by Kelly Moore
I look over at him. “Not in the slightest.” I shake my head. “But he needs to be warned because if I don’t do it - which I won’t,” I look back at Brooklyn, “then someone else will try.”
“Where ya been all this time? Have you just been running around the city, doing jobs for Miles?” Jake asks, crossing his arms over his broad chest. I just now notice how much weight he’s put on. He’s finally healthy and has a thick head of dark hair with some gray showing at the temples.
“Not exactly.” I lean against the counter and take another swig of my beer. “I’ve been held captive and sedated a good portion of the time. Miles thought that I would break and come back to work for him.”
“For two years?” Brooklyn asks.
“I didn’t break until he showed me a picture of the three of you and threatened to kill you all. I couldn’t let that happen, so I finally agreed.” I start pacing the floor. “He’s been putting me through these tests to see if he could trust me. I passed them all. I killed everyone he put in my way to get back to you.” I reach out and place my hand on her cheek. “But that’s when he told me about your dad.”
A sadness covers her face. “What are you going to do? Where does he think you are right now? Will he come looking for you?”
“The problem is… this thing.” I hold up my arm, showing them the metal band on my wrist.
“What is that?” Jake asks, moving closer.
“It’s linked to Miles. It’s a tracker, and up until a few days ago, I wasn’t allowed out of the building. But he says it can kill me with the push of a button. If he realizes I’m gone, and he wants me dead, I will be and there won’t be a damn thing any of us can do to stop it.”
I hear Brook’s sudden breath as she covers her mouth.
“Let’s get the damn thing off then,” Jake says with a shrug.
Chapter Nine
John
I flick on the overhead light before we take the stairs down into the hangar. “Todd has to have something here we can use to get this damn thing off,” I say as I reach the bottom step. Brooklyn has her hands on my shoulders like she’s afraid I will disappear if she’s not touching me.
“There’s a red tool box in the corner,” Jake points at it.
Brooklyn slides her hand in mine as we walk over to it. “I don’t see anything in here but a bunch of screwdrivers.” They clank together when I move them around.
“Here’s a hacksaw,” Jake says.
“I’d like to keep my hand attached to my arm, if that’s okay with you,” I chuckle.
“Will this work?” Brooklyn reaches across me and grabs a pair of bolt cutters.
“This is perfect. God, I love you.” I smack my lips to hers and she smiles.
I hand them to Jake and rest my wrist on a metal cabinet. “Baby, look for a hammer or something we can destroy it with once it’s off.” She starts rummaging through all the different drawers.
Jake places the bracelet between the bolt cutters. “Try not to move.”
“One last thing,” I say quickly before he can apply pressure.
His eyes pop up to mine. “What’s that?”
“There’s a small chance that this thing could go off.”
He stands up straight, pulling back the bolt cutters. “What do you mean go off?”
I shrug one shoulder. “It’s supposed to be able to send a powerful bolt of electricity. Sort of like a really fierce shock collar for a dog.”
He lifts his eyebrows as he nods his head. “I’m game if you are.” He smiles.
I place my hand on his before he squeezes. “I’ve missed you, man.”
“Don’t go getting all sappy on me yet. If we don’t get your ass out of this, you’re still a dead man.” He places the bolt cutters on the bracelet and squeezes the two arms together, causing his muscles to bulge through his shirt. At first it only puts a dent in it. He repositions himself and throws all his weight into it, nearly snapping my wrist.
The sharp blades finally slice through the metal bracelet just as a surge of electricity cracks, sending the bolt of lightning through my arm. The bolt cutters conduct the electricity and Jake gets a shock too. We both yell out and fall to our knees with a slight twitch. The bracelet clanks to the floor. The shiny silver metal is now blackened and charred.
“Oh my God! Are you two okay?” Brooklyn rushes over to us.
My whole arm tingles from the current running through it, but luckily we didn’t get the full blast of power.
I shake my arm, hoping to regain feeling. “I’m fine. You okay?” I ask Jake.
He nods as he makes his way to his feet, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Yeah, I ‘m fine.”
“I found a hammer,” Brook says holding the hammer up for us to see.
“Do you want to do the honors?” I ask, bending over for the bracelet. It suddenly occurs to me that it may have a little power left in it. I reach out quickly, tapping it to see if I get another shock, but it’s spent with nothing left.
I pick it up and hold it out to her.
“Hell yes!” she says, taking it from me and throwing it onto the concrete floor. She squats down and rears back with the hammer, smashing it until it’s in several pieces. “That felt good,” she says, brushing her hair out of her face with her shoulder.
“That should keep you safe, at least for tonight.” Jake picks the pieces off the floor and throws them in the garbage.
“Did you get a chance to do anything with the bullet I gave you?” I say as I pull Brook into my arms.
“No. I have an old friend here in Chicago that can help me. He used to handle some research projects for me when I was in town. I’ll see if I can get ahold of him.”
“How good of a friend?” I pull her against my chest with my hands on her ass. We’re practically nose to nose. I can feel her sweet breath caressing my face. I wet my lips while keeping my eyes locked on hers.
