"It's morning, time to rise and shine." I woke to a chipper and very excited Chantal. I, too, had had one of my best night's sleep, but she seemed to be on another plane altogether."What's gotten into you?" Her answering smile was infectious, and I couldn't help grinning right along with her as I stretched in bed."Did you feel something last night when we were sleeping?""Like what?" Chantal doesn't do drugs, so I knew her behavior wasn't because of some chemical imbalance, but she was being very unlike herself."I don't know how to explain it; it felt like I was being watched over by my guardian angel, I didn't need to keep my guard up, and I was able to sleep in a strange place without too much effort.""Your guardian angel?""Uh-huh!" I pretended to check her forehead for fever while frowning concernedly."You don't feel hot, so I don't know...." She swatted my hand away, making us both laugh which somehow turned into a pillow fight with squealing and yelling like infants.A knock
Garret's words stopped me in my tracks, cooling my anger immediately. "Show me. Mace, no one out, no one in." I followed the others outside where Wolf was waiting."Tell me! Where are they? Is the place secure?""We didn't go there yet; we just heard the sounds coming from behind a wall and came to get you.""So, you don't know if there are cameras or anything else back there.""Exactly, we came back for the necessary equipment and to alert you before we go in.""Hold it. Wolf, did anyone seem suspicious when you told them to move out of there?""I didn't tell them anything.""How did you…? What method did you use?""Subliminal.""Where did you send them?""They should all be in their own homes by now, feeling overly sleepy and ready for bed. If one of them is responsible even if they have the place monitored, they won't be able to see us right now.""Still, we should move with care. Garret, Sebastian, go get what you need and meet us over there. Wolf, make sure the perimeter is secure
I knew she was faking, had felt her body tense when she realized what she'd done. Or maybe she'd felt my dick growing beneath her ass. No, I'd positioned the blanket between us, not for that purpose, of course, but it was a lucky call. It was her hair, the scent of it, or was it the fact that this was the first time I was holding her and could feel her?Her running into my arms earlier doesn't count; I was too focused on her fear and protecting her to think about anything else. But now, now she's in my lap, and she feels soft and delicate, her slight form so much smaller than mine, reminding me just how easily breakable, almost fragile even she is, and then there's that thumb in her damn mouth.I figure she was too embarrassed to move it though I couldn't see it, but I would certainly feel it since she had her face smashed against my chest with her hand caught between us. Why did you look up at me just then, Silla? This close, I could see the specks in her eyes, like waves in the ocean
"Are you fucking kidding me? What do you mean you can't get to them? Where are they?""They're in the same place as before, but the new guy has it locked down.""What? Why? Did he find them? Has the operation been compromised?" Just another headache I don't need. I knew I should've looked into this guy myself."No-no, it's nothing like that. The whole place is crawling with bugs; there's even one of those tarps over it like they do when there are termites." I held his face in my hand. Why was everything going to shit all of a sudden? And why did it only start happening after that kid moved here? First, I'd lost the girl who was going to be bringing in way more than my usual cut since it was a side deal that no one else knew about, and now this cluster fuck. At first, I'd been skeptical. I was afraid it was too good to be true, that maybe it was some sort of sting operation by the Feds, but I was sure that no one suspected me of a thing.I'd gone to great lengths over the years to cove
"Silla, I'm going out for a minute." He stood in the doorway to the bedroom where I was hanging out with Chantal watching stuff on YouTube on her phone. As soon as I saw him, I remembered yesterday afternoon, and my face grew hot. I'd been spared last night because Gabriel left the house and didn't come back until I was in bed, and I'd done my best to forget the whole incident. Of all the times to fall back into old habits, and of all the habits to have. At least I didn't twirl my hair around my finger like a toddler. Still, I'd rather gnaw off my thumb than do that in front of him again. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, Silla." His voice wasn't quite commanding, but it was authoritative all the same."Okay!" I finally answered him, trying to make my voice sound as strong as I could as I sat up and tried to force myself to face him. He sighed when all I did was look down at my folded hands on my lap after one quick peep at him from beneath my lashes. Wolf appeared from out of now
"They went to the clubhouse." The clubhouse where I'd set a trap for whoever had put those kids in there. Wolf's body was pulsating or some shit in the seat next to me on the passenger side until I put him out of his misery. "Go!" The word was barely out of my mouth before he jumped out of the damn moving vehicle and sprinted into the night.Thank heaven we weren't too far from the house since all the buildings were on the property, but I knew Wolf would still get to them before I did; go figure. Sometimes I think he's actually part what he was named for. The guys have had a running joke about that very thing for years now, but all Wolf would do is smirk in a way that didn't confirm or deny. Whatever the hell he is, it's all good.I know I was only thinking about this silly shit to keep my mind off of worrying about her or paying close attention to the fear that had clogged my throat from the moment he said those words back there. When had she become more than part of the job? I have n
