by Sandra Owens
He made a slow drive by the address Maria had given him. The Chrysler Sebring was parked under a carport that looked like it might collapse at any moment. It was all the confirmation he needed that he had the right place. At the end of the block, he pulled over, considering how to approach. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to pull his truck up to the house, announcing his arrival. As he debated where to leave it, a man mowing the yard across the street eyed him with suspicion.
Cody studied the house and the man. It was one of the few places on the street that was better maintained than the others, and the man had a military haircut and wore a long-sleeved T-shirt with “Navy” imprinted across the front. Could he be that lucky? Only one way to find out.
“If you’re selling something, not interested,” the man said over the noise of the mower as Cody approached.
“I’m not. Could you turn that off a minute? Need to talk to you.”
“About?” Although his expression was one of annoyance, he cut the engine.
“Cody Roberts, former SEAL.” He held out his hand.
Annoyance turned to puzzlement. “Tadd Singleton. Great to meet you, but I’m not sure I want to know why you’re here.”
“Smart man. Listen, I need to park my truck in your driveway for a while.”
“Because?”
How much to tell him?
“Look, you SEAL dudes are cool and all that, but I don’t want trouble and you got trouble written all over you. I have a wife and daughter in the house. Is parking your truck in my driveway gonna put them in danger?”
“No, that I can promise. Here’s the thing.” His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Stand by a sec,” he told the man. “Hey, Maria. What’s up?”
“I have some history on our Mrs. Napier . . . or Decker. Whatever. Anyway, several years ago, her son died of a drug overdose. Sometime after that, her husband lost his job, then they lost the house. I guess he couldn’t deal with all of that because on the day the house was foreclosed on them, he sat in his car in the garage and carbon monoxided himself.”
“What was the son’s name?”
“Reed Decker. Why?”
Ding. Ding. “Reed was Riley’s high school boyfriend. Now we know what this is all about. Great job, but gotta go.”
“Cody—”
He hung up. “Here’s the thing, Tadd. A woman’s life depends on me getting to her ASAP. The woman I love to be exact.” He removed his truck key from the ring and tossed it to Singleton. “Either move my truck or don’t. If you don’t, I’d appreciate it if you kept an eye on it.” Without waiting for an answer, he went back to his truck and took his gun out of the glove compartment, along with his spare key.
“I’ll park it in my driveway,” Singleton said, coming up next to him. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but my gut says you’re righteous, so anything I can do to help a brother warrior?”
“Just take care of my truck. Appreciate it, man.” He gave a wave as he walked away. There was an overgrown hedge between Decker’s house and the one next door, and he used it for cover to get close to the carport where the Chrysler was parked. He wished it were dark when it would be easier to make a stealthy approach, but that was almost three hours away, and every bone in his body was telling him that Riley didn’t have that much time.
When he was even with the carport, he slipped through the hedge, and ran to the side of the house, plastering his body against the wall. Easing up to the door he thought led into the kitchen, he wrapped his fingers around the handle and tried to turn it. Locked. He wasn’t surprised, but a flimsy lock wasn’t going to keep him out.
He removed his shirt and wrapped it around his fist. Using only enough force to break the small windowpane, he reached in and turned the lock. When the door wouldn’t open, he ran his hand along the inside door edge, finding a deadbolt. Once he slid it back, he slipped into the house.
The kitchen was dark, and with his gun in hand, he crept to the entrance of the living room. A lamp burned on a table next to a well-worn sofa, and he cocked his head, listening. A voice that wasn’t Riley’s sounded from the direction of the bedrooms, but he couldn’t make out the words. Sticking close to the wall, he made his way to the hallway, paused, and listened again.
“You’ll have to tell me how it feels to have heroin in your body, Riley. I hear it’s wonderful until you try to stop. Then it’s hell.” The woman laughed. “I guess you could say I’m sending you to hell with a little bit of heaven.”
“Please don’t. I-I tried to save him.”
“But you didn’t, did you?”