“He’s a big, burly guy and weighs about 350lbs. He never leaves his basement. I like my guys a little outdoorsy, so I think you are safe.” She laughs. “Oh.” She pulls back from me. “I did see a computer upstairs. I wanted to see if I could find any technology on the bullet”
“Why don’t you go do that after you call your dad? He needs to be warned as soon as possible. I need to chat with my brother.”
“Okay. But Jake, don’t let him out of your sight.” She points two fingers at his eyes and then back at hers.
“I won’t,” he laughs out as we watch her walk into the loft. “She’s a handful,” he says, turning in my direction.
“Don’t I know it. Thanks for taking care of her all this time.”
“Hell, she took care of me and little John. She’s a remarkable woman.”
Looking down, I stuff my hands in my pocket and begin rocking my feet back and forth. “Are you… well… did you…?”
He laughs. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look more uncomfortable. Spit it out, man.”
“Are the two of you together?”
“Oh, God no! What would make you even ask me that?” He looks totally offended.
I take the picture of the three of them out of my pocket and hand it to him. “Miles gave me this.”
He takes it out of my hand and looks at it closely. “I could see why maybe you would think that.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “You asked me to look out for her if anything ever happened to you. She ended up taking care of me until she found out she was pregnant. It was the happiest and the saddest moment of her life. I wanted to be an everyday part of hers and your child’s life, but she’s like a sister to me. Nothing more.” The honesty in his eyes burns into me.
I lean back on the cabinet, relief washing over me. “Thank you,” I say, looking down at my feet. “How is my son?” I look up and meet his eyes again now that I’m not feeling so insecure.
“He’s beautiful. Brooklyn is the most amazing mother. She is so good with him. She tells him stories about you. He thinks you’re a superhero, man.�
�
“I can’t wait to meet him.” I smile just from thinking about the little guy. “Where is he?”
He leans against the table across from me, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “He’s with the Nanny, back in Maui.”
“You live in Maui?”
“Yeah, Brooklyn said you mentioned something about spending the rest of your lives in Hawaii. She took you seriously. She shut down everything in DC, and told her father she wanted nothing more to do with politics. She went into hiding. This is the only time she’s left the island since we moved there. She rides that bike of yours everywhere,” he adds.
“And, you’re not getting it back either,” Brook says, walking toward us.
“I’m alive so I think it’s still mine,” I tease with her.
“Alive or not, the only time your ass is getting on that bike is if your chest is pressed to my back.” She takes a step closer. “Or, if you fuck me on it again.” Her arms wrap around my neck as she grins up at me, lust filling her eyes.
“Um… I think that is my cue to leave.” Neither one of us acknowledge him as he walks toward the stairs.
That quickly, I’m lost in her. “I’ve thought about you every day,” I tell her between kisses.
“God, I’ve missed you.” Her hands are tugging at my hair.
I put my hands on either side of her face, pulling her closer until we’re nose to nose. “I wish there was a better place to make love to you than in here.”
“I don’t care where it is, as long as you are making love to me.”
I step back from her, taking her hand in mine. I walk her over to the small Cessna passenger plane. “Are you a member of the mile-high club?” I tilt my head in the direction of the plane.
“I think that only counts when it’s in the air.” She laughs, but runs up the narrow metal stairs dragging me with her. She almost bumps her head on the open door. I duck just in time.
I take the passenger seat and slide it back, then pull the door down, closing us inside. When I turn back around, she has stripped down to her black silky underwear. Her eyes are fully dilated and her greedy hands are reaching for my zipper.
“I want you so badly.” Her lips are on mine.
“We need to slow down. It’s been so long, I don’t think I will last,” I tell her as she rips my shirt off over my head. My hands find the little strings holding up her panties. I entwine my fingers on either side of them and tear them from her. “Fuck slow.” I devour her mouth, then trail kisses down her neck to her shoulder. Her hands are already on my cock, stroking me. I groan and move down her body, kissing and biting every inch of her as I go. She tries to go to her knees with me, but I hold her in place. I want to taste what I’ve been missing. I want to taste what is mine. I spread her legs wider and my tongue finds its home between her sweet folds. She lets out a sound that lets me know that I am, in fact, right where I belong. Her wetness covers my face as I lick and suck her into my mouth. Her nails dig into my shoulders, egging me on.
My cock is rock hard, but I try to ignore it so that I can have more of her. I tilt my head up to look at her. As I suck her into my mouth, her eyes jump to mine. The heat in her eyes pushes me over the edge. In one swift move, I pull her down onto my lap, placing her entrance over my aching cock.
She slides down easily and I can feel myself begin to throb. “Hold still,” I rasp out, keeping her hips from moving. I steady myself for a moment, breathing in and out deeply. I take her nipple into my mouth and suck, then draw it between my teeth. I can already feel her building, the slight squeeze of her muscles gripping around my cock.
“Please let me move,” she begs. “I don’t care if it’s quick. I remember how soon you recover,” she says, leaning her head down and biting my shoulder. She rocks her hips back and forth and I can stand no more. I roughly grab her hips with my hands and start a hard, fast rhythm. Her hands press into my shoulders and her head flies back.
