DeadlyVixen77: A friend told me I should contact a man named Tank D. Any idea how?
ViperStrike99: I don’t know him, but I have an acquaintance who does. He charges a lot of dough, but I hear he’s worth it.
DeadlyVixen77: Willing to wire a retainer if he’ll consider the job.
ViperStrike99: Wire 5 G’s to this account *********-****, and I’ll have my acquaintance contact ya asap. Someone from the Montenello Group will be in touch. Tank’s their hired gun.
Yikes! My heart rate kicked up a notch. I’d heard horror stories about the Montenello Group. They were a suspected crime syndicate, but no one could ever pin anything on them. Their businesses seemed legit, but there was talk of behind-the-scenes activity that would make most people’s skin crawl.
DeadlyVixen77: Thanks, Vipe. I owe you a solid. One more thing though . . .
ViperStrike99: What ya got?
DeadlyVixen77: You know anything about a Judge Edmund Stone? I think he works out of the Federal Court.
ViperStrike99: Why r ya asking?
DeadlyVixen77: My bro got caught doing some insider trading for the small firm he works for. His trial is set with this Stone character next week. Rumor has it that he’ll turn a deaf ear for the right price.
ViperStrike99: I don’t know much about him. If ya want to pad my account a bit, I’ll see what I can find out. Any specifics?
DeadlyVixen77: I’m wondering if he has anonymous accounts I can transfer some cash to in exchange for my brother going free or at min. a reduced sentence? Get me some credible deets, and I’ll have my crew wire you a finder’s fee.
ViperStrike99: Pleasure doin’ biz with ya, Vix. Just keep your sweet ass safe. I’ll be in touch. Out . . .
“Who the hell is Viper? And how does he know your ass is sweet?” Marcus growled out in anger.
I nearly jumped a foot out of my chair. I must have gotten so wrapped up in everything I hadn’t heard him come into the office.
Trying to catch my breath and slow my rapidly beating heart, I held my hand up to show I needed a moment. When I began to settle, I explained. “Have you heard of the dark web? It’s notorious for having personal information for sale that was obtained through identity theft. However, you can get answers from underground hackers there when you can’t go anywhere else.”
He nodded. “Yes, and?”
“I use it with a faux name, cover story, and picture. To anyone on there, I’m a computer hacker that has mad skills, blonde hair, blue eyes, with a body made for sin, living here in New York City.” I motioned the full-length of my body. “Not even close to who I actually am.”
Of course he argued. “Except for the hair and eye color being wrong, I’d say the description is spot on.”
I didn’t want to squabble, so I continued. “Sometimes we can’t find out information by traditional means, so we have to resort to some unorthodox methods.”
He started to open his mouth to argue, but I cut him short. “Titan has been doing this for some time now. When we can’t easily track money or need to find out about a gun-for-hire, we use this. If you don’t believe me then call Rick. While you were entertaining guests, I sent him an e-mail for permission to use it.”
I crossed my arms and legs and watched as he paced back and forth, running his hand through his hair. He’d stop for a moment and face me, opening his mouth to speak but letting it go. He looked like a tiger behind a cage: pent up and ready to pounce at any moment.
Marcus was mad at me for going out on the web, thinking I was talking with a guy. He felt the need to protect me, and a part of me liked that he still looked out for me. But it was time to come clean.
“Just so you know, Viper is a very talented woman who happens to dress in gothic attire and bats for the other team.” I finally admitted. “I had to do a lot of flirting and help her with a problem to get her to open up to me online about six months ago.”
He paused mid-pace and turned to me with eyes as big as saucers. “A woman? Other team?”
I barely suppressed the laugh that wanted to come out.
After getting up out of the chair and walking over to him, I placed my hand over his heart, enjoying the way it fluttered underneath my fingertips. “When are you going to accept I haven’t been with anyone else?”
