by Wade, Maddie
The bruises were barely visible now, so she lightened her make-up just using some tinted moisturiser and mascara with a slick of blush on her cheeks. She left her lips bare knowing—or rather hoping—Blake would kiss the gloss off anyway. She couldn’t hear him in the other room, but she sensed him. It was as if she could feel the vibrations from him coming through the walls. She laughed at her fanciful thoughts silently and made sure everything was packed with nothing left behind. She doubted they would come back here. This had just been a place to allow them to get some sleep.
Crossing to the door, she opened it and saw him working on his laptop which he must have collected from the car earlier.
His head came up and those beautiful blue eyes moved over her with heat before settling on her face with a smile. “Morning, beautiful.”
“Afternoon more like,” she said as she slid her arms around his neck from behind and leaned in for a kiss which he happily obliged. It was a warm hungry kiss that hinted at so much more.
He pulled away with a growl and looked up at her. “That’s how we should start every morning.”
Pax smiled and looked around. “Any news?”
Blake stood and started packing his laptop away. “Your father had a good night and is stable. He came around briefly but is sleeping a lot. Your mum has gone home but is coming back later to be with him. Do you want to go and see him before we head back to the hotel?”
Pax frowned and pursed her lips as she contemplated that. “No. Let’s get moving. I want to try and see Sally today.”
Blake moved to the door, his arms rippling as he carried the bag in one hand and opened the door with the other, keeping his body in front of hers again, always protecting her.
Once in the car he drove to a coffee shop on the way back to the hotel and picked up a caramel latte and a pastry for her and an Americano with cream for him.
“Have you heard from the others?” she asked as she chewed the apricot pastry and ignored the fact it was probably going straight to her hips along with the muffin from last night.
He glanced across at her with a grin twitching his lips at the enjoyment on her face. “Yes, Waggs called me earlier. Decker has Lopez working on the background checks and he has an appointment with Clark Baker for the fake magazine article later today.”
Pax looked at him as she brushed the crumbs from her legs. “Doesn’t that seem odd to you? Him being so available at short notice.”
“I thought so too, but Decker is damn good at what he does so we’ll have to leave that to him. Waggs is working his angle too, so we’ve arranged to meet tonight after we get new accommodation. I don’t want us going back to the hotel except to collect our stuff.”
“Do you think they’ll try again?” she asked a shiver going through her.
“I think they don’t want us to find out something and will do anything to protect it,” he said tone serious. “How do you want to play the meeting with Sally? Make an appointment or just turn up?”
Pax considered it for a moment as she watched people skating on the sidewalk. “Just turn up, I think. Catch her off guard. It might reveal more.”
“Good call,” he said with a slight nod of pride which made her happy inside.
Pax was quiet then as she considered things. Soon they reached the hotel’s car park and Blake parked as close to the door as possible. He ushered her out and quickly moved to the lift that sped them to their floor where he proceeded to check out the room before letting her in to gather her things.
Pax shoved everything into a bag which didn’t take long as she hadn’t unpacked a lot. Once done, he did a final sweep of the room, his eyes locking on the glass that had the bullet crack in it and ushered her out.
Once back in the car she asked the question that had been playing on her mind. “How come nobody called the police when we were shot at? I mean, I understand why we didn’t, but I would have thought someone would have called 911.”
Blake’s face was grim as it met hers. “Whoever was shooting knew enough to use a suppressor. There wouldn’t have been that much noise.”
“Oh! I guess I hadn’t thought of that.”
“It happened in a second, so you wouldn’t have necessarily taken in the fact that it was quiet. The sound of the glass being hit would have been loud to us but not necessarily enough for anyone else to hear it.”
The sun was shining bright and Pax was desperate to change into clean clothes, feeling dirty in the ones she had worn all night. “Will we go to the new place first or to Sally Nixon’s home?”
“Let’s get to the new digs so we can shower and change. My guess is Sally is at work, so we’ll have more chance of catching her tonight when she gets home. I also have a few emails from Lopez I need to check, and I need to call Jack.” He eyed her; his face gentle. “Have you told Evelyn or Roz about the attack or your father’s heart attack?”
Pax shook her head. “No.”
“You should, they would want to know. They care about you.”
Pax sighed. “I know. I will later.”
The truth was she didn’t want to tell them. She already felt weak. Admitting to these strong women her family was trying to kill her, and she still gave a shit about them was embarrassing to say the least. She knew they would have cut Robert Paxton’s head off rather than still care about him if they were the ones he had betrayed.
Chapter Twenty
Just over an hour later they pulled up at a beautiful suburban home that looked like an advert for a modern-day ‘Leave it to Beaver’ home. It was gorgeous and Pax instantly loved it.
“Where are we?” she asked turning to Blake.
She’d been too pre-occupied with the shit going on in her head to ask earlier. She saw a Ford truck and black SUV parked in the drive, neither of which she recognised.
“Reid’s mum very kindly offered to let us all stay here.”
Blake pointed at Reid who was walking towards them with his long, almost lazy prowl. That prowl, along with the sexy tattoos and gorgeous light blue eyes that seemed to see right through a person, combined into an amazing package. If Pax weren’t wholly head over ass for Blake, she definitely would have found Reid attractive.
