by K. D. Jones
She was fed up with him. “It’s Ms. Wall, and he’s not my husband, and, no, I’m not exaggerating!”
“Ward, take a walk.” Agent Carlysle ordered glaring at him.
She watched as the pompous ass stomped off. She felt Abe’s hands squeezing her shoulders in support. She looked up and saw his eyes following after Ward, stalking him like prey.
“My apologies, Ms. Wall. It was a mistake to bring Agent Ward. The offer still stands. We’ll put you in our witness protection program and relocate you, your mother, and Cici. You will remain in hiding until we have Hadley in custody and his court date comes up. We’re offering everyone else who is testifying against him the same deal. Also, I am prepared to offer you the same, Mr. Connor. I have an identity set up for you if you do decide to go with Ms. Wall.”
Roxanne was shocked as she turned to look up at Abe. “What?”
Abe shrugged. “I wasn’t going to let ye go alone.”
She loved him. There was no doubt in her mind that she was completely in love with Abe. He would give up his life, take on a new identity to be with her and take care of her family. If there weren’t so many eyes watching them, she would totally jump into his arms and lavish him with kisses.
She turned around and faced the agents. What they were offering her was a really good deal. Protection until Darryl was finally put away. She should take them up on it.
Shaking her head, she gave them her answer. “No, thank you. I’ll stay where I’m at.”
Lauren leaned over to whisper in her ear. “They’re legit, I promise. This is a good and honest deal.”
“I know, and I appreciate it. I just want to stay with Abe as long as he will let me.”
“That would be forever,” Abe whispered behind her. She glanced up at him and smiled.
“Oh boy,” Lauren groaned, rolling her eyes. “Thanks for the offer, but my client will remain in her current secure location.”
“How will we contact her when we have Hadley in custody?”
“Contact me.” Lauren motioned for Abe to take her out of the mall. Agent Ward tried to follow them but Jagger had blocked him by stepping in front of him.
*****
Abe hit his earpiece. “Which way, Isaac?”
“We have your car at the back exit near the movie theater.”
“Thanks.” He turned his comm off.
“Where are we going?”
“We have a new car waiting for us on the other side of the mall.”
“Why?”
“In case someone saw us park. We didn’t want them to bug the vehicle or, worse, put a bomb in it.”
“Yeah, a bomb would be bad.” She was starting to panic. He stopped to cup her cheek lovingly.
“Hey, I’ve got you, lass.”
“Abe, I—”
His earpiece vibrated. “What’s happening Isaac?”
“We’ve got two men twenty feet from you and our scanners say they are packing heat.”
“We’ve got to go right now. Hold my hand and don’t let go.” He turned and began walking faster.
He pushed the door leading outside open and looked around the parking lot. He noticed a black standard SUV in the nearest handicap parking space. “That’s us.”
“How do you know?”
The SUV unlocked automatically and started up before they reached it. “Well, that answers that.”
He held the door open for her and she slid into the passenger’s seat. Abe quickly ran over to the driver’s side and sat down. “Hold on. We’re going to be getting out of here quickly.” He turned the car on and put in drive. She was jerked back against the seat when he speeded up.
“You’re going too fast. There’s a stoplight up ahead.” She reached for the door handle to have something to hold on to.
He smiled at her. “We never have to worry about stop lights when Isaac’s in the driver’s seat.” Just as they arrived at the stoplight, it turned green. He reached for her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. “We’re safe. No one’s following us.” Not yet anyway. He kept looking in the rearview mirror. They had definitely been set up and, if he was right, he suspected her ex was close.
Chapter 17
“Isaac, we’re pulling over in the next underground garage. Let me know when I have the all clear.” Abe spoke into his earpiece as he signaled to turn.
“No problem.”
Roxanne looked around. “Why are we stopping here instead of heading back to the cabin?”
“I don’t want to take a chance of someone following us back to yer mom and Cici. We’ll wait here for a little bit then I’ll have someone bring us a different car before we drive home. Vic and Jade will pose as us and drive around for a while to lead people away from us.”
“You guys thought of everything.”
“We’re good at this stuff. Vic and Jagger have a security business that we work with, doing things like installing cameras and alarms and working as bodyguards. It keeps the money flowing in when the bonds are slow.”
“How expensive is all this going to be? I have a little saved up but this seems — massive.”
“It’s taken care of.”
She unsnapped her seatbelt to turn and look at him. “You’re not paying for all this, Abe. It’s too much.”
He unhooked his seatbelt and turned to face her. “I am paying for this.”
“Abe, first you were willing to give up your whole life to go into hiding with me, and now you’re paying for all this security. How am I supposed to pay you back?”
He reached for her and pulled her into his lap again. “Ye are mine to protect. Mine.” He kissed her before she could respond. Once his lips touched hers, all thoughts except one left her mind. She wanted him.
She moved so that she straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with everything in her. His hands were all over her. She was very grateful that she was wearing a dress. The feel of him pressing against her panties was pleasure and hell. Too many barriers kept her from what she wanted.
