Amused, Bane glanced my way. “What’s funny?”
“When you told me to pack a few things, I saw the condoms next to my birth control and grabbed the condoms too.” I laughed harder. “I guess I wanted to make sure we were prepared if we didn’t come back.” Tears. I had tears from laughter.
Bane’s hand came to my chin as he brought my eyes to meet his, a devilish grin on his face. “We’ll be fucking soon. It’s all I’ve thought about since last night. But, it’s good to know we’re on the same page.”
“I am.” That was the one thing I was absolutely sure about in all this.
Bane returned his focus to driving and moved his left hand to settle on my leg. I liked the contact and what it did to my insides—slowly turning them into a wanting mess. The hotel came into view as we pulled up the drive. The valet came to the driver side as another one opened my door.
As I got out of the vehicle, I heard Bane say, “Don’t park it. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Yes, sir.”
Bane’s hand took position on the small of my back, guiding me inside. Looking down after a slight pressure on my shoe, I noticed I’d nearly tripped on my lace. “Oh wait, my shoe is undone.”
Stopping, I kneeled down while Bane faced the entrance patiently waiting for me. The hotel was quiet and I felt like people were staring. As I stood, Bane put his hand at my elbow. “I forgot my cell phone. I need to grab it. Do you mind hopping in the passenger side while I make a quick phone call? Then, we’ll get everything sorted.”
The edge to Bane was different, like he was preparing for something.
“Of course, not a problem.”
The cool air greeted us as we came back outside. The valet was in the driver’s seat. I thought Bane asked him to leave it. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled in apprehension. Bane casually raised his hand, halting the valet’s movement. “I need to get my cell phone before you move it.”
The valet looked behind him nervously then nodded quickly—too quickly. “Yes, sir.”
Following Bane’s advice, I got in the passenger side. Casually, Bane got in and his aviator glasses were still in place. The car was off. As Bane glanced around the area, I noticed his other hand pushed something on the underside of the steering column. The SUV roared to life. Without missing a beat, he shifted the car into gear, shooting out of the drive as his tires squealed.
“Buckle up, Maren.”
The steely command had adrenaline pulsating through me. A larger truck came out of the drive at the same speed.
“What’s going on?” The car shifted hard to the right, avoiding a stoplight.
Bane’s voice became hard. “Buckle up, Maren! I need you to listen to everything I say and do it.”
Fumbling with the buckle, I managed to get it fastened. The vehicle sped faster. The truck behind us followed Bane’s every move. Out of fear, I grabbed the door handle. The car darted in and out traffic at an alarming rate. Bane shot to the left causing my right shoulder to hit the door.
Frozen in fear, I prayed I survived this.
MOTHERFUCKER.
The first thing I needed was to get us somewhere safe. I wasn’t sure who, but somehow either Maren or I had a target on our back. And I assumed the target was on the latter. Shit! This was why I should have never entertained anything with Maren. The hotel implied Maren meant more than my normal occasional fucks.
I had to keep Maren safe. History repeating itself wasn’t an option.
The unmarked truck I’d noticed as we pulled into the hotel kept up and anticipated my next maneuver. The familiar charge I always had when entering combat rolled through me as I became acutely aware of all my surroundings, seeing if anything in my environment could be of use to take this bastard out.
Whoever followed us had training. Glancing to Maren, I knew she was terrified as she white-knuckle clutched the door frame. Once I got us somewhere, I’d explain what I could. She didn’t know it, but life as she knew it was over. What the fuck had I been thinking? A month escape. Of course, that would be when the enemy would strike.
Keeping Maren safe was my objective.
After years of training, my heart rate stayed even. An opportunity presented itself that would keep this asshole away for a bit. Up ahead a trailer rig was about to block the entire road. I pressed the accelerator more, revving the engine and speeding up to a dangerous rate. It would be tight, but we’d squeeze through. Normal human reaction would cause the rig driver to automatically stop.
