by Jo Davis
“How many men does he have?” Michael asked without preamble.
“We’ve spotted a dozen, so we’re nearly even number-wise,” Lawrence said. “In reality, we have a big advantage over those Liberation dumb-asses, who are so poorly trained and lack any real military experience.”
“But they’re dumb-asses with guns, so they’re still dangerous,” Blaze cautioned.
“Point taken. And although they lack experience, they have a good positioning around the house. There’s one stationed on each corner. The other eight are spread in a rough circle on the outer perimeter of the property. Take them soundlessly if you can, and if the worst happens, have your NVGs on so you know who the fuck you’re shooting at. Closer to the house you might not need them, since the area is lit, but that’s your call.”
Blaze wouldn’t wear the goggles, Michael knew. He claimed they screwed with his field of vision. Everyone else took a pair and Michael fixed his in place, then palmed his gun. They started off, and when they reached the edge of his wooded property they began to fan out. Blaze stayed about thirty yards to his left as they stepped as quietly as possible through the foliage. Until now, Michael had never realized that the wooded area that gave him privacy also provided cover to his enemies. When this was behind them, he’d have to see about thinning out some of the trees.
To his right, a soft grunt sounded and he looked to see one of his agents lowering one of Dietz’s flunkies to the ground. His men knew countless ways to kill with their bare hands, in the proper situation. One down, eleven to go.
Well, twelve. Counting Dietz, the bastard.
Eventually they’d spread out enough that he could only see Blaze, but as they reached the edge of the trees and came to the sculpted lawn, the continued silence meant the op was going as planned. It might even have gone flawlessly… had he not stepped on a branch that gave with a loud snap, alerting the soldier twenty yards ahead to his presence.
The man spun and opened fire. Michael hit the ground, cursing as bullets pelted the scant cover around him. Propping himself on his elbows, he returned fire and took the man down, but the damage was done.
Gunshots erupted all around the perimeter, an all-out battle now.
Taking off in a sprint, keeping as low as he could, he began to fight his way to the house.
Fifteen
Bastian’s face throbbed and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. He was running out of insults to hurl at Dietz as he tried to stall for time. Any minute, the asshole was going to put a bullet in his brain and be done with it. If only there were a diversion. He needed a split second with the man’s attention focused somewhere else, and he’d make his move.
“Do what you want to me, but Michael’s going to kill you for this,” he taunted. “He’s going to fillet you like a stinking fish.”
“Shut up.”
“Just sink his knife in and watch your eyes pop out of your head—”
“Shut the fuck up!” he snarled.
Another blow whipped his head to the side and he thought, This is it. I’ve pushed him too far and now he’ll kill me. Dietz’s face was twisted into an ugly mask as he slowly raised his arm.
Just as gunshots split the air from somewhere outside.
Dietz spun in surprise at the noise, and Bastian launched himself from the chair without even thinking twice. He tackled his enemy and they crashed onto the coffee table, rolled to the floor.
“Katrina, run!” he yelled. She did, and he hoped she didn’t look back.
Half on top of Dietz, he pinned the man with his weight and struggled to wrest the gun from his outstretched hand. But Dietz bucked, knocking him sideways, and jammed the gun between them. Panting, Bastian grabbed his arm and fought for control of the weapon. When the tide began to turn in his favor, the bastard used his free hand to slam Bastian’s head into the floor, twice in rapid succession.
Stars glittered in his vision and Dietz’s weight was gone. He was sure the man would shoot him now, but heard footsteps instead. Blinking, he realized the man had fled.
Katrina!
Pushing to his feet, he staggered to the dining table, where he’d discarded his shoulder holster with his weapon in it. If only he’d had it on. But, then, Dietz would have taken it.
Weapon firmly in hand, he ran, heedless of the pain in his leg, in the direction his nemesis had gone, out the front door. Into hell.
Flashes of gunshots punctuated the night. Ahead, Katrina was racing across the lawn, toward the relative safety of the trees. But she wasn’t going to make it — Dietz was on her heels.
