Thompson didn’t even bother to wait for my directions; he peeled out of the garage as soon as I was in the SUV.
Please let her be okay. Please let her be okay. My heart can’t take losing anyone else.
We heard the sirens before we reached the park and I could see the rear tires of her mini-SUV sticking up out of the water. The police were busy processing the scene, while a group of firefighters and paramedics surrounded some people on the ground.
Thompson made a beeline to the paramedics. All the memories of my past came flooding back in, seeing Aunt Lydia broken on the street, blood oozing from her wounds and the driver speeding off, never to be caught. I felt numb and dazed. It was happening all over again.
“Sir?” Thompson shook my arm gently to break my stupor. “They’re a little shaken up with a few minor cuts and bruises. The only casualty is Miss Hart’s vehicle and both their cell phones.”
I stepped forward to see that Dillon was giving a play by play of events to the cops, while Laurel sat on the grass in a daze. I bent down to her line of sight. As soon as she realized I was there, I held out my arms and she leapt into them, crying.
“Thank God you’re here, Garrett,” she sobbed. “Someone messed with my car. I don’t know who would want to cut my brake line!”
A feeling of relief swept through me, knowing that she was okay. My only concern was how that little fucker managed to get past our security and disable her Evoque. It was supposed to be one of the safest vehicles out there, that’s why I picked it. It should have notified them of the low brake fluid.
She managed to guess who before I could tell her my suspicions. “It was that asshole, wasn’t it?” Her whole body shook as she let a new wave of tears tumble out. “Why can’t that sicko just leave me the hell alone and take a freaking NO for an answer?!”
I was glad to see her pissed off and wanting to wring his neck; this meant she’d survive this latest threat. I wanted to tell her about the note I received, but I didn’t want to push her too quickly.
“I don’t know why, love,” I said honestly, stroking her hair. “Eventually, he’ll slip up and make a mistake, and when he does, we’ll be there to catch him and make sure he pays.”
The paramedics released Dillon and Laurel shortly after Thompson and I arrived. The police officer said he would drop by the following day for a thorough interview, but he wanted them to rest for now. We left the vehicle and a copy of the note I received in his possession so they would know just how sick a game this asshole was playing.
We were offered an around the clock officer to help guard everywhere we went, but I didn’t trust Chase or his father not to find a dishonorable person to pay off and gain access to us, so I declined in favor of my own personal security team. I wouldn’t trust anyone but my team with our lives.
I held tight to Laurel on the way back to the penthouse as Dillon explained what happened.
“The car began to pick up speed and the brakes started failing the further we got to the exit of the garage. I knew once we hit traffic that we’d be in a whole heap of trouble. I didn’t want to run over any pedestrians or wreck anyone else’s vehicles, sir. My only choices were to crash into the concrete of the garage and risk injury to both of us or to try and somehow navigate to the park and pray no one was near the water.”
My body shuddered at the thought of them crashing, knowing things could have been a lot worse than they were. I pulled Laurel closer into my side, having her rest her head on my shoulder as Dillon continued his recount. I knew Dillon was born and raised in the south, but had never heard his drawl so thick before, until now.
“I guess the fool thought I wouldn’t have dealt with defensive driving or knew how to handle these kinds of situations, but the FBI teaches you all kinds of crisis scenarios. I used to bitch about it, but now I’m damn thankful they did. Anyhow, I managed to just miss hitting a few vehicles coming out of the garage at 50 mph, then whipped through the few blocks to the lake and found some nice concrete curbs and shrubbery to drive through to help slow us down.”
His hands were shaking as he ran them through his hair and took a deep breath in. “I told Miss Hart to undo her seatbelt, grab anything she absolutely had to have and to wait for my word to jump. I managed to get us through another set of shrubbery before we jumped. We both rolled onto the grass as the vehicle hit a concrete curb and then flipped into the lake.” Dillon looked at me, nodding to Laurel resting against my side. “My apologies for the scrapes and bruises, Mr. Waters. My only thoughts were to get her out of this alive.”
