"Who the hell are you people anyway? And what do you want with me?" She finally turned back to the room, and I had to remind myself how to put two words together; the woman was unbelievably gorgeous. Like the kind of gorgeous, you only expect to see in the movies. Granted, Ash and her new friends are nothing to sneeze at, but who'd risk looking at any of them long enough to see just how beautiful they really are?I'm not a small guy, and I'm sure I can hold my own pretty much in any given situation. But from what little I'd gathered in the short time I've known them, their husbands aren't exactly the forgiving types when it comes to their women, and they seem very possessive. It took Lyon damn near ten minutes to say goodbye to his wife, and the two of them already have a whole damn football team and then some between them. The SEALs hadn't been any different, and Law looked like he was going to cry when he had to give his son up to leave to come here. And why am I thinking about
Just what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time, Roxy? I tried to remember where I'd gone wrong when it was that I'd left a clue behind or a trail for them to follow. Nothing came to mind, which made me even more nervous. For all that, the hot one kept reassuring me that I wasn't in danger. It's been a long time since I've trusted anyone, and I'm not about to start.With that thought, my mind went to my uncle Mike. He's going to worry if I don't check in soon. The thought made my stomach hurt, and I felt the need to get out of there even stronger. Uncle Mike is the closest thing to family I have left. Mom's family had pretty much disowned her when she married my dad and moved here, and dad didn't have any family to speak of when they met.When I came along, it was just the three of us, and uncle Mike who had been a regular at the dinner table on Sundays and could always be found hanging out in the garage with dad when they were stateside. After dad died, uncle Mike had s
"Since we know the deal, we'll help him through, though none of our women can kick our ass. I think she can take him." The conversation grew light for a second after Connor's comment as we reminisced about the way she'd flung the doc across the room with one hand to the throat. Jason joined us not long after looking a bit sheepish at the way he'd gone wolfhound on our asses in the kitchen, and another round of teasing began."Where is she?""She's tired. I took her back up to bed. So, what's the plan?" I went with my gut since everyone was looking at me for the answer. "We'll follow your lead on this one kid, so what will it be?" He seemed surprised at my offer, but as a man, I know how that sh*t feels when it involves your woman. It doesn't matter how new that feeling of ownership is, that sh*t digs in deep from the get.If anyone had tried to stand in my way when I was going after Kat's fine ass, there'd have been bloodshed and missing body parts all over the place. I'm not f*c
My life had been mapped out for me a long time ago. Ever since the day I was ripped away from my mother and the only life I knew and thrown into the depths of hell. There was no one to care about my screams then, no one to shield and protect me from the horror of having my eight-year-old body violated by grown men and women. Now it's too late. So whatever goodwill bullsh*t they were on is totally lost on me. I don't need saving, and I definitely don't need anything in my life that's going to stand in the way of me getting revenge against the ones who hurt me. Had it been a few years earlier, maybe I'd have been won over by the beautiful house with the frilly sh*t on the bed and windows, maybe I'd have fallen victim to the fluttering heart thing that happens when hottie gets close, but it's too late for that.I made up my mind that I wasn't interested even though a part of me wished I could give in, the part of me that was bone tired. I've been going on autopilot for so long with n
I had a big stupid grin on my face as I followed her inside until I remembered her past, and it struck me hard in the gut that after all, she'd been through maybe it wasn't such a good idea to just grab her and kiss her like that. I felt sick to my stomach at the reminder, and my attitude took a nosedive. What the f*ck is wrong with me? That's not like me at all. But she was being so damn adorable with her combat sh*t , and I've wanted to since the moment we met. I've wanted to do a lot of things with her, to her since the moment we met, but for once, I'm at a loss as to how to proceed with a woman.This is something I'd usually talk to my brother about to get another perspective from the person I trust most in life, but he wasn't here, and I had a more pressing issue on my hands. It's as if that kiss had opened up a window in my mind, and I realized that I couldn't treat Roxana the way I would anyone else. As tough as she is, and I don't think for a second that she's pretending,
I know my brother had only agreed because he trusted a few of the others, like Blade and Summers, and had dealt with Lyon once or twice in the last year and had grown some kind of fondness for the guy. I stopped my little mind fart when she jumped off the bed and grabbed her stuff. "Let's go!""What?" Is this some kind of trick? I thought for sure I was going to have a battle on my hands."What do you mean?""You said we have to be out of here soon, right, so let's go." I looked at her trying to read her, but she wasn't giving anything away. "Why the sudden change of heart?" I looked at her skeptically as I tried to recall if I'd said anything that would've facilitated this, but there was nothing that jumped out at me.Surely it wasn't my talk about the FEDs closing in on her. I got the feeling she didn't give a sh*t about that. So what the hell just happened to make her this damn agreeable? To say that I'm suspicious of her actions is an understatement. But still, this is what
