Brandy laughed at Liam’s enjoyment of his digital toys. “Let us know when he leaves there, okay?”
“Absolutely. We’re going to see if we can get a closer look.” Liam said. “We’ll keep you apprised.”
“Thank you.” Brandy ended the call and handed the phone to Avery. “Horses. He’s a freaking veterinarian. It doesn’t explain all the blood on his clothes. He did say I had no clue what he did.”
Jed lifted a brow. “You asked him?”
“No. I said I knew he was an enforcer or a fixer. He didn’t deny it, but he did say I had no idea what he did, and he didn’t want to go into detail because the less I know, the safer I am.” She brushed her hair out of her face. “I’m going to have to go digging behind his back. He won’t be open with me about anything concerning The Eye.”
The three of them talked for a while longer, and the next thing Brandy knew, the ringing of a phone roused her from a dead sleep. She sat up to find she’d fallen asleep on top of the covers with Avery and Jed on either side.
She fumbled for Avery’s phone. “Lockmeyer.”
“Monaghan. The target left. ETA about fifteen minutes.”
“Anything important happen?”
“Just horse stuff. We’re looking into the rest.”
“Thanks, Jordan. Talk to you later.” She ended the call. Then she shook her fellow agents awake. “Jed, Avery, you need to go. Lukas will be back in fifteen minutes.”
Avery got up, groaning. “I was out.”
Jed stretched. “Okay, Chief. We’re going to head out. We got a room two hotels down. I’ll be sure to stay out of sight.”
A half hour later, the door opened. Lukas came inside quietly, closing the door softly even though she’d left a lamp lit.
Brandy had crawled under the covers and curled up with her stuffed elephant. She sat up, clutching the animal to her chest as her gaze searched his clothes. Now that she knew most of what he’d been doing, she wanted to compare these blood splatters to ones from the past.
She noted that he’d changed his clothes. While he still wore jeans and a flannel shirt, they were different ones. “You weren’t wearing that when you left.” She got out of bed and went to him, where she noted the blood stains on his boots. “Are you okay?”
His gaze roamed her face.
Slowly, she lowered herself to her knees to greet him the way he liked.
He touched her hair. “Did you sleep at all?”
“A little.”
“I’m going to jump in the shower. You can go to sleep. We’ll need to get an early start, and you’re driving, Firebrand.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
She woke up sometime later to find his body curled around hers and the elephant nestled against her stomach. For a moment, everything fell away, and it was just the two of them. She allowed herself to memorize the feel of his arms holding her close, the way his body felt, soft and strong, against hers. Avery’s suspicion that she was getting too close to Lukas emotionally was spot-on. If they’d met under other circumstances—like if he hadn’t been a member of a criminal organization or she wasn’t an FBI agent—then all the little things he did that made him seem so perfect would have been…perfect.
Though, if she were being honest, the moment she found out he was a Daddy Dom, she would have hit the road.
With those melancholy thoughts occupying her mind, she eased from bed to begin her day. When she emerged from the bathroom, he was still sound asleep, so she went down to the dining room and ate without him. When she returned, she found him sitting up, his feet firmly planted on the floor and his face smashed into his hands.
“Lukas? Are you all right?”
He washed his palms down his face. “Tired. We need to get moving.”
She set down a plate with a bagel sandwich on the small table next to the bed. She’d thrown eggs and bacon onto the bread and grabbed a packet of syrup in case he wanted something sweet on top. “You go ahead and eat. I’ll get the bags packed.”
He snagged her wrist as she turned to pack up. “Were you good last night while I was gone?”
So many thoughts winged through Brandy’s head, none of which gave her any clue as to what he meant. “I didn’t order movies to the room or steal a car to follow you, if that’s what you mean.”
His gaze lifted, nailing her to the spot with his bleary eyes. “Did you masturbate?”
“No. It’s hard to be horny when all you can do is worry.”
He winced, and his hold slackened. “You know, we didn’t use condoms the morning at the hotel in the casino.”