Bastian ran, shouting.
“Katrina, run!”
Heart tripping, she did, with one goal in mind: getting help for Bastian. Bullets flying meant Michael was here, and she had to find him.
Outside, however, she paused at the bottom of the steps. She couldn’t run out into the middle of the battle like an idiot. Breathing hard, she peered into the darkness around the perimeter of the house, beyond the area illuminated by the security lights. She listened to the gunfire, noting where the sounds were coming from. Much of it was happening to the sides and rear of the property, it seemed.
There was nobody close to the house, so she figured the men Dietz bragged about had gone to meet the threat of Michael and his agents. Seizing the opportunity, she struck out across the lawn in a zigzag pattern, going from tree to tree. Pausing first, then continuing on.
She’d gotten about a third of the way to her destination when she looked over her shoulder and saw Dietz barreling out the front door, weapon in hand. He flew straight for her at a full-out run, exercising none of the caution she had in crossing the open space.
With a frightened cry, she shot from her hiding place in a deadly foot race she knew he was winning. Footsteps pounded behind her and then his heavy weight slammed into her back, driving her into the earth. She couldn’t stop her skid, barely registered the sting in her hands and knees before her forehead smacked the ground.
And consciousness faded away.
Michael saw them, and his heart stuttered.
Dietz was after Katrina, bearing down on her. Michael ran, but he wasn’t close enough to stop the bastard from catching up, taking her to the ground. Where she lay unmoving.
The man was lying on top of her. Michael couldn’t shoot without the risk of hitting her instead. So he sprinted the remaining distance and launched himself at Dietz in a flying tackle, just as the man started to rise.
He hit hard, and his gun went flying as they struck the ground together. Grabbing Dietz’s shirt, he drew his fist back and delivered a punishing blow to the monster’s face. A satisfying crunch of bone and a scream from his enemy were music to his ears, and he struck again.
“I’m going to fucking rip your lungs out, you son of a bitch,” Michael hissed.
“You’ll try.”
Dietz rallied, pushing up, and rushed him. Bowled him over backward, got in a few good licks to Michael’s ribs. He grunted, aware the man had lost his gun, as well, and was glad. A fair fight, then, if there was such a thing.
A fight to the death.
They rolled over the earth, punching and kicking, each trying to gain the upper hand. Michael almost had him — right up until the man aimed a well-placed kick to his stomach, laying him flat on his back. Dietz pounced, and the speed with which he wrapped his hands around Michael’s throat left him stunned.
“Now who’s going to die?” The face above him was stark with madness, the grip unbreakable.
Michael tried. Every self-defense trick he knew, to no avail. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.
“Good-bye, Ross.”
Precious seconds ticked and the world began to fuzz at the edges. He was in complete disbelief that he was going to die this way, the life choked from him by the man he hated.
Sounds faded. Sparks burst in front of his eyes, and then he saw nothing.
The ground disappeared and he fell into a black void. Wind rushed past him, a
nd he ceased to be. All that he was, forgotten.
And then he simply vanished into mist.
They were too far away, near the tree line.
Bastian saw her go down, and fear pushed him faster. Michael and Dietz were fighting, out for blood. His lover seemed to have things under control.
But that’s the nature of a disaster: it happens so quickly. Before a man can blink, the fickle bitch called fate steps in and turns the tables.
Destroys lives.
In a blink, Dietz had Michael pinned, hands around his throat. Strangling him. Bastian closed the distance, half limping now, and the scene took on a horrible clarity. Suffocating, just like in his nightmare. Only it was Michael, not him, who couldn’t draw a breath.
Screaming. Someone was screaming as Michael went limp, head falling back. Dangling from a monster’s hands. “Noooo!”
Dietz jerked upright, releasing Michael. He bolted to his feet, eyes wide, and scrambled backward as Bastian’s arm went up. The man was fucking dead, and the knowledge was etched on his face as Bastian pulled the trigger. Over and over.
