“No one is going to die,” he answered with a throaty voice before pulling her in for a kiss.
She could feel his arousal almost immediately, pressing against his jeans. She was desperate to touch him, to be touched, to experience the same kind of release he’d given her yesterday. She just needed to be someone else. Anyone but this brainiac victim she had let herself become.
She just needed to be Ava. A woman desired. And God, did Aiden make her feel all kinds of wanted.
“You’re so beautiful, Ava,” he said in a rough voice after pulling his mouth away from her. His palm cupped her face as he focused on her eyes.
Her breath caught in her throat as she stared back at him. Tingles coursed through her body and straight to her heart. She brought her lips back to his, connecting with him far more deeply than she could ever remember feeling before. Her body hummed with new tones of longing and need.
“Aiden,” she cried, breaking their kiss, as his hand slipped beneath her shirt. His mouth nipped her earlobe before tracing kisses down her long neck. Her body rocked against his, her insides coiling tight with desire.
He rose to his feet to undress, and with her back on the blanket, she looked up at him as her teeth sank into her lower lip. He removed his T-shirt from over his head, exposing his hard body. His muscles flexed, and she wet her lips. Her attention shifted from the slight dusting of chest hair to the pair of blue eyes that could potentially seal her fate.
He flashed her a wicked and knowing smile. “I want to spend the next hour exploring every inch of you.”
Her core clenched at the sound of his words. She propped herself up on her elbows, anxious for him to be near. She inhaled as he tugged down his black jeans and navy blue boxer briefs. He knelt on top of her, pressing his taut body against hers. “We need to correct this problem.” He traced his fingers over her collarbone and across her cotton T-shirt.
Bracing himself with one hand, he worked her shirt up, and she helped him dispose of it. Grateful for the hot pink, lacy lingerie Kate had given her, she luxuriated beneath his heated gaze. She wondered whether he could see her heart pounding through her chest, the desire glinting in her eyes.
Once her jeans were peeled, he began to devour her body with his hot mouth. He secured a hand on her hip and kissed her stomach. A trail of kisses burned her body, and his head settled between her legs. “Aiden,” she whimpered when his tongue touched her sensitive skin. Her hips bucked up, and she thrust her hands into his dark hair, trying to keep from losing control too fast.
Her hands slipped to his shoulders as she rocked into her release, freeing herself of the tension inside her.
“You’re mine,” he growled as he ran his hand along her thigh and brought his mouth to her neck. Her eyes opened to find his face hovering just inches above hers, his eyes glittering with passion.
She pressed her hands against his hard chest and eyed him, almost cautiously, needing a moment to consider what he had said—what it could possibly mean. But her brain slowed, and her vision went white as his lips crushed hers in an all-consuming kiss.
He reached between her thighs and spread her legs, placing his hips between them, and he filled her in one hard, singular motion. “Feck,” he said once their lips parted, but he kept his eyes trained on hers. She saw the raw emotion strained on his face as he moved inside her. Ava bit her lip and wrapped her arms around his back, pressing his chest closer to hers as a slow fire swept through her, heating her body with each movement.
She released a shaky breath as he pulled back slowly, and gasped as he drove into her again, hard and deep. “Oh God.” She matched his movements, tightening around him as her body began to tremble with climax.
Aiden hung his head and shut his eyes; he soon followed suit, his body rocking deeper into her as he orgasmed.
His body glistened with tiny beads of sweat and shadows played off his body from the fire. He opened his eyes and stared down at her. His biceps flexed as he held himself above her.
“What?” she whispered.
He remained silent for a few moments. “You’re just amazing,” he said in a hoarse voice.
He stood up and reached down to help her off the floor. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his hips. He carried her down the hall and to the bedroom.
She wasn’t sure exactly when they’d fallen asleep—it had taken Aiden another hour to satiate his need for her once in the bedroom. He must have felt the need just as she did, or maybe even more.
But at some point, she realized she had been asleep and was now awake. Something compelled her to flutter her eyes open. She blinked the sleep from her eyes as she sat up in the bed, holding the sheet to her chest.
And then she released a scream.
Chapter Twelve
Aiden’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Ava’s voice.
Or, rather, her shriek.
Instinct had him reaching for the gun by the bed. But it wasn’t there.
He sat up, and his eyes fell upon the woman sitting at the foot of the bed. “What the hell?” Before he could stand, the woman was cocking her gun—no, his gun.
He glanced at Ava, whose face was scrunched into a bewildered mess. He reached for her hand and grasped it. “Who the hell are you?” Rage rang loud and clear in his voice.
“She’s from the agency,” Ava answered in awe.
The silver-haired woman looked to be in her late fifties, maybe early sixties. She focused her green eyes on Ava. “I’m going to let you two get dressed. And I’ll meet you out in the living room.” She stood up and rested the gun at the seam of her black cargo pants. “Sorry to take your gun, but I’ll hang on to this until you calm down.”
When she left the bedroom, Aiden released a breath. “Who the feck was that?” he mumbled as he pulled his pants on—minus the boxer briefs.
Ava also reached for her clothes, her body shaking. “What do we do?” she whispered.
