Little Bird (The Tangled Series)

by Gaines, Liza

  Hartwell, who was in his sixth term in the Senate, was a well-respected member of Congress. Serving as the chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and as a member of several other influential committees, Hartwell had long been recognized as one of the most prominent members of Congress, despite a failed presidential bid in 2000.

  The Washington Post Online will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they become available.

  Lee lay on the couch watching TV, his leg propped up on a pillow, when Savannah came in with a glass of ice water in one hand, juggling several pill bottles in the other. He had been lucky and neither gunshot had been serious. The bullet in his thigh had traveled through muscle as it entered the back and exited the front of his leg. The bullet to his side had glanced off his ribs, leaving an ugly wound but no serious damage.

  All in all, Savannah was very grateful Julian hadn’t been a better shot. In total, he’d put three bullets in her husband and none of them had ended up being serious. Lee had lost a lot of blood and would be hurting for a while, but he would be just fine and the hospital had released him to Savannah’s care after several days.

  “Time for your medicine, big guy.” Savannah grinned as she pressed the glass of ice water into Lee’s hand.

  He shook his head and glared at her. “Everything but the pain killer. That can wait.”

  “Oh, you like the pain now? I didn’t realize that was your thing.” Savannah cocked a brow at him playfully.

  Lee rolled his eyes at her and grunted, ignoring her comment as she sat on the floor next to the couch and sorted the pills on the coffee table. “You know, it’s a little hard watching all this news coverage about what a great guy Hartwell was.”

  “Tell me about it.” Savannah held the first pill in front of his mouth. “Open wide.”

  “You’re a shitty nurse.” Lee grumbled at her before he opened his mouth and she pressed the pill to his tongue.

  “Am I?” Savannah was unamused as she watched him gulp down the pill with a big drink of water. She’d been waiting on Lee hand and foot ever since he came home from the hospital yesterday, and now he was going to criticize the care she’d been giving him? Jackass.

  “Yeah, shouldn’t you be wearing one of those sexy little white nurse uniforms that leaves your tits and ass hanging out? Oh, with thigh highs and a garter belt and the cute little nurse hat, too.” He gave her a suggestive grin as he took the second pill from her.

  “I thought about it. But it seemed kind of cruel with you being an invalid right now and all.” Savannah laughed as she gave him the third pill, waiting for him to realize he’d taken the pain medication after all. It didn’t take him long.

  “Wait, was that three pills? Shit, you got me distracted thinking about the slutty little nursing outfit you ought to be wearing right now and slipped the narcotic right by me. Naughty little bitch. I’ll forgive you though, if you’ll get a nurse costume like that.” Lee reached out, flicking his thumb over her nipple and grinning as it hardened beneath her shirt.

  “For what purpose? This morning after I helped you into the bathroom you were cursing like a sailor and begging me to hit you over the head with a blunt heavy object so everything would stop hurting. You’re hardly in any shape for fucking right now.”

  Lee shrugged, undeterred. “You could give me a hand job. Or you could suck my dick. Or you could sit on my face while you suck my dick. Or you could ride me. You’d have to do all the work, but I can just lie here on my back for any of those things.”

  “You’ve given this a lot of thought, I see.” Savannah laughed as she stood up and started to turn away but he grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

  “I have.” Lee tugged on Savannah’s wrist as he pulled the blanket she’d covered him with earlier off his lap, exposing his erection. He gave her a lopsided grin as he added, “But you have to hurry before that narcotic you gave me kicks in and I get all high and loopy again.” He pulled harder on her wrist, guiding her hand to his hard-on and moaning when her fingers brushed against him.

  Savannah laughed, wrapping her fingers around his shaft and slowly stroking him. “Is that why you didn’t want the pain medicine? You wanted to be clear headed enough to seduce me?”

  Lee’s eyes darkened as he watched her hand move on his cock, his breath catching as Savannah rubbed her thumb over the crown. “Not so much for the seducing, no. You’re easy like that. But I wanted to be clear headed enough to really appreciate the results of said seducing.”