The whole idea of safe sex had slipped her mind, probably because she had an IUD. “Oh, well, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“You aren’t worried?” He got to his feet slowly, a function of being tired.
“Not unless you’re about to tell me you have syphilis or some other sexually transmitted disease.” She moved to allow him more space.
“No diseases. I haven’t been with anyone in more than three years.”
That did not preclude disease, but she knew he meant he would have noticed something between then and now. Impressed, Brandy made a thoughtful noise. “That’s some dry spell. I’m surprised you aren’t humping my leg.”
His weary expression cracked, and he chuckled. “What about you?”
“No diseases, but my dry spell has only been six months. Unless you count Bob.”
“Bob?” Lukas frowned. “You said you didn’t have a boyfriend.”
“Well, this one is battery-operated. Of all my possessions, I shall miss him most of all.” Then she slapped his ass. “But now I have you, and I like you. You don’t vibrate, but you kiss really well, so that’s an acceptable tradeoff.”
He furrowed his brow and got to the point. “What about pregnancy?”
Brandy folded her night shirt and stowed it in the bag. “I have an IUD. No worries.”
Just then a cell phone rang, the sound muffled by layers of fabric.
Brandy’s gaze fell to the heap of his jeans on the chair. “I didn’t know you had a cell phone.”
“It’s new.” He lifted the pants and fished in the pocket. Then he answered. “Yeah? Mmm. Hmmm.”
Heart sinking, Brandy waited while he mumbled noncommittal noises into the phone.
“Be there in twenty.” He ended the call. “Pack up our things. We need to be out of here in five minutes.”
Though she hustled to gather their things, she also wrapped his breakfast in a napkin. He snagged their bag, and she carried the food, scrambling to keep up with his longer strides.
She wanted to ask where they were going, but she forgot to ask when she noticed he was hurrying toward a truck with a horse trailer attached.
“Lukas? What happened to your SUV?”
The truck had an extended cab. He opened up the back and threw the duffel bag on the floor. “Traded it.”
Fuck. The pen that was a listening device and the phone that was to be her connection to the FBI had been hidden inside the SUV. She wondered if Jordan and Liam had noticed the switch. Liam, in particular, would be salty about losing the tech.
To cover her dismay, she pointed to the horse trailer. “What’s in there?”
He grinned as he opened up a door. “A sorrel mare and her newborn colt.”
She stared, her brain trying to put together the information Jordan had relayed with the reality in front of her. “You went out last night and got a pair of horses?”
“I picked up the mare, and I delivered her foal. There were complications, but mom and baby are doing fine.”
Brandy stepped inside the trailer and gaped at the pair. “You left them alone in here?”
“I’m sure they appreciate the privacy.”
They did look comfortable and content. They had fresh hay, and the inside of the trailer was in pristine condition.
Lukas fussed over the horses as he fed the mare, and then he shooed Brandy outside. “Are you driving or not?”
Shoving his
breakfast sandwich into his hands, she leaped into the driver’s seat.
Lukas climbed into the passenger seat. “You have a huge responsibility right now, Firebrand. I’m trusting you with some precious cargo, and I’m trusting that you’ll put my wish that you drive like a sane person above your desire to qualify for the Indy 500.”
She clicked her tongue. “I spent some time driving an eighteen-wheeler.”
Yeah, she misled him into thinking she’d had a stint as a truck driver when she’d really learned to drive a commercial vehicle in the military.
“I’m sure there’s nothing you can’t do.” He bit into his sandwich as she eased onto the road. He said nothing as she cut across two lanes of traffic, making room where there was none, to turn onto the ramp leading to the freeway.
Ten minutes later, he directed her to exit. “We have to pick up one more thing.”
She glanced over, hoping a look at his face would help her figure out what was going on, but his face wasn’t broadcasting news.
“Eyes on the road, Firebrand. I’m glad to see that you’ve toned down the driving, but like I said, we’re hauling precious cargo.”
“I’ll show you toned down the driving,” she muttered under her breath. “I’m a good driver.”
