The Bearens' Hope Book Four of the Soul

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “Well, you’re just going to have to wait because I want to see this,” Ellicia said. “In fact, let me check on the movement of that tag.” She reached into her pocket and removed one of her metal tracking tags, closed her fingers around it and closed her eyes. After a few moments she opened her eyes and smiled.

  “It’s still in the meeting room,” she said.

  “Téleios,” Harlan replied. He checked his watch. “The meeting is supposed to start at three o’clock sharp, so we still have nine minutes to go.”

  “Are you ever going to tell me how you found out about this meeting?” Ellicia asked.

  “Angel, I wish I could tell you, but I promised my informant that I would not reveal his, or her, identity.”

  “You’re not even going to tell me if the informant is male or female?” Ellicia asked.

  “Nope, sorry,” Harlan replied. “A promise is a promise.”

  Ellicia sighed heavily. “All right, I suppose I can’t fault you for keeping a promise. How about just a hint then?”

  Harlan laughed. “All I can tell you is that a little bird told me,” he said.

  Ellicia rolled her eyes. “A little bird? That’s the best you can do?”

  “A little bird with great hearing,” Harlan added.

  Ellicia turned back to the window and raised her binoculars again. It hadn’t been easy to get this room directly across the street from the hotel where an important meeting was about to take place. But it was perfect. She had a view straight across to the meeting room, and could see several guards standing over the stacks of crates containing military arms that had been hijacked a week earlier.

  It had been Harlan’s idea to plant a tag in one of the military crates, then let the shipment be stolen and tracked, but not recovered. He’d gotten information that the arms were to be distributed during a meeting to be held on this day, at this place, at this time, and that the leaders of three major crime syndicates were going to show up personally for their share of the weapons.

  The only problem was that Harlan refused to reveal his source. He had told the Director that he was either trusted, or not trusted. The Director had decided to trust him. They needed to put these crime syndicates out of business, and this was the closest they had ever gotten to any of them.

  “Looks like one of them is a bit early,” Ellicia said.

  Harlan turned and looked toward the huge window of the meeting room across the street. He had excellent eyesight and was able to see into the meeting room even more clearly than Ellicia could with binoculars.

  “Ypérochi1,” he said softly as he studied the tall, gray headed figure standing near the crates talking with the guards. “That’s Tito West. One down, two to go.”

  A minute later another man entered the room. This one was short and round, with an oddly babyish face and spiked yellow hair. Ellicia gasped.

  “Who is that?” Harlan asked.

  “That is Junior Loggia,” Ellicia replied. “I had no idea he’d decided to follow in his father’s footsteps.”

  “He doesn’t look like he’s out of his teens,” Harlan said as he studied the strange looking young man.

  “He’s not. I think he’s 18, could be 19 by now,” Ellicia said as she watched the young man strut around the room.

  “I’ve never heard of a boss that young,” Harlan said.

  “Me neither. He must be using his father’s connections. Wouldn’t daddy be proud?” Ellicia lowered her binoculars and turned to Harlan. “He’s the reason for the attacks on me this past year,” she said.

  “You think so?” Harlan asked.

  “I’m sure of it. Junior blames me for his father’s capture, and he’s partially right,” Ellicia said. “Of course, the fact that his father was a monster who kidnapped and tortured my sister is irrelevant in Junior’s mind.”

  “Well, we’re about to put Junior out of business, so that should end the attacks,” Harlan said.

  Ellicia turned back to the window and raised the binoculars again. “I sure hope so,” she said.

  “Ah, there’s Woo Fang,” Harlan said with a smile. Ellicia shuddered at the sight of the beautiful, petite woman who was more sadistic than even Stephan Loggia had been.

  “Looks like the party is about to start,” Harlan said as he reached up to tap his vox.

  “Hello, Director,” he said a moment later. “All the guests have arrived.” He listened for a moment then tapped the vox to disconnect.

