Chapter 12

Chapter

Twelve

A very flew the plane to an open field outside Paris, which meant if they needed to make a swift, strategic retreat to the United States, they wouldn’t have to worry about the endless waiting to depart from Orly or Charles de Gaulle airports. While in flight, the team had been able to secure a small, modest farmhouse that belonged to a friend of Thom and had state-of-the-art electronic capability. The plane was parked only a hundred yards or so from the farm but not visible from the road.

Once on the ground, the team headed to their staging place, and Thom set about getting them plugged into the net and establishing communication with their comm links as well as back in Mesa. He checked in with Adam, who had nothing new to report except Mandy had put herself in charge of keeping Reid occupied since the waiting seemed to be taking a toll on him.

By the time they were set up, night was falling, and they took the time to make a plan for the next day. Normally, John or Mac would lead the team, but as Finn was Croft’s girl, the team deferred to him. In addition, this kind of strike was something at which SEALs excelled, and Croft had been one of the best.

“The first thing we need to do is determine if Springer is where we think he is and if he still has Finn with him,” Croft said, looking at the map.

“Why don’t I take a drive by tomorrow and see what I can see? Who’s going to be worried about a woman in an old farm truck?”

“I can go with her,” Thom offered. “I can take some of my equipment and lie down in the back of the bed and scan the place as we drive by.”

“I hate that we can’t go tonight,” John offered.

“I know,” Croft said. “But I think any kind of vehicle passing by there at this time of night would be highly suspect, and the last thing we want to do with these guys is spook them.”

“We’ll get her,” Noah said reassuringly.

“I know. I just hope she heard me when I told her to stay put and not cause trouble.”

“Don’t you think she’s going to be too scared to do anything?” Thom asked.

“Not Finn. She was absolutely terrified going up and down those trails into the Grand Canyon, but she went. She has the ability to tamp down her fear and do what she feels she needs to do.”

“Never forget,” John said, “she’s an award-winning photojournalist and has been in and out of some of the gnarliest war zones in the world. Anyone we talked to prior to taking her on as a client insisted she was one of the toughest females they’d ever met.” He turned to Avery. “Present company excluded.”

Avery smiled.

Croft smiled as well. “I don’t think there’s anything more to be done tonight, so let’s turn in. Maybe we can get intel tomorrow and plan to hit them tomorrow night. At least there’s some tree cover between us and them. Hopefully, we can use it to our advantage. Thom, I need you to look at the Doppler radar to see if we’ll have good weather.” Croft took a deep breath. “I just want all of you to know how much I appreciate you being here.”

“Where the hell else would we be?” Avery said quietly.

“I’ve already looked at the Doppler,” Thom added. “We should be good to go tomorrow.”

“I think Croft is right. Let’s all turn in. Thom, you take first watch. I’ll take second. I want Noah, Croft, and Avery to be well-rested. Most of this is going to fall on them.”

Croft headed upstairs to one of the bedrooms, followed closely by Avery.

“Croft?” she said softly.

“Yeah,” he said, turning to her.

“Seriously, what did you think we would do? I know it was really fast, but anyone who saw you and Finn together could tell you two were meant for each other. The rest of us are your family… that makes Finn our family, too.”

“I know, but now that I have Finn, I have a whole new appreciation for what Mac was going through when Eastwick had Willa. G’night, Avery.”

“Night, Croft.”

Croft stared out the window. He’d picked this room because it was the closest to the farm where they thought Finn was being held.

“Stay safe, Finn. I’m coming,” he whispered.

O nce the house had settled down, Finn coiled the sheets she had tied together to form a rope, then managed to climb up onto the top rim of the shower enclosure in her bath. Carefully, she used the handle to crank open the skylight and breathed a sigh of relief when it didn’t prove to be noisy. Then she removed the screen and pushed it aside. Swinging over and up into the opening, she was able to wriggle and maneuver her way to the roof. She climbed out, stopped, and listened intently. So far, she believed she was undetected.

Finn moved along the roofline. The advantage of it having a pitch meant Springer didn’t have anyone on the actual roof. She peered over the edge she wanted to use to make her escape. There was no way to secure her rope, so she took the time to go back and tie it to the outside bars of her window and lower it silently over the side. This way, if they discovered her gone, perhaps they would think she’d gone in the opposite direction.

Still hearing nothing that made her think her escape had been detected, Finn returned to the side she planned to drop from the roof eave, placing herself so she wouldn’t be seen from the window, and quietly eased over the edge, hung momentarily, then landed on the ground soundlessly. Remaining crouched below the brush line, she held her breath as one of the guards walked past. She knew another would be coming from the other way momentarily, so she waited.

