Chapter 10
Preston
Aw fuck! When she was standing there wearing that short little polka-dotted robe, with her wet hair hanging down her back, I almost busted one. I don’t think I’d ever seen anything so stunning in my life. I wanted to grab on to her and not let go.
But then, what came after that was paralyzing. I’m not sure how or why it happened, but it took every single ounce of control I had not to throw her on her back and put my mouth to use. She was fucking purring, and moaning. I even thought I heard a meow. I’m not sure how that started but damn she was one sexy pussycat. Her gorgeous eyes made me want to wrap my hands in her hair and drown in them. God, they were so damn mesmerizing. And her lovely pink mouth did all sorts of amazing things to me. And then there was my ink. She went after my tattoos with her mouth, and I almost wasn’t able to make her stop. She didn’t seem like the kind of girl that would be into them, but she went fucking crazy over them and my nipple piercings. Fuck, she was hot.Thank God Caroline had the bedrooms carpeted. If the floors had been hardwood, my fingers would’ve left scratch marks the way I dug into them, trying to prevent myself from touching her. It almost broke me when I saw her face and the hurt in her eyes after I told her to stop. She thought I didn’t want her. Nothing could be further from the truth. I just didn’t want her to have me.
Now her life was in danger because of me. She didn’t even want to put her arms around me. Hell. I let out a long sigh. Fuck. I’d been so deep into my thoughts, I’d let my concentration slip. I checked the side-view mirrors and noticed two sets of headlights. I did a little test to see if they’d follow, and just as I suspected, I was being tailed.
“Avery, hold on NOW and tight. I don’t care if you hate my guts but I gotta make some tricky moves ’cause we’re being followed.”
I finally felt her arms squeeze my waist. She’d gotten my message. If only she could wrap her long legs around my waist. Dammit, I needed to focus!
“Good. Now mold yourself against me and follow my moves. Don’t be afraid. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the flash. My bike was too noisy to hear it. Swerving like a madman, I zigzagged my way around traffic. The last thing I wanted was for her to take a bullet during this getaway. Bargaining with God all the way, I prayed like hell that wouldn’t happen.
I hit the gas and made a quick U-turn while she screamed. The foot pedal scraped the pavement, but as soon as we were upright, I hit it again and we zoomed off. Then, I drove toward the expressway. I checked the mirror again and saw we’d lost one tail. There was one left I had to get rid of, so I did some more tricky moves. I jumped a median and crossed over a couple of lanes. Avery screamed the entire time, but I ignored her. We headed down a sidewalk for a short bit and then back onto the highway. I had to get to the interstate where I could open this baby up. It was a Ninja H2, and its top speed exceeded two hundred miles per hour. I’d never taken it that fast, but I had taken it up to one seventy. I’d do it tonight if I had to, but I needed the expressway for that.
Eventually a clear path opened, and I took it, hitting the entrance ramp at seventy-five miles per hour. By the time I hit the lane, I had her at one ten, with Avery screaming at the top of her lungs. I took her all the way to one fifty, just to be safe. I kept checking my mirrors, but there was no sign of the goons anywhere. I didn’t let up until we hit the exit for McChord. I took the back route onto the Air Force base, and when we made it to the security gate, I pulled out all my IDs and they waved me right through. When we got to our stopping point, I told Avery she could get off. I didn’t receive any response.
“Avery? You still back there?” I patted her arms that were still wrapped tightly around my midsection. Still no response. I tried to pry her hands loose, but when I did, she started to whine.
I took my helmet off so she could see my face. With her arms still locked around me, I turned as best as I could and lifted her helmet off. She was somewhere between gray and white.
“Avery!” I pried her hands loose, and it took quite a lot of prying. They’re not kidding when they talk about a death grip. I put the motorcycle on its stand, and got up and then lifted her off the bike. She was tall, so it took some effort, but I got her off the thing. I walked her inside and sat her down in the first seat I could find. Then I crouched in front of her.
I patted her cheek and asked, “Avery, are you with me?” She blinked a few times and then her face reddened.I wasn’t talking pink. It was bright fire-engine red. I got worried for a second, that was until her fist connected with my jaw and she nailed me right in the kisser. Next thing I knew I was on my ass, she was straddling me, and punching the hell out of me, screaming all sorts of obscenities. She’d totally caught me off guard, so much so, that at first all I could do was lie there and take it like a wuss.
