She shudders and her eyes flutter closed.
“Pick up the pace, Derek. I need it hard.”
I oblige with conditions. I slow down but plunge into her hard.
She gasps at the sudden pain. She reaches in between her legs and rubs her clit. I bat her hand away and massage her bundle of nerves.
She covers her mouth and moans, which makes my skin erupt in goosebumps. My hips piston faster, searching for the friction we both need. She moans my name and grips the bars tighter.
“You’re beautiful,” I tell her softly.
She comes undone before I do, her whole body shakes as I finish inside of her. I take a moment and gently kiss her back. Her spine locks straight, which gets her to pull up her panties and shorts too fast.
“God damn it,” she whispers.
“What?”
“It was only supposed to be a one time thing, Derek. I can’t undress every time you flirt with me.”
I grin and peck her on the lips. I can’t get enough of her. I need to do this a few more times to get her out of my system and then I can return to what I was doing before she came around.
“I’m sorry.”
She scoffs. “No you’re not. Seriously. This was the last time.”
I think she even knows it isn’t possible. She closes her eyes and sighs.
“Okay. This was the last time,” I repeat softly.
She frowns. “Somebody always catches feelings in these no-strings-attached arrangements, Derek and I can’t get attached to you.”
Her words are a dagger to my heart. I shouldn’t want more, but I can’t help but imagine putting her into the places in my life where Emily should’ve been. I see her hanging out with my daughter, reading books together and doing barn chores. I see her in my kitchen cooking dinner with me and sleeping in the same bed as me.
The thing is, a guy like me can’t be with a girl like her. Not only would her father murder me, but she’ll have a baby soon. And that baby isn’t a part of me or Zoey. I refuse to put Zoey on the back burner.
And if for some god forsaken reason I don’t win full custody, I don’t want Zoey thinking I replaced her. I won’t do it. The raven haired succubus is the essence of every thought, every dream. Shit. I’m in so much trouble.
At midnight, when the whole street goes dark, the boys and Steve congregate at Aria’s house. We take over the dining room table with Nate’s paperwork splayed out for everyone to see. Delgado’s on speaker phone, calling in from a burner phone so he can’t be tracked.
Steve walks circles around the table while Tanner sets up his three laptops. Logan brings coffee to the table that sits untouched.
“What do we know?” Steve finally breaks the silence.
“There are suspicions the blackout was staged. The elevators were not in service, so the agents downstairs couldn’t get upstairs in time. The agents stationed at the front door were knocked out cold,” Delgado reports from his end. He isn’t even on the case, but from where he is, he’s getting a lot of the gossip.
“Affirmative. Agents Willow and Triste. They’re fairly new. This was their first shift on the Dodge case so I don’t believe they have been corrupted as of yet. What I find interesting is the seasoned agents weren’t posted outside the front door. That leads me to believe they were in on it.”
“Are those two being investigated?” Logan asks.
“Yes. I got word from my supervisor they are being interrogated as we speak.”
“Do we have any idea where he’d potentially go?” Steve demands.
“Aria told me he wouldn’t try his father’s house. His first stop would be here,” I reply, glancing to Tanner to see if he can start a search in the area.
“He’ll be using an alias. Any ideas?” Steve asks.
“Rockwell gave up two,” Tanner replies, starting up his computers and finally taking a seat.
“So far, I haven’t been alerted those aliases have been used anywhere. But I would imagine he’ll be using a new one. I’ll have a ton of CCTV footage to sift through. I’ll see if there was any recording with traffic cameras when he left Chicago, but don’t get hopeful. Since the whole city was on a blackout, I doubt we’ll find his exit.”
“Is his father still in Chicago?”
“He is in interrogation with Agent Wilkes. Charlotte Dodge is at the bureau, currently in the waiting area. Phones have been confiscated and one of the FBI Technical Analysts is currently looking through call and text logs.”
They wouldn’t have used their phones. They’re smart, but not smarter than us.
