The conversation continued with me telling her stories about our friends and we laughed as we ate dinner. It was relaxing and for the first time in a while, they enjoyed each other’s company without thinking of the killer after her. I got up and turned up the radio as George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord came on.
“Dance with me,” I said as I held out my hand to her. She put her hand in mine and I pulled her into my arms. I wrapped one arm around her back and held her other hand to my chest. I slowly moved us around the little space where we were standing. I rested my forehead against hers as I swayed with her. I moved my lips to hers and kissed her deeply, my tongue slipping in seeking hers. My hand at her waist moved down to her ass and I brushed it over her and then moved it back up her waist to the back of her neck as I continued to sway with her and kiss her. I cupped her cheek as we continued to kiss. I had never had this kind of connection with anyone and the music seemed to fill the air around us as we got lost in our embrace. My tongue glided along with hers as I tasted her and tried to put all my feelings for her in that kiss. I pulled back from her and looked into her eyes and saw love shining back at me, and I knew she was the one person that could really save me. I smiled at that thought and leaned in to give her another sweet kiss. Then, I returned my hand back to her back and started swaying slightly faster with her around the room. She laughed as I spun her out and brought her back to my chest. We continued to dance and laugh and I even attempted to sing for her. She leaned into me and wrapped her arm around my neck, resting her head on my shoulder as we swayed while the song died down. “I love you, Alex.”
Hall and Oates You Make My Dreams came on and she smiled up at me. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she kissed me hard and started dancing in my arms again. “I love you too, Cole.” Then she started dancing while holding my hands. She was an excellent dancer and made me smile at her enthusiasm. I was witnessing the Alex that she was without all the terror surrounding us and I liked it. She was upbeat and lively. I would do anything to keep that smile on her face. We continued to dance to Captain and Tennille’s Love Will Keep Us Together, Looking Glass’ Brandy, Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams, and 10cc’s The Things We Do For Love.
When Marvin Gaye’s You’re All I Need To Get By came on, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I needed to have her. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in for a crushing kiss. She kissed me back with such intensity I felt dizzy. I reached down and undid her jeans, pushing them down her legs. I couldn’t do slow and sweet right now. I needed to have her now. I reached down to brush my fingers between her folds and found her wet for me. She moaned as I rubbed her clit and brought her to climax. I undid my pants and my erection sprang free from its constraints. I wrapped her legs around me as I backed her up to the counter and shoved inside her. She threw her head back and moaned loudly. I thrust into her over and over, needing more from her. She was the light in my life, even with everything she had been through. Her smile made me want to live life to the fullest and make her mine forever. There was no turning back for me. She would be mine and no one would ever take her from me.
I pounded into her as the music continued to change around us. I couldn’t say what was playing, I was so lost in her. Her eyes met mine and held me in a trance as I slowed my thrusts. My arms were starting to tire from holding her so I lowered us to the ground and my body covered hers. I started kissing her body, loving the taste of her skin. I heard Rod Stewart’s Have I Told You Lately That I Love You come on and I started to sing to her as I made love to her. I felt her tighten around me and I couldn’t hold back anymore. I came inside her and filled her, then laid down next to her on the floor and pulled her into me as I hummed along to the music. She wrapped her leg over mine and put her hand on my chest as we laid listening to the music. As the song ended, I placed a kiss on her forehead.
“I think we should take this to the bedroom. We don’t want someone walking in on us.”
“Oh my gosh! Did they see us? I didn’t even think about them.”
She hid her face in my chest and covered her face. I chuckled as my hands ran over her back.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I told them not to disturb us. We should still get somewhere more private though.”
I helped her get her jeans back on and pulled my own in place. I wrapped an arm around her waist and we made our way up the stairs.
“You’re gonna disinfect down here, right?” a voice shouted to us as we headed towards our bedroom. I lifted my middle finger over my head and heard a laugh.
