Whatever it was that was making Anubis anxious, wouldn’t be doing it for much longer, he thought to himself as they headed outside.
****
"Will you hurry up?" Manny shook his head as Reggie headed deeper into the woods.
"Be quiet. I can't go if there's noise," he said.
"You sound like a fuckin' kid, you know that?" Manny stopped in the middle of the clearing and folded his arms.
"Hurry up! We found the place, now I want to get the hell out of here before somebody spots us."
"I told you to shut…" Reggie muted his shouts when he heard the sound of movement, and the leaves stirring. Something was approaching.
"You've got 10 seconds to zip up and get the hell out of here." William kept a hand on Anubis's leash and the other on his .45.
Reggie zipped up and raised his hands in surrender. He turned around slowly and met the irritated gaze of William Tanner and the threatening growl of Anubis. The dog was baring all of its teeth and Reggie was glad that he'd been given the chance to zip up.
"What the hell is going on?" Manny appeared, but backed up as soon as he saw the dog.
"Listen old man, we just had to make a pit stop. You can call off the dog."
William turned his attention to Manny. "I haven’t siced the dog on you and this here is private property. Now, your 10 seconds are up, this is your last warning. It's time that you leave my woods."
William's stance told the men that he meant business.
Manny remembered what Castillo had told him… Don’t get caught and don’t draw any attention to yourselves. They'd managed to do both, but he saw no reason to share the incident with his boss. When he and Reggie got back to the car, the first words out of his mouth were, "don’t say a word about this to the boss." Reggie agreed wholeheartedly.
"Good boy," William said and patted Anubis on the head.
"I didn’t like the looks of those guys." He quickly memorized the license plate.
William gave a gentle tug on the leash and led Anubis down the path that led back to his place. "Come on boy. I've got to make some phone calls."
****
Long, languishing, waves of sunlight came streaming through the window, caressing their bodies as they held one another close.
Cole clutched her to him and then groaned when she pulled away for a moment to remove the rest of his clothing.
When she stood in front of him, he slid his hands down over her hips to remove her shorts and panties.
Immediately, she felt his strong, masculine hands all over her. And when they reached the spot between her legs, she shuddered when his fingers encountered evidence of her arousal. Madison moaned loudly and pressed herself against his hands. Already rock hard, the movement of her body soon had him wanting to know the inside of her.
Cole plunged forward and covered her mouth with his, making her body hum with anticipation. Slowly, they withdrew from one another and Madison found herself staring at him, his eyes seeming to search her own for the answer to an unspoken question. She felt the pull towards him and wondered if he too, felt the same connectedness.
When she wrapped her hand around him, his body jerked and he drew in a sharp breath. He kissed her again, willing control and nearly came undone by the way she kissed him back. She moved above him and slowly, lowered herself onto him, taking him all the way into her and then leaned forward until his mouth covered her hardened nipples.
Cole's limbs began to quake, but he held off long enough for Madison to move against him, her mouth gasping into his as she came to a quivering orgasm.
With all sense of urgency dissipated, she collapsed onto his still heaving chest.
Neither spoke as they now took their time, touching, kissing and tasting.
Cole couldn’t get enough of her lips and the way her breasts felt against his chest.
Madison lay against him, his hands caressing the small of her back. When he wrapped his arms around her, it was the most amazing feeling. He expressed in actions, what words could not and it touched her to the core.
When they kissed again, their passion returned and this time, when they touched, it was done with fiery determination.
He wrapped her legs around him and carried her into the bedroom. He came onto the bed and moved over her, all the while looking into her eyes. He whispered to her how beautiful she was, and how much he loved looking into her eyes. Madison moaned softly before covering his mouth with hers.
In one smooth move, he thrust his hips forward, easing himself into her body. Madison gasped at the feeling. It had been so long, and never had she felt such fullness. She knew that it was almost enough to take her over the edge, again.
As Cole moved within her, feelings of exquisiteness centered where they joined, overtaking her and she surrendered herself to them.
His strong body clasped between her legs, heated breath against her skin. She moaned her approval and in response, he moved deeper and faster, burying himself inside of her.
Madison clutched his forearms as she met him, thrust for thrust. She called out his name as her body shuddered with sweet release. Cole kept his body in control and was happy to have exhausted Madison before allowing himself the pleasure of release.
Together, they flopped back against the pillows breathless and content.
"That… was amazing." Cole panted.
Are you ok?"
Madison nodded but kept quiet. Her eyes were shiny, with threatening tears.
Cole pulled her closer. "Are you alright?"
"It was amazing," she said. Her voice barely above a whisper, but she held it together.
"And you were hoping that it wouldn’t be." The words came out like a statement, just as he wanted them to.
