Many approached it and had to go through the same procedure—knock, a slit in the door opened, words were exchanged, the slit closed. After seconds, the large door opened and the people went in right before it slammed shut.
Yup—definitely not a legal bar.
A few cars scattered the parking spots around it. It didn’t take long for our target to arrive, glanced both ways then knock. The slit open then closed and soon someone let him in. “That was him—right?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Reaper said.
“What do we do now?”
“You wait here,” Reaper said, rooting around in the dash board. “I’ll go tag his car.”
“Reaper…”
“I won’t be long.”
Before I could say anything else, he was out the car and darting across the street. For such a large man he sure moved light on his feet. I watched him, taking in the way he operated. If I was walking by I wouldn’t think he was up to anything. Still, he leaned against the car, glanced both ways then dipped and rose. He then jogged back to the truck and climbed in beside me.
“Swede will always know where he is if we lose him.” Reaper said.
“And you’re sure we’ll be okay here?” I asked, glancing around. “It’s a parking lot.”
“We’ll be okay.”
I slumped back into my seat and sighed. There were so many things going through my mind. If we didn’t figure it out, Estelle would never have her life back and it wasn’t like the Brotherhood could keep protecting me forever.
“When this is over, you go back to reporting,” Reaper said after a while. “What will you differently?”
“I don’t know.”
“I see.”
I sighed and yawned while looked out around the lot we were parked in. It wasn’t a massive space but big enough for us to get lost in the bustle. It wasn’t a name brand kind of place—more of an undercover knock-off land. “About last night. I didn’t mean to just, kind of, throw myself at you.”
“Do you hear me complaining?”
“No—but you sure weren’t keen on it.” I sighed. My apology was beginning to come out a little angrier than it should. I swallowed and tried again. “All I’m saying is, there you were being so kind to me and I ruined it. I should have been more ladylike.”
Reaper laughed.
“You think this is funny?”
He exhaled loudly. “You think that’s why I stopped? Because I wanted a lady?”
I tossed my hands up and shrugged.
“Star—let me explain something to you.” He didn’t take his eyes off the building we were watching. “When I was a part of the world, my taste in my bed had never been ladylike and last night proved that hadn’t changed. I stopped because this isn’t the right situation to let that monkey out of the bag.”
I watched him intently. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, if you and I are ever going to sleep together, it’s not going to because we’re stressed out. I would want you to remember every taste, every touch, every curve of my body. I would want you to obsess over it, own it, then crave it every second of every breath afterward.”
The soft rumble of his voice left me speechless and wet. His words flowed over me like a blanket, fresh from the dryer. I wrapped myself in them, soothed myself with them until all I wanted to do was reach across and touch him.
“I’m going to admit something.” My voice shook. “Last night wasn’t a mistake. Even though I know I could never deserve you—all the things I’ve done. I just wanted one night with a man who didn’t think I—”
When I stopped, he turned to look at me. “Didn’t think you what?”
“Who thought I was beautiful.” I cleared my throat. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t need a man to make me feel worthy. Not anymore. But any woman who tells you she doesn’t care to feel beautiful, is lying.”
Reaper turned his attention back to the bar. I sighed and bowed my head.
“And I made you feel beautiful?” He asked.
“Yes.” I admitted. “It has been a while for me. After Roger, I lost that.”
“Well, don’t put too much stock in what Roger thinks or thought. He was an idiot.”
Lifting a hand to his cheek, I turned his face toward me. It wasn’t like Brian was going far. We’d tagged his car so Swede could track him. In that breath, I needed to feel Reaper’s skin, taste his mouth, even if it was a mistake. He twisted in the seat and tilted his head in position. When his eyes closed, I bravely took his lips, traced them with my tongue until he opened for me.
Reaper kissed me without touching me. He plundered my mouth, roughly making me moan. All I wanted was for him to drag me to the backseat and have his way with me. The sensation was overwhelming, so much so I couldn’t control it. I eased back and sighed.
“I want you, Maverick. Every part of you.”
He moaned and kissed me again. “Do you know what’s happening now, Nova?”
“No—explain it to me.”
“The beast inside me is roaring.”
“Can we please get this over with?” My voice cracked. “Because I have a feeling you won’t touch me until then. All I ask is one night in your bed.”
“Only that?”
“No. But if that’s all I can get, I’ll take it.” I sighed and shifted to see the building. Reaper turned back to it and I reached over to trail a finger down his neck. “I’m not ashamed for what I’m thinking.”
He glanced at me for a second.
As we resumed our stake-out, the doors opened and Brian staggered out with two women. He was obviously drunk but they climbed into his car and peeled out of the parking lot. That was never good. No matter how many times I’d seen someone drive drunk, I never understood it and it never made me comfortable. I wished we could have grabbed him but this could lead to me getting my life back.
I’d risk his.
Reaper started our truck and we followed Brian for almost forty five minutes until he slowed down to enter Big Timber. It wasn’t a very large town. The residents didn’t really have to see their neighbours if they didn’t try.
