"Sit with me, and I'll tell you all about old history."

She collapsed onto the leather couch. Her arms hung limply from her slouched shoulders. "Okay."

"Baer and I were Rangers together. The dickhead couldn't be trusted, but he was good at the job. Almost on par with me. We complemented each other in the field."

"Egos got too big? You guys got out and started rival firms?"

"Little deeper than that." He took a deep breath. "We were in southeastern Africa, some village, doing Lord knows what. Whatever political bull-crap we were sent to do. Intelligence under the cover of lending a helping hand from Uncle Sam." Jared pushed his head back on the couch. His brow furrowed, and his dark eyes filled with hatred. Uncharacteristic lines appeared on his forehead. Maybe the memory she'd asked him to dig up should've stayed buried.

"You don't have to tell me. It's okay."

"There was a local punk. Maybe nineteen, twenty years old. Leader of a rebellion army. The US was turning a blind eye to him. His army-all kids, child soldiers-were systematically killing off villagers who didn't tow his load of shit. But not before the fucker would take their possessions, what little those people had."

This wasn't what she'd expected him to say. Bad news tinged his voice, and it was already an awful story. "That's terrible."

"That's just the reality out there. Nothing the news ever reports." He sighed and stared at a wall. Silence hung for seconds, but it could've been hours. "The rebel leader would march families to giant graves. Line them up and use his child army to mow 'em down. The next round of disobedient villagers would have to shovel a dry layer of red dirt over the bodies and stand in line, starting the process again. The African village version of fuckin' Hitler. Goddamn genocide."

Her stomach soured. This wasn't a memory she should've asked for. She didn't deserve it after how she'd behaved. He didn't need to tear off a Band-Aid for her. "Christ. I'm sorry."

"The guys had to pull me back." Cold, hard anger burned in his words. The temperature of the room seemed to drop a dozen degrees. "I wanted to tear that rebellion apart with my bare hands. But orders were strict. Do not engage. Watch and report." He sneered. "Buck Baer not only didn't engage, he profited. Made a deal with the rebel leader, bought and traded provisions. Not that Baer needed anything. Greed just got to him. Couldn't stand not making money. Fucker was always on the take." A tough guy like Jared didn't need soothing or sweet words. He probably didn't need anything. But she couldn't keep her anger from percolating as her appreciation for his need for revenge fully formed. "Profiteering asshole. Baer might as well have been a soldier of the devil. He started GSI with the goal of getting rich, and he's come a long way from ripping off African villages."

She turned to him as all the pieces fell into place. "The genocide was a pivotal reason for creating Titan?"

"The reason. I started Titan because I was the best. Could lead and recruit the best. Choose my assignments. Show up where I felt like it. Do what I thought needed doing."

The cold in the room was lifting. His personal confession warmed her heart. "You do a good job. No doubt, Titan's the best."

"A lot of jobs are gray. No clear right or wrong. But we have honor, and, for better or worse, we're the good guys."

"I never questioned that."

"And I will demolish GSI, taking down Baer. Hard. So you want the kid alive. I want Baer ruined, almost more than I want him dead. Though he's screwing with you, so I may re-evaluate that."

"You know, Jared." She dropped her shoulder against him. "At the risk of sounding like some fan-girl of yours, you have a good heart. It's hidden by that rusty exterior, but I like that about you. A lot."

He harrumphed.

Snuggling against him, she sighed. "Good thing you have a tough coating, because I'm a pain to put up with."

He hooked an arm over her shoulder. "You aren't so bad."

"I'm exhausted. Borderline delusional." He was so warm. His scent washed over her. "I... need your help."

"Fall asleep. I'm not going anywhere." His voice was low and coaxing.

She rested her chin on his shoulder. "Do you want to lie down?"

"I don't need to sleep. I need to watch over you. Nothing's getting by me. You might've forgotten there's a bounty on your head, but I haven't."

"Oh." So tired and so safe, she hadn't felt in danger before, but with Jared, she was sure no harm would come to her.

