by Tia Didmon
“Fucking hell woman,” Brock said in uneven breaths.
“That was you not me,” she panted.
He turned her head to look him in the eyes. “This is us, and it always will be.”
Her cell phone rang. Her body tensed.
Brock rolled on his side. “Do you have to get that? You seem nervous.”
“That’s Kevin’s ringtone.”
Brock put his hands behind his head. “Then you should get it.”
Jane couldn’t believe he was so relaxed. Sure, the sex was exhausting but Kevin would kill them when he found out. “What do I tell him?”
Brock smiled. “You tell him the truth.”
Chapter 5
Jane grabbed the phone from her purse. She watched Brock’s eyes rake over her body. She stood in her heels and nothing else. She was surprised she was so comfortable around him. Clothes had always been part of her armor. “Are you sure?” she asked.
Brock nodded his head, continuing to watch her. “Tell him.”
“Hello Kevin,” she said in her business voice.
“Where are you? Danov is enraged. Your tracker is offline,” Kevin snapped
“I’m at the Texas Ranch. All the Cascade homes have dampening fields,” she said coolly.
Kevin paused. “The Marksman family home?” he asked. His interest apparent.
“Yes. I believed this was the goal. Was I incorrect? Do you wish me to abort?”
“No. Stay on task, but Jane, you are running out of time and I can’t keep Danov away long,” he said.
Jane’s stomach flipped. “Victor is not my assignment.”
“I will keep him leashed for now. Do you have any leads?”
She looked at Brock. He nodded. “Yes, Brock believes Brian has a bunker. Some form of a fallout shelter. Whether here or on another property is yet to be determined.”
Kevin huffed, “He was ever the survivalist. Didn’t help him in the end though.”
“How so?” Jane asked.
“Brian made a critical error in a business dealing and paid the price.”
“You killed him,” she stated flatly.
“Of course, Jane. No one crosses me. You know that.”
““I do,” she said curtly.
Jane heard the sound of a pen clicking before Kevin spoke. “I talked to Carla today.”
Pain squeezed Jane’s chest before she pushed it away. “Why? You know she won’t remember you.”
“I am ever curious. Anyway, I told her you would call tonight.”
Jane drew a calming breath. “It’s difficult when I am on assignment.”
Kevin’s tone dropped. “You will call her. Let’s not forget what is at stake here, Jane.”
“I never do.”
“You are resourceful. It’s a shame this is your final assignment. You have been extremely reliable.”
“I will uncover the bunker and the information you are looking for.”
“I know you will.” He hung up.
She looked down at the phone.
Brock’s hands touched her arms, startling her. She didn’t hear him move. “This is your last assignment? Why?”
Jane nodded. “I negotiated a three-year contract. If I complete every one of them to his satisfaction then I get to retire from working for him and get to care for my sister.”
“You believe he will just let you go?”
She looked at him. “That is the deal. He can’t make me work for him anymore.”
Brock frowned. “You know too much Jane. He may let you care for your sister but you would never see the light of day again. He won’t let an experiment go.”
Jane shivered. Brock wrapped his arms around her. “What did he mean when he said you were almost out of time?”
“My contract.”
Brock stilled. “When does it expire?’
“In two days.”
Brock smiled. “Excellent.”
Brock made love to Jane twice more during the night. He could have taken her several more times, but she was exhausted and he wanted her rested for what lay ahead. She didn’t show the emotions his cat felt from her but she was worried and that concerned him. She was entering the transition, and he needed to explain what would happen. The information she had on his species seemed spotty at best. He doubted she had an accurate idea of what would transpire next.
He heard his phone vibrate. He didn’t need the sound to know he had a text. He got out of bed and pulled on a pair of track pants Devon had in the dresser by the bed. He read the text and headed downstairs to meet Luca and Liam.
He nodded to the twins. They were playing rock, paper, scissors when he entered the room. “What’s up?”
Luca swore under his breath as he lost to Liam. “Hey. We need to tell you about Miss Eden.”
“I have some information for you as well,” Brock said.
Luca sniffed, then glanced at his twin. “Since you’re fucking Kallan’s assistant, I suggest you go first.”
Brock stepped up to his brother, their chest touching. “She’s my mate. If you disrespect her again, I will take you down.”
Luca stilled but didn’t back down. “You sure. I mean...”
Brock growled. “There is no mistaking one’s mate.”
Luca stepped back, holding up his hands. “Okay man, sorry. Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
Brock inclined his head. “My cat was confused. Kallan gave her a suppressant of some kind. It took a day before my cat was sure. She didn’t react to me like a mate should.”
Luca growled. “Fucking Kallan.”
Liam looked equally mad but said nothing.
Brock sighed. “That’s not the worst of it. We have a mole.”
“Talen mention that but I don’t believe it. No one would work for Kallan.” Luca growled.
“Kevin and Jane both mentioned things about the lair they shouldn’t know.”
Luca’s eyes were rimmed with amber. “Like what?’
“The fact that Talen is the lair leader.”