Nervous about being caught, I must have reached across for when Reaper’s warm fingers wrapped around mine, my hand was on his thigh. I didn’t pull away but kept my eyes on the car ahead. Soon, Reaper slowed down when Brian turned into the front yard of what looked like a junkyard. He drove by the house and I glanced back.
“Reaper…”
“I know. The truck will stand out. We can park it somewhere and walk back.”
Thankfully, that wasn’t far away. When he got back to the house, Brian seemed to be having the time of his life. With music blaring, loud shouting and laughing, I figured he had taken the party back to his place. When things calmed down somewhat, Reaper and I peeked through a window to find Brian and his guests were engaged in a threesome. I blushed and turned away but Reaper didn’t move. It was as though the scene hadn’t phased him.
When he slipped down beside me he said. “Okay, so he’s had enough alcohol to knock over an elephant. When they go to sleep, we might be able to look around.”
A low thump caught our attention and we glanced in to find the women getting dressed. Reaper took my hand and we darted around the side of the home. Soon, the women exited.
One giggled too loudly and the other shushed her before they both burst into another fit of giggles, climbed into Brian’s car and took off back up the street.
“We just lost the car,” I muttered while tossing up my hand.
“I should have seen this coming.” Reaper muttered. “I think I’m a little rusty for the field.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“That is what you call a shakedown,” Reaper said. “They pretend to be drinking as much as he is and while he becomes intoxicated, they go home with him with promises of a good time. When he passes out, they robbed him.”
“And this is really a thing?” I couldn’t believe women would put themselves in tha
t sort of situation. There were enough problems trying desperately to help innocent victims—the cops really didn’t need this added pressure.
Reaper nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“What are we going to do now? The car is gone.”
“I know—don’t worry. We know where Brian drowns his sorrows. He’s a creature of habit.”
“How do you know this?”
Reaper shrugged. “I know his type. He’s comfortable in that hole in the ground. He knows if he gets drunk there he won’t get mugged. Trust me, he’ll find some way to get there. There’s a truck out front. It looks new. We’ll tag it on our way out. Come on.”
I wasn’t sure I could do this. Going through someone’s place didn’t seem like a good thing to do; especially a man who wanted me dead. Still, I allowed Reaper to lead me up the front steps and into the cluttered interior of Brian’s world. Strange, in that moment I could have walked in there banging on drums and playing a trumpet and I didn’t think Brian would wake up.
Reaper handed me a pair of latex gloves. I made a mental note to ask him where he’d kept those but I accepted them, drew them on and began searching. Though I had no clue what we were looking for, I did my best to not miss anything. We went room to room, dug through drawers, looked under cushions, pulled out books. All we came across were guns, dirty magazines, guns and more guns. It seemed Brian had a loaded weapon in every nook and cranny.
The more minutes passed by in frenzied searched, the more irritated I became. We weren’t finding anything worth having.
“Shhh.” Reaper warned.
I held up a large book past my head. “Why?” I opened my fingers. It slammed into the floor and actually kicked up some dust. “We could run a fucking tank through the middle of this house—shit, we could Donnie Darko his ass and he wouldn’t even know what hit him.”
Reaper smiled, mischief filling his eyes. “Um…you do know—”
“I’m aware of how the movie ended. Don’t toy with me right now, Reaper. You will lose.”
He approached me and kissed my shoulder. “I love it when you growl at me. You have to do it for me again later.”
I frowned but deep down I couldn’t help smiling. We continued until he hurried over with a tattered book in his hands. “What’s that?”
“Some kind of a ledger.” He flipped the page. “I think we found it—only, I’m not sure what it is. I’ll have to get Swede to look at it. But I think we should go.”
Before I could argue, Reaper took my hand and led me toward the door, past a snoring Brian. I stopped, lifted Brian’s right hand to stick the index finger up his own nose and stuck his other hand in a bowl of liquid conveniently sitting on the floor. It was probably left over from their very strange orgy.
Lord, I pray that’s not water.
Reaper said nothing about what I had done until after he’d tagged Brian’s truck and were back in ours. “Seriously?” He started the ignition. “What are you? Ten?”
“Don’t judge me.” I folded my arms and pouted. “And for the record, I regret nothing.”
He chuckled.
As we pulled unto the dirt road leading away from Brian’s place, I wound down my window and inhaled the night air. “And besides.” I smirked cheekily. “It’s the least I could do.”
“You’ve been hanging around Swede too long.”
I smirked. “Asshole got off easy. Swede would’ve somehow set it up so his computer exploded when he turned it on.”
Again, Reaper laughed. “Truth.”
While he drove, I scanned through the book. It was strange—numbers, dates, shorthand words I couldn’t decipher. That was frustrating because I used shorthand to take notes during interviews. Still, knowing it made sense to Brian, even I had to admit, it was better notes than I kept in university and I was a journalism major. In the middle of the book was a line—Osman Heller. Nova Shoo. $50,000.
It didn’t require a degree in chemistry to know Nova Shoo was me.
Osman Heller—I played the name over repeatedly in my head. It sounded familiar but I just couldn’t place it. The irritation in me made me want to cry.
Happy feeling gone.
Maverick “Reaper” Forge
“I noticed you activated two trackers,” Swede said. He sipped from his coffee.
