Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Angie still hadn’t said anything to anyone but Jake beyond necessary “yes” or “no” answers to questions.
They had landed in Spartanburg, and waiting for them was a black SUV with tinted windows and license plates, which couldn’t be traced to any of them.
Their pilot, CC, was instructed to grab a nearby motel room and get some rest until they figured out where they would need him to fly later on.
He most likely would be heading back to Tampa to pick up and return with Marco and Boomer, but for now, Ian wanted him available in case their plans changed.
On the way to Maggie Valley, they stopped off at a Walmart to pick up some food, supplies, and clothing for Angie.
While the team had spare clothes, among other things, at the safe house, she only had what she was wearing.
While Brody waited in the vehicle, Jake and Ian entered the store, flanking Angie.
They hit the women’s section first, and at Ian’s insistence, she grabbed two pairs of sweatpants, jeans, and some T-shirts.
She found another pair of sneakers more appropriate for running than the simple Keds she had on.
She quickly picked out some socks, a package of plain, white Hanes underwear, and two sports bras in the intimate aisles.
She gaped and put her hands on her hips when Ian threw the six-pack of bikini briefs back on the rack and picked out several pairs of lacy thongs and boy shorts with matching bras.
While Jake ducked his head to hide his grin, Ian crossed his arms, smirked, and stared at Angie, daring her to defy him.
Thankfully, she didn’t argue with him in the middle of the superstore.
When she spun around and stormed toward the health and beauty section for toiletries, he and Jake followed with the cart.
Although they were on the run from bad guys, Ian decided to push his angel’s buttons a little more.
He couldn’t help it—it was the Dom in him.
As she passed the sexual wellness shelves on the way to get a toothbrush in the next aisle, he picked up a box of condoms and threw it into the cart.
As he expected, she snarled and snatched the box, intent on putting it back on the shelf.
Before she had a chance, he took a gentle but firm hold of her wrist, plucked the package from her hand, and placed it purposely back in the cart.
Then, to rattle her some more, he grabbed a second box and tossed it in with the first. Her green eyes flared with anger.
She opened and closed her mouth twice before turning in an exasperated huff to continue her shopping.
After they finished up in the food aisles, they checked out, with Ian paying cash for their purchases.
In his panicked rush out of his office to get to her, he’d failed to grab one of his fake identities with accompanying credit cards.
While the team had backup alias IDs and credit cards at the safe house, for now, he would use cash so they couldn’t be tracked through purchases.
Less than a half hour after they entered the store, they were walking back out with a cart full of bags.
Brody was waiting for them in the fire lane, and after securing Angie in the rear passenger seat, Ian and Jake quickly filled the rear storage area with their supplies.
In the deli section, they’d picked out several pre-made sandwiches, then added some chips and sodas from the choices available at the registers.
It wasn’t the greatest meal in the world, but everyone was hungry and far from being picky at the moment.
They ate in silence as Brody drove them to their final destination.
For the rest of the ride, Ian sat next to Angie in the rear seat and tried to ignore the fact she was ignoring him.
He couldn’t wait to get to the house so they could have a conversation that his teammates wouldn’t overhear.
However, he knew she wouldn’t talk to him without yelling and hoped someone had left a ball gag and restraints at the house during a past weekend excursion.
Ian had never brought a woman to his mountainside retreat, but some of his team members had, mainly Boomer, Brody, and Marco.
Before they’d left Tampa, the three men left their cell phones in Ian’s vehicle.
Ian had a throwaway phone in his trunk, along with other gear.
Athos knew if Ian didn’t answer his cell, he should call Devon to get the number to the throwaway.
This way, they couldn’t be tracked, and Athos could still contact him.
Ian texted his brother when they hit Maggie Valley’s town border, telling him they’d arrived safely.
A few minutes later, Brody turned up the mountain road that led to their safe house, and two miles further, he pulled into the gravel driveway.
Ian looked at Angie as she gawked at the structure.
He wasn’t sure what she expected, but this one was top of the line as far as safe houses.
It was a beautiful mountain retreat that his dad had found for him over thirteen years ago.
Having a billionaire real estate investor as a father came in handy sometimes.
The house had been owned by some Arab sheik who bought and sold homes worldwide as often as most people upgraded their cell phones.
It was built into the mountain, so there was no backyard, but the front of the house overlooked a lake about a quarter of a mile below them.
It was easily defended between the landscaping, bulletproof windows, and Brody’s security set-up.
Their nearest neighbor was a vacation house about two miles to the west.
If a vehicle turned up the road toward the house, an alarm would sound inside.
There were also cameras and sensors in the woods surrounding the three open sides of the house.
Most of the time, an alert would result from a large animal such as a deer or bear, but they’d rather get the alerts and have it be nothing instead of missing a human predator.
The house itself had eight bedrooms, each with its own bath. Six were on the second floor, with the remaining ones on the first, with a gourmet kitchen and a large living room with vaulted ceilings. A gym, game room, and hidden panic room were located in the basement.
The house also had an open den area on the second floor, overlooking the living room, and it’d been converted into the mini war-room for Brody.
While it didn’t have everything the geek had in his Trident office, it had what was necessary to maintain security and a sufficient computer system.
A retired Navy officer, who’d been one of Ian’s superiors when he first got out of basic training, lived about a half hour away and maintained the property and house for them.
Devon had contacted the former lieutenant to let him know the place would be occupied and to stay away until told otherwise.
Brody and Jake grabbed the bags from the rear of the vehicle while Ian escorted Angie to the front door and unlocked it with a scan of his palm, just like their system at the compound. He left the door open for his teammates, who were a few steps behind them, as he and Angie entered the house.
While she continued taking in her new surroundings, Jake unpacked their groceries, and Ian took the bags with Angie’s supplies from Egghead.
The geek headed up to the den to boot up the computers and arm the rest of the security systems, which weren’t up and running on a regular basis.
As Angie followed him, Ian brought her bags into his bedroom and placed them on the king-sized bed.
Without a word, he left her alone and wasn’t too surprised when she returned to the living room several minutes later with the bags in her hands.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Going somewhere, Angel?”
She stopped in front of where he stood while glaring at him. “Obviously, that’s your bedroom with all your clothes and stuff, and I’m not staying in there. I assume in a house this size, there’s an unoccupied room where I can stay.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave her a look that dared her to argue. “Of course, there are several unoccupied rooms, but you’re not staying in any of them. You’re staying in mine.”
“Then where are you sleeping because it’s not with me?”
This time, instead of answering her, Ian gently gripped her upper arm, led her back into his bedroom, clothes and all, and shut the door behind them.
He stood in front of her escape route, so she had no choice but to listen to him.
Or so he thought as she threw the bags on the bed, stormed into the attached bath, and slammed the door.
He rolled his eyes when he heard the lock click.
Did she honestly believe a puny lock was going to keep him out?
Instead of picking the thing, he retrieved one of those universal keys that opened most interior doors nowadays and let himself into the bathroom. He found her sitting on the closed toilet lid with her arms crossed like a pouting child. “Can’t I have some privacy?”
“If you’re going to act like a brat, then no.
Now, are we going to have this conversation here or in the bedroom, where I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable?
Whether you like it or not, Angel, we will talk.
It’s just your decision whether I spank your ass before we do.
And you better believe I won’t think twice about setting your backside on fire. Now, what’s it going to be?”