by Amy Sumida
“Lucy!” I hobbled forward to hug her. “Thank God.”
“Tempest,” Lucy sobbed. “You did it. You made it out and sent help for us. Thank you. Thank you so much!”
“Of course.” I eased back from her so I could see Gretchen. “Gretchen? You okay?”
The woman looked a little shell-shocked, as silent as ever. But she suddenly swept forward and hugged me. I held her as she sobbed, and the brothers eased past us. I nodded my thanks to them as they went, and when Gretchen was all cried out, I helped her over to the couch.
“Just relax here,” I said to them. “I’ll be right back.”
They nodded and huddled together. I went into the kitchen, to find the men putting a meal together for the women. Coffee was already brewing, and Kael was frying bacon. It looked like it was to be breakfast. I supposed it was closer to breakfast than dinner at that point.
“Thank you,” I said to them, and they all stopped what they were doing. “You did it. Thank you.”
“Was there any doubt?” Blaise smirked.
“The Sander’s County P”—I cleared my throat—“gang is pretty large. If you were caught…”
“We know these woods,” Kael reminded me. “We know how to get around them silently. You didn’t need to worry.”
“But it’s nice that you did,” Zaire added as he stepped up to me. “How about a celebration kiss?”
His lips were on mine before I could answer, and my arms went around his shoulders automatically. The scent of earth was embedded in his clothing, but Zaire’s smell, that sexy fragrance of musky man, rose over it. I groaned and kissed him deeper, but before I could get too carried away, I was swung away from him.
I had a glimpse of Kael’s green eyes, flashing with heat, before his mouth was on mine. His kiss was more savage than Zaire’s, almost possessive. His chest pressed into me while his arms held me hostage. I couldn’t move an inch, but I didn’t want to. His slashing kiss was a mix of teeth and tongue, and I gloried in the wild feeling it gave me.
Then he was gone, and a pair of warm brown eyes smiled into mine before Blaise eased me into a tender kiss. Brushing lips slowly molded firmly to mine, and a teasing tongue lured me to play. But as gentle as his kiss was, Blaise’s hands roamed my body boldly, and when his palm slid up, under my skirt, and over my backside, his brothers began to clear their throats pointedly.
Blaise let me go, and I reeled, blushing and blinking in embarrassment. I felt like I’d been cast adrift after being drug along behind a steam ship. I was bobbing in the waves they created with their boldness, on the verge of capsizing.
“Tempest.” Zaire steadied me. “Was that too fast? We’re sorry. We can go slower.”
Instead of answering him, I pulled him back into another kiss. Blaise chuckled as Zaire responded with a moan and a pair of grasping hands.
“And you gave me flack over it,” Blaise noted.
This time, I finished the kiss, pulling away when I was good and ready. It made me feel more in control, and I stepped away with a smile.
“No, it wasn’t too much.” I smiled sensuously. “I’ve decided that I like the idea of dating all of you, and I want to explore our relationships farther… after the ladies are taken care of.”
“Of course” Blaise started, but then was cut off.
“Fuck,” Kael swore as the scent of burned bacon wafted through the room. He snatched up the pan and tossed the pork cinders into the sink. He opened the kitchen window, then turned back to me and smirked. “One kiss and you’re already a dangerous distraction.” Kael grabbed my hips and pulled me into his chest. “I think I need another to see me through the night.”
Blaise was nibbling on my neck before Kael’s kiss ended. He needed a little fortification as well. But we simmered down after the second round was through, and finished cooking breakfast for the women. We carried it out to the living room, only to find them asleep in each others arms.
“Come on,” Zaire whispered, “let’s leave them be.”
We headed back into the kitchen, where we ate the breakfast we’d prepared for the exhausted women, and went over our options. They still hadn’t found any evidence of the other captives, so as far as I was concerned, my job wasn’t finished. Which meant that I couldn’t call SCCIT. But I wanted to get the women home to their families, who were no doubt terrified for their safety. So we decided that Blaise would drive them to the Shoshone Medical Center, over in Idaho, in the morning. There they could be cared for, and they could notify the police without involving us.
Speaking of us, I got hot looks in between bites of food, and it started making me nervous. I didn’t want them to get the wrong idea. Just because I was down with dating them all, and I had enjoyed a minor make-out session, didn’t mean I wanted to jump into bed with them. So, how did I let them know I wasn’t ready for sex without being too crass about it?
“I’m not fucking you guys tonight,” I blurted. Then I groaned and held a hand to my forehead while they laughed. “I mean,” I tried again, “I’m not ready to make our relationship sexual yet.”
“Darling, it’s already sexual.” Kael smirked. “But don’t worry, no one expected that. I think I speak for us all when I say we’re wiped out.”
“Not that it matters.” Zaire sent Kael a look. “Because it’s too soon for us to go that far.”
“Uh, yeah.” Kael nodded. “Sure. Too soon.”
“I’m happy with just kissing you.” Blaise grinned. “We could do that all night as far as I’m concerned.”
“But we’re not,” Zaire huffed, turning his annoyed look on his other brother. “Are we? Because we need to give Tempest some space, and a little time to process this.”