He rounded the bed and grabbed her hand. “I guess we see what the hell she wants.” His eyes widened as his waking mind realized the impossibility of it all. How had this older woman gotten the drop on him? How had she managed to access Michael Maddox’s fortress of a home?
Once Aiden and Ava dressed, he guided her down the hall and into the living room.
The woman sat on the couch, her ankle crossed over her knee. Aiden’s gun rested on her lap, and her hunter-green eyes focused on him as they approached.
“Who are you? And how’d you get in here?” His grip tightened on Ava’s hand.
“How about another drink, first?” She nodded toward the wine bottle that they’d left on the floor by the fireplace. Her voice grated on his ears.
“Talk,” he demanded.
“I’m from the agency. Ava’s correct.” The woman gave a slight nod to Ava before focusing her attention back on Aiden. “I didn’t expect to find you two in bed.” She glanced at her watch. “The sun hasn’t even set yet.” She gave a muffled cough. “It was truly poor timing, but I guess it could have been worse.”
What the hell? He shoved a hand through his hair before steadying his gaze on hers.
She didn’t blink. She didn’t look the least bit intimidated, in fact. And why should she be? She had his gun.
“Why don’t you sit down.”
There was an icy edge to the woman’s voice, but an underlying sincerity to it, as well. And something else—something familiar. It creeped him the hell out.
Ava tugged at him as she sat on the loveseat that faced the woman. He lowered himself next to her. “I want answers.” He rubbed his palms against his quads and studied the woman.
“As I said, I’m with the agency.”
“You were at the office on Monday when I was questioned,” Ava said with an edge of desperation in her voice.
“Yes.”
“Are you CIA?” Aiden asked.
“No. I’m not a part of a three-letter group.” She folded her hands on her lap and pursed her lips together, angl
ing her head to assess Aiden.
“You look so different,” she said, almost a whisper. “I ran into you once. About two years ago. You were still with Homeland. You probably don’t remember me. I didn’t exactly introduce myself, but we were in the same elevator at the main Homeland office in D.C.”
He leaned forward a little. “You remember me from an elevator? Are you some bloody stalker?”
“You were with Homeland Security?” Ava sucked in a breath and pulled her hand away from him like she’d been burned.
Shit. Aiden shot the woman a menacing stare. “I’ve been meaning to tell you.” He turned his attention toward Ava, regretting the look of betrayal that spread across her face.
“You didn’t know?” the woman asked, mild surprise echoing in her words.
Ava sat back against the sofa and flicked her glare at the woman. “So, lady, what do you want? Why are you here?”
“Well, I’m here to advise you to back the hell off. You need to stop looking for Henry. And you need to get the hell out of the country until this situation is resolved.”
“You’re here to keep us safe? Really?” Ava knitted her brows. “Why didn’t the agency keep me in custody, if they want me safe? You must have known I was in danger. Look what happened to Kat. And God knows what has happened to Eddie.”
“Your assignment was not under my leadership,” the woman responded in a cool voice. “I work for the agency, but the team you worked for was governed by my counterpart. The details surrounding Henry’s disappearance are a bit muddled right now. But I’m here because I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“It sounds like you don’t even know what’s going on. Why should we trust you?” Ava challenged.
The woman smoothed a hand over her face before resting her long fingers on her collarbone. Her eyes locked onto Aiden’s. “Because Henry’s my brother.”
Aiden slowly sat back against the couch, mimicking Ava’s posture. A burning confusion swirled inside him—he knew what it meant, what it had to mean, and yet he didn’t want it to be true.
“If Henry’s your brother . . .” Ava looked over at Aiden.
He shut his eyes for a moment, trying to fight the onslaught of panic that battered his brain.
“I’m Sophia Davidson,” she said in a voice just above a whisper. “I’m your mom, Aiden.”
His eyes flashed open. “I don’t know who the hell you are, but don’t ever call yourself my mum.”
The woman didn’t flinch at the icy rage in his voice. “You’re right. I’m not your mother. Mothers raise their sons. I’m the woman who gave birth to you.”
Aiden rose to his feet and walked toward the closed blinds and scratched the back of his head, his thoughts racing. “Who do you really work for?” he asked, spinning back around to face the intruder.
Sophia toyed with the gun on her lap. “If I tell you who I really work for, I’ll be putting you in even more danger than you’re already in. I may not have raised you, Aiden, but I still give a damn.” She stood up and took a seat next to Ava. Aiden wanted to grab the woman and yank her away. She wasn’t safe—she’d hurt her.
But, no. He folded his arms and remained locked in place, trying to make sense of the situation.
“The agency I work for has two directors,” she explained. “I’m one of them. But I handle mostly international affairs. I’m only in the U.S. every month or so, for a week at a time. I had no clue that the other director tasked Henry to be part of some special assignment. I assume I was not informed because he was—is—my brother.” She cleared her throat. “The director, the one who interviewed you, he knew I’d never be on board, even though Henry and I lost contact many years ago.” She scratched the side of her hand, looking down. “I only heard that Henry was missing when I’d arrived at the office Monday morning.” She released a breath. “I was in shock. Not only was my brother missing, but he’d been working for my agency, and I knew nothing about it.”
