Take the Money and Run

by Samantha Cole

  “Thanks, Uncle Dan. We’ll be right out.” Turning back to Moriah, his gaze took in her hair he’d tousled, her swollen red lips, and the passion burning in her eyes. It was far better than the look of fear and regret which had been there earlier. Knowing there was no way they could continue with what they’d started with his uncle waiting for them, he leaned over and kissed her forehead before taking a step back. “We should eat. You haven’t had anything all day, and you need to keep up your strength.”

  Although clearly unenthusiastic at the thought of eating, Moriah nodded, silently agreeing with him. Taking her hand, he led her out to the living room as Dan exited the kitchen, carrying a tray laden with mugs of soup and a plate piled high with halves of grilled cheese sandwiches, hot and gooey. He placed it on the coffee table then handed her one of the steaming mugs after she sat on the sofa. The older man’s sympathy was evident in his soft brown eyes. “I figured comfort food was the best since I didn’t think you were in the mood for a fancy meal.”

  She gave him a grateful smile. He was such a nice man, and she had a brief thought that she wished her father had been like him. “Thank you, Dan. And thank you for believing in me . . . both of you.”

  KC grabbed an empty plate from under the sandwiches and add two halves to it, then sat on the couch beside her. “No thanks necessary.”

  Dan Malone just smiled and patted her hand. “Come on. Eat before it gets cold. What can I get you to drink? I think there’s cola, milk, and water.”

  “Water’s fine for me, thank you,” Moriah responded then blew on the surface of the tangy, red soup.

  “KC?”

  “I’ll take a cola, thanks.” He gestured for Moriah to take a sip from the mug. “Eat up.”

  Her smile grew as she gave him a small, sarcastic salute. “Yes, sir!”

  The little giggle that erupted from her mouth, along with her teasing had him grinning and briefly forgetting the danger she was in. “Ah, finally some respect.”

  As they finished eating, Brian strode through the back-porch door. KC had been pleased when Moriah had not only finished her soup but had eaten a sandwich as well. While Brian closed the door behind him, all three stood with questioning eyes. Impatient, KC crossed his arms as he stared at his brother. “Well? What did you find out?”

  Brian sat in the recliner, and they followed his lead by sitting down again, KC and Moriah on the couch and Dan on the loveseat. “First, I called Sean and brought him up to date. I asked him to use his contacts to make a few discreet inquiries. By the way, he’s flying in.”

  “What?” KC was stunned. “What do you mean he’s flying in?”

  Shrugging, Brian sat back and put one ankle on the opposite knee. “Sent me a text saying he was boarding a flight. You’ll have to ask him when he gets here. Not sure what time he’ll be here, but it should be soon.”

  “Wait a minute,” Moriah interrupted and then turned to KC. “What does Sean do? You never told me.”

  He took her hand in his and squeezed his reassurance that he was on her side. “Sean’s with the FBI in Jacksonville, Florida, but he’s got contacts all over the U.S. He might be able to find out something we can’t.”

  Moriah nodded and then her gaze returned to Brian.

  “Sean thinks he still has a contact in the DEA in Chicago and was going to try to reach him. That’s the first thing. Next, I got a message to call a Detective Frank Parisi of Chicago PD on my work voice mail. I called the guy back, and he sounds like a real jackass. He treated me as if I was a sheriff in a small hick town, population fifty.”

  KC and Dan both grunted because they knew the type.

  “Apparently, he received the alert when I ran Moriah’s ID, which I had expected.” He raised his hand at her panicked expression halting her from whatever she’d been about to say. “Like I said earlier, I told him someone turned in your purse.” Letting out a heavy breath, Moriah’s tension eased slightly, and Brian plowed on. “Anyway, I tried to obtain a few details from him, but he just danced around me. He said she wasn’t a suspect, but they were curious about the reasons why she disappeared. As a matter of fact, he never mentioned the fact that Moriah might be a victim, too, but seemed confident she’d run away. That in itself makes me suspicious.”

  Dan leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Maybe this detective is the dealer’s connection.”

  “It’s possible, but until Sean calls us back, we’re still flying blind here.”

