Paths: A Killers Novel, Book 2 (The Killers)

by Brynne Asher

  “Baby.” I exhale and lean my forehead against hers. “I look forward to wrestling you to the ground, but I’ll never take that ring off your finger.” Looking into her eyes, I ask, “Does this mean you’re in?”

  *****

  Maya –

  I press my breasts into his chest, getting as close as I can. “If that’s your official proposal, then yes, I’m in.”

  And I am. As sweet and protective as Grady is, I knew he had an intense side he wasn’t showing me. So even if it was surprising that he didn’t simply work in security—it wasn’t. If anything, I feel closer to him and want nothing more than to make him happy. Because during my short time with Grady, life has never felt so perfect. Where I’m at right now fits, and I’ll do anything I can to brighten his life like he’s done mine.

  He leans in to put his mouth on mine with a desperation I’ve never felt in him before. Dipping his hands into the back of my panties, he squeezes my ass. I bring my hands up to his hair to hold him close and moan into his mouth.

  His hand comes between my legs where my panties are soaked, and he pushes my legs farther apart as they dangle off the counter when he mumbles, “I should show you the rest of the house.”

  “Yeah,” I agree, but I’m sure my expression doesn’t. When he hooks a finger inside my panties, my pussy doesn’t agree, either. He slides through me easily, creating tingles throughout my body.

  “The house can wait,” he growls. With both hands, he starts to pull my panties and demands, “Lift.”

  “Should we do this here?” I ask, wondering if it’s a good idea to have sex in a house being shown to potential buyers. Still, I put my hands to the counter and lift so he can easily pull my panties down.

  “It’s fine,” he assures me and does his best to quickly wrangle them down my legs and over my boots.

  Yanking the buttons on his jeans, he pushes my legs farther apart before flipping the hem of my dress up around my waist. “Lean back.”

  Holy shit—this is going to happen in a stranger’s kitchen. But with the heated look in his eyes, I lean back on my hands immediately. When I’m reclined for him and he’s got me spread before him, he slides his hands up my legs again, but slower this time.

  “You’re really mine.” He looks into my eyes.

  Sliding a finger inside me without breaking eye contact, he keeps talking.

  “This is mine,” he puts his other hand to the counter and leans to me, “forever.”

  He comes closer to kiss me as he starts to finger fuck me. When his thumb circles my clit, I scoot to the edge and arch my back. I’ve never felt the way Grady makes me feel.

  When he releases my mouth, I look into his eyes and whisper for the first time, “I love you.”

  He stops finger fucking me and almost freezes. His heated, bright blue eyes burn into mine before he kisses me again, and this time it’s possessive, deep, and long. Finally ripping his mouth from mine, I lose his hand and he yanks his jeans down just enough to free his cock.

  Wrapping a hand around the small of my back, he pulls me forward. He drags the smooth tip of his cock through my wetness, and his voice is low and guttural. “I’m taking you bare.”

  I don’t argue.

  “Okay.”

  With that, he doesn’t inch his way in, he doesn’t take his time, and he doesn’t savor it.

  He consumes me.

  Then he proceeds to fuck me. Hard.

  And I lean back and let him. Every other time with Grady has been amazing, but this is life-changing.

  “Look at me,” he demands.

  I open my eyes and look into his. I have to wrap my legs around his waist to hang on—he’s slamming into me. Each thrust is better than the one prior, hitting that spot inside, forcing me to pant, and making it hard to hold myself up. When his other hand returns to my clit, I moan out loud, not able to handle it another moment.

  It comes over me, my arms tremble and Grady’s hold around my waist tightens, pulling me to him with each beautiful thrust. I feel myself start to shake, moan, and call out to him.

  “Fuck,” he growls. “Your pussy milking me, I can’t take much more.”

  My orgasm starts to fade when he slams into me two more times, and I get to watch his beautiful face when he comes. Every muscle and vein in his corded neck is tense and flexed—the most gorgeous sight I’ve ever seen. And every bit of him is mine.

  When I put my arms around him, he holds me to him tight, his cock still buried deep.

  “This is just the beginning, baby,” he murmurs in my ear, pressing into me again. “From this moment on, our paths that brought us here end—they’re done. We’re starting a new one—one we’ll navigate together.”

  Pressing my face into his neck and kissing him there, I nod against his skin and breathe him in. “Yes.”

  He gives me a squeeze. “Never want anything between us, baby. We’ll talk about what that means. You want to be on birth control for a while, I’m okay with that. If not, I’m more than good with that, too. But there’ll never be anything between us again.”

  I smile because that’s more than okay with me, and pull away enough to put my lips on his. When I look around the empty house we just had sex in, I finally give myself a chance to take in its beauty. “Are you really thinking about buying this house?”

  He looks away from me and over my head to study the kitchen behind me. “It’s not quite the mansion you grew up in. Do you like it?”

  I pull back and put my hand on his cheek to get his attention. “I don’t want to live the way I grew up. Not even if I could. I want a quiet life.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  I tip my head. “What’s not to like? From what I’ve seen, it’s beautiful.”

