With that, he hung up the phone. Pulling out a secondary phone that he only used to contact that one person, he made the call. “It’s me. Do you have people in Fredricksville?”
There was hesitation.
“Are there?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
Again, more hesitation.
“Three.”
“Are anymore heading there?”
“No.”
“Thank you,” he said smiling. “Where are they?”
“You can’t ask me that. It will come right back to me. I said I’d help, but this is above and beyond.”
“If you want to keep your job, you’re going to answer my fucking question.”
The address was rattled off.
“There’s my trained lap dog. Thank you.”
The phone went dead, and he laughed. Power was what made the world go round, and he was on the verge of being the most powerful man in the world.
That made him very happy.
Then he thought about Avalon Miller.
It made him sick.
No, power wasn’t everything. He had a mission, and he couldn’t forget that. Someone needed to take care of the mess that was created so many years ago.
Picking up his phone, he called his men in Fredricksville to relay the information. “Handle it,” he barked before hanging up the phone.
As his jet descended, he steepled his fingers and thought about his ultimate plan.
Once Avalon was his, everything would be fine.
He had to believe that.
It was all he had left in his life. The truth couldn’t come out. It would ruin him.
She would be his destruction.
CHAPTER Eight
Tuesday Night
B ack at the cottage, Quinn, Callie, and Jagger made their plans for the next day. Now that they had the assistance of the local law, the odds were in their favor. They might not have to sneak around as much looking for information.
“What’s tomorrow’s plan?” Quinn asked, knowing Callie was already working them out in her head. He could tell by the look on her face that she was trying to fit puzzle pieces together.
“I think we need to focus on the family and what’s going on here in town,” she finally admitted.
Jagger flipped open the dossier and pulled out the sheet of paper with the family’s information on it. “We have a half-sister on the list. She’s a college student. That might be a good place to start interviewing,” he suggested. “You know how close sisters are. Maybe she and Avalon shared some secrets.”
Callie didn't have a sister, other than Quinn’s, so she wasn’t sure if what Jagger was saying was true or not. “Well, that works for me.”
“Where does she live?” Quinn asked.
Jagger read off the address, and the detective pulled it up on his phone.
“Wow! That’s a pretty nice place for a college student. I know when I was in school, eons ago, I lived in a dump with eight other guys. We thought that hovel was the shit, but this girl is actually living large. How’s that possible?”
Callie stared over at him. “You lived in a frat house, Quinton, and we don’t want to hear your sordid stories. I’m sure they’ll piss me off.” She pointed at the baby bump. “Tread lightly, big guy.”
“I want to hear about them,” Jagger added. “I didn't do college.”
“Oh, well, look here. The possibly hostile pregnant woman voted, and she said no. Denied.”
Quinn laughed. “I love you, baby.”
She felt the same.
Jagger rolled his eyes. People in love acted like total idiots. He was so glad he was married to the military. There was far less heartbreak. “How do you plan on working this interview?”
“Easy. I’m going to show up, offer my condolences, and do what a detective does,” Quinn replied. “I’m going to see what dirt I can dig up for our profiler.”
“Please tell me you have something planned for me other than this,” stated Jagger. “I’m already bored to tears. I’m not big on playing sympathetic ear.”
“Actually,” Callie began, “you can head to Frank’s house and snoop around. We have crime scene pictures from the sheriff, but we want you to look for anything that someone from the military might have left behind as a clue.”
That he could do.
In fact, this was right up his alley.
“Yeah, but don’t get caught,” Quinn stated. “The sheriff warned us not to sneak around.”
“Why don’t you just ask him to search the place?” Jagger asked.
“Because, then we have to give him more details about this case, and Oracle, as you know, is supposed to be kept quiet. We don’t want anyone finding out why we’re really here.”
He had a point.
“After we do our interview, and you do your house search, we should meet back here. There’s one more person I want to hit up tomorrow,” stated Callie.
“Who?” the men asked at the same time.
“Well, the sheriff said they were God fearing people, so why don’t we go to where people head when they want to confess their sins?”
“Church it is,” Quinton stated.
“We might luck out and find something out about the family. Maybe the two dead family members said something in confession.”
Before Jagger could say anything, Quinn cut him off. “Now that they’re dead, maybe he will share their confessions,” he stated. “Or point us in the right direction.”
“That should keep us pretty busy tomorrow,” Callie stated. “Hopefully, we’ll find something before anyone else gets hurt. I keep getting this feeling that if we follow this trail, we’re going to find the person responsible at the end of it.”
Both men hoped so.
Callie stood to stretch her stiff body. “I’m going to go take a hot shower and get ready for bed. I’m exhausted.”
She leaned down to give Quinn a kiss.
“See you in bed,” she offered.
When she was gone, he knew what he needed to do. Glancing over at Jagger, he gave the man his night duty. “Can you watch the place?” he asked.
