She chuckled.
“I’ll use that move Slogan taught me.”
He smirked as he thought about how each of them gave her self-defense techniques and she really took to certain ones.
He rocked his hips against her mound, his cock once again hard and ready to make love to her again. He never got enough of her. None of them did.
“Which move would you use?”
She gave him a funny face as if he were silly for asking.
He chuckled and brushed her hair from her cheek.
“A strike to the throat? Damn, woman, you are fierce, liking that move the most.”
“It will debilitate an attacker. Total shock and awe like Bailey and Harley like to say.” He chuckled.
He stared at her, smirking, feeling a mix of emotions.
“You’re going to like New York. It’s only temporary. We can come back to Salvation during the week for a few days, and in a few months, we can come back and stay for a while. You know I love it here. I love how friendly everyone is, and so supportive. It’s a great place to feel safe and protected. Plus, your good friends Kendrick, Pierce, Frankie, Lou, and Tex are all here. They’ll want to see you guys and hang out.”
“Those guys are fucking crazy. Still doing missions and not wanting to settle down or take a break from that life. Believe me, they wouldn’t care if we didn’t see them for months. They’re hard men. No hearts, really,” he said and stroked over her breast. She caressed his hair and squinted.
“I don’t believe that. You were just like them until I came along,” she said and winked.
He cupped her breast and rocked his hips against her mound.
“There’s something to be said about a sexy woman and her loins.”
“Oh really?” she asked and gave his arm a slap. He chuckled and just stared down into her gorgeous eyes. He loved her so much his heart ached when he thought about it.
“Salvation is a great place. A good place to settle down. To start a family,” he said, caressing her hair. She gulped. She wasn’t ready yet. He understood that. Her fears, her anxiety still in the way of doing certain things.
“Okay. Let’s move this ass before I make love to you again and make us all miss the plane.” She lifted up and kissed his lips. Brady deepened the kiss, and he felt her press her thighs against his hips and thrust upward. Apparently, she was game for making love one more time before showers, getting dressed, and heading to the airport.
He was game, too. Donata was his everything.
* * * *
Vye huddled against the building. She was so exhausted. She didn’t think she could work at the diner much longer. The contractions were coming every few days. The baby was due any time really. Thank God she was looking up and not daydreaming, or she wouldn’t have seen the dark sedan outside of her aunt’s apartment building.
He’d found her. The son of a bitch had somehow found her. She couldn’t let him see her, but she worried about her aunt. She didn’t know what to do, or how long Murdock and his crew of shit had been there. She watched as he emerged with them from the building. He looked pissed off. She waited until she saw him and his buddies leave and debated about going inside. Could one of them be watching the building? She didn’t know, and that terrified her. If Murdock got his hands on her, she was going to get a beating. He would kill the baby. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she felt sick.
Think, Vye. Think like he would. Like someone on the run from death. Take no chances. Trust no one. Do whatever is necessary to protect the baby. Whatever is necessary.
She took a deep breath and then exhaled and rubbed her stomach.
“Okay, baby. We got this. We can’t stay here. We have to go far, far away from here,” she whispered aloud, and then backtracked behind the apartment building and waited a little longer before she entered through the back-exit door. She was shaking so hard, worried that one of the men remained with her aunt to catch Vye, but as she unlocked the door and entered the dark apartment, fear struck her insides, and her heart pounded inside her chest. Where was her aunt?
She heard a noise and then gasped, turned, and saw her aunt with a bag of ice against her cheek. She ran to her.
“Oh God, he struck you? He hurt you?” She cried, tears spilling from her eyes. Her aunt looked pissed.
“He’s an evil man, Vye. He will stop at nothing to find you and to hurt you. You can’t stay here.”
She cried and covered her mouth with her hand. Where would she go? What was she going to do? Her aunt reached out and touched her arm.
“I’ve got a plan. The place I told you about. My cousin?” she said.
