Piper frowned. “You’re not staying?”
“Interviews aren’t my thing, babe.”
He didn’t have to wear sunglasses to conceal his thoughts. His dark gaze was flat, which meant he was still pissed. He began to close the door.
“But what about these?” she asked, turning to hold out her hands behind her, to remind him she was still cuffed.
The door continued closing.
“But I have to pee,” she shouted.
The door shut. Piper pressed her lips together. The bastard! She lifted her chin and glared into the large two-way mirror that covered one wall. Well, if the man thought he was getting any tonight, he was in for a rude awakening.
Chapter Two
Many hours later, Wolf unlocked the front door to their house in Arlington and stood to the side to allow Piper to enter first.
All afternoon, his anger had smoldered. The team conducting the interview had allowed her time to use the bathroom, and although she’d washed the blood from her hands and her cheek, he still had to stare at the red soaking the cuff of her jacket as well as the stripe of droplets on her tee.
The blood could easily have been hers. His friends had laughed admiringly at her takedown—her pressing on Ponce’s wound, her Glock shoved against his balls—but Ponce could just have easily bucked her aside and popped off a shot, which would have ended her in a heartbeat. By the stubborn tilt of her chin as she passed him, she still didn’t get how close she’d come to dying.
Hell, if she’d been seconds faster in her approach, his bullet could just as easily have ended her life.
That fact chilled him to his core.
At least, he no longer suspected her of spying on him. Calvin’s interview backed up her claim that coincidence had led them to the same address at the exact same moment as the team’s choreographed arrest. Coincidence. Wolf curled his fingers into fists.
Piper shot him a sideways glance. “I’m hitting the shower.”
On any other occasion, he’d have been right behind her, eager for some shower sex, which would have led to a longer, more leisurely session on the big California King in the bedroom. But Wolf didn’t trust himself, so he glanced away, allowing her to traverse the living room and head down the hallway to their bedroom.
He went straight to the refrigerator and rooted into the bottom shelf for a can of Corona. Opening the sliding door which led to the small back yard, he stepped out and settled into the nearest lawn chair. The first cold sip slid down his throat and hit his belly like a hard rock. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The day had passed at a fast clip since early morning—briefing, movement to the office building, then setting up for the takedown. His higher-ups were happy with today’s results—on his way to surgery, Ponce had sung like a bird in sunshine, implicating the cartel’s upper echelon in the plan. Plus, he’d dropped a nugget of information they hadn’t expected, a brand-new lead to follow. The cartel had recently purchased crates of M4A1 Carbine rifles—weapons that had recently been stolen from an armory at Fort Hood.
In the morning, Army CID investigators would arrive, along with a rep from the unit that had been hit. Wolf would attend the initial briefing, because Charter was good about keeping agents involved in an operation in the loop, but he didn’t expect any further action on his part. Other than physical conditioning, and continuous SEAL-style special ops training, he’d be on standby for the next mission requiring his specialty. As one of the best military snipers in the world, he’d been an auto-hire the moment he’d decided to leave the Navy. He’d had two very lucrative offers to consider, but he’d chosen Charter because several of his old DEVGRU teammates were already there, and because they were headquartered in Texas. He’d wanted to make it easier for Piper to say yes to his proposal.
Piper. He crushed his can in his fist and considered getting a second. But the next moment, his cell phone rang. The screen read Jax. He swiped across.
“Wolf! A car’s coming your way. You and Piper are heading to a safe house.”
His body tensed a moment before he shot to his feet. He didn’t bother asking what or why. “How soon?”
“In five. I’ll be driving. Don’t poke your head out the door unless you see me.”
“Roger that.” He moved back into the house and went straight to the bedroom. He rapped his fist on the bathroom door. “Get dressed. We’re leaving in five.”
To her credit, Piper didn’t shout through the door for an explanation. The water stopped.
