Bourne to Love Emma (RED-Stone Operatives Book 1)

by Paxton, MacKenzie K.

  I felt his hand rub over the back of my head. “Em, what is it? What did he take?”

  “It’s…oh God. He took my security card. He can get in the building now. He can get inside….”

  I heard John hand Mia to Frank and step out of the room and start talking on his phone. I felt another hand on my back and knew Heather was with me, too. Jason kissed the top of my head and stood up.

  I heard him and Frank whispering and looked up. Frank looked…terrified. Mia was squirming in his arms. Jason’s face was hard as granite and expressionless. But the muscle in his cheek was ticking.

  “What is it?”

  Jason glanced at me and then at Frank.

  “Jason. Tell me.” I could see his Adam’s apple jerk as he swallowed hard. He closed his eyes for a second before he looked at me again. Heather squeezed my shoulder with her good hand.

  “The first pass through – when he just found your car and then tried the door….” His fists clenched before he forced the rest of it out. “Your apartment number is on your parking spot. He knows which apartment you’re in now. And he has a passkey.”

  Frank brought Mia to me and stuttered a little as he explained, “we made all the mailing addresses a variation of the apartment number – apartment 6c on the second floor is mailbox 2063. It’s not a complicated system, but it helps keep your apartment anonymous in situations like this. But since you need a code to get into the garage or you have to call security, it wasn’t treated the same. And, since guests often park in a tenant’s spot, we had to mark them so they were identifiable for everyone.”

  I just stared at Jason. “He’s coming, isn’t he?” I hugged Mia close and tears filled my eyes.

  “He’s not getting to you, Em. My only priority at this point is keeping the two of you safe.”

  John stuck his head in the room and sent a pointed look at Jason. Jason nodded and walked out to talk to him. Heather started making faces at Mia when she began to fuss.

  “It’s going to be okay, baby girl. Everything’s going to be okay.”

  A few minutes later, John and Jason came back into the room. John was the first to speak.

  “I’ve already notified the police that we identified what was stolen. I also wiped all the keycards for the building so they will have to be rekeyed. No one in the building has a card that works now except the guards. Frank, you’re going to have to contact everyone and let them know they’ll have to come through the lobby and be let inside until we can recode the rest of the cards.” He focused on me and added, “He’s not coming in with that card, Emma.”

  Jason walked to my side and rubbed my shoulder. “I talked to John about what we do now. He suggested that you go home with Heather and stay with them until we find and eliminate the threat.” I flinched at the thought of what he means when he says ‘eliminate the threat.’

  “Or, you and Mia can stay here with me – but we’ll need to stay in my apartment. Even though we’ve changed the codes and he can’t get in with that passkey, I don’t want to risk staying at your apartment since he knows which one you’re in now. It’s up to you, Em. Whatever you want to do is fine. We just all want to do everything we can to keep you and Mia safe.”

  I just sat there for a minute. I didn’t really need to think about it – that’s not why I was sitting there quietly. Part of me was still stuck on “eliminating the threat.” Because, no matter what it really meant, I want my life back. I want to be able to take Mia to the park without looking over my shoulder, to go out to dinner with Heather without worrying for both of us, to spend the night with Jason because he wants to instead of needing to do it to keep us safe….

  “I want to stay here. I can pack up some stuff to make Mia comfortable at your place and I can take my laptop and try to do some work myself.”

  Jason sighs out a breath and visibly relaxes. My spirit lifts just a little when I realize that my decision was important to him, too.

  ~Jason~

  While we were waiting on Heather and Emma to grab what she and Mia would need to go next door for the night, I skimmed through e-mails on my phone. I wasn’t lying when I told Emma that keeping them safe is my only priority. But I’m not carrying my weight at the office right now and there are a few things that aren’t coming along like I’d expect. As that very thought crossed my mind, my phone rang in my hand. It was a blocked number. Unlike most people, that generally meant it would be someone I worked with and not a solicitor.

  “Bourne.”

  “It’s Tex. I’ve got a situation and I need your help.”

