by Maddie Wade
Chapter Eight
“Hello?”
Mitch twisted his head as Autumn answered her phone, curious by the surprised tone of her voice. Few people should have her number so any calls should be at least half expected. He glanced back at the road, slowing, and pulling into a layby seeing the expression on her face. Her eyes shot to his, wide and horrified, with fear in their depths that ripped his guts open like a blunt knife.
“How did you get this number?” Her voice was barely a whisper as her fingers gripped the handset, going bloodless. Her breath was coming faster, as she began to panic.
Mitch had seen enough. Taking the phone from her, he snarled, “Who is this?” He could hear the person breathing on the other end of the phone, and then it went dead.
Hanging up he placed the phone in the centre console having no intention of giving her the phone back before Will could get a look at it.
“Who was that?”
His voice was sharper than he intended, concern making him react and take charge as if this was a mission. He saw her flinch and softened his tone as he slipped his seat belt off, and doing the same to hers, dragged her into his arms. Her body was shaking so badly it felt as if she was having a seizure, her breath see-sawing in and out rapidly as she descended into a panic attack.
“Just breathe slowly, in and out. Count with me, honey. One. Two. Three in. Four. Five. Six out.” He did it with her hoping she’d mimic his actions and was glad when her breathing evened out.
“Talk to me, honey. Who called you?”
“My brother-in-law.”
Mitch frowned, knowing he wasn’t getting all the information and trying to remain calm and give her what she needed emotionally. “Okay?”
Her shaking began to subside, and she pulled away, her defeated eyes making him want to tear the person who’d put that look there apart.
“He was the man who got my husband involved with the person who killed him, and who I’m running from.”
Mitch didn’t like it. Nobody should be able to get hold of her and certainly nobody involved with her case. “What did he say?”
“That he needed to speak to me.”
“Is this your sister’s husband or your husband’s family?” His brain was running through scenarios in his head as she spoke.
“It’s my husband’s family, his sister’s husband.”
“And he was the middle-man between your old man and this person?” He didn’t like to think of this unknown man as Autumn’s husband.
“Yes.”
Mitch took her hand and made sure her eyes were on him before he spoke. The look of trust she put in him was overwhelming, and he knew he wouldn’t do anything to make her regret that.
“Honey, I think we should bring my team in on this. We have the resources to protect you properly and the manpower. But to do that you need to tell us everything.” Her back stiffened as she tried to pull away, but he held fast.
“Autumn, this man found you, so it stands to reason the man he works for can as well.” He saw the flair of fear mist her eyes, her jaw flexing as she swallowed. “I’m not trying to frighten you, but you need to see the bigger picture here.”
“But I’m not meant to break the terms of my protection. They could take even that away, and then Maggie and I will be on our own. Believe me, I don’t want to be in this position. I trust the police to keep me safe only marginally more than I trust the man that ruined my life.” Autumn pushed her hair out of her way in a nervous gesture he’d seen her do before.
Mitch wondered at her comment, knowing many people were wary of the police force, but not pegging Autumn as one. “They won’t. Trust me when I say we have the contacts to stop that happening. We’re also a fuck of a lot more trained for this than the local police force, and that’s taking nothing away from them. Fuck, our boss’s fiancée, Aubrey, is a detective on the force.”
“Aubrey?” Autumn tipped her head at his words, her brown furrowing.
“Yeah, Aubrey Herbert. She’s a good friend.”
“She’s my contact. She seemed okay, actually.”
“Then this is perfect. Aubrey will vouch for us and make sure you don’t lose police protection. She’s one of the good ones, Autumn. But, honey, whatever happens, you’re not alone. You and Maggie have me, and I have my team.”
He saw her shoulders sag and couldn’t resist pulling her into his arms, wanting to keep her there until any threat against her was taken care of permanently.
“What if I put you in danger?”