"As stubborn and pushy as you are, Sugar, as often as you ignore direct orders and common sense, we're partners. You and me, baby cakes. You need to sleep, and I don't." Eyes locked, they sat in silence. Jared pushed a non-existent strand of hair from her cheek, smoothing it behind her ear. "Sometimes, you have to rely on others."

She burrowed farther into the crook of his arm. "Partners works for me."

"Not much of a choice. I always get what I want." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

The kiss reminded her of one she surely imagined back in Afghanistan while curled into his body in a cave. She pulled back to study his face, searching to define how a brash man like him could dole out kisses as soft as that. "What do you want, Jared?"

"You." No pause. No moment. Only pure confidence.

Her stomach flipped, bursting into her throat. With a dry mouthed and a spinning head, she realized she needed him in ways that she couldn't grasp. She interlaced her fingers with his. "Come to bed with me. Awake, asleep. Next to me, in a chair. I don't care. Just be near me."

The whispered request against his ear earned a nod, and he tightened his hold on her. Forget the rest of the world, he was all she could handle. All she wanted.

His cell phone vibrated. Phone calls before the crack of dawn were never good.

"Go lie down. I'll find you in a minute." He squeezed her hand, then answered his phone as he stood and walked to a corner.

Moving wasn't on the agenda, not without him. Curiosity played a part, and she stayed put.

He turned back on his heels, clicking off the phone. "Did you hurt Kip Pearson?"

A cold knot immediately formed in her stomach. Back to work. His voice was all business, and his expression said he was taking charge. It shook her out of her lovey-dovey headspace.

"Nothing more than his pride."

"Well, the fucker's dead. Shackled and shot in his bed. No weapon to be found. I told you not to fuckin' kill him. Goddamn it, Sugar."

"I didn't! You don't believe me?" Of course not. Why would he? He trusted only Titan, not her, not even when he was feeling all hearts and flowers. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could see her mother shaking a finger at her, chiding her because she should've known better.

"Damn it." Jared paced her living room, his boots leaving a path in the carpet. "I never should have left you alone."

"Partners?" She laughed because they were back to the beginning. "Believe what you want, asshole. I didn't kill him."

He glared. "Asshole? Really?"

Jared's phone rang again, and she was up the stairs before he had it against his ear. Time to get the hell out of the house.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

Rubbing his temples, Jared continued to pace Sugar's living room. Kip was dead, Sugar was pissed, and he'd had about enough of all the random headaches tied to what should've been a tidy operation. His skin prickled. Sugar was being set up by someone close. There were too many coincidences, and too many sure things had fallen apart. Overly aware of the tingle racing the length of his spine, Jared tossed his phone from one hand to the other. His heart thumped in his ears. Think, think, think. The beats pushed his mind to position the puzzle pieces.

He didn't have many options to consider. Either GSI had eyes and ears on his team, or...

His heartbeat still spoke to him. Think, think, think. Its demand grew more impatient when he wouldn't admit the possibility staring him in the face. Someone within Titan had screwed him.

He dialed Parker. Gut feelings were worth investigating, even if it meant the worst-case scenario could exist. Jared checked his watch, oh dark thirty. He gave Parker an extra minute to answer the phone before irritation fueled their conversation.

"Boss Man, what can I do?" Parker's voice splintered with sleep-heavy dryness.

"Get to a computer, and light up everyone's phone signals." He cracked his knuckles, not believing he had to ask this. "Locate everyone on the team."

Jared heard a shuffling in the background, which he could only guess was Parker getting out of bed. "Give me two, and I'll hit you back."

"I'll wait."

A blasting noise screamed from the driveway. His breath caught in his lungs. Surprise, then concern jumped his blood pressure. Car alarm? What the hell? He put the phone on a side table.

"Sugar," he yelled up the stairs.

No answer.

He ran to the closest window, ducking for cover, and peeked out. Va-voom, rumble, rumble, rumble. The hood to his Expedition was up. Sugar's car floored into reverse, screeching out of the driveway as the lights flipped on.

"Sugar!" Jared ran up the stairs, then kicked open every door.

