Tactical Maneuver Read online

  To some men, like her ex, whom she affectionately called The Jerk, it was all about quantity, not quality. He’d said on several occasions that even bad sex was better than no sex. Little did he know…

  She skidded to a stop, narrowly avoiding running into Jay when he stopped unexpectedly. She peered around his broad shoulders and her heart sank at her first close-up look at the tactical team.

  They were even bigger and scarier than she’d thought. All were outfitted in body-molding Kevlar body armor and armed to the teeth with guns strapped to their thighs. Each wore tactical belts loaded with pouches of varying sizes and shapes. Some had rifles slung over their shoulders, while others held large shiny metal bars that resembled an oversized crowbar. All of them, with the exception of Jay, had their faces covered with black hoods, leaving only their eyes exposed.

  She gulped, her bravado faded away. What had she gotten herself into?

  Chapter Two

  Jay leaned against the picnic table while Lieutenant Brice handed out the assignments for the exercise they were about to perform. Around him, the members of the Tri-County Tactical Unit stood in full gear in the blazing sun listening to their instructions along with one nervous woman he’d commandeered from the offices.

  Emma stood on the far edge of the group, her arms wrapped about her waist and her dark brown eyes shadowed by sunglasses. She looked calm enough, but her teeth chewing on her plump lower lip gave her away.

  According to society’s unreasonable standards, she’d be considered overweight, not that he would have called her that. He’d call her figure lush, and pleasantly so. Ample breasts filled out her oversized white button-down shirt and the brown plaid skirt accentuated the flair of her hips. His gaze moved over her long, curvy legs. This one was a little larger than he usually dated but she had the most mouthwatering curves hidden beneath her unimaginative clothing.

  But it was her hair that had captivated his attention and vaulted her from being passably pretty to lovely. In the office, he’d noticed her mousy brown hair pulled back into a tidy roll on the back of her head. It was the type of hairstyle designed to set a man’s fingers itching to pull it apart.

  As they’d stepped into the sunshine, her hair was transformed into rich reddish-brown with golden streaks that caught the sun. It should be a crime to pull all of that glorious hair into such a confining style. She needed to let it fall free about her shoulders. His gaze skimmed her bountiful curves and he wondered what color the hair between her thighs was. A slow tingle began low in his abdomen.

  “Are we ready to roll?” Johnny Stevens, one of the team’s snipers, thumped Jay on the back, jarring him from his lusty thoughts. “Come on back, Birdman, we’ve got bad guys to deal with.”

  “I’m here.” He picked up his gear bag and slung it over his shoulder. He needed a few extra minutes to set up in the smokehouse before they could begin their scenario. “Come on, Emma. Let’s get moving.”

  As she walked toward him, he pulled his gun from the holster, checking to ensure it was unloaded before holstering it again. When she reached his side, he turned and headed for the building they were going to use.

  “Why did you do that?” She fell into step beside him and he caught a whiff of her perfume. It was something flowery, summer-like, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Whatever it was, he liked it.

  “Just double-checking that my gun is empty. I’d hate to shoot someone accidentally.”

  “Oh, yeah. I can see where that would be a bad thing.” Her voice was faint and he stifled a grin.

  “Then again, Johnny did steal one of the candy bars I’d stashed at the station. That alone deserves a minor flesh wound.” When she gulped, he decided to take pity on her and quit teasing. Most civilians didn’t understand a cop’s sense of humor.

  “Don’t worry, darlin’, I haven’t lost a volunteer nor shot a team member…yet.”

  He kicked the basement door open and stepped back to let her enter first. The scent of her shampoo teased his senses as she passed, sending a rush of arousal to his groin. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation for a moment. He’d been celibate for the past few months while training in Missouri.

  Now he was ready, more than ready, to end his streak of sleeping alone. He longed for the feel of a woman beneath him, her soft thighs cushioning his ride. But first, there was the chase. He loved the game, the first few moments of awareness—

  “Are you coming?”

