I Need You Here

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  Several hours later, we had everything in place. I just prayed everything went off without a hitch. I’d changed into a delivery uniform and exited the building inside a delivery truck headed to make a stop across town.

  Derrick and Rick had secured a plain delivery truck and dressed up as delivery men, having picked up the new crib Dane and Marissa had purchased for the nursery. I hid in the back and waited for them.

  The plan was for Dane to come home for the delivery and divert Marissa’s attention to the new crib, while Derrick and Rick secured Dawn. Dane would gather Dawn’s belongings and necessities and place them in the teddy bear Dawn had used to secret her clothing when she left Atlanta. Dawn and I would stay in a safe-room hidden deep inside my parents' home.

  I had been surprised when my father told me of its existence. I thought I knew every inch of my familial home. That room was not on any plans I’d ever seen. It was even more impressive, considering they’d done some remodeling lately, opening up a couple of smaller rooms to make one big nursery for any future grandchildren they’d be babysitting.

  My father assured me he’d move some of the clothes I kept at their place, along with plenty of food, into the safe room so we wouldn’t have to leave until all of this was over. We’d all wondered whether we should attempt to contact Dawn’s remaining family members—her grandparents and sister, who lived up in the Florida panhandle––but the risk of exposure was too great. I hated making them worry, but no one could know where we were, not even them.

  I hated waiting, and looked impatiently at my watch. Something … anything … needed to happen. I almost left my hiding place, when the men finally emerged and hefted the crib into the back of the truck. They removed the teddy bear and sat it on the floor, exposing some lumpy blankets inside the crib. Shit, that was Dawn! Why wasn’t she moving?

  I should have been relieved, but I was furious! “What the fuck did you do to her?”

  Derrick held his hands up, as Rick restrained me, cautioning, “You need to be quiet in case someone has a listening device pointed at the house. She’s fine. We had a hard time separating her from Marissa. The only way we could make sure she wouldn’t scream was to use a little ether we’d brought, just as a safety. She hasn’t had much, just enough to put her out for a little while.”

  I walked over to the crib and pulled the blankets back; Dawn was sound asleep. I wasn’t used to seeing her with such dark chocolate brown hair or an olive complexion. I’d only known her as a blonde with fair skin. I wondered what Liam had done to make her so scared that she changed her looks and went into hiding. I just hope she’d finally tell me.

  Rick closed the back of the truck and told me to hang on as we headed to my parent’s house. I stayed close to Dawn, gently rubbing my knuckles along the side of her face. I guess she sensed me near her, because I heard her mumble, “You smell so good, Rafe. I’ve missed you,” before going back to sleep.

  “I’ve missed you too, my beautiful angel. No need to worry, I’ll keep you safe, even if it means my own life.” I never thought I’d ever say those words to anyone, but with Dawn, I’d be willing to risk my life to save hers, if the need arose. I just prayed this overwhelming sense of doom was just me being paranoid, and not a harbinger of things to come.

  When we arrived at my parents’ house, I put the bear back on top of Dawn, to obscure her from view. Derrick and Rick removed the crib as my parents opened the double doors wide enough to bring the crib inside. There was a side door on the truck’s trailer, so I was able to walk between the crib and wall, remaining hidden from prying eyes.

  Once inside, and all the doors were closed, I asked, “Were we followed?”

  I was alarmed to see both of them nodding. Rick shook his head, affirming, “We were followed, but I noticed them leaving when I shut the front door.”

  “Any luck finding out who those yahoos work for?”

  “Affirmative. They are privately employed by one Liam Cavanaugh. At times they’ve worked as additional security for various functions at the McLeigh International Wealth facility in Atlanta.” Derrick offered solemnly.

  “So, my suspicions were correct.” I hated that I was right, that meant that bastard had something on her or had done something to her.

  I looked at both of our family’s head bodyguards and asked. “Do we know anything about Liam other than he didn’t exist beyond seven years ago?”

