Chapter Nine

Reed

The longer Mila stays with me, the more my obsession with her grows. I always thought maybe it was the other way around, the more time we'd spend together the more normal it would become or she would decide things aren't so great and return home. That hasn't happened yet. She seems just as wrapped up in me as I am with her. Gone is the time of leaving her and sneaking off to do a job; I can't even let go of her most days. It's been making work interesting. Our time is limited though, I can feel it.

Ciaran checks in regularly and wants to know why I haven't produced any information on Mila. If it were any other person or job for Rogue, I'd have given him a lead or an answer by now. I can tell he's starting to doubt my continuous brush off and saying that nothing is popping up on Mila. In his mind, there aren't many places a girl who relies on a wheelchair to get around, and has never left home, could hide out. If only he knew.

I glance over at Mila, watching how she's sprawled out on my couch, wearing shorts that barely cover her ass and an overly large t-shirt that used to be mine. Well, technically, it still is mine, but she's confiscated half of my closet.

"Reed, I think there's been more movement along this mountain side again." She gets up and brings her computer with her.

Mila sits in my lap and holds the screen in front of me. "What am I looking at?"

"Here." She points her finger along the Eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains, boarding Pennsylvania and New Jersey. "Look, last month, I caught a group, but they looked like hikers. I noticed their fires along the perimeter from West Virginia up to Pennsylvania and kept tabs on them. I ran a surveillance check as well because that's a lot of ground to cover obviously, so I knew they weren't camping anymore."

"I mean they could have been." I shrug.

"It was in October." She raises her brow and I shrug in agreement.

"Okay, not campers."

"No." She laughs and shakes her head. "So like I was saying, I started trying to get facial imagery. No one came back in the system. Then the other day I saw the same type of activity again, only this time I also received a match."

She clicks some more screens and a grainy face of a man in black and white pops up. A green square box is around him and then the image is enlarged before my eyes, becoming more pixelated before turning crisp and recognizable. "His name is Dario Lachely. He was on the FBI's wanted list twenty years ago. He had that ranch in Idaho where all those girls were held captive. He just up and disappeared one day."

I nod my head, remembering the file that Rogue kept on that incident. Two of the women became Rogue members when they were rescued due to their familial connections. It was surmised that they had most likely been sold to Dario Lachely. "I remember."

"Do you think it's worth a call to Ciaran?" She looks at me with her big hazel eyes and I fight the way my chest squeezes. She looks terrified but also determined.

I glance at the map and where all her previous dots have been located from the camps. With the repetitiveness and arc of the travel, I can easily tell where the group is most likely heading. And what this most likely means for Rogue.

"Look, Mila." I trace my finger along the dots and point out the trajectory while also pulling up previous information about Dario. "This might be their path but my guess is there are one of two exit points being used. Here, by Boston or they're heading into New York."

"Boston makes sense with the ocean and harbor. Why New York though?" She quirks her head to the side and I give her a few seconds to think about it while studying the image and information on Dario. "Canada. He had a wife and kids in Canada. That's why everyone was so surprised by his barn of horrors."

"Because serial killers are seldom how people expect them to be or look. They seem normal, adaptive, often they are charming and charismatic. Like Dario. His poor wife thought he was away on business, opening up another branch of his bank in Idaho." I remind her, hoping that she catches my double meaning. I look normal. I live normally until it comes to Rogue.

Mila catches my face in her hands and pulls my gaze to hers. "We might be killers but we aren't evil, Reed. You are nothing like Dario Lachey. So don't even think about making that connection."

Fuck. I forget how much she actually knows me. How much she has been studying me while I've been obsessing over her. "Mila—"

"No, Reed," She shakes her head. "I don't want to hear it. There is a huge difference whether you want to believe it or not. I see it. I love you and nothing about that will change. Just like I'm never leaving here."

A heaviness in my chest grips my heart and bangs around my rib cage. "We should still tell Ciaran and Matt about this. And keep an eye on it. If they are following the trajectory I think is most likely, then we're going to run into some issues."

Mila snorts and her eyes light up. "Nash Aimsworth issues. Oh Ciaran will be pissed."

"I think it's time to tell them." I grab her hand, like she does with mine all the time.

Her eyes move over my face, trying to read me, and see what I'm thinking. I keep my own eyes focused on her and my face serious. While I don't really care about upsetting Ciaran or Silas, I do worry that by keeping this secret longer, Matt will think I'm not trustworthy.

"If I tell them, you know they're going to share their opinions. I'm sure you'll get an earful from my brother and soon to be brother-in-law."

I nod slowly, thinking over her words. Dissecting them against my better judgment. I don't know if that's what she is worried about or if she genuinely thinks I should be worried about it. "Will you leave if they ask you to?"

Mila's lips quirk up and she turns in my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. It's on the tip of my tongue to tell her that she's squishing the laptop screen, but she leans in and kisses me. "I'm not ever leaving, Reed. You just need to get used to it. And my family will accept it because they love me."

