“Six, oh God, I…” The oxygen was sucked out of the room as she exploded, crying out in relief and release.
Six continued to pound into her, milking every last moment of her orgasm until she was left breathless and panting. Stars fluttered in his peripheral vision as he sucked in air. Lou opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder at him. She was right there with him. Really with him. Etched on his soul.
“Please, Six,” she begged. “Make me come again.”
Six looked at her, pinned her with his eyes as he thrust in and out, every muscle in his body defined. “Lou,” he shouted, and through the sheer strength of his orgasm, he could feel the moment she went over the edge again too.
“Goddamn,” he moaned into the comforter beside her as he continued to slide inside her. Slower now. Pressing hard up against her, holding it, before pulling out. “Every single time with you, Lou.”
Silently, after removing the condom and crawling onto the bed, they lay there quietly for some time, just holding each other.
“Do you feel like telling me what happened tonight?” Lou asked, eventually.
“I thought about that after I left earlier. I have memories from things I’ve been involved with. Memories that I can’t shake. I don’t regret any of the things I’ve done, but I can recall every one of them. I was just trying to save you from having to deal with having memories like that yourself. I wasn’t trying to patronize you.”
She ran her hand down his stubbled jaw. “I appreciate you trying to do that. But I need to know what’s happening. It’s my problem. Not yours.”
“I get that. I really do,” he said, brushing her hair from her cheek. “And if you were a regular client, I wouldn’t feel so conflicted. But the idea of you getting hurt freaks me out like nothing else … but I get it. Just … can we do it in the morning? Over coffee.”
“As long as that’s a deal, yes.”
Six exhaled. “It is. I just want to enjoy this. Us, right now. Listen, I don’t want you to think this was just another slip of control on my part. I’m done trying to pretend this isn’t happening.”
Louisa paused for a moment, then said, “Good.”
“Good?” Six asked, unable to hide his grin.
“Well, it’s not like I haven’t made my position perfectly clear,” she said, her eyes wide and bright.
“Oh, that’s right, you wanted me to show you … What did you say? Oh, that’s right … Show me how good it can be to just fuck and really mean it. So how did I do?” He reached for the light switch and plunged the bedroom into darkness.
“It was fine,” she said, but he could hear the laughter in her voice.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back up against his chest. “Just fine, Lou?” he growled in her ear, and she giggled.
“Okay, perhaps a little better than fine.”
“I fucked you senseless, and you know it.”
“Good night, Six.”
“Good night, Lou.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Every single time with you, Lou.
Lying next to a sleeping Six, she thought back to the way he’d taken her the night before. Embarrassment had battled with need at first. She’d felt exposed on her knees and had been convinced her ass must have looked huge from that angle. But it had been something she hadn’t realized she was longing for. For someone to want her so badly that he’d come to her despite injuries and despite “rules” saying they shouldn’t. Someone willing to overcome the odds and still want her.
She wasn’t exactly sure what he’d meant by the words he’d said, but there had been so much reverence in his tone that she hadn’t felt the need to ask him. Not all questions needed answering. Then she grinned. Answering questions had been her life, but for the first time she realized that it wasn’t everything. Sometimes you didn’t need to know the answers. Sometimes you just had to feel them.
Louisa had always poo-poo’d butterflies in your stomach as an idea, because, well, it was stupid, and her nervous stomach felt horrible when it flared up. But suddenly she felt them, and even though they were a biological misnomer, they were beautiful.
Daylight filtered in through the dark curtains as she turned in his arms, and he sleepily opened his eyes.
“Mmm. I could get used to waking up to your sweet face, Lou,” he mumbled gruffly.
“How did you get this?” she asked, and trailed her finger along the purple line on his stomach.
Six grabbed her hand and kissed her fingertips. The playful touches made her heart swell. “Gunshot wound, doing something I can’t talk about, in a place we likely should never have been.”
“Oh my God, that’s awful. I’m so sorry. You’re a regular hero. I hope they gave you a medal for that.” She linked her fingers with his.
“They gave me two.” Six shrugged as if it was no big deal. “A Purple Heart and a Silver Star.”
Louisa ran her fingers through his hair. “Do you have other medals?” she asked, her stomach tightening at the thought of him being in so much danger, or worse, hurt.
“A Bronze Star,” he said, putting his arm over her waist and pulling her closer.
“What’s the difference between a Bronze Star and a Silver Star?”
“My level of awesomeness,” he said, tugging her to his lips for a sweet kiss.
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Your level of awesomeness?”
“Yup. Awesomeness.”
“Well, Mr. Awesomeness. Do you feel like telling me what you know? You promised you would last night.”
Six shrugged out of her arms, kissed her forehead, and sat up. “Not here. Not in our room,” he said, and her heart spiked at the use of “our.” He pulled on some shorts. “Come on, I’ll cook while we talk. I know you’re a sucker for bacon.”
An hour later, Louisa sipped the last of her coffee, her stomach full of their compromise. Tofu scramble and bacon. Six had told her about everything he’d learned, and she’d told him about Vasilii’s phone call and text.