  “I’m pinned down right now dealing with something else, but tell me what’s going on and I’ll see what I can do.”

  “I don’t need YOU, I need your hacker brain.”

  “Asshole. Call me back in half an hour when I’m back in front of my computer and we’ll see how much you need me.”

  When I got off the phone, John and I helped carry a portable playpen/crib thing and two full bags of stuff for Mia. Emma had packed an overnight bag for herself. Apparently, even if you don’t need much yourself, a baby is a whole other story.

  Half an hour later, Emma and Mia were settled in my living room – it was almost embarrassing how much computer equipment I had to move so Mia wouldn’t hurt herself (or my stuff.) Almost as soon as I sat down in front of my computer, Tex called me back.

  “Bourne.”

  “Okay. We got Brody talking but he’s giving us 50/50 real and make believe shit. Crash is working a new theory but I went back to the original intel and took a look at where we all started. How smart do you think that kid really is?”

  “Well. I would bet he’s smart enough to get his ass a job at RED-Stone but not smart enough to keep it. So kind of but …not exceptionally?”

  “Yeah. Walk through this with me. When your average person is trying to get someone’s attention away from something they’re hiding, what do they do?” I had no idea why we were speaking in riddles tonight, but Tex obviously had a point.

  “I don’t know, Tex. What do they do?”

  “Statistically, more than 85% of the time, a person of average intelligence will send you the opposite way.”

  “Well, obviously. That’s the point.”

  “No, you don’t get it. The OPPOSITE way. Not forty-five degrees or ninety degrees away. The opposite way – the full one hundred eighty degrees.”

  He paused and my brain circled what he was saying. I started typing commands into the system before he started talking again.

  “Brody sent you and me on bullshit recon –“.

  “I’m with you. I’ve got those dates and a map. Give me a little bit and let me see what I can come up with. Send me your number so I can call you when it comes through.” I jotted it onto a piece of paper and tossed my cell phone on the file cabinet.

  Tex had always impressed me, but I think he’s on a whole new level right now. No one had really considered taking the data we already had and reversing it and converting it in another path to find where we should have been looking.

  I spent the next few hours running schematics on buildings and locations where a deal was likely to go down on the opposite side of town from where Brody sent me or Tex. Pulling blueprints and looking for underground locations was trickier since so many cities still had microfilm or even paper copies of plans, but I found some solid options. I started building a grid and identifying probabilities of the location being guarded based on satellite imagery and outdoor cameras near the locations.

  Around seven, Emma tapped on the door and brought me a sandwich, chips and a bottle of water from the kitchen. I minimized some of my screens with a few key strokes and held my arm out to her. She handed me the bottle of water and looked for a place to put my plate. After shoving some files into a haphazard stack and clearing a spot for it, I pulled her into my lap and hugged her tight.

  Emma sighed and snuggled into me. She’d been through a lot and we still weren’t in the clear with that mess. She pressed a kiss
to my neck. I pulled her away just far enough that I could reach her to kiss her mouth. Her lips parted and I ran my tongue along her bottom lip before sliding inside to stroke along the roof of her mouth. As her hands came up to cup my face, my phone rang.

  She kissed me once more and slid from my lap. “Duty calls…literally.” She winks at me. “Eat your dinner. I have plans for you later and you’re gonna need your strength. I’m going to give Mia a quick bath before she’s ready for bed.” She left the room with my eyes glued to her ass and my mouth was probably hanging open. Sometimes that woman shocked the hell out of me.

  “Bourne.”

  “Jason, it’s Heather. I got your number from John. I wanted to check in on Em, but I figured you’d be honest about how she is where she’d just want me to not worry….”

  “She’s doing okay. She and Mia have just relaxed and watched television most of the afternoon. She went through some work e-mail, but said she couldn’t concentrate on it. She’s giving Mia a bath so she can get ready for bed. Everything’s quiet here.”

  “Okay. I just can’t believe all this is happening and I know she was kind of in shock earlier.”

