Matthew pressed his lips together as he stared down at the phone. He didn’t like that he had missed calls from Juliet, and he felt horrible knowing she was probably stressed and worried out of her mind, either about him or about them as a couple.
He wanted to put her at ease and tell her again that he would be coming home to her but now wasn’t the time. It was too big of a risk to be in contact with her when he was on assignment. He shouldn’t have even brought his phone with him, but with how they left things, he couldn’t find it in him to leave behind his only form of communication with her. His boss had already been breathing down his throat and had ripped into him about how stupid he had been to risk their cover for a woman. In fact, he had his ass handed to him during training as his team took their frustration out on him.Juliet was worth every ass-beating, punishment, and joke coming his way. N“You’re not retired yet, old man.” Hawk teased into the earpiece, and Matthew narrowed his eyes. “Perimeter clear. Proceed with caution.”Matthew didn’t bother to nod. Instead, he pushed everything nonessential into a box in his mind and locked it up.This mission was too important to fuck up, and he was determined to show his team they could still trust him.Pulling the door open, he led his team into the compound, their footsteps almost non-existent as they moved forward.Matthew enjoyed being the point man, leading his team, and getting eyes on everything immediately.He didn’t like surprises and was good at his job. He looked out for his team and would take a bullet for them any day if it came down to it, which he hoped it never would.They didn’t bother going into any of the closed doors. Their inside man had told them exactly where to go. They just had to get there
Juliet woke with a sick feeling in her chest. There was a deep dread that made her chose to drive to work instead of walking, and to get there way earlier than she needed to be. That dread only intensified when she looked through the glass window of the storefront and noticed a familiar man sitting behind his driver’s seat.Sophia was in the back baking, and Juliet was doing a detailed cleaning of the dining room to kill time while waiting for the shop to open, but her bad mood got even worse when she met his stare. She opened her mouth to speak, to call out to Sophia, just as Sophia stepped forward into the dining room. “It looks great in here!” She exclaimed, and Juliet forced a smile with her lips still pressed together with unease.
Extended it was. For the next two weeks, Juliet was aware of the eyes that bore into the back of her head everywhere she went.Her new friend was a pesky fly on the wall, always around but never wanted. Whenever she thought she was free of the insect, there he was again.Not once had he approached her, though, and for that, she was thankful. Much to her dismay, the glares she sent his way did not deter him but seemed to amuse him instead.The worst part was when she would see him outside of work.At first, she chalked it up to their constant proximity due to the size of their small town, but after she ran into him four separate times on the same day while running errands, she was on the verge of going to the police to report him.The problem was that he never spoke to or threatened her and did nothing to warrant an official police report from being filed. She had no proof that he had been following her to support her claim.The thought had c
Juliet scanned the street once more before she began to cross. There was a generous amount of discomfort in her as he placed his hand on the small of her back and closed their distance again. Matthew’s words swam around her head from the first time he left her for work and she pulled away.“Do me a favor, though, Red. Don’t let anyone else touch you while I’m gone.”She didn’t want the strange man to have his hands on her, even if it was just her back. Even though she hadn’t heard from Matthew since he was sent away, she knew in her heart that he was still her Matthew, and he wouldn’t want another man‘s hands on her either.She watched out of the corner of her eye as the man pulled out his cell phone before sending off a quick text. The air was tense as she tried to put space between them. He wasn’t even the slightest bit affected by her actions to move away, and it bothered her that he would just close the gap again each time she did so.He
Juliet woke to her back against a familiar chest. The green crocheted blanket over her lap also tickled her memory, but her vision was blurry, and the world around her didn’t feel quite right. Everything felt like it had a slight tilt to it, and if she stood, she knew she would fall over.“Good morning,” Matthew’s deep voice in her ear made her freeze, and happiness filled her chest as large, familiar arms wrapped around her from behind.“You’re home!” She whispered and felt his chest rumble against her back. “What happened?”Her eyes tried to adjust, but the fuzziness was concentrated in certain spots, and it moved to a new one each time her eyes closed and reopened.She could see they were back at his home, sitting in his living room. The flat screen television was mounted on the wall in front of them but wasn’t on, nor were he lights she realized as she looked around.
