The touch was tentative. Light. She wanted more. She wanted all of Wyatt.
Climbing onto his lap, Quinn straddled his thighs, his hardness immediately pushing against her core.
It did nothing to still her racing heart.
Quinn explored his mouth. Nipping and teasing. Her hands ran through his hair, pulling his head closer.
When his tongue snaked its way through her lips, she couldn’t help the soft groan that escaped her throat. Need rippled through her fast and hard.
Their tongues danced while her breasts pressed to his chest. It was a tantalizing combination.
Wyatt’s lips began their slow exploration down her cheek and jaw, before landing on her neck. She tilted her head back to give him better access.
Holy heck, his lips were magic. She almost had to remind herself to breathe.
At the feel of his warm hands touching the bare skin of her stomach, a quiver shot through her body. Her skin was overly sensitized to his touch. And she wanted to feel him against every inch of her.
At the tug of her sweater, Quinn lifted her arms. When she sat there in just a bra covering her top half, Quinn leaned in again…but was stopped by Wyatt’s hands.
Forcing her eyes to focus, she noticed he was staring at something. Something on her upper arm. The lust seemed to fade from his face.
Glancing down to where he was looking, she saw it. Blue and black bruising marred her skin. It was in the shape of a hand.
Ah, hell.
“Who did this?”
She attempted to push off his lap, but the hands on her hips held her firm.
“It’s from the other day, when Darren was here.”
Wyatt’s eyes narrowed. Crap. He knew that wasn’t true. “Don’t lie to me, Quinn. These bruises are fresh. Someone had their hands on you today. Who?”
He knew that just from looking at the marks? And what was with the guy demanding information from her?
“Wyatt, I’d like to get up now.”
His hold on her hips released, and when she stood, he stood too. Grabbing her sweater, Quinn quickly tugged it over her head.
“Was it him?”
Her gaze shot up to Wyatt’s. She was trying to remain calm, but the guy’s demanding tone was beginning to grate on her. “It’s none of your business, Wyatt.”
She took a step toward the door—and suddenly Wyatt stood in front of her.
What the…the man was damn quick for someone so big.
“Okay, it was Darren. Happy?”
“Not even close. So he’s still in town. Why?”
She didn’t like the way the guy was talking to her one bit, but clearly he wasn’t going to let it lie until she told him. “He should be on a plane right now, flying back to New York. And yes, he was asking me if I’d dropped the story. When I wouldn’t confirm that I had, he grabbed me.”
Fury flashed over Wyatt’s face.
Quinn held up her hands. “Before you get ahead of yourself, I kicked him in the balls and walked away. I’m safe. I took care of myself. And now he’s gone.”
Wyatt ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “You said you’d tell me if he came back.”
That was true. “I took care of it. So I didn’t see the point in stressing you out.”
Because the guy was clearly stressed and agitated by the whole thing.
Quinn crossed her arms over her chest. A moment ago, she’d been wrapped around Wyatt’s big, heated body. Now she just felt cold. “Maybe you should go.”
Her words seemed to snap him out of his anger. Clearing his features, he lifted a hand and touched her cheek. Even though she was frustrated at how the evening had ended, she couldn’t help but lean into him.
“I could stay for a bit.”
If he’d said those words a few moments ago, in the midst of their kissing, she would have been ecstatic. But the only reason he was saying them now was because he was worried about her safety.
“I’ll be okay. Darren will be back in New York by morning, and even if he isn’t, I’m not worried. We both know this apartment has a very good security system if I was in danger.”
Which she didn’t think she was.
Wyatt didn’t look so convinced, but still he conceded. “Okay.”
She expected him to turn and leave. He didn’t. Instead, he dropped his head and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was sweet. And over way too quickly.
“Lock the door behind me.”
Then he left. She had no doubt that in a few seconds, Wyatt would be in his apartment, researching Darren. Making sure he got on the plane.
Walking to the door, Quinn locked it before resting her head against the wood.
Tonight, while he’d been kissing her, she’d felt something. Something new and real. And she wished that none of the drama in her life had interrupted.
Chapter 9
Darren never got on the plane. The asshole was still here. The question was, where? So far, Wyatt had searched all the accommodations in Marble Falls, including inns, motels, and short-term rentals. He’d found nothing booked in the guy’s name.
Next, he’d looked into all car rental services. Again, absolutely nothing. Wyatt had even recruited Evie’s help to track the guy’s credit card and phone. He wasn’t using any of them.
Leaning back in his seat, Wyatt ran his hands through his hair as he glanced around the Marble Protection office. The guy had put his hands on Quinn twice. Wyatt wanted eyes on him. He wanted to know why he hadn’t gotten on the plane.
Wyatt had spoken to Mason this morning, expressing his concerns about her ex-boss. They’d both agreed that, until their questions were answered, it was best to have someone from the team keep eyes on her.
Even though Wyatt hadn’t spoken to his friend about his deepening relationship with Quinn, he was almost certain Mason suspected something was going on. Hell, he might have even expected something to happen.
Mason hadn’t questioned Wyatt on how he knew about the bruises. Just like he hadn’t asked how Wyatt knew Darren was still in town.
