She bobs her head up and down. "Fine, what's the plan, then?"
Drake steps in, no doubt sensing the growing tension between me and the beautiful, selfless woman on the floor. She'd do it too, go in alone and risk her life again so no one else could be hurt. No clue where this drive and passion comes from, but it’s what kept me from getting on that chopper.
"We need more than a few seconds here," he says with a smile. "Let's get downstairs, wait for Raider to get back, and go from there. We need to loop your FBI boys in on this too to make sure everything’s legal going forward. Last thing we want is to catch this bastard and then him go free on a technicality."
Damn, didn't even think about that. "What about the CIA fucker?"
Drake stares me down as he pauses for a moment. "As much as I hate to say this, we need to wait." I start to protest but stop at the narrowing of his eyes and balling of his fists. "If he learns that we know he’s behind all this, then he could tip this guy off and disappear. Pretty fucking sure that's not what we want to happen, seeing as your girl here would be looking over her shoulder every damn day until she can find him again. So no, the CIA fuckstick can wait. Find this other bastard." He turns the intense stare he's perfected over the years to Fate. "Speaking of, what's this back room he wants to meet you in?"
She shrugs and ignores his question.
Shit, she's had a hard day. First the debriefing and now this; I have no idea how she's still functioning. The woman has no clue how strong she really is, and it doesn't matter how many times I tell her. At some point though, she'll have to believe it, see it in herself.
Grabbing Drake’s shoulder, I pull him out of the room and shut the door. "She's been through a shit storm today, boss."
A nod in agreement as he stares down the hall. "Let's go down and get our plan together. She's safe up here alone. All the windows are bulletproof and monitored by the alarm."
At the foot of the stairs, I sink to the bottom step. Fuck, what just happened? Mya and Liza are in danger, this bastard wants Pops all to himself, and the CIA fucker isn’t just an asshole but one of the bad guys. Massaging the bridge of my nose with two fingers, I sigh and close my eyes. "What's your plan? I know you came up with one in the two seconds she asked you up there, so what is it?"
I sense instead of see him pace the length of the room. "Do you have any idea what the back room is he's talking about?"
A dark lock of hair falls with the shake of my head. "No fucking clue."
"We know it's somewhere they both know, so it’s safe to assume it’s somewhere in DC. He wants her to come alone." Looking up from the floor, I shoot a glare across the room. "I'm not saying we send your girl in there alone, but we need to make it look that way. Two o’clock." He looks to his watch. "That gives us a little more than four hours." The stomp of his boots stops in front of the fireplace. Staring at the stone, he says, "Call up the FBI. We need their help."
The phone's barely out of my pocket when a chirp from the security system sounds. I'm off my ass and halfway up the stairs before Drake stops me.
"What in the hell is she doing?" He smiles at his phone and turns it to me. Clomping back down the few stairs, I rip it from his hand and watch. A smile spreads across my face as I shake my head at the screen. Of course she's trying to climb out the window. It's only a two-story drop.
"I'll go stop—" The second she vanishes from the screen, a short scream comes from the back of the house. "Wow."
Drake grips my shoulder with a little jostle. "You sure know how to pick ’em, Snowflake. That one out there has bigger balls than half the CIA." Halfway to the door, he turns with a smirk. "Don't let her near Raider."
Grabbing a fresh cup of coffee, he heads out the back door to stop whatever the hell she has planned next in her grand escape.
Chapter 33
Fate
Today
All the breath whooshes from my lungs from the impact of my back slamming against the ground.
Shit. That hurt.
Not able to immediately move, I gaze into the cloudless night sky and pray no one heard me fall out of the window like a clumsy troll. The damp, cold soil seeps through my sleeves when I push onto my elbows to take a look around.
Bad idea.
"Poppy." Drake’s tone carries a hint of amusement. "You going somewhere, sweetheart?"
"My name's not Poppy." I fall to my back and close my eyes, wishing this moment was over. "Just needed some fresh air is all. I’m fine."