When I finally regained my senses, I locked my fingers around her wrists and pulled her arms down to her sides. Her chest heaved with exertion, her hair was in a mass of tangles, and her eyes that couldn’t decide what color they were had suddenly turned the deepest darkest shade of green. Weirdly enough, the only thing that came to mind was I wanted to taste her lips so badly I couldn’t stand it. So that’s what I did. I sat up, wrapped my hands in her hair, and kissed her like I meant it. This was no gentle kiss, but rather an all-consuming one. Now it was her turn to be shocked. Her mouth formed an O, so I took advantage of it and slipped my tongue inside. Dear God, how could anything taste this good? After a few seconds, she even started kissing me back, but the sexiest thing of all was when she mewled and then bit my lip. I forced myself to stop, and I should’ve known this was coming, but dammit, I was lost in the sensory exquisiteness that was Avery. It didn’t last long because that firecracker brought me back to reality when the palm of her hand connected with my cheek. I’m sure I would have a red mark there for at least a week.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she spat.
“Trying to stop you from beating the shit out of me!”
“Oh yeah? Well, you deserved it after trying to kill me on that damn motorcycle. What’s wrong with you anyway? Are you crazy?”
She tried to get off me, but delayed shock had set in, and her body shivered all over.
“What’s wrong with me?”
She sounded so pitiful I went to put my arms around her to calm her down. As soon as I touched her, she stiffened.
“Please don’t touch me. Haven’t you done enough damage already?”
She had a good point. Her life was in danger because of me and how was I going to get her out of this mess?
“More than enough and I’m sorry, Avery.”
“Oh, and I guess that’s supposed to make me feel better.”
“No, but I am sorry.”
I wanted to help her up but couldn’t because she still straddled me. I thought it best to just let her sit there until she felt better about things.
She rubbed her face with the heel of her hands and then scrutinized me. “I don’t suppose I’ll be going back to my job anytime soon, will I?”
I shook my head. “I’m afraid not.”
“Can I at least call my boss?”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible either. It’s too dangerous. And it could put him in danger too.”
“I see. So where are we going?”
“There’s a military transport plane out there leaving for Colorado Springs. It’s going to Peterson Air Force Base, and we’ll be on it. Then we’ll hop on another transport and head to Andrews Air Force Base where we’ll change planes again. This time we’ll board a private jet and head to Bozeman, Montana, where I have a home. We’ll be staying there until things are safe again.”
“Why can’t we go straight to Montana?”
“It’s too risky. I don’t want to take any chances. They won’t be able to track us on a military transport either. One is difficult, but two flights are nearly impossible.”
“What about my brother and his wife?”
I smiled. “They’re fine and protected. They’re at a safe house. That was who I texted right away. They have another place in Seattle just in case anything like this would happen.”
“What? How can that be?”
“Avery, can we talk about this later?” I looked up to see Pete in the doorway.
“Hey, can you two get a move on? Your ride is waiting on you.”
Avery turned around and noticed Pete standing there.
“Pete, this is Avery. Avery, meet Pete.”
They both said their hellos. Pete eyed my face and said, “Nice handprint you got there.”
“Yeah. It’s gonna match the bruises that should be popping out in a couple of hours. We had a little issue with a reaction to the motorcycle ride. I had a couple of tails.”
“Ah,” Pete said. Then he turned to Avery and said, “Avery, if you think his driving is bad on a motorcycle, wait till you’re in a getaway car with him.”
“Thanks, bud. I appreciate that,” I said. Then I motioned to him with my head, and he walked over to help Avery stand.
We headed out to the tarmac where a C-17 waited. The back of the plane was open, where cargo was being loaded. Pete gave me all the paperwork for our flights and Avery asked, “Are we flying on that thing?”
“Yeah.” She looked a little skeptical. “Don’t worry. These babies are the safest things ever.”
She punched me in the arm. “I’m not worried about safety, you goofball. Are we gonna have to sit on the floor?”
Pete and I looked at each other and just started laughing. Then Pete said, “No, Avery, I put a couple of folding chairs in there for the two of you.”
“Oh, okay.”
Good lord, I hope she wasn’t that gullible. Pete and I talked about Justin and Caroline. He assured me they’d be fine and that he’d already put security detail on them. Their main house was empty, or so everyone thought. It was swarming with agents in the hopes of catching whoever was out to get us.
