A Place to Call Home

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “Athena, do you accept us as your guardians, your protectors, and very soon, your lovers?” Kane asked her.

  “I accept. Oh God, yes,” she said, and Fox pumped his fingers faster into her cunt while Chase and Culter leaned into her and suckled her breasts. Kane held her gaze as she exploded once again, crying out and shaking from the orgasm that hit her, and the power of being feasted on by four, huge sexy men.

  As she panted for breath, Fox lowered her legs and hugged her tight and she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his neck. His big muscles squeezed her, and instead of feeling scared and fearful of him and his brothers, she felt protected and happy. Like maybe, just maybe, the past was in the past and she could move on with a future with them. Maybe.

  Kane didn’t want to leave. He watched Athena put on a T-shirt then kneel in front of him on the bed. He ran his hand under her hair and cupped her cheek. “Athena? That’s such a beautiful name. It suits you well,” he said.

  She sniffled. “I couldn’t say yes to accepting your guardianship of me without you and your brothers knowing my real name.”

  “Athena what,” he pushed.

  She closed her eyes. “Please, Kane. You can’t look me up I—"

  She tried to turn away, but he held her cheek and jaw, plus his palm was under her hair at the base of her neck. “Someone is looking for you? The one you’re running from?” he asked, his gut clenching, his brothers mumbling under their breath as they surrounded her on the bed and next to it.

  “I can’t.”

  “You have to. He’s the sheriff. He needs to know if someone is looking to hurt you and so do we. You have to tell us what you’re running from, baby. How can we protect you?” Chase asked her.

  “I’ve been doing a good job for the last two years,” she said.

  “Two years?” Culter asked. “You’ve been running for two years?” Fox asked.

  She closed her eyes. “What I did with you today was incredible, and I don’t regret it. I can’t believe after what I went through that I would be comfortable enough and feel safe enough. But look at you guys. You’re incredible and perfect, and so masculine and capable, and I know you can protect me, yet I fear for your lives if I’m found. I have to keep going by Hannah. I need you to know that I want to tell you what happened, but I fear this moment will be ruined.”

  He lowered his hand from her cheek and hair. “You need to tell us who is after you and why. The time of hiding out and running, feeling isolated and alone is done, finished. Not only because of the rules of this town and the fact that every resident is protected and we’re all family, but because we care about you, want to protect you and be your men, your lovers, and you our woman. There can be no secrets, no lies, Athena.”

  She reached up and caressed her palms up his chest. “I promise I’ll tell you. You’ll need to know before we make love for the first time. You may not want me then, but at least we had today.”

  He shook his head. “No matter what, we’ll want you. We’ve tasted your sweet cream, seen you naked and perfect, moaning and coming from our fingers, our mouths and our words. We’re going to be one, a family, Athena. But if you lie, if you don’t tell us, then you’ll put a wedge between us. You’ll destroy this perfect relationship before we even get a chance to love you and show you what love is.”

  “Tonight. I’ll explain it all tonight,” she said as tears filled her eyes.

  He lifted her up and kissed her. Wanted nothing more than to stay here and make love to her, but she wasn’t ready and they needed to know about the danger she was keeping a secret. Two fucking years on the run, all by herself? What in God’s name happened?

  Chapter 7

  “We definitely have a tail man. What the fuck do you want to do?” Louis asked Voight.

  “Well, if what Ferion said was true, and he thinks that someone was following him yesterday, then we need to take care of it, too.”

  Louis checked his gun. “We take them out quickly, quietly, and from here on out we better make sure we’re careful about who we contact for help with finding Athena.”

  “It makes me think we’re getting closer, or our sources are,” Voight added.

  “Either that or Matias is. The slimy fuck is dealing with terrorists. We need time for Ferion to build a case and get the shit we need to take them out before they do some kind of hit or something. Who the fuck would think Matias was into this shit.”

  “Dad sure as shit didn’t know. You hear what Ferion said about Dad not being involved with the illegal shit. Since losing Athena he went more legit.”

  “Legit my ass. Athena was twenty-two years old, in college, and getting ready for her career. It was all taken away from her and she wasn’t with any man. Never had a boyfriend, a fucking—"

  “I know. I know, but obviously Matias didn’t break her down completely. She escaped. She’s out there all alone, but free. We need to find her before these assholes do.”

  “Then what, Voight? We can’t get to her and protect her. We’ll lead these men right to her.”

  “That’s why we have Ferion.”

