Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
I squeezed the back of my neck and stared into the dark shoebox-sized backyard in a neighborhood in the outskirts of Ellicott City. Non-descript, middle income, houses close together, nice cars in the driveways. Boring but safe.
A landing place to catch our breath.
My phone in my pocket vibrated.
Fucking finally.
I swiped the screen and answered, “What’d you find?”
Instead of answering, Zane asked, “Where’s your head?”
Not this shit again.
“For the love of fuck, can we please not do this and just tell me what Kira and Garrett found.”
“Nebraska called Vinnie G,” he told me. “No need for a meet. She explained the situation. He gave his word that he’s no threat to Stella and Cara.”
I fucking hated that a mob boss knew Stella’s name, but I really fucking hated that he knew Cara’s.
Zane wasn’t done. “He was not pleased that Damion McKnight lost the thirty million he was cleaning but he was going to find a way to get the money back before he took out Damion. After Nebraska explained the situation, he no longer cares about money and he’s gunning for Damion hard.
He’s got men in Virginia looking for him now.
If they find him before we do, they’ll take care of that problem. ”
Them taking care of ‘that problem’ was going to be a problem. I squeezed my neck again in an attempt to relieve some of the tension. Either that or to cause myself discomfort since I couldn’t fucking believe I was going to make this request.
“Stella would like to see to that personally.”
“I can see why, however, I don’t feel like offering up a marker to a mob boss.”
Fuck.
I was so fucking fucked.
“If he finds him and holds him, he’ll have a personal marker from me.”
The silence over the phone was deafening.
“Burn the earth,” he muttered. “I’ll tell Nebraska to broker that deal.”
“Thanks.”
“I need to ask again, where’s your head?”
Was he joking with this shit? I just gave him everything he needed. If I wasn’t soul-deep in it with Stella, no fucking way would I offer a personal favor to a fucking mob boss that would more than likely have my ass murdering some poor schmuck who sucked at craps but didn’t know when to quit.
“Fucking cut to it,” I growled.
Another pause, this one longer and infinity more infuriating.
I could hear the frustration in his exhale. “We’re on it.”
Not a good start and one that had my gut clenching.
I was already making a plan how I was going to get Stella and Cara to the ranch in Wyoming when Zane dropped a bomb.
“That shit at your house wasn’t about Stella.
Garrett traced the hack. It was initiated by someone at the NSA.
The files were opened and whoever opened them realized they’d infected the machine they were on and bricked it.
The connection was open three seconds but that was long enough for Garrett to make the trace to the campus, but not a building or a person. ”
“Why the fuck is the NSA hacking Z Corps?”
“Your sister called in a code red two minutes before your house took a barrage of bullets. Kira was working on tracking her when Garrett called to warn you something was going down.”
A weird sensation started at the base of my skull, radiating down my spine.
“Where’s Penny now?”
I heard Stella suck in a breath from behind me.
“Kira and Garrett are working on tracking her now. Theo, Easton, Smith, and Jonas have been deployed. Gabe, Myles, and Owen, are on standby. And Linc took Cooper and went to her place, they’re searching it now.
I called Dutch and asked him to get Black Team up to speed and ready to deploy if we need them since all of Gold is still in Thurmont with the Secret Service. ”
Camp David.
Penny was missing.
Stella and Cara on the run and in danger.
My hand dropped along with my head.
“Why?” I asked. “Why would someone at the NSA be after Penny? She quit. That shit with her former boss was cleaned up. What did we miss?”
I felt Stella come up beside me but I didn’t stop staring at the floor.
“Has she ever mentioned anyone else she worked with? Any problems?”
Guilt slid in fast and furious.
I had no idea about anyone Penny used to work with. The only intel I had on her was what she’d shared previously. In the months since, I hadn’t asked her anything during our get-to-know-you dinners.
Good Christ, what the hell had we talked about?
The weather. The price of real estate since she was going to sell her house. She’d asked me about being in the Navy. I’d asked her how she’d liked college. How she got into computer science and engineering.
