by A. K. Evans
“Cruz,” I moaned.
He held my hips in his hands as I began riding him. My hands fell to his chest and I leaned into them as I worked myself over his hardened length, loving the feel of being filled by him. One of his hands would occasionally drift to my ass, where he’d squeeze before moving up to my breasts and doing the same. Sometimes, the way he’d squeeze me or the noises he’d make made me feel like he was the one who was keeping himself restrained.
I wasn’t going to do it now, but I knew I needed to figure out what was holding him back and how to make him lose complete control.
Between all the touching Cruz did before I had taken him in my mouth and then the excitement I felt bringing him pleasure, it didn’t take long before I was on the verge of coming apart. My hips began moving quickly as I sought to satisfy the pulsing and building pressure. Cruz knew it was coming.
“That’s it, Lex,” he approved, his voice thick with emotion.
“I’m going to come, Cruz,” I cried just before it tore through me. Wave after wave of pure pleasure rolled through my entire body.
I barely had the opportunity to come down when Cruz flipped me to my back and drove himself in deep. It was glorious. I loved seeing this bit of unbridled passion in him. I knew it was just a small part of what he’d been holding back and I wanted more of it.
“More,” I rasped feeling the pressure building again.
“Fuck,” he growled as he powered his hips harder. “Worth the wait.”
I gasped just before he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. He pulled back only a touch and quietly declared, “You’re there.”
“Yes.”
“Come with me, Princess.”
So I did.
And he did.
It was magnificent.
A few minutes later, after he had disposed of the condom, Cruz had me curled into his body. He was on his back with his arm wrapped behind me, keeping me close to him.
“You ok?” he asked. I sensed nervousness in his tone.
I tilted my head back to look at him. It was now dark in the room, but I could tell he was looking down at me.
“I’m here with you,” I noted the obvious. “Why wouldn’t I be ok?”
“Just wanted to be sure,” he said, but there was reservation in his tone.
I waited, hoping he’d give me more, but several minutes passed with not another sound from him.
“Talk to me, Captain,” I urged.
“About what?”
“Something is bothering you. You can talk to me about whatever it is.”
He was quiet a minute before he finally revealed, “I’ve never felt so scared before in all my life. I’ve experienced things that have really affected me and the way I live my life, but some of that has always been stuff I’ve learned after it’s happened. It’s never been in the moment. With work, I’ve always been focused on my cases and doing what I need to do to get the job done, but I’ve never gotten emotionally involved. Sure, there were the situations with my brothers’ women, but those were different for me. I wasn’t prepared for what I felt tonight.”
He paused, collecting himself. “Fear. I knew I’d stop at nothing to find you and bring you home, but the rage I felt was something I can’t describe. What happened tonight proved to me just how deeply I feel for you. It was sheer terror I felt thinking I might not get to you on time or that I might not find you at all.”
“You got me,” I reassured him. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
Cruz pressed a kiss to the top of my head before he gave me a gentle squeeze. “I wasn’t too rough with you before, was I?” he questioned. “My emotions got the best of me and I lost control.”
“I loved it,” I announced. “It was actually kind of hot.”
“What?”
“Cruz, a couple weeks ago you told me not to keep in how I felt. Whether it was sexy, scared, or anything in between, I could trust you with it. I want the same for you. I know you’re holding yourself back with me when we’re having sex. You don’t have to.”
His body tensed.
“What you do to my body when we are together is nothing short of amazing. I love it all, but I especially loved how you were tonight.”
“I don’t want to hurt you or scare you.”
“I trust you and I know you’d never hurt me,” I insisted. “But I also need to know that you are being yourself. I love when you’re sweet and tender, but I think I could really enjoy it rough from time to time with you.”
Cruz moved and turned toward me before shifting me in the bed so that he could spoon me. He hooked his arm around my waist and stayed silent. After too much silence, I called, “Captain?”
“Time for bed, Princess.”
“But what about our discussion?”
“It’s been a long day,” he noted. “We need to get some sleep.”
“But,” I managed to get out before he cut me off.
“Lexi, please,” he pleaded. “Sleep now. We’ll talk later. Can you give me that?”
It had been a long day and he had rescued me from an awfully scary situation for the both of us, so I acquiesced. “Ok, we’ll sleep now.”
He pressed a kiss to my bare shoulder. “Love you, Lexi. Good night.”
“Love you, too. Good night, Cruz.”
After I said the words, it didn’t take long for me to feel the exhaustion and give in to it. I tried to wait until I felt Cruz fall asleep, but the events from the day had played their part on my body and I couldn’t. If I had waited him out, I would have known that it wasn’t until an hour later when Cruz finally drifted off.
It was the morning after I’d been kidnapped and nearly throw into the midst of a sex-trafficking ring. Despite all of that, when I woke up I was in Cruz’s bed alone. As someone who was normally up early, I was surprised to glance over at the clock and find that it was approaching ten o’clock. That explained why Cruz, who was also an early riser, was not there with me.