  “Well, speak of the devil.” KC, Moriah, and Brian followed the older man’s line of vision to the back door. Sean Malone was standing outside, shifting his carry-on luggage and briefcase to one hand so he could turn the doorknob. KC quickly stepped over and saved him the trouble.

  Sean crossed the threshold and set his baggage down before KC grabbed him in a bear hug and slapped his back. “Hey, bro! It’s great to see you, but couldn’t you have just called with the information?”

  Returning the hug, his younger brother laughed. “And let you guys have all the fun? No, fucking way.”

  Stepping away from KC, Sean proceeded to greet Brian and his uncle in the same loving manner. He then stopped in front of the woman standing next to his eldest brother and eyed her face with a professional, yet gentle gaze. “You must be Moriah. It’s nice to meet you, although, I wish it was under better circumstances.”

  KC knew from Moriah’s tentative smile, she was a little overwhelmed by meeting an FBI agent. However, she was polite with her response. “I wish it was, too, but it is nice to meet you.”

  Sean winked at her, then addressed KC with a frown. “You’ve gotten yourself involved with some serious shit, brother.”

  Shaking his head, KC sighed in frustration. “Tell me something we don’t already know.”

  Again, they took seats around the coffee table with Sean joining his uncle on the loveseat. He leaned back, crossed his outstretched legs at the ankles, and relaxed. “Well, according to my Chicago DEA contact, John Samson, this Leo Simmons character is involved with the local drug business and is supplied by one Adrian Hernandez. Simmons is a two-bit dealer, but apparently, Hernandez is the biggest supplier of coke, pot, ecstasy, and whatever else floats your boat, in Chicago. He has his hands in a few other venues, too, including prostitution. They’ve been trying to build a case against him for years and are finally close. Now . . . this doesn’t leave this room . . .” He waited specifically for Moriah to nod her assent. “The Chicago Police Department may be looking for you in connection with your family’s murders. However, the DEA knows differently. One of the people they’ve been keeping tabs on is Hernandez’s right-hand man, a Dennis Kellerman. He was seen going into Moriah’s building the day of the murders along with Simmons and two other flunkies. The agents didn’t think anything of it because they knew Simmons’s girlfriend lived there.”

  “Susan,” Moriah murmured, then cleared her throat and spoke louder. “My sister.”

  Sean nodded. “I’m sorry. Anyway, when these assholes left about a half hour later, they were in a real hurry. Simmons’s shirt appeared to be covered in blood, so one agent stayed behind while the other continued the tail. The first agent was about to check things out in the apartment when he saw you enter. He knew you were Susan’s sister and waited about fifteen minutes because he didn’t want you to know they’d had her under occasional surveillance. He figured whatever happened inside, you would call 9-1-1. When he saw you come running back out, obviously upset, he went upstairs and found your family. They must have used silencers because the agents never heard gunshots.” Looking somberly at Moriah, he continued. “Agent Samson was very sorry about your family, but the agency had no clue they were in any danger. If they did, they would have provided protection for you and your family. The DEA didn’t even know why they were killed. I told Samson about the money and gun; so, it appears that mystery is solved for them.”

  Moriah’s bottom lip and chin quivered. “W-why haven’t they arrested Leo and the other men?”
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br />   Knowing the unfortunate answer, KC took her hand. “They’re low men on the totem pole, sweetheart. The DEA wants Hernandez.”

  Sean nodded. “That’s right.”

  Confused, she glanced back and forth between the two men. “Then why doesn’t the DEA tell the police what happened?”

  “Samson’s sure that Hernandez has several contacts in the Chicago PD. At the moment, they’re not sure who they can trust.”

  Her shock was evident on her face and tone of voice. “So, no one will be arrested for killing my family, and I have to stay on the run to stay alive?”

  The men knew the workings of law enforcement, but as a civilian it was hard for the woman to comprehend things had to work a certain way to reel in the bigger fish. Sitting forward, Sean spoke in a soothing tone. “I told Samson you were hidden somewhere safe, but I didn’t say where you were located. He assured me the case was coming to a head soon and, in addition to the drug arrests, there will be charges in the homicides.”