I closed my eyes as soon as the plane took off and pretended not to notice the way he'd positioned himself as if to stand between me and the others. The guy sure was trying hard, but I had more pressing things on my mind. Can it really be her? If so, what a monumental coincidence.I reached over to the bag in the seat next to me and patted it down, making sure I could feel the little lump made by the sheets of paper I had hidden in the lining. They would be hard to find unless you knew they were there in the first place, but of everything I kept there, including my weapons, those documents were the most important.I let my mind playback over the last few hours as the smoothness of the flight threatened to put me to sleep. Not that that was going to happen. It's been years since I've been able to sleep with anyone else in the vicinity. The first few years after I'd been taken, I'd spent each night in terror; in fact, from the time the sun started making its descent in the sky some e
"I have to get the hell off this island.""You need to calm down.""Don't tell me to calm down, mob boy, you heard what he said up there. Someone put a hit out on my mom, and it's not who I thought it was all these years. These people that he's talking about, I have to find them, I have to…" I was starting to shake. I was so mad.'This is probably why my dad and uncle didn't come. They knew what he was going to reveal.""They'll be here later; you can kick their ass then. Right now, I need you to think about our kids and keep a cool head. Too many f*cking unknowns around here right now."He wasn't lying, there had to be at least close to a hundred and fifty people on this island right now, and that's not counting the security detail. Anyone watching wouldn't think anything was going on since there were pregnant women and children here, but you only needed to step foot on the place to feel the underlying current.I don't know what I expected when we accepted the invitation t
Why do I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop in this place? I feel like I've fallen down the rabbit hole, but I've never done drugs, not willingly at least, and not since the ones that had been foisted on me to keep me in line came to an end with my escape. Yet, it feels like I've lived ten lifetimes in the few days I've been here.I'm warily cautious of accepting both Jason and the doctor's words that I'm pregnant, but he seems so sure. Even the way he touched me just now was different, so there's no doubt that he believes his own words. I don't feel any different, obviously, since we'd only just started having sex, and as far as I know, it would be way too early to tell. But if I add up all the strange things that have transpired in the last few days, I guess this would fit right in."How are you feeling?" Mr. Lyon drew my attention from watching Jason's retreating back."I'm fine; why does everyone keep asking me that?""The longer you're here, the more you'll come to re
Roxana was grumpy and fretful after the doctor left, and I knew most of it was due to the fact that I'd kept her up all night and into the early morning, plus the added excitement of the last few hours. Still, I had to fight her to stay in bed, which she did only after I manhandled her stubborn ass into compliance. I learned a neat new trick in the meantime and feel no shame in using that sh*t to my advantage going forward.It seems like as much as she wants to deny both mine and the doctor's assumption that she's pregnant, the mere possibility has put her in a bind. The very mention of her needing to rest because of her condition, something I have no idea about, to be honest, was enough to make her settle down and do as she's told.Since it was my first time seeing an obedient Roxana, I'm not yet a hundred percent sure that it wasn't a fluke, but I can't wait to test it out. Now I find myself looking back at her every few minutes from my place at the desk where I was once again go
I looked up at the wall where he'd hung my family crest along with the others, still not used to the idea that some ancestor of mine was a sellout who'd saved some asshole king that was probably not worth it. I'd threatened my kids with death if they spread this sh*t , but I know it won't last. It's only a matter of time before I have to deal with their mother and her sh*t ."Turn it off, Lyon." I hit the off switch, and we were treated to the women's laughter as they congratulated themselves on getting one over on us again. Then they started their sh*t again."Where did you say this person is? What prison?""California City Correctional, why?""No reason! As you said, you're a FED, not much you can do. Why are we talking about this anyway? I thought we were discussing Roxy's thing." Flanagan got restless in his seat as his wife's words came through the speaker."What is it?" I asked, but he just gritted his teeth and shook his head."She's up to something; she changed the