Once he passed, Finn covertly made her way past the farmyard, then headed across the open field, trying to stay out of the light cast by the full moon. She’d made the woods when she heard something stirring at the farmhouse. She watched as the guards ran to the side of the house her room was on and held her breath to see if they would take the bait. They did. No one even came around to the side she was on to pursue her. Creeping away from the tree line deeper into the woods, once she couldn’t be easily seen or heard, Finn picked up her pace and ran in what she hoped was a straight line that would take her somewhere she could get help.

She cleared the trees and spotted another isolated farm. Finn didn’t want to bring trouble to the doorstep of some unsuspecting farmer. For all she knew, they were in cahoots with Springer and his bunch. Her plan was to steal one of the vehicles she saw parked outside. Then she spotted it—a small private jet with a bold, graphic depiction of a mustang on its side.

He’s here! Croft was here!

S tanding at the window, looking across the field, in the distance, something moving caught his eye. He reached into his pack and grabbed a pair of night goggles.

“Holy shit!” Croft yelled as he ran out into the hall. “Avery! Avery! Get the plane ready to go!”

John and Noah stumbled into the hallway and followed him down the steps.

“Thom, get everything packed up and onto the plane. We need to move!”

“Croft, what the hell is wrong with you?” John called.

When he turned to look at them, none of them needed to hear him answer, but he did so anyway.

“It’s Finn. She’s headed straight for us.” Croft turned back and ran on a direct intercept course with her.

“You heard the man. Let’s get this place packed up and be ready to go when they get to us,” John said, turning to the others.

Croft knew the team would move as one. He suspected John would go upstairs to grab everyone’s gear, Avery would ready the plane for takeoff with Noah’s help while Thom hastily packed the electronics paraphernalia. Then as Thom and Noah ferried the equipment to the plane, John would make a last check of the house. Nothing would remain to show anyone other than the original occupants had ever been there.

F inn saw him. Even without night-vision glasses, she knew it was him—he moved like no other man she had ever known. They collided, and Croft swung her off her feet, crushing her body to his and attacking her mouth with his own. The fiery kiss was brief but intense—much like their relationship.

“You’re safe? They didn’t hurt you?”

“I’m fine. We need to leave. Springer has a bunch of armed guards with him, and I’m afraid they may figure out I didn’t go the way I made them think.”

“Can you run?”

She nodded.

“Avery will be ready to take off as soon as we’re in the plane and I close the hatch. Let’s go.” He refused to relinquish his hold on her as they raced toward the plane. They made good time, and Croft pushed her up the stairs, so she almost tumbled into the cabin and knocked John Hampton over.

John grabbed her arm. “Let’s you get buckled in. Avery, Croft is securing the door. Let’s go.”

“Everybody, get strapped in,” Avery called back. “It’s going to be a bumpy takeoff.”

Finn was still catching her breath when Croft slid in beside her and buckled up. Avery hadn’t lied. The taxi down the field was rough but fairly quick as she was able to take off and gain altitude. Finn could hear Avery speaking to whoever controlled airspace, filing a flight plan with an incredible story of why they were where they were. Once they were cleared and had risen above the clouds, everyone took a deep breath.

Croft jumped up and took the seat across from her. “You’re all right?” he said as he began a quick field physical exam of her body.

“If you’re going to grope me, the least you could do is buy me dinner,” she teased.

His eyes looked up, and Finn was glad all the fear and concern he had allowed her to see slowly began to fade. She unbuckled her seat, leaned forward, and taking his face in her hands, kissed him deeply. She only had a moment of control before he wrested it away from her. His tongue plunged into her mouth as he nibbled her lower lip, and Finn pressed her body into his.

It took a moment for Finn to remember they weren’t alone. She relaxed her body into his, and they began to laugh as those who had been looking on joined them.

“She’s right, Croft. The least you could do is buy the girl dinner,” Noah joked.

“Why don’t you two sit in the back of the plane, and we’ll try to give you a little privacy?” John said with a grin.

“Not that much privacy on my plane, Croft. You hear me? I will not be responsible for your bodily fluids being all over my seats,” Avery called.

“Not to worry, Avery,” Finn retorted. “Very little, if any, leaks out even though a lot gets pumped in.”

“That’s enough, Finn. Get your ass to the back of the plane,” Croft admonished as his teammates broke into gales of laughter.

Finn was in the back-corner seat when Croft joined her.