They talked about her heading to Texas to her aunt’s cousin’s farm. Ella Brazos was her name and the town called Salvation supposedly was some sort of storybook place.
“It will be a new start for you. You’ll be safe there with my cousin, her sons, her husbands, and their friends. All good people.”
“But what if he follows? If he somehow finds me? He struck you, threatened you. He could kill you, and anyone who helps me.”
“I’ll take the proper precautions, and when it’s safe, when he gives up, I’ll come out there and see my great nephew,” she said and covered Vye’s belly with her hand. Tears continued to flow.
“Will I ever be free from him? From the abuse, from his desire to own me in every way?”
“I pray he won’t ever find you and the baby, ever. My cousin Ella will know what to do and how to handle things. You trust her. You get to the farm, no matter what. She’ll explain how things work out there. About the rules, the security they have in place to protect women like you, women in predicaments with nowhere else to turn.”
“I don’t understand. Is it like some sort of women’s shelter or something?”
“No. You’re family. She’ll take you in. She’ll help you deliver that baby. She’ll have her sons, her husbands, and others watch over you.” Her aunt cupped Vye’s cheek.
“You are a beautiful, strong woman. I don’t want you to have the life my other aunt has and is stuck with. That’s one of Ella’s sisters. You’re twenty-four years old. You have this baby to protect and to raise right. You’ll do that as long as we can keep Murdock from finding you. Don’t let your guard down. Be smart from here on out.”
“Are you sure this is going to work?”
“It’s going to work. You just need to get there.”
Aunt Gay hugged Vye tight and Vye prayed she would survive this ordeal. She was scared to travel to Texas alone. Terrified that Murdock would continue to hunt her down, yet determined to somehow make it and have a real life, a safe life, and make the baby her focus.
“I’m going to make the call. Pack your things, not too much, and the cash you have saved. You’ll need some of it for your travels. It’s going to take a long time traveling by bus. Maybe rent a car a few states away, just in case Murdock has a way of tracking you somehow. Remember to not take any chances trusting anyone but Ella. She’ll be expecting you. You just get to the address I give you, and it will be just fine. You’ll see.”
Vye nodded as more tears fell and then she gulped, straightened out her shoulders, and quickly started packing.
* * * *
“Where the hell is she? Her aunt was fucking lying. I know she was.”
“Maybe not, Murdock. She was scared of you. Took that hit and looked terrified. I think, if she knew anything, she would have said something,” Detrix said to him.
“I can’t take this. I’m under too much stress, man.”
“Calm down, Murdock. Does she really matter? I mean, we made a shit load of money in one hit. One fucking hit. You can have all the women you want now.”
“That’s if we don’t get fucking caught. It was risky ripping made men off.”
“Shhh, no one fucking knows that but us. We got this. Just keep your mouth shut and let it ride. I’ll have another hit, an even better one, the biggest one all set up shortly. Mark my words, you don’t need that preg
nant bitch, a fucking baby, and responsibility like that in your life. Not when you can live like a fucking king with pussy at every corner,” Detrix said and smiled wide.
They got into the car and Murdock eased back into the seat. He looked at the apartment as they pulled away. He wasn’t giving Vye up just yet. She was special, had been a virgin until he bagged her. The thought of another man one day being able to touch her, possess her, hell, fuck her, made him see red. If he couldn’t have her, then no other man would. He’d end her life and that baby’s life. Then, he would move on.
Chapter Two
“I’m fucking tired. Thank God that was the last fucking job for a while. Holy shit,” Lou said and collapsed into the chair in the living room.
“It felt good to take a shower. To get all the grime, the days of sweat and death from my clothes. What a fucking messed up situation out there,” Frankie stated and ran his fingers through his hair, then rubbed his black beard before leaning back into the chair. His hair was still wet from his shower, but he was happy to be home in Salvation and back on their ranch.
“Beers?” Tex called out from the kitchen.