“Let me know if they find anything,” Steve barks.
Tanner mock salutes, even though Steve was talking to Nate. Tanner has his hands in everything. How he hasn’t been caught by the CIA yet is beyond me, but I trust him to have our backs.
“What about footage from the bugs we put in his apartment?”
“We know he has a burner. Image quality isn’t great since he keeps the curtains closed all day every day and uses the TV as his only light source. I assume he knows about the bugs. I can’t pull a make or model from the phone. Nate, do you know if your goons collected another phone in evidence?”
Nate shakes his head. “He wouldn’t have left it for anybody to find. He would’ve brought it with him.” Nate’s computer emits an alert. “A warrant has just been signed for search of Senior’s house. They might uncover something there, but I make no promises.”
“She said he’d come here, right?” Logan asks. When nobody answers, he turns to Tanner, deep in thought. “How many vacant properties are in town and within a five mile radius of the city’s limits? Steve, how many people do you know would take cash only?”
My mind flits to the Parkers. They’re shady as fuck, and they have tons of properties they rent out to the public with not so much as a credit check.
“Check out the Parkers. They have at least thirty rental properties around town, and I don’t think they would mind the cash,” I reply.
Tanner uses his sneaky tech ninja skills to access the IRS, pulling all of their property information.
“I’m printing out a list. Since the two of you live here, go through every single one of them and highlight the ones you know are occupied. We’ll work our way in and start a search on the ones outside of town.”
“Hold on,” Delgado says.
We’re all quiet when we hear voices on his end. I can’t make any of them out, but we all wait with bated breath.
“They’re sending Senior home,” Delgado warns.
“What the fuck? Why?” Nate demands.
“He couldn’t confirm anything. He wasn’t around the penthouse all day. Phone records have been pulled and according to them, he hasn’t tried to make contact with junior.”
My stomach sinks when I realize Aria’s greatest fear is coming to light. Zoey sleeps in the house next door to this one, with trouble a hair away. I don’t like this. I don’t like danger close to my daughter. But I especially don’t like danger coming to Aria.
31
ARIA
28 weeks pregnant…
Jo and I spend the morning writing our standard operating procedures when Nate, Derek, and three other dudes interrupt our process. Derek, usually upbeat, sarcastic, and with a glint of mischief in his eyes, is now serious and angry. Nate is uncharacteristically stoic and stiff.
Jo takes her cue and leaves, leaving me with a group of men that should terrify me. Maybe if they appeared two months ago, I’d be shaking in my boots. Now, they’re a nuisance. My new wardens.
“Hey, Aria. Do you have a minute?”
I nod, slinking back into my shell where I’m safe.
“These are the rest of our brothers. This is Joey,” he points to the tall one, the one who looks exactly like Archie from the comics, with his short, buzzed, blond hair, and bright blue eyes. His muscles have muscles. I’d suggest a looser fitting shirt since he’s about to rip out of this one, but he’s watching over me. So I’ll keep my
mouth shut.
“Logan,” he points to the other guy…the shorter one, but not by much. His chestnut brown hair is shaggy and disheveled. It hangs in his eyes and compliments the just as shaggy beard that looks like he hasn’t shaved in years. His chocolate eyes, however, tell his whole story.
He’s experienced loss. Don’t ask me how I know that, but I can tell. He doesn’t smile, but he doesn’t appear to be angry being here either. Exhaustion has set into his hard features in the form of heavy bags under his eyes and the slouch of his posture. He doesn’t care. But he cares about Derek and Nate.
“And this is Tanner.”
The famous Tanner. The one who watched Derek and I bump uglies. He’s…different than the others. Where the others are bulky and muscular, Tanner is lean and toned. He wears an amused smile, like he can’t ever take anything seriously. I don’t know why, but I feel like the two of us could be the best of friends. As long as he doesn’t bring up the other night.
“Delgado works for the bureau too, so it would raise eyebrows if he came down here. Anyway, I thought it might be best if you got to know everyone because they’ll be on watch until Charlie is caught.”
