A Match for Celia

Celia twisted her head to look up at Reed. “Is Damien involved in smuggling stolen military weapons?” she asked quietly. “The stuff from

Brownsville,” she added in a murmur, remembering something Chuck had said.

Reed and Kyle both stiffened. “How do you know about the merchandise from Brownsville?” Reed asked, his fingers tightening on her shoulders.

Celia shrugged, though she didn’t manage to dislodge his hands. “Something I overheard.”

Speaking more urgently now, Reed asked, “Was it Alexander you overheard talking?”

“I don’t know. It was dark—not long before Bennett caught you at the storage room. I heard Chuck talking to someone about the stuff from Brownsville, but the other man spoke so softly I couldn’t identify the voice. It took me a bit to figure out what they were talking about. I couldn’t believe it at first, even though Cody always said—”

“You didn’t hear Alexander’s name mentioned?” Reed broke in to ask.

“No.”

“Damn.” Reed looked at the other woman. “Unless one of the others talks, we still don’t know for sure.”

“Damn it, Reed, who are you?” Celia asked, the question exploding from her in frustration.

He patted her arm, absently. Dismissively. She almost bit him.

“Let’s go check on Alexander,” he said, still speaking to Kyle. “Mike and Leahy can take care of the others for now.”

Leahy? Celia didn’t even want to know.

Reed caught Celia’s wrist and tugged, letting her know that he wanted her to accompany them. She thought of resisting, but she didn’t really want to be left behind at this point.

“Reed,” she whispered urgently, staying close to his side. “I insist that you tell me what’s going on. Who are you? What are you really doing here? Why are we going to check on Damien?”

“Be quiet, Celia. We don’t know who else is involved in this.”

His curt order infuriated her. Though he still had her wrist shackled in his hand, she took a swing at him with her free hand. “Damn it, Reed, I rescued you from those guys when they knocked you out and locked you in that room! The least you could do is answer my questions.”

Reed stumbled. “You did what?”

Kyle snickered, obviously having overheard every word. “She rescued you,” she repeated helpfully. “When those guys knocked you out and locked you in a room.”

“They caught me off guard,” Reed said defensively. “I was…er…thinking of something else for a minute. It’s never happened before, damn it, and no one knows that better than you!”

“Good thing your PYT was around to rescue you, wasn’t it?” Kyle asked a bit too sweetly.

PYT? Celia didn’t think she even wanted to ask. Nor did Reed give her time. “She didn’t rescue me,” he said. “She got herself thrown in there with me.”

Celia started to make an indignant protest. After all, if it hadn’t been for her scream, Reed would probably still be lying in there bleeding.

Again, Reed interrupted before she could speak. “Just shut up and come on. Both of you.” His tone didn’t encourage any further teasing.

He turned and stalked away, leaving the women to follow or not, as they chose. Celia followed resentfully. When this was over, she told herself firmly, she and Reed were going to have a very long talk.

And she fully intended to tell him to shut up and listen to what she had to say!

Chapter Fourteen

Damien’s windows were open, the lights on. From a hidden vantage point outside, they could see him in the sitting room, reading a book, sipping a drink, looking completely unaware that anything was going on outside his comfortable surroundings. Celia wondered why he was still awake if he wasn’t expecting something to happen tonight.

She studied the handsome face of the man who’d been her friend for almost a year now. She remembered the pleasant evenings, the shared laughter, the gentle kisses and playful hugs.

She had always defended Damien against those who’d maligned him. Had she really been so wrong about him?