by KJ Dahlen
“So this isn’t over yet is it?” Luna whispered.
Charlie looked at her and shook his head. “No it isn’t. Not until we find who hired Cooper to kill the Judge and the DA.”
Luna looked over at Aries and covered her mouth with her hand. “Will this nightmare ever end?” she whispered.
He wrapped his big arms around her and just held her.
Chapter Sixteen
The next three days were pure bliss for Luna and Aries. They spent them at his cabin in the woods. No one disturbed them and they used this time to get to know each other.
Luna had woken up just as the sun burst over the eastern skyline the morning of the third day. She felt better than she had any other morning in her entire life. Turning her head, she looked over at the man sleeping next to her.
She was in awe as she studied the lines on his face and body. He was strong yet gentle with her. She went to turn on her side to see him better and she winced. She was sore in places she never knew she had but that was fine by her. The last two days had shown her a whole new world. She never knew sex could be this good and she didn’t regret one moment of it.
She was with the man she loved, yeah she admitted it if only to herself. She had fallen in love with Aries. Now she couldn’t imagine life without him. Hell, she didn’t even want to try. She just laid there and gazed at him in awe. Reaching out, she followed the line of his jaw with her finger, not quite touching him but following the line of his jaw.
He looked so good. He told her he was thirty-five years old but those numbers didn’t bother her. She was only twenty-five but that wasn’t so big a gap. Ten years was nothing. It meant more to Aries than it did to her.
He’d also told her his real name, Elijah Cain. He was the son of a retired General Willian Cain and his mom, Judith was a judge in Washington D.C. he had three younger brothers, all with high profile jobs. James was a doctor, Caden was an attorney and Jagger was a politician. He also had a baby sister, Georgia and she was a veterinarian.
Willian was the man behind their rescue when four of his unit had been taken hostage by the rebels five years ago. He went to bat with the military command to get his son and what was left of his unit back from his captors.
His family understood Aries needed to be on his own for a while. They had hoped he would come home at some point but he wasn’t ready yet. He did tell her that he wanted her to meet his family but not yet. Their relationship was too new. But Luna wasn’t sure how they would view her. But she didn’t bother to worry about his family yet. They were a long ways away at the moment.
Right now, she was thinking of waking him up and doing what they did last night all over again. She smiled and leaned toward him, then the silence that surrounded the cabin was broken at the sound of a bike coming toward them.
Luna groaned as Aries eyes popped open at the sound disturbing his sleep. He lifted his head and frowned. “That’s Hades. I wonder what he wants this early?” He grumbled as he sat up.
“How do you know who it is?” she asked. “They’re not even here yet.”
“His bike. I know the sound of his engine.”
She tilted her head at this. How...
He looked over at her and grimaced. “I was hoping we’d have more time together before the real world butted in.”
“Me too.” she pouted. “I was so hoping for a repeat of last night.”
Aries grinned. “Yeah? Really?”
“Yeah, really.” She grinned. “That was awesome.”
“It was wasn’t it?” He leaned toward her to kiss her silly. When he broke the kiss a few minutes later he growled, “He better have something to tell us or I might have to beat his dumb ass.”
Luna giggled. “You’d better get dressed. Cause beating his ass while naked might be embarrassing. Better have clothes on when you go see what he wants.”
“Cute.” Aries slapped her on the ass. “You’d better get dressed as well. I don’t want my brother to see you naked either. I’ll have to beat him on principal.”
“Aww, you say the nicest things to me,” she teased.
Shaking his head he said, “Just get some clothes on, he’s almost at the front door.” He reached for his jeans and pulled them on, not bothering to put on underwear first. Grabbing a shirt, he pulled it on while walking to the door.
Luna scrambled to throw something on before he threw open the door. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt and ran for the bathroom.
~*~
Aries snickered at her rushing while naked. However, it was pretty damn hot seeing her like that too. He opened the door and saw Hades sitting on his bike just outside the door. He nodded at his brother then joined him outside. “What’s up?”
Hades looked toward the cabin before turning his attention to Aries. “We need you and Luna to come to the clubhouse. Charlie’s got news and it ain’t good.”
“Fuck,” Aries swore under his breath. He too looked toward the cabin in concern. “How bad is it?”
“Cooper killed his guard and escaped the hospital during the night.”
Aries whipped his head over to glare at Hades. “How the hell did that happen? He was on death’s door for Christ’s sake.”
“No fucking clue.” Hades shook his head. “He took a nurse with him and they have fallen off the face of the planet. We can’t find them anywhere.”
“Did she go willingly or was she really a hostage?”
Hades shrugged but didn’t say a word.
When Luna appeared at the door, both men gave her a look of concern.
Luna walked slowly toward them. When she reached Aries, she studied his face for a moment then asked, “What happened?”
“Charlie has news for us.”
“Do I want to hear it?”
“No I don’t think so but you need to hear it.”
She tipped forward and laid her forehead on his chest. “Ok,” she whispered with a sigh in her voice.
