by Kailin Gow
Nat kissed me on the forehead first and then softly on my lips. “Don’t worry, Summer, we’ll find out soon.”
“Nat,” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he lifted me, “I know you’ve been chasing Xavier for so long, thinking he’s the one behind all the crimes, but if it is my parents…I am so so sorry. I could only imagine what you are feeling right now, and…”
He kissed me again, his lips pressing hard and demanding on my mine. I opened my mouth, and his tongue delved in tasting me, devouring me. I felt lost in this kiss. I was drowning in sorrow, pain, disbelief, and heartache. His and mine.
He finally pulled back, and I opened my eyes to stare into his. “That was to show you, Summer, that nothing’s changed how I feel about you. Don’t ever apologize for something you didn’t do. If your parents are behind The Dragon, you are not to blame. I don’t begrudge you for any of this, and I don’t ever want to see you taking the blame for any of it. Even if you have feelings for The Dragon…”
“I don’t,” I said. “I understand him and see him as a man who holds a lot of pain and anger, but we’re not…”
Nat closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “As I thought, you’re sympathetic to him. You were held hostage by him, yet you seem to care for him.”
I shook my head. I felt torn in many directions. All I knew was that the people I loved all my life were no longer who I thought they were, and I was having to struggle to find steady ground when all of a sudden, the safe secure world I thought I was in, came crumbling down.
Chapter 6
Rachel
It has been days since Nat and Summer left the compound with only a few words to me.
“Trust no one,” Nat told me, as he packed a bag and got dressed quickly into all black.
Summer was quiet too as she dressed in a sweatshirt hoodie and dark jeans. She wore a cap over her head, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Can’t tell you,” Nat said.
Something was definitely wrong, and neither Nat nor Summer had never been this secretive with me to my face.
“You’ll be back, won’t you?” I asked.
“Hopefully,” Nat said.
Summer was on the verge of tears as she said, “It depends on what we find, Rachel. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.”
“What about Drew?” I asked.
The surgeons had finished patching Drew up from heart surgery, and he had been medicated and sleeping all night.
Summer paused and let out a sigh of relief. “At least he’s alive. That’s what we all hope for.”
“Aren’t you going to stay to see him when he wakes?” I asked.
“Of course I do,” Summer said, “but Nat and I…I can’t tell you more. I’m sorry Rachel, but this is something we have to do…if not, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“Come on,” Nat said to Summer quietly. “Everyone is asleep, and I don’t want to answer anyone’s questions at the moment. Rachel…” he came over and hugged me. “Keep down the fort with these guys, and if they ask about Summer and I going missing, just tell them what you think they will believe. I’m counting on you to keep our secret.”
I nodded, holding back tears. Whatever they were up to, it sounded dangerous. I didn’t know when I hugged Nat and then Summer whether or not I’d see them alive again.
The morning after they left, and Luis came over to get me to go with him for breakfast, I was prepared to face whatever circumstances my brother and Summer was up to. I knew they had their reasons for disappearing without a word to anyone except me, like that. And as a damn good actress, I was going to do my best to protect their secret.
“Hi Rachel,” Luis said coming towards me and giving me a hug this morning. He looked around. “Is Mr. Knight and Summer up?”
“They’re not here,” I said.
Luis grinned and said, “Then, I’ve been waiting to do this all day yesterday and last night.” He kissed me passionately and hungrily. And pressed me up against the glass patio wall.
“Oh, I like being greeted in the morning like this,” I purred.
His hands were on my t-shirt and he reached up to pull my shirt off, leaving my bare breasts free for him to lick and devour. “You are so hot,” he said between licks.
I pushed my fingers through his thick hair and firmly pushed him down while I unbutton the pleated mini skirt I had on. I pushed the skirt to the ground, revealing my bare naked bottom.
“Oh Mother of…” Luis was on me like a hungry beast who had been starving for days. I was in ecstasy as his hot mouth covered me and his wet tongue flicked up and down stroke after storke against me.
“Luis,” I moan. “You are so good at this, I can’t get enough.”
“I can’t get enough of you,” Luis said.
“Then by all means,” I smiled, “take all the time in the world to get your fill of me. I have all day.”
Luis grinned happily. “Summer and Mr. Knight won’t be back all day?”
“They’re catching up on lost time,” I said.
Luis’ eyes widen, and he looked genuinely happy. “Ah, I knew it. The tension between them was so thick, I wanted them to get it on already. I know she’s for the other guy and all that, but Mr. Knight…he loves her so much. I hope he gets the girl, you know. He’s such a good guy, I hope he finds his happiness.”
I was touched by Luis’ loyalty to Nat. He was a good guy if he truly cared about Nat like a brother. Nat had surrounded himself with some good guys on his team, but why didn’t he alert any of them about where he was going with Summer? Did he not trust them? Or did he not trust one of them? I had to keep my eyes and ears open. Nat and Summer needed me; and I was going to do my best to find out and weed out who it is at this compound, that Nat can’t trust. Even if I have to seduce and get close to each and every hot stud here.
