Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Gideon
“He’s dead,” Danny said into the phone at three in the morning.
“Who?”
“Nathanial.”
Penn sat up in bed rubbing his eyes. “What’s going on?”
I put the call on speaker. “How is that possible? I had a team on him.”
“Poison.”
I looked at Penn, who appeared as confused as I did. “What?”
“He ordered food delivery; it was all legit. He ate, and then Matt went into his room to check on him and he was slumped over the toilet, fucking purple as if he’d choked to death. Matt said there were burns on his lips and an almond-like smell.”
“Cyanide?” Penn cocked his head. “And is this Nathanial we’re talking about?”
“Yes. Danny, were the police called?”
“Matt notified them. They’re at his place now.”
I pulled the covers back and got out of bed. “We should have put him in a safe house and not ordered him to go home. Did his wife eat the food?”
“No, he sent her and the kids away to her mother’s for a while.”
“That was smart.”
I dressed quickly and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. “I want everyone at the house, now,” I shouted to be sure Danny could hear me.
“Yes, sir.”
The call disconnected and Penn joined me, washing and brushing his teeth. Once we were cleaned up, Penn spoke.
“This is Benito.”
“Of course it is.”
“The kids, Dean, and Rita come home tomorrow. It’s not safe for them.”
I slipped my feet into my shoes. “I’m aware, but I can’t keep them away any longer. I’ll have them guarded twenty-four seven.”
“Lotta good that did Nathanial,” Penn muttered as he buttoned his jeans.
“I didn’t expect poisoning, Penn.” I was frustrated, angry. Benito had gotten one over on me, and I could practically feel him gloating from here.
“I know, Gid. It’s not your fault.”
I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. “He knew they were on vacation. If he wanted to get to them, he probably would have already.” I looked up at Penn, who was so close I could feel the heat from his skin. “Nathanial betrayed him in his eyes. Likely just retaliation.”
“Funny thing about retaliation…” He ran his fingers through my hair, tugging it slightly. “Innocent people are often collateral damage.”
“We’ll keep them safe.”
He nodded and released me. “Let’s get downstairs. I’m sure whoever was on the property is in the living room, and the others will be here soon.”
“Yeah.”
Within half an hour, my living room was filled with my people, some sitting on the couches and chairs while the rest stood.
“My family returns home tomorrow. I’d hoped to have had this all resolved by that time, but it appears Benito isn’t going to back down so easily. As most of you know, he managed to get past my security, and Nathanial was poisoned tonight.”
“Sir, I’m sorry,” Matt began, but I held a hand up.
“Poison wasn’t something I considered, but now we all know how sneaky he is and the lengths he’ll go to.
I want teams of five on each of my family members.
If Owen and Olivia are together, there are ten of you.
Do the math. No one approaches them who hasn’t been cleared, and even after that, fucking hover.
” I made sure to look each person in the eyes.
“I will talk with Rita and Dean and let them know what’s going on so none of you get any argument from them.”
The next few hours consisted of restructuring the security teams, schedules, and so much more.
I didn’t want Benito to have even an inch of room to fuck up my life.
With my family returning tomorrow, I wanted everything as solid as possible so that all they had to worry about was one of my security maybe standing a little too close.
By early evening, Penn and I were beat. Being woken up at three to deal with a shit show was exhausting. We made some sandwiches and took them up to bed. It wasn’t something I generally liked to do because crumbs in bed were nasty, but I was too tired to give a shit.
“I’m almost too tired to chew,” Penn said through a full mouth.
“Same.”
He placed his plate on the nightstand and got up.
“Where are you going?” I leaned against the headboard and watched as he undressed.
“Just doing my inspection.”
He walked to the mirror, naked, and I unashamedly ogled him as he turned this way and that. I might have been tired, but there was one part of me that was waking up.
“Good enough.” He then grabbed the thermometer, took his temp, and a few other things. The whole time naked.
“Get your sexy ass in bed.”
He chuckled. “I’m truly too tired for your fuckery, Gid.”
I grinned. “Okay, sleep a little, and I’ll wake you up way better than we did this morning.”
“A tornado through the house would have been better.”
I snorted and pulled the comforter over our bodies. “Uh, no.”
It didn’t take long for Penn to fall asleep, and I was able to stare at him for a few minutes before sleep pulled me down.
I woke the next morning and Penn was still out, so I decided to keep my promise.
I slinked beneath the sheets until I saw his flaccid cock resting against his thigh.
Enough sunlight was peeking through that I could easily make it out.
Honestly, I knew this man’s body so well, I could find his pucker in the dark, for fuck’s sake.
I swiped my tongue along the length, smirking when his cock jerked and began to plump. I licked again followed by sucking the head, paying attention to the glans. He moaned as his dick hardened.
“Babe,” Penn’s voice was rough with lust and sleep. “Fuck, yeah.”
Now that he was waking, I spread his legs wider. He pulled the sheets off me, and I was met with his intense green yes.
“You look mighty fine down there.”
I chuckled and laved at his full balls. I kept going from his cock to his nuts until he was arching off the bed. I wanted more. His hole was right there, and the second I French-kissed it, his hiss was music to my ears.
“Fuck me, Gid, God.” He then dropped lube next to me.
“Where was that?”
“Under my pillow. Don’t ask, just fuck me.”
I poured some lube on my fingers and made quick work of opening him up, because my dick was seconds from exploding.
As I slid into his tight heat, it was as if there were nothing wrong with the world. Every horror from the day before washed away with the feel of Penn around me.
Soon enough I was slamming into him, chasing our orgasms and when he came between us, I thrust one more time and filled him up.
We lay like that for a while, and then Penn tenderly rubbed my head. “We gotta get up. Rita, Dean, and the kids will be here soon.”
With a sigh, I lifted my head. “Maybe a tornado through the house would be better than explaining all of this to Rita.”
Penn hummed. “Damn straight it would be.”