“Didn’t have a choice.” I peeled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the back of the chair. “Brian went and fell into a shakedown.”
“Got wasted, took strange women home—they robbed him.” Swede muttered. “When are men going to learn they can’t trust their penis—wait, is it penises? Penii?”
I caught myself contemplating the answer to the question then grunted. “Dude…”
Swede chuckled. “Look, this is one of those times where if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. I prefer mirth.”
I nodded. While Star showered then talk to Estelle on the phone, Swede and I hunched down around the computer to figure out where Brian’s stolen car was. It had been parked outside a cheap motel since it was stolen.
Probably abandoned.
We then found his truck and noticed it was going back and forth between the illegal bar and Big Timber.
Something was up. No one needed that much alcohol. Either he was meeting someone, or he was about to be in a coma from alcohol poisoning. Swede kept typing away as I watched. Brian was back at the bar. I was exhausted so Swede sent Hank and Allie to check it out.
“I found this book at Brian’s place.” I handed it over. “See if you can make heads or tails of it?”
“Will do.” Swede said. He stuck the book in his bag with his laptop and stood. “Tell your lady I’ll see her tomorrow.”
“She’s not my lady.”
“Sure.” Swede patted my shoulder and headed for the door. “I’ll keep an eye on our unfriendly neighbourhood alcoholic until you’ve had some rest.”
I nodded.
Alone in the house with Star upstairs, I made a couple of ham sandwiches and gathered beers and a bag of potato chips. I didn’t feel in the mood to cook and it wasn’t like we could order a pizza.
I found her wrapped in a towel and sitting in the middle off her bed, legs curled under her. “Penny for your thoughts?”
Star looked up and smiled. As I entered and offered her food and a beer, she put down what she’d been looking at and accepted them. “I’ve been thinking of what I’ll do if I survive this.”
“When—when you survive this.”
“You’re sweet. But all we have is one oversexed boozehound and a name I think I should know but makes no sense to me.”
“You have to trust us, Star. Swede has the book, so it’ll only be matter of time.” I bit my sandwich and chewed. “These things take time.”
“I always wanted to write a book.” She confessed. “I took journalism because they told me I couldn’t write a book without knowing what I was doing. Plus my mom thought it would be best if I had a back-up plan. Then I made the mistake of taking a law class and it all went downhill from there. Maybe this is the fates’ way of pushing me back on track.”
“Maybe.” I finished the last of my sandwich and set the plate on the floor beside the bed. “That’s another way of seeing it. What kind of book?”
“I don’t know. I like military men. Maybe a romance.”
My cheeks heated. “Men in uniform is your weakness?”
“I don’t think it’s the uniform…” She sighed and sipped from her beer. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”
I eased closer to her and framed her face. She moaned and snuggled her face into my palms. Her skin was smooth, and every part of my body trembled from the smell of her. Helplessly, I leaned in to take her lips. She trembled, sighed and dragged her nails down my chest. That shouldn’t have been as sexy as it was. But the bite of her nails in my flesh made me harder than I thought was even possible.
Rising to my knees, I eased her back into the pillows, restrained her arms above her head and kissed her like I wanted to
. Using her mouth roughly with my tongue and enjoying every sound she made, letting it drive me mad.
This woman was liable to burn me alive and I didn’t care.
Yanking my mouth from hers to catch my breath, I left a wet trail down her neck with my tongue, then sucked at the flesh. She whimpered, arched up against then wrapped her legs around my hips. My hardness pressed into her softness was heaven and even though she was clothed, it was as if there was nothing between us. But there was nothing stopping me. I ripped the fabric from her body then eased back to look at her.
Butterflies were tattooed against her skin, along her body from her armpit all the way down her side to her hip. I kissed each and every one of the creatures before drifting across to spread her legs wide.
“Reaper…”
After kissing along her legs, dragging my facial hair deliberately against her skin, I used my tongue to taste the soft insides of her thighs. Star mewled, held the back of my head trying to move my mouth where she wanted it. No, I wasn’t ready. I wanted to enjoy this, to enjoy her. I took my time, feeling her body vibrated against me, taking in the smooth crevice of ever curve until finally, I dipped my tongue into her. Star flowed hot and ready against my tongue. Her juices tangy and sweet as I delved for more and more, she grabbed the back of my head.
“Maverick.” She moaned, writhing her hips and taking my tongue deeper.
Dragging my hands up her sides to her breasts, I pinched and tugged at her nipples. It seemed to be the ticket for her hands fell away from me to the bed. I used the moment, to suck on her, to twist her nipples to my hearts consent.
Her breathing flowed heavier, faster. She pumped her hips and whispered things my dazed mind couldn’t decipher.
“Don’t stop!” Star pleaded. “Please—don’t—stop!”
She stiffened under my mouth. Her thighs clamped in around my head and a shrill scream filled the air. Star bucked against me but I held on to her. He licked at her and massaged her breasts even as she tried shaking me off. When she slumped to the bed, I gave her one final lick then crawled up her body. Star readily wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down to her kiss.
Fear the Reaper: Brotherhood Protectors World Page 7