  He opened his eyes and he could barely make out her white shirt in the windowless room. “Not yet,” he muttered. He dumped his bag on the floor. “I need to nail this door shut. It’s been kicked in one too many times.” Armed with a flashlight, he headed for a small supply closet in the corner to retrieve the materials he needed for the job.

  “I’ve watched the firefighters train in here. They’re certainly hard on the doors,” she said.

  “You think?” He grinned. She hadn’t seen anything yet. The TCTU could rip a house to shreds in less than fifteen seconds. All it took was a Hallagan, a battering ram, and several flash-bangs. Most bad guys gave up before he could spell the word “loser”.

  Jay handed her the flashlight, then made quick work of securing the door before leading her up the stairs to the first floor. The smokehouse consisted of three floors, each one with an open floor plan, complete with furniture. Wall partitions were stacked on one side, allowing the users to reconfigure the floors as needed. This enabled the users to provide multiple training environments in one building.

  It was also filthy.

  He eyed her white blouse. “I have a shirt you can wear. Working in here is hard on white clothes.” He dropped his bag on a broken-down sofa and fished out a black T-shirt. “Run upstairs and change into this. When you’re done, just wait up there and I’ll be up.”

  Emma nodded, took the shirt and moved around him, careful to avoid touching him. When she scrambled up the open-backed steps, he caught a tantalizing glimpse of a pale thigh and a thick lace cuff. Heat streaked to his groin. She was wearing thigh-highs, his personal favorite.

  Stifling a moan, he turned away and forced his attention to setting up the house for the invasion.

  Fresh, Jay’s partner in crime for this scenario, arrived a few minutes later with the gear they’d devised to set as the booby trap for the entry team. Armed with hammers, it took both of them almost twenty minutes of hammering doors shut, moving wall partitions and setting up the booby trap in the basement. When Jay finished securing the last outside door, he heard a shout from the yard below.

  “Birdman!”

  Jay stuck his head out the windowless opening. “Yo.”

  Johnny stood outside, an MP5 slung over his shoulder with negligent ease. “Ready?”

  “Hats and bats,” Jay replied.

  Johnny held up his fist in a motion that let him know the message was received. The scenario was about to begin and it was time to get into position.

  Adrenaline surging, Jay left Fresh stationed on the first floor, then he grabbed his bag and vaulted up the steps to the second floor.

  “Ready to be rescued?” he asked as he rounded the stairs. His breath caught when he spied Emma standing in the window, golden sunshine setting her hair ablaze.

  She turned and smiled and he was startled by the transformation in her appearance. No longer was she a plain, slightly overweight woman. With the pink tinge the heat had brought to her cheeks and a wide smile curving her soft lips, she was lovely.

  And she filled out his T-shirt to perfection. Her breasts strained against the thin black cotton and he could see every inch neatly outlined, including her nipples. His mouth watered at the thought of stripping the garment from her willing body and taking one of those plump buds into his mouth. Would she coo when he touched her or was his hostage a screamer?

  His toe caught on the twisted limb of a firefighter dummy and he stumbled. He scowled at the offending object and made a mental note to move it into the way of the entry team.

>   “I think so.” She cocked her head. “What do I have to do besides scream a lot?”

  Oh, how I would love to make you scream…

  He cleared his throat. “That’s pretty much it. Scream and act afraid.” Jay dumped his bag on the well-worn couch. “I have some water and granola bars if you decide you’re hungry.”

  “I’m fine for now, thanks.” She glanced around the room. “How long will this take?”

  “That’s up to you, darlin’. How long do you want it to take?” He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a lazy smile. “We can make this last as long as we want.”

  A bright rush of color washed over her cheeks and he grinned. “It depends on how good they are.” Jay unzipped his bag. “If they manage to talk us down, it could take minutes or hours. Or they might decide to shoot us and that’ll be the end of it. It’s up to Fresh and me to make their job as challenging as possible.”