She was, however, madly in… She stopped her thought, not sure how to define how she felt for Blake. It was more than lust or like but was it love? She glanced at the handsome man beside her and felt her heart flip when he smiled at her and winked. Who was she kidding? She was madly in love with him. If she was honest with herself, she had been for a while. The instant she had seen him in Monaco she had been finished for other men. As she smiled and looked up at Reid, she realised she could admire him without guilt as he made her feel absolutely nothing except a natural admiration for a handsome man.
“Reid also has an update for us on Benny’s real father,” Blake said getting her attention.
They exited the car and she greeted Reid with a warm smile as he took her bags and led her and Blake up to the house.
The house was warm and welcoming as was Reid’s mother who had to be in her late fifties but was still a beauty. With shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes like her son’s, it was easy to see who he took after.
“Y’all come in and don’t stand on ceremony.” She ushered them in with a friendly smile. “Kirk, take the bags and put them in the spare room in the attic.”
Hearing his first name sounded odd when she’d only ever heard him called Reid.
Reid grinned and kissed his mom’s head. “Yes, ma’am.”
Pax smiled at the sight of a man so dangerous and feared being such a sweetheart with his mom.
“It is so kind of you to put us up, Mrs Reid.”
The woman took Blake’s hands and nodded. “Any friend of Kirk’s is a friend of ours. Unfortunately, I have to go to work. The girls are at school but shouldn’t be back until after five. There’s food in the fridge and a lasagne in the oven for you to warm if you get hungry.”
The woman was a flurry of activity as s
he grabbed her bag off the small sideboard in the living room, smiled at them both and walked out the door. “See you later.”
Mrs Reid waved as she walked down the road, her stride quick and no-nonsense.
Reid came down the stairs, eyes on the door, a frown on his face. Pax wondered what that was about but didn’t ask. She was hardly in a position to discuss family dynamics.
“Shall we have a quick update before you guys get showered or whatever?” he asked with a quirk of his lips at them.
Blake tilted his head at her. “Want a quick update first?”
Pax nodded. “Yes, let’s do that first. I feel like we’re getting nowhere fast right now.”
Reid led them from the front living room and into an open kitchen diner with a large wooden table. Pax took in the space, loving the fact the fridge was covered in papers and reminders of events with kitschy colourful magnets. He pulled down three mugs from a cupboard above his head and set about making them a coffee.
“So, Benny’s father is Frank Castillo. He was serving fifteen for armed robbery at California State.” Reid handed Blake and Pax a mug and pushed creamer and sugar towards them as he took a sip of his own before going on. “Castillo made parole about three months ago. I talked to his parole officer and he says Frank was a model citizen inside and even earned his qualification as a mechanic. He’s working at a garage an hour north of Loma Linda and by all accounts, is a reformed character.”
Blake took a long drink of the coffee and Pax noticed how tired he looked and wondered if he had gotten much sleep last night. “Do you believe the reformed character story?”
Reid shrugged at Blake’s question. “Difficult to tell without meeting the guy. I can go pay him a visit if you like?”
Blake shook his head. “Nah, let’s see if anything pops on the background checks first. No point going all that way until we know more, and we may need you here with everything else going on.”
“You’re the boss on this, Blake.”
Blake snorted without humour. “Yeah, I’m the monkey in charge of this circus.”
He sounded frustrated which was new for him. Usually Blake was calm, but something was getting to him. Probably exhaustion and pain from his knee which was swollen again.
“We should probably get showered and maybe you can rest that leg for an hour.”
Blake looked at her and nodded. “Good idea.” He looked to Reid. “Pax and I are going to visit Sally Nixon later. Can you see if Waggs needs help with the employees at Sana?”
Reid nodded slowly. “Sure, I’ll call him now.”
Blake nodded and then they followed as Reid led them to the attic room they would share. It was large with an en-suite that contained a shower, toilet, and sink. It also had a king-sized bed opposite a large Velux window.
Reid pointed at the bags by the chest of drawers. “I left your bags over there.”
Pax smiled. “Thank you so much for this, Reid.”
“My pleasure, ma’am,” he said with a wink and Pax grinned wider as Blake rolled his eyes.
“Okay, enough flirting with my woman.”
He pushed Reid to the door as Reid chuckled low. Pax walked to Blake as he stood by the bed. Placing her hands on his chest, his arms came around her lower back just above the curve of her ass. Her eyes searched his. She saw tiredness and pain but also desire and something else.
“You okay?” she asked knowing that for the most part he had been taking care of her and thought the scales needed balancing.
He smiled. “I am now.”
“I think I can make it better,” she purred as she stepped out of his arms and pushed him lightly until he was sitting on the edge of the bed.
Blake looked up at her his eyes stormy with need and interest. “Yeah, how so?”
Pax dropped to her knees in front of him and moved so she knelt between his spread muscular thighs. “Well, I hear there are ways of relieving pain by causing an endorphin rush.”
Blake watched her as she moved her hands to the zip on his jeans and slowly lowered it. “Is that so?”
