by Tate James
Lucas's grip on my hand tightened. "My girlfriend, Hayden," he corrected her. "Yes, I did. I hope that's okay."
Sandra Wildeboer arched a brow at her son, then gave me a flat look. "Doesn't sound like I have much choice, does it?"
Lucas gave an irritated sigh as he sat down in the window seat and pulled me to sit beside him. "Not really, Mom. Not today, anyway. Hayden's been super respectful the last few weeks and waited outside while I've visited you, but it's about time we got some answers. Okay?"
Sandra looked like she'd just bitten into a lemon, and I caught the quick dart of her eyes toward the nurse call button as though she was really considering using her illness to escape this conversation. Then she huffed a short sigh and fixed her gaze to the wall to the side of Lucas. She was already preparing to lie and couldn't look him in the eye.
"What do you want to know, Luca? I've never kept secrets from you." Her voice was hollow and resigned like she knew he’d long since stopped believing that line.
I leaned into Lucas's side slightly, offering him some silent support. I was more than prepared to ask Sandra everything I wanted to know myself. But at the same time, I had to offer Lucas the opportunity to handle this his own way. She was his mother, and for most of his life, she’d been the only family he'd ever had.
"Okay," he murmured, running a hand over his face. "Am I your only child?"
Sandra jerked like she'd been slapped, her face draining of color.
Lucas shook his head and gave a bitter laugh. "I take that as a no. Who? When? How—"
"Stop it," she hissed, cutting him off. "Of course you're my only child. I think you'd remember if there had been any older siblings running around the house, don't you? What a ridiculous question."
"I never said older," Lucas muttered. "But whatever. What do you know about Uncle Jack being in the mercenary guild?"
Sandra swallowed visibly. "Gosh, you're just... Where is all of this coming from, Luca?" Her eyes darted to me and narrowed in an accusing way. "Has this woman already dragged you neck deep into her world? I knew it would only be a matter of time. Like father like daughter."
"I wasn't aware my father had any ties to the Guild," I replied in a cool voice, ignoring the insult. "But your brother had an entire guild arsenal stashed underneath your house. And now there's a mercenary sniffing around Shadow Grove, which seems far too coincidental not to be linked to your family. To Lucas. So do me a favor, Sandra, and cut the bullshit. I'm trying to keep your son safe."
She gaped at me like she was having a hard time formulating a response, then her gaze darted to Lucas and her face creased with pain. Slowly, she shook her head, then she reached out and pressed the nurse call button.
"I'm sorry, Luca," she whispered, her voice choked with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, but you need to let this go. Stop digging, stop asking, just stop. The mercenary guild doesn't exist. Drop it!"
Her volume had raised enough by the end that the nurse who'd just walked through the door gave us a startled look. "Sandy, we okay in here?" The nurse asked, giving Lucas a small frown and me a wary glance.
"I think I've overdone it today, Bryce." Sandra’s voice was suddenly frail and weak, and I fought an eye roll at the theatrics. "Would you mind showing my son and his friend out?"
Nurse Bryce gave Lucas and I a hard, accusing look like we'd deliberately stressed his patient out. Lucas just gave his mom a frustrated glare, then stalked to the door with angry steps.
"I asked you to look after him," Sandra muttered as I slowly got to my feet. "I told you to keep him safe. And this is what you do? Don't think I didn't notice he was carrying."
I paused, arching a brow at her. "For once, this has nothing to do with me. Your brother was housing a Guild arsenal below your house, and Lucas somehow knows how to shoot with impressive accuracy. Either you spill some secrets, or we will uncover them ourselves."
Sandra all but hissed at me. "Drop it. If you care about my boy at all you won't keep digging." Her face was ashen and her hands trembling, but her gaze was hard and focused.
"Okay, I think Sandra needs to rest now," Nurse Bryce prompted, indicating that I should leave. We definitely shouldn’t have been discussing the Guild in front of him, that was for sure. Not that he gave any flicker of understanding.
