“So tell me about your family,” she heard herself say. That wasn’t exactly light, but Braden rewarded her with a smile and started talking. It was easy to prompt him, and she liked him more as he shared about growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona with loving parents and a hilarious sister eight years younger than him. His love for his family was evident. He returned the favor and asked about her family, which was a fun and easy subject for her to talk about. Then she got him to open up about playing football and swimming in high school, why he joined the Navy, his career path, his specialties, and his deployments.
When he tried to turn the tables on her with the career conversation, she admitted to what she could, even if it was something few outside her family knew. She was a celebrated photographer, M.D. Designs. Braden luckily didn’t wreck the car when she revealed that.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he exclaimed. “My dad gave my mom one of your originals for Christmas, a little girl and boy riding down a jungle river on a small canoe. She loves it.”
Maddie smiled her gratitude, but inside her gut was churning. She remembered that photo. She’d been following a known human trafficker who had been trailing the children, intent on capturing them while they weren’t close to their families. She’d tried to capture the man, but he’d resisted and she’d had to kill him.
She’d followed the children until they were close to the village and would be safe, then she’d taken a photo of the beautiful, innocent kids. They would hopefully never know the horrors she’d protected them from.
“I can’t wrap my mind around how talented you are,” Braden continued. “Famous photographer and a Delta fighter who can best anyone with her skills.” He gave her an awe-filled glance.
Biting at her lip, Maddie turned to look out the window. Talented. She’d admitted to him that she’d had to kill or be killed. Not talents anyone should want to have.
It was almost seven and the sun would set before too long. They were in thick trees, the lake not visible yet, but they were getting close to their destination. Her phone said less than two miles and they’d turn off the highway and onto a side road that would lead to what looked like little more than a dirt track that would hit the lake. She’d imagined whoever this guy was that Papa would send them on a six-hour drive to decode the zip drive, he’d probably be a recluse or something. The lake cabin in the woods fit.
Braden seemed to be awaiting her response. So she said, “I don’t tell most people who I really am, as an artist, and few know about my fighting skills.”
He nodded and gave her a sidelong glance before focusing on the road again. His gaze was filled with hope that they had something special. They did, but she couldn’t let herself care about it. “I won’t share your secrets, Maddie,” he said softly.
“Thank you.” Her voice was stiff, and she found herself gripping the plastic door bar as if by holding on tight enough she wouldn’t reach out to him.
Her phone beeped directions. Braden took the turn and slowed down; the road was still paved but not well-maintained.
“So you don’t regularly break into men’s homes, tackle them, and show off your fighting skills?” Braden’s voice had a teasing lilt to it, but he obviously wanted to pry deeper into what she did, who she really was.
“No. I usually just shoot them in the heart.” Her eyes widened as she realized what she’d just flippantly said. She shouldn’t have told him earlier that she’d seen death and administered it, and she definitely shouldn’t have said that. That wasn’t her usual mode of operation, but it had happened.
The air in the car was thick. “Maddie?” Braden ventured. “I know your skill set is impressive and specific.” He drew in a breath and asked as if he were treading on eggshells. “Why do you shoot men in the heart?”
The phone beeped, and she thought she was saved. “There we go. This is our turn coming up. Almost there. I’ll be ready to move around and stretch,” she said, all chipper and fake, squirming in her seat to show she was stiff from sitting. She was, but the squirming was more about trying to avoid Braden’s question. Her own siblings didn’t know about her clandestine activities. Why on earth would she reveal that to Braden? Why had she told him anything? She needed to focus on getting this zip drive decoded, getting back to Chicago, saying goodbye forever to Braden, and then seeing if Papa needed her help in Colorado or if Sutton or Jasmine had an assignment ready for her.
Braden turned onto the dirt road too fast and dust plumed around the vehicle. The trees were so thick they occasionally scraped the sides of the car as they drove through a tunnel of thick vegetation. The silence in the car was thicker than the trees and bushes outside.
They finally pulled up to a rustic A-frame cabin. It had a wide front porch and through the thinned trees surrounding the cabin, she could see the lake was not far from the back of the home.
“Beautiful spot,” she murmured. The view was incredibly picturesque. The photographer in her should’ve been going insane, but she was too upset about what she’d revealed to Braden.
“Yeah,” Braden agreed.
She popped out of her door before Braden could say anything more. She was worried he’d get around the car to get her door and keep questioning her.
The front door of the cabin flung open and a large man with a bushy beard and even thicker dark hair came bounding across the porch and down the steps with his arms spread wide.
“You’re here!” He rushed up to Maddie and enfolded her in a tight hug, cutting off her oxygen supply. “What a joy to hug the offspring of Davidson Delta.” He released her and stepped back, looking her over.
Braden strode up close, looking protective and handsome and irresistible. She focused on Thomas. She didn’t have a last name. Their contact and the decoder. Papa said they were to stay the night with him, giving him time to get the information off the zip drive and figure out what it meant.
“You’re a beauty, that’s for sure. Thank you for coming to visit.” He beamed at her, his dark eyes sparkling with excitement, and his Midwestern accent so charming she wished she could capture it on film. He looked to be late thirties or early forties but seemed to be a little boy trapped in a man’s body, or maybe the human version of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.
Braden extended his hand. “Lieutenant Braden Moyle.”
“Brave, Beautiful, Bad Braden,” Maddie couldn’t help but insert with a teasing smile.
Braden rewarded her with a tempting grin.
“Ah, yes, I like it. The brave, protective boyfriend I see. Well, now, give me a hug as well. None of this shaking hands. Do you know how rare it is for me to get visitors?”
He hugged Braden and, to Braden’s credit, he didn’t seem uncomfortable with this strange man’s embrace. Braden was a nicely built man and over six feet, but this guy was a veritable giant. He was bigger than her cousin Greer even. She wanted a picture of the hug.