Protected, page 13
part #1 of Holt Agency, Book Three Series
Holden rose, and they all moved back to the kitchen table. He was bone tired. But they had a lot of work to do before he could consider sleeping.
Callie descended the stairs.
“Is she asleep?” Holden asked as she entered the kitchen area.
Callie nodded. “Yeah. Finally. I gave her a sleeping pill.”
“Good.” She needed it. She’d been running on adrenaline for hours. When her body stopped wanting to continue, Holden had finally talked her into getting some rest. He hated that Callie had been the one to go lie down with her and help her relax, but her kitchen had been a crime scene for the first several hours and now it was mission central.
Grant, Larson, Heath, and Holden were using her table as a workspace. They had four computers open and had fielded dozens of phone calls in the time since the police had left.
Callie set her hands on Grant’s shoulders and leaned over him to kiss him. “I’m going to sleep in the guest room, if that’s okay?”
Grant turned to wrap his arms around her and kiss her properly. “Go. You’re exhausted.”
“You are too,” she pointed out.
He smiled. “Yeah, but I’m used to this sort of thing. Get some sleep.”
As soon as she ascended the stairs, Grant turned his attention back to the table.
“Holy shit,” Larson exclaimed, his gaze on his computer. “I just found an email from Faust.”
“That ought to be interesting,” Holden growled.
“Fuck,” Larson yelled loud enough for all of them to cringe. “You have to see this.”
Holden shoved from the table and rounded to Larson’s side to read over his shoulder. They all did.
Larson Aldrich,
* * *
You’re receiving this email because my time is up. I know you’ll be furious with me as you read this, and I’m sorry for that.
Several months ago, I was compromised. Not going to go into the details, but I did something I’m not proud of, and I’ve been subject to blackmail ever since.
I’m the one who stole the file in question to turn it over to the Chinese. I only know my contact by the name of Han. I was supposed to drop the jump drive in his satchel at a café. Unfortunately, the man he was sitting with, Yang, had a similar case, and that’s where I dropped the drive.
When Han realized he didn’t have the jump drive in his bag, he went to Yang’s hotel room to get it. That meeting did not go well for Yang. And by then the drive had already been inadvertently handed over to Melanie Hurn.
I’m sure by now you know the collateral damage. It was sheer coincidence that Yang gave that drive to Ms. Hurn. The fact that you’re connected to her is nothing more than a deeper coincidence.
I’m responsible for flipping Ms. Hurn’s townhouse. When the drive was not located, I watched for her to return so I could retrieve it from her. As you know, she was under your protection. I never saw her other than briefly at the café.
When you called to tell me you had the drive, I thought I was finally going to get out of this mess. But alas, that is not going to happen. My blackmailer is tired of waiting. My time is up. I’m sending you this knowing I’m a dead man.
I never meant to harm anyone. I was trying my best to pay my blackmail and get my life back on track. I have failed. My only consolation is knowing you will get that encrypted data to the proper authorities. It will not end up in the hands of the Chinese. Contact my boss, Stedman Hershel. He will know what to do. He has no idea I was compromised. He has nothing to do with my bad decisions.
I’m sorry, my friend. I wish it didn’t have to end this way.
* * *
Trent Faust
“Jesus, fuck,” Holden muttered.
“Well, that answers a lot of questions,” Grant added.
Larson was already pulling out his phone, undoubtedly to call Faust’s boss, Hershel, to fill him in on this latest development. He stepped into the living room to do so.
Heath rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’ll call Ajax and Ryker.” He stepped out onto the back patio.
Holden sat back in his chair. “I guess it will be up to the FBI to chase this down. Obviously Han wasn’t working alone. Someone hired him to do the dirty work. In addition, someone gave that data to Faust. He wasn’t working alone either.”
Grant nodded. “What matters now is that Melanie is safe.”
“I’m also grateful your honey-do list didn’t allow you to fix the window in the laundry room.” Holden snickered. “I’ll have someone come fix it first thing tomorrow.”
“You gonna stick around?” Grant asked.
Holden glanced toward the top of the stairs where Melanie was sleeping on the second floor. “Not likely.”
Grant sighed. “I’m sorry. She’s stubborn.”
“She’s not alone.” Holden ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to go upstairs, climb into bed with his woman, and hold her all night long. Except she was not his.
“Please tell me you two are going to talk and come up with a compromise,” Grant growled.
“There’s nothing to compromise about,” Holden responded. He tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling. The truth was he’d never been as scared in his entire life as he’d been that afternoon driving back to this house.
If anything had happened to Melanie…
His mind was racing. He wished he could come up with any way he might be able to fix the rift between them and have her in his life.
Today had been her worst nightmare. The night she’d come home to find her place ransacked had been bad, but nothing compared to her being held hostage by a madman.
This wasn’t a life she wanted to be involved in. How could he blame her? No matter what, Holden came with baggage. A lot of baggage. She had every right to not want to get on the train he was on.
He’d somehow managed to walk out her front door earlier today. It had nearly brought him to his knees though. How was he going to do it again?