Either way, Wyatt would need to tell the man everything soon enough. In the meantime, his focus needed to be on ensuring Quinn’s safety.
She didn’t know it, but today, Kye was watching her apartment. He would also be trailing her to work.
Glancing at the time, Wyatt cursed under his breath. He’d spent the entire morning researching Darren and had made no progress.
About to switch off the laptop, Wyatt stopped when an email popped up. An email from Sinclair. The agent from the CIA who Wyatt and his team had been working with to shut down Project Arma.
Clicking into it, he scanned the contents, a heavy weight of guilt settling in his gut.
He opened the attached image. And not only did the guilt intensify, but a strong urge to get up and punch something consumed him.
Pushing back from the desk, he scrubbed his hands over his face. There was the small possibility this wasn’t his fault. He hoped like hell that was the case. Chances were slim.
Lifting his phone, Wyatt sent a quick message to his team. Not everyone was at Marble Protection, but whoever was would join him in the office. Everyone else would be updated later.
While he waited, Wyatt printed off the image. It wasn’t until Luca, Eden, Oliver, and Bodie took seats at the table that he dragged his eyes away from the picture in his hand.
Kye was the first to speak. “What’s happening?”
Wyatt pushed the image to the center of the table. All four men leaned forward to look at it. A mixture of horror and anger flashing across their faces.
“Who is it?” Luca asked.
“And who the hell did it?” Eden added.
Wyatt shut the laptop in front of him. He didn’t need to see the email any longer. He knew how it read. The picture of the decapitated man in the middle of the table was a big enough reminder.
“Jack Nettle.” Wyatt wasn’t surprised by the blank st
ares he received. Even though this man had helped them numerous times, it was only Wyatt who’d been in contact with him. “I sent him Striker’s blood sample after he was drugged with Toved. He analyzed it and sent us a list of the ingredients.”
Toved was a drug designed by Project Arma. Asher had been the first to be drugged with it. It had sent him into a murderous rage.
Luckily, the guys had been able to subdue him. They’d also been able to take a blood sample. Jack had studied that sample.
“Not only that, but when we wanted another set of eyes on Fletcher’s blood, he was the man we sent the sample to.”
Kye leaned forward. “You must have known him well to trust him with the samples.”
“We’ve been friends since high school. He’s a good guy. The only guy I trusted to get us the results we needed.” And now Wyatt couldn’t help but feel he might be responsible for his friend’s death.
The smile Bodie usually wore was gone. “How did you get this picture of him?”
By not taking no for an answer.
“Jack and I keep in regular contact. I hadn’t heard from him in over a week, so I reached out to his family. Said I was an old friend.” His sister had been distraught on the phone. It had torn Wyatt up. “They told me he’d died.”
“Do they know how?” Luca asked.
That was where it got prickly. “The family was told car accident.”
The men scoffed, almost in unison.
“I wanted proof he was dead. So I contacted Sinclair.” The man had access to a lot of information. If anyone could confirm his death, it was him. “I demanded evidence. He emailed me that. When I demanded the real cause of death, he told me it was a workplace break-in. Some drugs were also stolen.”
The drug theft could easily have been a ruse to cover the real reason they were there—to kill Jack.
“Jack worked at the Salina Pharmaceutical Drug Lab,” Wyatt continued. “While I was waiting for word from Sinclair, I looked into some of his coworkers. Two others died on the same night.”
Kye’s eyes narrowed. “So, why wasn’t his family told the truth?”
“My guess? Because Sinclair connected it to us and didn’t want the story to become public knowledge.”
Eden swore under his breath. “Would it be possible for Hylar to link Jack to you?”
“It would be damn hard. I’ve installed the highest security on my devices. Hylar wouldn’t be able to hack my phone or email. Jack’s email or phone could have been hacked, but Hylar would have needed to suspect him to begin with. He would have needed to know about the connection between me and Jack first.”
What was the other alternative? That Hylar had hacked every single scientist in the country—in the world even—before randomly coming across Jack’s connection to Wyatt? That wasn’t logical.
Oliver’s eyes remained on the image as he spoke. “You said Jack was a friend from high school. Maybe Hylar has people rifling through our lives, right back to school years. They could be trying to cut our ties with people who could help us.”
That was a possibility, but again, it would be damn time consuming. Unless he had an army of people working for him. Which Wyatt didn’t think he had. Not after they’d raided his facility.
“The guys who killed him clearly didn’t care about raising suspicion,” Bodie added. “Maybe it wasn’t Hylar’s men.”
Wyatt preferred that scenario. Because that would mean none of the blame lay on him. The way he had died though…it raised a lot of suspicion.
Blowing out a long breath, Wyatt rubbed his eyes. “Jack was a good guy. He didn’t deserve this shit.”
“Jobs. This is not your fault, so get that out of your head right now. Do you even know for sure that he’s dead because of his connection to us?”
Wyatt looked over at Luca. He didn’t know that. “The way Jack died, in combination with his connection to us…”
“Still not your fault.” Oliver shook his head. “Just like it’s not our fault that we’re caught in the middle of a war with an underground organization that altered our DNA. A hundred percent of the blame for all of it lies with them.”