"I'm scared," she said.
"I know you are and you have every right to be. But deep down, you have to know that this is right. All of this is right Madison."
She nodded, slowly, looking better.
He turned his body and kept his eyes locked on hers.
"You know what I think?" Madison shot him a warning look that told him to back off. But he ignored the warning. Cole was going to say what he needed to say and she didn’t want to hear it because she knew that most of the time, he was right.
"You know that I'm good for you Madison, and that scares you."
She looked up at him and he saw no doubt in her eyes.
"Cole, I don’t know what's going to happen. I mean… I can't stay here forever. Helen and George want to move and …"
"Shhh." He ran his thumb against her lips. "Everything will work out, you'll see."
"I need to take things slow. Can we do that?"
"Yeah." He smiled a devilish smile. A kiss followed and then his hands traced the luscious outline of her lips.
"But I think you and I both know… that ship has sailed."
Madison had no response at all. She was too busy feeling as if she were floating on a cloud. Exquisite was the best word to describe the way he made her feel.
His mouth traced every inch and curve of her body and she waited in anticipation for him to fulfill her need, once again. A need that turned into a hunger, a craving as his tongue dipped inside of her, sending radiant bursts of fire throughout her entire body.
Chapter Twenty One
The Valley House Motel had seen better days. What was once a moderately priced motel had been turned into some sort of haven for drug dealers and prostitutes. The locals called it, the motel of shame.
This is where Jay liked to conduct his business. It was far enough away from Summerbridge as to not attract attention of local law enforcement, but convenient enough for his customers to get everything they needed.
The place was deteriorating so badly, that the sparsely lit neon sign had only a few letters illuminated. And they more than suggested the actions that went on around the place.
"Look at that shit." Reggie pointed to the sign.
"Ho motel. Sounds like a place that's right up your alley."
Manny grinned as he pulled the big SUV into the dirt parking lot.
"What room are we meeting this el cabrón?"
"9," Reggie said and pointed towards the room.
When he saw them coming, Jay opened the door to his room and lit up a cigarette.
He was leaning against the doorjamb, trying to look as calm as possible, but his heart was pounding. These guys were nothing like the usual junkies that come out at night like cockroaches in need of a fix. The two men walking towards him were the real deal, the big leagues and if he played his cards right, maybe they'd hook him up with whomever they worked for. A connection was a connection, but a connection with a big wig … well that was major.
Jay cleared his throat and held out his hand. "What's good?"
Manny looked down at the outstretched hand, snickered and made his way into the room. "Dont know about you, but where we come from, business isn’t conducted outside."
"Right, right." Jay nervously put his hand down and followed Reggie into the room.
"You guys want something to drink? There's beer and vodka in the frig," he said.
Manny held up a hand to silence him. "We don’t drink."
Reggie mumbled something under his breath and rolled his eyes.
"Okay, then have a seat and let's get down to business."
Manny swatted away crumbs from the worn out chair cushion before sitting down.
"This is a perfect place right? Nothing but whores and junkies. And they all work for and come to me." Jay tried to sound as confident as he could. He wanted his new customers to know that he was in control.
"Man… what you got here ain't shit." Reggie chuckled.
"This here is nothing but a busted up, flea bag motel. This is where the whores and junkies come to die. But hey, if you think it's all that, then more power to ya brother. Now do you have what we need?"
Jay stood awkwardly now, embarrassed by his surroundings. "This is just a place of convenience, and as long as I get paid, I could give a rat's ass what the place looks like." He stammered and took a seat.
"Now about your needs…" Jay chuckled nervously.
Manny shook his head from side to side before turning back to Jay, disbelief painted across his face and his nostrils began to flare.
"I told you not to waste my time." He sat upright in his chair. His jacket falling open, exposing the gun he kept in his waistband.
"No. Nothing like that." Jay stuttered.
"It's just that I'm all out of 'H'. I'm waiting for a delivery."
"How long?" Manny was growing more and more impatient.
"A day. Two at most. Listen, if I could get it here sooner, I would. But as you can see, business is booming and sometimes I have a hard time keeping up."
Manny walked across the room towards the door.
"Reggie, go call the boss and ask him whether or not he wants to wait."
"Sure thing." Reggie stepped out of the room, thankful to be out in the fresh air.
"I've got some Molly, or how about some coke to hold you over until the smack comes in?" Jay made his way over to a small safe and began punching in the code.
"Don’t bother. Our boss doesn’t want any of that." Manny held up his hands and shook his head.
Reggie swallowed a gulp of fresh air before entering the room.
"Boss isn’t happy, but he says to wait."
Jay let out an exasperated breath. "Good. Two days, I promise."
Manny and Reggie got up close and personal with Jay.
