by Tawny Taylor
She locked her gaze on his eyes.
“Yes, just like that.” He kissed her gently as his cock filled her.
“Ohhhh,” she said into their joined mouths. It felt like a hot wave of water had washed over her. Her chest felt warm. Her face too. She rocked her hips up and down, meeting Malek’s strokes, taking him as deeply as she could. He fit her perfectly. He held her perfectly. He kissed her perfectly. He possessed her perfectly.
It was as if he’d been created to be hers and hers only.
She wrapped her legs around his hips, locking her ankles. So right. So ... beautiful.
With his body, his hands, his mouth, he made love to her. He cherished her. He worshipped her. He claimed her. And he brought her to that incredible pinnacle where the whole world narrowed to a pinpoint, and all that existed were the sensations he stirred inside her.
Harder, he thrust, his cock shoving inside her, caressing every sensitive inch of her canal. And at that glorious moment, when his cock thickened before he climaxed, she tumbled over the crest. She cried out his name as her body shook with pleasure. Her pussy convulsed around his cock, and his cries joined hers. His cum filled her, and his hard, rough thrusts shoved her over the edge again. A second climax tore through her body, and she clamped her arms around his neck and clung to him.
He slid his hands underneath her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Gently, he kissed her forehead. “Are you okay?”
“Better than okay.”
He sandwiched her face between his hands. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” A loud bang cut her off, and she flinched. Her heart started thumping against her breastbone. “That sounded like it was inside.”
Malek’s eyes widened. He stilled, listened. A second thunk echoed through the house. He rolled off her, grabbed a pair of sweatpants, and stuffed his feet into them, pulling them up as he ran toward the door. “Go hide. And whatever you hear, don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe.”
“Should I call the police?”
“No, not yet. Could be a raccoon or something in the garage.”
A cold sweat prickled her skin as she scampered around, grabbing clothes and looking for a place to hide.
A raccoon? God, she hoped so.
22
What was this?
A strange man was standing in his fucking garage, like he owned the place. Correction, not a strange man. It was one of the assholes who’d nearly killed him. “Who are you and what the hell are you doing in our garage?” Malek asked.
The man’s lips curled in a hint of a smile. “Why don’t you ask your lovely wife.”
“What do you mean by that? Who are you?”
“Do I need to spell it out for you? First letter, C. H. I. M. E. R. A.”
“Lei would never. No.” Malek couldn’t believe what this stranger was saying. It was a lie. It had to be. Lei loved him. She would never lead his enemy to his front door. Not knowingly. “You tricked her. Lied to her.”
The man laughed. The sound was hollow, mocking. “Did you ever fall for her shit? That bitch is good. Damn good.”
Rage surged through Malek like a thrashing river. His arm swung back, then forward, his fist aimed for the intruder’s nose. But before it hit its mark, the man ducked and planted his fist in Malek’s stomach. The pain forced Malek over. White hot. Searing. He gasped for air and his knees buckled.
Standing over him, the attacker crossed his arms over his chest and clicked his tongue. “Oh, damn, you had surgery not long ago, didn’t you? I forgot. That must’ve hurt.”
Stars twinkled in Malek’s vision, and he shook his head to try to clear it. He needed to get up, off the fucking floor, before the bastard beat him to death. He needed to protect Lei.
“I owe Lei for this. She’s a damn good actress, isn’t she?”
“You’re lying.”
“You still think so?” The man squatted. “How else do you suppose I found you?”
“I don’t know.” Malek fought to breathe. The pain was getting worse, not better. He wondered if something had broken open inside. He wondered if he might die there, lying curled up like a damn baby. His brain was getting foggy from the pain and he couldn’t think. “Maybe it was April.”
“She’s dead. Dead women don’t talk.”
“Dead? When? How?”
“She had a little accident. You should ask your lovely wife about that one, too.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Well, then I guess we need to go in and talk to her. Get to the bottom of this.” He hauled Malek to his feet and shoved him forward.
Walking blindly, his legs heavy, Malek stumbled into the house.
Lei was standing just inside the door. Her eyes were round. Her lips pulled tight. “Malek.” Her gaze jerked from his face to the attacker’s.
“Your husband has a few questions to ask you, Lei.”
“You didn’t tell him—” She cut herself off and visibly swallowed.
A tiny thread of doubt began winding through Malek’s mind. Had this bastard told him the truth? Had Lei known who he was? “Lei?”
Her gaze jerked to the stranger again. “I’ll talk to him alone. Leave us.”
“Whatever.” The attacker stepped back, lifting his hands as if to say he wouldn’t interfere.
Lei wrapped one slender arm around Malek’s waist and supported him as he hobbled to the couch and sat. She sat next to him. “I’m so sorry, Malek. So, so sorry.”
“What the hell is going on?”
Lei blinked a few times and lifted a trembling hand to her mouth. “I don’t know where to start.” When he didn’t give her any direction, because his throat had become completely cut off, she continued, “That man is Nate Holloway, an agent in the CIA. Or so he claims. I met him when I was . . . working.”
“Okay.”
