by Bonnie Vanak
Muscles tensed in his spine. “When I saw him, got over the shock...part of me kept hoping maybe my mother and Pete were alive, too, and all this had been a sick, fucked-up joke.”
Kelly waited.
“But they’re not.”
His haunted look wrenched her heart. All she could offer was meager comfort.
“No, they’re not. But I am. I’m not leaving you.”
Kelly wrapped her arms around him. Muscles locked and tensed. Then, with a small groan, Sam pulled her tight, his head buried in the soft curve of her neck.
When he lifted his head, his gaze softened. “I have to say something to you, Kel. About what I said back in La Aurora. All my years I had it wrong. Being tight with my team, fighting as a single unit, I thought it would fill all the empty spaces inside me. A real man was a navy SEAL—strong, courageous and willing to die for his country.”
Sam tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. “Being a real man is much more. It’s being strong enough to know I was wrong, courageous enough to admit I am afraid and willing not just to sacrifice my life, but my heart.”
Kelly brushed his knuckles with a kiss. “I know what was missing in my empty places, Sam. Fill them again.”
“I need you badly, Kel,” he whispered. “I need to forget every lousy thing that happened today. I need you close, your arms clinging to me. I need to watch your face as I make you come.”
A sharp intake of breath as she imagined Sam’s face hovering above hers as they made love.
“I need you, gods, to help me forget everything I remembered when I saw my father standing before me.”
Desperate hunger shimmered in his gaze, twining with rage and grief. Kelly took his hand and pressed it to her cheek. “I can’t offer much, but I give you all I have, Sam.”
Nodding gruffly, he led her to the bedroom downstairs. This wasn’t making love as much as making each other’s pain evaporate, she realized.
They tore at each other’s clothes, sending them spilling to the bedroom floor. Kelly twined her arms around his neck and pressed against him, feeling the hardness of his chest muscles. Erotic need spilled through her as he kissed her, hard and deep, his tongue thrusting into her mouth as if imitating what his lower body intended. She was burning up now, the coolness of the air-conditioned room forgotten in the heat he created.
I need you inside me, Sam.
Smooth muscles flexed beneath her questing palm as she caressed his broad back. His penis was huge and hard against the softness of her belly. It twitched, as if impatient to be inside her once more. Kelly rubbed her breasts against Sam, feeling her overly sensitive nipples turn rock-hard again. Every kiss was hot and urgent, as if he wanted to devour her. Need pummeled her as she ground against him and felt his penis respond with another violent twitch. Kelly lifted a leg, curling it around one of his narrow hips. Against the wall, that would suffice. But Sam lifted her by the bottom and, still kissing her, gently tumbled her backward onto the bed.
He stood over her, breathing heavily, his gaze dark and focused utterly on her. With one powerful thigh, he nudged her legs open and then dropped to his knees and stared at her core. A faint flush ignited her cheeks. He looked at her as if she were the most beautiful sight in the world.
Sam rubbed her folds with a finger and then sank the digit into her swollen vagina. “Are you too sore for this?”
Unable to speak, she shook her head. A moan flitted from her lips as he licked her, a slow stroke of his wicked tongue across her soaked folds. He kept pleasuring her, teasing her higher and higher until her muscles contracted and her back arched. Kelly felt the climax shimmer out of reach, a distant star winking teasingly at her.
“C’mon, sweetheart,” he crooned against her soaked flesh. “Come for me. Come for me.”
The husky command pushed her over the edge. Fisting her hands in the tangled sheets, she climaxed hard, sobbing out his name.
Breathless, she watched him stand and backhand his mouth, his gaze filled with sharp sexual excitement. Then Sam bent over her and pushed his hard, heavy penis deep inside her.
Remaining frozen for a moment, his gaze fiercely held hers as her swollen tissues struggled to accommodate him. Kelly wriggled and he surged inside her, burying himself deeply and sealing them to the hilt. Every sensation seemed heightened, from the feel of his hard penis embedded inside her to his chest rubbing against her sensitive nipples to his face inches above hers, his fierce gaze searing her with heat.