I continued staring down at Lucas's mom, but she just flicked her eyes away from me, pausing briefly on a framed photograph of a military man, then stared out the window in a clear dismissal. Ballsy bitch. I could see where Lucas got his sass from, that was for sure.
With an internal sigh, I continued out of the room and caught up to Lucas near the foyer, where he was pacing with anger and frustration.
"What is her fucking problem?" he spat when I joined him. "It's not her mind, not today. That was a deliberate, barefaced lie. She knows so much more, and she's not telling us. Why? I'm her son! If she can't tell me—"
"Then the threat for her silence has to be pretty severe," I cut him off, giving him a pointed look. "Come on, let's go. She gave us enough."
Lucas hurried to catch up with me as I headed out to the parking lot. "Wait, what? She didn't give us anything!"
I flashed a quick smile at him as we reached the car, and Lucas headed straight for the driver's seat once more. Zed was going to kill us if he checked the garage security feed... and yet somehow that got me all tingly.
"Yes, she did," I replied, sliding into the passenger seat. "Let's head to your house."
Lucas buckled his seat belt but didn't start the car just yet. "I don't get it. Did she say something after I left?"
"Just told me off for not looking after you," I answered in a slightly dry voice. She wasn't totally off base with that accusation; my whole presence was putting Lucas in danger. Chase had him in his sights, and I wasn't stupid enough to think my deranged ex was satisfied with the damage he'd already inflicted. Nope, Lucas would be next for Chase to try and "cross off" because I just knew he was keeping Zed for last.
"She's wrong," Lucas growled, starting the car and rolling us out of the Sunshine Estate parking lot.
I just gave a shrug as I pushed guilt aside to focus on more pressing issues. "Well, anyway. Before I left, she gave me a clue, and I'm pretty sure it was intentional. On her dresser there's a framed picture of a guy in military uniform. Do you know who it is?"
Lucas shot me a confused frown. "Huh? Yeah, of course. That's my dad. Allegedly. I'm starting to question if that was all made up, though. The whole army man died in combat before you were born just seems a bit convenient now, doesn't it?"
I ruffled my fingers through my hair, then gave him a soft smile. "A bit, yeah. But I think she was deliberately giving me a starting point. What do you know about him?"
He grimaced. "Fuck all. His name, Nicholas Porter. That's about it."
"That's a start," I assured him, reaching out to weave our fingers together. "Don't worry, Gumdrop, we've got this."
He shot me a sharp look, then grinned. "I used to think that was the worst nickname possible, but I'll take Gumdrop over Zeddy Bear any day." He raised our linked hands and kissed my knuckles. "Alright, so we're heading to my house?"
I nodded. "We sure are. I want to have another look around. Last time we were there we were so focused on your uncle's secrets none of us stopped to wonder what your mom might have been hiding."
"You think she would have hidden any physical evidence at the house? She seems pretty hell bent on taking whatever she knows to the grave." He winced at his own choice of words, then shook his head.
"She strikes me as the kind of woman who would have insurance policies. Backup. Whether that's at the house or not is anyone's guess. But I think somewhere out there Sandra is keeping some hardcopy information about the Guild. And whatever she's got, it's important enough for someone to threaten her."
Lucas pondered that for a few moments. "I don't know if I agree, but there's no harm in looking."
I squeezed his fingers. "But we should be quick. I've got some
thing for you at home." Or rather, it’d been Cass's idea, but Zed and I were also claiming credit, seeing as we'd missed Lucas's birthday a week earlier and Cass had needed our help to sort it out.
Lucas gave me a curious look, but when I mimed zipping my mouth shut, he just gave a laugh and continued driving. Goddamn, he looked hot with his cap backward, a shadow of stubble dusting his jaw, and his strong hand wrapped around the Shelby's steering wheel. I needed to let him drive more often so I could admire that image.
The ride to Lucas's house was only about half an hour from Sunshine Estate, and when we pulled into the driveway, I scanned the house with a fresh perspective.