His arms wrapped around me and pulled me tight against his chest. I felt his chin rest atop my head. After swallowing hard, Marcus admitted. “I’m still wrapping my mind around the fact that you’re here and not a figment of my imagination. I feel like every time you get out of my sight, you’ll disappear into thin air and all this will have been a dream”
I lowered one hand to his side and pinched him, causing him to yell out. “Ouch! What did you do that for?”
Going up on my tiptoes, I gave his chin a chaste kiss. “Just trying to show you I’m very much here and definitely not a dream.”
He shook his head and muttered under his breath. “What am I going to do with you?”
I couldn’t help but respond, “Love me. That’s all you can do.”
He neither denied nor confirmed my statement. “Later,” he muttered under his breath. I didn’t know whether it was too early to say something like that or if he was well aware of the listening devices, but I didn’t mind. I wasn’t ready to tell him how I felt either, although my heart already knew.
His mouth latched on to the side of my neck and took small bites all the way up to my ear. “I could see you were busy, and both Spencer and Kyle damn near talked my ears off.”
“Thanks for keeping them out of my hair and busy. It gave me time to look at a lot of new possibilities.” I wouldn’t elaborate. I didn’t want to give Marcus false hope.
My mind had been a jumbled up mess dealing with Kyle and Spencer earlier. I’d been anxious to get back to Makenna, but their incessant need to talk just delayed things. The longer I was away from her the stronger the pull was to be with her again.
One taste of her sweet nectar was all I needed to make me thirsty for more, turning me into an addict. I had already needed my next fix of Kenna, and these fuckers had been cock-blocking me every chance they could.
I’d had it by the time Spencer came in. I’d wanted to shove a plate at him and tell him to eat out in the hallway, because I could tell Makenna had been upset. My need to go to her, check to make sure she was okay was intense. I’d heard her voice get a little high-and-mighty while I’d been tending to Kyle’s food. There was only one person who could get her that riled up, that quickly: her father. But thanks to them, I’d had no way of going to comfort her.
When she’d stepped out to get some coffee, I had seen her need to be alone and cool down. That had always been our norm in the past when she’d had to deal with her dad. I’d offer her a hug, but then I’d give her space, and when she was ready to discuss things, she’d come and find me.
I knew her father loved her, but he was kind of pig-headed like mine. You either did as he said or you lost control over what you wanted in life. But knowing how strong Kenna was now, she’d probably given him an earful, especially after she’d learned earlier today he’d been the reason we’d stayed apart for five years. Granted, she’d run on her own accord, but because he’d failed to forward my letters, she’d had no clue I’d been desperately searching for her.
In an attempt to keep my mind focused, I’d continued to prep the food for dinner, hoping that would deter some of the questions Spencer was asking. Of course it hadn’t. When he’d asked what was on my list of things to do today, I’d told him I had to clean up from a late brunch, start prepping for dinner, throw in a load of clothes, and go through about three or four hours of new information. Yes, some of those things could wait, but I’d wanted to seem busier than what I was, in an effort to hurry him along.
Kyle had been inquisitive. However, he’d stuck to questions about my family and where I’d learned to cook, and essentially had made general conversation one would make when you’re trying to get to know someone as a fr
iend. Of course, I wasn’t blind to the fact that he kept looking at my girl with adoration and longing. He could look but not touch; she was mine.
Spencer, on the other hand, had started off with a couple of questions about where I got the recipe for the pancakes, and if I was willing to divulge my secret on how I could get them so fluffy. My answer had been no.
We’d talked for a while, but just like Kyle, he’d drug out the time he ate. He’d put only one pancake at a time on his plate. For one brief moment, I’d compared him to that of a sloth. Had the FBI really hired someone that moved that slowly?
I’d soon realized he’d been stalling, for what I didn’t know. Had he known that Makenna and I had been intimate? Had he been sticking around because he thought we might share some great secret that he needed to be privy too? I didn’t know. And I hadn’t liked the way his eyes followed Makenna or how he’d kept asking detailed questions about the case. Shouldn’t he know the details already?
