by Shauna Allen
“Tanner . . .”
I put the ringing phone on speaker then reached over and shoved her head down to my lap. “I’ll explain later. Get. Down.” I hit the gas and we hit the road.
“Yo, Maverick, whatcha know?” Tito answered on the second ring.
“Put Tex on the line.”
No questions. No hesitation. I was just grateful as hell that Tex had gotten his family safe and beaten a path down to be with the rest of the team ASAP to pool resources.
He came on the line a few seconds later. “Maverick?”
I felt Rebekah’s angry stare from my lap. “Hey, Tex, man. Tell me you’ve got a line on what the fuck is going on. I’ve got a sicario hot on our asses here.”
“Rebekah?”
The girl in question froze. “He knows my name?”
“She’s there?” Tex asked.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, crossing two lanes onto the highway, earning myself a few honks. “Say hi to your cousin.”
“Cousin?” Now she sat up, her glare shooting daggers at me. “Tell me what the hell is going on. Right. Now.”
“You didn’t tell her, man?” Tex barked.
I glanced in the mirror. The headlights were growing closer. “Hasn’t been a good time, bro.”
He sighed. “Wow. Okay. The quick and dirty version is my name is John Keegan. I’m your cousin. Our fathers were brothers.”
I veered off an exit as she absorbed the news of her sudden family and Tex quickly explained that he was a Navy SEAL and how I came to be there and why. She wilted in her seat as it all sunk in, but I could tell his words hit home and she believed him.
As I neared her house, I no longer saw the headlights tailing me. I’d either lost him or he was being shifty and playing games. I didn’t want to gamble with Rebekah’s life, but I also had to consider her grandfather. She’d never leave him behind if he could be in danger. Hell, neither would I.
“So, Tex, any word, man?” I asked again. “They’ve obviously found her and sent in the big guns.”
“Well . . . I know more than I did when this all started, but not enough to end it, unfortunately. Can you get her back here, where she’ll be safe?”
“It’s a little more complicated than that.” I explained about James and his health.
“Damn.” I heard Tex click several computer keys in the background. “So—”
“Is that who’s been watching me?” Rebekah asked, speaking for the first time, her voice small and scared.
I snapped around at her words. “What? What are you talking about? What do you mean someone’s been watching you?”
She huddled down even further in her seat. “I’ve been feeling something weird for a while now . . . since before you even got here . . . but the other day, I couldn’t explain it away. They broke into my truck and I found footprints outside my bedroom window.”
“Your . . .” I swallowed against my dry throat. Right under my nose. On my watch. Goddamn it. “Your bedroom window?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“That’s it,” Tex piped up. “I’m telling the team. We’re coming to you and we’re ending this.”
Chapter Eleven
Tex
An instant message popped up from El Lobo Blanco. A photo attachment. I was nervous to open it, but I knew I needed to if we had any hope of cracking this fucking case.
Another surveillance image. This one of me and the girls, eating breakfast at the retreat.
I cursed a blue streak.
The message that popped up right behind it made my blood run cold.
El Lobo Blanco: We could have killed you, but what fun would that have been?
Tex: Go fuck yourself.
Tex: I’ll kill you myself.
El Lobo Blanco: I look forward to you trying.
El Lobo Blanco: Hope your cousin enjoys the little gift coming her way . . .
I roared and jumped up from Wolf’s dining room table, earning myself a shocked look from the team, who was huddled in the living room, deciding our next move. Not that there was much of a next move to make since we had no idea who El Lobo Blanco was or where Marco Esteban was hiding. But, damn it, this hacker was proving impossible to track. He was always one step ahead of me, covering his trail and encrypting his shit so well, it was impossible to decipher. The only thing we knew was now that the rest of the families were safe, we had to get Rebekah and her grandfather under our protection.
We’d already decided that I would go since she was my cousin, along with Wolf, and Tito and Bubba from the other team to back up Maverick, since shit was already hitting the fan and we had no idea what we were going to be up against, while the other guys stayed behind to protect the rest of the families.
“Dude,” Abe said. “What’s up?”
I shook my head and began pacing. “We need to end this.”
“We will, man.” This from Cookie.
I nodded blindly, my only consolation in the fact that the women and children were currently safe upstairs with blackout shades and all manner of junk food and DVDs to keep them happy. Still, our jobs had interfered with their lives, put them in danger, and that ate a hole in my gut.
I glanced up. “When do we leave for Mississippi?”
A thump upstairs, followed by a child’s giggle, caught all of our attention, shining the spotlight on why we were doing this.
“Zero four hundred,” Wolf said.
I nodded.
I hated to leave my family, but the end to this nightmare couldn’t come fast enough.
Chapter Twelve
Rebekah
The minute we got back to the house, Tanner turned into a whole different man. He got Mrs. Clancy safely home, did a check of the entire house, including double-checking that Grandpa was safe in his room, then met me back in the living room, where he triple-checked the locks and peered out the blinds at the dark street.
I swallowed hard when I saw the pistol in his hand. “Who are you?” I squeaked, suddenly more scared than I’d ever been in my life.
He peered back at me, his expression softening as he took me in. “The same guy who took you to dinner and kissed you tonight, Rebekah.”
