Chaise screamed and kicked him repeatedly with her free leg. With all the fear and adrenalin coursing through her veins, she didn’t feel any pain as she kicked him with her feet and punched him with her fists. Blinded by rage and fueled by fear of what he planned to do to her, she didn’t even realize the moment when Rico went flying across the room.
“Chaise, baby, calm down for me,” Bull tried to soothe her.
Rico roared as he scrambled back to his feet. He rushed toward Bull and tried to tackle him. Had Bull not been so close to the edge of insanity, he would’ve laughed at Rico’s pitiful attempt to assault him. However, when Bull walked in the bedroom and saw Rico attacking Chaise, and how hard Chaise fought to keep him off of her, Bull saw red.
Simply throwing Rico across the room didn’t quench his rage. Bull clenched his fists and drew his right hand back. The loud thwack of flesh pounding flesh echoed through the room. Chaise seemed to come to her senses as she looked at Bull in amazement.
Rico fell to the ground as his eyes rolled back in his head. Bull was tackled a second time but this time he welcomed it as he felt a soft, female body meld with his. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head. He whispered soothing words into her ear, telling her he was there, she was safe, and he would take her away.
When he pulled back and looked at her face, his lips formed a thin line and fire burned in his eyes when he saw the angry bruises on her cheek. He attempted to keep his anger controlled so he didn’t appear to be upset with Chaise, but he had to know. “Who. Hit. You?”
“Diego did this,” she said, pointing to her face. “Rico shot him.”
Bull gently wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled her back to him. She turned her face to the side, pressed her body against his and wrapped her arms around his waist. Just as she hugged him tight, she caught movement from the corner of her eye.
“Look out!” Chaise screamed.
Bull whirled around and pushed Chaise behind him, using his body as a shield to protect her. Rico had his gun drawn and aimed at Bull. An ugly sneer was plastered on Rico’s face as he said, “Not so tough now, are you?”
“I’m still as tough as I was when I knocked you on your ass a minute ago,” Bull retorted sarcastically.
“Step aside, I want to make sure Chaise has a good view of your death,” Rico ordered.
Chaise was hidden behind Bull and stood as close to him as she possibly could. She felt a bulge in the back of his waistband. Bull’s arm still held Chaise safely behind him. He felt as Chaise eased his shirt up and placed her hand on his gun. The cold steel brushed against his skin as she quickly removed it and placed the butt of it in Bull’s hand.
“Whatever you want, man,” Bull responded casually. He faked a step to the side, quickly raised his arm and fired two shots in rapid succession. The bullets hit Rico once in the chest and once in the head. His limp body once again hit the floor and there was no way he would get up this time.
Bull grabbed Chaise in his arms again and when he finally looked up, he saw his entire team in place. Bull smirked at them, “Thanks for the help, guys.”
“You had it under control,” Rebel answered with a shit-eating grin.
“Yeah, you needed to handle this yourself, man,” Reaper replied.
The thunder boomed and the lightning strikes crackled outside the window. Bull couldn’t take his eyes off of Chaise—even for the howling wind or horizontal rain beating against the windows.
“We need to get you out of here,” Bull said as he pulled the cover off the bed and wrapped it around her. The flimsy material of her nightgown would look like a second skin on her if she wore it in the rain. Bull wasn’t about to share that view with any of his brothers.
“We need to get moving before the storm gets worse or we’ll be stuck on this island until it passes,” Shadow said.
Bull wrapped his arm around Chaise and led her out. “I know we still have things to talk about, but I’m not letting you go.”
Chaise nodded but was so overwrought with mixed emotions she couldn’t respond coherently. The main emotion she felt was an overwhelming joy of getting out of the whole sordid affair alive. She snuggled in close to Bull’s side and allowed him to lead her out the front door and toward the dock.
As they moved past the outer perimeter of the property, a bolt of lightning struck close to the house. The popping and sizzling of electricity hung in the air for a few seconds before the house they had just left exploded into a huge fireball. Within seconds, the entire place was engulfed in flames and smaller explosions fired in sequence.
Chaise gasped and jumped out of Bull’s embrace. His hand was fast but not as fast as her eye. He nonchalantly slipped a remote detonator into his pocket and gave her a feigned innocent look.
“Did you do that?” Chaise asked, pointing at the raging inferno behind them.
“I don’t understand the question,” Bull answered, telling Chaise all she needed to know.
They made it back to shore despite the choppy seas and whipping wind. An uncomfortable silence settled between Chaise, Bull, and Reaper as they stood on the dock, facing each other, not knowing exactly what to say or where to start.
Chaise broke the silence. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you for everything. You saved my life,” her voice cracked on the last word because everything that had happened suddenly caught up with her. Tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
She tried to quickly wipe them away but Bull pulled her into his embrace. He wrapped his thick arms around her and nuzzled his face in her hair. The bass timbre of his whispers made her weak in the knees and temporarily helped her forget where she was.
“I’ve got you, Chaise. You’re mine and I’m never letting you go again. I was a fucking idiot for not stopping you before. Never again, baby,” Bull promised in a hushed tone.
