Inferno (SKALS)

by Adriana Noir

  He supposed he deserved the suspicion. He’d killed people for far less. Elaine posed a potential threat to his family, and that was the worse act a person could commit. Taylor was precious to him, sacred. When it came to protecting her, he had zero tolerance. At all. Lowering his head, he tried to shield his reluctance.

  “No one will touch her, Taylor. Not yet. The information she shared might be our only hope of ending this situation, and I don’t take that gesture lightly. As long as she continues to help us instead of harm, she will be safe.”

  “What’s in Hawaii?” she asked. “You keep avoiding that question.”

  “Baby, please. I love you, but the less you know about everything, the better. You already know far too much as it is.”

  He watched the curious shimmer in her eyes dull. Shutting down, she tried to turn her head.

  “Stop it,” he warned, forcing her attention back to him. “All you need to know is we’re going on vacation, Taylor. That’s what’s in Hawaii: beaches, white sand, the roar of the open surf and nothing but you and me.”

  “And whatever it is you’re looking for.”

  He sighed. “I have to. I’ve been on this trail for a long time and it’s the only lead I’ve got. Thinking on it, it makes sense. The islands offer some of the few places where people can still live completely off the grid, but now that I know where to look, it won’t take long. I’ll bring some of the security team along and they can keep you company while you catch up on your sleep or spend a few hours at a spa.”

  “When are we going?”

  “It’s short notice, but unless you have any objections, it would be a perfect way for us to spend the fourth of July. Who knows,” he murmured, holding her gaze. “Maybe you’ll decide you’re tired of waiting and we’ll elope.”

  “I think I’d like that,” she whispered.

  A teasing smile played on his lips as he gently butted his head against hers. “You think?” he asked. “You might want to reconsider that answer, sweetheart. Rough night or not, I haven’t forgotten the promises I made.”

  “I know I would like it,” she corrected, her breath starting to shallow and quicken.

  He smiled to himself knowing he had his little minx exactly where he wanted her…on the hook, her mind spinning, and her body heating with need. It was a delicious game. He lifted his eyes to hers.

  “So you claim.”

  She wiggled slightly beneath him. The contact spurred his desire and the friction made his cock swell and ache. Contemplating his next course of action, he crooked his finger and ran it along the line of her jaw.

  “Stop trying to get away from me. You’re only going to make things worse.”

  “I wasn’t.”

  “Open your legs. I want to enjoy what’s mine.”

  Pulling the towel free, he bared her to his hungry gaze. Her breasts were already growing fuller and more round. His erection strained hard against the seam of his shorts as he watched her pink nipples tighten beneath the cool air whispering across them. Unable to resist, he cupped the plump globes in his hands and laved his tongue back and forth across the stiff peaks. He circled the sensitive tips, teasing her, until her fingers trenched in his hair. Kissing each rosy blossom, he then drew one into his mouth and sucked hard enough to wring a pleading gasp from her lips.

  She arched to relieve the pressure but the movement bowed her into him. Eager, he ground against her, loving the way the heat between her legs radiated against his zipper seam. The pressure and the friction were enough to drive him mad. His cock throbbed, aching with the desperate need to bury deep inside her. Fumbling between them, he popped the button on his shorts and kicked free. He crushed his mouth against hers, demanding and hungry, as Taylor hooked her legs around his waist.

  All thoughts of making her suffer fell by the wayside. She was hot, willing, and slick with desire. Her juices coated him as she eagerly rubbed against the ridge of his shaft, drawing a tortured groan from his throat. He saw no reason to prolong his torture. Aligning himself, Sebastian pushed deep. Scorching heat enveloped him and the tight, velvety clamp of her body caused delicious waves of goose bumps to ripple across his skin. She was sheer heaven. Sweeping his tongue past her lips, he surrendered himself to the feel and shuddered.

  He ached to pound into her with everything he had, to consume her inside and out. It was easy to lose himself in the violent throes of passion. He often surrendered, letting himself fall into a frenzy so intense it wiped away thoughts of anything else, but that wasn’t what Taylor needed from him. Not this time.

