by Crimson Syn
“Is that all he said to you?”
“He said that the bad men would come for me. What did he mean by that?” I gripped the lapel of his jacket and he placed his hands over mine.
“I wish I had an answer for you, baby girl. But am as in the dark with this as you are.”
“Why would he approach me?”
He swept a hand through his hair and frowned. “I think he knows.”
“Knows what?’
Maxwell shook his head. “Of course he knows. I wouldn’t think he’d gotten this far if he didn’t.”
Bewildered I looked at Drake, seeking an answer. “If it was a warning, like Cassandra is stating, then what the fuck is going on here Max?”
He shrugged. “Not sure. But I think it’s time to get the Feds involved. Lucian is just going to have to live with it.”
I stared from one man to the other and then Drake strode over to me. “Let’s go, I’m taking you home.”
“No, it’s alright, if you’re busy I’ll just have Michael take me home.”
He looked down at me and Maxwell once again cleared his throat. “Say what you need to say, Cunningham.” Drake continued to look at me as Maxwell spoke.
“I got this. Just go take care of her. I’ll call you if something comes up.”
Drake’s gaze was dark, intense as he stared at me. “Let’s go,” he whispered, ushering me out the door.
Before he closed the door behind us, he turned to Maxwell. “Contact Adam Hunter in the department. He was my old partner. If there’s anyone you can trust, it’s him. Tell him to keep it hush hush until we find out what’s going on. We may have found the hacker, but we need to find the mastermind.”
He shut the door and turned to me. Without a word he lead me down the corridors of Ravenhead. I’d never been through this level before and I quickly realized why. The server rooms were up here, private rooms and hallways that lined the building. It was like a maze up here. We approached a door and Drake pressed his badge to the lock, it clicked open allowing us entry. As we made our way down another hallway, his hand dropped to mine and he squeezed it tightly letting me know he was as happy to see me as I was him.
14
Cassandra
He led me into his office and shut the door behind us. It was a huge space, with floor to ceiling windows, in the far distance you could make out the lights of Manhattan, darkness encompassing the surrounding areas of Ravenhead Corporation. Isolation, that’s the word that popped into my head as I stood there, we were in complete isolation.
I turned back to him and he stood there with his back to me, his hand pressed to the door.
“Drake?” I whispered, wondering why he had remained silent this whole time.
I could sense his body was tense and I watched his hand slowly curl in a tightly held fist. Something was bothering him, I just didn’t know what. Gingerly I placed my hand on his shoulder, “Drake, talk to me.”
“I should have been there,” he whispered, his voice low. His voice shaking.
“There’s no way you could have known.”
“I shouldn’t have left you!”
“You can’t blame yourself, love. You did everything you could to protect me.”
He whipped around so quickly I stumbled back. Grabbing my wrist, he tugged me towards him, his hand wrapping around my waist. “Not everything, Cassandra! Not everything,” his lips crashed down on mine and his grip on me tightened, nearly taking my breath away.
The kiss was heated, ignited in passion and something more intense, but I didn’t dare ask him what, I just gave in to what he needed. His hands ran up and down my back, molding me to him and I wrapped my arms around his neck just as he lifted me into the air. My legs wrapped around his waist as he continued his torrid kisses. He sat me down on the corner of his desk, his eyes were stormy blue magnets that held me captive as he undid his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. I leaned back, taking him in. It was like something in him had snapped, and in its place, there was just raw heat.
He gripped my dress, tugging on the belt, pulling on it until the material hung loosely from my shoulders. He played with the soft edge of the wrap around dress, his thumbs grazing my skin as he parted it open, growling as my body was revealed to him. His hands reached out and he pressed them to my neck, I gasped as his fingers clasped around it, holding me still. He dragged one hand down my body, his heated palms igniting me on fire. He squeezed my breasts that were encased in a black laced bra, slowly pulling one out. Teasing it with his fingertips.
“Such pretty tits,” he gave out a husky whisper and watched me as he dipped his head, lifting them up to his mouth and licking along the curve.
“Drake,” I breathed, running my fingers through his hair, loving the feel of him on my skin. His hot breath raising goosebumps along my body.
He grabbed me by the waist and clamped his mouth down on my neck as his hands inched down my hips and slid down the curve of my ass, cupping the soft flesh of my butt cheeks. Growling he leaned me back onto the glass desktop, spreading me wide. He looked wild, his shirt half undone, his hair all mussed up, and as he knelt before me I knew he could do anything he wanted to me and I’d let him. I wanted to submit to him.
“Drake!” His tongue suddenly lapped at my core and I lifted off the desk, curving my back as hot electric shocks ran through me. He wasn’t sweet or delicate, he was hungry. His hands squeezed my ass as he brought my hips up, his tongue delving across my clit, his lips clamping down around the swell of it, sucking it into his mouth. His fingers slid into my entrance easily, my juices flowing eagerly for him.
He hummed as he ate my pussy. Devouring me in long hard pulls of his lips. I cried out as he took my body to new heights. I whimpered and begged him to slow down, but he wasn’t listening. I tried wiggling out of his grasp and that only made him tighten his grip on me. Just as I was about to burst he let me go and stood between my thighs.