  “I’m easy, eh?” Savannah raised a brow at him as she released her grip on his cock.

  “Yes, you’re easy.” Lee’s eyes raked over her body as she stood next to the couch looking down at him. “Take your shorts off.”

  Savannah had intended to take a stand and prove she wasn’t easy, but the tone of his voice when he’d told her to take off her shorts was irresistible. So much for not being easy. She unbuttoned her shorts and pushed them over her hips, stepping out of them as they fell. Lee looked up at her questioningly when he saw her pink cotton thong.

  “Did I tell you to wear panties?”

  Savannah shook her head and he tugged on the bottom of her shirt.

  “This goes, too.”

  Pulling the shirt over her head, she dropped it to the floor with her shorts before sliding her fingers under the thong at her hips. She started to push them down but Lee shook his head, his voice hoarse. “Leave them.”

  Savannah furrowed her brows with confusion. Lee’s hand found her hip, pulling her down to straddle him, her panties the only thing separating her from the hard heat of his erection as she sat looking down at him. His shoulder was no longer bandaged and the wound there was healing well, though she knew it would leave a scar. There was a thick bandage wrapped around his midsection, just below his nipples, covering the fresh wound there. Another wrapped around his thigh behind her. Now that Savannah could feel Lee’s cock pressing against her panties, she wanted to move against him but she was terrified of hurting him.

  “See, if it weren’t for that thong, I’d already be inside you. You should have figured this out on your own after that day I fucked you on the kitchen table. I haven’t exactly been subtle in my preference that you not wear panties.” Lee grinned as he reached up, cupping her breasts. “But I’ll make it real clear for you now. When we’re here at home, you don’t wear a bra or panties. Ever. When you go out, you’ll have to ask for permission if you want to wear them.”

  Savannah nodded and Lee chuckled. “You acted all offended that I would call you easy, but look at you, pushing your tits into my hands.” He released one breast and slipped two fingers beneath the edge of her damp thong, tenderly probing her. “My easy little whore.”

  Savannah gasped, her hips instinctively jerking as Lee’s fingers moved over the piercing between her legs. Only Lee could make the word whore sound affectionate. Still, she wanted to tell him she wasn’t an easy whore, that it was he who made her act this way, but she couldn’t find the words and decided he already knew from the way he looked at her. Lee dropped his other hand to her bottom, lifting her as he pushed the thong to the side, and then slowly guided her pussy on to his cock.

  Her fear of hurting him forgotten, Savannah tried to push her hips down faster, wanting all of him inside her, but he smacked her bottom, cocking a brow at her. “Easy, slut. Go slow.”

  Savannah moaned with frustration and leaned forward, planting her hands on the couch on either side of his head as she gradually took him inside her. She panted already, Lee’s hands on her breasts again, rolling her nipples between his fingers. When he was almost fully inside her, she couldn’t wait anymore, sinking down on him with a sigh of pleasure as his erection filled her.

  Lee groaned as she started to rock against him but it sounded different to Savannah. It wasn’t just the familiar sounds of his sexual arousal; there was pain there, too. Savannah stilled her movements, looking down at him with concern. “Are you okay? We should stop if it h
urts.”

  “It hurts but this is really fucking worth it.” Lee gave her a lopsided smile, his eyes lidded, as he slid one hand behind her neck, pulling Savannah forward to lie against his chest. Turning his face into her hair, he breathed in the scent of her as his hands roamed her body, touching and caressing her until they found her ass. Cupping her bottom, Lee guided her, encouraging her to move against him, her pussy sliding rhythmically along the length of his cock.

  “Oh, Levon.” Savannah’s voice was breathless as she moved on top of him, her pussy gripping him.

  “I know, sweetheart.” Lee grumbled, his fingers digging into her bottom as he directed Savannah’s pace, urging her to move faster.

  Savannah panted loudly with anticipation, her fingers clawing at the arm of the couch. Turning her face to his, her lips brushed over his mouth as she moaned, her pussy beginning to spasm.