I grabbed Avery by the hand and pulled her behind me as we boarded the plane via the ramp. She chuckled when she saw the seats along the sides of the aircraft.
“Not your ordinary plane, huh?”
“Oh, we’re not sitting here. Come on.” I pulled her through the cargo area to the front where a few regular seats were located and chatted for a few minutes with the crew. We sat down and buckled up. It was great to be on a military aircraft because their flights always took off on time. About two and a half hours later, we landed in Colorado Springs.
I had to wake Avery up. She was sound asleep and snoring, or more like purring. I wondered about this cat thing she had. I gotta say, it was a major turn-on for me. Reaching out, I went to tap her on the shoulder, but somehow, my hand ended up on her soft and silky hair instead. I had never felt anything like it in my life. Maybe that’s why she sounded like a kitty. I picked up a thick piece of it and rubbed it between my fingers before letting it glide on through. Her profile was exquisite. It took all my control not to run my finger down the slope of her nose or along her lower lip. Watching the simple motion of her chest with each breath she took made me regret that I had to disturb her gentle sleep.
“Avery, we’re almost here.” I tapped her shoulder. She arched her back and stretched, again resembling a contented feline.
Her eyes targeted mine and I flinched. The intensity in her gaze was unsettling. My guilt escalated over what I’d done to her life knowing I’d pretty much ruined it.
“What now?”
“We need to change planes. Are you hungry or thirsty?”
“Miles or whatever the hell your name is, look at me. I’m always hungry. And I’m thirsty too.”
“Preston. My name is Preston.”
“Yeah, right. Preston. I don’t suppose you have a last name?”
“Yep. It’s Mitchell.”
She looked at me really funny and then asked, “I don’t suppose you once had a sister named Terri?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. I hadn’t even thought about her making that connection. Damn it.
“Look, there are things you deserve to know, but this isn’t the time or place.”
“What kind of people are you? I mean ... fuck.” The plane suddenly bumped as we hit a crosswind, and she grabbed my arm.
“It’s okay. It was only turbulence.”
“Is there anywhere I can get a liquor drink?”
I snorted. “I wish, but not on a military flight.”
“Fuck.” Her hands were clamped together, and her knuckles were white.
“Look, as soon as we get inside, I’ll grab us something to eat and drink, okay?”
“Okay.” Then she looked at me and said, “I’m sorry I went all psycho on you back there. I don’t know what happened. I’ve never hit anyone before.” She dropped her head and quietly said, “Well, that’s not quite true. I hit Little Dickie when he attacked me, but it was only with my stuffed dachshund.”
“Someone attacked you?”
“Yeah. He kinda forgot what no meant. When he started to rough me up and hit me, my neighbor heard me screaming and saved me. She’s a sumo wrestler in training, so she took him right down.”
“Wait. Your neighbor, who is a woman, is a sumo wrestler in training?”
“Uh-huh. You oughta see that girl move too. She’s really something.”
“I didn’t even know women sumo wrestlers were a thing.”
“Oh yeah. She had me on a training program for a while, but I was pitiful. I could only bench-press four reps at thirty pounds.”
I was trying my best not to laugh, but it was challenging.
Her brow creased. “You think this is funny, don’t you?”
My teeth clamped down on my lower lip. “Muh-uh,” I mumbled, shaking my head.
“Yes, you do. You’re making fun of me.” She pursed her lips.
I vigorously shook my head back and forth.
“Muh-uh.”
“You can’t even answer me. Go ahead, answer me. Say no.”
I just looked at her, and when I let my lip loose, I busted out laughing.
“You know what? You’re an asshole.” She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead.
God bless the pilot, because right at that time, he came back to us and told us we could deplane.
I stood up and offered her my hand, but she batted it away. We exited out the back of the plane and went inside the terminal. I hunted for the information desk. There was an airman standing there, so I asked about our flight to Andrews. He informed me we only had fifteen minutes before it departed and there were only seats in the cargo area. Great. Exactly what I wanted to hear. He pointed me in the direction of the canteen, and I told Avery to hit the bathroom because we only had ten minutes until wheels were up.
The canteen’s offerings were minimal, so I grabbed a little bit of this and that and a variety of stuff to drink ... bottled water, Gatorade, and Coke Zero and stuffed them into my bag. Avery walked out of the bathroom, and I waved to her. She met up with me and we headed outside.
