Black List: HOT Heroes for Hire: Mercenaries: A Black’s Bandits Novel

by Lynn Raye Harris

  He slipped his thumb over her lower lip, caressing it. “Jace is short for Jason—like Jason Bourne in the movies. Kaiser comes from another movie.”

  “Which movie is that?”

  “The Usual Suspects. Keyser Söze. He’s a total badass who hides in plain sight for much of the movie. He’s right in front of the police and they don’t even know it. I changed the spelling to the German for emperor.”

  Jason Bourne and Keyser Söze. Two utter badasses in his opinion. Men who didn’t let anything stop them.

  “I like it. It suits you.”

  “I can’t tell you my birth name, Maddy. I know you want to know. But that name—there’s a lot of baggage that comes with it.”

  She dropped her gaze. “I understand.”

  He tipped her chin up. “Do you?”

  She swallowed. “Yes. I mean I wish you trusted me enough to tell me more, but I understand why you don’t.”

  “I don’t think you do,” he murmured, searching her gaze.

  “That’s not fair. I haven’t pushed you.”

  “No, you haven’t. But Maddy—I don’t tell you because it could mean the difference between life and death. That name—my name—is death. Better you don’t know.”

  She shivered as she burrowed into the circle of his arm. “I wish you wouldn’t say stuff like that.”

  “I’m only telling the truth.”

  “So you say your real name and I drop dead? It’s silly.”

  “No, you won’t drop dead. But if anyone comes looking for me, and you know the truth, you’re vulnerable. I won’t put you in that position.”

  He could tell he was scaring her with this kind of cryptic talk because she shivered in his arms. “It’s three a.m., Jace. Take me back to bed, please.”

  He searched her gaze. “Back to bed to sleep? Or back to bed for something else?”

  She ghosted her thumb over his lower lip. Heat flared in his groin at that tender gesture. “I want to scream your name. Loudly. Often.”

  He growled as he kissed her. “I can make that happen.”

  They fucked hard. Harder than she might have expected, but considering what he’d revealed to her over early morning pizza, maybe she shouldn’t be surprised. There was an edge of desperation to Jace as he licked her into a screaming orgasm and then rolled over and let her ride him hard and fast until they both exploded.

  Yet it still wasn’t enough. He’d disappeared to take care of the condom, then returned with his hand wrapped around his still-hard cock. When he’d rolled on another condom, she’d been amazed—and turned on beyond belief.

  He’d flipped her over and lifted her ass in the air. Maddy had clutched the pillow in her arms as he slid into her from behind. They’d both groaned at the incredible sensitivity of their joining. Then Jace bent over her and bit her shoulder while pumping into her. His fingers found her clit, working it as he fucked her from behind.

  Maddy shoved backward onto his cock, taking him deep, moaning with the rightness of it. She’d never been wild in bed—until Jace. Now, she wanted everything he could give her. Because she feared their time was limited.

  “Jace,” she gasped as he lifted her hips, holding her hard to him and thrusting deep and fast. When he swatted her cheek, she thought for the briefest of moments that she might be angry with him. But then he swatted her again and her ass stung—and it turned her on. “Again,” she cried.

  He spanked her harder, hitting both cheeks, and Maddy writhed and moaned and thought she was crazy. Who liked being spanked during sex? She did, apparently. Who knew?

  He spanked her once more, harder than before, and she gasped—then he reached around and pinched her clit in a quick rhythm while pumping into her faster. Maddy came unglued, straightening until her back was pressed to his chest, until she could turn her head and kiss him while he thrust upwards into her body. He didn’t stop stroking into her, stroking her clit, and her orgasm steamrolled over her with incredible force and turned her into a begging, gyrating mess.

  When it was done, she slowly collapsed, sliding down his body and panting into the pillow. He was still hard inside her. Still throbbing. He hadn’t come yet. Which meant more deliciousness was about to happen.

  He flipped her over, hooked his arms behind her knees and spread her wide. Then he rode her until she exploded again. This time he went too, groaning brokenly as he poured himself into her, his body twitching as his balls emptied into the condom.

