He arched his back to kiss her neck, her chest. Her hands were on his shoulders as he put his face between her breasts and pressed them to his cheeks. He nuzzled the underside of one breast, then let his thumb flick her tightened nipple while he kissed and nibbled and sucked the other breast.
He looked up at her, a breast in each hand, and grinned. “I love these.” They were more than a handful, such generous bounty. He held one, pointing its erect nipple upward. Taking her hand, he rubbed her nipple around her own hand. She looked from his eyes to what their hands were doing.
He sucked her middle finger into his mouth, then pulled it out and rubbed her damp finger over her nipple. When he moved it away, he blew cool air over her skin. He could feel her body tighten.
Holding the sides of her chest, he bent his face to the valley between her breasts, kissing and licking as he moved down the center of her ribs to her soft belly. He caught her navel in his mouth, biting gently, then swirling his tongue there. He made his way, ever so slowly, over to her hip, grazing it with his teeth.
He slid down her body so that his shoulders were between her thighs, leaving her wide open. She was neatly groomed there, a tight triangle of soft curls. He rubbed his cheek over her mound. She gasped as she propped herself up on her elbows.
He was hungry to taste her. He looked up at her, then had to pause to watch the storms he saw her in eyes, wishing he could see what colors they took on. The room was too dark for that. He lifted her legs over his shoulders as he lay between them. Reaching a hand up to her breast, he kept a forearm pointed downward on her belly and used his fingers to separate her, then bent his face to her core.
She gasped when his tongue first touched her. Her thighs tightened against his face. He took his time exploring her with his tongue, his lips, his fingers, finding all the places and ways of touching her that made her breath hitch. When he felt the first reflexive jerk of her hips, he knew he’d found a way into her dormant soul.
He adjusted his hold, using one arm to steady her hips, freeing the other so he could penetrate her as he sucked her clit. She gasped. He knew she was close to an orgasm—he could feel the tension in her thighs. She was so wet. He tapped his fingers against her g-spot as his tongue stroked her clit.
Addy cried out as an orgasm took her over. She braced her feet on the bed and thrust against his face. Owen held her in place, keeping his fingers working her from the inside as his mouth did its magic outside. One orgasm slipped into another and another. He knew she was barely aware of him shifting positions so he could enter her. He felt the last little tremors slip away as he moved inside her.
She cried out when he seated himself, filling her. He knew it was from hunger, not fear, because her legs locked around him, keeping his hips against hers. She reached for his face. He lowered himself fully against her body, then arched down so he could kiss her, wondering if she tasted herself on his lips. Such sweet nectar. He fucked her mouth with his tongue as his body took hers. Her hands were everywhere over him—his back, his chest, his face. She dug her fingers into the back of his head. They were both breathing hard.
When he felt his release was imminent, he slipped a hand between their bodies to gently rub her clit. He wanted her to come with him. He waited, waited, waited…then crashed through with her, pounding into her, egged on by the way her inner muscles clamped and tugged at him. She was pushing up against him, thrusting into his thrusts, making little whimpers until he slammed deep in and spilled himself.
When it was over, and the last tremors were easing from her body, he lifted himself up to his elbows to look down at her. Her eyes were dark. He imagined them turning purple. He touched her soft cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” A tear slipped from her eye. “It was never like that. Not once.”
“Of course not. What you had before was torture. This is love. Big difference.” He eased himself from her, then rolled to his side and straightened the covers over them. “You’re staying with me tonight, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He drew her close. “I want you in my bed every night, in my arms the rest of our lives, Laidy.”
Addy sighed and sat up. Owen pushed himself up on his pillows, hoping like hell she wasn’t about to kill his dreams. He shouldn’t have said anything.
“Owen, what if this is all true, everything the Ratcliffs said. What becomes of us?”
“Nothing changes.”
“But I am. I’ve been modified in ways we don’t fully understand yet. What if…I live forever…”
“…And I don’t.”
Addy nodded.
“We don’t yet know what we’re dealing with. Let’s figure that out first. Maybe it can be reversed.”
