by Godwin, Pam
Many might consider him a ruthless thug. A villain, even. But in her eyes, he was an unsung hero.
Her hero.
Nightfall darkened her bedroom. She turned on the lights and went to work, sorting through clothes and collecting keepsakes. She didn’t own much, hadn’t kept anything from her life with Mason.
When her twenty minutes were up, she’d filled five large duffel bags. Grabbing two, she made her way downstairs.
She dropped the bags in the entry, turned the corner into the living room, and slammed to a stop.
Masked men. Armed. Three of them, all aiming rifles at a naked man who was gagged and restrained on her couch.
It takes three seconds to make a life-or-death decision.
She blinked, paralyzed, unable to believe her eyes.
Mason.
His bulging, watery gaze fastened on her, his cries muted behind a wad of cloth. Rope bound his arms and legs, crisscrossed his chest, and tied around the sofa.
Why was he in her house? Why the fuck was he naked?
Where was Tommy?
Her heart sprinted as she jerked her attention to the three gunmen. Black ski masks covered their faces and hair. Black jeans and shirts molded to muscular builds.
Familiar statures.
Safe.
The masked head in the middle turned in her direction, staring through the narrow eye opening. She knew him intimately, from the tips of those boots to the glint in those golden eyes.
She pressed her lips together, angry, worried, and intrigued.
Don’t say his name.
Whatever this was, he’d masked himself to remain anonymous. Every word she spoke in front of Mason would need to be chosen carefully.
Looking closer at the other two men, she recognized Van’s arrogant posture and Luke’s towering height.
Tommy, Van, and Luke. Masked and armed. Terrorizing her ex-husband.
A sheen of sweat glistened on Mason’s body. His belly, softer and rounder than she remembered, quivered with the heave of his muffled sobs. His dick shriveled between his legs as if retreating in fear.
The team wouldn’t have lured him here. It was too risky. If she had to guess, he’d showed up unannounced to pester her again about coming back to him.
He didn’t have Paul Kissinger to report her activity. She’d quit her job—a phone call she’d made two weeks ago—and she’d vanished after she’d called him from the motel room last month.
He had no way to track her anymore. But the team was tracking him.
They would’ve known he left El Paso, which was a five-hour drive away. The window of time to pack up her house made sense now. Tommy knew Mason was coming and wanted to make sure they were here when her ex showed up.
For what purpose?
It took her a few seconds to put this much together and another few seconds to force her feet into the living room.
Tommy’s eyes followed her, studying her reaction.
She’d told him not to kill Mason, but she’d never put a limit on anything else. Threats? Torture? There were many levels of pain.
Blood whooshed through her veins as she stepped closer.
Mason bucked and thrashed, howling soundlessly behind the gag. From his perspective, they were both in danger. There were armed, masked men in her house, and he couldn’t protect her.
Fuck him. He’d given up that right ten years ago. Besides, if she were truly in danger, he was helpless, naked, and shaking in terror. She would have to save him.
She paused by the couch and looked at Tommy expectantly.
Your move.
He lowered the rifle. Then he lowered into the chair behind him.
Van and Luke spread out, taking up positions on either side of him, guns trained on Mason.
“You hired Paul Kissinger to monitor this woman.” Tommy leaned forward, his mouth moving behind the mask. “Paul got a better offer and handed off the job to us.”
Mason’s eyes widened, and his thrashing went ballistic.
She remained quiet, uncertain where Tommy was going with this lie.
“I want my payment in advance.” Tommy turned his cruel glare on her. “Undress.”
Her heart stopped, and her limbs turned to ice.
What was he doing?
I make decisions and do things that sane people would never fathom.
That conversation had been deliberate. He was warning her. Testing her.
Was this a test?
He reclined in the chair and lowered his zipper. The fly opened, exposing the thick, swelling root of his cock.
Sex was the destination. In front of Mason, Van, and Luke, he expected her to undress and ride his lap.
I live a crazy, filthy, dangerous life.
His team lived openly in their sexuality. They had monogamous partners now, but they hadn’t started that way. Tommy had watched Luke fuck Vera in California. Van had fucked half of the guys. They weren’t shy about sex. If she was going to live with them, this couldn’t be a sticking point.
It wasn’t. Not for her.
She looked at Mason, taking in his traumatized misery.
This wasn’t a test. It was punishment. Revenge. Tommy had set this up for Mason, the man who destroyed her trust and continued to harass her for the next decade.
She reached down deep and searched for something, a scrap of a feeling inside her that wanted to save Mason.
All she felt was heat. Fire. A burning desire for justice.
An eye for an eye.
“I watched you fuck another woman.” She stepped toward him and removed her shirt. “Do you know how that feels to watch someone you love betray you so cruelly?” She unbuttoned her jeans and kicked them off with her shoes. “I’ll show you.”
She stood before him in a black bra and panties. A matching set. Lacy and sexy. She’d chosen wisely when she dressed this morning. But she hadn’t selected her underwear for Mason. She was interested in one reaction, and it was searing a line of fire down the length of her back.
