“I’d appreciate it, Elizabeth. She really needs an out, and he really needs her. You can clearly see it in their faces.”
“Well, if it doesn’t work out, he’s going to have to let her go. What else can we do?”
Maura shared with her boss everything that Luke told her. Her fiancé was pretty sure Nate was slipping into the darkness and was teetering on the edge.
“That’s not good,” Elizabeth stated.
“Well, it’s not like the FBI can take away his job since there’s no way Director Blackhawk will find out about it, right?”
Elizabeth got the point.
“Just get to the cabin and lay low. You shouldn’t have anyone on you, but if they show up, let me know. Okay?”
“I can do that. I’m destroying this phone, so I’ll contact you later.”
They said their goodbyes, and Maura smashed the burner phone with a rock. When she was done, she made sure there was nothing left to find in the mess that could tie it to them.
Heading over to her team, she grabbed a Power Bar. “The boss is notified, and she’s handling the Hummer.”
Luke was glad. He was going to miss his baby. “Should we head out?” he asked.
Maura looked down at her watch. “We have about three miles left, but I don’t want to continue this way. We’re going into that stream, and then we’re going to make it damn hard to follow our tracks.”
Nate was good with that. “Hop on,” he stated to Avalon, offering a piggy back ride.
“I can walk, Nate,” Avalon stated, not wanting to be treated like she was a liability or a child.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I know you can do it, but having you against my body reminds me of last night, and that makes me feel better, Avi. Let me have this one.”
She got shivers at the new nickname.
“Okay, Nathaniel. I can do that for you.”
With that, they got on their way.
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
The torture continued for hours. The men worked her over hard and for as long as they could. In the end, her body gave out, but they’d had plenty of chances to enjoy her.
In fact, they destroyed her.
Since the boss ordered them to do anything to get her to talk, they’d done just that.
Now, they had to get rid of her.
“Where should we leave her?” Thomas asked, spraying her down with cleaning fluid. They wanted to make sure she was sanitized and didn't have any of their DNA left on her body.
“We better clear this with the boss man. If we fuck this up, he’s going to kill us next,” Clarence offered.
“Good idea.”
They did rock, paper, scissors to see who would make the call. Clarence lost.
“Shit!”
“I’ll get her ready to go.”
Dialing, he knew there was going to be an explosion on the phone. While they were being paid handsomely, the man had pretty high standards. What he didn't seem to get, was that in battle, you didn't always have a fast win.
It took time.
Strategy.
Patience.
When the man answered, he was already pissed off. That didn't bode well. The other half of the team must have screwed up, and in a big way.
“Tell me you found something, and that the job has been done right,” he stated. “If you don’t, I’m going to lose it. Your monkey friends jacked their portion of this up. They had Avalon in a car and lost her twice. Now we have dead men, two wrecked vehicles, and a whole lot of attention. That’s the exact opposite of what I wanted.”
“We have the woman’s cell phone. In it, she has information. We can get to her mother.”
That pleased him. “Call her. Tell her that her daughter is dead, and that should get her there. While she didn't return for the old bat, she may for one of her children.” Then he paused. “On second thought, let the sheriff make that call. If we rush this, then we’re going to screw ourselves. I don’t want the woman to bolt.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What else do you have on the agenda?” Mr. Greene asked, trying to stay calm.
He shared the plan about the next person.
“Once they find Sarah Miller, the shit is going to explode. If the local police don’t think something is going on, they will now. Handle him. There can’t be any more mistakes.”
“Yes, Mr. Greene.”
“If their mother pops up in town, call me. I want to be there for that interrogation. I want to personally be the one who hurts her. She kept Avalon from me, and I want to make her pay. Am I clear?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. I hear you.”
“Good. Dump her back at her house, grab the brother, and take care of this mess.”
He hung up.
Staring down at the phone on his desk, he plotted his next moves. They had gone under, and while he knew the general location, he wasn’t sure if they’d entered the woods, or stolen a car to get away. It looked like he was going to have to find out where they were.
It would take time, but he could do it.
He was sure.
After all, he owned the FBI.
He had their secrets.
And they couldn’t stop him.
* * * C a r t e r - G a i n e s * * *
Cabin
Wednesday Night
Maura didn't like not knowing all her escape routes, so when they got to the two bedroom rustic cabin, she headed out. Under the guise of finding food, she needed some alone time to work out the strategy if they needed to escape.
This cabin was in the middle of nowhere, and all around them was a canopy of trees. From above, they’d never be seen, and that was a good thing. This was why she’d used it.
When Elizabeth had offered these coordinates, she knew that she needed to check it out, and it was so much better than she thought.
Now, Maura needed to make sure there were ways out if the shit hit the fan.
As she headed out into the darkening night, she found her preferred route away from the cabin. It would be a brutal trek, but knowing the military men, they’d assume they’d take the easier route with a blind woman.
This would be the one.