"Kat, that was a very impressive sigh; what's up?""Nothing much; I'm just wondering where I can get a pregnancy test on this island.""Why don't you have one of the million doctors they have running around here take a look?""Have you met my husband, Cierra? He'd have to vet that poor person for a week before he'd let that happen. Besides, that's not why I'm sighing. I'm almost certain that I am anyway I don't need confirmation.""Then why the sigh?""I just realized that since we got married, I'm either always pregnant or has just given birth.""So? I thought you loved having kids." "It's not that; I do love having babies, it's just… it's been a while since I've had a good spanking." There was a lot of hooting and hollering followed by a chorus of agreement from the other women, and that's when I turned the screen off. "For f*ck sake!" The other men in the room started laughing their idiot heads off like they hadn't heard their women jumping on the bandwagon with my
"Geez, I need to sit down." I did, but I didn't, so I watched for a little while longer until the two of them headed in the direction of the stables. It was almost half an hour later when I intercepted Catalina on her way to the lab. "Hey, kiddo, how's it going?""Uncle Hank." She ran over and wrapped her arms around my thighs."Hi uncle Hank, did the plane leave yet?""He's almost ready, I wanted to talk to you about that, but there's something else I wanted to talk to you about first. Catalina, those words you gave the senator, where did you hear that song?""Grandpa always listens to that stuff when he's doing one of his experiments."What experiments?""With the grow.""You…""Don't worry, uncle Hank; I've never seen grandpa smoking before; he always goes into the other room.""If you haven't seen him, how do you know that that's what he's doing?" She gave me a look that made me feel stupid. "Sorry I asked." I waited a couple beats before carrying on."Catalina
In the room around me, the men were going over plans for the next few days. Lyon was adamant that he would have the information out of Roxana by then, and I'd already got the specs on the place on the Hudson so that we could synchronize a hit.It hadn't been hard because the idiots, either to be funny or in a show of arrogance, had chosen to use a place that had been used for the same vice in history. The house, or rather mansion, was on the historical society list, which meant getting the blueprints and other pertinent information had been a breeze.It's also a known fact that a lot of these homes that were built by the wealthy during a certain time period in the country's history had a lot of hidden pockets that didn't show up on paper. I have the historical research team working on that as we speak. Since this place is so close to the water, I wouldn't be surprised if there was an underground network of some kind running from the mansion to the river.Since the SEALs had run i
When she covered her tummy with her hand, I covered hers with mine, and we both held the place where I was sure my seed had taken root inside her. "Jason?" I don't think I've ever heard her voice sound so thin and afraid. I wasn't expecting fear. Anger sure, annoyance, any of those things I could've dealt with, but the sound of fear in my otherwise fearless beauty was almost too much for me to bear."What is it, love?" I had to clear my throat a time or two to remove the frogs."I don't know anything about babies. I wasn't going to stay here. What am I going to do?" I got the feeling that that last was more to herself than me, so I concentrated on the rest of what she said. I imagine that, like me, she was thinking about all that she'd been through and worrying about bringing a child into a world where such things were possible, so I went with that first."We'll learn everything we need to to make sure that the little one is safe and happy. I've helped raise my nieces and nephews
Now all those times I'd seen them with a kid strapped onto their chests since we've been here was starting to make sense. I've seen my brother with his kids, of course, but never knew that there were others like him. Now I see why these rough and tumble men were so soft when it came to their wives and kids.When they're yours, your woman, your blood, it changes everything. I feel such a strong sense of protection already for both of them. "I have to get back to her, but I'm going to need a new workspace; I'm not doing any of this around her after today. Mr. Lyon, sir, whatever you're going to do to get her to give you the information, please do it quickly.""Mister? Sir?" The guy is a real grump, like his dad said earlier. I don't know what came over me. Maybe I was overly excited about the baby, but I'd heard him threaten death and mayhem to anyone who said the next words that came out of my mouth, and it still didn't stop me. "I'm sorry, your highness." The room erupted with laug
No sooner had the word left my lips than the women descended like sharks scenting blood in the water. I didn't think I'd spoken that loud, and where the hell did they come from. "Are you sure, Jason?" My brother asked from behind me, and I nodded. I know it's stupid, and I can't explain it, but I know that she's carrying my seed, which is all it is at this point.There was a fire starting under my palm, a kind of electric buzz running up my arm where we touched. My head spun with emotion, and I felt the connection deep. Like something inside her, my son or daughter, holding me there by her side. I caught her when she faltered, her eyes never leaving mine. "Pregnant?" The word was a mere whisper from her lips, and I nodded, too choked up for words.I picked her up while she was still in a daze and less apt to strike. "Ash!" I looked around for my sister and saw a line of women watching us with smiles on their faces. "You and the others follow me." I haven't the first clue what to d