“It’s highly probable he wants you to go see him so they can take you from there. So rule one-oh-one … no matter what happens, no matter what he says, you don’t go to Ivan or Vasilii for any reason at all.”
Lou looked up at him. “Yes, sir,” she said, and saluted.
“I’m not joking, Lou. He contacts you again, tell me right away. And that was the worst freaking salute I’ve ever seen,” he said, and took her plate. There was a loud clatter as he dropped it into the sink.
Lou pondered what they could do to try to find out what Vasilii might be up to. “I have a friend,” she said, immediately thinking of Aiden. “He runs the lab opposite mine. He’s a good man. I think we should go see him and see what he might know. He might have seen something and doesn’t realize it. Or maybe he already heard something from the lab search.”
“You sure he won’t reveal anything to the Popovs?” Six said, and came around the counter to stand in front of her.
“Positive,” she said, and placed her arms around his waist. It was a wonder that she got to enjoy this man.
“In that case, why don’t we get cleaned up? I can give the guys a call on the way over and update them.”
Two hours later, after a shower which had picked up where they’d left off the previous evening and a forty-minute drive to Aiden’s Chula Vista home, Louisa stood on the porch and rang the bell.
“Louisa,” he said with surprise. “Please come in. Are you okay? I’ve been worried about you.”
Louisa watched the way he looked Six over, trying to size him up. “Aiden, this is Six, a … friend of mine. He’s helping me right now.”
Six offered his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Aiden.”
Aiden shook it tentatively. It wouldn’t have served any purpose to tell Six that she was aware of Aiden’s crush. Nor would it have been fair to Aiden. Except in the moment, it was obvious to everybody, and she wished she could have prevented that.
“Vasilii said you were taking
some time off for personal reasons,” Aiden said, casting his eye toward Six. “And your lab is closed. Is it because of the theft?”
Louisa nodded as she followed him into the living room. She sat down on the sofa, and Six sat down next to her. “Can you tell us what’s been happening in the lab this week?”
Aiden filled them in on the details. The thorough check for the samples, the lab scrutiny, and over the last couple of days, there had been a number of detectives passing in and out of the building. “There have even been some FBI agents. Liz is frustrated,” he said, referring to Vasilii’s assistant. “Vasilii is in the middle of this big land deal that she wishes he’d just put on hold while all this is going on, but he’s scared the seller will back out if he does.”
“Has Ivan been around?” Six asked, and Aiden shook his head.
“No. I guess with Louisa’s lab being shut, there isn’t much in the way of research for him to do. I assumed he was involved in this land deal. But the lab has been one hundred percent lights off. What happened to you, Louisa?” he asked.
Louisa explained what she could, and the fear in Aiden’s eyes made her feel a little guilty for what she was about to do next. “Aiden. I hate to ask this, but, could you … It would be great if you could see what you can find out from the inside. I don’t want you to get into trouble, but trust me, I have good reason to believe that Ivan, and possibly Vasilii, are involved in what happened to me. Any information you might be able to find would be so helpful. Especially anything out of the ordinary. Unplanned trips, reservations, etc.”
Aiden stood from his chair and wandered to the window that looked over his street. “I will,” he said. “As long as my research isn’t compromised. Alzheimer’s means as much to me as Huntington’s does to you. I can’t just abandon my research.”
Louise stood and hurried over to him. She reached for his hand, needing to beg. “I completely understand, but please … try your best.” She looked in his eyes. They were sweet, but they weren’t Six’s and never would be.
“For you, Louisa. I will.”
* * *
Everything about Louisa felt right. And it wasn’t just the sex, which had been a revelation every time. It was so much more. Like the way she was currently asleep draped across him, finally relaxed enough in sleep to forget about her internal walls and turn off all her alarms. Like the way he’d looked at the papers on her desk while she’d showered and found the makings of a business plan for a company called True North Industries with a financial plan that made his eyes water. The woman was smarter than he’d ever be, and clearly wealthier than he’d imagined, given the amount she was planning to invest.
And she was funny, and made him laugh, and didn’t let him get away with shit.
Which had all the makings of being in love. He waited for his stomach to turn at the idea, to clutch at thoughts related to settling down. But nothing happened. Except a feeling of inner peace at the mental declaration that his mom would be proud of. He’d texted both his mom and sister and told them to stay away. Of course, he’d played it off as a client staying with him, which was completely true. His mom had always been able to tell if he was lying, even if it was electronically. But he was actually looking forward to introducing her to his family.
Watching her today with Aiden had been odd. For the first time, he’d been jealous of their friendship. It was clear to him that Aiden had wanted a relationship with Lou, but the look in her eyes had told him all he needed to know. The only person she was interested in was him.
He’d been unable to sleep. Cabe was right. It was harder to think clearly about what the right thing to do was because it was Louisa. They were convening at Eagle in the morning, and he’d already agreed to take Lou with him because there was no way she’d accept being left behind, and Louisa was right. She was smart and might be able to help. But part of him wished he could lock her in the house and surround her with a hundred ex-military guys instead. Love and duty made for uneasy bedfellows.