She screams my name. “John!”
“Say it again, baby,” I grit out between my teeth.
“John!” Her inner muscles squeeze tighter, drawing me deeper inside. I try to hold on a minute longer, but the tingling sensation that moves up my body won’t allow it. I hold her tighter to me and come fiercely inside her, letting out a primal sound.
Neither one of us have time to catch our breaths before our need for each other takes over again. This time, I take my time enjoying touching her skin, remembering all of her familiar sounds she makes with each touch. When she can stand no more, she rolls over underneath me and pushes her ass in the air, causing me to move behind her. She places her hands on the seats and shifts her head to look behind her.
Her eyes are dark and her lips are swollen from our kiss. Her hair falls in her face, but I can still see her watching me between the fiery strands. I slip inside her from behind and she rocks back against me. Snaking my hand over her hip and between her legs, I feel for her hard nub, and start rubbing small, firm circles. She starts coming undone as I thrust in and out of her as hard as I can. My skin slaps against her skin, and her head jolts forward with every powerful thrust.
She angles her head to look at me and bites her lip, stifling her scream. It only takes one last, deep thrust before I’m spilling inside of her. We’re both too breathless to even move. The windows on the small plane have fogged over, leaving a moisture in the air that clings to our skin. When our breathing and heart rates slow, I pull out of her and sit back, pulling her into my lap. Our bodies are covered in sweat. The plane sways gently beneath us in response to our passionate lovemaking.
When we finally calm, she curls into my arms and lays her head on my chest. Her hand finds the star shaped scar and traces it. “Does it still hurt?” She asks, lifting her head to look at me.
I take her hand and kiss the tips of her fingers. “Just a little.”
“When we get you back home, I can take it out.”
She takes my hand in hers. “What happened to your hand?”
“I pissed off one of the guards. He stomped on it as one of his buddies held me down.”
She kisses the top of my hand softly. “I can take care of this too.”
“The only thing I want to do when we get home is make you my wife and make love to you every night. I want to hold my son in my arms and never let him go.” I shift her off me and roll to my side to face her. “Tell me about our son.”
Her fingers trace my jaw. “He’s beautiful and so smart. He talks so well for a fifteen-month old. Jake and I have made a point of not baby talking to him.” Her hand moves to my hair. “He looks so much like you.”
I lean down and kiss her eyelid. “He has your dark eyes.”
“Yes, he does, but everything else about him is you. Even the way he moves. Sometimes I would watch him and I’d see one of your expressions cross his face and I’d have to hold back the tears.”
“What else?” My hand traces her belly button.
“He loves to swing. It’s his favorite thing to do. Jake bought him this huge outdoor play set. It has a pirate ship in the middle of it.”
“I can’t wait to be the one that spends time spoiling him, but I have to finish this. First I have to prove Knox put a hit out on your father and then, if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to kill Miles. If I don’t, he will always be after us and I refuse to let him anywhere near my family ever again.”
“We’ll figure out a way together.” She licks her lips and then kisses me ever so sweetly.
“You know, I think we made it into that mile high club.”
She lays back down, laughing. “How do you figure?”
“I know at some point we were flying.”
She rolls back up. “You are so corny. I love you, John.”
“I love you, too.” I press her shoulder back down. “I’ll show you corny.” My mouth is on hers again, but our moment is abruptly interrupted by a noise inside the hangar that has me moving to the small oval window in the plane.
Chapter Ten
John
I scan the garage but see nothing out of the usual. “Get your clothes back on,” I tell Brook while rapidly pulling on my own.
“What did you see?” she asks while tugging her shirt over her head.
“Nothing, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone out there.” I button my jeans and quickly pull on my boots, then open the door to the plane as quietly as possible. “Stay here until I say it’s safe,” I whisper as I slowly and cautiously make my way out of the plane.
I left the bag with Miles’ guns back in the studio apartment. I’ve left myself completely vulnerable. I grab a heavy wrench off the workbench and hold it at the ready as I make my way around the plane. I have to be quiet and quick. If this is Miles or one of his men, they will be armed and I’ll be screwed. I just got her back, I’m not losing her again.
I peek over the row of standing toolboxes and see the top of someone’s black hat. I know it’s not Jake, he has a head-full of hair, and after being bald for so long, I’m sure he’s proud of it and wouldn’t dare cover it up.
I turn the corner with the wrench raised above my head, ready to swing if needed. The man turns toward me when I am just a few feet away.
Our eyes meet and the wrench clatters to the ground. “Todd?”
The initial fear in his eyes vanishes, replaced with excitement and confusion. “John?”
A smile spreads across my face as I pull him in for a hug.
He slaps me hard on the back. “Where the hell you been? I thought you were dead.”
I pull back and laugh. “I know, I’m sorry. I’ve just been a little tied up these last couple of years.”
The next thing I know, Brooklyn is jumping around the corner with a fire extinguisher held over her head, ready to swing.
I spin around to face her and can’t help the laugh that escapes me.
“Oh. It’s you,” she says, looking at Todd.
I run my hand through my hair. “I thought I told you to stay put?”