At least he’d been fun to watch when Luke came out of the office and headed to his water bowl. Luke’s bristles had gone up, and a low growl had come from the back of his throat. He hadn’t been as bad with the others, just Spencer. I’d enjoyed seeing him drop his fork to his plate and finally excuse himself from the room. Apparently, Luke had managed to light a fire under Spencer’s ass, because he’d sure high-tailed it back to the hall.
“Here you go, Luke. Good boy.” I’d reached into the refrigerator and had given him a piece of leftover chicken as a treat. He’d come over and had playfully jumped up on me, giving my face a lick.
As I’d taken a few steps toward the office, I’d heard the sound of keys being depressed on the keyboard. Makenna had been on to something interesting, because the sounds had been fast and furious.
The pull to be in the same room with her had been great, unlike anything I’d ever remembered in the past. It’d been on a deeper, more intense level.
She was here to do a job and if I had any chance of a future with her, I needed to let her be from time to time. Otherwise, I’d be constantly fighting the desire to have her naked and pressed up against the nearest surface, with my dick between her legs. I still had a lot of pent up sexual need for her, but it would have to wait, for now.
The only way I’d been able to keep my mind off of wanting to be with the love of my life was to keep busy. So I’d gone back into the kitchen and decided to finish what I’d prepped for dinner—braciole with creamy polenta, one of Makenna’s favorites. We’d only had this on special occasions because it was so time consuming. At least making it had kept me from punching a federal officer or two.
After the meal had slowly started simmering, I’d snuck into the office and had been instantly upset when I’d found her chatting away on the internet with someone named Viper Strike or something like that.
Makenna had quickly explained what was going on, and I hadn’t had any issue with it afterward, especially knowing she’d been talking to another woman. But when I’d seen the words “Montenello Group,” it had given me pause. Thankfully she hadn’t seen me looking over her shoulder at that point.
I didn’t like the idea of her looking into the guy hired to kill me and couldn’t understand why she’d wanted to. The guy was dead, end of story. But how was he connected to that group, and why did the name seem so familiar?
Finally being able to hold Makenna in my arms brought me peace. I especially liked how she said I should love her. I wanted desperately to tell her I’d never stopped, but I knew we had an audience listening in on our every word, so talking openly and honestly would have to wait.
Holding her, feeling her hardened nipples pressed up against my chest was too tempting. I let my hands drop and pointed toward the desk. “I’ll just grab my laptop and go back into the kitchen. Dinner will be a while, but it requires constant monitoring. Can I get you anything?” I tried to offer.
She shook her head. “No. I just needed a break from all the video footage. I felt my eyes were ready to go cross.” She reached up and grabbed her neck, giving it a squeeze.
“Tension?” I questioned.
She nodded. Turning her around, I pushed her hair over her shoulders. I dug my fingers into the nape of her neck and moved down to her shoulders. You could feel how stressed she was over everything, where she hadn’t been earlier. I wanted so badly to ask, “What did your father say?”
Instead, I went to work on the knots in her muscles, moving my fingers slowly over each tense area. I stopped only when I felt her shoulders slump into a relaxed state.
I bent her over the edge of the desk, pulled her pants down and massaged her butt checks, taking a bite out of one of them, wanting to leave my mark there. Makenna let out a soft moan, as I parted her cheeks and slowly removed the plug, knowing that soon, my cock would take its place.
After righting her clothes, I pulled her up and against my chest, giving her a kiss on the back of her neck, I whispered, “If you need to talk, know that I’m here for you.”
Kenna turned to face me, placing one hand over my heart. “Thank you. You don’t know how much that means to me. Right now I need to get back on this case. There’s so much to do and so little time to do it in, and you’re making it hard for me to concentrate by being so close to me, teasing my backside, and providing me with such amazing smells coming from the kitchen.” I was happy to know I hadn’t been the only to feel the pull between us.