“I know,” Blaise said defensively. “I was just saying I’m okay with only kissing her for now.”
“I’m going to bed.” I stood and they all stood with me. “We can talk about this in the morning.”
“Tempest,” Kael said.
“In the morning, Kael,” I sighed.
“I was just going to ask if you wanted my help up the stairs,” he said softly. “After all your efforts towards surmounting the hill earlier, I thought perhaps your feet would be hurting you.”
“Oh.” I felt like an ass. “Yes, please.”
The entire trip upstairs was torture.
Chapter Twelve
“I wonder if this stuff works on wrinkles?” I mused to my reflection as I rubbed more of Mama Medvedev’s salve onto my face.
My bruises were nearly gone, and my feet were well enough to walk on. The stuff was miraculous. I really needed to talk to the brothers about selling it. They’d be millionaires, billionaires possibly.
“Temptress?” Blaise called from outside my door. “I mean, Tempest?”
“Cute,” I said as I opened it. “Hey, Baby Bear.”
Blaise froze, his eyes going wide. “What did you call me?”
“Baby bear.” I laughed and gave his shoulder a push. “Your name, Medvedev. You know it means ‘bear’, right? And my codename is Goldilocks. I had a good laugh over it when it occurred to me last night. Goldilocks and the three bears. Isn’t that funny?”
“Yeah.” Blaise’s smile looked strained. Then his eyes narrowed. “Why am I Baby Bear?”
“Aren’t you the youngest?” I blinked in surprise. “That’s what Zaire said when he introduced you.”
“Well”—he paused—“yeah. Sure.”
“You don’t sound sure.” I laughed. “You do know what order the three of you were born in, right?”
“Oh, yeah.” Blaise shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking. Yes, I’m the youngest. Kael is the first born.”
“Yes, Zaire said that too.”
“Does that make him Mama Bear?” Blaise smirked.
“I suppose.” I giggled, then caught myself. Giggling again, what would the other agents think?
“I’m heading out to take the ladies to Shoshone,” Blaise said. “I thought you might
like to say goodbye.”
“Oh.” I hurried out of the room. “Yes, thank you.”
“Your feet are better?” Blaise asked as I made my way slowly, but steadily, down the stairs.
“Yeah”—I glanced back at him—“and look at my face! Your mother’s salve is amazing. You need to manufacture it.”
“Can’t,” he said simply.
I stopped halfway down and looked back at him.
“It has a rare ingredient.” Blaise shrugged. “We couldn’t mass produce it.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.” I blinked. “Thank you for sharing so much of it with me.”
“Of course.” He took my hand and we walked the rest of the way to the living room together. “We couldn’t let you suffer.”
“Tempest.” Lucy came forward as soon as she saw me. She gave a hesitant look to my hand joined with Blaise’s, then hugged me.
I let go of Blaise so I could hug her back.
“I can never repay you for what you did,” Lucy said as she pulled away.
“It’s my job.” I smiled. “No repayment needed. The Government is footing the bill, and since I’m assuming you pay taxes, in a way, you have paid me.”
“You know what I mean,” she scolded me with a grin. “Thank you. I get to see my children again because of you. They get to have their mother back.”
“Mothers are very important,” Blaise whispered.
“Yes, they are”—Gretchen stepped up—“and Tempest isn’t the only one who has restored a mother to her family. Thank you.” She hugged Blaise.
“We were happy to help you,” Zaire said as he walked up with Kael. “But if you could leave our names out of any police reports, that would be great.”
“Of course,” Lucy agreed. “I don’t blame you for wanting to stay out of it. No doubt they’d be on your doorstep by the end of the day, bombarding you with questions.”
“Don’t mention me either,” I said to her. “My organization is a little clandestine. We do the shady work no one can hear about.”
“We understand,” Gretchen said. “Like the CIA or something like that.”
“Yes something like that.” I nodded, then hugged her. “Go on now, get home to your families. We don’t want to keep them waiting any longer than necessary.”
There were a few more thank yous as the women walked out. Kael, Zaire, and I followed them onto the front porch. We waved as Blaise drove them away, and something eased inside me. Three down, eleven to go. I turned to look at the men.
“No,” Zaire said with wide eyes. “No to whatever you’re thinking.”
“I just think”
“No.” Kael crossed his arms.
“But my feet are much better today.” I tried again.
“Hell no, Tempest.” Zaire turned and went back inside. “Get your fine ass in here, and not another damn word about the women.”
“They are being abused,” I growled.
“There are a lot of people being abused,” Kael said grimly as he closed the front door. “Most are being hurt far worse than those women, I’m fairly certain.”
“You may be right,” I agreed. “There are probably others who are being tortured and abused worse than these women, who were sold into sexual slavery. There is horror everywhere. Children being beaten, bombs falling on families, people massacred and forced to flee their countries. So should I stop trying to help? Should I give up on these women because their plight is not the worst?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Kael eyes flashed.
I blinked. That had to be a trick of the light. His eyes couldn’t have actually glowed.
“We can go back and look through the cabin again.” Zaire claimed my attention. “If that’s what you want, Tempest. We just don’t want to risk you joining us. You’re not fully recovered yet, and you know it.”