Surface.
Nothing deep.
In the last six months I hadn’t been in a good mood. I’d fucked things up with Stella and if I was being honest, I blamed Penny. If she hadn’t sprung the brother-sister shit on me I wouldn’t’ve lashed out at Stella.
Jesus, I was a dick.
“No. But I’ve seen her talk to Layla. It’s fucked since she just gave birth, but Kira should talk to her.”
Indecisiveness warred—I should be bolting for the door to get in on the search. Kira and Nebraska were both pregnant working double time on two cases that were directly related to me. But Stella and Cara needed me. I’d made a promise to Cara that I wouldn’t leave.
Penny.
Stella.
Cara.
I felt a growl of frustration start in my chest and vibrate out of my throat.
“Keep your shit, Cash,” Zane warned.
My sister.
Fucking fuck.
I was going straight to hell.
“I can’t leave Cara,” I confessed.
I felt Stella’s hand wrap around mine.
“No fucking shit,” Zane growled. “Have you listened to anything I’ve said? I’ve got a team out searching. Two on standby and ready as soon as we have actionable intel. I’ll pull Gold if I need to—secret service can kiss my ass. You stay with your family and keep them safe. I’ll head out with Blue.”
Jesus.
“Please don’t. Trust me Zane, the last person you want on babysitting detail is me. And you know your wife will blame me if you leave the office. Think of your daughter and keep your ass in your chair.”
“You’re wrong,” Zane grunted. “I trust you all with my life, my wife, and my children. But there is no one I would want to take care of my little girl other than you. Not even Leo and he’s stupid protective of his baby girls. But, you, brother, are a true girl dad.”
Zane disconnected.
Girl dad.
Christ.
“What’s happening?” Stella asked as soon as I lowered my phone.
“Penny’s missing.”
Stella jolted, then went stone still. “You need to leave.”
“No.”
“Go, Cash. Your sister—”
I tugged her hand, turned her to face me, and trapped our hands between our chests when I pulled her tight. “No, Stella. I’m not leaving.”
“Cash—”
“I promised Cara I wouldn’t leave her.”
Stella swallowed and her shoulders slumped. “She’s your sister.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“You and Cara are my family. Zane’s handling the rest.”
Stella didn’t look convinced.
“How’s Cara?”
“She’s…asleep.”
I gathered that or Stella would still be in the bedroom with her.
“That’s not what I was asking about, baby girl.”
Sadness and worry infused. “When she asked why you weren’t in bed with us, I told her you were waiting for the Snake to call. Then she asked me to tell her a story about the King and the Queen of Dragons.”
It fucking killed to leave them in the bedroom alone, especially after Cara was cuddled into Stella’s side, but I saw how much it had hurt her when Cara had clung to me in the car.
Stella had wrongly assumed Cara preferred me.
I knew it was simply because I had been the one holding her at that moment and she was clinging onto something that felt safe.
My theory was proven correct when we’d made it into the safehouse and Cara practically launched herself into Stella’s arms and begged her to hold her.
But still I wanted to give the two of them some alone time while I waited for Zane to call.
“Did you tell her how badass the Queen is? How she protected her King and the Warrior Princess by slaying the bad dragons.”
“Something like that.” Stella paused to blow out a breath. “I’m not sure it’s healthy or right to tell fiction and romanticize me killing bad guys in front of her.”
“You’re not idealizing killing anyone. But helping her process what happened is healthy. And tomorrow we’ll talk to her and get a feel for where she’s at and go from there.”
She nodded.
“I really think you should go—”
I dropped my forehead to hers. “I’m not leaving. End of.”
Thankfully, she gave up on that topic. “Thank you for protecting Cara.”
“You never have to thank me for that. But I think you forget, all I did was drop and cover, while my badass woman handled business.”
She flinched. I waited for her to explain her reaction. When she didn’t, I prompted, “Stella?”
Still nothing.
“I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s going through that pretty head of yours.”
