Chapter 11
“Ilove your family.” Willow interlocked her fingers with Zane’s as they entered his home.
“You loved kicking their asses at basketball, that’s why.” Zane brought her flush against him as they stood in his front room. “You wouldn’t say a word as to how you learned to play so well. What, were you with the WNBA?”
“Almost.” Willow smiled as she slipped her hand from his and wrapped her arms around his neck. She leaned even tighter against the hard ridges of his body. He was so warm, and he felt so good and smelled so fabulous. “A few teams tried to recruit me at the end of my four years at NYU. But I opted for concentrating on graduate school instead.”
He kissed the corner of her mouth. “What other secrets do you have?”
“You’ll just have to find out.” Willow reached up and kissed him.
Thrill after thrill started rolling through her belly as Zane grew more demanding in his kiss and the way his hands roamed her body.
“I need you so goddamned bad right now.” Zane kissed her ear, her jaw, her chin, as he unfastened the button to her jean shorts. He pushed her shorts and panties down to her thighs. Zane took her by her shoulders and turned her so that was facing the stone fireplace in his living room. “On your hands and knees on the throw rug.”
The excitement running through Willow had her senses on fire as she obeyed. She felt the brush of Zane’s jeans as he knelt behind her, heard the zipper?—
Then felt the sudden thrust of Zane inside of her.
Willow gave a shout of surprise as he entered and started taking her hard and fast. “You’ve been teasing me all week.” He leaned over her while sliding his hands beneath her tank top and pushing her bra up over her breasts. “Now it’s time to get even,” he said as he pinched her nipples as hard as he was driving in and out of her.
“I like the way you get even,” Willow said, hardly able to get the words out. She might not get winded at basketball, but Zane somehow managed to steal her breath every time they were together.
“This isn’t anything, honey,” Zane said as he moved one of his hands down and rubbed her between her thighs.
Willow gasped and almost climaxed. It was one of the most erotic things they’d done. Being on her knees with her thighs spread only as far as her jean shorts would allow her to felt delicious. And while Zane took her from behind while still clothed, his rough jeans rubbed her soft skin and stimulated her even more—she could barely hold on.
“I’ve wanted to be inside you every damned day this week.” Zane’s voice was a rough growl. “And now I’m going to take you until you’re too weak to stand.”
“I’m already too weak.” Willow moaned as he continued his hard thrusts. “You’re going to wear me out.”
“Ha.” He pinched one of her nipples hard and she moaned even louder. “You weren’t even breathing hard after five games of three-on-three. I think you can handle several good fuckings.”
Willow began to tremble as her orgasm came closer and closer.
“Feels so good to be inside you.”
“Yes. Good.” Willow was almost dizzy from breathing so hard and all the sensations rolling through her body. She couldn’t begin to get out a coherent sentence if she tried.
“That’s it, honey,” Zane said as she trembled harder and nearly crossed her eyes from the power of her oncoming orgasm. He rubbed her sensitive flesh harder. “Come for me now.”
This time her cries were like choking sobs as her climax broke through her. She felt as if her body fractured, pieces flying and scattering into shards of glass that glittered all over the floor.
Her arms gave out while he was still taking her and her face pressed against the soft throw rug, her arms above her head. It was a wonder she didn’t turn into a pool of hot melted glass.
Willow’s body kept throbbing and she jerked with every spasm of her core.
Zane pulled out. “Turn over.”
She struggled to move with her trembling arms. As soon as she was on her back, he jerked her shorts all the way off, leaving her socks and running shoes on.
Not even giving her a chance to catch her breath, much less absorb what he was doing, Zane lifted her legs so that her knees were over his shoulders. He had her backside raised off the floor before he thrust deep.
Willow made sharp, gasping sounds. After that incredible orgasm, she was so sensitive inside that she could hardly take any more.
“Oh, you can take more,” Zane said and she wondered if she had spoken the words aloud. “Especially after all of your teasing since I had you in my bed the first time.”
“You mean several times.”
He groaned as his own body started to tremble against hers. “And you’re going to come again.”
“What gave you the first clue?” she said between harsh breaths and his grin seemed almost devilish as he looked down at her and pressed his thumb against her center.
Willow shouted this time when she climaxed, and she twisted and turned almost without realizing it.
“That’s it, honey,” Zane said and a few strokes later he gave a hoarse groan, and she felt him throbbing inside her as he climaxed.
He eased her legs from his shoulders and settled on top of her without putting his whole weight on her. His body burned hot through his clothing to her bared skin, the smell of sex and his masculine scent heavy in the air.
Even as she lay there limp and exhausted, Zane said, “Let’s try the table next.”
She smiled as she found her second wind.
* * *
If Georgina’sintel was good, they were just about to make one hell of a bust.
An hour ago, Zane’s teams had taken their positions around the dimly lit warehouse. They intended to make sure they arrived before the Petrelli mob turned over the weapons to the faction of terrorists led by Hisham Nasri.
