Fury rushed through his bloodstream. He lunged and grabbed Reader by the throat and lifted him right off his feet. Reader grabbed at his metal wrist, but there was no give in the titanium alloy.
He dragged his quarry close until he was staring into his eyes. “She is the most beautiful woman in the world to me.”
Reader was choking, his feet thrashing, his hands pulling at Flynn’s hand around his neck.
“Flynn, put him down.”
He shook his head, certain he was hearing things. It was Cerena, but she’d been shot. He’d seen her fall. And unlike him, she hadn’t been wearing body armor.
“Flynn.” Then she was beside him, touching his arm.
“How? You’re dead.”
“No. I ache and I’ll have a ton of bruises, but the weapon was on stun, not kill. I guess he really did want to torture information out of us.”
His entire body began to shake. “You’re alive.” She was really here beside him.
“Ah, Ian is turning blue. You might want to let him go.”
“No.” He couldn’t let Reader go free. No one he loved would be safe. And speaking of safe. “Why the fuck did you jump in front of me? I’m wearing a battlesuit.” He tossed Reader aside and grabbed Cerena by the shoulders. “I thought you had been fucking killed. What were you fucking thinking?” He knew he shouldn’t be swearing at her, but couldn’t stop.
He wanted to shake her to within an inch of her life. He wanted to lock her in his room and keep her there. He wanted to strip her naked and love her until she’d promise never to put herself in danger again.
“What was I fucking thinking?” She drilled her finger into his chest. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“That much is obvious.”
He heard Amos in the background say, “Uh oh,” but ignored him. They’d handle Reader.
“I saw him shoot at your head and acted. Do you know why?”
“Why?” They were practically nose to nose, both of them yelling, neither of them backing down.
“Because I love you,” she shouted. The entire clearing went silent, even the birds in the trees.
Flynn’s heart stopped for one long beat before surging back to life at double-time. “You love me?”
She dragged her fingers through her short golden hair, her brown eyes snapping with temper. “Yes. Although right now, I’m not sure why. You’re surly and you swear too fucking much.”
His hand was shaking as he touched her face. She huffed out a breath. “Well, what do you have to say?” she demanded.
Flynn yanked her against him and kissed her. She was alive, and she loved him. It was a miracle. When he’d thought her dead, all he’d seen was a deep black hole of despair. But here she was, not only alive, but feisty enough to argue with him.
She met his kiss with her own. Tongues tangled as their mouths melded. She tasted of life, of love, of a future.
He pulled back. “Nix.” The both of them turned toward the building. Side by side, they surged up the three steps and through the door.
“Nix! Where are you?” Cerena yelled. The space was dark.
“Lights on,” Flynn ordered, but nothing happened. “I need light in here,” he roared, knowing Amos or Vaden would handle it. They weren’t about to wait.
****
She’d told Flynn she loved him. In front of his entire family. He hadn’t said anything back, but he had kissed her. That had to mean something.
He was angry with her. No, scratch that. He was furious.
Not that she could blame him. She had jumped in front of a blaster stream without thinking. It had been pure instinct when Ian had aimed his weapon at Flynn. The blast had knocked the wind out of her. She hadn’t been able to speak or breathe for several seconds. By then both men had disappeared.
Worry for both her son and Flynn had pushed her to get to her feet. Pain was a part of her job, so she’d pushed through it. She was badly bruised, but she’d live. As soon as she’d caught her breath, she’d charged after them.
She thought someone might have tried to stop her, but couldn’t quite remember. It had all been a blur. But things were back in focus now. Her son was still missing. “Nix!”
She turned in a circle, wishing she could see. She jerked when a hand landed on her arm. “Easy,” Flynn told her. “I’m here.”
“Where is he?” Fear crawled through her, threatening to bring her to her knees.
“We’ll find him.” The pure grit and determination in his voice settled her. “Reader was running back here.”
“Of course, he’d want to get to Nix.” Having a hostage would have been his only way out. “Nix!”
This time when she paused, she thought she heard something. The lights suddenly came on, practically blinding her. She blinked and headed toward the noise. “Nix? Is that you?”
“Mom?”
Heart threatening to explode, she raced toward his voice. “I’m here.” There was a locked metal door in front of her. “I’m going to get you out.”
“No! Stop. It’s rigged to blow.”
Flynn wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her away. “Let me go.” She fought his hold. “My son is in there.”
“And he’ll be dead if we’re not smart.” His brutal assessment brought her back to reality with a thud.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. “You’re right. I know you’re right.” When Flynn kept his arm locked around her, she patted his arm. “I’m okay now.” He slowly released her and then went toward the door.
“What do you know about the explosives, Nix?”
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“Ah, he’s with me.” She wasn’t exactly sure how to explain Flynn to her son. She’d never even dated before.
“Name is Flynn.” He got up close and personal with the door, examining it carefully. “Your mom tried to kill me, but when that didn’t work, she decided she loved me.”
She dropped her head forward. “I’m going to kill you, Flynn.”
He shot her a grin. “Already tried that once and it didn’t work.”
“I’ll try again,” she assured him, but with more embarrassment than heat.
“Mom? Who is this guy?”
