Sleeves (34 page)

How could he have done this to her?

“I’ll keep us safe. You don’t need to worry about that—I know where we can go, and Peanut’ll be—”

“No, Kel! You took this choice from me, and I’m taking a choice from you now.” She pulled away from him, stood and walked out that door.

He failed to come after her, and she was glad.

A few moments later she waltzed straight into Hanford’s office and said, “Kel’s made a cure. And I believe it works.”

“It does,” he said, devoid of motion.

“He injected Robbie and me, and probably himself, too.” She leaned into his desk, extended her right arm and found the puncture hole then pointed to it.

“Yeah, he took it and used it on himself. He gave it to Marie as well. She’s dead, Casey. She went into shock at the hospital, and they couldn’t bring her back. Her heart failed.”

“Oh God—you can’t be . . . She’s gone?” Casey bit her lip, and when she thought she couldn’t stand it anymore, tears were back. They gushed softly down her cheeks this time.

“I’m sorry. We tried to save her, but with the serum gone, years’ worth of her disease compounded and her body failed to handle an onslaught like that. There was no way to get her back without the original serum.”

“I’ll help you get it. I want it back inside me,” she said, her hands going back to her belly in a protective way. “I want to help.”

A faint grin etched its way onto his mouth. “We’d love to have you on the team.”

He reached his hand out, and unlike Kel, she shook it heartily.

Fuck Kel’s plan. She was taking charge.

* * *

“It’s a government facility?” she choked on her words.

She blinked and sat stiff in Hanford’s office, watching the surveillance footage.

It had been two days since she’d told Hanford she wanted to help out, and she was dying to get things going and take those awful people down at the facility.

Hanford nodded.

“Dear God, how’s that possible?” She stretched her neck, and her stomach cramped up. Starving. When were they going to break for food?

“We don’t know, actually, but that’s not what we find the most disturbing. They’re not affiliated with the armed forces, so we’re not even sure how they knew to contact Marie and her husband, David. They fooled them somehow—trained officers. It almost seems like they were stalking that couple on purpose. We found a few leads here and there, but nothing substantial to prove anything. I think that there was some kind of personal vendetta involved.”

Casey’s brow furrowed. “Why would anyone go to these kinds of lengths just to get back at someone?”

“Don’t know, but people do twisted things when they’re out for revenge.” Hanford sighed and leaned back in his seat, cupping the back of his head in his clasped hands. “We’ve got to get in there. We need proper intel.”

“I already told you I’d do it again. I’ve done it before.” She ran her hands through her blonde hair. Her roots were showing a little, but they could change that easily.

“No. You’ve already been in there before, and they’re onto you now. We’re thinking if Kel showed back up, we could—”

“As bait?” Her voice broke.

“Yeah, in a way.” His eyes softened. “We won’t let him get hurt, but we know they’ll take him into custody. We could wire him with a live camera feed, then we’d at least have something to go on before we burst in there and take them down. We want to prevent casualties if we can.”

“He’ll never go for it. He wants us to run again. He’s . . .”

“Afraid,” Hanford filled in the gap, “and I don’t blame him.”

“He’s afraid for Robbie and me, not himself. He knows he can handle it again, besides . . .” she trailed off.

Hanford’s hands dropped, and he leaned toward her.

“It didn’t work on him and his son. We think maybe it only works on someone who’s first generation with the serum. They were born with it in their veins. It’s entwined with their DNA. They haven’t seen any difference at all with the cure.” Her heart clenched.

“And you want to be like them again?” His brows lifted.

She nodded; her eyes welled up.

“I can make sure that happens before the serum’s locked up with the FBI.”

She lunged at him, hugged him, then left.

Maybe she could talk some sense into Kel. He was acting like a lunatic lately, refusing to go in with her to talk to the agents.

He was fucking her around the clock when she was near him.

And even though she loved it, she feared it was out of complete desperation and panic, not because he couldn’t live without her anymore and resisting her was impossible. Huge difference.

Her pregnancy was still proceeding, but she was still unconvinced it wouldn’t terminate some day because of what he’d done.

She forgave him, but if this baby passed . . .

No. She wouldn’t think about that now.

There would be time for depressing thoughts like that later.

She walked home like she always did since their apartment was located in a wing of the building where they held people they were either detaining or about to put into hiding with new identities.

Kel was insistent they could do that for them as well, but why would they? The FBI didn’t owe them anything anymore, and as far as they were concerned the Liam family wasn’t under any threat.

No one from the facility had come after them once they’d broken Marie free.

Kel argued that just because they hadn’t seen any activity didn’t mean it wasn’t there. He compared them to termites, eating their way through the walls, invisible and undetectable until the walls were crashing down and they were being invaded with no home left to shelter them.

She had to smile. That man had an active imagination.

Casey unlocked the door and screamed when two strong hands gripped her by the arms and dragged her inside. Her mouth was covered by a palm, and then Kel’s face was before hers, his eyes wide and stormy.

“You left, and you didn’t fucking leave a note or call so I’d know where you were! Do you know how worried I’ve been? I tried to get into the building to find you, but they said you weren’t there.” He cupped her groin with one hand. “Where. The fuck. Were you?” He released her mouth with the other hand.

She took a heaving breath and sagged forward. “I was with Hanford, you maniac. I made a deal.”

“No more deals,” he said through his teeth. His eyes pleaded with her to let this go.

Peanut must’ve been napping if he was trying to keep quiet.

