Leather & Lace: Trident Security Book 1 (21 page)

The assassin's gut started to twitch again around five p.m. Six more unknown men arrived. Armed and alert, it was obvious these men were highly trained and intelligent–definitely former military. The Sawyer brothers and Brody Evans joined them outside and it was obvious they were talking about the compound and its security system. Jennifer Mullins was even escorted by two of them from the second to the fourth building. Something was wrong. They were increasing their ranks. The question was, why?

* * *

Devon looked at his watch as he climbed the stairs to his apartment after checking on Jenn, who was going through some boxes of things from her life in Virginia. She was looking for some family photos of her grandparents and great-grandparents her mom had scanned onto CDs several years earlier. "Some of them were my aunt's photos but she lent them to mom to make copies for me to have. I need them for an assignment. We have to do a family tree as far back as we can for my
Sociology and The American Family
class."

He'd leaned against the front door frame as she sat on the floor of Ian's living room with the boxes in front of her and Beau at her side. "Are you okay with doing that, with everything going on?"

Jenn sighed. "I think so. My professor and I had a conversation the first week of school. I had a question about something and I stayed after class. We talked for a bit and she asked me about my family. Dr. Nelson convinced me it was okay to talk about, you know, everything if I'm comfortable with someone, so I ended up telling Professor Palmer what happened. I was glad I did because she really did understand. Her brother-in-law killed her sister a few years ago after they got into an argument. He's in prison now. Anyway, Professor Palmer told me if this assignment was too hard for me to deal with, she would understand and I could do something else instead. But, Uncle Devon, I want to do it...I don't know, I feel like I have to do it. I feel if I don't, I'll be letting my parents down. Is that weird?"

Devon smiled at her. "I don't think it's weird at all, Baby-girl. I think it's your heart's way of letting you know it's healing and you're getting better every day. You'll always live with what happened. I mean, how can you not? But the point is you
will
live, not just exist like some people do; people who aren't as strong as you. I know your parents are proud of you, as we all are. I knew someday we were going to have to start seeing you as a grown-up woman and not a little girl anymore and I think the day has come. I'll still call you Baby-girl out of habit, though."

After getting up off the floor, she stepped over Beau's bulky body and gave Devon a hug. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Returning the hug, he squeezed her tight. "Me neither, Baby-girl, me neither."

It was now a little after nine as he opened the door to his own apartment and his body and mind were suffering from a combination of fatigue and anticipation. The last few days were catching up to him but all he could think about now was climbing on top of Kristen's sumptuous body and sinking into her hot wet core as deep and for long as he possibly could.

She wasn't in the living room or kitchen, so he walked toward his bedroom in search of her. He knew she'd only gotten there about ten minutes before he did because, like the interior gate, his apartment door also sounded a short, one-note alert on his phone when the door was opened. Walking into his bedroom, he found it empty except an enticing trail of discarded clothes and underwear leading to the bathroom. From where he stood, he could hear his shower running and smiled. She must have been in a rush when she got here.

He entered the bathroom and could see her naked silhouette as she shampooed and rinsed her hair behind the thick glass block wall which separated the open shower stall from the rest of the room. With a silence which had been embedded into him by the military, he stripped, then skirted the wall and grabbed her around the waist from behind. He held tight as she jumped and shrieked. "Oh my God, Devon, you gave me a freaking heart attack!"

He chuckled as he moved the length of her long wet hair over her left shoulder giving him access to the right side of her neck. He lowered his mouth to the area below her ear and began licking and nibbling on her skin. She moaned and tilted her head, inviting him to do more and he was happy to oblige her. His hands moved as if they had a mind of their own. One lifted to the swell of her breasts while the other inched lower to the treasure between her legs. His cock was erect and hard against her ass and he mentally cursed himself because he'd forgotten to grab a condom. Oh well, he'd have to enjoy her with his mouth and hands for now and after he got her into his bed he would find his own release.

He grabbed the bar of soap from its shelf and began lathering up her body. It wasn't the flowery stuff she used, which he loved on her, but he liked knowing he was covering her with the ocean-fresh scent of the soap he used daily. He was marking her body in more ways than one, staking his claim. "Reach up and put your arms around my neck and keep them there." After she did as she was told, he asked, "I don't mind finding you naked in my shower, Pet, but why were you so late in getting here? Had I gotten here a few minutes earlier, you would've earned a very thorough spanking, because you obviously would've been still dressed, violating my direct order."

Kristen moaned as his hands continued to clean every inch of her. "Mmmm. Sorry, Sir. I'd been struggling to get one of the chapters in my book just right. I'd rewritten it several times but still wasn't happy with it. On my way back home this afternoon, I came up with the perfect way to write it." She paused and widened her stance as he began to wash her bare pussy with the suds in his hand. "Mmmm, that feels so good."

