I closed my eyes only long enough to draw in a steadying breath and pull myself together. If someone other than one of the guys was about to come through that door, I doubted they were expecting to find the two of us armed. We had the element of surprise and the advantage, or so I told myself to keep from crawling into the closet and hiding like I wanted to.
The bathroom door at the end of the hall opened, and then the room Nikoli was using. There were only two left to search, James’ room directly across from the one we were in, and this one. The dogs were quiet downstairs, unaware of the near silent intruder lurking up here. The guys outside wouldn’t know to come running until one of us fired a shot.
When the footsteps stopped outside the bedroom we were in, I had to remind myself to keep breathing before I passed out. The next sound we heard was that of tires on the gravel outside coming up the drive. Hopefully it was the cavalry, and hopefully they weren’t too late.
The handle on the door twisted and both Nora and I had our weapons raised and fingers on the trigger, but we never got to pull them. Something slammed into the door, nearly cracking it, followed by more smashing and thuds and a few grunts. It only lasted a minute before the scuffle stopped. Someone hit the floor hard, leaving whoever the second person was, standing.
When Camden’s voice called out, I could have cried.
“You girls alright in there?”
“Yes,” we both shouted in relief, a near sob working its way from my throat.
Another set of footsteps thundered up the stairs.
“Nora!” Spencer shouted.
“I’m fine,” she cried out.
“Stay put and hang tight another minute while we make sure we’re all clear.”
It was several minutes before they returned and we were told we could come out. The guys immediately relieved us of our weapons and then we launched ourselves at them.
I buried my head in Camden’s chest and his arms came around me. “I got you. It’s okay. It’s over now.”
Several silent tears escaped and dampened his shirt. I couldn’t let go. I held onto him for what felt like forever. His hand slid soothingly up and down my back as he continued to hold me tightly and whisper comforting words in my ear, promising me that everything was okay.
I never got to see the faces of the men that came after us. By the time we were led downstairs and seated on the couch, they were already gone, locked up in the back of one of the several vehicles that now filled the driveway. There were cops and agents in suits everywhere, inside and outside of the house, taking statements from the guys until it came time for them to take mine and Nora’s. We couldn’t tell them much, only what we’d heard while we were shut tight in that bedroom. Camden filled in the blanks.
After they’d taken down the first two guys, James saw the man they referred to as Lenkov, on the garage roof. Camden followed him onto the roof and came in after him while Spencer came in the front of the house.
It was a long night before the police and feds cleared out. Spencer was on the phone with Victor Teller. Camden had been on his cell for the last twenty minutes, reassuring his parents that everyone was okay.
It was almost four and I was fighting to keep my eyes opened. Nora had already lost that fight not long after our statements were taken. She was slumped over, her head resting on the arm of the sofa. My brain was still scrambling to process everything, but I doubted any of it would really sink in until after I’d had some sleep. Right now, it all felt like a bad dream.
“Hey, come up to bed.”
I pried my eyes open, not even realizing I’d closed them. Camden was kneeling beside the couch. All the lights were off and Nora was already gone.
I let Camden lead me up to his room, where he pulled me into his arms once more, and rested his chin on top of my head. “It’s all over,” he breathed, I think reassuring himself as much as me.
“So, no more needing your space?” I mumbled into his chest.
He drew back and tipped his head down as he lifted my chin with a finger. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I sighed. “I just didn’t like it. It was only a day and it was awful.”
“I know. I handled it all badly. I was just so scared something was going to happen to you and it would be my fault, because I wasn’t doing my job.”
I hooked my fingers in his belt loops and pulled him flush to me. “Camden, I don’t want to be your job. I just want to be yours.”
“You are baby, you are. All mine.”
“Show me,” I whispered.
He cradled my chin in his hand and brought his lips to mine. The tension that had been between us all day until this moment, broke and I melted into him. Our need met and joined together, building and demanding more with every shared breath.
We stumbled backward to the bed and he dragged me onto his lap. What started out sweet and tender, became something hotter and more desperate. I think we were both still feeling the weight of tonight and how differently things might have played out.
I wanted him to regret pushing me away for even a second. I wanted to make sure it would never happen again. I needed to prove to both of us that I could handle this, that I could take him, all of him. And show him that even after a night like this one, I would come out of it okay as long as he was there at the end of the night to take me into his arms.
With each minute that passed, there were fewer and fewer clothes separating us until there was nothing between us. My skin burned with his touch, the warmth radiating throughout my entire body.
He showed me in every way that I was his.
But he was also mine, and I relished the way my own touch affected him. The way he trembled and shuddered beneath my hands and my mouth. Every kiss, every bite, every caress of his powerful, sculpted body, brought him closer to the same edge I was teetering on.
I was the first to go over in a wave of intense pleasure that exploded inside of me, bringing on his own release. He crumpled on top of me, burying his head in the crook of my neck, before he rolled his weight off me and lay on his back, one arm thrown across his eyes.
Our heavy breathing filled the quiet room.
