by Wade, Maddie
The monster he’d buried reared to life, and he let the ice-cold hatred seep into his veins, freezing any feeling he had. He lifted his head and moved inside and blocked out his regret at betraying the men who’d been his salvation.
Sitting in a chair surrounded by his loyal soldiers was the man who had the most trusted position in England. Beside him was a man Gunner didn’t recognise but he had a familiar air about him that put Gunner on instant alert. The stranger had the demeanour of a businessman, dressed in a tailored suit that most likely hid a weapon at his shoulder. Red hair and beard combed and groomed, the muscles beneath the six-foot frame straining with suppressed energy as he eyed him. Gunner lifted his eyes and met the cold blue ones of the man. He didn’t know him, but his inner demon recognised the killer in him.
“Gunner, I’d like you to meet my colleague, Seamus O’Diomain.”
The man lifted his head but didn’t move to shake his hand and Gunner stayed still. Both men sized each other up, knowing they’d probably end up having to kill the other at some point in time.
“Seamus will be helping you with our little Eidolon problem as you seem to be having trouble pinning this down.”
Gunner’s eyes cut to the seemingly cultured man who sat in a chair like a King, playing God with all their lives because of his greed.
“I don’t need help,” Gunner spat as he imagined choking the life from the man who everyone held in such high regard.
“It wasn’t a request.” Ice dripped from every syllable as the tension in the room rose. The smell of sweat and sex permeated every surface of the place, but nothing was as strong as the scent of death. “You seem to have forgotten who is in charge of this situation but let me remind you.”
He stood and moved to Gunner as Seamus and the other three men watched. Gunner tensed seeing the iPad in his hand. Once beside Gunner, the shorter man, who held no physical power but yet wielded another kind with cruel enjoyment, shoved the screen towards him with a malicious grin.
The image on the screen was of his sister, his once beautiful vibrant sister who was now nothing more than a shell. Her body useless, her brain barely functioning, yet she clung to life. Bile raced up his throat as he watched two of his tormentor’s men step into the room. Their hands were loose at their sides, but the threat clear in the way they moved towards his sister.
“Stop, I’ll do as you ask. Just leave her be.” He said the words that almost broke him. “Tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll do it.”
The man nodded and seated himself again. “The attack on the model did not sufficiently weaken them. I want them broken and bleeding. Find her and kill her. I want them to feel pain before I end their reign as the best Black Ops Team in the business. I want them to hurt before I have you put them down like the rabid dogs they are. Then we’ll swoop in and save the day.”
“I’ll do it now.” Gunner glanced at Seamus as his cold eyes assessed him.
“Take Seamus with you. I want no mistakes. Make them bleed, and then they’ll die, or your sister will feel the pain you should have inflicted on them.”
Gunner walked to the door, his steps weighed down with lead, his heart had died months ago.
“Oh, and, Gunner?”
Gunner turned, hiding his hatred for the man who’d ruined him. “Yes.”
“Kill the boyfriend too but make him watch first.”
Gunner wanted to object. How could he kill a man he saw as a brother? Kill the woman he knew Reid loved just from watching them together? But he had no choice. His mind flew to Milla, and he knew in his heart he had an impossible decision to make. His friends or his sister—the reality was much more straightforward. He’d made it months ago when he’d lied to Jack and the others and saved his sister. Would they have done anything differently? He didn’t think so. The choice he’d made then had led to this day.
He wished he’d told his teammates. He knew they would’ve risked it all to help him but to do so would have risked Milla even more. He was backed into a wall, and like most dogs reacted when cornered, he’d come out fighting.
Now he had the fight of his life. To win, he’d need every ounce of cunning he had because Eidolon was the best of the best. But win he would, not because he had an interest in living beyond this but to keep his sister safe.
His thoughts turned to Lacey, and he wondered what might have been if things had been different. The spark between them had been real, and he desperately wanted to feel her own brand of sweet in his life. He was a fool to dream though, dreamers only ever ended up disappointed.