  Cupping her face, he kissed her deeply. He thrust hard, relishing the feel as he bottomed out several times against her womb. Then, lacing his fingers through hers, Sebastian lessened the pressure of their mouths until their lips barely touched, only teased, hinting at what could have been in a gentle brush. His heartbeat skidded in his chest as if trying to synch to their movements. He eased back, then pushed back, repeating until she rocked to the sway of his slow, steady thrusts and his skin tingled with greedy anticipation.

  He bordered on the brink of something foreign and unknown. The connection they had, the sensations running through him different this time, new somehow, but God did they feel good. He reveled in them, in her, and the intense bursts of pleasure that shot through him like bullets barreling out of a chamber. Sliding a hand beneath her ass, he angled her up to him. A low groan hummed in the base of his throat as his cock stabbed deeper. Every pulse, every quiver running through her was his for the taking. Her delirious pleas rang in his ears, egging him on, the sound and the sight of her flushed and sprawled beneath him drove him wild.

  He kept going, kept pushing them both to the brink until his balls ached and his exhausted muscles couldn’t take anymore. Numbing, euphoric bliss seized hold and the maddening need for release rose. Taylor’s breathless cries echoed in his ears as he picked up the pace. Her nails raked his back hard enough to draw a pained hiss. Head falling back, Taylor cried out. Her body quivered and locked around him like a vice, clenching, squeezing, and milking until the world exploded. Darkness threatened as he pistoned faster. Slamming himself deep against her cervix, he came, the air leaving him in a winded roar.

  Shivers wracked him as his cock throbbed and emptied. Gasping for breath, Sebastian trembled as the delighted aftershocks continued to dance across his skin. Closing his eyes, he savored the moment and waited for the furious pounding of his heart to still.

  “I love you, baby,” he whispered hoarsely.

  “I love you, too, Sebby.”

  He nodded, wishing he could lend voice to his thoughts, but he wasn’t a poetic man. He didn’t have the words to convey his feelings. He never would where this woman was concerned. She was the heaven to his hell, the only thing capable of piercing the darkness where he dwelled. There was no way to thank someone for something like that. He couldn’t make up for the deficits or damage his life had caused, but on nights like this where his mind wasn’t plagued with thoughts of work, he prayed for the strength and courage to be the man she deserved.

  Rolling onto his back, he drew her against his side and brushed a kiss across her temple before letting his head fall back to rest against the pillows. He hoped, somewhere, someone was still listening despite his many sins. Neither he nor Taylor could outrun their pasts. The future and the promise it held was all they had.

  CHAPTER 11~

  Rolling his shoulders, Sebastian grunted when his upper vertebrae cracked and loosened with a stiff pop. Josh cast him a sidelong glance, his sharp features broadening with amusement. In no mood for small talk, he ignored his partner’s antics and continued down the hall. His skin prickled and he resisted the urge to rub the tiny bumps lifting along his arms as they wound their way deeper into the heart of SKALS’ headquarters.

  He’d arrived to grim news this morning. Marx had taken a hit in a car crash the night before and though banged up, the commander was still very much alive. One of the new guys hadn’t been as fortunate and
Bradley was sporting a few cracked ribs. Part of him regretted the involvement of innocent lives. The other was too damn disgusted with Marx’s survival to care.

  The overhead lights dimmed then flickered, casting him into darkness for the briefest of seconds and making his stomach churn. The building itself seemed to hum with the sudden swell of electricity pulsing through its lines. He knew all too well what that meant. Someone was getting a healthy dose of reality. The air grew heavier, and Josh’s stride faltered. Pausing, his partner glanced around, his body stiffening in response.

  When Marx rounded the corner, they both froze and Josh cursed beneath his breath. A heavy gauze bandage still circled the director’s head. Deep shadows of red and purple brandished his skin and stretched beneath the swollen scape of his eyes. His face looked bumpy, distorted, as if viewing it through a fun house mirror. Sebastian fought a smile seeing several short rows of stitches. If nothing else, they were a small form of payback for the scars Taylor now bore from the accident and attack. A step in the right direction, perhaps, but not nearly enough.

