But again, Ash had been a different person since Alexi disappeared. It was as if something inside of him just evaporated. He left the Army and drifted for a long time, just moving from place to place with no real purpose. And then when Mom and Dad died a little over two years ago…David knew he came back for him. He hadn’t asked him to, but Ash never did anything anyone asked. Then he started this company and brought in all these buff military guys—it was almost a relief when he brought in petite little Joss until David saw what she could do…he would never mess with her!—and tried to build something like a family again. But David knew he hadn’t forgotten Alexi. He knew about the file in Ash’s desk.
David knew that if Alexi suddenly showed up on the front doorstep, something that was missing in Ash would come back. But David suspected that would never happen.
But why not allow Donovan a little happiness? Someone around here should have it.
David studied the screens arrayed around the back of his workstation, checking the camera feeds as well as the code he was constantly working on, constantly trying to improve the system that kept the operatives safe. He could clearly see all six subjects at the party. Ash was still near the door, Kirkland was flirting with a couple of women by the refreshment table, and Joss was playing dice with a couple of chauffeurs by the back door. Donovan and Kate were still in the middle of the dancefloor, but they were talking to a blond woman they both seemed to know.
David watched for a minute, wondering who the woman was. But then he was distracted by something else. He just wasn’t sure what it was.
There was something wrong with one of the pictures on his video feeds. He began pulling them up, one at a time. Something…something…and then he realized what it was.
He pulled up the camera feed from the safe house, then the one from Kate Thompson’s house. Looking at them side by side, it was so obvious. He should have caught it sooner.
Damn!
Someone hacked his cameras!
Those cameras were supposed to be hack proof, but he of all people knew that anything could be hacked given enough time and patience. Whoever had done this, they were smart. To hack them in such a small amount of time—they’d only been in Miss Thompson’s house for three days, only activated in the safe house for twenty-four hours. How the hell…it didn’t matter how.
“The safe house is compromised,” he said, pushing a button on his keyboard that allowed his voice to be heard by Ash only.
“What do you mean, compromised?”
“Someone hacked the cameras.” He continued to type on the keyboard as he spoke. “I’ve got a team headed over there to check it out.”
“How the hell did that happen?” Ash demanded of him.
David looked up at the monitor that showed Ash. He could tell, even from miles away and through slightly grainy video footage, that his brother was pissed. And he had right to be. This was David’s thing, and he’d clearly messed up.
“I don’t know. But I’ll find out.”
“You’d better.”
David cleared the monitors, focusing on the code that ran the cameras. It was easy to reverse what the hacker had done, but he had to go a step further, to block the hacker from coming back. It took him a few minutes to search for the backdoor the hacker would have left to make reentry easier. That’s what he would have done. And he found it just as the team he’d dispatched radioed in.
“We’re approaching the house.”
“Proceed with caution,” he told them.
He pulled up the video feeds that covered the outside of the safe house. He identified the dark shapes of the remote team making their way carefully through the front yard. And then the screen went white.
“Oh, fuck me!” David cried, shocked into inaction for a second.
“We’ve got a problem, Ash,” he said a moment later, his voice shaking as he watched one, then two, then three of the members of the remote team begin to reappear on the screen. “You’re not going to like it, but you’re going to have to send them to Austin.”
Chapter 20
Donovan
“Alcatraz,” Ash unexpectedly barked in my ear. “I repeat, Alcatraz.”
Tension immediately raced through me. Kate was talking to her manager from the bank, Mrs. Talbot. I moved up close behind her and hissed in her ear, “We have to go.”
She glanced back at me, irritation clear in every line of her gorgeous face until she saw my eyes. Then she stiffened.
“I apologize, Mrs. Talbot,” she said politely, “but it seems we need to go.”
Mrs. Talbot’s eyes narrowed. “Is there some reason why?”
“Yes,” I said in my most authoritative voice, but I didn’t pause to explain. I simply took Kate’s arm and led the way through the crowd to a preassigned door at the back of the ballroom.
“What’s going on?” Kate asked.
“I don’t know,” I said between clenched teeth as I guided her through a narrow hallway and into a busy kitchen.
“You don’t know?”
“All I know is that Ash gave the signal for imminent danger. We have to go.”
She didn’t argue any more. She simply allowed me to drag her through the noise and mess of the kitchen and out the back door where Joss was waiting with the back door to the limo already open. She slipped me my weapon as I passed her.
We were speeding through the alley behind the hotel before the door was completely closed. Joss opened the petition between the two sections of the car and handed me an iPad she kept somewhere nearby at all times to help facilitate communication.
“Safe house compromised,” was all it said at the moment.
“What’s going on, David,” I said into my phone in the silent car, hoping he was still monitoring our smartphones for communication.
“There was an explosion.”
“What?”
Kate was watching me, her face growing more and more alarmed as she watched the tension build in my shoulders.