What was that? Just what in the hell was that? The burn of jealousy is new and unwanted. When she mentioned my friend with that note of interest in her voice something inside me reared its ugly head. I know it's ugly because the feeling was dark as fuck. Dark and almost feral.I barely restrained myself from putting my hands around her neck and lucky for her, I heard the truth in her words when she said she was just curious because he looks so different from the rest of us. I'm not sure what I would've done had it been anything else and that kinda puts me on edge. I'd gone from zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye, but as soon as I heard her explanation, the rough places became smooth again.Still, I don't want her showing that kind of interest in anyone. Really? I thought you weren't interested, so what's it to you? I told the voice in my head to fuck off as I walked into the house and headed down to the gym. I was in no frame of mind to ream out my team for letting them leave. Ev
I had no idea what I planned to do when I dragged her along behind me. I was still pissed at her, but now I wasn't sure what I was more upset about, her leaving the house or her asking me about another man. That nastiness I'd felt at her question was still in my gut, but once we reached the office and closed the door, something else caught my attention and sent me on a whole new course of action. I sniffed the air again just to be sure, and her scent slammed into me like a sledgehammer to the chest.I looked at her in disbelief, and a feeling of betrayal assailed me as knives twisted in my gut. The feelings were alien to me, and my response was automatic. My natural reflex kicked in, and I had her backed up against the wall with my hand around her throat before she knew what was happening or before I could stop myself."Why the fuck are you in heat?" I looked into her eyes which went from scared to aroused in a matter of seconds."I'm.... I'm not.""Yeah, you are; I can smell you. Don'
This is insane. I thought I had it under control, but I didn’t expect the night to be like this. It wasn’t because of all the people that were here in the arena, though it had to be at full capacity, which was around two hundred and fifty thousand people, give or take about ten. No, what was bothering the hell out of me was the fact that my girl was in the middle of this shit. I didn’t think it would bother me this much, especially since I knew that there was no danger here, that the whole tunnel thing was the only thing going on, and the other players had already been taken down, but I couldn’t shake it off. I had this feeling like the feeling you get when someone has you in their crosshairs, but you don’t know which direction they’re in. It could be a case of transferred anxiety because Lyon has been ranting and raving since he got here about some shit going down. It was hell trying to hide my thoughts and feelings from Silla, who was happier than I’d ever seen her. Part
Lieutenant Morgan was more excited about the tickets than even I expected. She was so distracted that that excitement led to her being the one who invited me to tour the tunnels. I didn’t have to use my well-rehearsed speech to talk her into anything. It was so easy I almost grew suspicious until I remembered that this was just like the woman I know. She had no reason to suspect me of anything, and with my clearance, she’d see no issue letting me on site. But as we walked and talked, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone else seemed to know her as well. Namely Lyon’s daughter. But how was that possible? I’m pretty sure the kid never met her in the flesh. While she talked about how excited her kid was going to be I was looking around for anything that would give any indication that there was more going on here and saw nothing. Not that I didn’t believe Lyon, I did, but that’s how good the operation was. We hopped into a golf cart, and she drove deeper into the tunne
“Where did you go? Did you have fun?” I tried not to sound too much like I was grilling her, but Flanagan and Quinn had me a bit paranoid with the things they’d said about their women and the shit they got up to. Not that I expect Silla to do any of those things; my little innocent is too sheltered for that. But there are other issues at hand. Like the fact that I’d only just started to convince myself that with Sam out of the picture, she was no longer in any danger, plus the fact that the mess I’d just waded through was geared toward kids, so she wasn’t in any real danger here. But I don’t know why I get the feeling that the guys are holding something back. I think Lyon might have told them to ease me into it, which begs the question of just how much worse it can get. I still have no idea what it is that they want me to do in the tunnels or even if I’d actually get the chance. Just because I’m military doesn’t mean they’ll roll out the red carpet, especially if they’re using