Heroin? With his blood pounding in his ears, Cody growled as he moved toward the sound of the voices. The sight before him chilled him to the bone. Riley was on her back, spread eagle, and tied to the bed. Decker leaned over her as she inserted a needle into Riley’s arm.
“You push that plunger, you die,” he said, his gun aimed at her head.
The woman froze, looked up at him, and then a sly smile appeared on her face. “Too late.”
He pulled the trigger at the same time Decker pushed the plunger with her thumb, then she crumpled into a heap on the floor.
“Riley!” He rushed to her side and gently pulled the needle from her arm. “Darlin’, talk to me,” he said as he yanked a knife from his boot and cut her ties.
“My hero.” She giggled.
She was so high that she could touch the moon. “Can you sit up?” He didn’t know what was best, to keep her prone or to get her up and walking?
The scrape of fabric over wood caught his attention, and he looked down to see Decker reaching for the gun that had fallen out of her lap. As tempted as he’d been to kill her, he’d taken a shoulder shot instead. He stepped hard on her wrist, ignoring her cry of pain.
There was something he had to do first, before he secured Decker. With his foot still pinning the woman to the floor, he leaned down and kissed Riley. Kissed her hard because he had to.
She giggled again and grabbed his neck with her hands. “Make love to me, Cody.”
“Oh, that’s definitely on my list of things to do, but not yet.” He smiled as he untangled himself from her hold. “Be right back.”
He picked up Decker’s gun and slipped it into the waistband of his jeans, then looked around for something to tie her up with.
“Need some of these?”
Cody glanced toward the doorway where Kincaid dangled plastic ties in his hand. “She’s all yours.” He removed his foot from Decker’s wrist as the boss knelt next to the woman, Jake and Jamie following him in. “Where’s Doc?”
“Right behind us. He’s got that stuff you asked for.”
“Wowdy! So many hot guys in one room,” a giggly Riley said.
Cody rolled his eyes as the team shared amused glances. “She’s stoned.”
Jake chuckled. “No shit.”
“Am not.” Riley protested. Or was she? Didn’t know, didn’t care. Just wanted Cody to kiss her again. She loved his kisses. Adored them. “Are you going to kiss me again?”
“Cody would kill me if I did.”
She tried to focus on the man leaning over her. Oh, right. Ryan O’Connor. “You have really beautiful eyes, but I want Cody.”
“And you shall have him in a minute. I’m just going to give you a little something to combat the drugs in your system, okay?”
“No, no more. Weird stuff.” She pressed her lips together, turning her head away.
“You won’t have to swallow anything.”
She felt a prick in her arm, but euphoria still streamed through her body, and she didn’t really care.
“Riley. Look at me.”
“What? Told you I want Cody.”
“I’m here.” Cody slipped his fingers around hers. “Listen to Doc, okay?”
“Kay.”
The man with the beautiful green eyes smiled. “I just gave you a shot of Naloxone. It’s some amazing stuff. In a few minutes you should start to feel normal.�
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“Kay.” She shifted her gaze back to Cody. “Now will you kiss me again?”
“Soon, darlin’. Soon.”
“He wasn’t real happy, was he?” Riley said as Detective Margolis made his exit. It was absolutely wonderful to be home—well, at Cody’s home as she no longer had one. Even that wasn’t going to get her down, at least not today. She’d been examined at the emergency room, and pronounced in good-enough condition to come home.
The first thing she’d done on arriving at Cody’s was to take a long, hot shower. When she’d walked into the living room—wearing a pullover sweater and a comfortable pair of lounge pants, her hair wet—three men had stood at her appearance, Cody, Logan Kincaid, and the detective. That had startled her as only Cody had been with her when they’d returned.
She hugged sweet Pelli against her neck. The kitten had been glued to her from the moment she’d walked in the door, had even sat outside the shower door crying for her to come out. Merlin perched on the sofa behind her head with his nose pressed into her hair, and Arthur was curled over her leg, staring up at her with worried eyes. Cody’s dogs sat near his feet, their alert gazes seeming to follow the conversation.
