Stone (The Elite Forces Series Book 3)

by Kathy Coopmans

  “There are inches of that cock that you’re not reaching. Take every single one. I want to see it all buried deep in that hot little mouth of yours.” God, the man is a filthy talker. I’d be lying if I said his words along with his taste, his thrusts, and my fingers now sliding in and out of me aren’t a turn-on.

  I get up higher on my knees so I can take the rest of him into my mouth. My lips gladly slide down to where my hand is lightly stroking. His rhythm matches my pace. His pants mix with my moans. His hand pulls tighter on my hair as I bob, lick, and suck him like I own him.

  When I feel my own release ready to crash into me like one of the waves in the ocean, I release my fingers and circle my clit eagerly.

  “That’s it. You need to come for me. It’s right there, isn’t it? You want to explode on your fingers. I’m almost there,” he growls out. He’s right. Even though no one can see us from where we are, this is the most daring thing I’ve done. None of the kinky stuff we did last night compares to feeling the sand on my knees, the hot sun beating on my ass while sucking a man I’m falling for with the water crashing into the rocks behind us.

  When I feel my orgasm rip through me, I lay my tongue flat under the head of his dick and apply pressure to that sensitive spot. My hand moves, and when he comes in my mouth, I take it all.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  HARRIS

  I’m standing next to Kaleb, waiting on this Samantha girl to come through these doors. We have a picture of what she looks like, and I can imagine she’s going to be on guard the instant she sees the four of us. Kaleb and I both look like we’re bouncers in a fucking club standing here with our arms crossed, so I try to stand at ease even with the stress pulling my muscles tighter by the second. The mere fact that Ty’s siblings are standing here like vultures ready to dip down and attack isn’t helping any of us either. Thank fuck we’re standing far enough away that she won’t notice us.

  The second she walks through the side door to the front lobby where we were asked to wait, I know she’s here. I watch every step she takes until Jade makes a move toward her after she greets the receptionist in her foreign language that’s barely above a whisper. Emmy follows Jade, and I can tell the girl is startled when they introduce themselves. They both begin to talk quietly to her so as not make a scene, and before long, she agrees with a slight nod of her head before the three of them walk toward Kaleb and me, just like we hoped.

  “Kaleb. Beau. This is Samantha. She’s agreed to tell us what she knows for a few minutes, but she needs to get back to work shortly.” I watch Samantha frantically look around behind her and can only imagine her issues if the wrong person sees her talking to us. She knows something. I can feel it. She’s scared.

  “What do you know about Ty Maverick?” Kaleb cuts to the chase. Her eyes can’t hide the fact she knows him, but we already knew that.

  “We used to date.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. The way she talks low and soft tells me she doesn’t want to talk to us here in the open. However, she also looks even more terrified now, and I begin to get even more apprehensive as she continues to look around us like she’s worried about being watched.

  “Can you tell us what you remember about the places he used to stay and the people he would run with?” She stops listening to Jade the second the door she just came through flies open.

  In walks a little boy, four…maybe five years old, strutting his stuff and no doubt looking like a Maverick. You have got to be shitting me? My gut drops. What in the hell? There’s no doubt that kid is…Holy shit, Ty was a father.

  Samantha instantly begins to move around frantically, guiding the little boy out of the room and back through the door with the older woman he came in with. I pick up on her words she says in Spanish she throws at the woman. She’s pissed off he was allowed out here after she specifically told her to keep him in the back room. My heart begins to thump as I think about what’s happening here.

  Kaleb and Emmy have both just found out their brother had a baby. The first child in the family, and neither of them knew anything about him. The shocked look on both of their faces saddens me, so I try to save this meeting with her before she runs or before Kaleb loses his temper and Emmy begins to cry with the unshed tears that are watering her eyes.

  “Cute little guy you have there. Did Ty know he was a father?” She looks down and starts to fidget with her hands even more than she was before. Christ, this puts a whole new twist into this fucked-up mess. There’s an innocent little boy involved here. No wonder she’s a nervous wreck.

  “He didn’t care. He threw us away like we were trash.” A tear falls down her cheek. I move to brush it from her face, but she ducks quickly as if I was about to hit her. This makes me feel like shit, and I realize I need to be careful with this one.

  “I’m sorry. Can we just get this over with? What do you want from me? It’s hard for me to do this. Ty was a terrible man, and frankly, I’m stunned here. My son looks so much like you and Ty.” She points at Kaleb, and I now know where this is all going. She was terrified of Ty, and I’m sure it’s justified.

  “This is Kaleb. And this is Emmy. They are Ty’s brother and sister.” I point as Kaleb takes a step back, probably picking up on her fragility. Emmy moves closer, and I can tell her heart is feeling the small boy under the same roof with us right this very minute. She looks broken-hearted, and for a moment, my mind is not only on my own demands for this meeting, but on the two of them as well.

  “I know who you are,” she says. There is concern and fear radiating off of this woman like a beam full of pending doom. Shit is not right here.

