Kiss Me Harder: Unbreakable Series

by Cole, Aja

  Of course he has mommy issues. Goddamn, they’re always the craziest ones. I notch my shoulder back just slightly and feel the ties catch on the hopefully sharp enough ridge. It feels like he has a lot that he wants to share, so I’m sure that I have enough time.

  “Our father worshipped the ground she walked on, and it still wasn’t enough for her. She left him anyway, even after he begged. Took Cameron with her and left me.” His face twists with the unresolved pain of a younger boy, and for a second, I feel a little bit of sympathy. I have no doubt that there’s more to the story than he’s telling me, but I know what it’s like to be young and disillusioned by a parent—even if there’s more to it than that.

  “So now I make sure that I teach my women that if being with me isn’t enough for them, leaving isn’t an option.” He sits back smugly, and all traces of sympathy flee. I can feel the ties loosening on my wrists, but I don’t have any weapons on me and I don’t know how many men are at the door of this warehouse. I could be done before I start.

  I can’t be hasty. If I die, I have to take him with me because I won’t leave him to hurt the rest of my family.

  “What do you want from me?”

  Mock surprise settles on his face. “Oh! She speaks.”

  “What do you want from me?” I repeat.

  He leans forward, and I hate his eyes. Instead of the love and strength that I used to see in eyes the same as his, I feel tainted just by having him look at me.

  “I wanted you dead.” He nods. “Yeah, that’s what was supposed to happen. My brother decided to get cute and have a will drawn up. Imagine my surprise when I went to our family lawyer and he shows it to me, leaving anything in his name…to you.”

  What?

  “Because of the nature of my brother’s work, he didn’t keep in contact with many people, as you know. In fact, I didn’t expect anyone to know he died other than…me. But the bastard apparently had more foresight than I ever gave him credit for.”

  “Who else did he contact?”

  “No one. But the little device embedded under his skin apparently sent out a frequency when he was no longer with the living. His lawyer received that news and began putting the paperwork in order. Your name’s on everything.”

  “But supposedly, I died too. That should’ve put you in the clear, right?”

  “No, because your tag...is still active.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Tagged you like a piece of property; isn’t that romantic?” He smirks. “I’ve been diverting his lawyer’s attempt to contact you. You fell right into my hands today, and far be it from me to seize the day.”

  “You did all that to those women, helped with that, all because of issues with your mother?”

  “No.” He stands, dipping his hands into his slacks. “I did all of that because I liked it.”

  I can’t contain my shudder of disgust, and I think it pleases him.

  “Now, I just need you to sign a few things.” One of his scowl-faced friends comes over with a clipboard.

  “For?”

  “At this moment, it says that if you die before claiming your inheritance, it goes to any offspring, and barring that—a number of foundations. I need you to sign it over to me, and we’ll backdate it and handle things on that end. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

  Dread starts to rise in my throat.

  “So that’s it? You couldn’t have had me sign this without tying me up and bringing me to a remote location?”

  “I could’ve. I was going to, actually. But there’s the pesky issue of you knowing too many of my little secrets now.” He turns around, then turns back to me. “You know, I’m sorry that things have to end this way. Maybe if we’d met under different circumstances...” He shrugs, pausing. “Well…I could’ve gotten to know my niece first, felt some connection to her.”

  “You can still get to know her,” I push out through a dry throat. “She still has family. You’re her family.” I hate myself for saying the words, but I can read his face, and I know he means to do exactly what I’m praying he won’t.

  For a second, something like feeling or sympathy merges with his darkness, and he shakes his head.

  “What kind of monster would leave a child without a mother?”

  “What kind of monster would kill a child?” I whisper, holding my now freed wrists together still. I have to move at the right moment. There’s a gun tucked into the back of his pants, an amateur move. I can get it within seconds.

  “A benevolent one.” He turns towards the door, and the second before I go for his gun, a flash of pink catches my eye and I falter for a second before my resolve hardens. I hear movement behind me and I know that he’s got backup.

