How long he’d be able to stand not getting inside of her was going to be a test of willpower. One that he was fast losing without her even striking a blow. She slayed him, with just her eyes on his body, her panting, her need so plainly read in her body. She needed this as much as he did. Needed him. The thought galvanized him into motion. With one last stab at her insides, he lifted on his haunches, taking her legs with him until the insides of her knees were balanced on his inner elbows. He planted his palms on the bed, fingers spread wide and curled around her body. As if on cue her arms circled his neck and looked into his eyes, tears misting. He wondered why his vision was cloudy, and realized that the water was in his own eyes.
He didn’t turn away from her, though. No, instead he swirled his hips until his cock kissed her entrance, and then he slid inside. He moved so that she would feel every inch, every slick part of him. He moved so that he could memorize the feel of her muscles gripping him and then giving way to his possession. She felt so right. So perfect. No, he couldn’t give her the words, but he damn sure would make sure she knew how he felt.
He rode her then, pushing his hips until their bodies met, and then grinding in further with each advance. Wanted her to feel that extra inch. That extra need in him. She ran her nails down his back, clawing at him, and even that felt good. Gave an edge of pain to pleasure so profound he couldn’t utter a sound. Nothing broke the music of their bodies coming together in the room. As if they didn’t want to make a sound. They watched each other, held on for dear life, and rode the wave. He lifted her legs higher, settling deeper into her. She clenched her teeth, her eyelids drooping. She struggled to keep her eyes on him. He could see it in the strain in her face, the tightness of her mouth.
“Let go baby, I’ll catch you,” he promised, and she broke. He pushed harder, sliding his body faster until her head flung back, mouth open wide, and she moaned. He pushed her harder, keeping her on the edge, dancing with her until the pleasure warped up from his balls, through the head of his dick, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He buried his face in her neck, lifted her legs higher and pushed them outward, and slammed home. He set a maddening pace, lost in her. Her smell, the taste of her neck under his tongue, the bite of her nails, and the fit of her pussy.
Just lost in her. Completely.
He gripped her shoulders, and the hold, with her legs now trapped in the bend of his arm, left her immobilized. He used his leverage to slam her body into his, over and over as he lifted up on his haunches. He pulled her up with him, until she was sitting over his cock and riding him. Her breasts bounced in his face, and he just couldn’t fight the temptation. He sucked one nipple into his mouth, pulling strongly and rolling it over his tongue. When he used his teeth she exploded.
”Liam,” she cried and he held her through it, pushed her body when she went liquid, when hot lava poured over his cock. And then he was choking out her name like a prayer as his balls seized up and he was pouring everything he was into her.
*
“Hey there,” Glitch heard as he opened his eyes to the sunlight. He squinted, bringing his hands up to his face to block out the glare. Then a shadow covered him.
“Morning,” he mumbled to Araceli, still tired and wanting to go back to bed.
“Oh no, you keep me up all night it’s only fair you have to get up and be as tired as me.”
“No one said you needed to get up. Work can wait. Come back to bed.”
“I need to catch these guys, Glitch. O' dark thirty is the best time, and you know it,” she said with a rough sigh. Oh dark--oh. Suddenly the magic of the night they shared frayed enough that he could think clearly. For hackers, they did more before the sun came up than most, but when the sun came up, they often were just going to rest, or switching over watch. Weak time. If Araceli was going to crack into any code that could be shielding them, then she was right about the time.
”I’m up, just let me get some java in me first,” he said, getting out of bed. A soft moan made him turn around to find Araceli staring at his ass.
“Like it?” Glitch asked with a smile.
“More than you know,” she whispered with a flush. “About last night, thank you,” she said. Glitch leaned over the bed and kissed her lips softly.
“Thank you,” he said, heartfelt. She smiled tenderly as he stood and disappeared to get into the shower.
They needed to find some ammo to use against Eagle, or to at least protect themselves. Disgruntled employees were just as good a place as any to start.
Chapter 17
Needles in a haystack, Stevie Wonder’s sight, and Waldo were probably easier to find than what they were searching for. After a week of digging through all of Hawk Global’s employment records, they still had little more than the names of their would-be counterparts. Bogus names that were just aliases to cover their real identities. Glitch was living in a constant state of frustration, because he hated nothing more than hitting a dead end when he knew there was a hidden path to be found.
Araceli was working triple time and had been glued to her laptop for the past few days. The woman was a beast, finding things they weren’t even looking for, but could help them down the line. Where he was the master creator, building monster codes to access any secure server or database, she was the details whore, who lived to take it all apart and find out what was being hidden and why. Glitch never cared what the ‘whys’ where behind a job, but Araceli had a knack for putting the puzzle together. Maybe it was a personality trait, or a woman’s intuition type of thing, or just plain ole nosiness, but she was good.