I shook my head vehemently. “No. No, you’re not. Tell me.”
He frowned. “Your cousin explained it all on the phone.” He approached me, but I backed up, my mind so confused. I wanted to trust him—I did trust him—but he hadn’t told me the truth.
“Right.” I plopped to the sofa. “The cousin I never knew I had.” I peered up at him. “Why don’t you explain it again? Starting with why you lied to me.”
With a sigh, he tucked his gun away in his waistband and sat down across from me, his fingers steepled in front of his stomach as he studied my face. “I didn’t lie to you. I just withheld part of the truth.”
I lifted a brow. “Same thing.”
“No. I wanted you to trust me first, and I had no way to know if you would.” He tilted his head. “How would you have responded if I would’ve just waltzed into the diner that first day and said ‘Hi, I’m Sergeant Tanner Richardson with the US Marines and I work with your cousin, John Keegan. He’s a Navy SEAL and we got into some deep shit with a Mexican drug cartel a few months ago, and now there’s a target on your back so I’m here to keep you safe since he’s busy protecting his wife and kids’. Would you have bought it?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.” Probably not. “But we’ll never know since you didn’t give me the chance, will we?”
“No, I guess not.” He sighed again and raked a hand over his disheveled hair, a sign I was coming to know meant he was frustrated. “Look, I’m sorry. I just . . .” He met my gaze, his eyes sincere. “I didn’t expect to like you so much. Or your grandfather. I just needed you to trust me before I brought that down on you.”
I bit my lip. “So . . . you living here . . . that was all to keep us safe?”
He nodded.
“From a drug cartel?”
He nodded again.
> “That wants to hurt me because of . . . a cousin I’ve never met?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.” I dropped my head, overwhelmed. “This is a real clusterfuck, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
I looked back up. “That was sort of a rhetorical question.”
His half-grin was adorable, which kind of pissed me off. “Oh.”
“So, what happens now?”
“Well . . . for now, I keep you and your grandpa on lockdown and safe until my backup gets here tomorrow. Then we reassess the situation and how to best keep you both safe until we can eliminate the threat.”
My stomach shriveled up. “Eliminate the threat,” I repeated. “Does that mean . . .?”
“That means we will eliminate the threat. That’s all you need to know, baby.”
I studied his amber eyes, the alpha male protectiveness shining bright and sure deep within them, and I found I couldn’t be mad at him for keeping his mission a secret. Under similar circumstances, I might’ve done the same thing. He was totally right, I probably would’ve laughed him out the door if he would’ve said he was there on behalf of my Navy SEAL cousin to protect me from a Mexican drug cartel. I mean, who does that happen to?
Me, apparently.
Suddenly, all I could think about were all the chilling hints I’d had for weeks that someone had been watching me. The footprints right by my bedroom window just days ago. My heart thundered behind my ribs, nearly choking me. “Are you . . . are you going back to the apartment soon?” I asked, my voice betraying me.
“Hell, no, I’m not leaving you tonight.”
I nodded and dropped my head.
“Rebekah.”
I peered up at him.
“I understand that you’re pissed at me, and I’m sorry if you feel betrayed, but I did what I thought best at the time . . . and I swear to you I will protect you with my life. You can sleep in peace tonight. I’ve got you. I promise.”
Our gazes locked. My heart pounded for a million reasons other than fear. I licked my lips. “I’m not mad at you, Tanner.”
His eyes flared.
I took a step in his direction. “I understand. I do.” Another step. Two, until I reached him. “Thank you for being here. For taking care of me and Grandpa.” I lifted on my toes and pressed my lips to his cheek. “I trust you.” I heard his shaky inhale as I drew back and looked him in the eye. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
~ ~
I got ready for bed in the dark, somehow still frightened to turn on the lights. I slid into bed, my mind a tumble of thoughts.
Someone wanted to kill me.
I had a family somewhere out there.
My grandfather was still dying.
Tanner was just a few feet away . . .
An hour later, I still couldn’t sleep. I shifted and rolled over to stare at my bedroom door and I realized I’d never felt so alone in my life.
Without overthinking it, I got out of bed, and padded down the hall to the darkened living room.
Tanner was sitting up on the couch, his head resting on the back, his legs bent but splayed wide, his hands resting on his stomach. Even relaxed, he looked coiled and ready to strike like a deadly animal.
I paused at the end of the hallway, my breath caught in my lungs at the sight of him.
He lifted his head slowly as he sensed my presence. It was dark, so I couldn’t see his eyes, only glistening pools of black studying me, but somehow, I could sense his immediate predatory gaze raking me from top to bottom as I stood, trembling in my nightgown and bare feet. Still, he didn’t move.
I realized it was now or never. His team was coming in the morning and I had no idea what would happen with this drug cartel business. I may lose this chance forever, and I was done with playing it safe. It was time to take a gamble and see if I could beat the house.
I walked his way and his gaze never left me and he didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to. Our eyes spoke an entire conversation.
I hiked my nightgown up my thighs just enough and straddled his lap on my knees, resting my hands on his broad shoulders.
His hands automatically found my hips, squeezing possessively.