  Lee’s hands urged her faster as he grunted, “Not yet. Wait for me, Little Bird.”

  Savannah let out a strangled cry as she moved harder against him, her slick pussy gripping and releasing his cock with the rise and fall of her hips. She bit his lower lip, tugging it between her teeth as her eyes met his. Lee returned her gaze, his eyelids heavy as she writhed on top of him, his hands holding her tight as he lifted his hips to meet her grinding movements.

  “Now, Little Bird. Come with me, Savannah!” Lee’s voice was a hoarse growl and Savannah mewled in response, her pussy contracting around his jerking cock. Lee smothered her cries of pleasure with his mouth, kissing her fiercely.

  Savannah was still lying against his chest, panting softly, when she heard Toby barking outside, followed a moment later by a knock on the front door. She turned her head to look at the door and sighed, slowly disentangling herself from Lee’s embrace.

  “Whoever it is can come back later.” Lee grunted and pulled her back against his chest.

  Savannah rolled her eyes and relaxed against him. She knew it would be useless to argue with him, especially now that the narcotics were setting in. They’d given him something different this time when he’d complained the painkiller they’d sent home for his shoulder had been largely ineffective, and the new painkiller, while more helpful, made him belligerent and unusually argumentative.

  She was lying with her head on his chest, smiling as she listened to the slow steady beat of his heart, when the knock came at the door again, this time more insistent. Savannah started to stir against him but Lee shook his head, his eyes closed as he said, “No.”

  She pinched his nipple and struggled against his arm clamped around her back. “Come on, Lee. It might be important. The sooner we find out who it is and what they want the sooner they’ll be gone.”

  Lee grunted, unconvinced, but he released her and Savannah rolled off the couch.

  “Coming!” Savannah called toward the door as she quickly pulled on her shorts and shirt before tugging the blanket over Lee again. But no sooner had she done that and he pushed it off. “Stop that. You can’t just lay there and expose yourself to whatever poor person might be standing out there.”

  “I’m hot,” Lee mumbled as he kicked the blanket away when she tried to cover him again.

  “Look, this won’t take long. Just deal with it. I’m sure Joni or Ginny or any number of other people who could be on the other side of that door right now don’t want to see your cock and balls today.” When he didn’t respond, she pulled the blanket over him again, waited a second to see what he would do, and then turned for the door.

  As she cracked the door open, she saw Cara and Paul standing on the step with two men in black suits, who looked like federal agents, standing a few feet behind them. Savannah hadn’t seen or heard from either of them since the first night at the hospital. Once it had become clear Lee would be okay, Cara had left and hadn’t made contact again until now.

  “Cara! You’re okay! When will the story—”

  Cara shook her head, looking around nervously, as she interrupted, “Can we come in?”

  Savannah nodded and swung the door wide, holding the screen door with one hand while they all passed in front of her. When she heard Paul’s shocked gasp and Cara’s amused laughter, she could guess what had happened. After closing the door behind them, she turned around to see, as she’d suspected, Lee had kicked the blanket off again. Hurrying to his side she pulled it up only to be met with immediate resistance.

  “I’m fucking hot. Leave me the fuck alone.” Lee batted her hands away.

  Losing her patience, Savannah snapped at him, “Stop it! Cara’s here. For fuck’s sake, Levon.”

  Lee narrowed his eyes, unconcerned as he mumbled, “It’s nothing she hasn’t seen before.”

  Cara laughed but Savannah was not going to back down. “While that’s true, I’m sure Paul and these other nice gentleman, who I am pretty sure are FBI or something, would appreciate it if you’d have the manners to cover the fucking family jewels.”

  Lee rolled his head on the pillow to look at the four people standing in his living room. Shifting his eyes back to Savannah he grunted, “They’re guys. Men stand shoulder to shoulder and piss in a urinal when they need to take a leak in public. If they got squeamish every time they saw some other guy’s dick they’d never be able to leave the house.”

  “He sort of has a point.”

