14. daegan

14

DAEGAN

I did not expect her to call me, but I'm finding the little games I play with her are paying off. Graves is making sure any calls to 911 from her phone are being screwed with.

I find my little valentine one mile away from her car. She's on the side of the road, trying to wave down a truck that's in front of me by a couple of feet.

If that truck driver wants to live longer than tonight, he'll keep on driving. Alessia keeps waving at them and mouthing something like "Please stop," and to my satisfaction, he ignores her.

What a shame.

Her shoulders slump, and she removes her wet curls from her face, unblocking her vision. She's still around three miles away from the closest gas station, her clothes stuck to her skin, hugging her like glue. I slightly pass her, parking my challenger a couple of feet in front of her. The roaring engine slows down, and all I hear is harsh rain pattering my window. It's almost as brutal as hail.

She halts, pausing like she's afraid. Perhaps she doesn't know I drive a challenger. She bites her lip nervously when I don't get out right away. Her chest heaves up and down, and she turns on one foot like she's going to run.

I would love to play a game of hide and seek.

God, I would love to chase her.

But not tonight…what am I saying? Not ever.

Not with the Admiral's stepdaughter.

I grab the umbrella I always keep in my car in case of weather like this and get out. Quickly spreading the all-black umbrella open so I have cover, I stand tall and wave her down. She squints through the rain, trying to evade the raindrops in her eyes. Even through the storm, she gives me a shy smile that has my heart twitching and chest tightening.

"Mr. Hannibal?!" She shouts over the thunder.

"Valentine. Get inside, let's go." I command.

She gives me a frantic nod and walks faster to my car.

Sliding back into the driver's seat, I tuck my umbrella away in the back seat. Before she can get a chance to get in, I close my door. I race to the other side and wait for her to catch up. I hold the passenger door open and close it once she slides in.

Seconds later, I'm back in the driver's seat, wondering what the hell I'm going to do with Alessia and questioning my decision to pick her up.

"Thank you for coming. You were here so fast. How were you able?—"

"I live ten minutes away." I cut her off, deadpanning.

She's all wet. Her white t-shirt is completely soaked. She's wearing a very thin pink-laced bra. I know this because I can see her hard nude brown luscious nipples poking through the wet fabric.

Jesus.

God, give me strength and stop me from not ripping that off her body right now.

I silently pray to myself, hoping it's enough not to act on my impulsive desires, flooding my senses and nerves.

The urge to put them in my mouth is overwhelming. I want to suck and bite on them.

She doesn't realize I can see more than just her wet shirt…until I tear my gaze away from her so quickly. It was so quick but long enough for her to notice. I furrow my brows and clear my throat, putting my car into drive and lightly pressing on the gas.

She catches onto her little pointed situation. "Oh…" she crosses her arms over her chest, hiding her nakedness, like she's embarrassed.

Yeah. Oh. Oh is right, but it's nothing to be embarrassed of.

A red hue paints her cheeks. Her skin is almost pale from the cold rain, and her olive-toned skin is textured with harsh goosebumps. She reaches for the button to turn on the heated seats, adding to her urgency to get warm.

"You don't mind, do you?" Her teeth chatter, and it's taking all of me not to just pull her into me so that I can warm her up with my own body heat. I've never been so jealous of my damn passenger-heated seats. Her ass should be on my face.

Shit.

Control yourself, Creature.

"Of course not—" I'm close to the gas station when I see a red, slightly light, bruised handprint on her bicep, and that stops me from saying anything more. I press the brakes, making the car come to a full stop in two seconds. Her body jolts forward, but she is smart enough to buckle herself in.

Who the fuck put their hands on her so hard that it left bruises?

Who the fuck caused her pain that didn't come from me? From the day she was assigned to me, I've dreamt about giving her marks. Marks that she asks for, begs for. I want her to be mine so I can do all those things to her. Only me. And God, how I want to mark every part of her with my teeth.