  “We’re using some of our military connections to investigate that further.” Derrick responded first, then Rick chimed in, “We were, however, able to gather more information on Dawn. I’m not sure you’re going to like what you read.”

  As one spoke, the other handed me a file. Sometimes it was spooky being around these two, it was like they were of one mind, thinking alike, and finishing each other’s sentences. I guess working in covert operations created similar mindsets among military people. “When you’re done, this file needs to be destroyed as if it never existed.” Derrick’s eyes pierced mine to make sure I understood.

  I nodded. “Done.”

  I didn’t want to take time to read the damned thing. “Just give me the general synopsis, so we can get her into the safe room and you out of here before we arouse any suspicion.”

  Derrick took the lead on things. “Dawn and her family have been in protective custody with the witness protection program for the past ten years. That’s why she doesn’t exist beyond that. For all intents and purposes, she is Dawn Marie Jamieson, but she was born Doniska Amelia Evonovich. Her father was a spy sent here to uncover American secrets, but fell in love with her mother, who was an operative for our country.”

  I was shocked. I never in my wildest thoughts could have conjured up something so twisted. No wonder she knew how to hide. I had to ask, “Was her mother CIA or FBI?”

  Rick shook his head and took over. “Neither. Let’s just say there are some branches of the government that are strictly covert. Her father defected because he was in love with her mother. They married after he’d proven his loyalty to our government. They ran several operations together, but she was relegated to desk work when she got pregnant with Dawn, and later her sister.”

  “So her mother left the government?” I wondered.

  “No. She’s a highly trained computer programmer. You think Ethan’s computer skills area amazing; Dawn's mother puts Ethan to shame. I can’t elaborate further.”

  Wow, this was a lot to take in. It explained why Dawn had been so secretive about her past, like where she'd been born or where she went to school, or who her childhood friends had been. It wasn't safe for her, her family, or anyone who knew them, to know who this family had become.

  “Wait a minute.” It finally dawned on me. “What happened to her parents? Were they killed on some mission? She’s being raised by her grandparents now.”

  Derrick smiled and looked at his watch. “You know you could just read this.” He sighed exasperatedly. “Her parents are alive and well, and parading as her grandparents so they wouldn’t be split up. It was a risky move, but it seems to work for them.”

  I watched as my dad pulled the teddy bear off of Dawn. Derrick reached down to lift her into his arms, but I yelled, “No! I’ll get her. You guys just put the crib wherever my mom wants it and we’re good.”

  My mother led the way to the nursery they’d created for their firstborn granddaughter, Nicola. I followed dad as he led the way toward a part of the house I’d been in numerous times. I’d never really paid much attention to the spacing between two of the doors in the hallway — until now. Dad stopped in front of a small piece of decorative paneling, depressed a couple of buttons, and a keypad popped out.

  I stood in shock as the paneling opened up, while recessed lights clicked on and illuminated a narrow stairwell that led down to a sub-basement. He pushed aside a piece of loose paneling to reveal a more elaborate computer screen. He keyed in a six-digit code, and then had to pass a retinal scan to gain entry to the room. Holy hell, what was he expecting t
o happen?

  I heard movement within the door, a series of locks and clicks, similar to that of a bank vault, before the door finally swung open revealing a small self-contained mini-apartment, complete with a kitchen and everything one may ever need.

  I carried Dawn into the first bedroom I found, possibly the only bedroom here, since I didn’t want to take the time to look around just yet. My first priority was to make sure she was comfortable.

  “The cupboards and refrigerator are fully stocked. The water comes in on a different system than the house. Mom moved some of the clothes you had left here at the house into the closet, along with a few items she thought you might need to coerce Dawn to tell you everything.” He said with a wink.

  He placed the folder I’d been given containing all of Dawn’s information, along with her huge teddy bear, onto the sofa and turned before heading out the door. “Only your mother and I can open this door from the outside. I’ve left you the code on the kitchen counter, you don’t need a retinal scan to leave the room but, given the circumstances, I wouldn’t leave unless it’s an absolute emergency.”

