by F. G. Adams
Chapter Ten
Tanner Mason
Tomorrow was opening day at Amy’s new location. They had been splitting their time between Lakeview and the beach. Sage, along with the other Blackwood women, insisted they use the cottage until they found a place to call their own. Amy had scoped out a few fixer-upper properties that Tanner wasn’t too sure about. Not that he couldn’t do the work; the problem was finding the time. But she swore they had plenty of time to worry about it after the grand opening.
“There you are.” Tanner walked up and placed a kiss on Amy’s cheek. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Why are you hiding out here?”
She hunched her shoulders and lifted her face. He could see the remnants of tears on her cheeks and started to get worked up. There were a lot of things a man could handle, but tears were definitely not one of them.
“Hey. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours? It’s time to celebrate. Our friends are waiting for you.”
“I know.”
“Then what’s the problem, babe?”
“I was just thinking about the last few months… and us.”
Tanner stalled. “Sage is getting testy. Told me she was about to start taste testing your cookies if you didn’t show up soon.”
“Don’t worry. She always says that. Plus, she’s expecting again, so it’s her God-given womanly right.” Amy paused and reached for Tanner. “I never thought… I’m just so happy. With you.”
“Amy, you made me the happiest man on earth, especially last night when you did that thing with your tongue. The only other thing that would make me happier…”
Amy attempted to pull out of Tanner’s grip. “What in the hell are you talking about? I’m not enough?” Her eyes held a playful expression.
“Sweet sugar, you jumped to the wrong conclusion again.”
“Okay, honey, I’ll bite. What would make you happier?”
Tanner palmed her flushed cheeks and lowered his lips, stealing her breath away as the kiss grew stronger. He understood what she needed, because he craved the same togetherness with her.
Tanner exhaled. “We need to go back inside. Our guests, remember?”
“You made this difficult.” Amy smiled. “Okay. I’m ready. Besides, I have a surprise for you.”
“You do, do you?” Tanner nuzzled her neck, and she batted his arm.
“Not that, or at least not yet. Later.”
“Then what?”
“I can’t tell you. That is, until tomorrow. Then I’ll show you.” Amy gave him a mischievous smile.
“Woman, you better spill the beans. You know I don’t like surprises that I have to wait for.”
“Sorry, Moose. This time you’ve gotta wait. And wipe that smug grin off your face. I’m not going to break. Not this time. It’s my turn to win.”
Tanner could not suppress his chuckle. She completed him.
Not long after the ribbon cutting ceremony, people began to trickle out, heading home for the evening. Tomorrow, the doors would open, and PPD2 would be ready for business.
His beautiful woman greeted him at the front door, beaming with joy and happiness. Amy took his breath away. She no longer wore the bulky, oversized clothes to work. Instead, she paraded around the cafe in a pair of short-as-hell shorts. Her fine, tanned legs displayed for his perusal. The Purple PolkaDot apron didn’t cover her ample figure—it enhanced it. Drawing him in.
Tanner longed to grab her around the waist and haul her into the back storeroom to have his way with her. They had quickly found out the day they were given the keys to the property that the countertop was just the right height. Not much else was accomplished, but they had both been thoroughly satisfied.
Instead of leading him to the kitchen, she showed him to a table in the corner and kissed him on the cheek. “Be right back, honey.”
“Okay.”
Minutes later, Amy came back from the kitchen holding a steamy cup of coffee in one hand and a purple polka dotted plate in the other. Grinning from ear to ear and about to burst at the seams. A chain reaction began; her smile summoned his own.
The air blossomed with a confectionary sweetness, causing his mouth to water with anticipation as Amy placed the items in front of Tanner.
“Here you go, Tanner. You are the first one to be served PPD2’s house specialty—Moose Tracks.”
On the plate in front of him was a chocolate donut with three colorful donut holes. She had arranged them into a paw print. The aroma of cocoa assaulted his senses.
“All we need is a little love, right? And, of course, a little chocolate donut now and then.” Amy affectionately laughed, bubbled up happiness dispelling the emptiness they had both felt for so long.
“Well, what do you know, sweetness? You finally gave me what I’ve always wanted.” A gambit of strong emotions rushed through Tanner.
He immediately picked up the delicate treat Amy had created and sunk his teeth into the sugary donut. Chocolate confection burst across his tongue. Heaven. In two bites, it was gone, and he fixed his gaze on his true heaven on earth. Amy.
Feeling a little frisky, Tanner stood up and chased after his woman, swatting her on the ass, pursuing her around the empty dining area until he caught her. Tickling her ribs until tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. He bent down to kiss them away.
The laughter that erupted from them echoed in the cafe and would have been infectious if anyone else were present.
At his sweet gesture, Amy went still, her head resting on his chest. Her breathing was short but steady. He reached down and pulled her chin up until their eyes connected.
“Woman, donut be shy.” Tanner’s sappy grin was full of wicked promises in his play on words.