Reaching between them she fumbled with the buttons on his jeans. There was a bit of desperateness in her need to have him inside her. She finally opened the fabric enough to release his hard smooth cock.
“Easy, lass, don’t unman me.” He half groaned, half chuckled.
She pumped him, squeezing the way she knew he liked. To have this much effect on such a large virile man was a heady feeling. He made her feel beautiful and strong. Those were two things she hadn’t felt in years, if ever.
He growled as he reached down between them and ripped off her panties. “I’ll buy ye a new pair.”
“I don’t care about them, I just need—” She groaned when he moved her over him and brought her down. It took a couple of adjustments but they found a rhythm and pace they both enjoyed in such a tight space.
Roxanne arched her back when Abe unbuttoned the top of her dress to get to her bra-covered breasts. He pulled the thin fabric down until her breasts popped up. No sooner were they free than his mouth was on her, sucking.
“Yes,” she whispered, pushing forward, allowing him to take more of her. He gently bit her nipple and she felt her body spasm as her orgasm hit her. It wasn’t long before she felt his semen shoot inside of her.
Again, they had gotten carried away and hadn’t thought about protection, but she didn’t care. She lay in his arms with her head against his shoulder. They were still connected. She had never felt closer to anyone than she did at that moment with Abe.
“I love you.” The words just seemed to slip from her without any thought. They felt right. She just hoped that he was feeling something for her emotionally too. She leaned back to look into his eyes. His face lit up with an expression of pure joy. “I love you, Abe.”
“Lass, I am completely head over arse in love with ye.”
She sighed with relief. “I want a future with you, but everything is so complicated. I hate dragging you into all of this. It’s no way to start a relationship.
”
“Any relationship with ye is worth whatever we have to go through. None of this was yer fault. Blame yer ex. He is the biggest arse I’ve ever heard of. To have ye in his life and treat ye the way he did is unconscionable. Then on top of that, he hurt Cici. I want to strangle him for that.”
“Shhh — don’t let him bring you down to his level. You’re a better man than that.” She leaned forward to kiss him. As she pressed her body against his, his dick hardened inside her. She looked up at him and half laughed.
“Again? Really?”
“I’ve got really strong stamina. Haven’t ye learned that yet?”
“Ummm — I could get used to this.”
“One more thing, lass. I know we haven’t used protection. I just want ye to know that I want that with ye — a future, a family. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
The emotion in his voice and the serious expression on his face let her know that he truly meant it. He wanted them to be together.
“I want that too, so badly. I love you, Abe, and my future is with you.” They made love again.
An hour passed while they were in the underground garage. Isaac finally called and told them that he was bringing a car for them to switch to. She was enjoying her time with Abe, but she was also worrying about Cici and her mom and wanted to get home to them.
*****
“You lost them? What am I paying you for if you cannot find the bitch?” Darryl was furious as he threw a glass across his hotel suite. It shattered against the wall.
First, his accountant called to tell him that the federal government was requesting copies of all his financial statements, personal and professional. Then the judge he paid exorbitant amounts of money to get custody of Cici skipped town and refused to return his calls or emails. He had traveled all this way to finally come face to face with his bitch of an ex-wife, only to have her escape from him once again. He was being played for a fool and he wasn’t going to take that sitting down.
“Sorry, sir, the guy she is with switched cars on us.” Wes, his point man on this mission admitted his failure.
“Did you find out who he is and who he works for?” Darryl was furious. What was he paying Wes and his buddies for if they couldn’t show results?
“I forwarded the details to your email,” Wes said.
Darryl took out his phone and pulled up the email. Abe Connor, a half-human, half-Bazinoid who works as a bounty hunter for Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunters Bail Enforcement Agency. The owners were from Decaro. Great, more aliens. He looked at the pictures his men took of Connor walking her into the mall. The way the man touched Rosanne left no doubt that they were fucking. He noted the guy was wearing a skirt. He snorted. His wife was hooking up with some feminine sleazy bounty hunter. Her tastes sure had gone downhill since she left him.
“Do you have an address on him?”
“No, the guy doesn’t even have a post office box. He has all his mail forwarded to the bail enforcement agency”
“This Connor guy has help, and it must be from the other bounty hunters he works with.”
“Unfortunately, yes, the two males inside the mall with him and your wife were the owners of the company. They’re backing him one hundred percent.”
“Let’s keep putting pressure on him. Maybe this guy Connor will slip up.”
“Yes, sir.” Wes quickly left the hotel room shaking his head. His boss was a fool. The only way to get anything past the bounty hunter was to kill him first. He personally would never waste all his energy on some bitch and a little brat. All he knew was that he would be looking out for himself. There was no way Wes was going down or to lockup over all this shit.
Chapter 18
Abe watched from the front porch as Roxanne and Lexi played with Cici at the lake. Her mother was taking a nap upstairs. He turned to Vic who had just gotten a text from Isaac.
“What’s going on?”
