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Confessions
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Italy With A Duke Assembling
“There’s no time for a strategic assault plan, Jay.” Shrugging into a tactical vest, Duke tightened the Velcro straps around him. “Your resident technonerd has confirmed they’re holding a prisoner in the lower level. A prisoner they’ve been interrogating using physical violence. And that’s after they drugged her.” The kidnappers’ villa was a crumbling fifteenth century fortress, built of thick stone walls and with a nebulous interior. The sole advantage that Duke could see was that the place was in poor repair, and that the Tuscan Forest of cypress, oak, chestnut and cedar that had been cleared to build it had returned. Growing close on the grounds, the encroaching trees provided excellent cover for storming the place. He reached into the weapons trunk in the back of the cramped van, selecting from it what he wanted of the holstered handguns, knives and rifles available. Nearby, Jay tugged a Kevlar glove onto one hand, flexing his fist to seat it properly. “I understand that her saf
Italy With A Duke Assault
Caitlyn’s anguished cry stung through her split lip, but she couldn’t have suppressed it if she’d tried. The entire scene before her unfolded like some unspeakable nightmare as Richards’ ‘boss’ unholstered his sidearm and fired it directly into the thigh of one of the men standing in the cell with him. Her eyes squeezed shut, her tears leaving icy trails down her cheeks, but even the ring of her cry off the stone walls couldn’t drown out the sound of the wounded man’s body striking the cell floor or his burbling groan of misery and pain. “Dr. Maddox, you’re trying my patience,” Mitchell Jantzi warned. ‘Patience’!? Her eyes flew open wide, her terror reflected there. For a second they lingered on Jantzi standing above her, then flicked to the downed man, blood spurting over his fingers clutching the wound and running in a growing pool of red varnish across the hard stone floor. The others in the cell with her stood rooted to their spots, vigilant and wary.
Italy With A Duke First Strike
Though Jay kept Duke pinned to the ground, one hand shot to his earpiece. Morse code dots and dashes clicked rapidly in his ear, a hasty relay of the information that his infiltrators—codenamed for chess pieces—had gleaned from their stealthy intrusion into the crumbling Florentine villa. Lifting his knee off of Duke’s back, he got to his feet and his opposite hand shot to his two-way radio. “I want all knights to meet Al on channel three-point-six. Al, you relay directly to me with the bishops on four-point-two. Knights one, two and three—take the north and east entrances. Knights, four, five and six—you’re on the south and west. Remaining knights, you’re with me.” He extended a hand, pulling Duke to his feet as he continued issuing brusque orders. “Safeties off. I want the first level secured in three minutes. Use gas to force any escapees into the lower level and drive them out the northwest stairwell to us. Do not engage them while they have the hostage.” Without waiting for fur
Italy With A Duke Standoff
Without hesitation, Duke reached for his holstered gun. He took aim down the barrel of Richards’ handgun, stunned to find the man’s attention directed elsewhere. Badly bruised and covered in blood, Caitlyn stood, a government-issue revolver, like Richards’, gripped in her hand. Her dark hair was disheveled and matted with dried blood, and an ugly bruise stained her cheek, spreading towards one eye. Her bottom lip was split and caked with dry blood, the smears of it discoloring along her delicate jaw and neck. Though slight, the hands that clutched the firearm were rock-steady, and it was obvious from her stance she wasn’t a stranger to guns. She had the revolver pointed squarely at Richards’ head. A rush of admiration flooded him in tandem with the torrent of relief. He’d gotten here in time. She was alive. Breathing. For the moment. “If you pull that trigger, reflexively, I will pull mine, Dr. Maddox,” Richards warned softly, staring her down with steely eyes. “And this time I’m a
Italy With A Duke Crafty
One of Jay’s medics tended to Caitlyn’s injuries in the van on the drive back to Florence under Duke’s watchful eye. Beside her, Rachel fussed over her like a mother hen, periodically sparing a brief, blatantly hostile glance towards the smirking Jay, who eyed her like a predator does a particularly tasty snack. Shell-shocked and still fighting the effects of the drug in her system, Caitlyn stared sightlessly out the rear window. Duke knew her thoughts were a private fortress of hell that she’d built to protect the rest of them, but he also knew her well enough to know he couldn’t force her out of it. He’d have to lay siege, then gently coax her into negotiations to talk through her mental anguish. Still, he struggled with her silence, particularly after what she’d experienced and witnessed. “Darlin’? You okay?” he asked gently, his voice low and soothing, the way he’d talk to a skittish horse. Her warm toffee eyes dilated and focused, and she stared at him,
Italy With A Duke Safe-keeping
“Caitlyn.” She must’ve fallen asleep because Duke’s low rumbling voice penetrated her consciousness through a sludgy haze, along with the recognition of the gradual slowing of the van they were traveling in. A soft groan escaped her as she opened her eyes—or at least mostly opened them. One had swollen nearly shut from the abuse she’d taken, and her head ached miserably with the residual of the drug in her system. She startled, flinching violently at the ruckus and chatter that ensued as the van stopped and the sliding door was flung open. “Dr. Maddox?” Jay extended a hand to her to help her out of the vehicle, staring at her with a quizzical expression when she refused to take it with a tight shake of her head. “Um. Duke?” Beside him, Rachel turned. “Caitlyn?” Caught in the irrational grip of fear, Caitlyn froze, sucking in air in shallow little hisses through her parted lips. Behind her, Duke gave a silent jerk of his head towards Jay. With
