Lennox, however, did walk over to pat Sara on the back, because that had been a damn good shot. They were aiming for moving targets now, which were a helluva lot more formidable than static ones. He knew Jamie had been working with some of the younger girls in her spare time, and it was absolutely showing in their technique.
Jamie’s technique, of course, was damn near flawless. She’d always been impressively proficient with a gun, far better than Lennox was, at least when they were kids. These days they were evenly matched, which was why their teams were neck and neck in the tournament, with Beckett and Travis trailing behind.
“Lennox.”
He turned to find Reese waving him over. Sloan was nowhere in sight, which was the first thing Lennox commented on when he reached her.
“Where’s your shadow?”
“He drove out to the farm to help Scott and Anna. One of our goats is sick.”
“Shit. Something serious? Can he infect the other animals?”
“I don’t think so, but we quarantined her just in case. It’s a she—Scott thinks she might be pregnant.” Reese made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “Anyway, I needed to talk to you.”
Lennox nodded. “What’s up?”
“In private,” she added, her gaze drifting to the group behind him.
“All right, then. Lead the way.”
He caught Jamie’s eye as he followed Reese down the sidewalk. When he noticed a frown appear on Jamie’s mouth, he gave her a reassuring look and continued after the Foxworth leader. It wasn’t until they were halfway to Reese’s building that something occurred to him. That maybe Jamie hadn’t been displeased about the conversation he and Reese were going to have, but about something else entirely . . .
But no, she wouldn’t be jealous, would she? He didn’t plan on screwing Reese, for fuck’s sake. And even if he did, Jamie had seen him with other women before. He’d seen her with other men. Hell, they’d hooked up with Beckett in the library.
Except . . . he suddenly envisioned Jamie going off with another man—and not inviting him—and a streak of jealousy burned a path up his spine.
Shit. Maybe their days of threesomes were in the past. Well, unless he figured out a way to share her without chopping off the fingers of any man who touched her.
He shelved the troubling thoughts as he entered Reese’s living quarters. She bypassed the bedrooms and led him into a small office tucked off the main room. There were long desks spanning three of the walls, the wooden desktops laden with laptops and stacks of paper.
Lennox spotted the satellite phone Connor had given her sitting on top of a tall filing cabinet. Xander had managed to hack into the city’s satellite system in order to make the phones operational, and Lennox couldn’t deny they were major assets. With so much distance between certain outlaw groups, keeping in touch had always required making long treks to deliver messages, and often getting there too late to deliver the news. His parents had told him that about a decade after the war, someone had tried reestablishing a postal system as a way to send letters and communicate, but it had been too dangerous out on the road for the postmen. Most of the time they were captured by Enforcers before they reached their destinations.
“Okay, so fill me in. What’s going on?” He glanced at the maps and papers littering the office, but saw nothing that shed light on what Reese could want from him.
“Before we start, I need your word that this stays between us,” she said sternly.
“Done.”
“I mean it, Len. You can’t discuss this with anyone. Not Jamie, not Beck. No one.”
He was even more intrigued. But he already had an inkling of what Reese was going to tell him, and if it was what he thought it was, then he didn’t want Jamie involved anyway. Not yet, at least.
“It stays between us,” he promised.
Reese nodded. She unclipped the key ring on her belt and knelt down to unlock one of the cabinets. As the drawer slid open, she stuck her hand inside and extracted a thick roll of paper. She didn’t say a word as she pulled the elastic band off the long roll and slowly spread the sheets out on the desk.
Lennox came up beside her and studied the sheets. They had the consistency of tissue paper rather than heavier stock, and the blue lines neatly printed on the white background were beginning to fade.
“I see,” he said.
“That’s it? No other reaction?”
A smile tugged on his mouth. “It’s not much of a shock, love. In fact, I was wondering when you were finally going to bring me into the loop.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You knew? How?”
Lennox shrugged. “Garrett paid a visit to the old place about six months ago. He may have let something slip.”
Reese’s expression went cloudy. “For fuck’s sake. That damn man can’t keep his mouth shut when he’s drinking. I hope he didn’t announce it to the whole house.”
“Nah, it was just me and him.” He chuckled. “And yes, he was drunk.”
Reese pursed her lips. “I might need to rethink how much responsibility I’m willing to give him.”
Lennox leaned on the edge of the desk and searched her face. “So I guess that means you’ve already hit up the other camps? Brynn? Mick?”
She nodded. “Vaughn too. Oh, and Tam, of course. They’re all on board.”
“This is a dangerous plan you’re setting in motion.” He glanced at the papers on the desk, battling an uneasy feeling. “Very dangerous.”
“It needs to be done.”
Her tone was deadly. Hell, she was deadly. Lennox had heard the rumors about what had happened to Foxworth’s last leader. And if they were true, then that meant Reese, with the help of Sloan, had murdered a man in cold blood in order to steal the leadership from him.
Lennox had never asked her about it, though. Truthfully the answer didn’t matter. Reese was in a position of authority now; how she’d gotten it was inconsequential to him. He trusted her regardless.
