Hidden Away k-3

by Maya Banks

  “Are you forgetting that you’re lying to her?” Sam asked in a low voice. “Whatever your feelings for her, she’s not going to forgive being used as bait to lure her brother out of hiding. Get out now, Garrett. Let Rio do the job.”

  “Tell me something, Sam. Would you have left Sophie to Steele or Rio? Would you have backed off and let them protect her while you went home with your tail tucked between your legs?”

  Understanding flashed in Sam’s eyes.

  Garrett turned to Ethan. “Would you have let us go in after Rachel while you stayed at home sitting on your hands because you were too emotionally involved?”

  “Fuck no,” Ethan bit out.

  “Goddamn it,” Sam bit out. “I hate when you have to make a goddamn point that I can’t respond to.”

  Garrett grinned. “Go home, Sam. You have a wife and a new baby. Ethan has a wife to take care of. Sarah is mine to take care of. Rio and his team will stick with me. I trust them to do their job, but the only one I’m trusting with Sarah is me.”

  Sam rubbed a hand over his hair and made a sound of disgust. “Okay, Garrett. Have it your way. Not that you ever do anything else. I hope to hell you know what you’re doing.”

  “She’s been hurt before, Sam,” Garrett said quietly. “She trusts me. She’s not going to trust another man.”

  “Yeah, and what are you going to do when the shit hits the fan?” Donovan asked. “She trusts you and you’re going to betray that trust.”

  Pain that had nothing to do with his injuries washed through his chest. “I’m going to have to figure out a way to do my job—do what’s right—and hope that she’ll understand—and can forgive me—for doing what needed to be done.”

  CHAPTER 30

  SARAH stirred and tried to blink away the groggy, hungover feeling that cloaked her like a thick fog. It took her a moment to even remember what had happened and that Rio had drugged her. She was also no longer in the SUV they’d traveled in, nor was she on a helicopter that she knew they’d intended to take into Belize.

  She pushed herself upward, taking in her surroundings. Immediately her gaze locked with Garrett, who was sitting up, his back to the side of what looked to be an old utility van. Briefly she gazed around to see Rio also sitting in the back, as well as Terrence and another team member she hadn’t caught the name of. Browning and Alton were in the front, Browning driving.

  Then she glanced back at Garrett, who studied her with frank appraisal.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “That’s a ridiculous question,” she grumbled. “The real question is, how are you?”

  He cracked a grin and then patted the small space beside him. She crawled over and nestled into his side.

  “I prefer you close to me,” he murmured. “And I’m okay. Just stove up. I’ll be sore for a couple of days, but that’s all.”

  She was skeptical of his self-diagnosis but she didn’t argue. What she did do was glare over at Rio, whose lips twitched suspiciously.

  “He’s going to a clinic at least, right?”

  Rio nodded. “Yes ma’am. Whether he wants to or not.”

  She nodded. “Good.”

  “Glad I have such a say here,” Garrett said dryly.

  She laid her head on Garrett’s shoulder. “What do we do then? I mean, where do we go? I assume you’ll need to check in with Marcus. I don’t know what your arrangement is with him, but he’s very used to being on top of things.”

  He tensed a moment before moving so he could put an arm around her. “You let me worry about Lattimer, okay? Rio and his team are going to stay with us so we don’t get into any more situations like before.”

  She sighed and knew she needed to come clean with everything. Before ... before there were several reasons she held back. She wasn’t entirely certain she could trust Garrett—at first. That had faded away, and now he was the only person she did trust. And she was ashamed. Deeply humiliated by what had happened to her and her sense of betrayal had been so numbing that she hadn’t been able to fathom telling anyone. Not Marcus—especially not Marcus.

  Garrett needed to know exactly what he was dealing with, because from the moment he’d told her that Allen’s brother had hired someone to find her, she knew. She was a threat to Stanley Cross. If she was ever hauled into court to testify against Marcus for killing Stanley’s brother, the whole sordid tale would come out. Allen was dead, but Stanley wasn’t, and he could still be held accountable for his role in her rape.

