Chapter 13 Neutralize #2
“Of course. And when I leave here, I think I’ll go visit your little baby momma. She was pretty damn hot nine years ago. I bet she aged well.”
I had him pinned to the wall by his neck before he could blink. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Stand down, D. That’s an order,” Waverly commanded in my ear. I ignored her though, too busy plotting his death to care about the consequences. “Shit. I’m moving in. The rest of you, get ready.”
“Let him go, Agent Palmer.” The gun, which had been pointed at my head earlier, was pressed firmly against my temple. With no other choice, I released my grip. “Good. Get on your knees. I’ll make this quick.”
“FBI. Put the fucking gun down.”
Waverly rounded the corner with her Glock aimed at Roger’s head. He reacted quicker than I thought possible for a man his age, moving behind me, using me as a shield.
“No shot. No shot.” Koen’s voice was steady and calm as he spoke over comms. “I’m switching to a secondary location.”
“Special Agent Mitchell,” Roger sneered.
“Director Asshole.” She returned his greeting. “It’s over. Let him go.”
“Now why would I do that?”
“Shot reacquired," Koen announced.
“Because if you don’t, my sharpshooter’s gonna put a bullet in your brain.”
The front door flew open, smacking against the wall. Keaton, Lanie, and Noah stalked through it, two of their weapons trained on the man behind me, the other at Niall. We were in a standoff. One wrong move and bullets would start flying.
“Are you willing to take the chance that I wouldn’t get a shot off first, Waverly?”
Her green eyes locked on mine as she gave Koen the command, “Neutralize.”
Glass shattered a micro-second before Roger grunted in pain, his gun tumbling out of his hands.
I caught it mid-air. It wasn’t a kill shot.
He needed to pay for his crimes. The bullet hit the axillary nerve in his shoulder, taking away his ability to hold a gun.
There were only a handful of people in the world who had the same pinpoint accuracy Koen did behind the scope of his rifle. Damn glad he was on our side.
“Gun,” Lanie yelled.
I didn’t even think. I spun, aimed, and pulled the trigger before Niall pointed his weapon at anyone I loved. He was dead before his body hit the ground.
It was over.
Sloane
The second they walked into the house, I knew something was off.
They tried to cover it up, tried to pretend there wasn’t an underlying current of tension rolling between them all, but it was so thick, I could taste it.
And I didn’t like it. Whatever happened, they had to come to terms with it immediately, not let it fester.
I decided to give them a little nudge of encouragement.
Okay. It was more like a shove.
“Someone start talking.”
“We’re decompressing, Sunshine.”
“This”––I swept my finger back and forth between each of them––“isn’t decompressing. It’s unhealthy.”
“We had a shock, that’s all,” Waverly tried to placate me.
“What kind of a shock?” Jade pushed. “Was Niall not the one responsible?”
“Just leave it for now, Angel.” Koen rubbed her back.
None of them stayed much longer. I watched as each member of Duncan’s team sought him out before they left, bending their heads in a hushed conversation I wasn’t privy to.
When Waverly pulled him into a hug, that’s when my worry skyrocketed.
The two of them were close, but I’d never seen them look so intense.
Whatever went down, my man was at the center of it.
Bedtime for the kids came and went. Physically, he was present, but otherwise he wasn’t there.
I had no idea how to bring him back to me.
Duncan told me to head up to bed, he’d join me in a bit, but no matter how heavy my eyelids became, I couldn’t fall asleep.
Dressed in one of his T-shirts that fell to my knees and a pair of panties, I went looking for him.
There were only so many places in the house he could go, so I started with the most obvious, the gym.
I knew I had the right place when I saw the door to the basement was open.
He always kept it closed so the kids wouldn’t get hurt on his equipment.
I took the stairs one at a time, being as quiet as possible.
My breath caught in my throat when I saw him standing in the middle of the room wearing only a pair of black shorts, beating the holy heck out of the heavy bag.
His muscles rippled with every swing while rivers of sweat rolled down his back.
I clenched my thighs together in an effort to suppress the need to climb him like a tree. It didn’t work.
“What are you doing down here, Sunshine?”
He hit the bag again and I had to bite back a groan. All that power…
Stop it, Sloane.
“I wanted to check on you.”
“I’m good.”
His answer was followed by a punch and a roundhouse kick. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He was magnificent. Cautiously, I moved across the room, wanting desperately to touch him.
“You’re not.”
After a beat, he sighed. “Niall is dead.” But he didn’t stop there. “I’m the one who put the bullet between his eyes.”
“Do you feel guilty? Is that what this is all about?”
“Fuck no. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“Then what is it?”
“Niall wasn’t working alone.”