He sensed her shrewd brown eyes boring into his face. “You know what I want from you, Len. Are you going to give it to me?”
He turned to look at her again, but he didn’t respond right away. He’d survived this long because he didn’t make rash decisions. Because he avoided exactly these kinds of risky situations.
“I don’t know,” he finally said.
Her nostrils flared. Clearly that wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. “Yes or no, Lennox.”
He laughed. “Do you require an answer right this second? Because if those are my only two options, then it’s a no. But if you’re willing to wait and let me think this through, you might get a different answer.”
Although she didn’t look happy with that, she was smart enough to know when to back off. “Fine,” she relented. “Take some time to think about it.”
“When do you plan on going forward?”
“After Rylan and the others go back to Connor.”
“And you’re not approaching Con with this?” That surprised him. Connor was ruthless, and definitely a man you wanted in your corner.
“Not yet.” Reese gestured to the papers on the desk. “I want to see how this goes first.”
“Gotcha.” He gave a brisk nod. “We done here?”
“Yeah,” she said, scowling deeply.
Lennox leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Ah, don’t get all grumpy on me, Reese. It’s not a no, okay? But if you push me, it will be.”
He left her to chew on that, and when he emerged from the building a minute later, he was startled to find Jamie waiting on the stoop. The uneasiness returned, but he tried to hide it by flashing a lazy grin.
“Hey, love. Should we get some dinner?” He took off walking before she could object.
Jamie hurried after him, her combat boots thudding against the sidewalk. “Lennox.”
He spare
d her a quick look. “Hopefully Graham will fix us up some burgers. Soon our days of eating beef will be a thing of the past.”
“Lennox.”
Her severe tone made him stop. Smothering a curse, he reluctantly shifted around to meet her aggravated gaze. “Yeah?”
“What did Reese want?” she demanded.
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit. What did she want?”
The lie flowed smoothly from his lips. “We were brainstorming how we can get our hands on more sat phones. Reese thinks they could be useful to keep in touch with some of the other camp leaders. Like Brynn—it’s a bitch to send any messages to the coast with all the flooding there.”
Jamie planted one hand on her hip and stared at him for several eerily silent seconds, until he was valiantly fighting not to fidget. He succeeded in keeping still, but not in erasing the suspicion from Jamie’s eyes. The woman knew him too well.
“You’re lying to me.” She inched closer. Slowly, menacingly. “What did Reese want?”
Lennox managed to swallow his groan. The sigh, he couldn’t contain. It shuddered out in a long, tired breath. “It’s better if you don’t know.”
He wasn’t surprised when a flare of anger lit up her eyes. “Are you kidding me?”
“I mean it, love. It’s for your own protection.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “What the hell are the two of you planning?”
“Nothing.”
“Bull—”
“I’m not bullshitting you,” Lennox interjected. “At the moment, I’m not involved in any plan. But Reese gave me some things to think about, all right?”
“No, not all right. You can’t keep me in the dark. If you have something to think about, we can think about it together.”
“Reese asked me not to tell you.” The statement was supposed to be a last-ditch attempt to get her to back off, but ooooh, shit, did it backfire on him.
Big-time.
Disbelief and fury formed a lethal cocktail that burned so bright in Jamie’s eyes he felt the volatile heat singeing the air. She didn’t speak for a moment. Then she opened her mouth and addressed him in the coldest voice he’d ever heard from her. “Reese asked you to keep a secret from me.” Her jaw twitched. “And you agreed.”
“Because it’s not something you need to be involved in right now,” he protested. “Let me wrap my head around it first and I’ll—”
Her palm struck his cheek before he could finish that sentence.
Lennox’s head flew back, not just from the blow, but from astonishment. He didn’t need more than one finger to count the number of times Jamie had hit him in anger. They were teenagers the only other time it happened. He’d beat up one of her boyfriends for bragging about her to the other boys, and afterward she’d slapped him hard enough to leave a bruise and ordered him to stop interfering in her love life. Christ, she’d been spitting mad back then.
And she was spitting mad now. He bore the proof of that on his cheek, which was still stinging.
“What happened to everything you said after the library?” Her accusatory gaze cut into him. “You promised that we were a team, partners, and now you’re keeping secrets from me?”
He felt powerless again. “I don’t want you involved, damn it. The less you know, the safer you’ll be. Fuck, Jamie, you know what the Enforcers do to make people talk. I’m just trying to protect you if shit goes south.”
“I don’t need you to patronize me, Lennox. And I don’t see you trying to protect Reese, do I?” Her bitterness poisoned the air between them. “What, she’s strong enough to handle this big secret of yours? What if she gets captured? You think Reese won’t talk, but I will? Why? Because I’m weaker than her? Because you trust her more?”
Oh, shit. He hadn’t even considered how belittling it was to imply—unintentionally—that Reese was more capable than Jamie.
Fucking hell. He’d messed up again. Even worse this time.
As remorse clung to his throat, he opened his mouth, ready to tell her everything Reese was up to. But Jamie didn’t give him the chance.
She was too busy storming away.
* * *
Secrets.
He was keeping secrets from her now?