  Ellicia watched as the three crime bosses greeted each other and took seats at the long meeting table, their personal guards taking up positions behind them. Suddenly, the windows and walls of the meeting room shimmered for just a moment as the graviton shielding the Directorate had installed the previous day was activated. It would prevent anyone inside the room from leaving it, or shooting out of it.

  The crime leaders leapt to their feet as the guards pulled weapons and searched for an enemy to shoot at. Seconds later, everyone in the room crumpled to the floor, unconscious from the invisible, odorless Somulon gas that had been pumped into the room the moment the shielding was activated.

  “Short meeting,” Ellicia said.

  “Yep, worked like a charm,” Harlan said with a smile. He reached up to tap his vox again. “The party is over, Director.” He chuckled softly at something the Director said, then disconnected.

  Ellicia and Harlan continued to watch as the shielding was deactivated and the special glass that the Directorate had installed in place of the privacy glass that was supposed to be there, was removed. Moments later the meeting room was flooded with Agents who immediately began placing restraints on the unconscious criminals before the fresh air could revive them.

  Ellicia was not altogether surprised that Junior Loggia was the only one in the room to throw a fit upon waking up to discover he’d been captured. They couldn’t hear anything the young man was saying, but from the looks of it, he was saying it loud and clear.

  Ellicia set the binoculars down and turned to Harlan with a smile. “Looks like your plan came off without a hitch,” she said. “Congratulations.”

  “That’s all I get?” Harlan asked.

  “What else do you want?” Ellicia asked.

  Harlan stepped closer to her and raised his hands to gently cup her face. He tilted her chin up, then lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her gently. When he lifted his mouth from hers, she sighed softly.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “Don’t you want me, Harlan?”

  “Oh, Angel, I want you so much I can’t stand it,” he said gruffly. “But I don’t want to push you into anything. I can wait.”

  “Harlan, I’m a woman who knows her own mind,” she said. “And my mind says the time is now.”

  “You sure, Angel?” he asked. “Please be sure.”

  “Now,” she whispered again as she gazed into his amber eyes.

  Before she knew it, she was in Harlan’s arms, his mouth on hers, his hot tongue tracing her lips, seeking entrance. She opened her mouth for him and he slipped his tongue inside, caressing her tongue with his. She returned the caress, rubbing his tongue delicately, her senses filling with the taste and scent of him. His arms tightened around her as he deepened the kiss. Ellicia’s eyes closed as she let herself get lost in the heat and passion of his kiss, not even noticing her own soft moans.

  He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her skirt hiking up to her hips, the only thing between her sex and his the thin silk of her panties and his trousers. Suddenly, that was far too much.

  She kicked off her heels, letting them fall to the floor as she hooked her ankles behind him, then she reached down and fumbled with the button on his trousers.

  Harlan’s eyes met hers, but she didn’t stop or hesitate. She worked the button free, then the zipper, and reached in for her prize. She wrapped her hand around his hard, thick cock and gently worked it free of his pants. She was loved the silky softness of the skin, the hot hardness of the
flesh. Harlan’s head went back and he moaned helplessly as she stroked him lightly with her hand. She couldn’t quite wrap her fingers all the way around him, and for a moment she worried about his size. Another soft moan from Harlan and her worries fled.

  She released him so she could slide her panties aside, then reached for him again. Harlan wrapped his arms around her a bit more tightly and lifted her up, guiding her body down at just the right angle. She placed the broad mushroom shaped head against her opening and lowered herself onto him, moaning with her own pleasure as he slid slowly inside of her, stretching her tight sheath almost to the point of pain.

  Harlan lowered his mouth to hers again, kissing her hot and hard, thrusting his tongue firmly in and out of her mouth as he pressed down on her hips, pushing himself deeper and deeper inside of her until she was filled with his entire throbbing length. He raised his head and looked into her eyes again, both of them gasping for air, her pussy spasming tightly around him as though trying to pull him deeper still.

