by Em Petrova
“Name one.”
He cleared his throat as though about to list a lot more. “How about that time on the search and rescue mission where the storm blew in and we were all ordered off the mountain for our own safety?”
“What about it?”
“You took Zack and headed right back up the mountain.”
“We were on a lead when we were called off. Zack had a scent trail.”
“You could have become another casualty that day.”
“Other lives were on the line. Those people might have died if we hadn’t found them in time.”
He sighed. “You can’t even see that you disobeyed direct orders.”
“I don’t take orders from your captain. I’m my own boss. I say when to quit and if it’s too dangerous for me and my dog.”
“And today,” he went on, swishing his fingers over her spine, “you went into those loading bays even after I told you to leave the premises.”
“Do you keep a running tab of the things I do that bother you?”
“Yes.”
She gaped at him for a stunned moment. “You’re kidding.”
“No. Don’t tell me you don’t do the same with me.”
She rested her head on the pillow of his pec. “Well, you are a bossy know-it-all who thinks you can give me orders.”
“Pretty sure if I tried it now, you’d take my order.”
“Hmm.” A thrill rippled through her. “What’s the order?”
His eyes burned. “Take off your robe and sit on my face.”
Her stomach pitched with excitement. She sat up and reached for the belt of her robe. “I can one-up you on that.”
“Oh yeah?”
She cast off her robe and wiggled into a position straddling his face with her mouth at the crest of his stiff cock. “Oh yeahhhh,” she purred and parted her lips on him.
His stomach dipped at her first sucking pull, and he let out a growl that vibrated the folds of her pussy as he delved his tongue deep.
Ecstasy flowed like a molten river through her. Each flip of his tongue, she matched him. She’d never had sex like this before, where a mutual desire drove them on. They worked together well in bed and on the job. Even if they didn’t always see eye-to-eye on matters, they had this down to an art despite little practice.
Her breath caught as he performed tongue acrobatics over her clit. Drowning in the sensation of her insides clenching, she took his length into the base of her throat. His groan vibrated through her, and he thrust upward. His bulky thighs strained, and he tensed all over.
Working him with her hand at his base, she lapped a trail up his veined erection to the tip. Pre-cum pooled there, and she licked it off with the swipe of her tongue.
His fingers glided across her ass. He buried them into the folds of her pussy and sank inside. Juices squeezed out, and her body clutched at his digits even as a deep burning need to come blasted her.
Her hips moved of their own accord. She rode his fingers and tongue while drawing on his shaft with hollowed cheeks. When he drove his fingers in and out faster, she lost her rhythm and all sense of reality.
Stars burst in her mind and the wave struck her. She wanted him to come with her. He stiffened on her tongue and then started to jerk. The first taste of Alix was salt and man. She arched and shuddered through the last of her release, while he dropped to the mattress.
Breathing hard, she took stock of the flashing lights in her mind and the pleasant throb in her body. Her muscles couldn’t support her anymore, and she rolled off him.
To her surprise, he twisted and placed a tender kiss on her calf. Flopping bonelessly, she closed her eyes.
He bit her calf, lightly but enough to jolt her from her floaty haze.
“Ow!”
He shook the bed with a laugh and crawled up the mattress like a wild beast coming for her. She raised her head to look at him and let it drop.
“How do you make me so satisfied and then one look at you and I want you this much again?” Her nipples began to pebble.
He liked her admission a bit too much if his grin and the flash of that dimple said anything. He stretched out beside her and drew her into his arms. “You should rest, honey. Close your eyes.”
She was physically tired but her mind was tuned in to Alix, who seemed to hum with energy.
“What are your living conditions like on the base?” she asked.
“We have smaller versions of Quonset huts. I’m lucky enough to have one to myself. Nobody’s dirty socks on my side of the space.”
She released a throaty laugh. “I imagine that’s a relief not to wake up to someone snoring.”
“Oh, that happens in the field. Try sharing a camp with Hepburn.”
She pictured the Texan. “Does he snore in a drawl too?”
Alix’s lips twitched. “Yeah, he kinda does.”
They shared a smile.
He sobered. “Will you use another canine until Zack heals?”
A heavy weight sat on her chest. She nodded. “I always work with more than one—all of us do in case things like this happen. We just have a preference, and some dogs work better with certain handlers. Zack and I were well-matched, but I’ll use Freedom. He’s equal to Zack in ability and we’ve worked well together in the past.”
“I’m sorry he’s injured.”
She lifted a hand to cup his jaw. “If he hadn’t knocked you aside, it’d be you in the hospital.”
A tenderness crept into his eyes, making them glow from some inner source. “When we first met, did you ever think we’d be here?”
“No…”
He leaned close and brushed his lips across hers in a sweet, soft and immediately steamy kiss. “Me either.”
Freedom was a six-year-old black and tan German Shepherd with an easygoing manner, who was confident and fearless.
Vivian had worked with him on several occasions and each time, they slipped seamlessly into a rhythm. She ran him across the training field, giving commands and letting him show off more than once. He preened when she stroked his ears and told him he did a good job.