  They were sweating as they lay side by side. Breathing hard. Jace reached for her hand, twined his fingers into hers. He didn’t say anything for several minutes and neither did she. Then he broke the companionable silence by getting up and disappearing for a few moments. When he returned, he lay down and gathered her close, wrapping his arms around her as he tugged her into the circle of his embrace.

  “You’re beautiful,” he murmured sleepily.

  “So are you.” And then her heart tossed up a new thought. She didn’t speak this one aloud though.

  I love you.

  Maddy shuddered. How could you love a man you hardly knew? How could you know he was the one when you didn’t have much experience of men and relationships?

  He just is. He’s the one.

  He’d taken care of her, even when he’d thought she was someone else. He’d broken his orders to talk to her because she was sad over Mimi, and he’d guarded her fiercely like she was a priceless treasure. Bad men didn’t do things like that. Bad men didn’t care about others.

  Maddy fell asleep with strong arms around her, troubled by uncertainty. She’d fallen for him and she wanted more time with him—but the way he talked, he wasn’t staying.

  Jace woke, showered, and pulled clothing from the bag Ty had brought over from the other house last night. When he stepped back into the bedroom, Maddy was still asleep. She wasn’t a big woman, but she sprawled. Her bed was queen-sized, but she’d nearly pushed him out of it with her spread-eagled way of sleeping. She was still sprawling on her belly, one knee bent, the other leg shoved over onto his side of the bed. Her arms were above her head, hugging the pillow, and her hair spread down her naked back where the covers had slipped free and across onto his pillow.

  He thought about waking her, just so he could spend a little more time with her, but it was better if she slept. He strode out into the living room. Kitty looked up from her position on one of the couch pillows and meowed at him. Then she jumped down and followed him into the kitchen while he repeated Maddy’s actions of last night and got out a can of moist cat food for her.

  She was purring when he set it on the floor. He gave her a stroke from head to tail and she arched her back in pleasure.

  “Hope you forgive me for keeping your mama all to myself last night.”

  Kitty continued purring and ignored him. She’d been indignant last night though. She was accustomed to sleeping with Maddy and she didn’t like that someone else was in her bed with her person. She’d crawled all over him while he was trying to sleep. Sniffed him. Then swatted him awake with her paw on his head. He’d had to gently remove her and set her outside the bedroom door. She’d meowed indignantly a couple of times and then left.

  Jace rose and searched for coffee. There was a coffee maker on the counter, so surely Maddy had some coffee somewhere. He found the bag of grounds and the filters. Soon, he had a pot going. His phone dinged with the sound of someone approaching the house. He viewed the camera feed and saw that it was Colt.

  Jace opened the door for his teammate. Colt looked him up and down, eyebrows lifting knowingly. “Looks like you had a great night.”

  “Careful, asshole.” He stepped back and Colt followed him inside. “If you jerks were listening to anything over here last night, I’ll disembowel you myself.”

  Colt held up a hand. “Nope, not me. Not Ty and not Brett either.”

  “Then why the comment?” Jace asked as he went into the kitchen to wait for the coffee.

  Colt leaned against the counter and
folded his arms. “Because you’ve been an uptight jackass ever since we grabbed Maddy Cole in Sokolov’s house. And today you’re not. You look remarkably relaxed. I know how that kind of relaxation happens so don’t even try to tell me it didn’t. You’ve been mixed up over that girl from the moment we caught her.”

  Mixed up? Was he? He thought of it more like obsessed. In a good way, not a I’m going to follow you everywhere until you love me kind of way. Not that love was even an issue here. They were having a mutually good time.

  Except, when he imagined himself leaving Maddy and never seeing her again, his gut twisted tight and pain emanated from that deep place inside that he thought he’d walled off years ago.

  “Maddy’s special,” he said. “And I’m not talking about this with you. Whatever I did or didn’t do last night is none of your business.”

  Colt raised both hands. “Just an observation, dude.”

  “Did you find anything on Tom Walls?”