It was perfectly nondescript, looking exactly like every other house in the neighborhood. There was no excessive security—other than what I'd had my guys install—and nothing to ever suggest this was anything more than a middle-class suburban home. Lucas's uncle had been posing as an accountant, and that's exactly what his house presented as. A flawless cover identity.
"I don't have my keys," Lucas said, hesitating after we got out of the car.
I continued up the steps of the front porch. "Rio changed the locks over; there should be a passcode entry." Taking an informed guess, I gave the whole handle plate a firm push to the side, revealing a digital number display. "See?"
Lucas's brows hitched as he inspected the new lock. "That's cool."
I keyed in the generic code that worked on all the locks I got Rio to install so I always had access to Timberwolf properties, and the lock clicked open audibly. With a smile to Lucas, I closed the panel and turned the handle to open the door.
"It's practical, more than anything," I told him, standing aside to let him enter first. "For one thing, no one can steal your keys. For another, there is a digital record of anyone who enters, and it takes a picture of anyone activating the keypad."
Lucas nodded his understanding. "Makes sense. Thank you." He paused in the foyer, looking around at the subtle improvements my team had made to his house. Doorways had been widened to allow his mom's wheelchair through easier, ramps placed over any uneven floor joins, and of course the elevator installed that had led to us discovering the basement in the first place.
"You really didn't have to do all this, Hayden." He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he pulled his cap off and fluffed his hair. "This had to have cost a fortune."
I snorted a short laugh, closed the front door, then moved over to where he stood. "I owed you," I said softly, rising up on my toes to kiss him gently. "Come on; let's get searching."
Before I could spin away, he caught me with his arms around my waist, pulling me back against him as his lips found mine once more. This time it was no quick peck, it was a soul-deep promise. I kissed him back with equal intensity and moaned as he spun us around to press me into the door and slipped his hands under my shirt.
"Let's get something straight," he murmured against my lips, his palms sliding up my ribcage, pushing my shirt up as he went. "You owe me nothing. I'm with you because I'm completely, irrevocably in love, so there is absolutely nothing I regret. I'll wear these scars proudly to the end of my days because they're a part of my new life. With you."
A rush of affection surged through me so hard my knees weakened, and I sagged against his grip. "Lucas," I whispered, "that's not healthy. You almost died because of me."
"Almost," he replied, kissing my neck, "but I didn't. And what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Right?" He pulled back to meet my eyes, bringing a hand up to cup my face. "You know that better than anyone."
The truth of that statement hit me like an electric shock, and I sucked in a sharp breath. I hated the thought that I was changing Lucas, but I was too selfish to give him up. I was too invested already. He was too deeply lodged in my heart.
He didn't pressure me to reply, instead just bringing his mouth back to mine and kissing me deeply. His hands moved down to my ass, lifting me up and making me instinctively wrap my legs around his waist as he walked us through to the sitting room. As he laid me down on the couch, he flashed me a cocky grin, then tugged his hoodie and shirt over his head in one smooth movement.
"Fucking hell," I breathed, running my gaze and hands down his perfect body. Not even the raised, dark red lines of his scars could detract from his sexiness. Hell, they just added to it. "It should be illegal to be so gorgeous."
He huffed a short laugh in response, bending over with a delicious flex of his back muscles as he kissed my stomach and pushed my shirt over my bra. "You're one to talk, babe. You're pure perfection."
His mouth moved over my stomach, making my skin tingle and my muscles contract, and I tugged my shirt over my head. Fuck getting home quickly for Lucas's late birthday surprise. This was a much better use of our time.
Lucas made fast work of my jeans, stripping them—and my panties—down my legs and tossing them aside with my shoes. Then he took his time exploring every inch of my skin with his lips, removing my bra in the process, until I was a needy, panting mess on the couch beneath him.
Only when my cheeks were flushed with heat and my fingernails clawing at him in desperation did he give in to what I wanted. His own jeans hit the floor, and a second later I screamed my relief as his huge cock entered my aching cunt.