Lou rolled onto her side and buried her head into her own pillow. The sound of metal scratching against metal caught his attention, and he sat up quickly, craning his head in the direction of the sound. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear it was the garage door. Quickly, he rolled out of bed, pulled on his shorts, and slipped into his shoes, which were exactly where he’d lined them up.
He pulled his SIG out of the drawer and placed his hand over Louisa’s mouth. She woke with a start, but he placed his lips next to her ear. “Shh. Someone’s here.” Quietly, he slid her drawer open and pulled out the gun he’d left there for her. He handed it, and his phone, to her. “Get in the bathroom and lock the door. Don’t open it for anyone but me. Anyone kicks the door in, you fire this straight at the chest like I showed you. You hear bullets, call the police.”
Like the smart woman he knew she was, she took both and grabbed her pajamas and sneakers on the way.
Once he heard the lock click, he held his gun out and moved into the hallway. His first job was to keep whoever was attempting to enter the property away from Lou. Which meant they couldn’t get to the back of the house. He reached the doorway into the kitchen in time to see the handle at the top of the stairs that led down to the garage turn ominously. He dropped to the ground to the left of the archway, which offered concealment, not cover. Depending on what type of weapons they might have, they could possibly rip drywall to pieces, so his location was less than ideal, but he didn’t have the time to run to the other side of the kitchen.
Everything around him went silent and into slow motion. The door opened and three men ran in. He had the advantage of surprise on the first intruder and shot him straight in the chest. The impact caused him to stumble backward, and he crashed into the second intruder, who moved so quickly that the bullet Six fired at him went through his shoulder instead of his heart. The latter would have killed him, like his buddy, instantly, but it was enough of a strike to have him dropping down for cover. Before he could take aim at the third intruder, pain ripped through his side, the force of which jerked him sideways. The bullet didn’t knock Six off his feet—gunshots rarely did—but he managed to keep hold of his gun as he pressed his hand to his wound. A second bullet hit the floor next to him, and Six scrambled around the corner. Footsteps told him that the guy he’d hit in the shoulder was on the move, likely going around the living space to come at him from the other side. There was no way he could help Lou if he was dead, so he pulled himself to his feet. He stared at a painting on his hallway wall. The streetlights outside of his home had caused it to be reflective, and in the glass he could see the third assailant, who was as yet uninjured, moving closer. Anticipating his next move, Six aimed his gun around the corner and fired four bullets in quick succession, feeling nothing but relief as he heard a body fall to the floor with a thud.
His side throbbed like an absolute bitch, and he could feel blood running down his leg, but he ignored both. Pain was fleeting, which he’d learned at BUD/S, and what he was fighting for, Lou’s safety, was far more important.
Six turned to listen for the second assailant but was too late. He turned face-first into the barrel of a gun. His training fired to life and he pushed the barrel upward, gripping the assailant’s hand and hearing the satisfying crack as he broke the guy’s trigger finger. It was damn near impossible for a guy to make a kill shot when he couldn’t fire his gun.
A gunshot rang out down the hallway, and he looked around for a fourth assailant. Shit, he’d screwed up. There must be someone else in the house. Another point of entry maybe. All he had to do was keep them alive long enough for the police to arrive. The man he’d been fighting slumped against the hallway wall and released his gun into Six’s control as he slid to the ground. A red bloodstain smeared the old wallpaper.
“Did I kill him?” Louisa said, her voice shaking. She stood there in aqua pajamas and bright pink sneakers, gun in one hand, his phone in the other, a detail he took in as she looked right and screamed. A bulle
t missed her by inches, sending glass flying as it hit the mirror on the wall. “There are more of them,” she yelled as she hurried toward him.
“Let’s go,” he yelled, quickly formulating a plan that involved getting out of the house. They were most certainly outnumbered, and he had no idea how many of them there actually were. If they left via the front door, they’d be exposed to anybody keeping watch outside. The garage might be safer if the three men they’d already dealt with were the only assailants, especially if they could get into the truck.
Gripping his gun, he reached for her hand as she crossed the distance between them. He hurried them through the kitchen, where he picked up his keys and wallet and she grabbed her purse and phone off the counter. They moved quickly over the two bodies in the kitchen and down the steps to the garage. Shot or not, he needed to get them out of there, and for the first time in his life, he felt fear. Not for him, but for Louisa. He pulled the truck door open and hurried her inside before racing to his side of the vehicle. Once inside, he raised the garage door and gunned the engine. In the rearview mirror, he saw two more men run out of the house and begin to fire at them.
“Duck,” he ordered Louisa, relieved she did as he instructed immediately. She stood a better chance of not getting shot if she was protected by metal rather than glass. He could feel her fear and hear the way her breath was coming in nervous pants as the metallic ping of bullets hitting the truck reverberated around them. Panic wasn’t going to help either of them.
He charged the truck out of the driveway, noticing the dark van parked on the opposite side of the street, and immediately took the first left he could. “Do you still have my phone?” he asked calmly as he looked behind them. A couple of men ran across the street and jumped into the other vehicle.
“Yes,” she said.
“Okay, call Cabe. Tell him what happened, and tell him we are going to Eagle Securities. Tell him I’m shot.”
Louisa sat up immediately. “You’re shot? Where?” she cried.
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