Page 55 of Fighting for Valor
“Not yet. Want to give me a reason I shouldn’t?” Ry says.
Drawing up to his full height, Ripper places himself between me and the Neanderthal with more scars than I’ve ever seen. “Because she doesn’t want you to. Now take a step back. We’re all going to calm the fuck down and figure this shit out.”
I can’t decide if I should run or cling to Ripper like my life depends on it. But he doesn’t give me much choice when he puts his arm around my waist and leads me back to the stool. “Sit down, sunshine. Ryker and Dax are on our side, and you’re safe here with me.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I fight for a steady breath. “Not if the two spooks he’s talking about are Francis Jessup and Bill Parr. Jessup tried to kill me the night I disappeared from Fort Bragg, and again eighteen months ago in Tulsa.”
“What does he want with you?” Ryker crosses his arms over his chest. Crap, the man looks like he could bench press a semi-truck, and even though Dax is obviously blind, his shirt strains over impressive muscles, and he’s holding onto that cane like he could easily use it as a weapon.
And then it hits me. These are the other two members of Ripper’s Special Forces team. The two who escaped Hell.
“Caro?” Ryker asks again.
“Cara,” I say defiantly. “I’m Cara Barrett now.”
Dax snorts. “Not the most effective alias.”
“Give me a break. I had a broken arm and a concussion at the time. I’m lucky I got out of Tulsa alive.” Despite Ripper’s warmth at my back and his arm around my waist, I’m terrified.
“Give us a minute,” Ripper says. He stalks out to the balcony, my hand held tight in his, but I skid to a stop at the threshold. “Cara?”
“I-I can’t.” My voice cracks, and I grab the door jamb, swaying slightly.
Ripper slides his hand to the back of my neck. “Tell me. Just me.”
I have to. The man who shared the worst of his life with me just hours ago won’t hurt me. I can confess my secrets to him.
“It was late when I left work that night. Well after eleven. We had this big retirement party planned the next day for one of the analysts, and I’d stayed to make sure the cake was perfect. I was in the garage when I heard them. Jessup and Parr. Jessup, I knew. He always used to leer at me when he’d come in to the dining hall. But Parr…I had no idea who he was. They were talking about a ‘friend’ in Afghanistan. How they needed to pressure him to cut them in on some of the bigger deals. They never said his name. But they said the guy had an American working for him, a traitor, and all they had to do was threaten to release the American’s name, and…” Horror washes over me, and I think I’m going to be sick.
“And…?”
“And the Special Forces would go in and blow the guy off the map…” Pressing my hand to my stomach, I try to force air into my lungs.
Oh my God.
“Cara?” Ripper tries to pull me closer, but I duck out of his hold.
“What’s your name? Your real name. Ripper…that’s your nickname. What’s your name?” My voice rises half an octave, and my heart races, so fast it feels like I’m running sprints.
“Jackson Richards.”
“J.T. Richards. The American, J.T. Richards.” I cover my mouth with both hands, trying to stop the sound of my heart and soul shattering into a million pieces. “It was you. They were talking about you.”
Ripper backs up until he hits the railing, then sinks down onto the ground. Within two seconds, Charlie’s in his lap, licking his cheek, but Ripper doesn’t move or react at all.
Tears stream down my cheeks, and Ryker and Dax burst past me out onto the balcony. “What the hell is going on?” Ryker asks. “Rip? Say something! And you—” Ryker points at me, “—what the fuck did you tell him?”
“They knew. Oh God. They knew. For years.” Huge, hiccuping sobs escape around the words, and I can’t do this. I can’t face this man I think I’m falling for, knowing I could have saved him if I’d just been braver. “I didn’t know. I tried to go to my security contact, tell him everything I overheard, but then he died, and I…I just ran.”
“What?” Ryker grabs my arms, but I can’t stop crying and staring at Ripper, who’s gone glassy-eyed, his face devoid of all emotion. “Cara! What. Happened?”
I meet Ryker’s gaze, and the anger I find there sobers me enough to choke out the truth. “Jessup and Parr knew Ripper was alive. For years. But they didn’t care. They used him as leverage against the guy who had him. For money.”
Ryker lets loose with a string of obscenities, and his fingers tighten to the point of pain. When I cry out, he releases me with a jerk, as if he forgot I was still there. My legs don’t want to support me, and I stagger back, my hands on my knees.
A loud crack impacts the glass right above my head, Charlie barks, then growls, and someone shoves me inside. A barrage of bullets hits the windows, and then two large forms barrel towards me. I have to blink hard to understand what I’m seeing. Ryker’s dragging Ripper with Charlie at his heels, and Dax is holding on to Ryker’s arm.
“Move!” Ryker barks at me. “Out the door. To the right. Down the stairs. We’re getting the fuck out of here.”