“Beg me for it,” he demanded as he dragged the tip of his cock along my wet pussy lips.
“Drake,” I moaned.
“Fucking beg me for it.”
My hands gripped the edge of the desk and I swiveled my hips up, wanting him.
He growled and spanked my pussy lightly. “Say it.”
“Fuck me, Daddy. Fuck me.”
He grunted as he gripped my thighs, sliding me toward him. He yanked me up, flipping me around and bent me over the desk. Pressing my head into the glass top, he spanked me. Heat spread across my flesh and I cried out as his hand came down on my again. As he stroked my sensitive skin I moaned for him.
“Such a dirty girl, you are.”
He fingers dipped down and stroked my wet core. I could feel his throbbing cock against me, and I pushed back loving the feel of his velvet dick as it swept through my lips.
“Say you want me, baby girl.”
“I want you, Drake. I want you so bad.”
I held my breath for a moment as his pulsing cock found its way into me. I yelled out, slamming my palms flat against the glass as he filled me in one swift thrust. Jerking my hips back so that our bodies collided, his pelvis grinding into my ass. He leaned forward then, and pulled me up. I stood there, my hands leaning on the desk as he took me, giving me hard, fast strokes, practically fucking me into the table. He turned my head toward him and kissed me hard as he had his way with me, taking my breath away.
This wasn’t about making love. There was something behind all this that was eating at him. The way he wrapped his arms around my waist, the way he grinded into me, his growls in my ear. It was as if he wanted me to remember every moment, every ridge of his cock, every pound of his body into mine. He was showing me his raw need and I was drowning in it.
“You want to cum for me? You want to cum all over my cock?”
“Yes,” I whimpered as his thick bulging head kept sweeping across my g-spot. I was on tiptoes, slamming myself back onto him as he fucked me. He dragged his fingernails up the back of my thighs and I fell forward,
my legs shaking. His hands roamed up my back and he held on to my shoulder, yanking me back onto him.
The sex was brutal, needy, and so fucking hot. He’d driven me to such heights I didn’t know just where we would end up. All I knew was that I loved his touch, I had missed it, I had yearned for it.
“Drake!” I cried out as I came undone. My body quivering, my pussy throbbing deliciously from his rough attack on my body. He slowed down, giving me long, hard thrusts and cooing at me as my body jerked in pleasure filled aftershocks.
“Drake,” I whispered and he leaned into me, his cock dragging in and out of me.
“I want you to cum again, sweet girl,” his deep rumble kept me in that lustful daze. His fingers found the swell of my clit and he slowly dragged them around in circles, manipulating my body.
I cried out and leaned back into his. He held me up, my back pressed to his chest, our bodies slick from sweat. His teeth bit down on my neck as his fingers danced along my slit.
“Cum for me. Let me feel that pretty little pussy strangle my cock.”
“Ohhh, God! Drake!”
He growled and spanked my fleshy cheek. “I want to hear that sinful word. Give it to me.”
“Daddy,” I moaned for him as my hips swiveled against him, my body involuntarily seeking out its release. He was so strong, so powerful.
“I love you, Cassandra. I’ll never let anyone harm you, baby girl.”
“I know that, baby. I know,” I turned my head and whispered the words I knew he wanted to hear. “Don’t let me go.”
“Never,” he growled and drove himself deep inside of me.
“I love you,” my words got lost against his lips as he buried himself deep. Crying out into his mouth, I came for him. Feeling the heat of his cum seep into me, his fingers driving me mad with lust.
I held onto him as he took what little semblance of control I had left. I was giving it all to him, every last bit of it, and it felt liberating. At some point in this whole whirlwind of sex and yearning I’d learned that there was someone there who cared for me. Drake Archer cared for me. He loved me in every way possible. Dark, light, sweet, rough, he was there. How could you not give yourself to a man who was pouring his heart out in every thrust, every word, every kiss? I’d be stupid not to.
15
Drake
I wrapped her up in a plush fleece that hung on the couch and I stood up, putting my pants up. I’d taken her like a mad man, knowing she’d feel me the next day. I wasn’t sure if I’d hurt her, but she was willing to give me all of her. I’m not sure what came over me. I was angry at myself, angry I wasn’t there for her, angry that I’d had something to do with her distress.
I wanted to make her feel safe, but instead I’d taken what was mine like a wild beast. Cradling her afterwards as she slowly fell asleep. I looked over at her curled up on the office couch. She looked like an angel, sleeping peacefully.
I went over to the window and leaned a hand on it, staring out into the night. I was tired, my muscles were sore and my mind wouldn’t stop thinking. I was stressed out and on edge. If she was right, then there was something more to this whole thing. Something Michael Crowley was hiding.
My phone suddenly rang and I quickly picked it up, looking back at my sleeping angel afraid she might have woken up. She groaned and shifted slightly, but kept sleeping.
“Talk to me.”
“Now, I thought I told you not to play games with me. Your pretty girl is going to have to pay for your stupid mistakes.”
I froze at the sound of the strange voice. “You, stay away from her,” I growled.
