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Jayden wasn't the bad guy, just the bad boy and I fell for him, hard.
Jayden
My niece has been missing for months and I've spent every waking hour tracking her down. I need a partner in crime, a woman on the inside that can help me gather intelligence.
Skylar is cute, snarky, and Jaxson's younger sister. She's completely off-limits and when my former military brother discovers that I've hired her in secret, he's going to kill me.
Skylar
Desperate for cash, I agree to an undercover operation with Jayden Scott. For two grand a week, I have to be his fake fiancé. There's more to the job, he wants me to sneak around inside his boss's house and find everything I can on his niece’s whereabouts.
The plan goes south fast and I'm given an ultimatum: kidnap three girls by midnight or be sold at auction.
Covert: Jayden is the fourth book in the Eagle Tactical Series. This romantic suspense ends with a happily ever after. It is highly recommended that you read the series in order.
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Covert: Jayden
Eagle Tactical Book Four
Willow Fox
Published by Slow Burn Publishing
© 2021
Cover by GetCovers
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Covert: Jayden
(Eagle Tactical Book Four)
Jayden wasn't the bad guy, just the bad boy and I fell for him, hard.
Jayden
My niece has been missing for months and I've spent every waking hour tracking her down. I need a partner in crime, a woman on the inside that can help me gather intelligence.
Skylar is cute, snarky, and Jaxson's younger sister. She's completely off-limits and when my former military brother discovers that I've hired her in secret, he's going to kill me.
Skylar
Desperate for cash, I agree to an undercover operation with Jayden Scott. For two grand a week, I have to be his fake fiancé. There's more to the job, he wants me to sneak around inside his boss's house and find everything I can on his niece’s whereabouts.
The plan goes south fast and I'm given an ultimatum: kidnap three girls by midnight or be sold at auction.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Epilogue
About the Author
Giveaways, Free Books, and More Goodies
Also by Willow Fox
Skylar
The music blared over the speakers, making it difficult to hear myself think. Not that there was much to think about.
I downed a shot of tequila and then another.
“Bad day?” the bartender asked.
His first name was Jayden. I didn’t get his last name, and I’d been coming to the bar a lot.
Mostly, to figure things out, which really meant hide from my brother and his girlfriend.
Jayden also wasn’t a bad view to enjoy after work, imagining our bodies tangled together, hot and sweaty.
Too bad I didn’t have the courage to invite him home. Then again, I didn’t exactly have a home of my own.
The truth was that imagining him naked and the two of us wrapped up in the sheets was a welcome relief to my boring and inconsequential life.
“Something like that,” I said under my breath.
While it wasn’t a great day, working at the coffee shop was the only job I had been qualified for.
Besides, no one seemed to be hiring. Plus, I needed to save my money for a place of my own instead of blowing it on overpriced liquor, but it was easier to come here and stare at the hottie of a bartender.
There was something about him.
Dark and mysterious.
Tattoos covered his arms, which peeked out from under his black t-shirt. “Are those real?” I asked and gestured to the ink on his forearms.
I needed more friends.
My brother had a slew of tattoos, but I was unmarked and a blank slate. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Jayden’s forearms.
“No, I spend every morning doodling with a permanent marker on my skin to impress the ladies,” Jayden said.
Snarky.
I downed my shot and gestured for him to pour me another one.
He grabbed the bottle of tequila and poured the amber liquid into a shot glass. “You know, Skylar, you could just ask me out if you want to see me. You don’t have to come to the bar every night after your shift.”
My arms rested on the bar, and I leaned my head into my arms, face planted.
An uncomfortable groan spilled out past my lips.
“What’s that?” Jayden asked, laughing under his breath. “Did I embarrass you?” He didn’t sound the least bit apologetic.
I'd bet he flirted with all the female customers—anything for a bigger tip.
It probably worked too.
He was good-looking, albeit with a dark and mysterious vibe, and that look he shot me made my knees weak.
He was every bit a bad boy.
I didn’t have to glance up to know he had a wide, smug grin across his face. With a heavy sigh, I lifted my head and stared up at him.
“Are you guys hiring?” I needed a job that paid enough so I could rent a place or buy something, eventually.
All my money went to car repairs, insurance, and liquor. Maybe I was staying out too much.
“Not the bar…” his voice trailed off.