My eyes scan the men hesitantly and they rest on Derek. He offers me a reassuring smile before returning to his stoic nature.
“Okay, so what does this mean for me?”
Nate sighs and straightens. “It means you can’t leave anyone’s sight. It means even going to the barns, your doctor appointments, the store…you need to have someone with you.”
More babysitters. I don’t think I’ll even be allowed to use the bathroom by myself.
“It’s not a death sentence, Ace, we’re just taking extra precautions.” Derek’s smooth voice rumbles.
“You might think that,” I reply, standing up, shoving the chair back under the table. “I’ve moved from one warden to the other. I’m used to this.”
“Aria, it’s not like that,” Nate reasons.
“Maybe not. But you’re asking me to trust three other men I don’t know.” I glance to the others and grimace. “No offense. You could be the pope and I’d still keep you at a distance.”
“She’s fun,” Tanner quips to Derek. Derek glowers at him and Tanner shrinks back.
“Anyway, I’ve started a new job. The building isn’t complete yet, but Jo will be a regular here. So, probably don’t harass her much.” I sidestep the boys and head into the kitchen and yank open the fridge and hide behind the door for a moment’s peace.
“Ace…”
I close my eyes in frustration.
“What.”
“You’re moody.”
I white knuckle the refrigerator door handle tight as I restore my full height and narrow my eyes.
“And you’re nosy.”
He places his hand over mine, blocking my view from the others.
“This won’t be forever.”
“It will certainly feel like it,” I retort.
“Do you remember what you said a few weeks ago? That it was inevitable for fuckface to find you?”
I nod reluctantly. I still feel it in my bones. I thought I could hold off until the baby was born, but it was dumb of me to think otherwise. If Charlie is anything, he’s predictable.
“Maybe he will. But maybe when he finds you, he finds us instead.”
“It doesn’t change the fact I didn’t want anyone to get involved,” I snap, slamming the fridge closed. “How many of you have kids? Wives?”
The boys stand stock still. Joey narrows his eyes at me, like I asked how much he weighed. Logan’s stony face literally does nothing, and Tanner just snickers.
But fuck me running, none of them pipe up.
“We’re here because we want to be here,” Derek says gently behind me.
“So it’s just you, then? You have Zoey.”
He nods, which sends my stomach into a knotted mess.
“Then get out while you can, Derek. Because if anything happens to her because of me, I’ll never forgive you. I’ll never forgive myself.”
The front door opens and Annie stares blankly at the men in front of her, and then to me. Fight be damned, when she sees me crying, she rushes over to me and glares at Derek.
“I’m going to put my sister back to bed, and when I come back, the rest of you are going to tell me what the fuck is going on.” She snaps her head to Nate and glowers. “Strike one.”
Nate groans, and suddenly, I’m being swept away into the bedroom.
“I’m sorry I went crazy on you,” I whimper when she climbs into bed with me.
“No, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. That was shitty of me.” She weakly smiles and adjusts her head on the pillow. “What’s going on, Peanut? Do you want me to kick all of those guys out?”
“I don’t think it’ll matter. They’re here to babysit me. I’m not allowed out of anyone’s sight until Charlie is caught.”
“What do you mean caught?” she demands.
And so I tell her. I tell her the hell I’ve been through since she’s been staying at Momma and Daddy’s house while we silently fought.
Charlie is on the hunt. And sooner or later, he’ll find me and finish what he started.
“So…who are they?” she asks, referring to Nate’s men.
“They’re from Nate and Derek’s unit when they were in Afghanistan. Nate says they’re the only ones he can trust not to be corrupt, so yeah…they’ll be around.”
Annie frowns.
“Okay. Give me a few minutes. I’ll kick them out and we can spend the day watching TV.”
“That sounds fun, but I don’t want to be cooped up inside. I’d rather do stalls.”
Annie grins.
“Well then, you can do all of mine.”
