2. Cover Blown

QUINN/ASPEN

"Did you sleep here last night?"

It didn't take much more than Beau's baffled voice to break me from the intoxicating haze of watching all the pretty white numbers warp into others in front of my eyes. As soon as I allowed my gaze to flicker to him as he stood on the other side of my desk, every part of my body hated me for it. Half of my body was stiff from standing perfectly still while my eyes ached from all the strain. Hell, they were so dry that it made the sensation a thousand times worse.

That didn't mean this man was any less appealing. He could've been standing there butt naked with every part of that body for the world to see. Clearly, I was so sexually deprived that any male could come in my general vicinity and I would get horny. That didn't mean a goddamn thing that I wanted to jump his bones when he wouldn't come near me if he knew the truth.

Beau arched a bushy eyebrow while we studied each other. "I saw the bundle of sheets in the storage room, Blaire. I'm a little concerned. Pavement is uncomfortable as hell. Why didn't you ask Theo to use his couch?"

"What, so I could give the others the impression that I'm sleeping with the bosses? It's bad enough that they think I opened my legs just to convince them to let me join the hack tonight." Scoffing, I returned my attention to the computer screen. "Besides, I couldn't get into the house last night before a patrol was heading for my street. The bitch locked me out."

The concern on his face quickly shifted into shock. "Anita locked the doors? What the hell crawled up her ass and died?" He reached out to swing the monitor his way.

I was quick to snap it back toward me. "What hasn't died up there? It stinks to hell and we are never in the same room for long."

Beau released a weary sigh and leaned against the edge of the table. "Doesn't your grandmother know how dangerous it is to be caught outside after curfew? My next door neighbor locked himself out of the house. The patrol happened to be passing by. They tranquilized his ass. His wife says she hasn't seen him in days."

I don't think he's coming back, either. A wave of rage leaked into my veins. Every finger that struck a key came down harder. I didn't realize how noticeable it was until my coworker's weary brown-eyed gaze fell to the keyboard and those lips pressed into a thin line. Delighted chills trickled down my spine when my mind shifted gears, wondering what he could do with that mouth.

Fuck… I really need to get laid.

I pulled back with a weary sigh. "Are you really that surprised about Anita, Beau? You know how she is. The woman can't stand me and this isn't the first time she's tried to do it. I had to completely avoid going outside near curfew. She just happened to catch me on a day when my guard was down." I closed my eyes and rubbed at them. "It's my own fault."

An annoyed snort escaped him. He came around the desk and seized me by the shoulders to turn me towards him. "It's no one's fault aside from Anita's. She's your grandmother. Just because she doesn't like you doesn't mean she should betray her own blood like that. You're both human. We've gotta stick together if we want to survive the demon conquest. That reason right there should be enough to convince her to protect you, not leave you out to dry."

For a moment, his words left me stumped. My grand — oh, right…This was the downside to converting to my second false identity in the last century. The truth of how we were related didn't matter. Anita looked old enough to be a young grandmother for me. It certainly would have made it easier to alter my papers if she'd been willing to take on that role.

The fact that I didn't age only solidified her hatred towards me. I was a bastard child, the spawn she had never wanted. She never let me hear the end of it — or the way I had almost killed her just by being born forty years ago. It was the main thing that kept that fiery rage against me burning with a neverending heat.

Only the gods knew that I wasn't aging like everyone else. My survival depended on these identities to hold up so that no one else would uncover my secret. I had to take on a new one every so often just to keep myself under the radar.

The most Anita had been willing to do was accept the role of a distant aunt. As far as she was concerned, I had been brought over with my blood parents from Italy. Only they'd left as soon as I reached the legal age to take care of myself. It was far from the truth — not that she'd admit she was the one that had given birth to me.

She didn't give a damn if the story I spun matched up with what was on paper.

"Blaire?" Beau snapped his fingers in front of my face until I finally pulled back from him with an annoyed noise. He didn't try to keep me within his reach. "Are you sure you're up for hacking today? You've got bags under your eyes that anyone could see from a mile away."

