He sits up in the bed and I watch his posture go stiff, eyes watchful.
“Yes, we are secure. I will check the perimeter to be certain. He is out of the bed and dressed in a flash. I am disappointed to watch him cover-up that amazing body, but I frown because there is obviously something wrong.
He hangs up and looks at me. “Craig has escaped.”
I bring the sheet up to cover my naked body as if Craig will barge in at any moment.
“He what? How is that even possible?”
“I am going to check the perimeter and then get a full briefing. I need you to get dressed and then stay put.”
I nod and climb out of the bed, heading to the bathroom. Jason checks the bedroom and bathroom and then heads out to check the rest of the house and perimeter.
I take a quick shower and get dressed, coming out into the living room to find agents swarming all over.
“Do we know how this happened?” I ask, looking around at the people milling about.
Jason comes over, his eyes worried and serious, “He bribed one of those guarding him. We found two dead soldiers, and one is missing. We tracked a wire transfer to his bank account. We froze all of Craig’s accounts, but it seems he had some we weren’t aware of.”
“That does not surprise me,” I say putting my shaking hands in the back pockets of my jeans.
“We will get him back where he belongs but for now, I need you to be careful.”
I nod and sit down on the couch, oblivious to all the chaos around me. A cold icy feeling forms in my chest. I knew better than to think I could have a different life. When Craig finds a way to get to me, I am going to be dead and make no mistake, I know he will find a way.
*****
I look over at Jason, sound asleep in the bed next to me. It has been a long day full of manhunts and strategizing. He is worried about me and hasn’t let me out of his sight all day long. The feeling of being watched is constantly with me.
My phone buzzes on the table next to me with an unknown number.
UNKNOWN: Elise sweetie it’s mom, I am in trouble and I need your help. I saw something I shouldn’t have, and Manchelli is going to have me killed.
My stomach drops. I know this could be a trap, but she is my mother and I need to help her.
ELISE: Mom, where are you? I can send some people to get you to bring you somewhere safe.
MOM: No, please don’t I need you to come yourself, I need help.
A picture comes through my mother’s broken and battered face. Her arm hangs at a strange angle and it looks like she is in some kind of cheap hotel.
MOM: I am so scared honey, please help me.
I lay the phone down and look over at Jason who is sleeping deeply. If I wake him will he help me? I can’t leave her like this.
ELISE: Text me the address where you are, I am on my way.
I know this is a stupid move and is probably a trap but even if it is Craig and he has my mother, I need to save her. She might have been a crappy mom, but she is still my mom.
I silently get dressed and slip out of the room. I have spent enough time here to know that they are not quite as vigilant with security, feeling like the surrounding base is enough of a deterrent. With Jason in the house there isn’t a posted guard outside the safe house.
I slip out and into the night. I need to find my mom.
Chapter Eight- Jason
I roll over and pat the empty bed beside me. It is cold, and my eyes spring open.
“Elise?” I call out but I know she isn’t here I can feel how empty the house is.
I vault out of bed and quickly dress, searching the rest of the safe house. She isn’t here. She has been known to take walks around the base, but she wouldn’t leave without letting me know.
I pick up my phone and alert the team that she is gone.
*****
“Jason she is gone we have searched the entire base and nothing. We are going to have to assume that she left of her own accord. There is no evidence of a break-in or a struggle.
“Hey Archer, you need to see this.” One of the video techs calls me over.
“We caught this on the tapes.
On the screen, a grainy black and white video show two servicemen chatting next to a car.
A figure sneaks up behind them and climbs into the backseat. I would recognize that curly hair anywhere it is Elise.
The serviceman gets in and drives to the checkpoint and off the base. She is gone.
My heart wants to drop to my knees. Chase is not looking at me, trying to not say what they are all thinking. We have been played. It isn’t a coincidence that she left the same day that Craig escaped.
“Something is off, she gave us all that information on the flash drive. She has to know if she goes to him, he will kill her.”
“Maybe the information was fake? A plant?”
I shake my head, “It has all been verified there is something that we are missing. We need to find her before Craig does something to hurt her.”
The thought of finding her body in a ditch causes an icy shiver to run down my spine.
“Archer we cloned her phone when she entered the program. Look at these texts that came through. I think you are right, she was lured out.”
The tech turns the laptop around and displays a series of text messages. They appear to be from Elise’s mom, telling them that she is in trouble.
And then there is the picture of a broken and battered woman.
“Craig took her mother to lure her out. We need to find her before he carries out his plan.
There is a flurry of activity in the room, but no one says what they are thinking. She has been gone for hours, there is a good chance that she has already been killed. The only saving grace she has is Craig is going to want to know the information she gave up. If she holds out, or he decides to try to get out of her other than by force, there might be a slim chance that she is still alive.
I can only hope. I am in love with her and can’t imagine my life without her. If she dies before I am able to tell her I love her it will destroy me. She is my everything, and I will not spend the rest of my life visiting her grave.