Luca rubbed his chin. “Talen was always destined to be the leader of our lair. Cyril knew that. He may have told Kallan.”
“True but he knows Aiden is a cougar.”
“No.” Luca said.
“Yes. He also knew about Brian’s missing stash of information. He didn’t, however, know about the bunker.”
Liam and Luca looked at one another. “Don’t we all know about the bunker?” Luca said.
Brock shook his head. “We discussed finding the missing information with everyone but only the Cascades know about the bunker. The coyotes and Aiden didn’t.”
Luca looked uncomfortable. “Does Cade know?”
Brock sighed. “Garrett does but the remainder of the Canadian lair wasn’t given that information.”
Luca eyes flickered. “It has to be a bug. We’ll have Garrett do another sweep.”
Brock understood his brother’s need to believe they hadn’t been betrayed. He felt the same way. “It’s not. He has specific information but not all of it. Garrett is too good at what he does. It’s not a bug.”
Luca frowned. “I hate this.”
Brock put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know.” He dropped his arm. “So, what do you need to tell me about Jane?”
Both men looked uncomfortable.
Brock’s face hardened. “Tell me.”
“They call her the Red Widow.”
Brock’s eyebrow scrunched. “Why?’
Luca sighed. “The red hair and the fact that any man she gets... involved with ends up dead.”
“How?”
“Assassinated. Two bullets in the head.”
“It isn’t her.”
Luca looked sympathetic. “Maybe not but someone is.”
“It must be Kallan,” Brock said.
“Maybe.” Luca said. “What’s the play?”
Brock sighed. “We find the bunker then we exchange the info for her sister.”
Luca looked
surprised. “Brock. Her twin died three years ago.”
Brock’s cat growled. “No, she said...”
He bounded up the stairs two at a time.
Brock swung open the door to the bedroom. He heard the shower running. He barged into the bathroom as Jane pulled the curtain back so she could peek past.
Jane wiped water from her eyes. “You just about gave me a heart attack.”
“You lied to me,” Brock growled.
Jane frowned. “About what?”
“Your sister.”
Anger flashed over her face. “You have no right... get out.” She closed the curtain in a jerking motion.
Brock pulled the curtain away, exposing her.
She covered her breasts with her arms. “What are you doing?”
Brock got in the shower, soaking his sweatpants. He didn’t care. He needed her to be honest with him. “My family did a background check on you. Your sister died three years ago. After effects of the crash.”
Jane turned away from him, letting the water run down her back, mixing with her fiery hair to create a crimson waterfall. “Those reports are false.”
Brock pulled the pants from his body. “You know she is reported dead?”
“Yes. Kevin said he doesn’t want the public to learn of your species. Carla’s condition is well documented. If she recovers, it will be a medical miracle. We agreed to change our names in the event he can cure her. Carla Eden is dead to the world.”
Brock gripped her hips. “Jane, listen to me. What he has done has ensured that no one comes looking for her. You will never leave her so he will use her to control you. That’s what he does.”
Jane shook her head. “He’s a bastard and a madman but he never goes back on a deal. It’s the one thing you can count on.”
“That’s true, but he is very good at finding loopholes,” Brock said.
“He won’t back out,” she reiterated.
“Why do you trust him?”
“I don’t, but he never fails to keep his end of a bargain. Not with my father and not with any client I have been assigned to.”
Brock stilled. “Your father?”
“Yes, he was an accountant. The Kallan Corporation was one of his clients,” she said.
“You said you never met him,” Brock growled.
“I didn’t until that day in the hospital but my father had mentioned him.”
Brock felt sick. He didn’t want to ask the next question. “What caused your parent’s crash?”
Jane turned around quickly. “Why would you ask that?”
Brock looked at her alarmed face. “I want it to be an accident. I do, but Kallan has a history of removing individuals with insider knowledge. An accountant would have just that.”
Jane stared at him for a long time. “The brakes went out on the car. A small hole in the brake fluid line. It was deemed an accident.”
Brock hated this. “You never considered that Kallan had targeted your family. That you were all supposed to die in that crash?”
Jane crossed her arms. “No because we never travelled as a family in my father’s company car. My mom’s car broke down and my parents... deemed it an emergency.”
Brock caught the undertone in her voice. “What was the emergency?”
Jane’s eyes looked pained. ‘It doesn’t matter.”
Brock pulled her to him. “Everything about you matters to me. The sooner you accept that the easier this will be.”
Jane’s lips pursed. “Carla was getting into trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Drinking. Partying. My parents were losing control of her. We were taking her to a program for troubled teens.”
“Did something happen to you that caused her behaviour?”
Jane shook her head. “No. She and I were straight-A students. Then, a few years before the accident, she began to change. My parents couldn’t figure it out. She barely talked to me those last few months.”
“And now?”
“She doesn’t remember the accident. She has reverted to the age of a ten-year-old. She relives the same day over and over. It’s from our childhood. The doctors can’t figure it out.”
“You don’t like talking to her? You seemed reluctant when Kevin mentioned it.”