“Okay.” I stretched the word out.
“The director of the FBI, my mentor, Roger Ashland, was the one who orchestrated everything.”
“I’m so sorry, Duncan. What can I do?”
“You’re doing it, Sloane. Just by being you.” He kissed me softly. “Go back up to bed. There’s still a bit I need to work out in my head and boxing is the way I do that.”
“What if I told you I knew a better outlet?” Without waiting for his answer, I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. “Let me help you.”
“I don’t know if I can be gentle, Sunshine.” He bent, pulling a nipple into his mouth.
“Who said anything about gentle?” I groaned as his teeth scraped the hardened bud.
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“Then I’m going to fuck you so hard, you’ll feel my cock deep inside you for a week.”
Yes, please.
A moment later, he lifted me in the air by the back of my thighs, then we were moving. My back hit the wall of the gym at the same time his mouth slammed down on mine. He kissed me like a man possessed. It was wild and hot and it made me feel alive.
His hand went between us, rubbing my clit fast and hard through the material of my underwear. With my legs around his waist, there was nothing I could do except hold on tight. Next thing I knew, my panties were shoved to the side and two fingers filled my core.
“Oh God,” I yelled.
“Louder, Sunshine. I wanna hear you scream.”
His fingers pumped faster and faster. I was so close. It would only take a little more to make me come. All of a sudden, he stopped and lowered me to my feet.
“Turn around, bend forward, and put your hands on the wall.”
I was barely in position when he kicked my feet apart and slammed into me.
Over and over and over again. I heard the sound of his palm connecting with my butt before I felt the sting.
It only spurred me on. My hips thrust back, meeting each one of his.
I was on the edge again within minutes. This time he didn’t stop, not even when I groaned through my first orgasm.
“I can’t hear you, Sunshine.”
He smacked my butt twice more, once on each cheek. That was all it took for him to get what he wanted. A little bite of pain and I was screaming his name.
“Fuck yes,” he moaned, powering into me twice me more before calling out my name. “Love you, Sloane. So damn much.”
“I love you too.”
It had been a month since that night. After our workout session in the gym, Duncan was back to his normal self.
The threat to me and the kids was over, which meant they went back to school and I went back to the office.
I’d just gotten home after a long day of crunching numbers when I got a phone call from my dad.
I hadn’t heard from him in a really long time.
Not when Mom was arrested and not when his board members––very publicly––ousted him as CEO of his own company when his stocks tanked.
I had a feeling Finn had something to do with that, though I’d never ask him.
“Hello?”
“Sloane, it’s your father,” he said, like I couldn’t see his name on the caller ID. “I wanted to let you know I found a donor.”
What does one say to that? Who’d you sucker into doing it?
“That’s good news, Dad.”
“It’s my secretary, Catherine. We’re getting married before the surgery.”
“That’s a little fast, isn’t it?”
“I can’t wait for your mother to get out of jail. That could take years.”
Once a manwhore, always a manwhore.
“I’d like you to be there for the ceremony.”
“That’s not going to happen.” I’d thought about this for a while. He was toxic and I couldn’t have that in my life or the twins’ lives. “In fact, I don’t think you should call me any more, Dad.”
“Did that arsehole brother of yours finally get to you?” he snarled.
“Finn had nothing to do with my decision. That was all you.”
I turned to find Duncan standing in the doorway with plastic bags from our favorite Chinese takeout place. He set them on the counter, then pulled me against his chest.
“You little bitch––”
“Bye, Dad.” I ended the call.
“I’d ask how your day was, but from what I just heard, I’d guess not so good.”
“He found a donor. That’s why he called.”
“Interesting.”
“It’s his secretary and they’re tying the knot.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah. Let’s just forget about him. What did you bring for dinner?”
“All your favorites.”
He kissed my head, then started pulling out containers from the bags. As soon as the smell of shrimp lo mein hit my nose, I threw my hand over my mouth and ran for the nearest bathroom. My knees hit the floor and I got the toilet lid up just in time for my lunch to reappear.
“Sunshine. What the hell?” Duncan pulled my hair away from my face.
Once I was sure I wouldn’t throw up again, I sat back on my heels and flushed the toilet. Duncan placed a hand under my elbow to help me up, then didn’t leave my side while I brushed my teeth.
“Sorry about that.”
“Do you need me to take you to the doctor? I can call Waverly to come sit with the kids.”
“I saw the doctor this morning.”
“You did?” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve gone with you.”
“Because I wanted to be sure.”
“Sure about what?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“Are you fucking with me, Sunshine?” His arms went around my waist as he hoisted me in the air. “I’m going to be a dad again?”
I leaned in, ghosting my lips across his.
“It’s twins.”