On Dangerous Ground
Page 12
• 142 •
On DangerOus grOunD
satiny spandex of her sports bra. She knew Jen could feel it too as her nipples hardened to the touch and her back arched. Jen backed her hands out enough to get under the bra, pushing it and the sweatshirt off over Terri’s head.
Terri had to smile as her lack of clothing seemed to mesmerize Jen, who could do nothing but stare and lick her lips. “Jen?”
Jen shook her head, breaking her own reverie. “Sorry, I’ll just never get used to how glorious your…”
Terri silenced the statement with a fingertip to Jen’s lips, and two simple words: “Show me.”
So she did. Lowering her head, Jen kissed Terri’s right breast, taking a circuitous route around the nipple as she used her hand to lightly knead at the left one. Terri twined her fingers into Jen’s hair and applied just enough pressure to make her intentions clear. Jen responded, swirling her tongue around the nipple that she’d been avoiding, and finally bit down gently, sending out a familiar jolt of electricity that made Terri hiss and arch her back, seeking a firmer touch wherever she could find it. Jen continued, teasing as she backed away, and turned her attention to the other nipple. She repeated the swirl/bite tactic, garnering the same response as Terri squirmed under the attention and pulled harder on the back of Jen’s head. Terri felt Jen’s body, still holding her to the bed, raise up enough to shift and straddle her leg, applying pressure with a naked thigh against the crotch of her blue jeans.
Jen groaned and teased just a little more. “Agent McKinnon, I hate to tell you this, but your jeans are kind of wet. Maybe you should take them off.”
Terri teased right back. “Well, Dr. Rosenberg, since it’s your fault that they’re wet, maybe you should take them off.”
Jen eagerly complied, sitting up to undo the buttons of the offending garment. Standing, she pulled off Terri’s sneakers
• 143 •
D.L. Line
and grabbed both hems of the pants, pulling hard enough to remove them in one relatively smooth motion, then returned to remove Terri’s underwear. She grabbed one foot on its return trip to the bed and kissed a wet trail, starting at Terri’s ankle, up past her knee, all the way to the top of her inner thigh, where she paused just long enough to arrange herself back on the bed, make eye contact, and waggle her eyebrows. Terri returned the waggle with a sultry glance and a nod as she began to chew lightly on her lower lip, giving silent encouragement for Jen to continue her trip northward. Jen did exactly that, rubbing her face in the soft, dark brown curls, nestling between the lips into the warm wetness, and gently extended her tongue to collect a taste. Terri again pushed on the back of Jen’s head, telling her what she needed, encouraging her to keep going. Jen complied, using her mouth and tongue to nibble and lick, ever upward until she found Terri’s swollen clit. She pulled it into her mouth and sucked hard, drawing out a long moan as Terri pushed even harder on the back of her head, wordlessly begging for more.
Terri was vaguely aware that the rest of the world, as well as her powers of speech, were quickly slipping away, replaced by the pinpoint focus of Jen’s mouth on her clit as she continued to suck, flicking lightly from side to side with her tongue. Terri released her death grip on Jen’s head, reaching up to grab the rails of the headboard with both hands, and thrust her hips up to solidify the contact. Moaning again, she became aware of slender fingers playing around her opening, so she pushed down with her hips in an attempt to telegraph her need. Jen teased, staying close with her fingers, but not giving Terri what she so desperately wanted. Terri kept trying, actually begging,
“Jen, please…”
But still no fingers. She felt the first spark of her orgasm as she continued to reach for the elusive touch, dancing
• 144 •
On DangerOus grOunD
maddeningly away the more she tried to capture it. Desperation forced her to beg again, panting, “Jen, fuck me, please…I need—”
Terri never finished her request as Jen finally gave in, entering her hard with two fingers, commencing a rhythm that soon had Terri screaming out, invoking deities, and swearing like a truck driver. She came hard, harder than she’d ever come before for anyone, a combination of release and relief from having been teased so mercilessly. Slowly returning to planet Earth, relaxing from the intense sensation, she regained her focus and looked down to see a beautiful freckled face, complete with a wicked little grin that reminded Terri of exactly why she’d finally let go and fallen in love.
“Jen, that was evil.”
Jen waggled her eyebrows again and continued to smile.
“Does that mean you didn’t like it?”
“No. I didn’t say that. It’s just not nice to tease a woman who carries a gun.”
Jen laughed hard and crawled up Terri’s body to give her a kiss. “You don’t scare me. You’re a marshmallow and I’m the only one who knows it. Makes me kind of special, don’t you think?”
Terri looked into Jen’s eyes, her mood getting a little more serious. “You’re the most special thing that’s ever happened to me.” Terri pulled her closer for a snuggle, unable to brush aside a momentary unease about their future. “Don’t ever forget that.”
• 145 •
• 146 •
On DangerOus grOunD
Chapter nineteen
Terri watched Jen pick up the neon pink tennis ball and give it a long toss down the hill. Snickers sped off after it, tail raised high like the flag on a dune buggy, making him easy to follow as he bounded through the tall weeds. The day was still warm and bathed in a soft light that promised a glorious sunset in less than an hour.
