by Linzi Baxter
“I can’t stand thinking that, if this goes off, I will lose you.”
It was too much. A sob escaped me. I looked at Dave, hoping he would agree with me. “Please make him leave. I don’t want him to die.”
Dave disappeared below my seat. For a brief second, the ticking started all over again. Zane was still here. The ticking was counting down the seconds of my life. And then everything stopped. I finally let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
When Dave backed away with a smile on his face, Zane rushed in and pulled me from the car. He leaned in, and I met him halfway. When his lips crushed mine, the world faded away. The only person who mattered was the man who had his arms wrapped around me. When Zane pulled back and released my lips, we were both panting.
“Zane?”
“Yes, Red?”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
I slapped his chest. The man was too arrogant for his own good. “Aren’t you going to say it back?”
“You're my little red firecracker and will have to wait to find out.”
I settled into the leather seats of Zane’s Range Rover. I was glad to see him again. My heart picked up at the thought of the kiss. I shouldn’t have waited three weeks to contact him. I didn’t understand why he was already in Ft. Lauderdale. Was he working a job down here?
We had defused the bomb, but who set it? We still hadn’t tracked down Sanchez. He would be the only person left wanting to take me out. Kat and I had made it so that he lost everything. Over the past few weeks, we had worked to track down all of his bank accounts and drain the money. The government was on the search for him.
“I’m moving in with you.”
Zane’s words threw me for a loop. “You can’t demand to live with me. You can ask, and I can decide.”
“Clearly, you can’t. You need to have someone at your side until we find Sanchez and take him down. You aren’t safe alone.”
My excitement at his words fell. I was giving him a hard time for demanding, not asking. He didn’t really want to move in with me. He was doing it to protect me. Then he would be on his way again, and me and my little peanut would be left to figure out our life alone.
Zane hit his hands against the steering wheel. “You took my words wrong. I want to live with you. I can’t think about you not being safe. After we find Sanchez, I want to continue living with you, if you want.”
We made it back to the house in record time. I was still pondering Zane’s words about wanting to live with me. I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do. But I was having a difficult time with the reality.
Zane was at my door before I had time to unbuckle my seat belt. When the door opened, he pulled me into his arms.
“I can walk.”
“Stop fighting me for once. I almost lost you today. I need you in my arms. Please let me have this.”
I leaned my head forward and gave him a kiss on the lips. When we walked into Betty’s apartment to let her know we were back, she was rocking in her chair with a grin on her lips. When the door to my apartment opened, I was stunned.
Rose petals lined the floor. Unlit candles lined every shelf in the house. The kitchen looked like a flour bomb had exploded. Here was the answer to my question earlier today—what had Zane been doing in Ft. Lauderdale? He had come for me before I called.
The tears leaked from my eyes. I couldn’t hold them back.
“What’s wrong.”
“You did this for me?”
A blush crept across Zane’s face. “I had planned to cook dinner and have the kitchen cleaned before you came back, but when you called, I stopped everything and came to you.”
I cried harder. No one had ever done anything like this for me before.
“I’m sorry.” His voice sounded like I had taken away his new gun.
“You don’t understand. I love it. Take me to bed.”
“But you're crying.”
I stretched forward and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Happy tears. Now, are you going to take me to bed?”
Zane didn’t need to be asked twice. He headed down the hallway in three giant strides. My bedroom seemed so small with his presence in it.
The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air. My back hit the bed with a couple of bounces. The hunger in Zane’s eyes was mesmerizing. He crawled up the bed and wrapped his fingers in my hair, pulling my mouth to his.
He swiped his tongue across my lips, demanding entry. The kiss was full of passion and need. He deepened the kiss, taking my breath away. When Zane pulled back, a whimper left my mouth. I peeled my eyes open to find his blue eyes swimming with emotion.
Zane
Easing away from Sophie’s mouth was a struggle. When the whimper left her lips, I wanted to continue. The need to be inside her was overwhelming. I wanted to possess her to prove she needed me as much as I needed her in my life.
I worked at pulling Sophie’s shirt up her body. Her perfect breast and nipples called to me. While I got her bra off, my mouth was watering to taste her skin. I lowered my head and captured her nipple in my mouth. Her whimpers made me suck harder.
I licked my way over to her other breast. When my lips touched her nipple, she arched off the bed, encouraging me to continue. Needing to taste her everywhere, I worked my way down her body, loosening her jeans and pulling them off her body.
I couldn’t hold back a groan when I noticed she didn’t have underwear on. She was dripping with need. I spread her legs open and slowly licked her.
“Beautiful. So, beautiful,” I murmured against the inside of her thigh. When I looked up, Sophie’s head was thrown back. Her back was arched in pure bliss. Moans of passion were escaping her mouth. Her eyes were tightly closed. “Open your eyes. I want you to watch me lick this sweet pussy.”