I slapped his hands away. "I'm fine. Besides, it's Aspen now. What's the point of faking my death to achieve a new identity if you're going to be the one to ruin it all for me?" It was harsher than I had intended and he flinched. Guilt immediately took dominance out of all the waging emotions within me. I reached back to grab my chair, sinking down into it with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Beau. I'm just tired."

"Hey, it's no big deal." He attempted a small smile. The fact that it didn't reach his eyes just left me feeling a thousand times worse. "I went with you to grab the cadaver, remember? You had to go through hell just to set everything up right. The last thing I want to do is ruin your chances of staying below the radar."

Running my fingers along the back of my neck to locate the newest knot, I offered him a gentle grin. "I really do appreciate you helping me with that the other night. I thought I was screwed when Anita got my car towed."

Granted, it was a stolen ride, but I didn't get the chance for it to serve its purpose before I watched a tow truck pass by me with it hooked up. It had led to the biggest confrontation that I had ever allowed myself to risk with the vile woman. All I was trying to do was buy myself some time while I uncovered why I was cursed with eternal youth and the very woman that had brought me into the world was keen on destroying all my progress. The fact that I had gotten this identity set up at all was a fucking miracle.

Beau responded with a dismissive wave. "It's nothing. You're a friend, Bl — Aspen."

"You're an amazing friend," I countered.

If I was being honest with myself, he was the only one I had. It didn't matter how quickly I had risen in the ranks for the APL. The fact that I had the face of a young woman didn't give me much of a standing with the others. Beyond Beau, only the bosses respected me. No one else would have stuck their necks out for me like he did and asking the bosses was not an option. A favor like that would have clued them in that I wasn't who I swore I was.

Now, a hacker who needed to change her identity every five years because the royal family was getting too close to home? That was a story any human in their right mind would believe.

"Aspen."

It took me a moment to realize that Beau had kept talking and I had simply tuned him out. I blinked several times before his words finally reached me. "I-I'm sorry," I stammered. "I guess I'm just—"

"Exhausted?" He started scooting my rolling chair away from the computer and didn't stop until he had moved me around the other side of the table. "Yeah, I can tell. I was asking if you'd gotten everything switched over. You were just staring at me like a zombie. It was creepy."

I crossed my arms over my chest as he turned me to face him again. "Zombies don't exist," I grumbled.

"Not yet." That bushy eyebrow went right back up. "You can't argue with the fact that far too many people are going missing for the demons not to be into experimentation. Zombies are going to be a thing eventually. It's just a matter of time until they are. Still…" He reached out to gently flick under one of my eyes.

I sucked in a breath, my skin tingling from the brief contact. It was just long enough to set the rest of my body on fire. The struggle not to squirm on the chair was unreal.

Beau's lips twitched as if he could sense the inner turmoil brewing within me. "You can't be much use to the bosses if you're dragging like this. You know the royal family has a security wall from hell. They're going to need you at the top of your game if we want to crack it before tonight."

There was a part of me that yearned to shoot Beau down for overstepping. I was used to running myself ragged, especially since I'd joined their ranks. It was expected of me on a daily basis just to maintain my place. My relentless nature was why the T-Brothers had even noticed me to begin with. I had a natural talent for hacking and my rage against the demons simply fueled my desire to strip them of all their stolen riches.

Hell, I was the main reason why we were so close to their personal stash to begin with.

That didn't mean the royal family hadn't taken notice of the missing funds. We'd done our best to distribute the wealth just enough to where they couldn't notice a sudden fluctuation in a specific area. As far as they were concerned, it simply looked like another low paycheck to humanity. We had been extremely careful. That didn't mean they would brush it off like it was nothing.

The demons were simply better and now our time was running out. If we wanted to strike them where it really hurt, we'd have to go after the royal family tonight for everything they had. With any luck, all the missing funds would create a panic and the hierarchy would fall.

Beau snapped his fingers to regain my attention. "See? You've been going at their system since five this morning. You need to rest if you want any part of tonight."