Pax saw the hardness of his dick against the denim fabric of his jeans. “Uh huh.”
Her hand slipped in and grasped the hard cock in her hand and her body reacted to the sound of the hiss that came from his mouth at her touch. Blake sat back; his body propped on his elbows as he watched her stroke his cock.
Pax swiped a thumb over the slit as she bent to lick the bead of pre-cum from the head, her eyes never leaving his. Blake reached forward and wound her hair around his fist causing a tingle in her scalp to shoot straight to her clit.
Slowly she lowered her head until she took him into her mouth, the groan that reverberated up his chest and into her mouth heady and powerful. This man who had protected kings and queens, who was so self-assured and in control, was losing control because of her.
Her mouth worked his cock as he watched, his hips moving as he tried to hold back the desire to fuck her mouth. His eyes were crinkled, red slashes of desire across his cheekbones, jaw rigid. It made her want to make him lose it, so she doubled her efforts.
“Gracie, fuck,” he rasped out.
Running her tongue over the head of his hardness, she reached up and cupped his balls, rolling them as he began to swell in her mouth, the breath coming from him harshly as he groaned.
“I’m gonna come,” he moaned as he gripped her head.
Pax wanted him to come in her mouth, to taste him on her tongue and know that she made this man as weak as he did her. She didn’t pull away but sucked harder, bobbing her head up and down his stiff cock. She felt him stiffen before his release filled her mouth.
“Gracie, Jesus Christ,” he said letting go of her hair and falling back on the bed as she rose up to look at him. The tension was now gone as he looked at her with hooded eyes that had lost the weariness of earlier.
Blake reached for her and she crawled up the bed and into his arms, being careful of his injured knee. She nestled against him as he wrapped his arm around her and held her to him kissing her head.
“Give me a sec, babe, and I’ll return the favour.”
“No, you won’t. That was for you. You’ve done nothing but take care of me for days now and it was my turn to look after you.”
“I’m not keeping score, Gracie. Looking after you is entirely my pleasure. But if you feel the need to take away my pain, you can do that any time you want.”
Pax chuckled and shook her head. “You’re such a boy.”
Blake rolled so that he was above her looking down and smiled. “I think you mean man, beautiful.”
The smile on her face felt good as she replied, “Fine, man then.”
“How about we get naked and I show you how much of a man?” He waggled his eyebrows adorably and nudged the soft curve of her tight pussy with his erection.
Pax raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Already?”
“It’s all you, babe. All you.” His head descended and he kissed her softly then showed her how much of a man he was which resulted in them falling asleep until a knock on their door woke them two hours later.
“Blake, not sure if you guys fell asleep but its five-fifteen and I know you wanted to see Sally Nixon,” Reid called.
“Shit!” Blake exclaimed as he sat up. “Thanks, Reid, we’ll be down in a sec.”
“No problem. I’ll see you before you head out.”
Blake and Pax shared a shower which involved some making out but nothing else before they dressed. She changed into white jeans and a grey slouchy knit sweater that hung off her shoulder and grey stiletto ankle boots. She left her hair loose at her shoulders in waves.
“Do you have to look so fucking beautiful all the time? It’s distracting,” Blake said as he kissed her bare shoulder and strapped his shoulder harness over a white shirt before adding a leather jacket that made her want to strip him naked again.
Pax snorted. “Have you looked in the mirror?”
Blake smirked at that and win
ked. “Insatiable.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Come on, stud, let’s go find out what happened with Sally Nixon.”
Blake held the door for her to proceed him and followed her down the two sets of stairs. They came to the kitchen and heard two feminine voices along with Reid’s deeper one. Moving inside, Pax was taken aback for a split second when she saw a girl of about nineteen or twenty sitting on a stool watching Reid chop veggies for a salad. She had a pale blue headscarf on her bald head, and was pale, but had the biggest blue eyes and widest smile as she watched Reid. She looked up at them and Reid’s eyes followed.
“Hey.”
“Oh, hi.”
“I’m Nessa.” She motioned to a girl behind her who was probably a couple of years younger and looked exactly like her siblings. “And this is my sister, Tori.”
“I’m Grace and this is Blake.” She turned and saw Blake was focused on Reid, his jaw hard, his expression severe, a frown marring his forehead. Pax elbowed him and he looked at her guiltily.
“Hey, nice to meet you both,” he said to both girls as he reached out to shake their hands.
“You staying for dinner? Reid is warming mom’s lasagne and making a salad.”
Pax was about to say yes but Blake interrupted. “Unfortunately, we can’t but thanks anyway.”
“Your loss and more for me. Mom’s lasagne is the best and now the chemo is finished for a while and I don’t feel so sick anymore, I’m going to enjoy it while I can.”
Pax nodded and smiled. “Good plan.”
Reid laid the knife down and looked up. “Let me walk you out.”
Reid walked them to the front door and pulled it closed behind him as he followed them out. “Nessa has Large B Cell Lymphoma. She’s just finished her second round of chemo.” His voice was monotone, but Pax could see it cost him.
“I’m so sorry, Reid,” Blake said, and Pax could hear the regret in Blake’s voice. “What’s the prognosis?”