That caught my attention. “But you know someplace that is?”
He reached for the empty shot glass and took it away, not refilling it with another drink. “Jayden?”
He glanced around before he leaned closer.
What was he worried about?
There were a few patrons in the bar, but it was loud and difficult to hear anything over the pulse-pounding music.
“Come with me out back.” Jayden gestured to another one of the staff members that he was going for a break.
I followed Jayden through the darkened hallway and then out the rear exit of the bar.
The loud music seemed distant from behind the closed door. My ears rang.
“You know some place that’s hiring?” I asked again, my voice louder than I intended.
His answer was a whisper, his voice quiet, his tone making it clear that we needed to be quiet about it. “I need a partner for an off-the-books type of job. It pays in cash.”
I liked cash, especially if I could avoid claiming it with the government.
“What’s the gig?” I asked. “I’m not going to be a drug mule.” I’d seen enough movies to know that never ended well for the mule.
Besides, I had no intention of spending any time behind bars.
Jayden snorted under his breath. “Drugs aren’t involved, but it’s not any less dangerous.”
“Okay.” I could handle danger.
He stared at me with sharp eyes. He glanced me over from head to toe, twice. “You can’t tell anyone about the job.”
I pretended to lock my lips like I did as a kid. “Don’t worry. It’s not like I have friends around here.”
“That includes your brother and his girlfriend,” Jayden said.
I shifted the weight on my feet. “You know my brother?” That made me a bit uncomfortable.
What else did he know about me that I wasn’t aware of?
He gave a silent nod. “You live with him.”
“How the hell do you know that?” I pointed at his chest and poked him in the process.
He didn’t so much as flinch. “Your driver’s license has his address.”
Oh. He was right. I had changed my identification after I moved into town. “You know my brother.” It was more of a statement than anything else.
How did the two of them know one another? I’d never seen them converse, and Jaxson never mentioned Jayden.
Jayden didn’t elaborate further. “Can you keep a secret from him or not?”
“He doesn’t know I come here after work every day,” I said. That was a secret I kept from him. There were a dozen or so more.
“I’m serious, Skylar. If you work for me, no one can know. It’ll be a deep undercover operation.”
He sounded just like Jaxson when it came to his Eagle Tactical business. “Please, don’t tell me you work for my brother.” I wasn’t sure I could handle that news.
“No, and I can’t tell you who I work for, so do me a favor and don’t ask,” Jayden said.
“Okay.”
He must have been C.I.A. or some other agency. As long as I got paid on time, I could look the other way.
“What’s the job?” I asked. “What do you need me to do?”
“Marry me,” Jayden said.
I coughed, shocked by his proposition. “Excuse me? That’s crazy.”
He couldn’t be serious. I wasn’t marrying him for money or any other reason.
“Relax. It’s part of the assignment. I need you to post pictures of our engagement on your social media accounts,” Jayden said. “I’ll get you a ring. We’ll make it look official. We need to get my boss’ attention. He already doesn’t trust me, and I need him to show an interest in you.”
Okay, so maybe he wasn’t C.I.A., and his boss was a bit shadier. Did he work for the mafia or a drug kingpin?
“You want your boss to hit on me because he thinks I’m engaged to you? What kind of bosshole is he?” I asked.
That was a terrible idea.
Jayden laughed under his breath and exhaled a heavy sigh. His eyes looked tired, with dark circles underneath. “I can’t tell you anything more. Are you in or not?”
“Will I be risking my life?” I asked.
I had a feeling that whoever his boss was, it wasn’t some top-notch guy.
He stalled for a moment before answering. Was he deciding whether to answer me honestly or not?
“Yes. I’ll pay you a thousand a week.”
If I was risking my life, I wanted more money. “I want double.”
“Done,” Jayden said a little too quickly.
Maybe I should have tripled it.
“Swing by my place tomorrow after you quit your job at the café. Say around ten o’clock in the morning. Give me your phone, and I’ll put my address in it.”
He tapped away at my phone screen, inputting his contact information before he handed me back my phone. “Remember, you can’t tell anyone about this arrangement.”
“I swear I won’t.”
Who would believe me, anyhow?
Jayden
I hadn’t wanted to involve Skylar. Hell, I hadn’t wanted to involve anyone else in my mess, but I needed a man on the inside. Or rather, in this case, a woman.