Jamie could barely see straight as she burst through the door of Beckett and Travis’s loft. She half expected Lennox to barrel in after her, but clearly he was smarter than he looked, because he’d chosen not to follow her.
Good. She didn’t want to talk to him. And she definitely didn’t need him showing up and offering to let her “punish” him again—no way would she be sucking his cock this time around. She’d bite the damn thing right off.
She’d thought they’d worked past all the bullshit, but evidently she’d been wrong. Here he was again, protecting her from . . . from what? What were he and Reese cooking up?
Hurt and indignation sliced into her. And jealousy, damn it. It made her want to scream that he could confide in Reese but not her. He’d never, ever chosen another woman over her before.
“Beck!” she called out. “I need you to calm me down!”
She desperately searched the room for Beckett, her closest friend aside from Lennox. Beckett had a warm, soothing energy about him. She needed that right now.
But the only person in the loft was Rylan, whom she didn’t even notice until he cleared his throat. She spun around in surprise and spotted him on the couch, balancing a glass of clear liquid on his jean-clad knee.
His lips quirked when their gazes met. “Beck and Trav are in the garage. But why don’t you come over here and sit down, gorgeous? Let’s see if I can calm you down.”
Weary, she joined him on the couch but sat all the way on the other end from him. She wasn’t in the mood to be hit on by Rylan right now. Which was ironic, because she’d been infatuated with him up until three weeks ago. But his perfect face and strong body weren’t doing it for her anymore, not since the night he’d deserted her in the rec hall. The night she’d slept with Lennox . . .
It suddenly dawned on her that it wasn’t just Rylan who didn’t hold her interest anymore. It was everyone. Travis, Kade, Beckett . . . Sure, Beck had been there in the library, but so had Lennox. Jamie was startled to realize that if Lennox hadn’t been present, she probably wouldn’t have let Beckett touch her.
“Talk to me, Jamie. What’s wrong?” Rylan prodded when her silence dragged on.
She debated how much to tell him, then decided, to hell with it. She needed to talk and he was the only one there. “Lennox is keeping secrets from me.”
“Ah. I see.”
“Everything is changing between us.” She couldn’t keep the note of anxiety from her voice. “He’s been treating me differently ever since we started sleeping together. Acting like I can’t take care of myself, like he’s the only one strong enough to handle the danger. And now he and Reese are whispering about who knows what and—”
“Reese?” Rylan said sharply. “She’s involved in this?”
Jamie nodded. “She asked to meet with Lennox in private and he’s refusing to tell me what they discussed. Because Reese asked him not to.” A bitter taste filled her mouth again.
“You have no idea what it was about?” Rylan’s blue eyes took on an intense light.
“No, but obviously it’s dangerous enough that Lennox doesn’t want me knowing about it. He said the less I know, the better.” Sarcasm oozed into her tone. “He’s protecting me.”
“You can’t fault him for that.”
“Yes, I can.”
She snatched the glass from Rylan’s hand and took an angry sip. Then regretted it instantly, because he was drinking vodka. Damn it. She hated vodka. It always burned her insides, and not in a good way.
“We’ve been through a ton of dangerous shit together, and all of a sudden he thinks I’m too weak to handl
e it?” Fuck, she resented Lennox right now. She never thought she would be feeling that way about her best friend.
“Did you tell him?”
She blinked. “Tell him what?”
“How much it hurts you when he implies that you’re weak?” Rylan offered a meaningful look. “Or did you start yelling and get all red in the face and lose your temper the way you always do?”
She bit her lip.
“Jamie?”
“I slapped him,” she said sheepishly.
Rylan threw his head back and laughed. “Of course you did.” One more chuckle, and then his tone grew serious again. “Look, I love how hotheaded you can be, and that you speak your mind and never back down from a fight. But that isn’t always conducive to healthy communication. What does Lennox do when you yell at him?”
“He yells back.” Jamie couldn’t help grinning. That was her favorite thing about Lennox—he never backed down either.
But Rylan had a point. Lately they were so terrible at communicating. Her temper was suddenly on the shortest fuse possible, because Lennox’s irrational behavior was pushing buttons she hadn’t realized existed. She’d known she wanted a partner, but she hadn’t recognized how important it was for her to feel like an equal.
The notion that she and Lennox might not be on equal ground was demoralizing. It had triggered insecurities she hadn’t expected, and it weighed harder and harder on her shoulders every time he acted as though he was more capable than her. And yet instead of rationally explaining why it hurt her, she kept lashing out at him.
Jamie let out a groan. “I should talk to him.”
“No shit.” Rylan snickered. “And you’re welcome.”
She met his smug blue eyes. “What am I thanking you for?”
“For talking you off a ledge. For making you see that you’re a stubborn motherfucker who needs to stop slapping her man and start telling him when he’s hurt her feelings.”
As another smile sprang to her lips, she slid closer and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you.” She brushed a kiss on his cheek, and when he playfully tweaked her hair, all the resentment she’d been harboring over his rejection faded away. She might not want to sleep with him anymore, but Rylan was a good man and she was damn grateful for his friendship.