He entered his closet and went straight to the gun safe, pulling out a Beretta and his own Glock. He popped magazines into both, and then laid them on the bed. His grabbed his “go bag” from under the bed and a suitcase from Piper’s closet and began stuffing underwear, leggings, tees, several sets of each because he didn’t know how long they’d be gone.
The bathroom door opened. Piper eyed the weapons and bags on the bed and hurried to the closet, pulling clothing from hangars—jeans, a button-down shirt, holster, and a light jacket. In two minutes, she was dressed, the ends of her wet hair soaking her jacket.
They holstered their weapons and headed to the front door. Through the peephole, he watched Jax pull into the driveway and wave from behind the window. Wolf put a hand on Piper’s arm then stepped through the door. Outside, he glanced up and down the street. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing set off alarms, still he drew his weapon and waved her toward the SUV.
With her head ducked, she rushed forward and slipped into the backseat, leaving the door ajar.
He set the house alarm, pulled shut the door, then jogged to the vehicle. As he settled in beside Piper, he shot a glance at Jax and Deke who sat beside him.
Jax shot the gearshift into reverse and quickly backed onto the street.
“Deke, what’s going on?”
Deke twisted in his seat to meet his gaze. “First, disable your phones.”
Wolf reached into his pocket for his cell, removed the case, and the battery. Then he held out his hand for Piper’s.
“Ponce wasn’t alone. His brother was watching the entire thing. Ponce was pretty happy to explain his brother’s just a little crazy, and that your wife is probably already in his crosshairs.” Deke shot a glance back at Piper. “Mano Ponce has a bad enough reputation as a cold-blooded killer, but he doesn’t play with his food. His brother, Cesar, is a cruel bastard who loves to toy with his victims, and he never lets a slight go unanswered.” Deke’s expression was grim as he locked gazes with Wolf. “If, as Mano claims, his brother watched Piper’s takedown, he’ll want to even the score.”
Wolf felt every hair lift on his arms and the back of his neck. A glance to his side told him Piper was just as chilled. “Buckle up,” he said, his voice coming out a growl because his throat was tight with tension. If anything happened to her…
He reached for her hand.
Piper took her first deep breath since Wolf had pounded on the bathroom door. From that moment, she’d been acting on pure instinct. Now, hearing that some cartel psycho might be gunning for her at least gave her a reason for why she’s been rushed out of her own home.
For once, she wished she’d listened to Calvin’s old-lady instincts. She should never have gone through with pursuing Ponce once she’d realized Charter had set their own trap. “What now?” she asked, grateful her voice didn’t quaver.
“You lay low and let us handle it from here,” Deke said, his gaze steady.
Piper leaned forward and circled her pointer finger toward his face. “Wow, is that look something they train you guys to do? Is it like a class or something? ‘How To Give A Deadly Stinkeye 101?”
Wolf’s hand squeezed hers.
“No, I won’t be quiet. When have you ever known me to show a shred of caution?”
Deke shook his head, but his lips twitched. His gaze shot to Wolf. “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…”
“A joke? You can tell a joke?” Piper gave a laugh although it was really the last thing she wa
nted to do, because she was afraid she’d begin to giggle hysterically. She was just that nervous.
“She’s my responsibility,” Wolf said, his words clipped. “I won’t let her out of my sight.”
“You’ll have a team watching the house. And sensors set to trip if anyone enters.”
“Will there be cameras in the bedroom?” Piper asked, frowning.
Deke arched a brow.
Wolf snorted.
She hadn’t been serious, but now she wasn’t so sure. Which angered her. They were both acting like she was some fragile little princess. “I have my own Glock, you know.”
Eyes narrowed, Deke’s mouth firmed. “And the Ponces are badasses from a narco-terrorist group that hangs their enemies from bridges to scare the shit out of anyone who might be thinking about crossing them.”
Okay, so that sounded pretty scary. “You’re talking about the Zeta cartel. Shouldn’t the Ponces be worried about them, too, seeing as one of the brothers is ratting them out?”
“They’re brothers,” Deke said, shaking his head, “but Mano’s just as worried about Cesar getting to him. The fact he was apprehended, again, reflects poorly on the Ponce brand. Cesar would show him no mercy.”