The first hint of the sun was already beginning to peek through the curtains, but I hardly noticed as exhaustion overtook my sated body. I let it drag me under, feeling perfectly contented beside Camden, whose own steady breathing was slowing with sleep.
It was almost noon when my eyes opened again to find the spot beside me empty. I stretched out on the bed, yawning deeply, letting the events of the night before come back to me.
Part of me wanted to just go back to sleep and forget it all, another part of me was just thankful it was over.
Then my mind was flooded with questions.
Did this mean Nora and I would go back home now? How soon? Tomorrow?
What if Camden changed his mind about taking the job with his brother?
Even if he didn’t, how long before he could move to Seattle?
How long would I have to go without seeing him?
He was like a drug and I was pretty sure the withdrawal would be very real. I groaned and dragged the covers over my head.
All of that could wait until after I’d had coffee and a good-morning kiss. It was in search of those two things that I finally dragged my butt out of the bed and redressed in the pajamas that had been tossed to the floor last night.
It seemed I was the last one to wake and join the others, or almost the last. I noticed Nikoli wasn’t with everyone in the kitchen. Then my brother stood when he saw me and my eyes caught on the duffel bag at his feet.
“You’re taking off?”
He nodded. “Still a few bad guys that need rounding up.”
“I thought it was over.” I looked at Camden.
He set his cup of coffee down. “It is. Early this morning, the feds got a location from the GPS in the SUV they found up the road. They moved on the location and brought in Yuri Egorov and most of his men. He’s what you would call t
he boss, and with him out of the picture, there’s only one man we need to worry about. Alexei Kuznetsov. Unfortunately, he wasn’t brought in with the others. Nikoli is already out there, tracking him down.”
“And I’m heading out to help. I was just waiting for you to wake up.” James scooped up his bag from the floor and gestured for me to follow him out of the kitchen. He stopped in the entryway and set his bag down again.
“I don’t want you to worry. This guy, he’s lost his men and most of his resources. He knows he has to regroup, but we’ll get to him before that happens. Nikoli’s already got a line on him. It sounds like he’s trying to get out of the country. He’s not in a position to come after anyone right now. We’ll wrap this up quick.”
“And then will I see you back at home?” I asked him.
“Yeah, when this is done I’m heading home for a few weeks.” I hugged him and watched him go, duffel bag thrown over his shoulder. He tossed it in the back of his jeep and then drove off down the drive.
Nora greeted me with a steaming cup of coffee when I re-entered the kitchen, for which I praised her with adoration. I groaned, taking that first sip. It was almost like I could feel the life seeping back into my bones.
“Why do you look more excited to see that cup of coffee than me?” Camden teased.
“Give me a minute; I’ll get to you next,” I grinned and took another sip from my mug, closing my eyes as the rich, warm brew rejuvenated me.
I heard his soft, amused chuckle and peeked at him over the rim of my cup, letting myself really take him in now. He looked good in the morning. Hair ruffled from sleep, bare feet peeking out from a pair of sweatpants and the softest looking navy blue tee hugging his torso. I attempted to hide my grin behind my cup as I checked him out, but it was no use. He returned the grin and winked.
I made my way to him, setting the coffee cup down on the counter. He grabbed my hips and pulled me to him.
“Good morning,” I smiled up at him.
“Every morning with you is.” He took his hands off my hips to tuck my hair behind my ears. “You sleep alright?”
“Mmhmm,” I murmured.
“And you know Nikoli and your brother are going to take care of this, that there’s nothing to worry about now?”
“If you’re sure, then I believe you. And I know how hard it must be for you to stay behind. Thank you for that.”
He kissed my nose. “For you, I’d do anything. Now, you hungry?”
“Starving.”
Twenty-Seven
Camden
“You guys will stay for the funeral?”
Emily knelt on the bed. “Spencer wants to be here for it, so we won’t go back to the west side until after.”
I took her hand and tugged her all the way onto the bed. She landed on top of me and I didn’t mind at all. “So, I get you for another few days . . . what ever will I do with you?”
She laughed airily and propped herself up on her hands. “I don’t know, what ever will you do with me?”
I knew exactly what I was going to do with her. Now that I had my house back – Nora and Spencer were at my parents’ again, expecting their return home in the morning – we didn’t have to worry about being discreet.
I could keep her in bed until Friday and not come out except for food and bathroom breaks until it was time to leave for the service.
“I have a few things in mind.” I trailed my finger down her bare arm.
“I’ll just bet you do.” She grinned and pushed herself up fully, sitting astride my hips. “I have a few things in mind myself.” She shoved the hem of my shirt up, scraping her fingers across my abdomen and chest.
My phone buzzed from the nightstand. I grabbed her wrists. “Hold that thought for just a second.” I reached for the phone. “It’s my brother.” She sat back and started to climb off me, but I placed my free hand on her hip and held her there while I answered the call.
“Yeah?”
“They got him. It’s done.”
I breathed out my relief. “Thank you, brother.”
“I’ll see you at the service.”