I guess Flanagan was wrong after all because the places the women drove to just seemed to be the usual tourist traps. They did take a little detour on the way back, but it seemed to be a more scenic route, something anyone might do when visiting a new place. It can’t be overlooked the fact that the mountains here are some of the most beautiful in the country. “I guess they did only go for a joyride after all.” I made the distinction out loud when I saw Flanagan and Quinn mapping the route they’d taken. “It’s good that you think that.” “What do you mean?” “Not sure yet; I’ll let you know when we figure out what they’re up to. I have to get this information to Lyon.” He reached for his phone while I went back to what I was doing, feeling at ease for the first time in hours since she left. Every once in a while, one of my boys would make a sound of disgust from across the room, but since I’d already given them the option to bow out, which they all refused, I saw it a
“What’s wrong boss? Something bothering you?” Mace asked me quietly as I watched the door where the women had just left. “No, it’s not that.” I couldn’t give him an answer because I didn’t know what it was that was making me twitchy about the whole thing. I wasn’t sure if it was my natural sixth sense or my new overprotectiveness where she was concerned. It didn’t help that Lyon’s men didn’t look too settled either at the idea of their women going joyriding in the middle of an Op. Maybe that was it. This whole situation has left me feeling more bereft than my first firefight. I’d rather dodge bullets in the desert than deal with this evil shit that I’d been pouring over for the last few hours. How anyone could deal with this shit day in and day out and not lose part of themselves is beyond me. It's only been a few hours, and my skin is already starting to crawl. Now, I’ve always known that men can be evil monsters; I’ve seen some of the worst they can do to each other, or
Shit, blast and damn. How do I leave her behind without hurting her feelings? She’s so dang innocent; I was sure a rebuff, though not meant to be one, would hurt her feelings. Was I ever this innocent? No, but some of my new sisters used to be when we first met, so I know the signs. I was thinking hard about a plausible excuse when she clapped her hands across her mouth and looked at me like she’d committed a crime.“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean… I just got so relaxed with you two; it’s like we’ve known each other forever. I didn’t mean to overstep; I’ll just go back to the room and leave you two alone.” She rambled off the words before starting to walk away, and both Kelly and I had to stop her. Okay, this one might be more sheltered than the others, and it almost broke my heart. Over the last couple of years, I’d come to recognize the signs of past trauma in women, and she had a boatload. “No, you didn’t overstep. I was just worried about how your man would r
This is happening. Things have been moving really fast in the last few days and the honeymoon was over. True to his word, Lyon had sent in a crew, or squad as he calls them. Two couples, the men seeming just as anxious as I was, having their women close to this shit. I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to do this, keeping the women in the dark, I mean. But I needn’t have worried because Quinn and Shane knew exactly what they were doing when it came to that part of the Op. Silla, I was happy to see, was only too happy to make two new friends, and these women must’ve taken classes or something because they had her hooked in no time at all. I’d barely seen her interactions with Chantal back at the house, but it was good to see that she played well with others. There was no cattiness among these women and I couldn’t help but notice the difference between these two, Arianna and Kelly and Nikki. It’s been days since I even thought about her, but I guess I figured one headach
I looked these people up when I had a chance, and I have to say, Lyon and his kid do get around. I wouldn't have pegged him for the type, but then again, what do I know? Silla was all but jumping out of her skin with excitement ever since I mentioned their names, but I have to count that as a plus since it kept her even more in the dark about what was really going on. I brought my boys up to speed on things later that night once she'd knocked herself out after playing Rodeo Queen on my dick. At least the news knocked the disrespectful smirks off my team's faces, and they switched gears from sticking their noses in my shit and got down to the business we were there for. "I'm only telling you now because it's been finalized on their end. When Lyon called earlier, it was just an idea they were playing around with, but now, apparently, it's a done deal. Here's the thing…" I filled them in on what Lyon had shared in his latest phone call, i.e., the fact that this Ryder person's past con
Penance, it has got to be. I can't come up with any other reason for me to be dealing with this mess right now. I've always prided myself on being at the top of my game in any given situation, but this shit has thrown me for a loop. For what has got to be the first time in my adult life, I find myself in a situation that I'm not completely in control of. Right now, I should be focused on the job; nothing is more important than that, at least there didn't used to be. But now, even with the danger I was sure was here, given the Intel we'd collected so far, all I could think about was her. And not even in a sexual, I wanna jump her bones every time I see her kind of way, but more like how can I put her in my pocket and keep her safely away from all this shit type of thing. It's not something I expected, not to this degree anyway, and no one ever told me that these things could happen, and if they had, I'd have said not to me. But I am living it, so it's real, and that brings me back t