He pressed his lips together, but a hint of a smile escaped. “Turn in here.” He pointed to a service road running behind a warehouse.
On high alert, Brandy took several subtle, calming breaths. She had to appear relaxed, a little who trusted her Daddy to keep her safe. She familiarized herself with the sights as she slowed the vehicle to a crawl, and she parked where he indicated.
“I’ll be right back. Stay put.” He hopped out of the truck, his eyes scanning the vicinity.
Brandy looked around again, her special training helping her locate security cameras. Four were trained on her vehicle, while others covered different areas. One moved, following Lukas as he approached a door that had no handle on the outside.
He knocked, his strong fist hitting hard enough to make the sound echo through the alley.
After several long moments, the door opened a sliver. Lukas conversed with someone, and then the door opened wider. He went inside.
Brandy cracked the windows, and then she scooted to the passenger side to better peer around that side of the trailer. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Though she could hear the sounds of traffic nearby, this segment of road was eerily silent.
Her gaze landed on a forgotten pen the previous owner had left inside a pouch on the side door. Though it appeared to be a regular pen, Brandy knew it wasn’t. With a smile, she retrieved it. Liam and Jordan had come through. They’d searched the SUV Lukas had abandoned and found where she’d left the pen.
Knowing her crew was always thorough, she went to work to find where they’d hidden the cell phone.
Before she could find it, the door through which Lukas had disappeared opened. A woman with two bags slung over her shoulders emerged. Short, blonde hair obscured her face until she ran a hand through it to move it away. Her patterned blouse was tucked into her jeans, and she wore leather cowboy boots. She held the door open as two men emerged.
Lukas hovered over a man who was a head shorter. Silver shot through the man’s hair, and wrinkles lined the grimace on his face. He had a slim build. Like the woman, he wore an expensive shirt, but his wasn’t tucked into his jeans, and he wasn’t wearing shoes.
As the man limped toward the trailer, Lukas poised himself to catch the guy if he should teeter or fall. The woman closed in on the other side, her hands ready to reach out if the need presented itself.
Brandy watched through the side mirrors as Lukas helped the man inside the horse trailer. It was a different door than the one he’d used to show her the horses, and she realized it led to a small compartment that probably had a place to sleep.
“Damn it, woman. Stop hovering. I’m fine.” The man’s strong voice carried through the open window. “Doctor Luke has it under control.”
“Mr. Ross, when she stops trying to help, that’s when you should be concerned,” Lukas chuckled. “Mrs. Ross, you can set your bags there. It’s not the biggest space—”
Because Lukas modulated his tone and volume, his voice didn’t carry so well as he moved deeper into the trailer. Brandy strained to hear the rest of what he said, but she couldn’t make out anything.
After a few minutes, Lukas emerged. She watched in the mirror as the woman followed him out.
“Doctor Luke.” She crossed her arms and frowned.
Lukas turned to face her. He didn’t say anything, but Brandy imagined he wore a patient and expectant expression. She’d seen it often enough.
“Who is that woman driving?”
“Brittany Sorrel.”
“That name means nothing.” Mrs. Ross’s pixie-sized mouth tightened with displeasure. “Neither Ben nor I like surprises.”
Lukas parked his hands loosely on his hips. “She’s mine. When you summoned me, I brought along everything that belonged to me.”
Hearing him talk about her like that sent warm feelings through Brandy, though she always thought she’d kill any man who referred to her as a belonging.
“Would you like to meet her?” He angled his body as if expecting an affirmative response, and his hand landed on the door handle before Mrs. Ross spoke.
“Yes.”
Brandy pasted a shy smile on her face as Lukas lifted her down from the driver’s seat and set her on the ground.
“Mrs. Ross, this is Brittany.”
Mrs. Ross studied Brandy, frowning the whole time. Brandy knew she needed this woman to accept her presence if she was going to be allowed into The Eye’s compound. She held out a hand. “Hi, Mrs. Ross. It’s nice to meet you. I love that blouse. It brings out the blue in your eyes.”