  Colt’s expression hardened. “Oh yeah. Asshole has a history of assaulting women. And getting away with it. He chooses women who’re working for him, or working for someone he’s hired, like Angie’s accounting firm, and he leans hard on their vulnerabilities. Who will your boss believe? kind of stuff. If they work for him directly, then he leans on the fact he can fire them. This isn’t his first time trying to force a woman to have sex with him. No woman has ever filed charges against him though.”

  Jace was angry. “Motherfuckers like that need their balls cut off and fed to them.”

  “I’d be happy to take care of that.”

  Jace studied his friend. Colt looked angry, like he could break a steel beam in half with his bare hands and never break a sweat. “You like her.”

  Colt’s brows drew tighter, the frown lines in his forehead making him look meaner than an angry bull. Toddlers would scream if they were treated to that expression. Old ladies would clutch their pearls as they scurried away.

  “I don’t know what that means,” he said. “She’s pretty, sure. But I’m pissed that someone hurt her.”

  Jace wisely didn’t pursue it. But he’d seen the way Colt looked at Angie Turner last night. And the way Angie very carefully didn’t look at him. Jace couldn’t figure out if it was because she wasn’t attracted to him—or because she was.

  “So where does Walls hang out? Or should we pay him a visit at his garage?”

  “He likes titty clubs. Lately he’s been hanging out at the Pink Palace, pretending to be a nice guy to the girls there. Tips big, doesn’t touch inappropriately.”

  “Give him time,” Jace said.

  “I’d love to have a talk with him soon,” Colt said. “The sooner the better.”

  Jace poured a cup of coffee and offered it to Colt. He accepted, so Jace poured another for himself. “I’m with you on that, but first we have to get Maddy settled.”

  “Get me settled where?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Maddy had followed the smell of coffee to the kitchen. Colt leaned against the counter with a cup to his lips and Jace stood nearby, also holding a cup. Her gaze darted between them. She didn’t miss the shuttering of Jace’s gaze or the way Colt looked down like he’d been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing.

  “Baby, you want some coffee?”

  Maddy frowned. “Sure.”

  Jace got her a cup and poured. “Cream? Sugar?”

  “Cream.”

  He got the cream from the fridge like he’d lived there his whole life and poured in a healthy splash. Maddy pushed a stray lock of hair from her face as she accepted the cup. Jace’s gaze dropped down her body and she heated beneath the look he gave her. She hadn’t gotten dressed. She’d simply dragged on yoga pants and a sports bra with a light jacket. Her hair was a mess, but she’d twisted it into a high bun and secured most of it. Some of it fell free anyway.

  Maddy arched an eyebrow as she stared up at him. “Mind telling me what you were talking about and where you plan to settle me?”

  “Uh, maybe I should get moving,” Colt said, setting his cup on the counter. “Great seeing you, Maddy.”

  She threw up a hand, palm out in the universal talk to the hand signal. “Wait just a minute. Don’t you go anywhere. And you,” she said, turning back to Jace. “Start talking.”

  Jace leaned back against the counter. Sipped his coffee. Her heart tripped and flipped as she watched the slide of his throat, the way his eyes crinkled as he decided what to tell her. So damned handsome. So amazing. Had she really thought she hated him only a week ago?

  She’d been so furious when he’d handcuffed her to the airplane seat. Now she could imagine using those handcuffs in much more interesting ways.

  “Baby, you need to move to a safe house. It’s for your protection.”

  Maddy drew in a breath. Let it out. “Okay. But I have to take Kitty with me. I also have to be on call. If Barrington’s gives me an assignment, I have to go.”

  Jace and Colt exchanged a glance. “That was easy,” Jace said.

  Maddy popped a hand on her hip. “I’m not stupid and I don’t have a death wish. If you think I need to go to a safe house, I’ll go. But not without my cat.”

  “She can go with you.”

  As if Kitty knew they were talking about her, she sauntered over to Jace and rubbed herself on his legs. He reached down to pet her. “Good kitty,” he crooned. “So reasonable. Tell Mommy she’s reasonable too.”

  Maddy gave him a look. “Well thanks. I’m glad I’m reasonable. And you, missy,” she said to the cat, “way to suck up to the man.”

  “Reasonable and beautiful. Can’t forget that one.”

