Mantis (K19 Security Solutions Book 4)

by Heather Slade

  “It must be something big,” said Alegria.

  Doc nodded and put his arm around her shoulders. “I sure as hell wanted to wring your neck, but I’m glad you’re back with us and safe.”

  “I just want to go home,” she told him.

  “You and me both, sweetheart.”

  Chapter 33

  Dutch

  had something big on Ghafor; that would be the only explanation for the Islamic State’s leader to fold as easily as he did.

  Dutch didn’t care what it was, as long as he, Razor, and Malin could get the hell out of there. Once they were back at Bagram, he and Special Agent Kilbourne were going to have a long damn talk about Sergei Orlov. Dutch intended to get to the bottom of who had paid him to hunt her down and why.

  Striker didn’t seem to have any idea, and if anyone would know, he would.

  “The helicopter will be here in ten,” Razor told them. “We’ll take the SUV back to Bagram.”

  “This way,” he said to Malin, who looked at Razor.

  “I’ll be right behind you,” Razor said, shooting Dutch a questioning look when she turned her back.

  Dutch shrugged and followed her to the SUV.

  “I’m not angry,” he said when he opened the door for her to climb in. “If you had anything to do with Safi taking me from the apartment, I know you didn’t have any choice.”

  “I did.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I had a choice.”

  “We’ll discuss this later,” Dutch said when he saw Razor approach. “Get in,” he said, motioning to the back passenger door.

  “Something’s up,” Razor said after Dutch closed the door behind her. “Why don’t you ride in the back with her?”

  “Roger that,” said Dutch, walking to the other side of the vehicle while Razor stood where he was.

  “We’re going straight to the airfield,” Razor said when they arrived at Bagram, glancing over the seat at Dutch. “Onyx will arrange for transport.”

  Dutch had no idea where he and Malin were going, but wherever it was, Razor didn’t want her to know either.

  Chapter 34

  Mantis and Alegria

  “You have no idea where he is?” Alegria asked.

  Mantis shook his head. “He and Kilbourne left Bagram before we did. All I know is that Onyx was responsible for their transport and that the agency provided another pilot to travel with them.”

  When Doc gave the word that Alegria’s father could be discharged, they were in the air less than two hours later, along with the rest of the K19 crew—minus Striker, Ranger, and Diesel. No one talked about what went down with Ghafor. No one talked about what went down with Dutch and Malin. When they landed at Logan, Mantis asked Doc about Dutch right before they got off the plane.

  “There’s nothing I can tell you,” Doc answered, grasping Mantis’ shoulder. “You and Alegria take some time. When you’re ready to talk about the K19 partnership, let me know.”

  “Roger that,” he said, and followed Alegria and her father off the plane and into the SUV waiting for them on the tarmac.

  “I’ve made arrangements for an apartment for you near the hospital so you can spend more time with your maman,” Pierre said to Alegria.

  “Would it be better if we went to a hotel for tonight, Papa?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No, your mother is there now.”

  Alegria rested her head on Mantis’ shoulder. “Will you stay?” she whispered.

  “As long as you’re in Boston, that’s where I’ll be too,” he answered, kissing her forehead.

  “I’ll take your bag, you go see your mother,” Mantis told Alegria when Pierre handed him the key card for the second apartment.

  “I’ll help and join you shortly,” Pierre offered.

  Mantis was about to tell him he could handle it, but when their eyes met, he realized Pierre wanted to talk to him more than help him.

  “I know the time has long since passed that I should ask what your intentions are with my daughter, but I am anyway.”

  Mantis smiled. “I’ve loved Manon for all of my adult life.”

  Pierre raised an eyebrow.

  Mantis laughed. “I know I didn’t answer your question.”

  “There was a reason your relationship didn’t work in the past.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Pierre folded his arms, and Mantis laughed again.

  “How much time ya got?”

  Alegria’s father sat down in one of the furnished apartment’s chairs. “All day.”

  That certainly wasn’t what Mantis had expected him to say, but the reasons for the decision that had resulted in Alegria ending their relationship weren’t a secret.

  “My brother was a firefighter for New York City Fire Department,” he began.

  “I was wondering what happened to the two of you,” Alegria commented when Mantis and her dad joined her and her mother.

  “How are you feeling, ma’am?” Mantis asked, unsure of whether he should embrace her or offer to shake her hand.

  Matille stood to approach him, and he met her halfway, kissing both cheeks when she initiated their embrace.

  “Better now that my husband and daughter are here.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he murmured, wondering if she blamed him for them leaving in the first place.

  “Maman has good news,” Alegria said, putting her arm through his.

  “I’m in a remission of sorts,” Matille said to her husband, who put his hands on his wife’s shoulders.

  “What does this mean?”

  Mantis listened as Matille and Alegria rattled off numbers and acronyms that didn’t mean anything to him. Even if they had, the conversation he’d had with Pierre was at the forefront of his mind.