Mrs. Ross didn’t acknowledge the proffered hand, but her frown eased. “Brittany, how did you and Doctor Luke meet?”
Should she tell this woman that she’d been sold to The Eye and given to Lukas? Probably not. “An acquaintance introduced us.”
“He said you belong to him. Is that true?”
Brandy relaxed her shoulders and let her grin grow. Her gaze found his, and heat suffused her cheeks. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Did he tell you what you’re doing here?”
She snapped her attention back to Mrs. Ross. “No, ma’am. He didn’t even tell me we were stopping until he wanted me to stop.”
“And do you know the final destination?”
“Somewhere in Arizona.”
Mrs. Ross inhaled deeply. “My husband is injured. You’ll drive carefully and be sure not to jar him.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Doctor Luke, please be sure to keep her in line.”
“I will, Mrs. Ross. You be sure to keep Mr. Ross still. That foot needs to be elevated and iced. We’ll stop off and pick up ice next.”
She tapped her lips, but she addressed her question to Brandy. “Is he this bossy with you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And you don’t mind?”
Brandy stepped closer to Lukas and put her hand in his. “I love his brand of dominance.”
With a nod, Mrs. Ross went into the trailer.
Lukas snaked an arm around Brandy’s waist and pressed a kiss to her lips. “You did good, Firebrand.”
“Thank you, Doctor Luke.”
He smacked her ass and squeezed hard, the soreness reminding her of the punishment he’d delivered the night before. “Let’s get going.”
Chapter 12
Flanked on two sides by really tall rocky formations that might have been mountains millions of years ago, and surrounded by scraggly, sporadic growth, Willowlands sat like a blemish on the Arizona desert. A high fence, adobe topped by razor wire, surrounded the compound. It was vast, though the desert still swallowed it.
The apartment Lukas had been given was far nicer than where he’d lived before. They had four rooms and a c
overed patio that looked out onto a fenced yard where horses lazed about for part of the day. The front door opened into a small foyer with a kitchen off one side and a closet on the other. Beyond the kitchen was a small living room, and that led to the patio. The bedroom swallowed most of the other half of the apartment, and a good sized bathroom rounded out the rest of the space.
In Willowlands, Lukas left every day as if he had a regular day job. He returned home for meals, which Brandy prepared, and sometimes he was called out in the evening or the middle of the night.
He never once said where he went or what he was doing, and he never returned splattered with blood, but he was often covered in white dust or brown dirt. If Brandy asked, he frowned and shook his head. Just like at Redemption Center, she wasn’t allowed to leave the apartment—except to sit on the patio. It was a nicer prison, but it was still a prison.
She leaned her forehead against the sliding door that led to the patio, staring at the wall separating Willowlands from the desert. Though it was electrified and topped with razor wire, the wall didn’t make the compound a prison—the desert did.
She had no idea where her team might have set up a remote headquarters.
The front door opened.
With a sigh, she dragged herself into the foyer and knelt on the pad Lukas had so thoughtfully provided.
He touched her hair. “Is lunch ready?”
“No, Daddy. I forgot the time.”
“Why? What were you thinking about when I came in?”
“How boring it is here. How much I want to be able to just go for a walk or even talk to someone. Even at Redemption Center, we had neighbors who would stop by.”
“I put in a request, Firebrand. Be patient. They’re still not sure about me.”
She lifted her gaze, a frown set hard in her attitude. “Seriously? They asked you to come here. They wouldn’t have done that if they weren’t sure about you. I don’t even know where you go all day or what you do when you’re gone.” Her temper turned to petulance. “You can’t even tell me how the horses are doing. I know there are two fucking horses here because I drove them halfway across the country.”
“Firebrand—”
Ire in full force, she got to her feet and poked a finger into his chest. “I know you’ve been with horses because you smell like a barn. Lukas, I’m bored out of my mind. Why can’t you at least take me for a run?”
Re/Deemed (Doms of the FBI Book 8) Page 15
