Finding Brianne: New Pleasures Book 4

by Parker, M. S.

  She looked over at Clay without answering my question. “How are we getting out?”

  I gritted my teeth but didn’t push the matter. This wasn’t the time or the place. We were working on borrowed time. Clay explained things quickly to my sister as I went to the closest hostage and asked if they were able to walk. There were bruises and cuts, but nothing bad enough to make escape a problem.

  “All right, people,” Brianne said as she turned from Clay toward the others. “We’re getting out of here. You’re going to follow these two and do everything they tell you to do.”

  “You’re coming with us,” I cut in.

  “Of course I am,” she said with a sigh. “I’m bringing up the rear just in case someone comes in before everyone’s out.”

  I figuratively bit my tongue and started for the door we’d come through. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one my sister insisted on protecting.

  “Follow me.”

  Thirty

  Tess

  I was still on edge when we arrived at the hospital. We’d gotten everyone through the window and across the yard without any issues. Through the hole in the fence and to the van without anyone noticing us. The closest thing to a problem we’d had was that the dogs had wanted to follow Clay. It had all felt too easy, like something was waiting to go wrong just when we’d decided that we were safe. If we could ever really be safe in that place.

  Nurses and doctors stared at us when we walked into the hospital together, ten people who looked like they’d been through hell and two people who look like they might’ve worked in hell. The surprise only lasted a few seconds, however, and then they got to work.

  Clay and I hung back, waving off any concern that came our way. I had a couple muscles that would protest tomorrow because they weren’t used to moving in certain ways, but no worse than I’d experienced after a hard workout. Other than that, neither Clay nor I had anything wrong with us.

  “I’m going to step out and call Ray’s Embassy contact to let him know that we got the others out safely.”

  I nodded to let him know that I heard him, but I couldn’t stop looking at Brianne. She’d always worn her hair short, and her eyes were the same aquamarine color, but something was different. It wasn’t the cut on her temple or the dirty Red Care t-shirt, or even the way one of her shoulders was not in the right place.

  As the nurse started to take Bri back to a room, she glanced back at me, and it clicked.

  Brianne wasn’t different. I was.

  I knew that her looking in my direction wasn’t to reassure herself that I wasn’t going to leave her. She was checking to see if I was okay. She’d been held hostage and injured, but she was acting like I needed her protection. As if I hadn’t been part of the team that had rescued her.

  Everything Clay had said was right, and I could see it on my sister’s face.

  “You okay?” Clay asked as he stepped up next to me. His hand cupped my elbow, guiding me down the hall after Bri.

  “Fine,” I said. “Just processing.”

  “I think I know what happened,” he said. “I think two Red Care lists got switched somehow. Wherever they think Brianne’s group is, that’s where Taylor MacIntosh’s group is.”

  I nodded, barely hearing what he was saying. I really didn’t care about why Brianne was there. Now that I’d found her, I needed to figure out what came next. Well, beyond the obvious. I had to call Mom, but I wanted to wait until after I spoke to Brianne because Mom would want to know when we were coming home. That was the part I wasn’t clear about.

  “You won’t believe this,” Clay said. “I called Rylan to let him know what happened with the ransom, and in the middle of me apologizing, he started laughing. Turns out, Jenna put a tracker on a couple of the bills, figuring when we had the hostages safe, she’d use the money to track the cartel and give the information to the authorities.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t that a huge risk?”

  “Jenna’s good at what she does,” Clay said. “Trust me, she never would’ve put any of us in danger. In the short time I’ve known her, I’ve seen that she cares about saving people first. After that…let’s just say that her methods of justice aren’t always the most legal options. If someone here doesn’t take care of the cartel, she’ll figure out a way to do it from home.”

  Normally, the idea of vigilante justice would’ve sent me into full reporter mode, but right now, I was just glad that the people who’d done this wouldn’t get away with it, no matter how many people they paid off.

  “Miss Gardener?” The nurse’s English was impeccable. “Your sister would like to see you.” She looked at Clay. “If you are Mr. Kurth, then she would like you to come as well.”

  Even though I was a grown woman, I felt like a child as I followed the nurse down the hall. Funny how there were certain people who, no matter how old you became, one word or look from them reduced you to a stammering kid. Brianne had always been that to me, even more than our mom. I supposed it was because Bri had often seemed like the adult more than Mom ever had.

  As we followed the nurse, Clay asked, “Will I be able to speak to the others soon?”

  “Are any of them family?”

  “No. I’m just thinking it’ll be good to get started contacting family members. I’m sure people back home are worried.”

  The sideways look the nurse gave him said that she didn’t believe him any more than I did. He wanted to know if Taylor MacIntosh was here or if he would need to start from scratch. He had a theory, but he wouldn’t act on it until he knew for certain MacIntosh wasn’t here.

  “Who are you, exactly?” she asked. “A representative of Red Care? From the US Embassy?”

  “Just concerned family,” I said quickly, grabbing Clay’s arm. “We know what it’s like, not knowing what’s happened to someone we love, and we want to do whatever we can to make sure other families don’t suffer.”