Kelly dug her fingers into his thick shoulders, feeling sinew and muscle flex. She pumped her hips upward in a silent plea. He was hot inside her, and her body was burning.
Her fingers found his tattoo and stroked over it, over the bullet hole that had given him life. Sam’s big body jerked with awareness. Closing his eyes, he took a quivering breath. Then he began to move, pounding in her, hard deep strokes that she met with eager pumps of her hips.
His expression was fierce with arousal, his mouth tight as his hips jackhammered into her wet, pliant body. This was not lovemaking but a reclaiming of what he’d lost, the possessive stamp of a man whose primal urges indelibly marked her as his own.
Kelly froze as another orgasm tightened her muscles. Heart hammering against her chest, she concentrated on the exquisite pleasure.
Sam went still as she screamed his name. And then he threw back his head and answered her cries, her name on his lips.
Lost deep inside her, wanting to forget.
Much later, they ate the sandwiches Sam had picked up at the local deli. After, he cleared the table in silence.
Sensing he needed a little space, she went into the living room and picked up the abandoned, sad teddy bear from the sofa. Sudden insight struck her.
“Sam, where did you say the bear was found?” she called out.
“Your offices at Sight Finders.” He appeared at her side, drying his hands on a dish towel.
“That’s impossible.”
Tossing the towel on the cocktail table, Sam joined her. “My father claims you took it.”
“I did take the bear. But after I found the bear, I put him in our secret hideout.”
Struggling to speak past the lump in her throat, she pressed on. “I wanted to put him in a safe place. I thought if you returned, you’d see the bear and remember the good times you shared with Pete.”
“I never went back inside the tunnel. I nailed the door shut when I returned to Tennessee, before I joined the navy.”
Their gazes met, his filled with firm resolve.
“Whoever found this bear found it inside the bunker...” she began.
Grabbing the toy, he turned it over in his hands. “Look.” He pointed to a thumb-size bandage on the bear’s scorched paw. “Did you do this?”
Kelly frowned. “No. I wouldn’t bandage a toy. And not this one, because it belonged to Pete. I know how special it was. Maybe Pete did?”
“No, the bandage is new.” He examined the bear. “Pete did like to bandage his toys, it was something he always did as a kid...”
“And he’s probably not the only one. The bandage is fresh, Sam. Which means another child did it.”
Sam bolted off the couch. “That’s where they’re holding the missing kids. Dammit! Right under my nose. Curt must be in on it. His double, I mean.”
Cutting through the hope racing through her was a chilling thought. “You couldn’t tell if your CO was a doppelgänger?”
Clutching the bear, Sam paced the room. “He didn’t act like Curt, but there’s no way to tell. Only if we find the real Curt’s body...”
“Not necessarily. Sam, you had a doppelgänger. All it takes is a touch to absorb your DNA. If an Arcane stole a Phantom’s powers, he could imitate you, Curt, anyone, as long as he had your DNA.”
Crazed hope flared
on Sam’s face.
“If the doppelgänger killed Curt, he’d have a Death Mask.”
He scowled. “No way in hell am I taking you near the base. They’ll toss you into prison, or worse.” Sam rubbed his chin. “What about video?”
“Live stream if possible.”
“You haven’t seen even a fifth of what’s possible to a SEAL.” Sam pulled out his cell phone. “Yo, Dakota, I need a favor...”
* * *
An hour later, Sam opened his laptop and clicked on an internet link. “Live stream from ST 21’s base. Courtesy of Greg.”
He grinned. “Tiger boy likes toys. This one’s a jacket button that’s actually a small camera. It transmits through a wireless receiver hidden in the next room. Then Tiger did something guaranteed to bring him into Curt’s office.”
They watched a red-faced Lieutenant Commander Curtis yell at the camera.
“What did Greg do?” she asked.
“Soaked Renegade’s underwear with juice.” His grin widened. “I believe the juice of certain distinct jalapeño peppers.”