  “Well, I hope you like the rest, too, because I closed on it this morning.”

  I feel my eyes go big. “You bought this house?”

  “Yep, and the three hundred and sixty acres it sits on. Plus the barn and the pool. We even have a corral, though, I have no idea what we’ll do with it. Previous owners were horse breeders. It was a quick sale because I paid cash.”

  I can’t help the surprise in my voice when I ask, “You did?”

  He presses his cock into me one more time and grins. “Doing what I did—it paid well. I wasn’t lying to your father. I can take care of you, baby.”

  I roll my eyes. “All I want is you. I don’t care where or how we live.”

  He leans in to kiss me softly. “You ready to see the rest?”

  I actually can’t wait to see the rest, but instead of telling him that, I ask, “It depends, do you have any toilet paper in your new house since we’re doing away with condoms?”

  He grins. “Ours. Our house, baby. And I don’t know. Let’s go find out.”

  *****

  Weston MacLachlan –

  It’s all I can do not to break through those fucking glass doors. I want to put a bullet through his head, but I can’t do that from here, and especially not in front of Maya.

  But to see him touch her? Fuck her?

  My Maya?

  I can’t take it. They surprised me when they left that vineyard and only drove across the street. I had to wait and once I found out there was an electric gate, I parked up the road and had to climb a fucking fence. By the time I found the house and came around back, they were going at it in the kitchen.

  I don’t know what the hell they’re doing there, the place is empty. All I know is it won’t last much longer. She’s mine and I’ll get her back. No more fucking around.

  I only
need a moment to get to her, but he never leaves her. One thing I know, it’s going to happen soon.

  Chapter 26 – Things Aren’t As They Seem

  Elijah Pettit –

  FBI Field Office – Buffalo, New York

  Standing here watching Ronald MacLachlan, for once appearing worried, through the one-way glass window is fucking frustrating. Jeffrey Acogi is sitting in an interrogation room down the hall, and more soldiers are being rounded-up as we speak. It’s barely seven in the morning, but more than half the organization is in custody, and we’re working on the rest. Scrambling units for a roundup at a moment’s notice all the way up and down the east coast wasn’t easy, but it couldn’t wait.

  But what’s really frustrating is the young MacLachlan is still on the lam.

  Bennett, my supervisor, falls in beside me. I finally look over when he says, “They found the body. We’ve got physical evidence and an eye witness. If that doesn’t convince these fuckers to talk, we might have to send you in.”

  “I want to go to Virginia and be the one to take down that asshole. I deserve that after going under all these months. He needs to be found before he gets to the Augustine woman.”

  “We warned her when we were there yesterday.” He looks at me and raises a brow. “I can’t say more, but I know for a fact her security is good. They know the threat is real.”

  I look back to the senior MacLachlan as he sits with his arms crossed. He just invoked his Miranda rights and is waiting on his attorney.

  I glance at my watch. “I’m wasting my fucking time here. If you have the body, there’s no need for me to stick around. The plane leaves in twenty and I want to be on it. We’ll be on the ground in Virginia in no time. Let me do my fucking job and finish this.”

  Bennett looks to me and shakes his head. “You had a good run and you’re a good agent, but you know what this means, right?”

  I’m pissed I couldn’t do more. Still, I’m not a good agent, I’m a fucking great one. I know exactly what’s gotta happen, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it, so I growl, “I know. Now let me finish this in Virginia before I have to move on.”

  He ignores my demand. “You’re not gonna get to choose where you go.”

  I exhale, because I didn’t know that. That pisses me off. Just for that, he better let me finish this. “Dammit, Bennett. I’ve gotta be on that plane. The clock is ticking. You gonna let me go or am I gonna go against orders? Either way, I’m taking down Weston MacLachlan.”

  He shakes his head. “Don’t fuck it up, Eli.”

  Finally.

  I smirk. “I’m a good agent, remember? I deserve one more hurrah before you send me off to Timbuktu.”

  He looks to the one-way glass and crosses his arms. “I’ve heard the word Texas mentioned, not quite Timbuktu. I’ll still miss you, even though you’re a pain in my ass at times.”

  I don’t waste a moment. I need to grab my bag and make it to the plane.

  “Pettit,” he calls, and I stop, frustrated. He narrows his eyes on me and lowers his voice when he stresses, “I want that little fucker alive. Now that we have him for multiple charges of capital murder, I want his ass rotting in a cell for consecutive sentences. Get it done fast, I’m ready to wrap this up.”

  I say nothing but nod. After months of dealing with the MacLachlans, I’m ready to wrap this shit up, too.

  *****

  Grady –

  Rolling Hills Ranch, hours later…

  “Most of the Buffalo crew is in custody, including your dinner buddy, Ronald MacLachlan.”

  As I listen to Asa brief me over the phone, I watch Maya from across the room. She was leading Bingo, but now she’s dancing around with the residents doing the Chicken Dance, of all fucking things. I’m not sure if it’s the news that the MacLachlans are out of business or watching my fiancée shake her ass with the old ladies, but one of the two makes me smile.