  “Sarah?”

  The question in Garrett’s voice told her he knew something was bothering her. But she couldn’t tell him now. Not in front of his men even though they’d have to know later.

  So she shook her head to let Garrett know it was nothing. And later, after he’d been taken care of, she would divulge the last of her secrets.

  CHAPTER 31

  ʺOKAY, now that the doctor has assured you all that I’m not dying, can everyone stop with the babysitting?” Garrett grumbled as they exited the small, rural clinic where Rio had taken him to be examined.

  Sarah rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t say all that bruising is nothing.”

  “No broken bones,” Garrett reminded her. “Probably fractured a few ribs, but that’s nothing I haven’t done before.”

  They stood in the sunshine a step away from the van that had taken them thirty miles from Corozal. Rio and his men stood to the side, and Garrett leaned against the van as he looked to his team leader.

  “Okay, what now? I assume you have a place off in the wilds somewhere where you can stash us. Donovan was going to send us to Alaska, but that’s out now. Too risky. I don’t want Sarah out in the open for that long.”

  It also needed to be a place where they could draw Lattimer. The sooner they ended this madness, the sooner Sarah would be safe again, and then he could address this thing between them.

  “As a matter of fact I do,” Rio said. “Always pays to have a few safe places that even the bosses don’t know about.”

  Garrett shot him a look. Rio shrugged. “I’d be a dumbass if I didn’t plan for every contingency.”

  Garrett couldn’t argue with that logic.

  “I have a place on the Belize River several miles from the nearest village. It’s well stocked, isolated and it gives us several escape routes. I have a chopper there and a boat. We can bail at a moment’s notice by air, water or roadway.”

  “And how big is this place?” Garrett asked. The last thing he wanted was to be tripping over five other men in close quarters.

  Rio grinned. “Big enough. Besides, we’ll be taking position in a perimeter around the house. No one will get within a mile unless we want them to.”

  Armed with painkillers, the trip over less-than-ideal roads wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Still, by the time they turned onto the winding road that led to Rio’s safe house, Garrett felt like he’d been beat all over again.

  There was a large security gate that couldn’t be seen from the road. Security cameras were mounted at each post on the left and right and Garrett raised his brow as Rio opened the gate by remote.

  “Exactly how much are we paying you, man?” Garrett joked.

  Rio snorted. “Not nearly enough.”

  The drive was a half mile long and looped around the incline to where the house rested atop a hill, completely surrounded and sheltered by dense trees.

  Garrett whistled when he caught sight of the place. He’d been expecting a shack or maybe a stone building that more resembled a cave. Rio and his men had reputations for being staunch, cave-dwelling loners who kept to themselves when they weren’t on assignment.

  Rio liked his privacy—obviously—but he damn sure wasn’t suffering in some hovel.

  “Can’t wait to see this,” he muttered as they piled out of the van.

  A high-security fence circled the house in addition to the barrier provided by the trees. The house was modern and sleek and spread out over at least three thousand square fe
et. When they entered, Garrett was struck by how clean and efficient the house looked, but what immediately took over his notice was the high-tech surveillance gear, the computer system and the weapons locker located just inside the door.

  “Van would cream himself,” Garrett said.

  Rio laughed. “That he would. I’d have to kick his ass because he’d be touching my stuff.”

  He guided Sarah and Garrett into a kitchen that looked like something out of a catalog. All the modern appliances, granite countertops and a professional-grade stove with six gas burners.

  “The kitchen is fully stocked. If it’s edible I probably have it. Freezer and fridge have all the necessary foodstuffs. Staples in the pantry. Plenty of bottled water. Don’t drink out of the tap. We don’t have the best water.”

  They carried on into a sprawling living room, which Garrett immediately approved of. He cast a sideways glance at Sarah, wondering if she was noting the differences.