“At the safe house,” David quickly explained. “The cameras were hacked and when I sent a team to check it out, there was an explosion as they approached.”
“Anyone injured?”
“No. But the house is demolished.”
“Fuck me!” I whispered under my breath. “What now?”
“Ash wants you on a plane to Austin.”
I nodded even though I knew he couldn’t see me. It seemed like our best bet at the moment. Whoever was after Kate seemed to be a step ahead of us, or at least beside us, since the night the security guard was killed. Moving to another safe house here in Santa Monica would just be inviting another disaster like this.
“What’s going on?” Kate asked, her chin trembling as she spoke.
I moved back to her side and took her hands in mine. “We’re going for a little trip.”
“What kind of trip?”
“Ash has a house in Austin, Texas.”
She started shaking her hands, panic rising to a boiling point in her eyes. “What happened? Is my dad okay?”
“Of course!” I ran my hand over her face and made her look at me with my fingers hooked under her chin. “If there was something wrong with your dad, I would have told you.”
Tears started to spill from the corner of her eyes. “Then what’s going on?”
“Someone hacked into the cameras at the safe house. And then…” I hesitated because I could see she was on the verge of hysterics and I really needed her to stay calm until we were on the plane and thirty thousand feet over the city.
“And then?”
“There was an explosion.”
“What kind of explosion?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, baby. All I know is what David’s telling me.”
She nodded, taking a deep breath. “Okay.”
“We’re going to a small, private airport outside the city. We should be there in a few minutes.”
“What happens then? How long do we stay in Texas?”
; “Until Detective Warren can figure out who’s behind all this and decides it’s safe for you to come back.”
“That could be months.”
I shrugged, dragging my thumb over her bottom lip. “It could be months…all alone. Just you and me and the woods of central Texas.”
She smiled despite the tears. “No cameras?”
“No cameras.”
She curled up against my chest, sniffed a few times, then pulled back to look at me again, the tears gone.
“Okay. I’m okay now.”
“I’m going to protect you, babe. I promise, nothing will happen to you.”
She leaned into me and kissed me gently. “I know.”
I cradled her against my chest and settled back against the seat.
We arrived at the airport a few minutes later. Joss pulled the car right up to the boarding ramp to the plane. She turned and reached her hand through the partition. I squeezed it.
“See you.”
She nodded.
I opened the door and stepped out, reaching back for Kate. We boarded the plane and the steward pulled the ramp up immediately. The plane began to roll toward the runway as Kate and I took seats inside.
“Who does this belong to?”
I reached over and pulled her belt a little tighter. “It’s Ash’s.”
“Ash’s? Where does he get all the money?”
“His father came from a wealthy family.”
“Oh.”
She glanced out the window and grabbed hold of the armrests, her knuckles going white. I slipped out of my seat and moved into the captain’s chair beside her. After I was buckled, I took her hand and pulled it onto my thigh.
“Try to relax. We’ll be in the air before you know it.”
And we’d be hurtling toward the unknown.
What the hell was going on here?
Chapter 21
Kate
There was a car waiting for us when we landed. Donovan drove, the two of us alone just like he promised. It was a bit of a drive, further outside of the city than I imagined. It was a beautiful property in the middle of nowhere, another log-cabin-styled house with huge windows with an amazing view. I walked through the rooms, feeling lost. I was thousands of miles away from home and had no idea what I was doing.
“There’re are clothes in the back bedroom,” Donovan said.
Of course.
“Do you know what’s going on back home?”
I saw him, pacing beside the car, talking to someone on the phone. I assumed it was Ash. It was always Ash.
“Yeah. Someone hacked the cameras at both your house and the safe house. When David recognized it and sent a team to check it out, the safe house exploded.”
“The whole house?”
He came up behind me and slid his arm around my waist. “At least we know it wasn’t your stepmother.”
I twisted so that I could see his face. “You thought Veronica could do this?”
“We had her checked out. Turns out there’re some issues your dad’s going to want to discuss with her, but she didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“What kind of issues?”
“Turns out she’s married to some guy in Arizona.”
“What!?” I twisted around and pressed my hands against his chest. “What do you mean she’s married?”
“Warren thinks she’s running a scam.”
I bit the heel of my hand, trying to keep from laughing, but it was almost impossible.
Donovan cracked a smile, too.
“Can you believe that? My dad…oh, my poor dad.”
“At least he won’t have to go through a messy divorce.”
I chuckled again. “Yeah. And the timing couldn’t be better. I think the shine has worn off, if you know what I mean.”
“I think I can guess.”
He grabbed my hips and pulled me close, his lips brushing my throat.
“Is it wrong to be laughing when a house just exploded because of me?”
“It wasn’t your fault, Kate.”
“Was anyone hurt?” I asked, leaning back to look him in eye.
“No. There was a secondary fire in the house next door, but the fire department was able to get it out before it did much damage.”
