Wicked Intentions (Steele Secrurity Book 4) (18 page)

Emmett pressed his lips together into a tight line and glanced around the restaurant. He cleared his throat and looked at Rebel. “It just so happens the head of my security department is retiring soon. I need someone dependable, knowledgeable, and trustworthy to take over. In all honesty, I can’t think of anyone who better fits that description than you. I won’t put you on the spot for an answer right now, but think it over and let me know in a couple of days or so.”

“I’ll do that. Thank you, sir.”

“Kay and I are leaving next week, and we’ll be gone for several weeks. We’re acquiring another company, and as the president and CEO, I have to be there for the final regulatory compliance review. Plus, it’s just better for the overall morale of the employees who are being acquired. The whole mergers and acquisition process leaves them all feeling very vulnerable.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help while you’re away, don’t hesitate to say the word,” Rebel replied. “I’m happy to do whatever you need me to.”

“Just take care of my little girl, Brax. Make her happy. That’s all a father can really ask of his son-in-law,” Emmett replied with a genuine smile. One that confirmed he already knew Rebel wouldn’t disappoint him.

Conversations during dinner flowed easier between the two men than ever before. Guards were lowered. Walls were torn down. Beginning bonds were formed, however fragile. But it was enough to allow hope to take root, along with a renewed sense of excitement for what the future would hold for their extended families.

Back in the car on the way home, Rebel glanced over at Heather, noting the natural glow on her face that only came from true happiness. “I’ve been waiting all damn day to get you home alone.”

“Oh, yeah?” She grinned as she cut her eyes sideways toward him.

“Definitely. It’s been a long fucking day, and it’s going to be a long night of fucking.”

“I love when you talk dirty to me,” she purred.

“Yeah, I know you do. You get so wet, don’t you? When I tell you everything I want to do to you. When I tell you how I’m going to take you. When I pick you up and carry you over my shoulder to the bedroom to have my way with you.”

“You need to hurry up and get me home.”

“We’re going to start practicing to have that baby. Practice makes perfect, you know.”

“You’re going to make my ovaries explode from just talking about it.”

Rebel reared his head back in laughter. “We can’t have that. I’m going to take care of you as soon as I get you home.”

The second they walked into the house, hands groped and bodies collided in desperate need of the other. Rebel explored her mouth and her neck with his mouth, licking, sucking, and nipping at her skin as he moved. He peeled her clothes off of her and dropped them on the kitchen floor right where they stood. His palms covered her breasts, his fingers kneading and caressing them. He moved one hand down across her taut stomach and covered her mound. He thrust his finger inside her and swallowed her moans of pleasure with his kiss.

Turning her around, he bent her over the table and used his foot to part her legs. With fluid perfection, he shed his clothes in a heap with hers and rubbed his thick cock against her toned ass, repeatedly pushing his hips upward in slow and enticing movements. He slid his hand around her to find her wet pussy again. With every upward thrust of his cock, he plunged his fingers deep inside her.

“Brax, I need you,” she pleaded.

“You have me,” he murmured.

His fingers gripped her hip bones, and he spread her legs a little farther apart. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes.” She drew out her reply in a mixture of a seductive hiss and a needful plea.

He wrapped his hand around his cock and guided it to her slick entrance. He rubbed the head of it against the silky wetness before surging his hips forward quickly and burying himself deeply inside her.

Her fingers curled into the table, desperate for something to hold on to as he continued to pound into her. He pulled back to the point only the tip remained inside her, then slammed his hips forward again. Her climax began to build low in her belly, the intensity of it causing her inner walls to clench around him.

“Not yet,” he commanded and stepped away from her. After helping her to stand, he turned her around to face him and gently pushed her to lie back on the table. He knelt in front of her and sucked her clit into his mouth. Like a man who’d been starved, he feasted on her voraciously until she screamed his name amid other indistinguishable whimpers and sighs.

He stood, pushed both of her legs to her chest, and drove into her with reckless abandon. Close on the heels of her last orgasm, she quickly reached her climax again. He felt her body clench around him, her muscles tightened, and she held her breath to intensify the effect.

“Come for me now, baby,” he demanded.

“Brax!” Her shuddering and shaking told him everything she couldn’t say, and he let go of his own control and joined her in a state of complete euphoria.

“
Y
ou’ve been staring
at that computer screen for hours. You’re going to go blind,” Heather complained.

Rebel chuckled but didn’t look up. “I spent a lot of time deciphering hidden code during my time in the Army. I’m immune to blindness now.”

“Are you also immune to a good, swift kick in the pants? Because that’s what you’ll get if you keep ignoring me.”

With a smile plastered across his face, Rebel looked up from his assignment to please his wife. “Yes, my love? How can I serve you today?”

“That’s better. You may continue now.”

“You just wanted to see if you could make me look up, didn’t you?”

“Yep. I won.”

He shook his head good-naturedly. “Babe, there will never be a time you won’t win when it comes to you getting my attention.”

“I know,” she replied as she straddled his lap, forcing him to move his laptop to the side. “I’m just so bored, Brax. I’ve been cooped up in this house forever.”

