“And?” I pressed.
“And he’s got his business dealings zipped up tight. So far, all we know is he’s being released early next week. The paperwork is already in processing.”
I paced to the opposite side of the room. “What’s it going to take to stop it?”
“We’re still working on that.” He hesitated and then confided, “Truthfully, it’s not looking good.”
“Jesus H. Christ,” I swore. “Do you have any idea what kind of stress this puts on Bellamy and my baby?”
Frost paused. “Bellamy is expecting?”
“Forgot to mention that, did I?”
“Well… I suppose there hasn’t been a need for us to be in contact. But a heads-up would have been nice.”
“Now you know how I feel,” I muttered.
Frost sighed dramatically. “Witness protection is always an option. It’s the only way the FBI—”
“No,” I ground out. “You know she won’t go for it.” Besides, how the fuck did they think they could wipe out my identity? I was known around the world. The country of Thailand gave me a truck, for God’s sake.
I glanced at Alex, who was speaking quietly into his phone on the other side of the room.
Our stares collided.
He knew and I knew this was beyond the FBI now. These assholes hadn’t even known about Crone’s release before we did.
Incompetent. Unreliable.
Definitely not up to the task of keeping my family safe.
Without another word to Frost, I pulled the phone away from my ear and hung up.
Alex lifted his chin.
“They aren’t going to be any help.”
That subzero part of him that he rarely let anyone see slipped to the surface. “Then I guess we’ll have to handle this ourselves.”
I nodded.
A voice in his ear turned his attention away, and the phone in my hand went off. It was Frost. I debated not answering, then figured it would be stupid to alienate any source of information I might have.
“Yeah?”
“If it’s any consolation, Crone will be heavily monitored and is only authorized to be in his home state of New York.”
“It’s not,” I deadpanned.
“I didn’t think so.” Frost sighed. “If I find out anything, I will let you know ASAP, okay? And you know the FBI will do whatever they can to protect you and your family.”
“If that was the case, that fucker wouldn’t be walking free next week.”
“We’ve been keeping close watch on his organization. As far as we can tell, Crone has made no plans of coming after you.”
“If he comes after me and I kill him, self-defense stands. Correct?”
“Mr. Mattison, I would advise that if Perry Crone or any of his people come near you, call 9-1-1 immediately.”
“And if he attacks me or mine while I’m waiting for the police?”
There was a pregnant pause. “Self-defense stands.”
“I’ll talk to you later, agent.”
I didn’t wait for him to say anything else, ending the call.
I looked up as Bellamy approached, carrying a plate filled with food. “Was that Frost? What did he say?”
“Thanks, sweetheart,” I said, taking the plate, then squeezing her hand. “Sit down with me.”
She did, and I couldn’t resist sliding my hand over her round belly.
“Liam.” She reminded me gently.
I was tired of Crone getting in the way of my life. “The FBI doesn’t know much more than us. But Crone isn’t allowed to leave New York.”
“Shouldn’t we have been notified? In movies, the victims get to testify at hearings before criminals are let out of jail.”
“I don’t think things operate like that where Crone is concerned, sweetheart.”
“Got it,” Alex exclaimed and came over. His plate in one hand and his phone in the other. It made a sound, and he hit the screen.
“You know this dude?” he asked, turning it toward me.
Bells and I both leaned forward to look.
“I’ve never seen him before,” Bellamy noted.
I had. “It’s the guard from the prison. He was there the day I went to see Crone. I had a conversation with him.”
“Well, you must have made an impression because he felt compelled to call and warn you,” Alex mused, set his phone down, and picked up the sandwich Bellamy had delivered.
He made a sound as he chewed and nodded, shaking the food in her general direction.
“He called you?” Bellamy inquired.
I nodded. “To warn me about Crone’s release.”
“Why would he do that?” Bellamy wondered.
“I got him winter Olympics tickets for next year,” I said, offhand.
Her voice held a note of wonder. “You did?”
I shrugged. “It was minor. He recognized me, we had a conversation, so I did him a solid.”
“Minor?” Bellamy asked. “Why do you two always say that?”
Around his food, Alex answered, “It’s minor. You know, no big deal. Nothing to worry about. It’s not major—”
“It’s minor.” I finished.
“So it’s bro code.” She surmised.
“No bro code is something else entirely,” Alex said.
She made a face, which I thought was cute as hell, then changed the subject. “If you didn’t know him”—she pointed to the pic on Alex’s phone—“how did you find out who he was?”
Alex shrugged. “Skills.”
Her nose wrinkled. “What kind of skills?”
“Skills an innocent like you don’t need to know nothing about.”
“You think I’m innocent?” She seemed surprised by this.
We both laughed.
“I’m hardly innocent.”
“Don’t worry. We like you that way.” Alex assured her, and I nodded.
“I killed a man! I emptied an entire clip into him!” she declared as if I needed a reminder.
I dropped the half-eaten sandwich on my plate and glanced at her. “Which is exactly why you don’t need to be worrying about any of this.”
“Liam Mattison,” Bellamy declared and stood, towering over me because I was sitting. Her hands went to her hips, which molded her shirt to the baby growing inside her. “I’ve had just about enough of your egotistical, macho, chest-beating ways!”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Army skills,” Alex said, still eating. We both looked at him.