  Savannah glared at the two federal agents smirking by the door.

  “Fine, what the fuck ever. But you’ll be embarrassed when I tell you about this later.” Savannah stormed across the room and sat down in the recliner before jumping up again, flustered. “Shit. Where are my manners? Cara, you sit here. I’ll get more chairs from the kitchen. Does anyone want a drink?”

  Cara smiled and waved her hand at Savannah. “No, no. Don’t worry about that. Sit down, Little Bird. We only have a minute anyway.” As Savannah sank back down in the chair, Cara continued, “I just wanted to stop by before we left and let you both know how things turned out.”

  “Before you left? Where are you going?” Savannah drew her brows together in concentration.

  Cara looked at Lee, who snored softly on the couch, before turning back to Savannah. “There isn’t going to be any story. My career is over. Hartwell agreed to cooperate and turn on all of his associates. I don’t know all the details of course,” she glanced over her shoulder at the agents, “but he implicated dozens of other people. In exchange for that, he gets to live out his life in the witness protection program. The government faked his death to preserve the integrity of the government, or some bullshit like that.”

  Savannah gasped and her body trembled with horror. “He’s going to be free?”

  Cara shook her head. “No. He and his wife get new names, new identities. Turned out she was involved, too. But the only place they’ll ever get to use them is in a federal prison where they will spend the rest of their lives as someone else. So given all that, I obviously can’t write a story about what really happened.”

  Savannah furrowed her brow with confusion, relieved Hartwell would be behind bars but uncertain what all this meant for Cara. “But your career?”

  Cara smiled sadly. “It’s off to the witness protection program for me, too. I know too much, found too much in Hartwell’s papers at the lodge. George, Harry, and any number of other scumbags would spend their lives hunting me down if I stuck around. Which is really why I came by. To say goodbye to you…” she paused to glance at Lee, her expression bittersweet, “…and him.”

  Savannah glanced at Paul, frowning. “What about you?”

  He smiled cheerfully. “I’m going, too.”

  Cara laughed softly. “I had to marry him or they wouldn’t take him in the program with me. But I guess it was worth it to keep him.”

  Savannah grinned from ear to ear, happy for them both. “Well, it sucks to have to leave your life behind, but at least you’ll still be together.”

  Cara nodded and stepped around the coffee table to sit on its edge, gently shaking Lee’s should
er. “Wake up, Lee, just for a minute, honey.”

  Lee opened his eyes and blinked at her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep. What’s going on?”

  Cara smiled and patted his shoulder. “Savannah can fill you in later. I just wanted to say goodbye.”

  “Oh, okay.” Lee tried to focus his eyes on her face as he scowled. “I got shot three times because of that fucking mess you dragged me in to.”

  “I know and I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry for a lot of things, you know.” Cara gave him a meaningful look before smiling playfully as she continued, “But you’ve known me almost twenty years. Getting shot three times in twenty years isn’t all that bad when you consider all the times I thought about shooting you.”

  Lee laughed and cocked a brow at her, his voice dry. “Well, that’s reassuring.” After a long pause, he added more soberly, “And I’m sorry, too.”

  Cara sighed and shook her head, her hand on Lee’s cheek. “I need to go. I just…thanks for everything, Levon. You didn’t have to help me and it means a lot to me that you did.” Cara paused for a moment, grabbing Lee’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Anyway, be good to Little Bird and take care of yourself, okay?”

  Lee frowned again as he looked up at her. “Okay. But I don’t…”

  Cara interrupted him with a shake of her head and a soft kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry about it. Savannah will explain later. But I had to say goodbye. You’re a good man, Levon Jackson, and I’ve been lucky to know you.”

  Epilogue

  One year later

  Lee woke up as Savannah gently nudged his shoulder. He’d fallen asleep on the couch watching a west coast baseball game after she’d gone to bed. Glancing at the clock, he rolled over with a yawn. He hadn’t been out long. He’d get up, follow her back to bed, and be sound asleep again in no time.