Sacrifice Love: Saints Protection & Investigations (25 page)

“You’d better hope she does,” Fazan noted. “If not, things will become messy.”

Another silence and then Jahfar asked, “Did the shipment get through?”

“Yes, it’s in place. A new group is in the home working on it.”

“Does anyone suspect?”

“Not on my end, but are you sure about yours?”

“I’ll take care of MES…you take care of yours.”

With a final goodbye, Jahfar disconnected the call, tossing his cell phone onto the seat next to him. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he glanced around not recognizing where he had driven. Seeing a familiar shopping center ahead, he pulled through the fast-food restaurant ordering dinner for his family.
A surprise…the children will like that.
Sucking in a deep breath, he knew his wife would wonder. Closing his eyes for a second while waiting for the take-out to be handed to him by the pimpled-faced teenager working the cash register, he prayed.
Keep my family safe. Let this endeavor be over soon. And let the right side win.

*

Getting home from
work, Dani saw that Chad was not home yet. Making a cup of herbal tea and a piece of toast, she settled in the rocking chair to watch the birds at the feeders in his yard.

Her back ached and she shifted in her seat, unable to find a comfortable position. For some reason, the cushioned padding of the rocker bottom felt lumpy on one side near the back. She smiled, thinking of the chair being re-upholstered several times by her family. Glancing down, she realized the sky-blue material did not match Chad’s living room décor.
I’ll be sitting in it every day so I could re-do it in a more neutral color.
Maybe tan. Or a dark burgundy.
Curious as to how difficult it might be to re-upholster it by herself, she stood and eased the rocker over on its side to see the underside.

The rocker was old, unlike any she had seen in recent years. The underside was a combination of heavy, zig-zag springs that were exposed with the padding and material covering the rest. The material appeared torn in one area and she realized the chair would need to be re-finished soon anyway. As she squatted down on the floor, she noticed the tear was quite long—at least six inches. Knowing her parents’ propensity for completing projects almost perfectly, she was surprised at the large tear in the material.
Did the movers damage it during the move?

And then she saw it—the corner of something tucked inside the tear. Her fingers felt the object and with a jerk she could see the bottom half of a notebook poking through. Pulling it the rest of the way out, she looked at the small, spiral bound notebook. Her heart pounded, not knowing what she had found. Instinctively though, she knew it had something to do with Adam.
His letter! He mentioned the old rocker in his note! Had that been a clue I was supposed to figure out?

With shaking fingers, she opened to the first page and recognized his chicken-scratch writing. Almost indecipherable, it was filled with jibberish. Letters, numbers. Nothing made sense.
Oh, my God, Adam? What now?

“Babe?” Chad’s voice broke through her revelations as he wandered into the room. Seeing the rocking chair on its side and her sitting on the floor, he assumed she had fallen. Rushing over, he knelt next to her, about to crush her body to his, when he saw what was in her shaking hands. “What have you got?”

“It’s Adam’s. Adam’s notebook. He must have left it for me to find.”

C
had took the
notebook from Dani’s shaking hand, sliding down onto the floor next to her, his legs on either side of her body. His eyes moved over the writing on the pages, a grimace of frustration on his face.

“Fuck, man, I don’t know what this means.” He looked at Dani’s face to see if she expressed any understanding at what he was holding but her confusion mirrored his own.

“Chad,” she began shakily. “If he wasn’t doing something wrong, why would he have hidden this? And why would he want me to find it?”

Leaning back against the sofa, Chad rubbed his hand over his face. He placed his large hand on her leg, giving her thigh a slight squeeze. “I’ve got no fuckin’ idea, babe. But, if it’s some kind of code, Luke’ll break it. I need to get it to Jack’s.”

She nodded, heaving a sigh. “We can’t seem to catch a break can we?”

He looked at her, not answering, but allowed her to finish her thought.

Placing her hand over his, she linked her fingers in his, her expression pensive. “I thought we’d be able to take things slow. Focus on us. The new us. A chance to make sure we wanted the same things. A chance to get to know each other again. Focus on the baby.” She captured his gaze, holding it for a long minute. “But here I am, living in your house. Giving up the last of my independence. And still dealing with Adam and whatever mess he was involved in.”

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her in, nuzzling her sweet smelling hair. Neither said anything for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts as his hand smoothed up her arm, tangling in her hair and then back down before traveling that path again. Kissing the top of her head, he said, “I’ll call Jack and see if he wants this now or in the morning.”

A few minutes later he walked back into the room, seeing her sitting in the rocking chair, her hands on her stomach. Eyes closed, her pale face in the setting sun coming through the window. She had kicked off her heels and had her feet propped on the coffee table. Her silk blouse was partially pulled out of the elastic waistband of her skirt. He had noticed she was no longer able to zip her non-maternity clothes. His heart skipped a beat as he stood watching her.

Slowly, Dani opened her eyes, watching Chad as he stood in the entryway to the living room, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his impressive chest and one thick leg crossed over the other. Her green eyes scanned him from his dark, short hair down to his booted feet, loving everything she perused. Offering him a small smile, she asked, “What’d Jack say?”

Pushing off the doorframe, he walked into the room keeping his eyes on hers and said, “Jack said we can get it to Luke tomorrow.” He watched her nod before leaning her head back on the padded back of the rocker. “You rest, babe. I’ll fix dinner.”

As he turned to move into the kitchen, she rose from the chair and caught up to him. Linking fingers again, she said, “Let’s make it together.”

An hour later, they pushed their empty plates back having consumed the grilled pork chops, corn, and fresh salad. They cleaned the kitchen together, making quick work of the dishes and pans before settling on the sofa to watch TV. She thought it would be difficult to keep her mind off the notebook, but found that snuggled in Chad’s embrace, his steady heartbeat underneath her fingers as her hand rested on his chest, he was the only thing on her mind.

