She welcomed Jason’s weight, arching her back to receive his frenzied thrusts. She was too caught up with the emotions her husband had summoned—from the part of her where sanity and insanity merged—to realize the primal forces that had taken over her mind and body; raw, savage screams exploded from the back of her throat just before an awesome climax, followed by two more, consumed her in the hottest fire of oblivion.
* * *
Jason’s growl of sexual triumph echoed in Greer’s ear as he quickened his movements and buried his sex deep within her soft, throbbing warmth. He lay heavily on her slight frame, eyes closed. It had only taken the last seconds of his waning passion to know he would risk giving his life to keep her safe. He loved her just that much.
* * *
A light rain pelted the skylight when Jason finally got out of bed and went into the bathroom to shave. His whiskers were beginning to itch. Greer was still asleep when he walked back into the bedroom to dress. He opened one of the doors to the walk-in closet, then realized he’d given that side of the closet to Greer. A slight frown creased his forehead when he noticed the butt of a handgun in the leather tote she always carried with her. Reaching down, he picked up the deadly looking automatic. Hunkering down, he searched through the bag and found three 10-round magazines and a pair of handcuffs. His breath congealed in his chest when he opened the small leather case to find the badge and picture ID.
His wife was an ATF special agent!
Jason didn’t want to believe the woman with whom he’d fallen in love, married and planned to become the mother of their children didn’t trust him enough to reveal who she was. She’d talked about her ex deceiving her, and she’d done the same with him. At least Larry Hill had had an excuse. He was mentally unstable. Now he understood why she couldn’t accept a recording contract. Why she wanted to keep their marriage secret.
The thoughts assaulted Jason like missiles, coming at him from all angles. He wanted to hate Greer, but he couldn’t. Not when he’d found himself in too deep. What he wanted and needed were answers.
He returned the automatic and the magazines to the tote, but not the case with her badge and ID. Jason couldn’t believe he was so calm as he went about getting dressed. It was as if he’d been shot up with a powerful sedative where he could only react like an automaton.
Dressed in a rugby shirt, jeans and running shoes, he sat down on the side of the bed and stared at the woman who managed to tug at his heart even when they were apart. There was so much about her he didn’t know. His gaze narrowed. What else was she hiding from him? How much of her past was the truth or just lies?
Placing his hand on her shoulder, he shook her gently. Greer moaned, her eyelids fluttering as she came awake. A smile softened her mouth. The smile faded when she stared at what Jason held in front of her face.
Sitting up quickly, she reached for the case but he pulled out of her grasp. “Where did you get that?”
Tossing it over his shoulder, it landing on the floor, Jason grasped her shoulders, pulling her up. “When were you going to tell me?”
Greer’s eyes were wild with rage. “You had no right to go through my things.”
“I have every right, Greer, to know that my wife is leading a double life.” Jason didn’t want to believe he sounded so calm when all he wanted to do was punch something to relieve the rage holding him captive; he’d been a fool, an unwilling victim of duplicity.
“I couldn’t tell you.”
“That’s B.S. and you know it.” The fragile thread on his self-control snapped. “My sisters and cousins are married to federal agents, and at least they know what they do, even if they’re not privy to what they’re working on. You talk about your ex deceiving you. Well you’ve done the same thing to me.”
Greer swallowed the bile in her throat. “It’s not what you think.”
“What am I to think, Greer? You claim you love me, but you don’t trust me. Why?”
Jason was asking questions she couldn’t answer. She hadn’t planned on falling in love or even marrying again. But she did love Jason, more than she could’ve ever imagined. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” he mimicked sarcastically.
Pulling the sheet up to her chest, Greer wound it around her body. Her nakedness wasn’t just about her body but also her emotions. Jason had stripped her bare, forcing her to look inside herself for reasons why she hadn’t told him what she did for a living when Chase knew.
She sat up straight, supporting her back against several pillows. “I didn’t tell you because I hadn’t planned to fall in love with you. But once I did, I knew there was no turning back. I had to play it out until the end.”
“When is it going to end?” Jason asked.
Greer stared over his shoulder, unable to meet his angry expression. “Hopefully soon.”
“I’m not going to ask you what you’re involved with—”
“I couldn’t tell you even if you did,” she interrupted. “The only thing I’m going to say is that this is my last assignment. Once my supervisor secures the warrants and the perpetrators are arrested, I’m handing in my resignation.”
“Have you identified the perps?”
Greer smiled for the first time since Jason had shoved her badge in her face. “Yes.”
Jason’s anger quieted as he tried to put his confused emotions into some semblance of order. He’d been living and sleeping with a woman who carried a firearm as if it were an accessory. “Does Bobby know?”
She nodded. “Yes. He’s known for years that I’m with the ATF. And my brother isn’t just a cop. He’s FBI.”
Jason gave her an incredulous stare. “Was your father just a cop, too?”
“No. He was DEA. And Mother was a forensic technician for the FBI.”
“What the...” He stopped before the curse slipped out. “How can your whole damn family be federal agents?”
