The Ex Assignment (Rogue Protectors Book 1) Read online

  She wrapped her hands around the pole and rested her head there. “What if you never heard me talk to Theo? Would we be having this conversation?”

  “I’ll admit knowing you stopped Nick facilitated our talk, but I’ve been meaning to have it out with you anyway.”

  At her doubtful look, he said, “You’re a detective, Gabby. Figure out why I injected myself into a police operation if it wasn’t because I care for you. And last night? You think I’d simply lose control like that?”

  “Sex was never our problem.”

  “I pushed you away physically and emotionally when Claire died.”

  “That hurt me more than you know. I was supposed to be the person you turned to. For better or worse, remember?”

  He nodded tightly, thinking about what his grown-up self would say to his younger version. Probably smack him upside the head. “I’m partly to blame. Driving you to seek comfort in another man’s arms.” The image flashed through his mind again and he scrubbed his hand over his face. Tumultuous emotions reared inside him, jealousy that another man had touched his wife, and anger at himself for making it easy for Nick to move in.

  Was that why he wanted to rip Nick’s head off yesterday, and why he almost had sex with Gabby? Re-stake his claim?

  “Have you really forgotten and forgiven?” Gabby asked.

  Declan turned away to stare at the tree line surrounding the park. Joggers, walkers, and dog owners started their morning activities.

  “I have. I have no anger left against you, if that’s what you mean.” He stretched an arm up against a pole and gave it his weight. “The moment I laid eyes on you again, I knew I’ve never gotten over you.”

  A suppressed sob sounded beside him. It was as hard for her to hear as it was for him to get the words out. He needed to regroup a bit before he dropped to his knees and begged her to take him back. Somehow he knew he had to go slow, so he went with humor and a side of cocky.

  When he turned back to face her, his mouth was turned into a slight smirk. “Can you honestly say you’ve moved on from me?”

  The melancholy left her eyes and outrage flashed in them.

  Good. He didn’t want sad Gabby. He wanted her vibrant, but not defiant. Damn, it was like navigating a tightrope.

  Tread carefully, Roarke.

  “I didn’t do too bad, did I?” she defended. She straightened from her seat and glared at him. “I happen to be a good detective. Check my closure rate.”

  He leaned against a horse and crossed his arms and ankles. “Is that right? I’ve seen your apartment. You call that moving on?” Declan felt like a hypocrite knowing his own condo didn’t fare any better, but she didn’t know that.

  “I just happen to like the minimalist lifestyle. What’s wrong with that?” She got down from her figurative and literal high horse to step into his face. “I’ve found gratification in the job I do. I speak for the dead who needs justice. It’s more than I can say for the work you do.”

  “Hey, no harping on my job.”

  “If the shoe fits.”

  “I can show you what else can fit.”

  Her luscious lips tilted into a smile. Even without lipstick they had an appealing rosy color. And the generous lips begged to be wrapped around his erection.

  His dick stirred to life.

  Down boy.

  It didn’t help that Gabby’s eyes lowered to his crotch.

  “My eyes are up here, Angel.”

  This time it was her turn to smirk. “Oh, don’t pretend you didn’t do that on purpose.”

  He uncrossed his arms to grab her, but she bounced out of his reach.

  “No. Stop.” She raised a hand between them. “Spell it out for me exactly what you want. I know you think just because I’m a detective, I’m an expert in reading between the lines, but nothing beats going on record.”

  Declan chuckled. “Jesus, you drive a hard bargain.”

  “What?” Her brow raised. “You can’t draw me into your sexy web and then throw a restraining order at me.” Her eyes were full of accusation.

  His amusement fled. “That was the second biggest mistake of my life.”

  Her throat bobbed. “And the first?”

  Damn, she really did want him to spell it out. “The divorce. Leaving you.”

  She turned away from him. Her arms wrapped around herself as she rubbed her biceps. “It wasn’t a mistake.”

  He tensed. “What?”