I smiled. This could be an interesting and fun mission for me. One that a sex addict like myself could thoroughly enjoy. “Luis,” I said, unbuckling his pants and pulling it down. I marveled at how large and ready he was before I faced the glass patio doors and bent over. “Before you give it to me hard and fast like I want it this morning, tell me who is the second in command here when Na…I mean Mr. Knight is away.”
“Oh, that would be Kenneth Stone, Chair of Operations. You met him before.”
“Why haven’t I seen him lately?” I asked. “Visiting family? Seeing an old flame?”
“Nah, nothing like that. He has no family, and I’ve never seen him with a woman. Unless he’s discrete about it. No, he just got back from one of our branches in D.C.,” Luis said.
“No doubt he’ll want to be briefed with what’s happening here,” I said.
“He’s kept pretty much informed all the time, by Mr. Knight so I’m sure he knows what’s happening here.”
“Good,” I said. “Then you don’t have to rush off anywhere soon.”
“Yup,” Luis said, coming up behind me and putting his hands around my hips. “You are a peach, baby, so good enough to eat.” He licked and lightly bit my butt before he got up and plunged into me, rocking me hard against the glass patio door plastering my breasts against the glass. Fucking hard against a glass window all of a sudden seem very appealing.
“Harder, Luis, push into me harder until I’m climbing up this door. Give it to me hard and fast, baby.”
Luis shouted, “Damn, I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
An hour later while he was sleeping next to me on my guest bed, I got up, put on my t-shirt and my mini skirt, slipped into a pair of high heel boots and walked out of Nat’s private quarters. I remembered seeing where Kenneth Stone’s private quarters was when I first got the tour around the Compound.
I knocked lightly on the door, and smiled brightly when Kenneth opened the door and smiled, “Well, hi,” he said, looking at me up and down. I knew that look, the look of a man who wanted something.
“Hi Kenn
eth, I don’t think I got a chance to get to know you earlier before, but I would like to…given that you’re Andrew’s close friend and all.”
He closed the door. “We are good friends. Known him for years and went on life and death missions with him. I trust him like a brother,” he said.
“I’m glad Andrew has found a good friend like you,” I said moving close to him. He smelled good. Clean, freshly-shaved, and musky. He was a little older than Nat, in his early thirties, and very handsome with his dark hair and almost silver eyes. It was good being Nat’s sister. It seemed all of his friends were well-built and hot. Knowing Nat and how disciplined he was, he probably have them working out and training all the time, which definitely did not hurt in helping these guys have some of the most amazing and sexiest bodies I’ve ever seen.
“And I’m glad he has such a beautiful and very sexy sister,” Kenneth said, taking me again.
“You’re not bad yourself,” I smiled. “In fact, maybe you can help me with something.”
“What, darling,” Kenneth said.
“I’m kinda wondering what to do around here.”
“What do you like to do? We have a tennis court, swimming pool, stuff you can do to unwind, enjoy yourself here.”
“Oh, I’m not into those things. Right now all I can think about is what it would feel like to have you ramming into me. How slick you would feel going in and out of me.” I reached down to unzip his pants and found him already bulging out of his boxers. “Yes,” I licked my lips. “That’s what I want to do right now. Can you help me with that?”
Kenneth’s face grew dark and ravenous. “I love helping out, but most of all, I love it when a woman knows what she wants.”
Moments later, I was bent over Kenneth’s kitchen table and he was giving me exactly what I wanted, and I was having the best time of my life finding out more about Kenneth and the guys at the Compound.
Chapter 7
Nat
Trying to find Summer’s mother was harder than we expected. It was as though she knew we were looking for her for something she didn’t want to be confronted on…for something she had been trying to hide all of Summer’s life. It was uncanny how all of a sudden, she had become unreachable.
“Try calling her again,” I said to Summer, who was already on her phone.
“I don’t get it,” she said. “Why isn’t she picking up? Why haven’t she returned my calls. You’d think she would try to get in touch with me after I’ve been found and rescued.”
“I’m calling my mother,” I said.
“Your mother?” Summer asked. “Of course, why didn’t I think of that? Mom visits your mother often and even helps her out when she can. Maybe she’s there right now.”
“I hope so,” I said. For some reason, I hesitated about calling Mom. It had been several years since I talked to her, since I’ve seen her. She didn’t know about the FBI, about my rescue trip to Afghanistan to save Dad, and my disappearance as Nat Donovan. I never told her. Because telling her might cause her to flip out and go into depression. She didn’t even know I’ve been gone so…
The phone rang, and a woman’s voice picked up. “Hello?” Very refined, poise, yet fragile.
“Mother?” I asked.
“Nat?” she sounded happy. “Where are you?”
“In California” I said.
“Not overseas? Your father said you were working at our Asia branch and had to be there a few years to get it up and running. How is it?”
“Going great!” I said. So Mother still thought my father was working, going into his office everyday instead of being retired from Donovan Dynamics and letting Drew and Rachel run the company. The main headquarters had been relocated to Los Angeles instead of San Francisco so Drew can be with Summer while she went to medical school and then started working for a hospital. And Rachel can pursue an acting career and help look after Aunt Sookie’s Academy. “How’s your nurse? Is she taking good care of you? Making your favorite foods?”