  Maddy grinned. Colt cleared his throat and she hurriedly sipped coffee. “So when do we go?” she asked after the hot liquid scalded its way over her tongue.

  “Sometime this morning, I hope. Just need you to pack a few things, get Kitty ready. We’ll load everything in your car because we don’t want anyone to see you packing for a trip. Then when we get the word we’ll go to the new location.”

  “Do you really think somebody is watching me?”

  Colt cleared his throat. “We have to consider every possibility.”

  Maddy studied them both. “Sounds reasonable. So why the secrecy?”

  Jace jerked his head toward Colt. “It wasn’t about you. He wants to go beat up the man who upset Angie last night.”

  Maddy gaped at Colt. “Really? You would do that for her?”

  “I would.”

  She was still processing it. “Wait—you guys looked him up, didn’t you?” She already knew that Angie had gotten home safely because her friend texted last night to tell her so. And Jace had confirmed that Colt watched her walk inside her townhouse, unbeknownst to Angie. “You know everything there is to know about him.”

  “We do. And we’re going to kick his fucking ass,” Colt said.

  Maddy was furious for her friend, but she couldn’t help smiling. “You’re sweet, Colt. Angie could use a guy like you in her corner.”

  “I’m in her corner. I’m going to make sure Tom Walls never bothers her again.”

  Maddy studied him closely. Did he like Angie? But then she thought of the way Angie had avoided his gaze last night, even though Colt was very much her type. Tall, blond, and handsome? Alpha male to his core? Muscular and intense? A week ago, Angie would have taken this guy home and rocked his world without a second thought. Last night, she’d pretended he didn’t exist.

  Which bothered Maddy a lot. What had Tom Walls done to her friend to dampen her vibrant spirit?

  She cleared her throat. “Do you think he did more than she said? She told me he grabbed her…”

  Colt’s brows drew down. “I don’t know—but I know he’s got a reputation. Believe me, Maddy, it’s my mission right now to shut him down so hard he won’t be able to breathe without coughing up blood for days. Weeks if I’m lucky.”

  She wanted to be horrified. Instead she was cheering deep ins
ide. She reached out and squeezed his arm. He was just as solid as Jace. Where did men like this come from? “Thanks, Colt. I appreciate that you want to protect her.”

  “He won’t hurt her again. I promise you that.”

  Maddy was sick that he’d hurt her at all. Still, she smiled, though her smile shook at the corners. “Thank you.”

  Colt drained his coffee. “I’d better get back. Talk to you both later.” He gave Jace a look. Jace didn’t so much as lift an eyebrow in return. Then Colt walked out and she heard the front door close behind him.

  “What was that all about?” she asked. “I know it was more than just Angie.”

  Jace drank his coffee, totally unperturbed. Then he sighed. “I’m not going with you to the safe house, Maddy. Colt will be with you though. You can trust him.”

  She concentrated on breathing slowly and deeply. Panic flared inside. She tamped it down hard. “Okay. Why aren’t you going?”

  His sky blue eyes met hers. “I’m too dangerous, baby. I can do a better job elsewhere.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “It means that I’m best equipped to search for Calypso before she strikes.”

  “That doesn’t address the danger part. Why are you too dangerous? What does that mean?”

  His gaze settled on her. Hard. “I told you last night. Or I told you part of it anyway. I can’t escape who I am, Maddy. And I won’t endanger you by staying close. I said that last night too.”

  Her throat was lined with razor blades. Panic dripped into her soul. “So last night was goodbye?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  She stared at him. Hard. “Maybe not in words. But I think you said it just the same.”

  He looked suddenly fierce, like he’d ripped off the veil hiding his emotions. What she saw in his eyes shocked her. “What you don’t understand is this—I’d do anything to keep you safe, Maddy. I’d cut off my own goddamn arm. And maybe that’s what I’m doing. Did you think of that?”

  Her coffee tasted like mud. She couldn’t drink it. She set it on the counter and crossed her arms. Anger bubbled swift and hot. “Yeah, well I didn’t ask you to do that, did I? Don’t sacrifice yourself for me, Jace Kaiser. I don’t want it.”