Italy With A Duke Widow
Tears welled in Caitlyn’s liquid caramel eyes and he could see her flinch as the salt stung the tender abrasions and cuts in her abused skin. Releasing her chin, he caressed her hair and brushed a light kiss against her forehead. “Never mind, darlin’. Whatever it is, it’ll wait. I’m here and I’m not leaving you. Not ever again.” Swallowing around the lump in her throat, she shook her head against his chest, too afraid to look up and confront the emotions in his eyes. “Be-before you commit to those things, you need to know,” she said quietly. His heavy man-sigh penetrated all the way to her heart, piercing and sharp. “What do I need to know?” “You heard—wh-what he said.” Wrapped in his arms as she was, she felt his simple nod. Duke had heard a few things—enough. At least for his own peace of mind. He couldn’t imagine there being more. Certainly nothing that he couldn’t reconcile his conscience to about Agent Richards or his former boss, Jantzi. “You h-heard what I—what I said?” “
Italy With A Duke Confession
Caitlyn sucked in a sharp breath through parted lips that ached from the splits in them. She wished she hadn’t said that—it had come out in the worst possible way and there was no way to reverse it. Her eyes squeezed shut, the swollen one shooting a lancing pain into her head. Pressing against Duke’s chest, she would have pulled away, but his arms tightened around her, refusing her escape. He shook his head. “No. Stay right where you are. I’ve spent three years watching you from a distance. In love with a woman that I wasn’t supposed to have. I’m tired of the space between us,” he told her in a harsh whisper, an edge to his voice that sent a shiver racing over her. “Whatever this is, Caitlyn. Whatever you’ve done, you need to tell me. That’s all I ask. And you need to know, whatever it is, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you go.” “Duke, I—.” He silenced her protest with a kiss, tender against her abused lips despite the severity of his words. There was no
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Italy With A Duke Afterwards
Tucking the thin parcel under his arm to hold it, Duke pressed his thumb against the biometric security lock at the lab door, then entered his security code. When the door released, he pulled it open, then closed behind him. He stopped in the entry room, juggling Caitlyn’s package between hands to don his long, white lab coat and a pair of safety glasses. “Hey Paula.” He gave his wife’s lab worker a polite smile and nod as he passed through the wet lab between the aquarium racks teeming with zebra fish. “Hi Duke. She’s in at the microscope.” “Thanks.” On the opposite side of the room, he passed through another door into the main laboratory space, a generous work area with water-resistant flooring, provisions for tissue cultures, microscopy, cell cultures and chemical prep rooms outfitted with biological safety cabinets. Immediately, he spotted his wife. As he’d been advised, Caitlyn was seated at one of the sturdy laboratory tables before a microscope
Italy With A Duke Rock and a Hard Place
Turning the knob slowly, Duke eased the latch free and peered around the door into the bedroom of his suite with Caitlyn. Piercing green eyes landed instinctively on the bed, where she lay with her back to him. Her knees were curled up towards her chest, her shoulders rolled forward almost protectively. Closing the door as silently as he’d opened it, he covered the few paces to the bedside without a sound. She’d slept a lot in the last few days—healing, she’d told him. It was a sentiment reiterated by the medic with Jay’s team. But even though something about that sat wrong with him, he wasn’t going to wake her. If she was able to sleep, then her body needed the rest. All he needed was to be close to her, even if that didn’t involve touching or holding her. He’d have preferred if it involved touching and holding her. He wanted to saturate himself in her beauty, in the yielding sweetness of her warm body, to let his own stress and fear dissipate. Even if only for a little while. Al
Italy With A Duke Debriefing
“Mr. Ellis,” the low voice droned, filling the small sitting. It belonged to a man clearly used to issuing orders that were obeyed. For a call of this magnitude, Allie had gathered their ragtag band— Jay, Duke, Caitlyn and herself—in her suite on the Italian Riviera. When it was all said and done, it had been easier getting to the awaiting boat than Caitlyn had anticipated. Of course, gravity tended to work that way. As soon as Dex had placed a portion of his weight upon it, as Duke had anticipated, the damaged and rusted grate over the collapsing drainage shaft had groaned loudly then given way, unceremoniously dumping the three of them into the open air. Immediately, Duke had deployed the parachute to slow their fall. The fire-heated sea drafts had carried them in a descending spiral, out over the frigid water of the Adriatic where they’d landed safely. Dex slipped the makeshift harness before they’d resurfaced and struck hard for the boat, bringing it along
Italy With A Duke Risky