“Where’s Jack?” Araceli pushed her laptop away and grabbed her drink as she leaned back in her chair. Glitch turned away from his own monitor to face her, figuring it was time for a break. They’d been at it for a few hours now, focusing on wreaking havoc on the servers that housed the data storage for the entire accounting apartment. For good measure, he planted a mock virus on the IT department’s servers to tie them up a little more. That was another bonus of working with Araceli. They could use her gear since his was being tracked.
“Ah. Our good friend Jack is out on what we like to call a Glitch mission. He’s doing in real life what we do on the computer. He’s probably following someone, learning all of their habits and routines until he knows them better than they know themselves,” he answered.
“Wow, that doesn’t sound so dangerous,” she noted.
“It’s actually quite dangerous because if instructed to take things further, he can move in on them and do what he has to do without anyone ever knowing he was there,” he countered.
“Oh,” she said with wonder.
“Yeah. Trust me, Jack is about as dangerous as they come. He’s quiet, misses nothing, can sum a person up on-the-spot, and can do things with his bare hands that most weapons can’t. I love him like a brother, but I have to admit that he sometimes scares the shit out of me. Just like he was ready to ‘take care of you’ and then figure out your angle after? Yeah.”
“Right,” she said and shuddered.
“Exactly,” he chuckled.
“Did he tell you any details?” She leaned forward, anxious for his reply.
“I’m about to get a complex over here. Do you miss Jack, or are you just being nosey?”
“No! I don’t miss him,” she cried. His reward was a swift punch to the arm. “I’m just curious. I’ve never been up close and personal with... with... I mean the level of criminal element with you guys is pretty high. And you get away with it all. Like a regular nine to five with a little kidnapping, espionage, and wetwork mixed in.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right. Honestly, I try not to ask him too many questions. Sometimes the less we know about what he’s doing, the better,” he explained.
“But what about you? I know you hack, but you and Scratch both helped Jack with my kidnapping. Have you done something like that before?” She seemed to answer her own question because she went on before he could even speak.
; “I mean, I’m sure you have,” she laughed nervously. “You mentioned weapons before. Have you ever used a gun on someone before?”
Glitch couldn’t help but laugh. She was obviously uncomfortable with his level of ‘criminal’ element, but she also had a childlike curiosity about it.
“Yes. My hands are trained, to fight and to wield a gun. Have you ever used a gun?” He meant it as a joke, but she eagerly jumped to answer.
“No, but I’ve always wanted to. I considered going to a gun range a few times, but I didn’t want to go alone,” she replied.
“I can take you to the gun range,” he offered. He could only imagine how sexy she would look holding her own piece, and with the way things were going, it would probably be in her best interest if she knew how to protect herself.
“Really?”
“Look at you. My sexy nerd badass. I’ll take you to the range.”
“Who’s going to the range?” Scratch walked in on the last part of their conversation.
“Knock much?” Araceli glared at him like a mother would after scolding a child.
“You’ll get used to it.” Ignoring her ire, he ruffled her hair before taking off his suit jacket and copping a seat next to Glitch.
“And you’ll have to get used to getting your ass kicked,” she spat back along with a few choice Spanish curse words.
“As much fun as this has been, I actually came over here with a purpose,” Scratch retorted.
“What’s up?” All traces of humor left Glitch at the mention of an update.
“The good news is that those bogus contracts you created appeased the accounting manager, so my nuts live to see another day. The jacked up news is that the FBI has decided to launch a full investigation into Hawk Global’s finances, and business practices. The Contracts department is going berserk, and I had to stay an extra hour so that I wasn’t the only accountant not working overtime to satisfy the inquiries. I know I’m safe, for now, but once they dig deep enough into those international funds, shit is gonna get real.”
“Damn,” Glitch muttered. He knew that those contracts would only hold up until the Fed’s got a look at them. They had the resources to decimate the dummy corporations that he and Araceli created.
“And that’s not all folks. Guess who has a new trainee?”
“No way,” Glitch said excitedly.
“Yeah,” Scratch replied dryly. “All of a sudden, Eagle decided we need an Assistant Treasurer for all three of their offshore accounts. And this guy is good Glitch.”
“So that’s your replacement,” Araceli chimed in.
“Good luck to him. He’s good, but he’s too damn nervous like. When I explained to him exactly how Hawk wants us to appropriate certain funds, he got all legal eagle on me. I just told him that was part of the job, and that he could quit if he wasn’t comfortable, but we all know why he won’t be quitting,” Scratch jeered.
Araceli perked up and turned back to her workstation. “Tell me his name so that I can compare it to my database. What else do you know about him?”
“Douglas Brandt is the name on his badge. That and the fact that he is working for Hawk is all I have,” Scratch answered and she eagerly turned to begin her search.
“Got it. I’ll see what I can do with that for now.”
While she got to work, the guys kept on.
“Yo Glitch, this shit is getting intense pretty quick. We need to create a proactive attack, and not just play catch up. Eagle was pleased, but not really, when I produced those contracts to cover my ass. He should have been ecstatic, right? But nah, he was tight. He avoided my ass for the rest of the day, when he, usually, checks in with me a few times daily.”