“It’s been two days, babe. Two days is not forever. And you’ve hardly been cooped up. We’ve been to the hotel to see everyone there and to HQ to meet with the guys at least a couple of times.”

“HQ doesn’t count. And it sure as hell feels like forever. I’m going to go to Mom’s and visit with her for a while today.”

“Heather, you know what’s going on, what we’re up against. Let’s not go through this again.”

“Brax, there are people out there living their lives. Carrying on with their daily activities because they have no idea something terrible is coming. I want to be one of those people. We’ve pretty well established he isn’t actually after me. The letters and pictures were to distract you.”

“No. The letters about the others were to distract us. He would kill you to hurt me because I’m the one who killed his father. Don’t give him the opportunity to do that to me, Heather. There are a lot of things I can live without, but you’re not one of them.”

“I promise I won’t take any unnecessary chances. I will go straight there and straight home. You said now that you have more concrete evidence that he’s making a move soon, there are more agencies involved and more eyes on him and his crew. He’s busy preparing for his grand finale fireworks show. He’s not concerned with me,” she argued.

“I’ll take you over there. You and Kay can chill in the pool while I work on these. That’ll at least give me some peace of mind and a change of scenery.”

“That works for me. I’ll grab both our bathing suits, in case you decide to take a break and join us. I’ll be ready to go in just a few minutes.”

She leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips while she rubbed her fingers through his beard. His strong arms encircled her, pulling her chest flush with his. “You are my reason for living, Heather. Your love has kept me sane through so many hard times over the years. I only want to keep you safe and with me.”

“I know, babe. I am going stir-crazy, but I honestly need to discuss something important with my parents. She’s home today, but I’ll have to catch Daddy another time before they leave for the acquisition.”

He smacked her behind playfully. “Go get ready to leave, then. One of us has work to do.” She laughed along with him, loving their playful banter and the natural give-and-take they shared.

On the drive to her parents’ house, Rebel was extra-vigilant about watching every car, every person crossing at the intersections, and every other thing around them when they were stopped at a red light. The serious mood inside the vehicle was so unlike Rebel’s usually calm persona, Heather started to second-guess her insistence on taking the short trip. Once they pulled into the open space of her parents’ three-car garage, she was finally able to relax and breathe easier.

Kay met them at the door as they walked in from the garage. She pulled Heather into her arms and kissed her cheek. “How’s my girl?”

“Glad to be released from my prison cell,” she joked.

“Your home is hardly a prison cell.” Kay shook her head and playfully rolled her eyes.

“Shhh—don’t tell Brax. That’s the only reason the warden let me out for the day.”

“I can hear you,” Rebel replied dryly from beside her.

“Ready to swim?” she asked, smiling.

“You two go ahead. I’m making progress on this file with the information Silas shared, and I need to try to wrap it up today if at all possible,” Rebel replied.

“You can use Emmett’s office, Braxton. It should have everything you need, but let me know if I can get you anything,” Kay offered.

“Thanks, Kay. You ladies have fun.”

Rebel left them to their mother-daughter time and made his way through the expansive home toward Emmett’s study. Once seated in the plush, high-backed leather office chair, Rebel once again focused on piecing together the jagged edges of the puzzle, hoping the information he uncovered would put an end to the case once and for all. Multiple files of encrypted data had to be pieced together and interpreted without missing a key element that could change the entire meaning of the text.

After several hours of cross-referencing, double-checking, and verifying the key, he’d deciphered the hidden instructions for the extremist group. He read the message several times before the full meaning of it hit him.

H
e grabbed
his secure phone and hit send. “Reaper, I discovered the hidden message.” He read the message to Noah and waited for the words to sink in.

“Mother of Satan…the nickname for TATP,” Noah replied. “What is Portno?”

“Port of New Orleans. The only deep-water port where foreign oil is brought into the United States.”

“That could explain the ‘cut off fuel’ reference. And the ‘greater than eleven’ could mean they intend to rival the damage inflicted from the attacks on September 11. Or they want more to cause more fatalities,” Noah replied. “Good work, Rebel. I knew you’d figure it out. I’ll call Homeland Security and all the other agencies involved. They can send teams down there to help intercept and take them out.”

“Deciphering it doesn’t mean I’ve figured out everything he means. There’s no doubt they know exactly what to do now. Does anyone have eyes on Rashad?”

“Joe has been tailing Rashad since the day Silas followed him out of the hospital. He packed up all his belongings and left the house in the gated community. He’s at one of the other run-down shacks now,” Noah replied. “Silas and Shadow had a talk with the director at the CIA to help clear Joe’s name. I’m sure he was on the receiving end of a good tongue-lashing, and I know they’ll still investigate him, but they’ve put him under Shadow’s command for now.”

“Joe had better not be hiding anything. Shadow is like a human lie detector and a revealer of secrets. He’ll know every dirty little secret Joe has in no time,” Rebel chuckled. “You know, if Rashad changed houses, that means he must’ve finished making his part of the bombs.”

“That’s my guess. He left in the middle of the night, and Joe said Rashad drove
very
carefully.”