Her fellow handler Hunt stood along the side watching. When she guided Freedom toward a bush where some scent had been hidden, Hunt called out, “Free! C’mere, boy!” to distract the dog.
But Freedom kept his nose to the ground, hot on the trail.
Vivian stuck her tongue out at Hunt, and he laughed. One of the most important things for a working dog was to remain focused and shut out distractions. From puppyhood, the dogs were given distractions as a way of hand-selecting which could be trained for the force.
Free stuck his nose into the bush and then sank to his haunches, indicating his find.
Vivian reached through the foliage and came out with the cylinder containing a hint of explosive scent. “Good job, Free!” she praised.
His tongue lolled out to the side in a smile.
She looked up at Hunt crossing the dew-covered grass to them in long strides. “I think he’s ready.”
“Looks like it. I had him out a couple weeks ago, and he’s one of the best we have.”
Free pawed at her, and she laughed. She reached into her coat pocket and came out with a treat. “You’re too smart for your own good, aren’t you, Free?”
“He loves his treats, for sure. If only all dogs were motivated by food. Now that you’re ready, are you ready?” Hunt’s hazel eyes burned down at her for emphasis.
“I know what you’re asking—if I’m ready after what happened to Zack. The answer is yes.”
“It isn’t only Zack I’m referring to.” He arched a brow to prompt her.
She refused to speak of that man who’d died in front of her eyes or the helplessness she still felt when she thought about it. She didn’t want to talk about her dad either, but Hunt knew more than most people about that event.
She looked up at him. “I’m okay.”
“You’ve got a lot going on, Viv.”
He had no idea how
much, considering she hadn’t shared anything about Geri with him.
“I’m handling it.”
“How is Zack?”
“He’s doing okay. Making progress and they’re managing his pain. They say he can probably come home today or tomorrow.”
Free sniffed at Hunt, expecting another treat. He set a hand on the dog’s head and scratched him lightly. “What really happened on the scene, Vivian? Where were you?”
“I was questioning the woman in the other room. She walked into the living room where Alix and Zack were.”
“Alix?” Hunt’s face blanked and then he breathed out, “Broshears.”
She nodded.
“What the hell was he doing in all this?”
She realized Hunt wasn’t informed of the entire story—that Zack shoved Alix out of harm’s way and took the hit himself. “Look, there wasn’t anything any of us could have done differently. The woman was keeping explosive under a desk for God’s sake. A cat could have tiptoed past and detonated it.”
Hunt’s expression told her that he wanted to say more but remained silent. She noted how Free moved out of his reach, as if Hunt had scratched him a little too hard.
“What time are you rolling out today?” he changed the topic.
“Eight.” It was a little past six in the morning, and she’d been up well before dawn, along with Alix. Waking to him climbing from her bed, seeing his muscled body cross her bedroom and hearing the water splash behind the bathroom door, knowing he was washing his naked body, weren’t things she planned to share with anybody, least of all Hunt.
But it all left her feeling odd, as if she and Alix had shared mornings before, and the lingering goodbye kiss he left on her lips was an everyday occurrence.
“Why don’t I come with you?” Hunt offered.
“You don’t have to do that. It’s a routine sweep of the train depot.”
“After what happened with that man dying and how close it was to your father’s death…”
Her head snapped up.
“I think you could use a sidekick,” Hunt finished.
She lowered her gaze. “It was strangely similar.” The admission came out as a burning rasp. “I hadn’t dreamed about him so vividly lately, but I did after that incident.”
Hunt gave a sympathetic nod. “I’ll come with you. I’ve got Aries ready to work. In fact, he’s been bringing me his leash he’s more than ready to get on a job.” His personal K-9 Aries was never far from his side.
Maybe she could use the company. After all, she hadn’t expected to find a man trapped beneath a beam in the wee hours of the morning or Geri to actually be behind the bombings. This run of the depot had been called after authorities questioned Geri, which meant they had good reason to believe an explosive could be in the depot or on one of the trains.
Half an hour later, she and Hunt with dogs in hand and the help of the Anchorage PD cleared the train depot. Daily trains were put on standby so every inch could be searched.
“I’ll take this end—you take the other. We’ll meet in the middle,” she told Hunt.
He threw her a crooked grin. “Unless I’m faster.”
She rolled her eyes and urged Free forward to board the train. The engineer and personnel, as well as several commuters and vacationers, were still aboard.
Her mind replayed the details of the orders she’d received right after she walked Alix to the door and kissed him one more time. The authorities believed Geri might have planted another package bomb either on the train or sent it with a passenger. Which meant Vivian and Free had a lot of territory to search, with all the compartments and luggage aboard.
After the first train car came up empty, she and the dog got into their rhythm. While she didn’t have a thing to do with Geri’s criminal activities, she almost felt as if this was personal. She had to stop the woman from injuring anyone else.
She knew right this minute that the Xtreme Ops team and their division of Homeland Security was deep in investigations and might already know who Geri was targeting and why. Alix suggested Uncle Billy was behind it, but how could he be when he was in prison?
