by Chrys Fey
Donovan locked the door. “It’s about time.”
“Hey, he—” Her words were cut off when Donovan scooped her up with one arm, crushing her to his body, and claimed her mouth with his. She was going to tell him how devoted Thorn was to their safety, but all words vanished from her mind. She saw stars. Donovan kissed her so thoroughly her toes tingled. Every part of her body hummed to life.
“I’ve been wanting to do this since you came back to me,” he said against her lips. He lifted her off her feet and settled her on the bed. The weight of his body made her mouth water. His hands sought her flesh as if he had never touched her skin before, as if he didn’t know her texture, her heat. He stripped off her clothes, tossing them left and right. She couldn’t stop a laugh from bubbling up her throat.
His eagerness made her lust explode like grenades throughout her body. His hands fondled every part of her. She let out a moan of pleasure. His mouth stole tastes as she reared up at his touch. He was driving her so mad she bit her bottom lip. The pressure of her teeth intensified the more he explored her. She tasted blood; her teeth had cut into the tender flesh of her bottom lip. She sucked it away as her hands groped his naked body. When he sank into her, she let out her first cry. They worked together. Their movements were in sync, pushing each other to the brink. Beth announced her final release, and soon after Donovan followed.
Shuddering, Donovan collapsed next to her. Beth panted beside him. Her body quivered. He looped an arm around her slick body and held her as she shivered. It took them several minutes to recover.
Donovan pushed off the bed and went to give her a kiss but stopped. He brought his hand to her face and swiped her bottom lip with his thumb. “Did I do this?”
Beth looked to see a streak of blood on his thumb. She touched her bleeding lip. “No,” she said, feeling her cheeks blaze. “I did. I was biting my lip.” She touched the tiny gash with her tongue and tasted the metallic flavor of her blood. “Then again, you’re partly to blame.” She smiled. “I was biting my lip because of what you were doing.”
His dark eyes sparkled. “Next time, I’ll have to make sure you’re not biting your lip. I can’t let you hurt yourself.” He touched his lips to hers. “I like to kiss these lips too much.”
Chapter Twenty-One
After eating their now-cold breakfasts, Donovan pulled out his laptop from the backpack, opened it on the plastic table in the kitchenette, and connected it to the motel’s Wi-Fi. Beth pulled a chair next to him. “What are you doing?”
“I figured it was time we got to know the person who’s coming after us.” He opened a search engine and typed in Viper’s real name—Keon Roberts. The screen filled with links offering arrest reports and news articles. He clicked website after website, gathering the information. Beth leaned forward to read the facts with him. Viper had been arrested seven times since he was seventeen, and these were just the ones that were public record. The first time was for possession of marijuana. A year later, he was charged with theft. An article detailed the incident. Around Christmas, he had broken into a church and stolen all the donations. A surveillance camera had caught him. Days later, the police made the arrest. In his bedroom, they had found electronics and wrapped presents, linking him to a string of thefts that had occurred in a couple of nearby neighborhoods. He had stolen Christmas gifts that parents had worked hard to provide for their children.
“What an asshole,” Donovan spat.
Beth nodded in agreement. “It seems every year we hear about someone breaking into houses and stealing the presents right out from under Christmas trees. Makes me sick.”
Donovan scrolled down. Viper’s next arrest was for statutory rape. He had been eighteen at the time, and the girl had been fifteen. Donovan dug deeper, uncovering details about the case. According to news sources, he attacked a girl at a high school football game. At the time, he had been a senior, and she had been a freshman. He had followed her into the girl’s bathroom, grabbed her sexually, and made lewd advances. When she threatened to scream, he slammed her head into the paper towel dispenser. He shoved her into a stall, beat her until she compiled, and raped her against the stall door.
Donovan’s blood became acid as he read the details. He clicked on an image that had circulated through the media. She had a gash above her brow, stitches holding her top lip together, a black eye, and bruises along the left side of her face from Viper’s blows. Beside him, Beth covered her mouth. A before picture had been placed next to the image showing a beautiful, dark-skinned girl with shapely lips, arched brows, and high cheekbones. She had the face of a model.