  She cocked her head. “You enjoy this, don’t you?”

  “Oh yeah.” He retrieved a box of cartridges then zipped his bag shut before moving it to the floor. “Come over here and sit by me. I need you close at hand.” He didn’t really, he just wanted her near him. It would be at least a few minutes before the team would be ready to enter the building.

  Emma seated herself on the couch, taking care to tuck her skirt modestly around her knees. “How did you become a police officer?”

  “I’m third generation.” He pulled the spare clips from his tactical belt and checked to see that they were empty. “Sometimes I think I never really had a choice.”

  “But you love it.”

  He grinned. “How can you tell?”

  “Your face lights up when you talk about it.” Emma smoothed her palm over her skirt and his gaze followed her movement, noting her soft, tempting curves. “I think it’s great you love your job.”

  He forced his attention away from her body and back to the clips. “Well, if I didn’t love it, this would be a bad job to have. It isn’t for everyone.”

  “How did—”

  Outside he heard a sound and motioned for her to be silent. A faint scratching sound came from the basement. No doubt the team was trying to get the door open. The scenario had begun.

  “Under normal circumstances, we’d have the hostage negotiators here.” He kept his voice barely above a whisper. It was important that he still be able to hear what was going on in the house. “They’d be trying to talk Fresh and me into releasing you. Since the negotiations team is in Columbus for training, we’ll be skipping that part.”

  “Ah, I see.” She smoothed her palms over her thighs again and, almost against his will, his gaze followed her movement. Did she have any idea how hot she was making him? “So they’ll just come breaking in here?” she whispered.

  “It’s not quite that easy.” Jay removed his H&K semiautomatic from the holster. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  Below, there was a mighty crack of breaking wood and then the sound of swearing.

  “Abort!” sounded from the basement.

  Jay leapt off the couch and moved to the window, careful to stay out of sight. He chuckled when he saw half his team falling backward, stumbling over each other, trying to retreat from the canister of CO2 gas he and Fresh had rigged to the basement door.

  “What happened?”

  Emma appeared beside him and he grabbed her, hauling her into his side. “Careful, stay away from the windows.”

  “What happened?” she hissed.

  “Just a little retribution.” Jay grinned, knowing they’d get back at him sooner or later. Downstairs he heard Fresh yell an obscenity at the retreating team. “Come on, let’s get comfortable. We have time before they’ll try to enter again.”

  He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and led her back to the couch, aware of the heat of her skin, the scent of her hair. When was the last time a stranger had affected him like this? Had it ever happened before? His groin tightened as her breasts moved against his side when she stumbled over his gear bag. He watched the intriguing blush color her cheeks and she pulled away, seating herself on the edge of the couch.

  As he sat, his knee brushed hers. He retrieved the box of simunition cartridges he’d pulled out earlier. These particular cartridges were stuffed with cotton and they were used for training so they could simulate live fire without harming each other.

  He shot a sideways glance at his hostage. She was as aware of him as he was of her—her ripening blush gave her away. He loved women who blushed. Granted, for the most part, they were few and far between in his estimation. Did she blush all over? Because he was seated close to her, he could feel her heat and smell her scent. Just being around her was beginning to get under his skin.

  “Did you grow up here?” she whispered.

  “Yes I did, born and bred.” He slid the first clip into place. “And you? Are you from around here?”

  “Ah, no. No, I’m not.” She shifted away, tugging her skirt into place as she did so. “I’m from Columbus.”

  “Now don’t go too far.” He caught her arm and urged her close again. “If they come up the steps, I need to have you near me. Remember, I’m a cowardly kidnapper who’s dragged you into my lair to have my wicked way with you.”

  “I don’t remember them saying anything like that.” She looked up at him and licked her lips. They were plump and pink, shiny from the caress of her tongue and he wanted to touch her, taste her.