I watched as she took in a deep breath and smiled. Her hand pointed toward the kitchen. “Are you cooking my favorite?”
“Yes.” I sheepishly admitted. “And I need to get back to it before it burns. Can I get you anything in the meantime?”
She shook her head and then sat back down at her computer. I hated that we had things to keep us busy, but I understood why she’d stayed in the office. At least there were no eyes watching us there.
I returned to the kitchen counter and positioned my laptop where the surveillance camera couldn’t see what I was doing. Opening a browser on the Internet, I typed in the words “Montenello Group” and was shocked to see numerous articles.
I started opening one story after another, and the more I did, the more I realized the depth of the case against me. This group was a notorious crime syndicate in the area. The familiarity of the name had come from seeing articles about them in the newspaper. There was criminal activity, or so some people claimed, but no one ever managed to get enough evidence to make it stick.
It made me wonder if the gunman sent to kill me was hired by someone who’d lost their money in the Ponzi scheme, or if there was some other connection to the shooter. And if he was hired, who paid him? I didn’t know how to prove all of this, but knew my Kenna would find out.
I recalled an e-mail on my original laptop. It was from one of the owners, asking if I was doing business with them. Of course the answer was no, since I didn’t dabble in short-term high-yield investments. But I knew who did . . . holy shit!
Moving quickly, I pulled up a word document and typed out:
I noticed you were asking about the hired gun who was employed by the Montenello Group. The name seemed familiar and I remembered a couple of the partners sent out an e-mail warning not to offer them any business services.
I never heard anything else about them until today. Just thought I’d let you know. Is this why I’m also accused of terrorist ties?
After walking back into the office, I placed my computer next to Makenna’s and got her attention. Her smile was grim, making me wonder how much she already knew about the group.
I pointed to the last line, asking the question about terrorism again, but she shook her head and mouthed, “No. Looking into it.”
She gave my hand a small squeeze and offered me back my computer.
A couple hours later, Makenna came out of the office, looking a bit exhausted as she made her way to the bar area in front of the stove. Her soft pink tongue came out, licking her lips in anticipation of the food, as I began serving her up a plat
e.
I was happy to see her have a hearty appetite, as she dug into the food and asked for another piece.
We made small talk about our families while I put up the leftovers and washed the dishes.
I had my back turned to her while I was doing the dishes. “So what’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” I asked her, but I never got a response back.
Turning around, I noted her arms and head were lying against the counter, and a soft snore escaped her lips. She’d worked herself to the point of exhaustion, and I’d had much better plans to reach that state.
I finished what I was doing, before going over to the front door and opening it carefully, noting Dane and Tyler were already in place. “We’re turning in for the night. Help yourselves to any water or food from the fridge or pantry.”
They both nodded and Tyler wished us a good night.
I turned off a few lights and carried Makenna up the stairs, with Luke following on my heels. We were both exhausted and in need of a good night’s rest.
I hated how I always fell asleep on Marcus right after I had dinner, but I couldn’t take a break before then, so I was exhausted by dinnertime. After I’d uncovered hidden information within the files off of Dominic’s computer, everything seemed to start moving at warp speed.
He was unyielding in his efforts to persuade Judge Stone to move up the case even earlier. Word on the street was that Dominic panicked and sold off everything he could get his hands on to try and persuade people to do his bidding. Fortunately, we managed to catch Judge Stone in the act of accepting a bribe via his computer. We had enough evidence to have him temporarily stripped of his duties and charged with accepting funds from known criminals.
Everything seemed to be falling into place. Sophia had managed the files I’d requested, which yielded some fascinating results I hadn’t even anticipated. At least I had knowledge that would warrant another judge to hear his case. Unfortunately, we hadn’t been able to get a delay in the trial date.
Makenna's Trust: Titan Security Series #3 Page 20