by Linzi Baxter
I didn’t respond to Asher right away. I headed toward the glass doors. “Let’s find the director and break Kat out of here.”
“Hopefully, we can break her out. We still don’t know why she’s here.”
A million different scenarios ran through my head. In one, she had killed someone and gotten caught in the act. I swung the heavy bulletproof glass doors open and was hit with a cold blast of air. With a quick glance around the lobby, I spotted the receptionist desk. “I’m here to see Director Westblack.”
“I’m sorry, sir. The director is not here. He works out of the DC office.”
I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket and redialed Westblack’s number. He answered on the second ring. “I’m down in reception. According to them, you don’t work here. If you don’t work here, why do you have my wife?”
The phone clicked off on the other end. The director didn’t respond to my question. The receptionist's phone rang immediately. Her face paled when she answered it, and her only words were “Yes, sir.”
“He’s on his way down,” the receptionist whispered. I didn’t care if he yelled at her. They had my wife.
Five minutes later, I saw Westblack exiting the elevator. “Where is she?”
Asher rested his hand on my shoulder. “You need to cool it, man.”
I took a deep breath.
Westblack motioned for us to enter the elevator. He didn’t say anything until the door closed. “Let’s head to my office and talk, and then you can see your wife. I want to know why she was at my op location today.”
There was no way I was going to be kept away from my wife any longer. “Not going to happen. I want to see Kat now.”
“You are a pain in my ass. We’ll grab her on the way to my office.”
The second Westblack unlocked the interrogation door with his code, I swung the door open. Kat’s eyes landed on me, and she bolted from the chair. Our arms wrapped around each other. It felt good to have her in my arms. I grabbed her and led her out of the room.
The director didn’t look amused. “If you two are done, I want answers.”
A couple minutes later, Asher, Kat, and I were seated at the conference table in the director's office. He got straight to the point. “Now, tell me what you were doing in Nebula’s bunker.”
Fuck. Kat had gone to a radical’s bunker without backup. I was going to tan her hide when we got home. We still didn’t know if Nebula’s other men came back to that area even though we had kept up satellite surveillance of the area around the bunker. But it seemed that since we’d left Kat out of the investigation, she just put herself in more danger.
Kat looked at the glass of water that sat in front of her. Then she looked at the one-way mirror. Then she looked back at the table. She looked everywhere but at me. No, she wasn’t going to get away without explaining herself, and at the moment, I didn’t care what the director heard. She had better have a good reason for why she went to that bunker.
“Kat, how did you know about that bunker?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
Kat held up her hands in defense. “You were keeping me out of the investigation. I want him dead, and I’m sick of waiting. The other day, I bugged your jacket and listened to your conversations.”
I wished she hadn’t admitted to wanting to kill someone in front of the director of the FBI.
“What investigation?” Westblack asked.
Asher shrugged. “It’s classified.”
“Do any of you know where Nebula is?”
“Dead,” Kat blurted out before Asher and I could come up with a story. We didn’t want to have to drag the director into the op.
Westblack raised his dark brow, waiting for more. “That’s all I get? Dead.”
Fuck. “We’re working on a case for the president. Can we leave it at that?”
“I don’t care whose operation you are running. We are missing a truck full of military weapons. My main concern is protecting the people in this country. Now, someone tell me who might have the weapons if Nebula is dead.”
“Juan Sanchez.” Bitterness flooded my mouth every time I said his name.
“You're telling me the ex-director of the CIA stole the weapons and killed Nebula.”
That summed up as much as I wanted him to know. “Yes. If we find any leads on the weapons, we will send them your way. We are after Juan.”
Director Westblack let out a sigh. “Fine, but why do I have the feeling that you’re not going to send me what I need until your operation is over?”
The director was spot on. I wouldn’t send him anything until we had Juan. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t send him all the information he needed after we had him.