As the bullets plucked his clothing, Dietz’s body jerked, doing a macabre sort of marionette dance before finally crumpling to the ground. He didn’t move again.
Bastian was hardly aware that the other gunfire had stopped, or that his agents were jogging toward them. Part of him registered profound relief to see Katrina sitting up, rubbing her head. But Michael wasn’t moving.
Dropping to his knees, he shook his friend. “Michael?”
Too still. He placed his hand under the man’s nose. No warm puff of breath. No life.
“Oh… Oh, God, no.” Gathering his lover in his arms, he worked to position him, used a finger to part his lips. Then he placed his mouth over Michael’s and gave him air. “Come on, breathe. Don’t do this to me.”
“Bastian?” Katrina whispered.
“Help me,” he begged her. Or was he begging Michael? She scooted up to sit to one side and pushed on Michael’s diaphragm.
“Give him another one.”
Another breath. And she pushed again. In and out, breathing for him. His face was so pale, his lashes dark against waxen cheeks.
Clutching him tightly, Bastian began to sob. “I killed him for you, just like I promised I would. Remember? I got him for you. For all of us. Please come back. Michael, please.”
He looked at Katrina. Tears streamed down her face and she held one of Michael’s hands between hers, rubbing as though she could warm life into him. How could this happen? How? His body was numb, but his mind all too aware of the horror.
Bending, he gave another breath. Another.
A hand on his shoulder. “Bastian, you have to let him go,” Blaze said hoarsely.
“No.”
“This isn’t—”
“Wait!”
Under his hand, Michael’s chest heaved. And his lover sucked in a huge breath and began to cough. All around them, the men exclaimed in excitement and relief. But he and Katrina didn’t pay attention to anyone but Michael, who at that moment opened his big brown eyes. It was the most beautiful sight Bastian had ever seen.
“Welcome back,” Katrina said through her tears.
Michael stared up at them and blinked slowly. “Dietz…”
Bastian stroked his hair. “Dead. I got him for you.”
“Like you promised,” he rasped through his injured throat. “I heard you.”
“Good. Now I want you to rest. McKay is coming and you’re going to get checked out, okay? So is our girl.”
Michael’s gaze found hers. “Baby?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Just a bump on the head when he tackled me. Nothing to be concerned about.”
“But she’s still getting a scan. I’m not leaving a damned thing to chance with either of the people I love. Never again.”
That was his word, and if he was a little overprotective from now on, they’d have to live with it.
Somehow, he didn’t think they’d mind.
Katrina basked in the sun with her two handsome men, Emma, and Blaze. If there was anything that topped a beautiful day, margaritas, and her friends’ company, she had yet to be introduced to it.
“More refreshments? I’d be happy to refill the pitcher.”
Cracking open an eye, she smiled at Simon. “I think we’re good, thanks. Guys?”
“There’s still plenty, but if we run out we can get it ourselves,” Michael said. “Why don’t you take the afternoon off?”
“And remain far from this area, lest my virgin eyes burn from their sockets?”
Michael grinned. “You’re a smart guy. Which is why I keep you around.”
“Indeed. Enjoy the rest of your day. I know I will.” Nose in the air, the old man glided away.
“I’m so glad he recovered without any complications,” Emma said fondly. “I really like the stuffy old fart.”
“Me, too.” Katrina glanced at Michael, heart swelling with love. They’d come so close to losing him, but the bruises on his neck had faded almost completely.
“How’s your security guy? John?”
“He’s still healing, but he should be back on the job in a few weeks. He got really lucky.”
“We all did,” Emma said.
Katrina knew Emma felt bad about not doing more when Dietz broke into the house, but there wasn’t anything she could have done other than phone Blaze. The events had unfolded so fast that by the time she joined them outside, Michael was breathing again and everything was over.
