by Freya Barker
“I’ll call her.”
“Good. Now, gimme a kiss.”
Her lips are soft, pliant, and open willingly when I slick my tongue along the crease. I haven’t had a proper taste of her in days and my body responds immediately. Pulling her butt a bit closer to the edge, I press my hardening cock against the apex of her thighs and swallow her resulting moan. Fuck, yes, I can’t wait to get inside her soft, welcoming body again.
Her fingers tighten behind my neck when I end the kiss and rest my forehead against hers.
“Does that mean you have the all-clear in the bedroom?” I mumble, rubbing my nose along hers.
“Do not fucking answer that question,” Ouray’s voice booms from behind me. I hadn’t even heard the door open. “I don’t wanna know.”
I help an embarrassed Lisa down from the counter before I turn to him.
“You barge through a closed door, you’re asking for it,” I inform him with a grin.
“And here I thought the kitchen would be safe,” he fires back, but he shoots Lisa a wink. “You’re both wanted out there. FBI is here.”
Lisa
Never been caught in the act by a boss before.
It’s embarrassing.
“How are you feeling?”
Luna leans close while the men greet each other. Her boss, Damian Gomez, and Jasper Greene are here as well.
“I’m good.” I inadvertently touch the spot on my left side. “A little weirded out I got somethin’ stuck under my skin, but no pain.”
“Can we use your office?” Gomez asks Ouray. “Now that it’s clean?”
“Jasper cleared all the bugs on Sunday,” Luna informs me softly.
“Sure.” Ouray leads the way to the back of the clubhouse.
Finn is on Nosh’s lap when I walk past, but he stretches his little arms to me. I can’t resist and carefully pick him up, perching him on my right hip as I follow.
Special Agent Gomez pulls out a chair at the large table by the window and gestures for me to take a seat. Lordy, I may be ass over teakettle for Brick, but that doesn’t make me blind. That man is fine. All class. Tall and dark, with just the right amount of gray peppered through his hair and goatee, and dark brown eyes as smooth as melted chocolate. When I first met him in the hospital, right after Brick’s ordeal, I was too focused on my man to notice.
“I got her,” I hear Brick behind me as I sit down, and I smile inwardly at the possessive tone in his voice.
He pushes in my chair and takes the one beside me, scooting it close enough so our thighs touch. Marking his territory. It shouldn’t make me feel good but it does anyway. Finn busies himself with the buttons on my shirt.
I hear muffled arguing from the hall moments before Sophia walks into the office on crutches, Tse hovering behind her.
“I can handle it from here,” she snaps at him and shoves the door shut in his face.
Oh boy. Those are some fireworks. My heart bleeds a little for Wapi; I don’t think he stands a chance against that kind of chemistry.
Ouray helps Sophia in a seat, trying hard to hide his grin. Seems Kelsey’s friend is making an impression in this club. Her attitude fits right in and I smile at her across the table.
“Apologies you had to wait for an update,” Gomez starts. “But as I understand you already know there are multiple agencies involved in this case.” He throws a raised eyebrow at Luna, who told us that, but she seems unfazed and grins defiantly at her boss. “As you also already know, we we’re able to intercept four men leaving the campground up the mountain from here in a dark-colored pickup truck.
“I have some pictures I’d like you to take a look at,” he addresses Brick before turning to Sophia. “It’s important he identifies them first. If you recognize them, please wait to confirm.”
She nods her understanding.
He opens a folder he’d carried with him and pulls out four mug shots, spreading them out on the table in front of Brick, who immediately points at one.
“He’s the guy who waved me down at the reservoir.” Then he bends over the other three for a closer look and taps his finger on a second one. “This one was in charge.”
“Are you sure? You mentioned his face was covered,” Gomez probes.
“Positive. I’ll never forget those eyes.”