  I looked around and noticed there were no windows. “How secure is this place?”

  He laughed. “I had this commissioned to be stronger than Fort Knox. The walls are lined with reinforced steel that’s a foot thick. The door is made of similar material. No explosives can open this room, except maybe a nuclear warhead. Derrick and Rick know the room's specs because they designed it, but even they don’t have access.”

  He turned to leave. “You should be safe, son. Now go get your woman and make her yours.”

  That’s exactly what I intended to do. “Thanks dad. I will!”

  Mine. The word had been rolling around in my head for a while now, but I liked how possessive it sounded in conjunction with Dawn’s name. Yes, definitely mine.

  I KNEW DAWN WOULD be out for a couple of hours, so I looked around the kitchen and started a simple meal of spaghetti with a homemade marinara sauce. At least dad had stocked the kitchen for the meals I prepared best.

  I reviewed the reports that Derrick and Rick had secured for me while I waited for the meal to cook. To say I was surprised was the understatement of the year. According to the report, her mother was capable of tapping into anything and everything on earth and space. When she stopped working in the field, she was able to tap into foreign satellite’s to secure necessary photos the government wanted, and was basically the eyes and ears on the ground for her husband’s team.

  Dawn had often mentioned that all she wanted was a regular life, and now I understood why. Hiding in plain sight, and pretending your parents were someone else in order to see them, had to be extremely stressful. It made me wonder if Dawn had been in disguise this whole time. I didn’t care. Either way, I loved her for who she was on the inside and how well we connected with one another. There’s no way one could pretend a connection like ours, it ran soul deep.

  The more I delved into the files the more I realized how dangerous everything had become. Dawn’s father had been on assignment to unearth a foreign crime syndicate that had set up some illegitimate business practices in several southern states. Could Dawn somehow be mixed up with these criminals, even though her parents were government covert operatives? My mind spun.

  I stopped to see if our meal was ready, and it was. I kept everything warm, waiting for her to wake up, while I took the folder into the bedroom and kept vigil over her. She was so beautiful when she slept, didn’t seem to have a care in the world.

  I knew she wouldn’t be able to run when she awoke, nobody could get out of my parent’s safe room easily. But I wanted her at my mercy, so I loosely tied her hands to the bed. Seeing her tied up brought back memories of our one night together, a night that is permanently seared into my brain—it was the best night of my life. Who knew she was such a natural submissive, or that she’d crave many of the same things I did in bed?

  She shifted a bit, exposing her generous cleavage. I did a double take. I was stunned by how much weight she’d lost. She almost looked anorexic, yet her breasts seemed fuller than before. A grown woman’s breasts don't get larger without surgical intervention, do they? All I knew is that I couldn’t wait to lavish them with affection. Dawn shifted into the pillow and snored adorably.

  Her father seemed almost super human. He’d been on so many dangerous missions, barely escaping with his life on a couple. However, he'd almost died on his last mission

  The report detailed how he’d infiltrated the syndicate, gaining their trust and working his way up the ladder. Being deep undercover always meant getting one’s hands dirty, so it came as no surprise that he’s committed crimes to prove his value to their organization. They’d dealt in gambling and money laundering, with invested interests in several legitimate capital venture companies and had plans to skim funds from their customers’ bank accounts. It was definitely a clever idea.

  The head of the organization, Ronan William McCavan, II, had apparently caught her father trying to collect evidence needed to put the whole group away. A fight broke out and he’d killed Ronan in self-defense. As a result of his blown cover, several members of the McCavan crew were also killed. To everyone’s surprise, his wife pulled a gun from a thigh holster and put the barrel against her temple. She spat through gritted teeth, swearing the rest of the organization would hunt him and his entire family down; and that they would all die to avenge their deaths. She screamed she couldn't live without her beloved Ronan and shot herself, leaving her children orphans.

