"I don't believe that, there must be some other explanation.""If there is Jaxx I'd like to hear it. When I got back she was wearing one of my shirts, a shirt that was left on the boat. She admitted to swiping it from there but of course denied the other." "Of course she denied it you hardheaded son of a bitch. But did you listen? You know what I think? I think you're running scared. What happened brother, did she make you feel?" Figures! "What the fuck are you talking about Jaxx?""What am I talking about? We spent the few days you were gone with that girl and I'm telling you she didn't betray you, she doesn't have it in her. She's in love with you poor thing. I don't know what happened, I'd believe she took the shirt because females do that kinda wonky shit when they're in love, it doesn't matter how old they are. But planting that shit, no way. Why would she when she knows she's the first place you'd look?" That made sense but I still wasn't convinced. "M
"And you let 'er go...""Star, turn that shit off." Every time I come into my place she's blasting that shit."It's the radio big brother, I have no control.""My ass. What do you do? Look out the window for me and hit play the fuck?" Of course she ignored me. I hate this fucking song though every word is now stuck in my head. She and her husband and their brother and sister in law, my former family, have been riding my ass for the better part of a week. I'd skipped Sunday dinner, incurring the wrath of my mother but I hadn't been in the mood to play twenty questions. Instead I'd sat alone in my place contemplating the mess I'd made of my life. I should've stuck to my principles, should never have let her in. I guess the bureau had won after all. They couldn't put me away for life so they sent her to destroy me from the inside out. My lawyer was making minced meat out of their asses and they were all scrambling. But that wasn't enough to give me back what
"Come on Cierra, you've got to get out of here for a while. This can't be good for you, cooped up here all day." I pulled the covers higher around my shoulders and ignored Star as she moved around the room picking up stuff off the floor. Sabra had parked her fine rear end on the chair in the corner with a magazine in her hand. For the past few days it's been like this. The Bureau had put me on leave until the whole bug thing was sorted out. Even though Hank believed that I was the one responsible, that it had been that easy for me to deceive him, he had no idea the hell that had caused me with the agency. The bureau would never have sanctioned it in the first place, because whether he knew it or not, they were under strict orders from someone somewhere not to go near him. That was the reason for the director having such a hard on for him. It was as if there were two battles going on, on either side of him. One man was protecting him at all cost, while another was trying
I pushed myself on the treadmill until my calves burned and my lungs threatened to collapse. No matter how far or how fast I ran there was no escaping the thoughts in my head. It has been weeks and still she haunts me. I've done everything I can to prove her innocence with no results. All roads lead back to her. The girl I knew didn't seem capable, and that too is one of the reasons I've taken this so hard. The thought that she'd fooled me leaves me cold. My family seems to think that I'm in the wrong, that I should give her the benefit of the doubt, but how can I? It's not so much that she had done this thing, it's that I had trusted. That I can never forgive. The doorbell rang and I saw my brothers on the monitor. "What the fuck now?" I'm worn to the bone listening to them and their shit. Ever since the day they left here promising to get to the bottom of things, they haven't given me a minute's peace. Their latest scheme is that I'm insulting them as well seeing as h
I threw myself out of the chair I'd been sitting in stewing for the last half hour and headed for the door. The mood I'm in I should probably have the driver take me to her, but just like the last time this was best done alone. In the garage I at least kept a cool enough head to choose one of the only cars of mine I was sure my shadows knew nothing of. If I didn't like playing with their heads so much they'd never know when I was coming or going; but where was the fun in that for one of the world' most wanted men? I put all thoughts of being hunted and everything else from my mind, and went after her. I knew where she was of course. Even when I thought we were through I still knew where she was and what she was doing. Not sure why it mattered since I'd convinced myself that I wanted nothing to do with her ever again, but there you have it. I parked and made my way to her place the same way I had the first night I took her. It felt almost like starting over from
Her response was purely physical I knew, but it was more than I'd hoped for. I prayed that once I reclaimed her this way, the rest would be easy. All else aside, it was fucking amazing to be inside her again. Had I really believed I could live without this, without her? I'd only been lying to myself. I know that now. Even if she'd been guilty, what I felt for her would never have let me walk away forever. "Fuck Cierra, I missed you." I buried my face in her neck and rode high in her pussy until my balls slapped against the bottom of her ass cheeks. Her pussy opened and closed around my meat like a sucking mouth, compelling me to move faster. "Hold on baby, don't let me hurt you." I grabbed fistfuls of her hair and held her head back so I could look down into her eyes as I stroked in and out of her, nice and slow. "You're beautiful." She started that crying shit again. "Shh, baby stop crying. Look at me Cierra. I'm sorry; I'm sorry I hurt you; sorry I accused yo