  “We were too young, Declan. For the love we had. We both needed to experience the world. Grow up. You needed to get out of LA and be the man you were meant to be. I had to find my own way without my dad’s influence.”

  He took a step toward her, resting his hands on her shoulders and eased her around to face him. “And now? Are we ready for each other now?”

  “I’m scared, Dec,” she whispered, eyes clouding. “Afraid to feel so much again. Losing the baby and losing you. I almost never came back from that.”

  “But you did,” he growled. “You came back stronger. I wasn’t good enough for you then,” he said. “I can be that man for you now.”

  “How do you explain Claudette—” her statement cut off, and her eyes went past his shoulder. Declan felt it too, someone’s eyes on them and he turned.

  “That’s Nurse Bristow, but who’s with him?”

  Two men approached from the parking lot.

  “Garrison,” he growled.

  15

  What the hell was going on, and why was Bristow with the spook? The two formed an incongruous duo that didn’t compute in Declan’s brain. Was something wrong with Gabby that was held back?

  “Who’s Garrison?” Gabby asked in a matter-of-fact voice.

  “He sent me here.”

  “Sent you here to spy on me?”

  “If that was the case, I didn’t know.”

  They had this conversation without looking at each other. He was frustrated that Garrison’s timing just derailed his progress in breaking down Gabby’s walls. He could already feel her withdrawing from him.

  As the newcomers came closer, Bristow called out, “Hey, Detective. Roarke.”

  “You don’t work for ESS, do you?” Gabby eyed the man beside the nurse.

  “No. John Garrison, ma’am,” he held out his hand. “I work with, rather than for, Roarke’s company.”

  After handshakes were exchanged, Garrison turned to Declan. “Have you told her anything?”

  “Anything could be anything,” Declan replied. “But, no.”

  He could feel Gabby’s glare on the side of his face, so he glanced at her. “Time and place, detective.”

  Declan ground his molars at the way he addressed her. It was a force of habit. Turning things impersonal when he didn’t know what the hell was going on, especially around someone like Garrison who could exploit a weakness.

  But the man didn’t get to the top of the CIA game without being astute. “Having a lover’s tryst?”

  “We were discussing something personal, yes,” Declan informed him. “So, none of your business.”

  “As personal as when you injected yourself into a police operation?” Garrison shot back, eyes glittering. “When you misused the ID I gave you for personal use.”

  “Mr. Garrison, need I remind you that you are in the presence of a police officer and you are referring to a fake ID Declan used to impersonate a cop. The FBI wouldn’t do that without informing us,” Gabby said. “The CIA, though and I’m assuming that’s who you work for”—her chin inched up in challenge—“cannot operate in the homeland except through a federal or local partnership. Get in line and get off Declan’s back. If we’re going to work together here, you need to fill us in on what you know.”

  At that moment, Declan was on Gabby’s side, proud of her for standing up to John and unfazed by the man’s position in the CIA, showing she had the balls and grit to hack it in a profession dominated by men.

  “You tell them, detective,” Bristow added his two cents, his eyes q
uietly laughing.

  “Well,” Garrison cleared his throat and looked around. “I doubt there are any bugs around here. It’s as good a place to tell you what we know.”

  “First, I want to know what he’s doing here?” Declan asked, tipping his chin at Bristow. He wanted any health crises concerning Gabby out of the way.

  “Was there anything wrong with my x-ray?” Gabby asked the nurse. “Did you suddenly find out I have superpowers and that’s why you brought in the CIA to haul me in?”

  Garrison smiled tightly.

  “Oh god,” Gabby whispered, her hand automatically reaching for Declan’s arm, and he steadied her. “Tell me.”

  “Fuck, sorry about that,” Garrison muttered. “Nothing to do with your health, detective.” He paused, “At least not with your concussion.”

  “You’re not making sense, Mr. Garrison,” Gabby said.

  “Ortega was in possession of a biological weapon that we believe was part of the cache your team confiscated in the raid yesterday.”

  “You mean chemical,” she corrected. “Our case is about the fentanyl aerosol.”