Her biggest relief was learning that one injection of heroin wasn’t likely to make her addicted to the stuff. She was tired, though, and she leaned her head onto Cody’s shoulder, wondering when Logan would leave.
Logan stood. “He’ll get over it, not to mention we handed him Decker on a silver platter, giving him the credit for tracking her down.”
The details were fuzzy in her mind, but after the team had secured Mrs. Decker, Cody had called Mike. Thirty minutes later he’d shown up at the house with Detective Margolis in tow. A heated conversation had ensued between Logan and the detective, and from what Riley could tell, the detective had come out on the losing end. No surprise there. Logan Kincaid made a formidable opponent. Everyone but Cody and Detective Margolis had left, and shortly after, two ambulances had arrived, one for her and one for Mrs. Decker.
“Let me get this straight. On the arrest report, Detective Margolis gets the credit for finding me?”
Logan nodded. “Officially, yes, but the police commissioner is aware of the circumstances.”
“Doesn’t seem fair. The police would probably still be looking for me, and I shudder to think of the condition I would have been in by the time they did find me. You guys are heroes.”
He smiled. “We’re just men doing what we do best. I expect to see you at Ryan and Charlie’s wedding, Dr. Austin.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Come here, darlin’,” Cody said, wrapping his arms around her after Logan left. “I need to hold you. Reassure myself you’re here and safe.”
She set Pelli next to Arthur and scooted onto Cody’s lap. “I know my mind’s still a little fuzzy, but I don’t think I ever got that kiss you promised me.”
“We’ll just have to correct that, won’t we?” His eyes locked on hers with an intensity she’d never seen in them before. “Do you remember what you said when you managed to call me?”
“I called you? When?” At the expression that flashed across his face, she knew her answer had disappointed him. “What did I say?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Before she could protest that it must matter if he’d brought it up, his mouth covered hers, stealing any other thoughts in her head but how his lips felt pressed against hers. “Cody,” she whispered.
He slid a hand under her sweater. “I’m here, darlin’, for as long as you want me.” His fingers danced up her spine, raising goose bumps on her skin.
She rested her forehead against his. “I think that’s going to be a long, long time.” Hopefully for the rest of her life, but she wasn’t that sure of him yet. The most he’d ever said was that he was falling for her, but falling wasn’t exactly a love declaration. She wasn’t going to worry about that now, though. Only hours ago, she had been in fear of her life, and for tonight at least, all she wanted was to lose herself in Cody’s arms.
“About that kiss I promised you . . .”
“Still waiting.” Her body was sizzling from the lazy caress of his hand over her spine.
One side of his mouth curved as he put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, so that they were touching, groin to groin, his erection pressing into her. When she rocked against him, he groaned and attacked her mouth, giving her the most erotic kiss she’d ever had. From there, his lips trailed a damp path to her neck. She leaned her head to the side, giving him better access, and his gentle bites and nips made her achy and wanting.
Her breath hitched when he slid his hand inside her panties, burying a finger inside her and stroking her. She watched for a moment, then lifted her gaze to his. “Take me to bed, Cody.”
Faster than she could blink, he was standing with her legs straddled around his waist. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked, stopping at the edge of her bed.
“Oh, yeah.” With a gentleness she found amusing, he lowered her onto the mattress. “I’m not going to break, you know.”
“Indulge me, darlin’. I’ve had a very trying day, and I have this need to take care of you.”
“Well, put that way . . .” She lifted up, resting on her elbow. “You could start by taking your clothes off.”
He grinned, showing his sexy dimple. “And that’s taking care of you how? Not that I’m objecting.”
“Not sure, but I’ll come up with an answer. In the meantime, clothes off.”
The sweatshirt he wore came off, exposing a white T-shirt that did nothing to hide the stretch of muscles across his shoulders and chest. When that was removed, she licked her lips in appreciation.
“Nice,” she purred.