“That’s good.”
He kissed my neck, a finger caught in the fabric of my dress tugging it off my shoulder. His lips slid over my skin, so warm and reassuring. I ran my fingers over the back of his head, teasing the short hairs there. He tugged the dress a little more, pulling one sleeve down my arm, exposing more of my shoulder, my breast. And then his hand was there, his palm pressed against my hardening nipple.
“You feel so good,” he whispered against my ear.
“Does this place have a bed?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He stepped back and held out his hand to me. I took it and followed him down the long hallway that came off the right side of the front entrance, peeking inside the open doors of the rooms we passed. There were four bedrooms, each completely furnished. And then the master suite, a huge room that could fit the apartment I had just after college twice over. The furnishings were modern, the entertainment system state of the art. It was luxury that went far beyond anything I’d ever experienced.
And what came next…there were no words.
He undressed me as if I was a child, taking his time as he slowly unzipped the back of my dress, his lips skimming my spine as he slowly exposed it. And then he was on his knees. It was the second time he’d done this for me. This big, strong man who’d seen more hell than I could even imagine, on his knees for me. It made my heart tremble in my chest and made my knees grow week.
He slid my panties down, slowly, his lips again following the path the material created. When his hands were free, when I was standing naked and exposed to him in more ways than one, he cupped my ass in both hands, blowing on my moist cunt lips. I reached back and ran my fingers through his hair, encouraging him to move closer. To touch me again. And he did. But it was nibbles on my ass, on the top of my thigh. Not quite what I desperately wanted.
I pulled away from him and turned, sinking down onto the edge of the mattress. A slow smile slipped over his lips as he stood again, shrugging out of his tuxedo jacket. The shirt was next. He moved slowly, deliberately, careful to set his cuff links on top of the dresser so that they wouldn’t be lost. He kicked off his dress shoes and turned back to me, standing in front of me as he began to tug at the hook that kept his pants tight around his waist.
I helped him, tugging at the zipper, slipping my fingers inside and running my fingernails against the underside of his rigid cock. He closed his eyes for a second, but then his eyes were on me again.
“You are so beautiful,” he said.
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
He smiled again. “I don’t think I’ve gotten such a nice compliment.”
“I doubt that. I’m sure some of your clients—”
He groaned. “You’re not going to let that go, are you? Tell you one thing…”
I tugged at his pants, pulling them free and watching them slide slowly over his hips. Then I slid my hands under his boxer briefs, smiling when he groaned again.
“I want you,” I said softly.
He pushed me back against the mattress. “Say it again,” he said, as he climbed onto the bed, kneeling over me. “I want to hear you say it again.”
I reached up and touched his cheek. “I want you.”
He kissed me deeply, a kiss that was more than just a touch. It was one of those kisses that touched you in places that can’t be reached any other way. I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him down to me, kneading my fingers into his muscles. He slid inside of me carefully, gently. And then he began to rock his hips. It was slow and gentle, less physical than it’d been before. This was the man who took my virginity, the love of my life who was so gentle, so caring. It was an experience so different from those of my friends that it made ever
ything that came after pale in comparison. Not that much came after.
My heart just wasn’t in it. Donovan was…he was just Donovan.
***
That dream that I’d had the night before that left me feeling uneasy was back. It was a jumble of images, things I couldn’t grab even if I’d wanted to. And the truth was, I really didn’t want to. There was something that frightened me beyond words. I couldn’t begin to describe it.
It began at a diner in downtown Santa Monica that I frequented. I was sitting on the patio, as I often did, and someone joined me. I couldn’t see this person’s face, but I had a sudden sense that this person meant me harm. And then it shifted. I was inside a car and I needed to get out for reasons I didn’t know, but I couldn’t find a way out. The windows wouldn’t break and the doors wouldn’t open.
The dream shifted again. I was in the bank, laughing at something a customer had said. But then this overwhelming sense of dread washed over me and I began to scream with a terror that I could feel clear down to my bones.
“Kate! Wake up, Kate!”
I heard his voice, but I couldn’t make my eyes open. The panic was just overwhelming, making me feel as though I was drowning. I’d never had such a nightmare before. I had bad dreams, dreams about Joshua, but never anything like this.
“Kate!”
And then I was just conscious. I sat up, gasping for air. Donovan was behind me, his lips next to my ear.
“You’re okay, baby.”
I turned and threw my arms around him, burying my face against his shoulder. Feeling his arms around me dispelled some of the dread and the panic, but not all of it. It seemed to settle around my heart with big, long, cold fingers.
“You’re okay,” Donovan just kept whispering over and over again until I slowly began to believe him.
Chapter 22
Donovan
“I’m the one who’s supposed to have the bad dreams,” I said, setting a cup of steaming coffee in front of Kate.
COLE (Dragon Security Book 1) Page 28