  He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. “They said it earlier, before you’d joined us.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  He finished loading his gun and slid it into his holster. The couch faced the steps and the window and he’d have no problem seeing someone coming. Right now, the team would be regrouping, but he knew they’d come for him again. The tactical unit always won, fair or foul. He had a few minutes, though, time he could use to his advantage to get to know his hostage better.

  “Columbus is only about an hour away. How did you end up here in Haven?” He propped his arm along the back of the couch, just barely touching her shoulders.

  “My great-aunt Lurlene is a close friend of Chief Lakeland’s mother. She heard their office was in serious need of updating, which is my specialty.” She shrugged. “One thing led to another, I guess.”

  He could feel her trembling. Was he making her nervous? She sure was making him hot, in more ways than one. A trickle of sweat snaked its way down his back. There was nothing like training in the heat of summer. Luckily for him, playing the part of a bad guy didn’t require him to be in full gear. No matter how hot he was the team would be in worse shape.

  “What kind of updating do you do?”

  “Paperless reporting for the most part. For the past six months I’ve worked to rid the department of seventy-five percent of their paper forms.” She gave him a pleased smile. “After the initial training period, I’ve increased their efficiency by sixty-four percent.”

  He was impressed. He knew well the burden paperwork placed on both the fire and police departments. There were times when he felt like a glorified secretary.

  “You sound like a handy woman to have around,” he said. “Maybe the police department should hire you to give us a hand.”

  “Maybe.” She grinned.

  “Is there anyone special in your life back in Columbus?” he asked.

  “No, not really.” She plucked at a loose thread in the hem of her skirt. “How about you? Anyone special in yours?”

  “No, not really,” he parroted. His gaze strayed to the soft globes of her breasts. Her breathing was elevated and her nipples thrust proudly against the black cotton. He couldn’t wait to take one into his mouth, to taste and suckle.

  He leaned in close and his lips brushed her ear. “When was the last time anyone told you you’re beautiful?”

  Emma jerked, her back went ramrod straight and she moved out of his reach. “You’re a flirt.”

  He frowned. “I do not flirt.”


  “Ha.” She got to her feet and faced him, her fists on her hips. “I know exactly what I am, Officer Barnes.” She leaned over him. “A dumpy, brown-haired woman who most men would never look at twice—”

  She gave a shriek when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms. Her nails dug into his shoulders and her breasts pressed into his chest as his hands landed on her ample hips. Her soft thighs nestled his aroused groin and he stifled a moan. Emma was one sweet armload of a woman and he didn’t want to let go of her too soon.

  “Oh yeah?” His gaze impaled her startled, chocolate brown one. “Would a flirt do this?”

  Before she could draw a breath, his mouth claimed hers. Her mouth not only looked good, it tasted sweet. Her hands clenched and released as he plundered her mouth. Overwhelmed by the sensation of her soft body pressing into his, he wanted nothing more than to reverse their positions and lay her down on this dusty couch and sink into her.

  Enveloped in the heat of the moment, he cupped her generous backside. She sighed into his mouth and gave an excited wiggle, her legs parting to bracket his lap. He pulled her closer until the apex of her thighs nudged at his burgeoning arousal. His hands greedily skimmed her curves while their mouths sought to devour each other. Emma was a sexy handful and he had to make her his, soon—

  A faint sound brought his head up, forcing him to break their contact.

  “What—” she gasped.

  With the ease of long hours of training, he swung her onto the couch next to him. Grabbing his H&K, he raised his arm and fired.

  * * * * *

  Emma screamed as his gun went off, deafening in the narrow confines of the room. She landed facedown on the lumpy couch with the report ringing in her ears. Raising her head, she saw Jay crouched on the floor next to her, his gun still pointed toward the stairs.

  “Get up. We need to move.” Without looking behind him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. Steering her toward a narrow closet, he hustled her to it.

  She stumbled over a lopsided end table before he shoved her into the tiny, airless space. With her back pressed against the wall and Jay’s broad back against her front, she was pinned in the darkness with one very sexy police officer.