Maren screamed. “Bane, the truck!”
Not responding, I needed my full concentration as men for the crew were waving at me wildly to stop. I didn’t. Positioning my car, I pushed the gas harder. The space was tighter than I’d assumed and the maximum momentum would be needed to clear the area. Otherwise, we’d be stuck—sitting ducks. Bracing myself, I held the steering wheel on course and pushed the vehicle to the max.
Metal scraping, as if someone screamed, sounded along the length of the vehicle, taking the side mirrors off. Our speed decelerated and I hoped we could push through. The teeth-clenching protest ended as we cleared the area and I let out all of the air I had been holding in.
Thank fuck.
In the rearview mirror, the unknown vehicle screeched to a halt not able to clear the opening. I jerked the wheel right to take a side road. With the vehicle badly damaged, we’d become easily recognizable. Backroads were the best option as I made our way to a safe house I had in the city. No one knew about it. It’d buy us some time while I figured out what happened.
Then, I’d hunt every motherfucker down who was involved. The familiar fire within me burned. To be safe, tomorrow we’d relocate somewhere else. I didn’t want to be too far away from the fight unless I had to be. There was a more remote location in Colorado I owned that would buy us however much time we needed.
Seeing Maren huddled in the passenger seat, shaking, I felt like an asshole for not communicating to her. But, this was war and I knew what it took to survive. “Maren, I’m taking us somewhere safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Eyes wide, Maren nodded. “O-o-kay.”
There were no signs of pursuit which told me that this afternoon hadn’t been planned. Something happened to make them jump the gun. Frankie. He was the only answer I could think of. Ten minutes later, I pressed the door opener to the garage in the alley filled with garbage.
From the outside, the place looked like a dump. Inside though was our refuge and supplies. “Bane, where are we?”
Maren leaned up looking through the window while she took in the practical industrial-like space. “In my safe house. We’ll need supplies. We can stay here for the night.”
Parking the car, I shut the garage door. First, I needed to secure the perimeter and see what else I could find as I got out of the vehicle. The control pad to the left of the garage illuminated as I punched in the code and the heavy locks engaged, echoing through the room as the security system went online.
Turning, Maren stood in front of me. She shook and tears formed in the corners of her eyes. I was an asshole for getting involved with her.
“Bane, please tell me what’s going on. Why do you need a safe house?”
I grabbed her hand. “I need to check some things and then we’ll talk. I have a limited window to get some answers.”
The people after us were probably scrambling to find us which meant their attention was divided. I needed to take advantage of that distraction.
Along the wall, a computer with several monitors sat. Maren held my hand as we walked to the desk. As I hit switches along the panel, the fifteen screens came to life. Cameras were around the building and I was remotely plugged into my house.
Maren pointed to one of the screens seeming to calm some. There was no doubt she was a fighter—a survivor. “Is that your house?”
I sat in the chair and opened my arms for Maren to come. Her presence was a soothing balm. But, I knew I wanted to touch her to keep her c
alm—or that’s what I told myself. There was only a slight hesitation as she came to me. Fuck! I deserved that, but I didn’t want Maren to be scared of me.
“Yes, that’s my place in town.” The screens rotated through the different rooms in my house.
Studying the screen, Maren asked, “How long have you lived there?”
“About four years.”
“Oh.” I knew she thought the place was sparse with only the essentials.
Rigid, Maren barely sat on my knee. “Bane, why would you need a safe house? Are you a spy?”
Pausing, I rubbed my hand over my scalp deciding how much I wanted to tell Maren about my past. The answer—not much. “Long ago, I worked for a branch of the government. It’s been six years since I left when I finished my term.”
She relaxed. We were making progress. “What happened today? It started with Jewel’s phone call, didn’t it? And Frankie’s visit?”