Glitch nodded. He knew what Scratch was saying without saying it. He was on the chopping block and the knives were getting bigger with each chop.
“For now, we keep screwing with IT. That will cause chaos throughout the corporation and keep you in the clear. What I need you to do is feel this guy out. He seems like he’s already weary of the terms of his employment. He might be easy to flip. I need to talk to Jack, but I think if we ferret these guys out and show them what their futures look like, we might be able to have a formidable squad working in our favor.”
Scratch nodded his head in total agreement. “Damn Glitch. Have I ever told you I love the way you think? I think this guy might be relatively easy to work. If he doesn't have his back up crew yet, then he probably feels like a sitting duck.”
“Maybe not all of these guys are on teams. Maybe that’s the mistake he made with you guys. He created a well-oiled machine, but he now realizes that he really created a monster. You guys move as one, and he would have to off each of you before any of you would turn against each other.” Both men seemed to be stunned by Araceli’s words, but acceptance of her point came quickly.
“True, true,” Scratch agreed. “In the past, he probably got rid of guys using other members in the unit, but he can’t do that with us. So he has to get rid of all of us.”
“I wonder which one he really wants!” Araceli contemplated if it was Jack. He seemed to be the one most absent, but it could also be Scratch because Eagle was basically selling him out to the FBI. Unless it was really Glitch. But after the Amsterix caper, he bought himself some more time. She shook her head, for now she was just confusing herself.
“It doesn’t matter now. Twice we’ve already proved that we were more capable than he expected. Jack is the only one who hasn’t been tested yet,” Glitch pointed out.
“Yeah. Unless that’s what’s going on now, cause I haven’t heard from him in a few days,” Scratch pondered.
“Me either. Maybe we should check in with him. You know he can be an island sometimes. Let’s go.” Glitch motioned for Scratch to follow him. They had a special phone for such purposes.
“What’s up,” Scratch asked once they were out of earshot. Glitch felt bad, but there were some things Araceli didn’t need to know just yet. While she was important to their line of defense, she wasn’t one of them.
“We need to discuss our endgame. You were right earlier. We can’t just keep relying on the fact that we can handle what’s been thrown at us so far.” He walked over to his safe that housed all the equipment he would need to fall off the grid. In it was the phone he used to discuss private details with Scratch and Jack. Pulling out his burner phone, he dialed Jack’s number from memory. The call rang twice.
“Dragon.” Jack’s voice rang out, letting them know he was free and clear to talk.
“When you heading back this way? We’ve got lots to do with very little time to do it,” Glitch informed him.
“The stats are changing daily,” Scratch added.
“Talk resources,” Jack instructed.
“Our accounts look good. Enough for the three of us to disappear and live good, but it’s not just about the money anymore, is it?” Scratch’s tone held a darkness that reminded Glitch of Jack. But he agreed. It wasn’t about walking away anymore. Not when they were being hogtied by the very man who hadn’t given them an option to refuse his offer.
“Top hell with that. I would have been out of jail by now, and sitting on what the three of us have to split if he didn’t force my hand. Even if Eagle were to let us walk away, I wouldn’t trust it. We know how he operates. He would just keeping searching until he found us.” Glitch wasn’t one for violence and torture, but he had more than a few ideas of what he wanted to do to his handler.
“So we play his game,” Scratch added.
“And we beat him.”
Chapter 18
“Agreed. How dirty we willing to go?” Jack asked. For the first time Glitch didn’t think he would flinch at anything dealing with Eagle. He’d brought it on himself.
“As dirty as necessary,” Scratch answered before he could. “Glitch had a good plan thought up. I think it holds merit. It’s strong enough that we can make changes as the field does.”
“We’ll get into it when I get back,” Jack s
aid and disconnected the line as a groan could be heard over the line.
“You imagine him standing over someone covered in blood when you heard that moan?” Glitch asked.
“Nah. That sounds like someone’s recovering from a kidney shot. Most likely he hasn’t spilled a drop of blood, it’s all internal bleeding at this point,” Scratch answered.
“Okay, the both of you are bat shit crazy, you know that right? Who the hell knows that kind of shit?” Glitch said with a laugh.
“The kind of person who’s hurt a lot of people,” Scratch answered with a slight smile before heading out the back room and back into the living room.
Glitch wasn’t sure exactly how to answer that. Had he hurt people? Of course. Had he shot people? Yes to that one, too. He’d done things that he wasn’t always proud of, but mostly didn’t care about doing. They were a means to an end, a purposeful violence. Like he told Araceli, they had all been a little dark long before Eagle found them, or he would never have been able to find them. No, Glitch was dangerous, had to be. He just preferred to use his intellect most of the time. Scratch and Jack though, they were a different breed. He was grateful they were on his side.
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