Taking the hint, Maya ran to the closest cop and saw that he held his shoulder and was conscious. “You okay, man?”
“I’m fine, Agent. You might want to check on Doug over there. He took one in the belly.”
“Will do. Hang on. There’s help coming.” Maya ran in the direction he’d indicated and found a young patrolman unconscious with a gaping, bloody hole in his stomach. Quickly, she pulled off her T-shirt and rolled it up so she could put pressure on the wound to try and slow down the bleeding.
Nik soon joined her. He pointed at the other fallen officer and shook his head, sadness obvious in his expression.
Fury overrode her hope. “Dammit!”
“Bastards were determined to get away, no matter what.”
“Yeah! I’m really sorry. But now the charge will be murder one. Hopefully, that’ll make them talk. Maybe they’ll tell us where the container is.” Maya couldn’t wait to drill the losers when they got them in the interview room.
“That depends on what scares them the most. And, somehow, from what we heard earlier, I don’t think they’re as afraid of prison as they are of their boss.”
“I can take it from here, Agent Barnes.” The approaching medical team were all eyeballs and grins when they saw Maya’s lacy white bra. In the dim light, the pale mounds of her breasts were obvious attractions too.
Growling, Nik quickly removed his own shirt and threw it at the unselfconscious woman. “You want those men to get anything done tonight; you might want to cover up those gorgeous tits.”
Maya stood, smiled and pulled on the cover. “Thanks, partner.” She chuckled when one of the EMRs whispered, “Aw!” Nik smacked the younger man on the back of the head lightly in a chummy manner, and this time she laughed. His possessiveness kind of made her feel good. Heading over to the SUV, she was glad that Nik followed.
“Is Juli okay?”
“I don’t know. There hasn’t been time to see. Let’s go find out.”
They approached the other side of the vehicle only to find a young girl with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her face drenched in tears.
Maya went up to her and quickly hugged the teenager, who literally collapsed in her arms. Stroking her back, rocking her, Maya whispered sweet nothings with words that sufficed in any language.
Nik caught one of the officer’s attention. “Where’s Julian?”
“Who?”
“Julian Freed. He was one of the hostages they’d kidnapped.”
“Sorry, sir, I have no idea. We only found the girl in the car.”
Son-of-a-bitch!
Pulling up to Maya’s house some time later, Nik hesitated to accept her invitation for coffee. He knew what would happen the minute they were alone, and he wasn’t sure he should be taking advantage of her after what she’d been through earlier.
“Really? You’re going to pull that shit again?”
“What shit?”
“Being all moody and rejecting my come-on.” She did look a little miffed at the thought that he was seriously contemplating not taking her up on her offer.
“Look, sweetheart. There’s nothing I want more than to wrap myself around… and inside that sweet body of yours. But you’ve been through a hell of a night. First, you were in a car accident.”
“The safety bags protected us.”
“Then you had to handle that damn monster truck.”
“And listen to your whimpering.” A soft giggle followed that fact.
“And then… you were in a shoot-out. Baby, I just don’t want to act the mindless brute thinking only of myself.”
Leaning into him, she let him see her globby eyes suddenly full of tears. “You know what? No one’s ever been so nice to me before. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
Baffled, Nik stroked her cheek then kissed it. “What?”
“What you just said. You putting me first before your own needs.” Gently, she reached for the hard protrusion between his legs to show him how aware she was of his predicament. “No one’s ever done that before.”
“What?” His voice lowered, a husky note creeping in.
“Cared enough to put me first. Don’t you know any other word?”
“Wha—” This time she wiped his grin off with her lips.
“I want you inside. The house… and me.”
Moving as only he could, Nik swung open the door of their black issue and had her in his arms, carrying her up the steps. She found the key and they entered, lips already glued to each other’s.
“God, Nik. Were you really going to leave me tonight when I needed you so badly?”
“Believe me. Not because I wanted to. But you looked… I don’t know… wasted.” Her stiffening made him add. “I meant that in the nicest possible way. Baby, you’re really drained. I saw it on the way home when you kept rubbing your hands together and then the back of your neck.”
“Never too tired for you, for this…”
He kissed her hard and loved when her arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer. She was all but glued to his body, her leg encircled his hip. He adored her flexibility.
Letting her head fall back, she stared at him. He paused and looked at her. The world stopped.
They delved deep into each other’s eyes, searching, sharing—opening themselves. Their bodies melding, entwined, heart thundering against heart. It was a moment he knew was imprinted in his memory for all time, one he’d never forget. Because this was when he fell for her completely. In love, in lust—infatuated. This beautiful woman had usurped the only important thing so far in his life that he cared about—his army brothers and his career.
Nik’s heart flipped open, totally vulnerable. Fear hovered waiting to take over but he wouldn’t allow it access. He’d trust her.
Dear Lord, for the first time in his life, he’d believe.
His eyes filled.
Maya sensed his vulnerability before she saw it. Being wrapped in his arms made her feel safe, protected… secure. Like he’d never hurt her or let anyone else do so either. The last time she’d known this feeling was when Charlie was still alive. After he’d left her alone to deal with her crazy family, she’d vowed no one would be able to get that close again. Little did she know, her heart had a will of its own.