“Really? Jesus, Finn. You’re worse than one of the guys. Are you okay?”

She grinned at him. “I’d be a lot more okay,” she whispered, “if you were pumping some of that bodily fluid into me right now.”

He shook his head. “You wait until I get you home. I’ll deposit so much of it in your sweet pussy, it’ll gush when I pull out.”

“Are you okay? Is Christian? Did anyone from Wild Mustang get hurt?”

“I’m fine now that I have you back. Christian is fine but will be a lot better when he knows we have you, and no one got hurt from our side. Hey, John? Somebody might want to call Christian and tell him, as he predicted, his bratty little sister didn’t wait to be rescued.” He grinned and turned back to her. “By the way, where the hell were you planning to go?”

“I was going to see if I could steal a vehicle from that farm and get myself to an American embassy.”

“Do you even know where you are?”

“From what I could hear over the radio, I assume we’re somewhere in France.”

“Yep, just outside Paris. We’ll be home sometime tomorrow.”

Croft stretched out his long legs until his feet were resting on the seat across from them, then swung her legs over his and cuddled her close to his body. She listened to the sound of his heartbeat return to its regular, strong rhythm and smiled as his breathing became deep and relaxed. Croft was asleep. She nuzzled him and inhaled his scent. Sighing, she closed her eyes and slept as well.

The first thing that stirred Finn back to wakefulness was the distinctive sound of the plane’s wheels touching down. She reached for Croft, but he wasn’t there.

“I’m right here, Finn,” he said, coming back down the aisle to her. “We’re home. You feel up to walking through everything that happened, or do you want me to take you home?”

“Which will get me fucked faster?” she said, yawning.

She opened her eyes fully to see Croft rubbing the bridge of his nose as his teammates stood behind him, trying hard not to laugh. The plane stopped, and Noah let down the stairwell. Finn got up to stretch and wrap her arms around Croft as her brother bounded into the plane.

Between Avery and John, they had called in a few favors and were met by a representative of the U.S. Customs Service, who checked all of their passports but Finn’s. They explained Finn had been the victim of a kidnapping, so she didn’t have her passport with her. The agent was very helpful and solicitous of Finn’s situation. The fact an official with France’s DGSI had reached out to them, combined with the reputation and past working relationships with the Wild Mustang team, seemed to be all the assurance he needed.

“Finn? You’re all right?” Reid said, dragging her into his embrace.

“I’m fine, Christian.”

“Why didn’t you wait for them? Why do you always have to be so gung-ho?”

“Christian, lighten up. Your sister is tired and has been through a lot. In answer to your question, babe, heading home,” Croft said.

That was all it took for the others who had been on the mission to France, including Finn, to laugh hysterically. Avery swatted Croft.

“What? She asked,” he said innocently, then addressed Finn. “Do you think we should get you looked over?”

“No, babe.” Finn leaned up to kiss him. “I’m fine. Springer backhanded me in the car a couple of times, but that’s the only time he touched me.” She had yet to decide whether to tell Croft, Springer had also paraded her around the outside of the house naked, and she had been groped a couple of times. She turned back to Christian. “I’m really beat, though, and I want to go home with Croft. Is it okay if we postpone our reunion until tomorrow? You’re okay, aren’t you?”

“I am. I’ve just been worried sick about you. I’m so sorry, Finn.”

“It’s fine, Christian.” She touched his arm and kissed his cheek. “We can all talk about it tomorrow. Right now, I just want to go home, take a nice hot shower, and crawl into bed.”

“If you’re sure…” her brother said solicitously.

Finn hoped the team would refrain from laughing as they knew damn well what she had in mind when she finally got Croft alone in a room with a bed. She let him lead her down the stairs, then sweep her up into his arms to carry her to the truck.

“I can walk, you know.”

“And I can beat your ass for not following orders.”

“Were those orders? I thought you were making suggestions,” she teased.

“Keep it up, brat, and you’ll tip that scale in favor of a spanking. I don’t know whether to be proud of you for engineering your own escape or furious you didn’t stay put for even twenty-four hours.” Depositing her on the front seat from the driver’s side, he slid her over to give him just enough room to join her.

Finn placed her hand on the inside of his thigh and felt his cock getting stiffer by the minute.

“How about you take me home and just fuck my brains out instead?”

He laughed. Somehow, over the past few days, she’d come to love the sound of his laughter. He leaned over and kissed her.

“We’ll start with that and figure out the rest as we go along.”