  As they walked down the side streets in Dallas, their lead, a dead end one, but not entirely. Athena was here, but over a year ago. She didn’t stay long, and she never cashed in her paychecks, she just accepted the cash she made waitressing at the diner in town. They called her Lexi. God, she was being super smart. If only she knew they were alive and could help her. It would make a huge difference.

  “They’re right behind us.”

  “There’s a couple over there.”

  “I don’t give a fuck, Voight. It’s do or die. We need to send a message that we’re willing to kill, too, and we aren’t fucking stupid.”

  As they rounded the corner, Voight and Louis stepped into the darkness, and when the two figures came around, they grabbed them. They wrestled for the gun, which had silencers. Voight and Louis didn’t, but they used their military experience to take away their weapons and use them against them. Louis held the gun against the man’s head. He was Middle Eastern. “Who are you? What are you after?”

  They didn’t answer, and as they started to demand them to, shots were fired from the distance. Silencers. They ricocheted against the walls. “What the fuck!” Voight yelled out, ducked for cover, and the two guys got up and Louis and Voight shot them.

  They heard screams from the couple across the way and knew they were calling the cops. “Fucking sniper shots? What the fuck, Voight?”

  “I know. I fucking know. Let’s get the hell out of here and call Ferion, but on the burner phone. We need more help.”

  “We want you to contact them. We’ll need the team you have, that’s obvious. They were fucking Middle Eastern. Louis saw a tattoo on the wrist from Mussadan’s cell.”

  “Are you fucking sure? Be a hundred percent sure, Louis.” Ferion raised his voice into the phone. “He’s sure. Looks like Matias maybe got those Saudi assholes he’s doing business with to borrow some men.”

  “They’ll find her. You know that?” Ferion told him.

  “We haven’t been able to, not you either. Whatever our sister is doing, she’s smart.”

  “Let me gather some more information. See if there’s any chatter about Mussadan’s people being in Texas. If it’s the case, then I’ll call in Chase and Fox, and get Axel and Stone, as well as Divo on board.”

  “Ferion, you had men on you, we had these guys on us. We need to go completely off the radar in every aspect, or if we do find her we will lead them right to her.”

  “Burner phones, limited contact, a meet up someplace, secure, and where we’ll know if we’re all being followed. Due to the nature of the activity, of those seemingly involved with this situation, I’m contacting the commander.”

  “Understood. If these people are here in the United States, then it can be assumed that they are planning something.”

  “Or at minimum, viewing locations for future plans. I’ll be in touch. Stay safe and off the radar for no
w. When you get to your place be ready. You just took out two of Mussadan’s men, that may just tick someone off a bit.”

  “Fuck him, and fuck them. We know what we have to do, and finding Athena is top priority before taking out these other assholes.”

  “There are rules, Louis. Don’t you and Voight screw up your future with the agency.”

  “The last thing on our minds is a new job. Athena is out there somewhere, and now terrorist assholes are assisting Matias Garcia in finding her. She won’t stand a chance.”

  “I’ll be in touch. Stay safe.”

  Ferion ended the call and then rubbed his jaw. Things were getting more and more complicated. What the hell was Matias offering these Saudis to have them assist him in finding Athena? What?

  His phone rang, and he looked at the number and knew it was Commander Green. “Hello.”

  “Any idea about two bodies found in Dallas that are part of the Mussadan cell?” his commander asked.

  “Why? What do you got on them?”

  “I’m assuming your response means you know something. Now was it one of my guys, one of your team?”

  “There’s a lot going on right now, seems a personal situation with two future team members is taking a turn in a more complicated direction.”

  “I’ll call you back on blue.” His commander hung up and Ferion opened the desk drawer as the secure phone rang. No one could tap this line or listen in; it was that secure. “Yup.”

  “Okay, so there’s some chatter about members of Mussadan’s cell coming into Texas and New York. They were meeting up with specific businessmen at a company meeting facility in Manhattan. Intel has been gathering the names and some more specifics. Seems that that guy you’ve been looking to monitor, Matias Garcia, has been dealing with Mussadan directly with importing and exporting products. Mussadan’s men bought out a facility in upstate New York in the middle of nowhere. Local authorities have noted large tractor trailers coming in and out of the gates leading to this facility, which happens to have armed guards. The police, nor the government officials can push to know what’s going on or state any concerns because the individuals are Muslim, and Middle Eastern affiliated, and it would be against their rights.”

  “Same fucking bullshit, Meanwhile, they could be building bombs, storing artillery, and training militants.”