No way in hell was Zane going to let the Petrellis sell the Barrett 82A1 .50 cal armor-piercing rifles to terrorists. Where the hell had the Petrellis gotten their hands on the weapons to begin with?
If anyone could find out, Rizzo could. She’d have to dig deeper.
Zane checked his watch, pressing a button that allowed the screen to be so slightly illuminated that it wouldn’t glow bright enough for anyone but him to see.
Inside and outside, the warehouse was wired with RED’s high-tech cameras so that every word would be easily heard. RED’s techs were the best.
As far as legality for whatever they did, RED had a blanket warrant on this op from the judge who handled all of RED’s cases.
Ten minutes to one. The Petrelli family and Nasri faction should be arriving any time now.
It wasn’t long before a couple of big dark-colored Cadillacs pulled up followed by what looked like a refrigeration truck.
A few more minutes and three black Mercedes arrived.
Why not terrorize in style?
In moments several men climbed out of each car and walked toward each other. It was almost comical. The men postured and looked like gunslingers from the Wild West.
Two men, one from each group, met halfway beneath one of the pale warehouse lights. Zane moved his binoculars to his eyes and got a good look at the men. From their intel and the photos they’d pulled up on each man, one was Enzo Petrelli and the other man was Hisham Nasri.
Adrenaline began to fire through Zane’s system harsh and hot as they got closer to busting the sonsofbitches. And they’d get the head of this terrorist faction—Zane hadn’t been sure he’d come himself.
Enzo’s voice came through Zane’s comm as clear as if the member of the huge mafia family had been standing right next to him.
Zane wasn’t sure if he was relieved it wasn’t Albano Petrelli because Rizzo would lose her “in” with the Petrelli family if it had been. On the other hand, he could have pulled her out if it was Albano and they busted him.
Enzo was saying, “We’ve got the goods if you’ve got the cash.” He gestured toward the white truck. “Check the merchandise and we’ll take a look at the money.”
The terrorist had a hard, angular face and a cold, calculating expression. His accent was strong when he spoke. He mentioned the amount they were paying was in the case they’d brought.
Nasri then inclined his head to one of his men to check the truck. The back door rattled, the sound loud in the night as it rolled up to show crate upon crate.
Zane and his teams just needed to make sure what was in those crates.
Enzo had one of his men go through the briefcase of cash while he and Nasri had a stare-off.
The teeth-grinding sounds of nails screeching against wood cracked the stillness, then the hard thump of a wooden lid. One of the men shouted to Nasri and held up one of the illegal rifles.
Nasri and Enzo shook hands.
“Go!” Zane said into his comm and RED agents began swarming the area with shouts of “Police!” the universal word for law enforcement.
It became obvious in a hurry that Enzo’s and Nasri’s men didn’t intend to go down without a fight.
Zane joined his teams and fury roared through him as he picked off one of Enzo’s men who shot a RED agent.
Enzo, Nasri, and a few of the other men raised their hands while the others now lay dead around them.
It was only moments before the men were cuffed and all weapons and cash confiscated.
Two RED agents were down.
Zane shouted orders to team members, telling them what to do while he and three other RED agents ran toward those who’d been shot. Two RED ambulances had been waiting not too far from the warehouse and drove up at the same time Zane reached one of the agents.
He dropped to his knees and carefully removed the agent’s helmet.
By the wide, unblinking eyes, the pale skin, and the stillness of her body, Zane didn’t have to be told that Peters was dead. The bullet that pierced her throat had probably severed her spinal cord, and by the amount of blood covering her neck, she’d probably died from both injuries.
“Fuck!” Zane shouted. The RED paramedics were at his side in a second and Zane probably didn’t need to say it, but he did anyway. “Peters is gone.”
Goddamnit but he could blow a hole through the head of every one of those assholes who were cuffed and now being shoved into vehicles as they were taken into custody.
“Jacobs took a round, but he’ll live,” Yanov called to Zane. “He got hit full in the chest, but they weren’t using armor-piercing bullets.”
Thank God for that. Still, Zane’s hand shook as he closed Peters’s eyes and let the paramedics take her away.
He stood and watched for a moment as his teams efficiently cleared the site of any remaining evidence. That included taking down cameras and listening devices.
RED operated solo and through incredibly strong channels and people in high places, The organization kept off the radar of any other law enforcement agencies. RED had ways of warning off local LE from their ops, and RED agents “took care of business” in smooth, quick, and exact precision.
It wasn’t long before all the bodies and blood were taken care of, and the site was left looking like it had before the transaction and the raid.
Tires crunched over gravel as an agent drove the now-closed refrigeration truck to HQ to be processed. The ambulances and body wagons followed.
A few moments more and all RED agents had cleared out and were headed back to HQ.
As Team Supervisor and operation leader, Zane was one of the last agents to leave the scene. He gave one final appraisal then headed off to the location he’d left his RED-issued Trailblazer.