"So that's why you were running late?" He lessened the length of his stroke while increasing the pace and pressure right atop her clit, which was peeking out from its hood and begging for the attention. If the rocking of her hips was any indication, he had her so focused on what the fingers at her mound were doing that she didn't seem to notice the ones playing with her soapy breasts were pinching and rolling her nipples with more pressure than usual.

Soon she was panting hard, grinding her ass into his groin. "Oh, S-sir, please. I-I'm going to cum."

"But you don't have permission to cum yet, Pet." He smiled at her groan of frustration. "You still haven't answered my question and you know I don't like repeating myself."

As he increased the speed and intensity of his actions, she screamed his name while trying to move away from the insistent fingers on her clit. He then eased back off, not wanting her to cum until she answered him, yet still keeping her on the edge. "Yes! That's w-why I was...I was late. I was s-so into what I was writing, I...Oh, God, Devon, pleeeease...I-I lost track of time."

He pinched her clit and nipple at the same time. "Cum now, Pet."

And she did. She came harder and longer than she'd ever cum in her life. If it hadn't been for Devon's strong arms holding her up, she might've melted down the drain with the water. As the last of the shudders left her body, he rinsed the soap from her skin before helping her sit on the shower's built-in tiled seat. He quickly washed and rinsed his own hair and body before turning off the water and retrieving three towels from the tall cabinet outside the shower. He hung one on a hook on the side of the cabinet and took the other two to tend to Kristen. He held her arm to steady her as she stood then ran the first towel over her arms and legs before wrapping and securing it around her upper torso. Then he told her to bend at the waist and flip her hair over her head so he could towel dry it for her.

After he was done taking care of Kristen, Devon grabbed the last towel and took care of himself.
As it should be
, he thought–she deserved to always come first. She was his sub, his woman, his...love. His mind seized onto the sudden thought while his body followed her into the bedroom where they dropped their towels and climbed into his bed. Was this love he was feeling? He couldn't be sure since he'd never been in love before but there was no other word which seemed to fit.

His dad would be laughing his head off his shoulders if he knew what was going on in his son's mind. The man had always said 'when you meet the right woman, she's going to have you wrapped around her finger so fast, you won't know what hit you'. His dad was right. In their short time together, Devon had fallen for her hard and couldn't imagine going back to being the man he'd been a little over a week ago; a man who'd never met her, never talked to her, never touched her...never loved her. Yes, it had to be love. Wow, go figure, Devon Sawyer, a self-proclaimed bachelor for life, was in love. But he wasn't ready to tell Kristen or anyone else that. He wasn't ready to put his heart and his soul on the line. She might not even be ready to hear it since the ink on her divorce papers was barely dry. She'd said she loved him as she fell asleep earlier but he was certain she didn't realize it and had no clue if she meant it. Neither one of them had spoken about it. But for now, he might not be able to say the words aloud, but he could show her with his body. He lay down beside her and pulled her body beneath his, then proceeded to do something he'd never done in his life. He made love to a woman–his woman.

Devon sighed as one of the two Navy MP's standing sentry unlocked the conference room door. He followed Brody, Jake, NCIS agents Chan and Dobrowski and finally Beau into the room before the door was shut behind them again. The others would be there soon to continue the daunting task in front of them. They'd spent over twelve hours yesterday going through boxes and boxes of reports and photos and had barely made a dent in them. Close to one hundred file boxes were piled up around the perimeter of the room.

Paired off into three groups, each pair took a different mission and reviewed every minuscule piece of data. Then to make sure nothing was missed, each mission was handed off to another pair until the entire team had reviewed every file. It was a tedious process and today they were picking up where they'd left off. As they took seats around the large table, Jake began to hand out the food he'd picked up for everyone at a deli on his way in.

"How many questions do you think Paula will have today?" Brody quipped as he unwrapped one of his two huge bacon, double-egg and cheese sandwiches. It was one of the other reasons he'd earned his call sign; the big man was addicted to eggs. He could eat them, prepared any way possible, for each meal of the day as long as they were accompanied by some form of meat and his favorite hot sauce.

"Shit, I hope not many. Otherwise I'm going to fire her ass by the end of the day," Devon responded, taking a seat with a coffee and egg sandwich of his own.

Yesterday, Paula had proven Brody's prediction to be correct. She'd gone ape-shit over not being allowed in the conference room and not being privy to what they were doing in there, especially with armed guards at the door. Of course, she hadn't voiced her displeasure aloud but throughout the day, she'd knocked on the door and asked the most inane questions over stuff she already knew, in order to get a peek over someone's shoulder when they opened the door and she was forced to remain out in the hallway.

Barbara Chan swallowed a bite of her bagel with cream cheese. "If she pulls that shit again today, I may have one of the MPs shoot her on principle."

