Kiss Me Harder: Unbreakable Series

by Cole, Aja

  Contrary to my previous assessments of her, she may just be a decent human being after all. Or at least, not nearly as vicious as she’s being made out to be.

  “I’ve championed a few causes for a long time,” she’d told us. “It’s very possible that I’ve made more enemies than I’m aware of.”

  “If there’s no more coffee left, I’m sacrificing both of you bitches to whatever island gods T worships out here.” Bali practically stomps into the kitchen, but I’m used to her early morning persona by now. I roll my eyes at Tori and she laughs low, pushing the creamer at Bali when she comes over to the table with an extra-large mug gripped tight between her hands. My beautiful but deadly friend practically hisses, like the thought of putting anything extra into her coffee is offensive to her very nature.

  It just makes us laugh harder.

  Hopping down from my seat, I grab up the bowl of grapes and start to leave the kitchen, calling over my shoulder. “Come on, let’s go find the guys. It’s time to get back to work.” I nod at one of Trouble’s men as I pass him in the hallway. “Amir, where’s your boss?”

  He smirks a little, nodding his head in the direction that he came. “Having a little fun with his next example.”

  “What do you mean?” Tori speaks from behind me, her voice timid. She always gets a little more reserved around Trouble’s men. Unsurprising, because they look exactly as dangerous as they are. Hulking, extremely skilled, and extremely loyal.

  “Go down to the garage; you’ll see.” With that cryptic statement, he keeps walking and we speed up our steps. The garage isn’t an actual garage in the sense that no cars or anything are kept there. It’s more of Trouble’s workspace, and where he likes to spar and do all things that contribute to us calling him Trouble. There’s a landing that overlooks the space, and before we even make it to the railing, I hear…metal? It’s a sharp, sliding sound…a clanking?

  “What the—” Bali whispers, peering over the railing before I can. I look over and almost don’t believe what I’m seeing. I really shouldn’t be surprised by now, because we’re talking about the guy that was laughing all the way through me removing a bullet from his side with no painkillers, but here we are.

  He’s fighting someone with a sword. I feel bad for whoever the other guy is, because he’s scrambling to keep up, but he’s holding steady. His shirt is torn in multiple places and there’s a bleeding gash across his muscular shoulder, but I can’t see his face.

  “Just remember, my flowers are special and feeding them would be a noble task.” Trouble calls out, almost taking the guy’s ear off, and I wince for him. This is the kind of stuff that Trouble lives for, and I don’t see him relenting on this poor guy. I drag my eyes away from the two of them duking it out, and my breath catches in my throat when I see who’s standing off to the side. I must be loud, because Hayes’s eyes fly up to me.

  “Naja!” he yells, gesturing madly with his bound hands. “Do something!”

  Shit.

  I thrust the bowl of grapes at Tori so quickly that she almost doesn’t catch it, then I rush down the stairs and skid right to a stop just as Trouble manages to turn and catch the sharp edge of the sword at Elias’s throat. Both of them are sweating and breathing hard. Forcing Elias to his knees, Trouble keeps the sword where it is and glances up at me nonchalantly, like this is a completely normal occurrence.

  “Liefje, you missed the fun.”

  “Roan…” I press a hand to my forehead. “Let him up.”

  His face darkens with dismay, and he gives one sharp shake to the negative. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, not even for my favorite little American. He trespassed on my land, my home.”

  “It was only to find me.” A thought occurs and I cock my head. “Actually, how did you find me?”

  When Elias doesn’t immediately answer, Trouble yanks his hair sharply and I see a thin red line appear on the skin of his neck. Elias grits his teeth, and when he looks at me, he looks as pissed off as I’ve ever seen him.

  “Tracker.”

  “Where?” I bark, annoyed that I didn’t know.

  “Your gun. One of them.”

  “May I kill him now? I have an appointment that I need to prepare for soon.” Trouble’s real name is Roan, and I know he’ll know I mean business if I use it.

  “Roan, he’s with me. Kill him and we’re gonna have a problem.”

  “I already have a problem,” he grumbles, but drops his sword away. Elias looks at him incredulously when Roan offers him a hand up. “I’m disappointed that I have to buy more fertilizer, but you held your own.” With a nod to his men, he has Hayes and the other men with him cut from their bindings.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I have business to get to.” A mischievous smile back on his face, Roan moves past me to leave, whispering in my ear before he makes his exit. What he says makes me laugh, but when my eyes swing back to Elias, his expression is thunderous and I know we have an unpleasant conversation ahead of us.

  “I’m guessing you’d like to speak in private?”

  A terse nod is the only answer I get, and I turn on my heel, leading the way to one of the many rooms in the main house of Roan’s estate. I let a small smile curl on my lips, simply because I know that Elias can’t see my face.

  He looks very attractive all post-gladiator like. Sweat misting his skin…bloody in a few spots…it’s enough to make a girl swoon. Not that I’m the swooning type, but…this would definitely be an instance for that. Maybe after he gets over his anger, I can sooth his wounds…

  I shut the door behind us, turning to him. He puts a lot of space between us, moving to pace by the window. I can tell he’s gearing up for a long-winded reprimand so I curl up in one of the plush sitting chairs, wishing I’d brought those grapes along with me.