Peeking one eye open, I find him smiling into his coffee mug. His eyes go up to the open window and then back to me, his smile growing bigger by the second. "Right."
And just when I don’t think it can get worse than Nash's badass boss laughing at my failed escape, it does.
"Drake. Pops." At Nash's attempt to hold back his smile, I seal my eyes shut again. "You know we have stairs, right?"
Drake’s amusement at the situation isn’t great, but I can handle it. Nash's chuckle sends a hot flush up my chest to my neck and face.
Sticks and leaves from the bush I nearly impaled myself on prick my palms as I push off the ground and storm toward the truck. The first part of my spur-of-the-moment plan didn’t go smoothly, but that doesn’t change anything.
Low male voices argue behind me before the steady thud of jogging feet grows closer and closer.
"Want to explain what's going on?" Nash says with a hint of laughter still in his tone. Which of course pisses me off.
"I'm leaving." Ripping the truck door open, I slide in and lock the doors. Outside the window, he crosses his thick arms over his chest. Smiling. The bastard. "Don't try to stop me," I yell so he can hear me through the glass. "I'm doing this for you. For them." But as I say it, my plan to leave sounds dumb. Flawed. Irrational.
He doesn't say a word, only stares down through the glass.
"You know it's for the best," I say, glancing up into those brown eyes that send my heart thumping hard against my chest. Damn, he’s gorgeous. "If I'm out of the picture, then Mya's safe. You're safe. This is my fight, and I need to do it on my own, Nash. So let me leave."
Emotional. Cold. Embarrassed. I hug myself in an attempt to ward off reality.
It doesn't work.
A light rapping against the window draws my attention. He makes a circular motion with his hand and points down to the door. Against my better judgment, I crank the window down halfway and go back to staring at the steering wheel.
"Stop it with this shit of you thinking I'll be better off without you. You know that's not true." He reaches through the window and cups my cheek. "Hey, look at me."
I should shake from his touch if I’m really going through with this leaving plan. But I can't, not when his touch feels like home. Warm, comforting, loving.
"Just let me go, Nash."
"Fuck. No. I won’t let you go that easily. You're just scared, but we'll figure it out. Together."
I bite back a smile, knowing he really means it. This hunky man somehow loves me, and I love him. Together. "I don't know how to do this, the relationship stuff, relying on someone. I'm used to being alone."
"Neither do I, Pops. But you make me want to figure it out. Isn't that a relationship, finding someone you'd die to be with rather than go on living without?"
"I snore," I blurt.
"Already know that one."
"I get really moody and emotional sometimes."
"Not touching that one."
Ha, his sisters really did train him well.
"I love you," I say and turn to face him, leaning into his warm palm.
"I know you do, Pops." He drops his hand to the door lock, pulls it up and opens the door. Swiveling me around, he grips my waist to pull me flush against him. "And it's a good thing I love you too."
"Do I even want to know—"
"Because I’m pretty sure what we did in that safe room ruined you for any other man."
Groaning, I roll my eyes.
"Don't believe me?" he s
ays, brushing his fingertips up and down my inner thighs. "Maybe I should show you again."
Headlights flash up the drive, killing the moment. Swiping his phone open, he presses the Call button. "That you?" he says into the mouthpiece. "They okay?” He grins at me. “Great. Pops and I are outside talking over a few things. Meet you inside in a few."
The minty breath from his disappointed sigh brushes through my hair. "Looks like I’ll have to take a rain check on you ravaging me again." Chuckling, he pulls something from my disheveled hair and holds it between us before tossing it to the ground.
A bush leaf.
Then a twig.
More and more debris from my hair floats to the ground.
"What in the hell were you thinking crawling out of that window?" he muses with a smirk.
I shrug and bat his hand away. "I wasn't, I guess. And it hurt like hell."
The playful smirk fades. "Are you hurt?"
"No, but the bush got a little frisky. He almost made it to third base when a stick nearly went up my ass."
