Unmasked (Godmother Security Book 1)

by Stevens, June

  Oh crap! He was going into shock. She went to the cot and sat down next to him.

  “Hey, you okay?” she asked, touching his hand. His skin was cool.

  It took him a few moments to answer. Then he shook his head, “Huh? Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” He turned to look at her, his eyes filled with an emotion she couldn’t decipher. “Look, I’m sorry about back there, beneath the pier. I didn’t mean to sound like an idiot. It’s just, well, it’s just that…”

  He trailed off, but she understood immediately. “It’s just that it all suddenly became real to you.”

  He smiled, just a little. “Yeah, a little too real. I mean, I’m not an idiot. I knew, intellectually, that Andy had put a hit out on me. I knew that meant someone was going to try to kill me. But, somehow it wasn’t real. Even though I volunteered to be bait, somehow the thought that I would actually get shot at never entered my mind.”

  He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the stone. When Cindy didn’t say anything, he continued. “I guess some part of me thought I wasn’t truly in any danger. I guess I thought the assassins would have been caught long before they tried anything. I know you and your team are doing everything you can to keep me safe. You guys are doing your jobs, I guess I just never took into account the fact that the hit men would be just as vigilant in their jobs. I’m just having a hard time coping with the fact that Andy really does want me dead.”

  Cindy took his hand and he opened his eyes and looked deep into hers. For a moment she forgot everything but the feel of his skin against hers. She blinked and gathered herself.

  “Sebastian, it isn’t normal to have someone want you dead so much that they hire someone to kill you. But in such an abnormal situation, what you are feeling is normal. I’ve guarded many people, from all sorts of backgrounds, and not one of them really understood the danger they were in. In a lot of cases the suspects were caught before any actual attempts on their life were made and those people went on in ignorant bliss, but not everyone is so lucky.”

  She ran his fingertips up his arm. “We are safe in the cave for the night and I swear I will get you out of here safely in the morning. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get back to the house to find out Jack and Gus apprehended the shooters already. Which by the way, we are certain are “hit women” not men.”

  “So, you are pretty sure it is those sisters you were telling me about? Did you see them?”

  “I’m sure. I didn’t see them, but once I realized there were two shooters I knew for sure. I don’t know of any other assassins for hire that work in a two person team. Maybe some mob hitters, but not anyone that would have taken a job from your cousin. Besides, Audra’s presence at your ball and Kimber coming to see you at your office couldn’t be a coincidence. There could be other explanations, such as they were planning to run a scam or were hired to do some spying, but both are highly unlikely. They have been prime suspects from the start, and now I am positive. Now all we have to do is find them, if Jack and Gus don’t have them already.”

  “Do you think you will find them?” he asked, his eyes intense.

  “Truth? I don’t really know. That explosion would have brought police and media pretty quickly. If it is assumed we are dead and the FBI releases the information about the hit on you, then no, we won’t find them. They will go into deep hiding and get out of the country. They survive because they are smart. If we are lucky we will be reported as dead and it will be reported as an accident. Something with the motor. That will give Faye and the FBI a better chance at finding them. The Bauer’s won’t be on guard. If anything they may get sloppy. If they have a flaw when it comes to their work, it is their greed. When they don’t get their money, they will want to know why. They may even go looking for Andrew Duke. If they do, it won’t be hard to spring a trap on them.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “So no real guarantees? No way of knowing if they will try again? Is there any way to keep my family from thinking I’m dead?”

  “I can’t promise they will be caught. But the odds that they will try again once it is known you are alive are low. If they go looking for Duke the FBI will be there waiting. If the hit is made public, they will disappear. Either way the likelihood of them coming after you again drops to zero. As for your family, no. Tonight there is no way to let them know you are alive. It will be safer to hike out of here in the daylight.” She put her hand on his cheek. “I’m sorry they will have to go through that. I will get you back to them tomorrow. I promise.” She meant it. She would get him to safety. It was her job, but it was so much more than that now. No matter what, she wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

  Sebastian was quite for a long time, just staring into her eyes. Then he put his hand on the nape of her neck and pulled her to him. The kiss was soft, gentle at first. Then it deepened, becoming hungry and a little frantic as they both tried to hold on to their emotions, their control.