I spring into action helping the techs comb the GPS signal given off by her phone. It ends abruptly I am sure she was searched when he got her, but I am going to hold out hope.
“He has her somewhere private and quiet start combing through lists of buildings Fortini or his company own. She is close he wouldn’t have taken her far.
The techs get busy combing through Fortini’s holdings, I just hope we find her before it’s too late.
Chapter Nine- Elise
I wake up and my head is pounding, it feels fuzzy and my mouth tastes awful.
“Wake up, sleeping beauty.” A familiar voice says, and I feel a chill run up my spine as the events of the last evening come back to me in horrible clarity.
I blink open my eyes and pray that this is a dream. Craig stands in front of me, a kind smile on his face. It doesn’t match the dangerous blankness in his eyes, and I cringe.
“Craig what am I doing here?” I ask, curling up in the bed and looking at the floor. Reverting back into being the meek woman he expects might be the only thing that keeps me alive.
“I am disappointed in you Elise. The first chance you get you to stab me in the back? After everything that I have done for you?”
Looking up at him, I give him my best innocent look. I am shaking inside, waiting for him to pull a gun and end my life.
“I didn’t tell them anything. They wouldn’t let me out. When I got the text from my mother, it was the perfect time to escape. I knew you were out. I can’t survive on my own you know that I had to wait for you.”
I hold my breath, I have no idea how much they told him. Does he know about the flash drive? Did they tell him that I had turned on him? I close my eyes and hope that they were smart enough not to brag about what they had on him.
“They told me they had been unable to break
your silence.” I look up at him and try to not let the surprise show on my face. It sounds as if the agents working the case were keeping the evidence they had, and our talks close to the vest. It might be the only thing that saves my life.
“Now Elise, what all did you tell them? If you are honest with me, I will get your dear sweet mother some medical attention. As you can see from the picture, I sent you she isn’t doing so well. The morphine will be wearing off soon and she is going to be in an awful lot of pain.” He made a sad face, but his eyes didn’t change. That same blank shark looks remained.
“Can I see her at least?” I ask, looking down at the floor again. I know that she abandoned me to this cruel man while she made her escape, but she is still my mother.
“All in good time, my dear. You tell me what I want to know and if my informant tells me that it is correct then I will let you see your mother. Otherwise things are not looking so good for you.”
The chill rides up my spine again. Craig had never been violent with me, but I had seen what he did to people that crossed him. He wouldn’t hesitate to be ruthless if it was necessary.
“I had nothing to tell them Craig. It is not as if we are confidantes. I told them you hosted parties for business associates and that I helped plan the parties. That I mingled with the guests and made sure that everything at the party ran smoothly. There is nothing wrong with throwing a party. I know nothing so I could tell them nothing.”
I held my breath and met his eyes. His cold watery blue eyes boring into me. I put every ounce of earnestness into that gaze. He turned and nodded.
“You can see your mother and I will get into contact with my informant. If he corroborates your story, I will take you with me into hiding. If he does not well if you are with your mother, it will be easier to kill you both at one time.
“You are going to kill my mother?”
A slow smile slides across his lips it is cruel his real nature coming out.
“Of course, dear, she crossed me. The only reason that she is still alive is so that I could use her as bait to lure you out. But because you have been such a good girl, I will allow you to say goodbye. Stephen will be here to get you shortly.”
He strides out of the room, and I sit back on the bed. I know that Jason will come after me. I hope he is careful because these men are dangerous. I know that I am in love with him and he is the one for me, I just hope that we both survive this ordeal and are able to see each other again.
****
“Mom it’s Elise can you hear me?” My voice trembles a bit as I take her battered hand and sit next to her on the bed. She opens one swollen eye and her cracked lips spread in what she can muster of a smile.
“Elise is that you?”
“Yes, Momma, it’s me. I am going to get you out of here and to a hospital. Help will come, I promise.”
“Oh, Elise, I am so sorry for all that I have done to you. I have been the worst mother and really I am getting no less than what I deserve.”
“Hush Momma don’t talk like that. We can work things out when we get out of here. You do have the worst taste in men.” I give her a little smile, trying to keep the tears that ache in my throat back.
How many years had I wanted to hear her say those words? To tell me that she was sorry for leaving me with Craig. Maybe after all this was over, she could come into witness protection with me we could work on our relationship. I hoped that Jason found us soon because if not we were both going to be dead.
“Help is coming. I met someone, and he is smart and strong, he is going to find us, and we are going to be just fine.”
A tear slips down her face, “You deserve a good man, I am glad that you haven’t followed in my footsteps.”
She closes her eyes again, and her breathing becomes even.
I sit by her bedside holding her hand. Jason would come through, I know he would. I just hoped that he was careful because Craig is dangerous and now that he is cornered, he is going to do everything he can to stay out of jail.