“Martha?” Mother asked. “She’s doing well, although I can say she’s forgetful at times. Always forgetting what days I want to some vanilla cake, and which days I want a pot roast.”
“Be sure to make it clear to her what you want, Mother,” I said. “Forgetful people just need a reminder sometimes.”
“I sure will, Nathaniel. How long are you back in the U.S.? I’d like you to come home to have dinner with your father and I. We haven’t seen you in so long. We miss our precious son.”
“I’ll try to, Mother. I miss you too. But I’m sure you’re busy entertaining your friends. Like Summer’s mother. She visits you often, doesn’t she?”
“Oh, we’re the best of friends. She, Aunt Sookie, and I used to be inseparable when we were pretty young things.”
“You still are, Mother,” I said.
“Oh stop, Nathaniel, I know I haven’t been a pretty young thing for years. Not like Summer, who I’ve heard has become quite a beauty. And Rachel…as rebellious as she is, she is quite a looker.”
“Mother, I know,” I said. “Has Summer’s mother visited you lately? Has she been up to see you?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, she came here a few days ago,” Mother said. “She brought me some pumpkin pie, and said she would see me for the holidays as soon as she made sure to take care of a few things for Summer. Is Summer’s plans for the wedding going well?”
Mother apparently haven’t been told it was cancelled due to the bride being kidnapped by a lunatic and held hostage.
“Well, Mother, I’ll let Summer tell you herself,” I gave my phone to Summer, who looked at a lost for what to say.
“Hello Mrs. Donovan,” Summer said. “How are you?”
“Well, Summer. I’m sorry I can’t make the wedding due to health reasons, but I’m sure your plans are coming along smoothly?”
“I have a lot of help from everyone,” Summer said. “The wedding…well, it’s not…”
I took the phone away from Summer and said to my mother, “Going to be held indoors.”
“What?”
“The wedding…it’s not going to be indoors. It will be at the beach in front of Aunt Sookie’s house.”
“That is the perfect spot for a wedding, isn’t it?” Mother said.
“Sure is,” I said, handing to the phone to Summer.
“Mrs. Donovan,” she said, “My mother hasn’t been to visit you lately? Have you heard from her?”
“No, not since her last visit a few days ago. Said she had to take care of something, but I’m sure she’ll be here for my Thanksgiving brunch. She, Sookie and I always used to have brunch near Thanksgiving. It’s us girl’s tradition. You know, when girls get together. We pig out on desserts and chocolates, as much as we can stuff ourselves on, at our Thanksgiving brunch get togethers.”
Summer laughed. “Rachel and I have to start a tradition like that. I’m sure we both would love to have a stuff yourself with dessert and chocolates Thanksgiving.”
“You should try it!” Mother said. “Alright dear, I must let you go. I have tennis and some kind of pumpkin peel later. I can’t stand being this busy, but you know how it is…ta da, kids!”
“Bye Mother!” I said. I turned to Summer. “Apparently Mother has not been kept in the loop for much but we now know your mother is not at my parents’ place. Any idea where she could be?”
“Your mother said she told her she was going to take care of something for me,” Summer said. “It definitely has nothing to do with the wedding. I’m sure Mom already knows it has been canceled. So what could she be possibly trying to take care of for me?”
“She doesn’t know you’ve been rescued, though,” I said. “No one does…it was a secret mission for my team to get you out of The Dragon’s hands. Everyone still thinks you’re missing.”
“Including my mother,” I said.
“And your mother, unlike my fragile mother, is no wilting flower,” I said. “Since working for the FBI and hiring many ex-mi
litary, ex-CIA, ex-FBI agents to work for Andrew Knight Industries, I’ve heard about some of the dangerous and complex missions your mother oversaw, including the one where my father was held hostage, and I had to get involved, for the very first time.”
Summer nodded. “My mother was involved in that…do you think that’s how she got involved with The Dragon?”
“I think it may have been before that, but we can’t jump to conclusions without more evidence and facts.”
“Since she’s not in San Francisco visiting your mother, she’s out in the field again. I know it,” Summer said. “We have to make a stop at the Malibu Pad. It’s where I’ve kept all the correspondence and things my mother’s given me. I have a few things from my father there, too. Maybe it would provide us with some clues to what is going on.”
“Good idea,” I said. Summer’s mother cared about her daughter very much and probably would have left her clues to where she would be in case she’d ever need her, growing up. I was sure it would be hard on any mother to leave her only child to go on a life-risking mission every time without wanting to reassure her child with something.
I drove like a madman to Summer’s house and was about to park the car in the driveway when a black sedan pulled up to park in the very spot. I looked at Summer, and she looked just as surprised as I was.
A small figure dressed all in black, wearing a bullet-proof vest, a helmet, sunglasses, and combat boots rushed out of the sedan and to the front door. It was a woman, and she was armed with two or three guns, one of them which she was holding in her hand. She reached into her pocket, pulled out some keys on a keychain that had a blue starfish pendant on it, and unlocked the front door before she peeked in and headed inside.
Summer was already taking off her seatbelt and opening her door. “That’s Mom!” she said. “She has that keychain with the blue starfish I gave her to use at the Pad. We have to help her…”