Her voice was small and lost. The words tore at my heart and made me bleed. I snatched her up from the bed and headed for the door. She didn't ask where we were going, didn't do anything but put her head on my shoulder and her arms around my neck. I could feel the wetness of her tears as they fell against my skin and walked faster to my car, that I'd parked so carelessly. I folded her into the seat and buckled her in before heading to the driver's side. I got in next to her having no idea where the hell I was going. What was I supposed to do, how do I make this right? I took her cold hand in mine as I drove. I changed direction and headed to the pier, the infamous boat. She tensed up as soon as she saw the water but I reassured her quickly. "It's okay love, it's all over now." I lifted her hand to my lips as we pulled into the parking lot. I always left the boat stocked and well prepared just in case, but this was the first time it would be needed. I hel
For the next three days I bullied, threatened and even came close to spanking her ass a time or two. She refused to talk to me, and if I didn't force feed her she would've starved to death. Pain in my ass. Didn't know she had that much stubbornness in her little body. Each morning I took her up on deck for some fresh air. I talked, she ignored and then we fought when it was time for her to eat. Today was no different. I sat her on my lap and fed her the oatmeal I'd made her while enjoying the breeze coming off the water. It was almost time to head back but I didn't want to go back to the city with her still in a snit. "How long do you think I'll let this go on Cierra?" She was looking better today, even though she still wasn't saying shit to me. Stubborn little shit. I pushed the bowl away and pulled her closer into my chest with her head on my shoulder. She didn't stiffen or pull away; progress. I spoke softly as I rocked her and kept up a running conversatio
Christmas in New York! I'd spent the last week showing her the city. I had no idea the stalwart special agent was into this fluffy shit until I heard her giggle like a little girl each time her new sisters brought up Rockefeller Center and the abominable tree. Shit I hadn't even thought of doing in years was now on the menu. When she wasn't dragging my ass all over the city I was parked at my parents' house or one of my brothers. Ma is in heaven. She had them all eating out of her hand, the little sneak and I dared not piss her off or I'd have four angry women on my ass with their shit. She hadn't quite forgiven me for going to see Durant behind her back, and now she had something else to be pissed about. This was the third morning she'd puked up her guts and I'd finally told her that I'd fucked up her birth control. Durant to spite me, refused to put her ass behind a desk, so I found the next best way to get her there. Now I had her impaled on my cock with her
Oh good gracious, crazy man on the loose. He all but dragged me out of the restaurant and I didn't have time to say hello to the young man whom I'd finally remembered. He was an up and coming agent, we'd worked indirectly on a program together a few months earlier and that's why I'd had a hard time placing him. Minimal contact. Things had cooled a little during lunch but I felt his tension once we were leaving and we passed the table. He hadn't said two words to me on the way back to the hotel and I could feel a different kind of tension in the air when he dragged me into the elevator and pulled me down the hallway and into the room. He'd never touched me like this, with that sense of desperation. I didn't complain when he tore my nice blouse or at the way he dragged my slacks off and threw them. I did make a little squeak when he threw me to the bed and came down on top of me. He's so fiercely intense always, that sometimes I'm afraid he'd consume me with all h
I didn't even break a sweat when I drove into the enemy camp. The jovial, laid back husband was gone and in his place was a man ready to tear someone's throat out through their ass. I walked into the building like I knew where I was going, like I'd done it a thousand times. It was surreal to see my face on fucking posters all over the place. These fucks are demented. I ignored the stares and whispers as I headed to the big man's office."I'm here to see Durant." I stopped long enough to tell the secretary in the outer office but didn't wait for her reply."Sir wait you can't go in there." I opened the door and walked in on some kind of meeting. The man himself stood up from behind his desk. I could see surprise written all over his face but he wasn't prepared. "Mancini, what the hell do you want?" That's the best you can do after hunting my ass for ten years?I walked up until I was in his face or as close as I could get with the slab of mahogany between us. The