  “This is the type of place you hole up in when you’re hiding,” he said. “There aren’t any open areas for anyone to see into the living room or take a shot at you from a distance. All the windows are high to allow light to enter but this is a completely safe room.”

  “Oh yeah?” she muttered. “What if they have a grenade?”

  Rio laughed. “Well then it’s KYAG time.”

  At Sarah’s raised eyebrow, Garrett supplied, “Kiss your ass goodbye time.”

  “Ah, very succinct.”

  “The bedrooms are through here,” Rio said as he led them down a long hallway. “Each has its own bathroom and the master suite has a Jacuzzi tub and separate shower. Take your pick and make yourself at home.”

  “This is your home, isn’t it?” Sarah asked softly. “Not just a safe house. I mean it’s your safe place.”

  Rio was silent for a minute. “Yeah, it is. It’s the place I go when I want to be alone, but hey, a guy likes his creature comforts too.”

  Sarah grimaced. “I’m sorry we’re intruding then. But thank you for sharing your private getaway with us.”

  He smiled at her then and leaned over to ruffle her hair affectionately. “Well, if it was only Garrett I would have stashed him in some hovel somewhere. Much more in keeping with his winning personality. But I couldn’t very well treat a lady like that.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake. I’m going to puke over here,” Garrett grumbled. “Don’t you have something better to be doing?”

  Rio grinned again and gave a snappy two-finger salute before he sauntered back down the hall to round up his men.

  Garrett and Sarah were standing in the doorway to the master suite and Garrett waited for her to venture in. “It’s beautiful,” she said as she turned in a circle in the middle of the room.

  Garrett dropped their bags on the floor, startling her. She looked at the bags, looked at Garrett and then color rose in her cheeks.

  “I’ll take one of the other bedrooms,” she said as she started toward her bag. “You can have this one. I don’t need much room.”

  He caught her wrist before she could bend to retrieve her bag and then he pulled her up close until they were flush against each other. “You’re staying in here with me.”

  She trembled and her eyes took on a slightly glazed, hungry look that brought his body to immediate attention.

  “In that bed. With me,” he said as he nodded toward the big king-sized bed in the middle of the room. “Your legs wrapped around me, me inside you. I’ve thought of little else for the past few days. It’s what got me through the two days in captivity.”

  She sucked in her breath and licked her lips nervously, leaving them plump and shiny and so damn irresistible. Then she put a hand on his chest and gave him a doubtful look.

  “We can’t make love, you idiot. What you need is a bath and food and rest. You should climb in the tub and soak while I go fix us something to eat. I thought I’d make your favorite. Meat, meat and more meat.”

  “Mmmm, that sounds good. But here’s what I think. I think you should take that bath with me and then we’ll both figure out something to fix.”

  She stared at him for a minute and then past him toward the bathroom. He could see she was tempted. He pulled her in closer and murmured in her ear. “You, me, lots of hot water. I’ll wash your back. And your front. And all parts in between.”

  She shivered delicately just as he sank his teeth into her lobe, nipping with just enough force to excite her.

  “And just so you know, Sarah, I’m going to make love to you. I don’t give a damn if it kills me in the process. I’m going to have you. You’re going to sleep in my bed, in my arms, your skin against mine. I want the last thing you feel before you go to sleep is me inside you, and the first thing you know when you wake up.”

  She made a soft, breathy, utterly feminine sound as she leaned into him, and he went painfully hard. God, but he wanted to touch her. He wanted to run his tongue from the tip of her nose to her toes and taste every delectable inch of her.

  God, he had to quit or he was going to come in his pants.

  “I’ll go run the water,” she said. “You sit down and rest while you wait.”

  He grinned at her bossiness. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Sarah pushed at him to get him to sit on the bed. When she was satisfied that he was comfortable and off his feet, she went into the bathroom. Her eyes widened when she took in the huge tub on an elevated platform. It was the centerpiece of the entire bathroom and would easily fit more than two people. Maybe Rio went in for more than one when it came to female companionship.