A later article said the victim had dropped the charges against Viper, claiming she had consensual sex with him in the girl’s bathroom during the game, but after he left, two men came in and beat her. She said her confusion was due to a concussion. No other suspects had ever been found.
Donovan clenched his jaw. “She changed her story because he threatened her.”
Beth sighed. “Yup. No doubt it aggravated the police and her attorney, but they can’t do anything if a victim decides to change their story or drop the charges.” She pointed at the battered image of the young girl. “He could’ve been locked up for quite a while for this.”
Viper’s next offense was for DUI at nineteen. He lost his license, paid a fine, and spent a short time in jail. As Viper got older, his crimes became bolder—battery, sexual assault, and arson. Donovan froze when he read that last one. Viper and four others were arrested for setting fire to an occupied house. The men living in the house were part of known gang. They escaped the house and identified Viper as one of the men seen fleeing the premise. Two of the four other men charged with Viper plead guilty and vouched for Viper’s and the other two mens’ innocence. The fact the three of them had been there, though, had made them accomplices. Viper spent two years in jail and a year on house arrest with an additional year after that on probation.
Beth pointed at the screen. “Two men got off with Viper.” She held up her fingers. “Two. How much you wanna bet those are the same two Viper’s been hanging around with since he escaped work release? They’re bringing back past times.” Her voice lowered. “Past crimes.” She looked at him. “They’re setting these fires. Or at least the one that started right behind our house. They lured me right where they wanted me.”
Donovan put his hand on her thigh. “You’re smarter than them. You got away.” And he’d make sure they never got a chance to lure her into their trap again.
He scanned the rest of Viper’s arrest records. His most recent charges were for drug distribution, drug manufacturing, possession of illegal weapons, and resisting an officer with violence. Those were the ones Beth had a hand in when she went undercover.
Donovan lowered the laptop’s screen. “Viper has been racking up the charges and working his way up to bigger, worse crimes.”
“Like murder?”
Beth’s soft voice was like a knife to his heart. He cupped her face with his hands. “Hey, that’s not going to happen.” Her gaze avoided his. “Look at me, baby.” She let out a slow breath before shifting her gaze to his. “They’re not going to get close to you again. You’re tough and smart. I’m not going to let you out of my sight, there’s a cop car out front, and Thorn won’t let anything happen to you either.” He glanced at his closed laptop. “Although, after reading all of that, I have to question why Thorn asked you to go undercover in the first place. If he hadn’t, this wouldn’t be happening.”
Beth shook her head between his hands. “That’s not fair. I volunteered to go undercover to find out where Buck was hiding. None of this is Thorn’s fault. Or mine.” Her fingers curled around his wrists. “Or yours.”
His hands fell from her face to his lap.
“I talked to Thorn last night while you were sleeping. He has a powerful need to protect the people he cares about, and we are on that list.” She paused. “I think we’re at the top. I’m sure he regrets putting me undercover in Vip
er’s house now that Viper is out to get me. None of us can take that back, and I wouldn’t want to. If I hadn’t helped him, we wouldn’t have gotten Buck.”
“But if we hadn’t gone to San Francisco, Jackson Storm wouldn’t have come into our lives.” Jackson Storm and his minions would forever be at the front of Donovan’s mind for what they did to Beth.
She lay her hand on the side of his face. “But maybe we wouldn’t have fallen in love.”
He frowned at that.
“Think about it,” she urged.
Without their trip to San Francisco, they wouldn’t have bonded as much as they did, fought side by side to catch a killer, or fought through an earthquake ravaged city to find each other. Their love intensified during those post-disaster moments. If none of that had taken place, who knows where they’d be. Donovan refused to think that they wouldn’t be together now, but if they hadn’t gone through those events, would they love each other as intensely as they did now? Maybe not…
He pulled Beth’s hand from his cheek and kissed it. “You’re right.” He wished he could take back the things that hurt the two of them, but if he did, he would be erasing their entire relationship. That sobering thought made him realize he needed to let the past go. Whether he was the one who brought those things on them or not, he had to forget it. They were together. They were alive. That was all that mattered.