  Stopping, the commander leaned heavily on his cane and regarded them with an arrogant tilt of his lips. “And just where might the two of you be headed?”

  Steeling himself against the tortured screams ripping down the halls, Sebastian returned the man’s lethal stare. Hell and condemnation lurked in those dark, unending pits.

  “We were going to see if we had any new hits on Patrick James. Is that a problem?”

  “Actually, it is.”

  The director prowled closer and he caught a whiff of the fear and death bathing the man. The same cloying smell lingered in the section housing the interrogation and reconditioning cells. It was a sickeningly sweet odor that soured the stomach and permeated the building. There were nights no amount of scrubbing seemed to purge the smell away.

  He lifted his chin as the director’s dark eyes narrowed.

  “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here, Agent Baas, and assume my rather unfortunate mishap has nothing to do with you or your aversion to the policy changes I’ve been making.”

  Fighting a terse smirk, he shrugged while Josh gaped at him in disbelief. “Of course not. I was hosting dinner for Taylor’s mother, though I won’t say that I’m surprised. Karma has a way of biting us all when we least expect it.”

  The hulking director grunted beneath his breath, his demeanor far from amused. “That she does. Round the men up. We’re heading out. You have ten minutes. I expect everyone geared and ready to go.”

  Sweat pooled against the small of Sebastian’s back despite the cool breeze whipping around him. Keeping his sights trained on the scenery below, he tried to ignore the commander’s suffocating presence. The lack of conversation offered little reprieve as he watched the isolated stretch of desert give way to lush stretches of greenery and the loud, rhythmic whir of the helicopter blades churned overhead. With each passing moment, the blood only seemed to quicken in his veins. Closing his eyes, he leaned back and rested his head against the back of his seat. An eerie ripple of static electricity moved continuously across his skin, adding to his discomfort. He’d felt it enough times to know it was a silent warning, his body’s way of cautioning him against hidden danger, but there was nothing to do now but wait and see how this day unfolded.

  A firm nudge to his ribs jarred him and he whipped his head to the side to glare at Marx through narrowed slits as the chopper settled into the middle of an open field.

  “Rest on your own time, Agent Baas. You’re not getting paid to sleep.”

  Marx’s voice boomed through his headset, setting his teeth on edge. He wanted nothing more than to rip the man’s throat out. Eager to escape, he ripped his headset free. The tall, reedy grass was still undulating beneath the forceful currents when he hit his feet. Straightening his gear, he squinted against the stinging grit of dirt and sand kicking up from the earth and crossed the field to meet Josh as the other copter landed. His partner jumped out and greeted him with a solid clap on the back.

  “Look at you all eager to be buddy-buddy with me. It must be true what they say. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.”

  Sebastian grunted as the blades shut down. “Don’t flatter yourself. Marx has a way of making even your company seem good.”

  “Like a moth to a flame, Baas. Like a moth to the flame.”

  Josh countered his glower with an unrepentant grin. Fighting a smirk, Sebastian resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his partner’s constant ribbing.

  “Just bear in mind what happens when the moth circles too close,” he warned.

  His partner offered an affable shrug in response. “They can’t all be happy endings.”

  Pondering that, Sebastian wrested his gaze away from the man in time to watch Marx stride across the field. Thick muscles strained against the confines of his black fatigues and, with his broad shoulders lowered, their commander resembled a bull preparing to level everything in its path. Josh and the others took note of this as well and quickly fell into formation beside him. A cold smile carved its way across Marx’s stern features as he came to a stop in front of them.

  “I don’t know where to begin with you, gentlemen,” Marx drawled. Folding his arms across his chest, he frowned and strolled down the line. “I have pushed and prodded you all time and again, yet you fail to meet my expectations. I would say this poses a bit of a dilemma for us all now, doesn’t it?”

