by Dale Mayer
“But all those women,” she whispered. “And that’s such a shitty reason to die, because he got a new one for his collection.”
“Any of this is a shitty reason to die,” he said. “The good news is, it wasn’t your turn.”
She smiled up at him and said, “No, not anymore, thanks to you.”
“You rescued yourself the first time,” he said. “I had to redeem myself and rescue you this time.”
She chuckled. “So now you can be Sir Galahad. Get me treated and take me home, please, preferably to bed.”
He helped her into the front of the SUV. Then he turned to Nico, still with fake Sammy and the police.
Nico waved him off. “I’m going up to the other house of horrors. I want to make sure that Ambrose is dead.”
“Let us know, please.” Miles then gently maneuvered the SUV through the throng and headed back toward the hospital. “I suggest we call your sister and let her know you’re okay.”
“Oh, yes, please.”
He pulled out his phone and called the number as she reeled it off again.
When Ruby answered the phone, he put it on Speaker, and Vanessa cried out, “Ruby?”
And Ruby started to bawl. “Oh, my God,” she said. “Please tell me that you’re safe.”
“I’m safe,” she said. “Miles rescued me.”
At that, the two women spoke quietly as he drove steadily back toward the heart of London. He took her to the hospital and back into the emergency room, where she was treated right away, with the rest of her wounds checked over and finally bandaged up. He put the painkiller medication in his pocket, and he led her back to her apartment. Ruby was staying with her friends for the night, and Miles didn’t plan on leaving Vanessa’s side.
When they got to the front steps, he swooped her into his arms, and she chuckled. “You know something? I could get used to this.”
“Well, it’s certainly not a hardship on my part either,” he said. “You could gain a few pounds as far as I’m concerned.”
“Not until after my modeling contract is done,” she said.
“What about the scar on your shoulder? Will that hurt your career?”
“Nah,” she said. “I’ll wear that proudly.”
Inside her apartment, he set her gently on her feet and took a look around. “Where was he?”
Her lips trembled as she pointed and told Miles exactly what had happened and where fake Sammy had jumped out of the closet at her.
Miles nodded and asked, “Do you want me to check the place?”
She thought about it, then smiled and shook her head. “No, I think we’re good now.”
“Good for you,” he said, “but I’m not taking any chances.” And he swept through the entire apartment, checking under the beds and in the closets. When his phone rang a little bit later, he answered to hear Nico confirm that John Smith alias John Ambrose was dead. Smiling, he hung up the phone and walked in to see her lying in bed.
“So, good news,” he said. “John Smith aka John Ambrose is also dead. Confirmed by Nico.”
She smiled. “Good. So it’s over with.”
“It is.” He sat down on the side of the bed and frowned at her. “How’s the pain?”
She smiled and said, “It’s terrible. I think you need to kiss it all better.”
He murmured gently as he lowered his head. “But then I don’t know where I wouldn’t have to kiss,” he said. “There are so many beautiful areas to touch, to kiss.”
She arched up underneath his body, sliding her good arm up and around his neck and said, “Well, you better get started then.”
He lifted his head, dropping little kisses on her chin and her lips, and stopped to ask, “Are you sure?”
“I have never been more certain of anything in my life.” She tucked him lower and kissed him deeply.
When he pulled his head back, he said, “Wow, you pack a punch, lady.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve got a lot of bruises for it.” And then she smiled. “Let’s celebrate life and leave all that death and nastiness behind.”
“That works for me,” he whispered, then pulled himself back and quickly stripped down.
She nodded. “Right. And I’m so damn injured it would be a little hard to be sexy while trying to get me undressed.”
He laughed. “Sweetie, you’ll always be sexy.”
But it took a little bit of effort to gently get the clothes off her body without hurting her, and then she stood in front of him, not quite as tall as he was, but definitely thin yet curvy, her breasts just the perfect size for his hands.
He shook his head. “Like I said, you’re beautifully gorgeous. Even more so than your photos.” He bent down and pulled all the blankets and sheets back, and she laid back down again. “Considering how banged up you are,” he said as he waggled his eyebrows, then he leaned down beside her as he laid down on his back. Plus he didn’t want to bring up bad old memories of that man from her childhood laying atop her. He’d have to gently work around to that.
She didn’t get it for a moment, and then she laughed and rolled over on top with him and said, “You know what? That’s a darn good idea.” And she gently kissed him.
But he wouldn’t just lie there. Instead, his hands stroked like feathers up and down her skin, careful of the bruised areas, her ribs and her sore shoulder.