After spending a large portion of the afternoon being physically shown how amazing and wonderful she was, Terri was happy. Happy with a great big ol’ side order of smitten. She’d been content with her life before, but couldn’t imagine ever going back to that now that she had this new thing, this exceptional feeling of ease and excitement. She was vaguely aware that everything, every sight, smell, and sound, seemed both heightened and softened at the same time. And she became aware, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that she would do anything to protect the source of that new light in her life. Terri watched with more than a little amusement as Jen cursed at Snickers for ignoring the ball once again to take off after some four-legged critter that proved to be much more animated than the game his mom was offering. Her attention was drawn to the backside of that person, bent over, pawing through weeds, looking for a pink tennis ball. Smitten, yes,
• 147 •
D.L. Line
that was the right word. So engrossed was she in the view that she failed to notice when Jen looked up from knee level and busted her, mid-leer.
“See something you like, Agent McKinnon?”
Terri flushed at the question, knowing she’d been caught. Definitely enjoying the view, but there was so much more to it. Words were not available, not at that precise moment, so she just nodded and kept moving forward to catch up. As Terri closed the gap, Jen held out her hand, grabbed Terri’s, and pulled her in for a quick hug and a kiss. Leaning back but not letting go, Jen asked, “Terri, are you okay? You’re awfully quiet.”
Terri backed out of the embrace, pulled a weed from the ground, and wrapped it around her finger, idly fiddling with it to help her thought process. “I’m okay. To quote someone near and dear, perfect even.” She pulled the weed out straight and began to wind it around her finger in the opposite direction.
“Also a little overwhelmed. You know, this is new for me too.”
She resumed walking down the hill toward the pond, and Jen quickened her pace to catch up. “I’ve always known exactly where I should be and what I should be doing, and now all I want to think about is how I can stay right here and never let you out of my sight.” Jen started to interject, but Terri stopped her with a raised palm. “I know what you’re going to say, and I know that you can take care of yourself, but don’t you see? I want to do it. I wan
t to take care of you, and feed you, and keep you warm at night, and love you all the time. And as much as you don’t want to talk about this, there’s at least half a chance there’s someone out there who might want to hurt you. I just can’t have that, but I’m also not sure what I can do to stop it.” She let the weed flutter to the ground. “Hence the introspective silence.”
• 148 •
On DangerOus grOunD
Jen took Terri by the arm and pulled her to the right, down the path to the pond. Terri watched as her comments sank in and Jen thought for a moment before speaking. “Terri, listen. I know what you mean. I feel kind of exposed myself right now. I don’t want to talk about whatever it is that’s going on, but not because I don’t think about it.” She found Snickers’s ball along the path and gave it a toss. He followed this time and found it. “I don’t talk about it because I know there’s really nothing I can do. And I’m fully aware that there’s not much you can do about it either. I didn’t say what I said to you earlier out of some need to be protected. I said it because I love you and I care about you, and a very large part of me wants to protect and take care of you. I think that’s a big part of what love really is.”
Jen hesitated as Snickers returned with the ball. After taking it from him, she held it out to Terri, offering her the chance to play with the little mutt. Terri took the ball and threw a perfect strike, cringing as it landed with an audible splash in the pond. Snickers ran after it, but applied the brakes before he hit the water.
Jen looked at Terri with a bit of awe. “Nice toss.”
Terri blushed. “Thank you.” She felt the familiar pull as Jen slid in close to her. “I suppose now you’re going to tell me that ball players make you hot too.”
“Would it make me shallow if I said yes?” Jen helped herself to a couple of playful nips along Terri’s neck. Terri’s head was spinning with the attention and the heat of the moment. “Would it make me shallow if I told you that I have a weak spot for adorable college professors?”
Jen rubbed her chin and thought with mock seriousness.
“Hmm, I don’t know. I think I need more details before I answer that.”
• 149 •
D.L. Line
God, she was cute. “How about adorable college professors who, no matter how hard they try not to, seem to wind up involved with the FBI?”
Jen laughed and stood back, taking the agent by the hands.
“That, Agent McKinnon, would make you a raving genius. Definitely not shallow.”
“Good. Then I guess we’re both exactly where we need to be.” Terri leaned in to collect a sloppy, wet kiss from the painfully cute object of her desire. “Well, exactly where we need to be, minus the chill and impending darkness.” She took Jen by the hand, pulling her along the path back to the house.
“I need something warm to drink and a cuddle.”
Jen happily came along, whistling for Snickers to follow. He ran alongside, bounding and hoping for a ball to chase. Jen apologized to him. “Sorry, little dude. Take it up with her.”
She jerked a thumb toward Terri. “She’s the one that pulled the Roger Clemens and lost your ball.”
“Hey, that’s not fair.” Terri let go of Jen’s hand and gave her a playful little shove. “I’ll get him a new one.”
“Darn tootin’ you will.”
• 150 •
On DangerOus grOunD
Chapter twenty
Just a quick trip to the office supply store and the drugstore. No big deal. Just pick up a couple of things.