  “Stand down!” he shouts, as I move into my position.

  “Don’t be stupid, Naja.” With the muzzle pressed against his back, he speaks low to me as a hulking figure in black carries my child inside this place.

  “What’d you do to her?” I press it harder against his skin, and he winces. I flip off the safety, and I hear the almost undetectable click of other guns coming into play. Turning with him in my hold, I take in four men inside. All armed.

  All for little ol’ me?

  “Just a little something to help her calm down. It’ll be like she went to sleep and never woke up.”

  A sob rises in my throat. “Tell him to put her down. Tell me what the fuck you gave her.”

  “We c—”

  The sound of gunfire shocks us both into ducking, and I only have eyes for Cami as shouts and chaos take over the space. I throw Christopher to the side with enough force that it should keep him down, and I run towards my baby. The goon put her down when gunfire erupted and I pull her behind some tarps and large boxes, stroking a hand over her hair and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

  “Mommy’s sorry, baby,” I whisper, pressing my cheek to hers even though she’s not awake. She’s still breathing, her color is good, and I’m hoping that he was just trying to get a rise out of me and she’s just been given something to knock her out. “I should’ve left it. I should’ve just focused on you, focused on moving on and watching you grow up too fast.” I hold her to me and berate myself for not shifting my focus, for not caring for her like I should have.

  So selfish. So damn selfish. I thought I was seeing the whole picture, but I wasn’t.

  This is all that matters.

  She is my world, and all I can worry about now is the people that are in it and present.

  I hear a familiar voice calling my name, and the relief that pours through me shouldn’t be surprising.

  “Back here,” I call out, and Elias rounds the corner in black tactical gear.

  “Got her,” he speaks into his comms as he drops to his knees beside us, worry on his face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Just sleeping, I think. Hard.” I look up at him and that knitted brow that says he’s not sure if he believes me. “She’s okay, Elias. We’re okay. Everything secured?”

  “Yeah, pretty anti-climactic, actually.”

  I know the feeling, but maybe it’s time to not face something new at every turn.

  “I want to talk to him, before you turn him in or whatever we’re doing with him.”

  I can tell he wants to object, but it’s not as if I’m asking his permission.

  “Leave Christopher out of the van; we’re coming to you,” he murmurs, then he holds out his arms to me. “Give her to me. I’ll get her squared away.”

  I pick her up gently and place her in his arms, lingering.

  “Hey,” Elias says softly, and I look up at him. He presses a reassuring kiss to my lips, and I sink into him for the smallest second, exhaling. “It’s over.”

  “It’s over.” I nod, kissing him once more and moving away. We walk outside the warehouse together and he moves towards one of the SUVs with Cami. I recognize some of Roan’s men putting Christopher’s goonies into the back of the transport van.

  I close
my eyes and stand there in the middle of it all.

  It’s really over.

  I open my eyes and move towards Roan, who’s holding Christopher by his bound hands.

  And that’s when the shots ring out.

  35

  Naja

  “You stupid, stupid man.” I cup Roan’s cheek and keep talking to him, trying to make sure he stays awake. “What the hell did I tell you about being a hero, huh?”

  He smiles at me, eyelids fluttering over those damned bronze eyes of his.

  “I hope the angels sound like you,” he slurs, and I meet Kane’s eyes in his rearview mirror. He floors the accelerator and Bali keeps trying to staunch his blood, pressing anything she can against the wound.

  He’s bleeding so much, and I’m a lot of things but I’m not a goddamn doctor.

  “Tell me we’re close, Kane?”

  “A couple minutes out.”

  “You hear that, you big oaf? Just hang with us for a little bit longer.” I slap his cheek lightly, keeping my fingers on his pulse. It’s thready, and his breathing is choppy. “Roan, you are not allowed to close those eyes. That is a goddamned order.”

  “Do something for me, liefje.” I have to lean closer to hear him.