“Someone broke into Lauren’s apartment.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she wasn’t home, thank goodness. Blade and Jade were with her, coming back from the meeting. They made a stop by Lauren’s office first and by the time they got to her apartment, the authority had been called and were examining the scene.”
“The timing is so close after the meeting at the mall that it’s no coincidence. They were after Lauren to get information. She could have been hurt.”
“She’ll stay with Blade and Jade for now. Isaac is setting up surveillance at her apartment in case the trespassers come back.”
Abe ran his hand through his hair. “I want ye to know I’ll pay ye for everything, and I’ll pay to have Lauren’s apartment put to rights again.”
“Don’t worry about any of that. I’ve already got people repairing the damages at Lauren’s and you don’t owe anything for helping out with Roxanne’s situation. Lexi thinks of Roxanne like family; Jagger and I feel that way about you. We take care of our family.”
Abe fought back his emotions. “Thanks.”
“I hate to even bring this up but…”
“Spit it out.”
“We could shut Hadley down quicker if we could set up a situation that would draw him out.”
“This situation would be involving Roxanne and Cici? No way in hell.”
“Not Cici, just Roxanne. We will have her completely protected.”
“No!”
He must have raised his voice because Roxanne turned to look their way. He waved so that she wouldn’t think something was wrong. All Roxanne wanted was to live her life and raise Cici. If there was a chance they could be together and have a family, perhaps he should at least listen to Vic’s plan.
“OK, hold on. I’m listening.” Abe tried to soften his tone. Vic seemed to understand the pressure Abe was feeling.
“We pretty much know that the third agent wasn’t there to help Roxanne.”
“Hadley sent him.”
“Yep, but he found out about Lauren contacting the other agents and making this deal. He just showed up at the last minute, which was why Lauren and the other two agents were pissed off.”
“So what do ye suggest?”
“We’ll have Lauren contact the two agents saying that Roxanne wants to enter the witness protection program and is going to come in.”
“I won’t let Roxanne do it. We’ll have to get someone else to pose as her with a wig.”
“I need to do it,” Roxanne spoke from behind Abe.
He hadn’t heard her approach. He shook his head as he turned and faced her. “Lass, it’s too dangerous for ye.”
“I won’t have someone else endangered because of me. Darryl will demand a positive identification before he shows his face. I know him.”
“I have to keep ye safe.”
She walked up to him and cupped his cheek with her hand. “You always keep me safe. I need to end this before anyone else gets hurt, like Cici. I want my life back. I want to start my life with you. I can do this.”
He wrapped her in his arms and nodded at Vic. “OK, make the call. We’ll set this up for tomorrow evening and I still want Asia ready to take her place at any time.”
“I’m on it.” Vic walked away, dialing his phone. He was probably calling Lauren right at that moment.
Abe looked down into her angelic face. “I can’t lose ye, so I need ye to follow my directions, no matter how bossy I may sound.”
“I will, I promise. I just want this all to be over with.”
He kissed her until she melted in his arms. He pulled back and smiled at her dazed expression. He loved that he could affect her like that.
“Come on, let’s spend time with Cici and have dinner. Then later I plan to make love to ye all night.”
She smiled up at him. “I like your plan.”
*****
Later that evening
Lexi glared at Vic as they were leaving Abe’s cabin. “I told you I didn’t like that plan.”
“Baby, we’re going to be there to protect
her the whole time.”
“What do you think he’ll try to do?” She bit her lip as she got into the passenger side of Vic’s truck.
“He could show up with the authority or he could make a play to grab her. He won’t get away with it. The agents can handle any complications with the authority and there will be someone with Roxanne.”
“I just worry for her. Should I come too?”
“Absolutely not!” He sighed when he saw that he had made her angry at his response. “Honey, I’ve got to be on my game to help Abe and Jagger protect Roxanne. If you came too, I would be more worried about protecting you.”
She took his hand in hers. “I know, you’re right. Distractions can get people killed.”
He laughed. “I say that to my bounty hunters all the time.” He brought her hand to his mouth so he could place a kiss on her knuckles. “I do want you to stay away from the club tomorrow just in case Hadley or one of his cronies go there.”
“I’ll come back and be with Sandy and Cici and help Shy and Drake protect them.”
“Lexi, don’t get into trouble.”
“I won’t. I’ll be good.”
He looked her up and down. “Honey, you were built to be bad in the best way.”
“Take me home and I’ll show you just how good this bad girl can be.”
He stepped on the gas. “Now you’re talking.”
*****
“Time for bed, little one.” Roxanne called out from the kitchen. Their friends had just left and she was finished cleaning the dishes from dinner. Her mother had already gone up to bed. She heard the door open and looked over as Abe came in from checking the perimeter.
“Everything okay?”
He took off his jacket. “Yes.” He came over and hugged her. She felt instant relief. Everything was better when Abe was near.
“Mama, can Abe come up and tuck me in?” Cici asked from behind her. They parted and turned to face her.
“It’s up to Abe.”
“Of course.” Abe bent to lift Cici in his arms and carried her up the stairs while Roxanne followed behind them.
