by J. C. Cliff
“Valerie,” he cautions me, as if I need to check my attitude.
“No, Graham. Fuck you,” I growl.
He finally breaks and loses control. I’ve pushed him too far this time, and I think he might possibly slap me, but I’m dead wrong. Instead of doling out violence, he slams his mouth over mine.
My hands push hard against his chest to get him off me, but he won’t budge. His kiss is bruising, but I have no intention of relenting. When he breaks away, he breathes heavily over my lips. Whether in anger or misplaced passion, I have no clue.
If he plans on forcing himself on me, he’s got another think coming, and right now, I’ve never been more thankful for my monthly. “I’m on my period,” I tell him in a harsh voice that says if he does take me by force, he’ll have a mess on his hands.
“I know,” he says, and I arch a brow, looking at him in confusion. He half-grins at me, as if he has one up on me. “I’ve already had the bed linens changed.”
My eyes go wide in surprise until the initial shock wears off then they narrow in anger. My voice is heated and low. “You didn’t.”
“Ohh, I did,” he says with a knowing grin. The sick bastard looks down at me in amusement. “When you fell asleep, I took the privilege to change you. The extra tampons are in the bathroom.”
CHAPTER 40
~ Stryker ~
I’m so fucking livid over her leaving the hotel, and I’m on a mission to find out why. Did she play me? Neither Celia nor Valerie left a note behind. Nothing. They just took off, and a large part of me is having a hell of a time believing she left me willingly, but there was no sign of a struggle in the hotel room. This mission may be business, but it just turned more personal in a way I never imagined.
The only thing I feel remotely positive about is the equipment we have on hand. Every ounce matters to a combat operator, every ounce. That’s why Hunter and I have packed with precision. We’re ready for anything, and right now, with the way I feel, I could start a war.
The drones we’ve been gathering intel from can read the Surgeon General’s warning on a pack of cigarettes from an ungodly distance. They can also do thermal imaging, which is going to come in real handy very soon. Quinn only gets the best equipment, and at times like these, I just want to hug the shit out of him. He’s able to get his hands on shit that isn’t available to ordinary civilians. At least, not in resolution capabilities anyway.
We’ve been following Celia and Valerie’s trackers for fucking hours. At least we know they’re together and not split apart. After spending three hours in a vehicle, it appears they reached their destination.
Both Hunter and I decided it was best to go in on foot the last four miles from where the women stopped moving. We’re both in military mode, years of Special Forces military training filtering through my every vein as if it was yesterday.
“We’re close, damn close, but we need more intel before we can go storming in,” Hunter says quietly, as he slips off the night thermal scopes from his head.
It’s taken us a good while to get a clean line of sight in this bitch of a tangled jungle. I adjust my own thermal scope and study my surroundings. Even though night has fallen upon us, the dark is no match for our equipment. It can detect objects by heat sources, and can give definition on bodies up to two miles away. The scope’s computer is estimating we’re about seven hundred yards away from our target. I whistle a low pitch as I scan over the lay of the land. “That is one mother-fucking compound.”
“Yeah it is,” Hunter replies. “We’re gonna need more back up, and more guns… a lot more guns.” I take off my scope and look over at Hunter, who’s typing away on his mini computer.
“Can we get the backup?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sending the info to Quinn right now.”
“What the fuck is this place?”
“Whatever it is,” Hunter says, pausing to look at me, “it’s what the FBI’s been after. I guaran-fucking-tee it.”
“I guess we’re settling in for a long night. I can set up the last two drones, and we can get the lay of the compound.”
“Let’s do it.”
*~*~*
Sleep has been intermittent, and I think I got a total of four hours of shut-eye. I don’t need much right now, because I’m on edge. I’m ready to blow the cover off this shit sky high.
Hunter and I mapped out the majority of the compound last night, and he spent half of the night trying to talk me down. I want nothing more than to storm in there and wreak havoc, but he’s right. Two people are no match for what’s before us. I’ve got this damn place memorized, and I have excellent speculation as to what building Valerie is in. She’s in a fucking mansion of sorts.