  “It means the cancer is no longer growing.”

  Alegria explained that the cancer center where her mother was being treated had recently implemented two experimental therapies from the Netherlands that had promising results.

  The four-drug chemo “cocktail” had extended patients’ lives by nearly two years over the current standard single-drug regimen for pancreatic cancer.

  “This is very good news,” murmured Alegria.

  “Next week, they’ll begin a combination of chemo with radiation,” added Matille.

  Mantis wasn’t sure what to say. Congratulations, you get to live two years longer than you previously thought?

  “What I want to know now is when the two of you plan to get married. I would like as much time with my grandchildren as possible,” Matille said with her hands on her hips.

  “Maman!” gasped Alegria.

  Pierre’s eyes met his, and they both smiled.

  —:—

  “I’m sorry about what my mother said,” Alegria muttered when she motioned him out of the room.

  “Don’t be.” Mantis smiled and drew her closer to him. “Do you think your parents might want some time alone?”

  “Probably.”

  “Because I know I would.”

  Alegria could feel her cheeks turning pink and her heart rate speed up. There was nothing stopping them from making love. Whether she’d been able to talk to Dutch about it or not, she knew he understood that their relationship was over. In fact, she wondered if maybe he and Malin were rekindling their romance.

  “What are you thinking about?” Mantis asked, smiling.

  “Being alone with you.”

  “Good.”

  They said goodbye to her parents, agreeing to meet up later for dinner.

  “Where is the apartment?” she asked when they walked out into the hallway.

  “On the fifth floor.”

  She couldn’t explain why, but knowing they were staying on a different floor made her feel less uncomfortable about what they were about to do.

  Mantis held her hand while they waited for the elevator, but as soon as it opened, he pushed her up against the back wall and covered her mouth with his.

&n
bsp; It was a kiss much like the one they’d shared on the side of the road on their way back to Bagram Air Base. They kissed so hard, it almost hurt as their tongues explored each other’s mouths.

  “I’ve never wanted anything more than I want to make love to you right now, Manon.”

  “I want the same thing,” she breathed.

  When the elevator opened on their floor, Mantis picked her up and carried her the rest of the way to the apartment door.

  “Where is the key?” she asked, not wanting him to put her down.

  “The card is in my shirt pocket,” he told her.

  She pulled it out and waved it in front of the door handle. When it clicked, she opened it.

  He kissed her again as he carried her down the hallway. When they got to the bedroom, Mantis set her on her feet.

  “I need to see you naked, baby. Take off your clothes.”

  Alegria almost swooned. This was what she craved—Mantis taking charge—because she knew what came next would be him bringing pleasure to her body like no one else could.

  “Look at you,” he groaned. “You take my breath away.”

  He left her standing where she was as he let his eyes wander over every inch of her body. When he’d looked his fill, he came and knelt before her.

  “You have too many clothes on,” she murmured, getting only a raised eyebrow in response.

  Mantis ran his lips across her hips and licked down from her belly button to her sex. Alegria gripped his scalp with her fingers in his hair.

  “It’s too much,” she groaned. “Please, Mantis. I need you so much.”

  “Say my name,” he told her as his tongue would’ve brought her to her knees if he wasn’t holding her up.

  “Gehring…please…I need you.”

  Mantis ran his hands up her legs to her waist, and stood. He walked her backwards to the bed and she fell into it.

  “Hands above your head. Don’t move,” he warned her.

  “Wait.”

  Mantis turned around and looked into her eyes.

  “Nothing between us, Gehring.”

  He nodded, undressed, and knelt on the bed. “Open for me, Manon.” He moved forward so his hardness rested against her.

  She let her eyes drift closed, wanting to just feel.

  “Look at me.”

  She opened her eyes and looked into his.

  “I love you, Manon. I’ve never loved anyone other than you.”

  “I love you, Gehring. I’ve never loved anyone other than you.”

  “I want everything with you. Not just to spend my life following wherever you lead…”

  Alegria smiled.

  “I want you to be my wife, the mother of my children, and the person whose eyes I look into when I wake up in the morning and right before I go to sleep at night. Tell me you want the same thing.”

  “I do, Gehring. More than anything.”

  “Tell me you’ll marry me.”

  “I’ll marry you.”

  “And make beautiful babies with me.”

  She smiled as her eyes filled with tears. “Can we start working on that as soon as possible? You know, like now?”

  “We can,” he answered, easing into her. “God, you feel so good, Manon.”

  She arched, wanting to feel him deeper.

  There was nothing like feeling her body joined together with Mantis. They were a perfect fit. Two halves becoming whole. Two hearts joining together in the same way their bodies did. As he thrust inside her, again and again, bringing her closer to the crest of exquisite ecstasy, she prayed that tonight that miracle would happen—that they would make a child that would be from both of their bodies.