  Her shoulders sagged, and when she spoke again, it was so softly that the men had to strain to hear her. “What happened to my family? Where were they taken?”

  “They’re still at the county morgue. Unfortunately, if no one claims them soon, they will be buried by the city in a potter’s field.”

  KC’s heart and gut squeezed as Moriah sobbed. “I’m their only living relative. My mother was an only child.”

  Putting his arms around her, he hugged her tightly to his chest. “When this is over, I’ll see to it that they receive a proper burial.”

  “I-I can’t ask you to do that,” she mumbled into his shoulder as her tears soaked his T-shirt.

  “You’re not asking. I’m offering. No strings attached.”

  Biting her lip, she lifted her gaze to his. “Th-thank you.”

  Brian stood. “So, now what? We just wait?”

  The other men reluctantly agreed. “We wait.”

  C

  HAPTER 18

  A fter KC had tucked an exhausted Moriah in her bed and told her he would join her soon, she had immediately fallen into a deep sleep. He stood watching her for a moment from the doorway as her chest rose with every inhalation and fell with every release. She looked so small in the king size bed, and her dark hair was a sharp contrast to the white pillow case. He couldn’t help but think he had never met a woman who meant this much to him and had never expected to. But they needed to free her from this horrible mess she was in before he told her how he felt. Then, if she was willing, they could decide if what existed between them was something that could last a lifetime. For the first time in his life, he prayed it was.

  Closing the bedroom door, he ambled out to the living room where his brothers and uncle were still seated. They’d spent the rest of the late afternoon and entire evening going over the little intel they had obtained and tried to put together some sort of strategy. Sean would reach out to Agent Samson again in the morning to check if the man had acquired any further information for them. They also decided Uncle Dan would inform his good friend, Matt Griffin, the local sheriff, of what was happening in his town in case the Malone men needed any additional assistance. Brian advised his uncle that Griffin could call him if he had any questions. In the meantime, they would keep Moriah safe and hidden in case Brian’s phone call to Detective Parisi had raised some red flags.

  Leaving for the night, Brian and Dan said their goodbyes with promises to call in the morning. Sean was taking KC’s bedroom. No one had batted an eye over the fact that KC would be sleeping with Moriah, and she had been too tired earlier to be embarrassed about it. He planned to stick to her like glue until this was over. The day had taken its toll on her. In telling her story for the first time, the deaths of her family had hit her again with full force. She was terrified, but the brothers and their uncle had assured her nothing would happen to her on their watch, and she’d thanked them for their vows of protection.

  Before going to bed, KC contacted his team’s gadget specialist. Tobias Anderson III, known by his call sign T3, was a genius with anything electronic. The six foot five, 230 pound, former Navy football linebacker was intimidating in broad daylight and downright scary in the dark. He had a scar that ran from his left temple down his cheek to the jawline. KC had been on that mission when a terrorist carrying a wicked knife had surprised them and managed to get one connecting swipe before taking a bullet that sent him to Allah. T3 had killed the tango and extracted another wounded teammate all while his cheekbone protruded through the gaping incision the knife had inflicted. The naval surgeons sutured more than 150 stitches to close the wound. While on some men the large scar might be a hindrance in the looks department, on T3 it had only increased his sex appeal with the opposite sex. They ladies loved him.

  Shortly after KC’s call, T3 had driven down to the Malone beach house with a knapsack full of goodies for the brothers. In addition to silent entry alarms which attached to windows and doors to alert them to intruders, he had also included several boxes of ammunition for the Glocks both KC and Sean carried. It was enough to take on a small army. When KC had raised his eyebrows at the stash, his SEAL teammate just held up a hand to halt a verbal question. “Don’t ask, don’t tell. I could only scrounge up six alarms on short notice but was able to pick up two receivers for you. I hope that’ll be enough. If not, I can probably locate a few more in the morning and run them back down.”

  “No, this should be fine,” KC assured him as he glanced around the living room. “The only easy access points are the windows along the deck and the back door, so this will be plenty. The other door leads down to the garage, and you can’t help but hear the overhead door roll up.”

  T3 snorted. “I doubt you’re dealing with rocket scientists. They’ll be taking the easy way and probably kick the back door in.”