Bradley Allen Davis had told his boss that he needed to go down to the south end of town to do a little shopping. Grooming supplies. Who would question that? Everyone needs stuff for their hair. Business-sized envelopes? Hey, time to file your taxes. Everyone else was doing that. One illegal cell phone and an automatic weapon. Slightly more difficult to explain, but not hard to come by if you knew the right people. He knew the right people. He also knew the right way to start a fire, both literally and metaphorically. The right kind of hair product, some chemicals borrowed from the public pool across the street, and a couple of medium business-sized envelopes would light up someone’s house just fine, and, if he was lucky, burn it to the ground. That was the literal fire. The metaphorical fire was even better. It was time to let everyone know what they needed to know to get things burning even hotter. That’s where the illegal cell phone came in. A couple of well-placed calls would set the ball rolling toward the conclusion of his plan. They all needed to know
• 151 •
D.L. Line
that he was on his way. And now they would all know just where he was going.
He walked into Staples, found the envelopes, paid cash, and was out the door in less than ten minutes. Then the easy trip across Stadium Boulevard to Arbor Drugs, emerging less than fifteen minutes later with a large tube of Brylcreem (a little dab’ll do ya) and a carton of cigarettes. Back in the car for the haul down Stadium Boulevard to the not-so-nice part of Ypsilanti, a great place to pick up a cell phone and a little more recreational headache medicine. Back home again in less than two hours. All in all, a pretty successful trip. The pool chemicals were easy enough. Just wait until after dark when the junior ice hockey leagues started at the facility across the street. Walk around the side to the large garage door where the Zamboni was parked and simply open the door to the pool chemical storage area. One plastic cup and one large Ziploc bag, and he now had everything he needed to light things up once and for all. He tossed the cup in the trash can next to the skate park. Fingerprints or no, he was never coming back here.
He was back safe and sound in his apartment by eight o’clock. He started a new pot of coffee and lit another cigarette on the burner of the stove. Booting up the laptop, which was the only computer left of his collection, he started to look for a back way into the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It would certainly take some time, but any door could be opened, if you had the right key. He was pretty sure that individual case information wasn’t available, but he didn’t really need that. Just the database of agents and the number to the central switchboard.
The cell phone numbers had been a little difficult to get, but again, he had the right key. The numbers he needed were
• 152 •
On DangerOus grOunD
now safely stored in the memory of the phone, ready to go when he was. Speed dial number one called the FBI.
“Good evening, Federal Bureau of Investigation. How may I direct your call?”
“I might have some information about a case and I need to talk to the agent in charge.”
“Let me put you through to investigations. Please hold.”
Bradley waited as the hold music came on. Even the FBI had hold music. What is this world coming to? At least it wasn’t John Tesh. That would have been more than his migraine could stand. He waited for less than a minute for a human to answer the phone.
“Agent Stansfield.”
“Good evening, Agent Stansfield. I have a pressing need to speak to the agent in charge of the NoVaGenEx case. Is that person available?” Bradley lit another cigarette, mindful of the fact that this call needed to be as short as possible.
“Sir, that would be Agent McKinnon, and she’s not in the office now. Perhaps I could—”
“No, thank you. I’ll call back.” With that, he hit the button on the phone to terminate the call. Less than a minute thirty. Not too bad considering that he’d been on hold for most of that. He turned his attention back to the screen of the laptop that now displayed the agent database. “Agent McKinnon, wonder what you look…whoa…nice lookin’. Hello, sweetie. We’re going to have some really interesting things to talk about, I think.”
He cut and pasted the identification photo onto the desktop of the computer, adding it to the file simply marked “photos.”
Bradley lit another Marlboro, inhaled deeply, and returned to the screen of the laptop. Next stop, James Madison University m
ail server, looking for a back door, once again proving that he had the key. He looked over the lines of code that jumped
• 153 •
D.L. Line
to life on the screen, tilting his head to redirect the smoke that curled upward from the glowing end of the cigarette. He knew where to find who he was looking for. Now he just had to find one friend to send her a little message.
He started stabbing at random lines of code, looking for the one that would lead him to the common thread. “There she is…let’s see who you’ve been e-mailing.” He hummed a little as he looked through the hacked mailbox. Personal mail would be better, but work mail was faster, easier to get into.
“Aha!” He found the inbox, looking through the headers for anything personal. “What’s this?” He opened the mail from one McKinnon, T., from a server in Northern Virginia . “Well, well, Dr. Rosenberg. You’ve got a new girlfriend, and she’s the agent in charge of your case. How about that?” Bradley almost rubbed his hands together in glee.
He followed the e-mail trail back to Agent McKinnon and started reading. “Fuel for the fire. I love it.”
v
Jen was awake despite the darkness outside and the large green numbers on the clock that displayed 4:17. She was awake because the phone rang not once, but twice before she could dig it out of her briefcase.
“What the fuck?” Jen was confused. Since she had been asleep, she didn’t realize right away that the call that woke her up was actually a text message. A very cryptic text message.
“Thirty-six, eighty-nine, what? Forty-three.” Something clicked. Something in the back of her thoughts, an old memory.
“Seventeen.” She knew that was the next number. Even before she saw it, she knew that seventeen was the next number. “Oh, shit.”Brad. She knew it was Brad. These numbers were the