As she marked the path with some broken twigs, that only she’d notice, she heard the sound behind her.
She wasn’t alone.
Ducking into the underbrush, she watched and waited, really hoping it wasn’t going to be the enemy. They’d exhausted their resources getting there, and a twenty mile hike would be too much for Avalon.
Hell!
It might be too much for the men with her too.
As he walked past the shrubs, Maura couldn’t see his face. It was too dark in the shadows, so instead, she pulled a knife and did what she was paid to do.
Protect Avalon at all costs.
Leaping out, she tackled the person around the waist, and they slid across the ground. Maura ended up on top, the bowie knife pressed to his throat.
Then she saw him.
“Lucas, are you trying to get your throat sliced?” she asked, holstering her knife back into her boot.
“Well, you were gone a while, and I was missing my girl. I thought we could spend a little time out here while Nate was making dinner.”
She stared at him.
“I could have hurt you.”
“I trust you, Maura. You wouldn’t have hurt me. You always make sure the enemy is clear before you do what you have to do.”
She sighed.
At that moment, he bucked, throwing her off. Before she even hit the ground, face first, he was on her.
“It was really hot today, watching you be my sexy soldier girl. It turned me right on. I don’t know how the men you served with ever focused on the job. I would have been staring like a fool and acting out my soldier fantasies.”
When he rubbed against her body, Maura’s blood pressure shot through the roof. She was having a few fantasies too, and all of them involved Luke.
; As he pinned her to the ground, his mouth left kisses across her neck and throat.
While she could have gotten free, Maura could feel his erection pressed into her ass, and she was definitely interested in what was going through his mind. “Did it?” she asked as he whispered lecherous things in her ear.
Goose bumps crisscrossed her body in response.
“Oh, yeah. I wanted to jump you right then and there. It’s been so damn hard to keep my hands off you the last few hours. I love my sexy cat burglar.”
She snickered. “Well, you’re dressed the same, so I think that goes for you too.”
“Is it wrong that I want to have really wild, hot sex out here where no one can hear us?”
The heat radiated from her gut, driving up her blood pressure. “I happen to have seen a spot not far from here. When I saw it, I thought about us.”
Now that was exactly what he wanted to hear.
Luke set her free. “Let’s go. We don’t have a lot of time. Maybe an hour until Nate has dinner ready.”
She was up and held out her hand. His touch, words, and the scent of his soap made Maura hornier than hell. While during the day she was the major, at night, when Luke was around, she was so much more.
Now, she wanted to feel.
She led him through the trees to an empty outcropping of rocks. “Bears sleep here.”
He stared at her. “What? One day, you’re going to just pick some safe place like a soft bed of leaves.”
She pushed him inside and attacked. Her mouth was on his as her hands urgently tugged at his clothes, trying to set him free.
Luke moaned as flesh touched flesh. “Maura, baby, you make me crazy,” he muttered, his lips moving over her.
She shut him up by climbing up the front of his body.
He braced himself against the wall, still holding her in his arms. When her hand found his button and zipper, tugging his erection free from his pants, Luke shuddered. The cold kiss of night air sent chills across his body.
“You better keep me warm,” he urged, as she slid off him and into position on her knees. Immediately, her hand and mouth stroked him to delirium.
“Yeah, like that.”
Maura loved the way he tasted, and even more, she loved how Luke would start breathing heavy the second she touched him.
“More,” he begged, “I need more, baby.”
She gave him what he wanted, and when she glanced up, Luke was watching her.
It was those baby blue eyes that made her crazy.
“Give me your worst,” he begged. “I feel like it’s been days,” he muttered.
Using her teeth, she drove him wild.
His breath was now ragged gasps, and he was a man on the edge. Maura wanted to hear him fall. She loved the way he shook, right before tumbling from the edge.
“Close, baby. You gotta stop,” he whispered, his legs shaking with the tremors of release.
She didn't care. She wanted him to lose control. If they only had an hour, Maura wanted to make it count.
“Oh, God!” he hissed, the colors beginning to explode behind his eyes. His body tightened, and before he could beg her to stop, the explosion happened.
Luke’s heart stumbled, and he erupted hotly down her throat.
Maura milked him dry. When she sat up, licking her lips, he was still breathing heavy.
“You’re a menace,” he muttered.
She laughed. “I do try.”
Sliding down the wall, he rested flat on his back. “I have to taste you. Let me devour my girl. It’ll get me hard again,” he stated.
Well, she wasn’t going to say no. Standing, she kicked off her boots and dropped her cargo pants.
“Top too,” he muttered. “I want to see all of you.”
She gave him what he wanted.
Maura knelt over his face, her body braced over his mouth. When he pulled her down, lapping at the wetness, she was in heaven.
Luke had amazing oral skills, and he liked to practice them as much as possible.
She was a lucky, lucky girl.
Maura moaned as his big hands held her in place. His mouth and tongue found the most sensitive part of her body and tore her control to shreds.