The door had opened again and Ian walked in, catching part of the conversation. "Please don't. The carpets were redone a few weeks ago and I don't want blood on them," he said as he shut the door and grabbed a coffee, sandwich and seat in that order. "I'll talk with Paula, again. I don't want to fire her if I don't have to because none of us have the time or desire to teach someone new how to run the office. Unless anyone wants to volunteer." His team shook their heads emphatically. "I didn't think so. If things continue, I'll call Mrs. Kemple and see if she can come back up from Miami for a week or two to train someone else. In the meantime, we've got a killer to catch." He started handing out the bulky files. It was going to be another long day.

* * *

Two hours later, Devon's eyes began watering after reading close to a million typed pages. Okay, it wasn't a million, but it sure as hell felt like it. His phone rang and he looked at the screen, pleased to see it was Kristen. Answering it, he asked her to hold on while he exited the conference room and walked down to his office, closing the door for some privacy.

"Hi, babe."

"Hi. How's everything going? Did you find anything?"

He'd told her a censored version of what was going on yesterday morning as they shared breakfast in his kitchen before they both left for the day. He might have a bull's-eye on his back and the team agreed that if she was with him, she had a right to know. They doubted she was in any danger but he was still concerned about her safety and had two of their contracted security men keeping an eye on her. The men excelled at their jobs and he'd told them he didn't want her to know they were there because he didn't want her to be worried. Jenn also had two bodyguards taking her back and forth to her college classes. With her parents' murders, there was a stronger possibility she could be a target. In addition to those four and their regular guard at the front gate, there were five other highly-trained and armed men patrolling the compound at all times. They also had people watching Brody's, Jake's, Marco's and Boomer's places when the men weren't there. "No, not yet. What are you up to?"

"Trying to get my word count in for the day, and I'm almost there. If you don't mind, you were my inspiration for the shower scene I just wrote."

Her voice was low and seductive and his brain replayed their own shower scene this morning in his head. It had been extremely satisfying for both of them and he chuckled. "No Pet, I don't mind. In fact, I look forward to inspiring you more tonight. I'll have to give it some thought on how I can be your carnal muse. But for now, an idea occurred to me. I want you to bring your laptop with you tonight."

Curious, she asked, "Why?"

"I want you to read me the shower scene you wrote."

"What?! Devon, I can't read it to you!" It was one thing if he wanted to read it himself, but something altogether different to read it to him. The scene was so hot, she'd blushed when she wrote it and could only imagine how red her cheeks would be when she said the words aloud.

He laughed at her shock and obvious embarrassment. "Sure you can and you'll do it naked. As your Dom, I'm ordering you to and you know what happens when you don't obey my orders."

Her aggravated sigh sounded heavy in his ear and his grin widened. "Fine. Yes, Sir." But she instantly brightened again. "Okay, change of subject. I was calling to ask if you wanted to go to Clearwater Beach tonight. One of my classmates from high school is touring with an Improv troupe and they're doing a show at a hotel over there at nine. I messaged her on Facebook and she said she'd hold a table of eight for me, if I wanted it. Will, Kayla and Roxy said they would love to go and I was wondering if you and three of the guys or maybe Jenn wanted to come with us. I understand if you don't with everything going on but I figured it was something different to do and you guys could probably use some comedy relief after the past few days."

He had to agree with her. It'd been a long and stress-filled week and a much needed humor break would ease some tension. "It sounds great. I'm in and I'll see who else wants to go. Why don't you come here at eight and we'll all drive over together."

"Awesome. I'll message Sara to hold the table and the girls and Will to meet us there because it'll be easier for them instead of backtracking to your place."

"Perfect." He glanced at his desk clock and saw he still had hours of tedium left to go. "Let me get back to work and I'll see you later. Oh, and don't forget your laptop, Pet."

He smiled as she groaned and could imagine her eyes rolling at his reminder. "Yes, Sir."

* * *

A little after eight p.m., Devon, Kristen, Jenn climbed into rear seat of Brody's Ford F-150 while Jake took the front passenger seat. Brody put the vehicle in drive as did the driver of the Cadillac Escalade which pulled out behind them. Two guards, who were assigned to Jenn, would follow them to and from Clearwater Beach as a precaution. Jenn and Kristen chatted along the way while the men stayed alert for anything out of place. Devon was aggravated they hadn't found any clues to why four of their friends were murdered and his mind continued to search for an answer. It would take at least three more days to go through the files and he hoped the solution was in them somewhere. If it wasn't, he didn't know where they would go from there.

Fifteen minutes into their excursion, they were heading down a two-lane highway and began to cross a bridge which ran over a large lake when a grey Hummer changed lanes behind the Escalade and accelerated to pass both vehicles on the left. Devon watched as the truck with tinted windows came along the driver's side next to him and his internal alert system flared up. Before he had a chance to warn Brody, the big truck swerved to the right, smashed into them and forced the Ford into the metal guardrail which was no match for the forty-five hundred pound pickup. As the women screamed and the men cursed, their vehicle went airborne, falling toward the lake thirty feet below them. The impact of the truck hitting the water hurt like hell and the driver and passenger airbags deployed when the front bumper struck first due to the weight of the engine.

