“That sounds wonderful,” Kat said, patting Jack’s good arm.
“I’m not going to go back to the way I was, Kat. I hope you know that.”
Jack’s look was dead serious. She knew deep down that it was a promise that he’d keep, but it was still a hard pill to swallow with her background. Kat knew that she’d have to overcome her own prejudices if she wanted this to work between them.
Wait.
Did she want this to work? It had been such a whirlwind since last evening that she had almost forgotten about Jack and Sasha.
Almost.
That was a much bigger issue to her than Jack’s past. If he was a player like everyone had said, it would never work between them.
As if Jack had been reading her mind, he said, “We haven’t talked about the elephant in the room.”
Kat nodded, feeling nervous. She wondered what in the world he would say that would make up for the fact that she saw him kissing Sasha.
“I will admit that I shouldn’t have gone off with her alone,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “She can be manipulative, which is why I try to stay clear of her.”
Jack grunted as he tried to sit up a bit further from where he was slumped on the rocks.
“She had intel which proved to be right—that we needed to leave the island. Then, she kissed me. I promise you that I didn’t expect it, and I pushed her off as soon as it started. I’m sorry it happened, and I’m really sorry that you saw it.
“I know that’s probably not enough for you, but I wanted you to know at least what had happened. I understand if you want to part ways after this is all over.”
Kat blinked.
If this were true, then that changed a lot. She really liked him, and she had been hoping that their relationship would last longer than just this trip. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it was Jack her boyfriend instead of Jack the island fling? She certainly wanted longer. The last couple of days had been a whirlwind, and that was before the guns started shooting. She wanted more, so much more.
“Well?” Jack said, eyebrow raised. “You’re too quiet. I guess that means a ‘no’ then.”
He heaved a sigh.
“I understand.”
Kat froze.
Say something, idiot, she scolded herself.
“No! No, no, no. I want this. I want you.”
Jack grinned.
“Well, that’s good to hear. You were getting me worried there.”
She leaned and kissed him softly on the lips. When she pulled away, he stared at her, male desire showing on his face. He had looked at her like that many times before. How had she not seen it?
“Gray Tower will be here within the next four hours—an early morning assault. I don’t know how things are going to go. I don’t even know if we’ll make it off this island, truthfully. We have some time, and to be quite frank, I want you one last time.”
Kat’s chest fluttered, and her groin suddenly became aroused.
“You’re hurt,” she whispered.
“Don’t care. Now come here.”
He pulled her close to him with the good side of his body. Then, he grabbed the string of her cotton shorts and tugged them and her underwear down to her knees with one pull. A cool sea breeze hit her suddenly exposed pussy.
“Help a guy out here and take those off.”
She shimmed out of her shorts quickly, her heart pounding.
“Now pull down my jeans, beautiful.”
Kat eagerly unbuttoned his fly and pulled down his zipper. She could see an erection pushing through the fabric of his jeans and boxer briefs. He lifted his hips slightly so that she could pull down the jeans and his underwear enough to free his large erection.
Jack cringed and said, “That’s enough for what we need to do. Come here and ride me, beautiful.”
Kat smiled and straddled him, guiding his cock into her pussy. She was so wet that he went in easily, and she took him in one slide.
“Damn. You feel so fucking good.”
She leaned in and kissed him, first tenderly and then more fiercely. The trouble that they were in suddenly felt far away. It was only him and her. That was all that mattered.
When the kiss broke, he said, “I’m sorry to say that you’re going to have to do most of the work, beautiful.”
“I kind of figured,” she said with a smile.
Kat began moving up and down on him in a slow, methodical rhythm. Jack groaned softly and laid his head back on the rocks. She loved the way he felt inside of her, so full and deliciously pleasurable. Her clit throbbed as she moved, and she felt her pleasure slowly building. Jack grabbed her with his good hand and slid it up underneath her shirt and the underwire of her bra, cupping a breast and playing with her nipple.
She started to move faster as her climax built. Jack grabbed her ass and helped move her up and down in frantic movements. It felt so good, and he was so amazing. She knew that she’d orgasm soon.
“I’m going to come soon, beautiful,” he gasped, breathing hard.
“Me too,” she whispered.
A few more moments later and she reached climax, stiffing on him as she rode wave after wave of pleasure. As she relaxed, she could feel his cock inside her jerking as he released his seed inside of her.
They sat like that for a while, Kat resting her head next to his. It was probably the most intimate moment between them. She hated the fact that it had come when they were in so much danger. Or, perhaps that was the reason for it?
“We should probably get dressed,” Jack said, his breathing had returned to normal. “I don’t want to get caught with my pants down if someone comes for us.”
Kat laughed nervously, and they quickly got situated again. Reality suddenly came back into focus as she realized that they were in a lot of trouble, and it was going to be all downhill from here.
“Here,” Jack said, handing her a bottle of water. “There’s some MREs too, but I doubt you feel like eating. I know that adrenaline and fear can do weird things to the appetite.
Kat nodded and took a swig.