  She looked into Mantis’ eyes and saw as much love in them as she was feeling herself. She knew without any doubt that they’d be together for the rest of their lives. Just like her parents and his, they’d raise a family and grow old together, and no matter what, they’d stay together, supporting one another regardless of the curve balls life threw them. Wherever one went, the other would follow. Together forever.

  —:—

  “Don’t go anywhere,” he said to her again, only this time, he was leaving her sated and sleepy.

  She rolled to her side, and he covered her body with the blanket. “You don’t go anywhere,” she murmured.

  Mantis leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll be right back.”

  While his proposal wasn’t traditional in that he hadn’t gotten down on one knee and presented an engagement ring to Alegria, asking her to marry him in the moments before he slid inside her warmth, was perfect. He hoped she felt the same way.

  He crawled in bed next to her, and she snuggled her warm body up against his.

  “What time is it?” she murmured.

  “We have a couple of hours before we have to meet your parents.”

  “We could cancel.”

  Mantis smiled. “We have a lifetime ahead of us, Manon.”

  “I know. I’ve just missed you so much.”

  He could feel the wetness of her tears on his chest. “Don’t cry, baby. We’re together now.”

  She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry, Gehring. I’m sorry I asked you to choose. I was wrong to do that.”

  “I’m sorry I put you in that position.”

  “I want you to know that I understand now. I know you didn’t have a choice.”

  “Thank you,” he said, just above a whisper, willing his own tears to stay at bay. He’d mourn his brother for the rest of his life, and he’d still fight against the forces of evil that threatened the lives of the people he cared about, but now, he and Alegria would do it side by side.

  —:—

  Alegria couldn’t name what part of her life made her happiest tonight. Knowing she and Mantis would one day be married and spend their life together, or that her mother had such promising news about her cancer treatment, or that she and her father had bonded in a way she’d never dreamed they would.

  He looked at her with such pride that she felt as though her heart would burst. She’d wanted to see that look in his eyes all of her life. And now, there it was. Every time he looked at her, she knew he loved her and was proud of her.

  Mantis brought her hand to his lips. “I love you, Manon. Do you know how much?”

  “I do.”

  He let go of her hand and pushed his chair back from the table. “Are you sure you know how much?”

  She watched as he knelt next to her, took her hand in his, and pulled a small box out of his jacket pocket.

  “If you ever doubt my love for you, I want you to look at the ring I’m about to put on your finger, and know that I love you with every cell of my body, my whole heart, every breath I take.”

  “I know,” she whispered as he slid the ring on her finger.

  Mantis leaned forward. “You still want to marry me, right?” he whispered.

  “Yes!” she practically shouted. “Yes, I want to marry you.”

  She could hear her parents murmuring congratulations, maybe even other people in the restaurant, offering theirs too, but none of it mattered. Listening to Mantis tell her he loved her was all she wanted to hear, not just now, but for the rest of her life.

  —:—

  They rode the elevator with Pierre and Matille, saying goodnight when they got off on the second floor.

  “There’s something I need to show you,” Mantis said to Alegria, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I received this on our way back from the restaurant.”

  He held the phone out to her.

  “What is it?”

  He smiled as she read the text that had come through from the man who had been his and her best friend since their days at the Air Force Academy.

  Don’t you worry. The best man will be back in time for the wedding. Congratulations, and I love you both.

  Epilogue

  Mantis and Alegria

  “You bought one!” exclaimed Alegria when her father led her, Mantis, and Ma
tille out on the tarmac. “Wait. That’s K19’s plane.”

  Pierre shrugged. “I made your friend an offer he couldn’t refuse. The delivery delay for a Cirrus Vision is presently over twenty-four months long.”

  Alegria’s father winked at Mantis, who had been the one to finally convince Doc to sell the Vision to him.

  When Pierre apologized to him, saying he wanted to be the one to fly with Alegria as she piloted her first flight since she’d been shot, Mantis hadn’t minded.

  Instead, he focused back to the day, years ago, when Manon Mondreau, now Manon Cassman, took her first solo flight. The look on her face then was one he’d never forgotten and never would.

  He and Matille waited in the SUV until they saw the plane approaching the runway to land. Bottle of Champagne in hand, Mantis waited until they taxied in and he finally saw the door open and his beautiful wife climb out of the plane.

  He popped the cork and poured the bottle’s contents over both of them as he held her in his arms.

  She laughed and laughed, just like she had the day he’d given her her call sign.

  “I love you so much, Mrs. Cassman.”

  “And I love you, Mr. Cassman.”

  He rested his hand on her belly and caressed the bump he felt there.

  “Ian’s first flight,” she beamed.

  Mantis smiled too, not arguing about whether they were having a boy or a girl. Nor did he argue about the name she’d chosen for their baby if they had a boy.

  Everything he’d thought he’d lost, he’d won again, and he was the happiest man alive.

  About the Author

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