The world around her spun as Juliet tried unsuccessfully to pry her eyes open. Her arms were forced behind her back, and she could feel the zip tie as it bit into the soft flesh of her wrists. Between the swelling and the dried blood crusted to her right eye, it was impossible to separate the lids, but she blinked the left slowly as she regained her equilibrium.Additional ties held her ankles to the legs of the chair tightly, and she was aware of the painful pinpricks in her feet due to the lack of circulation. Her chin was tucked to her chest as her head hung forward, and she kept her movements minimal as she tried to look around subtly to avoid alerting anyone else in the room of her consciousness. It was an impossible task as the panic set in, and her lungs desperately tried to pull in air.
His secrets, what little Juliet knew, were safe with her. Even if they had broken up, she would never betray Matthew and risk his life.The guilt alone would kill her if these men didn’t.“You’re feisty, but if you do that again, I’ll pull each one of your pearly whites out.” The back of his hand collided with her cheek, and she let out a loud groan of pain upon impact as her head was thrown to the side. “Don’t you worry, doll. That won’t make you any less profitable. Trust me.” The implication of her future employment with them was clear, and she shivered in disgust. There was a fat chance in hell she would work for them without a fight. Juliet pulled her head back to its previous position to hold her glare at the man. She watched as he ran
Matthew sat in the desk chair, his hands together and his fingers to his lips as he went through every second of the mission in his head repeatedly.It had been too easy.Everything about it reminded him of the simulations he had to undergo in training. He was anxious and on edge at the idea of it being a setup, but he couldn’t understand why they would give the girls up so easily, especially such a high-value target.The sound of someone approaching his room made him stand, and Matthew pulled his gun out, aiming it at the individual through the cheap, hollow door.From the footsteps, gait, and the laptop that came through the door before the man as it was pushed open, Matthew knew who it was and kept his finger off the trigger.Matthew was furious as Hawk stormed into his motel room. The kid knew better and the gun Matthew had instinctively pulled on him should have knocked some sense into Hawk, but it didn’t faze h
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When his monthly calls stopped, her worry eventually outweighed her anger, and more than anything, she just wanted to hear his voice or see him one more time to know that he was okay. He called her after speaking to Cadence and was flabbergasted by the fact that she had answered the phone at all after ignoring his calls for so long. He was left speechless when she demanded that he return home so she could see he was safe for herself. Juliet watched as he bit back his emotions at hearing his mother’s voice, but he was ecstatic that he would get to introduce Juliet to the other women in his life. “We talked on the phone. Come on, you are perfect, and they will love you.” As he stepped to the side to pull her toward the entrance of the home once more, the front door was thrown open, and a beautiful blonde sprinted out with a shout of glee as she threw herself into Matthew’s arms. “Hey, sis. I’ve missed you too.” He said with a laugh as he held onto her just as tightly as she did
Juliet walked slowly across the gravel driveway with her hands down at her sides in fists to hide the fact that they were shaking. It had been a long four years, but it was also the best four years of her life. Matthew walked up behind her and placed his warm palm on her lower back, and she felt her muscles loosen at his touch. The large, beautiful ranch-style house in front of her added to the intimidation she had felt toward their current situation, and she had half a mind to run back to the car and not come out. “Relax, Red. Everything will be okay.” He bent down and whispered into her ear before he kissed the crown of her head. His hot breath fanned across her skin, and she gave a jerk as a chill ran down her spine from his proximity. It didn’t matter how long they were together. Her body still reacted like it was the first time. Sparks would dance across her skin, goosebumps would appear as they followed his lips where they trailed across her body, and her mind would melt
Juliet pushed up on her toes, wanting more, needing to be closer to him. The warm water felt nice and refreshing, but touching Matthew, being pressed against his wildly impressive form, was like touching an electric charge. She was sure that at any moment, she would be startled awake, but as Matthew stepped forward, making her move back, she felt completely out of control. Matthew didn't stop until she had her back to the cool shower wall, and he was consuming her. She lifted her leg, wrapping it around his hip, and Matthew released a deep, low groan of "Fuuuuccckkk," as he placed his tip at her entrance and slowly sank into her. They had only been apart for a few months, but it felt like ages. She welcomed him and his touch back greedily, gasping into his mouth as he pushed forward. "Tell me you're mine," Matthew insisted, thrusting quickly and taking her breath away as he entered her. "Oh my God!" Juliet cried out, her nails digging into his back, and yet, he only thru