With us having the coordinates, I’m sure we could fall back until reinforcements arrive, but my woman is in there, and right now, I don’t know if it’s by force or free will. I can’t in good conscience leave her there another minute, not knowing what she could be up against.
“Son of a bitch,” Hunter whispers, the sound barely coming through my earpiece. We’ve closed in on the compound overnight, but we split up in case one of us gets captured. It’s now early morning, and very humid already. I expect he’s seeing the first movements of the morning’s activity within the compound.
Without saying a word, and keeping my movements to a minimum, I scan the area with my goggles. I lock onto what Hunter is seeing, and “son of a bitch” is right. It’s Celia, and she just stepped out the front door of the mansion. She flips her long jet-black hair over her shoulder and smiles my way. It’s creepy as fuck. She’s not smiling at me, of course; she’s smiling at an approaching man heading her way.
“Well, the bitch is living well,” I mumble. She looks overly confident and comfortable in her new surroundings, as if she owned the place.
This has me thinking about Valerie. Is she living happy and well off, too? Was this her final destination all along, and is the extra bullshit I’m putting my heart through worth all this? Seeing Celia freshly showered and in newly applied makeup only confirms the women willingly took off.
She runs into the arms of an approaching man, and he has no choice but to wrap his arms around her. He grabs her by the nape of the neck and slants his mouth over hers as if he’s a starved animal.
“All I’ve got to say is he better wrap his shit up,” Hunter says in a derisive tone through my ear-bud. They look like long-lost lovers, and I know I’m right when their voices get picked up by the nearby drone.
“Why didn’t you make it last night?” the man says, irritated.
“Caleb, I couldn’t. Too much is going on right now.”
He growls his disapproval. “This is going to cost you,” he warns.
Celia smiles broadly at him, and says with innuendo, “Sounds promising.”
“Oh, it is, and if you think it’s going to be fun and games this time, you’re wrong.”
Celia looks confused for a moment, then asks, “What are saying?”
“I can tell when you’re lying.”
“About?”
“Oh, come on,” he says with frustration. “You didn’t come to me last night, because of guilt. You knew I would figure it out. You’ve been fucking another man in the same fucking continent with me, mere hours away.”
She shakes her head in denial, and he grows more upset. “I’m keeping score,” he tells her, and I’m not sure what that means, but whatever it is, it doesn’t sound good.
“Caleb… no,” she pleas. In my peripheral vision, guards are beginning to surface, starting their day. I ignore Celia’s bullshit excuses as I watch a couple men disappear into the mansion through a side door. A few other men are headed elsewhere. I should be paying more attention to the elsewhere, but right now, I’m locked on the front entrance, because someone just swung its heavy door open so fast that I could hear it bang against the interior wall, even without using the aid of the drone.
My leg starts to fall asleep from being in the same posi
tion for too long. The prickles are annoying as fuck, but I’m too focused on what’s about to go down to change my positioning.
It’s Valerie who’s stormed out the front door, and she looks pissed off. Celia whips her head around, but probably wishes she hadn’t, because Valerie just slaps the shit out of her. Her head snaps back, and if her man, Caleb, wasn’t holding her, she would’ve stumbled to the ground. She holds her cheek in shock, which seems to suit Valerie just fine, because it leaves the side of her ribcage for a wide-open shot. Valerie punches her relentlessly, screaming obscenities.
“What the fuck?” Hunter whispers.
“Don’t know,” I whisper back, dumbfounded, but there she fucking is, in broad daylight, and I can’t do shit about it but watch. I stay extra quiet, my breathing short and shallow, as I don’t want to miss any sounds coming off the drones.
“You fucking bitch!” Valerie screams so loud I almost jolt back, wishing I had turned down the volume on my damn earpiece, but I’m not willing to risk another movement to do so. Last thing I need is to be discovered. Valerie slaps her yet again, across the other cheek, yelling, “You traitor! I absolutely hate you!”
