by K. J. Dahlen
They all sat still and seemed to soak in her story.
“I changed my name and appearance and disappeared. I thought I was safe until he found me in Baltimore. He broke into my apartment and left me a feather. He trashed my place. The police thought it was a robbery and took a statement but I didn’t have anything worth stealing and there was nothing they could do. They thought it was random but I knew it was him. I found the same feather laying on top of my bed that he left beside the body of the woman he murdered in Boston. I tried to tell the police about the feather but they weren’t interested. The police in Boston told us they had tracked down his other kills because he left a red hawk feather at each one. This killing in Boston was his seventh. I didn’t stick around. I left Baltimore but he found me again in Trenton, New Jersey, a year later. I moved again and he found me eighteen months later in Pittsburg, now sixteen months later he has found me yet again.”
“I’m surprised he’s let you live this long,” Viper commented.
McKenna shook her head. “He’s found two of my five friends and murdered them along the way. Maybe he’s saving me for last, I don’t know.”
“How do you know it’s always him that found you?” Reaper asked.
Getting to her feet, she went over to a small bookcase and picked up one of the books. Opening it, she pulled out the three identical feathers to the one she found earlier. She handed them over to Stone.
He stared at them for a long time before he handed them to his men.
“When he murdered my friends he sent me pictures of what he did to them as well.” She told them softly.
“Do you still have them?” Doc asked.
McKenna shook her head. “I gave them to a Detective handling the Boston killing, Matthias Jones. He’s the only one who knew where I was. He was the only person I’ve kept in contact with in the last four years.”
Stone looked over at Reaper. “We need to get a hold of this Matthias Jones and let him know what we know.”
Reaper nodded.
“But first, we need to get her somewhere safe, so we can plan our mission. And I know just the place. Sam Tory invited us to come and see him if we ever came here and I’m going to take him up on that offer. He won’t find her in the middle of an MC.”
“Don’t you understand?” she cried out. “I can’t be around other people if he finds me again. He could hurt somebody and I can’t live with that.”
“You’d rather he killed just you?” Doc wanted to know. His question was blunt to the point of being rude but he had to shock her into doing the right thing. They had no time for the usual hysterics.
“I don’t want to die but I can’t let him kill someone else to get to me.” McKenna shook her head. “It has happened before. I can’t live with the guilt. What happens to them if you guys can’t stop him before he can get to me?”
“We aren’t going to let him get to you or them,” Stone assured her.
“You can’t be with me twenty four hours a day and still go out and catch this monster.” She shook her head sadly.
“I’m not letting you leave here without me,” Stone insisted.
“Why?’ she begged. “You don’t even know me.”
Stone wrapped his big hands around her face again, and kissed her. His lips burned hers and she felt again the zing she felt at the bar. Then he whispered, “I felt a connection to you, the moment you kissed me in that bar and so did you. I’m not letting you get away from me now that I’ve found you, not until I know where this is going.”
“Lord help us then.” She whispered.
His men all looked shocked.
“Um, Colonel, we should maybe get going before Hades comes back and catches us all here,” Reaper announced. “You guys can whisper sweet nothings in each other’s ears later when we’re all safe.”
Stone turned his head and glared at the man.
His displeasure didn’t seem to faze Reaper as he got to his feet and left the house. A few minutes later they heard his bike start up.
Stone grabbed his phone and dialed Sam’s number. When he answered, Stone told him he needed a safe place to bring a witness until morning.
A few minutes later, they were all on their way to Sam’s safe house.
When they arrived, Sam was already there waiting for them. He glanced at the girl on the back of Stone’s bike but didn’t say anything. He motioned them into the garage and when the door closed behind them and the lights came on, Sam looked over at Stone and asked, “What’s up Colonel?”
“A man we haven’t heard from in almost a decade is after her and we need to find him and stop him.”
“Is he a bad one?”
Stone nodded. “Yeah, you could say that. He’s murdered at least nine women that we know of. We’ll have to call Boston PD in the morning.”
Sam shook his head. “Who is this guy?”
“He was part of our group, once upon a time.” Stone told him. “That is until he started killing without cause. He went AWOL before the MP’s could come get him. His real name is Jon Ronin but we called him Hade’s Ghost. He was our point man over in the sand box. He always went in first to clear the way for our missions.”
“Fuck me.” Sam swore. “How good is this guy?”
“He’s the best I ever trained,” Stone admitted. “He could get in and out of any place we needed him to go, without anyone even knowing he’d been there. That’s why we called him a ghost. He had a way of being where you would never expect him to be. It got to be one of his traits.”
“Why did you call him Hades?”
“Because he loved to send people to the underworld. He got to love it too much to suit the missions we were on.”
“Why is he after her?”
“She witnessed one of his civilian kills,” Reaper interjected. “She’s been running now for the last four years.”
“And he’s found her for the fourth time,” Stone informed him.
