"Was the timer on?" she asked, pointing to the bomb that Macon had disengaged.
"No, Honeyface," I assured her. "It looked like it was waiting to be put to use."
She nodded, finally turning to face me, smile lighting up her face. "Ah, there's the face I love," she giggled, reaching up to cup my jaw. "The face paint was hot, in a rugged, dirty sort of way, but this," she said with a grin, biting her bottom lip and squishing my face.
I chuckled, leaning in to kiss her lips lightly—smooched face and all. "And I love you. God, I missed you," I sighed, pressing my forehead to hers and pulling her flush to me. "I was worried, baby."
"I know," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I had to go. I'm sorry, Adrian."
"Don't be," I told her, kissing her nose. "However much I hated it, it got us those kids back.
She swallowed thickly, nodding a bit. "It was so fucking hard letting them go alone," she breathed. "But I knew you guys were waiting."
"We were, baby. He was fine...they were both fine. He did just what you told him to..." I was about to tell her that when we went to get her at the hotel, poor Juan fell apart, but loud voices from the other end of the barn cut me off.
We turned to see Hunt walking his four prisoners at gunpoint. Victor and Phil were walking with them. A skinny fucker tried to run, but made the mistake of picking Victor’s side to turn to. A large, unsympathetic fist caught him in the face, knocking his ass flat on the ground, where he writhed in pain.
"Not so fast, Myles," Victor rumbled with his deep voice.
My eyebrows shot up, and I walked away from Alyssa, picking the asshole up off of the ground by his neck and slamming him into the nearest pole.
"Myles," I sneered, pointing my Glock to his temple. "I'm sure David misses you. Ready to meet him in hell?" I asked.
Several pairs of hands pulled at me, but I held my ground, staring at the asshole in my grip. We'd made sure that David had paid for taking the boys and my girl, and I needed to make sure he got the same.
Myles tried to laugh, but his airway was suddenly cut off. He couldn't even fight against my grip, because his hands were zip tied behind his back, but his feet kicked out, trying to make purchase against me. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
"What was that?" I asked, letting up just a bit.
"I said...whatever," he rasped, trying to swallow. "Everyone's gone, man."
"Not for long," I chuckled with a shrug.
"Hey, Adrian," Hunt said, coming to stand by my side. "I get it, but I need to ask him some questions. Feel free to join in on the...interrogation." He gave me a raised eyebrow, and I knew that he would be using whatever means necessary to get this guy to talk.
Victor joined in, "He keeps singing about how we won't find his boss, but he hasn't met your dad yet."
I smiled, dragging my tongue along my bottom lip. My dad was deadly when it came to interrogations. He would slowly, and methodically torture information out of men— men more dangerous than the little thief I had in my hands. I nodded and let go, snickering in amusement when Myles grunted with his hard fall. He landed awkwardly due to his bound hands and rolled to a sitting position.
"Hey, Alyssa" he called mockingly. "How did it feel to get put on your ass? I’d never seen a girl get choked out so…gracefully."
Alyssa started for him, but my fist flew before I could think. I caught him directly in the temple, and he sagged to the dusty floor of the barn.
"Shut it, asshole," I told him, though he was out cold.
Vic sighed, tilting his head over at me with a sarcastic look plastered on his face. "Thanks, Harris. Now I have to carry his sorry ass."
"Sorry," I muttered, still glaring at the man at my feet.
"No biggie," he chuckled, hefting Myles onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes with ease. "I was just saying..."
I huffed a laugh at him as he walked away with Hunter and the rest of their prisoners.
"I'll let you know when we're ready to begin," Hunt called over his shoulder.
The radio crackled in my ear as Alyssa and I sat down on a bale of hay. It had been quiet since we'd secured the farm, so I'd assumed the girls had been getting some much needed rest. They'd been up all night with us—well before we had exited the truck about halfway down the mountain.
"Tink," I sighed, pulling Alyssa to my side during a rare quiet moment. "You're gonna go blind if you stay on those computers any longer, pixie."
Tink chuckled. "I know, I know, I know. I think I may need glasses," she laughed softly. "I've worn out my eyeballs the last few weeks. But I'm merely on here to relay a message."