“Just nice? I’m wounded.”
Her gaze fell to the bulge straining at the zipper of his jeans. “Very, very nice.”
“That’s better, but not quite there.” He toed off his shoes and socks, pushed his jeans down over his hips, and kicked them away. “Now?” He held out his hands and lifted a brow.
She burst out laughing.
He fell on top of her, catching his weight with his arms. “Not at all the reaction I was going for, Dr. Austin.” He grabbed her hands and held them captive above her head. “Hurts a man’s pride when his woman laughs at the sight of him naked, you know.”
She hadn’t meant to laugh, wasn’t even sure why she had. Only knew that she was alive, no more pets would be poisoned, and the man she loved was staring down at her, trying hard not to laugh, too, but his twitching lips gave him away. She was just so damn happy.
“I love you, Cody Roberts.” She hadn’t planned to blurt that out, but her love for him was no longer possible to keep to herself. Her heart was bursting with it, her mind was overflowing with it, and her mouth wanted to shout it to the world.
His eyes turned the color of molten chocolate, and still keeping her hands prisoner with one of his, he cupped her face with the other. “I don’t know if I deserve you, Riley, but damn if you didn’t just make me a deliriously happy man.”
His mouth covered hers then, and he kissed her with a possessive fierceness that stole her breath. He let go of her hands, and before she knew what was happening, he had her clothes off. “Sneaky,” she said, when they came up for air.
“One of my many talents, darlin’. Wanna see another one?”
“Yes, please,” she said, secretly thrilled with his playfulness. The man whose eyes were alight with happiness and an inner peace had come far from the tortured soul she’d first met.
He chuckled. “So polite, but that won’t do. I want you wild and begging.”
With the sneaky stealth she was coming to learn he excelled at, he had his face buried between her legs and his mouth on her, and true to his word, had her wild and begging. She fisted the sheet as a tidal wave roared through her.
“Oh God, Cody.” She gripped the top of his head.
Her body trembled from the fo
rce of her orgasm and the wet trail of his tongue as he licked a path up her stomach to her breasts, sucking a nipple into his mouth. As his tongue toyed with her, he clasped their hands together, lacing his fingers with hers, and the intimacy of their palms pressed together brought tears to her eyes. She had once thought she would never love again the way she had loved Reed, but that had been puppy love compared to the soul-deep feelings she had for Cody.
“Ahh.” She tightened her fingers on his when he moved to her other breast. He grunted what sounded like male satisfaction. He should be satisfied, considering he was playing her body with the finesse of a maestro. His strong body covered hers, and he nudged her thighs apart, settling himself between her legs.
She rocked her hips, straining for the touch of his arousal. “Make love to me, Cody. Please.” The last word came out sounding like a whine, and she felt his lips curve against her skin.
“Told you I could make you beg, darlin’.”
“That wasn’t begging. It was a polite inquiry.”
He lifted his head and grinned at her. “Sure, keep telling yourself that.” He let go of her hand and reached into the nightstand drawer, pulling out a condom, tearing it open with his teeth before dangling it in front of her. “Want to put it on me?”
“I do.” She’d never put one on a man before, and as he lifted onto his knees, she took the condom from him. “How do I do this? Roll it on?”
“Exactly.” He covered her hands with his and guided her in sheathing him. When he was covered, he reached down and palmed her, then slipped a finger into her. “Christ, baby, you’re so damn wet for me.”
“Always for you,” she said, falling back onto the mattress.
He stared hard at her for a moment, then took himself in hand and slid into her. When he was buried to the hilt, he stilled, caught her gaze, and held it. “The first time we met, I was in a bad place.” He kissed her. “Even though I didn’t know you, I wanted you. Crazy wanted you.” He kissed her again. “But I didn’t want to bring my crap into your life. Yet, here we are.” Another kiss. “You and me, darlin’. I want you to know that what I’m about to say, I’ve never said to another woman.” He kissed her hard and long. “I love you, Riley. Fucking love you.”