Safe Harbor

by Kit Kyndall

  “Can you reach that blanket there?”

  She stretched slightly in the direction he had nodded with his head, reaching for a rough horse blanket. It was certainly not a set of silk sheets, but it was good enough for the moment. She tossed it down haphazardly on the hay, and he lowered her down on it before smoothing the ends to give them more space. Then he knelt on top of her, his legs between her spread thighs, his weight supported on his hands on either side of her head. He seemed to be hesitating again.

  “I want this.” She kept her tone firm and decisive so he wouldn’t have any doubt that she was completely sincere. She wrapped her legs around his hips and buttocks, trying to pull him down more firmly against her. “I want you.” After a brief pause, where he clearly released the last of his doubts, his mouth returned to hers, and she welcomed him greedily.

  Her hands moved over his body, tugging at his shirt frantically. The flannel ripped with a rending sound as buttons flew, but she couldn’t care at the moment. She was too busy trying to get to the warmth of his skin. He hissed his obvious pleasure when her palms connected with his sides, before she raked her nails lightly down his flesh. She continued stroking him, hands moving inexorably toward the waistband of his jeans, as he shifted positions slightly to free a hand.

  He brought it between their bodies, using it to pop the buttons on her shirt in a skillful one-handed fashion. She admired his ability to maintain control, because she lacked it completely. She was too driven by need to worry about niceties, like stripping slowly.

  When he had pushed the shirt open, revealing her bra, she pulled away from him just long enough to pop it open herself, wanting it gone. Thankfully, she’d worn one with front hooks, though that had been just a random grab from the drawer.

  He spent a moment looking at her, his gaze full of a mix of hunger and wonder before his head descended, his mouth taking possession of one of her nipples in a slow, sweet tug that sent darts of pleasure spiraling through her. Her abdomen grew warm, heat pooling outward, as she shifted restlessly against him in a search for relief.

  Rubbing against the hard length of his erection was more frustrating rather than providing any satisfaction, and she reached for his waistband again as his mouth moved to her other breast, worshiping her tenderly. It was sweet and arousing, but was also maddening. She didn’t want slow and tender right then.

  She just wanted him inside her, and his insistence on gentle foreplay was making it impossible for her to undo his jeans and free his cock. With a groan of frustration, she tugged forcefully on his waistband until he lifted his head, his expression full of confusion. Before he could voice the question to ask what was wrong, she said, “We have time for that later. I need you now.”

  After a moment, Justin chuckled before he started to lean back. She was forced to drop her legs from around him, but it was for a good cause. He had simply shifted positions so he could first pull off her jeans before turning his attention to his own.

  When he returned to her a few minutes later, their bodies completely bared to each other, she reached a hand between them to guide his cock to her opening. As the head rested inside her, she let out a sigh of pleasure.

  He hesitated for a moment, though he rocked his hips gently. “Is it all right without a condom? I don’t have any in the stable.” He winked at her.

  “I’m actually glad about that. I’d wonder why you might keep them here otherwise.” She winked at him, surprised she could find a moment to tease him in return in her need. “I’m fine. On the shot. Completely clean.”

  “Ditto, except for the shot. I’ve been celibate for eighteen months, and I hadn’t been very active before then.” As he finished speaking, Justin sank fully inside her.

  She grunted at the intrusion, welcoming it even as her body twinged in discomfort for a moment. It had been a while since her last lover, and though she was more excited than she’d ever been, he was still a lot of man to accommodate.

  He slipped a hand between their bodies, his thumb gliding between her slit to find her clit. As he circled the tender nub, he rocked in and out of her, his thrusts first slow and tentative. As she opened fully to him, her juices coating his finger and cock to ease his passage, he started thrusting harder and deeper.

  She strained to meet him, anxious and eager to keep their rhythm in sync. His wicked finger soon coaxed a climax from her, but he held out, not giving in to the way her body tightened and squeezed around him until she had come again. As she reached the crest a second time, his cock twitched inside her as he started to come, and they went over the edge together, a mingled shout of release filling the stables as they both cried out from their pleasure.

  When it was over, she laid against him with her head on his chest, listening to his heart rate slowly return to normal.

  Slowly, he disengaged from her, but didn’t pull away. He simply turned on his side and took her with him so that she was tucked against him, though their bodies were no longer joined. He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead before asking, “Would you like to go for a ride?”

  She chuckled deep in her throat. “I thought I already did.”

  “Me too, but I meant on the horses this time.”

  She hesitated. “The closest I’ve ever gotten to horses before today were the ones that pull the carriages in Central Park. I don’t know anything about riding.”

  “I’ll teach you, if you want to learn?”

  She hesitated for a moment before nodding, though she felt bereft when he pulled away a second later. It was impractical to stay on the makeshift bed all day anyway, since the hay was still poking her through the scratchy fabric of the horse blanket. She just hadn’t realized it in the throes of passion. She wanted to suggest that they adjourn to his or her room and spend the day there, but since he was offering to show her a skill, allowing her to spend time with him in a way that he enjoyed, she wouldn’t reject the overture.