Celia is seriously taken aback, both shock and fear apparent on her face. The man, Caleb, is built like a damn tank, and it takes no effort on his part to ensure Valerie keeps her distance.
“This battle is not yours, Caleb,” Valerie sneers.
“Go back inside,” he orders her with the jerk of his chin.
My girl turned feisty overnight, I think to myself.
She only confirms it when I watch her boldly square her shoulders and spit into Caleb’s broad chest, “Go fuck yourself, asshole.”
She tries to shove him away, but he doesn’t budge. Frustrated, she pounds her fists into his chest, screaming at him. “Get the hell out of my way, you big lummox!”
I almost want to burst out laughing, because even though she’s no match for this man, my girl suddenly has no fear. I’m seeing a side to Valerie I’ve never witnessed before.
Caleb holds her back as she leans around him. Pointing a finger at Celia, she yells, “I will fucking dice you, bitch. You best watch your back, because I’m coming for you.”
Holy shit, if I didn’t know better, I’d believe she’d actually follow through on her threat.
Celia stands there in shock and a shaken mess, but the “big lummox” has had enough of the show. He scoops Valerie up, tossing her over his shoulder, and carries her back into the house. My heart explodes in my chest. She’s kicking and screaming, and I’m seconds away from busting out of these bushes to gun the fucker down. Hunter must sense the energy within me, or he just knows me that well, because he rings through loud and clear in my earpiece.
“Stand the fuck down.” His tone is thick with tension. “You fucking go in, we both die, asshole.”
My hands are shaking with rage. I’m dying to pull the trigger on some motherfuckers. I breathe through my anger with shallow controlled breaths, hearing Hunter’s words echo in my head.
What the fuck was that all about? I’d never seen Valerie so volatile in all my life. I know that look on a person. It’s a wild-eyed look of pure hate. It’s the same kind of expression a soldier holds for his enemy.
I’ve been too distracted by this showdown. I know this, because I feel the cold barrel of a gun press into the side of my neck. I have no time to react before a hard blow is delivered to the back of my head and I immediately black out.
CHAPTER 41
~ Valerie ~
“Put me down, goddammit!” I shriek at the top of my lungs. I wasn’t done with Celia—far from it. I want that bitch to bleed a slow death. She watched me day in and day out for the past year as I suffered through the most horrendous pain in my life, and she knew the truth all along. Hell, she even drove me to my psychology appointments!
“What’s going on?” Graham asks behind me in that smooth, cool tone of his.
“Huge catfight, sir.”
“Ahh… I see.”
“You see nothing,” I yell over Caleb’s shoulder, seething.
“Put her down,” Graham requests, but it’s really a demand.
“Yes, sir.”
Caleb sets me down on two shaky legs, my chest heaving for air, because my adrenaline is overflowing. Graham steps forward and roughly grabs my chin and cheek with one hand, forcing me to meet his eyes.
I’m startled by his rough demeanor for a moment. He never manhandled me this way before, and it’s scary.
“Leave us, Caleb,” he says, never removing his hard glare from mine. That’s when I really see it, clear as day: Graham’s power of authority oozing from every pore. I stare back at the cold-hearted and calculating cartel leader as I hear Caleb’s heavy boots retreat, sounding out against the marble floors.
Once we are left alone, Graham then speaks. “That’s the last outburst from you. I will not tolerate it in my house.” I’ve never been able to hide my emotions very well. Graham was right about that. Because he can see the vindictive anger emanating from my eyes. “You keep looking at me like that, you’ll definitely be sorry.” His grip tightens further on my cheeks, and I wince.
“Let me go,” I hiss, but Graham doesn’t listen. But then again, he doesn’t have to. He’s the boss.
He backs me up until my backside meets with the wall in the front foyer then he cages me in, his arms resting on either side of my shoulders.