“Never again,” Amy pledged to him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and guided his waiting mouth to her own. Each soft stroke of her fingers in his hair and the unyielding massage of her tongue against his own drove him higher.
Tanner was forever vested in this woman. Igniting flames began to burn deep into his soul. They were both lost in the desire of the gesture and the passion that grew from a delectable, sweet treat.
A chocolate donut.
Need more sweet stories that donut contain carbs?
Check out:
Love and Donuts by Amy Briggs
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11 Enticing Donuts by Fifi Flowers
Donut Go Breaking My Heart by Felicia Fox
Donut Hole by Regina Frame
Donuts Dilemma by Jessika Klide
Donut Tease Me by Kristen Luciani
Donut Be Easy by Kristen Hope Mazzola
Donut Tucker Out by Mayra Statham
Donut Overthink It by Shantel Tessier
Five Alarm Donuts by Winter Travers
Keep reading for an excerpt from Caden’s Lucky Flame coming soon…
Caden’s Lucky Flame
Prologue
Precision of the hunter.
Caden Weldon was a man who believed you chose your own destiny. That each person decides his or her own path as they journey to reach their goals in life. Whenever a fork in the road appears, you decide whether to go left or right—take the easy way or the road less traveled.
For Caden, the road he’d decided to take damn sure hadn’t been an easy one. He didn’t sit behind a cozy posh desk in a high-rise office somewhere in downtown Manhattan trading fucking stocks for over achievers, and he damn sure didn’t spend time on a golf club fairway with a club in his hand somewhere in South Miami. Rubbing elbows with well-heeled in the land of the rich and famous. Sweetly wooing investors to take a chance on his financial advice. Not the case at all. Hell no, he was a behind-the-scenes kind of guy.
Caden’s job had taken him around the world, and at the moment, it’d brought him to a rented hacienda located outside the City of Angels, home of Hollywood’s elite.
The damp coldness of thi
s empty place fit his needs for the hunt he’d been commissioned to accomplish by a secret agency within the United States government.
Caden was a product of good old Uncle Sam, a lethal machine honed for one purpose and one purpose only—to rid the world of those who would prey on the less important members of society. Steadily eradicating the evil that slithered unrestrained around the uninformed human population.
At the beginning of his career, he’d learned quickly to complete what was expected. He never asked questions about the assignments he was dealt, just performed the jobs to the best of his ability. The results were the only proof that he existed.
He was a nameless, faceless man doling out punishment when it was required. A solitary entity, a big nothing in the scheme of things.
He was an unknown threat, always hidden in the shadows, watching and waiting for the moment when judgment would be delivered upon his unaware target.
If caught, Caden knew he would be on his own to face justice without intervention from Uncle Sam. Especially within any of the third world countries he had traveled in and out of. He had forfeited his rights as an American citizen to protect his country and its people when he’d accepted the role of executioner.
In his field, there was no margin for error. Only Caden’s handler knew his true identity and was the only individual he had remained in contact with over the duration of this mission. Even the agent had no idea of Caden’s exact coordinates.
Caden was a predator in search of his prey. The king of the jungle, like a mighty lion on top of the food chain. And he was on the hunt. In his possession was a list of ten names set for execution by his superiors. The only stipulation was the job had to be completed within eighteen months. The way each verdict would be delivered was up to his discretion. No holds barred. Eliminate with extreme prejudice, without a trace. He’d carefully studied each target, their daily activities, and planned the best place for their execution to be delivered. In the last three months, his well devised plans had taken him from the Isles of Greece, to Spain, and back to the U.S. to complete his mission.
By the end of the week, the last name on the list would be crossed off and he could return to reality, shrouded in the shadows, unknown to those he came in contact with. Only his mind contained a true account of the events that would be recorded in history. It really was a shame, because he was damn good at what he did.
Caden lifted the handcrafted optic system and peered at the obstacle at two o’clock, approximately ten yards away. It displayed a view at the end of his last target, centered directly within the red tee. He zoomed in, slightly adjusting the projected range, and released the hammer.
Bull’s eye.
The worthless perpetrator would breathe his last breath on Caden’s call. The dog’s reign of terror had ended. One spoke less in the underworld’s wheel, broken. The sad reality he realized was, it would only slow the process down until the next sick mind took his place.
Not his worry.
Not Caden’s job.
He was the executioner, and the executioner had sentenced him to hell.
The Cabricci family business had operated under the radar of law enforcement for years. They were known for selling firearms to the highest bidder. It didn’t matter what affiliation the terrorist cell supported. Money talked. The case file Caden was sent only hit the highlights in regards to the multi-billion-dollar network.
Only recently had there been a kink in the chain of command when Roman Cabricci, the former head of the family’s crime ring, dropped the ball when he allowed Fallyn Blackwood, the estranged mother of his only child, to remain in the wind for countless years. Word on the street was when she finally came out of hiding, along with Roman’s demise, leaks about the family’s operations were uncovered. Thus, the change in names on his list.