  He got up first, finding their clothes and handing hers to her out of order. As he raised her bra last, which had fallen off at some point during their frantic motions, though it had once rested on her shoulders, he lifted the small plastic flash drive, holding it out to her. “What’s this?”

  For a moment, she hesitated about confiding in him, but quickly banished any doubts. If Andre had trusted her life to him, surely he would have sanctioned her confiding in Justin about the flash drive. She quickly explained what it was as she dressed and he donned his clothes, so they were both finished roughly the same time.

  “You haven’t seen what’s on it yet?”

  She shook her head. “No, not yet.”

  “We’ll take a look at it tonight. If you want to, I mean?”

  She nodded. “I think we should probably know what’s on there. It’s kind of a murky thing about chain of custody, or maybe I’ve just watched too much “Law and Order,” but I’ve had it in my possession all this time, so there’s probably a good chance his attorneys would be able to keep the prosecution from using the contents against him anyway.” She wasn’t sure if she was using that as justification to satisfy her curiosity, but she genuinely thought it was to her benefit to know what was on the flash drive, and what had been worth it to Marconi to kill her friend.

  She enjoyed riding the horse far more than she would’ve expected. Charlie was an old gray dapple, at least according to Justin, and he was gentle and completely at ease with her despite her own tension. She was certain that must have transmitted to the animal, but he took it in stride—though his strides were slow, which suited her well.

  By the time they returned to the ranch house a couple of hours later, Justin had declared her a natural. She suspected he was simply stoking her ego, and she was certain anyone could have ridden the placid horse, but she had enjoyed the experience and the praise, so she didn’t argue with him. Together, they fixed lunch before eating, and then he disappeared into his office to work for a few hours while she continued reading the next book in his fourth series.

 
After dinner that evening, it was time to look at the flash drive, and she warred with apprehension and curiosity. Curiosity won, and she followed him into his office with only a slight hint of doubt. She took a seat beside him, perching on the footrest he normally kept under the desk as she leaned in for a view of the computer.

  Justin opened the file, though it took him a few tries to access it. “I had a little training with this stuff in the military,” he said in an offhanded way as he clicked buttons on his keyboard, trying several times to access the data before he was successful.

  She was grateful for his experience, since her knowledge of computers extended to how to check her email and open various programs. She had no idea how to hack into anything or bypass someone else’s password system.

  When he finally gained access, a screen appeared with folders. He clicked one labeled with last month’s date, and an Excel spreadsheet opened. At first, she thought they were looking at orders and item numbers, but the notations confused her. She was just starting to piece it together when Justin made the connection first.

  “It’s a list of people.”

  Her gaze narrowed in on the row labeled F and followed by numbers. In the same column, there were Ms followed by numbers. She pointed to a random one that said F, 19, and then touched another one that said M, 27. “Female nineteen, and male twenty-seven?”

  He nodded. “That’s what my guess is.” Justin touched a row that appeared to be country of origin. “Female, four, Slovenia.”

  A pang shot through her. “A girl who is four years old and from Slovenia? What kind of notation would this be?” Even as she asked, she had an inkling.

  His lips curled in disgust. “At first glance, I’d assume it’s a list of human cargo. A manifest of slaves.”

  She trembled as his words penetrated through the fog of denial that she wanted to project. She wanted to exclaim that it was impossible, that no decent human being would be trafficking peoples, but she knew that was wrong. Slavery still existed, and it was still a lucrative trade for the right scumbags willing to cash in on their fellow humans’ suffering. “I guess I see why he thought this was worth killing Shanae for.”

  He nodded. “It’s likely a multi-million or billion-dollar business they’re running, and the data on this flash drive would be enough to not only put him away for life, but to shut down, or at least seriously cripple, their operation. We have to get this to the right people.”

  She frowned at him. “Andre told me not to tell the authorities about it. He didn’t know who we could trust.”

  He nodded. “I know, but we can’t handle this alone. I need some time to think, to figure out who we should contact, and who we can trust. I have some former teammates who might be helpful.”

  Anxiety shot through her, and part of her wanted to keep arguing, because she was afraid to involve more officials in the situation. After being betrayed by Franks and who knew how many other people in the U.S. Marshals’ office, her trust was in short supply. On the other hand, she was certain Justin was correct that they couldn’t handle this themselves, and that keeping the data hidden was doing no one any good. “I trust you to make the right call.”

  His lips tightened for a moment, and he seemed to be almost in pain at her words. “That means a lot. I just hope I don’t get it wrong.”

  She reached over and took his hand, folding it in hers. “At least we’re in this together. Even if we go the wrong way, we’re doing it with the right intentions.”

  His lips twisted, and he sounded pessimistic when he said, “Right intentions don’t keep anyone alive. I can’t bear to lose you now.”

  She squeezed his hand again. “I feel the same way, but you’re right. We have to do something with this. If we don’t, it’s like letting him get away with it. It could be months before his trial, and the people on that list can’t wait that long. Maybe it’s not too late to stop whatever happens to them, or at least prevent a new list from appearing. We have to stop him if we can.”