I put a soothing hand on his knee under the table. The anger in his voice a testament his ordeal at the hands of these men is far from forgotten. Finn stills at the biting tone of his grandfather and his bottom lip starts to tremble. Brick notices and immediately his face softens as he plucks the baby from my lap, cuddling him against his shoulder.
“The other two?” the agent presses.
“Never got a decent look, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was them.”
“Good enough,” Gomez declares “The men you identified are Kenneth Greer, second in command to Devin Cranford of Safe Loads, and Cody Hannah, one of its operatives. Did you know them?” he asks Sophia, pushing the mug shots her way.
“Kenny was in the office quite often,” she confirms. “Not so much Cody, but I’ve seen him around, as well as Matt Jenkins and Barney Pasternak.” She points out the other two men.
Gomez confirms with a nod, stacks the pictures, and slips them back in the folder.
“As of Monday, Devin Cranford is in custody and the Safe Loads offices are being dismantled as we speak. All military transports under their contracts have been delayed or rerouted.”
“Does that mean what I think it does?” I ask, not wanting to get excited too soon.
Gomez grins at me—oh boy, that makes the man positively lethal—but it’s Luna who answers.
“Yes, I think we all can breathe a little easier,” she indicates. “Cranford is out of play and his employees are all held for questioning to gauge the level—if any—of their involvement.”
Then Gomez takes over again. “Friday night’s events appear to have been targeted toward Ms. Vieira. It was our mistake.”
I glance over at Brick, who raises an eyebrow at me as if to say, “See?”
“Given the direct approach they took with you,” the agent directs at the man beside me, “we weren’t expecting the calculated attack with a fully armed, military drone, and we were lucky one of our agents was outside at the time and was able to bring it down.”
“So it’s done,” Ouray observes.
“For you it is,” Greene speaks for the first time. “For us…” he glances over at his boss who appears to give him a nod, “…there are a few loose ends to wrap up.”
“The other guy on the tape,” Brick offers.
I’d all but forgotten about the other man. The one Kelsey said was Finn’s father. Judging from the approving nods sent Brick’s way, no one else had.
“Exactly,” Greene confirms. “The NSA is eager to know, but no one is giving us a name.”
I watch as he pulls what looks like a small dictation device from his pocket and places it in front of Sophia on the table.
“If you could have a listen. You’ll hear your boss’s voice, but see if you recognize the second one.”
He plays the tape.
“…guys are prepared. When the transport crosses the New Mexico border, around five in the morning, right as they hit Savage Canyon, the SUV in the rear will blow out a tire. That will bring the convoy to a stop and your men move in. The lead crew of two and vehicle are expendable.”
Chills raise goosebumps on my arms as I listen to the businesslike voice. It’s hard to believe he’s talking about lives. Then a second voice takes over.
“We’ll use an RPG, take care of both of them at once. It’ll stun the guys in the truck long enough to give us…”
I suck in a harsh breath and lunge to my feet. I barely notice Jasper stopping the tape.
“Jesus, Lisa,” I hear Brick beside me, but my eyes are on Gomez.
“You recognize him,” he says, more as a confirmation than a question.
V for Victor. Not in my wildest dreams
would I have come up with that on my own. The towering, arrogant, frequent guest at my former employer. The man with the cruelest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.
“Victor,” I manage to share as a shiver runs down my spine. “I don’t know his last name, but he was a good friend of Hinckle.”
CHAPTER 24
Brick
HINCKLE, I RECOGNIZE that name.
James Hinckle, a former member of the Utah Senate, and Lisa’s old boss.
I notice the three FBI agents exchanging glances. Gomez doesn’t show much more than a muscle twitching under his eye, but the others—including Ouray—are obviously shocked.
Apparently, it’s just Sophia and I who have no fucking clue what’s going on.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Ouray barks, startling Finn who immediately shoves his hand in his mouth.
“Someone enlighten me?” I shoot a sharp look Ouray’s way.
“Lisa,” Gomez starts gently, completely ignoring my question as he focuses on her. “Does the last name Nowak ring a bell?”