Caden was now going after Roman’s protégé, his nephew Cade. It was hard not to find some irony in his subject’s name being so similar to his own, but it was a job. One he would not fail. Luckily for the twin sister, she hadn’t shown her hand as of yet. She was off the hook for the time being.
Cade had been groomed to run certain parts of the family business from birth, which registered on Caden’s superiors’ radar. It wasn’t until his uncle took a bullet and he stepped into the role of leader that he was added to the list. It wasn’t the poor son of a bitch’s fault he was born into the wrong family. Apparently, the kid’s new business adventures in the black market had them worried. He was young and powerful. They didn’t want to wait for his business to reach the next level.
It would be tricky, but not impossible. Even though he surrounded himself with an entourage and bodyguards, it was doable. Caden had found the perfect location, and his exit strategy was set.
Silently, he broke down his rifle and cleaned it, an extension of the hammer of justice held in the palm of his hands. Caden glanced around at the workstation in the corner he used to make homemade bullets, exactly the weight needed for maximum efficiency. This place would need to be wiped clean. All traces of the mission eliminated before he moved on.
All footprints erased. The same way he’d disposed of the targets on the list; one by one, the mighty underworld elites fell. They no longer registered on his map of life. He moved the case to the bench and exchanged gloves. Once he completed the removal of all evidence, he would leave there and head to the new location he’d found. Then wait until the mark was within his scope.
Chapter 1
Déjà vu. The scene before Caden as he peered through the optics system of the M4 rifle was exactly as he had created in the basement. The target was three hundred yards due east surrounded by personal security. His lifetime bodyguard towered over him as they made their way through the mass of people to a waiting vehicle parked on the curb.
He glanced at the digital band on his wrist. The subway should pass in t minus ninety seconds and counting. Ten seconds later, a passenger flight to Las Vegas would take off. Both provided camouflage, white noise that was needed to continue his mission.
Caden was prepared. Flipping the bi-pod open, he positioned himself just right on the outdoor advertising structure between the red and black outline of the large sign. The passing pedestrians and drivers had no clue he was there. He was a ghost, blending so well with the background that he became part of it.
His blood raced from the adrenaline rushing through his veins. One would think he would be used to the feeling, but it was always the same. The anticipation of the unknown and the heat of the afternoon sun as it pounded down on him as he remained completely motionless.
He’d planned this assignment and was prepared for every possible contingency. He had even made the bullets of gunpowder and lead to the exact weight needed for the distance. He’d reconned the target for the last two weeks prior to the takedown. The target was a habitual creature. His daily routine had not varied.
Early each morning, he would work out, and then go to his office for the day. He left exactly at six o’clock, and like clockwork, went for dinner at his restaurant, where he continued his unsavory business meetings with his closest advisors.
Building his psyche, he recalled the reason he was there. Cade Cabricci was a tool. No wonder the perverted douche bag was at the top of the list the government had supplied him with eighteen months ago. This scumbag would be his last target on this mission.
One chance. The odds were in his favor to succeed.
It only took one shot.
Piece of cake.
This wasn’t his first kill, and it definitely wouldn’t be his last. Caden took pride in his work. Ensuring bad things didn’t happen to good people kept him centered and focused on his mission. His exemplary record of past accomplishments said it all.
With his exit strategy in place for deployment, there were still many variables to account for when carrying out a plan of this magnitude. Backup plans prepared for each possible scenario, bases covered, but sometimes it was inevitable for a person to rely on instincts to get
out of a situation.
Target was on the move. The sharply dressed perp held his cell phone to his ear and vigorously used his arm to talk to the person on the line, like they could see him. He nodded as a member of his security opened the back door to the waiting vehicle, and lowered the phone. Only a few more steps to the right, and lights out.
Peering down through the barrel positioning the target within the tee, Caden aimed for the cerebral cortex. Easing the safety off, he slowly gripped his hammer, tenderly, and became one with the lethal weapon in his possession. The slow grind of the mechanism calmed Caden as he pulled back and took aim at the passing train in the distance. First shot. Nobody the wiser to his position, but the long gun barrel was warm and ready. He readjusted his aim and counted down. Five, four, three. He inhaled deeply, held it, and pulled the trigger.
Finding the mark, Caden expelled the pent-up air from his lungs. Adrenaline hit home as he watched the target’s head thrown sideways on impact, exploding as his body crumbled to the pavement. Chaos erupted on the street below. The bodyguards were hunched down, guns drawn, looking off to the northwest. None of them aware which direction the fatal bullet had come from.
Satisfaction from a job well done flowed through Caden.
Target was down, and there was no coming back. His brain matter littered the busy intersection.
Caden rolled onto his back.
He methodically began to break down his piece and stashed it into his backpack for transport. Later he would separate it in a safe location to send it back to his home base. Looking around, Caden found the two empty shells and pocketed them, making sure every trace of him was removed. Police reports would only pinpoint the direction the shot came from. He had ensured there would be no leads for them to follow.