An exasperated groan escaped my lips as I rubbed my forehead. It didn't matter how much I wanted to argue. Beau was still right. I had a vital role to play with the hack and I would be absolutely useless to the brothers if I was running myself ragged before it went down. "Alright!" I flung up my hands and eased out of the chair to offer it to him. "Fine. I'll go grab a nap."

Beau plopped down with a firm look at me. "No, you'll get some sleep. There's absolutely no need to keep one eye cracked open until tonight goes down. Get what you can while you can. Got it?"

My upper lip curled. "Since when did you become my father, Beau?"

He simply rolled behind the computer and started typing away. "Since I'm old enough to be it. Now get your ass moving before I have to tie you to the shelves just to convince you to rest."

The edges of my lips twitched, especially when I spotted the sparkle in his eye. There was a part of him that was hoping I would resist just so he had the chance to hit on me, and I contemplated giving it to him. Considering that his body had not yet relaxed into the hacker meant I had a small window that was closing fast. I nibbled on my lower lip and lifted my jaw. "I don't believe you."

Those fingers stilled over the keyboard and the deep brown eyes swung my way. "Oh, really?"

The challenge was clear in his tone: go lay down or I'll make sure you do.

I simply crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to budge.

It didn't matter if I had responded with silence. My defiance was enough to prompt Beau out of his chair. He came at me faster than I had ever seen him move. All it took was him grabbing an arm and whirling me around before those arms wrapped around me. He hoisted me off the ground and carried me directly into the storage room where I'd set up my bed.

If it wasn't for the fact that I was literally sleeping on the floor, I knew Beau would have tossed me down onto the wrinkled sheets. Still, he eased me down with frantic anticipation before he nudged the door shut.

Excited chills trickled down my spine as I watched him tug his buckle open. Just hearing the leather material rub against the belt loops was enough to leave me soaking for him. I kept nibbling on my lower lip while I watched him pull it free and toss it near the canned food. There was a part of me that poked at my consciousness that I could speed this along by shedding my own pants, yet I couldn't bring myself to do it for him.

Beau didn't seem to mind in the least. After he tugged his cock through the opening in his boxers, he was quick to work at my pants. He'd barely gotten the material off of me before one set of fingers found their way under the silk underwear and to my folds while he grabbed himself to pump.

As soon as those rough fingertips brushed against my clit, I arched my back with a moan.

"Uh uh. You're going to have to keep quiet if we want to get a round in." He winked at me.

"Then stop teasing me," I growled.

Beau studied me for a moment before that smirk returned in full force. "Fine." He pulled back long enough to flip me onto my stomach. It was enough to shove my face into the pillow and at least muffle some of the sounds while he started thrusting his fingers into my pussy. There was the occasional brush of his other hand while he worked on getting himself hard.

From the aroma that quickly filled the air, it didn't take long for him to accomplish that — and bring me to my first orgasm.

I pressed my face into the worn material. My clit was pulsing with need while my pussy hungered for something larger than those fingers. The desire was so overwhelming that a whine soon escaped me.

He didn't give me a chance to utter another one before he nudged the underwear out of the way enough to bring his cock to my entrance. As soon as he slid the head in, he seized me by the hips and started pulling me back against him. While I squealed from the intrusion, he moaned. "Fucking hell, Aspen…Why haven't I taken this pussy sooner? It's heavenly."

Just what we needed in a world like this one: an actual heaven on earth.

I arched my hips back to take him in further, my entire body flooded with pleasure. Having his cock inside me was exactly what I needed. That pace was a different story. It was far too slow to satisfy this hunger that had been awakened. While he seemed eager to pierce me slowly, I raised myself onto my knees and jammed myself back against him. The pain was quick. It was enough to squeeze the air from my lungs, but not enough to stop the pace that I wanted.

"I thought you were a virgin." Beau's voice was ragged as he regained a grip on my hips and quickly fell into the rhythm that I was demanding.