When we got on board, there were two seats in the very back and I pointed to them. She raised her brows at me, and I nodded.
She headed to one and I took the other.
“And how long is this flight?”
“Three and a half hours.”
“You know something? You make it really hard to like you.”
“I’m not asking you to like me. I’m asking you to let me save your life.”
She whipped her head around and her perfect eyes latched on to mine. I felt like she could read every thought I had about her. I watched her throat working as she swallowed.
Nodding, she said, “I’ll give you that much. For some reason I trust you. I don’t know why, but I do.”
I buckled her harness as the plane’s engines roared to life. It wasn’t long before we were airborne. She started digging through the food I’d bought and then asked for something to drink. “I’m so thirsty.”
“Here,” I said, handing her a purple Gatorade.
“Thanks.” She unscrewed the cap and guzzled the entire thing down. She made it look so good, I had to have one for myself.
“God, I’d pay good money for a toothbrush right now.”
“How about some sugar-free gum instead?”
“For real?”
I handed her a piece and felt like I’d just given her a diamond ring. She beamed.
“Tell me about yourself. You know all about me while I know nothing about you.” I didn’t want to share all the gory details, so I skirted some of them. Like my time in prison. I told her how the DEA recruited me. I’d majored in criminal justice with the intention of going to law school. That never happened. I ended up working for them straight out of college and my life went to hell right along with it. Some things had to remain private, especially in a military aircraft surrounded by soldiers, but I did tell her what I could.
After I was done, I asked about her. She thought I knew more than I did. I learned she was extremely bright, had an MBA from Harvard, and worked in finance. Like her brother, she came from big money but didn’t act it. Could’ve done anything in the world but wanted to work.
“All the guys in my family went into medicine and I wanted to do that too, but Mom wasn’t pleased and told me all she wanted was for me to find a man and get married. I think she wanted grandkids more than my happiness. My mom used to be this really cool person but lately she’s become selfish. I don’t know. Anyway, she wasn’t very helpful in deciding a career. One day I wanted to go to med school, and the next I wanted to study business. I finally landed on finance. My family is part owner of Middleton Enterprises, which is a large corporation that has its hands in just about everything. Mom wanted me to work there forever. I had different ideas.”
“Obviously, you two disagreed.”
“Yeah, you might say that. I started with Middleton Enterprises, but then left to work for another company. Then this job opened in Seattle. She was not happy about me leaving Charleston. I had to, though. I was stuck in a nightmare of a life. Especially after my former boyfriend beat me up and tried to rape me.”
My entire body tensed as she told me that story. It’s a good thing I wasn’t close to this guy, or I would’ve beat the shit out of him.
“Please don’t look at me like that. I know I’m lame, but I didn’t think he was like that.”
Jesus, did she really think she was the loser? “Avery, I’m looking at you like this because I’m angry someone would try to hurt you.”
She raised her brows and just said, “Oh.”
I was getting a variety of strange signals here.
“I think it’s wrong on every level for a man to hurt a woman.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “Well, Little Dickie got his due from Melissa.”
“Why do you call him Little Dickie?”
She let out this loud bubble of laughter and it was the greatest sound I’d ever heard. Then she giggled some more, held up her pinkie finger, and wiggled it. Next, she took her forefinger and thumb of her other hand to indicate an inch and held it against her pinkie.
“No way,” I said.
“Way. And he was wielding that thing at me or trying to anyway. It was so funny that I laughed at him, but that’s when he became violent.”
“Are you exaggerating about his size, or lack thereof?”
“No, I even have a picture. You wanna see?”
“You took a picture of it?”
“Yeah, next to a ruler to give it perspective.”
I bellowed as hard as I ever had.
“Oh no!”
“What?”
“The picture is on my phone and it’s at Justin’s.”
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. You can get it when the storm passes.”
“I hope so.”
We finished eating and I watched Avery’s head as it began to drop down as she dozed. Every time her chin hit her chest, it startled her awake. I finally reached out my arm and put it around her. “Use my shoulder so you can sleep.” She tried to pull away, but I held her tightly. “For once, can you not fight me and just relax? I promise I won’t bite.” I unbuckled her shoulder harness and she leaned against me, even though she didn”t want to.
The tension left her body, and soon after, I heard her breathing even out. Not long after that, she purred again, and I just sat there and grinned.