“Don’t you dare talk about my family! It’s like the pot calling the kettle black. The Coles have their share of federal agents. At least we’ve never had a spy.”
Jason knew she was referring to Merrick Grayslake. “Don’t try and shift blame, Greer.”
“And don’t you try and act so damn sanctimonious, Jason. Celia told me she didn’t know Gavin was with the FBI until after they’d married and she was pregnant with their daughter. And you know how she found out? By seeing him at a televised press conference,” she said, answering her own question. “At least you won’t have to wait that long.”
He gave her a long, penetrating stare. “Will you be involved in the press conference?”
“I doubt it. I’ve gone undercover before, and the agency wouldn’t want to risk someone recognizing me.”
“Are you undercover now?”
Greer shook her head. “No. I’m what you would call an eyewitness. Or if I was a civilian, then a CI or civilian informant. On the street I would be known as a snitch.”
“Snitching is dangerous.”
“I can take care of myself.”
Jason smiled, nodding his head. “I’ve witnessed that.” He sobered quickly. “Is there anything else I should know about you that isn’t classified?”
“I do have total recall, and I speak fluent French.”
He gritted his teeth. “I knew it. You lied about that, too.”
“I didn’t lie when you asked if I was an intelligence agent.”
Jason placed a hand over his mouth to keep from spewing curses, curses he’d learned so eloquently from his grandfather. “What am I going to do with you?”
“You can divorce me.”
“Oh, no, baby girl. You’re not going to get out of this that easily.”
Pulling back her shoulders, Greer raised her chin while giving him what she called the stink eye. “What do you think yo
u’re going to do?”
“It’s not what I think but what I planned to do.”
“And that is?”
“Use those metal bracelets you have in your tote to cuff you to bed and make love to you for twenty-four hours straight. Of course I’ll stop long enough to eat, shower and maybe watch a few games on television, but I plan to make you pay for holding out on me.”
Throwing back her head, Greer laughed until tears rolled down her face. “You wish! You couldn’t go twenty-four hours when you were sixteen, so what makes you think you can do it at thirty-something?” Much to her surprise he laughed with her. The tense moment was over—if only temporarily.
“I was randy as a goat at sixteen.”
“Was, Jason. I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but I thought it was for the best.”
A beat passed. “I suppose if the tables were reversed I probably would do the same thing. But I want you to promise me something.”
“What?”
“No more secrets.”
Going to her knees, Greer pressed her mouth to his. “No more secrets.”
* * *
Greer got up early Thanksgiving morning to chop and sauté the ingredients for her cornbread-sausage stuffing, while Jason acted as her sous-chef. Bobby was coming with his girlfriend, and when Chase had called the night before, he said he was bringing Stefi.
“Jason, please check and see if the potatoes are soft.”
He poked a long fork into the sweet potatoes boiling in a large pot. “They’re soft enough. Do you want me to pour out the water?”
“Please. Do you want to make the sweet potato casserole or should I?” Greer asked. She and Jason worked together well in the kitchen.
“I’ll fix it. You have enough to do.”
He was right. She’d rolled out crusts for apple, pumpkin and pecan pies, and as soon as she stuffed the turkey, she would begin making the filling for each. Thanksgiving and Christmas were Greer’s favorite holidays because the house was filled with delicious, mouthwatering aromas.
The day before, Stella’s had closed after lunch and Greer had come home early to set the table in the dining room, put up several loads of laundry and see if the cleaning service had missed dusting any flat surface. It would be the first time she and Jason would entertain as a couple and she wanted everything to go off without a hitch.
She and her mother communicated via Skype to discuss her upcoming wedding. Esther had shown her samples of invitations, and they went through a dozen before Greer approved the one that best suited her personality. She emailed her mother the names and addresses of the friends she’d maintained since graduating high school and college.
Greer and Jason videoconferenced with the wedding planner. They decided on a three-tier cake with layers of red velvet, strawberry shortcake and chocolate ganache separating a layer of mocha chip, decorated with edible roses in red, pink and white nestled between the two top tiers, which would match the flowers in her bouquet. The only thing that remained was her wedding gown and shoes.
She didn’t want something ostentatious with yards of fabric trailing behind her. After all, it would be her second marriage. When she asked Jason about his wedding attire, he said he had several tuxedos in his apartment at his parents’ home. He sheepishly admitted he owned duplicate wardrobes on both coasts. All of his formal clothes were made-to-order and his tailor had his exact measurements. And because of his aversion to shopping, Jason ordered many of his clothes online from upscale retailers.
Greer spoke to Jason’s parents when they’d called him to introduce themselves to her, and she was astounded by how much Jason and his father’s voices were similar in timbre. She liked Serena immediately when she said she couldn’t wait to meet her because she had always wanted three daughters. If her in-laws were anything like the Coles she’d met at Nicholas and Peyton’s wedding, then she knew there would never be a dull moment whenever they got together.