The SUV slowed.
For the first time, Piper looked around. They appeared to be entering an industrial area. A raggedy eight-foot chain link fence surrounded a shabby row of trucking company bays. Several big rigs sat with their containers backed into open bays. Farther down the row, the gates were closed. A single light fixture shone yellow above a rickety set of wooden steps next to what looked like an office.
Was this a joke? She squinted toward the closed door at the top of the steps. “This is the safe house?” she asked, doing her best not to let her doubt bleed through.
“You want safe,” Wolf said. “Doesn’t have to be pretty.”
“It could be clean…” she muttered, looking again at the rundown surroundings.
The two men in the front seat laughed as the vehicle drew to a halt beside the steps.
Deke turned and handed a key to Wolf. “You’ll find a burner phone inside. Use it if you have to. The kitchenette is stocked. There’s no need to go out. Ever.”
“For how long?” Piper tightened her jaw. Nerves were beginning to make her teeth chatter.
“Until this is over.”
“So no Chinese takeout. No pizza,” Wolf said with a half-smile.
“Good lord, we’re gonna starve.” She let out a forced sigh.
Wolf stepped out, grabbed his bag, and then headed straight up the stairs. Piper gave Jax and Deke a wave, but she moved out quickly to follow close behind Wolf. At least she had him. She wouldn’t go completely nuts. They’d find something to do to keep from going stir crazy—after she found any hidden cameras…
Wolf unlocked the door then stood back, waiting for her enter first.
Once inside, shrouded in darkness, she listened as he twisted the deadbolt locks, three of them. A click sounded. A narrow beam of light shone, pointing in front of them.
“Keychain flashlight,” Wolf murmured and stepped out.
She grabbed for a handful of his shirt and followed him through another doorway, which again, he locked. Then he reached to the side. Light filled the space around them.
Surprise had her lifting her brows. The terminal warehouse area had the look of a loft apartment. Rough edges mixed with comfort. Canister lamps hung from open beams above. The floor was scoured, painted, and polished concrete in forest green. A large, dark brown micro-suede sofa facing a large-screen TV carved out a living room area. A queen-sized platform bed sitting atop industrial, brown carpeting was positioned against the far wall of the space. The kitchenette was a long stainless steel counter inset with a cook stove, a half-fridge and a microwave. And there were monitors, a row of them, suspended above the kitchenette, with views of the parking area out front and of the gate leading into the warehouse area.
Wolf went straight to the cupboard beneath the long counter. Rows of canned goods filled the shelf—chili, soups, beans, spaghetti, canned meats. “Not the China Garden,” he murmured, “But we won’t starve.”
Piper opened another cabinet and grinned. She pulled out a bottle of Jack and rocked it in her hand. “There’s beer, too. But I think we deserve this.”
“You do not get to pretend that everything’s all right,” Wolf said, his voice hard.
Knowing the time had finally come, Piper pursed her lips and set the bottle carefully on the counter. Then she stepped closer to Wolf and lifted her chin. “Okay, you’ve been angry with me ever since you spotted me in front of Souther’s office building.”
“You think I’m angry?” he said, his voice a muffled roar.
Piper noted the curled fists, but she wasn’t afraid. Wolf would never hurt her. Not unless she wanted him to. “If you’re not angry, then what are you?” she asked, her voice dead even.
His hands shot out, and he grabbed both her arms and pulled her forward. His head bent toward hers. “Fucking scared shitless.”
That was when she noted the tremors shuddering through his body. “Because of me?” she whispered.
“Can’t you ever make the safe choice, baby? Can’t you ever think about me when you’re running headlong into danger? Think about what I feel?”
Piper’s own shivers caused her nipples to contract. She inched closer, letting her chest touch his. The moment her breasts made contact, she inhaled, dragging in his scent. “You feel hot,” she said, then nuzzled his cheek.
“Crazy fucking bitch,” he whispered in her ear.