Could I trust the spunky little sister of my military brother? Jaxson and I had barely spoken to one another.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He’d offered me a job with his team at Eagle Tactical.
I'd had no choice but to refuse.
Jaxson was completely unaware of my connection with Enzo Ricci. On occasion, I also worked alongside Sheriff Nelson and the tri-county task force, but even they didn’t know my connection with Don Ricci.
Bringing Skylar into the job was against every protocol, but I needed her help.
My work went deeper than just bringing down the off-gridders. Nearly every last one of them was dead, except for Emma. She was now in prison, awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty.
Maybe I should have thanked the mafia for slaughtering my enemy, the one I had to live with, sleep beside, and pretend to be one of, to gather their trust and intelligence.
It wasn’t Don Ricci who had murdered the off-gridders. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy…
A firm knock resounded against the wooden door.
“Just a sec,” I shouted and grabbed my Glock. I wasn’t taking a chance, ever. I glanced through the peephole to see the five-foot-two beauty on the opposite side.
My hormones raged at one glance at her. Her shirt was cut with a low V, dipping into her cleavage, leaving little to the imagination.
Down, boy.
She was here for a job, not to fuck me.
That was too bad.
I unlocked the door and made sure she was alone.
I let her inside my apartment, and I shoved my Glock into the waistband of my pants.
The apartment was dark. I left the window shades closed to make sure no one could see inside.
Was I paranoid?
Yes, but for a good reason.
Skylar folded her arms across her chest. Her long locks fell across her face.
The longer I stared at her, the more irritated she looked.
“So, what’s the job?” she asked.
I stalked across the room to a dresser drawer, yanked open the top handle, and pulled the drawer hard. I dug in between my socks and retrieved the tiny jewelry box. I tossed it at Skylar.
She fumbled with the box, nearly dropping the black velvet before flipping open the lid. “You were engaged?”
“Just something I keep around,” I answered. That was all she was getting in the way of an explanation. “We need to spend the afternoon together, taking lots of pictures, making it look somewhat believable that we’re happily engaged.”
Skylar’s brow furrowed. “Somewhat believable? You don’t think I can do my part and act madly in love with you?”
I merely shrugged. “I haven’t seen your acting skills. Besides, it’s not me you have to convince.”
She leaned against the bed and plopped down on the edge. “Are you going to tell me why I’m doing this? I would never have pegged you for the type who has to pay for a girlfriend to take home to your parents.”
That’s not what this was. Not in the slightest, but I held my tongue. “Don’t worry. The entire arrangement is one hundred percent professional.”
Skylar pursed her lips and patted the bed beside her. “It doesn’t have to be.”
Was she testing me? Enzo would expect some level of intimacy if we were seen together, but I didn’t plan on that happening.
The truth was my plan was shitty at best. I needed Enzo to trust me, and he’d been offering me girls left and right, women he intended to auction off and sell to the highest bidder.
It disgusted me.
He wouldn’t leave it alone, and I had lied to him, told him that I had a fiancée at home. Which meant I needed a girl who would have my back.
Emma was in prison.
There hadn’t been anyone else since her, and even then, she had been a means to an end.
Another job. One that had turned complicated.
I don’t usually sleep with my protégé, but with Emma, she’d been hot, fierce, and offered herself up to me.
I hadn’t been able to say no. She had bewitched me.
“Well?” Skylar asked. “What’s the gig? I strut around town showing off my flashy engagement ring?” She slid the diamond band onto her ring finger before she thrust out her cell phone.
I needed her to get close to Enzo. He still didn’t trust me, not completely.
“It’s more complicated than that. I need you to gather intel for me on Enzo Ricci.”
“Excuse me?” Skylar pushed herself off the mattress. “Isn’t that the shady billionaire who just moved into town?” Her voice raised an octave as she spoke. “Is he like a drug dealer or something? He kind of looks like he works for the mafia.”
Apparently, word traveled fast.
“He’s my boss. Already, he believes that I don’t trust him. Which I don’t. But that’s beside the point. I need you to gather as much information from the girls he’s holding. I’m looking for a girl named Lexa Clarke.”
“Gather information. How, exactly, and who is Lexa Clarke?” Skylar asked.
