by Margaret Kay
“A lot at the office, as you worked at your desk or were at the equipment. A few of you getting in or out of your car at home, at the store. He even had a few of you sitting on the swing on your front porch.”
Annaka’s eyes went wide. “I never saw him taking a picture of me.”
Mother laid his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. “It’s easy to be discreet taking pictures with our phones. You on your front porch are the ones that bother me the most.”
“He’s never been to my house.”
“It seems he has, in fact, been to your house,” Sherman said.
“Alfrejd knows all about this?” Lambchop asked.
Sherman nodded as he shoved another bite of the fish into his mouth. “I filled HQ in as well. Shepherd is going to get copies of everything they have, for our people to look over too.”
“Good,” Mother said. He trusted his team more than the FBI lab in Anchorage. “I’d like to see those pics too once we have them.”
Lambchop nodded.
As he finished his meal, Mother stewed over the fact that Keeling had been watching Annaka. That the bastard had pictures of her taken without her knowledge. A part of him was glad Keeling was dead. Though if he were alive, he’d be able to answer their questions, including if Annaka was still in any danger.
Mother yawned and then checked his watch. “Damn, with it getting dark at sixteen hundred, I feel like it’s nearly midnight, but it’s not even twenty-one hundred yet.”
Annaka nodded. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I have a sun lamp on my desk by the bed. I need to sit with it on when I first wake up, to mimic morning sunlight. I often power it back up for an hour after I get home from work too, just to help regulate my awake and sleep cycles because with it dark for so long in the winter, all I want to do is sleep.”
“Shift work messes with that too,” Mother said. “I know you work varied shifts.”
“Yes, but I don’t mind. I get a lot done when no one else is at the office.”
Mother gave her a mild grin. “Well, as we talked about, you’re not going to work odd shifts for a while, right?”
“Right,” she agreed.
Her sparkling eyes held his. Her smile was flirty as she remembered their fight and their kisses that afternoon. They’d go to bed soon. She knew she wanted to enjoy more of those kisses with him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lambchop and his intense stare. Her facial expression changed from flirty to concerned as her eyes shifted to him.
“We’re only here through tomorrow,” Lambchop said. “We’ll follow any leads we come up with, but our flight leaves at twenty-three hundred, and it is a long drive to Anchorage. We’ll probably pull out of here by seventeen hundred.”
“I’m staying with you until January second,” Mother said. “We’ll move to your house tomorrow when the team leaves.”
She nodded. Then she forced a smile. She glanced at the three men who would be leaving. “I understand you have to go. Thank you for everything.” Her voice cracked, and tears flooded her eyes.
She looked back at her plate and finished the last few bites. The men had all finished every bite of their meals. Sherman was eyeing the pie. She got up and went to the cabinet. She got salad plates. She rummaged through a drawer and found a spatula that would work for serving the pie. Then she cut it. She was stuffed, would need to wait several hours to have a slice.
Mother watched her gather the plates. He saw that she was fighting back tears. “Annaka, I’ll continue to work the investigation until I have to go.”
“And our digital unit at HQ will stay on it too,” Lambchop said. “There just aren’t enough leads to justify us staying on site. Our boss will send us back if anything develops.”
Annaka bit the tears back and forced her emotions to calm. “I know and I do appreciate it. I’ll be fine. I’ll be careful after you’re all gone.” Her eyes went back to Danny, and she emphasized the word ‘all’. After a few quiet seconds, she rose. “I think I’m going to go in the bedroom now. I need to set up my new phone. I’m glad all my contacts and pictures were in the cloud and all downloaded okay, but I am really pissed I had to replace a phone that was almost brand new. As far as I’m concerned, Patrick owes me seven-hundred dollars. I don’t suppose I can try to recover that from his estate?”
The men chuckled.
“Aren’t you going to have some pie?” Sherman asked, digging into his large slice.
She laughed softly. “I’m stuffed from dinner. Please save me that piece.” She pointed to the one left in the tin.
“I’m going into the inlet with Annaka and Remi tomorrow. They’re gathering new water samples to test,” Mother said.
“Sherman, BT, and I have an appointment to see the onsite platform manager at rig C-Three,” Lambchop informed them.
“Push him about the leak. We’ll be drawing fresh samples from right beside the rig and will know if the leak is still active or not. He should know from the equipment they have monitoring their operation. If he says it’s fixed and we find oil in the water, he’s lying, and you’ll know you can’t believe a word out of his damn mouth.”
Mother grinned. He’d only heard her swear once or twice. Her stare was determined. Although she still teared up, he could see that she was moving past being a victim. Her emotions and mindset were turning more towards angry than traumatized.
“I also have several word games to play,” she added with a small smile. “You will stay in with me again tonight, won’t you Danny?” She asked with no shyness.
