by Sybil Bartel
I hurried downstairs, pulling off the T-shirt and sweats, not even caring about the dull ache in my arm. I dumped Talon’s clothes in the laundry room and rushed into the guest room to find clothes. I should’ve felt relieved but I didn’t. I felt guilty for the position I’d put Talon in, sick for betraying Buck, and worse, my body kept reliving Talon’s touch.
I groaned and threw on a pair of leggings and tank top, the outfit courtesy of Talon. I put my sweater over it, a sweater I wouldn’t have if Buck hadn’t retrieved it for me from that church. Self-hatred threatened to consume me. I swallowed everything back and went upstairs but the living room was empty. I quickly picked up the broken remote pieces, put them in the trash and was brushing my hands off when Buck came bounding up the stairs.
The instant he saw me, his face fell.
“What happened?” He was to me in three strides, cupping my face, looking at me with concern I didn’t deserve.
“Long or short version?” I croaked, wanting to squirm away from him.
“Why have you been crying?” he asked in that quiet voice that made me want to fall apart in his arms.
“She wasn’t.” Talon sauntered into the room, thankfully wearing a T-shirt.
Buck glanced at him then back at me, raising his eyebrows in question.
“She was busy drownin’.” Talon pulled a beer out of the fridge. “And getting’ shot. Beer?”
“What?” Buck roared.
“I’m fine.” Goddamn Talon.
Buck scanned my body with a look of horror in his eyes. “Where are you hurt?”
I touched my bandaged arm. “It’s nothing.”
Buck quickly but gently slipped my sweater off. “How deep?” he asked, holding my arm and turning it slightly.
“I just got grazed, it’s fine,” I repeated, hating the attention.
A storm raging in his expression, he pierced me with a look. “How much pain are you in? Don’t lie.”
“It burns a little.” I didn’t tell him it was nothing compared to my guilty conscience.
His nostrils flared then he took a step toward Talon. “I told you to keep a fucking eye on her.”
“I got distracted when the bullets started flyin’.” Talon shrugged. “Beer anyone?” he asked calmly.
“Start fucking talking,” Buck warned.
“Long or short version?” Talon mimicked my earlier response to Buck.
I lost it. Tension, anxiety, adrenaline, I don’t know what happened, but I totally lost it. It was a giggle that escaped at first. My hand flew to my mouth to try to stop myself but when I looked at Talon and he cocked his head to one side and shrugged innocently, laughter choked through my hands. The shit-eating grin that spread across Talon’s face in the next instant sent me completely over the edge. I dissolved into hysterics.
Buck was on me in a heartbeat, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me close, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
“What the fuck?” He accused Talon as if this were his fault.
I laughed harder.
“Layna, calm down, this isn’t funny.” Buck stroked my hair, my back.
“It’s a little funny.” Talon took a swig of beer.
I roared.
“Layna,” Buck said firmly.
“Let it all out, Sugar,” Talon countered.
“I’m sorry,” I managed through snotty tears of laughter.
“It’s all good.” Talon pulled the tequila and one glass out. Pouring a stiff drink, he shoved the glass across the kitchen counter with a genuine smile. “Better than hero worship any day of the week,” he said gently.
Buck whipped his head up to glare at Talon and I practically fell on the floor laughing, a hysterical I’m-so-relived-I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening laugh. Talon had forgiven me, in his own special way. The rest of my emotions fell into place and I was glad I wasn’t dead. Miami could kiss my ass. I was going to find him and I was going to expose him. This was it, now or never. I threw the drink back.
Buck looked at me with disapproval.
Talon sauntered over to the kitchen table and sat. Because he was alpha dog, Buck and I followed. The slow burn of the tequila was doing its trick and everything inside me went ninja calm.
“What happened?” Buck asked in his unflappable marine voice, but his leg was tensed and his jaw was set like he was royally pissed off.