My hand wrapped instinctively around her, squeezing her almost painfully to my side. I had come so freaking close to losing her again. “You’re a fine man, Dillon, an asset to my team. You’ll be rewarded for your quick thinking and saving both of you today.”
Laurel was wound tight when we arrived home, so after Thompson and Dillon went to their quarters, I suggested she either rest or get out some of her aggression in the lap pool.
“I might do that, but there’s something I want more,” she cooed.
“Name it,” I replied. “You know I’ll give you anything you want.”
Tears began to stream down her cheeks as her whole body began shaking. I pulled her into my arms, holding her tight. She buried her face in my chest and I could hear her trying to calm her breathing.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“First, I want to learn self-defense,” she said, looking up. “I know you and Thompson spar on occasion and are both black belts. I don’t want to sit around, helpless, just waiting for that bastard to come at me and not be able to protect myself.” She swallowed hard. “If he gets me, I want to be able to fight back and really hurt him for what he’s done to me.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I’d been afraid that this recent incident would set her back, making her want to run screaming for the hills, but not my precious Laurel. She wanted to kick some serious ass and I would most definitely help her.
“We’ll absolutely help you learn some basic defense moves and practice as often as you like. I don’t want you to feel weak against him, either, but you should know that if he ever got his hands on you, I’d find you. There’s nowhere he could run without me being able to find him.”
Her face looked confused. “How would you know where to look?”
I didn’t want to alarm her, not yet, so I only told her half the truth. “Your vehicle and cell phone have locator devices on them. Unless he knew how to disable them, there’s no place I couldn’t find you.” I hugged her tightly. “So what’s the other thing you wanted?”
Before she could open her mouth, Donny, Freddie, Grace and Jonathan burst through the doors. They took one look at her and all breathed a sigh of relief.
No sooner than I had released Laurel from my arms, Donny came in and swooped her up into his. “You scared the shit out of me! Was it that asshole again?”
She nodded as he held her close to him. “I’m fine, but my car and cell phone are destroyed. Thanks to Dillon and Garrett, I’ll be okay.”
Thompson walked into the room, clearing his throat. “Sir, we need to speak with you a moment. A development has occurred that requires your attention.”
I walked over to Laurel, kissing her on the temple. “Will you be okay for a moment while I go talk with security?”
She nodded and Grace came up and gave me a squeeze on the arm. “We’ll watch her and take good care of her, Garrett. Don’t worry.”
To my surprise, Jonathan followed me into the surveillance monitoring office, where I had a conference table for meetings with my security team. “Mind if I join you?” he asked, though it obviously wasn’t up for discussion. “This is getting too personal for my taste to just sit back and do nothing. I want in to help wherever I can, brother.”
It felt good to know that my family had our backs. “Have a seat,” I offered.
From what my security team, along with the police, could gather, Chase had followed Laurel to her appo
intment with Jocelyn. I’d given strict orders for her to be kept in sight at all times, so Dillon stayed in a separate room while she had her therapy session. It must have been during this time that little heathen slipped in and messed with her brakes.
Thompson had managed to get a copy of the video feed from Jocelyn’s condo parking. Chase had hacked the security feed and recorded a few minutes of tape before placing it on a loop while he messed with her vehicle.
My worst fears were coming to light. I wanted to push away from her to save her, but at the same time, I knew that if I did that, the weasel would come in and make her life a living hell. I was trapped between a rock and a hard place and forced to deal with feelings that I had long since shoved down.
I gave Thompson and Dillon new rules to go over with the extra security they were bringing in to help make anywhere we went an impenetrable fortress. Jocelyn would be escorted to either the penthouse or the office for therapy sessions and Laurel would not be leaving here except for work. She’d probably kick and scream over losing some of her freedom, but her safety was more important.