All the while she was begging, he kept the torture going.
Luke was in heaven. There was nothing more delicious than dining on his girl. Just the breathy gasps made him want to have her riding his body.
With a flick of his tongue, he felt her quake above him. Knowing he needed more, he nipped the sensitive bud until she shouted his name.
As she fell, he pulled her down more, refusing to let her go.
Luke wanted this.
He wanted all.
Maura was the best thing in his life, and he couldn’t get enough.
As she stared down at him, he watched as Maura tried to clear the fog of passion. He loved the sexy rise and fall of her chest.
“More?” he asked, teasing her with the tip of his tongue.
“Yes, Lucas, yes.”
He didn't hesitate. Instead, he whipped her back into a frenzy, grinding his mouth against her. This time he was brutal, and like his soldier girl, he wasn’t taking any prisoners.
As she whimpered and moaned, he couldn’t help it. Luke wanted to be buried in her body. With his hands on her hips, he pushed her back and went with her. Now it was time to take everything he craved.
Once between her legs, he tugged his boxers and pants the rest of the way down his legs.
Then he slid home.
The heat.
The warmth.
The wet.
It called to him.
Maura moaned as he invaded. Nothing felt as good as Luke being buried in her body. As soon as he kissed the deepest part of her, he began moving.
Braced over her, he stared down into her eyes. “I love you.”
Her heart skipped.
“Oh, Lucas, you’re always going to be mine.”
With that, they continued their frenzied mating. Luke kept pounding away, enjoying her breathy gasps and her partially open lips. What he longed for now was to hear his name as they both came.
“Maura,” he begged, as he was so close.
“Oh, God! Lucas!” she shouted, as she ruptured apart, pulling him along for the ride. Her body called to his, begging him to join her.
Who was he to fight it?
Luke allowed the love of his life to lure him into the freefall, knowing that there was no other place he’d rather be.
The woods.
The bear’s den.
Even Hell was fine with him as long as he had Maura in his life.
As the colors swirled, the world disappeared, and everything went blank. Together, they simply enjoyed the scent of mate, and the comforting echo of each other’s hearts.
“So good,” she muttered, as Luke remained buried in her body.
“Maura, I can’t live without you.”
She ran her hand through his blonde hair. “You don’t have to, Lucas. We’ll get through this. You need to think of it as just one more mission. It has a beginning and an end.”
He hoped she was right. He had a feeling that someone was going to get their heart broken, and he only prayed it wasn’t him.
Fate hadn’t always been his friend. It may be selfish, but he’d just found love, and he didn't want to lose it.
Not now.
Not ever.
“We should get back,” she stated, but when he didn't move to set her free, her hands lovingly stroked his back.
“I need one more second,” he admitted. After watching her get shot, while trying to save them, his heart couldn’t handle much more. What he needed was reassurance and holding her in his arms was giving him peace.
Maura would stay like this forever if need be. She could feel the tension in his body. Softly, in his ear, she whispered all the words she knew he needed to hear.
He relaxed.
“I’ll love you forever, Lucas Mars.”
&nbs
p; And Major Maura Gaines meant it.
With all of her heart.
CHAPTER Twelve
S he was far less stressed now that they were at the cabin. Avalon was glad that she had the chance to spend some alone time with Nathaniel Carter. While he was making dinner, she was able to ‘watch’ him.
He was in the small kitchen making something, and it smelled like heaven.
“Do you cook all the time?” she asked, as she sat at the table.
He glanced up at her, his heart skipping in his chest. She’d changed out of her hiking gear, and was once more in a long, white flow-y dress. Apparently, she favored them, and he didn't mind in the least. In them, she looked almost like an apparition.
“I cook the basics. In my family, I’m not really the chef. That would be my sister, Callie. She’s a killer cook. I hope you can meet her one day.”
Well, that explained who Callista was. She’d heard her name in her head, and now the pieces were falling into place.
“Next to Luke, she’s my best friend,” he admitted. “You’ll like her.”
She didn't say anything because she already knew it didn't matter. They’d never meet. When the time came, it gave her peace to know he’d have family to hold him up.
When she was dead, Nate would have a circle to keep him safe. That made it all a little easier.
“Do you have any siblings?” he asked, wanting to learn more about her. Yes, he had her dossier, but he didn't get to study it as much as he would have liked. Besides, with her, he wanted to learn from the source. It made it more…personal.
“I do. I have a half-sister and half-brother. When my mother dumped me off, she got remarried and had kids with someone else. She didn't want me around her because I scared everyone. In fact, I scare a lot of people, but when you’re a freak—that happens.”
He stared at her. “I’m not afraid of you. I don’t understand what you can do, but it doesn’t scare me.”
She wanted to believe him. Avalon longed to have one person in the world not turn from her in fear. For once, she wanted to feel like a normal woman and not some monster behind the glass.
Sinner Reborn Page 20