  “I worry about her, too. How are you doing? How’s the wrist? Are you keeping ice on it?”

  “God, you’re worse than John. I’m fine. Yes, I have been icing it. Go take care of my girls.”

  “My girls.”

  Heather was silent for a moment but there was a smile in her voice when she responded. “Our girls. Thanks for keeping them safe. Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  I hung up, grabbed my sandwich and got all my data together to send to Tex. By the time my plate was clean and my bottle of water was empty, I had half a dozen possible locations for his team to check out. I flagged one in particular that I just had a gut feeling about. Any other day, I’d take point running this mission, but today isn’t any other day. Today my only mission is to keep Emma and Mia safe, so I’ll do everything I can to make it flawless for Tex and then I’ll wish him luck.

  Once everything was encrypted and uploaded to the RED-Stone server, I called Tex.

  “Hey. I’ve got five maybes and one that I just have a gut feeling about. I uploaded all of it to the server. You’re gonna need three guys to get a good look at some of these places. A few of the buildings are too close to active areas, so you’ll need to hit those at night.”

  “Thanks, man. I trust your gut. It’s saved my ass a time or two. We’ll check that one out first. Hey – John told me what’s going on with your girl. You keep your head in the game on that one and let us deal with the rest of this shit, okay? Keep her safe and you can ride shotgun next time I’m back in town.”

  “What the fuck ever. Your ass can ride shotgun. Shut this shit down, Tex. We’ve been looking for Patzkowsky too long to fuck up now.”

  “I’m on it, brother. I’ll touch base with you when we know something.”

  “Good luck, Tex.”

  “You, too. Later.” And he hung up.

  I shut everything down and cleared off my desk. Mentally, I was closing the Patzkowsky case and moving on to focus on Emma. Keeping my mind on her is definitely not a hardship.

  Chapter 14

  ~Emma~

  I looked up to see Jason standing in the entrance to the living room where Mia and I are curled up on the couch.

  “Sorry I’ve been stuck in the office all afternoon. Thanks for feeding me. You girls doing okay?”

  “Mia’s half asleep already. I’m about to put her down.”

  I carried Mia to his guest room and laid her in her pack ‘n’ play. I can’t believe she’s almost two. I rubbed her back and softly sang Silent Night as I watch her eyes grow heavy. Last winter when she was sick I sang that song to her a few times. After that, it was the one she wanted all the time.

  I smiled when her eyes closed and she sighed. When I turned around, Jason was leaning in the doorway watching me with a soft look in his eyes. I walked into the hallway and he pulled the door most of the way closed. Then he slid his arms around me and leaned against the wall between his room and the bathroom. I ran my hands up his chest and leaned into him, reaching up. He knew what I wanted and pulled me closer to kiss me.

  Our lips pressed lightly before his tongue sought out mine. Slowly, the heat began building between us. He nipped at my lip. I sucked his tongue into my mouth. His hands slid down to my bottom, grabbing at my flesh through my pajama pants. I wrapped my arms around his waist, feeling his hardness against my belly. I leaned back and ran my hand up and down the front of his jeans, feeling the length and breadth of him, the heat of him.

  His eyes are closed and his head is tipped back against the wall as he gives me free reign over his body. I unbuttoned the top of his jeans and then looked sideways at the other door. Nope. Not in the hallway. She’s basically in a crib and definitely wouldn’t understand sex at all, but…just no. We weren’t going to start this here.

  I grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall the few steps to his room. Once we were inside, I smirked and planted my hands on his chest pushing him onto the bed. I knew he fell back onto the bed because he wanted to, but it does something for me that he’s willing to let me take charge like this.

  Now I finished unzipping his jeans and shimmy them down so I can reach all of him. His cock was straining against his boxers. I pulled the elastic up and over his erection, freeing him. He is … large. Maybe 8 inches long, thicker than most and curving up toward his belly. A drop of pearly pre-cum was sitting on the dark ruddy head and I couldn’t help but lean down and lick it off. His tortured groan made me smile just a little as I moved forward and swipe my tongue down the underside of his cock and back up again, tracing the veins to his cap and swirling my tongue over him, sucking lightly on his head.