For a moment, I wasn't even capable of real words, just incoherent mumbling and gasps as he lined his hips up to mine, pushing deeper inside and making me see stars. We didn't need words, though. Lucas kissed me as he moved between my legs, fucking me brainless and making me totally forget all the shit going on in my life. Lucas had the most incredible way of taking my mind to another place where only the two of us existed. Where nothing mattered except the touch of our bodies, the movement between us, and the shared sighs and moans.
I didn't try to fight it when my orgasm crept up in a matter of minutes, I just cried out against his mouth. He swallowed my screams as my pussy tightened and pulsed around his length. His movements slowed to a gentle grind as I rode out the waves of my climax, my breathing rough and sweat running down my throat. Then he pulled me up off the couch in a fluid movement, spun me around, and sat me down in his lap, his front to my back, as he thrust back up into me from underneath.
"Fuck!" I cried out as he filled me up from a whole different angle. "Shit, Lucas..."
His response was just a dark laugh as I shifted my balance and started riding him like... uh... like a cowgirl in reverse. His strong hands gripped my body, searing my skin everywhere he touched. It wasn't long before his fingers found my swollen clit and reignited that flame once more.
A long string of curses fell from my lips as I dropped my head back, resting against his shoulder as he fucked me from below and rubbed my clit between two fingers like he was playing a miniature violin. Needless to say, I came again harder than fucking ever—so hard that my vision went spotty and my ears started ringing while my whole body turned weightless and heavy at the same time.
This time, though, he came with me. His hips jerked beneath me and he grunted his release as he filled me up and bit my neck.
For a minute, we just stayed like that with me in a boneless slouch in his lap, his cock still buried deep inside me. Then I groaned and peeled myself up off the couch. Dizziness hit me as I stood, and I gave a shaky laugh when I looked down at Lucas.
"That..." I shook my head with a groan, then licked my lips as I took in the sight of him sprawled out naked with his massive dick still half erect. "That was fucking incredible." I held a hand out to him. "Shower with me?"
A broad grin curved his lips, and he snatched my hand eagerly. "Hell yes," he enthused, basically leaping to his feet and tossing me over his shoulder.
I let out a small shriek of surprise but didn't protest even the slightest bit as he raced up the stairs to the bathroom. Screw it. We could search the house for clues after a few more rounds. After all, my Gumdrop had stamina.
9
Our search of Lucas's house, when we eventually got around to it, turned up a w
hole lot of nothing. Fucking nothing. Which wasn't really so shocking considering Lucas and his mom had only moved in there a couple of weeks before we moved her to Sunshine Estate.
As a last resort, we headed down to the secret basement level to see if his uncle had anything other than guns stashed down there. I led the way, heading down the secret stairs in the guest room closet, and flipped on the industrial lights as we stepped into the basement room. Then I jerked to a stop.
"Uh..." Lucas hovered behind me like a huge shadow. "Did you guys—"
"Nope," I replied, running my eyes around the very empty basement. "Not us."
I took a couple of steps forward, peering around and shaking my head. Every single wall, every single rack that had been stocked with weaponry was empty. Not a single bullet or blade was left—so far as I could tell.
"The Guild," Lucas muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nice of them to tell us they were stopping by."
I grimaced. "Typical mercenary guild bullshit."
Lucas arched a brow at me. His full lips were puffy from kissing me—and other things—and it was all kinds of distracting. But god damn, that man could eat pussy like nobody's business.
"Have you had a lot of interaction with them?" His tone was curious, not accusing, and I shook my head in reply.
"Not really. But Zed briefly entertained the idea of working for them when they tried to recruit him. He even tried out a consult role, but after a couple of months told them he wasn't interested." I smiled at the memory, the warmth of amusement filling my gut as we headed back upstairs.
Lucas was naturally curious. "Why'd he do that? He seems like the perfect mercenary type."
I grinned wider. "Apparently he questioned why they'd recruited him and not me. He didn't like their answer and told the recruiter to go fuck a cactus."
Lucas followed me out of the house, his hand resting gently and comfortably on the small of my back as I activated the front door lock once more. The fact that the guild had cracked my code wasn’t a surprise at all. They were that dangerous, no locks would keep them out.