Mitch smothered the chuckle at her words, knowing she could have no idea his life was in danger every time he took a job protecting the Royal family, chasing down terrorists in Iran, or removing rebel dictators from power. It was all a risk and yet holding her, he recognised this would be a bigger risk for him and not because he could get hurt, but because she and Maggie could. “Don’t worry about me. Just let me do this for you, Autumn. Please.”
Her body relaxed just a fraction, and he knew she was relenting.
“Fine, but I want to be there when you ask your boss. I don’t want you getting fired for me.”
Mitch let his grin show as he pulled back. Looking into her beautiful upturned face, he wrapped a hand lightly around her braids and pulled, tipping her head back. He saw the heat burn through her eyes, as her breathing changed, the pulse in her neck pounding wildly. He wanted her so badly it hurt.
He’d taken more cold showers in the last three weeks than he’d had his entire adult life. This woman had him feeling like a teenager again, his cock pulsed with the desire to feel her heat gripping him as she rode him, her head thrown back like the queen she was.
“Love that you want to protect me, honey. Makes me so fucking hard that my woman wants to stand beside me. Have a mind to lay you back in this seat and taste every inch of your body, to show my gratitude, but much as it kills me to say it, we can’t.”
Her tongue moved to wet her lips as her chest heaved, her breathing accelerating to match her pulse. “Mitch.” Her voice was a plea, one he’d move heaven and earth to grant but not now.
“Wish I could give you what your eyes are begging me for, honey, but when I make you mine, I want to know it’s in a bed, where I can take my time.”
“Okay.”
He loved how her eyes were almost black, her voice raspy with desire. Mitch bent and took her mouth, kissing her with the promise of so much more, his tongue tasting her sweetness. Pulling back, he grinned as she swayed towards him loving that she reacted as she did, with total abandon.
“Let’s go see my boss.”
He clipped her seat belt back on before doing the same with his own. He kept her hand in his as he turned the car around, before laying it on his thigh, his hand on top of hers as he drove towards Eidolon. It was time for the truth to come out and for him to get rid of the threat hanging over her pretty head for good.
Autumn shot him a shy smile, and he lifted her hand to his lips, brushing a kiss over her delicate skin.
“It will be okay, Autumn, I promise. I won’t let anyone hurt you or Maggie.”
“I thought this would all be over by now.”
“How so?”
“The man who is after me should be in prison. The CPS convinced me that if I testified, they had a watertight case against him. Then my life would be my own again while he served life in prison.”
He glanced at her as he slowed for the traffic lights wondering what had gone wrong within the Crown Prosecution Service. “What happened?”
Autumn sighed deeply. “He got off on a technicality. Someone had signed the gun used to kill my husband out of evidence without authorisation, and the case fell apart.”
“Wow, no wonder you don’t trust the police to keep you safe.”
Autumn pursed her lips. “Until you, I didn’t trust anyone, thought I never would again. Something about this town makes me want to see a way out for us.” She glanced back at a sleeping Maggie, and he followed her eyes in the rear
view mirror. The peace on her innocent face making him ache for the position she and her mother found themselves in.
“The men I work with are good people, and so are their girlfriends,” Mitch reassured her, but she said nothing, seemingly lost in her head. Not wanting to push, he just held her hand on his thigh as he drove.
Arriving at Eidolon, he pulled up at the gate and greeted Frank with a wave, who let them through. The man was old school, a former General and his friend Zack Cunningham’s father-in-law. Retirement hadn’t suited Frank, so Jack had offered him this job part-time and he took it very seriously, which was good because the threat level against them was increasing.
Mitch glanced at Autumn, her wide eyes were on the building, and he could feel her trepidation. “Ready?”
She controlled a sigh blowing air through pursed lips. “As I’ll ever be.”
Mitch nodded as he helped her unstrap the car seat, a still sleeping Maggie inside. With Maggie in one hand, he took hold of Autumn’s in the other and led her inside. Stopping at the retina scanner, he let the machine do its thing before pushing through the door.