  “I’m going to do many more things for you before we leave each other, Roan.”

  “Find Chelle, Michelle…tell her I’m sorry, whatever happens.”

  “The only thing that’s happening is we’re getting you fixed up, okay?” I pull back, and watch his eyes roll back in his head. “Roan? Open your fucking eyes, Roan!” His body starts trembling just as the SUV stops and the doors are already pulled open. There’s a flurry of activity, and before I know it, we’re standing around, watching them rush to try to save his life. All it takes is one misstep, and one of Christopher’s men got off two wild shots before Kane took him out.

  One got Christopher, and other, Roan.

  “So,” I sniff, wiping my face on my shoulder and grabbing Bali’s hand. “Anyone know where we can find this Michelle?”

  * * *

  The knock on the door startles me out of my thoughts. I rinse the breading off my hands and go to the door, unlocking it.

  “You look dreadful.”

  “Missed you too, Mom.” She opens her arms and we hug in the foyer for a long moment, before Nova clears her throat.

  “What are we, invisible?” she teases, eyes soft. My mom moves away and I hug my little sister, though she’s much more solid than I remember.

  “Have you been bulking?”

  “Yeah, I might’ve thrown myself into weight-lifting after things got crazy.”

  “Damn, girl.”

  “What, no compliments on my muscles?” Asher and my dad close the door and drop the bags they’re carrying by the wall.

  “Well, if you didn’t have any muscles by now, that’d just be sad.” I smile, hugging him and then pressing a kiss to my dad’s smooth cheek. “Welcome to my temporary humble abode.”

  “Where’s my grandchild?”

  “Napping, father-dear.” I yawn and everyone settles in the living room. I take a second to just look at their faces, and they all look amused. “What?”

  “The last time you blew through, it was all badass like, and this is so…domestic,” Nova teases. “And calm.”

  “Calm is good.” Elias comes down the stairs with Cami on his hip. “Calm is very good.”

  My face flushes with heat when everyone’s gazes swing between Elias and I.

  “Oh yeah, I think everyone remembers our favorite FBI agent?”

  “Ex-agent.” He grins, settling Cami in my mom’s lap. She’s still half-sleep.

  “So, the two of you are…” Nova trails off.

  Elias and I look at each other, then back at my family.

  “Uh, we…”

  “I guess…”

  “Dating?” I throw out.

  “Simplest answer,” he agrees.

  “Dating,” we chime, and I bite my lip to hide a smile.

  It’s been a rough few days, but somehow, I’ve felt lighter than I ever have.

  It was touch and go with Roan. One second, he was stable, and the next, they were calling codes and doing their best to fix the issues that kept popping up. Finally, they induced a coma to give his body a chance to heal.

  We’re just praying that when he wakes up, he’s okay. They won’t know about lasting effects until they wake him up, so it’s just a waiting game now.

  We’re still figuring out what Michelle he was talking about.

  Elias hasn’t left our side since. He told me about no longer being with the bureau, and we still aren’t sure what needs to be done about the director. Christopher is dead. The evidence of everything he did was turned over anonymously, and everyone involved with him and the hateful things he did are awaiting their own reckonings. There are a few players that didn’t get rounded up, but that’s something to worry about a little later.

  For now, I get to start building some semblance of a real life. I can be Naja Quentin again. No more hiding in the shadows.

  I forgive Christopher for what he took away from me, and I’m working on forgiving myself for continuing to let him to the point that I almost lost far more.

  I will never forget Cameron, but these past few days—I’ve come to accept that letting Elias into my life only means that I’m living again. That I’m loving again.

  I’m hanging up my elite force shoes, and even though I’m wondering if I might go a little crazy, I’m looking forward to the most pressing thing about my day being potty-training.

  “Gramma?” Cami whispers, tilting her head up to look at my mom.

  “Yes, pumpkin?” she whispers back, sniffling a bit.

  Elias stands behind me and squeezes my shoulder, and I reach up and cover his hand with mine.