“We got approached on the beach. Two men, mid-twenties, Hispanic, asked for Layna by name. She had a hood up and I was able to keep us in shadows and play it off at first but then they figured it out. I told her to run and took down one of ‘em. The other was quicker, he took off. When he got a few yards away, he started firing. Lousy shot or he wasn’t really aimin’. I figured he was tryin’ to take me out but by then I was runnin’ next to Layna so we both went into the water and swam out past range. She got nicked while we were in the water.” Talon casually took a swig of beer.
“And?” Buck asked through clenched teeth.
“It’s not a big deal, we made it back.” I really didn’t want Buck knowing what happened next.
Talon watched me while he took another pull from his beer. His eyes traveled lazily back to Buck. “Swimmin’ back in, a wave got the better of her.”
Buck went still. His chest heaved once, twice. Abruptly he pushed his chair back and stood facing away from us, hands on his hips. Worried, I glanced at Talon but his expression had gone completely blank.
Buck whipped back around. “We need a new plan.” He stared daggers at Talon.
“Agreed.” Talon didn’t flinch.
Buck stood there. Furious, thinking, I couldn’t tell which.
Talon sighed like he was dealing with a two-year-old. “Sit.” He inclined his head toward Buck’s vacated chair. When Buck sat, Talon looked at him. “We can’t protect her from the truth.”
Buck didn’t move. Then, ever so slightly, he nodded.
Talon swung his gaze to me. “Your father was going to be indicted for tax evasion. He’d been livin’ beyond his government salary for years and the IRS knew it. The state attorney’s office built a case against him and a week before he died, they offered him a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” Tax evasion? Jesus.
“Turn state’s witness.”
A snitch? “And if he didn’t?”
“He was goin’ to jail.”
I buried my face in my hands. Talon had been right—both options were a death sentence. “Let me guess, he would’ve had to turn on Miami.”
“That’s what we’re assumin’.” Talon looked at Buck. “Blaze?”
Buck lifted his head. “If you identify Miami and he’s prosecuted, everything about your father comes out. It won’t just be his reputation that’s sunk, there could be backlash.”
I blinked but Buck wasn’t finished.
“Your father cost the taxpayers millions. And Talon’s research has just scratched the surface. Even if you change your name legally, it’ll only be a matter of time before some reporter makes the connection to your new identity.”
“And the lead that didn’t pan out?” I whispered.
Buck glanced at Talon.
“I got a lead on the identity of two of the three recordings Lara wanted you to listen to but not the third.”
“But that’s good right? I can listen to the recordings? We can go to Lara?”
“You go to Lara now, you’re as good as dead.”
“Talon!”
Talon shrugged. “Statin’ fact.”
I sucked in a breath and pushed the panic down. “Let me hear the two voices.”
“We don’t have the recordin’s.”
“Then use Google, or something.” Anything. I couldn’t just sit here and wait for them to come back and shoot me.
“Don’t think it’ll do much good.”
“Why not?”
Buck spoke up. “Talon’s got a hunch.”
“And?”
“I don’t think either of those two leads are who we’re lookin’ for. First,
if drug runners were shootin’ at us from that close of range, they wouldn’t have missed. They also wouldn’t have retreated. Flunkies or no, they aren’t soft. Those men tonight? They were soft.”
“And the second lead?”
Talon smirked. “White collar criminal. He’s too stupid to think big. He also doesn’t have the attention span or the resources to follow you for a month, let alone years.”
“So who do you think they had for the third recording?”
“Not a hundred percent sure.” A lethal smile spread across his face. “But I got an idea.”
An idea? I’d been shot, we’d been shot at. And all Talon had was an idea? “Ideas aren’t going to keep us safe.” Actions were.
“No darlin’, they won’t. But I don’t plan on gettin’ caught with my pants down again.”
“We need audio,” Buck said quietly.
I stood and grabbed the tequila. My hand shaking, I fumbled with the cap until warm arms wrapped around me.
“We can’t end this till we have a name,” Buck whispered in my ear, reading my fears.
I knew that. I did. But fear was overriding the prospect of freedom. I would never be free of my parents’ murder, not for one single day. “If everything about my father comes out, I’ll never be free of this.”