“You can try to get some more rest if you want,” Jack offered.
“I don’t think I can at this point,” she said, her anxiety suddenly picking up.
“I understand, but I want to let you know that I will do everything in my power to make sure that you get out of here alive and unharmed. Got it?”
She nodded but didn’t feel much better.
They sat in silence for a long while, listening to the surf go in and out. It would have been quite peaceful if there wasn’t an underlying sense of danger.
Kat was just beginning to relax when Jack suddenly grabbed his handgun with his left hand and pointed it at a figure that had quietly come along the beach wearing that terrible armor.
They’ve found us, Kat thought as she prepared for the worst.
Chapter 17
Orson Carr had passed out for what seemed like an eternity. When he finally crawled out of the comforting blackness, he was not prepared for what happened next.
Ice cold water poured down on him in a freezing deluge. He spurted and tried to catch his breath, but it was hard from the shock of the water. Once he blinked a few times and was able to breathe, he looked in horror as two men in the armor that Orson and Miles had designed stood in front of him.
They had stormed into his office not long after the gunfire had started. Orson had been prepared to die, but instead, one of the men had beaten the crap out of him until he had passed out.
Now, he was currently tied to his desk chair, which had been rolled out in the center of his office. He began to shiver as he realized that there were things worse than death. What these men would do to him counted. He knew that for a fact.
“Carr,” said the mechanical voice of one of the soldiers.
The voice modulators that were in the masks were one of Orson’s ideas. They made any communication to a target menacing, which was the idea. Orson had also thought of the slightly glowing re
d eyes. They modulated in the dark, so that they didn’t become targets. The eyes also had all kinds of tech in them that Orson had designed with Miles. Add that to bullet-proof armor, and anyone wearing one of those suits was almost invincible.
Almost.
A high enough caliber bullet would go through the armor, obviously. Although there was some explosive protection, it wouldn’t last over a landmine or a grenade. If repeated rounds were made in one spot, not only would that stun the soldier, but it would splinter the armor and eventually hit its mark.
In Orson’s case, it really didn’t matter. He was fucked no matter what he did.
“What do you want?” Orson asked hoarsely.
“Information,” said the soldier. “How many people are currently on this island?”
“Uh,” Orson stammered.
How many people were here? What about his poor wife, Veronica? He groaned thinking about her fate. She knew about his dealings. They were partners in marriage after all. Still, she didn’t deserve this.
The soldier walked up to Orson and struck him across the face. Pain slammed into him and rattled his brain. He was already in pain, but the blow made his ears echo.
“How many,” the soldier repeated.
“Five security associates. Fifteen support staff. Five guests. And my wife.”
“He’s lying,” said a female from the doorway.
A familiar redhead waltzed into the room, smiling as she walked over to where Orson was tied up.
“Sasha Parker!” Orson exclaimed in disbelief. “Don’t tell me you’re with them!”
She laughed and said, “Well, someone had to scout out the area before the teams landed.”
A few curse words slipped from Orson’s mouth. He had invited the enemy right on his island. In that case, was Eclipse another Conglomerate front or was Sasha a double agent? With the Conglomerate, one never knew for sure.
“He also forgot to mention the Gray Tower agent and his little girlfriend,” she said.
Damn it, Orson thought.
Jack and his Gray Tower buddies were supposed to be his last resort if he somehow had survived this. Sasha had just blown that idea out of the water.
“Gray Tower agent?” The soldier asked. “Why wasn’t that listed on my report?”
“I sent it in my last communication,” she replied. “You must not have gotten it before you deployed.”
She shrugged and then smiled almost wickedly.
“Besides, he wouldn’t be much of a match against you guys,” she continued, pointing at the soldier and his armor.
“Still,” the soldier said. “I should have known about it. Where do you think he’s at now?”
“He told me that he was leaving the island earlier yesterday evening. There’s a good possibility that he’s not even here.”
Orson’s heart sank. If Jack Hunter had left, then Gray Tower would have no idea there was an issue on the island. He’d be screwed.
“There’s also a possibility that he’s still here,” the soldier said. “We’ll get to that in a moment. Why was he here in the first place?”
“Same reason as my cover,” Sasha said. “Run a security quote for the island.”
“Did he gain any intel that would require further action by the Conglomerate?”
“I doubt it. I suspect that he was most likely here to party with that bimbo he had with him.”
The soldier nodded and said, “We’ll have to check the entire island to make sure. Everyone else is accounted for, according to Orson. Three are still alive.”
Orson felt dizzy. Only three people were still alive? He thought of his wife and cringed.
“My wife…is she…still alive?” He said through swollen lips.
“Yes,” Sasha said. “Veronica, Peter Knowles, and your butler or whatever the hell he is. Everyone else was expendable.”
Orson could feel himself shaking. He had only been caring about himself in the Conglomerate matter. He had never even thought about his wife, his friends, or his staff.
“What’s going to happen to them?” Orson choked out.
“Depends on how much you cooperate,” the soldier said.
He turned away for a moment and stood in silence. Then, he turned to Sasha.