Trust flared.
A sob broke loose.
Resisting walls, those she’d hidden behind for years, started crumbling, freeing her so she felt defenseless yet lighter, happier… in love.
He seemed to know when she’d answered his unspoken plea. Given him what he wanted from her, a promise, silent yet nevertheless binding. He groaned. It sounded like a cry of pain, yet joy gave it the lift so it made her weak with happiness.
She answered with her own weepy sigh of acceptance. Then she closed her eyes and got caught up in the sweet kiss that sealed their promise. It went on forever and drained all the negative emotions from inside, leaving only hunger for his body, passion and desire.
Her hands reached for his head, fingers skimming his face, hair, caressing his neck and keeping him in place. She never wanted this kiss to end.
Finally, breathless, their mouths slowly separated. His lips travelled to her neck and left a flurry of kisses from her hairline to her shoulders. His nuzzling aroused her to the point that her knees threatened to buckle. As if he sensed her difficulties, he swung her up into his arms and headed for the bedroom.
Once there, he laid her on the white comforter and reached over to turn on the floor lamp. While he removed his weapon and unselfconsciously stripped off his clothes, she enjoyed his performance. The man was all male, from the powerful muscles in his chest that worked their way right down his body, to the flaring hips and hard protrusion he seemed to be unaware of.
But she was. His extensive ah…asset would be the ultimate instrument to bring her great pleasure, again and again.
Leaning forward, affection overwhelming, she kissed it and he froze. Running her fingers along the length, she sucked on the tip just to let him know she liked him.
His hands in her hair, clutching then rubbing, allowed her this pleasure until he seemed overcome and gently drew her away.
“Not like this, little darlin’. My control is non-existent when it comes to you anyway, and what your lips were doing to me was pure criminal. I promise you can go back there all you want. But our first time, I’d like us both to be satisfied.”
She hugged his hips, leaving one last kiss of promise, and sagged back on the bed, an arm on either side of her head. “You sure know how to break a girl’s heart.” Joking, she pouted and then grinned. “I’ll take you up on that promise for later. But now, I feel like I need help to get undressed. You want to play lady’s maid?”
Nik grinned. “Nothing I’d like better. Come ‘ere, you.” He hauled her tenderly to her feet and slowly worked his way through each piece of clothing, leaving kisses on every bit of skin he could reach. His day-old beard scratched in places and she never said a word, just enjoyed the sensation until he reached her tender breasts.
“I’m hurting you.” Regret filled his rough voice.
“No. A little. I don’t care.” She angled her chest closer to his face. “Don’t stop!” He took the hint. Rather than nuzzling as he had been doing, he licked and sucked the nipple – the effect was powerful.
In the meantime, his hands caressed her naked backside, edging her closer, nestling her between his legs so he could feel her softness blanket him. Maybe he had intended to carry her to the bed, but when he lifted, she wrapped her legs around his hips, opening herself totally.
“Oh, God!”
“Please, Nik.”
And so it began.
Refreshed from an early morning romp, a shared shower and yet more lovemaking, Nik stopped checking his e-mails and saw that Maya was now dressed in her usual attire. Slim-fitting black pants topped with her favored embroidered white cotton blouse, and braided sandals that were just a little girlie making her look professional yet feminine. Her shiny auburn hair, lightened with streaks by the sun, framed her face in a way that he loved. He sat fully up in the bed with the sheet slipping away from his naked hips. “Now where do you think you’re going, ma’am?”
Maya’s eyes lingered hungrily on his body. Then she shook herself and smiled at him. “I promise I’ll wait for you to come into the interview room with me when I face the shooter, but I want to hurry to the office so I can get that search warrant activated. I know you have to go to the hotel and get changed, so let’s meet back at the office.”
Seeing her suggestion as a sensible solution, he nodded in agreement. Accompanying her to the door, he took his time kissing her goodbye and chuckled when she started to back into the room, undoing the buttons on her blouse.
“None of that, sexy lady. There’s a lot of work to get through today. Those kidnapped girls are haunting me.”
She lowered her head, forehead against his chest. Leaving a soft kiss in farewell, she murmured, “I know what you mean. Okay. I’m off. Later, lover.” A cheeky grin and a kiss on his nose left him reeling with affection. Not wanting to delve into the fear those sentiments generated, he grabbed for his pants.
Being alone, he took a few minutes to call Max and fill him in on what had gone down the night before.
“Bro, things are really heating up. I think it’s time I returned and took up my place.” Max sounded resigned.
“Can you walk very far on that leg yet?”
“It’s better, man.”
“Which means you can’t, and I’m pretty sure running is completely out of the question.”
“No matter. You’re in danger. If anything happens to your ass now that Nellie’s found you, I might as well shoot myself before she does it for me. You don’t know our mother, Nik, or what she’s capable of.”
Nik laughed at the image Max set into his head. “We won’t tell her.”