“He did a favor for me. Actually, he did several. And he told me not to worry about paying him back. He said we’d figure it out later. I had no idea I was making a deal with the devil. I swear.” She was sniffling now. Shaking all over. But it was clear she wasn’t exactly denying what that bastard had told him.
“So, it’s true? What he said?”
She dragged her hand across her face. “I don’t know what he told you.”
“You led him here.”
“I might have. Somehow. Not intentionally. I don’t know.” Her gaze dropped to her hands, clasped in her lap. “I refused to help him. But then the girls started dying. And Eve’s grandmother. She was such a nice woman. She’d never hurt anyone.”
“Okay.” He still didn’t understand. What did the dying girls and an old lady have to do with the Chimera? With him?
“He was sending me a message,” she said between sobs and hiccups and sniffles. “And it was killing me, seeing them pay the price for my refusing him. Oh, God.” She covered her face, shoulders quaking, gut-wrenching sobs tearing his heart into pieces.
His insides felt like they were being slashed apart. Whatever was happening, it was more than Lei could handle. “Lei, I’m having a hard time understanding. Start again. From the beginning. You said he did you a favor. What did he do?”
Once again, she was overcome by tears. She tried to talk, but just mumbled and blurted things. He caught bits and pieces. “I had no idea. I wouldn’t have asked him for help.” Her hands, still cupped over her face, muffled her sobs and her words. He struggled to hear, to make sense of what was quickly becoming incoherent babbling. “I didn’t know what to do. I was trapped. I do love you, Malek. I honestly do.”
“Time’s up!” the attacker said, charging toward them.
“No! Please!” Lei flung herself over Malek, begging, crying. “Please! Just a few minutes more.”
“No, I’ve wasted enough time here.” When Lei didn’t move, the man tore her off, shoving her back. She landed on the floor with a heavy thud, her head slamming backward, striking the coffee table.
Malek’s heart stopped. Completely. He do
ve toward her, but the bastard caught him in the gut, this time with a booted foot.
He saw black.
The pain.
Confusion.
Lei’s mind suddenly cleared and she remembered falling, recalled watching that bastard Holloway grabbing her husband.
This was all her fault. Everything.
Her vision was blurry. But she could make out the ceiling up above. She was in the living room. Alone? She tried to sit up, but her stomach lurched and acid swept up her throat. She rolled onto her side and dry heaved again and again and again. By the time she stopped, her thoughts were clear, but she was sick and shaky.
Was Malek dead already? Where was he?
Oh God, what have I done?
Moving as fast as she could with her skull threatening to split apart, she went in search of her cell phone. It was in her room. And there were messages. Several.
The first was from Rin: When you get this message call me! Something’s happening.
The second, Rin again: Lei? If something’s happened to you, I don’t know what I’ll do.
The third, Rin again: Dammit, call me. She was crying, and it was almost impossible to understand her.
The fourth was just a click. No message.
Lei started to dial her sister’s number, but stopped. Already, she’d fucked up Malek’s life. Wasn’t that enough damage? Wouldn’t it be better if she just disappeared off the face of the earth right now, before she could hurt anyone else?
Everything was all fucked up.
Lei sank to the floor, wrapped her arms around her bent knees, and cried. It had all started out as such a good thing. She’d found a way to help some girls who desperately needed it. They were too weak to handle the stress, willing to do anything to escape from the clutches of those people. With Holloway’s help, she’d been able to rescue four girls, to help them escape, get out of that hell. She’d never imagined such a good deed would end up costing her such a dear price.
Malek was a good man. An honorable one. Kind.
Whatever this thing with the stupid ancient relic or whatever, it couldn’t be worth killing people for. Who did that? It was crazy.
At first she’d simply refused to do what Holloway said. But then the first girl was reported dead. And the second. He wanted to make sure she knew the rest would die, too, if she didn’t fall into line and keep up her end of the bargain.
They were innocent. Mothers. Sisters. Daughters. They didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of anything. And she’d promised each and every one of them that if they trusted her, they would be safe.
That was the hardest part about the situation, knowing she’d failed them.
And then there’d been the attack. She’d turned to another stranger for help. So far, he’d done nothing. Not a fucking thing. Except maybe tell Holloway how to find her.
What a fool she’d been to think it was over, that hiding would work. Yeah, that was the ticket. That sure worked. There she was, sitting in the middle of the floor, married to a man she loved.
And soon to be a widow.
The heaving started again.
Struggling to stand, she ignored her cell phone as it started ringing once again. She just wanted it all to end. The pain. The hollow darkness inside. There was only one way.
Pills. Malek had a boatload of them in his bathroom.
The hell would be over soon. And it would be over forever.
So. Fucking. Cold.
Malek’s jaw hurt, his teeth were chattering so hard. With each breath, a white cloud of mist obscured his vision. The floor beneath him was like ice, the chill seeping into his bones. And the pain in his gut was almost unbearable.
He was in hell. And not just because of his physical discomforts. The heartache, the emptiness inside was far worse.
Lei had led the enemy right to his front door. Why? How could she tell him she loved him one second and then betray him the next? She’d tried to explain, but her words had only made him more confused.
