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My eyes drift to my girl, who is indisputably nonplussed by either the state of Gage’s gore-smattered attire or Ivy’s modest approval of it—not permitting him in the house isn’t the same as shock or condemnation for how he got that way. There’s amusement blossoming on Celeste’s face too though.
Good. She’ll need that.
She hasn’t fully adopted us as hers yet, or maybe she doesn’t comprehend that we’ve already embraced her as ours. I haven’t pushed it beyond my telling her there’s no going back the other night. She needs time to heal, but she must see it. They wouldn’t be exposing her to all of this if I hadn’t given Wells the green light or if any of us intended to let her go. They wouldn’t even be this free with Natasha, who has retreated to her room for the day after the night shift with Felicity. We’ll nudge Celeste into acceptance of where she belongs soon enough though. I have other pressing matters to tackle today.
I let my lips graze against the shell of her ear as my fingers weave into her hair, other palm skimming over her lower back, reveling in the shivers that ripple up her spine. Christ, I just want to breathe in her wildflower and honeysuckle and forget the rest of the world.
My cock jumps. Not now.
“Looks like you’re getting a crash course in what it means to be part of this family of misfits, Ace.” I nibble her lobe, and her breath hitches as she arches into my touch. But there’s more to this crash course. “I have to go encourage some guys for answers.”
Guys. Plural. Because the stellar fucking enforcer that Gage is, he obtained not only the douchebag I’d sent him for, but also the cocksucker I saw with the douchebag in the restaurant that night. What we know so far is that they’re a transport team, receiving orders through an encrypted service on the dark web. Women seem to be their export of choice, shipping them off to monsters who do the unspeakable. These guys are the lifeblood of the vilest horrors of this world, allowing perverted demons to thrive in their dark corners. That repulses me in itself. But they bid on the wrong fucking job when they went for my girl.
“Okay.” Celeste’s brown eyes, russet like bourbon here in the wintery glimmer, coast over my face on a hard swallow as her tongue slinks out to lick her bottom lip. “How long will you be?”
That’s all the incentive I need to make it fast. She’s already inspired the tools to accomplish my afternoon session with both flare and speed.
As I glide my fingers further into her silky strands, our mouths collide for a parting kiss, my tongue lapping at the seam of her lips and sliding in to taste the awakening that is all mine for the taking. A moan sneaks out of her throat in response, leaving me aching to devour every one of her delicious noises. This fusion is far too brief and the first one in front of everyone, but she clutches my face and returns it with a possessive nip at the end, like a champ. Ace.
“I’ll make it quick,” I assure her, dusting my thumb over her plump bottom lip, avoiding the corner that’s still sore.
While I stride toward the door, Wells nods to me, Ivy beams with hearts dotting her shimmery blues, and Ty tamps down his delighted twinkle with a reassuring, “We’ve got her.”
Of course they do. That’s why this works. We need each other.
“What about my parents?” Celeste pushes out before I’m beyond the threshold.
I’ve been overseeing all her communication the last couple of days. Her phone is in my office, simply so she doesn’t answer it and accidentally share something she shouldn’t. Plus, she needed a damn break from them ramming their fucked-up idea of a future down her throat. But she can’t hide from them forever.
At my hesitation, she expounds, “My mother isn’t going to buy that I can’t make time to talk again, especially after this latest newsbreak.”
“Probably not.” I sigh, scratching at the stubble on my cheek. “But not until I get back.”
“I’ll manage that with Celeste,” Wells volunteers. It’s less commanding with a babbling infant fastened to his chest. “Concentrate on getting what we need.”
I kick my chin up to him with a, “Thanks, Chief,” and a wink at my girl before joining Gage in the garage.
He’s eaten half the damn loaf of banana bread, and now, he’s washing it down with a Gatorade.
“You look like shit, Big Guy,” I observe, slipping into my boots and opening the side door to trek into the back acreage.
He flashes a devilish grin as he abandons the sweet bread, chucks the empty sports drink, and shoulders past me. “I look like a goddamn beauty queen, considering I haven’t slept in three fucking days.”
“I told you to sleep-deprive them, not yourself.”
“How the hell do you think I kept them awake, by wishing it?” He smacks my bicep as we trudge past the opulence of the entertainment area. “Those two fuckers can sleep standing up, like damn horses.”
Sleep deprivation is a strong first step to retrieving answers if time permits. These guys appear to be skilled from what we can ascertain. Unless the circumstances are grim, they won’t be giving anything up, and I need a breakthrough, or I’m going to lose my damn mind. So, unfortunately for them, they’re getting the royal treatment.
On the other side of the pool house, we have a few golf carts, so I snag one of those. Our debriefing bunker is in the middle of our hundred sixty acres, obscured by vast evergreen trees and underground—not recommended in Louisiana because of the swampy soil, but we chanced it anyway. It certainly lends a moldy musk that irritates the lungs, which we’ve found useful.
“What method did you go with to keep them awake?” I ask as he hops into the cart.
“I sliced them every time they nodded off,” he replies with ease.
That explains the blood. I’d told him to chain them upright and keep them awake, but to leave their appendages intact until I was present. They’ve been chained for twenty-four hours, but hooded for twelve before that, which would’ve prevented any peaceful nodding off. Based on the time of capture, they’ve probably been awake for at least forty-eight taxing hours at this point, possibly closer to seventy-two since they were on the run.
“That’ll do it. Did they offer anything up yet?”