  She laughed softly at the idea of the dark-eyed, quiet man being more frolicsome when it came to his private life.

  On impulse, she searched the drawers for matches or a lighter and was delighted to find a long-stemmed candle lighter. She started the water running and then went around to light the candles placed at random spots around the bathroom. It seemed a girly thing to do but then a man owned this entire house, and the candles weren’t girly smelling. The scent was more earthy and masculine. It reminded her of the outdoors.

  She stood back to survey her handiwork and then let out a groan. It looked like she was bent on seduction. Then she chuckled. She could hardly be accused of seduction when Garrett had made it abundantly clear that he had every intention of making love to her.

  She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as she watched the water grow deeper in the tub. She wasn’t sure what had her on edge more. The idea of making love to Garrett or the fact that she wasn’t more wary of giving herself completely and wholly to a man. Of trusting him.

  She shrugged. The fact was, she wasn’t afraid of Garrett. He’d been achingly tender and up front with her. He hadn’t hidden from the mutual attraction that flared like a brush fire between them. She cherished the honesty between them, and she trusted him—in a way she’d never thought to trust another man.

  After putting out towels and arranging the soaps and shampoo just so, she turned the water off and went back for Garrett.

  She found him flat on his back, eyes closed, and for a moment she stood there, watching him. Absorbing everything about him. His broad chest rose up and down with his breaths and he looked oddly vulnerable, a fact she found extremely endearing.

  She eased onto the bed and leaned over him, letting her hair fall to his shoulder. She rubbed one finger down his jawline, and his eyelids slitted open. He watched her with lazy regard as she ran her finger over his lips.

  “Bath’s ready,” she murmured. “Need help up?”

  “I could use help undressing,” he said, an unholy gleam in his eyes.

  “Of course you do,” she muttered, but a smile hovered at the corners of her mouth.

  She backed off the bed and watched as he rolled to the edge and put his feet down. Unsure of whether to help him or not, she waited and let him walk ahead of her.

  “This is nice,” he said as he looked around.

  “Not too girly?”

  He turned to look
at her. “Nope, not too girly at all. As long as you like it, I like it.”

  He wasted no time stripping off his shirt. She winced when she saw the multitude of bruises that colored his abdomen. He looked like an Easter egg. When he started to shimmy out of his pants, she turned away and then shook her head at the absurdity of the action. She glanced back to see a prime view of his backside as he climbed over the edge into the water.

  Damn but the man was built like a brick house. All hard lines, lean at the waist and hips, broad at the shoulders and a muscled back that made her mouth water. When he turned to lower himself in the water, she saw the rippled, discolored tight abdomen and the dark hair at his groin. And even at a state of semi erection, the man was impressive.

  Even as large as the tub was, he seemed to fill every inch. He sank into water and stretched out with an appreciative groan. “Damn but this feels good.”

  Steam rose from the water—she’d been sure to make it hot—and he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Unsure of what she was supposed to do—okay so she knew, but she felt damn awkward—she piddled with her shirt.

  Finally she turned away and walked toward the far corner so she could undress. She hoped she didn’t lose the nerve because she wanted that hot bath more than she wanted anything right now.

  “Sarah.”

  She turned at the sound of his voice to see him watching her through half-lidded eyes.

  “Come here.”

  Her head cocked to the side in question, she returned to the bathtub.

  “Want to know what my fantasy is right now?” he asked. Her eyebrow went up and she nodded.

  “I want you to undress right there where I can watch.”

  She swallowed nervously. “You might not think it’s such a fantasy when I get my clothes off.”

  His velvet gaze stroked over her body, touching fire to every nerve ending. “You have a beautiful body, honey. Perfect. I’ve had some pretty sweaty fantasies about it since meeting you. And that day on the beach when you wore that little suit. It was so modest but it made me even crazier because I kept imagining what was underneath.”