by Wade, Maddie
Nate prowled around Skye’s bungalow like a caged lion. He was on the second turn when his stomach started to growl. Realising he hadn’t eaten since lunch, and it was now seven in the evening. He went to the kitchen.
Nate lived alone, so he was quite proficient in the kitchen, and Skye being a good mum, had plenty of healthy food in the fridge. He took out a packet of noodles and some stir-fry veggies and quickly cooked it with some packet sauce he found in the cupboard. It wasn’t his finest creation, but it filled a hole. He went to the living room and turned Skye’s computer on. He googled the Lockwoods and found loads of gossip sites that had stories featuring Hugo. That was as good a place as any to start. He settled in to wait for updates from the team and did some digging.
~~~
At 9 pm, Kanan watched as Felicity Lockwood left the Manor House. By his observations, that meant only the butler and the cook were still on the grounds. He waited fifteen minutes, just to make sure nobody was around, before silently slipping in through the staff entrance. They didn’t lock it until the butler left at ten.
Kanan hoped to get in, check on Noah, and then get out before they left. If he didn’t, that was okay, the lock would only take him seconds to pick and for some strange reason that he couldn’t fathom, it wasn’t on the alarm circuit.
Palming his Sig p226 and slipping unseen up the back stairs, he quickly scanned the upstairs bedrooms. They were all empty. Coming back onto the landing, he stopped to listen and think. He crossed to the door he assumed led to the attic. Pulling it open and hoping like Christ it didn’t make a noise, he was pleasantly surprised to see it open easily.
Jogging up the steps, he stopped at the top and cautiously looked around, keeping his gun up and ready. It never paid to be arrogant. In the middle of the room was a hospital bed. A small dresser was beside it with a light and a few children’s books. In the middle lay Noah.
Coming closer to the bed, Kanan looked down and saw that his colour wasn’t good. He seemed pale, but his cheeks had bright red splashes of colour across them. He felt his gut churn. He had done this. His need to find her and his selfishness had brought this little boy here and now he was sick–sicker than he was before.
He hadn’t felt guilt in years. Being driven without any conscience had allowed him to be single minded in his job and his personal life, because of that, he was immensely successful as an operative. Less so in his private life though, since he was still alone. He snorted at that. He didn’t care at the moment. Right now he needed to fix what he had done to this little boy.
Reaching out, he touched the back of his hand to Noah’s forehead. It was burning hot. K brushed the boys sweat soaked hair back from his head.
“Kanan?” Noah croaked.
“Yeah, boy, it’s me.”
“I don’t feel so good,” his lip wobbled and he swallowed a sob, “I want my mum!”
“I know, Noah. I’m going to fix this. Can you remember if they gave you anything?”
“They gave me an injection. It hurt a lot, I was brave, though, and didn’t cry.” Kanan swallowed hard, his throat clogging with guilt and bile.
“I know you were, buddy,” he brushed his hand over Noah’s head again, as much to reassure himself as to offer comfort.
“I want Nate and mummy. Can you get them for me, please.” His lip wobbled but K saw him pull in a deep breath and control it. He had seen some bravery in his time in the army, and again since joining SIS, but Noah was the bravest human being he’d ever met.
“I had a dream, K. She wants to hurt people–mummy and Nate and you. I don’t want them to hurt you all,” he went quiet and then flinched and held his hands to his tummy. “She said it hurts because I’m naughty and I have to have more injections until it stops hurting. I’m scared, K.”
Kanan put his big hand over Noah’s small one. “I’m going to get you out of here, okay?”
“Okay.”
He went as still as marble as he heard voices on the landing. Putting his finger to his lips, indicating to Noah that he should be silent and close his eyes, he slipped back into the shadows and behind a pile of boxes.
He watched as Felicity walked up to Noah, with another man beside her. She pulled back the covers and showed the doctor something on Noah’s stomach. Kanan fought the urge to come out of his hiding place and rip the evil bitch away from Noah.