He glanced at the front area where Madison should be and saw it was empty. Following the sounds of men’s voices, he moved down the hallway towards the conference room. Jack and Alex glanced up from where they were looking through aerial photographs as he walked in, both their brows raising slightly as they looked behind him where Autumn was hanging back.
“I need your help,” he stated, and Alex stood as Jack surveyed Mitch without any sign of what he was thinking on his face.
Alex walked to Autumn and reached his hand out. “Alex Martinez. Pleased to meet you. You must be Autumn, right?”
Mitch could have kissed him for making Autumn feel instantly more relaxed, so much that he felt the tension leak out through the hand he held in his own.
“Yes. Nice to meet you, Alex.”
Mitch led her to a seat across from Jack and Alex as Jack removed the pictures from the table. Setting Maggie down at her feet, he took the seat beside her as Alex returned to his chair.
“What do you need?” Jack asked the question, and Mitch’s shoulders relaxed.
He’d known his team would help them out but hearing it was still a good thing.
“I’m in the witness protection program, and I think the people I’m hiding from have found me.”
Jack betrayed not a second of surprise, and Mitch knew then that he already knew she was in the program, most likely from Will.
“How do you know these people found you?” Alex sat back in his chair, his ankle crossed over his knee. He looked chill, but Mitch knew he wasn’t.
“We were in the car when Autumn got a call from her brother-in-law. He’s the one who acted as a middle-man between the people she testified against and her husband, who they murdered.” Mitch saw a flicker of emotion as Jack clenched his jaw, his eyes dropping to Maggie who was stirring.
Autumn quickly bent to lift her daughter from the car seat. She looked around and then buried her head back in her mother’s neck and seemed to go back to sleep. Without thinking, he raised his hand to rub her back gently. A smile from Autumn was all the approval he needed, and his chest swelled with it.
“Perhaps you should start at the beginning, and we can take it from there?” Jack stood and walked to the door, putting his head out. “Lopez, Waggs, Deck, get your asses in here.”
Relief washed through him knowing he’d have support from his brothers. Being an only child, he’d missed having siblings, and if he were honest, it had been the one thing he’d been unable to replace from his gang days until Eidolon. Then he’d seen the difference between his brothers from then and the ones he had now. His friends from long ago had been there as long as it suited them, but as soon as he turned his back on the gangs, he’d lost them too. He knew it had been for the best, but he’d missed that camaraderie until he’d met these men.
Waggs pushed through first, his eyes moving to Autumn then dropping to Maggie, the tensing of his muscles the only sign of surprise. Waggs was their medic and a former Army Green Beret. His story was a heart breaking one, and Mitch only knew it because he’d come home early one night and heard the music playing in his flat.
Worried he’d knocked on the door and discovered a Waggs nobody else knew—at least nobody he knew of. Jack and Will probably knew the details of his tragic past, but he wasn’t sure the rest of the team did, and Mitch would never betray him.
Lopez and Decker weren’t far behind, Lopez with an easy smile and Decker instantly analysing the second he walked in the room. It was who he was, and although it was annoying as fuck half the time, the other half had saved them from some massive fuck ups. The man was like a human lie detector, clever to the point of brilliance. His brain didn’t work like everyone else’s did, rather it allowed him to see things that nobody else could.
“What’s up?”
Waggs took a seat at the end of the conference table as Lopez sat in his usual chair beside the computer. Decker stayed in the corner of the room near the door, always on the peripheral.
“Autumn’s in trouble, and we’re gonna help her out.” Jack’s words were simple, but the meaning behind them was everything.
If Jack was willing to take this on, it meant two things—he’d see it through to the bitter end and the men after Autumn were more dangerous than he’d realised.
Chapter Nine
It was surreal to be surrounded by all of these powerful, deadly men. Mitch had hinted at how dangerous they were, but it was hard to understand it properly until you were in a room with them all. What was even more strange was that despite her baby girl being in her arms and her being so incredibly vulnerable, she didn’t feel threatened or frightened by them.
