Cuffed & Claimed

by Lori King

  He grimaced. “I’d give my left nut to toss your ass in that backseat and fuck you good and proper.”

  “Pretty sure ‘fucking in the backseat’ and ‘good and proper’ have nothing in common,” she snorted.

  A laugh boomed out of Maddox. “Point taken. Buckle up, baby. We may be in for a rough ride. Remember my rule about ducking down. I want you to stay low, and if I say hit the floor, I mean hit the floor,” he growled, then pulled her to him for another scorching kiss.

  “Yes, Sir,” she panted.

  Her hands felt much clumsier buckling up the second time than they did the first. She met his heated gaze in the rearview mirror, promise in his dark gaze. To say the man had panty-melting looks was a major understatement.

  He bumped along a track only he seemed to know, while she did all she could to not slam into the roof or doors depending on which way they turned. By the time they hit the road, she was sure she’d cracked a tooth from clenching her teeth and worried her ass may be fractured.

  “I’ll kiss your ass when we get where we’re going,” Maddox said with a grin over his shoulder, making her realize she’d said the last out loud.

  She raised her right hand, middle finger extended, giving him the bird.

  “Ah, Hales, you don’t even know the enjoyment I’m going to get when I make you pay for that little infraction.” Maddox kept his eyes on the road, but the threat was clear.

  She wasn’t sure why she kept pushing his buttons, but the idea of Maddox turning her over his lap had everything feminine in her squirming with gleeful anticipation.

  “Oh, yeah. I know that expression. I bet you anything if I was to put my hand down your panties, you’d be dripping that sweet cream for me.” Maddox’s tongue came out and licked his lips.

  Her breath shuddered out at his words. “You’d be right. I think for you, I might be in a perpetual state of horniness.”

  He grunted. “Well, I’m glad to know I’m not alone.”

  “Most def not alone, Mad. Not sure if it’s good or bad. What’s that saying? Something about misery loves company. Well, I’ll sit back here horny as shit, and you sit up there thinking about me being horny.”

  “I’d offer to whip my dick out and jack off for you while I drive if you did the same for me, but I’m afraid I’d crash us, and then it would be our luck the fucks chasing our asses would find us just as we were both ready to come.” His snort endeared her.

  He shifted in the seat, and she knew he was adjusting the erection in his jeans. “I’ll take care of you when we get somewhere safe.”

  “Head down, Hales. Now!” Maddox kept his head straight, his voice tight as they drove.

  Her heart rate kicked up to a furious beat.

  “Coast is clear, but we are coming up to town. I’m going to continue through, but don’t want you to get up until we are completely out of the city limits.” As if he was listening to music, he tapped his fingers along the passenger seat. The action soothed her frayed nerves.

  The time it took to drive through whatever town he’d driven them into seemed to take forever. Finally, he put his arm down, and looked around. “Okay, you can sit up. We’re heading to a friend of a friend’s place. He owns a security firm, and used to be a SEAL, too. He owes me a favor or two. I’ll be calling one in.”

  Scraping her hair back from her face, she waited to see if he’d tell her who. “You gonna tell me who?”

  “Sometimes, the less you know, the better.”

  Ominous words did not always make a person scared. In fact, she drew comfort from such things knowing he was only doing it to keep her safe. Hailey was a fierce fighter, and could handle herself in most situations, but she could admit when she was out of her league. Having someone try to kill you, and blow your shit up tended to make a gal realize she wasn’t invincible.

  “Mad, do you think JoJo and Blake are okay?” She worried her lower lip.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked instead of answering.

  She tilted her head to the side. “I wouldn’t be in the back of god knows whose vehicle, going off somewhere that I have no clue where, if I didn’t,” she answered honestly.

  “Then trust I wouldn’t leave them unguarded.”