“Fuck yeah,” Pierce stated, joining them in the living room next.
Kendrick walked into the room dressed and looking ready for a fight or something.
“Where the fuck are you going?” Lou asked him.
“To get some fucking action. Three damn fucking weeks in the jungle, gotta make sure the dick still works,” Kendrick said, and smoothed his hands down his shoulder-length blond hair. He looked untamed and women were drawn to him.
“You’re out of your fucking mind, and would be lucky to even get it up, never mind find a woman ready to jump right into bed,” Frankie said to him in disgust. That was his brother’s way of handling the shit they saw, experienced, and were exposed to—dead bodies…women, children killed for no fucking reason other than to make a statement against the government and as retaliation against these rogue terrorist groups. Keep them all fucking over there, and not here in the U.S., Frankie thought, then accepted the cold beer from Tex.
“You aren’t going anywhere until we debrief. I allowed the showers, but now we need to sit down and go over shit. Then if you still want to go get laid you can do that,” Tex ordered and Kendrick accepted the beer and sat down, moaning about this being bullshit, but he knew the routine. They all did and the others chuckled.
As they went over the details of their latest mission, the taste of smoke, and bad memories came to Frankie in flashbacks. One look at Lou, and he knew his brother was pondering over the same moment as him—Lou holding a dying child in his arms comforting him in his final moments of life. Scarred for life more than likely. This shit was tiresome. There was just too much witnessing of inhumanity, one tragedy after the next. What was this fucking world coming to? Why couldn’t people just get the fuck along? He’d be happy to be out of work. But no, instead, they went out to these fucking places and tried to save lives, and if they were too late then they took out the ones responsible, or at least the ones they were ordered to. That was another thing. The orders, the commands to stand down when they could eliminate threats entirely. It was frustrating and he was at his wit’s end.
Once they were done going over shit, recapping what they saw and witnessed and expressing frustrations, Tex just nodded. He was so desensitized to feelings and emotions, just like the rest of them.
Lou stood up when they were done, just as thunder began to rumble and rain started again. A shitty, fucking night.
“I’m going out with Kendrick. I could use a little distraction, and I’m kind of wired now,” Lou said, and Kendrick slapped him on the shoulder.
“Let’s go get some action, bro,” Kendrick said, and he and Lou headed out of the house.
“You’re going to have to sit him down, Tex. You know that,” Frankie said to him.
Tex leaned back in the chair, took a slug from his beer, and nodded.
“Let them burn off some steam. I’ll talk to them tomorrow or whenever they show back up here and are sober,” he said and Pierce chuckled.
“I’m going to bed. Don’t sign us up for anything for a few weeks. This one did me in and I need recovery time,” Pierce said and Tex nodded, then left the room leaving Frankie and Tex alone.
“I don’t know, Frankie. Things are changing. Pierce could have taken a hit to his neck if that shot was just a hair off and the vest didn’t catch it.”
“We all took fucking hits this time. It could’ve ended for all of us there. Maybe taking more time and choosing the fucking missions we want, and having more intel on them would be better. We ain’t getting any younger.” Tex swallowed a slug of beer and then exhaled. “I remember when thirty was knocking at my door. Now I’m two years from forty,” Tex said.
“I’m right fucking behind you. You don’t need to tell me. Things are aching that never ached before.”
Tex chuckled.
He leaned back and exhaled, then rubbed his face.
“Changes are coming, Tex. It just ain’t the same anymore. Maybe we should consider doing the side work for Brady, Slogan, Harley, and their friends from New York?”
“I don’t know if that’s my thing. It isn’t like we need to work. We got a lot of fucking money,” Tex added.
“We need to do something or we’ll lose our fucking minds and become fucking weak. Maybe we can expand that security detail for Ford and the sheriff’s department. It won’t take us too far and definitely not out of the fucking country. The money isn’t bad and we can wear plain clothes. No fucking uniforms. We could all train the men and women involved in the programs?” Tex said to him.