Her breathing was calm, her heart beat with a steady, calm thud in her chest, not a single sense of fear invaded her body. She glanced at Mitch sitting beside her, noting the way he angled his body towards them in a protective gesture she wasn’t sure he even realised he was making.
The rich, deep tone of his skin, a shade that was so beautifully intense, amplified the sable eyes that held her captive. Always so warm when they were on her, like a caress that heated her body, making her want to stretch like a cat lying in the warm sun of a lazy afternoon.
Feeling her eyes on him, he glanced her way, and those same eyes held so much reassurance. He would keep her safe, she’d bet her life on it and was, but she felt no hesitation. Autumn wondered if perhaps she trusted Mitch more than anyone she ever had. It was a strange thing to give someone you barely knew so much power, yet in her heart, Autumn knew it was right.
He tightened his grip on her fingers, giving the barest nod of reassurance before he turned back to the others in the room. She’d briefly met Waggs at the house. The man with short blond hair and cool, almost haunted eyes watched them as he leaned back in his chair—waiting. He seemed nice, held back a bit with her but with his friends he was one of them, a man who would protect.
Lopez was clearly the joker from what she could see, handsome and playful but with deep emotions. Then there was Decker. She didn’t know what he did, but out of all of them, he gave her the most pause. She felt as if he were in her head, judging, waiting, analysing. He was also the only man wearing a suit, and even if it was without a tie, it still screamed control. The others wore a mix of jeans or combat trousers with t-shirts.
“I need you to tell us everything from the top, Autumn, including your real name.”
She startled as Jack addressed her before lifting her chin and giving the barest of nods. The feel of Maggie in her arms and Mitch’s steady hand in her own, giving her confidence. “I was born Keisha Anderson. I met my husband, Terrell Campbell in college. We were both studying chemistry. We got together and ended up going to Uni together. We were both studying the same degree, and we pushed each other to work harder. We were so competitive with each other.” Autumn glanced at Mitch, watching for his reaction, feeling as if the walls were c
losing in on her as she talked about her past.
“Need some water?” Mitch asked with a dip of his head.
Autumn nodded. “Please.”
Mitch went to move, but Waggs was already on his feet. “I’ll get it.”
Waggs was out the door before Mitch could reply. Moments later he was back and handing her a bottle of icy cold water. She hadn’t known that reliving this would be so hard. She’d thought she’d processed all of her residual feelings of love and anger for Terrell until there was only apathy left.
Autumn took a sip and let the cold liquid calm her, the sense of being trapped started to recede, and her heartbeat began to calm. “Sorry, this is harder than I thought.”
“Take your time. We aren’t going anywhere and nobody in this room is judging you,” Jack said from the end of the table where he was sitting with his arms relaxed on his lap.
Maggie wriggled and Autumn knew she didn’t have long before her daughter woke properly and demanded feeding, so she hurried on. “We got married after college and both landed jobs at Orion Pharmaceuticals as Senior Research Scientists. It was the dream, and life was good, then his sister married a man called Anton Williams. I knew when I met him he was trouble, but I never imagined how much. Terrell got on well with him though, and they started spending more time together.”
Autumn rubbed Maggie’s back gently, not entirely sure who she was soothing with the motion. “Anton smoked a lot of weed, but as far as I knew nothing else, so I let it go. Then Terrell started missing work or coming home late, and I confronted him. I thought he was cheating on me, but he said he wasn’t and begged for a second chance.”
Shrugging with embarrassment she continued, “I gave it to him, and we started trying for Maggie.” She brushed her cheek over her daughter’s curly hair. “Then I began to find discrepancies at work, chemicals missing, and drugs used to analyse the reaction to overdoses missing during Terrell’s time in the lab. I went home to confront him, and we had a blazing fight about it. I begged him to stop, to come clean, and we’d face it together, but he said it was too late. He liked the power and the money, was sick of struggling to pay back student loans and scraping for every penny.”