He didn’t think he could.
Grant set his elbows on the table and leaned in. “Then turn in your resignation, man.”
Holden didn’t flinch at the suggestion. He met his friend’s gaze and stared.
“I mean it. Do it. It’s a fucking job. It’s not worth it.”
Grant was right. It might not be quite that simple, but for the first time in over two years, that idea didn’t sound ludicrous.
Grant kept talking. “You have so many fucking skills. You can find another job doing something safe, something nine to five that doesn’t send you out of town and doesn’t scare the fuck out of your woman.”
Holden took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. He knew one thing for sure—the path of his life had taken a one-hundred-eighty degree turn today. He didn’t know what it would look like when the chips fell, but not like this.
Chapter 16
A heavy hand was draped over Melanie’s waist. For a moment, she panicked, and then she inhaled and recognized Holden’s scent.
She took several deep breaths, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. Five-thirty. She wondered how long he’d been next to her. She’d never heard him come into the room.
Granted, she’d taken a sleeping pill last night. She’d been dead to the world. And that had probably been her best decision all day. She’d finally conked out and slept hard.
Trying not to disturb Holden, she rolled onto her back so she could see him. Spooning was nice, but she needed to look at him.
He didn’t stir, and she had just enough light coming in from the partially open blinds to see that he looked peaceful.
How the fuck was he able to sleep after what they’d been through yesterday? There was no way she’d be able to relax. Except for the hours the sleeping pill had bought her, she doubted she’d be sleeping again anytime soon.
Damn, he was gorgeous. Why did he have to be so fucking sexy? It made it impossible to resist him, and right now, resisting him was the last thing on her mind. To hell with the repercussions. She needed him inside her. She needed the life-affirming proof that she wasn’t dead. The kind of proof that only mind-blowing sex could accomplish.
She’d held out for days in his presence. This was probably the worst decision she’d ever made, but she didn’t give a fuck right now. Maybe it would hurt more later when he was truly gone, but was that really possible?
Remembering the pain she’d felt yesterday afternoon when he’d driven away, she pursed her lips to keep from crying. It had felt like her heart had been ripped out of her body as she’d climbed into this bed yesterday and cried herself to sleep.
So what if she had sex with him? She wouldn’t feel worse afterward. That had been a joke. He would still be just as unattainable, but at least she’d be physically satisfied.
She needed his mouth on her. His hands all over her. His cock inside her. She needed those things more than her next breath. Damn the consequences.
The man was wearing nothing but boxers. No doubt he’d simply taken all his clothes off and dropped them next to her bed. It wasn’t like he had other clothes in her townhouse. Hell, she hadn’t taken the time yesterday to assess if she even had other clothes in her home.
She assumed whoever had come to put everything to rights had washed her clothes and stuck them in drawers, but she honestly hadn’t looked. Last night when she’d gone to bed, she’d stripped down to her panties and accepted the tank top Callie had slid over her head.
It would be convenient if she could will those two items of clothing away right about now, but she didn’t want to wake Holden up by squirming around pulling off her shirt and panties. She wanted him to come awake to the feel of her mouth and her hands.
Rolling toward him, she simultaneously kissed his chest and slid her palm down his abs toward his boxer-covered cock. The moment she wrapped her hand around his erection, he moaned.
A second later, he stiffened, his arm around her gripping her hip. “Mel?”
She flicked her tongue over his nipple and eased her hand into his boxers. God, it felt good to hold his cock in her hand. It had been too long. She remembered the hardness and every ridge like it was yesterday.
“Mel…” That one word was moaned as he slid his hand under her tank top and over her bare skin. It spanned most of her back, his thumb grazing the edge of her breast.
He let her stroke him for about ten more seconds—which was honestly longer than she’d expected—and then he pounced, rolling her onto her back and taking control.
Her hand slid out of his boxers, and a second after that, he had his fingers around her wrist and was hauling her arm above her head. He leaned over her and met her gaze, searching.
“Please… Make love to me.”
He continued to look at her, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “More than sure. Please. Don’t make me beg. I need you inside me.”
“You just suffered a trauma.”
She groaned. “Don’t.”
He swallowed.
“Don’t sully this by trying to pretend I can’t make sound decisions. I’ve never been clearer. Take your boxers off and fuck me. Preferably hard.”
He gave her a slow half smile. “Hard?”
She nodded, her face heating. She’d never been bossy with him in bed. The man was bossy enough for both of them. He could be a total gentleman outside of the bedroom, pulling out chairs, opening doors, bringing her drinks, rubbing sunscreen on her…
God, that last thought made her nipples stiffen. If only they could go back to that cruise. That cabin with the two twin mattresses that kept separating because they had such wild sex. One of them inevitably ended up sleeping with half their body in the crack.
Melanie arched her chest, squirming in his grip. Her other hand was trapped between their bodies, but a moment later, he came up onto his knees, straddling her. He grabbed her free hand to join them together above her head and leaned over her.
His face was inches from hers. “You’re sure?”