“Yes. That’s why we’re celebrating,” Katrina said happily. “Dietz is gone, his dirty money has been seized, most of the Liberation soldiers have been rounded up, and Mr. President is ecstatic. I, for one, am feeling like doing something a little wild and crazy.”
Three pairs of male ears perked up at that statement.
“Oh?” Bastian’s brows rose over his sunglasses as he sipped his drink. “Do tell.”
“Well, for example, I’m feeling way too clothed.” She looked at Emma. “You?”
“Me, too! Isn’t that amazing how we were thinking the same thing?”
“What should we do about it?”
“Strip, of course! How else will we get comfortable?”
“Now we’re talking!” Michael said, laughing. The other two joined in, egging them on.
Performing for their rapt audience, they set their margaritas aside and stood, facing the guys. They peeled off their swimsuit tops, doing a little shimmy, letting their breasts dangle enticingly. Next they hooked their thumbs in their bottoms, slowly drawing them down and stepping out of them. Bastian’s straw fell from his mouth, and all three adjusted themselves in their swim trunks to accommodate their growing discomfort.
“Okay, your turn,” Katrina called to the guys.
Immediately, they scrambled to get naked and recline on their loungers, waiting excitedly to see what would happen next. Katrina studied all three of their cocks pointing at the sky, like exclamation points in a sentence, and giggled.
Emma laughed, too. “Now what? Do we take our own men? Or maybe… just this once we could…”
“Swap partners?”
Emma’s blue eyes lit. “Could we?”
“Like, all the way? You’d let Blaze fuck me?”
“Just this once, and only because it’s you. What about you? You’ll let your guys fuck me, and you won’t come after me with a hatchet afterward?”
“Yes to the fuck. No to the violence.” She smiled, gesturing to the men and their poor, beleaguered erections. “But we forgot to ask them if they’re game. Boys?”
Three enthusiastic responses sounded in a chorus of “Hell, yes!”
Excited, Katrina walked over to her bag sitting beside her lounger, and brought forth the items she’d hoped they would be able to use: three condoms. “Here’s your team uniform, guys. Let’s play ball!”
Tossing two condoms at her lovers, she took one for herself and Blaze and sauntered o
ver to him. As much as she loved her two men — and she loved them more than life itself — she’d been wanting this big, delicious man for some time. The fact that she could have him without guilt was a wonderful bonus. There was nothing wrong with playing, as long as everyone was on the same page, and Katrina knew they all felt that sex was to be enjoyed with no boundaries. Sex was a connection that should be celebrated.
He made room for her on his lounger by spreading his legs and putting his feet flat on the ground on either side. Sitting between his thighs, she admired his ropy muscles. A gorgeous chest and washboard abs. Flowing black hair. And he sported a huge cock, one of the biggest she’d ever seen.
“Want a taste?” he asked, his voice a low rumble.
“God, yes.” Taking the invite, she bent and swiped her tongue across the head, marveling at his salty taste. She sucked, enjoying the plum-shaped head, the smooth texture of him as she took him deeper.
Burying a hand in her hair, he pushed her head down, exerting control. It was scary but thrilling, so she let him set the pace, guiding her in giving him pleasure. Soon she was deep-throating him, using her inner walls to massage his length. He made an inarticulate noise and thrust faster for a minute, then gently pulled her off.
“Put the glove on me, beautiful.”
Fumbling for the packet she’d dropped, she tore it open, happening to glance toward the others. Her lovers were entwined with Emma, Michael behind her, eating her pussy, while Bastian fucked her mouth. They were lovely together and the sight fired her blood, made her so hot for the man next to her, she could hardly stand it.
After she rolled the condom over Blaze’s flushed cock, he sat on the side of the lounger and said, “Stand in front of me and spread your legs, honey. I’m going to eat that sweet pussy like I’ve been dying to do for weeks. And then I’m going to fuck you until you can’t stand.”
She did as she was told, hoping she didn’t come at the first touch of his tongue. It was close, but she managed to ride the waves as he licked her folds, teased her clit. He suckled the little nub and she almost lost control again.