  6

  Maddox hated the uncertainty in the eyes staring back at him, but knowing nothing short of a call to the other men would wipe the look completely from her face. She may believe she trusted him completely, but something held her back to an extent. That inner alarm he admired in her that alerted her something wasn’t as it seemed. Yeah, he was deceiving her, but not because he was out to kill her. She was truly safer with him than anywhere on the planet, in that he was sure. Had he not come upon her when he had, he wasn’t sure what the plans for her would have been that day. Clearly, they hadn’t planned on killing her with those wild shots.

  A shudder wracked him at the image of a broken and bloodied Hailey lying on that hill.

  “We’ll need to stop in a few hours and fuel up. It’ll take us about eight hours to get to Omaha.”

  “Omaha,” she repeated.

  “Yep, like in Nebraska,” he agreed.

  “Why are we going there? That is almost middle freaking America for crying out loud.” She looked around a bit wildly.

  “Climb on up here, Hales. If you need to duck down, you can do it from up here.” He patted the console. The last thing he wanted or needed was her worrying about their destination.

  “Mad, I think we should just call our superiors. I mean, if we up and leave without letting them know where we are, we could get into a lot of trouble.”

  “Hales, come up here.” He used his ‘don’t argue with me’ tone, the one that made grown men stand at attention. It had the desired effect. His little hellion’s back straightened.

  “Don’t think just because you are bigger than me, you are the boss all the time.” However, she unsnapped the seatbelt, then maneuvered into the front of the vehicle.

  He reached his hand over, placing it on her thigh. “I don’t think I’m the boss.” He waited till she’d buckled back up. “I know I am. As for us getting into trouble, believe me when I say, you’d be in a lot more if you stayed in Rapid City. Now, since you’re so worried, I want to point out that you were in an accident, and in the hospital. Both of which were reported. I took the liberty of filing the reports with the proper channels, and made sure that you were put on leave. Luckily for you, I was already on leave myself. Now, this is where you tell me how awesome I am.” He squeezed her supple thigh.

  “How, Maddox. Something is not adding up. I mean, I know I took a hit to the head. But this.” She waved her hand around the vehicle. “Even for a SEAL, this seems a bit extreme for a non-operational assignment. Unless, I am one and wasn’t aware of it.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him.

  He had known he’d have to explain, or make up another story; he just hadn’t planned on doing it while on the road. Hell, he truly hadn’t thought to be her guardian, yet here they were traveling across the country while he tried to figure out who was trying to kill her.

  “I’ll tell you everything you want to know when we get to Omaha. I promise, I’m one of the good guys.” Although his conscience sometimes didn’t agree. At the end of the day, they were saving more lives than they took.

  “What about clothes and necessities?” she asked.

  “We’ll stop at a truck stop and get a few things there while we fuel up. This isn’t forever, Hales. A day or two, and I’ll have a better idea of where we need to go and what’s going on.” He winced as his side decided to shoot a stabbing pain down his leg.

  “Damn it, Maddox. I told you to let me clean that up. Pull over and let me see it. We can’t walk into a gas station, or anywhere with others, if you’ve got blood all down your side.” She reached for his shirt.

  The black shirt and pants were a good camouflage for such injuries, but her words had merit. They’d been driving for well over two hours, and he figured they’d
put at least a hundred miles between the cabin and themselves. Seeing a sign for a small town, he signaled to exit. A few turns, and he found a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.

  “Let me grab the bag out of the back and get a fresh shirt.”

  She opened her door and followed him out. “I’ll get the first-aid kit out of the backseat.”

  The Bronco had a hatch that opened in the back, giving them plenty of room for storage. Maddox laughed as he got a look at the camping gear loaded inside.

  “Damn, we are all set if we needed to become survivalists. FYI, I am not your girl for that. I like hot baths, electricity, and my lattes on the regular.” Hailey sat the little white box down.

  “Good to know.” He eased his shirt up, the material sticking to the wound. The bullet had grazed him, creating a nice cut that had bled.

  “Alright, big guy. This might sting a lot.” She looked up at him, trepidation in her eyes.