  “I love you,” Harlan said, his voice hoarse with passion, his amber eyes sincere.

  Ellicia’s heart skipped a beat, and she swallowed hard against the tears of happiness that threatened.

  “I love you, too,” she said.

  Harlan smiled, then kissed her again, ramping their arousal to the boiling point. Suddenly he spun around and put her back to the wall. He shifted his hands on her hips, holding her up as he drew back, then thrust back in again, then out, then in, an age old rhythm that sent her arousal spiraling out of control.

  “Show me your breasts,” Harlan gasped as he continued fucking her hard and deep. Ellicia smiled as she opened her blouse and unhooked her bra. Harlan lifted her away from the wall and she shrugged both garments onto the floor. He leaned her back and then bent his head forward to taste her nipples.

  He licked her nipples until they grew hard, switching back and forth between them until they were tight and sensitive. Then he sucked one into his mouth and lashed it with his tongue before nipping it with his teeth. Ellicia’s pussy reacted with a rush of hot cream around his cock and he moaned as he nipped the tender little morsel again. Then he switched to the other breast and lavished the same attention on it. He continued going back and forth between them until Ellicia’s nipples were stiff, hot, and throbbing for more attention. He gave each one a kiss, then raised his head to kiss Ellicia’s mouth, a long, deep kiss that matched his thrusts.

  As much as he wanted to make this last, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to hold out much longer. But Ellicia had to come first. That was an absolute.

  He reached down with one hand, found her hard little clit, and began stroking it gently. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was when he realized that Ellicia didn’t want gentle. She needed a bit more stimulation than that. He pinched her clit experimentally and her hips jerked against him.

  “You are delicious,” he said. “perfectly perfect for me.” He pinched her clit again, kissing her deeply as her hips jerked in response. He was so close, too close.

  He lowered his head and sucked one of her tight, hot nipples into his mouth, then nipped her nipple and her clit at the same time, holding them tightly as he thrust hard and deep into her pussy. His cock exploded inside of her and she moaned into his mouth as she joined him in the hardest, most exquisite orgasm of his life. It went on and on, his muscles jerking and snapping as her pussy squeezed his cock until he’d emptied himself into her sweet depths.

  Harlan released her nipple and her clit slowly and carefully so that he didn’t hurt her. A bit of pain in the heat of passion was one thing. It intensified the pleasure and enhanced the arousal. But he had no wish to actually hurt Ellicia, nor did he think she would enjoy pain.

  After a few moments, he lifted her away from the wall and carried her to the sofa where he sat down with her in his lap, and held her tenderly against his chest. He was astounded by what had just happened. He’d had sex before, but never had it been anything like what he had just experienced. This had been the most intense and meaningful sexual experience of his life. He knew with every particle of his being that he would never want another woman, would never touch another woman sexually again. Even if Ellicia walked away from him at this moment and never looked back, that would not change.

  Harlan tightened his arms around her and bent his head to kiss her gently and sweetly, his heart filled to overflowing with love and happiness. This was the woman he wanted to spend his life with. The one he wanted to have children with. Which meant it was time to tell her something.

  “Tell me a secret,” Harlan said.

  “You first,” she replied.

  “Okay. I’m not really part Alverian.”

  Ellicia lifted her head from his chest to look at him, gazing into his amber eyes for a long moment. “I read your file, Harlan. It said that even though you’re part Alverian, you have no empathic ability. Why would it say that if it’s not true?”

  “Because nobody ever believed I was human,” he replied. “My mother said that from the moment I was born I didn’t look completely human with my eyes. My father evidently had some suspicions, so they ran genetic tests, and I’ve seen them. I’m one hundred percent human and the natural child of both of my parents. Mom and Dad both dug around in their family histories for mention of an off-worlder in the genetic pool, but they never found one. Even if they had, it wouldn’t matter. My genetic tests show an oddity here and there, but nothing to suggest I’m anything other than human.