“What if it can’t? What if I’m one of those people whose body takes over the work the nanos were doing?”
Owen turned on the light. This was too serious a discussion to be having without his being able to see her face.
“Would you take the modifications, too?” she asked.
“I would.”
“I don’t know if I want you to. It’s dangerous. Your body might not survive the changes the nanos trigger.”
He lift her hand and kissed her knuckles. “It’s an easy decision for me to make, Addy, though I know it’s not a simple one. We lived without each other. It wasn’t a good time. Whatever happens, we’ll go through it together.”
27
Jafaar watched Deputy Sheriff Jerry Whitcomb pull into the lot. He moved a little deeper into the small park, away from the few people who were there so that their conversation wouldn’t be overhead. This time, he hadn’t brought any food for the ducks in the pond. Didn’t matter. He wouldn’t be there long. He knew the perfect way to grab the Ratcliffs—or at least get them to the place he wanted them.
The deputy caught up to him. Jafaar kept walking. “Good afternoon, deputy. I’m glad you were able to make our meeting.”
“Did I have a choice?”
“It is only a simple task I need from you, at the moment.”
“No. I have to lay low. I think the sheriff’s onto me.”
“Perhaps. But this task won’t cause you any bother. I need you to run an app for me.”
“I left my phone in the cruiser.”
“I have the app on this phone. All you need to do is go to the house where the Feds are. Get within twenty feet of a certain woman there, and run the app.”
“That’s all? That place is lousy with Feds. It’s locked down seven ways to Sunday.”
“You were friends once with Mrs. Silas, no? She gives lessons to Ms. Jacobs every afternoon. Visit them during one of their lessons. Be near Ms. Jacobs when you click the app.”
“What does it do?”
“It changes the lineup of power in my favor. More power for me, means more power for you. Do it this afternoon.”
Jerry drove back to Wolf Creek Bend. Jafaar’s request seemed innocuous enough. He didn’t know who Ms. Jacobs was, but he should be able to figure it out by getting close to Mandy. He had a bone to pick with Mandy anyway. She could have chosen him. He would have kept her safe. He and Amir’s other guy were the ones harassing her—he could have reassured her that she wouldn’t actually be harmed. As long as she cooperated.
All he had to do for today’s exercise was drive out onto BLM land, then come back into the group’s compound from the rear. An evergreen forest backed to the corrals where they’d be. He couldn’t drive in at that point, but it wasn’t a long hike. He could get in, run the app, and get out before anyone even saw him. Or so he thought before the sheriff started pestering him on the radio. He shut it off. He was almost to BLM land. He’d be out of cell phone range too very shortly.
His phone rang. Jerry ignored it. When it rang a third time, he picked up.
“Sheriff.”
“Jerry. What are you doing?”
“Got a call from a rancher about a dead cow. Out on BLM land.”
“That ain’t our jurisdic
tion.”
“True, but didn’t think it hurt to check it out. Rancher’s a friend of mine.”
“The call didn’t come over dispatch.”
“Nah. Like I said, it was a friend of mine, so he called me direct. I won’t be long. I’m just about out of cell phone range, sheriff. I’ll be back to the station shortly.” Right on cue, the line cut out. Jerry smiled and dumped his phone on the passenger seat.
He drove a good ways onto BLM land, then came back toward the Fed’s place on a little-used dirt road that dead-ended in the woods, then had to go the rest of the way on foot.
Owen was watching Addy, Rocco, Mandy, and the three kids ride around in the parking area in front of the stable. They were all having fun, doing the same simple maneuvers that Addy and Troy were learning. The parking lot gave them a bigger area to move around in. Troy was a natural, even though he looked tiny on the back of the big horse he was riding. Addy…not so much. The point of the exercise this afternoon was to get them both comfortable with communicating to their horses. Owen could tell the work was completely absorbing to them.
“Owen, Rocco,” Kit’s voice came over their comms. “Deputy Jerry’s gone rogue. Sheriff’s on his way over. I don’t know where Jerry is. Get everybody inside. Do it now.”