✯✯✯✯✯
We spent the next few days in listening to music, dancing, and laughing. That seemed to become our thing and kept us in a great mood even while the threat of a murderer hung over us. Alex was in the best mood I had ever seen her in and she had regained her appetite after all that had happened. We were in a good place and I really wished it could last forever, but life doesn’t work like that. Sean called on the third night and said they raided the house that the signal was coming from.
“Cole, you gotta get out of there. He’s coming for you and I don’t know how much time you have. Sebastian’s already on the phone with Derek.”
“What do you mean? How did he find us?”
“I don’t know how he found you, but he has a map of your location. Get out of there. NOW!”
“Alright, we’ll be outta here in five. I’ll call you from the road.”
I ran upstairs, my heart practically pounding out of my chest. I had to get Alex out of here before this psychopath arrived. I couldn’t risk her life.
“Alex! Alex!” She came running out of the bedroom, a look of panic on her face. “Let’s go. Grab your shoes and coat. We’re leaving now.”
She didn’t question my instructions. She just turned and ran into the bedroom grabbing socks, shoes, and a jacket. She didn’t grab for anything else because she knew I wouldn’t be hustling her if it wasn’t important. I grabbed my jacket and my bags with weapons and we headed downstairs. Derek, Hunter, and Lola were on their way to the front door, guns in hand. Derek signaled for us to stop and I pulled Alex to a stop next to me. Derek gave a few signals to Hunter and Lola and I recognized them as directions for who was going high and low. They opened the door and Derek scanned outside for anything that moved. They worked their way outside, walking closer and closer to the vehicles. I held Alex in my arms as they went over the vehicles for any signs of a bomb. When they didn’t find anything, they signaled for us to come out.
I had my two weapons’ bags in one hand and a gun in the other. Hunter made his way back over to the door and stood on one side of Alex and I stood on the other. We protected her as much as we could with our bodies. Alex had a tight grip on my shirt and I could feel her hand shaking. We got her in the backseat of the SUV and I quickly loaded one bag of weapons in the back while taking the other to the backseat with me. Once I was inside, I pulled Alex in for a quick hug and then got to work on loading my weapons. Once I was ready, I handed my Sig Sauer P226 to Alex. I hoped that it would be light enough that she could handle the recoil.
“Have you ever held a gun before?”
“Yes.” She took the gun from me and unloaded the clip, checking the ammunition, then snapped it back into place. The she pulled back the slide and looked over at me. I gotta say, I was a little turned on at that moment. It was hot that she knew how to handle my gun. Derek had already gotten in the front and we took off down the road. The other SUV with Hunter and Lola was following closely behind.
“Where are we headed Derek?”
“Secondary safe house a couple hours from here.”
I pulled out my phone and called Sean back. “Sean, we’re on the road. Tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“We found his hideout, but he knew where you were going. I don’t know how. Sebastian is looking into it.”
“Did you find anything that can help us?”
“He had pictures on his walls from all his victims after they died. There was a souvenir from each murd
er and notes on what forms of torture he dealt. There were no pictures that we saw of Cara or Alex, but he did have notes from their time with him.”
“What do you mean that you saw? Didn’t you take all that into evidence?”
“We found a map with a pin on your location. There was a note saying: Can you get to them before I do, Sean? This bastard has obviously done his homework on us. Sebastian contacted Derek immediately and I contacted you. Then an officer came running in shouting about a bomb under the house and we all took off. We barely made it out of there before the whole place went up. The officer said that there was no timer, so I’m thinking this guy had eyes on us and blew it after the officer warned us. It was like he wanted to dangle it in front of our faces and then take away all the evidence. Now we have nothing more than we had before.”
“Alright, well I’ll let you know when we’re at the next location. Keep safe.”
“You too, brother.”
I wanted so badly to reach over and comfort Alex, but there were things I needed to know and I needed to prepare myself for what was ahead. Looking over at her, she was scanning the outside and had a tight hold on the gun, so I turned to Derek.
“What’s going on with the team that was outside?”
“Communication was cut off with them. Lola was going to keep calling while on the road. I’m guessing they were being distracted so this guy could sneak up on us. If we hadn’t gotten the call from Sebastian, we’d probably be in a different situation right now.”