"Okay," I groaned wearily, smiling into the top of Alyssa's head when she snickered into my chest.
"Morning, Unca Adwien!" Juan chirped over the radio, sounding like sunshine and all things perfect and happy.
Alyssa gasped sitting up, her hands covering her mouth, and I realized that she hadn't talked to him since she'd to let the boys go at the hotel. Something that was probably torture for her to do, without going with him. The pure blind faith it must have taken to just set the boys free was still something I couldn't wrap my head around.
"Hey, little buddy," I said, unable to keep the smile off of my face. "Did you take care of Joanne and Makenna?" I asked, wanting to surprise Juan with his aunt.
"I did!" he squeaked. "We watched movies, made pock-corn, she let me play with her paints, and we kept only happy thoughts...just like Unca Dario told me. Did it work?"
I grinned, reaching up and tucking a stray hair behind her ear that had escaped her ponytail. "You tell me, buddy. Someone wants to say hi."
"Hey, Juanito," Alyssa breathed finally, and it sounded like she was sniffling.
"Tia!" Juan practically screamed into the radio, causing us both to flinch, but chuckle at the same time. "Unca Adwien found you?"
"He did, baby," she laughed and sniffled at the same time, leaning into me as I wrapped an arm around her. "He always does."
"Good. You can come home now," he stated, much like an order, and I laughed.
"Soon ," I told him. "Not long. Keep taking care of Makenna and Joanne, okay?"
"Okay, but I want to see you," he said, his voice dropping to a sad tone. "Hurry?"
"We're doing the best we can, okay, Juan?" Alyssa soothed softly. "How 'bout I call you every now and then to check in, huh?"
"Promise?"
"Promise," she vowed.
"Okay, love you...be safe," he sang, and his voice was replaced with Tink's again.
"Okay that was officially the last message I had to deliver," she giggled. “Did it help?”
"Yeah," she sighed, a smile playing on her face. Her green eyes calm, though tired.
I pulled her into my lap, because she looked completely drained. "Yeah, thanks, Tink."
Chapter 19- Reunion
I sat on the water well, bringing my knees up to my chin. It was late afternoon, and the road up to the compound had dried enough that vehicles could now get in. The place was chaos. Ambulances, coroners, and more of Hunter’s men had arrived and were now in the process of cleaning up the place, checking the people that we'd found in the tunnels, and removing the bodies of Terry's men.
The slightest mention of linking this shit with the train station had brought the media to the bottom of the mountain, and they were now being held back by Hunter and Cameron—not to mention a few local police. Anyone that wasn't FBI or DIA was being kept hidden, because Hunter needed to keep some parts of this operation secret, and that included Adrian's and Liam's participation, not to mention the rest of our crew.
My eyes fell on the bomb shelter they were sweeping, and then back to the house, my eyes welling up for some unexplainable reason.
"Hey, what's this?" Adrian whispered, suddenly at my side. Kneeling beside me, he cupped my face to wipe away my tears.
"I can’t help but think that one of those could have been me," I breathed, gesturing to the gurney that two men were struggling with over the
rough terrain and the weight of some guy's body. "If I were just some rich girls daughter like they thought. That would have been me. They were never going to turn me over." I sniffled, shaking my head. Glad that only he was around, I didn’t feel weak when it was just us.
Adrian turned me, pulled my legs down so that they were on either side of him, and looked up at me as he rubbed my thigh gently with one hand and continued to caress my face with the other. His touch was soothing, just as it always had been from the beginning, even when my tolerance for it was limited, and I unleashed emotionally on him.
"Things could have been so different, over something that isn’t even true. I’m no heiress." I hiccupped not looking up at him, playing with his fingers on my leg until he just linked our fingers together. "I need to know who is behind this baby. I could have died… over someone else’s..."
"Mistake," he finished softly for me, and I nodded frantically.