Pivoting, she found his eyes in the mask, and oh, Jesus, they smoldered.
Luke and Van kept their guns and their attentions on Mason as she made her way to Tommy. She circled his chair, savoring the track of his gaze. It stayed with her, turning his head until she stepped out of view behind him.
Bending over his back, she brought her hands around him, caressing his sculpted chest, dragging up the shirt, and exposing all that glorious muscle.
He moaned as she touched him. He slumped down in the chair as she reached lower, slipping her hand into the V of his open fly. Soft hair, swollen root, he was so hard, so long and thick. It took some adjusting and a lift of his hips to wrangle him free.
A muffled cry sounded from the couch, drawing her gaze to the tears leaking down Mason’s cheeks. He was hurting. The emotional sort of suffering that stabbed deep.
She didn’t rejoice in that. Didn’t torment him with a smile. She might’ve been vindictive, but she wasn’t inhumane.
Straightening, she walked around the chair, eyes locked on her man. He sprawled with a casual confidence that watered her mouth and soaked her panties.
His cock lay on his thigh, twitching as his golden stare violated every inch of her body.
She climbed onto his lap.
He did the rest, his hands roaming, pulling her close, and tugging aside the crotch of her panties. His mask prevented kissing, but his eye contact sealed their intimacy. He watched her as he guided himself into her body. He didn’t look away as she gripped his corded neck and struggled for breath. He held her gaze as he lanced into her and broke into a hungry rhythm.
She was on top, but he controlled everything. The speed, the thrust, the tempo of her pulse. He owned her, dominated her, and brought her screaming and writhing into blissful completion.
With his forehead against hers, he grunted into her cheek, exploding, spilling himself into her with a deep, rumbling growl.
Mason was full-on sobbing behind her.
“Thank you,” he whispered, too low for Mason’s ears.
His jealous-possessive nature had needed that bit of revenge. She’d needed it, too. For entirely different reasons.
Mason wouldn’t bother her anymore, and he would think twice before cheating on another woman.
“Thank you,” she whispered back.
She rose from his lap and quickly dressed while Tommy strode toward a weeping Mason, his wet cock hanging out of his zipper.
With a grip on Mason’s hair, Tommy shoved him toward his semi-hard dick. “Lick me clean.”
She froze, and Mason went wild.
“Nah, I’m just playing.” His laughter sobered into cruel authority. “You will never taste heaven again.”
Her lungs released a sigh.
She was done here. No more torment.
Luke and Van stepped forward, guns trained as Tommy cut Mason free from the rope.
“You won’t talk about this.” Tommy tossed Mason’s clothes to him. “You hired us after all.”
Free of the rope, Mason yanked out the gag and scrambled to pull on his pants. “I didn’t—”
“Don’t talk. Not a word. If we catch wind of you blabbering about what you witnessed here, we will find you. And we will kill you.”
Half-dressed, Mason gathered the rest of his things and backed toward the door. His tear-soaked eyes jerked from the rifles to her, his expression ugly with accusation.
“Don’t send any more men to watch me.” She stepped beside Tommy and placed her hand and her cheek against his muscled arm. “I’m keeping this one.”
Tommy let Mason go. He stood at the door and watched her ex sprint toward his car and speed away. Van and Luke grabbed her bags and carried them outside.
“You knew Mason was coming.” She touched Tommy’s tense back.
“We’ll be watching him for a while.” He turned and searched her face. “You’re not running.”
“If you’re trying to scare me, you’ll have to try harder.”
He grinned, blinding her with his gorgeous sex appeal. “We’re going to war with an unknown enemy from Cole’s world. Does that scare you?”
In a few minutes, they would drive to Tommy’s property in the desert. There, Cole would activate the GSM bug he’d removed from her house and lure in the threat. The team would be in position. They would be ready.
“Yep.” She shivered with excitement and fear.
Fear was good. It affirmed she was alive.
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. “It’s going to be complicated.”
“Then you definitely need me there.”
“To dominate it?” He kissed her, lingering, controlling her breaths.
“We’ll dominate together.”
———————————————
Thank you for taking this dark journey with me!
Ready for the last one?
The DELIVER series concludes with:
COMPLICATE (#9)
Cole’s story.
But it’s not his beginning.
The story of Cole, Danni, and Trace starts in the TANGLED LIES trilogy.
You don’t have to read TANGLED LIES, but if you want to read it, do so before reading COMPLICATE.
ONE IS A PROMISE (#1) is free: CLICK HERE
An excerpt of COMPLICATE (#9) is included at the end of this book.
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LOVE TRIANGLE ROMANCE
TANGLED LIES TRILOGY
One is a Promise-FREE
Two is a Lie
Three is a War
DARK COWBOY ROMANCE
TRAILS OF SIN
Knotted #1-FREE
Buckled #2
Booted #3
DARK PARANORMAL ROMANCE
TRILOGY OF EVE
Heart of Eve-FREE
Dead of Eve #1
Blood of Eve #2
Dawn of Eve #3
DARK HISTORICAL PIRATE ROMANCE
King of Libertines-FREE
Sea of Ruin
STUDENT-TEACHER ROMANCE
Dark Notes
ROCK-STAR DARK ROMANCE
Beneath the Burn
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Dirty Ties
EROTIC ROMANCE
Incentive
COMPLICATE
EXCERPT
“Ready?” A thrill coursed through Cole as he met Rylee’s eyes.