“Be careful Jason, I love you,” I whisper to the empty room.
Chapter Ten- Jason
“Archer we have a problem.” Chase leans over my chair and tells me in a low voice before straightening up.
“Hey Archer, I think I have found Elise’s location he says a little louder.”
I watch as Masterson’s head swivels around and seems to take an interest in our conversation.
“Come over to my computer and I will show you.” I try not to frown at Chase as I follow him out of the room and into the hall.
He pulls me aside, “We think Masterson might be a mole for Fortini. Someone saw a text over his shoulder wanting to know what the girl told him.”
“It could be nothing and if it is and there is a mole, we will blow our cover,” I tell him as we lean up against the wall.
“If he follows us out, it’s him,” Chase says confidently.
We stand there and Masterson comes around the corner. Chase grabs him, pulling him into an abandoned room before using pressure points to knock him out.
I grab his phone and use his fingerprint to unlock it.
Sure enough there are texts from a blocked number asking about Elise and what she said in interrogation.
“Masterson was there when they debriefed her,” I say, my hands shaking as I scroll through the texts.
“Did he tell him?” Chase asks, kicking the unconscious Masterson lightly.
“What a piece of trash,” Chase says.
“No, it doesn’t look like it. I will send a text and then we can get the location of Elise from the text or at least get close.”
I quickly tap out a text telling Craig that the girl didn’t give anything up. I made comments about her being slow and stupid to match some of the other languages he used. It burns me to talk about my girl this way, but I hope that it keeps her alive until I can find her.
“Alright let’s get this phone to the techs and hope that we don’t have any more leaks.
Chase nods and we walk out of the room, locking Masterson in. There will be time to deal with him once Elise is safe.
*****
I stand outside of the non-descript little track house on the edge of town. It blends in with all the other homes around it and is the perfect place to hide in plain sight.
“Ok boys let’s hit it.” I kick through the front door and grin at the surprised face of the man on the other side.
“Surprise.” I punch him as he reaches for his gun and he goes down.
I walk through the little house as I hear Chase call, “I’ve got Fortini.”
There are three rooms lining the hall and the first two are empty. My stomach starts to knot as I open the third door and let out a sigh of relief.
Elise sits on a bed holding the hand of her mother. She looks up and tears start streaming from her eyes as she vaults off the bed and runs into my arms.
“You found us.” She presses her lips to mine, and I kiss her back, putting all the love I have for her in that one kiss.
“I would have never stopped looking for you Elise. I told you, this is forever you are mine. I love you.” I frame her beautiful face with my hands and kiss her again.
She pulls back and looks me in the eye. “I love you so much, Jason.”
“I love you too, Elise.” I hug her one more time.
“Now let’s get you both out of here.” I gently pull Elise into me and motion to my men to help her mother.
I can’t wait to start my life with her. Make her my wife raise our children together. I will never take finding the love of my life for granted.
Epilogue ~Elise
Four years later
I slip into the new lingerie I bought and walk out into the living room looking for Jason.
I finally got Hunter our three-year-old son down for the night and now it is time for a little alone time with my hot husband. The last four years have been the best in my life. Jason left the military and opened his own security firm
with Chase. And it is thriving. He said that he wanted to work and not depend on the money that I wrangled during my negotiation.
I can’t see him sitting around all day doing nothing, so it is a good way for him to feel useful and he gets to keep his skills sharp. Craig Fortini was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the many crimes he committed. We chose not to enroll in witness protection, and it has been peaceful since Craig has been behind bars.
Jason stands in front of our fireplace watching as the flames lick the logs he has just put in. Two glasses of wine sit on the coffee table and my heart melts. He continues to take care of me every day.
I walk into the room and run a finger across the back of his broad shoulders. He turns and his eyes pop out at my outfit.
“Hunter is asleep, and I really need you,” I say, running my hands underneath his t-shirt and over his abs and sculpted chest. I never get tired of touching him.
“You won’t get any complaints out of me. Love the outfit.” He says running his hands over the satin covering my breasts.
I walk him over to the couch and push him down on it before slipping off the basketball shorts he is wearing.
He takes off his t-shirt and I look down at him in all of his naked glory, I still can’t believe he is mine. Just looking at him makes me wet.
I straddle him, rubbing my dripping wet pussy up and down the length of his hard cock as I ravage his mouth with mine.
There is no need for much foreplay, I’m more than ready for him. I sink down on his cock and start to move. His hands-on my hips as I ride him. I moan and lean back, loving the feel of him inside of me. It doesn’t take long before I am calling out his name as my muscles clench around him and my orgasm seizes me. He follows quickly after me and I wrap my arms around him, holding him close. The day he burst into Bates’ study was the best of my life. I am going to spend the rest of my life cherishing this man.
More Books By Scarlett Winters:
Mountain Man Guardian is FREE
Witness Protection (Alpha Agency Protectors Book 8) Page 3