Donovan
“Alcatraz,” Ash unexpectedly barked in my ear. “I repeat, Alcatraz.”
Tension immediately raced through me. Kate was talking to her manager from the bank, Mrs. Talbot. I moved up close behind her and hissed in her ear, “We have to go.”
She glanced back at me, irritation clear in every line of her gorgeous face until she saw my eyes. Then she stiffened.
“I apologize, Mrs. Talbot,” she said politely, “but it seems we need to go.”
Mrs. Talbot’s eyes narrowed. “Is there some reason why?”
“Yes,” I said in my most authoritative voice, but I didn’t pause to explain. I simply took Kate’s arm and led the way through the crowd to a preassigned door at the back of the ballroom.
“What’s going on?” Kate asked.
“I don’t know,” I said between clenched teeth as I guided her through a narrow hallway and into a busy kitchen.
“You don’t know?”
“All I know is that Ash gave the signal for imminent danger. We have to go.”
She didn’t argue any more. She simply allowed me to drag her through the noise and mess of the kitchen and out the back door where Joss was waiting with the back door to the limo already open. She slipped me my weapon as I passed her.
We were speeding through the alley behind the hotel before the door was completely closed. Joss opened the petition between the two sections of the car and handed me an iPad she kept somewhere nearby at all times to help facilitate communication.
“Safe house compromised,” was all it said at the moment.
“What’s going on, David,” I said into my phone in the silent car, hoping he was still monitoring our smartphones for communication.
“There was an explosion.”
“What?”
Kate was watching me, her face growing more and more alarmed as she watched the tension build in my shoulders.
“At the safe house,” David quickly explained. “The cameras were hacked and when I sent a team to check it out, there was an explosion as they approached.”
“Anyone injured?”
“No. But the house is demolished.”
“Fuck me!” I whispered under my breath. “What now?”
“Ash wants you on a plane to Austin.”
I nodded even though I knew he couldn’t see me. It seemed like our best bet at the moment. Whoever was after Kate seemed to be a step ahead of us, or at least beside us, since the night the security guard was killed. Moving to another safe house here in Santa Monica would just be inviting another disaster like this.
“What’s going on?” Kate asked, her chin trembling as she spoke.
I moved back to her side and took her hands in mine. “We’re going for a little trip.”
“What kind of trip?”
“Ash has a house in Austin, Texas.”
She started shaking her hands, panic rising to a boiling point in her eyes. “What happened? Is my dad okay?”
“Of course!” I ran my hand over her face and made her look at me with my fingers hooked under her chin. “If there was something wrong with your dad, I would have told you.”
Tears started to spill from the corner of her eyes. “Then what’s going on?”
“Someone hacked into the cameras at the safe house. And then…” I hesitated because I could see she was on the verge of hysterics and I really needed her to stay calm until we were on the plane and thirty thousand feet over the city.
“And then?”
“There was an explosion.”
“What kind of explosion?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, baby. All I know is what David’s telling me.”
She nodded, taking a deep breath. “Okay.”
“We’re going to a small, private airport outside the city. We should be there in a few minutes.”
“What happens then? How long do we stay in Texas?”
“Until Detective Warren can figure out who’s behind all this and decides it’s safe for you to come back.”
“That could be months.”
I shrugged, dragging my thumb over her bottom lip. “It could be months…all alone. Just you and me and the woods of central Texas.”
She smiled despite the tears. “No cameras?”
“No cameras.”
She curled up against my chest, sniffed a few times, then pulled back to look at me again, the tears gone.
“Okay. I’m okay now.”
“I’m going to protect you, babe. I promise, nothing will happen to you.”
She leaned into me and kissed me gently. “I know.”
I cradled her against my chest and settled back against the seat.
We arrived at the airport a few minutes later. Joss pulled the car right up to the boarding ramp to the plane. She turned and reached her hand through the partition. I squeezed it.
“See you.”
She nodded.
I opened the door and stepped out, reaching back for Kate. We boarded the plane and the steward pulled the ramp up immediately. The plane began to roll toward the runway as Kate and I took seats inside.
“Who does this belong to?”
I reached over and pulled her belt a little tighter. “It’s Ash’s.”
“Ash’s? Where does he get all the money?”
“His father came from a wealthy family.”
“Oh.”
She glanced out the window and grabbed hold of the armrests, her knuckles going white. I slipped out of my seat and moved into the captain’s chair beside her. After I was buckled, I took her hand and pulled it onto my thigh.
“Try to relax. We’ll be in the air before you know it.”
And we’d be hurtling toward the unknown.
What the hell was going on here?
Chapter 21
Kate
There was a car waiting for us when we landed. Donovan drove, the two of us alone just like he promised. It was a bit of a drive, further outside of the city than I imagined. It was a beautiful property in the middle of nowhere, another log-cabin-styled house with huge windows with an amazing view. I walked through the rooms, feeling lost. I was thousands of miles away from home and had no idea what I was doing.