Jason’s cell phone chimed softly. He picked it up, reading the text. His thumbs moved quickly as he returned it. “Ana said she and Jacob found a house they like in Fort Lauderdale. They plan to close on it in two weeks.”
“Where are they living now?”
“They have a condo in Boca Raton. I told Ana I would buy it from her once she moves. Then, we’ll have someplace to stay whenever we visit the family.”
“How often do you plan to go to Florida?”
“At least twice a year. Once we have children, we’ll probably go down to New Mexico to visit with Emily and her in-laws, and to Mississippi to see Tyler and his family several times a year. They have at least a dozen kids between them.”
Greer winked at him. “You Coles are rather prolific, aren’t you?”
“All we have to do is smile at a woman and she’s pregnant.”
She wanted to tell Jason he’d just verified what Celia and Ana had told her. “Stop grinning at me because I don’t intend to get pregnant before I’m married.”
Jason took a step, pressing his groin to her buttocks. “Did you forget that we’re already married?”
Resting the back of her handkerchief-covered head to his shoulder, Greer smiled. “I guess it won’t become a reality until we repeat our vows with all of our friends and family as witnesses. Speaking of friends. Do you want me to send Chase an invitation?”
“You can, but don’t feel bad if he declines.”
“I bet I can get him to come. Maybe if he meets a Cole woman, he’ll stop that short-term business.”
Jason kissed the side of Greer’s neck. “I don’t think there’s a Cole woman willing to put up with a man who’s a nomad.”
“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?”
* * *
Stefi paced the floor in the small efficiency apartment, waiting for Chase to call and let her know when he was on his way to pick her up. Her cell rang and she answered on the second ring. “Hello,” she crooned.
“Hey, baby. I’m stuck in line in a bakery waiting to pick up my order. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be here, so I just called a car service to pick you up and take you to Jason’s house. After I hang up, I’m going to call him to let him know you’ll get there before me.”
“Okay. But I really don’t mind waiting for you to get here.”
“But I do mind one of us getting there late.”
“When should I expect the driver?”
“Give him about fifteen minutes, then come downstairs. They told me they don’t have any available town cars, so they’re sending a SUV.”
“All right,” Stefi said.
“See you soon, beautiful.”
Stefi ended the call, smiling. She’d dated Chase for a week, and she really liked him. Unlike some of the men she’d dated, he hadn’t tried to get her to sleep with him. Initially she had thought he was gay but then dismissed that notion when she’d deliberately aroused him to where she wanted him to make love to her. But she had to be careful not to mix business with pleasure. She’d come to Mission Grove to work, and not get involved with a man—no matter how much money he had.
She waited the requisite fifteen minutes, slipped on a wool jacket and picked up her small bag with the shoulder strap. Slipping it over her body, Stefi gathered her keys. Glancing around the furnished studio apartment, she walked out, closing the self-locking door behind her. The shiny black Suburban with tinted windows was idling at the curb. A tall, slender man dressed in a black suit, white shirt and sported a military-style haircut, stepped forward and opened the rear door. Cupping her elbow, he assisted her into the rear seat.
Stefi hadn’t realized she wasn’t the only one in the back of the vehicle until it was too late. A hand snaked out, covering her mouth, as she struggled to free herself.
“Don’t fight me or I’ll break your neck.”
> She stopped struggling and the man loosened his grip on her jaw. “We’re going on a little trip.” As if on cue, the partition between the driver’s seat and rear seats closed, and the truck started moving. “I know who you are, and what you’ve been paid to do.” Tears filled her eyes. “No one would expect a tiny little thing like you to be a contract killer. Put your hands behind your back.” She complied and the plastic ties looped around her wrists nearly cut off the circulation.
Stefi was trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey when her feet were also bound. The windows in the SUV were so dark she wasn’t able to see the man sitting in a corner or where she was going. “Where are you taking me?”
“Some place where you won’t see the light of day for many, many years. How long did you think you could get away with sticking folks with the cute little device you hold between your fingers? They think it’s just a pinprick when in reality your toy is filled with venom from the inland taipan variety, the most venomous snake in the world. Your unsuspecting targets don’t realize what’s happening to them until the poison blocks all of their blood vessels.”
“Where are you taking me?” Stefi repeated.
“Singapore. They have the world’s harshest drug laws. If you’re caught with two or more grams of heroin, you’re automatically presumed to be trafficking in drugs. The penalty is a fine up to twenty thousand dollars to a maximum of ten years in prison. You, Moira Byers, will have ten grams of heroin in your luggage, five grams less than the fifteen for the mandatory death penalty. The Central Narcotics Bureau officers stationed at the Changi Airport are experts when it comes to apprehending drug smugglers.”
Stefi struggled against her restraints. “You’re framing me.”
“And you’re a murderer.”
She decided to try another approach. “Look, Mister...”
“The name is Caleb.”
“Caleb, I have a great deal of money stashed away. If you let me go, I’ll give you all of it. Every last penny.”
Secret Vows (Hideaway (Kimani)) Page 29