I grabbed Kat’s hand and led her from the FBI building. I heard Asher’s steps behind us. So much was rushing through my mind. Kat had been detained by the FBI, and Juan had an enormous pile of military weapons.
Asher took a taxi out to Nebula’s bunker to retrieve Kat’s rented SUV. As I drove home with Kat, I was fuming over how she had put herself in danger. What would have happened if one of Nebula’s men had been down in the bunker? They would have killed her before I noticed she was gone.
I glanced at the time. It was past five. In the passenger seat, Kat sat looking out the window. Most of the time, I could read her thoughts. But not this time. Her shoulders were hunched over, and I heard a slight sniffle come from her direction.
“What’s wrong, Kat?”
She whipped her hand across her face to remove the tears. “I’m sorry. I didn’t plan to go alone.”
She shouldn’t have gone at all. “Kat.” I collected my thoughts for a second. “Why didn’t you come to me? If you wanted to go, I would’ve gone with you. Instead, you went to the hideout of a possible terrorist organization by yourself. Did you ever stop to think that he might have men that work for him?” I pounded my fists on the steering wheel. “Hell, Kat, even Asher didn’t go there alone. He took Zane.”
“I know. I fucked up.”
The final few minutes of the car ride were filled with silence. When the wheels stopped in the driveway, Kat didn’t wait for me to turn off the car. She was halfway to the door by the time I stepped out.
“Kat, stop,” I demanded.
She stopped at the door and turned at my words. “Fuck you, Antonio.” She proceeded to enter the house and slam the door.
Jesus, this woman was going to drive me crazy. I opened the front door and glanced through the rooms until I found Kat curled up on our bed in tears. I climbed onto the other side and pulled her into my arms. I rubbed circles on her back while she cried. “Kitty Kat, I’m not mad at you. Disappointed, yes. Scared, hell yes. Mad, no. I lost you once, and I don’t want that to happen again.”
“I hate… the look… in your eye… when you're disappointed… in me.” She hiccupped.
I pulled Kat close to my body. “There are going to be times when we’re mad or disappointed in each other, but we have to talk and work through our problems. Keeping our feelings bottled up and not talking about them will destroy our relationship.”
She didn’t respond for a couple of heartbeats. “I was on my own for so long. I knew the second I stepped out of the car it was a mistake, but I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Next time, call me. I will stop whatever I’m doing, and we can go dig through a bunker or jump out of a plane. Hell, if you have a good reason, I’ll help you rob a bank, but I want to do it together.”
“Okay. Antonio?” Her voice was hopeful.
“Yes, Kitty Kat?”
“I want to be more involved in the case.”
“Asher and I were talking about getting your help and Sophie’s on the case before I received the call from Director Westblack.” I felt her body tense under my hands. “We had decided we needed both of you.”
Kat jumped onto my lap and straddled me. Her hands wrapped around the back of my head, and she pulled me up for a kiss. Before she had time to end it, I weaved my hand through her red locks and h
eld her in place. Her hips started to grind against me. When we finally pulled back, we both were panting.
I worked her T-shirt over her head. A white lace bra was wrapped around her chest. I pulled her back in for a kiss while I worked the strap free. I cupped both of her breasts with my hands. When I pinched her nipples, she let out a groan.
Kat rolled over onto her back. In no time, I worked her jeans down her legs, and she spread herself for me. I slid my shoulders under her legs and licked. She was already wet and needy. The more I sucked on her clit, the wetter she became.
“More, Antonio. Please.”
I flattened my tongue and ran it over her clit. Kat jumped at the rough sensation. “Kat, you respond to my touch so eagerly.” I continued to lick her nub. With each lick, she arched her body off the bed, and she tried to get me to move faster.
“Ant—” Her words were cut off as I pressed two fingers into her folds. A loud moan escaped her mouth instead of the end of my name.
She was near the edge. I worked my fingers faster and took her bundle of nerves into my mouth. As I sucked, I was rewarded with the sound of my name screamed from her lips. I loved nothing more than to hear Kat scream my name when she went over the edge.