  Whoa! This was worse than I could have imagined. It made me wonder exactly what kind of government operatives Derrick and Rick were. This information couldn’t have been easy to come by; it had to be classified.

  Dawn’s father had taken a couple of bullets, one of which nicked an artery, and he barely survived. The government put all them in protective custody and gave them all new identities; while the rest of the team worked endlessly to take down each remaining members of the syndicate.

  The organization was scattered all across North America, so it was no wonder some were still at large. According to the files, there were a few people in McCavan’s inner circle still unaccounted for: his brother, Alastar Gavin McCavan, who’s reported to be living in somewhere in the Seattle area; his son, Ronan William McCavan, III, whose whereabouts were unknown; and one of his closest advisors, Seamus O’Dwyer, who’s been seen in and around Alpharetta, Georgia recently.

  Fuck, that’s too close for comfort. I didn’t care if Dawn was furious with me, but I knew there was no way in hell I’d allow her to go back to Georgia. What if Seamus went to Atlanta recognized her? Granted, Atlanta’s a big city and the chances were slim, but even that remote possibility was unthinkable.

  I was thankful that Derrick and Rick had included photos of each man, in the event our paths ever crossed. I’d commit them to memory before destroying the files. Remarkably, they all looked—normal. None of them would stand out in a crowd.

  I continued to peruse the rest of the files until a soft moan caught my attention, followed by a grumbled, “Where am I?” Dawn, was finally awake.

  I sat in a chair next to the bed and watched her stretch, arching her back like a cat, her sinuous movements made my cock harden. She was so sensual, and hopefully she’d soon be mine. The more I said the word, the more I liked it. Mine.

  Her eyes shot open as soon as she lowered her arms and met with some resistance. “What the hell?” She bolted upright in bed, easing back against the headboard. Her eyes finally focused on me, “What the fuck, Rafe?” She pulled on her restraints.

  I approached the bed, with my hands up in the air to signal I wasn’t a threat. “I’m sorry I kidnapped you, mia bella angelo, my beautiful angel, but you refused to talk to me, and you were no longer safe at Dane's.”

  Dawn’s questioning eyes peered up at me. “How did you know where I was?”

  I couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped me. “I was out jogging and saw
you get out of the cab in front of Dane’s place. I also saw you hand the driver an envelope stuffed with cash. No cabbie gets that much for a local ride, so I was suspicious.”

  She listened, taking in what I was saying. “But how did you know it was me? I don’t look anything like I did the last time you saw me. I had blonde hair and fair skin, now I’m tanned and a brunette. She pointed to here eyes, “Even my eye color’s different, thanks to contacts.”

  I reached up, letting my knuckles caress the side of her face, thankful she didn’t pull away, giving me hope that she still felt something between us. “That’s true, you don’t look anything like you used to, but you’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure it was you. I knew the height was right, but you’ve lost a lot of weight.”

  Her face looked confused. “Then how did you …”

  I leaned in closer, stopping a hair’s breadth from her mouth. Her breath caught, and I kissed her cheek. “I’d know you anywhere, bella. Your soul calls to mine.” I teased her lips, nipping at the corners to see if I could get a response. I wasn’t surprised when hers pressed to mine. It was wonderful to taste her again.

  The kiss was searing, our lips and souls reconnected. I never wanted it to end, but she pulled back, her breaths shaky. “That was beautiful. Now, seriously, how did you know?”

  I just shook my head. I could see by the set of her jaw that she was determined to wrangle it out of me, come hell or high water. “Fine, the truth is I wondered why my dick grew hard looking at you. Shit, I’d been mooning over you being gone, wanting only you. But when you bent down to pick up your backpack … let’s just say I’d recognize the curve of that ass anywhere.”

  A beautiful pink blush began to spread from her chest to her face. “You’re such a perv.”

  I had to admit she was right. “Can’t argue with that, but I’m a perv who needs you.”