by Allie Quinn
She blinked at me, twice. I saw exactly what she thought—that I must be crazy.
“Your cousin?”
She looked so pale and scared. I wanted to shove the door open and take her into my arms, but I knew he was standing there. Maybe he even had a gun on her. The bastard had killed a child, maybe more than one, and had left another to die. A man who kills a child would have no qualms about killing anyone else.
She darted her eyes to her right. Was that her way of telling me that was where he was? It had been a couple of years since I’d worked Special Ops, a long time since I’d fought hand to hand. But I was far from out of shape.
And when it came to the woman who now held my heart…
“How about I come in for some coffee?” I kept my voice light, but my action was far from it as I shoved the door open as hard as I could.
I felt his weight. I felt my move propel him backward. It might have taken him by surprise, but he was a trained cop. I knew I had little time, three seconds, maybe. I pushed Alex away, in the opposite direction, doing my best not to hurt her but wanting to get her free of any danger.
Then he was before me, stunned from having been heaved against the wall beside the door, but he recovered fast. In the dim light of Alex’s villa, I easily made out the gun in his hand. He was a big guy, but older. I plowed into him as I went for the gun. Despite his age, he was strong. And fast. We struggled. I held his wrists, tried to point the gun away.
The gun went off. It was so loud and so close; it left my ears hearing nothing but a high-pitched whine. I thought perhaps Alex screamed, but she sounded a mile away. At the same time, fire instantly burned in my shoulder. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he shot me with a flaming arrow. I refused to let go, despite the pain. I knew if I let go, neither Alex nor I had a chance. He raised his knee into my gut. With every bit of strength I possessed, I fought him. I was surprised at how quickly and easily my navy training came back to me.
It didn’t matter he was a cop. He was my enemy. He was a threat. And as I’d been taught, I did not stop. I slammed his wrist against the wall again and again. Then I slammed his entire body. When the gun fell to the floor, I kicked it away. But I didn’t let him go. I hit him in the jaw, stunning him. I took advantage of that pause in the fight to hit him again. And again. And again.
His knees gave out, and he slid down the wall to the floor.
I wanted to hit him more. I wanted to beat him until he begged me to stop or until he begged me for death for the fear he’d given Alex all these years.
I didn’t. His face was a bloody mess. My knuckles were too. I wanted to restrain him so I could hold Alex and rest, assured that she was safe.
“Alex, are you all right?”
“I’m all right.”
I had to trust her words and her voice. I didn’t take my gaze from him to make certain. Training and experience had taught me to never take my eyes off my enemy. “Do you have something to tie him up with? A towel, anything?”
I heard her footsteps as she headed out of the room. Conner was pretty much out for the count, but I wasn’t about to take any chances. I didn’t move.
She came back. “I have a bath towel.”
“Cut it into strips, so I can use it like a rope.”
I heard her open a drawer, then heard some snipping. A moment later, she handed me two long strips of towel cloth.
“How did you know to come here?” she asked.
“Jack Larson called me. He really is my cousin. He said they found the missing girl in a box buried underneath the floor in Conner’s shed. She’s dehydrated but should be fine.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Then she looked at me with realization. “That was how you knew how he liked his coffee when he came to my office.”
I offered her a small smile. “That’s right. He and I meet at least once a week and have coffee or drinks or whatever.”
The sirens were closer but still a short time away. I pushed Conner onto the floor, belly down, and grabbed both his arms, drawing his wrists together behind him. Keeping my knee pressed against his back in case he woke up, I continued, although I hated to tell her.
“They also found the remains of two others.”
“Oh, God…”
I hated the despair in her voice, but I’d promised her only honesty. And I meant to keep that promise even though we weren’t within the walls of the Castle. Besides, all this time, her ignorance had put her in danger. “They also found lots of pictures of you and two other women. He’s been watching you—and them, whoever they are—for a long time. Jack was worried. So was I.” I tied both of the towel strips Alex had handed me together and bound Conner’s hands.
When I finished, I finally looked at Alex.
She wasn’t looking at me. She was staring at the loop action and the knot in the tying I’d done on Conner’s wrists. I instantly realized my error. It was the same loop maneuver I’d used when I’d tied her feet at the Castle. It was the same knot I’d tied when I’d tied the top and bottom ropes together at her belly.
When she looked at me, she stared into my eyes. I’d also forgotten to put on my thick black glasses.
Then she blinked as if she awoke from a dream. I expected her to say something like don’t expect me back at the Castle. What she said instead surprised me.
“Oh, my God, you’re bleeding.”
I was so caught up in my worry for her, I’d forgotten. Hell, it didn’t even hurt as much as her rejection surely would. “I’m all right.”
“The hell you are. He shot you.” She took what was left of the towel and pressed it against my shoulder. The sirens sounded right outside now.