My angel was perceptive. How much did I share of what happened today? There was a fine line. Too much information only made Maren a larger asset if she was caught. When someone knew too much, they were eliminated or used to get results. But when someone was tied to me, they were already in too deep. I wanted Maren to know what she was involved with, hoping it would keep her listening to me and … safe.
Confirming, I asked, “Yes, are you sure you want to know?”
Taking her eyes off of the screen, she searched mine, imploring. “Bane, I don’t like secrets. My brother has been keeping them from me all these years. I want to know. I can handle it. I promise.”
Maren shifted farther in my lap, letting me know that we were getting back to where we were. “I confirmed something was going on when I called Jewel. When I initially asked for you, they gave me a rule book I read. Frankie showing up wasn’t protocol for Discrete Encounters. If someone goes missing, the dating service comes first to the location with their personal security. It keeps the anonymity of the client who is their main concern. When I called Jewel, she stuttered to get her story straight. I think Frankie’s visit was unexpected. If someone heard us, I didn’t want them alerted. I simply agreed and ended the conversation. That’s why I went to Security Branch.”
Giving Maren some time to digest the story, I paused, letting her lead the inquiry. “Where were we going to go beforehand?”
My hand caressed her hip and she scooted further back into me. The speed of her pulse reduced as I inconspicuously watched the vein in her neck. “Before I talked to Jewel, I’d planned on us going out to eat. I figured we’d go to dinner, check into another hotel room. Tomorrow while you were at work, I was going to change hotels.”
Maren didn’t comment on my last comment, but refocused the conversation. I wanted her to at least acknowledge it. “What happened when you got to Security Branch?”
“Since they’re redoing Discrete Encounters security system, I used one of the tech’s computers who was gone to log on. I was lucky he wasn’t there. Our records were deleted from the mainframe, effectively eliminating a paper trail. As I was about to leave, an alert came through on my phone telling me someone cut the security-specific power to my house, which would have left me unknowing. A few months back, I’d installed a backup. No one came in, but I logged in remotely and wiped all my computers in case he did manage to get through the security.”
Maren’s hand absentmindedly drifted to my hand on her hip as she rubbed soothing circles. Hell I wanted inside her, but I needed to get a handle on things first. Then, we’d fuck. “What was in the backpack you came back out with from Security Branch?”
“A laptop, a gun, some ammo, money, and a few other devices. If we weren’t able to get away, I needed some essentials.” Maren slightly stiffened at the word gun.
I wasn’t sure what Maren’s limit was at this point, so I would let her keep prompting the conversation. “What happened at the hotel? Why’d we go back?”
Gathering my thoughts, I responded, “I needed to make sure I was right before I disappeared with you. I hoped to draw them out to see who we were dealing with. I knew they wouldn’t make a scene in the hotel lobby. Too many cameras, too many witnesses, too many variables. As long as you and I appeared normal, they would have no reason to take us ahead of time until we were somewhere less open.”
Maren flexed her feet as she thought for a second and introspectively said, “My shoe coming untied wasn’t an accident.”
“No, I did that. While you were tying your shoe, I caught a man in the reflection of the sign ducking behind it. I gave them no reason to think I was on to them as I asked to get my cell phone from my car.”
Maren grew quiet as she watched the screens. I needed to be researching, but having her collected and not panicked would help me keep her safe. A slight hum filled the silence from the computers. Any moment now, I expected whoever was after me would be going back to my place to do a more thorough search.
“How long before we leave here?”
“We’ll leave tomorrow after we get some sleep. In the next garage over, I have another car we’ll use. Before we make our next move, I want to see if we can get any leads.” The fact was, people got themselves killed by reacting and not assessing. If we instantly went somewhere else without any intel, we could be going straight into the lion’s den. I avoided rash decisions whenever possible.
“What about my brother?” That was one of the many questions going through my mind as well.
I scooted us closer to the console and laid my cell on the desk. “I’m not sure. Let’s see what happened when he left the hotel.”
