Rolling me on my back now, he smiles down at me and takes my lips in a kiss that feels like he’s starving. With every stroke of his tongue, he slams into me with a sure and forceful stroke.
“Noah,” I say, sliding my hands down his back and cupping his ass. “It feels so good.”
He smiles in the dark. I feel his muscles tense around me as he forces himself to slow down thrusts until they are long, slow, and hard, filling my body with his. He takes my lips in another kiss, and I feel it building up inside of me― a hard pressure, this need for release while never wanting him to stop this complicated, sweet agony.
As my legs rise around him, I wrap them around his waist, pulling him deeper into me.
“Harder,” I moan. “I need it now. Harder,” I say, urging him on.
I hear him groaning in my ear. Sliding his hand down around my neck, he squeezes and starts to thrust faster and harder, sending my small breasts bouncing beneath him in the dark but it’s still not enough for me.
“Again. Again,” I demand, grabbing his hips and urging him on. He thrusts harder and faster as I cry out into the darkness.
I build and then finally, I break, screaming my release before he covers my mouth with his, drowning me out.
I lay panting and weak beneath him as he thrusts three more times, and I can feel his release. It sets off another orgasm in me. He groans into my mouth before he collapses and rolls over on his side. His is body spent. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me close before tucking the sleeping bag down around us.
I’m almost asleep when I feel him stroke my hair. He whispers something but I can’t tell what it is before the darkness of sleep claims me.
Chapter Fourteen
Noah
I wake up, cold. My three hundred, winter rated sleeping bag isn't doing much to keep me warm, today. I'm a little surprised because it's worked in the past. I slide my hand over and It’s met by open air. “Charlie?”
Where did Charlie go?
Opening my eyes, I roll to face where she once lay, sitting up quickly. I see the sleeping bag is open down the side. Well, that explains the cold. I frown, reaching for my sweatshirt and pulling it over my head. “Charlie,” I whisper in the low light of dawn. Hearing nothing, I climb out of the sleeping bag and pull on my winter boots and coat. I walk around the campsite. “Charlie,” I whisper. Maybe she had to use the restroom. Grabbing my flashlight and clicking it on, I spin slowly, looking for any sign of movement. I see nothing. “Charlie,” I call, a little louder, turning my face to the lake. A light sheen of ice remains untouched on the surface as the snow continues to fall in light flurries, just as it did the night before.
“Charlie!” I call louder, and I feel the panic building up inside of me. Where did she go? This doesn't make any sense!
I walk back through the trees, shining the flashlight, looking for signs of footprints. Damn the snow! It falls so freely that even if she left an hour ago, her footprints will be almost indiscernible.
“Charlie!” I call, the anxiety building within me.
Okay. I have to be calm. I need to think. Turning around and shining the light across the lake, I squint into the distance. Did she go to her dad's campsite? I guess that's a possibility. “Okay. There's no reason to panic,” I tell myself as I walk back towards the lake, my shoes crunching against the fallen branches. “Charlie!” I call into the dark, my voice echoing across the lake.
Something doesn't feel right. I don't know how to explain it, but I know, before I reach Kenton's tent, that she's not there either. “Charlie...” I say again, my voice clipped. I hear rustling in Kenton’s tent. Slightly sliding open the tent door, Kenton peeks his head out.
“What are you doing, Noah?”
“Charlie. Is she here?” I ask, my voice higher than usual. I can feel the panic clawing its way through my chest as I see the confusion in Kenton's tired eyes.
“No. Why would she be here?” he says, looking around. “Are you telling me she's not with you?”
“Dammit. No!”
“You said she'd be safe with you!” Kenton snaps, and I have to resist the urge to shout back at him.
“Where the hell did she go?” I mutter to myself, looking around, shining the light on the ground in a futile attempt to find footprints. I look up when I hear rustling and see Lucy. Her dark, sleepy eyes peek out from inside the tent, and I close my eyes in embarrassment as I realize she's shirtless, only covered by her sleeping bag. “Christ. Put a shirt on, Lucy!” I yell, looking across the lake. “I can't find Charlie and I need your help.” Kenton closes the zipper once more, and he quickly reappears with his police department sweatshirt and a thick coat.