I rolled over, kicked back the covers, and walked to the bathroom. After finishing my morning business there and noting there was now officially a bruise on my cheek from Grant, I walked back out through the bedroom and went in search of Cruz. As I descended the stairs, I was hit by the delicious scents of breakfast.
Walking out into the kitchen, Cruz looked up from the frying pan where he was making breakfast potatoes and gave me a once over.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” he greeted me.
I walked over to him, put my hand to his chest, and pressed up on my toes to give him a kiss.
“Good morning,” I replied.
“Coffee is ready,” he informed me as he jerked his head toward the pot on the counter behind him.
After I poured myself a cup, I walked back over to where Cruz was standing and looked up at him. Given that I made no attempt to hide my assessment of him, it came as no surprise that he turned his head toward me and asked, “What?”
I shrugged my shoulders and answered, “I’m just surprised to see you awake and making breakfast. I thought we would have done the usual and gone to Colvert’s.
Offering the same nonchalance, he returned, “I figured since neither one of us was going into work today, I’d make breakfast and we could take our time this morning.”
“Well, it’s not unappreciated. It smells fantastic and I’m seriously interested in trying those breakfast potatoes. What can I do to help?”
“I’ve got it. Everything is just about done anyway.”
Cruz winked at me before he started removing the potatoes from the pan. At that moment, the timer on the microwave started beeping. Cruz finished putting the potatoes on the plate and moved to the microwave. He turned off the timer, bent at the waist, and opened the oven. He reached in and pulled out a tray of bacon.
After setting the bacon on a paper-towel-lined plate, he flipped the eggs he had put in the other pan while the potatoes had still been cooking. A few minutes later, we were sitting down at the table to eat breakfast.<
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“I’m worried,” I confessed after we’d both gotten through a good portion of our food.
Cruz stopped moving and looked at me. “About what?”
“About what’s going to happen with WAAR,” I explained. “I haven’t really had the opportunity to process the scope of the situation with Grant nor do we know what the reason for him doing this was, but the center is crucial. I’d hate to see it shut down because of what he did.”
“Well, we have to stop into the station today so you can make an official statement. By the time we get there, hopefully they will have learned something about his motives by then. I’m sure they’re going to have to take a look into what was happening with the money that was being donated.”
I gasped.
“What’s wrong?” he worried.
“I never even thought of that,” I declared. “What if the money that came in as a result of my campaigns to help keep the center free for sexual assault survivors was used to fund his illegal activities?”
“You’re not to blame for what he did,” Cruz began. “You went into this project for all the right reasons.”
“I know,” I admitted. “I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand why he did this. I keep thinking back to the meetings I had with him, even the very first one at Logan’s shop. I hate to think that the signs were there and I missed them. He talked about his wife and daughters. I assumed one of them had been a sexual assault survivor, but yesterday when I was trying to fight him I asked him about them.”
Cruz’s brows pulled together. “What did he say?”
“He didn’t really give me an answer. He just said that he was doing what he had to do to make sure they stayed safe.”
“Someone was threatening him,” Cruz declared.
“What?”
“That statement he gave you along with the fact that he was a long-standing client of your brother, who didn’t hesitate to refer him to you, tells me that there’s more to this story.”
“What do you think it could be?” I wondered.
Cruz shook his head and answered, “I don’t know. But we should get to the police station as soon as possible so you can give them this information. It’s important.”
“Ok,” I agreed.
Forty-five minutes later, Cruz and I were walking into the Windsor Police Department. We were swiftly ushered to an office that was occupied by a Detective Jackson Baines. Cruz, who seemed to be well acquainted with him, made introductions.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lexi,” the detective started. “I’m sorry to have to make you relive what you went through yesterday, but I appreciate you coming in to make your statement.”
I gave him a nod and was about to reply when Cruz interjected, “She’s got new information about one of the suspects.”
Detective Baines’ brow lifted and his eyes shifted back to me, waiting for the news I had to deliver.
So, I gave it to him. I told him about the conversation I had with Cruz that morning and what I shared with him about my interactions with Grant. When I finished, his eyes went back to Cruz’s.
“He’s not talking,” Detective Baines shared. “It all makes sense now if he’s worried that someone’s going to come after his family. What the hell did this guy do?”
“I’ll get my guys on it if you want,” Cruz offered. “Maybe we can figure out what’s keeping him so tight-lipped.”
“It’s not going to hurt to have you guys doing some digging. We appreciate your willingness to help us out on cases like this.”
Cruz shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and shot back, “It goes both ways.”
“What about his family?” I asked. “Have they been notified that he’s here?”
“He called his attorney, who arrived not long after. Beyond that, nobody has been here to see him.”
That was odd. If I were in the slammer, I’d like to think the first people I’d call would be my family. Though, I guess if I were in the slammer, it might be for good reason…perhaps something I wouldn’t want my family to know about.
At that, we moved on and I gave my official statement. Once I was finished, Cruz and I were back in his truck and he asked, “Do you want to go see Logan first?”