Shit. Owen ran toward the group. Rocco was grabbing kids off saddles. He handed Troy to Addy, swung Zavi under his arm, and was hurrying Casey and Mandy out of the parking lot. Mandy was resisting leaving the horses loose. Rocco caught her and forced her to focus on him. “We got incoming. Forget the goddamned horses. You and the kids need to get to safety. Now.”
That got through to her. Owen picked up Troy and grabbed Addy, then ran them up the hill and into the stable. Rocco brought up the rear. The horses followed him, so he let them into the corral. Just as well, Owen thought. Gave the deputy less opportunity to hide. A siren was wailing in the distance, coming up from town.
Owen told everyone to wait just inside the stable door while he started clearing the stalls. The deputy wasn’t in there with them, so he moved them deeper inside, getting them into the hay storage area, which was on the end of the stable nearest the house.
No sooner had he done that than the deputy stepped into the big opening. Owen drew his gun. “Deputy. We weren’t expecting you.” He kept his voice calm, as if drawing a weapon on a cop wasn’t an illegal activity. Jerry didn’t seem particularly stressed, which helped Owen relax some. He was just messing around with his phone.
“Put the phone down, deputy, and step away from the barn,” he directed him.
Jerry pocketed the phone, then frowned as he looked up at Owen. “What’s the big deal? Can’t an old friend stop by and check in? Mandy and I are friends. You know that.”
Kit was running from the house. Owen had to keep the deputy’s focus. He knew Rocco was coming around the corral side of the stable. The siren had stopped, but he could see lights flashing from the parking lot, so the sheriff was there, too.
“You know, deputy, I don’t want to make this anything it’s not,” Owen said. “Where’s your vehicle? I didn’t see you pull up. Feels a little bit like you were sneaking up on us. Why would you do that?”
“I wasn’t sneaking. I had to check out a dead cow incident. Just over on BLM land. Saw you guys and thought I’d say hi.”
The sheriff came up, his hand on his undrawn weapon. “Jerry, I’d like you to come with me.”
“I can’t do that, sheriff. I left my vehicle back a ways.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll have one of the other guys bring it in for us.”
Jerry heard Kit behind him. He whirled around. Owen lunged, body-slamming Jerry before he could draw his weapon. The sheriff cuffed him while Owen kept a knee on his neck. They disarmed him, then the sheriff hoisted Jerry to his feet.
“I’m disappointed in you, son,” the sheriff said. “You were supposed to be one of the good guys. Who are you working for? What were you doing out here?”
“Check his phone,” Owen said. “He was messing with it.”
“The sheriff’s call was the last one for a few hours,” Max said over their comms.
“Sheriff, if you don’t mind, we’ll take that phone,” Owen said. “My guys can check out what he was doing with it.” The sheriff handed it to him. It wasn’t passcode protected. Owen frowned. “There’s only one app on it.” He handed it to Kit. “Get this to Max.”
“Owen,” Mandy called from inside the hay room. “Something’s wrong with Addy. She fainted.”
Owen ran into the hay room to the women and kids. Addy was draped across Mandy’s lap, out cold. Owen knelt and felt her pulse, glad it was there and strong. He wondered if it was another situation like what had happened with Wynn and the bumblebee drone.
“Did you see a bee or bumblebee or another bug? Was she stung?” Owen asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see one,” Mandy said.
“She okay?” Kit asked.
“She’s breathing. I need to get her up to the house,” Owen said. “Max, Greer, are we clear out here?” he asked via his comms. “There any other tangos we need to know about?”
“Negative,” Greer answered. “We did a sweep of our systems. Jerry’s the only one who got through.”
“Did you do something to her?” the sheriff asked Jerry.
“I wasn’t near her,” the deputy said.
“Let’s go back to the house.” Owen lifted Addy and started for the house. Rocco followed with the kids and Mandy. Kit stayed to help the sheriff.