  “Go ahead. I can take it.” He balled up the bloodied T-shirt and waited for her to apply the spray alcohol from the kit. The first hit had him flinching away, but he ground his teeth and held completely still while she cleaned him the best she could. And he knew she was doing a damn fine job by the fine sheen of sweat on her brow. “You’re doing great, Hales,” he reassured her.

  A large piece of gauze was placed over the area, then taped off before she looked up at him. “I so was not cut out to be a nurse. I swear, I wanted to wrap my arms around you and say I was sorry like a hundred times.”

  The honesty of her words was like a punch to his solar plexus. No one had ever wanted to hug him because he was hurt before on a mission. Sure, Mike Royce, his partner, worried for his safety. They were partners; however, the thought of the other man giving him a hug because he’d had a scratch made him laugh.

  “Aww, Hales. You have any clue what your words do to me?” He pulled her between his legs where he sat in the back of the Bronco. From their positions, she was the perfect height for him to kiss without having to bend. A small taste that was all he wanted. Yet as soon as his lips touched hers, his body lit up. He ate at her mouth like a starving man, licking and biting until he realized they were in the middle of nowhere with people chasing them.

  Easing back, he rested his forehead on hers. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

  “Right back atcha,” she said impishly.

  “Let’s get back on the road. I want to hit Omaha before bedtime.” Hell, he wanted to be between her supple thighs at bedtime, but thoughts like that were going to make it harder than hell to drive.

  Her eyes went to the fly of his jeans, a grin tilted one side of her lips. “Dirty thoughts?”

  “With you? Always.” He hopped down from the back, and they worked to get the supplies put up, then were back on the road.

  At the truck stop he decided to stop at, he pulled to the side and got out. His side gave a little throb. Hailey pulled her hair into a French braid, assuring him she never wore it like that. He gave her a flannel top out of the bag and laughed at the way she looked.

  “Hey, I think I look quite lovely.” She shook her ass at him.

  In that moment, he couldn’t agree more. Under those pants, he knew she had nothing on. Again, he had to pull his head out of the gutter. “Stay by my side, and don’t make small talk with anyone. We’ll grab something to eat and drink here. If you want some snacks, we’ll get those too. Afterward, we’ll drive around to the other side where the store is and grab a few novelty things like we’re tourists.”

  He put his arm around her waist as they entered, and together they walked down the aisles picking out a few treats. At the checkout, he paid for the entire lot, plus prepaid for enough gas to fill the tank.

  “Dang, Daddy Warbucks. Where’d you get all that cash?” she asked once they were back inside and driving around to the store side.

  “It was in the emergency bag.” He looked around the lot. “Come on. Less time we spend here the better.”

  She sat up straighter and looked around. “Do you feel something is off?”

  Taking a deep breath. “I’d just feel better if we weren’t out in the open with a bunch of unknowns.”

  “We could skip this part and just wait until we reach Omaha.” Her voice shook a little.

  He parked in a spot that had an exit forward and backward. Knowing Hailey had her SIG, and he had his own weapons on him, he shook his head. “We’ll be fine. In out, and on the road in under fifteen. Let’s do this.” He squeezed her hand, then hopped out, going around to her side to open the door.

  “I know. Stay by your side. Remember, I am not a civilian, Mad,” she protested as he put his arm around her.

  He stared down at her, wishing like hell he could lock her inside the vehicle while he made the necessary purchases. “Which is why you are going along with me, instead of remaining in the Bronco. Try to avoid looking up as much as possible, and don’t look directly at any cameras.”

  The bell above the door jingled. Except for the one woman manning the checkout, the store was empty. Shirts, hoodies, and even flannel pants with different characters in all sizes were what Hailey navigated toward. Her arms had several of each draped over them. He grabbed a couple ball caps, a few other things he thought they would need, and noticed Hailey eyeing a burner cellphone.