Huge, silver-grey eyes.
Just like Danni’s.
Sometimes, it was difficult to hold that stunning stare, for it conjured echoes and aches of the one he let go.
He looked away, directing his attention to the kitchen table, which gleamed in an array of guns, ammo, and other weaponry. Amid the gear lay the high-tech GSM bug he’d pulled from Rylee’s house.
The mystery behind who had put it there remained unsolved. After months of investigating, he and his vigilante team didn’t have much to go on. But one thing was certain. Someone had bugged her house to fuck with him.
Rylee was just collateral. A means to lure him into the open. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. They’d already tried.
The question was who?
Who murdered her next-door neighbor, two innocent motel clerks, and put a hit on her life?
The best clue they had was a word uttered by a dying hitman.
Thurney.
During a mission eleven years ago, Cole had faked his death on Thurney Bridge. Since that detail was classified, it meant he was dealing with someone connected to that assignment. And they wanted him alive. Otherwise, they would’ve killed him instead of hunting Rylee.
Most likely, they wanted information. Dangerous, top-secret intel from his work in the activity. Or maybe this was a revenge plot against him, and they wanted to draw out his death, slowly and excruciatingly.
Time to find out.
Outside, his seven vigilante teammates stood by, waiting for him to set the plan in motion. Most had already moved into position around the perimeter of Tomas’ house. The other nine Freedom Fighters, including the Restrepo cartel’s jefe, were en route from Colombia to provide backup and reunite with their family.
Family.
The Freedom Fighters were an entangled, dysfunctional mix of blood relations, enemies-turned-lovers, spouses, soul mates, workmates, and above all, loyal friends. They protected and loved one another with a ferocity that made them unstoppable. They killed, waged wars, and sacrificed everything for one another.
And over the past year, he’d become one of them.
It was strange to have a team again after being alone for so long. Even stranger to have a family he could depend on and trust. Criminals or not, he’d grown to care about these people. So much so that he didn’t want to put them in harm’s way. Didn’t want to risk their lives. The thought of losing one of them scared the hell out of him.
That made them liabilities. If his enemies knew what they meant to him, they would use them as leverage.
“I thought I was ready.” Rylee tilted her head, studying him. “But I don’t like that look on your face. Are we going to die?”
“Everyone dies, darlin’. That’s a guarantee.”
“Tonight?” Her face paled as she pointed at the high-tech bug. “When you activate that thing and let them know we’re here, what are our chances of survival?”
Fifty-percent chance. Sixty, if he was feeling cocky. Which he wasn’t. But he wouldn’t share those odds with her. This was her first job as a Freedom Fighter, and her fear was palpable, trembling through her willowy limbs.
Nevertheless, she wanted to be part of this. She was committed to the team. More specifically, she
was committed to Tomas, one of their longest-standing members.
“You know this is dangerous.” He crossed his arms.
Standing over the table, she braced her hands on the surface and leaned in. “A plan that isn’t dangerous isn’t a plan at all. You can’t scare me away.”
She wasn’t wrong. A few months ago, she drove here alone, with a pocketful of audacity and a reckless plan to meet Tomas Dine, fully aware he was a criminal, a murderer, and livid enough with her to shoot her on the spot.
Her chance of survival had been closer to zero then. Yet here she was, alive, in love with the ruthless vigilante, and ready to fight another fight.
Cole should’ve kissed her when he had the opportunity. Four months ago, here in the kitchen while Tomas was in the shower, he’d thought about doing more than feeding her breakfast.
It wasn’t just her enchanting eyes. She was a remarkable woman. Fierce. Smart. Gorgeous.
Where Danni’s hair was blonde, Rylee’s was dark brown. Same long, straight style. Same slender, athletic build and graceful mannerisms. Like Danni, she exuded raw, natural beauty. No makeup. No maintenance. No nonsense.
His kind of perfect.
It had been seven years since he’d seen or talked to his dancer. Of course, he noticed beautiful women since then. He craved sex, obsessed over it, and fucked his hand on the regular. He still had a pulse, for Christ’s sake. But no one had come close to tempting him.
Not even Rylee.
In seven years, he hadn’t felt the luscious curves of a female body. Hadn’t tasted soft, warm lips or smelled the sweetness of a soaked pussy. He hadn’t encountered anyone who compared to the woman he let go.
But he enjoyed Rylee’s company. Perhaps because she looked past his coarse exterior and understood him in a way very few people did. She recognized his pain and seemed to admire him for it.
Her education lent her the ability to see through the bullshit. But he guessed it was her own loss, her ex-husband’s betrayal, that helped her relate to him so easily.
“You’re staring.” She narrowed her eyes. Eyes that made him long for a life he would never have.