  Cindy didn’t resist when Sebastian pulled her onto his lap so that she was straddling him. She did resist a little when he pulled back from the kiss leaving her breathless.

  “Are we safe here in the cave tonight?” he asked, his eyes unreadable.

  “Yes, we are safe. “ She stared into his dark eyes. “You are safe, and I swear I will keep you that way. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Because it’s your job?” His voice was gruff and his grip on her thighs tightened.

  She should just answer with a simple ‘yes’ and let it go at that, Cindy knew. But when she opened her mouth to do so, the truth flew out instead. “Because I would die if anything happened to you.”

  “Good answer.” He pulled her mouth down to his and ended all conversation.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Blood and Bullets

  She was being stupid, unprofessional, and rash. The thought went through her mind then right out of it in the two seconds it took for the warmth of Sebastian’s lips to turn her whole body into an inferno. When Sebastian’s hands slid up her legs, over her hips, and under her shirt to gently glide over the bare skin of her back, all coherent thought fled. She wasn’t worried anymore about professionalism, the whole Ella fiasco, or even about the Bauers. All that mattered was the feel of Sebastian’s arms around her, his taste on her lips. For now, for this moment, only the two of them existed, only the sizzling heat between them mattered.

  He slid his hands up higher and higher until she raised her arms and so he could pull the shirt off. With the practiced hands of an expert, he had her bra unclasped within seconds. He sucked in a breath as she pulled it off, baring her breasts to him. “You are so beautiful.” Desire dripped from his voice like warm honey.

  All she could manage in reply was a soft moan as his mouth closed over one tight nipple, his hand softly kneading the other. It wasn’t until she rocked against him, feeling the hard length of him through his jeans that a tiny bit of reality set in.

  She pushed his shoulders until he stopped running his tongue over her skin and leaned back, confused. “Sebastian, unless you keep condoms in that chest over there, we have to stop.”

  His face fell. “The one place I don’t keep them. Oh, wait a minute.” He pulled her off of his lap, setting her gently on the cot, then got up. He went over to where he’d discarded his wet clothes earlier and reached into a pocket. “Oh, good, my wallet didn’t wash away. And here we go.” He pulled a foil packet out of a side pocket in his wallet.

  “I’m not ashamed to say I’m glad you have that,” she laughed.

  “You and me both,” he said, but instead of joining her on the cot, he picked up the quilt and spread it over the floor, the tossed the pillows on it. “I don’t think that cot will hold us.” He scooped Cindy up and put her gently down on the blanket. Stripping off his shirt, he joined her.

  Cindy’s mouth went dry at the sight of Sebastian’s bare, broad, sculpted chest in the flickering lantern light. She reached out and ran her hand up his arm and down over his chest, slipping one finger
into his waistband. A low rumble sounded in his chest and she looked up to see his eyes had darkened like storm clouds.

  “If you go any further, we won’t have need of that condom.” He clasped his hand around her wrist and pulled it up over her head as he rose over her and brought their mouths crashing together again.

  He let go of her wrist to trail his hands over her body, sliding them over her flushed skin, leaving trails of hot lava burning in her veins. Cindy took advantage of her free hands and returned the favor, running her hands over the hard muscles of his shoulders and back. Time lost all meaning as they, touched, tasted, explored.

  When he pulled back and began pulling her panties off, she lifted her hips for him, certain that having him hover over her half-dressed was the most erotic thing she’d ever seen. Until the next moment when he stood and pulled his jeans off. Her heart nearly stopped at the sight of his beautifully sculpted body.