“What?” Bellamy asked.
“It was some army skills. I made some calls. I know people.”
“And you think I’m too innocent to know that?” She scoffed.
Alex’s eyes shuttered a bit as he shoved more food into his mouth.
Bellamy felt the change and glanced at me.
I grabbed her hand and tugged her down. “Alex doesn’t like talking about his years in the army, sweetheart. You know that.”
“I’m sorry.” She apologized to Alex.
“Don’t be sorry, baby girl. It’s all good.”
I let out a rumble, and Alex grinned because he knew what he did. I let it go, though, because he just dipped back into the dark waters he left behind.
“That call cost you anything?” I asked, serious.
He paused in chewing, then shook his head. “Naw. It’s cool.”
“You’ll tell me if it did?”
“Yeah, bro. I’ll tell you.”
Bellamy looked between us. I felt her questions, but she didn’t ask in fear of upsetting Alex.
“I think I will make some cocoa after all,” Bellamy said, heading toward the kitchen.
I watched her go and began to worry. Just when things started calming down, Crone had to go and stir them up again.
Bellamy
The near-dark bedroom lured me like ocean waves crashing against a solitary shoreline. Sleep would have pulled me back under if Liam hadn’t moved against me.
An innocent touch, just the brush of his leg against mine. But it was enough. The contrast of the hair on his leg versus my smooth one enticed me in a way sleep never would.
In a world of unknowns and days that could change at the drop of a dime, there was one constant I could always rely on. The pure chemistry that tethered Liam and me together, invisibly but so permanently.
My reaction to him was ingrained in me, something I likely had been born with and was lucky enough to discover. It didn’t matter how hard life pushed us apart. The way my skin sizzled when he was close would never change.
The sound of blustery wind pushed against the house, making beams creak and the urge to push closer against him all that more enticing. This bed was cozy and Liam’s body my safe haven.
I slipped beneath the covers, gliding down his body, dragging my fingers across his warm, supple skin. He inhaled deeply in sleep and shifted unconsciously, spreading his legs a little, and I smiled. He didn’t have to be awake to react to me. We were like two planets with the perfect orbit. Two planets destined to circle each other for the rest of our lives.
Taking the quiet invitation, I settled between his thighs and began kissing up the front of his bare leg. Liam hadn’t slept in clothes. He rarely ever did. I liked that about him. I liked that he wanted to put the most amount of bare skin against me as humanly possible, even when we weren’t making love.
Shifting over, I repeated the kisses on the opposite leg and then settled my palms against each thigh and rubbed gently. In sleep, Liam moaned, and I rubbed a little deeper, slipping up toward the center of his body.
The skin on his sack was delicate and soft. Carefully, I weighed his balls in my palm and massaged lightly. Liam moaned again, and I dipped my head and smiled against his thigh.
His hips thrust upward just slightly. Just enough to push his sack a little farther into my hand. I fondled him while my other hand skirted over his lower abdomen and brushed over the tip of his stiff cock.
His ab muscles contracted, and his dick jumped with anticipation. Very softly, I nibbled his sack and then sucked part of him between my lips.
Liam’s hand scooped up some of my hair, which was falling over his body, and wrapped it around his fingers. After lavishing attention on his boys, I licked upward from the base to his tip and then slid my lips over his shaft, taking him deep.
A hissing sound filled the room, and I smiled against his dick. Holding firmly to the base of his rod, I began working it. Slipping my mouth up and down over the rigid length, enjoying the way he jerked against my tongue when I hit just the right spot.
His hand moved from my hair to the back of my head and pushed gently, encouraging me. I picked up the pace a little, then took him deep, allowing his head to hit the back of my throat. His legs tightened around me as I pulled back slowly and caressed his balls.
I lifted my lips, replaced them with my hand, and jacked him while nipping the inside of his thighs with my teeth.
His sack was drawn tightly against his body, and his dick was so hard it began to quiver. The salty taste of him coated my tongue, and my lips felt swollen from sucking. Craving more, I planted both hands on either side of his hips and dipped my head, taking him between my lips again. My body rocked against him, and a small sound of pleasure filled the space over my head.
Liam moved, slipping his hands beneath my arms and sitting up. I lifted my head, taking in the sight of him above me and how his eyes flashed in the dimness of the bedroom.
I knew just from one look that I wasn’t going to get to finish. No, Liam had other ideas.
With a beastly growl, he lifted, pulling me up his body and draping me across his skin. His lips crashed over mine, and he took control, though I was the one on top.
We kissed deeply, tongues nearly fighting, and my breasts ached with need. Almost as if he heard their silent plea, Liam ripped his mouth away and pushed me up slightly so he could latch on.
I cried out as intense pleasure shot through me, moving all the way to my core and making it almost hurt. He sucked my nipples until between my thighs was dripping and I was trying to straddle his cock.
Before I could sink down, he rolled, taking all his weight on his arms, and settled between my thighs. I looked up, dizzy with need, and he smiled. Just when I thought he would come inside, he disappeared.