Jonathan’s took a sharp intake of breath as he read the copy of the note we’d received earlier in the day. “That sick bastard!” He grabbed hold of my shoulders and looked me squarely in the eyes. “I hope you’re not going to follow his orders. You do realize that no matter what you do, she’ll get hurt, right?”
I nodded, having come to the same conclusion earlier.
“You need to understand that you are not responsible for this, Garrett,” he said seriously. “Just like you aren’t to blame for the things that happened in the past.” His voice was determined to make me listen, but I didn’t want to hear about the past.
I shook my head. “I could’ve done things differently!” I yelled. “I should have chosen my words more carefully. Things might have turned out another way.”
“Brother, you can woulda coulda shoulda all you want, but what’s done is done. You were never to blame and you need to finally accept that and let go. I thought you had, but when I got to your place tonight I saw the same look on your face that I saw when you first came to live with us. Accidents and bad luck happen and if I’m right, you’re torn between pushing her away and holding her close.”
Since when did my brother get so damn insightful? “Just stay out of it,” I hissed.
He put his hands on his hips and just shook his head at me. “I’d like to, but since Laurel is my girlfriend’s cousin and you’re my brother, I’m involved in this as much as you are. I won’t let you stick your head in the sand and push everyone away. If you love her like I think you do, you’ll stay and fight for her, defend her against this abusive prick, and win, goddamn it.”
I sat down in a chair and rested my head in my hands. “I care for her like you’d never believe. She calls to me on levels I’ve never felt before and I have no intention of giving up. But can she forgive me for what I’ve done?”
Jonathan knelt down in front of me and sucker punched me in the arm.
“What the hell was that for?!” I exclaimed, rubbing my arm.
“At least I have your undivided attention now. She’s not the one who needs to forgive, you are. Until you realize you aren’t in control of everything, you’ll never be free to enjoy a future. I know you like being in command, but life can sometimes be a bitch. You can’t manage everything, but you do have power over your reactions to stuff around you. Just think about it.”
He walked out of the room and left me to my own thoughts. I knew he was right; I needed to forgive myself. Maybe I wasn’t responsible for the accidents that happened, but my heart still hurt for all the things that I’d missed out on and everything I’d lost.
I was afraid of the amount of time Garrett had spent with his security guys and Jonathan before finally joining us back in the living room. His face was a mask and I knew he was trying to hide the emotions that were going through his mind. He sat beside me and held me close to him, but he was distant. I knew better than to push things. He needed his moment, like I had needed mine, to get over Chase’s threats and attacks.
Several hours passed before my family and friends finally left, giving us time to relax. I was deep in thought when he asked, “What was the other thing you said you needed from me? We never did get to finish our conversation from earlier.”
I laughed. “This is why I don’t like my family around too much—they make it hard for me to do this.” I rose and straddled his hips, feeling his cock spring to life at the mere touch of me. I licked my lips and ran my tongue over the outer edges of his lower lip, nipping at it, asking, no, begging for his attention.
His hands clamped down on each hip, stilling me. “Are you sure about this, Laurel? You’ve had a tiring day and a life-threatening experience.”
“I need a bath first to get the grime of the grass and dirt off me, but then I want to unwind by losing myself with you. Please take control over me, make me forget.” To emphasize my point, I purposely rubbed my heat against his cock, feeling it become rock hard underneath me. “I need you!”
His eyes were hooded and a low growl escaped his throat as he picked me up in his arms and carried me to his bathroom. Our clothes were quickly discarded as the water warmed. He took great care in washing every part of me before drying me off and encasing me in a terry cloth robe that felt heavenly against my skin. I was surprised when he backed me against the marble countertop and asked, “What do you want from me, baby?” His voice was deep and husky as his lips grazed over the side of my neck, biting down on the sensitive juncture of my neck and shoulder.