His loud bark of a laugh warms my heart. "Lucky bush. And I think the ass is more like a grand slam than third base."
"Interesting. Would you know from experience?" I raise both brows and peer up through my lashes.
He fakes shock and pushes against me, pinning me once again with his hips pressed between mine. "I don't kiss and tell."
Dipping my hands into the back pockets of his jeans, I grab handfuls of his ass and pull him against me. Delicious vibrations from his growl rumble along the sensitive skin beneath my ear and a soft whimper pushes past my lips.
"We need to get you on birth control."
"What?"
"I've never had sex without a condom, and after today, with you, I'm never going back. So birth control." For emphasis, he flexes his hips against mine. "Because I plan on making up for those four months we were apart."
"Oh." He chuckles at my half-awe, half-excited tone. "I have it covered though. Don't worry."
He pulls back far enough to meet my gaze and arches a brow.
"I had an IUD put in before I left. Didn't want... you know, just in case something bad—"
Soft, warm lips envelop mine before I can finish.
I squeal in shock and delight when his large, cold hand wraps around my waist beneath my shirt and hoodie. Heat quickly replaces the chill as his thumb traces imaginary circles up my skin, brushing high and higher.
"We need to get back inside. Figure out tonight. Clock’s ticking."
"Mmmm."
"Nash."
"Pops, you can’t toss out things like ‘third base’ and ‘grand slams’ and just walk away."
"Bad guy wanting to kill me, your sister and niece inside. Ring any bells?"
"So?" He nips at my earlobe before whispering, "I want to be inside you. Now. Don't I get a vote?"
His frustrated groan when I push him back sends a shiver down my spine. There's something powerful knowing—hell, feeling how bad he wants me. No guy has ever been this attracted to me to where they can't keep their hands off. Even now as we walk back to the house, a single finger is hooked in my belt loop just so we have some kind of physical contact.
Drake's smiling face is the first to greet us in the kitchen. "How was that fresh air, Pops?" Turning his attention to Nash, the happy expression shifts. "Let's get this shit figured out. The more time we have to plan, the more successful the outcome. Get those FBI fuckers on the phone. "
"Hey, Drake?" I cut in. Softness returns to his features with raised brows and a small smile. "The back room is an area in this underground gaming place in DC. That's where he wants to meet."
"Exits?" Nash asks, looking between us.
"Yes, it has exits."
The two glance at each other and then back to me, amusement filling their features. "How many, Poppy?" Drake says behind his coffee mug.
"Oh, right. Um, the front door and I guess a back one. Never really looked."
We pass Raider, Liza and Mya at the kitchen table talking. Mya eyes Nash as he walks by.
"Uncle Nash, your leg hurt?"
With a furrowed brow, he turns to Mya. "Nah, why you ask?"
"Then why are you walking funny?"
Raider and Liza choke back their laughs, no doubt knowing exactly why Nash is having a difficult time walking.
"It's called blue—"
"Watch it, Raider." Nash glares him down, then looks to Liza. "Don't fall for any of his shit, you hear me?"
"Damn, man, what about the bro code?" Raider pouts, leaning back in the wooden chair, balancing on the two back legs. "And I ain't hitting on her. Just talking while you and Miss Cat Burglar over there had a nice, long chat outside."
Great. I'll never live the window incident down.
"I was actually testing their observation skills,” I tell him. “Drake passed."
"You mean the security camera's observation skills," Raider says with a smile at my shocked expression. "That's right, doll, they caught it all on video."
"And what was your plan with the truck?" Nash asks, jumping on the bandwagon of making me feel like an idiot.
"Hotwire it?" I say with a shrug.
All three men burst out laughing. "Do you even know how to do that, Pops?" Nash smiles at my scowl.
Ignoring the question he clearly already knows the answer to, I plop beside Liza at the table. "Sorry to drag you into all this." Looking across the table, I offer up a regretful smile to Mya. "I had no idea it would get this far, impact you two."