“One of my team members will go out and do a search,” the soldier told her. “The rest will stay here and do clean-up as well as asset procurement. Go back and sit with the hostages. See if you can get any intel out of them.”
“Sure,” Sasha said and left the room.
The soldier turned back to Orson and said, “We’re going to have a discussion about what data you currently have on the prototype armor. Then, you’re going to give me that data. Understand?”
Orson nodded.
“Good. Because if you become difficult, I’m going to bring in your wife and make you watch while I torture her. Then, I’ll do the same to you.”
“I’ll give you anything you want!” Orson exclaimed.
“I like that attitude. Now, let’s get started.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Sasha put on her best scared face and allowed one of the soldiers to “escort” her back into the bedroom where the three hostages were being held. They didn’t know that she was a Conglomerate agent, and it would remain that way for as long as they needed. It would be a good way to obtain intel, especially from Veronica and Randall Wakefield. She knew both would have some ideas of Orson Carr’s secrets.
Peter Knowles, on the other hand, was being kept around because he could be an asset if the Conglomerate could persuade him. He had money and influence in a region that the Conglomerate was spread thin.
Veronica stood up when she saw Sasha get “pushed” into the room.
“Are you alright?” Carr’s wife said, concern on her face.
“I’m fine,” Sasha said, hugging herself to make it look like she was scared.
“What did they want?” Veronica asked.
“They found out that I worked for Eclipse and wanted to know why I was here,” Sasha said.
“They didn’t…hurt you, did they?” Veronica asked, fear in her eyes.
“No, but I’m really worried. What do you think they want?”
Veronica looked at Westfield. Westfield looked at Veronica.
“What’s wrong?” Sasha asked.
This might prove to be useful intel if she could keep pushing them. Tense situations got people blabbing.
“What did you all do?” Knowles exclaimed in his Caribbean accent.
The poor guy got wrapped into something larger than he could imagine, an unfortunate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Well, let’s just say that Orson got in with the wrong people.”
“Veronica!” Westfield exclaimed.
“Oh, shut it,” Veronica said, glaring at him. “We’re all going to die anyhow.”
“What?” Knowles said, incredulously.
“These people aren’t going to let us go,” Veronica said with a heavy sigh. “I’m not even sure why they’re keeping us around anyhow.”
“That sounds terrible,” Sasha told them, feeling like she had just hit gold. “Who are these guys?”
“They call themselves the Conglomerate, and they terrify me,” Veronica told her. “Orson sold something to them that he shouldn’t have. Ever since then, I’ve been on edge.”
“Oh, that sounds terrible,” Sasha said, trying to sound sincere.
It was a pity that they’d have to kill Veronica and Westfield. Sasha really liked Orson’s wife, but she knew too much.
What a shame.
✽ ✽ ✽
Nathan Slade crouched in the shadows watching Jack and his woman make frantic love. He felt like a voyeur, but he had to keep an eye on them. When the Commander had asked for someone to search the island for them, Nate had jumped at the chance. He couldn’t let anything happen to Logan’s best friend—and an innocent woman for that matter.
Although at the moment, she didn’t l
ook so innocent, riding hard on Jack.
Damn.
Nate was suddenly a bit jealous of Logan’s friend. It had been a while since he had gotten any action.
Right now, though, he had to concentrate on this mission and how the hell he would complete it without Jack and his girl dead and the Commander not knowing that they were still on the island. This whole mission was a clusterfuck.
A shot of that damned pharmaceutical concoction suddenly was released into Nate’s system. There was a patch attached to his neck that fed him the drug combo every so often. It was supposed to keep soldiers alert and on top of their game. For Nate, it was too much of a reminder of his junkie days.
Nate waited the appropriate amount of time before heading to Jack and the woman. They had finished and were sitting, exhausted underneath an outcropping of rock down the beach. Nate headed to the beach and proceeded to them, hoping that Jack wouldn’t get too jumpy with his weapon.
Of course, Nate’s armor could take a hit from that caliber, but it would hurt like fuck and could echo around the whole island. He had been lucky when he had shot Jack that there was a ton of gunfire going at the time, or he would have had to explain his weapon’s discharge to the Commander.
Jack saw Nate’s approach and grabbed his handgun from his left hand. Knowing that Jack was right-handed, Nate wondered about his effectiveness. Nevertheless, he kept his rifle in a relaxed position, pointed to the ground with his finger off the trigger. He knew that his armor looked intimidating, but he hoped that Jack would notice that he wasn’t a threat.
“I’m a friendly,” Nate said as he closed the distance between them.
“Sure, you are,” Jack retorted.
“Trust me. If I had wanted you dead, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”
Jack snorted and shook his head.
“I don’t suppose you’re the guy who let us go?”
“That’d be me.”
Nate hated that his voice came out mechanically. It made the soldiers all sound the same. They seemed almost inhuman. He supposed that was the point.
“Then why the hell did you come looking for us?” Jack asked, gun still pointed at him.
Troubled Paradise (Gray Tower Book 2) Page 15