“Did she say anything last night?” Kenton asks, shining the light around.
“No, she didn't say anything,” I say. “I don't know where she could go. Why she would leave; we're all here.”
“Do you think she was taken?” Lucy asks, stepping out of the tent, huddling up next to Kenton who puts his arm protectively around her shoulder.
“I don't know. I didn't see signs of a struggle, and I didn't hear anything,” I say, glancing back to the tent. “If she left the tent, I think she did it willingly.”
“Or she may have been lured out,” Kenton adds. “Or threatened. If they threatened you, or one of us, I think she would have gotten out of there and crept quietly away to protect us.
Yes, that does sound like her. I nod in agreement. Charlie would do anything to protect the ones she loves with a fierce loyalty that I admire. But now that it’s the reason she's gone, I know it's a trait that I will soon find irritating.
“Hey, Jake!” Kenton calls, walking over to the tent and shaking it rapidly. Silence. “Jake! come on! We need you, man!” Kenton unzips the tent pieces open. “Well, isn't this just fantastic!” Kenton snarls stepping back from the tent and gesturing for me to look. It's empty.
“Where did he go?” Lucy asks, crouching down as if she can’t believe her own eyes.
“I have no idea,” I say, looking around.
“That lousy bastard! He's betrayed us!” Kenton snaps, his eyes hot on mine.
“What? Jake would not betray us!” I argue. “Jake is my family! He would never betray me, and he would never do anything to hurt Charlie!” I yell, climbing into his tent and looking for any signs that he may have left me.
“Everyone's got a price,” Kenton says, and I can feel the hostility emanating from him.
Maybe so, but that's one of the things I love about Jake. Other than me he doesn't have family. And he doesn't care about money.
“What can you use to buy a man when he wants nothing?” I say over my shoulder. “Jake wouldn't take her. He wouldn't hurt her.” Looking back at Lucy, I frown. “What do you think, Lucy?”
“I don't know,” she whispers.
“You telling me you don't know where your best friend went? You guys are like sisters! She didn't say anything?” I narrow my eyes at her.
“You guys shared a tent! You didn't notice she was gone?” she replies, scowling at me, to show she makes a good point.
Pulling out my cell phone, I call Jake's number. Maybe he'll answer and tell me that Charlie is safe and with him... I hear a phone ringing and crawl forward in the tent. Sure enough, under the pillow, his cell phone screen lights up with a picture of me saying “incoming call”. ‘Why wouldn't Jake bring his cell phone? Did he not have enough time to grab it, or did he leave it behind on purpose?
“Well,” Kenton says slowly, “Still think he didn't take her?”
“I'm positive that he didn't.”
“A man leaves his cell phone behind because he doesn't want to be tracked, not because he's a hero.”
“Bullshit!” I say looking up.
“I can't even…”
“I don't believe for a goddamn minute that Jake took her! If Jake left, it was to help her. Besides, the man's addicted to his cell phone. If it's not with him, it's because he forgot to take it.”
&nb
sp; “He must have been in some kind of hurry…”
“Jake's a light sleeper,” I say, looking back over to the tent on the far side of the lake. “Maybe he was already up and saw her leaving with someone.”
“Why wouldn't he ask any of us for help?” Kenton frowns.
“I don't know why, but I trust him, alright?” Rising slowly, I grab my flashlight and walk back towards the shore.
“Where are you going?” Kenton demands.
“To find her,” I say over my shoulder. “Keep Lucy safe.”
“You think you're going alone?” Kenton calls to me, and I ignore him. “The hell he is,” I hear, his voice a little distant as I continue to walk along the shore.
“Dad!” Lucy calls, chasing after me. It's Lucy that gets me to pause. I turn to face my youngest child.
“Please be careful! I can't lose you!” she cries, wrapping her arms around me and pressing her head to my shoulder.