  I felt Clay’s surprise but didn’t look up at him. I trusted that he’d be able to hide whatever he needed to, and I focused on smiling at the nurse.

  “That is kind of you,” she said finally. “I am sure that if you return during visiting hours later today, you will be able to speak with the others, and if they have not yet contacted their loved ones, they can provide you with the necessary information at that point.”

  She stopped in front of a door and motioned with her clipboard. “Normally, you would not be allowed to speak with her outside of visiting hours, but the only way I could convince her to stay for a few hours of observation was to grant an exception. You must be quick though.”

  “Thank you,” I said as I stepped away from Clay to enter the room first.

  I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but Brianne with her arm in a sling and a bandage on her head wasn’t it. Why, I didn’t know. I’d known she was hurt. Maybe it was because she’d always been so indestructible in my mind.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Tess?”

  Her personality clearly hadn’t been affected. “Finding you, Bri. Mom’s been worried sick.”

  “Shit,” she muttered. “I should’ve told her I might be off the grid for a while.”

  “‘Off the grid?’” I echoed. “Brianne, you were being held hostage by a drug cartel. That’s not off the grid. That’s fucking kidnapped!”

  “I’m fine,” she said shortly. “Call Mom and tell her I’m fine. I’ll give her a call myself when I get out of here.”

  I waited a few seconds, expecting her to fill in some blanks. When she didn’t, I decided that was permission for me to ask questions.

  “What happened?”

  Brianne picked at the hospital blanket, keeping her gaze on her fingers. “We went into the neighborhood to help and were grabbed by the local dealers. They held us in that shitty basement until you found us. That’s all there is to it.”

  “How did you get hurt?” Clay asked quietly.

  Her eyes flicked up to him, then back down again. “I tried t
o keep them from taking two of the others. Rachel was taken first, and they dislocated my shoulder when I tried to stop them. When they came for Tyler, I went after them again, and they hit me with the butt of a gun.”

  Rachel and Tyler. Knowing their names made my stomach churn. I didn’t ask when the two were taken because I didn’t want to know if their deaths had been quick or drawn out.

  “Did you know Tyler’s last name?” Clay asked. “And are you sure it was Tyler, not Taylor?”

  Brianne shrugged, then winced. “We tried not to talk about personal stuff. It didn’t seem like anyone was listening in, but none of us wanted to put our loved ones at risk by giving the cartel information about us.”

  “How did you end up here?” I asked. “I mean, I know you volunteered, but why spend your leave in Costa Rica with Red Care instead of going to see Mom?”

  She leveled a knowing look at me. “When was the last time you visited Mom?”

  I shook my head. “We’re not talking about me.”

  “Now, who’s trying to avoid the subject?”

  I held up a hand. “I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work. You can’t distract me and hope I won’t figure out what’s going on.”

  “Let it go, Tess,” she said softly, the expression on her face oddly vulnerable. “It doesn’t matter.”

  I didn’t understand, and I wouldn’t let it go until I did. I couldn’t imagine anything keeping Bri from at least stopping by to see if Mom was okay. It’d been years since Mom had found herself another asshole boyfriend, but I knew Bri and I both were waiting for it to happen again. That was why Brianne checked in with her so often. I’d offered to help, but Brianne had always insisted on doing it herself. That was why it didn’t make any sense for her to–

  Oh.

  “You came here because of a woman,” I said, the words spilling from my lips.

  Brianne’s head jerked up, her eyes wide.

  “That’s why you don’t want to tell me anything. You’re worried I’ll freak out if you admit you’re a lesbian.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What?”

  “It’s okay, Bri. It doesn’t change anything.” That was a lie, but now wasn’t the time to bring up the whole Clay thing. I’d wait until Brianne was out of the hospital for that.

  “I…” She shook her head. “I’m sorry I never told you.”

  Some of my anger dissipated with the apology. We could work from there.

  I put my hand on her uninjured arm. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk later. Right now, you need to rest.”

  The fact that she didn’t argue told me just how exhausted and hurt she was. As she leaned back on the pillows and closed her eyes, I took Clay’s arm and led him out of the room. Our part in this was over. Tomorrow – well, later today, actually – we’d see where things stood and decide then what to do next. Right now, it was time for us to go back to our hotel and try to get at least a few hours’ sleep.

  I just didn’t know how I was going to accomplish that when my entire body felt like I’d grabbed a live wire. I’d never be able to relax enough to rest.

  Thirty-One

  Clay

  I kept waiting for my adrenaline rush to wear off and the exhaustion to set in, but as Tess and I rode the elevator to the second floor of our hotel, my nerves were still humming. I glanced at the woman next to me, wondering what was going through her mind, wondering if she was experiencing the same rush of electricity, the same inability to be still.

  We walked off the elevator together, pausing in the hallway between our two doors. She looked up at me, expression carefully blank as she waited for me to make a move. We had hours before we could return to the hospital, and during some of that time, we needed to sleep, but if she was as keyed up as I was, that wouldn’t be coming any time soon.