  “Go ahead and add it to the pile,” he instructed, taking the items from her arms and walking next to her as they approached the register.

  At the counter, he silently applauded Hailey for her quick thinking as she dropped a shirt, and bending to pick it up, she turned to look back over the store, mouthing the word camera. He clenched his teeth. With the cap pulled down low over his eyebrows, he counted out the cash for their purchases. Instead of heading the correct direction on the highway toward Omaha, he made sure his vehicle was seen going the opposite direction. If their luck should happen to run out, and whoever was after Hailey could hack into the cameras with a facial recognition program, then they’d also be able to track them as they left. He explained to Hailey about the software that allowed you to be tracked, and how easy it was.

  “I didn’t even think of that. I mean I know of it, clearly. I just didn’t think about it being used to locate me.” She chewed on her thumb, then turned in the seat to stare at him. “You’re not who you say you are, are you, Maddox?” She held up her hand. “Don’t feed me a line of bullshit. When you showed up over a year ago, the guys all thought you were a little too smooth to be Navy Intelligence like us. Hell, until the shit went down with Dex, I was sure we had a pretty boring job. I have a degree in computer science. I blend in with a crowd, and protect civilians when needed.” She began ticking things off on her fingers. “I’ve given tactical support from afar, but more operational intelligence and civil maritime intelligence has fallen to others. The assignments with a scientific and technical focus, or that needed someone to analyze foreign weapons, those came to us. Hell, we even handle some human intelligence assignments, which is how we came to meet Kai and the SEAL Team Phantom. Of course, when it came to face-to-face information collection, you were always sent in. Alone, I might add. So, why don’t you tell me the truth for a change, instead of the same bullshit you’ve been feeding us.”

  Maddox drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “I told you I would explain everything when we get where we’re going, Hales.” He didn’t bother looking at her.

  “Damn it, you are pissing me off. What the fuck does it matter if you tell me now, or in another three or four hours?” Her voice rose, threatening to burst his eardrums.

  Without taking his eyes off the wheel, he grabbed her hand. “It matters a whole hell of a lot. Now, settle down. I’m not the enemy here, Hales.” He used more force than necessary to signal for the exit, wanting to turn back toward the right direction.

  A quiet beep in his left ear alerted him to Royce wanting to talk to him. Fucking great! He exhaled loudly when Hailey kept her fingers entwined in his. Trying not to look obvious, he press
ed the earbud.

  “I’m so glad you decided to turn me back on, jackhole. How are things on your end? A grunt for good. Two grunts for bad and a snort for shut the fuck up, Royce.”

  Maddox snorted at his partner’s words.

  “Going by your response, I’m going to assume you and the delectable Hailey are together and you can’t talk. I’m also hoping I’m not interrupting any inserting of your part A, into her slot B time.”

  He barely restrained from growling at Royce. The man was an excellent CIA agent, but his twisted sense of humor tended to piss others off.

  “Let me get something off my chest. Otherwise, I think I might implode. When we get to wherever the hell you are taking us, the first damn thing you best do, after we are settled, is explain.” She gripped his fingers a little tighter with each word.

  Knowing his partner, and best friend could hear every word, Maddox swore loudly.

  “Surely, you aren’t planning on telling her the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?” Royce asked a squeak in his voice.

  * * *

  Hailey swore he waged some internal battle as she watched Maddox’s face after she made her announcement. If the man continued to grind his teeth, they would be down to little nubs, but that was not her problem. She wanted…no, she corrected herself, she needed answers. Her feelings for him went a lot deeper than fellow soldier, or even lover. Hailey had fallen in lust with him the first time she’d seen him over a year ago. He’d walked into the building wearing his Navy uniform, looking way too comfortable in his surroundings, almost arrogant, but she still thought he was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. He’d filled out the Navy slacks like none other, and his biceps were so large, she didn’t think her hands would go all the way around them. However, all that would be a moot point if what he told her was something she couldn’t live with.