16. Dane

16

DANE

I burst through the thin plywood covering a window and hit the ground shoulder first. Ignoring the shock and pain of impact, I roll up to a kneeling position, gun braced in both hands.

“Let her go.”

The big Italian stares at me, more confused than afraid. I can’t even see Selene’s face, because his skillet-sized hand covers it completely.

Petty’s hand darts toward the gun holstered inside his ill-fitting plaid blaze. I divert my aim to dead between his eyes.

“Don’t try it. I came here to talk, Petty, but I won’t hesitate.”

To my surprise, Petty doesn’t act afraid, either.

“Hesitate, Dane? Like you did when you had the shot on Klaus?”

My heart leaps up into my throat. How the fuck does he know my name, let alone details about a classified mission?

“The Moreno family has connections,” he replies in response to my unspoken question. “It’s as simple as that. You might have delayed us a little bit, running around LA county with Miss Jackson there, but we were going to catch up with you sooner or later. You couldn't get the job done then. Why should I think you can do it this time? You should drop that gun before Guido does something unpleasant to your client here.”

“You need her alive, and what’s he going to do, choke her to death before I give him a bullet lobotomy? This is what we call point blank aim. I literally can’t miss.”

Guido stares back at Petty.

“What you want me to do, Will? I think she may have stopped breathing.”

“No!”

Rage sizzles through me. I turn and take aim, squeezing a round off in an eyeblink. Unlike in the movies, baddies don’t go flying back when you perforate their skull. He just kind of drops where he stands, releasing Selene in the process.

Unfortunately, I give Petty all the time he needs to draw his piece. I dive behind the bulk of a heat pump as sparks fly from his initial shots. Nine mil, automatic. That means he has between nine and twelve shots left.

I pop up, firing blindly just to keep from getting shot myself. My risky gambit pays off. Petty flees, ducking his head and running around the corner of the soundstage.

He doesn't stay gone, though. When I leave my cover to help Selene, a bullet whizzes by my ear, missing me by about an inch. I duck back behind the squarish unit and curse my luck. If Selene stopped breathing, she doesn’t have much time before it’s too late to save her. But I can’t reach her without being shot.

Petty is right. I hesitated when it mattered. I should have shot him first before going after Guido. He presented the greater threat.

This will never do. If I’m going to help Selene, I have to act. Petty’s a decent shot, but he’s not a trained warrior. I’m counting on that to keep me alive.

I do something I was trained to never do. I leave my covered position while an enemy has me in their sights. Petty fires. Bullets whizz past me, sparking off the downspout, the rusted dumpster, and the concrete wall.

As I move, he comes into my sights. I don’t have time to line up the perfect shot. I aim for the largest part of his mass I can see, his shoulder, and fire. Petty cries out, the gun falling from his hand.

He staggers out of sight, but the splash of crimson on the sun-bleached concrete tells the story of my success. Even if I didn’t kill him, I seriously cramped his style.

I scoop up Selene and check her vitals. To my relief, her nostrils issue a faint but steady blast of air. I can’t check her for worse injuries right now. I have to get us out of here, and fast. Petty’s friends in the Moreno family can’t be far behind.

I carefully bundle her into the front seat, fastening her seat belt before tearing out of the studio lot. Only when we’re safely on the freeway, with no signs of pursuit, do I try and wake her.

“Selene? Are you all right?”

I gently nudge her shoulder, and get no response. Is she hurt bad? I dig around in the center console, looking for something that might help. I don't even know what I expected to find, but what I come up with is a packet of Uncle Reemus’ ghost pepper hot sauce, leftover from a late night beer and wings run.

“Uncle Reemus, don’t fail me now,” I say, ripping the packet open with my teeth. I rub the contents on the inside of her lips and mouth.

After a moment, her eyes snap open and she gags.

“What the fuck?” she sputters. “My mouth is on fire!”

She grabs a half empty bottle of water from the cup holder and drains it in one breath.

“Are you all right?”

“I–Dane? How did…what’s going on? Where’s Petty?”

“Dead, hopefully. I shot him but I don’t know what happened to him after that. What I do know is, this situation is a lot bigger than any of us thought. You stopped breathing for a bit.”