  “Seems all of the above is taking place there. This Garcia is smack in the middle, and apparently has been doing deals with terrorist cells for years. There isn’t quite enough evidence on him to make an inquiry, pull him in for questioning, but intel is working on it.”

  “So they know about Garcia, do they know he has men hunting Athena Monroe, Louis and Voight’s sister?”

  “They have men looking for her, as well.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Ferion, I know you discussed the possibility of Louis and Voight joining the team, and they are being investigated thoroughly, but if they come up attached to anything indicating they could be working with the—"

  “Don’t even say it. They aren’t working against the country. They have been doing everything in their power in the last year to find Athena. They thought she was dead. You know this, and how Garcia made her think her brothers were dead, so he could break her down completely.”

  “I just wanted to confirm, and I trust your judgment on this. After all, they would be under your immediate command, so you need to read this file I’m sending you as we speak. A man by the name of Frank Percou was picked up by federal agents in this joint operation, and some of the details about Athena’s treatment while a prisoner of Matias Garcia are extreme to say the least. Also, Garcia’s obsession with her is not to be taken lightly. There’s a trail of blood in the path of his search for her, and more recently her father appears to be in constant contact with Garcia.”

  Ferion was opening up the file on the computer as he spoke to the commander. “Fuck, I don’t know if Louis and Voight have been talking with their father. It was him that made them aware of Athena being alive and—"

  “Holy fuck.”

  “The file?”

  Ferion felt his heart pounding inside of his chest. He eased back in the chair, the anger, the disgust at what Garcia had done to her while she was a prisoner.

  “That’s only what that guy Frank told the feds. It was more interesting to learn of Garcia’s obsession with Athena. His control of her, and the fact that she escaped, actually got away from a man like him and his main guard, Ferno who was watching over her at the time. It hit them hard. Ferno wants blood. Frank indicated that Garcia is losing his mind over her escape, and knowing that she’s hiding out somewhere is making finding her a main part of his day. Every week he has someone, an investigator come in with updates. The guy is someone we know.”

  “Who the fuck is it?” Ferion asked.

  “Khan Mathews.”

  “Fuck, that guy used to work for the CIA. He should be locked up at minimum if not taken out.”

  “He’s being monitored, don’t worry, which is why I was able to get this information. Seems a bigger operation is going on here and it looks like Louis and Voight’s sister is caught in the middle. Garcia is working this deal with Mussadan’s men, and whatever it is, Mussadan has offered some of his guys to help search for Athena. Now that Louis and Voight killed two of his men, I think it’s safe to say they need to watch their asses and stay clear of any indicators of potential locations Athena is sighted. If we find her, she needs protection, and once the feds get a hold of her because this is their investigation, we’ll need to step back and let them finish their case.”

  “Voight and Louis will need to be by her side. They won’t leave her once they find her.”

  “If we find her. Is there a possibility that she could be dead?”

  “There’s always that possibility, but they don’t believe so. She’s only running and hiding because she thinks Voight and Louis are dead.”

  “There’s a bit to figure out. Let’s do a bit more research, get Divo, Axel, and Stone on board. Snipe will work with me here, and then I’ll contact Fox and Chase. They got off a job a few weeks ago. Louis and Voight know them and trust them, too. They asked for their assistance and ours, and we’re going to do what needs to be done to find her. Having more manpower, more eyes and bodies looking will be key and hopefully make a difference.”

  “On the down low, Ferion. Remember that this is an active government case and investigation in process. The feds catch wind of us interfering as they might call it, and I’ll get the command to stand down. We’ll have to comply.”

  “I’m not leaving this woman to be taken again and into a worse scenario with men like Mussadan’s. We find her and she’ll be under our protection until those feds have the evidence they need to destroy these operations.”

  “Understood. Good luck, and I’ll contact you with further details as they come in.”

  Ferion leaned back in the chair and exhaled. How the hell did she escape? Where the hell are you, Athena? Fuck, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but they would do it. She had been through enough. She didn’t deserve this, and a man like Mussadan took whatever he wanted from anyone he worked with. Garcia was money hungry and it would cost him his life when the deal was done. That was how Mussadan worked. What a fucking mess.

  He texted Snipe so he could go over the information he received and make a decision as to when to call Fox and Chase, and how to break the new information to Voight and Fox. Voight and Fox wouldn’t back down either way. This was their sister, and finding her, protecting her was the only care on their minds, not being mercenaries for the government and standing down if ordered.