“Every damn part of me hurts,” she moaned. “But I want this so much.” And she kissed him and let her tongue tangle with his as she laid on top of him, completely from hip to chest, as his hands gently cupped and caressed the hills and valleys, taking the time to gently raise the passion between them, a passion which was already and always had been just barely banked between them.
When finally shuddering and quaking, she pushed herself up and murmured, “I don’t think I can wait.”
She raised herself up and then lowered herself slowly on his erection, coming down to seat herself firmly at the base. She arched backward using her good arm, and she grabbed a hold of his leg and pushed herself deeper and deeper against him. She could hear him groaning underneath. Slowly she shifted forward and leaned down, pressing her good arm on his shoulder and started to ride.
He reached up and grasped her hips gently in his hands, holding her so she didn’t go too high, and raising his hips up as they found a rhythm between them. And faster and faster, her body naturally picking up the rhythm as they both drove to the cliff edge. Finally she cried out, and he ground up deep and hard against her, his hands holding her hips firm against him, and he joined her over the cliff. She slowly slid down, ignoring the pain as she came down a little too hard on her ribs, and he tucked her up close. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “My ribs are a bit tender.”
He kissed her gently and tucked her up into the blankets and said, “You’ve had painkillers. Maybe just sleep.”
“And maybe not,” she whispered. “I feel like every time I turn around, I get knocked unconscious, and I’m forced into sleep. I don’t want to sleep right now. Just remind me of all the good things in life.”
“I could tell you how I fell in love with you the very first time I saw your photo in the swimsuit issue of a magazine.”
She laughed, a happy sound that reverberated in his heart. “When was this?”
“About ten years ago.”
“Wow. I had just landed my first big modeling gig.”
“And you are even more beautiful now.”
“Wow. You can talk to me about the good things in my life any time you want to,” she said with a happy sigh, her breathing slowing down more and more.
He leaned over and kissed her gently. “We have a lifetime for that,” he said. “There’s no rush.”
“Promise?” she whispered.
He nodded. “I promise.” And he gently drew the sheet up over her body, then rearranged it so that she was tucked up against him spoon style and held her close.
“I’m really glad that you rescu
ed me,” she whispered.
“Me too,” he said. “You aren’t the only one who’ll have nightmares.”
She laced her fingers between his and held him close, then whispered, “That’s okay. I’ll be here to hold you through the worst of them.”
He smiled and whispered against her ear, “Ditto.”
She chuckled, and her eyes drifted closed. And, caught up in the circle of love and in his arms, she fell asleep once again.
Epilogue
Nico walked away from the house of horrors, feeling something sickening growing inside him and trying to retch outward. He rarely got sick on a job, but, man, seeing the prison where those poor women had been kept and seeing how wretched their lives had been just made Nico seriously ill. He had a quiet sense of satisfaction though for finally closing a case that had tormented him for years. But the way it had closed, … it was beyond painful. He desperately wanted everyone to have a happy ending, and, in a way, because both Vanessa and Ruby were fine, he got one here, but he wanted to kill that bastard over and over again for the useless deaths of the other sixteen redheads.
When his phone rang, he looked down to see it was one of the Mavericks calling.
“Don’t even begin to ask me to do a job right now,” he said. “I’m quietly being sick in the back yard.”
“I’m sorry,” Miles said. “That was a rough one, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it was. These assholes needed to be stopped. At least we finally got them.”
“Well, you give me a call when you’re ready because I’ve got another asshole who needs to be stopped.”
“Is it as shitty as this one?”
Miles sighed. “It could be much worse, so call me when you’re ready.”
Nico Stratus stared at his phone in disbelief. A message from Miles. He was half-expecting it, but, at the same time hadn’t really been expecting it. It was one of those things that he knew was coming, yet he just didn’t know when. But it had been days ago that he’d expected it, and, when it didn’t come, he’d relaxed. The timing was really crappy right now. He had groceries in a shopping cart in front of him, and he was still halfway through the list in his hand. But then he hadn’t been planning on buying very much. Still, it was too much. The message from Miles was clear.
Leave now.
Swearing softly, he walked away from his shopping cart, knowing that’s the last thing that he would normally do. He shrugged, not having much choice. When he got outside to his car, a nine-by-thirteen brown envelope sat on the front seat. He snatched it up, read the cover note atop the file folder with one burner phone inside and realized he was flying to Australia to a military air base. He swore at that because that would be an all-day trip with a time change to adjust to as well. He drove home quickly and parked his vehicle in the underground parking, then walked up to his apartment and snagged his to-go bags. He did a check to make sure everything had been replenished since his last op before he turned and walked back out again. He had no idea when he’d be back. He was currently living in San Diego and close to Coronado’s military base. That meant a fast flight out.