"Yes," I sobbed, nodding again. "I tried to stay...confident and strong, but that... I already lived through." I growled, practically shaking as I balled up my fists. "I have memories of it every time I get out of the shower. I didn’t want a three day reminder. "
Adrian stayed quiet like he always did because I rarely ever lost hold over my emotions. He brushed my hair from my face softly, his eyes locked on me. They were sincere, as captivating as the bluish-grey sky around us, and they showed an ancient worry that I hadn't seen since he first found out about Cuba. He was afraid for me, that my captivity was too much. Maybe it was, or maybe just Adrian's presence was like a soothing balm on a burn that allowed me to relax just a little.
"You were strong, Honeyface," he soothed, ghosting his fingers along my cheek and under my chin. "You walked into their hands knowing exactly what captivity was like. You did it for Juan, because you’re stronger than all of us," he stated, rubbing my hand until it relaxed, and then he kissed each finger.
"Really?" I urged.
"I swear," he said with a nod, placing another kiss to the middle of my palm. “You did amazing.”
I nodded, reaching out to cup his face. He was all things strong and noble, soft and comforting. And his face was fucking beautiful as he gazed up worriedly at me. I knew there was a part of him that was probably raging inside, because he couldn't fix whatever had hurt me, but he tamed it down in order to treat me like fragile glass, and at that moment, I felt a little bit like that.
"I'm sorry," I breathed, bringing his lips to mine.
"Don't be sorry, love," he whispered, kissing me once, before pulling back to look at me. "I know it wasn't easy down there."
I shrugged, sniffling at the same time, but allowed my forehead to fall to his.
"Honeyface," he started tentatively, "who gave you the bruises?"
I pulled back, and he traced a finger around the side of my eye and across my cheek. "Zoe, right after they discovered that my bag didn't have the money...and just before I kicked her ass with my hands still cuffed."
He grinned beautifully crooked, shook his head once, and leaned up to kiss my bruise with a feather light touch. "That's my girl," he chuckled.
I couldn't help but smile with him, because I was willing to bet he'd been tossing that question around in his head since he laid eyes on me. I probably needed to lay his fears to rest.
"No one hurt me," I stated firmly. Even though I wasn’t sure how long that statement would have been true if the guys hadn’t raided when they did.
Adrian gave me a look of disbelief, like he wanted to bring up finding me on a table, but didn’t know if it would make things worse or not. "The table was nothing, it was just meant to scare me. No one did, except for that. I promise, baby."
He studied me for a while and then let out a sigh of relief, "Good."
Two large SUVs with dark tinted windows pulled onto the property at the same time that Victor and Liam came out of the house and walked toward us.
"We're being kicked off the mountain," Liam snickered, giving both of us a wry smile.
"Just until morning," Liam countered. "There's an inn down the mountain in a small town. I've taken it over. Take your crew, get some rest, and come back up here in the morning."
"What about questioning Thompson?" I asked, wanting to face the guy that gave me so much shit. To show him what I was capable of without being caged with a gun in my face.
"Tomorrow," Victor urged, his eyes tracing over my face, lingering in the same spot that Adrian’s had. His face was stern as he turned to Adrian. "She's hurt and tired, Adrian. And you guys need to be off this property for the rest of the clean up. I will need you tomorrow, though."
I would've argued to stay, but he was right. I was exhausted and in terrible need of a shower, so I stood slowly and took Adrian's hand. "Tomorrow," I conceded, pulling him up, just as our whole crew exited the house. I looked up to Adrian. "It'll be fine. Let's go."
"Hi, Tia," my godson said with a yawn over the phone. "Auntie Kristen says you'll all be home soon."
"We will, Juanito," I sighed, stretching my legs out on the bed in our hotel room and straightening the robe I'd put on after my very much needed shower. "I'm not sure when, but we're trying really hard to finish up. Are you getting in bed?" I asked, missing the little routine we used to have before all the shit started.
It was a Saturday, and since Doc had an art class on Sunday mornings Juan would spend the night with me normally. About this time I would read to him until he nodded off.
"Not yet. I’m waiting up to talk to my mommies." He audibly yawned again, fighting sleep, and I looked up as Adrian came out of the bathroom after his shower.
