connected to the same gang.

It was the largest of the men Jackson had spoken to. And within moments, all eight of them were being led to a large compound within the city.

Polson hadn’t wanted to enter. Max had to admit she was a little leery about subjecting herself to further scrutiny, especially since the all-male army appeared very interested in her and Taylor.

But she trusted Jackson. And after meeting with what appeared to be one of the high commanders, they were driven to the coast where they caught a boat transport to meet up with another, captained by people Jackson appeared to know.

Within twenty-four hours, they were safe and stateside.

Strangely, Max wouldn’t have minded being still trapped in that jungle together, hostiles and all, so long as it meant Jackson would look at her again…?. Touch her…?.

“Maxine!”

She was startled to hear her name called the instant she walked inside the arrivals hub. She had to blink three times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things as her mother rushed up to hug her.

The extreme shift of emotion caught her off guard. She dropped her gear and hugged her mother back in a way she couldn’t remember doing since she was a kid, allowing herself an unguarded moment of indulgence. She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of Tabu, her mother’s perfume, and absorbing her softness.

“Oh, honey, are you okay?” her mother murmured, but didn’t try to move away. “What happened?”

Max opened her eyes to catch Jackson looking at her, the expression on his face warming her…and confusing her.

She’d had no idea he’d called her mother to meet her there. She was grateful. And heartbroken. She hadn’t known what she’d expected, hoped? That he might take her home? That she might finally get a chance to talk to him? Ask him what was going through his head?

Now she wasn’t going to get that.

And what about him? Who would be looking after him?

Her mother finally drew back just a bit and smoothed her hair back from her face. “You look like you’ve been through hell and back.”

Funny, she felt as if she had. In more ways than one.

She looked around as the remaining team members greeted their families. It appeared her mother wasn’t the only one Jax had contacted.

“Come on. I know you don’t like to talk about stuff. So let’s just get you home and into a nice, hot bath.” She linked arms with her. “And maybe later we can go Christmas shopping.”

Max found comfort in her mother’s ramblings as they headed toward the exit, but not enough to touch the pool of pain growing in her chest. She looked over her shoulder at Jackson, but found he had turned to continue talking to the man he’d met outside. While she walked forward, she felt oddly like her feet were stuck in mud, time having stopped at the moment she’d looked into his eyes and registered everything had changed.

And she had no idea how to go about starting it up again…

“HEY, MAN,” LINCOLN Williams said. “You okay?”

Jackson hauled his gaze away from Max’s retreating back, although his thoughts remained with her. He was glad her mother made it in to pick her up. He hadn’t told Cindy much beyond the fact that Max had been through a difficult mission and would need a ride home. But just knowing she was going to be looked after made him feel better.

But not as good as he’d hoped it would.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

He considered the man who had not hesitated to do the impossible by getting him and the others out of Africa. Linc had served with his brother Jason and was one of the partners at Lazarus Security. A fellow ex-Marine, then F.B.I., none of them were sure of the extent of his connections. They just knew they were considerable.