There was barely a chance for me to lower my face back into the pillow to silence a moan. My body shook with the pleasure that was now numbing the pain and leaving my mind reeling. As soon as it passed, I turned my head to grin back at him. "I was."

I could already feel the extra wetness seeping down my leg. Beau seemed too stunned to notice it yet, not that I really cared. With how I was moving back against him, the pleasure that had spread through his body was enough to completely override any questions he had.

His grip tightened on my hips and he continued the frantic thrusts into my pussy. "I'm going to need this pussy again once we finish the hack tonight. Might even…" His words shifted into a loud groan. "Might even need it again before I go back out there."

Pleased chills trickled down my spine as his balls continued to smack against my clit while he took me from behind. Getting past the security wall was extremely important where our cause was considered, but I certainly wouldn't complain if I got a little more action first. Hell, it might even help convince my body to take the sleep that it so desperately needed.

The high was building so quickly that I knew neither one of us would make it much longer before he came. I angled my hips to take him in as much as I could so that I could enjoy the high. It didn't make it any easier to accept the sudden absence when Beau pulled out just in time to cum on my lower back.

I managed to push my face into the pillow so that the sorrowful whine would come out as a noise tied to my orgasm. The anticipation had built up so much that I was well on my way to the best one yet — except it had been interrupted by his cock going MIA. My pussy pulsed with dissatisfaction. It wasn't done and now I was facing the consequences.

There wasn't a chance for me to prompt him back inside before loud beeping outside the storage room caught Beau's attention. His head whipped toward the door as we both fell silent to listen. "Fuck!" He rose off the ground, scrambling to button his pants back together.

"What's wrong?" I eased down onto my side. I couldn't break my eyes away from him as I reached around blindly for my jeans.

He didn't answer me. Instead, he simply yanked the door open and charged back out to the computer.

It was all I could do to shove the door shut after him so I could get my clothes back on. With every second that passed during the delay, I realized a knot had formed in my stomach and it was growing tighter by the minute. Something was wrong — nightmarishly so. By the time I was decent, Beau was frantically typing away on the keyboard with a layer of sweat covering his forehead. I joined him at the desk. "What happened?"

"Someone broke through our security," Beau breathed. "Not only did they just tear it down and expose our location, but they've hacked through the front door. They can just walk right in."

My entire body went cold as the words sank in. I could only stare at him as he continued to work on the computer. "I thought you said that wasn't possible. No one could break this code!"

Beau only lingered on the computer for a few more seconds before he pulled back. He jammed his fingers through his hair. "I said it was supposed to be impossible. It's never been tested against the royal family itself, Blaire!" He reached out to seize me by the shoulders, giving me a firm shake. "Why do you think we had orders to break everything down once we got the cash? Hacking their system would beam our location. We can't enjoy their riches if we're dead!"

I couldn't bring myself to speak as his hands fell away and he gripped his head tightly. Hell, even taking a breath right now seemed to be asking too much of myself. My lips had just parted when loud banging from the upper level drew my attention. Since my hearing was better than the rest of the crew's, I could hear every sound of the metal front door folding from the pressure.

It wasn't long until several of the other APL members scrambled down the stairway with their sights set on the back door.

Theo emerged from his office with his partner in tow. Although he was forced to scramble out of their way, his brown eyes soon swung our way. "What the hell happened?" he demanded.

Beau could only stare at the computer. Although his lips parted and the words struggled to form, they never launched off his tongue.

"Someone tell me something!"

I winced as Theo's rage merged with the panic leaking out into the air. The emotions were so overwhelming that I could literally taste different flavors in the air and it transformed my hunger into something I didn't recognize. That alone heightened my own fear. I recoiled against the electronics on the wall behind me. "Demons," I rasped. "The demons have found us."

It only took a moment for Theo to process my words before the heavy weight of our reality sank in. His fair skin took on an ashen tone and those eyes were the widest that I had ever seen them. He stumbled back into the doorframe while his partner emerged to peek over his shoulder. "How did this happen? We have security systems in place — protocols meant to alert us! The only way this could have happened is if you weren't at your post! Where the hell were you two?"