  Their eyes locked and, bracing himself, Sebastian lifted his chin and waited.

  “The priorities around here have been slipping and your work ethics are lax,” the director continued. His dark stare brimmed with silent accusation as it flickered their way. “This team needs to pick up its pace and sharpen its skills, both mental and otherwise. I’m sick of asking you to do your jobs, gentleman. Since you can’t seem to motivate yourselves, I’ve decided to do it for you.”

  Josh lowered his head. Taut silence hung over the squad. Even the leaves seemed to still in the wake that followed.

  “All of you hand over your phones, now.”

  The vehemence in Marx’s voice warned there was no room for debate. Tugging his cellphone from his pocket, Sebastian tried to keep his rising panic under control. The light lunch he’d scarfed down burned like acid in his gut. One by one, Marx dropped their phones into a bag, his expression shifting into one of grim satisfaction as he cinched the sack tight.

  “Hidden somewhere in these woods is a target. Your objective is to find them. It’s that simple, boys.”

  “Who and what are we looking for, sir?” Bradley asked.

  Glancing his way, Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. He was a goddamn fool for sounding so chipper. Marx was pissed and when he was mad, people died. No amount of bravado or ass kissing was going to change that.

  The director’s lips quirked into a calculating smile. His eyes remained as hard and unchanging as granite. “They are someone we’ve interrogated in the past. I’m dividing you into two teams. The first one to locate and deliver said target wins.”

  “What’s the catch?” Wes asked.

  Marx strolled in front of them, his light chocolate skin glistening beneath the sunlight. “I believe I made my intentions clear when I said the proper motivation would be given, gentlemen. One of you will be minus a friend or family member at the end of the day. The teams have already been decided and one person from each side sequestered. Those people have been chosen at random but, needless to say, two of you gentlemen stand much to lose should you fail today.”

  A hushed silence fell over the group and they exchanged uneasy glances. Swiping the back of his hand over his mouth, Sebastian fought to stay standing. Fear jacked-up his pulse until the blood reverberated in his ears. He could no longer hear what Marx was saying. He couldn’t think, couldn’t focus. The only thing he could think about was Taylor and how he had no way of knowing where she was now or if she was safe. His eyes snapped to their commander’s face, searching for some clue, someth
ing that would reveal who he’d taken.

  Marx was too smart for that. The director’s stony countenance revealed nothing. He wanted his men to sweat.

  Had he taken Taylor?

  Sebastian’s stomach knotted. What about Monique? That was his sister, his blood, and she meant the world to Josh. Taking her would level them both in a single blow.

  That sick, twisted fuck had gone too far this time, pushed to many boundaries. Stunned silence hung over the rest of the squad. He trembled, fighting desperately to keep his tangled emotions in check, but there was so much damn fear. So much panic. Then the anger hit. But it wasn’t just anger this time; it was a full-blown combustion—a culmination of all the pain and suffering Marx had inflicted over the years and all the times he’d choked his emotions down and endured them in silence.

  His fists locked as images of Lucian and his nephew flashed unbidden through his mind. He remembered screaming for hours, punching and clawing at the concrete walls until his hands bled, pouring every bit of guilt-ridden anguish into that cell when they’d delivered the news that Marx had killed them. His eyes stung with unshed tears as he remembered visiting Christian’s grave. It had ripped him apart to see that tiny mound entombed beneath the cold winter snow and to read the names of the people he loved chiseled into stone. He’d buried a part of him that day. A part he would never get back.

  He. Couldn’t. Do it. Again.

  One hand flew to the pistol holstered at his hip. His other arm swung back, knocking Josh square across his chest hard enough to send the man staggering. A noise both animalistic and foreign to his own ears escaped him as he yanked his gun free. Surprise flickered briefly across the director’s face before it darkened beneath a wave of worry and rage. The heavy line of Marx’s brow lowered and, taking a step back, he brandished his own weapon.

  A loud chorus of shouts erupted around him as Sebastian cocked the hammer and took aim. Marx wasted no time doing the same.