A look of abject terror comes over her face.

“Oh god, it was horrible. I just…oh god, we didn’t even get a chance to look for Justin. Did you see all the bandages, and the blood? What if he’s hurt?”

“The bandages would indicate someone worked really hard to keep him alive…assuming it was his blood, and his bandages. You never actually saw Justin get hurt.”

“No, but I’ve just got an awful feeling that I’m never going to see him again. We were all that eachother had growing up.”

“I can relate. My brother and sister and I were frequently left alone. I mean, we had housekeepers and such. My father was…well off.”

I don’t think now is the time to tell her my father was an infamous high-end cat burglar.

“Nothing can replace a parent,” she says. “I found that out the hard way with Justin. I tried to steer him right, but he just seemed determined to fuck up his life in his own way.”

“I’m surprised that you haven’t given up on him.”

She scoffs, tears rolling down her face even as it twists with anger.

“I have, that’s the thing. Multiple times. But he has a way of just worming his way back into my life. Plus, he’s my brother. I can’t just leave him twisting in the wind, no matter how much he deserves it.”

I mull this over for a bit as we race down the freeway. What would I do, if my brother or sister came to me in that kind of situation? It would be hard to tell them no, I won’t help. I can relate. It would be impossible, in fact.

“I understand. Right now, we should just concentrate on finding your brother and keeping you safe. Everything else can be sorted out later. No matter if you want him in your life or not, you definitely don’t want him dead, right?”

She nods, wiping her tears. I hand her some napkins embossed with the wing place’s logo.

“All right, then. Let’s start there, with getting him back in one piece.”

I cringe when an SUV comes up behind us. A big man with a pair of shades on seems intent on driving up our tailpipe. Just when I’m about to reach for my piece, he veers into the other lane and passes us.

He wasn’t after us, but he could have been.

“We need to find a place to lie low for a bit. ”

She reaches into her purse.

“I think I have a membership at Marriott.”

“No, that won’t do. Moreno’s intelligence network is too good. We need somewhere that will take cash and won't ask too many questions.”

She heaves a long sigh. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like this?”

I drive right past the first fleabag motel we come across. It looks like a great place to catch Pink Eye or get stabbed with a dirty syringe, but not to get a good night’s sleep or lay low.

Instead, I find a place that’s technically a campground with cabins for rent. The owner is a ninety-something who stuffs our money into his back pocket without giving us a receipt. Perfect. No electronic record of our having been here at all, plus it’s off the beaten path. I don’t think Moreno’s boys can find us here.

The cabin itself isn’t half bad. There’s a strong smell of citronella oil, and that lingering aroma of propane from the stove, but otherwise everything is in pretty good shape.

I turn to Selene to see what she makes of it.

“Well, I guess the Cabin that Time Forgot is better than getting shot by mobsters,” she says with a sigh. “Do you think there are spiders in here?”

“Probably not. Spiders eat bugs, and there’s no bugs in here with that citronella smell.”

“Yeah, that’s overpowering, can we open a window?”

I oblige Selene’s request, and find that the cabin has a heat pump unit. I turn it on to help ventilate the space before checking on Selene.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine.” She laughs. “No, actually, I’m not alright, but I’m not going to die in the next couple of minutes if there’s something you need to do.”

“I do need to call the office and give them an update. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

She nods, settling onto the sofa and stifling a yawn. When I open the door to the back porch, she’s already halfway dozing.

When I call the office, I’m surprised by Bastian’s voice. I’m also surprised by the lazy way he answers.

“Platinum.”

“That’s it? Don’t you have a script or something? How do I even know I just called a private security firm?”

A long pause, and then…

“Thank you for calling Platinum Security, your solution for personal security needs. Sebastian speaking, how may I assist you in finding exactly the best way to drive up your ass?”

“Nice. Is the boss around? I need to talk to him.”

“Nah, he took off early to spend some time with his family. It’s just me and Harlowe holding down the fort. What’s up?”

“I tried to follow up on that lead Harlowe dropped in my lap.”

“And?”