  “You are so soft,” I tease, even though I understand. They’ve only seen each other on video chat until today. Not a huge deal to Cami, but a lot for my family. It means a lot to me, too.

  “Can we bake cookies?” the little tyke whispers, cupping her hand around her mouth like I can’t hear her.

  Nova whistles. “Already keeping secrets with Grandma; you’re in for it.”

  “Dinner first, then cookies, kid.” My mom winks at me, wrapping her arms around Cami. She starts to make the rounds with everyone, and Elias pulls me to the kitchen while Cami roping Asher and my dad into doing a three-way patty cake.

  I slide my arms around his waist and lean into him, unable to stop my smile against his chest before I rest my chin on it.

  “This is what normal feels like, huh?”

  “Yeah, I think this is the start.” He squeezes me. “How does it feel? Something you can get used to?”

  “Definitely. Seeing my family here, knowing that my team isn’t far away and no one’s in a war zone somewhere…you being here…I think I like it.”

  “Good. Because I’m not going anywhere. But I was thinking about what’s next…” He pauses, searching my face. “And it might sound a little different at first, but I want you to hear me out before you say anything, okay?”

  “You’re making me nervous, which isn’t something that I say a lot.” I wait while he seems to gather his thoughts.

  “As much as I would love to just let you be my sugar momma since you’re apparently a real deal heiress now—I want to do something that helps. Something that honors Shadi.”

  “I’d expect nothing less from you.” I swipe my thumb over the sharp jut of his jaw. “A foundation?”

  “I was thinking something a bit more…intensive. Like, a ranch or…a working farm. Not for the labor, but for the sense of family and…a kind of safe place they know they can always come back to. Does that sound crazy?”

  He looks so worried that I’m going to knock his idea down, or tell him that he’s being too ambitious or soft.

  “I think,” I pause for dramatic effect because I can’t help myself, “that we should start looking at property. W
e could even make it a bed-and-breakfast kind of deal, and do the working ranch too.”

  “A bed-and-breakfast,” he muses, a smile growing on his lips. “I like that. So…quaint. Cozy.”

  “What’s cozy?” Nova and Asher come into the kitchen, and I move to the side so I’m nestled under Elias’s arm. “Also, I’d like it on record that I totally called this.”

  “Called what?”

  “This.” She gestures towards us. “The way he looked at you that day in the office? A goner.”

  “Well, I’d been watching him. I knew what he stood for or else I wouldn’t have trusted him with my family.”

  “I wish you’d clued me in earlier,” he scoffs.

  “That wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.” I wink, giddy. It feels so good to just let myself…feel. To just bask in how amazing it is to know that someone is so intent on you the same way you are on them.

  But when I let myself, I feel the fear creeping in that I could lose him as suddenly as I lost Cameron. I’m not quite sure how I’m going to deal with that…but I’m going to try and appreciate every moment we have until the day comes that we can’t anymore.

  That’s really the only option, because if I’ve learned anything…it’s that living in your present is the best thing you can do.

  “So, since all this sappiness is in the air, it’s probably a good time to tell you that we’re getting hitched.” Nova holds up her left hand, eyes sparkling as bright as the rock on her ring finger.

  “Well, shit, congratulations.” Elias and Asher go in for a man-hug and I stand there, frozen, a little stunned.

  “You just...wow...in my head, you’re still the kid that liked the crust cut off her sandwiches, and now you’re getting married.” Against my will, my voice starts wavering, and I turn away. “Sorry, I just…I wish things had been different. I wish I…”

  I feel arms wrap around me, and my sister rests her chin on my shoulder. “Hey, there was a lot of shit going on.” She sniffs, and I guess the emotional bug is in the air. “Crime bosses, a potential miserable arranged marriage, way too much for us—for you—to have dealt with.” She squeezes me tight. “All I know now is that I want my big sister by my side from now on, and that includes being my maid of honor.”