  He nodded, and then suddenly drew her into his arms and kissed her passionately. When he lifted his head a moment later, he said, “We’ll worry about that tomorrow, but I need you right now.”

  Perhaps it was irresponsible, but she didn’t argue. She felt the same need for him, and she eagerly surrendered to his suggestion that they adjourn to his room, where they spent the rest of the night exploring each other between catnaps.

  8

  She frowned at the gun. “I really don’t feel comfortable with those things.”

  He didn’t withdraw the weapon he was holding out to her. In fact, he inched his hand closer. “I know, but I’ll feel better if you know how to shoot one. You agreed to let me teach you some self-defense.”

  She nodded, recalling the early morning conversation, when she’d been half-asleep and had agreed to his suggestion of some basic training. He had embraced her acquiescence with enthusiasm, dragging her from his bed and out into the clearing just shortly after the first light of day had appeared.

  She’d been okay with going through the moves he’d shown her, certain she had learned a few things even though her mind was still thick with sleep. It was now that she hesitated, seeing the gun he held and knowing he wanted her to fire it. “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

  He let out a deep sigh. “It could be really necessary. We’re going to introduce an unknown factor into this equation.”

  “What are you talking about?” She was a few hours short of sleep and at least two cups short of caffeine to be able to follow his analogy.

  “I’ve thought of someone I can approach for help, and I think Olivia is a good choice, but it’s going to bring new eyes on the situation, and there’s a possibility your location might leak.” He rubbed a hand down his face for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache. “I left a message for her to call me, and I’m sure she will as soon as she gets it. In the meantime, I think it’s a good idea to teach you some things to defend yourself, in case something happens.”

  “To you, you mean?” She issued the challenge forcefully, aware she was only responding that way because she didn’t like the thought of anything happening to him, and not because she was angry that he might want her to take care of herself.

  He just nodded, as though he understood how she felt. “I’ll do my best to protect you, but you need to know how to take care of yourself too.”

  “We should get out of here than. Not give them a chance to come find us.”

  “I’m not leaving my home.”

  She let out a frustrated sigh. “There’s no need to be so stubborn. They’re not going to destroy your home while we’re gone if we’re not here. If they do, it can be rebuilt. We can’t be.”

  Justin shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. I can’t leave. I do much better here, and I don’t give in to the panic as much. If Olivia decides you’re at risk, and you’ll be safer with her, you’ll have to leave, but I won’t.”

  Her mouth dropped open in shock. “You’d stay behind and risk confronting Marconi and his people rather than leave the ranch?”

  He nodded. “I don’t like being out of control, and it’s harder to maintain focus and keep the panic attacks under control when I’m somewhere unfamiliar. I can handle going into town in small doses, but I’m not willing to take the risk of going somewhere else.”

  She really didn’t know what to say to that. She could understand his perspective, but it seemed almost foolish to her. No, no almost about it. She could only imagine how frightening his panic attacks must be if he was willing to face mobsters with guns rather than the outside world. “I think you’re making a mistake.”

  He nodded. “Maybe so, but it’s how I feel. Now will you let me teach you how to shoot?”

  Reluctantly, she took the gun and stepped up beside him as he helped her position her arms and walked her through the basic steps. After the first few shots, while she still found the weapon intimidating, her confidence grew,
and she was no longer frightened with each squeeze of the trigger.

  She had reloaded three times before she got what would be considered a decent shot on the target. She turned to share her excitement with Justin and frowned when she saw he was sweating and trembling. After carefully engaging the safety, she placed it down on the platform where he had arranged the gun and ammunition, at his makeshift gun range a half-mile from his house, still on his property. She turned fully to face him. “What’s wrong?”

  He didn’t answer for a moment as he fumbled in his pocket, pulling out a pill bottle. His hands were trembling so badly that the bottle fell to the ground, and she knelt to pick it up for him. She paused to read the label as she opened the lid to hand him one. That was what the directions indicated. “What is propranolol?”

  He swallowed it dry before answering. “Beta blocker. It helps the physical symptoms of a panic attack.”

  “Is that what’s wrong? You’re having a panic attack?” At his nod, she reached for his hand, feeling the need to provide some kind of comfort, even if it was inadequate. “What triggered it?”

  “Sometimes, nothing triggers them. They just happen for no discernible reason, but I think it was the gunfire. I haven’t shot a gun since the military. I keep a couple for self-defense, and I keep them oiled and maintained, but I haven’t heard one fire since I was relieved from active duty. It just brought back too many memories, and it overwhelmed me.”

  She leaned closer, wrapping her arms around him and absorbing the trembles his body transmitted.

  “I’m sorry I’m so weak.”

  Tears burned her eyes, she shook her head. “You aren’t weak. You’ve been through hell. When you’re ready to tell me about it, I’d like to hear it. But it takes strength to show your vulnerability to anyone.”

  “I wouldn’t if I could help it.” He bit out the words tersely, but he didn’t sound angry. He just sounded weary.