“And, I got in over my head. It turned out that there were a lot more hostiles than I originally accounted for. That and…”

I heave a long sigh.

“That, and what?” Bastian prompts.

“Look, I wanted to talk to Jax so he could assign a new agent to this job. I’m not cut out for it.”

“What? Are you kidding me? It sounds like you’ve been awesome so far.”

“Awesome? I had Petty dead to rights. But then he got in my head. He said I couldn’t take the shot, and I couldn’t. I let myself hesitate, again, and I almost got me and Selene…I mean, the client killed.”

“So, you’re on a first name basis with your client. Careful, man, that can lead to problems.”

I hear Harlowe’s voice say something in the background I can’t quite make out. He laughs.

“I love you too, sweetie. I’m just trying to tell your brother he can’t quit.”

“What? Let me talk to him.”

“She wants to talk to you, man.”

A second later, I hear my sister’s voice .

“Hey, what’s this about quitting? You just started.”

“I’m technically just doing this one job as a favor. I haven’t signed any contracts, I should be free to quit whenever I want to.”

“Um, sure, you are legally entitled to do that. But why?”

“Why? How about because when the chips are down I always fuck it up, that’s why.”

“Stop it, Dane. Get a hold of yourself. You’re better than this.”

I grit my teeth and hiss with frustration.

“I’m not the man for the job. Get someone else.”

“There’s nobody else.”

“Bastian’s just fucking around at the office.”

“Now you’re just being mean.” She sighs. “I can tell you’re worried about Selene. You’re freaking out because you’re emotionally invested in this job and you didn’t want to be. You don’t want responsibility because you’re afraid you’ll choke.”

“I’m afraid I’ll choke again. Again, sis. That’s the operant word here.”

Harlowe makes a sympathetic groan.

“Oh, Dane, I wish I could give you a hug right now. You can do this, all right? Because the alternative is leaving Selene all alone without any kind of protection. And I know you don’t want to do that to her, right?”

“No, of course not.”

“All right then. I hate to sound like a drill sergeant, but man up. You’ve got this. You can’t break down now.”

“You’re right.” I steel myself and sit up straighter. “You’re damn right. Thanks, Sis.”

“Anytime you need me to slap you upside the cerebellum with good sense, you just let me know. Sometimes it might even stick.”

“Ha ha. Tell Bastian he’d better keep treating you right.”

“Oh, he will. Don’t worry about that. Sometimes, he treats me right first thing in the morning, and at lunchtime, and even when I’m working he can fit under the desk if he really tries–”

“Gross, I’m hanging up now.”

I return to the cabin’s interior. Selene slumbers on the sofa. I find a blanket in the hall closet and give it the sniff test to make sure it’s clean. After shaking it out to dislodge any dust or spiders, I gently drape it over her body.

Then I settle down onto the sofa beside her. God, she’s beautiful. She has this ‘queen of the undead’ vibe but on the inside she’s really sweet. You can tell she loves her brother a lot, and would do anything for him.

Unfortunately, I can’t let her make the ultimate sacrifice. My job is to keep her alive, and I’ve already decided that if it comes to a choice between her and Justin, I’m picking Selene. Justin sounds like he could have done better but chose not to. I don’t think his sister should have to pay for his mistakes.

“What’s happening with your brother is not your fault,” I say softly. I reach out and brush her bangs back from her face. My pulse quickens at her revealed beauty. I want nothing more than to kiss her, but I hold myself back. “None of this is your fault.”

I shake my head and sigh.

“It’s not fair. You spend so much time trying to take care of your brother that you hardly have time to live for yourself. You’re so creative, and smart, and funny, and I feel shitty because I don’t want this assignment to end because it means I won’t get to see you anymore.”

I close my mouth, shocked at the torrent which just spilled out of it. I had no intention of saying any of that. But I do feel it. I spoke from the heart.

Thank god she wasn’t awake to hear it.

“Even if it was a mistake,” I say softly. “I can’t stop thinking about making love to you again.”

That’s when I realize, her lips have stretched into a smile. Mischievous brown eyes open, and they are bereft of even the slightest trace of drowsed confusion. She wasn’t asleep.

She was never asleep. She heard it all, every word.