She nodded.
“You’re not dreaming or half asleep or delusional from sleeping pills?”
“Jesus, Holden. Do you always argue with women who ask you to fuck them?”
He smirked. “Babe, women don’t ask me to fuck them.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t even try to make me believe that.”
“There’s a reason I haven’t had sex since I was with you, Mel. I don’t even make eye contact with other women. I’ve had no interest.”
She swallowed hard. This was huge. She knew it was, but he was blatantly reminding her.
“If we have sex right now, you will not soon forget it.”
“Good.” She was counting on that.
“We’re not doing it once either.”
“Good.” She nodded, eager now.
“I have to leave here in a few hours and deal with wrapping up this case. You know that, right?”
She nodded again, but she wasn’t breathing. Of course he would be leaving. She knew that. Nothing had changed between them.
Except also, everything had changed. Did he feel it too? She was afraid to ask. She needed to keep her thoughts to herself, shut off her brain from wandering to “tomorrow,” and enjoy whatever he gave her.
He rose onto his knees, grabbed the hem of her tank top, and tugged it over her head. Replacing his hands on top of hers, he stared down at her chest. “You have the best fucking tits on earth.”
She bit her lip. She loved when he worshiped her body, especially with his words.
He bent to kiss her, taking her mouth insistently, demanding entrance with his tongue, controlling her already.
She moaned into his mouth as he teased her, his tongue sliding up and down hers, reminding her what he could do with that tongue inside her pussy. When she squirmed, he released her lips to lower his face to her breasts.
He nuzzled between them first before dragging his tongue over to one, flicking it over the tip, and then sucking her nipple.
Melanie whimpered, arching her chest toward him wantonly. Desperation consumed her. Her panties were soaked, and her pussy was pulsing with need.
Holden inched down her body as he switched his attention from one breast to the other. He worshiped her. He always had. It was the reason why sex with him was out of this stratosphere.
Every flick of his tongue, every squeeze of his fingers around hers, every breath from his mouth, every little noise he made, every time he rubbed his erection against her mound…
God, the reminders were overwhelming. She’d thought about him nearly every day of her life for all this time, but being under him again was so much more powerful.
“Holden…”
“Mmm” was his only response. He slid farther down her body, straddling her thighs and then her knees. His mouth trailed between her breasts and then lower until he swirled his tongue in her belly button.
She bucked when he eased his tongue along the edge of her panties, and whimpered when he stopped to lift his face. “Look at me, Mel.” His voice was rough, sexy, desperate.
She met his gaze.
“Can you keep your hands here while I fuck you with my tongue?”
She swallowed and shook her head. “Probably not.”
He chuckled. “I guess my cock will be out of your reach anyway. If you touch me with those talented fingers, I’ll come in an instant.”
“You said yourself you intended to come more than once,” she reminded him.
He gave her a slow grin. “True, but I’d rather the first orgasm not be premature.”
“Mine’s going to be,” she pointed out needlessly.
His smile grew. “Ah, but you will be having twice as many orgasms as me.” He released her hands, moved farther down her body, and pulled her panties over her hips. When she was free of them, he tossed them aside, lifted her knees, and spread them high and wide.
She lowered her arms to her sides and fisted the sheets. “Holden…” The simple act of holding her open like this was enough to make her nearly self-combust.
“Two seconds and already your hands are no longer above your head,” he pointed out as he lowered his face and breathed against her pussy.
“Fuck…”
“In a minute, babe. I want to savor this,” he teased. He wasn’t just breathing on her, he was also inhaling her. It was heady and drove her wild. He hadn’t even touched her yet.
“God, I’ve missed this,” he murmured. “I can’t believe you kept your pussy bare.”
“You liked it,” she whispered.
“Mmm. Definitely.”
“I liked it too. I liked to lie in bed at night, stroking my folds, pretending my fingers were yours.”
He groaned. “You’re killing me.” He lowered his face and dragged his tongue along her slit.
She cried out at the contact, every nerve ending coming alive and reminding her how good they were together. A flood of emotions consumed her as he dropped lower to suck her pussy into his mouth.
She arched and bucked. It was almost too much. She was so fucking sensitive. But he had a firm grip on her legs, and his hands shifted to her inner thighs, giving him even more leverage to hold her down.
When his tongue snaked into her pussy, her eyes rolled back. Nothing in the world felt as good as his mouth on her.
Holden thrust his tongue in and out of her, his nose rubbing against her clit.
“Oh, God.” She arched her chest and stiffened as the waves of her orgasm consumed her.
Holden was prepared. He knew her body well. He’d known she wouldn’t last long. At the perfect moment, he eased his tongue out and dragged it over her clit. Slowly. Sensually. Not putting too much pressure at first while she recovered.
She was panting, trembling, climbing again.
Her clit pulsed against his tongue, the aftermath of her orgasm regrouping to build into another. It was something she’d never accomplished alone. Holden was the only man she’d ever met who could drag multiple orgasms out of her, and he could do it in record time too.