He felt Seamus at his back but ignored the Irishman. He didn’t need a babysitter. He’d do what needed to be done and then maybe he could be left in peace or better yet, die in peace.
“This way.” The Irish lilt was barely discernible as Gunner followed Seamus down an alley with a frown.
“What the fuck,” Gunner got out before he felt an explosion of pain in his head and everything went fuzzy as he fell to the ground. Polished shoes came into his peripheral vision before man crouched beside him.
“Let’s get you into the van before someone sees.”
Those were the last words he heard before he felt the pinch of a needle in his neck and then blissful nothing.
When Gunner woke a few hours later, he was in his digs, lying on his couch with a brutal headache but otherwise okay. He stood, taking an unsteady breath as he stumbled to the kitchen. Grabbing his spare gun, he made an effort to secure his property before he chugged down a cold glass of water to clear his head.
He had no clue what had happened or why, but he intended to find out and that bastard Seamus would be the first person he’d be visiting after he’d dealt with the other shit involving the model and Reid.
He was getting tired of watching his back, of not knowing who to trust. But he had nobody to blame but himself, he’d made the wrong choice and now he had to live with it or swallow a bullet, but that wasn’t an option while his sister was still at the hands of monsters.
Chapter Fifteen
The sound of the door opening interrupted Callie from the discussion she and her new friends were having about their lives or more importantly, the loves of their lives. To say these women were in love was an understatement. But unlike her mother, who lived to deliver her husband’s every whim, these women had careers and reading between the lines, pretty intense ones too.
She sighed inwardly at the sight of Reid in the doorway looking good enough to eat as he leaned a shoulder against the frame. He walked toward her, a cocky grin on his face as he removed his jacket and lay it across the back of the chair. Reid’s eyes held her immobile as he moved behind her, and she lost sight of him. Her belly went liquid at the gentle touch of his lips to her crown. It was sweet and tender and her feeling for him were so much more than sexual.
“Ladies,” he said in greeting.
They all responded with knowing smiles and greetings of their own. She caught the look Pax sent Evelyn and grimaced at being the centre of attention. Callie was used to people looking at her, at journalists poking into her life, but this felt different more intimate but not only that. This, whatever it was they were doing, meant something.
Callie was pulled from her thoughts when her phone rang on the coffee table in front of her. She tried to stifle the groan at seeing her agent’s name on the screen. Standing, she excused herself to take the call, catching an unreadable look on Reid’s face.
Moving into the hallway, she answered the call. “Hey, Sophia.”
“Don’t you ‘hey, Sophia’ me. I have a shit storm of epic proportions here, and you’re nowhere to be found. Mel is losing his mind because he can’t find you. You seem to be ghosting our calls, and now I have Claude threatening to pull out of the Gucci shoot next month unless I tell that fucking little diva where you are.”
Sophia took a breath and Callie tried not to sigh. “I know this is hard on you, Soph, but I can’t tell anyone where I am.”
Callie heard the so
ft resigned tone in her voice. “I know you have a lot going on with the stalker and now your housekeeper, but I need something. The press is going mad over this. Just give me something or better yet, call Mel so he can work out what to tell the media.”
“Fine, I’ll call him. I am sorry, Soph, but my security thinks this is for the best.”
Sophia snorted. “Yeah I get it. If he were my security, I’d be holed up someplace private, too. Just don’t ghost me again.” The soft reprimand stung for doing it in the first place. But she’d needed to get away even if it was for a few hours.
“Fine. Can you handle Claude?” Callie didn’t bother to deny the relationship between her and Reid, it was pointless at this stage.
“Of course I can handle him. Handling divas is my job, remember.”
Sophia hung up, and Callie looked down at the phone with a smile. Hearing voices, she looked up as Reid showed Roz, Evelyn, and Pax out. He caught her eye, and she waved at the three women as they left.