"We're tougher than we look. Especially that one." Liza looks to Nash, who's deep in conversation with Drake, brows furrowed as he runs a hand over his hair. "But if you hurt him, I'll cut you."
My jaw drops in shock as she holds my gaze. Raider just huffs a laugh and engages Mya in some conversation about school.
"He... Nash...." She looks to the ceiling like she's trying to find the right words. "Once you get past the cocky, sarcastic mask, he's all heart. That mask is there for a reason, and I won’t watch someone else hurt him again to where the loveable, mushy Nash never sees the light of day."
I scoot my chair closer eager for more information.
"Brandi." She rolls her eyes to the ceiling, twice. "We all told him she was bad news, but they were two high school kids in love, or so they thought. Let's just say she left him a little broken and a lot mad. I haven't seen him take real interest in another woman until you. The others were never introduced to us, and he for sure didn't give a shit about what kind of books they read."
"Was she—"
"Nothing like you, Poppy." Great, everyone's in on the ‘Poppy’ thing, which I admit has grown on me a bit. "Actually now, knowing you and your story, that’s probably what made him turn around."
Confused, I bunch my brows together and ask, "What?"
"Seeing a bit of himself in you."
I feel my face fall to a blank stare. What the hell is she even talking about? He and I are nothing alike.
"Listen." The chair scrapes across the ground as she scoots closer, putting her back to Raider, who's acting like he's not listening but is. "Nash gives a lot of himself to everyone, but especially us. His family. I don't think there’s been a day that he’s put himself before all of us. And with Mom, Dad, me, Mya, and the other three crazy sisters, we're a lot. But he's always there, willing to give more than we give him." Her face falls and her gaze lands on the table. "We’re living at his place right now. Did he tell you that?"
Wide-eyed, I shake my head.
“A couple years back, when I couldn’t make it work on my own and the child support payments stopped coming through, I didn’t even have to ask. He knew what we needed and stepped in. One day I was crying my eyes out at an eviction notice, and the next we’re living in his two-bedroom apartment. He’s never once asked me for rent, never asked when I’m gonna get my shit together and move out. That’s not him.”
The regret clearly lurking behind her gaze has me saying, "Would you reall
y cut me? That sounds so... thug."
A small smile pulls at her lips. "If you aren't planning on hurting him, then I guess you'll never know." With a wink, she turns back to the other two, jumping into their conversation.
Chapter 34
Nash
Today
"Find another way," I say through gritted teeth to Drake and the two men on the phone. Laughter from the kitchen grabs my attention, and a happy, content smile pulls at my lips as I watch Fate, Liza, Mya and Raider bicker about someone cheating in a card game they started. "She's not going out there alone."
"Snowflake, think with your damn head. This guy knows where we are. He's probably tracking every movement in and out of here with satellite images." My eyes flick to Mya and Liza. "We head out the second the visual is confirmed. What I'm getting at is he needs to see her leave—sneak out, really—or he won't believe she's going in alone. We have to make this believable to keep him thinking he's running the show. That's when he’ll make a mistake. I don't like it either, but there’s no other option with the time frame we’re working in. Hell, she barely has enough time to get to DC and get this plan set up, much less come up with another one. We will get this guy, but we risk that chance by not sending her alone."
My eyes are glued to the pink-haired beauty who's not only stolen my heart but the very essence of my soul. Just the thought of her being scared, in danger, steals the breath from my lungs. I'm a fighter, always have been, and I'll fight for her with everything I have to make sure she gets out of this unscathed.
"It's a solid plan," that dipshit boss of hers agrees in the conference call. "We’ll be close and ready to act at the final destination this prick has in mind. We’ll put a tracker in her pocket or on her cell. That way, no matter where she ends up, we can be in close proximity."
This is a shit show with Pops’s life caught in the middle. The only thing we can all agree on is this douchebag has no plans of actually meeting her where he suggested. No, that's just a ruse to get her out of the house, away from us.
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