They got back to the dairy barn, she now thought of as home, and undressed each other. They both knew where they would spend the majority of their time before going back to the office to debrief, but they were in no hurry.

Croft led her into the shower and used the various shower sprays, bath sponges, and shower gels to ensure all the dirt, dust, and grime from the past two days were thoroughly cleansed. His cock was rock-hard and jutted out from his body, beckoning her like a lighthouse in a storm-tossed sea. She knelt and deep-throated him in one move. Croft’s groan was seductive in the extreme, and her own arousal spiked as she sucked and stroked his hard member. She could just taste his precum as he pulled her by the hair, so she was standing.

“I wasn’t through,” she complained.

“You were with that. I need to be buried in you.”

“You shoved it down my throat the last time.”

“Yeah, but I can get a lot deeper if I bury it here,” he said, ramming two fingers into her molten sheath and pumping them in and out before removing them. “Or here,” he said, inserting a single digit into her bottom hole.

The latter caught her completely by surprise, partly because he’d been the only one to finger her there but had made it clear at some point, he intended to claim that hole. While the initial intrusion was uncomfortable, it quickly gave way to fullness, then pleasure as he worked it in and out.

Finn sagged against him and almost climaxed. She hadn’t realized how desperately she needed or wanted him. Apparently, her body didn’t much care which hole he claimed or with what as long as he used his considerable skills to pleasure her.

“Hold that thought,” he said as he turned off the shower and helped her step out into the steamy bathroom.

Croft dried her with reverence and care Finn had never known. Each bruise or scrape he encountered, he kissed gently. He took a smaller hand towel and knelt before her, carefully drying the inside of her thighs, then sucked her clit into his mouth. Finn bowed her back, shoving her mons into his face. Croft suckled the sensitive nub between her legs, then reached around and pressed his thumb against her dark entrance. He barely pushed it past the tight ring of muscle when she orgasmed hard enough, her knees began to buckle.

Steadying her, he stood, took her in his arms, headed to the bed. He refused to relinquish his hold as he bent over, so she could pull the covers back. Croft installed her in his bed and climbed in beside her.

Finn fell to her back and parted her legs in an unspoken invitation.

He grinned at her. “Had enough preliminaries?” he asked seductively.

“Yes,” she sighed. “Please, Croft. As much as you need to be buried in me, I need you, too. I need to feel your power and strength. I need to know I’m safe in your arms.”

“Shh,” he soothed, holding her hips and sinking his cock into her pussy inch by tantalizing inch. He slipped his hands under her to hold the globes of her buttocks in his strong hands.

Croft didn’t have to do anything else before she came hard a second time, clutching at his strong upper arms, driving her pelvis into his, and wrapping her legs around him. He waited until her sheath finished quivering all up and down his length, then ever so slowly, he drew back until the head of his staff was just barely inside before filling her entire sheath.

He thrust into her at a relaxed, sensual, and measured pace. Opening her eyes, he was staring down at her, enjoying her pleasure as much if not more than his own. He stroked her with deliberate movements, laying claim not only to her body but to her heart and soul. Finn realized there was nothing she could do to withhold any part of herself from him.

Croft stroked her languidly but with increasing power and depth. She tried once or twice to influence his speed or rhythm, but he was having none of it. He never said a word, just kissed her deeply and increased the strength he used to hold her in place as he fucked her. She came twice more, each time calling his name and pleading with him to find his own release.

“Croft, please. I need to feel you come. I need you to fill me.”

“Baby, if I’m not filling you or you can’t feel me, I’m not doing this right and might have to start all over.”

“No,” she wailed. Hearing him chuckle somewhat malevolently, she cried, “Please?”

“Only because you asked nicely,” he said, increasing his speed.

Finn caught her breath, bowing her body and urging him to possess her completely in a way he had awakened, and she knew only he could fulfill. She seemed to disconnect from her own body and float free of her earthly bonds, yet felt each and every stroke and touch as she reveled in his mastery of her body.

Croft’s hands grasped her backside, holding her closer, driving into her with more focus and determination, relentlessly pounding her pussy. Finn came, digging her nails into his buttocks as he plowed into her more urgently. Her body responded to his demands and came one last time as he pumped his essence into her with a heavy groan.

Her pussy pulsed in unison with his release and for several moments after as he rested on top of her. He smoothed her hair and allowed her to come back into her own body before gently withdrawing and rolling her to her side.

Croft pulled her close, and she settled herself with her arms wrapped around him, their legs intertwined, and her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder. Finn closed her eyes, knowing there was no place else she wanted to be and no other man with who she wanted to exist.