“I think the bullet passed right through. It’s just a nick.” I hardly cared. I was worried about her knowing I was Raven and how she would respond. She lifted my shirt. I tried to stop her.
“I need to see the wound better,” she argued.
I didn’t fight her. It was too late anyway. She lifted my shirt out of the way.
There would be no doubt now that I was Raven. She barely glanced at the scar across my chest that she’d seen many times before, the one she always played her fingers across. She looked harder at my fresh wound. She took what was left of the cut-up towel and held pressure on it.
“Jack called me, too, but I didn’t get a chance to answer because Conner grabbed me. Where’d you learn to fight like that?”
“I was a SEAL.”
“How’d you get the scars?”
I held her gaze and wished to hell I could share everything with her. Perhaps in time I could. For now I told her as much of the truth as I could. I reached up and cupped her face in the palm of my hand. Her softness always sent me for a loop. In a world that was so hard and harsh, she was beautifully soft. I would never grow tired of touching her. “In a dark, horrible place. Someday perhaps I can share it with you, let your light shine on it. For now, just know that you—your touch, your kiss—brought me to a better place, helped me to take steps out of the darkness. I never before allowed anyone to see my scars. I never let anyone touch them. Until you.”
Without a word, she leaned down and kissed the scar on my chest. Then she kissed my lips.
My heart skipped. I put my arms around her.
Alexandria
James was Raven.
Raven was James. James—poor-puppy-dog-caught-in-the-rain James. James—who stuttered and did his job while he tried to remain invisible—was the man who tied me up and made me howl like a banshee. And never once had he ever stuttered when I’d been in his—Raven’s—presence. If he had simply told me, I wouldn’t have believed him. But I had seen both sides of him in the last five minutes.
The sweet, shy James, who was just there to help where he could.
The warrior James, who knew how to fight, even if his opponent was stronger and bigger with a cop’s experience.
And of course at the Midnight Castle, I saw the romantic, very sexy James, who knew just how to touch me t
o turn me on.
I loved them all. I wanted them all. If he thought for one minute he was going to walk out of here now that the danger was over, he’d better think again.
“No, don’t move. Stay still. And if you ever do anything to put yourself in harm’s way again, I’ll tie you up and spank you.”
“I was just going to put my arms around you. You’re pretty bossy.”
I giggled. “Get used to it. Get very used to it. Like every night forever used to it.”
“I love the way you think.”
“I love you.”
“I’ve loved you forever.” He kissed me again. God, I loved the way my heart raced every time he kissed me.
Right then, Jack Larson and his men in blue uniforms burst through my front door. It would be a while before I could show him just how much I loved him.
Epilogue
Alexandria
After giving him two weeks to heal, I was ravenous for him. At the Midnight Castle, on our favorite couch, I playfully tied his hands so he couldn’t stop me. Then I sucked him. I positively loved everything about sucking his dick—the texture, the taste, the control, the way I could make him come with my tongue.
After I totally did him in, I untied and led him to the shower, where I soaped him and smeared suds all over his body. I was, however, careful around his latest battle scar. Once we reached the same room we’d used on previous nights, he allowed me to take off my mask as he removed his.
I slowly moved closer to him and began unbuttoning the clean crepe shirt he’d put on after our shower. I traced his chest scar with my finger. “How is it you always manage to reserve this room?”
Tonight my costume was a little nightie camisole like I’d worn my first night here. I had put on a clean deep-purple one after we’d dried each other following our shower. He reached over and slipped the small shoulder strap down my arm so he could reach into the top. He traced my nipple with a finger while I continued playing with his scar. His touch was electrifying.
“This room isn’t reservable.”
“It isn’t?”
“This is my room. This is part of my apartment.”
I met his gaze, working to keep my mouth from dropping open. “What?”
“I own this place. I inherited it from my father, as he did from his. I grew up on the other side of the lake in a cottage house, never knowing what went on here until I was back from my last mission with the navy, healing from my wounds. My parents retired to Scottsdale, Arizona. So I live here now. I wasn’t even sure I’d be interested in the lifestyle, but it helped me heal. Then I met you, and I wanted you here with me.”
He cupped my face and kissed me. “And I know it’s a little soon to ask, so I won’t ask you to move in. But I will ask that you stay more than one night with me. And then maybe the next night. And the next.”
I smiled, feeling tears fill my eyes. I nodded. I sealed my silent promise with a kiss.
Loose Id Titles by Allie Quinn
An Angel for Christmas
By Invitation Only
Christmas Past and Christmas Presents
* * * *
The MOONLIGHT ASSASSINS Series
In the Dead of Cold
Under the Cover of Moonlight
Allie Quinn
Allie Quinn lives with her husband in Southern Illinois. When she isn’t enjoying fun family time, games with friends, reading, crafts, music, and winemaking, she’s working to build fictional worlds and unforgettable characters.