She sighed, having no idea how Nix would react, but she’d never lied to her son and wasn’t about to start now. “His name is Flynn Marks. He’s the man Ian sent me to kill to secure your freedom.”
“You really tried to kill him?” It was so hard to be this close to her son and not be able to see or hold him.
“You’re my son.” It was as simple as that. “He understood why I did it once I explained.” And that was as much as Nix needed to know.
“O-kay.” Nix drew the word out, like he really didn’t believe what she was telling him.
“It’s true,” Flynn told him. “Your mom is one hell of a woman.”
Nix laughed. “Now that I do know. I never doubted you’d come for me,” he told her.
Her chest ached with love for her son. “I’d do anything to protect those I love.” Flynn stopped examining the door and glared at her. “Live with it,” she told him.
“Ah, what’s going on?” Nix asked.
A commotion further down the hallway drew their attention. Vaden was dragging Ian beside him as he approached. “What’s the holdup?”
“Door is wired,” Flynn told him.
Vaden dumped Ian’s limp body to the ground. “Let me take a look.”
“Nix, what can you see in there? How do you know it’s wired to explode?”
“He told me. Mom, I’m sorry. He came to our home and said he was my dad and that he wanted to talk to me. I wasn’t going to go with him, but when he gripped my arm, I felt a sting. I passed out after that.”
“He drugged you.” She turned to his prone body, pulled back her foot, and kicked Ian’s limp form in the stomach. “Bastard.” He’s body slid backward, but he never made a sound.
“When I came to, I was locked away on a ship.”<
br />
“I’m sorry, Nix.” This should never have happened.
“Is he really my father?” He was a teenager but a part of him was still a boy, and that’s what she heard now, a boy needing his mother’s reassurance.
“He’s a sperm donor, nothing more.”
Silence from the room.
“Nix?”
“There’s a box on the wall with wires coming out. I’m not sure what’s inside and didn’t want to fiddle with it in case it, you know, exploded.”
“Is it only attached to the door?” Flynn asked.
“Yeah. As far as I can tell.”
Flynn and Vaden looked at each other. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Flynn asked.
Vaden grinned. “New door.”
“New door,” he agreed.
“What are you going to do?” she demanded.
“If only the door is wired, we can cut open another piece of wall and I can get into the room,” Flynn explained.
“Too risky.” She hadn’t just found her son to have him explode. And she’d taken a blaster stream for Flynn, so she didn’t want him to blow up either. “He still alive?” She pointed at Ian.
“For now.” Vaden hooked his boot beneath the man and pushed him onto his back.
Cerena went down on her knees beside him and smacked him in the face. “Ian. Wake up.” He didn’t even groan. “Anyone clear his pockets?” she asked.
“Didn’t seem important.” Garth dropped to Ian’s other side and began to rifle through his clothing. She did the same on her side.
When she felt a square box, she carefully removed it from his pants pocket. “Is this important?” She held it out to Flynn. “Could it be a detonator?”
“Let me see that.” Amos held out his hand. When Flynn nodded, she passed the box over.
Garth awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. “We’ll get him out.”
Her throat tightened, almost closing. She nodded and went over to stand by the door keeping her son imprisoned and pressed her hand against it. “We’re going to get you out. You sit tight.”
Nix gave a shaky laugh. “Not like I can go anywhere.”
“Did he hurt you?” Her son would have to live with the psychological trauma for the rest of his life. His own father had kidnapped him and used him as a bargaining chip. But she had no idea if that was the extent of things.
“Roughed me up a bit. Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He sounded almost proud.
“I knew you could handle yourself.” When she looked away, she found the others, women included, all watching her. She glanced at the floor, feeling totally exposed between this and her spectacular declaration to Flynn earlier.
Her entire body ached, and her head throbbed. All she wanted was her son, some sleep, a shower, some clean clothes, and some food.
Okay, and Flynn.
One thing at a time.
“I think this is the remote.” Amos had the back open and wires spilling out.
“So what do we do?” This was beyond her experience but not theirs. She’d be a fool not to listen to what Amos had to say.
“We can give it a try or we can get a torch and cut through the wall.”
“What are the dangers?” She needed to know the odds for both.
“If I don’t press the right button, I could blow the door with the remote,” he told her. “If we cut through the wall but there’s a wire running through it or we’re wrong about only the door being wired…” He trailed off, leaving her to draw her own conclusion.
“So either way is risky.” She rubbed her hand over her face. Flynn wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against his broad chest. She rested her forehead against him. “What would you do? If it was your son?”
He tilted her head back and ran his thumbs over her cheeks. “I’d try the remote first.”
She nodded. “Nix. Get as far away from the door as you can. Crouch down and get small. Do you have a mattress or anything you can use to cover yourself?”
“Give me a second,” he yelled. She could hear furniture moving and something scraping against the floor. “I’m ready.”
Amos handed the remote to Flynn. “It’s this button. I think.” With that, the rest of them faded back down the hallway. Vaden grabbed Ian’s arm and dragged him along.
“You should go with them,” Flynn told her.
She shook her head. “He’s my son. Besides we’re in this together.”