Each was empty. Instinct said he was alone, but his mind couldn't wrap around it. Jared scrambled down the stairs, swiping his cell phone, and then out the front door, keys in hand.

He barked at Parker, "Locate Sugar's phone."

"Okay."

How someone had slipped into her house and taken her was a question that should've made him question his chosen profession. If he couldn't pick up on an intruder who was an imminent threat to his woman, then he needed to pick up a new gig.

Still keeping Parker on the line, Jared walked outside, pocketed the phone, and withdrew his sidearm. His eyes scanned the perimeter, his senses honed for any danger. Nothing. All alone.

Why would Baer's team grab Sugar, knowing he was there? At the very least, someone had been there. They'd gone to the trouble of screwing with his truck. That didn't make sense. None of it did.

Gun in hand, Jared slammed down his hood and silenced the alarm. He opened the driver's door and slid in. His gut tightened. Why'd I have to accuse her of- It took half a second before Sugar's brilliant plan slapped him across the face. His head dropped to the steering wheel, shaking slightly from side to side. He'd questioned her. Doubted her. She was gone, and there he was, analyzing his words.

"This woman will be the death of me."

Taking one long look at his car key, he popped open the hood again, instead of trying the ignition. He got out and checked the engine, knowing it would confirm his suspicion.

Missing spark plug. Well played, Sugar. Well played.

He paced in front of the Expedition and pulled out his phone. "What are you seeing?"

"Sugar's at home. Her phone's pinging at her address."

"I bet."

"Oh." Parker cleared his throat. "So... are... you."

Jared scrubbed his hand over his jaw. "So am I. Yup."

"And Brock."

The hairs on the back of his neck stood grenade-pin straight. "Brock?" Brock was nearby? What the hell is happening?

"Is everything okay?" Parker was typing in the background. "Brock's moving. Obviously, you know that. Everyone else seems to be where I'd expect them to be."

"Goddamn it." He slammed the hood closed. Of all the scenarios playing out in his brain, not one of them was good. "Get to Sugar's. Now."

Parker hesitated. "Okay."

"Tell no one where we are."

"Sure thing, Boss Man." Parker took a deep breath. "Honestly, whatever's going on, I'm more useful at Titan. Give me a few, and I'm there. I've got limited access to whatever we might need here at my home. And nothing that'd be much help on the road."

Jared got into his Expedition and tried the key in the ignition, knowing it would never turn over. Silence. No surprise there, given that his rig was missing a spark plug.

Parker was right. Jared needed him at Titan, using every resource they had. "Get to the office."

Without waiting for agreement, he hung up and dialed Rocco.

A sleep-thickened voice answered. Or maybe it was a hung-over one. Jared didn't care. "Rocco, need you at Sugar's ASAP. Grab whatever gear you have. You need something, you call me. No one else. Radio silence."

Rocco cleared his throat. "Wake up, um... babe. Gotta go."

Christ. Jared didn't have time for one night-stand, next-morning conversations. "Rocco, are we clear?"

"Roger that. See you in twenty."

"And, Rocco? I'm trusting you. Until I don't. Then I kill."

Headlights flashed in Sugar's rearview mirror. Damn it. What'd Jared do, travel with extra spark plugs? She wouldn't put it past him, but it was a stretch. Tapping her fingers on the leather steering wheel, she became more furious over his murder accusation with each passing mile.

More headlights flashed. She glanced at the speedometer. She was going at least seventy in a forty-five, then slowed a little. "Just pass me. No one's coming." She waved to the mirror as if the driver behind could see her.

The horn honked, and she slowed down to the sixties, hoping the driver would pass her. She'd had enough of ego-centric pricks for the evening, and her mood was only worsening. It would be in this guy's best interest to go away.

Horn, again.

Sugar squinted and studied the rearview, then side mirrors. That was a truck, but not an Expedition. Strangers would've passed. Jared would've run her off the road. Her gut said call J-dawg, but her brain reminded her that she'd purposely left her cell phone by the back door.

Double whammy: Lights and honks.

She knew the two-lane highway better than most. No lights. No gas stations. Nothing that would say, "Hey, pull over here. It's safe."