I slowly licked her juices as she came out of her orgasm-induced coma. When her eyes landed on me, the love in them amazed me.
“Turn over, Kitty Kat.”
Kat flipped at my command. She placed a pillow under her head and shifted her legs, so her ass was in the air. I grazed my hand over her plump ass. “Your ass is perfect, Kitty Kat.”
The view of Kat with her ass in the air had me so hard that it was almost painful. I leaned down and took another lick of Kat’s plump folds. Her knees trembled with each additional lick. She was ready for me. I lined myself up and slowly worked my member in.
In that position, I could go so much deeper. I ran my hands over her back as I worked in each inch. I had to pause to collect myself, but Kat didn’t want to wait. She pushed herself back and took my full girth. We both moaned in pleasure. I clenched my teeth and pulled back. God, my wife was perfect.
Kat tried to quicken the pace, but I wanted it to last. I grabbed hold of her hips to slow her down. She started to rub her clit. The view of my wife losing control was breathtaking.
“You feel so fucking good.” I licked my finger and ran it over Kat’s anal star. The single touch sent Kat over the edge. I could feel her channel suck me in farther. I couldn’t hold back. I thrust in and out of her at the pace of man going over the edge. When I felt my balls tighten, I pushed in deep. Neither of us moved from our position.
Kat’s breathing leveled out, so I rolled to the side and pulled her into my arms. When she snored softly, I slid out of bed to go work. For now, my wife is safe, but for how long?
11
Kat
“Who are all these people?” I hated large social gatherings. Too many people made me itch. For so many years, it was just me and Ant. Antonio’s family was so large that it felt overwhelming at times.
“It took me a long time to get used to the size of this family.” Bridget waved her hand at the crowd of people in Mr. and Mrs. Ross’s backyard. Family and friends were gathered to welcome Antonio’s little sister, Alison, back from her last assignment with Doctors Without Borders. She had been placed in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Antonio said he didn’t think she would be back longer than a month. She had been gone for the past two years, jumping from one location to another. But Alison had wanted to come back and meet her nephews.
Aaron, the youngest of the four Ross brothers, had also shown up to the gathering. He had just finished filming another blockbuster movie. The four brothers stood in the corner, joking with each other. Bridget and CJ had joined me on the patio. Sophie and Zane were supposed to be here any minute. Ant ran around in the grass with his cousins.
“I don’t know if I will ever get used to this,” CJ added. He reached for his IPA and took a long swig.
The party was a nice distraction from what was happening in our lives. It was filled with joy and happiness.
“Hey, there’s Neal and Daisy.” Bridget pointed to the couple crossing the lawn toward the Ross brothers. “Let’s go grab Daisy before she’s stuck listening to the guys for the next hour.”
I stared at the couple and contemplated if walking through the crowd was worth talking to Daisy. It was. Daisy was the sunshine to anyone’s dark days. She had been captured and forced to live as a sex slave for years. Before she was captured, she did makeup for the stars out in Hollywood. She left that life and friends behind and hadn’t seen any of them since.
Bridget, CJ, and I made it to the group the same time Neal and Daisy did.
“Daisy, I would like you t—” Neal’s words were cut off.
“Lucy Ivy, is that you? Why did you disappear?” Aaron ripped Daisy out of Neal’s arms and had her in a hug before Neal had time to react.
It didn’t take long. Neal yanked Daisy out of Aaron’s arms, and she fell back into Neal’s chest. Neal’s jaw was clenched. “I think you are mistaken, Aaron. Next time you want to give Daisy a hug, you ask first.”
Daisy twisted and placed her hand on Neal’s chest. “Master, it’s okay. Daisy does know Aaron. Daisy used to do his makeup for the movies, when I went by the name Lucy.” Daisy turned back to Aaron while keeping her hand on Neal. “It’s nice to see you, Aaron. I no longer go by Ivy. Daisy is my name, and Neal is my master. He’s a good master, not like the one that tortured me in Hollywood.”