  She couldn’t help herself. She rose to her knees and trailed both hands down over his chest and abdomen. This time he didn’t protest, just hissed in a sharp breath and let her touch him. She ran her hands over his hips and around to cup his firm ass as she pressed her lips to his abdomen in soft, butterfly kisses. But when she ran her hands back around to the front and gently grasped the hard length of him, he twined his fingers in her hair to keep her mouth away from that part of him.

  His voice was a low growl. “Cindy, I can’t take much more.”

  Smiling sweetly she released him and reached over and picked the foil packet off the blanket where he’d tossed it. She held it up to him. “You’d better do this yourself then.”

  He took the packet and took care of the task, then sat down on the blanket, his back against the cot. He pulled her over and she straddled him.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asked, gruffly?

  Oh, yes. She was sure. To hell with whatever came with the morning sun, she was absolutely sure about this.

  She smiled seductively. “Are you?”

  His reply was to cup her face in his hands and pull her lips to his in a kiss that had her shaking and breathless. Grasping his shoulders with both hands, she began to lower herself on him, slowly taking him into her body. They began to move together, their hands and mouths moving over each other’s bodies, savoring each other. The pace gradually quickened until their gasps and moans filled the cave.

  Suddenly the world shifted and broke into a thousand brilliant shards as Cindy’s orgasm crashed over her in wave after heart-stopping wave. A moment later Sebastian’s grip on her tightened as his whole body tensed and the thrust hard into her as he came.

  Cindy sat in the rocking chair, her legs tucked up under her, though she wanted nothing more than to be curled up next to Sebastian, his arms around her as they slept. But they were still in danger, and she needed to keep watch. After they’d made love, they’d lain together for a long time, cuddled under the blanket. They hadn’t spoken, and Cindy suspected Sebastian was just as loath to spoil the afterglow as she was. The moment they started talking, terrible truths would have to come out.

  For Sebastian, he would tell her it had just been an “in the heat of the moment” thing, and his heart really belonged to Ella. Then Cindy would have to tell him that she was Ella. She was under no illusion that they would have a good laugh and all would be forgiven and they’d live happily ever after. Sebastian would, rightly, feel betrayed. And Cindy couldn’t help the growing frustration, and even anger, that he hadn’t realized who Ella really was. He’d professed to love the mystery woman after a couple of hours of dancing and one kiss. Now here he was, a week later, having made love to Cindy. Of course Ella was Cindy, but he didn’t know that. Cindy was aware of the absurdity of the situation. Just thinking about it was giving her a headache.

  A low whirring noise broke into Cindy’s thoughts. She sat up, her hand going to the gun in her lap. Was that a boat motor? It was.

  “Sebastian, wakeup,” she kept her voice low as she shook him.

  “Wha…”

  She put her finger over her lips and he quieted, his eyes coming fully alert.

  “I heard a boat motor,” she whispered.

  “The lake is completely private to my land. There’s no way for any boat but mine to be on it. It must be Jack and Gus,” he stood, but still kept his voice low.

  “We don’t know that for sure. Remember, we heard a boat motor shortly after your other boat blew up. Jack and Gus were pinned down, away from the boathouse. It’s very likely that one of the shooters got in and took your smaller boat.”

  Realization crawled across his features. “Okay, what do we do?”

  Cindy was already pulling on her still-damp sweatpants and sneakers. “We don’t do anything. You stay put while I go investigate.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “I don’t want you going out there alone.”

  Cindy let out a long, exasperated sigh. “I don’t have time for this ‘me Tarzan, you Jane’ crap. I was hired to protect you, and that is what I’m going to do. My skill and training wasn’t stripped away just because we slept together. Got it?”

  “Hey, I didn’t…”

  Her eyes shot bullets, shutting him up.

  “Okay, maybe I did. Sorry.”

  Cindy dismissed it with a shake of her head. If they survived the night they could discuss it later. Or not.

  “It’s fine. Can you shoot a gun?” she asked, pulling the other gun out of the waterproof bag.

  “Take the safety off, point and pull the trigger.” He shrugged.