****
Thorn stopped by after six o’clock with a box of chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and biscuits. He also had a few files tucked under his arm. He dropped them onto the table. “Your requested files, Your Highness.”
Donovan lifted a brow as he picked through the files.
Beth held out a drumstick to Thorn. “You get cranky when you’re tired.”
Thorn grumbled. He took the drumstick and tore off a chunk with his teeth. “Let’s just say there’s no leads to Viper’s whereabouts.”
“That’s why we asked for these.” Donovan opened two of the files and lay them flat. “Take a look, Beth.”
The two files were for the men who got off the hook for the arson. Mugshots for both of the men were clipped to the front with fingerprints and pages of case details. Beth bent over to study the images. One of them had dreadlocks, and the other had a short afro. She gave a small nod. “That’s them.” Her gaze rose to Thorn as he put his hands on the table across from her. “These are the two men who were with Viper.”
Thorn lowered into one of the chairs. “That’s a lucky break.” He pulled the files to him. “Anthony Morris and Omar Morris are cousins.” He looked up. “They’re best known for arson. And they’re a bitch trying to nail down. We think they’re homeless. Always on the move.”
Fire roared through Donovan’s veins.
“My guess is Viper let these two have fun, so when he came for the two of you, the fire would look like a random attack with the rest of them. No one would think twice.”
“We did,” Beth said.
Thorn nodded. He took another bite of the drumstick. “If Viper is with these two, it may be impossible to pin his location. These two are skilled when it comes to staying hidden, undetected. They quickly ditch cars and never use the same one twice.”
“Except for the black Camaro,” Beth added. “I saw that car once before.”
Donovan’s head snapped up. He had been reading Viper’s file. “What?”
She tore off a flaky piece of biscuit and popped it into her mouth. “The day I went to Lori’s house, a black car was parked at the end of the street. When I noticed, it sped off. It rattled me, but I thought maybe it was someone just interested in seeing what happened there and felt embarrassed or ashamed they had been caught. The car I saw then was the same one they used to pick me up.”
Donovan clenched his hands on the table. “You should’ve said something.”
She lowered her fork with a few macaroni needles speared on it. “I didn’t think anything of it the first time I saw it. And yesterday, there was a lot on my mind, so I forgot. Besides, it doesn’t help us any. You gave them the license plate number, and it’s still nowhere to be found.”
That statement made Donovan’s glare shift to Thorn. “How is it possible the entire Orlando Police Force is aware of this car, but it hasn’t been spotted yet?”
“Anthony and Omar are experts at this. They’ve pushed cars into canals and ditched them at scrap yards. They don’t just swap out license plates. If they did, we’d be able to pull over every black Camaro Z/28 on the street. And, believe me, we have been.” Thorn swallowed another bite of chicken. “Investigators compared the wheel prints they found outside your garage with the wheels on the footage from my car’s dash cam. It matches.” Thorn shrugged. “I know we already figured out Viper was the one responsible for hijacking your truck, but this confirms it. We can place that car on your property. It adds another bar to his jail cell.”
After a moment of silent eating, Beth said, “If they’re so smart at ditching their cars, why did they use the Camaro multiple times?”
“Before his arrest, he drove a Dodge Viper.” The corner of Thorn’s mouth tilted up. “He’s cocky when it comes to his reputation. But considering the cousins are smart about cars, my guess is Viper liked the Camaro. He’s vain enough not to ditch a car he likes. We ran the plate, though, and it turns out it’s a fake. A damn good one, too. No one would be able to look at it and realize it isn’t real, which would be the cousins’ doing.” Thorn dusted off his hands. “The night we raided Viper’s house and arrested him, a black Camaro Z/28 was parked in the driveway. We wrote them all down to track later, if need be. I just found that connection a few hours ago. The Camaro from that night belonged to one of his buddies, Jarome Cook. Since Viper went to one of his old buddies from the day he was arrested, there’s a chance he went to more. We’re currently tracking them all down and searching their homes. So far, nothing.”