I made a sound of distress and pushed up onto my elbows just in time to look down my body and see him brush a few tender kisses across my rounded belly.
My heart turned over, and the love I felt for him battled against the extreme need pounding in my veins. After one last kiss and caress over my belly, he reached between to slip one of his thick fingers into my entrance, testing to make sure my body was ready to accept him.
I bit into my lower lip and shivered.
He grunted. The sound only made me want him more as he rose over me. His head met my entrance, and I held my breath, anticipating that first push.
His lips dipped low. “Breathe,” he whispered, his mouth so close it brushed against mine.
I inhaled, and Liam entered my body. In a single gentle push, he was sheathed inside me completely. I felt my body contract around him and my back arched off the bed.
His lips latched onto one of my nipples and tugged as his hips began to move. My fingernails dug into his hips as he fucked me.
Liam kept up a steady, gentle pace, and it seemed no matter how hard my nails bit into his skin, he wouldn’t hammer into me any harder.
I knew he wouldn’t. There was no way he’d be rough while our child lay between us.
His lips unlatched from my breasts, and I sagged against the mattress when he pushed deep.
“Look at me,” he rasped, his voice groggy from sleep and sex.
I forced my heavy lids open to do his bidding, and my breath caught again. His stare claimed me in a way even his body couldn’t. Liam didn’t just own my body; he owned my soul.
And by the look in his eyes, he knew it.
He knew and he reveled in it.
“You’re everything to me,” he whispered.
I came apart beneath him, shattering into a million tiny pieces. My body strained against his as I shook and shuddered. Liam scooped me up close and held me while rivers of pleasure flooded my body. When I finally started to settle, he tilted his hips, and I began to shudder all over again.
His lips moved in my hair. I clung to him until my limbs went limp. Laying me out on the mattress beneath him, Liam rose again, pulled free, and then surged back in. The girth of him seemed to swell and his strokes became quicker.
Moments later, the cords in his neck stood out and his body went rigid. I felt his dick pulse with release, and my muscles tightened around him, milking every last drop.
When the throes of a powerful orgasm finally loosened their grip, he shuddered and glanced down, sweeping his gaze over me, assessing to make sure I was okay.
I smiled and reached up, trying to pull him close. He refused to give me his full weight, and when I made a pouty sound, he chuckled and moved to my side. Liam cupped my face with his hand and pulled it gently toward him.
We kissed softly and lazily, until he pulled away and kissed my shoulder.
“Hey,” I murmured.
“Hm?” He nudged the side of my neck with his nose.
I giggled and grabbed a handful of his hair right above his forehead and pulled so his eyes would meet mine. “You’re my everything, too.”
Liam lay against me, nuzzling my neck and entwining his leg with mine. These were the kind of moments that made all the terrible ones worth it. This was the reason I fought even when the fight seemed like a losing battle. Liam was worth it. Love was worth it.
An unfamiliar feeling shot through my stomach, and my eyes flew open. Another one followed close behind, and I gasped.
“Bellamy?” Liam said, alarm creeping into his voice.
The strange sensation happened again, and I sat up, instinctively putting both hands against my bare belly.
Liam burst up, hit his knees on the bed, and held his hands out so they hovered close by. “What’s happening?” He stressed. “Jesus Christ, Bellamy, what’s wrong?”
I glanced up, tears in my eyes, and whispered, “The baby.”
Liam
I thought I’d known fear. It definitely wasn’t an emotion I was unfamiliar with.
But this?
Seeing my girl grip her pregnant belly as tears flooded her eyes… It was too much. If a man could die by fear alone, this was what would take me out.
“We’re going to the hospital,” I bellowed and lunged out of bed. I raced around, searching for a damn pair of pants until I saw a pair lying right there at my feet.
I tugged them on, trying to put both legs on at once and nearly falling on my ass while doing it.
“Liam…”
I cursed and righted myself as I yanked them up my body. “I got you, sweetheart. Just sit there and breathe. Everything’s going to be okay.” Dear God, please, please, let everything be okay.
Not my son. Please, not my son.
I raced to her side, only to realize she was naked.
Bellamy caught my hand before I could rush off in search of clothes. “Liam, stop.”
I spun back. “What hurts? Tell me.”
She smiled as a tear tracked down her cheek. “Nothing hurts,” she whispered. “Feel.”
She guided my hand to her stomach, pressing hers flat over mine.
I stood there, heart hammering, as I tried to make sense of what she was doing.
“Bells, we need to go,” I said, trying not to sound cross with her.
“Wait!” she urged. “He’s moving!”
Oh, holy shit… He’s—wait. What?
I looked at Bellamy again as she lay back and pressed her hand over mine. I waited, heart still pounding, and nothing happened.
“I probably hurt you,” I spat. “I probably was too rough.”
“There!” She gasped and pulled my hand to another spot.
Nothing happened.
I frowned.
She looked up at me, love shining in her eyes. “Talk to him.”
When I hesitated, she nodded encouragingly. I dropped to my knees beside the bed and leaned toward my son. “Hey, pumpkin,” I said. “What’s going on in there?”
Frostbite (BearPaw Resort Book 3) Page 19