“How did this guy find us? It doesn’t make any sense. No one knew where we were.”
“Sebastian is looking into it, but…”
“But what?”
“Well, Sebastian didn’t put any of the information on our computers and we didn’t set up the equipment to transmit to our offices. This safe house was designed for the highest level of anonymity. It was all controlled from our guys, so him tracking our signal is highly unlikely. That leaves one option. He has someone on the inside.”
“Do you trust everyone on your team?”
“With my life. There isn’t a single person I know that could be swayed. It would have to be something seriously compelling. Sebastian is looking into all the team members’ activity to see if there’s anything suspicious.”
“If you do anything that makes me distrust you, I will put a bullet between your eyes without a second thought.”
“Guess I’d better be on my best behavior,” he said with a smirk. “I give you my word that I will do whatever I can to protect Alex. He’ll have to kill me to get past me.”
I nodded at him and sat back in my seat. Alex turned to me and I pulled her closer to my side. We both still held our guns, prepared for any attack that came at us. I would have her carry a gun on her at all times now. This guy was too slick and we wouldn’t be taking any chances.
We drove for a few more hours and pulled up to a dark house surrounded by empty fields. There didn’t appear to be anywhere to hide. The other SUV pulled in behind us and got out with weapons drawn, scanning the fields. When it looked clear, they went to the door to check it out. They reappeared five minutes later and gave the all clear signal. We got out of the vehicle and Derek immediately stood guard next to Alex. I grabbed my bag from the backseat and came around to her side. We walked to the house without incident and breathed a collective sigh of relief once we were safely inside.
“The bedroom is in the back. I’m afraid this safe house isn’t nearly as luxurious as the last. Hunter and Lola will take watch outside and I’ll be inside. Cole, you stay on Alex and keep your eyes off her assets. We won’t have reinforcements until morning.”
I bristled at the comment because I had been to war and I was more than aware of how to protect someone. I didn’t need him implying that I couldn’t remain professional around Alex. I knew what was at stake. Still, he was trying to remind me to keep my head in the game and I couldn’t fault him. All our lives were at stake now. I gave him a curt nod and took Alex back to the bedroom.
“Why don’t you try to get some sleep. I’m gonna check in with Sebastian and then I’ll be back.” I walked over to her and gave her a kiss, then I walked out of the room. I was heading into the living room when I heard Derek swear.
“What are you talking about? Cal would never give us up. Not for anything….Oh shit. Yeah, we’re outta here.”
He hung up and turned to me with a grim look on his face and lifted his radio to call the others.
“Hunter. Lola. Come in.” There was nothing on the other end and he waited before trying again. Still, there was no answer. “Shit. Looks like it’s just us. We have two choices. We stay and fight or we try to outrun him. What’s it gonna be?”
The lights went out and we were blanketed in darkness. Alex came running into the room and I immediately grabbed her, pulling her in closer. I noticed she no longer had her gun with her.
“Where’s your gun?”
“It’s on the nightstand. I got scared when the lights went out and I just ran.”
She was speaking very fast and I could tell she was scared out of her mind.
“Keep watch, Derek. I’m stashing Alex.” I grabbed her arm, not waiting for a response from Derek and dragged her back to the bedroom closet, grabbing her gun on the way. I was in luck that there was a lock on the closet door and I pushed her gently to the floor. “You stay down and stay quiet. Here’s your gun. You don’t open this door for anyone. If Derek or I come to get you, we’ll knock three times and then identify ourselves. Anyone else tries to come through that door, you shoot them. Understand?”
“Cole, please don’t leave me.” She was whispering and I could tell she was having a hard time begging me to stay.
“I can’t stay. If Derek goes down, I’m all that’s left. Trust me to take care of you. Just point and shoot, okay sweetheart?”