“I want my son, and I want to leave… now.”
He shakes his head and frowns. “You will never see our son until you can control your anger.”
I choke on the thick, humid air surrounding me. I’m about to call him a string of curse words, but he places two strong fingers over my lips, preventing me.
“Uh-uh, my little southern belle.”
I clench my hands into fists at the endearment. The words slither down my spine, causing me to shiver.
“He is my son too, and he stays with me. He will always stay with me.” The finality in his voice causes the muscles in my jaw to clench. “I’ve already accounted for these reactions of yours,” he tells me. “Call it insurance; call it whatever you like.” He shrugs then tilts his head. “Although, I’d really like to be able to call us a family again at some point in the near future. I don’t want these games, Valerie.”
“And you think I do? You’re the one who started the games, Graham.”
“I don’t want to hold James over your head, but I will if I have to,” he says, ignoring my comment. He uses his thumb to gently caress the side of my cheek in the exact place he caused bruising pain only moments ago. I know it’s bright red; I can feel the heat on my cheek. He looks thoughtful for a moment, maybe feeling guilty for causing me pain, but I doubt it. His eyes flick back to mine as if he heard my thoughts. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’d give my life for yours. I need you to see that.”
I close my eyes and realize then that I’m crying silent tears. The wetness slips over my cheeks and runs off my jawline. Graham leans in to kiss them away. “I love you, Valerie. God… I fucking love you,” he whispers passionately. “I wish you could see just how much, and how far my love for you goes.”
I turn my head to the side, willing myself to disappear from this nightmare. “So you’re basically holding me and my son captive.” I don’t even need to inflect my voice to make a question, because it’s a statement I already know the answer to.
“When did you get so goddamn stubborn?” His voice raises slightly. “We. Are. A. Family,” he growls with frustration.
“When can I see him?”
Graham lets out a frustrated sigh and briefly looks away. When he calms down, he answers, “Soon, but you need to learn to respect me in front of him and everyone else here, or so help me God—”
“I will,” I interrupt. “I can’t wait another minute, Graham. Every second that goes by, I die a little more on the inside. I swear to you,” I choke on a sob, forcing myself not to lose it so I can speak, “I just want to
hold him.”
His eyes soften as well as his tone, but it doesn’t take away from the bite of his words. “You need to understand I’ve spent month after month, day in and day out, building quality hours with James for the past year. At this point, I’m certain that if he were given a choice, he’d choose to stay with me without hesitation. I’ve made sure he worships the ground I walk on.”
My nostrils flare in anger, but I bite my tongue until I taste copper.
“When you do meet, I will be present during every second you spend with him. At least until I feel confident you’re not going to do something stupid.”
“Sir,” Caleb interrupts from behind. Graham closes his eyes in what I think is frustration. He doesn’t want to be interrupted right now.
“This better be good,” Graham growls.
“Yes, sir. Our men have a fish on the line.”
Every muscle in Graham’s body freezes then he turns his head to give Caleb a sidelong glance. My eyes go wide, wondering what this means. “Reel it in. I will be there in ten.” I don’t like the sound of his hard voice. It puts me immediately on edge. Is this place always a fucking zoo?
“Yes, sir,” Caleb says then quickly disappears.
When Graham looks back at me, I inwardly cringe. He’s not happy about Caleb’s news. “I want you to go to our room and shut the door. If you stay there and cause no trouble, I will let you meet with James today.” I nod, giddy as a damn schoolgirl, ready and willing to sell my soul in order to see my little boy again. “I might be a few hours, just so you know.” I’d wait for ten hours in a dark dungeon, if that meant I could see him again, even if only for a minute.
CHAPTER 42
~ Stryker ~
After being knocked out for the second time today, I found myself coming around by having an ice-cold bucket of water thrown in my face. The oversized brute named Caleb has had the honor of knocking me out the second time. There’s no fighting back, the main reason being I’m chained to a fucking concrete wall. I’m getting the shit beat out of me.