  That is until she moves to Foxy and he rubs his old ass against hers. That’s enough to wipe the smile right off my face.

  “Did you hear me? And what the hell’s going on there?” Asa asks.

  “Yeah, sorry. I heard you. They’re dancing. It’s good for their circulation.” I turn away before I’m forced to watch Foxy go in for the bump and grind. “Won’t be very many more years until you’ll be moving in here.”

  “I’m only forty, jackass,” he bites out before moving back to the topic at hand. “They have an eyewitness—Weston’s the one who killed Byron Murray.”

  “No shit?”

  “Yep. When they find him, he’ll be charged with first degree at the very least. Who knows what else they’ve got racked up on him. Agents from New York, along with some from the Northern Virginia office, are in the area. I know you are, but be on the lookout,” Asa warns.

  “I am. I’m not even leaving her on her own in the tasting room.”

  The music ends and Maya returns to the front of the room for more Bingo. I take my seat next to Miss Lillian Rose and grab a new card off the stack being passed around the room.

  “I wanted to update you,” he finishes. “If you need anything, call.”

  I hang up and slide my phone back into my pocket.

  “I can’t believe you and our little Maya are engaged.” Miss Lillian Rose smiles at me. “Have you set a date? Will we be invited?”

  When we got to the Ranch first thing this morning, I sat down to eat breakfast with all the ladies, but that didn’t stop them from zeroing in on Maya’s left hand. There must be an extra chromosome in the female body alerting them to new diamonds in their vicinity. They almost found it faster than my sisters and their excitement was off the charts.

  I can’t help but grin. “No date and I don’t know what Maya wants. But if it’s around here, sure, you’re all invited.”

  “Whoop!” she exclaims. “Did y’all hear that? Grady said we’re invited to the wedding!”

  As the room erupts, and I only have eyes for Maya as hers go big. I’m not sure if she approves or not, but she loves these old codgers, so I’m not worried.

  “When’s the wedding? I want to put it on my calendar and make sure I have an appointment to have my hair set,” Emma Lou yells.

  “We’ll let you know,” I say loudly, so she can hear. “Maya needs to shop for a houseful of furniture first. That’s gonna start today.”

  “You bought the house.” Maya smirks at me. “Maybe you should start shopping for furniture.”

  Shrugging, I talk across the room for all the seniors to hear, “I’ve done my share of furniture shopping for the next decade—I bought a chair. That’s all I need. If you want anything more, you’ll have to go shopping.”

  “You need more than a chair, you silly boy.” Miss Lillian Rose frowns at me before turning to Maya. “You need to set up that home he bought for you. You’ll need a full set of formal china for the holidays. I’m sure brides these days don’t register for silver, but you should. It’s time to make your own heirlooms your grandchildren will want someday.”

  Maya shakes her head quickly and opens her mouth, hopefully to tell Miss Lillian Rose we don’t need silver anything when Betty agrees. “Yes, don’t skimp. Beautiful flatware is important. Sure, you might have to polish it, but it’s worth it in the end.”

  The look on Maya’s face is one that tells me she doesn’t give a shit about that stuff. I clear my throat and I hope to make my point. “I think we can start with a couch and TV. Go from there.”

  “Let’s get back to Bingo,” Maya says, and narrows her eyes at me, but since she’s biting her lip, I know she’s not complaining.

  I showed her th
e rest of the house last night, but it was getting too dark and cold to walk around the property. Since I just closed yesterday, I don’t have surveillance set up yet and wasn’t taking a chance walking around the woods with Weston on the loose. I talked to Crew about extending his system across the street, he thought it would be easy, and made some phone calls first thing this morning to get it going. As soon as I can get her to buy some furniture, we’re moving in.

  I can’t wait. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a home. I never considered my childhood house a home since my mom died. After that, it was basically a hellhole we were forced to survive in. But starting a new life with Maya? I can’t wait.

  She starts calling out numbers again while Miss Lillian Rose talks my ear off about what we need to set up a proper southern home. But when Maya hesitates mid number, I look to her.

  She’s tense and staring at the back of the room. Before I have the chance to turn and see what’s caught her attention, she screams.

  I’m not far from her, but I instantly reach for my left ankle as I turn in my seat. When I look to the opening of the activity room, there’s Weston. But he’s not alone.

  He’s grabbed the first person he could reach and has an arm around his neck with a gun to his head.

  Weston’s voice barrels through the room, “I swear, Maya, I’ll blow his fucking head off if you don’t come with me right now.”

  *****

  Maya –

  No.

  No-no-no-no.

  I hear faint screams and voices from the residents I’ve come to love over the past few months. They’re confused and scared, and rightly so. I’m terrified for their safety. Especially one in particular—my favorite of the bunch.

  Weston’s here—and he has Foxy.

  But he wants me.

  I stand quickly from the table I’m sitting at, and scream, “Let him g—”

  But Grady interrupts me and when I look over, he’s standing at the side of the room with his gun drawn and pointed directly at Weston, demanding, “Drop the gun.”