I would normally welcome his gentleness, but I knew that was only the surface of who he was and after a day like today, I needed him to make me forget everything. “I need you to play my body and draw out all the pleasure to your liking. I need you to leave me spent and begging for more.” Whoa, did that just come out of my mouth? Where did that come from? Just the idea of him taking me had my center aching with need.
His hips moved involuntarily in response to my statement as his lips descended. He didn’t ask permission to enter my mouth, he took it, plunging his tongue in, probing with an intensity I’d never encountered before. If it had been anyone else, I would’ve been scared, but knowing it was Garrett only increased the burn for him.
He pulled my legs around his hips as his hands went to my ass, lifting me off the counter. I was disappointed when he sat me down on the bed and disappeared into the closet.
When he returned, I was ready for him to pounce on me, but was surprised when he carried me off to the theater room.
“Why are we in here?” I asked.
“I just want to hold you in my arms and unwind a bit first. Do you have a favorite movie? I have pretty much anything you can think of.”
What was the deal with his sudden change in attitude? Was he stalling? Did he not want me? I looked around the room, trying to understand why we were there, when I noticed several pillar candles set about and lit, their soft vanilla fragrance filling the air. I felt myself smile, realizing he was trying to keep a level of calm and seduction.
I watched as he went over to a mini-kitchen area and pulled out a bottle of pink Moscato, filling the two glasses he had pulled from the freezer. Next he pulled out a small plate of cut fruit and some chocolate peanut butter dip, my favorite. Wait a minute. Was the trip to the closet to call Deidre and have this set up? The man thinks of everything.
I was deep in thought when he came up behind me, his hands drifting to my butt and giving it a squeeze as his lips ran light kisses up my neck to the backside of my ear. He sucked on my earlobe as he asked, “Have you decided on a movie?”
I moaned in appreciation of his talented lips. “Star Wars II.”
“You like sci-fi?” He pulled back, his voice hinting at curiosity. “Why that episode?”
“I love that episode!” I exclaimed. “You have a love story, amazing special effects and digital imaging, and the story takes an unexpected shift. Pl
us, the dynamics of the prosthetic arm Anakin is fitted with astounds me. I’d love to figure out a realistic working version of it. The movie has everything a girl could ever want.”
“No one’s ever been able to surprise me with a response, but you continue to blow me out of the water with yours.” He grabbed a remote and aimed it at the screen as he sat us next to one another in one of the most comfortable chairs I’ve ever encountered. He was spoiling me to the point I’d never want to sit in a regular old theater again. The list of movies in his system was flabbergasting. He truly did have any movie that I could have come up with, though I noticed, like me, he stayed away from horror films.
I began to sip on my wine and nibble on a couple apple slices dipped in the yummy peanut butter as the movie started. The further we got into the movie, the more we were rubbing up against one another until I found his hand slip underneath my robe and start palming my breasts.
“Shh. It’s only me.” His mouth pressed against the side of my neck as he trailed a line of nibbles up toward my ear.
I melted into my seat as his tongue sank into my ear and then moved back down across my jawline toward my mouth. His teeth scraped across my lips softly as he sucked my lower lip into his mouth, causing me to groan. That’s all the encouragement he needed before his tongue found its way to mine, probing every inch of my mouth and begging for more.
His hands were grabbing and tweaking my breasts, causing them to harden. I felt him pull against the robe’s tie and then the robe opened up, revealing myself to him. I stiffened at first, until his voice promised, “The doors are locked, love. It’s just the two of us, left to our own devices, in here.”
I relaxed and put my hands around his neck, pulling him back down to me. He kissed me softly before trailing a line of sizzling kisses towards my breasts. His lips latched on to one of my nipples, pulling it into his hot, wet mouth as his tongue flicked over the hardened peak. God, I love it when he does this to me. Who knew there were so many nerve endings in your breasts? One hand continued fondling the other nipple, keeping it hard and pert, while his tongue lavished attention on the one in his mouth.
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