  “Good enough. Here.” She handed him the gun. “Stay here. If anyone walks through that opening without first identifying themselves as me, Jack, or Gus, you shoot. Got it.”

  He looked a little sick. “Got it.”

  Without another word, Cindy slipped out of the cave.

  The sky was just starting to lighten as dawn neared, but in the trees, it was still dark. Cindy picked her way through the brush slowly and quietly. The sound of a boat motor came closer and closer. Cindy reached the edge of the lake a few yards from where she and Sebastian had come ashore. She could clearly see Sebastian’s aluminum boat pulling alongside the shore and in it were two blond women wearing all black.

  “I’m telling you, I studied the maps very closely. That old logging road runs about a half mile from this point.” Kimber’s voice carried across the water to Cindy.

  “It better. It’s almost dawn and this place will be crawling with Feds.” Audra huffed.

  Cindy found herself musing at their grasp of American vernacular. She suspected they’d been operating in the States longer than the FBI and Interpol thought. She shook her head, what an inane thing to think about at a time like this.

  She went over her options. She could try to go after them. Two on one wasn’t the best odds, but she’d had worse. But what if they did best her. Then they would know Sebastian was nearby and he would be in danger. Letting them go right on by wasn’t the ideal situation. They deserved to go to prison, but Sebastian’s safety was her number one priority right now.

  She kept herself hidden, watching as they hopped out of the boat in almost the exact spot she and Sebastian had stopped to put on their shoes. As long as the two women veered left or went straight ahead, they wouldn’t get anywhere near the cave, and in a couple of hours it would be safe for her and Sebastian to come out and return to his house.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get out of here in plenty of time. But Mother is going to be very upset we didn’t get visual confirmation of Princes death.” Kimber said, pulling her rifle from the boat.

  “Or Cindy’s. Mother would have been so pleased if we’d been able to present her with a picture of that traitorous bitch’s corpse.” Audra’s voice dripped with venom.

  Cindy’s blood iced over. They had recognized her, and she had been target. That meant that even though Sebastian would be safe if they got away, she wouldn’t. When it was publicized that he was alive, they would know she was too. They would come after h
er.

  It’s okay, she told herself. I can protect myself. Let them come. As long as Sebastian was safe, she could worry about everything else later.

  The two women had just started walking when Audra said, “What’s that? Kimber, shine your flashlight over here.”

  Oh, shit. What had they found? Had she or Sebastian dropped something? If so, maybe they would think it had been there a while.

  “Is that a footprint?” Kimber’s voice was incredulous.

  Audra flipped on a second flashlight. “Yes, and there’s another one.”

  Oh, fucking, shit. In their haste to get to the cave neither she nor Sebastian had thought about the tracks they were leaving in the mud. Audra and Kimber were headed straight for the cave and Sebastian.

  Without really thinking about it, Cindy lifted her gun, aimed, and fired.

  The first shot went wide, whizzing past Kimber’s head and hitting the tree behind her. Cindy ducked behind a tree as the other two women took cover and began firing back.

  The only thing Cindy had going for her was that they hadn’t seen her so they weren’t completely sure which direction her shot had come from. They were shooting blindly at every leaf that twitched. If she were really lucky they would be low on ammo from the fire fight earlier and would run out quickly.

  Suddenly Cindy realized she was only hearing one gun fire. They’d split up, one was giving cover and the other was looking for Cindy.

  Cindy whirled around just in time to see Audra sneaking around a tree. Cindy raised her gun, but Audra was faster. A sharp pain ripped through Cindy’s shoulder and she fell back against the tree she’d been using for cover. Audra advanced on her, taking aim again. Cindy raised her gun again, this time squeezing off two rounds just in time. Audra sprouted blood from her chest and slid to the ground, lifeless.

  “No!” A feral scream sounded behind Cindy and she turned and ducked just in time to avoid having her head caved in by the butt of a rifle. But spinning around threw her off balance and the world tilted as she fell, her gun flying from her hands.