“I need to do something!” I shouted. “I can’t just sit here while the three of you go out without me. I feel so…”
“Impotent,” Zaire offered.
“Yes,” I sighed.
“I don’t like that word.” Kael grimaced.
Zaire and I chuckled as Kael strode past us. He took a seat in the living room and looked at us pointedly. We joined him.
“It’s morning,” Kael said. “You said we’d talk in the morning.”
“I’m not done talking about the missing women,” I growled.
“We will investigate further,” Zaire said. “I promise you. Now can we talk about us?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Blaise?” I asked.
“He gave us the go ahead to talk to you without him.” Zaire smirked.
“Alright.” I smoothed my dress nervously. “Where should we start?”
“We would like to rotate days,” Kael said immediately.
“Rotate days?” I asked.
“I would spend the first day with you,” Kael explained. “Then Zaire, then Blaise, then back to me. A cycle.”
“A cycle of dating,” I said, just to be clear.
“Dating, getting to know each other, whatever you want to call it.” Kael shrugged. “We want to spend some time with you individually.”
“If you agree, I’ll leave now,” Zaire said. “We may have other avenues open to us as far as investigating the Wright gang goes.”
“What avenues?” I sat up, instantly alert. “Why didn’t you mention them before?”
“Acquaintances.” Kael took over. “Dangerous acquaintances who we don’t associate with anymore.”
“Friends of our parents,” Zaire went on. “But they know everyone in this area, and they could help us find the women.”
“Alright,” I agreed. “Go talk to your acquaintances, and I’ll spend time with Kael.”
“That was easy.” Zaire chuckled.
“I want to go over all the information you collect,” I said to Zaire. “As soon as you return.”
“And there she is.” Kael laughed. “You gotta admire her tenacity.”
“I do.” Zaire lifted my hand to his lips. “Enjoy your date, Tempest. I’ll find those women for you, then you can give me your full attention on our date tomorrow.”
“Deal.” I smiled as he kissed the back of my hand.
Chapter Thirteen
Kael packed a bag, then led me out of the house. We didn’t go too far, just up a rise of land in their front yard. Yes, front. The house was situated to look over the mountain, placing the back of it facing out towards the cliff. That was the way I’d come up. The front, with the access road, faced the mountain. So we actually went across the street to reach the rise.
It was good to stretch my legs, and the light hike made me feel better about my failed performance the day before. Kael gave me a few concerned glances but didn’t offer to help. I appreciated that; a man who helped when needed, but also knew when not to. We reached a plateau after a few feet of climbing. There was a nice carpet of grass, but Kael spread out a blanket anyway. I sat and sighed, appreciating the view.
The lower lands were emerald patches spotted with homes. As the terrain rose, the grasslands gave way to Ponderosa pines and then a forest of Douglas-firs. The treetops looked like a velvet blanket from so far above, and the gentle slope of mountains in the distance became blue-gray pillows. A bird cried out for its mate forlornly, and I looked to Kael.
He had laid out some simple food to snack on; bread, cheese, and slices of hard salami. There was also a bottle of wine and two glasses. Kael filled one for me, then one for himself. We sat together, sipping our wine and staring at the view, for awhile before I finally broke the silence.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it.” I made my confession to the view. “That night I found your house.”
I chanced a glance at him and found him regarding me somberly. The sun was turning his hair from ebony to ivory in places, making it gleam like glass. His eyes were shadowed by his angled head, as were his rough-hewn features. Kael seemed softer, yet more there somehow, more present. As if he could
sit that way forever, waiting for me to continue… and he’d be happy about it.
“I don’t even remember the pain,” I went on. “I mean, I remember that there was pain, just not the extent of it.”
“We often block out the worst, so we can breathe again,” Kael whispered.
I looked back at him, but this time, he was the one staring outward. Lost to his own past. I reached for his hand without thinking, and he flinched at the contact. I started to pull away, but he grasped at me suddenly and met my gaze.
“Tragedy may dull the memory,” Kael squeezed my hand, “but it also sharpens our happiness, makes us appreciate it more. I don’t regret the pain in my past, and I don’t believe you regret yours either.”
“No, I don’t.” I smiled. “Especially because it helped to save three women.”
“I wanted that once.” He sighed. “I wanted to be a savior. I suppose it sounds narcissistic, and perhaps even cliché, but I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives.”
“You’ve made a difference in mine,” I offered. “And in Lucy’s and Gretchen’s.”
He leaned towards me slowly and I met him halfway. A sweet kiss, just a gentle sharing of the moment. His lips pressed into mine and moved ever so slightly. More of a hug than a kiss. Still, it sent tingles shooting down my spine. When he pulled away, sunlight caught in his eyes, and I saw that I wasn’t the only one deeply affected by the brief touch.
“My mother told me once that I have a hero complex.” His voice was rough, and he had to clear it before he went on. “That I was born to rage at the injustices of the world. Shake my fist at the sky.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“She thought it was..” He shrugged. “Mom believed it was better to go through life quietly.” He frowned and looked down towards his home. “She said it was the best way to protect your family. That trying to save anyone else was the surest way to hurt the ones you really loved.”