“Does that mean something to this guy?” Sam asked.
Stone nodded. “Yeah, it does.” He ran his fingers through his long silvery hair and explained, “He once told me that if he found an opponent worthy of a second chance he would allow them three tries to escape him. But the fourth time he found them, he would kill him without mercy. He also told me he would take his time and really make the person pray for his own death.”
McKenna shivered. She looked terrified.
Stone agreed that she certainly should be.
As everyone went inside, the three men with Stone began searching the house.
When she stared at Stone with a question in her eyes, he told her, “They’re inspecting the house for all the ways a person can get in and out. Securing the perimeter so to speak. They need to know we’re gonna be safe here.”
She frowned but didn’t leave his side.
Sam noted her the holding onto Stone but didn’t say anything. “You should be safe here until morning anyway. Come by the MC compound when you get up. You all need to let Deke know what’s going on here.”
Stone nodded. “We also need to talk about something else. I need your help with a special project, Gunny.”
“I’ll see you in a few hours then.”
“We have to call in the Boston PD in on this,” Stone warned him. “She’s been working with a detective for the last four years.”
Sam stared at McKenna then turned to Stone. “We’ve worked with them before.” Sam left the garage.
Stone turned to McKenna. “Come on, let’s try to get some sleep. I have a feeling it’s going to be a busy day.” He ushered her into the house and all the way to a back bedroom. He noted the strategic placement of his men but didn’t bring it up. They knew what they were doing. He’d trained them all.
He stepped aside and let her into the bedroom, then closed the door behind him. Then snapped the lock. The sound echoing in the silence of the room.
McKenna glanced at him and frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I said I wasn’
t leaving you alone and I’m not.”
McKenna opened her mouth to say something but closed it again. Then she backed up to the edge of the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. “You aren’t sleeping in here with me.”
Stone narrowed his eyes and stared at her. “I’m not leaving you alone. It’s either me or one of them. I’d just as soon it was me.”
McKenna sat down on the bed and hung her head. “I can’t do this anymore,” she whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m tired of living with this fear day after day. I feel as if I can’t breathe anymore.”
Stone sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Pulling her close, he just held her for a moment. “You aren’t alone anymore, sweetheart. I’ve got you now. My men and I will hold back the darkness.”
“But you can’t,” she whispered. “You can’t hold back this darkness. You said you haven’t seen this man in ten years, how can you find him now? People change over time.”
Stone shook his head. “Not Hades. I trained the man, I lived with him, breathed the same air, we even shared the same nightmares. I watched him while he learned how to do what he did best. I know the man inside and out.”
“Then you know how he kills? You know what he does to their bodies? How he cuts them not once but several times? Matthias told me the autopsy reveals that he takes his time with his victims, he makes them suffer for hours. He told me he seems to enjoy their pain.”
Stone hissed in rage. “Why the fuck would he tell you that?” he growled.
McKenna gazed up at him with tear filled eyes. “Because I asked him to tell me the worst. At first, he didn’t want to but I kept asking him. I wanted to be prepared for the day this killer might find me.” She closed her eyes and shivered. “Of course after he did, I wished I never would have asked.”
Stone hugged her closer to him. “Hades will never even get close to you. I’ll stop him or my men will.”
McKenna wanted to tell him it didn’t matter but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to die by Hades’ hand or anyone else’s. She also didn’t want anyone else to die in her stead. The only person she wanted dead was this Hades. The world would be a better place if he wasn’t in it.
“Maybe you should try and get some rest,” Stone suggested as he loosened his hold on her. “We have to go to the MC compound in a few hours.”
McKenna’s arms went around his waist. “Please hold me,” she whispered. “Don’t let me go.”
Stone stiffened and pulled her closer to him. “If I don’t let you go this is going to go farther than you seem to want right now.”
McKenna looked up into his eyes. She saw want and desire in the depths of his soul. Suddenly, her body flooded with the same want she saw in his eyes. She wanted this man and if she was only going to live a short time longer, she wanted to know what was between them. She didn’t want to die without experiencing this kind of passion at least this once. “I want to feel something tonight other than the crushing fear I’m feeling right now. I want to know at least one night of mind bending loving, even without the loving part. I just want to feel tonight. Can you give me that?” Swallowing hard, she lifted her lips to his. The same spark of electricity she’d felt in the bar arced between them as Stone crushed his lips to hers.
After a long moment, he lifted his lips and whispered, “We shouldn’t do this. I’m too damn old for you but I want you. I want you bad enough not to care.” He licked her lips. “Tell me you want me too.”
She trembled. “I do want you. Maybe I shouldn’t but there’s a man out there who intends kill me without a thought. I’m scared of dying every day without really living.” She paused then went on, “I kissed you tonight on a dare but the moment my lips touched yours, I felt a spark of something I want to explore. I want you. I want to feel your naked body against mine. I want to feel you inside me. Please—”
Stone fell back on the bed and dragged her with him. His lips found hers and his hands got busy as he began ripping her clothes off. First, he took off her shirt and her bra, then her pants and panties. He pulled away from her long enough to strip his own clothes off. Within minutes, they were both naked and he was hauling her further up on the bed.