“Yeah, I bet he did. Those bombs are highly unstable and can go off prematurely from the slightest jarring. This could literally be going down at any time. Are we going to New Orleans?”

“We didn’t do all this work to sit on the sidelines, did we?” Noah laughed. “They’ll probably try to keep us out so they can take credit for it. But you know we don’t do this for the fame and glory anyway.”

Rebel raised his eyes to the window, watching Heather laugh and have fun with her mother in the heated pool. “No, that’s not why we do it at all.”

Rebel’s gaze lingered on Heather, watching her every move, considering how his life would be without her, and pushing away the foreboding thoughts that the worst was yet to come. Knowing his wife like he did, he had no doubt she’d insist on going to New Orleans with him rather than staying in Houston, a safe distance away from the action. The problem was, he didn’t know if he could leave her behind when the time came.

* * *

“
Y
ou look happier
than I’ve seen you in years.” Kay smiled at her daughter with a wisp of sadness in her eyes. “Does your handsome husband have anything to do with that?”

“Maybe,” she replied coyly. “I’ve missed him even more than I realized. It feels so good to have him home for an extended time instead of just a long weekend here and there.”

“When this case is over, he’ll be home every night. I’m sure working at the office and the oil fields will be a lot different than what he does now. Definitely not as exciting, but not as dangerous either. At least then he’ll move back to Houston and be at home with you.” Kay smiled warmly.

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about today. I haven’t told Brax yet because I want to surprise him.”

“What? You haven’t told him what?” Kay leaned forward, her brow furrowed, and her eyes narrowed. “Are you pregnant?”

“No, I’m not pregnant. Don’t get all excited.” Heather put her hands up in front of her, palms out, indicating for her mother to calm down. “I’ve decided to do what I should’ve done a long time ago. I’m moving to Miami to be with Brax.”

“But what about the job with your father? You two being here with us and his parents?”

The pleading tone of her mother’s voice broke her heart, but she’d made up her mind. Her heart, her life, and her home would be with Brax.

“I can’t let Brax move here and give up everything he’s built in Miami. He’s doing it for me, leaving his friends and the company he helped build behind. He’d never even complain about it, but part of him would always be missing.”

“But your job…” Kay stammered. “You’re a nurse here.”

“I can be a nurse anywhere. I can transfer my nursing license, and we’ll make a new life together. It’ll be okay, Mom. You and Dad can come visit us anytime—we’ll expect you to be there often. You’d do the same for Dad.”

The tears glistened in Kay’s eyes before she wiped them away. “I’m honestly shocked it took you this long to decide to move. Since the day you two met, your whole world has revolved around him. You two were meant to be together, and I guess it’s way past time for you to actually live together.”

Heather wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and pulled her close. “I love you, Mom. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, so much. When are you going to tell your dad?” Kay pulled back from their embrace. “Since he’s started working on this acquisition, he stays at the office very late every day and even on weekends.”

“I’ll go to his office today to talk to him in person and make him give me a few minutes. I need to tell him before you go to Oklahoma for the several weeks to complete the deal.”

Heather and Rebel left after having lunch with Kay on the veranda. During the ride back to their house, she approached the subject she knew would most certainly start a fight.

“Babe, I’m going to see Dad at work this afternoon. Do you want to go with me?”

“I can’t go today, sweetheart. Rashad is making more moves, and we’re on him. He has something big planned, no doubt. I’d rather you didn’t go without me. Now isn’t the time to mess around. The chatter in the intel community is deafening—even more so than usual.”

“Have you deciphered the code yet?”

“Yes, but we haven’t figured out all of its meaning yet. I can’t help but think we missed a big part of the message. It could’ve been sent through a different method and the cells put the two together.”

“What does it say?”

“It talks about crippling Babylon and watching the downfall of the great harlot. In both cases, they’re referring to the US. One part appears to pinpoint New Orleans.”

“Then he could be using Houston as his safe place and hit another city with his brainwashed sheep.”

“I don’t think so. Rashad is the type who would want to see it happen. He’ll be a safe distance from the action, but he made the bombs here for a reason. We’re not the only ones watching him. Every agency with any type of initials—and a few that don’t even exist on paper—are monitoring him and his network.”

“So you’ll know when he makes a move. With so much attention on him and his guys, you’ll stop him before it’s too late. I really need to talk to Dad today, and this afternoon is the only time I’ll have to do it.”

“I can arrest you, ya know? Put you in shackles in a safe house, chained to the bed.”

“You could, yes. But you’d have to unshackle me at some point. And when you do, your ass would be mine.”

“Why now, Heather? Why can’t it wait until this is over?” Rebel sighed, knowing he was about to lose this argument. As headstrong as he was, his wife was even worse when she set her sights on a goal.

“He’s been really busy with this acquisition deal. He’s working late and on weekends to finalize all the paperwork. In a couple of days, he’ll leave for Tulsa, and he’s staying there for the next several weeks as they complete the takeover. Mom’s going with him, but I’ve already talked to her. This is really important to me, Brax. I wouldn’t ask otherwise.” She placed her hand on his arm, sealing their connection and stressing how important her request was.