She felt herself edging back and nearly climbing to the backrest of the sofa until her butt fell upon it. Her hands braced the sofa.
He chuckled. “Check mate,” his accent laced with victory and smugness.
She hadn’t seen it coming it happened so swiftly. Chogan had, without doubt or hesitation, come from behind the man and the blade he carried is what he used to silence the beast forever. One strike at his throat, one at his scalp.
Olivia gasped. That was the kind of kill she would see in a movie, not real life. Then again, everything that had come her way had been one big horrific movie—everything except for him, for their love—that was real.
“Chogan,” she looked up into his face. His eyes held a calm rage and satisfaction all at once.
“It’s over now,” he said freely. She leaped off the sofa and ran to him. Maybe now wasn’t the time to anchor her body to his, but she couldn’t resist.
“Thank you, thank you so much.” Thanks would never be enough. “Your friends?”
“Putting the trash in the cooler with the other guy. Calling in the locals. It’s over. You’re safe now. But Liv…”
“Yeah?” If he had bad news she was sure she would pass out.
“They are going to arrest your sister. Her admission to what she did to your parents, plus…well, the feds want her to turn on Cordova if they can get that, she might do time or she might get witness relocation, but either way, she isn’t walking away from what she’s done.”
She hugged him again and kissed his cheek. “I don’t care what happens to her, Chogan. I care about you. I care about us.”
He nodded with a smile. “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
Two Days Later
Keisha got in the back of the police car. She knew she was in deep the moment the cops slapped the cuffs on her and told her why she was under arrest, but now they were saying the Feds wanted to talk to her. Maybe she could get Cordova to get her a good lawyer and she could walk free. It’s not as if they had any real evidence other than those military men—God knew military men weren’t all good guys. Maybe she could get sympathy with the judge, or the jury if it went that far.
She was glad to be leaving this boring place. There wasn’t a casino in sight and what could a woman possibly do up here without one of those—sit around and be bored all day? Yeah, her stupid sister would love that. She looked at the tree covered area and shook her head. Stupid mountain fools was all she could think, but as the deputy driving her slowed the car alongside another she was pleasantly pleased when she saw Cordova get out of the other car. Maybe these mountain people weren’t all that bad. This officer was going to accidently lose her and Cordova was going to rescue her.
Cordova sat in the back of the car with his leather jacket all bundled up. The man was attractive in his own way—maybe that air of danger and money was what made her find him sexy because he wasn’t exactly a male model or anything like that. But he had money, and power, and she liked that a lot.
“You were never smart, never smart at all.” He shook his head.
“He was going to pay me so I could pay you.” She put on her sweet voice thinking he would fall for it. Now that things hadn’t worked out she wouldn’t be able to pay him. Maybe she could make some other deal with him instead.
“Wrong. He paid me. How do you think he found you? You weren’t even supposed to live past Sunday. But since you have, know this, if you mention my name, my business, or anything about my family, prison will become a lot worse than hell for you.”
She gasped and her eyes flew wide.
“Those feds are going to try to offer you a deal, maybe even protection to rat me out but believe me when I say you won’t live past sundown that day if you say yes. Be smarter this time, Keisha, because what I can do to you…you won’t like it. I have people everywhere. Now,” he pointed out the window at the cop standing off to the other side of the street. “He’s going to get back in here and take you where you need to go. Remember what I said.”
Keisha felt her heart sink. The man she thought might help her had been willing to kill her all along. From what he said that assassin was going to kill her and he knew about it. As angry as that made her she wasn’t so sure she would listen to him. She would tell the Feds everything and they would protect her. Yeah, maybe she could get some special team like what Olivia had. She hated her sister, always had and always would, but if she could get military men to protect her then Keisha was sure what she had would make the Feds do the same for her. Yeah, that bastard Cordova should sip his last glass of Whisky because she was going to sing like the cliché canary. He was going down. She had set her mind firmly to that task and she wouldn’t fail.
Chapter Seven
“Six months,” he watched Liv as she moved around his kitchen as if she were floating on air. He hadn’t seen her this happy—ever really, but especially not since the hell she had found herself in. “I’m totally free.”
He sighed. “Yeah, I know. But…Liv…are you sure you’re okay. I mean your sister’s body was found a week after our wedding.”