Chaise stayed glued to Bull for what felt like an eternity. She felt rather than saw that Noah was still standing beside them. She reluctantly pulled away from Bull’s embrace but smiled up at him when he took her hand in his. He honestly didn’t intend to let her get far from him.
Chaise turned to Noah and searched his eyes for a few moments before speaking. “You came for me. I don’t know what to say except ‘thank you,’ but that’s not enough. I’m so very grateful and forever indebted to you.”
Noah’s emotions raged in his eyes and in his heart that was about to beat out of his chest. His initial estrangement was from his overbearing, controlling, and domineering father, but he’d never considered the serious impacts his absence had on his siblings. Looking at his sister, he saw the one person who had always idolized him, imitated him, and loved him with her whole heart. The searing pain he felt in his chest was like someone had stabbed him with a hot knife.
She was right—he had reneged on his duty as her brother. He had left her behind. Even though he thought it was best for her at the time, he had let her down. She was thanking him for going to find her. She was somewhat surprised that he didn’t leave her behind again.
And he couldn’t blame her.
Noah shook his head, took a deep breath, and stepped toward Chaise. He opened his arms and held them out to the side, inviting her to hug him. That same gesture was what he used to do when she was little and would run out of the house to meet him after school.
The tears she had managed to hold back escaped as she flew into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up off the ground. “I’m sorry, Chaise. I’m so fucking sorry for leaving you behind,” Noah’s voice pled with her for forgiveness.
Chaise shook her head and through her tears responded, “I’ve missed you so much, Noah. So much. I’m just so happy to have you back. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to see me.”
Noah crushed her to him as his heart broke from her words. “I’ve missed you every day, baby sister.”
Bull watched them together, brother and sister reunited after so many years apart, and a nostalgic memor
y from long ago resurfaced. He remembered wishing he’d had a brother or sister when he was young. Then when he joined the Army and his best friends became his brothers, he felt the missing piece of his life had been found.
As he watched them—the man he loved like a brother and the woman with whom he had fallen in love—he knew his life was complete. There wasn’t one event that he could pinpoint that had given him that feeling.
It was a culmination of all the nights Chaise spent in his house and in his arms. It was the laughs they shared and the fun she brought into his life. It was the possessive and protective part of him that only she summoned. It was in the way she gave all of herself to him—even when she tried to tell him the truth and he stopped her.
Had he been honest with himself at that point, he really didn’t want to know the truth. He was truly happy for the first time in a long time and he didn’t feel the need to know anything about her that he didn’t already know from just being with her. He didn’t want anything to ruin the good thing he had with her.
Noah released Chaise from his hold as John joined them in the covered area of the docks. John nodded at Chaise as he introduced himself as Bull’s father. John’s voice held genuine warmth when he said, “I’m glad to see you all made it back safely.” Then, he looked around and said, “Where’s Rico? Did he get away?”
“Lightning struck twice in the same place. Damnedest thing I’ve ever seen,” Bull said with a straight face and his Southern drawl securely in place. “Whole damn place went up like kindling. He didn’t make it out.”
John eyed him suspiciously for a moment but Bull kept his face neutral. John cut his eyes to Chaise, but she quickly looked away and saw agents swarming around the warehouse. She pointed toward the action and asked John, “What’s happening over there?”
John turned and looked toward the direction she pointed. From his profile, Chaise could tell his thoughts were already on something else. She had effectively changed the direction of the conversation and avoided any questions of what had occurred on the island. She knew the questioning would come later regardless, but she needed a momentary reprieve.
“After Colton left to find you, I talked to a few more of the girls. They had some solid information I called in to my team to investigate. We were able to gather enough hard evidence to start making arrests. The girls are being taken to the hospital and their families are being notified,” John explained.
“What about Aura? Ana’s twin sister? I never found her!” Chaise exclaimed.
John chuckled lightly, “Aura is fine. You really gave me a run for my money over her, Chaise.”
“What do you mean?” Reaper asked.
“Aura knew something had happened to her sister at Viboro Distributing—that’s why she went to work there, but she got too close to the truth and they were about to take her. So, I moved Aura and her mother to a safe house. We erased their existence from the servers. We had to work fast, because while we were busy trying to hide them, someone else was busy finding the other girls’ missing persons posters.”
Shadow and Rebel cleared their throats nervously, knowing that they had accessed confidential, secure servers illegally. Neither of them would ever actually admit to it since their computers were secure and untraceable. John tried to hide his knowing smile but failed miserably.
Bull shot Chaise an apologetic look, knowing she had tried to convince him that she wasn’t lying about Aura but he didn’t believe her. He leaned over to her ear and asked, “If I promise to never doubt you again, would that make up me for not believing you?”
“It’s a start,” she countered, “but I have more imaginative ways of making you pay.”
“That’s a deal!” Bull’s smile lit up his face and Chaise was again reminded of how he made her heart flutter. He suddenly turned serious as he asked, “Did they hurt you? Do we need to go to the hospital? I won’t leave you.”