The lock on the door to his cell clicked and opened. Holloway strolled in, dressed in a parka like he was going camping in the arctic.
If Malek hadn’t been chained to the fucking floor, he’d rip that fucking coat off the bastard and let him freeze his balls off, too. Then he’d shove them down his throat.
“Glad to see you’re awake. Take a nice nap?” he asked.
Malek said nothing.
Holloway grabbed the shitty chair sitting against the wall, set it down closer to Malek, and sat. He crossed his legs. “Not in the mood to talk?”
Malek said nothing.
“We’re just having a friendly conversation here. No reason to give me the silent treatment. How’s the pain? Would you like something for it?”
Again, Malek said nothing. He knew what the bastard was after, and the hell if he was going to give it to him.
“Okay. Well, let’s see if this inspires a little attitude adjustment.” He pulled a small remote out of his pocket, clicked a button, and a television screen descended from a slit in the ceiling. Another click and there was an image displayed on the screen. One that made his blood turn to ice.
Talen. Beaten. Bloody. Sitting on a chair. Arms pressed against his side, as if his hands were tied behind his back.
Malek swallowed hard. For many years, he’d lived with the knowledge that something like this could happen, that he might watch his two brothers die. Or they might watch him die. All those years of knowing, of preparing, hadn’t made this moment any easier. Not at all.
His stomach lurched.
“Now, I ask again, how is your pain? Would you like anything for it?” Holloway said, enunciating each word clearly.
Malek stared at the image, but said nothing. It was the right thing, the only thing he could do.
Protect The Secret. At all costs.
He prayed for strength.
Holloway shook his head and produced a cell phone from another pocket. He poked a button, said, “Phase one,” and clicked off. He clicked the remote again.
Now the image was in real time, a video, not a still image.
Malek fought the urge to panic and focused instead on the room his brother was in. The floor, he noted, was exactly like the floor in the room he was being held. The walls, the same sterile white. Was he close by? In the same building?
Two men entered Talen’s room, and Talen didn’t move, didn’t speak. One of the two men slid a white hood over Talen’s head. Still, Talen said nothing, did nothing. They pushed Talen off the chair, positioning him on the floor, on his back. Again, Talen put up no fight.
Malek knew what was coming. He had to assume Talen did, too. Boarding, as it was called, was a legal, though questionable, interrogation technique. Some called it torture, inhumane, cruel. And it had been outlawed by President Obama shortly after he took office. Outlawed for most agencies.
Not the CIA.
And evidently not the Chimera either.
A moment later, two more men entered, carrying buckets of water.
With Talen bound, his head held in place so he couldn’t turn away from the torrent, one of the men began pouring water onto his face.
Holloway turned to Malek. “One word. Say one word and we’ll stop.”
Malek bit his tongue and jerked his gaze away from the screen.
“Really? You’re that much of a sissy that you can’t watch what you’re doing to your brother?” the asshole said.
Him? He wasn’t the one dumping gallons of water in Talen’s face. It was them. Those fucking bastards doing it. Torturing his brother. But he did feel guilty for being such a chickenshit. He dragged his gaze back to the screen.
Damn, that was a lot of fucking water.
They were still pouring a steady stream in Talen’s face. And Talen wasn’t lying still anymore. He was jerking, arching his back. His fingers were curled into tight fists. His survival instinct was kicking in.
Holloway hit the button on the phone. “Phase two.”
&
nbsp; The man stopped pouring water. The others, who had been holding Talen down, released him and moved back cautiously. Still wearing the hood, Talen hacked and sputtered and gasped, the sound hitting Malek in the gut.
“It’s unfortunate we have to bring your wife into this, but we’re talking about national security, Mr. Alexandre. We must get some answers. But the good news is, once you’ve told us what we need to know, you’ll be free to leave. With your wife. No one will bother you again.”
And Armageddon would begin.
Hoping the bastard was bluffing about Lei, Malek remained silent.
Holloway hit his little remote and all hope vanished.
Lei was lying in a room that looked a lot like the one Talen was in. She appeared to be sleeping. Just the sight of her, so still, so vulnerable, made his heart jerk in his chest. No matter what she’d done, he couldn’t hate her. Even if she’d delivered both him and his brother right into this bastard’s hands. Even if she had done the worst, pretended to love him to gain his trust.
He loved her. He would die for her. End of story.
His hands ached with the need to touch her, his arms to embrace her tiny frame and cradle her to him. The instinct to protect her was almost overwhelming.
“She’s a little sleepy,” Holloway said. “She has about ten minutes before it’s too late.”
He wasn’t one hundred percent sure what that meant.
A knock sounded on the door.
Holloway shouted, “Clear.”
The door opened. One of the men who’d been restraining Talen set an amber plastic pill bottle on the table in front of Malek. The agent slowly turned it until the label was facing him.
It was his prescription. There’d been at least twenty pills in that bottle last time he’d checked. It was empty now.
But would they force her to overdose? Wouldn’t it have been easier for them to inject her with something?
“We found the bottle in her hand. She left something else.” The agent handed him a piece of paper.