“Come on sweetness, let’s go hear what the man has to say.” Aries wrapped his arms around her.
Without a word, she walked over to his ride and threw her leg over his steel beast.
Aries joined her and as he started up the engine, she wrapped her arms around his waist. He didn’t bother to tell her to hang on, she didn’t think she could let him go if her life depended on it.
When they got to the clubhouse, she saw not only Charlie’s vehicle sitting in the parking lot but Sam’s car as well. She looked at Aries and Hades but neither man had anything to say. Aries wrapped his hand around hers and tugged her toward the door.
~*~
Luna didn’t want to know what they had to tell her. She wanted to go back to the cabin and lose herself making love to Aries. She wanted to get lost again, into the world Aries had shown her, but she knew she couldn’t.
Straightening her shoulders, she took one step after another until she passed through the doorway. The lights were dimmer inside and it took her eyes a moment to adjust. She didn’t have to look around she knew all Aries brothers were standing there. She also knew Charlie and Sam were there.
Aries walked her to the big table and sat her down across from Lucifer. He pulled up the chair next to hers but he still held her hand.
She looked at Lucifer then turned her head to gaze at Sam, then over to Charlie.
None of them wore pleased looks on their faces.
Taking a deep breath she asked, “Ok what’s going on?”
Sam leaned across the table and took her other hand, “Honey, there’s no easy way to say this,” he started then stopped at Aries’ growl. He stared at the unexpected threat, then shook his head. “Calm your jets man.”
The next man that growled was Lucifer.
Sam turned a shocked face to the man across the table.
Charlie cleared his throat and suggested, “These guys don’t appreciate other men hitting on their women, they don’t like when another man uses endearments or touches their women either. Just a warning. It goes for
all of them.”
Sam gritted his teeth. He let go of her hand and sat back in his chair. Giving Aries a small nod of acknowledgement, he turned to face Luna. “Cooper escaped from the hospital this morning. Sometime before dawn he killed his guard and took a nurse hostage, at least that’s what we think.”
Charlie went on with the story, “We don’t know if she went willingly or was actually his hostage, what we do know is that they are both gone.”
Luna deflated and shrank in her chair. Her mind went blank as she tried to think of the consequences of what happened. She lost her senses for a moment that when she came back online, Aries was shaking her to bring her back.
She opened her eyes to see him and everyone else in the room looking at her in concern. “What?’ she whispered shakily.
“I thought you passed out there for a minute sweetheart,” Aries whispered to her.
“I think I did.” Her head still felt a little fuzzy. She looked over at Sam and saw his pale face. Turning to Aries she planted her face in his chest and felt his arms wrap around her entire body. When the chair got in his way, he hauled her over into his lap. Pressing her head into his chest, he held her tight. Luna felt him surround her with his presence and for that she was grateful. She needed him.
Finally, she peeked over at Charlie. “So now what?”
“We’re still working on a timeline for his crimes. We still have no idea who hired him to kill Alec and Colleen.” Charlie shrugged.
“Do you have the original thumb drive you found in his apartment yet?” Hades asked.
Sam nodded.
“Give it over,” Lucifer ordered. “Geno is a genius with computers. maybe he can find something your people missed.”
Sam frowned at this.
“Give it to him,” Luna broke in, “These guys don’t ask twice.”
Sam reached into his pocket and took out a clear small evidence bag. Handing it over he said, “I want that back intact.”
Lucifer just glared as he swiped it from Sam’s hand. Then he disappeared down the hall.
Luna jumped when she heard a door slam a moment later. She looked over at Charlie. “Any idea where they went?”
Charlie sighed with disgust and shook his head. “We’re trying but we don’t know all that much about the nurse he took. We’re coordinating our search with the police department in LaDonna and La Rue, Minnesota. They could be anywhere at the moment.”
“That doesn’t actually help Uncle Charlie.” Demon glared at him.
“I know Aaron, believe me I know. I thought we had this bastard. That bullet managed to not hit anything major in his chest. I mean what are the chances of that happening?” He shook his head. “Although he lost his fair share of blood, not even that could keep him down long. He’s weak but he’s also very determined not to go to jail. Somehow, he found a knife sharp enough to cut the guard’s throat and get out of the hospital without getting anyone’s attention. That’s what makes us feel the nurse wasn’t actually a hostage. She would know where all the cameras are and how to avoid them.”
“So they could be anywhere.” Luna trembled as she spoke, “That means he’s still out there.”
“Honey, he won’t come back here,” Aries told her. “Even if he does, he won’t get close to you. I promise you that.”
Luna closed her eyes and leaned on him. She moved around his chest until her ear was pressed right over his heart. The rhythmic pounding of his heartbeat calmed her. She laid there until her own heart calmed. Then she looked over at Sam. “Did you guys find anything else on the thumb drive?”
“We found a journal of some kind. The reading is a sick twisted rambling of a man obsessed with finding the man who fathered him then left his mother and his baby behind. From what we know, his mother made his life a living hell and she blamed him for even living.” Shaking his head he said, “I know some people don’t have a happy childhood, hell you’re one of those people but you turned out better than ok.”