Her eyes flew open, and I could see the need to come was pressing on her. I leaned in and sucked on her clit, working two fingers in and out of her velvety folds. She lost it and came. It was the most beautiful thing, watching the woman I love get lost in the passion.
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I needed to be inside Sophie. Throwing my pants to the side, I worked my way up her body, stopping to suck on her round, perk nipples. I could listen to the sounds pouring out her mouth for days.
“Please.”
Running my fingers through her hair, I pulled her to my mouth for a kiss. With a thrust, I was buried inside of her. I could feel her folds clenching against me. The feeling was so intense that I had to stop and wait for a moment.
“Move. I need you to move.” Her words came out in moans.
I slowly worked myself in and out. I wanted this feeling to last forever. Sophie met each of my thrusts with intensity. I couldn’t hold on much longer.
“Come with me now.” At my demand, her body let loose and squeezed me. The feeling of her milking my cock made me lose it. With the last thrust, I was buried inside her.
We were both out of breath. I could feel her heart beating against my chest. I slowly worked myself out. At the loss of our connection, she whimpered.
Needing to take care of Sophie, I ran to the bathroom and got a wet rag. Her face blushed when I went to clean her.
“I can do that,” she whispered.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I spent a half hour down here, licking you. Why is it embarrassing that I want to take care of you?”
When I was done, I reached up and pulled her into my arms. “See, if I lived with you, I could do that every day.”
Sophie was quiet for a while. She bit her bottom lip. “In about eight months, things will change though.”
I didn’t understand what would happen in eight months. “What are you talking about? Are you going to let me move in?”
“Yes, and in eight months, we will have our baby.”
Baby? What? Can it be possible? She had said she couldn’t get pregnant. It was all moving so fast. But, I knew the first time I saw Sophie, that she was it. I hoped what she said
was true.
“Are you pregnant? You said it wasn’t possible.”
When Sophie went to shy away, I pulled her farther into my arms.
“The doctor said it was near impossible. I had somewhere around a five-percent chance. Are you mad?”
“No. I’m happy. Tomorrow, we will find a more secure place to live. I will be by your side at all times until Sanchez is found.”
When Sophie went to protest, I held my finger up to her lips.
“I love you, Sophie. Let me protect you.”
“I love you, too, my super spy.”
Epilogue - Antonio
The bomb placed in Sophie’s car was a warning. He was still out there. My family was not safe until he was dead. I didn’t care if Zack wanted him brought in alive. He’d messed with my family too many times.
“Dude, you look like you are going to kill someone.”
I looked at where the bomb tech was removing the last of the bomb materials from Sophie’s car. “I’m dreaming about all the ways I’m going to dismember his body.”
Brock grabbed a stick of licorice from his pocket and popped it in his mouth. That man had an addiction. “Whatever you need, let me know. I’m going to take the afternoon and spend it with my family. You should do the same.”
The mention of my family brought the sun to the dark day. Kat and I had found a comfortable routine. I still struggled with losing out on so much of my son's life. But getting a second chance to be with my wife and kid meant the world to me.
I pulled my phone from my pocket. A picture of Kat and Antonio Jr. at the park was on display. I couldn’t ever get enough of them.
I dialed Kat, and she answered immediately. She had wanted to come down to where Sophie was. It was hard for her to stay back, but it was for the best.
“I want to see her.”
I had a feeling it was going to be a few days before she and Zane came up for air. That man had a lot of hunger to work out. The two of them had a lot of issues they needed to work out together.
“Hello, Kitty Kat. I’m sorry to say that Zane has kidnapped your sister. We’re not going to see them for a few days.”
“About time that man got off his ass.” My woman was a deadly spitfire.
I loved her feisty side in bed. When she had her legs wrapped around me, nothing mattered but the woman in front of me.
“You want to meet me for lunch? Afterward, we can break our son out of pre-K jail.” Antonio loved his new school. Each night, he would show us all the new things he learned. When he came home with a picture he drew of him and me, it took everything to hold the tears back. The next day, I framed it and put it in my office.
At the rate he kept bringing pictures home, the whole wall at work was going to be covered in his artwork.
“Sure. I’ll head out now.” Her voice floated across the line.
The Greasy Spoon Diner wasn’t far from White Hat Security. Inside, Kat was sitting at Patty and Jessica’s normal booth. Over the last few weeks, Kat had been spending a lot of time getting to know the girls. They had taken her in as one of their sisters.
Her red hair was glowing in the beam of sun coming in from outside. I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“Hello, Kitty Kat.”
Her smile lit up the room. “Hey.”
“How did it go?” she asked. “Do you know who planted the bomb?”
I wasn’t one hundred percent sure who set the bomb, but I had a good feeling I knew who it was.