I knew he had a gun close by, but I ignored that and leaned in to brush my lips across his gently.
He kissed me back, his fingers sliding up my hips and waist to brush the undersides of my breasts. A soft groan escaped us both at the contact.
I angled my head and deepened the kiss, grinding my pelvis into his as he rose to meet me.
We kissed and touched and made out for what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes, until I was wet and needy and ready to beg.
He eventually drew back and pressed a kiss to my neck as he moved the hair back from my face, his breathing as erratic as mine. It was a heady feeling to know this sexy beast of a man was crumbling and it was me who had done that to him. Me.
I kissed his chin and slid my hands to his back to yank his shirt from his pants, needing to feel skin, but I bumped into something cold and hard. I drew back abruptly when I realized it was his gun.
He eyed me warily. “I—”
I shook my head, kissing him fiercely to shush him. He was there to protect me. I wouldn’t guilt him for doing just that. I nipped the pulse beating fast in his throat. “I don’t want to be alone tonight,” I whispered against his skin.
He rose abruptly, hiking my legs around his waist as he stood. “You won’t be, baby.” Then he devastated me with a kiss as he walked us back down the hall to my bedroom and locked the door behind us.
He tossed me on the bed, but followed me down, his body hot and hard on mine as he kissed the ever-loving hell out of me, like I’d never been kissed before. It was like I was his last meal and his salvation and it went straight to my head like a shot of liquor.
I moaned and writhed beneath him, my body already primed and eager. I raked his back and clawed at his shirt.
He sat back long enough to set aside his gun on my nightstand then draw off his shirt and toss it to the floor and come right back to my lips.
He ran his hands up my thighs, collecting my nightgown as he went. I lifted my hips, giving him room to ease it off until we were skin to skin other than his jeans and my panties.
He stared down at my bare breasts. “Jesus, Rebekah. You’re perfect.” He didn’t give me a chance to respond before he dipped down and took a straining nipple into his mouth, suckling me like he’d been born to do it.
I moaned and forked my fingers through his hair, drawing him closer, offering him more. Offering him everything.
He moved to the other breast, driving me wild. I moaned louder, making him groan against my skin. I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out when he bit gently. I did not want to wake up my grandfather and have to explain a hot Marine in my bed. Instead, I tugged him back up and busied my mouth with his and my hands at the button on his jeans.
He got the hint, helping me get them off until he was left in dark blue boxer briefs.
We rolled so I was back on top, straddling him like before, gazing down at him in the darkness, with only the tiny bit of moonlight coming in from the blinds. He reached up and caressed the skin between my breasts, his gaze reverent.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?”
“For this.” He ran a fingertip down my belly. “For forgiving me.”
I leaned down and kissed his collarbone. “There was nothing to forgive. I was just a little overwhelmed.”
His hands were hot down my spine. “Aren’t you still overwhelmed?”
I laid my cheek to his chest. “Absolutely. But, here? With you? Not so much.” I lifted my head. “I can’t explain it, but you make sense somehow.”
Something flickered in his gaze, making me feel more than safe. It made me feel . . . cherished. “Come here.” He tugged me all the way up his body, until our hips aligned, his erection pressing insistently to my core. “You make sen
se, too,” he murmured just before his mouth crashed into mine and he flipped us again so my body cradled his on top.
We kissed and rocked and flesh slid along flesh until we found ourselves naked and panting, but I wasn’t the least bit shy. I’d just met this man, but this felt right. He felt right.
He slid down my body, pressing kisses to my chest and stomach. My waist and hips. My thighs and knees. As he inched his way up to my groin, I squirmed.
Hot amber eyes whipped up to mine. “Relax, baby. I won’t hurt you.”
“I know . . . I just . . . nobody’s ever . . .” My words dropped off as my face flamed.
He studied my face in the dark. “No man has ever gone down on you?”
I shook my head, suddenly ashamed.
“Well, that is a damn shame, baby.” He brushed a kiss to the top of my pubic bone, making me suck in a breath. “Their loss and stupidity is my gain because this has got to be one of the most beautiful parts of your body . . .” He inhaled. “And it smells fucking delicious.”
His words should’ve embarrassed me, but they just turned me on. “Oh, God,” I whispered on a moan as he ran his nose along my inner thigh and spread my legs wider.
“You just keep praying, baby, and I’ll keep worshipping this body.” Then he licked me from bottom to top in one smooth, wet motion and I nearly bucked off the bed.
He held me down and continued to do nothing short of just that—worship me with his mouth and tongue—until I was a writhing, whimpering mess.
I clawed at his hair. “Tanner . . . oh, God . . . please . . .”
He sucked harder, adding his fingers, detonating an orgasm that had my toes curling as I cried out unintelligibly.
He crawled up my body, his mouth shushing my cries with a smile. “Shhh, baby. You’ll wake your grandfather,” he whispered against my lips.
I smiled a lazy grin and kissed him back. “Hmmm . . .”
Slowly, our kiss turned from quiet and sated into something hot and needy again. He pressed against me, waking my body again with his. The fire ignited fast and furious between us in moments and I was rocking my hips against him as I sought another release.