“At least it’s a start,” Beth said.
Donovan had to agree with that. It was better than nothing.
The three of them ate their chicken dinner. When Thorn finished, he got up. “Well, kids, I’m out.”
“You’re not staying?” Beth asked.
Donovan gently pinched her arm. “Don’t encourage him.”
Thorn sneered. “As much as I’d love to stop Donovan from getting any sex, I have more work to do. A new cop just took the night shift a moment ago, and the two of you are armed and dangerous. I also think I’ll be more help out there.”
“Speaking of armed and dangerous,” Donovan said. “Do you have duct tape?”
Thorn retrieved a roll of duct tape from the trunk of his car and gave it to him. Donovan held it in one hand and his holstered gun in the other. “We need to hide our guns someplace.”
“Why?” Beth asked.
“While it’s nice to have a gun right next to us, if someone comes in and tries to disarm us, it’s prudent to have them hidden from sight where only we know they are.”
Pursing her lips, Beth nodded and scanned the room. While she searched for a hiding place, Donovan went into the kitchen. He crouched by the table and pulled a strip of tape off the roll. Ducking his head, he affixed the gun in its holster to the underbelly of the table. It wasn’t in the middle, as that would be hard to reach, but within reach of the chair that had its back to the wall dividing the kitchenette and the room.
“Under the table?”
Donovan turned to see Beth and Thorn watching him. “What’s wrong with under the table?” he asked.
“Along with the toilet tank and freezer, it’s one of the most common places to hide a weapon,” Beth stated. “It’s where everyone looks.”
He crossed his arms. “Okay, Jane Bond. Where would you hide yours?”
“Give me the tape.” She held out her hand for it.
He slapped it into her palm. In the bedroom, she tugged the bed a few inches away from the wall and crawled on top of it.
“I’m liking her idea already,” Thorn said.<
br />
Donovan glared at him and was given a toothy grin.
On her knees, she ripped off a strip of tape. Slipping her hands behind the wooden headboard, she affixed her gun to the back of the headboard. She got off the bed and nodded with satisfaction. “That way we’re close to it when we’re in bed, but it’s not in the nightstand or attached to the frame underneath, which is where people check for weapons in bedrooms.”
Donovan squinted his eyes at her. “You watch too many cop shows.”
****
The next day, Thorn checked on them to—in his own words—make sure they were still alive. He looked as though he might’ve actually slept the night before, which Beth was glad about. But their request to see their house immediately put him back on edge.
“The two of you are supposed to be keeping your mugs from being seen by Viper and his henchmen.”
Beth forced a smile. “I also want to check in on my studio.”
Thorn grabbed the hair on the sides of his head. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…the two of you are a pain in my ass.” He dropped his hands. “Fine, but I need to disguise you guys and get another cop car to follow us. Before you even get close to your house or studio, we’re going to make sure the area is clear.”
Cursing under his breath, Thorn left. He was gone for thirty minutes and returned with a blonde wig for Beth and a baseball cap for Donovan. “This is the best I could do.”
Beth tucked her hair beneath the wig and stared at herself in the mirror. Bright lip stick, large sunglasses, and denim shorts completed her look. She hoped it was enough of a change to hide her identity. Donovan wore the cap and dark sunglasses. The stubble growing thickly along his jaw helped to hide the rest of his face.
Thorn checked the parking lot before telling them to go to his car. Keeping her head down, Beth walked to Thorn’s car. She did her best not to run or look around. Once inside Thorn’s car with Donovan and Thorn, her body relaxed.
They parked a few streets away from their house while the cop car escorting them went ahead to make sure it was safe to get closer. Beth examined her surroundings. Through charcoal trees, she could see the roof of their house. Relief settled over her heart; it was still standing. Even though the firefighters had the fire under control when they left, it could’ve flared up again and overpowered their efforts. The fact there wasn’t a single brush truck in the area was a good sign. The fire department was confident the fire was out.