Caitlyn heaved forcefully as the choking fumes were piped down her throat and into her lungs, singing the sensitive passageways. She collapsed into the muck in a spasming heap. “Duke!” Squeezing onto his side, Dex dragged himself alongside the hacking, weakly thrashing woman as she clawed at her throat. Glancing back, Duke cursed. “Can you pull her?” Another rumbling explosion rocked the tunnel. This time, bits of dust and pebbles tumbled from between the stones above them. “Oh hell.” “Uh-huh. Got it.” Dex wrapped an arm around the floundering woman’s hips and braced his feet on opposite sides of the tunnel. With one arm and using the slime on the bottom to reduce the friction from their weight, he inched them both toward the exit. In the lead, Duke watched the struggling pair, debating whether he should go ahead and prepare for the jump to their escape or wait until they caught up so he could take Caitlyn from the other man. Both thoughts were immedi
Italy With A Duke Cut and Run
“Alex!” she breathed, starting forward when he raised a violently shaking hand towards her. His thin mouth opened in silent accusation and supplication. Then both Dex and Duke were turning her, one on each upper arm with a firm grip. They propelled her swiftly through the hidden door. “Duke, the latch,” Dex ordered as they rushed into the narrow passageway. He pointed at the door, then reached for the switch to reconnect his communication equipment. “Knight 2 and 3. Asset acquired. Allie, we could use an exit plan.” As Duke released her, Caitlyn jerked herself free of Dex’s grasp. She flung herself at the door. “No! He needs my help!” Ramming the bolt home, he pivoted and grasped her by the upper arms. “Caitlyn!” he snapped harshly, shaking her once to get her attention as the light dimmed to nothingness. “No matter what he did to stay alive before, you can’t save him now.” “You don’t know that!” she cried to the darkness.
Italy With A Duke Verdict of the Fates
“Caitlyn!” The lump of stone that had become his heart leapt into Duke’s throat with ringing alarm. “Shut your mouth, you worthless whore!” Alex jerked the pistol at her furiously. “How dare you even speak to me like that!?” A soft gasp escaped her and she took a step backwards, closer to Duke and the meager amount of safety he presented as Alex advanced on her. She'd intended to provoke him. This was a much bigger reaction than she'd anticipated. “You have no idea! No fucking idea how I felt having to squat just to stand in your shadow!” His vicious words spat at her through clenched teeth. His bourgeoning rage scorched over her, filling the tiny antechamber with its malevolent presence. “You don’t know what it’s like to have your life’s work—the epitome of your creativity and intelligence— shown up and disproven by some pathetic little girl who refuses to see potential! To watch as you dusted your hands of it, like everything I did wa
Italy With A Duke Senza Umanità
Except in photographs, Duke had only ever seen Alex Maddox once—the day the man’s body had been moved from the hospital morgue to the funeral home where Caitlyn had made final arrangements. Frankly, he didn’t look much better now than he had in the body bag, even if he did technically have a pulse. But he had no doubt in Caitlyn’s recognition. Whatever Alex had put himself through to create the illusion that he was dying, it clearly hadn’t been without lasting effect. Not that he’d ever been particularly robust anyway. True, he hadn’t been the stereotypical scrawny, bespectacled and pocket-protected scientist obsessing over his collection of tribble plushies. Like his med school performance, Alex Maddox had been average. Average height and weight, average build, average looks. Though Duke never would have guessed it studying the skeletal creature leveling a pistol at his weeping wife. He had been fastidious about his appearance—getting a haircut every 28 days without fail and only w
Italy With A Duke Vengeance Denied
Frozen in place and unable to turn away, Caitlyn watched the violence of the wild seizures as Tommaso thrashed on the hard stone floor. Each second that ticked away was a new horror as her potent chemical cocktail took effect. Within seconds, the man’s uncontrolled muscle spasms had pulled bones from joints or outright snapped them. His respirations turned into hiccupping gasps, shallow and forced and his skin flushed dark red from the fierce pounding of his heart.And then it was over.As a physician, she knew what the man’s final second had involved and she gagged, stumbling backwards a few steps knowing that she’d caused it. Catching herself with one slim hand on the edge of a lab table, she crashed to her knees and vomited. Like pulling the trigger of the gun aimed at Agent Richards, it had been too easy—far too easy to kill.She gave a weak sob, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Even with Duke’s words in her head, she knew that until she reached her foul captor’s ch
Italy With A Duke Best Laid Plans
“Knight 1. In position,” Jay drawled lazily through the comms, and Duke couldn’t suppress his grin. Both he and Jay were uncomfortable, but there hadn’t been time to develop a full-scale assault plan. At most, they might get twenty-four hours before Caitlyn was either killed or sold to another terrorist group. They’d already lost seven and half hours just getting to her location. They couldn’t afford to wait. A few seconds after, Dex’s acknowledgement hissed through his earpiece. “Knight 2. In position.” Ignoring the brief bursts of chatter through his comms, Duke reached for another handhold, and pulled himself up the sheer face of the cliff on the ocean-facing side of the stone fortress. A hot twinge of pain shot along his nerves from his shoulder, as the numbing medication wore off. He gritted his teeth against it, continuing his climb. Of course, they had the benefit of some of the most advanced surveillance equipment in the world, and arguably the most brilliant mind to opera