  “We know that,” Garrison reiterated. “But Z-91 is a derivative of the Ebola virus and we believe it’s been weaponized.”

  Gabby’s face paled. “What?” She checked her phone. “There’s nothing from Division except to show up for a field investigator interview at eleven.”

  “Homeland Security plans to make an announcement today. Everyone who’s been in contact with Ortega is required to take the vaccine,” Bristow said. “That’s why I’m here.”

  Gabby looked at the nurse strangely, probably wondering as much as Declan how long Bristow had been working for Garrison.

  “How contagious is it?” Declan asked. “Claudette wasn’t sure because she said she heard it secondhand from her bodyguard.”

  “Claudette?” Gabby screeched. “What has Claudette got to do with this?” Her calm reception of Garrison seemingly dissipated at the involvement of her former stepmother.

  “Ms. Dumont was either a complicit or an unwitting accomplice to an arms deal,” Garrison informed her.

  Gabby turned on Declan. “You knew about this?”

  “Not until yesterday.”

  “And you didn’t tell me?”

  “I wasn’t sure until I got it out of her.”

  “Oh my god, Declan. You should have said something.”

  “That was why I was trying to contact Garrison.”

  Gabby backed away from them, eyes furious. “You put everyone who was there in danger.”

  “Homeland Security was informed of this threat,” Garrison said. “It was up to them to disseminate the information. Not our place to tell local law enforcement directly.”

  “But Claudette told you.” Her eyes shifted to Declan.

  “It was secondhand information. I had no proof,” he gritted out.

  “Still not his place to inform you,” Garrison said. “Depending on how you received it and where you’d gone with the information, you could cause a panic.”

  “Do I look like someone who’d go cause a mass panic?” Gabby snarled.

  “Gabby, calm down,” Declan said. “Things were just moving too fast.”

  “You can say that again,” Bristow mumbled.

  Something in the way Garrison and the other man exchanged glances sent a riff of unease up Declan’s spine.

  “What exactly is going on?” he asked.

  Garrison’s jaw hardened. “It’s our belief that Ortega had ingested the virus.”

  “What?” Gabby and Declan exclaimed at the same time.

  “He’s infected with Ebola.”

  Declan was speeding down the 101 to get to GHD. They all piled into Gabby’s vehicle so everyone could get updated on all fronts. Garrison sat beside him, but he kept his ears peeled to the conversation Gabby was having with her partner on the phone.

  “Yes, everyone,” she told Kelso. “Everyone who has ever had contact with Ortega since the raid.”

  Bristow was in the backseat with Gabby. They marched … or rather sprinted after her when she raced to her Honda, wanting to get to Division quickly. Declan drove while she made all the calls she needed to make. He found it curious that she let Garrison ride shotgun. She was directly behind Declan’s seat so maybe it made sense. She could talk to the guard at the gate when they got to her building.

  “I have no time to explain. I don’t have a lot of information myself. Yes! Thanks.” She hung up and scooted between the console. “Kelso is organizing everyone together and activating the bioterrorism protocol. The SWAT will take care of their own for quarantine. Screw Homeland Security. They can take my badge later. I’m not sitting on this information now that the virus could be out there.

  “I’m putting my neck on the line scaring the shit out of everyone at Division, and maybe half of the LAPD leadership,” Gabby said. “I get why this information needed to be handled delicately, but if someone doesn’t explain how Claudette is involved, then you guys better be scrambling for bail money.”

  “Ms. Dumont carried the virus into the country,” Garrison said.

  “What?” she gasped.

  “She had a long clandestine relationship with Ortega behind your father’s back,” he said. “One could say it was a physical and emotional affair, and a business partnership. I don’t have confirmation of any of that.” Garrison glanced at Declan. He didn’t give the CIA officer the details of what Claudette told him, so John had jack shit to tell Gabby. “All we know is that the Z-91 biological weapon was destined for an arms dealer operating in South America. But Ortega reneged on the deal and decided to screw with everyone who’s trying to overthrow him or bring him down.”

