Chapter Five

Anubis tugged the medical tape and gauze pad off the inside of his elbow. He'd arrived for his appointment, had his blood drawn, and left the building in seven minutes. Guardian's influence once again paved a smooth path.

He palmed a new burner phone that he'd purchased with cash on the way to his doctor's appointment and called into CCS, the secure intelligence computer center that functioned as the brain of Guardian. Making contact directly with people at Guardian was about twenty miles outside his comfort zone. He preferred facilitated contact through multiple anonymous filters-filters that deliberately removed him from any form of association with his co-workers.

Thankfully, Bengal's woman didn't answer this time, and Anubis chuckled when Bengal's distracted voice boomed across the connection, "Reynolds."

"That name never ceases to confuse me." He purposely forwent any salutation.

"No shit. Took me about three months to get comfortable with it. The report you've requested is waiting in your Shadow World account. There were several flags and concerns. The dude has no criminal record, but he's got issues at work. He's been written up several times and has very little in the way of savings. Spends money like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Not the type of person I'd want hanging around my family."

Anubis inhaled sharply. He gazed up at the sky and searched the puffy white clouds. "They aren't… I can't do family."

"Bullshit, but I don't have time to debate that with you today, so I'll take a rain check."

"Roger. Copy. Remember to mask my blood work, so alarms don't go off."

"The alarms will go off because Kadey is Rh-null. We will try to mask her name and all her information in the hospital's system, but it will only delay the inevitable. If word gets out that she is having surgery, that logically means another Rh-null donor has been found. The Internal Blood Group Reference Laboratory will contact the hospital, and as we discussed, it isn't like you could just make the donation and leave."

Yeah, like he didn't know that. Besides, after hearing the verbal abuse Arnie laid on Sky this morning, he wasn't going to leave her without knowing the man was warned off. He'd make sure the bastard knew the consequences of continuing any type of contact. He couldn't wait to explain in detail why Arnold Treynor Cross wanted to leave his daughter and her mom alone.

"I can't leave them until Kadey is through the operation and they're both safe."

"And that is why we will never debate the fact that Sky and Kadey are your family."

Anubis totally disregarded Bengal's comment and continued the conversation without acknowledging his words. "If the laboratory gets a sample of my blood they'll compare it to other known samples. My past will be resurrected." Like Lazarus, back from the dead.

"We're working that. Unfortunately, the system the lab overseas uses to store information on Rh-null donors isn't online. Jacob sent Lycos to take care of it. He's been tasked with eliminating any physical or digital files pertaining to who you once were, although he has no idea why he's deleting a dead man's data."

Anubis chuckled. "He has an idea. The man's a genius."

"True, but he can't connect you with your history. Nobody can."

Bengal's words were meant to reassure him, but Lycos was one of the few who Anubis trusted, so his reassurance wasn't needed.

"We're here if you need us. Keep us posted."

"Understood." Anubis ended the call and with practiced ease disassembled the burner phone, throwing pieces away as he walked. He had another in his pocket and two in his vehicle. He'd already dropped Sky and Kadey off at the hospital. They had a scheduled appointment, and Sky would explain to the doctor that they had an anonymous Rh-null donor who had reached out to her. Anubis glanced at his watch. After circling his vehicle and conducting a thorough visual assessment, he got in and booted up his tablet. He logged into the small email provider and signed in to his Shadow World account. He accessed a draft email that Bengal had dropped into the account. It held Cross's dossier. He scanned the information and noted the paltry sum in the man's bank accounts. The dossier listed the man's lineage. His extended family wasn't exactly on a solid citizen platform, but Arnie was benign at first glance. He had two speeding tickets within the last five years. A trespassing arrest during college for attending an environmental protest and chaining himself to a bulldozer. That explained the Prius. He was an accountant with a large firm downtown. Anubis kept reading and didn't like what was coming to light. Arnie had been written up four times in the last year. Anubis accessed the attachments. He'd give her credit; Bengal's woman was thorough. The letters of admonishment from the man's supervisor had escalated to letters reprimanding the jerk for his declining work performance and caustic attitude. The latest of which was a week ago. Cross had written a scathing reply, and it was attached to the supervisor's reprimand. It was difficult to decipher the man's sprawling handwriting, but he managed…and growled deep and low inside his chest at the fucker's words. Anubis re-read them. 'My issues revolve around the daughter of my fiancée and her life-threatening illness. The situation is complicated by the impending surgery of the little girl I consider a daughter. I can't explain how hard this time is for us.'