Reid closed the door and moved toward her. His steps slow and measured, with no excess energy used. He was like a sleek panther, and she felt like the very willing prey.
He stopped in front of her and raised his hand to gently cup her cheek. “Everything okay?”
Callie leaned into his touch, letting the settling feeling of safety flow through her as well as a hefty dose of lust. “Yeah, that was Sophia. She was just unhappy I ghosted her.”
Reid’s jaw twitched, but he said nothing, just pulled her closer to his body and enfolded her in his arms. She sucked in a lungful of his scent and felt a pull of desire shoot through her body. Her arms snaked around him, and she sighed at the rightness of being in his arms. This felt like home, but different in some ways. It felt like—everything.
Callie tried to push the notion aside, knowing it was way too soon to be thinking things like that. They hadn’t even slept together yet. What if he was crap in the sack? The thought made her giggle to herself, as if a man like Reid would be bad in bed. He was built for sex and sin, and she shivered at the thought of all the naughty things she wanted him to do to her and the things she wanted to do to him.
He must have felt the shiver because he groaned before taking her hand and dragging her towards the door. “Let’s get out of here before I forget I’m a gentleman and drag you into that bedroom and show you everything I’ve a dreamed of doing to you since I first laid eyes on you.”
Callie laughed as she let him pull her to his car. “I’m okay with that.”
He waited until they were in the car before he turned and tipped her face to his, so their eyes met. “Maybe, and God knows I want nothing more than to sink into your warm heat, but my Mama would whip my ass if I didn’t at least take you on a date first.” Her mouth dropped open in surprise and Reid dropped a quick kiss on it before he started the car and reversed.
Callie grinned again wondering how being with him made her so happy when her life was a disaster zone. A drizzle had begun as they drove west, and she pulled her jacket around her. She’d only just snagged it as they went out the door and was thankful, she’d picked it up. She looked down at her clothes and then regarded Reid, who was still holding her hand. “So where are we going?”
He glance at her as he pulled into a long street on an incline. Big Victorian period homes sat on either side with big bay windows. “I thought you might like to meet a friend of mine. His name is Zin. He works for Fortis Security.” He stopped and indicated a house with a big red door. “That’s where he and his girlfriend Celeste live. They just got a new puppy, and I know you miss Bono so thought you might like to meet her.”
Callie’s heart jumped at the sweetness of this man. She hadn’t mentioned Bono, but he’d known and had thought to do this for her. It would be all too easy to fall for a man like Reid, and she had a feeling she was halfway there already.
“Thank you, Reid,” she said as she leaned in and kissed him, offering all the gratitude she felt in the kiss.
He pulled back as things began to heat up. “Killing me,” he said with a wicked smirk before exiting the car as she laughed.
He opened her door and helped her out, keeping her close with his arm around her waist as he led her to the door, his eyes on the space around him. He rang the bell, and they heard a deep woof followed by the sounds of a man and woman.
The door flew open and she was greeted by a beautiful woman with dark hair to her shoulders that shone like a shampoo commercial, skin that was so flawless it looked airbrushed, and a smile that lit up her emerald green eyes. She was breath taking, as was the giant who stood behind her, a protective hand around her small waist.
“Zin, Celeste, good to see you.”
“Reid, Callie, come in,” the woman said as she pulled open the door with a smile.
They stepped inside, and Callie caught sight of a beautiful black German Shepherd sitting quietly behind Celeste, watching them intently. He didn’t move or jump at them just waited, his eyes moving between them and his mistress.
“Oh, he’s beautiful. Can I pet him?” Callie directed her question at Celeste.
Zin scared her slightly; he had a dangerous vibe about him and yet Celeste looked at him with adoration, as did the dog.
Celeste grinned. “Of course.” She nodded at the dog who immediately moved forward to greet them, his entire body moving as his tail wagged. “Say hi, Samson.”
Callie dropped to her haunches and greeted the big dog with scratches to his ears. He nuzzled her face, giving her a lick on the ear. Callie laughed as she looked up at Reid. His face was soft as he looked at her, and she felt her tummy dip and her heart stutter again.