“He is having an adverse reaction to the drugs. He will need to be moved to the Surrey facility so our doctors can keep a closer eye on him. I will arrange transport for first thing tomorrow. For now, give him liquid paracetamol and ibuprofen to control the temperature. That should ease the discomfort, as well,” the man said.
“Fine, but I will accompany him to the facility. I will not have your doctors do anything without my knowledge. This child is mine and I won’t have anyone taking control over him except me.”
“So, if you have him you have power, is that it Felicity?” the man asked.
“Exactly, my friend. Exactly.” She replied with a cold smile.
“As is right. I will arrange it and call you later with the details. Give him the medicine and maybe some of this.” He handed her a capped syringe
“What is it?”
“It’s just a sedative to help him sleep. You don’t need to be watching him all night. You need sleep too. I will leave the security detail here over night to protect you and the boy. The police having arrested Hugo has the higher ups nervous.”
Kanan watched as Felicity Lockwood placed her hand on the younger man’s arm, “You do look after me Fred. You are such a good boy.” The man preened under the praise and nodded.
“I must go. I will call soon.”
The man left quickly. He watched as Felicity woke a ‘sleeping’ Noah–none too gently–and forced the medicine on him. She turned then, and left Noah alone.
He stepped out from behind the boxes, cautiously. He looked at Noah, who looked like he was indeed sleeping now and quietly left. He took the back stairs again and managed to just slip out before the security that was left behind saw him.
Pulling back as far as the perimeter hedge, he hunkered down and used his hi-powered binoculars to see what he was up against. He didn’t like what he saw. He counted ten men fanned out around the outside of the manor, all dressed in black fatigues, obvious they were all highly trained.
He stayed in position for over two hours. He was about to leave when he became aware of an itch in his neck. Someone else was here. He held his position in the woods and scanned the surrounding area. His night vision goggles that he’d acquired from SIS allowed him to see far more than standard issue goggles.
His eye caught on something to the east of him far out from the house. He wouldn’t have seen it if he hadn’t undergone intense survive, evade, resist, and extract training with the SAS. A heavily camouflaged operative was belly down in the grass facing the manor. He could tell by the way the operative watched the men patrolling the outside, that he was not one of them.
He wondered if it was a lone wolf or if it was a unit belonging to Zack. Either way, he needed to get gone before he found himself in the middle of this.
Kanan considered his options as he watched, and realised he only had one if he was going to get Noah out safely. Right now, that was all he cared about, he would deal with the consequences of what might happen to Celeste after.
Chapter Fourteen
Nate chucked the mouse onto the desk. Nothing was holding his attention and he was dog-tired. Having waiting for hour`s he still hadn’t heard from Zin or Dane. He hated doing nothing. Knowing that he needed to get some sleep, he switched of the PC and made his way towards Skye’s bedroom. Reg had texted a couple of times earlier the first to ask for an update and the second to say he was staying out tonight as he had met up with some friends and was going to crash with them. So he had locked up earlier.
Opening the door to the bedroom, he stood for a minute, watching Skye sleep. The light from the hallway cast a shadow over her. She l
ooked serene, even in sleep. Her hair fanned out across the pillow; she slept on her side with her hands tucked up under her face. He couldn’t remember ever feeling like this about a woman.
Despite his looks and the attention he got from women, Nate was shy. It never stopped him getting laid though. For some reason, women just assumed he was the strong, silent type, and that seemed to work for him. But the truth was, he didn’t know what to say half the time. He couldn’t do cheesy chat up lines–it just felt wrong. He was fine when he got to know them though, and was a bit of a joker.
With Skye, though, he never had that shyness. They had developed a friendship first. He had known it was more, but it had happened slowly and developed naturally. Now their relationship seemed to have cemented itself into what it was meant to be. Nate, Skye, and Noah against the world as one. You didn’t get one without the other. He hoped that she would still want him when she found out about his fertility issues. He had studiously blocked it from his mind the last few days. Trying to stay focused on Noah and not how Skye might react.