“I know. But you know evil people always get their comeuppance and what she did to our parents is just unforgivable so I think Karma made sure she got hers in return. Now,” she tacked her hand to her waist. “I’m more worried about you. I’m sure they’re going to call you up to go do something dangerous again soon.”
“Nah.”
“Yeah right. You’re too good not to get a call.”
“I got one a month after our wedding. I turned it down. I put in my papers and everything just went through. Trust me, some people fought it hard, but a call to Autumn, and her connections helped push it through finally. So, I’m out—officially.”
“Yes!” She jumped up with her fist up in the air landed on her feet and did a little happy dance before her face turned serious. “Oh, I know you loved what you did.” She said in a tone that was supposed to be comforting as if he had lost his favorite job, but the look on her face, and that previous reaction, told him she was happy he was out.
He chuckled. “Faker. I know you’re happy. My parents are happy too. But maybe they aren’t as happy that I’m moving us to Arizona.”
“Arizona!?”
“Baby you are going back to school. You wanted to be a Vet and you’re going to be a Vet.”
“But…”
“You’re going.”
“What about you? What are you going to do?”
“Oh I know a man who knows a man who knows a woman who knows a man who has a security company in Scottsdale.” He heard the sharp, very dramatized exhausted yell before Olivia did a highly controlled faint to the floor before throwing her arm over her eyes.
“Security is dangerous.”
He laughed as he approached her and rested his body on top of hers. The woman should know better than to fall on her back in this kitchen. Their first time he had taken her against the wall, but the floor was a good place to get her naked and take her too.
“Aye,” he nodded. “But I’m really just going to be helping come up with new security systems and getting them installed. I’m not guarding anybody’s body but yours, love.”
“Oh,” she smiled up at him. “Good, because mine has become two so um…we’re pregnant.”
“Whoa!”
“I hope you really want this.”
“When did you…how long?”
She smiled. “I took the test this morning while you were gone and ran to the doctor, pretty much begged my way in and got conformation. She says I’m about five months.”
“Five months?”
“Yeah, flat as a pancake—but my but does look a little bigger don’t you think?”
“Five months…” he shook his head and placed his hand over her stomach.
“You don’t want him, or her?”
“I do. I definitely do. But babe, you and school…you can do both you know.”
“I know. And I think I will, but…”
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“But?”
“You have to let me up so I can show you.”
He was reluctant to let her up but he did anyway. He watched as she walked over to the drawer and pulled something out of it. When she turned it over he saw the picture of the baby. She had worked hard to get this much information and he was sure of that.
“Does our baby have two heads?”
She started laughing so hard.
“This isn’t funny.”
“Yeah, it kind of is. No, our baby doesn’t have two heads. He’s just very much like you—protective. That head would be his sister’s head.” She pulled out another one. “See, two babies.”
“Two babies?!” Now maybe it was his time to faint. “Thank the gods.”
“For giving you very strong swimmers and me a very active set of ovaries?”
“Hell yes,” he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “We tell my parents and they might not let us out of New York.”
“Well I was just thinking about that.”
“You don’t want to go?”
“I do. I was just thinking Arizona is very Southwest yet still has plenty of artsy places where I am sure your father could open a store. There’s even universities he could open by…or who knows what he might want to get into stocking in his store. And with us having babies, I think we could get them both to move to a warmer climate. He could sell the New York store or keep ownership and find a way to manage both. What do you think?”
“I think you’ll never be able to get rid of my mother,” he laughed.
“Well see now that’s why I’m thinking we move them to Tucson and us to Scottsdale.”
He tossed his head back on a loud laugh. Yeah, life was going to be good—better than good. And he couldn’t wait to experience it with her.
About the Author
Capri Montgomery is an author of multicultural and interracial suspense, science fiction and contemporary romance. Her passion for writing started at a young age and she has been turning the movies playing in her head into written works ever since. She is passionately exploring worlds one book at a time.
When she’s not writing, Capri enjoys nature—unless the insects are biting her, traveling, old movies, art, photography, playing cello, and exploring emotions and worlds through music.
Find more information on books by Capri Montgomery at:
Blog: http://caprimontgomery.wordpress.com/
(Print books) www.lulu.com/haremnights
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/caprimontgomery
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvOy7PHN-o98TH05a16tjpA
Kill List (Special Ops #8) Page 13