“And you love that about me.” She drew back her head to meet his gaze, long enough to see him acknowledge that what she said was true.
“Doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it,” he growled. He shifted his feet, bringing their lower bodies together.
“Do you care whether there are cameras watching?”
“No, and neither do you.” He reached up and gripped her hair at the back of her head.
She loved the stinging tug he gave her. She gave his chest a slow rub with hers. “Think we can lose a few clothes?”
Wolf rested his hand against the base of her neck, giving her a slight squeeze. A hint of barely leashed violence.
“I hate this shirt,” she rasped.
His teeth flashed. His hand crushed the opening of her button-down shirt and pulled hard. Buttons pinged on the concrete floor. He destroyed the bra beneath, but she didn’t care. Her breasts sprang free, drawing his gaze downward.
She fisted his shirt at his sides and rucked it up, letting him take control and draw it over his head, and then she pushed forward, rubbing her nipples against the soft fur on his chest.
“Fuck, I need to be inside you.” He palmed her ass and crushed it, lifting her.
She wrapped her legs around his hips and wound her arms around his neck as he walked straight to the nearest soft surface—the sectional.
He lowered her onto the chaise-length end of the sofa, and then moved away, quickly stripping her of boots and jeans. A second later, her underwear became a rag.
Then he stripped, his urgency plain to see in the rapid rise and fall of his chest, in the tightly honed muscles cloaking his lean frame. When he was nude, he dropped one knee onto the end of the sectional.
Her gaze landed on his cock and stayed there. God, she loved his cock—long, thick, perfect to fill what was empty. Heat flared—washing over her skin. Her labia swelled. Moisture pooled. “Quick,” she said, reaching out her arms.
Wolf dropped over her, bracing his weight on his hands. He widened the space between her legs with insistent nudges, his gaze on her pussy as he pushed inside.
This was what she needed. Him entering her, completing her. She planted her feet in the cushion and lifted her hips, meeting his inward strokes.
She reveled in his hardness, in the friction he built with slow, steady thrusts. She loved how he stretched her, loved how his cheeks and jaw hardened to
make him look feral, wild. Cupping her breasts, she lifted them to scrape the aroused tips on his chest, which obstructed his view of what was happening below and drew a growl that rattled deep in his throat. But she teased him some more, wanting all his fury, all his hot passion—until he broke, dropping down to cup her ass as he pounded against her—short, sharp thrusts that quickened. Pleasure swept over her in a rush, hitching her breath. She arched her back, her head digging into the softness beneath as he hammered her pussy. “Yes, yes, yes!”
His shout erupted the moment she crested. Together, they fell headlong into rapture.
Chapter Three
The next morning, Wolf knew the moment she awoke. In her sleep, she’d fondled his dick, her hand cupping his flaccid length, mounding it, then instinctively squeezing and pulling until he was fully aroused. While she’d murmured sleepily, soft pleasure sounds she never made when she was awake, now, she held her breath. And his cock. Her fingers didn’t trail away, but they did stiffen around his shaft.
Not an unpleasant way to greet the morning, but thinking with his northern-most brain, he knew they had to talk about the events from the day before, and the fact she needed to exercise extreme caution from this point on. Something he knew she’d rail against. Piper didn’t like being confined. And while she was one of the most physically capable women he’d ever met, she wasn’t invulnerable. And that scared the shit of him. “Playing possum?” he whispered.
Her eyes slitted. “Maybe.”
“We still haven’t talked.”
She slid her hand along his shaft. “Sure talking’s what you want to do?” she murmured, her voice still morning-rough from hours of disuse.
Fuck, he loved the way she sounded first thing in the morning.
Her thumb slid over the sensitive tip of his aroused cock, and he grabbed her wrist.
She arched a brow, daring him.
His cock jerked inside her grasp, and he knew he was done. “After. We talk. No more diversionary tactics.”
“I love it when you talk Army to me.”
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Between a SEAL and a Hard Place (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Uncharted SEALs Book 7) Page 2