Tate pushed past him with a scowl. "Does it matter? They've almost broken down the front door. The fact they haven't yet just means they're fucking with us. Grab your laptop, Theo. It's time to go underground." His hazel eyes swung our way. "Wipe the drives. Do you hear me? Neither of you leave until everything is erased!"

Theo didn't offer an ounce of protest when his brother grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back into the office. The simple click of the lock rolling into place simply confirmed that neither of them would have to use the same exit plan as the rest of us. The brothers had their own personal back door to escape through.

"Fuck this!" Beau scrambled for the same door that all of the others had scrambled through.

I reached out to grab a fistful of his shirt, yanking him right back to the computer. "Where the hell do you think you're going? Tate gave us specific orders to wipe the drives. We have protocols for shit hitting the fan, Beau, and I can't do this without you. I need you on the secondary monitor to ensure there's nothing left for them to find!"

He stared at me for a moment with those lips still parted while the banging grew louder upstairs. Fear had him by the balls so much that he couldn't seem to break free from the paralysis until the wife of the family living upstairs screamed in horror. His eyes shot up toward the wooden ceiling as the sound was followed by several gunshots.

Fucking hell, Brandon managed to conceal a loaded weapon during the last raid.

Bullets weren't going to do a damn thing against the demons except piss them off. From the wild shriek that pierced the air within seconds, I knew that I had hit the nail on the head. The noise had distracted me long enough for Beau to break free from my grasp. "Where the fuck do you think you're going?" I demanded as he made a rapid retreat.

Beau didn't have a damn thing to say now that he was out of my reach. He simply offered me a sorrowful look before he tore through the door, leaving me alone at the monitor.

You fucking bastard. Not only did I feel betrayed by the one member of the APL that swore he would always have my back, but now I felt violated. I had given him the one thing that no one else had been able to claim — not that any of the others seemed to have any desire to. My only reward for trusting Beau to this extent had left me at the monitor alone with the predators closing in on me. Gritting my teeth, I brushed all of those thoughts aside while I took to the keyboard.

I would worry about it when I had the chance to hunt his feeble ass down — after I wiped the drives and escaped capture. Not only would I give him one hell of a punch to the jaw, but I would ensure it was followed by a swift kick to the balls.

"No, stop!" The woman wailed. "There's nothing down there but our food storage!"

Fuck. That was the unspoken signal that the bastards had found the trap door in the floor. It wouldn't be long until they came down the steps and found me trying to erase all of the evidence. I bent my head, keeping my eyes trained on the screen while I pounded at the keyboard. I could sense the final code just waiting to be released by the time the entire monitor exploded.

I jerked away from it with a panicked scream. The sight of fire popping out of the gaping hole with smoke in tow was the final sight I saw before I was slammed against the wall. A shadow loomed over me, nothing more than a dark shadow as he drew his face close to mine. I shivered as his cool breath brushed against my cheek. Is he…sniffing me?

A deep chuckle rumbled from his chest as he kept me pinned against the other devices by my hair. "They left you behind to take the fall, didn't they? Their pretty little scapegoat."

The dominating smell of bourbon mixed with pine washed over me, causing my stomach to pinch with nausea. "Do what you want with me," I snarled at him. "Any evidence you would've had against us is gone."

My captor brought his face closer. It only took a moment of silence before he ran his tongue along my neck, leaving me to shake against him with disgust. "Is that so? Something tells me that we'll find everything we need on your boss' laptop. You're all condemned, mortal, and it's time for you to face judgment."

Any warmth left within my body seeped out at his words. It could only mean one thing: the APL had escaped out the back door with the demons waiting for them. There was no escape for any of us.

The man chuckled again as the full weight of my reality sank in. "You're a smart one. I'm going to enjoy playing with you."

I didn't have a chance to process his words before his grip tightened in my hair. He pulled me away from the wall long enough to slam me right back against it and send me into the black abyss that was waiting for me.

I was now completely at his mercy.