“No.”
She’s still shaking and I grab her hand and tug her back down in her seat.
“Sophia?” Gomez turns his attention to her.
“Afraid not. Why? Should it?”
“Here,” Jasper holds up his phone and Sophia peers at the screen. “Have you ever seen him at the office?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t be sure. It’s possible, but a lot of people are in and out of that office, and the accounting offices are at the other end of the building, so unless I’m coming in or heading out, I don’t usually see visitors,” she explains with a shrug.
“Can I see?” Lisa asks, holding her hand out for the phone. She takes one look and nods. “That’s him.”
I glance over her shoulder at the screen. He looks early or mid-forties, with short-cropped hair and piercing blue eyes. Despite the mellow smile on his face, his eyes are stone-cold.
“Now can someone tell me who this Victor Nowak is?” I rephrase my earlier question.
Luna does the honors.
“Remember that case early last year? Those murder victims found in that new development outside town?” Shit, yes I remember that, how could I forget? “Victor Nowak is that big media honcho. He’s bought up almost three-quarters of the media outlets in over twelve states in the past fifteen or so years.”
“I remember he got away,” I point out.
“Technically, we let him go,” Gomez fills in. “Had no choice, there was nothing concrete we could pin on him. He slipped through the cracks when we brought down Hinckle as well.”
“Can’t believe we missed this,” Jasper grumbles. “We’ve been up the guy’s ass for years.”
“Apparently not far enough,” Ouray observes dryly.
“Will this help?”
I glance over at Lisa’s profile and note tension around her mouth. With the pad of my thumb I rub the back of her hand I’m still holding, until she turns to me and sends a tentative smile.
“Yes,” Gomez states firmly. “It definitely will.”
He suddenly seems fascinated with Finn, who is starting to fuss on my lap and I notice Luna is staring at the baby as well. Then it hits me.
Victor Nowak is not just the voice on the tape; he’s also the man my daughter had a fling with a little over a year ago.
I look down on Finn’s downy blond hair.
“Fuck.” Ouray voices my exact feelings.
It appears everyone around the table has clued in, including Lisa, who grabs my arm before she aims a furious glare at Special Agent Gomez.
“Do not even think about it,” she spits. “Do not acknowledge it, do not discuss it.” Her gaze travels around the table. “This child will never know.”
When there’s no response, she slams her hands on the table and pushes herself to her feet.
“Promise me,” she hisses, turning to me and lifting Finn off my lap. She presses him against her and repeats, “He will never know.”
With the baby clutched to her chest, she steps away from the table and marches to the door, yanking it open. I rush up and plan to go after her when Luna’s voice stops me.
“Nowak doesn’t know.” She looks at me steadily. “Kelsey never told him. He doesn’t know.”
“It’s true,” Sophia confirms. “When she first started showing and people asked questions, she claimed the father was an old high school friend and would not be involved in the baby’s life. No one questioned her too hard after that. I’m the only who knows it was a lie.” She turns to me and adds almost apologetically, “I was half-convinced she’d gotten involved with a married man and that’s why she called the situation complicated.”
“Right,” Gomez takes over. “We have one big problem.”
“Which is?” I snap.
“We’re not the only ones who heard that tape and will come to the same conclusion. The CID and NSA both have copies. Proving Nowak as the father would lend credibility to Kelsey’s recordings.”
“No.”
“Brother…” Ouray tries. I turn angry eyes on him, but that doesn’t appear to stop him. “Think of it this way; it could mean the difference between putting him away for the rest of his life, or walking, and then you’ll be looking over your shoulder the rest of your life. The man has money, he has power, and he wouldn’t hesitate one second to mow down whoever gets in his way to get what he wants.”
I lean with my hands on the table and hang my head. Goddammit, he’s right. This will not please Lisa.