Her words were smooth, and he wondered whether the confession was staged. Could Sophia be trusted? What was the likelihood that this woman was really his biological mother, anyway? What were the odds that both his uncle and mother worked for the Goddamn government? And that he, a former Homeland Security employee, didn’t know about it?
“I find this all a bit hard to believe.” Ava’s voice filled the room, mirroring Aiden’s thoughts. “How could you not know Henry was working for your agency?” She bit her thumbnail for a brief moment before self-consciously pulling her hand away.
Aiden couldn’t handle much more from this woman. “I want the truth,” he demanded, his voice slicing the silence in the room.
Sadness wrangled her face, betraying her mask of cool intimidation. “J-4-76,” she said with a gulp.
“What?” He took a few steps closer to her, angling his head down to view her eyes.
“I’m not a part of a three-letter agency,” she said before releasing a sigh. “One letter. Three numbers.” She stood up and walked toward Aiden. She disabled the gun and handed it over to him. “July fourth, seventy-six.”
“Independence Day?” Surprise lit throughout Ava’s voice. She rubbed her arms, as though a breeze had just rocked the room.
“If this is the only way I can get you to listen to me, then I’ll break the damn rules. But I suggest you sit back down,” she said, angling her head at Aiden and motioning for him to have a seat.
He looked down at the gun, which he now grasped in his hand. He could overpower her in no time. But he wanted answers. He wanted the truth. “Speak,” he said, seating himself on the couch.
She stood up and walked toward the windows and folded her arms as she turned to face them. “In the year following the events of 9/11, a team of government officials met and decided they needed a covert group with a dedicated purpose of ridding the country of terrorism. The higher powers within the government wanted a group of individuals who could bypass red tape. The agency has no protocols to follow and no oversight. It can use any means and measures available.” She narrowed her eyes at Aiden. “Even the CIA has to answer to someone, you know.”
“Was that what you were before—CIA?” Ava asked.
Sophia wet her lips and nodded. She turned back around to face the window, which was still obscured by shades. “I have led the international task team for almost fifteen years now. We’ve been very successful. We couldn’t stop everything. Clearly. But, there would’ve been a lot more damage and tragedy if we didn’t exist.”
“Who knows about the agency?” Aiden asked.
“Only the president and a handful of people within the government know. The fewer who know, the better.”
“Did Henry know exactly who he was working for?” Ava inquired.
She hesitated. “I don’t know. As I mentioned, I didn’t know of his involvement with the agency until Monday.”
“Why wouldn’t you have been okay with him working for your group?” Ava asked. “If you believed in your mission, why would you have objected to him working there?”
Aiden rubbed a hand over his jaw, impressed.
“Because our work is dangerous. We’ve lost people, and we can’t even recognize them for their work.”
“There’s something you’re not telling us,” Aiden added.
Her lips twitched as she thrust her hands into her cargo pants’ pockets. “The less you know, the better,” was her reply. “I’ve already told you too much.”
“Aren’t we on the same side?” Aiden quirked his brows.
“You shouldn’t be on any side. This is way above your heads. Yes, even yours, Aiden. I’m here because you need to leave the country. I have passports and money for you both.”
“Why are you doing this?” Ava stood up. “Because Aiden is your son?”
The woman stole a glance at her son. “I had you followed because I wanted to figure out what was going on. I thought you might know where Henry was. But I never expected you’d wind up at my son’s door.”
�
��Small world, apparently.” Sarcasm speared through Aiden’s voice. “Too damn small.”
“Does the other director know you’re following us?” Ava shot her a distrusting look.
The woman shook her head. “We are in a bit of a disagreement right now.”
“Because he hired Henry?” Ava questioned, clearly trying to make sense of everything.
“Something like that.”
Aiden shifted in his stance and fought the compulsion to compare the physical features between himself and Sophia. “I don’t know if you’re really who you say you are, but I’ve absolutely no intention of accepting your Goddamn help. You need to leave. For all I know, you work for the bloody bastards who’ve been attacking us.”
The woman’s brows snapped together. “You’ve been attacked?”
“Yes,” Ava answered once it was apparent that Aiden had no intention of voicing a response. “I guess if your agent had done a better job at tailing us, he could have helped, huh?”
“You need to leave,” Aiden demanded, his voice blasting cool arctic air.
“No. I want to talk to her,” Ava snapped out.
Aiden studied her and surprise flickered across his face. “What?”
“I have more questions,” she responded in a small voice.
“I can’t hear any more lies.” He wasn’t sure whether it was safe to leave Ava alone with the treacherous woman, but he turned on his heel and left the room. He walked into the first room in the hall and slammed the door shut.
***
“What do you want to know?” Sophia asked, her eyes still trained on Aiden’s trail.
Ava laced her fingers, rubbing them together to maintain control over her nerves. Was she safe with the woman? She didn’t see a gun on her, but that didn’t mean one wasn’t there. But if she screamed, Aiden would be in the room in a second.
“If you are who you say you are, then why was I able to find Aiden’s birth certificate online?”
Sophia’s brows quirked with surprise. She came to sit across from Ava, on the couch.
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