Her words cause an odd ache in my chest, a good ache though one that feels heavy and not painful. Carefully, I take the laptop from her hands and set it on the desk behind me. Her brow rises, but she doesn't ask about my intentions. My hands reaching for the edge of her t-shirt to yank it off over her head shows exactly where my thoughts are at. Her lips turn into a smile that can't be anything but mischievous as she starts wiggling around to help shimmy her shorts off. I grab my own shirt and pull it off, and by the time I manage that Mila is diving for the button on my pants. I lift up as much as I can so she can push them and my boxers down. Her legs spread apart as our lips meet.

It feels as if I haven't tasted her in days when in reality it was only a few hours ago. I can't get enough of her taste, her smell, the way her skin feels. While her tongue wages a war with mine, I slip my hand between our bodies and strum her clit with my fingers. Mila moans into my mouth and I take the opportunity to kiss down her neck, sucking and soothing the skin as I go, just how she likes it. Her hips grind against my hand, rocking back and forth on my lap. I can feel her arousal starting to drip for me and swipe it with my fingers before shoving two inside her as Mila's head falls back.

"Yes, Reed."

I drag my lips over her chest before grabbing her tit with my free hand, squeezing, and rolling her hardened nipple between my fingers. Her breathing turns rough and she rocks harder in my lap. The need to make her come drives me to the point of insanity. I want to hear her scream and watch the way her eyes darken. Using my thumb, I press on her clit and lean forward to take her nipple into my mouth. She gasps and her hands find their way into my hair, holding me closer. My tongue flicks the beaded nub and my teeth bite on it gently. I want her to be marked with my bites. Determination to prove to Mila that she should stay with me always takes root in my chest and grows fiercely with every thrust into her with my fingers, until her head falls back and her body spasms around my fingers.

"Reed!" My name is sweet on her lips, breathy. And when her eyes find mine again, I see the darkness I recognize and the other emotions she holds for me even while I can't bring myself to believe they are real.

Mila is restless the next minute, helping me reach for one of the condoms from my pants pocket. Together we roll it down my length before she rises above me and positions my cock at her slippery entrance. Our eyes meet as she slides down, taking me an inch at a time into her heat. I have to grit my teeth because she feels fucking incredible wrapped around me. It's something I'll never get tired of. When her lips part and her chest rises with labored breaths, I lose control, my hands finding her hips, and I pull her down at the same time I thrust up into her. The sound that tears from her throat snaps my resolve. My heart pounds wildly in my chest while I yank her back and forth, finding the perfect rhythm for us when she adds a little bounce. Mila leans in, slipping her fingers through my hair and bringing her perfect-as-fuck tits in front of my face. I lower my mouth and suck one of her nipples into my mouth. She cries out and her grip on my hair tightens. The sting of pain shoots straight to my cock and I thrust into her, letting her ride my length however she wants. She looks like a queen when she's on top of me.

My head falls back against the chair as her hips speed up, grinding her little clit on my pelvis. "Fuck, Mila."

She moans and tilts her head down, our eyes connecting. Her cheeks are stained red and her eyes are glazed. "You feel so good inside me, Reed."

My throat closes with emotions that feel so foreign yet so right when it comes to Mila. Only Mila. I want to give her everything, even if it's imperfect. Even if it's every sharp part of my soul that wants her. My fingers slide between us and I rub her clit with more pressure until I feel her pussy clamp down on my cock, pulling me in deeper. I swear my vision blacks out but through the haze I see her head tilt back and she cries loudly into the empty space.

"That's the sexiest thing I've ever heard, Doll," I groan, my arms wrapping around her to hold her body down on mine. My hips thrust up with abandon, harder each time, deep and quick, until I feel my own release explode out of my body. It's the best fucking feeling in the world, Mila's pussy strangling every ounce of release out of my dick.

My body slumps back into the chair, taking Mila with me until she's sprawled across my chest. I can feel her heart beat wildly against my skin and I can't help when my lips lift up in the corners.

"I love this with you." Her voice sounds tired but filled with happiness.

My Adam's apple bobs in my throat while I silently acknowledge how much I like it too. How much I need this from her when I never even knew it.

"I'm going to tell them. And you're going to keep me." Mila tilts her head up and I glance down. Her words send shivers across my skin. I mange to nod my head and that must be the right answer because she smiles her cheerful, sunny smile that lights up her whole face with happiness. And that might be the best thing I've ever seen in my life.

"Let me help you. I want to do this right. I'll let Matt know and then I'm sure we'll have houseguests soon enough."

Her brow rises and I think I see a flicker of pride in her eyes. "You sure?"

My arms tighten around her. I hope this is the right thing. Mila's family is important to her and I never want her to lose the comfort and support she has in them. It would hurt if I was cast aside by Rogue. Although I think they need me to keep doing their dirty work. It would kill Mila though if her family cut her off. I don't want to be the reason she's sad or not part of her family.

"I'm sure."

She pushes off my chest and places a kiss on my lips. Her eyes sparkle. "Today. I'm going to get cleaned up then you should call Matt today."

I nod, and before I can hold on, she's sliding off my lap and grabbing her clothes off the floor. I watch her sway as she heads for the bathroom. My skin tingles and heats, looking at her flushed skin. Mila turns the corner and looks back at me. Mischief dances in her gaze. "Want to help wash my hair?"

Fuck do I. I jump from the chair and follow her laugh down the hall toward the bathroom. Once we make them aware, I get to have this all the time. It finally hits me right in the gut that this is getting more real. Mila will always be mine to protect.