Flynn studied her face and then gave a curt nod. “Together.” He wrapped his arm around her and turned so she was facing away, using his entire body as a shield. “Countdown,” he yelled. “Three. Two. One.” He pressed the button. They both tensed.
After a couple of seconds, she raised her head. “Is that it?”
“Stay here,” he told her. He went to the door and very slowly turned the handle. It gave with a loud click.
“Nix.” She started to surge forward.
“Stay back,” Flynn barked. “We have no idea how stable this is. Nix, come on. We need to get out of here.”
There was the sound of rustling and then her son was right in front of her. She grabbed him and hugged him as hard as she could. He hugged her back.
Flynn wrapped his long arms around both of them, putting himself between them and danger. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Twelve
Cerena’s son was as big as his mom, and he was only fifteen. With his short golden hair and brown eyes, he looked more like her than he did Reader. One side of the boy’s face was bruised and slightly swollen, likely from being struck by Reader or one of his men.
Flynn hurried both of them outside, only relaxing slightly once they were away from the explosives. He wouldn’t totally let down his guard until he had them both aboard the Abigail and were away from here.
Cerena was trembling. And why not? She’d been struck by a shot from a blaster and her son had just been rescued from a cell wired with explosives. “I’ve got you,” he assured her.
Nix frowned and stepped away. “You’re Flynn Marks?” He stared and Flynn knew what he saw—a big man with an eyepatch and facial scars, a robotic hand, and a dark scowl.
Keeping one arm banded around Cerena, he nodded.
“And my mom really tried to kill you?” The kid’s eyes were wide as he looked from one to the other. “I mean, I know you’re tough, Mom, but to try to kill someone.” He swallowed hard, his throat rippling.
“Your mom was ready and willing to do anything to protect you,” he reminded the boy. Flynn didn’t want their relationship tainted by what had happened between him and Cerena.
Nix nodded. “I tried to steal a communicator.” He touched the side of his face. “Ian wasn’t happy.”
Flynn was glad the boy didn’t call Reader his dad. That would only have hurt Cerena.
She straightened and went to her son. “You’re my baby. I’d do anything to protect you.”
“Mom.” Nix’s face turned red, but he grinned.
“As much as I’m enjoying the family reunion, we still have a problem,” Flynn reminded them. They all looked at Reader, who was facedown in the dirt by Vaden’s feet.
Vaden nudged Reader with his foot. “We’ll contact the Alliance and let them deal with him.”
Flynn shook his head. “Not good enough. If he manages to slip away, he’ll not only be a danger to Cerena and Nix but to all of us. He blames us for taking down his boss, for costing him money. He ever finds a way to escaped justice he’ll be after us again.”
Vaden tapped a finger to his chin. “He did threaten all of you, didn’t he? And since Abigail is now a princess of Gravas, he did threaten the royal family. I’ll call my father, have him deal with the Alliance Council.” He reached down and grabbed Reader’s arm. “Until then, we’ll keep him locked up.”
“You going to drag him all the way back to the ship?” Flynn asked out of sheer curiosity.
“Yes.” Vaden headed out with Abby by his side. “We’ll wait for you.”
; “That okay with you?” Flynn asked Cerena as they watched their nemesis being dragged away. As much as she must despise the man, she’d cared enough about him years ago to have his son.
She stared after them until they disappeared from sight. “It’s not the way I wish things had played out, but it’s the way it needs to be.” Cerena was a realist. She’d had to be to survive.
Flynn wanted to make her life easier, to share her burdens. Only he had no idea what her plans were. Would she want to go back to her home on Noir? To her old job?
Abby and Vaden might have left them alone, but the rest of his family was still standing around. Knowing he wouldn’t get rid of them anytime soon, he swallowed back his frustration.
“Nix, this is my family.” He introduced his brothers and their women. The boy’s eyes got bigger as the introductions continued.
“You all came for me?”
“We’re here because we weren’t about to let Flynn mount a rescue alone.” While it was true, he wished Garth wasn’t quite so blunt.
Nix didn’t seem surprised. “I get it.” He glanced at Cerena. “Family is everything.” Then he took his mom gently by the shoulders and pushed her behind him, surprising everyone, including her. Flynn was curious as to what the boy was up to. No, not a boy. Not any longer. After what he’d been through, he was a man now. A young one, but one day he’d be even bigger and stronger than he was now. The signs were all there. He was already tough and resilient.
“I know my mom tried to kill Flynn,” he began.
“She didn’t succeed,” he reminded them.
“She did it for me,” Nix continued, as though Flynn hadn’t spoken. “If there are any repercussions, I’ll take the blame. It’s my fault. I should have been more cautious. I should have known better when Ian Reader showed up at the door acting like some concerned, long-lost dad.”
“Nix.” Cerena stepped around him and stood by his side. “This is not your fault. While I can curse Ian for what he did to you, I’ll never regret knowing him.” She pressed her hand against his cheek. “He gave me the greatest gift of my life—you.”
Flynn tensed, not liking to think about Cerena and Reader heating up the sheets. As far as he was concerned, Nix was her son. He’d rather forget all about how he was conceived.
Flynn's Assassin (Marks Mercenaries Book 5) Page 11