I nodded. “We think it was someone Sanchez hired.”
Sophie leaned back in the both. “How? We drained his accounts.”
Sophie and Kat might’ve drained the accounts. Men like Sanchez don’t make it as far as they do without doing favors and being owed favors. The bomb was extremely sophisticated. That was how we ruled out the Russians. We thought the Prime Minister might have retaliated for taking out his brother. “We are going to have John take a look at it when he gets back. He will be able to find a signature on the bomb. People might owe Sanchez favors. He’s desperate and will do whatever it takes to get his money back.”
“It’s my fault.” Kat laid her head in her hands. “At the warehouse, I hesitated to kill him. He raised me. I know he killed my family, but I was with him for fifteen years. When I hesitated, he got away.”
I reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “Kat, look at me. You weren’t the only one in that room with a gun. It’s was not all on you to take him out.”
“What can I get you guys?” the waitress asked. She appeared out of nowhere.
“We will both have the special.” I had learned that Kat liked trying new things each time we went to a restaurant and always ended up ordering the special. Today, we were having a fried cheeseburger.
“Got it. Two specials. Anything else?” the waitress asked.
“Two glasses of water, and we should be good.” The waitress nodded before taking our menus and heading to register.
“I promise we will find him.” Needing to change the subject to something less dark, I asked, “Did you find a school yet?”
Kat had decided to go back to college and get a degree in psychology. She had been working on applications to all of the colleges.
“University of Central Florida has an online psychology degree program. I applied this morning. I’m hoping to hear back in the next couple months.”
My phone was vibrating. I reached in and pulled it out. Antonio’s school was calling. I swiped to answer.
“Mr. Ross.” I clicked the phone to speaker so Kat could hear why the school was calling.
“This is Mr. and Mrs. Ross.”
The lady’s voice on the other end was shaky. “We need you and Mrs. Ross to come to the school immediately. Antonio Jr. is missing.”
The End
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Book List
White Hat Security Series
Hacker Exposed
Royal Hacker
Misunderstood Hacker
Undercover Hacker
Hacker Revelation 7/31/2018
The Steele Brothers Series
Montana Fortune 6/26/2018
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Hacker Exposed Preview
Chapter 1
Alex
“The Citrix project is missing somewhere around a million dollars,” Mr. Davis said.
We were in my executive conference room, discussing each department’s concerns. Missing money was a departmental concern, but it should have been brought to my attention as soon as it was discovered. Nobody should wait for a staff meeting to discuss something like that.
I was surprised because Mr. Davis had been working for Ross Enterprises as our CFO for twenty years and should have known better. I’d never cared for the guy. He was one of the last remaining employees from when my father ran Ross Enterprises. Charles Davis was in his early fifties and only around five foot five. He had one of those beer bellies that hung over his pants. Ever since I was a kid, I wondered if his hair was real or fake. I assumed, since it had never changed colors or appeared washed, it was fake. Over the past few months, I noticed he had become increasingly more anxious and uneasy whenever I came to his office unannounced.
The other executives started to shift in their seats. They recognized I was about to lose it. But this was a blessing in disguise. Mr. Davis needed to be let go, and he had just given me a reason.
I tried to reply calmly. “I must have misunderstood you. Did you just say we are missing a
million dollars like it doesn’t fucking matter?” On second thought, it didn’t come out all that calmly.
“I’m reading you the report the Citrix project account manager typed up,” he said angrily.
Shannon King, the human resources manager, was shaking her head. I understood why she was doing it, but I didn’t care. Mr. Davis was going to get fired. Charles should have been investigating how the money went missing, not relying on an account manager’s report. Mr. Davis was lucky I was firing him instead of throwing him off the top of the building. Shannon should have been happy with me too.
“You’re fired. Fred, please escort Mr. Davis out of the building.” Fred was the top security officer at Ross Enterprises. He had been in the same unit as my brothers. When he needed a job after leaving the military, I’d hired him. The man was built, with muscles in places only body builders could have. Smart people didn’t mess with him.
“You can’t fire me!” Mr. Davis yelled as Fred escorted him out of the building.
I can fire anyone I want, I thought with bravado, while making a mental note to call the lawyers. They were going to be making extra money this week.
The remaining executives were all quiet. Shannon was writing down what I assumed were notes to save me from a lawsuit. I gave her job security.
“Does anyone remember who the account manager for the Citrix project is?” I asked.
Scott White replied, “Jessica Patterson was the account manager for that project. They have been looking to promote her to a larger role. I’m not sure if she is still working on the project.”
Scott was the vice president of Ross Enterprises, and I relied on him for many of the everyday operations. He was in his early thirties. We attended the same school growing up, and later, we both went on to Harvard. When I took over the family business, neither my brothers nor my sister wanted to work at Ross Enterprises, so Scott became my number two.