“I know you’re overwhelmed, but we need to finish this.” Buck inhaled and his muscles tightened. “That bullet could’ve been six inches to the left.”
Six inches. Six inches and I’d have no memories, no emotion, just freedom—no-strings-attached freedom.
Talon rose cautiously and took a step toward me. “I know what you’re thinkin’. Nothin’ free about bein’ dead. Believe me, I’ve traveled that road. So has Blaze. This won’t end if you’re dead. They’ve seen me now, they’ve seen Blaze. It’s only a matter of time. We need to strike first.”
A tear slipped past my resolve.
“Ease off,” Buck said in warning, pulling me close.
“She knows,” Talon said gently, never taking his eyes off mine. “She’s a fighter. Aren’t you, Sugar?” Talon settled a hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I whispered, swiping my tears away.
Buck crushed me in a suffocating hug.
“We need to act fast.” Talon’s voice had gone flat, unemotional.
Buck stroked my hair. “I don’t have much time.”
I pulled back and looked up at Buck but his eyes were locked on Talon’s.
“Understood.” Talon picked up his phone.
“Your mother?” I knew this was coming but the past week had given me a false sense of security. I didn’t want her to suffer anymore but Buck had said she’d been awake, talking to him, laughing with him. It seemed wrong that she was going to die now.
“Close.” Buck nodded, not letting any emotion show. “Tonight, tomorrow.”
Oh Jesus. No. “You need to go back. Right now.”
Buck stared at me. “I needed to see you,” he said quietly.
For one blinding moment, everything disappeared except Buck. This strong, unbreakable, incredible man had come back. And he’d come back for me. Not thinking about what I was doing, not thinking about what I’d done a half hour ago, I went on tiptoe, my hands grabbed for his face and I kissed him with every single emotion shaking my wall of defenses. Then I pulled back and said the only words that made sense. “Thank you.”
Buck’s forehead rested on mine and his eyes swam with sorrow. “I don’t want to lose you too,” he whispered.
A piece of me died.
“Blaze.”
Buck looked at Talon with haunted eyes.
“I’m goin’ south. We can’t wait.”
Buck nodded.
“Neil’s my first choice,” Talon said as if he were asking a question.
“Call him.” Buck didn’t hesitate.
A second later, Talon was speaking into his phone. “I need a favor.... A few days, personal protection....My place, right now....Female, nineteen....I can’t, I’m chasin’ something down.... Don’t fuck with me, and you need more than a KA-BAR.” Talon glanced at his watch. “Alright, quicker if you can. Late.” Talon hung up and looked at Buck. “Four hours.”
“I can’t stay that long.” Buck sounded tired and the layers of guilt heaped on.
“I figured. Take some time, put her to bed. I’ll be up.” Without looking at me, Talon left the room.
Buck instantly scooped me up in his arms and took us downstairs. Except the fierce look on his face, it wasn’t a tuck-in-bed look. My stomach fluttered with nerves and heat seared through me almost as quick as the crushing guilt. I was frantic. Did I tell him? How could I do that to him right now? How could I not? He deserved to know. But I was a coward, a selfish, horrible coward. I knew I wasn’t going to tell him, not now.
So when Buck silently laid me on the bed, I said nothing. When he pulled his shirt off, I didn’t stop him. When his hands ran down my sides, lifted the hem of my tank top then paused, I raised my arms for him. The need in his eyes mirroring mine, I knew how it felt to be desperate and drowning. So I let Buck take away our barriers.
He inhaled sharply as he peeled my leggings off, leaving a kiss on my thigh. Staring down at me, he unzipped his pants and stepped out of them. Seeing the hard length of him straining against his fitted boxers made me forget about my shyness and bite my bottom lip.
Trailing a finger from my ankle to my knee, his eyes slid over every naked inch of me, leaving a trail of heat that pooled between my legs. He climbed over me and brushed my hair from my face then gently touched my bandage. Concern etched across his impossibly perfect features. “Are you okay?”
No, I was choking with need and shame. “Yes.”