“I love her. She has no concept of what is really going on around her. She is bubbly and funny.” Jane swallowed hard. “Sometimes she shows signs of healing but then the next day she forgets.”
Brock put his palms on either side of her face. “We will get her out Jane. You’re mine and I won’t let anything happen to you or your sister.”
Jane looked sad. “I can’t make any guarantees. Not with Carla’s life in Kevin’s hands.”
Brock’s cat was mad at her refusal to trust him. He had her pinned against the side of the shower, swallowing her gasp as he hooked her legs around him and lifted her.
His mouth was on hers with his tongue demanding entrance.
She didn’t disappoint. She was angry. At him. Kevin. Life. He wasn’t sure, but he planned to focus that anger where it needed to be.
He plunged into her, parting the soft folds of her pussy. She clamped down on him, making him pause to regain his control. She was so tight. Like a clenched fist around his cock. Pure fucking paradise.
He wanted to go slow. She deserved a slow seduction, but he was too far gone. Angry she wouldn’t commit to him. Mad at himself for not finding her sooner.
Her hands splayed wide on the tile, holding her balance as she started to push back, meeting his thrusts. The sound of bodies slapping the water was an erotic symphony, driving him wild.
His fingers bit into the soft skin at her hips. He knew they would leave a mark and his cat liked that. A lot. The predator in him continued to push him, needing its mate to recognize him.
She was practically bucking against him. The perfect globes of her ass slamming against his pelvis in a frenzied haste before she cried out clamping down on him, forcing him to lose control.
He bit into her neck, piercing the petal soft skin. Savouring the taste of her blood on his incisors. He licked the wound once, watching the puncture holes close up, in satisfaction.
They were going to have that talk soon. She was healing. Changing.
He rested his head between her shoulder blades. “We need to get going.”
“Where?” she said breathlessly.
“We have to find that bunker.”
Jane dressed slowly. Her body was deliciously sore after their vigorous workout in the shower. The sluggish feeling was fading, however, leaving her rejuvenated. New. Her skin seemed more sensitive. Her surroundings more vivid. She shook off the strange feeling, chalking it up to the afterglow of great sex. She had to find that bunker and the information in it. Her time was at an end.
Brock had told her to come downstairs to meet his brothers. The twins. She idly wondered if one of them had let the other down as she had with Carla. Judging by Brock’s description of his family, she doubted it. They were close-knit. Loyal. All the things she used to be.
She descended the stairs regally. She knew she looked like a bitch. It was part of her armor. The way she always approached unfamiliar territory. Or people.
When she reached the bottom, she held out her hand, greeting Liam and Luca in turn. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She couldn’t help her gaze from flicking between the men looking for the similarities.
Luca smiled. “We’re only identical in our other form.
She couldn’t control her interest. “Really?”
Her and her sister were physically identical in every way. As children they had always had a special bond and found it difficult to be away from one another for long periods of time. Now Carla could be away from her for weeks at a time and believe she had seen Jane the previous day.
Liam nodded.
Jane glanced at him. “You’re the quiet one.”
Luca laughed. “You figured that out in less than thirty seconds?�
�
Jane shrugged. “My sister and I are identical but we have radically different personalities. I figured if you are the out going one...”
Luca looked at her with interest. “So, you’re the outgoing twin?”
Jane’s heart fluttered. She knew the men noticed by their reaction. “I use to be the quiet one. Circumstance reversed our roles somewhat,” she said in a calm she didn’t feel.
“I’m sorry about Carla. We will get her back. I can’t imagine what you are going through.” Luca said earnestly.
Jane looked between the twin men. “Brock said you two were close.”
Luca nodded. “Our whole family is.”
“It’s different with twins.”
Luca glanced at his brother. “Yes, it is.”
Jane rarely let her defenses down. Especially with someone she didn’t know. Yet she felt a kinship with the men. “What would you do to save your twin?”
Liam and Luca answered in unison. “Anything.”
Brock turned her to him. “My entire family will do everything to bring Carla back safely.”
Jane knew he was telling the truth. She’d always been able to tell if she was being lied to. Now, there seemed to be another force, pulling her toward Brock. Encouraging her to put her faith in him. She wanted that hope. Had prayed for it. Did she dare believe in something other than Kevin’s cruelty?
Jane folded her arms. She could tell Brock hated it when she armed herself emotionally, shutting him out but she needed to work. This was how she had become the best. “Are there any leads on the bunker’s location? What’s your starting point?”
Brock rested his hands on his hips. “I’ve been to most of Brian’s residences. Sarah had asked I leave this one till last. She was hoping I wouldn’t have to disrupt anything here.”
Jane glanced around the beautiful living room. “Wouldn’t this have been his first choice? He spent most of his time here when his kids were growing up, didn’t he?”
Brock’s face flickered with disapproval. “No, he was barely here until after his wife died. Brian spent most of his time travelling abroad with his son, Donnie.”
Jane nodded. “I see. Did he have an office here?”
“Yes. Sarah said it’s in the corner on the main floor. That’s where we’re going to start,” Brock said.