“You think something bad is going to go down?”
He wasn’t sure. “Let’s just call it preventative measures and go from there. I don’t want to take any chances with my wife and unborn child’s life.”
He didn't blame him.
“I’m a little edgy about the ex-military goons,” Jagger stated.
“If they come here, can you stop them?”
He laughed. “Yeah, anyone can be stopped. It’s a matter of how much blood you want to shed in the process.”
Quinn didn't know what to say. When it came to Callie, it didn't matter how much.
He only wanted her to be safe.
“Elizabeth Blackhawk told us to do whatever it took and not to worry about the mess we left behind.”
Jagger grinned. “Then I have my answer.”
Quinn left the room. He wasn’t exactly feeling any remorse. When it came to keeping his family safe, there could be none.
The line was drawn, and he was willing to do whatever to keep it intact.
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
The soft footfalls across the grotesquely worn motel carpet woke him up. Nate was a very light sleeper, and he could hear her moving about the room. Under his pillow was a gun, and slowly, he took his finger off the trigger.
It wasn’t lost on him that she was like a ghost.
Wandering the small space, he couldn’t help but watch her. Falling asleep had been a bitch. The entire time, he’d felt horrible that he’d hurt her.
Well, it was time to move on. Nate was going to make it up to her. He had no choice.
As Avalon moved about the small room, she reminded him of a caged tiger, pacing until it could find its one way out and back to freedom.
His heart broke for her.
He couldn’t imagine this being his life.
S
he never got to wander around aimlessly, feeling sun and warm breeze across her face. Again, there was the overwhelming need to care for her.
To protect her.
To…
He pushed it out of his head. Nate couldn’t, and wouldn’t, go there. If he did, they’d be in trouble. Instead of thinking about her, he’d offer comfort.
“Avalon?”
“Go back to sleep, Nathaniel. I’m just trying to work off some restless energy.”
Nate didn't listen. The choice was made. He was going to give her everything he could in the time they were together. Moving to stand in front of her, she walked right into him.
Nate caught her, holding her body very close to his.
“You’re still upset with me.”
“I’m upset with me,” she corrected.
“Why?”
“I’m angry because I don’t know how to relate to you. I told you that I’m socially awkward, and apparently horrible at the fine art of seduction.”
That’s all he needed to hear.
It was all the confirmation he needed.
Nathaniel Carter hadn’t been wrong. The whole towel thing was her way of offering him a gift.
Avalon wanted him, and he most definitely wanted her.
His whole body vibrated with need now that he was touching her. It was like she set off this craving in him, just by being near.
He was glad.
“So, you were trying to get me naked, huh?” He kept his voice light, even when all the emotions in his body were the exact opposite. He could feel the dark, and instead of falling into it, he was praying Avalon would save him again.
“Don’t laugh at me,” she said, her voice quivering.
“Avalon,” he whispered.
When she tried to pull away, he wouldn’t let her go. “How could you think that I’m laughing at you? I’m laughing at me. You made a play for me, and I was an idiot. You have to know that you’re beautiful. Why wouldn’t I want you?”
“Because I’m nothing,” she whispered. “No one sees me.”
His heart ached. “I see you, Avalon. I see the beautiful arch of your throat, and I want to run my lips across it. I see how silky your hair is, and I long to feel it against my skin. I see everything about you, and that makes me want you even more.”
She didn't speak.
Nate knew he needed to go about this a different way. He had to find a way to relate to her. “What color is my aura?” he asked.
She stared at him. “It’s red.”
“What’s that mean?”
For the first time since he touched her, Avalon realized his upper body was completely naked. Slowly, she ran her fingers down his chest, letting them caress every inch of him.
He moaned at the feel of her hands on his body. It was like the dream all over again. The feeling was there as was the touch. Her simplest caress had him so wild that he was pretty sure he’d burn up, like his aura.
“Nathaniel,” she whispered.
When she breathily said his name, it made his heart skip in his chest. Nate’s mind was made up. He was on this path, and he’d be damned if he didn't enjoy his last journey.
Screw it.
He wanted her.
From the second she appeared in his dreams, a part of him knew. She wasn’t lying. His soul had called out to hers across the distance for one reason.
Not to save him, but because she was the one.
“Let me have you, Avalon. I need this. I need us. I was a fool before. Please let me make it up to you.”
She didn't stop him. In fact, she’d been waiting for this very moment all her life. He was going to be the first and only man she ever loved.
This was her destiny.
“Yes, Nate. I’m yours.”
Her words set off the storm in him. As soon as he pulled her mouth to his, sinking into the kiss, everything exploded around them.
He took.
Plundered.
Ravaged.
His mouth drank in all that she was, wanting everything she had to give. There’d be no half-assed seduction. Nate wanted Avalon to the deepest depths of his soul. She’d offered herself to him, and he wasn’t strong enough to say no.