“No guarantees, but for now we’ll keep this information to ourselves,” Gomez offers. “We’ll build the best case we can against Nowak with what we can find. Hopefully it’s enough, but you’ll be the first to know if, for whatever reason, that changes.”
I look up at him and nod.
“Appreciated,” I mumble.
A few minutes later, it’s just Ouray and me left in the office.
“Don’t want that boy to grow up knowing he has an evil bastard as a father,” I share.
Ouray walks up behind me and claps a hand on my shoulder.
“In the end, I don’t think it’ll matter much who the sperm donor was. Finn will be raised by two of the best people he could have as parents.”
Lisa
“There you go, Little Man.”
Finn’s little hands clasp the bottle as if he’s afraid I’ll take it away again.
Now that I’ve calmed down a mite, I’m embarrassed for the way I flew off the handle. In front of Ouray, of Luna. Lordy, even in front of her team. But I’ll stand behind what I said. Over my cold dead body is this beautiful little boy going to be burdened with the sins of his father.
I glance at the clock, it’s almost two already. The kids will need to be picked up at four and I haven’t even started dinner yet. Maybe I’ll give Lissie a call after all. See if she’s able to fetch the kids from school, it would give me more time to get something going.
The kitchen door opens and Sophia comes in balancing on her crutches.
“I hope you don’t mind me barging in, but I need something to occupy my hands or I’ll wrap them around a certain person’s neck.”
I chuckle at her dramatic entrance.
“Which one of the two?”
She lowers herself on a kitchen chair and blows a strand of hair out of her face.
“Tse of course. He’s hovering and I’m fed up. I need to figure out what I’m gonna do with my life, now I don’t have a job to go back to, and I’d like to do that by myself.”
“How about you start by feeding this boy?”
She smiles big. “Yes, gimme him.” She stretches out her arms and wiggles her fingers. “By the way, I almost jumped up to applaud you in there.”
“For real?”
“Oh yeah. I think you scared them a little.”
She grins at me and I grin back as I hand Finn over. She immediately kisses his head. “Lucky boy, you are,” she coos, snuggling him close.
“I was a little scared,” he says, grinning down on me.
“I meant every word,” I stand firm and his face turns serious.
“Don’t think anyone doubts that, Sugar. Gomez is gonna do his damndest to keep the baby out of this, but it ain’t just up to him.”
Letting my forehead drop to his chest, I mumble, “I know.”
“Hey…” He tilts up my chin with a finger. “No matter what happens, he has us to look out for him.” His eyes drift over my shoulder to Sophia. “All of us.”
“You bet,” I hear her confirm behind me.
“Now, kiss me, woman. I gotta get back to my transmission service.”
His arms tighten around me and I lift my face, pressing my lips to his. Not the kiss I’d like to give him, but as far as I’m willing to go with an audience. I can feel his soft groan all the way to my toes when I break away.
“This job shouldn’t take me much longer, I’ll be able to pick up the kids from school,” he announces on his way out the door after kissing the top of Finn’s head.
That means I don’t have to bother Lissie. I turn to Sophia.
“Got plans this afternoon?”
“Other than hiding out in here? Nope.”
“Good. I could use a hand.”
Sophia keeps me company—and Finn occupied—while I make a start on a hearty stew. It’s the kind of day for it. We’ve had flurries off and on, but when I glance out the kitchen window I notice snow’s coming down steady now.
“How much are we supposed to get?” Sophia asks.
“Hard to tell from the forecast. They could predict a couple of inches in town and we get fifteen up here. Or nothin’ at all, that’s been known to happen as well. Best way to predict the weather up in the mountains is to look out the window.”
The next couple of hours we spend chatting about odds and ends, getting to know each other, and the more we talk, the more I like the independent younger woman. At some point, Tse poked his head in, but was quickly dismissed by her when he grumpily reminded her she should have her leg elevated, as per doctor’s instructions. I almost felt sorry for him. The moment he disappeared though, she pulled up another chair to rest her leg.