“Nik, you won’t have to. She’ll know. Look, I’m on some new painkillers and they’re working great. Come over later and fill me in. I’ll switch back with you in the next day or so.”
Nik knew bloody well that wouldn’t happen. First of all, he’d never leave Maya to deal with Smith & Sons without him. And second, somewhere along the way he’d discovered feelings for his brother that wouldn’t allow him to put Max in danger.
“Yeah! Fine. Gotta go. We’re going to question the pricks today, and Maya is working on a warrant to search Smith’s office building. We need to find their latest shipment. The semi was empty last night except for Julian and Mai, one of the teens who escaped the basement a while back with Julian’s help. But we know they’re out there.”
“What makes you so sure there are more hostages?”
“Why would they use a semi to transport two people? Plus we overheard them talking about a shipment they were sent to pick up. Said it would have to wait until today. We need to find out what they meant. We know they do most of their monkey business at night, so if more girls were arriving to be picked up at the terminal yesterday, we better find out. It’s fucking hot today and they won’t last long. Look, Maya’s waiting for me. I’ll call later.” Nik hung up and gathered the rest of his stuff.
You never told Max about his car. He should know his baby is dead. Yeah, well, sometime today, I’ll call the dealer and order him a new one. Least I can do… keep peace in the family.
Grabbing a cab, Nik made it to the motel in no time at all. Thankfully, he’d moved some of Max’s fancy clothes there, bought more and had what he needed to present himself at the office as his twin.
Changing quickly, he wrote another note to Julian. The last had been read and now lay crumpled on the desk.
Call me, Julian. I mean it!
He left the number to the burner phone he and Max had set up, then started for the door. That’s when he heard the key in the lock.
Julian looking beaten and exhausted entered, moving slowly. His blond curls were sweat-mangled and his face bruised and puffy. Dried blood from various cuts gave him the look of a man put through the ringer.
As soon as he saw Nik, his demeanor changed but he showed no surprise at seeing him. His impertinent manner reappeared. “Hey, sugar. You finally came home.”
“Look who’s talking. Where did you disappear to last night?” Nik didn’t take his eyes off the man for one second. He’d known the dude wasn’t who he portrayed, but dammit, he hated being played. And this sucker had played him from the first moment they met.
Nik watched Julian’s expression change from his usual brazen impudence to somber. “You know I couldn’t stick around, man. I told you the police were after me.”
“Yeah! They wanted to talk to you, ask you some questions, is what you told us before. So rather than answer a few questions, you’d prefer to walk twenty miles back to town? Makes no sense, Julian. And you know it.”
“Who said I walked? I called a friend to pick me up.”
“There was no signal where we were.”
“There was about a mile up the way.”
Sighing, Nik changed tack. “Tell me why you followed Mai to the Smith & Sons office.”
“You know about that? Okay, she’s a friend of mine. Remember I told you about letting the girls free? Well, Mai stayed with me instead of running. She had no one to go back home to and didn’t want to leave the States. I was trying to get some help for her from a friend.”
“You mean the friend who came to pick you up?”
“No. From my boss who cares about these girls and organizes their passages home.”
“Okay, so how did Mai get snatched again?” Nik wished he knew the exact questions to ask. Maya would have.
“They were trailing
me
, wanting payback for the trick I pulled at the Pink Pussycat. Mai didn’t know. She came to find me because she’d heard that another girl from her village had disappeared and wanted me to help her. It was pure bad luck them seeing her on the street. They captured her just as I came around the corner and saw it happen. I was only trying to get her free.”
Nik had to know. “What will happen to her now that they have her in custody?”
“I think she can apply for a domestic working visa. And since she was brought here against her will, we were hoping they would grant it to her without too much trouble.”
“Okay, that makes sense. I have one more question. How the hell do you always know where I am?”
Julian began to laugh. “For a guy who prides himself on being observant, sometimes you miss what’s going on right under your nose.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You know Bob, the homeless man who parks himself outside the hotel? He thanks you for always dropping a few bucks in his can. Says you’re one swell pecker. His words not mine.”
“Bob? The creepy dude with black teeth wearing grubby army camouflage rejects? The one who talks about how stinkin’ hot it always is? Makes a guy feel sorry for him?”
“That’s him. Trust me. There aren’t many who give a shit. You, on the other hand, always leave him a few bucks and, because of that, he’d walk through shit for you.”
Understanding dawned. “So he’s an informant and tells you when I’m here.”
Julian started laughing. “Sugar, the man works for me. He’s out there as a guard. Look closer next time you see him. Things aren’t always what you expect. Max would have made him in a minute.”
“Shit! This jungle just isn’t my playground. Guess I have a lot to learn.”
“Hey, you’ve done an incredible job so far. Riding to the rescue last night was spectacular; put hearts in my eyes when I saw you in your element.”
“Yeah, yeah! No stroking! I want to meet your boss.”
“So you’ve said.”
“When?”
“I’ll let you know.”
“I can trust you?”
“Haven’t I showed you that already? In the meantime, I’ve got to hit the shower and catch a few hours. ”
“And I’ve got to go and catch a killer.”