Fuck, it's been a while since I've fucked a woman. Too long. Maybe I need to get it over with. Maybe it'll help the fatal temptation to devour the lovely divine soul next to me.

"Alessia, what happened to your arm?" I growl, softly pulling her bicep to me so I can examine it further. I make sure to hold her gently but stern enough for her to know how desperate I am to know everything.

There's clear fingerprint bruising like someone had her pinned with their hand tight. It's fresh and new. She didn't have this earlier at El Devine. It couldn't have been Frankie because I had eyes on him all night.

"It's n-nothing…" she stutters, whispering softly. The windshield wipers are disguising my heavy, rage-filled breathing. That's when the red and puffy eyes come into view.

She's been crying.

Now I'm fucking livid.

Control, Creature…control.

She frowns, retracting her arm back to her side, and looks out the window. She rubs her triceps to keep warm. I take off my leather jacket without another thought and place it on her lap like a blanket.

Still, she doesn't move, and I don't know why, but it bothers me. I want her to let me in.

What could have happened from El Devine to now? Did she find out about Jack?

I was too busy with Frankie to keep tabs on her. I stopped by her home earlier to find her place empty.

I need to know who did this.

"I'm not driving until you tell me what happened to you," I demand, my voice joining the sounds of harsh rain hitting the windshield. I'm cold, my tone emotionless.

She shakes her head, still unable to look at me. I don't know what gets a hold of me, but I reach out to touch her. I'm on the side of the road again. Seconds later, I'm unbuckling my seat belt, letting the cold parts of my heart warm up because her presence does this to me. She taints me, and I do everything I can to fight it. At the end of the day, I'm only a man capable of human errors. I just hope this isn't an error to let myself indulge. I can't cross the lines that have been in place since I found out who she was. A devastating error that could wreck both of our careers.

I lean over the center console and push her hair off her shoulder. Long green trees sway in the wind in the back of her, darkness floods the scenery, and lightning strikes the sky again.

"Valentine," I call out again.

She finally turns to me, and with the most heartbroken voice, she tells me. "Can we just pretend for this one moment?"

I don't say anything. My eyebrows pinch together, confused by her request.

"Can we pretend that Ravenmore is not your boss's boss for tonight and that you're not my bodyguard and maybe just…" she hesitantly asks. A solace pauses between us. "Please, hold me?"

The ends of my mouth tilt upwards comfortingly, "I can pretend."

"I know you're not happy about being assigned to me, and?—"

I put my thumb to her mouth, hushing her.

She wants to pretend with me? Well, I can pretend all fucking night if she wants me to.

She's doe-eyed, blushing, as I brush her soft, pink bottom lip back and forth, with my thumb. She blushes bright red, clenching her thighs together, and grips my leather jacket hard underneath her hands.

She parts her lips after a second or two…and I see the wetness of her tongue as she sucks in a breath.

I will not fuck the admiral's stepdaughter in the passenger seat of my car.

I will not gag and choke her with my fingers and dick.

I.

Will.

Not.

Then she throws her arms around me, hugging me tight like she's begging someone to tell her it's going to be okay. Not knowing what's wrong is killing me.

I stiffen for a split second, enjoying her touch, not caring if she's getting me all wet. Her hard nipples graze against my chest…

Goddamn.

I hold her back, caressing her in small circles with my fingers.

She sniffles and hiccups into my neck so softly I can feel her nose graze my skin.

She smells so sweet, as always.

And for about three minutes that feel like seconds, I hold her until she's ready to make her next move.

"I caught my boyfriend cheating on me tonight," she sobs into my shoulder. Heavy, warm breaths follow from her mouth.

I don't know what to say because a sick part of me is happy she finally found out.

"With my best friend. How cliche is that, Mr. Hannibal?" She doesn't let me go. She continues to hold me tight as her body heaves up and down from her cries.

There's something about the way she says ‘Mr. Hannibal' that enlightens the obsession to claim her even more.

Fuck.