Kelly laughed. “Wonder where he got that idea?”
Sam spread his arms wide, looking surprised. “I’m innocent.”
“Poor Renegade, taking one for the team.”
She concentrated on the feed, the furious commander yelling at the SEAL.
“That’s not Curt. He never loses it. Let’s us fight our own battles.”
Her heart beat faster. “He’s an impostor, but I don’t see a Death Mask.”
At her nod, he shut the laptop. “There’s a chance Curt’s still alive.”
Sam dialed a number. “Admiral Keegan Byrne,” he stated quietly.
He waited, tense and grim, and then his expression smoothed out. “Admiral. Sir. It’s Shay.”
Shay. No titles, not even his full name.
Sam flashed a boyish grin. “Yes, sir, I was on that op, three of us. Cakewalk. No thanks are necessary. Just doing our jobs.”
He glanced at Kelly. “Admiral, we have a sitch here. I need to know why you gave those orders for my team to deploy to an LZ south of the base in Honduras to deliver Kelly Denning to Mage authorities.”
No change in his expression.
“I see. One of us will be in touch. And, Admiral, watch your six. I can’t say right now, sir, but soon as I have more intel, someone will be in touch.”
He thumbed off the phone.
“The admiral didn’t give that order. Which means Curt’s double did.”
Sam nodded, his spine tensing.
Kelly squeezed his forearm. “Your CO has to still be alive. Don’t lose hope.”
His steady, reassuring gaze gave her strength. “Hang tight. I’m calling Dakota.”
Time to call in the troops.
Chapter 20
“I remember the tea parties your mother hosted. She loved dressing up,” Kelly mused as she looked down on the grounds of Sam’s estate.
With their clipped hedges and brightly colored flowers blooming in cultivated beds, the gardens were well. Visitors had come for miles in the spring to admire the blooms, which had been carefully coaxed to life by her father’s loving hands. Annabelle Shaymore had held themed teas in the Chinese pagoda, enlisting Kelly’s help to pour. Sam’s mother had worn a crimson kimono with a bright yellow sash, the waves of her soft brown hair pinned up with sticks. Kelly had tottered around the glassed table in a plain white kimono, serving bite-size cucumber sandwiches while Mrs. Shaymore’s guests had chattered.
And even though Sam’s mother was kind to the motherless girl living on her estate, Kelly had been a servant. Those celebrated tea parties made it clear, for no one acknowledged her. She was invisible.
Sam now scaled the massive stone wall ringing his family’s estate. Shunning the rope, Kelly found familiar footholds and then dropped down to the other side. Sam whistled.
“Impressive.”
She shrugged. “Did it quite a few times. Sometimes when your mother scheduled a tea party, I’d sneak off the grounds. If she couldn’t find me, she couldn’t ask for my help.”
Amused, he shook his head while coiling the thin rope. “Why didn’t you say no?”
She stared at the sugar maples and hemlock trees. This estate had been the only home she’d ever truly known. “I kept hoping she’d invite me to the party, treat me as a...daughter, not a servant.” Her voice cracked. “My mom died giving birth to me. I never had a mom. Guess I hoped your mom might fill the role. Stupid. All she did was treat me like a servant.”
Sam tucked the rope around his waist and crooked a finger at her. “C’mere.”
With a soft sigh, Kelly slid into his embrace.
“I’m not my mother.” He kissed the top of her head and rested his cheek against her hair. “I’d never act like that.”
“That’s a relief. If you paraded around in a kimono and started sipping tea instead of beer, I’d really worry.”
Sam laughed and then focused his attention on the barn in the distance. “You ready for this?”
Ready to watch you confront old ghosts, or ready to rescue the children? Acid churned in her stomach. She nodded. Two miles down the road in a dark van, Sam’s teammates J.T. and Dallas waited for his signal to storm the castle.
Soft grass silenced their footsteps as they passed the stone pagoda with its tattered Chinese lanterns swinging from the rafters. Kelly felt like a ninja, moving as Sam had taught her, darting from tree to tree.