Chaise stroked his cheek and jaw line as her heart melted at his offer. “No, nothing like that. Diego hit me but that was about the extent of it.” She moved in close to him again, comforted in the crook of his arm. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she hugged him tightly.
Daylight began to break on the horizon, reminding Chaise that she’d only had a few minutes sleep in too many hours. She felt the tiredness creeping in and overcoming her. She yawned and said, “Since I know the girls are being taken care of, I need to get some sleep.”
The full meaning of her statement didn’t dawn on her until she’d said it aloud. She had nowhere to go—she had been staying with Bull for the past couple of weeks. She couldn’t go back to the condo Viboro had supplied her. Her last hotel room stay didn’t end well, and if she would admit it, she was afraid to be alone again. But she wouldn’t admit that to anyone.
“Am I free to go now?” Chaise asked John.
John nodded, “For now. You’ll have to come in and answer some questions later.” John took Chaise’s cell phone number and promised to contact her later. Chaise thanked him and John left them to return to help the other DEA agents.
“I will take you…home,” Bull’s low, bedroom voice whispered in her ear. The promise inherent in his voice and in his words made her weak in the knees but not from lack of sleep. She was suddenly very awake.
Noah’s voice held concern and regret, “Get some rest, little sis. I’d like to talk to you later, if that’s okay. I have a lot of making up to do, too.”
“I’d like that,” Chaise replied sincerely. “I’ve missed you, Noah.” Without a second thought, Chaise’s arms wrapped around Noah’s neck and she kissed his cheek. “I love you, big brother.”
“I love you, too,” Noah replied as he squeezed her to him. Before releasing her, he pinned his gaze on his friend. “Take care of my little sister, Bull.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice, Reap,” Bull replied.
Once Bull and Chaise arrived at Bull’s house, the sun had fully risen behind the dark, black clouds. The continuous torrential downpour continued with the occasional boom of thunder and crackle of lightning. Bull pulled his truck into the garage and, gathering her into his arms, carried Chaise into the house.
She shifted in his hold just enough to wrap her arms around his neck. She nuzzled her face against his neck, inhaling his masculine scent. All of the events seemed to catch up with her all at once. She felt strong and weak at the same time. She was happy and sad, guilty and unashamed, calm and irate—and she had no way to explain any of it.
But being back in Bull’s arms felt…..right. It felt like she was home, where she belonged, where she wanted to be, and where she was welcome and safe. She could blame it on extreme circumstances, and most people probably would anyway. But, she knew that when she was away from him, he was all she thought about. When she was taken, she knew he’d come for her and she put all of her faith in him.
I love him, she thought as the realization hit her like a runaway train.
Raising her head to look at him as he carried her to the shower, she kissed his cheek.
“Bull?”
“Yeah, baby, we’re home. I’ll help you shower then we’ll take a long nap,” he replied.
“I love you.”
Bull stopped in mid-stride. He drew his face back to look at Chaise, his face twisted in bewilderment and his eyes narrowed to mere slits. Chaise didn’t know what response she expected to see, but that clearly wasn’t it. He looked like he wanted to tell her she misunderstood his intentions, that he didn’t feel the same way about her, or simply that he didn’t return the sentiment.
“I just wanted to tell you. After everything that’s happened, I don’t want to take it for granted that I’ll have time to say the things I want to say,” Chaise continued.
Bull put her feet down and stood fully facing her, studying her in his way that used to make her feel like she was a freak science experiment. Now, it just felt like her heart was shattering into a million pieces, splintering inside and cutting away at her. She refus
ed to back down—she meant what she said regardless if he felt the same.
Chaise met his gaze and lifted her chin in an act of defiance. Bull had constructed a wall around his entire life, barely letting people in, but she knew she had penetrated that wall. He was too afraid to admit it but their ties ran deeper than a casual acquaintance.
“It’s okay if you can’t tell me you love me,” she said, choosing her words carefully.
Bull shook his head, placed his hands on his hips, and looked down. Chaise watched as he took a deep breath, his massive chest contracting and expanding with air, then he blew it out in a huff. He was wrestling with something internally but she wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily.
“Colton, look at our lives. We’ve both been guarded because we were hurt at a young age. You’ve been with my brother all these years. Your father has been investigating my employer. Our families are back together because we’re together. We have so many common ties between us. Are you fighting it? Or do you really not feel anything for me?”
“Chaise,” Bull’s voice was full of need, desire, longing, and just a hint of unease. His one word statement called to her—bidding her to touch him, feel him, and to make him feel her in return.
Chaise answered his request by stepping into him, aligning their bodies and slowly raising her lips to meet his. She ran her fingers through his hair until she reached the back of his head. She placed soft, chaste kisses on his lips until his arms wrapped around her and held her. She slowly licked the part in his lips, asking for permission, until he opened his mouth and granted her entrance.
He tasted even better than she remembered. Her fingers gripped his collar and she quickly pulled his shirt up and over his head, breaking their kiss for only that split second. Shirtless Bull was a wonder to behold, but she allowed her fingers to memorize every muscle striation, every groove, and every line on him.
Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series) Page 20