Pushing the blankets down he laid her on the cool white sheets and his lips began searching her body. He nibbled his way down her neck and across her chest to her breasts.
McKenna groaned as she felt his teeth bite down gently on her nipples. Her core felt the flames of her want and she felt herself moisten between her thighs. She lifted her hips slightly as Stone ground his huge, hard cock into her belly.
Chapter Two
Stone discovered her breasts were a size she’d hidden well under her clothes. They were larger than he thought but they still fit in his big hands very well. Her nipples were hard and when he saw the hard pebbles, he groaned as he couldn’t resist licking them. She somehow tasted of vanilla and pumpkin spice. He groaned again, as her taste burst on his taste buds. When he sucked her nipples into his mouth and nibbled on them, it was McKenna’s turn to groan.
Stone’s lips went to her neck and he sucked her skin into his mouth as he shifted his hips and slid his cock a few inches into her core. He felt how wet she was and he could smell her arousal. He backed out again, and slammed himself deep into her. McKenna gasped but didn’t object, in fact she raised her hips to allow him in deeper.
Stone groaned and with his next few thrusts, he went deeper. He lost control and began slamming inside her harder and faster. Each thrust brought out a grunt as he closed his eyes and just rode out the emotions he was feeling. Her warm wet core grabbed hold of his cock and caressed it with each thrust, like a warm wet glove.
Her body responded with thrusts of her own. She moaned and panted below him. Then her body rose up as she climaxed. When Stone felt her let go, he ramped up his thrusts and joined her by sliding over the edge. He let out a moan as he exploded inside her. Riding out his climax he felt her core clamp down on his cock as a second orgasm grabbed her.
Moments later, he shifted his weight to her side. Neither had caught their breath properly yet.
Stone closed his eyes while his chest heaved deeply.
McKenna laid her soft hand it on his wide chest. She ran her hand up and down his chest but when she came too close to his cock, Stone grabbed her hand and held it to his chest. He turned his head and whispered, “You need to get some sleep. We have to get up in a few hours.”
McKenna closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. She started to turn away but Stone hauled her back into his arms. “You should have just let me go,” she whispered to his chest.
Stone snorted. “From the moment you kissed me in that bar, I knew I couldn’t let you go. You were mine from that moment on and I don’t give up what belongs to me.” He lifted her chin bringing her face up to his. “And I don’t let someone else take what belongs to me either. If Hades wants you, he’ll have to go through me to get to you.”
“But I don’t want you to risk your life for me,” she insisted with a fearful expression on her lovely face.
“Don’t you give up girl,” Stone admonished her. “You need to stay strong and fight for your right to live. Never make it easy for someone like Hades. He’ll eat you alive and spit out your bones, then walk away without a care.”
“At least it would be over.”
Stone scoffed. “For you maybe, what about his next victim? If we don’t stop him now, he’ll just keep on killing. He seems to like killing women. How many more will he live to kill, if we don’t take him out now?”
McKenna closed her eyes and slumped against him. “Can you and your men stop him? Can you guarantee that you can stop him? The police haven’t been able to even find him in the last four years but he keeps finding me. I’ve changed my appearance, changed my entire life but he keeps finding me.”
Stone’s arms wrapped around her and he pulled her close. “We’ll get him. The police doesn’t know how Hades’ thinks, they don’t know what
he’s capable of, that’s the advantage we have over them. We know the bastard. We think like he does. Hell, I trained him. I know what his dreams are, I even know what he likes to eat.”
“And that is supposed to help?”
Stone nodded. “Absolutely. My men know what to look for, they know how and where he’ll try to hide. We can root him out into the open and take him out with no civilian casualties.”
“But you said it yourself, you haven’t seen the man for almost ten years. People can change in that amount of time.” She tried to argue.
Stone wrapped his big hands around her face. “Don’t worry. You belong to me now and I won’t let him get to you.”
McKenna closed her eyes and exhaled a shaky breath. “What happens after you catch him?”
Stone frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Will I still belong to you after you catch this guy?”
Stone froze. “Do you want to? Belong to me I mean.”
“Can I get back to you on that? I need some sleep,” she whispered with a half-smile then fell asleep.
Stone laid there and stared at her in repose for a while. He couldn’t believe she was laying there with him. His eyes traced the profile of her face. Did he want to keep her with him? Yeah, dammit he did, he just didn’t know why she would want to be with an old man like him in the first place.
Just before dawn, Stone woke her up and they got on their way. When they got to the compound Sam, Deke and several other men were waiting behind the closed gate. Stone could see other men making rounds around the fenced in area surrounding several building that made up the compound.