This wasn’t just a risky job. It was a lifestyle and not one that I wanted to commit myself to, but there’d been no other choice.
“You’re going to accompany me to a party that Enzo is hosting at his home. He’s already panicking because the shipment of girls that was due in was delayed.”
“Delayed?”
The girls weren’t exactly delayed. I had intercepted the shipment, having gained access to the manifest and released the girls into federal custody. Enzo didn’t know it was me who had betrayed him. If he had, I would have already been dead.
I didn’t want to worry Skylar or give her any intel that could be used against me later. The less she knew, the better.
“It doesn’t matter about the girls. What matters is that you’re going to join me at his home as my fiancée.”
“I’m not following on how I’ll be gathering information on the girls he’s holding. Will they be at the party too?” Skylar asked.
“Doubtful. I’m sure he’s holding them someplace at the compound on his property. Probably a basement or cellar.”
“Let me guess. You want me to sneak around without getting caught?” Skylar asked.
“Yes. Dante will likely be guarding the access point, so you may need to flirt with Enzo’s second in command, Dante.”
“Second in command? What is he, mafia?”
I didn’t answer. I wasn’t about to lie to her. But yes, Enzo was the head of the Italian mob who owned most of the west coast and had branched outward. They dealt in smuggling guns, drugs, and girls.
Skylar exhaled a heavy sigh. “Wonderful.”
“All you have to do is flirt with him if you get caught. He’s a sucker. Easy to manipulate. Don’t worry.”
“Flirt with him? You’re underselling the job.” Skylar wasn’t an idiot. Maybe I underestimated her.
“He’s in over his head right now with the shipment of girls who have gone missing. Dante needs help. If you seem eager to please, he’s desperate to keep Enzo happy. He’ll easily betray me to get on Enzo’s good side.”
Skylar
I laughed at his ridiculous plan. “Are you insane?” He wanted me to sneak around a heavily guarded mafia fortress and flirt with the mob boss’ second in command if I got caught?
“I know you’re scared,” Jayden said, “but once we get the intel we need from your wire, then we’ll pull you out and shut down the entire operation.”
It sounded too easy.
“What happens when they see the wire?”
I already knew the answer. They’d kill me.
He rested his hands on my shoulders as he stared at me, towering from above. “No one is going to find the wire. It won’t be taped to you like in the movies. Our technology is better than that. I promise you’ll be fine. In and out without a hiccup. You won’t be at the party for more than a few hours.”
A lot could go wrong in a couple of hours.
“Then why did I quit my day job if this is a one-week operation?” I asked.
He didn’t answer me.
Exactly.
He knew that this was dangerous and went deeper than just attending a party.
We’d have to keep up the charade after the party too. How long would we pretend to be married?
Maybe Jayden wasn’t risking his life, but I’d be putting myself straight into the hands of men who were monsters.
He may have wanted this to be over within the week, but a lot could go wrong.
I still didn’t understand his crazy plan. “Why pretend to marry me? Are you really that desperate for a plus one to the party?”
I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat.
Jayden was a handsome guy and the thought of pretending to be married would have been fun if he'd invited me to a wedding or we pretended to be together to make an ex-girlfriend jealous.
This scenario was dangerous and it scared me.
“You’ll be fine.” His face showed no hint of emotion.
What was Jayden hiding from me?
“What benefit do you get out of us being engaged?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. There was more to it, something that I wasn’t seeing.
Jayden laughed under his breath before he answered, “I’ve been trying to get Enzo to stop throwing women at me.”
“Poor Jayden,” I mocked. When he didn’t so much as flinch at my remark, I leaned closer to him.
He wanted us to pretend to be engaged. Then we needed to pretend to like one another.
Maybe we needed to practice kissing too?
I was fully on board with making out with him. He was attractive and had a nice physique. It was clear that he worked out regularly.
I rested a hand on his chest and let it slide down to his belt buckle. “Who is Lexa Clarke? Is she your girlfriend?” I wanted to know who the girl was who needed saving.
Jayden cleared his throat. “What are you doing?”
“Shouldn’t we know everything about one another? I mean, what happens if I get caught the minute we’re inside Enzo’s home and someone asks me about a birthmark or tattoo on your body?” My fingers unclasped his belt buckle.
He had a lot of tattoos on his arms. Where else did he have tattoos?