“There’re are clothes in the back bedroom,” Donovan said.
Of course.
“Do you know what’s going on back home?”
I saw him, pacing beside the car, talking to someone on the phone. I assumed it was Ash. It was always Ash.
“Yeah. Someone hacked the cameras at both your house and the safe house. When David recognized it and sent a team to check it out, the safe house exploded.”
“The whole house?”
He came up behind me and slid his arm around my waist. “At least we know it wasn’t your stepmother.”
I twisted so that I could see his face. “You thought Veronica could do this?”
“We had her checked out. Turns out there’re some issues your dad’s going to want to discuss with her, but she didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“What kind of issues?”
“Turns out she’s married to some guy in Arizona.”
“What!?” I twisted around and pressed my hands against his chest. “What do you mean she’s married?”
“Warren thinks she’s running a scam.”
I bit the heel of my hand, trying to keep from laughing, but it was almost impossible.
Donovan cracked a smile, too.
“Can you believe that? My dad…oh, my poor dad.”
“At least he won’t have to go through a messy divorce.”
I chuckled again. “Yeah. And the timing couldn’t be better. I think the shine has worn off, if you know what I mean.”
“I think I can guess.”
He grabbed my hips and pulled me close, his lips brushing my throat.
“Is it wrong to be laughing when a house just exploded because of me?”
“It wasn’t your fault, Kate.”
“Was anyone hurt?” I asked, leaning back to look him in eye.
“No. There was a secondary fire in the house next door, but the fire department was able to get it out before it did much damage.”
“That’s good.”
He kissed my neck, a finger caught in the fabric of my dress tugging it off my shoulder. His lips slid over my skin, so warm and reassuring. I ran my fingers over the back of his head, teasing the short hairs there. He tugged the dress a little more, pulling one sleeve down my arm, exposing more of my shoulder, my breast. And then his hand was there, his palm pressed against my hardening nipple.
“You feel so good,” he whispered against my ear.
“Does this place have a bed?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He stepped back and held out his hand to me. I took it and followed him down the long hallway that came off the right side of the front entrance, peeking inside the open doors of the rooms we passed. There were four bedrooms, each completely furnished. And then the master suite, a huge room that could fit the apartment I had just after college twice over. The furnishings were modern, the entertainment system state of the art. It was luxury that went far beyond anything I’d ever experienced.
And what came next…there were no words.
He undressed me as if I was a child, taking his time as he slowly unzipped the back of my dress, his lips skimming my spine as he slowly exposed it. And then he was on his knees. It was the second time he’d done this for me. This big, strong man who’d seen more hell than I could even imagine, on his knees for me. It made my heart tremble in my chest and made my knees grow week.
He slid my panties down, slowly, his lips again following the path the material created. When his hands were free, when I was standing naked and exposed to him in more ways than one, he cupped my ass in both hands, blowing on my moist cunt lips. I reached back and ran my fingers through his hair, encouraging him to move closer. To touch me again. And he did. But it was nibbles on my ass, on the top of my thigh. Not quite what I desperately wanted.
I pulled away from him and turned, sinking down onto the edge of the mattress. A slow smile slipped over his lips as he stood again, shrugging out of his tuxedo jacket. The shirt was next. He moved slowly, deliberately, careful to set his cuff links on top of the dresser so that they wouldn’t be lost. He kicked off his dress shoes and turned back to me, standing in front of me as he began to tug at the hook that kept his pants tight around his waist.
I helped him, tugging at the zipper, slipping my fingers inside and running my fingernails against the underside of his rigid cock. He closed his eyes for a second, but then his eyes were on me again.
“You are so beautiful,” he said.
“You’re not so bad yourself.”
He smiled again. “I don’t think I’ve gotten such a nice compliment.”
“I doubt that. I’m sure some of your clients—”
He groaned. “You’re not going to let that go, are you? Tell you one thing…”
I tugged at his pants, pulling them free and watching them slide slowly over his hips. Then I slid my hands under his boxer briefs, smiling when he groaned again.
“I want you,” I said softly.
He pushed me back against the mattress. “Say it again,” he said, as he climbed onto the bed, kneeling over me. “I want to hear you say it again.”
I reached up and touched his cheek. “I want you.”
He kissed me deeply, a kiss that was more than just a touch. It was one of those kisses that touched you in places that can’t be reached any other way. I wrapped my legs around him and pulled him down to me, kneading my fingers into his muscles. He slid inside of me carefully, gently. And then he began to rock his hips. It was slow and gentle, less physical than it’d been before. This was the man who took my virginity, the love of my life who was so gentle, so caring. It was an experience so different from those of my friends that it made everything that came after pale in comparison. Not that much came after.
My heart just wasn’t in it. Donovan was…he was just Donovan.