Luna flinched at her friend’s words. She knew he didn’t mean it but she sensed Aries didn’t realize it. She laid her hand on his chest to calm him but it didn’t work.
“Buddy, you’d better watch what you say here cuz I guarantee you won’t like what I do to you if you don’t,” he warned the other man.
Sam shook his head. “I don’t mean to disrespect her at all. Hell, if truth be told, there isn’t a finer woman than Luna. I care about what’s happening here. I care about her...”
When Aries and the others looked angry, Sam held up his hand, “As a friend I care about her, nothing more than that. We’ve been good friends for years now and I hope that status won’t change because she’s with you. No matter what happened to me because of this, I love her like a friend. I’d like to think she views me as her friend too.”
“I do like you as a friend.” Luna sat up on Aries lap. Turning to her boyfriend, she smiled. “He’s my friend but I love you,” she whispered loud enough for him to hear, him and him alone.
~*~
Aries felt his heart stop at her words. He couldn’t believe she loved him. That she just stated this as if it was a given Then his heart sped up and he leaned in to kiss her. Before the kiss got out of hand, someone cleared their throat and Luna broke away from him flushing bright red.
Before she could do anything but hide her face, Geno came back into the room with his laptop. He went over to Lucifer’s chair and frowned at his President. “You all need to hear this.” He pressed the play button and they all listened to a phone call between Cooper and another man,
“Hello.”
“I understand you’re a man who can get things done. Is that true?”
“Well, that would depend on what you need getting done.”
“I need someone killed. Can you do that?”
“Depends on who that someone is?”
“A judge and the DA.”
There was a pause then Cooper came back online, “Well now that’s going to cost you a pretty penny, my friend. Murder comes for a price but when you hit two high profile people like that, it’ll cost you more.”
“I don’t care what it costs. I just want the job done before a certain date. I’m trying to delay a sentencing. After that, I have another job for you. There’s a certain bitch I need you to kill. I hope you can take your time with her and really make it hurt. She’s the reason for all of this and she needs to pay.”
“I don’t fuckin care to know why, only that you pay the price I’m asking. The reason why is your business.”
“Then give me when and the amount and I’ll get the payment in the works.”
Geno hit the pause button and the room went quiet for a moment.
Then Sam asked, “Where on the thumb drive did you find that recording?”
Geno scoffed. “I went to his control site and looked for hidden files. There are dozens of these phone calls.”
Sam ran his fingers over his head. Then turned to Luna. “Do you know who he’s talking too?” Looking around the room he asked, “Does anyone?”
Luna began to shake. Shock was setting in and she couldn’t stop it. She heard someone call her name but it sounded muffled to her. Then everything just went black.
Chapter Seventeen
When she opened her eyes, Luna was laying on a bed. Someone was holding her hand and when she turned her head, she saw it was Aries.
He sat very still while staring at her with concern and then pressed a kiss onto her fingertips. “Are you ok?” he whispered.
“What happened?”
“You passed out. You scared hell out of me and everyone else in that room.”
Luna closed her eyes but opened them again when Aries shook her shoulders. “I’m sorry.” Tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes.
“Baby, don’t apologize to me, tell me what you know that scared you so bad you passed out.”
“I know the voice on that phone call.”
Aries got to his feet then reached for her. He lifted he
r right out of the bed and carried her bride fashion down the hall back to the main room.
Everyone was silent as he brought her back to the table and sat down with her on his lap.
“Luna, are you all right?” Charlie asked.
Luna nodded.
“Then what happened to you? Why did you pass out?” Sam asked.
She looked at Charlie. “I know who made that call and so do you, don’t you?”
Charlie stared at her for a moment then he nodded slowly. “Yeah, I do. Damn it, why would Ben Grant do something like that?”
Luna shook her head. “Ben Grant has his own secrets to hide and Joel knew some of them. Joel wouldn’t hesitate to leak those secrets if his brother couldn’t get him out of jail. Joel was bragging one night. He forced me out with him and then he couldn’t stop talking about his business. I was just sitting there too afraid to interrupt him he was drinking and the more he drank the more he bragged. He told me he had free reign over his brothers because he was the smart one. The one who knew their fail safes. As I didn’t want to be there in the first place, I tried not to listen. But he was bragging and he made me listen to him.”
“Did he say what his brothers’ secrets were?” Charlie asked.
She nodded. “Ben was in charge of building some mall somewhere and he used substandard materials. He said the whole place could come down but he also claimed that he already had a fall guy all lined up to take the blame.”
“Holy shit!” Charlie swore out loud. “That must be the Holiday mall.”
“But what does that have to do with Cooper?” Hades asked. “We have to keep on the subject here people.” He looked over at Geno and his laptop. “Can you use that recording to arrest Ben Grant for the murders of the judge and DA?”
Charlie nodded. “We can at least bring him in for questioning on it.”