  “That’s a lot of risk for revenge.”

  “He’s a megalomaniac. He wants to do things big and leave an impression.” Disgust colored Garrison’s voice. “Hence, the shopping mall fentanyl attack.”

  “Captain Mitchell …” she whispered.

  “Yes. I believed their enmity has spanned almost two decades.”

  “His son’s friend was a snitch. Ortega found out and killed the captain’s son and friend in a drive by.”

  “And since Mitchell couldn’t get to Ortega, he went for his associates and made it difficult for them.” Garrison turned in his seat to look at Gabby. “Mitchell took you in and used your own tragedy to fuel his own vendetta against the crime lord.”

  “The Cap may have a personal stake in seeing Ortega off the streets,” Gabby said. “But he’s a fair man. He’s pushed the line sometimes, but Frank sacrificed any promotion due him so he could stay connected to the streets and not sit in a pretty office on the sixth floor, embroiled in politics. He could have been chief of police ten years ago, if he wanted that.”

  “Sounds more like a crusade to me—”

  “You don’t know him—”

  “G, just shut it, okay?” Declan growled. He was also trying to work out how to tell Gabby that her ex-stepmother was in a way responsible for her father’s death, but that would involve divulging the truth about Theo’s parentage. He needed to grab some coffee somewhere, but it looked like the Division’s brew was gonna be it. Knowing now about Mitchell’s son, he realized how many lives the crime kingpin of LA had destroyed. Garrison might have a point regarding Ortega taking the fight to the cops.

  “Still doesn’t make sense that he’d risk his life,” Declan said.

  “Ortega?” Garrison asked.

  “Yes.”

  “His cancer is terminal,” the CIA officer told him. “This is his FU to the LAPD. He’s taking as many down with him as he can.”

  Gabby was quiet.

  Their eyes met in the rearview mirror. She looked like she was about to throw up.

  “Headache, Angel?”

  “I’m fine.” She edged to the window so he couldn’t see anything but the top of her head.

  “We’re almost there,” Declan said. “We’ll get everyone immunized and it’ll be
okay, right, Bristow?” He tried to keep the doubt from his voice, knew it wasn’t that simple, but someone needed to inject some positive to the gloom and doom saturating the air in the vehicle.

  When Bristow didn’t answer, he cut his gaze to the rearview mirror again and met the nurse’s stare. “Right?”

  “Theoretically.”

  Declan’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel as he changed lanes seeing their exit ahead. “What do you mean?”

  “The vaccine has an eighty-five percent efficacy and has only been tested on the Congolese and Liberians,” he paused. “Honestly? I’m putting it at fifty-fifty.”

  “Those aren’t very good odds,” Gabby said. “How about people we’ve come in contact with?” She thought of Theo and Levi.

  “If you came in contact with Ortega yesterday, you’re still within the forty-eight hour safe zone,” Bristow said. “We’ll do a blood kit to be sure. Our bioterrorism trailer is on its way to Seventy-seventh street. I’ve texted the driver where to go. How soon will we arrive?”

  “We’ll be at Division in under ten,” Declan replied. And that was ten minutes too long.

  16

  An eighteen-wheeler was parked beside the gates housing GHD. The bioterrorism trailer contained equipment that could rapidly check for contagions.

  Kelso was standing by the guard house and met them before they hit the gates.

  Gabby rolled down the window. “Everyone here?”

  “Just about.”

  “Ortega?”

  “They’re bringing him in a specialized ambulance,” Kelso said. “Waiting for you guys to arrive. Would have appreciated a heads-up with this trailer showing up.”

  Gabby’s partner moved to his window. “Roarke,” Kelso greeted, but his eyes were on Garrison, so he made the introductions.

  “Sorry about springing the eighteen-wheeler on you,” Garrison said in a no-way apologetic tone. “But we need to move this party along.” The CIA officer nodded pointedly to the pedestrians taking an interest in the semi-trailer truck.