"The ones closest to you are the ones who hold the most power to hurt you." I sigh. "The ones closest do the most damage. Please remember that the next time you decide to let someone in," I tell her.

I keep my circle small, and even then, I think it's not small enough.

"Why does this always happen to me? I try to take care of everyone. I always try to do what's right. I care deeply, and it's like it always bites me in the ass to be kind? Why does the world work like that? Why does the world bite your arm off when you give it a helping hand?"

And that's why I hate people. I've been watching her for a while. This girl gives and gives; when she thinks she has nothing left to give, she'll find it.

I want to rip any being's heart from their fucking chest that has made her feel any less than worthy. All I need is a fucking name. Or a face.

"My car has no gas. I'm sorry for bothering you…and then…" she whispers, fear evident in every syllable. She pauses like she's trying to choose her words carefully. "I keep getting these weird text messages. Someone is…watching me. I didn't want to tell Ravenmore. It would only justify the assignment, taking you away from your time on the team and missions to watch over me. I didn't want to tell him he was right for having me under personal security. But I'm scared now. I don't have anywhere to go right now. Can you take me to a hotel?"

"No," I growl, low and husky. She stops holding me, slowly retracting her hands from my body and sitting back in her seat. She wipes the tears off her cheeks, fidgeting with her fingers.

"I'll be okay. I promise." She reassures me, but her words are not convincing enough.

"I can't take that risk. I can take you to your mother's place. Ravenmore wouldn't have it any other way, he-"

"Do not take me to their place!" She insists. "The relationship between my mother and I is complicated." She mumbles, protesting, waving her hands in front of her.

"Fine. Then where? And don't say a hotel," I snarl.

She ponders, looking out the window again.

"Do you think I can crash on your couch then?"

My heart skips a beat. That's not a good idea. As much as I want to take her there, I can't.

"I'm not sure Ravenmore would approve of that. It doesn't look good if anyone finds out you slept over at my house."

It's the truth. The thought of people gossiping about Alessia staying over at my place makes me nauseous. I cannot risk losing my spot on the team over her. My secret obsession needs to stay just that.

A secret.

"Please. I won't say anything, Mr. Hannibal; it's just for tonight." Her hand slides on my knee, gripping it in an innocent way. My eyes flicker to her small palm on my sweatpants for a second. It sends a shockwave of pure fucking flames throughout my body. Flames I thought I couldn't feel anymore.

A low growl reverberates through my chest.

How am I supposed to say no to her? Ever?

"When did this start?" I ask.

"The text messages?"

"No, the rain," I remark sarcastically. "Yes, the text messages, Valentine."

"Oh, right, of course," she chuckles.

Her laughter could be my new national anthem.

I take the car out of parking mode and put it into drive.

"A week ago."

"You're not safe. I guess you'd be safer staying with someone you know tonight. Until we figure out who the fuck is texting you. What about Winters? We need to charge your phone and report this to the police. Why haven't you done it already?"

I'm being manipulative, I know…but I don't care.

"I've had a lot going on. Between my job and falling on orders and my boyfriend—I mean ex-boyfriend—it's all too much. A part of me thinks this person is playing a sick game, and I hoped he or she would just leave me alone. Winters…well, I'm pretty sure she's riding Lopez tonight."

I wouldn't put it past Vicente to hook up with someone from work before deployment.

We pass the gas station, and Metallica plays through my car on low volume.

"I know it sounds like I'm making excuses, and this is something I should have taken seriously."

"Do you have any idea who this stalker problem of yours could be?" I try to change the subject.

I can feel her brown honey eyes on me as I concentrate on getting to my place through the harsh rain. She stays quiet, an eerie silence I don't like. With a somber tone, she tells me, "No, but we're leaving on deployment soon. I just hope it's not the people that created that list," she squeaks out.

I tighten my grip on the steering wheel and bounce my knee.

"I'll take care of it for you," I promise her.

"W-what?" She murmurs.

"I'll find this person…" I turn left, eight minutes away from my place now. She lifts an eyebrow at me. "I always find them."