“I offered you a one-minute head start. You should have taken it.” He stalked forward. His hands were flexing and clenching. Flexing. Clenching. He came to a stop right in front of the bastard he’d dubbed Landing Zone long ago…because Landon Hatcher never got into the middle of battle. He was one of those pencil pushers who liked to stay back in the safe spots.
You’d find him at the end of a mission. Waiting to take credit.
Grinning his smug ass off from the Landing Zone as the chopper descended.
Jinx swung up his fist.
Landon flinched and squeezed his eyes shut. Jinx hadn’t actually connected with the guy, tempting though the idea certainly was. Instead, he’d stopped his swing at the last moment because Landon wasn’t even trying to fight back. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
Landon opened the eyes he’d shut. “I…thought I deserved at least one hit.”
“You deserve a whole lot more than that. Ali was in danger!”
“Ali has worked ops for a long time. She’s used to danger.” Landon’s gaze darted to the fist that still lingered near his face. “If you aren’t going to punch me, would you please lower your hand?”
He didn’t lower it, not yet. “I’m thinking about punching you. Over and over again.”
A wince from Landon. Then a beseeching glance toward War. “You’re just gonna stand there?”
“Yes.”
Good to know War had Jinx’s back. As always. “He’s pissed, too,” Jinx informed Landon. “See, we both happen to like Ali. And if someone—someone like, oh, say her handler—had bothered to mention to us that she was in danger, we would have moved in to protect her. We protect our own, you know that. Ali is part of our team. We’d do anything for her.”
Landon took a quick step away from Jinx’s fist. The space seemed to make him brave because he gave a little laugh. “Right. Like you want to protect her because she’s part of the team.”
What was that supposed to mean? Jinx lowered his fist. Don’t beat the crap out of him…not yet, anyway. Get your intel, then you can kick his ass.
“I was there that night,” Landon revealed. He smoothed his shirt. It was a freaking wrinkle-free shirt. Why did he think it needed smoothing? “Don’t have to be a genius to figure out what was happening in that cheap motel room with you two.”
Every muscle in Jinx’s body tightened. “I have never liked you.” Just so they were clear. “You’ve never stepped away from the safety of your job, never gone into the field to help anyone, but you love taking credit for the work we do.” There were plenty of other reasons why Landon enraged Jinx, but he couldn’t go into them, not with War watching him.
“I wasn’t supposed to be in the field.” A sniff. “Someone had to stay back, you know that. I got the orders from above. I delivered them to you all. We—”
“Can we get back to Ali?” War demanded. “Because I’ve got shit to do and listening to you ramble isn’t high on my priority list.”
“Thank you,” Jinx murmured. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.” His gaze swept over Landon in disgust. “You watched us at the motel.”
“I wasn’t watching you. Not like I’m some kind of voyeur.” A nervous laugh slid from him.
Jinx shook his head. “Don’t.” The only warning he’d give. Landon had no clue how close he was to getting that straight nose of his broken.
Landon wet his lips. “I had an assignment for Ali. When I saw you leave, I knew it was safe to contact her.”
The creep really had just been lurking outside? Red flag. “Then you took her away from me.”
Another nervous laugh. “Come on. It’s you. Figured you were done.”
“With Ali? Never.”
Landon’s gray eyes widened. “You…you don’t make permanent commitments to anyone. Ali wasn’t looking for that, either. It was a hookup, then you both moved on. That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t tell you about what was happening with her. Didn’t think it mattered to you.”
“That’s where you were exceptionally wrong. It matters.” His feet were braced apart, his hands clenched at his sides. “Ali matters a great deal to me. Just as I matter to her.”
Landon’s shock was clear.
“We’re making plans for a future together,” Jinx continued silkily. “So how about you stop being a dick and you offer me congratulations?”
“C-congratulations?”
“Yes, because Ali and I are planning to get married.”
Landon’s eyes bulged. “What?”
“Married.” He savored the word. “You know, when two people swear to be together forever and ever. That whole bit. I think I’ll propose to Ali soon. Figure we’ll have a house full of dogs and kids and go to lots of PTA meetings.”
Landon’s bulging eyes darted to War. “He’s joking.”
War shrugged.
The bulging eyes flickered back to Jinx. “You’re joking.” A little more confident. “You’re not looking to settle down.”
Not looking. Already have.
“And the PTA?” Landon’s lips twisted. “No way. But you had me going there…”
“Really? Because it looks like you’re standing in front of me,” going nowhere, “and you still haven’t told me why the hell you called this meeting when I should be with my soon to-be fiancée right now.” Jinx tapped his foot meaningfully. “How about you get on with it?”
Landon shook his head. “Right. Ah…right.” His shoulders squared. “Well, now that Ali has brought you up to date on the events happening in her life…”
Events? That’s how he talks about the stalking?
“I thought you’d want to know what sort of material I’ve managed to uncover so far. Obviously, the subject is obsessed with Ali. He’s keeping a very close watch on her, and the last three times that she’s switched the location of her home, he’s followed her immediately.”
“Hold up.” Jinx stopped tapping his foot. “The last three times,” he repeated. “She’s already had to move three times since this jerk started harassing her?”
“I-I thought you’d been told…” Landon clamped his lips together. Seemed to gather his thoughts. Then asked, “What do you know about the situation with Ali?”
Jinx didn’t respond. Because he was staring at a man who happened to be very, very high on his suspect list.
Someone in the organization. Check.
Someone who knew how to play dirty. Double check. As far as Jinx was concerned, Landing Zone was damn dirty.
Someone who had worked with Ali. Someone who knew how she worked. Three checks equaled a man looking extra damn guilty. And the fact that Landon had just popped up out of the blue?
“Come on.” Landon ran a hand through his hair. An agitated gesture for a guy normally much more controlled. “If you don’t work with me, you’re just hurting her.”
“I would never hurt Ali.” But would you? “How did you know she was down here?”