He nodded. “Whatever you want, Annaka.”
“Thank you. Come in whenever you want.” She picked up her purse and her glass of water and brought them in with her. She closed the door behind herself.
When Mother’s eyes bounced back to the team from the closed bedroom door, both Sherman and BT had knowing grins on their faces. Lambchop’s expression was subdued. “Be careful you aren’t too close after we leave. If she’s still in danger, she needs you to be her objective, undistracted protector, not whatever it is that’s going on between you.”
Mother couldn’t help the grin that spread on his face. He held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “Nothing yet. Look, I like the lady. We’ve been online friends for years.”
Lambchop shook his head. “Don’t try to bullshit me. Just be careful. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I will,” Mother said. “Her safety is my number one priority.” He shook his head as he thought about it. “I just don’t see us having any solid leads before I have to go too. I know the FBI and HQ will run every number that was on Keeling’s phone in addition to picking apart everything on both the phone and laptop, but I don’t see us knowing who those two men were anytime soon. I’d bet anything they’re going to find calls to a burner phone, if any at all. It doesn’t take a professional to know not to use your personal phone when discussing a crime like kidnapping.”
“This whole thing with those two men pretending to kidnap Keeling too, doesn’t make sense,” BT said. “I’m sure if they’d just stuck a gun in her face and told her to make the false entries, she would have. It’s not like they were instructing her to commit murder.”
Lambchop nodded. “You’re right. We’ve said it before. We’ve got two motives that don’t align.”
“I sure hope they find something on Keeling’s phone or laptop,” Mother said as he stood. He stretched. “I’m going to go in with Annaka.” He gave Lambchop a grin and then disappeared behind the bedroom door.
Annaka looked up from her phone. She laid on her stomach across the bed, propped up on her elbows. Mother watched the smile spread over her face. She was beautiful, and he knew that he was hooked. She had his heart.
“I’m sorry I got emotional. I don’t even want to think about you leaving yet. I want more time with you, Danny. I really like you,” she admitted.
Mother climbed on the bed and rolled her to her back. “Then don’t think about me leaving. We have four days and
three nights together. Let’s make them count.”
He lowered his face to hers. He kissed her forehead softly. Then his lips kissed the very tip of her nose. When he kissed her chin, she angled her head and pressed her lips to his. She initiated a kiss so passionate that his senses were knocked sideways.
Annaka kissed him with everything she had. Just the sight of him entering the bedroom had gotten her excited. When he’d rolled her to her back and hung over her, the emotions that hit her were forceful. She wanted to hold him and feel over him. She wanted to kiss him like she had in the bathroom earlier that day. She wanted a lot more.
By just acting without thinking, it wasn’t long before Mother had his body pressed to hers. His anxious cock was straining against the zipper of his jeans. He trailed kisses down her neck. Her eyes were closed. Her mouth was open and drew in gasps of air. Her hands kneaded over his arms. She held him in place.
“Is the door locked?” She whispered.
“Yes,” he replied quietly, his breath blowing over her ear. “No one would come in if it weren’t.”
“Do you think they suspect this?” She asked.
Mother had to chuckle. “I’m sure they do.”
She pulled at his shirt, untucking it. She pushed it up his torso, the sensation of her bare fingers on his skin ratcheting up his desire. He helped her, pulling it over his head and off. The excitement he felt from her hands skimming over his skin made him want all her clothes off. First though, he attacked her mouth with a hunger that the kisses and caresses only intensified.
“Fair is fair,” he whispered, pulling her into a sitting position before taking her sweater off her. She wore a black satiny bra. “I don’t suppose there are matching panties?”
She laid back down and raised her hips. “See for yourself.”
Mother moaned out in pure lust. He undid the button and the zipper on her jeans, seeing silky black panties below. He pressed a kiss below her belly button, just above the panties. Then he took her jeans off. He sat back and gazed at her with a satisfied smile, taking in the beautiful sight before him.
“Fair is fair, you too,” she said, rolling up and reaching for his belt. As she undid it, then the button, then the zipper, she pressed kisses to his abs, working her way up his body. At his nipples, after kissing them, she gently bit.
Mother just about came in his pants. “Oh fuck,” he cursed. “Remember, fair is fair.” He gently pushed her back to the mattress, and then he shed his pants. His hands glided over her soft, warm flesh. He paused, his face hanging over hers. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” Then he pressed his lips to hers.
Annaka wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her pelvis to his. Her lips were on his ear. She blew a hot breath over it. Then she pressed kisses to his neck. His hands on her flesh ignited every nerve ending in her body, fueling a desire that nothing but his hard member buried deep inside her would satisfy.
“Are you on birth control?” He whispered, knowing they were reaching the point that he needed to know.