Tonight, he’d take her up on the offer.
Tomorrow, he’d deal with the consequences.
Avalon had no choice but to cling to him, letting Nate control it. When he reached down to pull her nightgown over her head, revealing what lie beneath, her breath was already coming in heavy gasps.
He was consuming all of her.
She knew it would be just like this. Here was the fire, and she was going to go up in flames.
“Oh, Avalon,” he whispered as his mouth moved across her collarbone to the long slim column of her throat. “You’re amazing,” he whispered, as the light from the bathroom threw a yellowish hue across her almost naked body.
“Nathaniel,” she whispered, not sure what to say. So much was coming alive in her, and she couldn’t believe that this was what making love felt like. They’d never consummated their relationship in the dream because she wanted this.
Avalon needed to feel it in real time.
This man was wild, and he was setting her free. Even while trapped in this life, Nate was giving her something she never thought she’d have.
He swept her up in his arms and then carried her to the bed. Once there, he rested his prize in the middle before he began stripping out of his jeans.
She never looked away.
His aura was too beautiful.
Nate was having a difficult time thinking. Even with those sightless, pale blind eyes, he could feel her gaze on him, and it made him wild. Dropping his boxers, he climbed onto the bed and over her body. With his mouth he plundered the depths of her’s until Avalon gave back everything he was offering.
The lust surrounded them.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he whispered, moving down her body to torment her full breasts. She drove him insane when her hands found his hair, holding him to her.
He couldn’t wait anymore.
While he wanted to go slow, savoring each touch and taste, but if he didn't have her now, he’d die.
Nate actually believed it would happen.
With one hand he braced himself over her as he tormented her breasts, and with the other, he tugged the pale pink panties down her hips. As soon as she was free, his fingers found her, testing the wetness.
She was ready.
“Avalon,” he murmured, like her name was some secret word that would get him access to the treasure he wanted most. “I need you.”
When he nudged her legs apart, she was lost in the sensation of him stroking her. His fingers teased and offered so much pleasure. When she gasped at his touch, Avalon could feel the tip of him ready to slide into her body.
He was claiming her. The visions had been right. It was all happening around her.
Pleasure swamped Avalon as she held onto his body, memorizing every second in case it never happened again.
Then Nate took her.
When he slid deep into her body the pain struck, causing her to whimper.
Nate heard it, and the sound of her distress pulled him from the pleasure. “Avalon?” he asked, as the tears filled her eyes.
This wasn’t right.
The simple act of making love shouldn’t hurt her.
Unless…
Jesus!
What had he done?
“I’ll be okay,” she whispered, turning in shame. Her hope was that she could fake her way through it, and he’d never notice. Obviously, she’d been a fool.
Her words tore at his heart.
“Are you a virgin?” he asked, struggling to not move in her body. The last thing he wanted was to make her suffer.
“Yes.”
“I didn't know,” he whispered, debating what to do. “I’m sorry. I didn't know. Why didn't you say something?” he asked.
“I didn't tell you because
then you wouldn’t want me. No one ever wants me.”
Her words horrified him. It was obvious that this was far deeper than sex. “That’s not true, Avalon. I would have still wanted you, only I wouldn’t have rushed through this. I would have done it differently. There’s a right way and a wrong way. This wasn’t how I would have done this.”
She blinked away the tears as he started to slide out of her body. “Please. Don’t. I’m sorry.”
With the pads of his thumbs, he wiped the tears away. “I don’t want you to apologize for this. I still want you, Avalon, but if we’re going to do this, let me give you something to remember. This is about you, Avalon. It should be about you.”
When she relaxed, reassured that he wasn’t going to leave the bed they were sharing, he started all over. Now, he’d really seduce her. She was giving him one hell of a gift, and he wasn’t going to rush.
His mouth made love to hers. Slow, silkily, and without hesitation. Nate still wanted her, but now, she was even more special.
She was only his.
No one had touched her and that was something you didn't find often.
In that moment, Avalon had become his treasure.
He rolled to his side, pulling her with him. He wanted to cradle her in his arms as he led her into the seduction. As her hands slid down his back, Avalon began slipping into the pleasure.
Together, they were making a memory.
Mouths met, and tentatively, she explored his body with the whisper light kiss of fingertips.
It was maddening, but he held on.
For her, he’d always brave the storm.
“Better?” he whispered, leaving kisses across her delicate features.
“Yes, it is,” she answered, enjoying everything he was offering to her. “I want more, Nate. You won’t break me. I need you to treat me like you would anyone else.”
He wanted to laugh because she was far from the average woman. Already, he could tell she was special. After this moment, no woman would come close.
His heart knew.
His soul knew.
And the way his body was reacting to hers proved that this was something ingrained deep in him.
No, she wasn’t just ‘anyone else’.
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