  “Can you help us? We need to see if you know anything that would help us with information about who killed my best friend.” Her face freezes as if someone actually slapped her, which doesn’t deter Jade’s determination at all when she keeps moving forward. I stand back as well and let the women talk to her. The way she reacted to me only tells me she may respond better to them.

  “I don’t know anything.” She's quick to respond and begins moving toward the door.

  “Please. Someone killed my best friend. She was carrying a baby. Please give us just a little bit of your time to see if you can help. You’re a mother, so I’m sure you understand how devastating this is for us.” Jade’s pleading grip on her arm seems to soften her face just enough that she nods to at least agree to another meeting.

  “I really need to get to work now. Can you meet me tonight after work? I don’t know if I can help, but I’ll listen and see if I know anything. But we have to do it in privacy.” She looks around like she’s watching over her shoulder, so I do the same. When I don’t see anyone of concern, I focus back on her.

  “I leave here at three. Meet me at the bar in the back.” She walks away, and we all stand there in a fog of astonishment. Jade moves to Kaleb and wraps her arms around him. I watch Emmy’s shoulders move inward as she begins to process what just happened.

  I have to hold her. I can’t just let her feel like this and stand by and watch. She doesn’t open up to me when I wrap my arms around her; she just stays frozen in a state of disbelief even when I turn her so that I can hold her head against my chest.

  No one says a word. We don’t make promises of finding their nephew or scheme a plan to work Samantha harder for information. That little boy changes everything, and I hope his mother comes through with meeting us at three. Something tells me she’ll have a lead that will get us Mallory’s killer.

  We all go to our rooms. Emmy still hasn’t said a word. I lie on the bed and watch her mind running in circles while I try to think of something to make this better. Truth is, there isn’t much I can say. “You want to talk about it?” I ask.

  She buries her head even further into the pillow before she sits up and responds, taking the pillow with her, clinging it to her chest for comfort. “It never even crossed my mind he’d have a child. Now I’m wondering how many more there are. How am I supposed to go home knowing someone relat
ed to me lives in this hell? You can tell his mom is or was abused by the way she reacted, which means he probably is too.” I sit up to face her and try to reassure her when the truth is, I can’t.

  “I can only say we’ll make sure he’s protected before we leave. That’s a promise I can make, but we have to see if she knows anything about Mallory.” Her sad eyes immediately look into mine, and I see instant regret flash across her face.

  “I’m sorry. I got so wrapped up in that little boy that I haven’t focused on our real mission.” She looks down at her hands that are clenching the pillow like it’s her lifeline. I have to reach for her. I take the pillow out of her hands. If she needs something to hold on to, it’s going to be me.

  Drawing her into my arms, I let the first thing that comes to my mind blurt out. “I have enough focus for all of us. We’ll get through this, Emmy. I won’t stop until we find her killer and he’s protected.” I wipe a single tear from her eye before it runs down her beautiful face.

  “I wonder what his name is,” she whispers.

  “We’ll find out. I promise.” She looks down again, and I decide to let her think about him and not try to distract her from it. He will forever be a part of her heart now. She’s going to need time to adjust to the fact her brother had a child, a child she knew nothing about.

  We only have a few hours until we meet Samantha again, so this can give me more time to prepare myself for questioning her.

  We can’t go in and interrogate her like all of the other people we have. She’s going to have to be treated differently; in fact, it’s like we’ll be tip-toeing around her, and that’s something at least three of us are not very good at.

  “Kaleb looked shocked.” Emmy’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. I just nod. He did. Hell, we all did. I’m sure he’s plotting some way to save the world for that little boy as we speak, because in all honesty, it’s what I’d do; and if I weren’t focused on finding Mallory’s killer, I’d be doing it alongside him.

  My chest feels tight as I think about Mallory more and more. The way Jade pleaded for Samantha to help and just the mention of my baby pulled at every fucking heartstring I have left.

  Going into a meeting like this is something I’d generally get pumped up for and let the adrenaline lead me through getting the information. I’m trying to reel back that urge and go into this like a civilian and just have a simple conversation with her. Scaring her is only going to make her bottle up; I can tell by what she has to loose. Even though we’d never hurt her son, I don’t know what kind of other threats are out there that our visit here could bring her. It honestly wasn’t a concern of mine, until now that I know she has a Maverick in her life.

  “We’ll find her killer. I won’t leave your side until we do.” I can feel Emmy’s eyes on me even through all of my scattered thoughts. I’m used to a game plan and feel like we’re going in blind on this mission.

  “Thank you.” What else can I say? We’re officially in this together now more than ever, and I just hope we can get what we need from Samantha and get home before we try to do anything with the boy. It would make me feel better to have the girls on home soil before anything happens that may require us to possibly return back here. I hate this damn country, but there are answers here. I know it. Answers I need so I can get my revenge. I try to lock the memories I have of Mallory and me in a special place that will never die. I need a spot where love will always remain and for her to know I loved her enough to make sure justice was done in my own way.

  “She seemed scared. Maybe I can offer her and her son a home in The States. I’m sure Kaleb can get them a legal citizenship because of Ty’s terrorist situation with the government.” The sound of Emmy’s loving voice brings me to stare at the incredible woman before me. What she’s saying is a possibility, but whenever you involve government officials, there’s a chance it won’t work out how we hope.