The other three guys nodded in agreement.
Wyatt appreciated their support but still felt like hell, guilt almost suffocating him.
Quinn was just getting ready for work when her phone rang from the kitchen. Her brows lifted in surprise when she saw it was Maya.
Yes. This was the call she’d been waiting for. Quinn had been trying to reach the woman for days with no success.
“Maya?”
“They did it again.” Maya’s words were rushed, her underlying panic and fear thick through the line.
“Who did what, Maya?”
“Them! I have a friend in Salina. She said she could help me. I was going to go stay with her for a bit. I told her about what I saw, but she didn’t believe me!”
Maya spoke so quickly, her words were running into each other. Quinn could barely understand the woman.
“Calm down. Take some deep breaths and tell me what happened.”
“She’s dead!” A sob sounded through the line. “Her mother told me when I reached out to the family.
Oh, crap. Crap crap crap. Not again.
“And I can feel eyes on me,” she continued. “It might be in my head. I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore, other than I don’t think I’m safe here. I have to leave town again. Disappear for good this time!”
Quinn scrambled to think of a solution. She wanted to help the other woman. She needed to. Not just because of the story, and not just because she’d said she would, but because no one else was helping her.
“Wait. Give me your address and I’ll come get you. I’ve got work today, but I’ll come tomorrow.”
There was a pause across the line. That was okay, a pause was good. It meant Maya was considering Quinn’s offer instead of instantly dismissing it.
“Please, Maya. Let me help you.”
Maya’s voice was shaky when she spoke again. “Okay.”
Relief hit Quinn hard. She was too late to help the last wave of victims, but maybe, just maybe, she could help Maya.
As Maya rattled off her address. Quinn grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the kitchen drawer and wrote it down. It would be a long drive, but as long as she got to the other woman, helped her, that was what mattered.
Quinn also wrote the name of the company where her friend had lived and worked. She would research the pharmaceutical company later.
“Got it. I’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.”
“And, Quinn…there’s something else.”
Quinn waited for Maya to tell her. There was an air of danger to the silence.
“I should have told you this already. I don’t know why I didn’t. Maybe because I was scared. Or maybe I just didn’t trust you as much then.”
“It’s okay, Maya, you can tell me anything.”
“The guys who broke into Novac…they stole a lot, but they seemed interested in two particular materials. They specifically asked about them. Rare materials that we don’t keep much of in the US. They filled their bags with those ingredients first, then they just shoved a whole lot of other stuff in. Almost like they were trying to cover up what they really wanted.”
“Can you recall the materials they asked for?”
“Yes.” Maya recounted the names of two pharmaceutical components Quinn had never heard of. She asked for the correct spelling, not wanting to make any mistakes.
“Those materials are in such short supply, there are very few labs that stock them. New York, Alabama, and Salina all did.” Maya paused. “If you can find the last labs that stock them, I think they’ll be the next targets.”
Chapter 10
Quinn studied the sky through the bakery window.
It was dark. Dark and gloomy.
There was a storm due this evening. Buckets of rain and heavy winds were expected. Based on the gray clouds, the storm wasn’t f
ar off.
Quinn couldn’t wait. She loved storms. She was already picturing herself snuggled under some blankets on the couch, hot chocolate in hand. Or better yet, snuggled under Wyatt’s big, muscular arm.
Maybe, if the guy agreed to another movie night, this one might go a little smoother.
When the door to the bakery opened, Quinn moved behind the counter. Mrs. Potter was in the back baking, and Quinn only planned to disturb the woman if she absolutely had to.
Two men and two women entered the café, one of the women holding a baby.
The women were beautiful. The first with radiant red hair and the second with a unique splattering of freckles across her nose.
The men were just as large as Wyatt and Mason. Quinn wouldn’t be surprised to learn they were part owners of Marble Protection. After all, there were still three men who she had yet to meet.
“Hi there, I’m Quinn. What can I get you today?”
The girl with brown hair and freckles was the one to answer. “Hey! I’m Shylah and this is my boyfriend Eden.” She touched the arm of the tallest man before turning to the other two. “This is Asher, the baby dada, and Lexie, the baby mama, holding their little smoosh-face, Fletcher.”
Quinn couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her lips at the sight of the chubby infant. She wasn’t typically a baby person, but she had to admit, he was damn cute.
“Nice to meet everyone.” When Quinn looked up, she was again taken by Lexie’s long red hair. “Your hair is stunning.”
The woman smiled. “Thank you. All natural. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if a few grays have snuck in since Fletch here was born.”
Asher wrapped his arm around her waist. “Red hair, gray hair, it would all look beautiful on you.”
Quinn wanted to melt to the floor at the man’s words. How. Freaking. Sweet.
“And you’re Eagle’s sister?”
Quinn looked up at Eden. He wore the most intense expression. “That I am. I guess he told you?”
Shylah leaned forward. “They all know everything about their team. I wouldn’t question it.”
Wyatt: A steamy contemporary military romance (Project Arma Book 5) Page 7