He picked her up and carried her bridal style back to their room. His hands tore at her clothes, removing her shirt and bra in a flash. He was already grinding into her, growling in her ear, “No more of this. You’re mine. We’re a family, and we have to protect our children.”

Our
? Oh holy God, he knew exactly what to say to get through to her. Ripples of heat washed through her core and landed in her chest—warming it. “That’s what I’m doing,” she said, but it sounded weak and unconvincing.

“It’s not gonna work. They’ll turn on us. They see us as escaped lab animals, and they’ll use the excuse we can’t survive in the wild without them. That’s what they do.”

Her chest ached for him. “That’s what Hannah told you, didn’t she—along with her assistants and guards? They said you’d never make it without them.”

He nodded, his eyes a sea of conflict and torment. “Don’t let them do that to us.”

He had her spread out on the bed; her pants were being yanked off and her legs splayed for him.

His mouth latched onto her clit, sucked on her inner labia and he kept going until she was sopping wet and squirming on top of the bedspread.

“Kel, we have to do this. We have to get rid of the facility, the serum, and make sure the people that did this to you—to
us
—are put behind bars,” she said, her voice faint.

“Don’t think about them now—feel my touch on your skin. Feel how I plump your pussy and engorge your tits.” He sucked his way up her body and landed at her right nipple.

He popped it into his mouth and then this feral groan ripped out of him.

His touch was overwhelming, and her pussy throbbed.

He kissed her lower abdomen.

“Oh, God, did you . . . Can you feel that?” His head jerked up and he had this wild look in his eyes as he roamed his way back up until they were face-to-face.

“Am I leaking milk?” Her eyes went wide.

“No, sweet girl.” He took her hand and put it on her abdomen. “This.”

Oh! She felt a small kick.

How had she missed that just now?

“My baby’s saying hello.” His eyes held adoration and a sweet reverence. A beat later, and his lips trembled. “This is what we’re protecting.
Our
little peanut.”

She held the tears back, but barely. “I love you.”

He sighed and rested his head on her shoulder. “I love you, too, Casey. So much. And I love this baby more than you can possibly believe. Everything I do is for both of you.”

She relaxed into the bed, breathed deeply and closed her eyes, soaking in his touch as he stroked her abs.

“We’ll figure this out. We’ll find a way to keep safe and see that those dick-heads are punished.” She stretched out and let him worship her belly. There was no stopping this man.

And there was no stopping her either. She’d see this through all the way to the end.

His hands were velvet as they warmed her skin.

“Is this hurting you?” she asked.

“A little—but I don’t care.” His eyes were focused on his hands and where he was touching her with a gentleness that belied his devotion to her. “It’s not gonna stop me.”

His breath pelted her skin harder than his fingertips. So unusual for him.

She took her time peeling him out of his clothes.

His kisses were smooth and light, and each swipe of his hands over her skin, sent her into a spiral of goose bumps and chills.

“Mmmm,” she hummed as the head of his cock brushed over her pussy lips.

He propped himself up with his arms and eased himself inside her. “So soft and plush; cushion for my cock, and my heart. You know you mean everything to me. You know I love simply being near you.”

“I do, and I feel the same about you.” She kissed his right inner arm, placed next to her head. It was like he was caging her in with his body, yet giving her enough distance she could escape if she really wanted to. “I need you closer.” She wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and tugged at him.

He held his position.

“Is it hurting too much?” Her brow wrinkled as a distressed breath escaped her. She hated that this caused him anything but pleasure.

“It’s not that, Case. Stop worrying. I just wanna watch you—see as much of you as I can when you come. I don’t take enough time to watch you and notice every little thing. I’m not gonna miss it this time.”

“What makes this time different?”

“I thought maybe you’d left for good—that you weren’t coming back.” His eyes misted.

“Oh, sweet man, I’ll never leave. Never.” She ran her hands over his hard-muscled chest. It flexed and tightened at her touch. “So beautiful, Kelly. I never get tired of watching you either or telling you I love you.”

“I hope you never stop either of those. I love it when you’re watching me.”

He thrust deeper but kept a modest tempo like there was no need to rush any of this.

When he kissed her neck and whispered tiny devotions and promises to her, she unraveled with a quiet, rapturous cry.

Nothing could break their bond.

He didn’t orgasm, only settled into her, lowering his body over hers.

“I need to go see my mom. Peanut misses her, and he was asking about her.”

“Oh shiiiiit,” she whispered, turning her head away. How had she let this happen?

She’d made love to him without telling him the news about his mom’s passing.

What kind of a bitch would do that?

“What’d she do now?” He rolled off her, chuckling.

“Uh . . . I don’t know how to tell you this.” She turned to face him, stroking his cheek. “She . . . She’s gone, sweetheart. They couldn’t save her. She passed away in the hospital.”

He flattened onto his back, stared up at the ceiling and went rigid. There was barely a tiny hint of movement at his chest, so she knew he was breathing, but no blinking, no reaction.

“You all right? I’m so sorry . . .” She withdrew her touch.

“What do you want me to do to ruin those people? I can tell you have a plan—so tell me what it is.” He exhaled then held his breath. “I’m in. They won’t do this to anyone else ever again.”

* * *

The next day, Kel was shaking, his eyes frantically searching her face. “Don’t come in after me. Don’t you dare.”

“I won’t,” she confirmed, hugging him.

“I mean it, Case. I don’t want you in this place ever again. I shouldn’t have even let you go last time when you freed my mother. It wasn’t worth the risk. I see that now. I was stupid and selfish, and I don’t wanna be that man again.” He pulled back and reached for Peanut.