“We should consider it. Maybe talk about it more this weekend.” Thunder struck loudly and rain began to pour down.
“Damn, I think it’s going to be a bad one.”
“And those two jackasses went out driving in it. Hope the bridge doesn’t flood out again.”
“Those crazy bastards would find a way to cross it.”
Tex laughed.
“One more beer?” he asked Frankie.
“Two more and then bed.”
* * * *
“Come on, baby, don’t come now. Please just wait until we get to Aunt Ella’s place. It isn’t too far,” Vye said aloud and tried breathing through the contractions. They were bad. They were close together. She panicked as she rounded the corner just as lighting struck, and a tree fell down in front of her, slamming against the windshield. She screamed and jerked the wheel before hitting her head on the steering wheel. She was stunned a moment. She reached up, touched her fingers to her forehead, and felt the blood as water started to come into the car.
The car was moving sideways. She was going to be taken away and pulled into the water below. “Oh, God, no!” she cried out to the darkness. She undid her seatbelt and pulled the shoulder bag with her money inside over her head, but as she went to move, she felt dizzy and the contractions intensified.
“I’m going to die out here and so is my baby. Oh, God, help me. Help me,” she cried out. Suddenly she saw headlights, and then men getting out of a truck. The tree was over the hood of her car and glass was all over her lap and the coat she wore.
She was petrified. When the man with the brown crew cut hair approached, along with another one with long blond hair, she felt lightheaded. He got the door open.
“What in God’s name are you doing out here this time of night?” the blond yelled out, then squinted at her, apparently seeing the blood on her forehead.
“Help her, Kendrick. She’s hurt, and the bridge is flooding out. It’s going to take the damn car,” the other one yelled.
“Come on, honey,” the other one said as more lightning struck and thunder rolled. The blond reached for her as the car rocked, water splashed up onto them, and she felt her water break. Her eyes widened and she tightened her hold on him. He lifted her out like nothing and then carried her across the deep water and to their truck. They got her inside.
* * * *
Lou stared at the gorgeous blonde in the back seat of their truck. As Kendrick got into the driver’s side, Lou got in the back with her and reached for the first aid kit.
“Where the hell are you heading this time of night and in a storm like this?” Lou asked as Hendrick turned in his seat and looked at her, too.
She had gorgeous baby blue eyes, blonde hair, and full, pink lips. She was so strikingly beautiful, he couldn’t even process his thoughts. She held her arms over her stomach and that was when he noticed how round she was.
“Please. Get me to Ella Brazos’s farm. Please,” she said and closed her eyes, seemingly in pain.
“Ella’s? Honey, you need a hospital,” Kendrick stated.
“We aren’t getting her to one in this weather and with the bridge flooded out. How do you know Ella?”
“Please. The baby is coming. Just get me there,” she said.
“Baby?” Kendrick asked and looked down just as Lou reached out and undid her coat.
“Holy shit. You’re having a baby?” he asked, his heart instantly pounding. His thought about how he found the woman incredibly attractive, but now that he knew she was pregnant, and maybe some guy’s woman, he felt like a dick.
“Where the fuck is the father?” Kendrick asked, raising his voice.
“He shouldn’t let you out driving on your own in weather like this. Jesus, what the fuck?” Kendrick carried on.
“Just drive her to our place, Kendrick. We aren’t making it the twenty miles to Ella’s. I’ll call the sheriff,” Lou said, pulling out his cell phone.
She grabbed his hand.
“No. No, please, no sheriff. Just get me to Ella’s,” she stated.
“Honey, it’s too far. Where is the father? Do you want to call him and let him know the baby is coming and that you’re with men that can help you?” Lou asked her. She held his gaze. Her gorgeous baby blues were filled with tears. “There is no father. It’s just me and my baby.”
The American Soldier Collection 18: This Cradle Won't Fall (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) Page 2