She wasn’t so naïve as to believe prisoners didn’t still commit crimes from behind bars, but Billy was so protective of Geri. Would he actually put her in a position to get arrested?
Shaking off her thoughts, she focused a thousand percent on searching under every train seat as well as the compartments above. Free lifted his head high and sniffed the air. His acute sense of smell could detect explosives even above his head, but he didn’t indicate anything.
She started into the fourth car and saw someone slip out. Her senses on alert, she rushed forward. Before she reached the glass door, it began to shut.
Something was very wrong. Her fingertips tingled as adrenaline hit her system.
She threw a look over her shoulder and saw no danger behind her. She could stand here and watch another event take place right before her eyes, or take action.
Without hesitation, she threw herself forward, running with Free to reach the door before it completely closed. She stuck out an arm to brace open the door while she wiggled through. The door closed behind them, and she stared at a man.
He took off running, and Free surged forward at her command. “I’ve got a runner!” she called to Hunt into her communication device, footsteps pounding down the train aisles.
Was it the best idea to pursue alone? Probably not. But she couldn’t allow the man to escape either. If he was running, he had something to hide.
“Caucasian male, forties, five-ten, graying hair, gray hoodie,” she shot off. “I’m in pursuit. He’s coming your way, Hunt.”
Her phone buzzed and she made a grab for it.
“What?”
She expected to hear Hunt’s voice, but Alix’s flooded into her ear.
“Stand down, Vivian. We’re coming in.”
She looked at the man making a getaway. They were coming up on an exit, and she knew he’d make a break for it. She ended the call and shoved the phone into her pocket and ran into the next train car. Passengers looked up in alarm as they thundered through.
Her phone buzzed four times and went to voicemail. She ignored it. Her training kicked in and she could almost hear her father’s advice. She had a dog at her command. She could use him to her advantage.
“Free, take down!”
Freedom grabbed the man by the calf and sank his teeth in. The man howled in pain and tried to tear his leg free, but Free dropped him. He sniffed his clothes.
Then sat.
Her heart flipped over as she threw a look at the innocents trapped in this train with a man who carried an explosive.
Her phone buzzed again. As soon as it stopped, it took up again, buzzing over and over while she made the hard decision.
“Everybody evacuate the train! Now!” she barked when they remained in place.
Hunt appeared with Aries, and he took in the situation in the blink of an eye.
Her phone buzzed on loop.
“That’s my father! What are you doing to him!” The cry came from behind, and she twisted to see a young woman running toward them.
“Sylvie! Get back!” the man yelled. “I have an explosive.”
Chapter Seven
Alix drew his lips tight against his teeth and emitted a growl. Vivian wasn’t answering her phone. He let her out of his sight for five minutes and the woman stepped in a pile of shit up to her waist.
A bomb on the train, and of course she was feet from it. Maybe inches.
“I’ve got eyes on them.”
He jerked at Gasper’s statement.
“Whattaya got?” he demanded.
“Hunt and Valentine on their feet. A woman about twenty years old behind Valentine. I can’t see the floor, but they’re standing over something.”
“Get them the fuck out of there!” Whipping out his weapon, he shoved past his teammates. Of course they were taking action by evacuating the train, but all he
could see was a black miasma of fear that Vivian would be hurt—or worse.
Pedestrians poured out of the train. A child was in noisy tears about leaving her stuffed animal behind.
A hand came down on his shoulder, and he jerked his head to see Penn. “You’re with me. Let’s go.” He gave orders to the rest of the team as he and Penn entered the train.
Empty cars stretched between him and Vivian, and he couldn’t reach her fast enough. He wouldn’t stop to think about why—he just had to get her safe.
Damn the woman for barreling after that man. Did she never take into account her own safety? Yes, he must be stopped, but other people were more equipped to handle it.
She overstepped, and heroics like hers got people killed. He’d seen it before in North Korea. The doctor rushing in to help the group of hostages. A platoon of American soldiers going in after him when he was also taken hostage and beaten nearly to death.
Finally, Broshears and his men following with enough firepower and backup to put a stop to all of it. Three of the Americans had been killed in that fight, and none of it would have happened if the doctor had stopped to consider his actions might affect others.
His guts burned as he and Penn ran the length of the train to defuse the situation. When he saw the young woman had thrown herself over the man on the ground, and Vivian was trying to pull her off, Alix’s heart nearly stopped dead in his chest.
With a hard, painful jerk, it turned over and raced out of control.
“Valentine! Step away!”
She ignored him, as she had his calls. Over her head, he met Hunt Cason’s gaze. The man had the sense to stand at a safer distance, but who knew what type of explosives the bomber carried.
He narrowed his eyes at Cason in warning, but Penn barked an order for Cason to take the dogs and leave.
“Valentine, stand down and step away! That’s an order, goddammit!” Alix’s harsh words made her release the woman. He grabbed Vivian by the arm and shoved her behind him. “Get out right now,” he commanded.
He hardly registered her glare as he trained his weapon on the people lying prone on the floor. “What kind of explosives are you carrying?”