I bit back a swoon and a groan at the sight of him in just a towel wrapped low on his hips. Water still glistened on his shoulders and arms, and his hair was a tumbled wet, sexy mess. The two day stubble on his face, the blue and grey mix of his eyes as he scanned through his phone and set his clothes on a chair, and the flexing and rolling of every muscle as he innocently moved about the room was just killing me.
Sometimes, he reminded me of that beautiful, untouchable man that I first really noticed helping me grab something that wasn’t within my reach when I first met him—unknowingly sexy. And then there were times he was the sweet man that stumbled over words because what we had was so new and unfamiliar that it made him nervous. The part of him that only I got to have. When he noticed I was on the phone with Juan he smiled sweetly, crookedly, lovingly, and patiently.
"Well you should have Auntie Kristen call them before they fall asleep ok? Night-night, little soldier," I told him. "Be good until your mommies and I get back okay? Te amo mucho Juanito."
"Okay, Tia, te amo tambien," he muttered wearily on the other end of the line before Kristen took the phone back and hung up to call Ross and Tawny.
I let him finish what he was doing, padding into the bathroom to brush my teeth as he called Jackson to discuss a meeting time at the top of the mountain. By the time I came back in the room, he was sitting on the side of the bed, setting the hotel phone back in its cradle.
"He sounds like...this shit didn't affect him," I stated softly, walking to him to stand between his legs.
His hands immediately landed on my waist, and he looked up at me, his brow furrowing just a touch. "He kinda freaked out on me when you weren't at the motel room," he sighed with a grimace, "but he calmed down once Ross got him home. Tawny says he's dealing with it perfectly. He's a little...clingy."
I took a deep breath and let it out. My worst fear for Juan was that there would be irreparable damage from his kidnapping. I knew what it was like, though his experience came nowhere near what I'd gone through. Thank God. I never wanted my godson to have fears of anything. It had taken me a very long time to work through my fears. It had been painful, scary, and downright nerve wracking. Without Adrian, and everyone else there for every single fucking step, I'm not sure I'd be as comfortable in my own skin.
I ran my fingers through his soft, damp hair,
sighing softly with contentment. "Clingy, I can handle. I might be a little clingy right back when we get home. Maybe I’ll talk Doc into letting me have a camp out with him in the tree house." I said with a grin and a bite to my bottom lip.
Adrian chuckled; wrapping his arms around me and pulling me flush to him. He set his chin on my stomach and gazed up at me. "Sounds like fun. I may have to crash that party."
"Should I sneak you in?" I teased him.
"Want me to come in through a window, Honeyface?" he snickered, his hands starting to travel over my back, over my bottom, giving it a squeeze, and down the backs of my legs.
"Why does that sound like something you've done before?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him when his cheeks tinged pink. "Adrian Harris!" I gasped in false shock, my mouth hanging open.
He huffed an embarrassed laugh. "Once or twice, okay? But I almost got caught by the girl's father. Scared the shit out of me, because he had quite the extensive gun collection..."
I laughed, because I couldn't help it, and I knew he was being modest so I wouldn’t feel jealous. His past was no secret to me when it came to women, but he was mine now. I didn't doubt it. In fact, I trusted his love for me completely. It was a crutch I leaned on in order to make it through life. Without it, I wasn't sure I'd have made it through my most recent captivity.
His hands skimmed the back of my neck and the unthinkable happenedI stiffened, and flinched away from his touch. It had been almost two years since I shied away from him but it was such a knee jerk reaction that my heart raced.
“Alyssa?” Adrian started carefully. “Are you sure you’re alright, Honeyface?”
“I’m fine. I don’t know why that happened.” I sighed, brushing his hair from his forehead so that I could place a long, slow kiss there. "God, I missed you," I moaned, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and another around his head when he buried his face into my stomach, just holding me. "I had dreams about you when I was gone, and it just made shit so much worse," I admitted softly into his hair.
His hands skimmed down my backside again—only this time, they traveled underneath the edge of my robe. As he slowly brought them up to cup my ass, he pulled his head from my torso. Testing to see if I really was ok.
The Law of Motion (Law Series) Page 30