  This might take a while.

  20

  Naja

  “Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Elias pierces me with those gorgeous brown eyes after finally taking a second to breathe, and I blink at him, reluctant to admit that I only heard about half the things he said.

  Something something reckless, something something disrespectful, something something scared for my safety, etc., etc.

  “I kind of missed you,” I confess, pulling a leg up into the chair.

  He blinks, his expression stunned, like he doesn’t know what to do with that information.

  “What?”

  I shrug, satisfied that I’ve caught him off guard. I know I’ve been kind of prickly towards him when nothing sexual is happening, but the past few days have turned me upside down and I’ve got enough on my mind without continuing to actively push him away.

  There’s a lot of uncertainty right now, and I don’t know what the hell is waiting for us or my team at the end of this, but there is something I do know.

  Elias is a good man, a loyal man. And a very, very attractive one. Does he talk a little too much for my tastes sometimes? Yes. But it doesn’t seem like I’m going to get rid of him anytime soon, so I might as well ride this train while it’s still at the station.

  We can’t last, but we can have right now.

  “I guess this is a good time to tell you that Tori, the senator—she’s almost certainly a victim here, instead of the perpetrator. She’s got a pretty good sense of humor, too, actually.”

  He drops his big body onto the bed, still blinking at me like a new baby bird.

  “What?”

  “Is that the only word you’ve got left in your vocabulary now that you’ve finished your rant?”

  “You’re hell,” he finally says, voice gruff.

  “I’ve been likened to it before.”

  “Come here,” he commands quietly, and I go, without protest. “Knees.”

  I sink to my knees in front of him, willing to play along because he looks so stressed out, and he did just survive a crazy man.

  Sliding a gently callused hand around the back of my neck, he pulls me forward until I’m between his spread
thighs and looking up at him. I can feel the heat from his body, being this near without touching him.

  “I was scared you’d done something that I wouldn’t be able to protect you from.” Rough, emotional, his words push away the traces of amusement that were left. The look on his face is raw, and I swallow hard, unprepared for the answering feelings welling inside me.

  “I don’t need protection.” I push the words past my dry mouth, “I’m a big girl.”

  “I know who you are. What you do, what you’ve done.” There’s a burning in his eyes that holds me as captive as his hand. “The people you’ve saved, the families you’ve put back together.”

  I don’t like how vulnerable this feels.

  I go to push his hand away and rise from my position, but he stops me, pulling me even closer, pressing his forehead to mine.

  “I know about your fallen team members. I know that’s why you’ve tried to keep me at a distance, why you’re so set on revenge.” His hand moves to cup my face and his thumb strokes my cheek. “And now I know you, Naja. I understand what you believe in, what you fight for.”

  Jerking away from him, I shake my head, scrambling up and wondering how the hell this got so out of my control.

  “You don’t know a damned thing about me.”

  “You can pretend I don’t if that’s what you need to do.” Solemn, placating, like he’s talking to an unruly child; his voice infuriates me.

  “Get out.”

  “No.”

  “If you think that sword was your biggest problem, you’re about find out that it was child’s play.”

  “Come on, threaten me again. Put up your walls so you can act like I haven’t affected you. You told me you missed me, you can’t take that back now.” He stands, shirt still tattered, and I back up. “You’ve made a mistake, because now, I’m not going anywhere. See, I chipped away at whatever armor you’re so hell-bent on keeping around you, and now that I know it’s not impenetrable—I won’t stop until there’s nothing left.”

  Fear. That’s what’s clogging my throat, paralyzing my body. It’s stifling, like too much humidity and not enough cool air.

  I can’t even move when he stops in front of me, frozen like I never have been before.

  “I didn’t come all the way here for my country, not even to save the senator, not for justice.” I don’t meet his eyes. I can’t. Even hearing him speak, hearing what’s in his voice, is too much. “I came here for you. Because I was afraid that you’d make a decision that would put both of us in a bad place. I would’ve gone, though. I would’ve followed you, because I’m realizing there’s only one woman that I want—and I’ll go against everything I’ve believed in if it means having her.”

  He tips my face up and I’m helpless to resist. Determination. Tenderness. Arrogance. It’s all there, in the carved planes of his face and the stubborn set of his chin.

  “So run, if you need to. With or without a tracker, here or somewhere else, I’m not giving up on you, and I’m not letting go of us.”

  He watches me after he finishes, searching my face for something that I can’t give him. That I won’t give him.

  So I do exactly what I should’ve done the first time I met him.

  I run.

  21

  Elias

  “Yes, ma’am. Yes. I understand. Yes, ma’am. I promise. Yes.” I assure the director that nothing is out of hand, even passing over the secured line to Tori, so that she can dismiss any lingering doubts about her safety and state of mind.

  What a fucking day.

  I half thought Naja was only saying the senator was innocent for me to stop berating her, but imagine my surprise when I finished cleaning up and found the senator sitting in one of the entertainment rooms watching a movie, relaxed as ever.