She gave a shaky nod and sat a little straighter as I left the room. I closed the door and wished I had given her a kiss before I left, but I didn’t have time to go back. I headed back to the living room and saw Derek standing to the side of the window looking out. He shook his head slightly and I moved along the wall to my bag by the door. I dropped down and got out as many guns as I could and stashed them around the house in strategic locations. We waited a good hour before anything happened. I was watching out the back window and Derek was watching the front. Neither of us saw any movement, but then there was a knock at the door. Derek looked at me with an expression that said What the fuck? I had no answer for him, but I wasn’t about to go answer the door.
I heard a window break in the room Alex was staying in and I ran back there. When I got to the room, I saw a rock on the floor, but no one was there. I edged over to the window and checked outside, but saw no one. That’s when I heard gunfire erupt in the other room. Shit! I had left Derek alone. It had all been a distraction. I quickly went back to the living room to see Derek laying on the ground clutching his leg. I ran over to him and looked down at his leg. It appeared to be a through and through, possibly knicking his bone. He was breathing heavily and sweating profusely, but his hand held his gun steady.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Watch your back. I’ll just hang here for a while.”
I chuckled at his humor, but I didn’t like his position so I dragged him over to the corner where he had a good line of sight to all over the house. I grabbed several guns that I had stashed nearby and set them next to him. A loud sound came from outside and My Sweet Lord started to play from somewhere.
“Shit. This guy likes to play with his food,” I said.
“You gotta get to her. I’m fine. If you get the chance to get her out of here, you leave. Don’t think twice about me, you got it?” He spoke so fiercely that all I could do was nod my head. I shook his hand and grabbed my weapons. I crept down the hall to the bedroom and hoped I wasn’t too late. I was just about to open the bedroom door when a blinding pain hit my head. I never made it a step farther before I passed out.
<
br /> CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Alex
I hid in the closet and my heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest. My blood was rushing in my ears and I could hardly hear a thing. I felt like I would pass out so I took deep breaths to calm myself. It wasn’t helping that much, but I continued because it was something to do that distracted me from what was happening. My back was against the back of the closet and my knees were pulled up with my arms resting on the top. I would like to say that my hands held my gun steady, but that wasn’t true. I was shaking so bad that I wasn’t sure I would hit anyone if they stood right in front of me.
I heard something break through the window in the bedroom and I scooted into the corner of the closet to conceal myself further. I didn’t think it would work, but I had to get as far from the terror as possible. I heard footsteps enter the bedroom, but they quickly retreated when gunfire erupted from somewhere else in the house. I couldn’t take it anymore and I set my gun down and covered my ears. Tears pricked my eyes and I willed myself to stay quiet. It grew quiet and I steeled my spine and picked up my gun again. There was no way I could protect myself if I didn’t pull it together.
Cole had told me to stay in here, but I was getting nervous that he was no longer alive. What if he needed help and I just hid here? I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to him while trying to protect me. I was just about to get up when I heard music coming from somewhere. I couldn’t place it at first, but then I recognized the song as the one Cole had first asked me to dance to. This guy was playing with me. He wanted me to feel terror and I did. I was so scared right now that I didn’t know if I would survive for him to kill me.
I heard a thump outside the bedroom and then nothing but music. When nothing else happened, I decided to check out what was going on. I stood slowly and approached the closet door. I quietly unlocked it and turned the knob slowly. I peeked out of the door when there was just a sliver to see through. I couldn’t see anything like this and decided I was going to have to be brave and open the door. I locked my grip on the gun and swung the door open. I aimed my gun around the room, but saw nothing. I saw the rock on the floor where it had broken through the window. Glass was all over the floor and I carefully stepped around it to avoid making noise. I was about to keep going when I thought better of it and reached down to grab a shard to hide under my sleeve. It was dangerous to put it there, but I considered it a last resort if I needed something quickly. I approached the door and saw a figure laying on the ground. It was a man, but he wasn’t moving and I kicked at him to see if he was alive. When my shoe touched his chest, I realized it was Cole. I knelt down beside him quickly and felt for a pulse. He was alive and I let out a long, slow breath. He had blood dripping from his head, but his pulse was steady.
Cole: A Romantic Thriller Novel (For The Love Of A Good Woman Book 2) Page 12