"You don’t have it in two days, your ass is gone." Manny then grabbed him by the collar. "One day you're king shit over here and the next day, you'll be gone. Never to be heard from again. Do you understand?" He hissed.
Jay nodded his head and suddenly felt incredibly small. Manny had managed to lift him clear off the floor.
"Trust me. I'm the only go-to guy for everyone's recreational needs around here. You'll have your product in two days. Now can you put me down?"
"We'll see you in two days." Manny growled before walking out the door.
Chapter Twenty Two
It was evening now and Madison lay awake in Cole's arms, reliving the delicious moments they'd just shared.
She had always known that she was attracted to him, but it wasn’t until her naked flesh was against his did she realize how completely and fully she wanted him.
Cole felt it too. He wanted so badly to hold onto her and keep holding on until whatever barriers she put up, would come tumbling down and stay down. So far, so good, he thought to himself.
When she abruptly turned to face him, the move took him by surprise.
"There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. I can't stay here forever Cole. What money I have is going to run out soon and I've got to get back and try and put my life back together."
"You aren’t going anywhere until whoever is out there killing witnesses is caught, captured, or killed. And as far as money goes, there's nothing that I can’t give you Madison."
For the longest time, neither of them said anything, they only gazed at each other. Then, when she whispered his name, Cole pressed his lips against hers, silencing any and all objections.
****
Eastern District of Oklahoma
The Marshals service in the Eastern District of Oklahoma was home to Marshal Dan Spear. It was morning and he'd barely been able to set his coffee mug down on his desk before taking an urgent call.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations had received the DNA results from the saliva collected from Juan Hernandez's body. A technician told him that he needed to get to the lab ASAP.
Spear figured that it was the DNA of a known criminal. Someone who would hopefully, be easy to catch. Scum, rat, or whatever he was, Hernandez was Spear's responsibility and he'd failed to protect him. The least he could do was make sure that his killer was brought to justice.
When he entered the lab, workers in white lab coats and latex gloves paid Spear no attention. A few nodded at him as he strolled by and made his way over to a small office enclosed in glass.
Sheila, a veteran lab tech, glanced up from her microscope and rolled her office chair over to the desk behind her.
"Looks like your perp is a magician." She handed the paperwork over to Spear.
When he opened up the file and began reading it, Spear felt a warm lump of bile rise in his throat.
His eyes shifted from the results, to Sheila. "You're sure?"
"DNA doesn't lie. You know this Spear," she said and went back to her work.
A series of images flashed through his mind, disturbing images that began to take on a morbid, foreboding form.
****
When Cole awoke, Madison was still asleep in his arms. He smiled and stared out the window at the hazy summer morning. He wondered what her reaction would be when she woke up. Would it be casual, as if it were all meant to be? Or would she retreat back into herself and try to forget that anything had even happened?
His feelings for her had been strong, before they made love. Now, they were even stronger. Madison had given herself to him and he was afraid that by the time she woke up, she would say that there lovemaking had been a mistake, that it was time for her to go back to Maine.
All of a sudden, he was afraid of losing what he'd gained so far.
But then there was the way she held him so tightly after it was all over, kissing his face and stroking his hair.
He needed her by his side and was prepared to make sure that nothing and no one would get in the way of that.
He touched her face as she slept and gently brushed his lips against hers.
"Good morning." She opened her eyes, smiled and tightened her arms around him.
His eyes lingered on her a moment more before he pulled her in for another kiss. "Good morning."
****
Over breakfast, Madison could see that something was causing him to worry and she knew exactly what it was.
"I'll be f
ine." She placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Besides, you said that they've postponed your start date until next week, right?"
"They did. But I'm still…"
Madison cut him off. "Cole, I'll be fine. I'm not a child. I know how to take care of myself. So please, stop worrying. I'm a lot stronger than I was three years ago."
She barked out the words.
"I know you are."
When he smiled at her, a sincere, open smile, she suddenly felt embarrassed for her gruff attitude.
"Thank you for caring so much. I'm sorry I snapped at you." She paused by him on her way to pick up his empty plate.
The vibration of his cell phone broke through the moment.
He stopped her and wrapped his hand around her wrist. "I want you to think about how nice this is," he said before taking the call.
Madison tried to suppress the blissful expression on her face.
Being next to him and staying at his place felt extraordinarily natural. Things were going so smoothly that it was beginning to scare the hell out of her. Making love was like second nature and it was everything that she knew it would be. It was more than everything, it was absolute.
While Cole talked on the phone, he watched her. With her hair mussed and no make-up, she looked as beautiful as ever.
"Sounds good Faith, we look forward to seeing you. I think my houseguest will enjoy having some female company."
Witness Protection: Hide and Seek Page 14
