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Chapter 31: Erin
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Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 32: Erin
Erin reached out and covered his hand gripping the edge of the tub. She'd already forgiven him. He might still be the wrong man for her, but they'd survived this together.He glanced at her hand on his, then her face."We're good," she said. "You have to figure out how to forgive yourself. For this. For Jimmy. You can't keep blaming yourself.""If I'm not responsible, who is?" Riley turned his hand and squeezed her hand back."Sometimes it's no one's fault. If you'd been looking behind you, do you think you'd have seen the guy who shot Jimmy?""There wasn't anything there..." He stared at the tile, but she knew it wasn't this room he was seeing."Take it from me. You have to figure out how to forgive yourself." She'd made her share of screw ups to know the truth."I'll get there." He smiled weakly at her. "Hungry?""Yeah.""Would you mind some company?"That was a dangerous question right now.She couldn't say no to Riley."This stuff smells good. Want to eat he
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 33: Riley
SUNDAY. HILTON GARDEN INN, FRANKFURT, GERMANY.RILEY WRAPPED HIS ARM around Erin's waist, holding her to him. The water clinging to her skin soaked his clothes and the smell of her girly soap clogged his nose. Her mouth slid against his, urgent, needy.The only thing that made sense to him right now was that being with her, right now, was where he belonged. That went against everything he'd learned, but the voice saying stay was louder than the one that wanted to run.Her arms slid around his shoulders and she leaned against him. Her tongue slid into his mouth, teasing his.She was amazing. Plain and simple. She took the kind of stuff that would make other people fall to pieces and she built a tank out of it. He wished he had half her wisdom. Listening to her helped him understand his own shortcomings. He knew what he needed to do to fix them, but he had to focus on her first.His hours with Erin were limited.He didn't know how to ask her for more, but he was getting th
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 34: Riley
Riley would have to be very careful.He dug his fingers into her hair and bent her head backward. She sighed and her body slumped against him. He was learning her ways, the things that made her tick.Riley used his grip on her hair to turn her then walk Erin back until they ran into the mattress."Sit," he said."I didn't think you liked giving orders." She perched on the edge of the mattress, one leg crossed over the other."You like taking them, so I do what I can."She arched a brow at him but couldn't hide the way her skin tinged pink. He bumped her chin with his fingers and buzzed her lips with a kiss. He wasn't stupid enough to think this side of her extended beyond the bedroom.Riley backed away, memorizing the picture she made sitting there on the bed. Her crossed legs seemed almost demure, as though she were hiding herself from view. Her tight nipples telegraphed the message he'd already received loud and clear.He knelt, wincing at the sudden tightness of his
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 35: Mark, Riley
SUNDAY. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.MARK GLANCED UP AND down the landing, but the hall was clear. He didn't want an audience for this visit.Over the years his company had sponsored a number of individuals coming to America for a variety of reasons. With Khalil Muhssan Al-Araji, it was about separating the brains from the body. The young man had been too smart to leave alone and too well-connected to kill. Giving him a one-way ticket to America got him out of Mark's hair and let him bank a favor.He strolled down to the last apartment on the right. Music blared inside. Khalil was home. Mark knocked and leaned against the wall.After a few moments with no answer, he knocked again."It's Mark. Open up," he called out.The scrape of a lock and the jangle of a chain were enough to let him know further threats weren't necessary.A narrow crack opened and a thin, young man with dark, shrewd eyes stared back at Mark."Mr. Forest, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Khalil asked.
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 36: Erin
MONDAY. TRANS-ATLANTIC FLIGHT.ERIN TOOK HER LAPTOP from Riley and set it up on the tiny tray table in front of her. Her ears kept trying to pop without success as the massive air bus reached cruising altitude."Anything I can do?" he asked."No. Everything we salvaged was digital.""You want me to go through it? You could watch a movie.""Thanks, but I should do this. I mean, what if there's confidential information or details about a new site? We don't know what we're looking for.""If Mark was involved..."Erin swallowed. The possible connection to Mark had her nervous. There wasn't anyone else who operated in Erbil with the kind of equipment or manpower that had issue with her. Before, when she'd thought this was a personal attack against her, she'd understood what was going on, even if the how didn't make sense. With Mark factored in it was obvious he'd put her kidnappers up to the job.But why?She had no idea.But she had eleven hours to figure it out."
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 37: Erin
Erin's heart did a summersault. One thoughtful act and she wanted to throw herself at him.She resisted the urge and turned her attention back to her laptop. Music. That's what she needed to stay focused. Her selection was small, but it was better than the general nothing of the plane.Focus.She had work to do.Osman's email archive was exactly what she'd suspected it to be. Boring. Full of random, unnecessary work correspondence, a few newsletters, some personal mail, but nothing too out of the ordinary.It was too normal.Erin sat back in her chair and stared at the file structure.The oil business was a tricky world. It wasn't as simple as just buying the rights to some land, pumping the crude and shipping out for refining. The governments and military were involved. So were the locals and the people who'd lived off that land for generations. Nothing was as simple and clean as this email archive.What was she missing?Erin expanded the files. With thousands of mes
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 38: Mark, Erin
MONDAY, DALLAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, TEXAS.MARK SAT IN THE SUV parked across from the terminal. Any moment now, Erin Lopez would arrive, and a series of events would be set into motion. Ever since Mark began doing these off-the-book jobs, he'd used others to cover up the end goal. People asked fewer questions about a freak allergic reaction resulting in death than they did when someone was killed during a mugging.With any luck, Erin's story would be neatly wrapped up in a bow.Following her kidnapping by the family members who held her responsible for the deaths of parents, siblings, and cousins, one, lone survivor would finish the job.Khalil would get the revenge he'd always wanted and Mark would have one loose end tied up. There was still the matter of that email to deal with, but Mark could handle that. There were ways.First, Erin. It always came down to her. He'd misjudged her the first time around and suffered from that mistake. Once she was out of the way, it wo
Aegis Group Lepta Team Chapter 39: Riley
TUESDAY. SAFE HOUSE, LAS COLINAS, TEXAS.RILEY TURNED THE SUV off and glanced around the gated community. Their latest safe house was a bit too close to its neighbors for his taste, with no perimeter fence. He'd have preferred a hotel or something, but this was what Zain had lined up. He had to have his reasons.Vaughn and Nolan climbed out, stretching after still more hours sitting in uncomfortable chairs at the hospital. At least now they knew the extent of Erin's injuries. A fractured rib and deep tissue bruising wasn't fun, but it was better than being broken. The pain she'd experienced was due to knots and tension, both of which would be helped by a healthy dose of muscle relaxers."Come on." Nolan knocked on the roof. "They're supposed to have BBQ for dinner.""Right behind you," Riley said. He glanced in the rearview mirror.Erin had yet to move. That haunted look was still on her face, and he didn't know how to fix it.Nolan glanced from Riley to Erin, then shook
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