He wanted nothing more than to give Skye babies and Noah siblings. But an injury that happened on his last tour had made it so his chances, while not nonexistent, were significantly lowered. He’d come to terms with it and had looked into different treatments. There was hope but no guarantee.
“Nate?”
“Yes, mi amor, did I wake you?” He went and sat on the bed next to her.
“No. Is there any news?” she asked, sleepily.
“They’ve picked up Hugo and he’s being questioned. No word, yet, on Noah.” He saw her nod. She reached for his hands and started playing with his fingers.
“I need a shower,” she said, “I feel dirty and icky,” but she made no move to get up. Nate raised a hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. She was so beautiful. Skye leaned her face into his palm, her eyes drifted shut.
“I’m going to kiss you, mi cielo,” He said softly.
“Okay, Nate,” she said, opening eyes full of desire. He lowered his head and took her mouth in a soft kiss. It was only meant to be a kiss but soon she was pushing up, trying to take over. Her tongue touched his lips and pushed in. He loved the taste of her. Her hands tunnelled up into his hair and held on tightly. Nate fought to stay in control of himself. He didn’t want his need to overwhelm her. He liked to keep control in the bedroom, but he knew she needed this, so he let her lead.
Skye came up on her knees and pushed her body into his front. He fitted her against his chest with one hand in the centre of her back, the other ran up her rib cage, stopping just under her breast. Sliding the hand at her back down, he grabbed onto her ass, squeezing the soft globes, his hand tightening in the soft flesh. His thumb swept across her breast, grazing the nipple and making her shiver. With them plastered hip to hip, it was impossible for Nate to hide his arousal from her.
He thought it might upset her, but she moved and pressed her heat to his hardness, causing him to hiss out a breath.
“Mi amor, we need to slow this down or it’s going to get out of hand.” She pulled back, and the look in her eyes almost took him to his knees. Her eyes were dark and hooded and the need he saw there caused him to growl.
“Shower. Now.” He stood and carried her to the bathroom. Once there, he set her on her feet beside the shower and undressed her. He wanted to take care of her and make this about her. This wasn’t about sex or anything else. This was him showing her that he cared and cherished her. He reached past her and switched on the shower, allowing the hot water to warm the room.
His eyes never left hers as he stripped his own clothes off. Her eyes shot to his rigid cock and he saw her lick her lips. Fuck. He was going to embarrass himself if she didn’t stop that.
“If you don’t stop looking at me like that, this is going to be over before it starts, babe.”
She smiled the sultriest smile he had ever seen and stepped into the shower. He was sure she wiggled her ass as she did.
Nate stepped in behind her and took the shower gel off the shelf. It smelled of watermelon. She must use it a lot because he recognised it. Soaping up his hands, he stood behind her and started to wash her.
His hands roamed all over her slick flesh. Over her ribcage, across her breasts and the blush coloured nipples that hardened under his touch. He palmed her breasts and lifted them, loving the heavy fullness of them in his hands. She moaned and pushed back against him as he pinched the nipples. He let his hands trail down her body and over the silken skin of her ass. Sliding his hand between her legs, he smiled and ran his lips along her neck. She widened her stance, allowing him access to the most intimate part of her. Nate touched her–stroking and retreating, he rubbed his hand against her clit, before pushing two fingers into her. She cried out and pushed back against his hand.
He loved the feel of his cock nestled in her ass cheeks, but Nate wanted this to be about her. She was so responsive and uncontrolled, and he loved that he could give her that. He pushed her higher and higher until her climax crashed through, her making her cry out and her knees sag.
He gathered her round the waist before she fell, and held her while she found her breath. He turned her round and caught her mouth in a gentle kiss.
Nate let her go, but she rested against him, running her hands over his chest, tracing the patterns of his tattoos on his arm and shoulder. He took her shampoo in his hands and started washing her hair as she relaxed against him. It wasn’t long before her hands started to wander down towards his straining erection. He pushed her back under the spray before she found her destination, rinsing the shampoo out of her hair.