  All that reasoning went into the choice I was about to make, but there was another influencing factor, one that was stronger than I cared to admit. Once Brianne was released from the hospital, there would be nothing keeping Tess here. I’d offered to help her when I’d thought my reason for being here would be gone after today, but as an FBI agent, that made sense. I couldn’t imagine Tess, as a journalist, feeling the necessity or the ability to stay in Costa Rica to help me. Once she left this country, I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again. We lived with almost the entire country between us.

  This could very well be the last chance I had to be with her, and I couldn’t pass that by.

  I stretched out my hand to her and held my breath as I waited to see if she’d accept it. Then her fingers touched mine, curling around them as I pulled her to me. I bent my head and brushed my lips across hers.

  “Can we stay in the here and now?” she asked as she put a hand on my chest. “No talking about any of what happened or what comes next. Just this between us in this moment.”

  I nodded, grateful that she’d been the one to say it. I didn’t want to ruin this by saying that I didn’t know what I wanted to happen between us next. One wrong word and we’d go from sex to arguing, and that wasn’t how I wanted to spend what would probably be our last day together.

  I opened the door and led her into my room. It wasn’t until we’d both taken off our shoes and turned to face each other that I realized the energy between us was different than it had been before. I still wanted her with the same intense desire, but instead of it making me tear off her clothes and take her hard and fast right there, it fueled a need to take things slow. To take my time. To commit each moment to memory.

  Her hair was like silk between my fingers as I twisted a curl back over her ear. I couldn’t even count the number of times I’d wanted to do this exact thing when we were younger, and I allowed myself the luxury of savoring it. Her lips parted, and I slid my hand around the curve of her skull, holding her in place as I covered her mouth with mine.

  She clutched my shirt, pushing herself up on her toes to deepen the kiss. My tongue stroked hers, and I tasted the peppermint she’d eaten at the hospital. I slid my free hand under the back of her shirt, fingers moving over soft skin, and she leaned into me for a moment before her hands flattened against my chest, giving me a slight push.

  I stepped back, wondering if I’d crossed some line, but the heated look in her eyes told me that wasn’t the case. She put her palms on my stomach, nudging me back until my legs hit the bed, and then her hands dropped to my pants. Our eyes stayed locked as she undid my pants and tugged them down my thighs. My cock was half-hard as she lowered my boxer briefs and it twitched as the tip of one finger ghosted over my sensitive skin.

  Pressure on my hips urged me to sit on the bed, and then she was on her knees in front of me. Small hands slid up my thighs, pushing them apart until she could insert herself between them. My pulse raced as she wrapped her fingers around me and then her lips closed over the tip, and I moaned.

  She fisted me with firm strokes, her tongue slicking the way, and I watched, fascinated by the look of fierce concentration on her face. I knew she hadn’t done this for anyone else, and that, somehow, made me want to watch her as she put that inquisitive journalist mind of hers to work and recalled the things that I’d enjoyed before.

  I was only a little bigger than average, but she was so small that her lips stretched wide as she struggled to take as much of me as possible. One hand worked around the base of my shaft, twisting to cover as much surface as possible even though her hand couldn’t close. The other hand dropped lower, cupping my balls, rolling them between her dexterous fingers.

  The muscles in my stomach jumped as the pressure inside me built, stoked by the sweet heat of Tess’s mouth and the feel of her fingers playing over my skin. My hand went to her head, dug into her hair, torn between pulling her off before I came and pushing her down farther, forcing her to take me deeper.

  The choice was taken from me as, without warning, Tess pushed a finger into my ass. My hips jerked up at the sudden intrusion, my muscles tightening even as my cock moved toward the ba
ck of her throat. The sensations of all those things pushed me over the edge, and I came with a shout, emptying myself into her mouth as I fell back on the bed.

  My brain cleared of every thought, every distraction, leaving me with…bliss. I was dimly aware of the mattress shifting under as someone – Tess, I remembered – climbed onto the bed. She snuggled against my side, and the scent of her skin pulled me back into myself.

  I’d never really been a person who thought much about the way things smelled, at least not pleasant smells. The absence of something bad was enough for me. But her scent tugged at me, drew me to her. It was the type of smell that I could imagine myself waking up to in a future beyond this hotel room.

  The future.

  I couldn’t think about that now. After all, I’d promised Tess that we’d exist in the moment.

  I rolled onto my side, kicking off my pants so that I was completely naked when I pulled Tess against me. She laughed softly as I pulled her hair off her neck and pressed my mouth to her skin. I peppered her neck and shoulder with kisses even as I removed her clothes, leaving us skin to skin.

  My hands moved over her body, letting my palms absorb the heat and sensation of her. She let out a breathy moan as I cupped her breasts, thumbs strumming her nipples as they pebbled into hard little points. Her firm ass pushed back against me, the pressure and friction almost painful on my post-orgasm cock.

  I scraped my teeth down her throat, then ran my tongue along the same path. Damn, she tasted as good as she smelled.

  I slid my hand down her stomach, fingers moving through thin curls to find that slick space between her legs. She whimpered, and her body jerked against mine, one hand coming back to grab my hip. I rocked against her, resisting the urge to slide inside her like this, feel her clench around me without any barrier between her flesh and mine.