Stella said nothing, just stood there staring at me with desolation drenching her eyes. I hated the sadness. I’d much rather see her anger. I didn’t know what to do with Stella’s misery. I didn’t know what to do with the feeling that clawed at my chest seeing her in emotional pain.
I gently slid my hand up over the thick material of her sweatshirt, ignoring the fact she was wearing it despite the warm weather seeing as she wasn’t wearing a bra under her t-shirt.
Not even the knowledge of why she couldn’t put on a bra stopped me from wanting to yank her clothes off, feel her soft tits against my chest, exert the control I knew she needed to let go—overpower her body so her mind would settle.
No thinking. Free to feel. Pleasure to take away the thoughts that constantly ran through her head.
But that wasn’t an option.
My hand stalled on the nape of her neck, shifted slightly until my thumb found her pulse fluttering rapidly.
Too fast. Fear and adrenaline from this afternoon hadn’t calmed down.
Or maybe it had, and now she was keyed up again because Penny was missing—a woman she didn’t like, yet she’d feel her disappearance because that woman was my sister.
The same sister I was going to trust my team to find, to take care of.
That war was back in full force. Guilt and obligation battled in my chest. Obligation to blood and the obligation to my family.
Though the family part didn’t feel like an obligation so much as it felt like an honor.
I’d promised Cara I wouldn’t leave. The need to protect both of them overwhelming.
Though the woman in front of me didn’t need protecting, she was a warrior.
Stella could handle herself.
All part of her appeal. One of the many facets of a dangerous and complicated woman who needed a reprieve.
I slipped my hand farther up. My fingers glided through her hair, until I had a fist full. With precisely the force I knew she needed, I yanked her head back. Her eyes widened and flashed to life. But more importantly, the hollowness receded.
There she was.
“You gonna let me help you burn off that adrenaline, baby girl?”
“Cash.”
“My name’s not an answer, Stella.”
A muscle ticked in her jaw. A slight flare of her eyes.
I gave her hair another tug. “Answer me, Stella.”
The slight dip of her chin was what she thought would be an acceptable concession.
She needed to learn now, I wouldn’t allow her to hide from me—not her voice, not her reactions, and certainly not her emotions.
“Need the words, baby girl.”
Within the limited space I allowed, Stella lifted her chin in defiance and her eyes locked onto mine. Oh, how I’d love to teach her a few other lessons, but with Cara sleeping in a bedroom down the hall those would have to wait.
“We can stand here all night if that’s what you need.” I leaned closer and lowered my tone. “But fair warning, the longer you make me wait, the longer I’ll feel like playing.”
Desire-filled eyes wrapped in stubbornness held my stare. The woman couldn’t be more perfect if she tried. It was the power dynamic I craved—needed. The one I needed to earn, fight for, seize.
And Stella would make me fight for every inch.
She’d fight for her agency. She’d make me earn the right to own her. She’d put walls between us to keep me out. She’d challenge me in every way. It wouldn’t be until I’d proven myself worthy of her, that she would sink to her knees at my feet and allow me to worship her.
I let go of her hand still trapped between us, shoved mine under her t-shirt, and skimmed my palm up her ribs.
“Give me what I want,” I prompted. My thumb stroked the soft skin under her breast. “One word, then I’ll take the rest.”
A dark craving to bend Stella to my will had taken root. An ache to give her what she needed. It was as essential, necessary, vital as my next breath. Something I’d never felt for another woman.
I dominated. They surrendered. Easy.
Stella tested my control, my boundaries, and blew through both with ruthless ease.
That was how I knew she was the one.
The only woman I would ever surrender to.
Complex. Simple.
Complicated. Straightforward
The juxtaposition was intoxicating.
The next swipe of my thumb went higher to the swell of her breast. Stella sucked in a breath that made me want to smile. “Ladies choice,” I reminded her. “All you need to do is—”
“Yes,” she hissed.
That didn’t make me want to smile, I wanted to shout in triumph.
I didn’t do either.
I toyed with my prey.
What could I say? I was an animal, a predator who’d snared his quarry.