“Oh, my sweet girl! My youngest. Maybe even my favorite! You're not going to lose me!” I say, kissing her on the top of her head. “Don't worry, I'm going to bring her back!” I promise, pulling away, and making my way back towards the tent to look for clues.
“Dad,” she says, grabbing my arm. “We’ll work better together! Three heads are better than one, right?” She offers a half smile.
“I don't know…” I hesitate, looking back at Kenton, who stalks toward me. “If the head is attached to him, it might be a little overrated,” I say, and she punches me lightly in the arm.
“Dad! That's my fiancé, you're talking about!”
“Yeah, I know,” I deadpan, my voice dry, and turn back to face the tent.
“Where do you think we should start first?” Lucy asks as the three of us walk in silence.
“Let's start with the tent,” I say, jerking in and searching.
“See anything?” Kenton asks, crouching next to me and facing the flashlight in my direction.
“No,” I say. “And lower that damn light!” Saying nothing he directs the light at the floor.
“What the hell is this?” he asks, still shining the light to the floor where an empty condom package lay. I freeze. Shit. We were going to have this conversation eventually, and I was kind of hoping that Charlie would be here when we did.
“You're with my daughter?” he snaps, and I close my eyes and exhale.
“You know, it doesn't really matter,” I say, knowing that the answer won't satisfy him.
“Why you…” Kenton reaches forward, grabbing me by the collar and hauling me towards him.
“Kenton!” Lucy shrieks. “Let him go right now!”
“I'm gonna…” Lucy cuts him off with a hard shove.
“Stop it! Both of you! For Christ's sake, she's missing! And you pick now to bicker over this?” She gestures to the empty wrapper. “Who the hell cares!? Let's find her, and then you guys can kill each other!” she yells, her eyes hard on Kenton whose hand is still clasped tightly around my collar. I can feel it flexing as he considers wrapping it around my neck.
“Kenton!” she repeats, as his eyes stay hot on mine. I can't really blame the guy. I've been in his situation before, and I didn't handle it well either; though, maybe, this situation is worse. At least Lucy told me about them. No one told him about us. Charlie and I figured I'd let him get a single punch in before I ‘block, block’. It's the least I can do. His eyes hard on mine, he lowers his hands from my collar.
“This isn't over,” he snarls, shoving me back.
“God, I feel sixteen again,” I say, climbing out of the tent and standing, looking around, trying to focus on what matters most. “I think we should split up. We'll cover more ground that way. I'm gonna head back toward the car, see if she went that way. I want you guys to look around the woods. See if you can find any tracks. Call me when you're finished, or if you hear anything,” I instruct. Kenton's nostrils flare. He doesn't like receiving orders, especially from me, but he can't argue that it's a good plan.
Turning away from him, I tuck my hands back into my thick coat and start walking back towards the car. I don't think she's there. Why the hell would she be? The keys are right here in my pocket, but I don't know where else to look at this point. With Kenton and Lucy covering the woods, I should probably branch out towards town. If she went by herself, then she might be looking for a road. If she was taken, well, she'll be where he is too.
I only wish I knew where Jake went. Did he follow after her? I don't believe for a moment that he's the reason she's gone. If he saw her leaving, he would try to stop her. He would die before letting someone take her away! Maybe he followed her. God, I can only hope so.
Grabbing my keys in my pocket, I pull them out and start the Impala. It comes to life with a low roar, lifting my mood ever so slightly; classic cars have a way of doing that for me. Pulling off the side of the road, I drive into town, looking for the woman I love.
Chapter Fifteen
Charlie
Crouching outside the window of the giant warehouse, I watch as Raul interrogates someone. I can't hear what he's saying. The words are awful. But what I can hear are the sickening thunks of a fist colliding with skin. He's angry, shouting in a mix of English and Spanish. This man is the absolute worst.