A few hours later, once I’m certain Derek’s at work, I head down to the barn where Tanner is waiting for me. I try not to acknowledge him, but when he greets me, I have no option but to be polite.
“So…how long have you been a cowgirl?”
I roll my eyes and scoff.
“I’m not a cowgirl. I’m a farmer.” Sort of.
I move Tippy out of his stall, turn him out into the paddock a few feet outside barn number four and pull a wheelbarrow up to the front of the stall. I grab the pitchfork and start mucking out the stall.
“Okay, so how long have you been a farmer?”
“Since day one,” I reply easily. He hangs back, watching the ground and occasionally scrolling and typing on his phone. “So…you’re a marine?”
He smirks. “Once upon a time, yes. I did my four years and was ready to get the fuck out, but then Bubba convinced me to stay.” He shrugs casually. “It was fun while it lasted. But now…”
His voice trails off and stares at his phone.
“Now, what?”
“Hm?”
Whatever.
“Hey, I’m sorry about the other night. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. But I saw one brother trying to shoot the other and that doesn’t sit well with me. I had to intervene before Nate did something he’d regret.”
My stomach sinks, leaving me in that air of blissful ignorance, spending the night tangled up in Derek Hawthorn.
“You watched us?”
He shakes his head slowly.
“As soon as the doorbell rang and I saw you jump him, I turned the feed off.”
My cheeks heat, and I turn away. I refuse to let this stranger watch me blush.
“But eventually you turned it back on…”
“Yeah, I did. Because I might live two states away, and I miss my brother like crazy, though if you tell him I said that I’d deny it, but we’ve been through a lot. All of us. And sometimes when our demons pay me a visit, I get paranoid and keep an eye on everyone. It’s how I’m assured that everyone is safe.”
I get it. Thankfully, there weren’t any children involved when I was with Charlie. Because if there were, I probably wouldn’t have left. And if we did get rescued earlier on, I’d probably neve
r leave their rooms.
Trauma has a funny way of keeping you on your toes.
“I don’t think he knew you had his place bugged.”
Tanner snorts and shoves his phone back into his pocket.
“That’s fine. He knows now. And…I don’t think he’ll mind. It’s comforting knowing there’s more than one pair of eyes that are keeping an eye on Zoey. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’d do anything for her.”
Yeah, so would I. Which is why I’m so angry at her father for being so careless.
“She’s special,” I reply softly. “She’s my little best friend and I only get to see her a handful of times.” I shrug, leaning the pitchfork against the wall and approaching him timidly. “I don’t know what you’ve assumed at this point, but this thing with me and Derek…it was a one time thing. It won’t happen again.”
The hollowness in my stomach is back. Nothing can happen. I have to keep reminding myself about that. For Zoey’s sake.
“Bubba isn’t the type who settles down. I mean, he did with Emily, because you’re supposed to get married young when you’re in the military, just for everything to go to shit.” His crooked smile makes me want to love him. Not like a woman loves a man. But like a sister loves a brother. Or a gay best friend. “I’ve seen the long line of women he keeps at arm’s length. But you’re different.”
Don’t give me hope.
I don’t want it.
“I don’t want to be different,” I whine. “It can’t ever happen, Tanner. So please don’t try to play match maker.”
He snickers.
“Okay, fine. I won’t. On the condition you behave.”
I arch my eyebrow.
Excuse me?
“I don’t mean to scold you like a child, but you did walk down here on your own after Nate told you to be with someone.”
“Charlie wouldn’t strike in broad daylight.”
“He won’t.”
But his associates might.
Fuck.
“Anyway, Logan and Joey are grumpy fucks. Logan has a reason to, so maybe don’t press him on it. But Joey? I’m almost positive he’s still a virgin and that’s why he’s so miserable. But they’re good people. We’ll look out for you and we promise not to invade your space too much. We’re here to help. Plus, I think my brother has the hots for you.”
Make Me Dream (The Sage Creek Series Book 1) Page 24