Maren leaned back against my chest. “How?”
Turning my head, her neck was opened to me and I needed to taste her. I gave it a kiss and watched her reaction. A shy smile came over her face as she turned to me. We were but a breath apart as I answered her question and gave her a quick kiss. “By hacking into their system.”
“Oh.”
I wasn’t sure what she thought as we stared into each other’s eyes, the gold flecks in the irises sparkling under the light.
She broke the connection, which I needed. When around Maren, I seemed to get lost. Cuing up the mainframe for the hotel, I typed several commands and finally was rewarded with access. If the person after us watched the hotel security, they’d figure out I was in the system. I had less than five minutes to find the file and get out before they tried to trace me.
Maren watched the screens intently. Bringing up the front door hotel footage I found, the time Frank would have been potentially leaving the hotel. Maren’s and my departure flitted across the screen as I fast forwarded the feed. Ten minutes later, Frank strolled through the lobby, head down. He had to be sporting one hell of a bruise with how I clocked him. At the thought of him holding Maren roughly, my teeth mashed together. Fucker. She rubbed my leg as she felt me tense.
I slowed the feed, watching all the surrounding feeds. The same black unmarked truck pulled up to the front lobby. Maren gasped. I saw red. The asshole sold out his sister. Frank’s visit had been planned all along. But, why?
Maren sat forward within inches of the screen. “Bane, why is Frankie getting into that vehicle?”
“I don’t know, angel.”
Someone popped out of the backseat. I froze the screen and downloaded the image to my computer. Pressing play, the man was pissed. He wrenched the door open and then slammed it after Frank was shoved into the front seat. The truck took off.
Looking at the time, I had approximately two minutes before I needed to logoff.
I put the feed on high speed again to see what happened after. Two men walked in five minutes later. They had earpieces in as they headed to the elevator. I froze and saved their faces as well. They exited on our floor and went to our hotel room. Changing screens, I kept monitoring the front camera. The truck pulled back in not twenty minutes later and parked off to the side. No doubt waiting for my return. They planned to take us up in the room.
Time was running out as the timer showed les
s than ten seconds left. I closed the connection.
Maren remained quiet on my lap as I mentally sorted through everything. Grabbing a secure line from the desk, I dialed the hotel I knew Frank Kincaid resided in from my research. He deserved worse after I’d seen the conditions his sister lived in.
After two rings, the hotel picked up. “Hotel Dumont. This is Claire.”
“Frank Kincaid, please.” Maren quirked a brow at my request. I nodded and mouthed, I’ll tell you in a minute. My phone vibrated letting me know someone entered the house. I brought the house feed up on the monitors while I was on hold. It was hard not to go and face those fuckers head on, but I had Maren to think about.
Three masked men entered and went straight for the different cameras in my house, disconnecting them with efficiency. Somehow they’d gotten a plan of my security system. Maren pushed further into me. I held on to her tightly. This was fucked up ten ways to Sunday.
Clicking sounded from the other end before Claire came back on the line. “I’m sorry, sir. Mr. Kincaid checked out this afternoon.”
“No problem. Thank you.”
The line disconnected. Frank knew the unidentified truck and now he was checked out. There was no doubt Frank Kincaid was involved, but was probably a pawn being used to get to me through Maren. He wasn’t operative material.
Why? Was the man Frank owed money to involved? Did they get to Frank after I’d booked Maren? To have him on the front side seemed unlikely. The lobby meeting was by chance and Maren wasn’t the type I normally went for. None of the facts were fitting together.
All the feeds from my house were gone, except one—a camera I’d installed within the last two months in my office. It ran independently off another battery source. Those assholes were well-informed.
Barely above a whisper, Maren said, “Do you know who these people are?”
“No.”
I studied the masked man as he entered my office. He sat at my desk and pulled up the computer. Only blank screens greeted him. He pounded the desk and slipped off his mask, but his back was to the camera.
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