I flinch as he aims another blow at his poor victim. Unsure of who he's attacking, I creep closer to the window, trying to get a clearer image. All I can see are shadows. Men in jackets in a circle and Raul in the middle with a man tied to a chair. He raises his arm high again and slams a wicked right hook and blood splatters to the floor. Stepping carefully through the snow, I get as close as I dare to the window and gasp.
Harry Denton. Irritating, arrogant Harry. The man who stormed out right before my attack, whose diner I left in shambles. Why is he hurting him? I wonder as Harry's face turns up to the light. His eye is black and puffy, his lip bleeding. I have to save him. He's going to kill him, I think, clutching the gun under my jacket tighter. I know how to use the weapon. I've shot, countless guns in my life and I'm a decent shot. However, I've never killed anyone before or held them at gunpoint. Well, I guess there's a first time for everything.
Moving carefully, I sidestep around the building as the low light of dawn sends the snow sparkling like tiny diamonds below my feet. It's so cold. I'm only glad that Lucy had the presence of mind to bring me a change of clothes from the house. It's my high school track sweatshirt and worn skinny jeans, but it does the trick just fine. Much better than Noah’s sweatpants and sweatshirt.
Taking another step to the edge of the door, my toes feel numb in my damp Converse. It wasn’t that long of a walk in the snow to my dad’s house where I got my car. Just long enough to soak my shoes. But it will be worth it if I can get an idea of what I was trying to accomplish. And what, if anything, I can do to make him leave my family alone.
Holding my breath and tightening my grip around the butt of the gun, I take a step, ready to be visible and confront the monster before me. Suddenly, I feel a heavy hand clamp down around my mouth, pulling me back hard against a big body. I try to scream, but it’s clamped so tightly that all that's left is a muffled whimper, drawing no attention from the men beating Harry.
“Shh,” the voice says quickly, urging me to be quiet. I do my best to look up at the person grabbing me. I feel a sudden sense of relief. It's Jake.
What is Jake doing here? Did he follow me? Is my dad here?
“Be still,” the low voice orders in my ear. “We have to be careful.” Raising my hand slowly to my mouth, I pull down the hand covering my mouth.
“What are you doing here?” I hiss low under my breath as Jake pulls me further out of view, and presses me back against the wall.
“I’m a light sleeper. I heard you sneaking away and followed you. That doesn’t matter right now. What matters is the fact that we need to get out of here.”
“He has Harry. We have to help him,” I urge, my stomach twisting in knots at the sound of another fist colliding with his
jaw.
Saying nothing, Jake shakes his head back and forth and peers through the window.
“What is it with you men and trying to make me wait?” I growl low under my breath. “I’m ready to rise up and stand for what I believe in. I'm not just going to sit here and wait while someone I know dies. I can't do that, Jake. It's not in my blood.” I think of my father, the chief of police, and rise to stand.
Jake's big hand clamps tightly around my forearm, as he pulls me back against him, clamping his hand over my mouth again. Un-freaking-believable. I consider biting him, but I don't know that it'll make much of a difference. At six-foot-five and two hundred pounds of muscle, Jake is a Goliath among men. I don't even know if he feels pain the way the rest of us do. I've seen him take fists to the face like they were light summer breezes, unflinching, unyielding. I squirm for a moment, then decide that it's undignified and will result in nothing but my exhaustion and Jake's amusement. Shushing me, he nods his head for me to pay attention and to listen.
Another sickening thud lands and Harry whimpers in pain. I can't listen to this. How can he sit here and stand this? We stand and watch as another fist slams into the wide-faced owner of Denton’s Place.
“Where is she?” an angry voice booms. “Fucking tell me where she is,” he says again, raising his first as the man flinches. For Christ's sake, he's wearing a gag. What the hell does he expect him to do? I wonder.
“Pull off the gag.” He gestures to one of his friends. Obliging, the man walks over and lowers the fabric tied tightly around Harry's round face.
Harry moans in pain, and I feel sorry for him at the state of his mouth. It'll be a miracle if he can speak at all.
“Where is she?” Raul asks carefully.
“I don't know,” Harry moans his voice still muffled as blood flows from his lips. “I don't know where she is.”
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