Once the call was ended I returned the phone to the nightstand and grinned at Emily. “They got him and all the bad guys are in jail. Now, where were we?”
The corners of her mouth turned up and she returned her hands to my chest. “I believe I was telling you about what I planned to do with you.”
“Oh yes, that’s right. Such as?”
“I’d rather show than tell.” She bit her lip and lowered her head, skimming her lips along my chest. She scraped her teeth over my nipple and I sucked in a breath. Her eyes looked up at me through her lashes.
I folded my arms behind my head. “So far, I like where your mind is at, darlin’.”
Her grin spread even wider and then she kissed her way lower. And lower.
Later, when I was holding her in my arms beneath the covers, not a stitch of clothing left between the two of us, she rolled half onto me, throwing her leg over mine and laying her arm across my chest where she propped her chin.
“Were you and Billy good friends?”
I curled my arm around her back and skimmed my thumb over her soft skin, wondering where this was coming from. “When we were younger. He was between me and Spence in age and the three of us were close all the way through high school.
“Spencer joined the military right after his graduation, then Billy went to college at Eastern the next year, so he was still around. A year later I joined him at the university. Lived in the same dorm my freshman year. He took me to my first college party and got me so shitfaced I don’t even remember much of it. We had a lot of good times at college.” I couldn’t help but smile a little just thinking of a few memories.
“Then you both became cops.”
“Yeah, we both became cops. School wasn’t even our idea. That was for our moms, but as soon as we both graduated, we went through the academy. He went the way of state patrol and I joined the SPD, fast tracked to vice and the rest is history.”
“But you stayed in touch?”
“Not as much as I would have liked to, but yeah, there were still cookouts and Fourth of July barbecues with the families. His parents’ deaths hit him hard, and I hadn’t heard from him much after their funerals until I got the news that he’d been shot. Why all the questions?”
“I just want to know you better. I’m really sorry you lost your friend.” She laid a kiss at the base of my throat.
“I just want the person responsible caught.”
“He will be.” She stroked my cheek with her palm and leaned up for a kiss. After several minutes of allowing me to find my solace in her lips, she rested her head on my chest and we lay like that, sharing thoughts and secrets and stories, and sometimes sharing nothing at all except the quiet.
God, she was beautiful and smart and so damn thoughtful, and funny. I was blown away all over again like the day at the river. The more of her she showed to me, the more of her I wanted to have.
“When will you put this place up for sale?”
We’d talked into the wee hours of the morning, and we were both fighting yawns and struggling to stay awake.
“I don’t know. As soon as I talk to a realtor, I suppose.”
“Are you sure you want to give it up? I’ve only been here for a week and I’m a little in love with the place. It’s your home.”
“Nah, I mean, I do love it, but that doesn’t mean I won’t find some place I’ll love even more.” I already knew that place would be wherever she was.
“What will you do with your horses?”
“I’ll probably see if Jack can keep them until I’ve got a place for them over there.”
“There are properties out by my parents’ and some on the bay and up north that I think you would like. Big, private, pretty rural and away from the main part of the city.”
“That sounds perfect as long as you’ll be in my bed every night.” I ran my hand down the curve of her
spine.
“I don’t know about every night, but we can definitely have sleepovers.”
“Then maybe I’ll call a realtor tomorrow.”
She laughed and gently smacked her hand against my chest. “You really are crazy. Sometimes I wonder if you’re thinking with this head at all.” She lifted her hand and cradled the side of my face.
“Can you blame me after that thing you did earlier when you–” She covered my mouth with her hand. A muffled laugh escaped. I captured her wrist and pulled her hand away. “You really are an amazing woman, and not just because you made me come harder than I ever have in my entire life.”
She rolled her eyes. “And don’t you forget it.”
“Believe me, I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon.”
“I meant the part about me being amazing, not the other part.”
“So did I.” I wrapped my arms around her middle and rolled us so that she was on her back and then I proceeded to worship every inch of her amazing body with mine.
We passed two days that way, laughing, talking, intimately getting to know each other in every way in and out of bed. I didn’t even know it was possible to feel about a person the way I felt about her. I kept waiting for the moment when I would be ready for her to go home, to have my space back, but it never came.
Even when we argued, it usually ended with us naked and laughing. Sometimes I wondered if she picked little fights simply because she knew what it did to me when she got all sassy with me.
I had more fun fighting and making up with her than I’d had in any of my brief, past relationships. It became clear to me just how bad I had it for her when I caught myself thinking that even her weird habits were cute. Anyone else and I would have found them annoying as hell, but with her I just found myself chuckling and thinking what a lucky bastard I was that I was the one that got to put up with them.
She had terrible taste in music. She didn’t like sports, but was hooked on cooking shows and reality TV and would use her feminine wiles to manipulate me into changing the channel. And half the time she wasn’t even paying attention, she was working away on her laptop, but I still had to sit through them. I now knew more about the lives of certain celebrities than I cared too, and I was constantly hungry.
Tears of Blue (Shades of Death Book 2) Page 22