He tsked, and I cringed. “This is your fault, Drake Archer. You just had to follow directions. Instead, you decided to take matters into your own hands.”
“You’re fucking with what’s mine, and I don’t take lightly to that. That was a stupid move.”
I heard him smirk and I could feel my blood boiling. This kid was either stupid or just didn’t give a shit about what he was doing.
“She’s pretty, your girl. Smells good too. She’s way better in person than in that video. I put it on every once in a while, enjoying her little whimpers.”
“You vile piece of shit,” I gritted.
“I bet she tastes good too.”
“You lay one hand on her, and I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Now, that’s not what an ex-FBI Agent would say. We both know that’s just not in you, is it Archer? The man who sets the rules would never break them. Then again, for the right bargain…”
“What the fuck do you want?”
“I want the blueprints.”
“What blueprints?”
“Don’t act dumb with me. I want the schematics to all the guiding systems on those beautiful missiles you manufacture.”
“I don’t have access to tha…”
“Don’t fucking play games with me! There is no fucking way the head of Security doesn’t know how to get into that vault.”
I started running through the calculations in my brain. The probabilities of saving her and saving Ravenhead were low if I didn’t ask for help. I needed to reach out. I needed backup. But I was being watched. A glimmer caught my eye and as I walked over to my desk I spotted a badge.
I looked up at the screen, System Failure’s face stared back at me. I wanted to make him feel pain, I wanted him to feel as helpless as I felt when he threatened what was mine. “Michael Crowley, age 23, height, five-foot-nine, weight, one hundred twenty pounds of worthless shit.”
I could hear him seething in the background. “That means nothing.”
“Address, I continued, Queens, New York.”
“You keep that up and I’ll make sure you never see your girl again.”
“Parents, deceased. Sister-Anne Crowley. Age-seventeen. Prognosis-Leukemia, terminal.”
“I’m going to hurt you,” he seethed and I only shook my head.
“I know why you’re still around now, Michael Crowley. Why you haven’t left New York. Blood is worth so much more than money sometimes.”
“You know nothing!”
“I know enough to get you behind bars, how do you think your sister would react to that? Her perfect older brother, in jail for blackmailing.”
“I’m going to destroy you.”
“That’s enough!” I growled.
There was a long, silent pause and his next words confirmed my gut feeling. “I’m not the one you should be worried about Drake Archer. I should be the least of your worries.”
“Who are you working with?”
“Open your eyes, Drake Archer. Everything is not black and white, there’s always something more, there’s always that gray in there.”
“I’m done playing games.”
“I’ll be long gone before you get to me, Archer. You know it and I know it. The guiding systems, and I’ll keep the information I have on Cassandra Hayes away from the bad men.”
“What, bad men?”
“There’s a reason they sent me instead of coming on their own, Archer. They want Intel, see who’s working on the inside. Turns out, you make a pretty good hero. So does Maxwell Cunningham and your friend, Adam Hunter. Lucian Steele, on the other hand, he needs to be careful who he make his business with.”
I picked up the badge and twirled it around. Maxwell’s face grinned up at me. I may not be able to reach the FBI, but Maxwell Cunningham had his sources, and I had the leverage.
“What are you not telling me, Crowley?”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“You sound like a desperate man, and desperate men do stupid things.”
“I didn’t know you were also a psychologist, Archer.”
“I’ve known men like you all my life. What are they holding on you? Whatever it is has to be heavy.”
“I need the schematics. I get those and I erase everything on your girl.”
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
“The fucking schematics, Archer!”
I shook my head and grimaced, he wasn’t going to give me what I was asking for. In that moment I knew I had to go search for those answers myself.
“Time and place.” Conceding to him would be a front and I wrote down the address as I set the trap for the mouse.
Two hours later I was sitting in my car, Maxwell in the passenger seat.
“Are you sure about this?”
“I’m not sure about anything anymore.”
“How do you know he’s in there? How do you know this isn’t a trap for you?”
“Because his sister’s in there.”
“Anne Crowley?”
I nodded. “You know, it’s weird. I actually feel bad for the kid.”
“Don’t. He knew what he was getting into. You should feel bad for his family. That innocent little girl in there who probably idolizes her brother, is about to have her world turned to shit.”
“Did you contact them?”
“They’re here somewhere. I told them to act discreet, but you know your agents better than I do. That guy you mentioned, Hunter.”
“Yeah, Adam. I took him under my wing when he first got recruited into the FBI. He took over the team after I left.”
“Good man.”
“One of the best. He’s young and a bit arrogant, but he’s the only one I’d go to in times like these. I trust that kid with my life.”
“Does your girl know what you’re about to do for her?”
“She doesn’t need to know. No one does.”
“You should’ve told her. She has a right to know.”
“Since when did you turn into Oprah?”
“Just don’t get shot, alright. The last thing I need is to involve myself in your stupid drama driven life.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m just sayin’. Just watch yourself.”
“He’s just a kid. He doesn’t know any better.”
“Kids like that are dangerous. If his sister’s that sick and she’s terminal, as you say, he’s got nothing to lose. But you, Archer. You have plenty.”