“No. You got a condom?” She continued to trail kisses down his neck.
Mother sighed out in disbelief. “No.”
“What do you mean you don’t have a condom? Don’t all single guys carry one?”
Mother would have laughed at that statement if he weren’t so frustrated. “When the mission got approved to come up here to try to find you, believe me, my last thought was that I might need a condom.”
“Ugh!” She sighed out, halting her attack on his neck. “I can’t believe this.” She let her body flop back to the mattress.
Mother kissed her again, a lengthy, intense kiss. When he pulled his lips from hers, he let his head hover over her. She looked beautiful. Her kiss-swollen lips were pursed in position for another kiss. “So, we just don’t do that. There are a lot of other ways we can make each other feel really good.”
He kissed her, caressed over her, slid his fingers into her bra and enjoyed the silky softness of her breast. He took it off completely and gazed at her bare beauty. Damn, he wished he had a condom. He lavished them with kisses and then returned the favor of the gentle bite. She gasped aloud and arched her back. The panties were the next to go. His hands and his lips explored everywhere on her body. With expert focus between her legs, he brought her to an orgasm so powerful he nearly came himself, just watching her.
His cock was throbbing in his shorts. He needed to feel her hand on him. As though she read his mind, as soon as she recovered, her hand tucked into the top of his boxer briefs and he was rewarded with her soft fingers caressing over his member and then down over his balls. She grasped him firmly. Her fiery gaze met his and his eyes couldn’t look away. Her eyes mesmerized him.
“Lose the shorts,” she whispered. “And then lie on your back. Fair is fair.”
He didn’t waste a second. He obeyed her.
She hovered over him.
“And just so we’re clear. I’m not done with you yet,” he whispered.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” Then she went to work on his hard-as-steel member. She stroked it, licked it, sucked on it. She did all the right things at the right moments to maximize his pleasure. His orgasm was intense.
When they were both sated, he held her naked body against his beneath the covers. He knew they’d have to put some clothes on, and he’d have to quietly unlock the door before they went to sleep. But for now, he reveled in the incredible sensation of naked Annaka against him.
“We need to get some birth control tomorrow,” she whispered.
“I like how you think.”
The truth was, he loved how she thought. He loved how she had boldly asked him to stay with her again tonight, in front of his teammates. He loved her confidence. She wasn’t shy or hesitant in bed or out of it. She knew what she wanted, and she went for it. He found that sexier than hell. After several quiet, comfortable minutes, he felt her completely relax in his arms. Her breathing evened out. He didn’t want to wake her, but they couldn’t sleep naked. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. They could linger a while longer.
He woke the next morning, still naked, still holding Annaka. He checked his watch, zero five hundred. He smelled the incredible aroma of coffee. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand. There were no new calls, emails, or text messages. He held the phone over her face so he could see her beautiful features in the dim lighting. Her face looked peaceful.
“Annaka,” he whispered. He kissed her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” she replied softly, a natural smile gracing her face. “What time is it?”
“Zero five hundred. I’ll take my shower first. Someone has coffee going. I’ll bring you a cup.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Wake me back up when the shower is free.”
He smiled as he watched her roll over and snuggle into her pillow. He took his shower quickly, dressed, and quietly left the room. She was sleeping and quietly snoring. That was when he realized that she hadn’t complained about his snoring. Damn, they were compatible.
He knew he had a smile on his face as he stepped into the living room area. The three other men were awake, sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee. Their bags were packed and near the door. “Good morning.”
“You’re happy this morning,” Sherman said with a knowing grin.
“Is Annaka still sleeping?” Lambchop asked.
“Yeah. I’m going to get her a cup of coffee and then wake her. She said last night she wanted to get a shower this morning, and she plans to be at the research center around seven.” He ran his fingers through his still-wet hair.
“You could have saved some water,” Sherman said, still beaming that shit-eating grin at him.
Mother ignored him. He would neither confirm nor deny.
“We got a report from HQ this morning,” Lambchop said. “There were several calls to and from Keeling to a burner phone over a two-week time period before C
hristmas Eve.”
“Two weeks?” Mother repeated. “That’s the time frame when the seismic survey was filed.” He considered that for a moment while he poured two cups of coffee. “Keeling already knew that Annaka would be alone in the research office for a twelve-hour shift opposite of him on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He also knew that her report was due by the end of December and that she’d probably work on it then.”
“The kidnapping was planned weeks in advance,” Lambchop said with a nod.
“That brings us back to why the charade?” Mother said.
“There’s more. It looks like Keeling either was a stalker after all or he was trying to protect her,” Lambchop said. “Maybe both.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The FBI found a voicemail in the deleted bin on Keeling’s phone from that burner number. The male caller said don’t fuck this up. Either control her or we will,” Lambchop said.