“First?”
“I don’t plan on working today, but I’m thinking it might be wise to stop into the office for a minute and give an update to the team. The sooner they get started on looking into Grant, the sooner we might have some answers.”
I didn’t want to delay in seeing Logan, but I knew it was important for the guys to start investigating. To that end, Logan knew Grant. I wondered if he’d be able to offer some insight.
“Would you mind it if Logan came to the office?” I wondered.
Cruz shook his head and stated, “I don’t mind.”
“Since it’s right around lunchtime, maybe I can talk him into taking a break at the shop and meeting us there. Who knows…maybe he’ll be able to give you and your team something that’ll help with the investigation.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” he acknowledged. “Give him a call.”
I called Logan and he agreed to meet us at the Cunningham Security office. Since he was coming from Rising Sun, I knew he’d get there after Cruz and I did.
We made it to the office and walked inside. Cruz held my hand as we stopped in front of the reception area.
“Hey, Deb,” he greeted the woman at the desk. “This is Lexi. Lexi, this is Deb.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I offered.
She assessed me and looked back to Cruz before announcing, “There’s another one down and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.”
Cruz didn’t respond and confusion washed over my face.
“All three Cunningham brothers are officially spoken for,” she explained. “While I loathe the fact that the three women who’ve stolen your hearts have endured such awful circumstances, it fills me with such joy to see you boys finally settling down, especially you. Lexi, dear, it’s lovely to meet you, the woman responsible for making this guy have a life outside of work.”
I gave her a smile.
“Thanks, Deb. We’re not staying today. I just needed to stop in and see some of the guys about an update on the case,” Cruz said.
“Check the conference room first. I saw them go in there before I left for lunch, but they might not be in there anymore.”
He gave her a nod and told her my brother was coming by shortly before he guided me from the reception area to the conference room. Sure enough, when Cruz opened the door and ushered me in ahead of him, I saw that Deb was right. Most of the guys that had been present last night were in the room.
“Hey, Lexi,” Levi greeted me. His eyes went to my cheek and his jaw clenched before he asked, “How are you doing?”
“I’m ok,” I assured him. “Thank you again for what you did yesterday.”
He shook his head and insisted, “Don’t mention it. We’re all just glad you’re home safe and sound.”
I gave him a small smile and felt Cruz tug me closer to his side.
“We didn’t expect to see you here today,” Levi directed his attention to Cruz.
“I’m not staying,” Cruz started. “But Lexi and I were talking this morning and I learned a bit of news from her about Grant. We just left the WPD and Baines isn’t against us doing a little digging to see what we can come up with.”
“Ok, so what information do you have?” one of the guys I recognized from last night asked. I felt bad I couldn’t remember his name.
“He was running scared,” Cruz answered, but stopped when there was a knock at the door.
We turned around and Deb said, “Logan Townsend is here.”
She moved out of the way and Logan filled the space in the doorway. The second he locked eyes with me his shoulders slumped and the breath rushed out of his lungs. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t stop the tears from welling in my eyes.
“Logan,” I whispered.
> He took the two steps inside the room, not looking at anyone else, and engulfed me in his embrace.
“Sidekick,” he rasped.
His squeezed me tight.
“Shit, Lexi, I’m so fucking sorry. If I hadn’t ever introduced you to him…” he got out before I cut him off by taking a step back out of his arms.
When I looked up at my brother’s tortured face, I stressed, “If you hadn’t introduced me, those girls would already be in Colorado joining the ones that went there already. What happened is not your fault.”
Logan didn’t respond and his eyes narrowed on my face.
Uh oh.
“Did he put his hands on you?”
I swallowed hard and remained silent.
“Lexi,” he bit out. “Did he fucking hit you?”
I didn’t want Logan freaking out, so I tried to do damage control. “Yeah, but it was only once when I tried to get away.”
“Once is one time too many,” he seethed, clearly not affected by my attempt to minimize the fallout.
He looked around the room and asked, “Where is he?”
“Logan,” Cruz called. “Grant’s in police custody. He’s lawyered up and not talking, but we’re hoping you might have something that can help us.”
“What do you need to know?”
“Anything you’ve got,” the guy I remembered as Dom chimed in. “There’s enough evidence from last night that’ll put him away for a long time. And even though we saved a lot of women last night, there are still some missing. We believe they’re in Colorado. Do you have any idea who he might know in Colorado?”
Logan shook his head and confessed, “I’ve known him for years, but it’s always been about cars. I know he’s got a wife, two girls, and a high-paying job. Beyond that, I don’t know much else about him.”
“Any idea who could possibly have a grudge against him or his family? Are there any shady people he’s ever mentioned hanging around?” Cruz pushed for more.
“Wait,” Levi chimed in. “Why do I feel like we’re missing something, Cruz?”
Cruz turned back to Levi and explained, “That’s what Lexi and I wanted to tell you about. She pressed him for information last night asking him why he was doing what he was doing.”