Before he had time to do anything else, she soaped up her hands and started to trail her hands all over his body. He stood and let her touch, every inch of his body taut with the need to take her and slam into her heat. But, that wasn’t what she needed, and he would give this woman anything.
Skye grasped hold of his length and ran her hands up and down. He couldn’t control the action as his hips bucked and he strained into her hand.
“Harder, Skye,” he ground out. “Hold me tighter.” He used his own hand to show her how to work him. He guided her hand as she pumped him harder and faster. His other hand tunnelled into her hair and gripped her tight, kissing her hard and with passion–his tongue mastering hers as she pumped him harder and faster.
He pulled his mouth away and buried his face in her neck as he found his release all over her stomach. He stayed that way while his body came down from one of the most powerful climaxes he’d ever had. The hot water cascading over them, Nate raised his head and kissed Skye gently. She looked relaxed and sated, but her eyes were bright.
“Are you okay?” he asked her softly.
“Yes.” But he could tell she was trying not to cry. “I’m sorry. I`m not normally like this, the emotion just got to me.”
“It’s okay, mi cielo. I shouldn’t have let things go this far, I just wanted to take care of you.” He turned off the water and reached for a towel, berating himself for letting things get out of control when she was so vulnerable.
“No, Nate, look at me,” she stayed his hand when he went to wrap her in a towel, forcing him to look at her, “I wanted this, I needed it, I needed you. You gave me what I needed. So don’t think anything different. Please, don’t sully this by thinking it was wrong, because it wasn’t.”
He touched his mouth to hers. “Okay, babe.” He hustled them out of the shower and wrapped her in a warm towel from the heated rail. He watched as she carelessly blow dried her hair and then pulled on a fuchsia coloured nightie with tangerine lace on the edges. He pulled on boxers and climbed into bed. She followed, snuggling into his heat. He reached over and switched of the light.
“Nate?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
He was puzzled why was she thanking him. He hadn’t found Noah and he hadn’t done anything else. “For what?”
“For being so wonderful to me and Noah, and for making
me believe there are good men out there.” He kissed her head.
“Mi amor, you have no idea the pleasure it gives me to be around you and Noah. Watching you with him and everyone you love. You’re a very special woman. Skye. It makes me so angry to think that you need to thank me for that. I can promise you this, though. As long as I have you, you will never doubt that you deserve good in your life.”
“I think I`m falling for you, Nate.” His heart stopped, then continued at a gallop.
“I already did, mi amor, I already did. Go to sleep, you need some rest and I’m exhausted.”
“Okay, Nate.” He could feel her small smile against his right pec.
A few minutes later, Skye’s breathing evened out and deepened. She was exhausted. Nate drifted off soon after, but it was a fitful sleep.
~~~
Zack paced the tech room. The visit with Marcus Preedy had been a bust. The guy was closed up tighter than a gnat’s chuff. He couldn’t figure out if he was a genuine fanatic or if he was scared. He suspected the latter.
He’d gotten back ten minutes ago and was waiting for Lucy to give him an update. She hadn’t left Fortis since Noah had been taken. Zin had made her go catch a cat nap in the rest room about two hours ago. He’d woken her and asked for an update. She was just washing up before she came back in and got back on it.
He sat at the terminal Lucy normally used, and loosened his tie. He hadn’t gotten any sleep in the last thirty-six hours. He needed caffeine, or sleep, but sleep didn’t seem like it was going to happen, so caffeine it was. Draining the last dregs of the strong brew, he went to the conference room and filled up his cup for a second time.
Making his way back to the tech room, he met Lucy and handed her the one he got for her.
“You look like crap, boss.” Lucy never failed to amaze him. She hardly slept in two days, and yet, she still had enough energy to give him shit. He wondered if he gave her more leeway because she reminded him of his little sister, but he didn’t think so. He thought it was because he seriously admired her grit.
