AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She would almost be adorable, except there’s something in her eyes, a glimpse of uncertainty in her otherwise confident stance. She wants to know where everyone’s weapons are, yet she hasn’t come clean, and it gives me a moment of very real pause.
I glance around the table, at both her and Cole. If she’s holding back there’s a reason, either she doesn’t trust or she’s going to make a play, but I and my team live by protocol.
“Alright Princess, we’ll play your way,” I say, hitting Cole’s contact on my phone. He’s on silent, which is also a protocol. It’s clear to me exactly when he’s read the SOS message by the “what the fuck” look he gives me over the table.
She knew I watched her gear up, so if she’s still packing, it must have already been in place. Her eyes capture mine and she doesn’t give an inch, still watching us. She’s looking at me like she’s just put her life in my hands, and shit, maybe she has.
If this has to play out in front of Cole, so fucking be it. I slip my Glock out of its holster and lay it on the table, and reach down and pull the smaller issue from my calf holster and put that beside it. I slide my hands in my pockets and place the pocket knife with a multitude of deadly gadgets onto the table last. “That’s it Princess.”
“Okay, I’ve given over almost all my weapons, except for one. Anyone want to guess where it is?” Marenah says, giving me a toss of her bright blonde hair and a wink of her blue eyes.
Cole’s eyes flash his surprise and he glances over at me, and then to her.
Fuck, she’s hot, but goddamn dangerous. I don’t know where this is going, but I’ve seen the way she handles herself, and those dainty little hands and feet of hers are fucking lethal.
“Nope, not until you give over your last weapon. You would be a formidable opponent without weapons, but with them, I’m scared you would take Cole out,” I say, trying hard not to laugh at his look of amusement as we battle to get this resolved or her look of surprise that I’ve called her out.
She looks back and forth, surveying us, pensive and contemplating. I will help those women and children, but it’s clear she’s holding back, from fear or trust or something, but it ends right now. We’re in this together or not at all, because with or without her, I am going after the network that has managed to get a foothold in my city, of that there is no doubt. The only thing left to determine is if she will be going with me or not.
I take the lid from the long tubular waterproof sleeves the delivery service had brought over and start pulling out the maps and rolling them onto the table. The entire city and the docks along the lake are all blown up and numbered, just liked I’ve asked. The intel I’ve received has identified four potential areas, and I pull out a compass and circle those all with a red colored pencil.
I look up at her after a few moments, giving her what I feel should be enough time to answer, and just when I’ve reached my limit, she stands. “I just need a few moments,” she says before walking right past me and opening and closing the door that leads out to the balcony.
“What the fuck? Cole says.
“Give me a minute,” I say, knowing this is going to get resolved right the fuck now, because whatever is wrong has made her hands tremble. I saw it when she walked by and my princess is fearless, but she is running scared right now.
21
MARENAH
I inhale deeply,trying to calm myself, but that equipment, all of it, it’s all the same as standard issue. His earpieces, his two-way and most definitely his weapons. The survivor in me is doing the math, and something doesn’t add up, but Matt has been completely trustworthy, and Cole has even put his life on the line to save us. They’re both telling me what I want to hear, that someone will help me free those people, but Matt is wearing the enemy’s electronic equipment and has just circled two of the drop sites, and I’ve seen what these men are capable of. I can’t help wondering if I am having an affair with an extremely deadly enemy.
“I just need a few moments,” I say, walking toward a door that leads me out onto the balcony, seemingly miles high above the city of Chicago.
I’m looking down over Lake Michigan Drive, watching the water taxis that make their way down the river, through the city far, far below when I hear the sliding of the patio door and feel him move in behind me.
“What are you watching, and what does my team need to be prepared for?” Matt asks, whispering in my ear, pulling my body against his own and stroking my nape.
“The women we’re after were transported in trucks, but just looking at the taxis down below, any vehicle that moves could be used as a means of transportation. How do we stop this?” Marenah says.
“You stop this by telling me and my team exactly what we need to know,” Matt says, pulling me tighter against his hardened member, kissing along my nape. “I hate to break this to you, but it’s going to take every bit of manpower we have to get those people out of this situation, and if we can’t trust each other and be ready to go when we get the word, they could slip right out of the country.”
My entire body goes rigid with the thought that those innocents could already be long gone and we’ll never get them back. He knows this, because he’s lost someone special, too. I don’t know who he works for, but at this very point, I do know that my life is worth giving up if it can save the lives of all of those people and bring down those that are in charge. I turn in Matt’s arms. “If that’s the case, we need to move fast, because the faces of the women and children I saw will haunt me for the rest of my life if we don’t save them, regardless of what happens to me.”
He lifts my chin, so I have no other choice than to look at him. “Marenah, we’ll do everything that we can to help these people, but you need to give us something here. I want your trust, Princess,” Matt says, stroking my lower lip.
I think about all that we’ve been through together and all that he has done for a few moments. “Matt, you said you liked my hair once. If you run your hands through it, you’re going to find the last of my weapons. Take it, and then let’s go and develop a plan to free those people,” I say.
He grasps my face, running his hands down my cheeks, kissing my lips gently, and then lets one hand trail to stroke my nape, encircling it with the span of his hand. I know I should be scared, but I’m not. If he meant me harm, he’s had plenty of chances and could’ve overpowered me at the drop of a hat.
Matt’s steely grey eyes go smoky, and he slides his other hand along my shoulder, inching up so that both hands are caressing my nape, before he sucks and then whispers into the sensitive flesh of my ear as he slides his hands over my head and pulls the clasp from my hair. He looks down at it, and his lips twist with confusion as he turns the barrette in his hands, but smiles when he pulls both ends apart and the razor sharp two-inch-long knives gleam.
“Holy shit, you don’t mess around, do you, Princess?”
My hands crawl up his muscular arms and make their way to his neck. “Not when people’s lives are at jeopardy,” I say, lifting on my toes and placing my lips onto his, watching as his eyes dilate, which must be a mirror image of my own. He captures my lips before sliding my clip back into place in my hair.
“Come on, Princess, we’ve got a ton of work to do between now and tonight,” Matt says, kissing me lightly on the lips before taking my hand and guiding me back into the dining room.