Whoever broke into the estate knew not only its location but also the entrance to the underground bunker.
“Curt knows all about this place,” Sam said as they hunkered behind a thick magnolia trunk.
He removed a pair of binoculars from his vest and scanned the stretch of open lawn. “When he became my CO, he wormed it out of me about how I had no family. Then he asked me all these questions about the estate. He loves reading history. I told him about how the bunker used to hide slaves during the days of the Underground Railroad.”
“He wasn’t interested in history. Only you,” Kelly guessed.
“Yeah.” Sam watched the grounds. “In getting me to talk about the place’s history, he made me realize how important my heritage is. The estate had fallen into disrepair. I’d let it go. After, he helped me find a contractor to fix up the burned wing, gardeners to tend the grounds.”
“He sounds like a good man.”
“None better. Damn good fighter and sniper. Scored twenty kills in Desert Storm.” Sam lowered the glasses, voice remote and cold. “If they did kill him, he wouldn’t have gone easily.”
Insects hummed in the trees. The stillness in the air felt heavy and unnatural. Impatient for action, Kelly wanted to race across the lawn.
Sam closed his eyes. “Nothing’s been by this way in months. No trace scents. Wish Dakota were here. His sense of smell could pick out a pebble in a stream.”
“The wolf can, you mean. Any wolf.”
“Not going there. We do this the old-fashioned way, on two legs, not four.”
Knee-high meadow grass brushed against their legs as they headed toward the picturesque split-rail fence dividing the estate’s grounds from the adjoining farm. Kelly followed Sam to the barn. Inside the air was moist and still. A slightly foul stench made her wrinkle her nose.
“Someone’s been here. I smell something dark and evil.”
Sam dropped to a crouch and pointed to patterns in the dust. “Someone who didn’t bother erasing prints, meaning they’re either careless or arrogant.”
Kelly’s heart squeezed painfully as Sam lifted the round iron ring on the floor. He drew out a pistol from his backpack. “Stay here.”
“They’re probably being guarded. Sam, let me go with you.” Panic lodged in her throat.
>
“If something happens to me, get word to J.T. and Dallas. You’re more important, Kelly. You’re the only one who can tell a real Elemental from an Arcane who killed him and stole his identity.”
“I’m not going to lose you, Sam,” she whispered.
She did not recognize the intense, determined look on his face. “Let me do my job.”
Every cell cried out to join him, but he was right. Should he run into trouble, Sam possessed the needed skills.
“Be careful.”
He vanished into the black hole that gave way to a small airless room holding rusted farm equipment. But another door, hidden and opened by only a spring mechanism, gave access to a tunnel that led to the estate’s wine cellar. Kelly sat on the floor, hugging her knees as she waited.
Waiting. How did Sam and his team do it? Sometimes they remained motionless for hours as they waited for a target to move out, he’d told her.
Sam’s selfless devotion to duty opened her eyes to her lover’s other side. She’d thought bravery and honor as mere words.
Sam had shown her those words in action.
Muscles cramping, she stretched out. A crow flew inside and perched on the overhead rafters, scolding her. Kelly leaned down and drew a heart and initials in the dust.
K.D. loves S.S.
Smiling, she let her fingers trail over the letters.
The cellar door creaked open. Hastily, she dusted away her impromptu drawing as Sam climbed the steps, his expression remote.
“They’re not there. They were, and not long ago, but they’ve been moved.” Ice coated his next words. “They wouldn’t risk hurting the kids now until they stole the last one needed for the rite.”
Disappointment stabbed her. Kelly gazed around the barn. “Do you think they’re off the estate?”
“Hard to tell, but maybe somewhere around here. Moving that many kids is difficult, even if they’re drugged. Curt is a whole other challenge. He’s like me. Won’t give up the fight, and if he goes down, takes someone with him.”
His merciless tone told her exactly how challenging.
Kelly couldn’t fathom the risks Sam and his team took. Every time he went on a mission, he knew he might not return home.