Page 30 of Flash and Bang
“Motherfucker!” Adael repeated.
Thayne dropped his face and pressed it to the side of Jarrett’s cheek. He began to laugh.
Chapter Seven
Jarrett ended up at Scripps Memorial Medical Center being treated for a gash to the head that could have been caused by anything in the chaotic mess of the barn. What only Jarrett and possibly Adael knew, was that the gash came from a bullet graze along the temple and that it hadnotbeen one of the militia or smuggler guys who’d tried to blow his head off. This had been an entirely different kind of bad guy. One Jarrett knew. It had been a man he recognized as a CIA operative he’d met while on assignment in the Middle East. If the bastard’s aim had been better, Jarrett wouldn’t have been alive to hide it from his best friend and partner. He felt sick about having to lie to Thayne.
At the same time, Jarrett hadn’t been prepared for two things… the fact that he was nearly taken out by a man with CIA training and combat skills, and the fact that he was rapidly falling in love with his partner. Whether the assassin knew he was going to be there and planned on killing Jarrett, or whether he just happened to be in the right place at the right time to take a shot at him, was anyone’s guess. The idea that someone in the CIA, at least this guy, wanted him dead was unfathomable. Jarrett hadn’t had anything to do with an operation the CIA ran for a very long time, and as far as he knew, he hadn’t burned any bridges back then either. The one man he could ask about such things was out of Jarrett’s life—at least for the time being.
Jarrett felt terrible for having to keep the truth from Thayne but most of what had happened in the Gulf was still classified. Jarrett knew he wouldn’t be able to tell Thayne even if he’d wanted to, but the situation was sorely testing Jarrett’s loyalty. Fortunately, Jarrett wasn’t a treasonous bastard and he would never throw everything away in a fit of anger. As far as the falling in love with his partner part of the equation, that might be even more frightening than being shot at.
As he waited to get his noggin looked at, he felt more annoyance than anything else. The emergency room was a madhouse with doctors and nurses scrambling to get much more serious patients stabilized before dressing his minor wound. All Jarrett wanted to do was find Thayne, get the hell out of there, and go home, even if it meant driving back tonight. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like that was going to happen.Don’t that just suck all?
The curtain surrounding the bed he was sitting on was pulled aside and Jarrett flinched, reaching for the weapon he always wore on his body, only to realize that he’d left it behind in the Jeep when they’d been issued their semi-automaticweapons.Dammit!Expecting a doctor or a nurse, Jarrett was disappointed when Adael popped his head into the curtained-off area and grinned at him. He’d hoped it would be Thayne. Adael’s teeth were exceptionally white in his soot-stained face, butgoddamn,it made the Israeli even more gorgeous, even with a massive cast on his broken arm. Jarrett offered him a slight smile and then immediately looked over his shoulder to see if Thayne was following.
“There you are, Jarrett,” Adael said, sounding relieved. He gave Jarrett the once-over, raking his body up and down with an appraising gaze. He frowned. “You look fine. Why are you here? Because of this little thing?” He stepped forward and bent to touch the side of Jarrett’s jaw with his good hand and turn it gently, examining the congealing wound at his temple. Jarrett closed his eyes for a few seconds, allowing Adael to peruse the bullet graze. When he reopened them, the Israeli was frowning at him.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” Adael said. “Won’t even need a stitch.”
“I know but ironically, if I don’t get cleared, my boss won’t let me go back to work. Did ya see Thayne out there?” Jarrett asked with a deep sigh.
Adael shook his head. “Not yet. We got separated after they loaded you into the ambulance. I’m sure he’s coming in with the rest of the FBI who made it out.”
Not knowing where Thayne was made Jarrett nervous as hell. He wasn’t going to feel okay until he knew his partner was safe. Virgil’s dying words about someone wanting Jarrett dead seemed to make slightly more sense now; the thing was, he had no idea why someone he used to work with had decided that it was important to kill him.Fuck. He needed to get out of the hospital now.Where the hell is Thayne?
“You ran back in the barn after you knew the FBI called in an airstrike, Jarrett,” Adael said. “What I want to know is, why.”
Jarrett looked at him critically. “Why are you really here, Adael? And don’t give me any bullshit stories; I have a fuckin’ headache. How’s your arm, by the way?”
Adael shrugged his shoulders. “Broken but I’ll live. And in answer to your question, it’s no surprise I hunt terrorists and I wasn’t lying about the man who builds bombs,” he said with his familiar accent. “Mossad truly believes there’s a connection with the men out there tonight, perhaps hiding among these Freedom Brigade freaks. I couldn’t get eyes on him,though. Either our intelligence was wrong, or he was there and I just couldn’t spot him. Either way, I failed in my mission.” Adael grinned again. “And you, my dear, have become much more adept at steering the conversation away from things you don’t want to talk about. Well done.”
Jarrett couldn’t help but smirk. “Thank you and no, I’m not goin’ to tell ya why I ran back in there. Let’s just say, I saw someone I did some wet work with and he didn’t wanna be noticed. Whatever the case, he sure wasn’t expecting me to be there tonight or he might have planned better than this.” He reached up and touched his temple.
“Planned what?” Adael frowned.
“I think someone’s—tryin’ to kill me and before ya ask, no, I don’t know who. I have my suspicions. I’m just not clear yet. When I saw someone I used to know, I thought we should have a talk. That’s when he turned and tried to shoot me.”
Adael stood speechless for just a moment. “And of course you thought a burning barn would be a great place for a discussion, Jarrett.” He shook his head looking quite disgusted. “Now you have me worried. You need to tell the ATF or at the very least, Wolfe.”
“What makes you think Thayne don’t know?”Jarrett asked.
Adael shook his head and smiled sadly. “Because I know you, Jarrett. You don’t listen to anyone and you never do what’s good for you. You always had more bravado than sense, my darling.”
“I guess you do know me so I can’t argue, Adael.” He smiled shyly. “Thayne told me I have you to thank for my life.”
Adael smiled at him. “I’m glad I was there to save your life and as far as your partner goes, I see the way you look at him, Jarrett. I know you’re in love with him. You wear your heart on your sleeve.”
“Ya don’t know nothin’, Dayan,” he grumbled, breaking his gaze and turning away.
“Really, Jarrett. You could have fooled me.”
The possibility that Adael had actually figured him and Thane out spelled serious danger for Thayne. If Adael could see that on Jarrett’s face, he knew it wouldn’t be long before others did too. And if someone was hunting Jarrett, they might try to get to him though Thayne if they knew he was important to him. Thayne was completely innocent of the things Jarrett had done in the past. Jarrett promised himself he would protect him with his life, but he was never going to explain that to anyone,especially a Mossad operative who still fuckin’ telegraphed every emotion he’d ever had. “You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, Adael.”
Adael moved very close and reached down with his good hand, cupping Jarrett’s face as he gazed at him softly. “I know I wanted you to look at me the way you look at him. I know I’ve thought about you every day for two years, Jarrett. I know I missed you.”
Jarrett was shocked when Adael suddenly ducked his head and took his lips in a blistering kiss that brought with it a flood of heat and memories. The urge to break the kiss was strong because in his head, the only person he wanted to kiss was Thayne. For some damned reason though—one he couldn’t quite fathom—he found himself tentatively returning Adael’s kiss. Adael yanked his head back when someone suddenly cleared their throat from behind him.
Jarrett looked up to find Thayne’s gorgeous bright eyes staring at them from where he stood ten feet away as Adael dropped his hand and stepped back, glancing over at Thayne.