***
That dream that I’d had the night before that left me feeling uneasy was back. It was a jumble of images, things I couldn’t grab even if I’d wanted to. And the truth was, I really didn’t want to. There was something that frightened me beyond words. I couldn’t begin to describe it.
It began at a diner in downtown Santa Monica that I frequented. I was sitting on the patio, as I often did, and someone joined me. I couldn’t see this person’s face, but I had a sudden sense that this person meant me harm. And then it shifted. I was inside a car and I needed to get out for reasons I didn’t know, but I couldn’t find a way out. The windows wouldn’t break and the doors wouldn’t open.
The dream shifted again. I was in the bank, laughing at something a customer had said. But then this overwhelming sense of dread washed over me and I began to scream with a terror that I could feel clear down to my bones.
“Kate! Wake up, Kate!”
I heard his voice, but I couldn’t make my eyes open. The panic was just overwhelming, making me feel as though I was drowning. I’d never had such a nightmare before. I had bad dreams, dreams about Joshua, but never anything like this.
“Kate!”
And then I was just conscious. I sat up, gasping for air. Donovan was behind me, his lips next to my ear.
“You’re okay, baby.”
I turned and threw my arms around him, burying my face against his shoulder. Feeling his arms around me dispelled some of the dread and the panic, but not all of it. It seemed to settle around my heart with big, long, cold fingers.
“You’re okay,” Donovan just kept whispering over and over again until I slowly began to believe him.
Chapter 22
Donovan
“I’m the one who’s supposed to have the bad dreams,” I said, setting a cup of steaming coffee in front of Kate.
“Must be the crazy bomber who’s after me.”
“Maybe.”
I sat in a chair across from her, afraid if I was too close to her I would be too tempted to touch her. She looked up, a little smile telling me she understood.
“Tell me what you remember about that night.”
She shook her head. “I told you already.”
“No. You left something out.”
“Donovan—”
“You forget, I’m the one with the stellar lying ability. Not you.”
That small smile widened. “I remember you had the entire senior class convinced that you were related to Brad Pitt.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. Best three weeks of my life.”
She studied my face, then her eyes slowly fell to her cup of coffee.
“Tell me, Katie.”
She moved her hands restlessly for a moment. Then she sighed.
“I went back to the front door of the bank. I convinced Joe to come out and check the parking lot for me.” She shook her head. “If I’d just gone inside and called the police—”
“It’s not your fault, Kate.”
“Isn’t it? He wanted to stay inside. He wanted to call the cops. And now he’s dead and I’m—”
“On the run.”
She ran her hands over the outside of the coffee cup as if she was trying to warm them. And then she pushed back from the table, slamming her hand on the tabletop as she stood.
“Why can’t I remember? I must have seen his face! I must know who it is. But I can’t wrap my head around it…I just can’t—”
“It’s okay.”
I went to her and enveloped her in a bear hug. We stood like that for a long time. Then she pulled away and marched out of the room.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to be alone for a little while.”
I stood there and watched her disappear into the master suite, her spine straight, her shoulders square, but her head down.
I wished I knew what to do to take this away from her. But what could I do?
<
br /> ***
She went for a lot of walks in the woods behind the house for the first couple of days. I watched from the back deck, confident in the fact that this property was surrounded by several miles of electric fence so she was safe. Physically, anyway. But she was trying so hard to remember what happened that night that it was beginning to drive her a little crazy. And she wouldn’t talk to me about it, which was driving me a little crazy.
I grilled a few steaks on the barbecue while she walked. A bottle of wine and a nice salad to go along. I thought that maybe a nice meal might help her relax.
“Should we be drinking?” she asked when she joined me.
“Can’t imagine why not.”
She nodded, lifting the glass to her lips and taking the world’s smallest sip. But then her eyes widened and she took a much deeper swallow.
“That’s good.”
“Ash has many talents. I guess his dad taught him about wines when he was in his teens.”
“Kind of young, isn’t it?”
“Apparently the super wealthy live under a different set of rules than the rest of us mortals.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. She took another sip, closing her eyes and sighing as she did.
“How’d you meet him?” she asked. “I mean, obviously you met in the military. But what were the circumstances?”
“He was my warrant officer.”
“Warrant officer?”
“He was like the team leader’s second-in-command.”
She nodded, watching me with naked curiosity in her eyes.
“It was my second tour of duty and I was assigned to Ash’s team. We spent eighteen months together, him and me and the rest of our team. Did things…” I hesitated, but she didn’t seem to notice. “When I re-upped for another tour, I was assigned to the same team.”
“How many times did you go over there?”
“Four.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Why?”
I looked down at my glass of wine and swirled the bloody red liquid around the clear crystal bowl. I’d asked myself the same question a few times. But I never really came up with a satisfactory answer.
“I guess I didn’t have a reason not to.”
She didn’t say anything. I didn’t really think she would.
DONOVAN: A Standalone Romance (Gray Wolf Security) Page 13