Mewling from the living room had Samson backing away from her and moving toward the sound. Callie straightened and smiled at Reid who had taken her hand in his. They followed Celeste into the living room as Zin held out a hand for them to go first. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on the small fluffy bed where a fluffy gold and black puppy was woofing at Samson, trying to get him to play while the big dog looked on with a tilt of his head.
“Oh, she’s adorable.” Callie’s face pulled into a grin.
Zin snorted. “Not at two, four, and six am she wasn’t.”
Celeste laughed. “Oh hush, you big grump. You’re the one who suggested she sleep in the bedroom, so don’t pretend you don’t love her.”
Zin growled and pulled Celeste into his arms as she laughed and squealed. “Pixie, I love you, and that means that I’ll put up with almost anything to make you happy.”
He kissed her upturned lips and Callie watched with unabashed voyeurism at the apparent love and passion between the couple. It was magnetic and beautiful and the sort of love that she and girls the world over dreamed of. She sensed Reid watching her and turned to see an intense look on his face as he studied her.
“Almost anything?” Celeste said snapping Callie from the spell Reid had cast with his eyes.
She turned to see Zin whisper something in Celeste’s ear that made her blush and then sigh before she pulled away but not far enough that she lost his touch.
“Sit down, and I’ll get us some drinks.”
She and Reid sat on the couch while Celeste disappeared into the kitchen and Zin knelt on the floor and gently shoved Samson aside so he could lift the puppy into his arms. Despite his size and gruff exterior, he handled the puppy with infinite tenderness. Celeste had his card marked all right. He was a giant teddy bear.
“This is Delilah. She’s a Belgian Malinois.” He set the puppy who was trying to chew on his knuckles on Callie’s lap, and moved away to sit on the floor beside Samson.
Callie glanced at Reid as she petted Delilah and fell a little bit more in love with her. Her eyes caught Reid’s and she smiled loving that he had thought to bring her here. He always seemed to know what she needed.
Celeste came back in with a tray of drinks and the four of them caught up. Callie realised Celeste worked for Fortis too and heard the story of how she and Zin had met. The fr
own that settled across Zin’s face indicated it still pained him.
“My stalker problem seems tame in comparison.”
Reid slid an arm around her waist. “Your stalker problem is far from tame, Callie. They murdered a woman.”
“Do you have any leads?” Zin asked.
“A few,” Reid said, and Zin nodded.
“If you need anything you only have to ask. I’d be happy to hand out a little punishment to someone willing to scare a woman, especially your woman.”
A tingle went through Callie at the sound of someone, especially a friend of Reid’s, calling her his. It should be irritating, and the fact she loved it probably put feminism back forty years, but she didn’t care.
She was a confident, self-assured woman who ran her own life, but she also wanted to be Reid’s in every way. That thought made her body light up wanting more.
As if sensing her change in mood, Reid stood. “Time to go. Thank you so much for having us around. Maybe when this over we can go out for a few drinks?”
Zin and Celeste walked them to the door, their arms around each other, her so small against his big body. The name Pixie fit her perfectly, but she wasn’t a delicate fairie, no she was fierce like Tinkerbell.
“Sounds good to me.”
They moved to the car in silence, hands clasped tight as the electricity fizzed and pulsed in the air around them. She wanted this man like an ache in her abdomen, and she was done waiting.
Chapter Sixteen
Reid held Callie’s hand as they walked up the steps to his home, his body shielding her as he watched for threats and found none. The electricity in the car had been off the charts; his dick was harder than steel. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anyone or anything, but despite her confidence and apparent desire for him, he sensed she was relatively inexperienced.
He wanted to make this good for her, make it last and spend the night worshipping her body. His primal part wanted to rip her clothes off the minute they closed the door and take her. Brand her and mark her as his own. It was a feeling he’d never had before and wasn’t sure he liked it now.