Matthew hurried as he heard the shower turn on, eager to join his Juliet. He wanted to inspect every inch of her to see if she was telling the truth about doing better and healing, but he needed to finish locking down the house and doing mild surveillance. For the next two weeks, the U.S. Marshals would have someone posted nearby to blend in with the neighborhood as a precaution to ensure they hadn't been followed and that they were no active threat to them. Once they had, they would leave, and it would just be Matthew and Juliet all alone. He couldn't wait. He finished checking all the windows and doors, making a note of every neighbor whose windows allowed them sight into Matthew's new home, and he tried to memorize what area of the house each window granted the people in that home access to. He wanted to be sure he was fully informed and one step ahead of the enemy should they attack. The sound of Juliet dropping something made him pause, though, and he checked the lock on th
Juliet couldn't let him go even if she wanted to. Her body protested even the thought of releasing him, but Matthew seemed to feel the same way. He held her just as tightly, kissing her again deeply as if making up for lost time before a loud clearing of a throat disrupted them. "It's time to go." The Marshal said, but Juliet couldn't pull her eyes from Matthew. He walked her to the SUV and helped her inside, chuckling when she was reluctant to release him. "Let's go home," Matthew whispered, and Juliet nodded as the car was put into gear and the U.S. Marshal accelerated. "Where is home going to be?" "That information is classified." The Marshal said, and Juliet narrowed her eyes, unamused. "How is it classified when we are the ones going there?" Juliet asked, but she was fully distracted by Matthew's hand on her thigh. The heat of his touch burned through her jeans, and she leaned closer to him, her hands grabbing his arm as she tried to maintain as much contact as possible f
If she ever saw him again, she hoped he would give her a hard time for taking it. It was part of why she had taken it out of the box and put it on. “And I’m sorry again that I chopped you in the throat.” At this point, both let out a small laugh at the memory. “Would you also please tell Liam I appreciate you both for saving me? You also need to take care of Sophia. I know that you keep denying it, but it is so obvious that something is going on between you two whenever I bring her up.” Juliet had more that she wanted to say to everyone and more that she wanted to ask for him to pass along, but the most important thing she needed to say was to Matthew, and she left it written down in the letter she had written for him. “You’re not dying, you know,” Lucas said teasingly, turning the radio down to be nothing more than low background noise. “Don’t you worry, okay? We will take care of all this, and you will be home before you know it.” “For a special agent, you don’t take anything se
Juliet had felt sick even since Lucas got the call, alerting them that it was time for her to enter witness protection. They hadn't told her what had changed or why it was safe for her to be moved now versus before, but the lack of information was stressing her out. They surely should be able to tell her if something good had happened. At least, she hoped they would. It seemed reasonable that since it affected her, they could give her some sort of update, but they didn't.She was in the dark and very frustrated by the lack of information. “Are you ready yet?” Lucas asked with his boyish excitement. He was in charge of getting Julie to the U.S. Marshals, who would take over her care and get her to her new location. She wasn't ready, though, and had done everything but scrub the baseboards as a way to stall. That morning, she had taken a shower so long she almost questioned if it was possible to run out of cold water and had cleaned every surface of the house twice (much to Liam’s pr
Juliet was surprised that they stayed so long. Was she happy to be in one place? Yes. Was she sick of the canned beans and rice in the pantry? Absolutely. She refused to look because she was pretty positive they had expired a long time ago. Still, she kept her mouth shut because she knew it was better than the MREs. "Morning," Liam said, bursting into the bedroom, and Juliet sighed as she stared at the ceiling in boredom. At least he didn't say it was a good morning. That would be an outright lie. She had been watching the news every morning and every night, but there had been nothing so far. "Hm," Juliet hummed. "Have fun," Liam said, dropping a box onto the bed beside her, and Juliet's eyes shot wide open. The familiar logo and shape made her giddy with excitement. Juliet had grown bored and was getting impatient to the point of anger as she waited to hear news about Matthew. It didn’t help that she had to spend time each day practicing her new signature and re