  Jason jerked up off the bed and kissed me hard on the mouth. I was about to complain about being stopped before I was ready when he whipped my shirt over my head and immediately unfastened my bra. One-handed, of course, because – it’s a guy thing.

  “Pants. Off.” His voice was barely a growl at this point as he leaned over and unlaced his boots before taking them and his socks off. When he stood to pull his pants and boxers the rest of the way down his legs, my mind kicked back into gear and I hurriedly stripped mine off, too.

  This was really going to happen! My inner naughty girl did a happy dance and then all my attention is back on Jason.

  He got back on the bed and pulled me to him.

  “But I wasn’t done!” I started to whine.

  “Honey, you are welcome to continue. I just need to be able to return the favor.”

  I didn’t fully understand what he meant until he lifted me to straddle his chest, facing his feet and then pulled my hips over his face. I immediately tried to move away from the most embarrassing position I’ve ever found myself in, but his strong arms were wrapped around my thighs holding me in place.

  When his breath hit my most sensitive skin, I froze in place. The tip of his tongue slowly traced from the top of my slit to my entrance before swirling and returning the way it came. A light circle around my clit made me shiver and whimper just a little. His hips jerked and brought my focus back to his cock, standing proudly right in front of me. I leaned forward, wrapped my hand around it and pumped the length of him a few times.

  When I took him in my mouth, he groaned, the vibration sending sparkles of electricity up my spine and I pressed my hips down on his mouth. Time slowed to a stop as we pleasured each other with our mouths and hands. I cupped his sac and took as much of him as I could into my mouth and throat. He pumped his fingers into my pussy and licked and sucked my clit.

  In no time, I pulled back off his cock, slammed my hips down, grinding on his face and screamed as I came. My body twitched and jerked as he continued to lick me through my orgasm until it became too much and I pulled away. I lay sprawled on top of him panting as he stroked my back and bottom, giving me time to come back down.

 
; After a moment, I crawled down the bed, kneeled between his legs and took him in my mouth. I licked and sucked and pumped his cock with my mouth and hands. His hands reached down and wrapped in my hair. I tensed for a moment, worried he would use his hold on me to force more of himself into my mouth, but he didn’t. He just held my hair away from my face so he could see me as I took his cock into my mouth, pumping up and down.

  His fingers tightened in my hair and he growled out, “I’m gonna cum.” He pulled at my hair – I guess expecting me to move – but I wasn’t going anywhere. A few seconds later, he coated my mouth and throat and I swallowed and swallowed as I took every last drop from his body. When he finally let go of me and flopped to the bed, I slowly released him before kissing the head of him softly and crawling up his body to rest against his chest.

  His heart was racing a million miles an hour under my ear. He wrapped his arm around my back and rested his hand on my hip, stroking the skin softly with his fingertips. When his heartrate slowed down, he lifted his head and leaned toward me, kissing me softly.

  I kiss him again when he starts to pull back.

  “I love you, Jason.”

  He went completely still for just a second and part of me immediately began to panic when I think of what just popped out of my mouth. Then he squeezed me tightly to him, burying his face in my neck and whispered, “I love you, too, Em.”

  We lie there for a few minutes, me snuggled against his side, before he rolled me to my back and covered me with his body. He’s hard again and his length is resting against my mound. He rolled his hips against me and the pressure is exquisite. He pressed kisses to my eyes, my cheeks, the tip of my nose, my chin. When he kissed my mouth, it was a short sweep of his tongue against mine and then he moved down.

  His mouth slid over my collar bone then down my sternum before circling my breast. His jaw was shadowed in stubble that rasped across my soft skin and my nipple grew even harder as I watched him come closer and closer without touching it. His hand circled my other breast and mimicked what he was doing with his mouth. The smallest touch of his tongue to the tip of my nipple sent heat spiraling to my core and I felt myself get wet.