  “Kaleb may already have that in motion.” If I know him at all, he’s already working on it. He has strings he can pull, and there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll use them for family. Family is the one thing he holds very close to his heart. His mother and sister are proof of that, and Ty would’ve been if he hadn’t turned into an international criminal.

  “Maybe we should go to their room and start talking about this. We need to all be on the same page when we meet her. I want to see that boy again. I need to know more about him before we leave here.” I agree. I do need her to know one thing before we head out first though.

  “I want you to know that I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now, but I’m here for you if you need to talk more. And I swear to you, Emmy, no matter what we find out, I’ll do everything to make sure that little boy is protected.” Her response seems pained in the way she smiles tightly but doesn’t respond.

  I reach for her hand and guide her up before we both walk toward the door. The minute the door shuts behind us, the smell of the salty air that should fill my senses with the mere fact we’re in paradise does the opposite. It fills me with dread that we’re about to fall into a web of deceit much worse than finding out about a little boy no one knew existed.

  “Hey.” Jade answers the door with her phone to her ear. The minute Emmy sees Kaleb standing on the deck, she lets go of my hand. She’s in his arms right away, letting the floodgates from their hell open while she cries.

  “Hang on a minute, Steele.” Jade pulls the phone away from her ear, grabs a little silver clutch, and gestures for me to follow her out the door.

  “Find out everything you can about him. There has to be a birth certificate. I also want to know how we can get him across the border if she agrees come with us.” She pauses, and all I can hear is Steele firing off a shit ton of questions at her. “I know all that shit. Just do it.” Pulling the phone away from her ear, she tucks it in her little bag, dragging my ass out of the room behind her and to the nearest bar.

  “What the hell was that all about?” I demand.

  “Kaleb is a mess. I’m doing what he asked me to while he gets his shit together. How’s Emmy?” She rattles off without telling me what she’s doing. I have a feeling I know, but I’d feel better having that shit confirmed.

  “Needing her brother,” I say truthfully. They need to sort this out together. It’s a hard blow to both of them. I can’t even think about how their mom is going to take it. No doubt she’ll fall completely apart.

  “I’ll take a Corona. Hold the lime, please,” she tells the bartender when she approaches.

  “What would you like?” the perky little dark-haired woman whose gaze runs up and down my body seductively asks.

  “Water is good.” I ignore her look all together. Jade goes to speak, but I silence her with a lift of my hand until the bartender delivers her beer and my water, never taking her eyes off of me. I hate women who are blatantly obvious when they look at you like they want to fuck your brains out without caring if you’re standing next to another woman or not. For all this chick knows, Jade and I could be together. The urge to tell her to have some respect sits on the edge of my tongue, but I let it slide, because there are more important things to discuss than telling her I have no interest in her at all.

  “Kaleb wants to know everything he can about that little boy before we meet her. He lost it when he tried explaining to Steele. God, Harris, this is bad. Something isn’t right here. That woman is scared out of her mind to talk to us. Did you see the look on her face when she saw Kaleb? It was like she saw a ghost.” I can’t miss the fright expelling from Jade or the way she guzzles half of her beer in one swallow. She’s as worried as I am.

  “They look a hell of a lot alike. Can’t say I blame her for freaking the fuck out. She handled herself well, but there’s more. I don’t give two fucks what it is she’s hiding from. I’m not leaving that damn meeting until she tells us everything.”

  “We’ll get to the bottom of it. Now, I need to know how you’re doing. And I mean really doing. No bullshit, no saying what you
think I need to hear.” Well, shit. I could use something heavier than a glass of water to oust all the emotions that are pushing and pulling me in every direction. Except I need my head clear for this meeting. What she tells us will determine whether I grab a bottle of tequila and drown my reactions in it or not.

  “I’m hanging in there, if that’s what you mean?” It’s a vague answer.

  “Thanks for pointing out the obvious. I think you know what I mean.” She places her hand on my arm in a friendly gesture.

  “It’s killing me. Is that what you need to hear again?” I spit out. “I feel guilty for sharing a bed with someone else. And shame for not pulling my head out of my ass sooner to find out who killed her. I’m disgusted with myself, because my heart is holding on to something that will never be. So the truth is, fuck no. I’m not okay. I’ve got a woman who I can’t promise a thing to who I know wants more than I can give her. She’s a good woman, and the thing is, I don’t even know if once we get the answers we need, I’ll be able to give her what she deserves.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  EMMY

  All I see is the look on that little boy’s face through my hazy fog of tears. My God, his eyes are the same shape as ours, deeply set and prominent to the extent they dominate his tiny facial features. The only thing separating him and the way Ty looked is the color of his skin and hair. He has his mother’s complexion and dark hair, although while I stand here soaking my brother’s shirt with tears, clinging on to him because I can’t let him go, I remember everything about her too. She’s beautiful in a way I can’t explain. Her exotic look of possibly half Spanish and half American nearly left me breathless to know that Ty was involved with someone so beautiful.