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, his lips finding my neck, his tongue swirling with open-mouth kisses.
Groaning, I tangled my arms around him.
His teeth grazed my ear. “I want to feel your skin against mine.”
I dug my fingers into his shoulders. Whatever he wanted, I knew I was going to give it to him. “I’m here.” My voice was ragged, hoarse.
Buck pushed my legs apart with his knees and lowered his body to mine. Our only barrier was the boxers he’d left on.
“I want to feel you under me, coming apart in my arms.” Buck rocked his hips forward and buried his tongue in my mouth.
I moaned in exquisite torture. This was how it was supposed to feel. Not Talon, but Buck. Buck made me feel it all. His kiss claimed me, heart and soul, in a language I neither understood nor could explain. I arched my body to meet his.
“I want to make love to you, Layna.”
His breath against my skin, his words—I shivered in anticipation. My hands frantically grasped the hard muscles of his back and my legs curled around his waist. All I could smell, all I wanted, in my body, in my heart, was Buck.
His lips trailed kisses to my breasts. When his tongue swirled around my nipple, I cried out.
“Give me the words. I need to hear the words.” His rough plea left a trail of hot breath on my wet skin.
“Yes.” A thousand times yes.
Buck’s sharp intake of breath was like a kick to my heart. My hands gripped his hair and I stilled. Realizing he had no idea if I would say yes or no did something to me. But his tongue circled my belly button and I couldn’t hold the thought.
Grasping my thighs with his huge hands, dropping his kisses lower, I knew where he was going—uncharted territory. I tensed and he looked up. In the dark of night, his eyes were colorless.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He slowly lowered his lips and kissed the top of my thigh, never taking his eyes off me. “I would never hurt you.” He kissed the other thigh.
But I’d hurt him. A tear slipped down my cheek.
He reached up and wiped my tear. “You tell me to stop, I stop,” he whispered.
Slowly, I shook my head.
“Stop?”
My mind screaming at me to be honest and my body begg
ing me to submit, I made a choice. “No.”
Buck lowered his mouth and when his tongue touched the slick heat between my legs, my back flew off the mattress. His hands clamped down on my thighs and I cried out in pleasure, gripping handfuls of sheet. Nothing, nothing had ever felt like this.
Buck groaned and the vibration sent me spiraling. He pushed one finger inside me and it was almost more than I could take. I moaned at the fullness, my legs pulling closer in a quiver. I was hovering, reaching for something I’d never felt as I grabbed Buck’s shoulders to tether me. His tongue swirled across my most sensitive spot and his finger pushed deeper.
“Blaze!” My voice broke.
In a rush, Buck was on me. His finger still inside me, his lips found mine and his tongue pushed deep into my mouth. I fell over the edge, shattering into pieces.
“Blaze.” My desperate plea no longer desperate as aftershocks rocked my body. My hand covered his, not wanting him to pull free. My tongue sought his, not wanting to lose this connection. I closed my thighs around our hands, wanting Buck, wanting this feeling to last forever. I breathed in his scent, his breath, knowing nothing would ever be as sweet.
Buck broke free from my grasp and skinned off his boxers. He reached into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a condom. Tossing it on the bed next to us, he rolled back on top of me. His lips trailed down my neck, his teeth grazed my shoulder. “Trust me?”
With my life. “Yes.”
Then he kissed me, hard, taking control of my mouth as a slow ache began building between my legs again.
Hovering at my entrance, his eyes fixed on mine, his hands holding my face, Buck went still. I stared at raw emotion so thick I couldn’t put a name to it.
“Tell me you’re mine,” he demanded in a fierce whisper.
Reality slammed into me and I froze.
Buck’s hips rocked forward and for one slick moment, just barely, he pressed against me. A sound I’d never heard before escaped from my chest. My hands gripped his arms as my adulterous body throbbed to have him inside of me.
“Say it, Layna. Tell me you’re mine. This isn’t casual, not for me.” He rocked forward again, a whisper of a touch, then retreated, never taking his eyes off mine.
I couldn’t lie. “I kissed Talon tonight.”