After the vehicle settled, the interior of the cab began to fill with water at an alarming rate. Devon shook his head to clear it and swiftly evaluated the situation. He released his seatbelt before reaching over and doing the same for a stunned Jenn and Kristen.

Jenn screamed, "Uncle Brody!"

Devon looked to the front seat and saw Jake trying to free their unconscious friend. Knowing Jake could handle Brody, Devon turned himself around, lifted his feet into the air and kicked out the back window. If he didn't get them out of the sinking truck soon, they would be going under the water with it. He grasped Kristen first since she was sitting next to him and shoved her out the opening before reaching for Jenn. After both women were safely out of the cab and in the murky water, he turned to help Jake get the still unconscious Brody into the back seat and then out the window as gently as they could. They didn't know what injuries the big man may have but any further damage they might do by moving him was better than him drowning.

Devon looked and saw it was about a fifty yard swim to the shoreline. He grabbed the two women and pushed them toward it. While he helped them, Jake began to swim with his arm around Brody's chest, dragging the man's body in a rescue hold. As they neared the shallower water, he heard shouts from above and also from the land ahead of them. Glancing up, he froze when he saw one of their two bodyguards, standing at the water's edge, aiming his semi-automatic pistol at them.

Fuck! One of their contractors was a traitor?! They were sitting ducks and he surged forward to put himself between the women and danger just as the man fired his weapon three times in rapid succession. Devon yelled while trying to pull his own waterlogged weapon from its holster at his lower back and quickly looked to see who was hit because it hadn't been him. It was then he saw what appeared to be a large log floating in the water about ten feet away over his left shoulder. But it wasn't a log–it was an alligator...a very large, very dead alligator. He looked back at the bodyguard who had since lowered his weapon and was now wading into the water to render assistance while staying alert for more gators. Devon breathed a deep sigh of relief and gave their savior a grateful wave.

* * *

Devon saw Ian and Boomer running toward them as the first ambulance pulled away from the hectic crash scene carrying a now semi-conscious Brody and one of the bodyguards for his protection. He'd used a borrowed cell phone to contact them, since he and everyone else who'd been in Brody's totaled truck now needed new ones if they couldn't dry theirs out. Ian reached the group one step ahead of the younger man and immediately checked on Jenn and then Kristen, both of whose cuts and bruises were being treated by EMTs and paramedics. After he was convinced they were going to be okay, as well as the bruised and battered Jake and Devon standing protective watch over them, Ian turned his worried eyes to meet his brother's and barked, "Sit-rep."

Devon shifted his stance and grimaced. Wet jeans sucked big time. "Guy came out of nowhere. If he was tailing us then he's good because none of us realized he was a problem until it was too late. The security detail didn't seem to faze him. Grey Hummer, two or three years old and the plates were covered with dirt so they were unreadable. Tinted windows so we couldn't make out any features but the driver was definitely male and he was alone. Police have put out an APB but I'm not optimistic since it was most likely stolen."

Right after their vehicle went airborne, the guard driving the Escalade slammed on his brakes and let his partner out to help the victims, then took off after the Hummer, alerting 911 in the process. But the brief pause had given the suspect the chance he needed make a clean getaway.

"How's Brody?"

"Got his bell rung, but he was coming around when they left for the hospital. I sent Henderson with him." Henderson was the bodyguard and former Marine sharpshooter who'd prevented them from becoming dinner for the eight-foot alligator. Devon planned on giving the man a bonus for making the difficult and deadly shot into the gator's puny brain.

"Ow!"

Devon's eyes whipped back to Kristen at her pain-filled cry and he growled at the female EMT who'd obviously done something to hurt her. The woman ignored him as if people growled at her all day long. "I don't think it's fractured but you're going to have a nice size bruise on your shin."

Kristen looked up at Devon after she was lifted onto a gurney for transport to the hospital. "I can deal with a bruise considering we were nearly killed."

She didn't look or sound angry as if she blamed him for putting her in danger, but Devon couldn't help but think she should. If it hadn't been for him and his hazardous past, she wouldn't have gotten injured. A cut on her forehead would need several stitches and she most likely had a concussion. Like the rest of them, she also had multiple smaller cuts and bruises all over her. He cringed as he thought she could be dead thanks to him. As her Dom and lover, he was supposed to protect her and he'd failed. His gut clenched. If she stayed with him, there would always be a chance someone from his past would come to seek revenge on him for whatever reason. And putting her life at risk, because he was selfish enough to love her, wasn't something he was willing to do. He needed to let her go, before she got hurt again or, even worse, killed.