  KC thanked his teammate as he left, and promised to call if he needed any other assistance. Now, before getting some sleep, Sean and KC began the task of attaching the silent alarms to the doors and windows that could easily be breached. They also set up a receiver in each of the bedrooms. With the house as secure as it could be for the night, KC clapped his brother on the shoulder on his way to the hallway. “Moriah changed the sheets on the bed earlier for you. See you in the morning, bro. And thanks for coming.”

  Sean let out a soft “Yee-haw” which had KC chuckling all the way to the bedroom. It had been a long time since the brothers had played cowboys and Indians or cops and robbers together, but this was the first time as adults they were teaming up against a real enemy.

  After placing his loaded weapon on the nightstand next to him, within easy reach, KC climbed into bed and stretched out next to Moriah. The silent alarm receiver sat on the dresser where he could see the flashing red light and hear the low warning alert if it went off. He was still dressed in his jeans but had taken off his T-shirt. He didn’t expect any trouble tonight. However, he wanted to be able to move in a hurry if he had to. Gently, he wrapped one arm around Moriah’s torso and brought his leg over her thighs in a protective embrace. He was rewarded as she snuggled closer to him in her sleep. Before he realized it, he succumbed to the darkness himself.

  * * *

  Red. Dark red. Blood . . . on the floor . . . on the walls . . . on the ceiling . . . on her family. Oh, God no! Mama! Susan! Nicholas! Please, God, no! Run! They’re coming! Run!

  Moriah awoke on a half-choked scream. KC was alert in an instant, scanning the room for a threat, his hand on his weapon. When he was sure it was all clear, he turned toward her to see she was sitting up, sweating and breathless.

  “N-Nightmare,” she managed to stutter through gasps of air, sorry she’d awakened him.

  His body relaxed and he returned his gun to the nightstand. Edging closer to her, he wrapped his arms around her torso and kissed her damp forehead.

  “It’s all right,” he murmured as he rocked her. “I’ve got you. Everything’s okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

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nbsp; Swallowing several times, she leaned into his gentle caresses. He stroked her upper arm with one hand and the sensitive outer swell of her breast with the other. The tension eased from her and she slowly sagged against his hard body. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on his touch instead of the horror of her nightmare. She inhaled deeply, his masculine scent soothing, yet seductive. Her body began to hum with desire as her breathing became ragged. Tilting her head back, she brushed her lips against his jawline as his coarse nighttime stubble abraded her tender flesh. When his mouth met hers, Moriah kissed him back with fervor. She wanted to cherish every moment with him in case things didn’t work out in their favor. Part of her wanted to run to prevent danger coming to KC and his family’s front door, but the rest of her didn’t want to leave the man she was falling in love with.

  Her hands roamed over his bare chest, back, and shoulders. God, she wanted to lick him. Taste him. Devour him. Please, don’t stop, she silently begged. Let me feel you. Please, let me feel alive again.

  The blood pooled to her core, and she moaned with desire. She needed him . . . his comfort . . . his strength. As his lips left her mouth and trailed down to her neck, she whispered, “Make love to me, please. Help me forget the pain.”

  She didn’t have to say it twice. His lips found hers again, and he kissed her with everything in him. His hands gripped the hem of her shirt and slowly dragged it up her body. But Moriah didn’t want slow. She wanted . . . needed him fast and hard. Pushing his hands out of the way, she ripped the shirt over her head and shoved her underwear off with a speed that surprised him. Before he could respond, her hands were at the fly of his jeans, making fast work of the snap and zipper. Within seconds, he was long and stiff in her hands as he pushed his pants to his knees.

  He let out a low growl as she pushed on his chest with one hand until he was lying on his back and she was straddling his thighs. Her other hand stroked his length and his eyes closed as his hips bucked. Leaning down she continued torturing him with a steady rhythm while exploring and teasing his upper body with her mouth and tongue. She licked, kissed, and nipped his upper torso, not missing a single inch. KC laid there, letting her take the lead as he knew she needed to right now. She had very little control in her life at the moment, but she had this control over him, at least, for a little while.