  “The problem was that nobody believed my mother when she said I was human, so she decided to make things easier for the both of us and just told everyone I was part Alverian. My father was dead by then, and there was none of his family around to argue the point, so it didn’t matter.”

  “Interesting,” Ellicia said.

  “Does it bother you?”

  “No, why would it?” Ellicia asked.

  “Just checking,” Harlan replied. “Your turn.”

  Ellicia sat up and gazed into Harlan’s amber eyes for a long moment. “Okay, this is my deepest, darkest secret,” she said.

  “I promise, it will stay that way,” Harlan said solemnly.

  “If I didn’t believe that, I would not share it with you,” Ellicia told him. She cleared her throat, suddenly feeling nervous. She had never shared this information with anyone. Not even Lariah.

  “I have more than one psychic talent,” she said. Harlan lifted one brow in curiosity.

  “Go on,” he urged.

  “I can talk to people after they’ve died. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

  “It doesn’t sound crazy, but it does sound horrific,” Harlan said.

  “Well, it’s not like you might think,” Ellicia said. “I don’t have spirits lining up to talk to me or anything like that. When I was four years old my father was killed. He came and talked to me off and on for weeks, giving me messages to pass to my mother, telling me stories sometimes. He’s the reason I wanted to be in law enforcement.”

  “Did your mother believe you when you told her the messages?” Harlan asked.

  “Yes, actually, she did,” Ellicia replied. “Thinking about it now, I guess that was kind of odd. But she had a bit of psychic talent herself, so maybe that explains her easy acceptance.”

  “Was your father the only one who ever came to you?” Harlan asked.

  “No. Years later, when my mother died, she came and talked to me too. She had a few things she wanted to tell me, unfinished business she called it. After that, she left and never came back.

  “Aside from my parents, I’ve had a few others talk to me. Rolph and Lawry both came after they died and told me that it wasn’t my fault, then left. Sometimes I see people that I know aren’t really there, but either they don’t see me, or they leave me alone because their business is not with me.”

  “So people only come to you when they have unfinished business?” Harlan asked.

  “So far,” Ellicia replied. “That’s
the way it seems to me anyway. Once they say whatever it is they have to say, they leave and don’t come back again.”

  “Does it scare you?”

  “Not really,” Ellicia replied. “What scares me is the idea that the Directorate would want me to use that ability to get information. For some reason, asking people who have passed on for information just seems wrong to me.”

  “Ellicia, wake up,” Harlan said in a soft, urgent whisper. “Come on Angel, I need you to wake up.”

  Ellicia released her dream reluctantly and opened her eyes. “Harlan, what are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Listen, Angel,” he said. “You need to go back to Hope’s apartment. You missed something.”

  “What did I miss?” Ellicia asked, rubbing her eyes in an effort to awaken more quickly. This was important and she needed to be wide awake and thinking clearly.

  “Hope wears a pair of pearl earrings that her mother gave to her when she was twelve, just before she died,” Harlan said, still speaking in the same urgent whisper. “You have to go back.”

  “Harlan, her earrings aren’t going to do me any good unless the box she keeps them in is in her apartment,” Ellicia said. “Is it? Do you know?”

  “No, she didn’t keep them in a box, Angel,” Harlan said. “She wears them all the time, never takes them off. You have to go back, trust me on this.”

  “All right Harlan, I’ll go back,” Ellicia agreed. “Just tell me what I’m looking for.”

  “I can’t, Angel,” Harlan said, looking at her with sad eyes. “I wish I could, more than anything I wish I could, but I can’t because I don’t know. I just have a feeling that Hope’s earrings are the key to finding her. Please promise me you will go back to her apartment.”

  “I promise, Harlan,” Ellicia said. She turned to look at the clock on the bedside table, surprised to see that it was ten in the morning. She never slept this late.

  “I’ll go back this morning,” she said as she climbed out of bed. “I need to take a shower, and then I’ll go right over there.”

  “No, you have to take the Bearens with you,” Harlan insisted.