  “Agent Samir, it’s nice to see you again.” She smiled, motioning to the empty seat next to her and holding out a bowl of popcorn. “I know it’s a little early for popcorn, but I couldn’t resist. Would you like some?”

  Goddamned twilight zone. I went from worrying if I was going to find her body parts somewhere to sitting next to her watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

  “So…you’re…fine?”

  “Yep. Perfect. This is the vacation I didn’t know existed. Trouble, that’s what they call him, the big guy with the sword? He said he’d have one of his men take me snorkeling tomorrow, and the waters are gorgeous.”

  I stared at her for a full minute before I called my boss to give her the update. I’ve never seen a situation diffused so quickly that it gave me whiplash, but this is one of those times.

  “I’m going to go find the others, keep working on theories,” I mutter, taking my phone back and leaving the room. I’m trying not to think about Naja, because I know she needs space.

  It’s futile.

  I lean against the doorway of one of the rooms, this one with a few computer screens. Kane is standing next to a guy I don’t know, talking quietly. Hayes, Derek, and Xander are standing around a table, gesturing and making motions on something that’s spread out. Trevor and Bali are sitting at two of the large screens, clicking through photos, and there’s no Naja in sight.

  I expected it, but I’m still disappointed. I meant everything I said, and I’m ready for the fight that’s going to come. When she told me she missed me, I took it as a step in the right direction. I might have put too much on her, too soon, but I’m glad she knows exactly where I stand now.

  “Oh, look who’s graced us with his presence,” Kane grunts, not looking at me. It causes everyone else to look up, and Bali saunters over, her face neutral.

  “Where’s Naja?” I don’t expect them to tell me, but I ask anyway, because I’m a glutton for punishment.

  “I wouldn’t know; I don’t have a tracker on her.” Bali steps up to me like men twice her size have hesitated to, her earlier expression moving to one filled with disdain.

  “In our line of work, having any kind of bead on us that way puts all of us in jeopardy. It doesn’t matter if we’re underground or not.” Her accent thickens her voice. “I don’t give a shit what’s at stake for you. For us, it’s life and death, and if you ever put my team on the line like that again—you answer to me. Quedó claro?”

  “Got it.”

  “Go make yourself useful.” She gives a sharp nod to where Hayes and the other guys are.

  Without another word, I head over to Hayes like a scorned puppy. Small, but mighty, that woman.

  “I’m glad your head is still attached to your body,” Derek murmurs when I step up next to him, his dark hair still slightly wet. “We’ve got a list of people who the senator thinks might be behind this. Shadi mention any of them to you? Wherever they overlap is going to be our best bet.”

  “I can try, but I didn’t know everything about her life so there may be something I missed.”

  “I think it’s the same as the senator, so there’s at least someone high profile in the mix. Just have to narrow it down.” Derek pulls up five pictures, all men, all clean-cut types. “All of these men have made their displeasure known to the senator, whether it was a pissed off phone call or a rude encounter in person. What makes these guys different from the others is digging into their lives uncovers some shady shit.”

  One man catches my eye immediately.

  “I know him. Well, of him. That’s Vince Carmichael, he and Shadi dated for a few months.” I rack my brain, trying to remember all the details. “One minute, she was telling me all about him and the next, she refused to talk about it. I just thought they ended up not being a good match.”

  “Damn, Samir, your girl picked the worst of the bunch.”

  “I should’ve looked into him before.” I swear out loud, wondering if I could’ve protected her had I been more vigilant.

  “Don’t go down that road,” Xander says quietly, eerie violet eyes meeting mine. They’re not really purple, I think they’re just a blue that looks purple under different lighting—but it still we
irds me out sometimes. “It doesn’t lead anywhere good.”

  “Speaking from experience?” I question, because I know very little about him. He came highly recommended by an old colleague of mine, and he happened to be stateside and available. We went over the basics, learned enough to trust each other, and then we came here.

  “I don’t speak on things I’ve never experienced,” he answers, crossing heavily tattooed arms. He has a few inches on me. I’d put him around 6’ 5”, and his quiet demeanor has probably scared more than a few people straight.

  I wonder what a man in his prime is doing stateside instead of active, but I’m not one to pry. Guess I’ll just have to keep my ears open.

  Derek, the more outgoing of the two SEALs, enlarges the picture of Vince. The country club smile on his face pisses me off, and I haven’t even heard his background yet.

  “Vincent William Carmichael, Jr. Thirty-five. Trust-fund kid, hotshot lawyer, supposed humanitarian, big on charitable contributions, big on helping…and big on helping himself to women who aren’t in a position to tell him no.” Derek pulls up pictures of five women. “Which, hey, not surprising, because entitled men usually get away with that kind of shit. What makes him the worst of the bunch is those women keep disappearing.”

  “Disappeared with nothing said? No one’s looking for them?”

  “Typical stories. No close families, no one that would bat an eye if they didn’t hear from them for a while. Free spirits, travelers, working girls, etc. It took a hell of a lot of digging to even link all of these, so who knows how many more there might be? Aside from lack of family, the only thing these women had in common was running into him.”