Owen took Addy to his room and set her on the bed. He loosened her clothes, washed her hands and face, and put a cool rag on her forehead. Nothing revived her. He remembered Troy saying his mom fainted a lot and wondered if this was normal for her. She hadn’t fainted in the time they’d been reunited. He had smelling salts in his first-aid kit. He grabbed them and waved the pungent capsules under her nose. They had no effect on her.
He thought about calling an ambulance, but after what had happened to Wynn, he couldn’t risk that. He looked up to see the room crowded with his team. Thankfully, Troy wasn’t there. “Call Doc Beck. I want him over here now. And get the Ratcliffs in here. Maybe they know something.”
As soon as he said that, he remembered them mentioning something about using an app to trigger the nanos’ kill-off procedures. He looked up at Greer. “Tell me the Wi-Fi jammer we’re using here extends to the stable.”
Greer shook his head. “It doesn’t.”
“Get into that app. See what it does,” Owen said, then looked at Wynn’s dad, who’d come into the room. “Tell me an app didn’t just kill Addy. Tell me it isn’t that simple.”
“It can be,” Nathan Ratcliff said. “A self-destruct can be triggered in a dozen different ways. The preferred was via code in the belief it could be better controlled than via hormonal delivery.”
“Find out what the deputy did,” Owen said.
Greer rushed out of the room, grabbing Wynn’s dad on his way out. Wynn’s mom came over to sit beside Addy. She took her hand. Owen was struck by how peaceful Addy was just lying there.
“If her nanos were triggered, we need to act fast. We have to figure which nanos she was given,” Joyce said.
“In what ways could they be attacking her?” Owen asked.
“Again, it depends on the type she was given, but it’s possible they’re collecting in an artery, forming an artificial clot,” Joyce said. “They could cause a heart attack, a stroke, an aneurysm. Other nanos might trigger a lethal chemical change that sends her body into anaphylactic shock. We have to know what we’re dealing with. And for that, we need a specialized lab.”
Doc Beck came in then. Owen cleared out the room so he could do his examination. He took her vitals. “Her blood pressure is dangerously low.”
The doctors consulted each other, rattling off terms and treatments at a mind-boggling speed. They talked about an exchange transfusion, but discarded the idea almost as soon as it had been pro
posed—they didn’t have the four hours that could take.
Four hours. Addy didn’t have four hours left.
Owen jammed his fingers into his hair. The others had come back into the room. He looked at Kit. “Get my helicopter up here. We’re going to need to evacuate her…as soon as we decide where. Doc Beck is finding an appropriate lab. And tell the sheriff the deputy may well have succeeded in murdering Addy.”
Max came into the room as Kit left. Whatever news he was about to impart didn’t look good. “Heard from Lion and Feral. A couple of helicopters just dropped off Edwards, Mrs. Jacobs, Jason, and Santo. There’re all there. One of the cubs saw Beetle, too.”
Owen closed his eyes. Beetle was there, just an hour away. It was no coincidence that this had happened to Addy right now. “Does Lion know where my son is?”
“No. They lost sight of him.”
“Owen,” Beck looked up from his cell. “I found a lab. It’s near here”—he paused—“but I need you to talk to someone.”
Owen grabbed the phone.
“Son?” came a long forgotten voice on the other end. Owen put the phone on speaker. The room went quiet.
“Dad?” Of all the fucking times for his past to slam into his present, now was the worst. “I can’t talk now.”
“Listen to me. The lab facilities you need are out at the WKB compound, in the silo. Problem is, all the bastards are gathering there as we speak. They did this on purpose to draw you out. You can’t go there. You’ll be ambushed. They’ll fucking slaughter you and your team. You can’t risk the Ratcliffs. It’s no exaggeration to say that all of humanity depends on them for their survival.”
Jax had said the same about the Omnis attempting to draw them out. “Understood. What is it about this lab that makes it the one we need?”
“They’ve been doing human testing there. On WKB bikers. They have a few dozen modified fighters there, plus more they’ve brought in. They do have medical support systems there, but more importantly, they have the software labs responsible for the nano termination coding. They have what you need to reverse what’s been done to Addy.”
Forsaken Duty, The Red Team Series, Book 9 Page 26