“Selene,” I start to say, but she puts her finger to my lips.

“Dane…” she leans forward, until our faces are mere inches apart. “It’s okay. ”

I give in to the urge, pressing my lips onto her own. The kiss deepens, grows hotter by the moment as our hands roam over each other. God, how I’ve longed to hold her like this again.

“Selene,” I gasp when we come up for air. “I want you. I need you.”

“Then have me,” she groans, her body arching up against me. I kiss her again, the delectable taste of her mouth driving me absolutely wild. I yank her clothes off with her enthusiastic assistance, our movements quick and primal with the heat of desire.

Selene, my sweet Selene. If I could spend eternity in your arms, I would.

I pull her naked body close. The skin-on-skin contact thrills me. It feels so right to hold her like this. When we kiss, my cock twitches hard. She moans into my mouth, rubbing herself against the ever-thickening girth.

My hand slides down the exquisite curve of her spine. I cup the profound roundness of her bottom, kneading the pliant flesh while her moans deepen. My fingers slide along the smooth slope of her ass and pry the cheeks apart.

I explore her with my fingers. My heart pounds when I feel the silken softness. My fingers slide easily inside her pussy.

Selene lifts her leg, wrapping it around me and pulling me in closer. I heft her up, and she wraps the other leg around me as well. Our gazes meet and she lets out a low laugh before giving me a hungry look.

I spin us around and plant her back against the cabin wall. She whimpers through tightly pressed lips as she squirms around until my throbbing crown lines up with the mouth of her pussy.

I lower her onto my shaft as her eyes roll back into her head. Her sublime softness envelops me like a custom-made velvet glove. I thrust, and her pink softness reveals hidden strength, clamping me tight.

I can’t hold back any longer. My animal side comes out, giving a primal vehemence to my thrusts. Every pump of my hips makes Selene cry out. Her legs slip from around my waist, but I hold her up just fine.

Burying my face in her neck, I groan as my body urges me to release. It’s incredible, this feeling. Something I’ve never known before. How could I ever want another woman after this? Nothing could compare to this. This…connection.

I slow the pumping of my hips, my moments growing deliberate, sensual. Her pussy convulses, dragging me in deeper with each thrust. Selene’s hands curl into claws, digging into my shoulders and scratching my skin. I don’t care, I can’t even feel it. All I can feel is how perfect it is to be deep inside of Selene.

When I release, she twists and writhes in my grasp, squirming like she’s been possessed. Again and again, she sucks in a shuddering gasp of air only to let it out as a piercing cry.

I kiss her neck, her cheek, and her lips. She comes somewhat to her senses, kissing me back, whimpering as I start to lower her to the ground.

“No, come back,” she gasps. “Don’t put me down, please.”

Her eyes open, and our gazes lock. Even through the glaze of climax, I can see the truth in her chocolate eyes.

“Please.”

I hold her tight, and sweep her away from the wall. We settle onto the sofa, with her sitting in my lap. She draws her knees up and curls her body against my chest. I stroke her hair as our sweat cools.

I don’t say anything, but is there anything to be said right now? What do you say after something like that? We connected on far more levels than the physical. Our chemistry is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

I’m so tired of holding back my feelings. It’s probably damn selfish of me to admit them to her, but I feel as if I don’t have a choice.

“Selene,” I whisper softly into her hair. “Selene, my Selene…”

“Hey,” she says, lifting up enough to look me in the eyes. “Who says I’m yours?”

“Sorry,” I say quickly. How did I fuck this up so fast? “You’re your own person, I didn’t mean– ”

She kisses me, hard and deep. I respond in kind, wrapping her in my embrace all over again.

“I’m kidding,” she purrs after we break the kiss. “Obviously. I like it when you say sweet things like that.”

“Oh yeah?” My heart beats faster. Damn, this woman has got to me, and then some.

“Yeah. A man who treats me sweet but fucks me like an uncaged animal? Hell yeah, sign me up for that.”

“Selene,” I say, growing somber.

She puts her finger to my lips.

“Shhh. Just kiss me, all right? Whatever you were going to say, just kiss me instead.”

So I do.