I heard Neal groan. Daisy’s filter was lacking in social settings.
Aaron stepped toward Daisy but stopped short when Neal pulled her closer into him. Daisy let out a laugh that made everyone smile. “Master, can we talk with Aaron in private? He is an old friend.”
Neal nodded, and the three left the circle of friends to talk.
“Damn. The conversation was just getting interesting,” CJ quipped.
Antonio cleared a path for me back to the outdoor patio. The evil Florida sun started to set, which caused the temp to drop two whopping degrees. I sat down on the outdoor couch.
“Stay with me.”
Antonio joined me on the sofa, but his eyes never left the crowd.
“What are you looking for?”
He pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me. “Something doesn’t feel right. It’s probably nothing, but I feel eyes on us.”
At Antonio’s words, I saw Asher search the crowd of people, and I looked for something out of the ordinary myself.
Juan hadn’t done anything for over a month. I had started to think he was gone. “I think we keep waiting for something to happen, and the longer it takes, the tenser we all become. Maybe Juan decided to take the money he had left and go into hiding.”
Antonio went still. “That’s what he wants us to think. He’s going to wait until we drop our guard.”
“I wish he were dead,” CJ said, his tone exasperated. “It’s getting to be a lot of work to run our main ops plus scan for Juan.”
“It won’t be much longer,” Asher said. He was an optimist, but his eyes studied the backyard intently.
Movement at the back of the lawn caught my attention. I strained to see what it was. Then a group of kids ran through the bushes. I breathed heavily. Antonio’s suspicion had my nerves on high alert.
“We need to stop talking about Juan and enjoy the party. Looks like Neal no longer wants to kill your brother.”
The corners of Antonio’s lips twitched. “Neal needed a kick in the ass to move things along with Daisy. Maybe he’ll feel threatened by Aaron and get a move on.”
The three were sitting in a set of chairs on the side porch with Daisy in the middle. Daisy’s smile was spread across her face.
Asher tipped his beer bottle in the trio’s direction. “They all seem to be getting along.”
Daisy deserved someone who would worship her. From the look of the three talking, she might end up with two m
en.
Antonio’s phone rang. His dark brow rose when he looked at the screen. He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead before he answered the call. He went to the other side of the patio, so I couldn’t hear what he said into the phone. But I could see the tension in his shoulders. It didn’t look good for whoever was on the other side of the call.
I glanced at Asher but watched every move Antonio made. He seemed to be bothered by the phone call.
The call could be about any case. AA Security had hired two more employees in the past month. The security company was up to ten mercenaries, and they were all deployed on assignments at the moment. But my Spidey sense told me it had to do with Juan.
I picked at the label on the beer bottle. Antonio’s movement became animated. “Asher, any idea what that call’s about?”
“No, but it doesn’t look good.”
“Maybe one of the new guys messed up a case?”
Asher looked away from Antonio. “If there was an issue at work, they would’ve called me, because everyone is too scared to mess up and tell Antonio. They think I’m a buffer.”
I had never understood why people feared Antonio. He was like a giant, sexy teddy bear I enjoyed stripping naked. I wanted to know who he was talking to.
“Can either of you read lips?” I waved my hand in Asher and CJ’s direction. They both shook their heads. “Have I ever mentioned that I don’t like being kept out of the loop?”
Antonio hung up the phone after ten minutes. By the time he returned, my mind had run a million scenarios. One scenario that scared me a lot was that something had happened to Sophie.
Antonio reached up to wipe his eye, then sat down and pulled me into his arms. “What was that call about?” I asked, my voice shaking.
Something had happened. Something spectacularly bad. He didn’t reply, just pulled me in tighter to his chest.
Neal chose this moment to come up to the patio with Daisy following behind. He stopped and surveyed our faces before he dropped down into the last seat. Daisy took her place on his lap.