I covered her head and upper body with mine as glass flew and bullets rained down around us. I'm not one for emotion in the middle of battle, but the fucker was dead, he shot at my fucking wife. What the fuck! I waited for another break in the action and then with my body shielding hers, got her back to my car. "Hank I have to stay with my partner.""Stay your ass in this car I'll be right back." I went around the other side from where we'd come and looked for an opening. The shots had come from outside, closer to the water. There was still a good chance no one was inside with the girl if she was still here. The asshole agent was still out there where I'd left him I was guessing; amateur.I found a door and worked to pry it open. Inside the place was cavernous and the only light came from the moon and the stars through the filthy windows. I didn't have time to comb the place so I closed my eyes and opened up my senses. The first floor was too obvious so I ma
I sat in the room he offered and waited. It wasn't long before he came back with the kid in tow. "I'll take it from here thanks." He huffed a little but closed the door behind him when he left. The kid looked like he was about to shit his pants and I hadn't even started yet. I walked around his chair and stood behind him, crowding him. An old interrogation tactic to put him off center. I wanted his nerves shot by the time I asked him the first question. "Are you ready to go to jail for the rest of your life?" He turned his head and opened his mouth to speak but I shushed him. "Before you say anything, think very carefully. In another hour or so, your friend Sven is going to be released to his parents, leaving you and your little cousin holding the bag. His parents are already making plans to get him off the island and who knows where he'd go into hiding." I didn't know that for sure but I know how that type works. The truth is, unless this was a horse and pony s
I accepted the new information he brought and looked over all the Intel they'd gathered thus far. My mind was already processing and discarding. "You've checked the whole island and you've had divers out there already." I said it more like a statement. "Yes, that's protocol in a situation like this. Plus there were a few sightings near the beach." "What about these boys she was seen with?""There's nothing there." Not the question. I looked up from the report I was reading over and stared him down. "You have these boys in holding?" He didn't like the question and I quite frankly didn't give a fuck. "Yes, but we can't hold them for much longer. Without any evidence of foul play, you know..." Yes I know only too well. Another reason I resent the fuck out of law enforcement. They cater more to the criminal than the victim. Thank fuck I don't suffer from that stupidity. "And why have you come to the conclusion that they're not involved?" I almost expected him to
I leapt off the bed and headed for the closet where I kept my travel kit with everything I could possibly need for a job. "How long?" I didn't have to iterate, I knew he'd read between the lines."Four hours. She went on holiday with some kids from college. They went out on the town and she just disappeared from the club they went to. The girls didn't take any chances and sounded the alarm right away so at least we have that on our side." "The plane's ready I presume.""Yes, Tony has the location, you're heading to Bonaire. I don't have to tell you how important this is to me. Cassandra is a flighty little thing but she's dear to my heart. Bring her home Hank." "Send me everything you have." There had been a batch of murders involving cruise ships in the last couple years. Something not many people knew about since it wasn't broadcasted for obvious reasons. The assholes that be, were more interested in the money tourism brought in than preserving lives. I
"That wasn't so bad now was it?" I was dancing ma around the makeshift dance floor under the marquee she'd had set up in the garden behind the family home. The wedding I'd expected to have at the most ten people had turned into about seventy-five. Don't ask. Since Cierra had no real family, Gracie was her only guest and the rest were distant relatives and friends of the family that ma had dug up from somewhere. "No, it came together quite well for all the notice you gave me.""You loved it. I had no doubt that you could do it." I kissed her cheek and spun her around, making her laugh like a little girl. "She's lovely Hank, I'm proud of you.""How come?" That was an odd thing to say."Because for the longest time I despaired of you ever finding the right girl and settling down. The girls and I had many discussions about it and we all agreed, you were a mess when it comes to women." "What girls? Sabra and Star?" Figures. "And what was wrong with the women I
Whatever, I'll just have to talk her into staying put in the city. We pulled into the short driveway of the ranch style house just as the sun was going down. A middle-aged man came to the door and looked out. I would've known him anywhere since I'd spent a lot of time researching all the players in this game. I probably had a better dossier on them than they had on me, something for which I was eternally grateful since it was about to come in handy. He recognized me as soon as I stepped out the car and I could see the indecision written on his face. Fucker wanted to go inside and slam the door in my face, but the intrigue of my very presence kept him where he was. "I'm guessing no introductions are necessary, but you might be wondering what I'm doing here.""You could say that. What is this? Have you come to turn yourself in?" He grinned in a way only a demented spook could but I didn't return it."No." I let that sink in until the stupid look dropped off his face.