He felt her fingers moving slowly, setting his blood on fire.
Down boy, she’s gotta be tired.
Trying to steady his breathing, he chanced a glance at her upturned face. The look in her eyes turned his blood from fire…to molten. He watched her lips moving toward his and that was the only invitation he needed. Bending down, he latched onto hers. Soft…yielding. Sliding his tongue inside her warmth, he tasted her own blend of intoxicating.

With his arms wrapped around her securely, he rolled gently so her back was on the sofa and his body was slightly covering hers without letting loose of the kiss. His hand splayed over her stomach, thinking of the life below his fingers. The kiss continued languorously as his fingers slipped underneath her blouse on a slow trail toward her breasts.

Dani clutched his shoulders, fearful of digging her fingernails too deeply into him but unable to let go. His mouth sent all rational thoughts from her head. Losing herself in his methodical onslaught, she felt his fingers stop at the bottom of her breasts, but yearned to have them move higher.

He teased the underside of her bra before slipping his hand over the lace. Tracing the tops of her mounds at the lacy edge, he continued the assault on her mouth. She arched her back, pushing her breasts upward, whimpering in his mouth as he finally pulled a bra cup down, palming the fullness. His thumb swept over her taut nipple, feeling it harden even more.

The zing from her breast to her core bolted through her as her nipples responded to his touch. Sliding her hands up to cup his face, she sucked his tongue into her mouth, pushing her hips toward his heavy leg as it lay between hers.

Trying to rub her core on his jeans, he chuckled into her mouth as his thumb and forefinger lightly pinched her nipple. Finally lifting his lips from hers, he gazed into her lust-hazy eyes and said, “Babe, I want you but I want you comfortable. No way my body fits on this sofa the way I want without possibly hurting you.”

Her response was to mewl at the loss of his lips, but before she had a chance to protest, his body knifed off the sofa and she was lifted into his arms as he stalked toward the bedroom.

Once there, he lowered her slowly, allowing her full frontal to glide down his body, stopping her before her feet quite reached the floor. Her full breasts pressed into his chest. Her protruding belly pressed against his. And his prominent erection pressed into her hips as he held her tightly with one hand on her ass and the other around her middle. Their lips, still exploring, became more urgent. Thrusting his tongue into her warm mouth, he swallowed her moans as he explored each crevice, dueling with her tongue for dominance.

Bending slightly, he set her feet on the floor, hands moving to her shoulders. He reluctantly lifted his head, separating their lips but capturing her eyes. “Want to take care of you, baby. What do you need?”

Dani heard his words, soft and caring. She knew he would do whatever she wanted…a hot bath, going to sleep…but all she needed was standing right in front of her. The corners of her lips curved into a slow smile as she slipped her hands around his neck. One gave him a little squeeze as the other moved up to cup the back of his head, her fingers threading through his dark hair, pulling him toward her. “I just need you,” she whispered. “All of you…in all of me.”

Grinning, he stared at the promise in front of him. The realization that he had the woman he loved in arms washed over him. “You got it, babe.” His hands went to her blouse, his fingers nimbly undoing each button until the silky material slid over her shoulders and down her back, allowing it to drop to the floor in a puddle behind her.

The creamy skin of her breasts spilled out of the top of her lacy bra and he lowered his head. Trailing his lips down her neck, he sucked at her pulse before kissing his way tortuously into her cleavage.

Dani’s head fell back as her skin tingled from his lips—not just from his kisses, but from the promise of what was to come. With a flip of his fingers, her bra was unsnapped and she shifted her body so that the scrap of material could join her shirt on the floor.

Her hands slipped under his shirt, moving torturously upward over the hard ridges of his stomach and chest. The material bunched as she gathered it and stood on her tiptoes to pull it over his head. Slowly, her fingers splayed over his chest and down to his waist, her nails slightly digging in as they trailed the muscles.

Her hands at his belt, she easily unbuckled it before unzipping his pants, feeling his cock straining at the impending freedom. His hands moved to her skirt, slipping into the wide elastic waistband. Catching her panties, he slid them off as well, allowing the clothing to puddle on the floor.

She moved back, sitting on the edge of the bed before shifting her legs up and scooting backward. Lying on the comforter, her auburn hair displayed across his pillows, she held his blue eyes with her green ones before lifting her arms to him.

Stepping back as he toed off his shoes and shucked his jeans and boxers, he perused the naked woman in front of him. Her body was a perfect picture of desire. He crawled over her, resting his weight on one hand as he admired her perfection.

Her rosy-tipped nipples beckoned and he moved his hand over her breasts, teasing the underside before circling her nipples with his forefinger, watching them pucker with need. Sucking one deeply into his mouth, he halted when she jumped. “Was I too hard, doll?” he murmured.

“No,” she grinned. “No, they’re just sensitive. More so than usual.”

Realizing that her pregnant body was already responding differently, he moved back to her breasts, this time licking her nipples before sucking gently on them. She writhed underneath his ministration, each pull on her breasts sending a jolt to her womb.

She watched as he laid a trail of open-mouth, wet kisses from her breasts down her stomach, ending at the sought after prize. Her legs spread wide, he feasted on her wet folds, sliding his tongue deep inside. Holding her head up, she continued to watch as the sensations swept across her body, threatening to drown her in their intensity. Her sex throbbed as his tongue continued its thrusts. She began to rock her hips up seeking more contact, more pressure, more…anything.

He chuckled, placing his large hands under her ass to pull her up even closer. He continued to lick her folds, pressing his tongue inside her sex, then moved up slightly to pull her clit into his mouth. Over and over, he nipped, sucked, licked until she was crying out for her release. His hand slipped up towards her breasts, lightly pinching a nipple at the same time.