As he hopped into the waiting cab—courtesy of Miles and the Mavericks—and was driven to the airport, Nico studied the files in the folder. His itinerary was there as well as a dossier. He stared at it and shook his head, whispering, “Why the hell am I even going for something like this?”
Just then his new burner phone beeped, and a series of texts rolled through.
Parcel waiting for you at the airport. More burner phones. All communication to be silent.
He quickly texted back. Does anybody know I’ll be there?
Only your partner, who you will meet over there.
And the Australian government is okay with this?
Not likely but they don’t know. And we’re not telling them at this time. If we can keep it secret, we need to.
Seriously?
Yes. This issue has layers that you don’t know about. We need this to be a total blacked-out version of black ops. You’ll get all the help you need otherwise.
And the Australian police aren’t handling this why? No need for them to know the layers either. And just what kind of case is this?
A woman has gone missing. She’s a prominent figure as an activist.
Great. No lack of suspects then. He shook his head. And the problem here again is?
Charlotte was over there for a big rally in support of the indigenous people and their problems, injustices in face of the climate issues. She was supposed to give a big speech. Only she wasn’t there to give the speech.
And she just disappeared?
From her hotel room, yes.
And she’s been reported as a missing person?
Yes, and the police are on it.
He waited because, of course, if the police were still looking for Charlotte, why was Nico called in?
And? He finally typed in exasperation when there was no answer. He looked around to see that they were maybe ten minutes away from the airport.
His phone beeped again, and the text read, She’s the sister of somebody high up in the government who is undercover at the moment.
“So then I’m sure the Australian government and the local police authorities will be happy to cooperate,” he muttered to himself.
But the next text came. And it’s also secret.
Shit. So I can’t ask for help?
Not from the regular channels. The American government has already expressed concern with the Australian government, and everybody is open and cooperating … but …
But this is specialized?
Very. They have their own black-op operatives.
Ransom demand?
Not yet. We have very little information on our own.
Do we have any clue to where she’s being kept and why her?
It could be because of her high public outburst against the treatment of the indigenous people in Australia.
Oh. That could do it.
Possibly, but then she’s been fairly outspoken for a long time, Miles texted. She’s an anthropologist working around the world to promote better treatment for the original people of every country. And it just happens to be Australia that she’s in now.
Is she the activist author who’s been in the news a lot? Nico asked.
Yes, that’s her. What we’re really concerned about is that our man’s been compromised, and she’s been taken for him.
This concludes Book 7 of The Mavericks: Miles.
Read about Nico: The Mavericks, Book 8
The Mavericks: Nico (Book #8)
What happens when the very men—trained to make the hard decisions—come up against the rules and regulations that hold them back from doing what needs to be done? They either stay and work within the constraints given to them or they walk away. Only now, for a select few, they have another option:
The Mavericks. A covert black ops team that steps up and break all the rules … but gets the job done.
Welcome to a new military romance series by USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. A series where you meet new friends and just might get to meet old ones too in this raw and compelling look at the men who keep us safe every day from the darkness where they operate—and live—in the shadows … until someone special helps them step into the light.
With barely enough time to recover from helping out Miles in London, Nico is off to Australia … and a secret mission involving a US covert operative …
When an American undercover operative’s sister goes missing in Australia, Nico has to find out if this is connected to the operative or to the sister’s own activist background. Apparently she made enemies easily.
Charlotte hadn’t wanted to make this trip in the first place, preferring to communicate her polarizing messages through writing her books now. But, bowing under pressure, she finally arrives in Australia, only to be attacked within minutes of reaching her hotel room for the night. After her rescue, she’s forced to dig deep into her f
amily and public life to find the mastermind kidnapper and to stay safe as the bodies pile up.
Nothing makes sense in this twisted mission, but Nico is determined to keep Charlotte safe, even as things take a more personal turn …
Find book 8 here!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Miles: The Mavericks, Book 7! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
I love to hear from readers, and you can contact me at my website: www.dalemayer.com or at my Facebook author page. To be informed of new releases and special offers, sign up for my newsletter or follow me on BookBub. And if you are interested in joining Dale Mayer’s Reader Group, here is the Facebook sign up page.
Cheers,
Dale Mayer
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About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