Anubis finished reading the fantasy accounting of Arnold Cross's life. The letter from the head of HR directed the supervisor to remove the document from Cross's personnel file due to extenuating circumstances. Anubis seamlessly slipped firmly into the Shadow World he lived in as he finished dissecting the dossier. His mind notched the facts into his memory like any other case. Arnold Treynor Cross was a Class 'A' bastard. He'd used his relationship with Sky and Kadey to weasel out of his poor work performance and bad attitude. His gut told him that Cross wasn't going to take Sky kicking him to the curb lying down. No, Anubis had profiled enough men to know Cross would show up again and again. A sneer made its way to his lips-not if he had anything to say about it.

He deleted the dossier after another read-through and signed out of the email account. There would be no digital trail since the email wasn't sent to anyone. It was old-school tech, but it worked well.

Anubis tapped the steering wheel of his rented SUV and stared into space. He examined everything that had happened in the past few days carefully. In order to clarify his goal, he needed to remove his emotions and examine the situation. Besides the blood issue, he needed to provide for them financially in a manner that would not drag them into the death and destruction that populated his world, and that meant he could not stay. Granted, Cross was a dick, but he was a manageable dick. His background check revealed small problems, nothing too dramatic, just another asswipe looking to get a leg up by using another's misfortune. Anubis ground his teeth. His purpose here wasn't to teach Cross a lesson, but he'd add that line item to the mission. Just. Because. He. Could.

A sneer pulled at his lip. His disdain for Cross pulsed through him just as surely as his blood pumped through his veins. He needed to tamp down the territorial fierceness. He needed to do what he was here to do and leave. Sky was an adult, and from what he could see, she was a fantastic mom, even though her choices in men left a lot to be desired. First him, and then Cross. Anubis released a sound, not unlike a growl. He was not like Cross. Cross was… a bully. The man was nothing special, and that gave Anubis pause.

The average, vanilla people of the world were the ones that worried him the most. Anubis could gage a target's move based on his intense studies of the vile people he hunted. Sadists, psychopaths, rapists, pedophiles, murders, drug lords, arms dealers, mafia bosses, he'd assimilated into the life of so many sick, perverted people that the world's normal was his abnormal. He'd executed seventeen primaries. Sixteen for his country, and one for his family. The people he had to kill to get to the targets bumped that number up to twenty-four. Collateral damage was something that his specialty allowed him to minimize, unlike some of his counterparts. The poison he created and delivered by a prick of a needle, the inhalation of a tainted cigar or cigarette, or in the sweetness of a favorite confection was usually quick, efficient, and deadly.

The world was safer with the target's inevitable elimination. Anubis shook his head. Yes, he fit in with the scum of the earth, but ask him to live among good people? He physically shuddered at the thought. His assassin's nature teemed just under his skin like an electrical current. He was not at ease with anything that had happened in the last seventy-two hours. He was too exposed, and so was his family… no… he had to stop thinking of them as family. They needed to stay simply Sky and Kadey.

That had to be why his gut was telling him there was something off about Cross. Hell, the last time Anubis had spent any time being 'normal' he'd met Sky. Hiding in plain sight and recovering from his injuries, he'd laid low for three months before he'd met Sky. The two months that followed were the brightest, warmest memories he owned and he cherished them. Perhaps Kadey would look back on the next few weeks and remember him fondly. He rolled his shoulders and glanced around before starting the engine.

His feelings for his daughter and her mother were a hindrance to the situation but something he should factor into the equation. He'd be careful to avoid complicating their life unnecessarily. He glanced at his watch noting the time. The bank was on the way, so he'd make a quick stop before he picked up Sky and Kadey. He needed to set up two accounts. Just because he couldn't be with his girls didn't mean he couldn't provide for them. Besides, he had no need for the abundance of money he'd accrued. It floated somewhere in cyberspace growing in interest-bearing accounts. It was about time he put the money to good use.

"She's asleep." Sky dropped into the loveseat with him but stayed at the far end, closing her eyes as her head dropped back.

"You've been pulling quite a load for a while now, haven't you?" His hand rested on the back of the small couch within inches of her brown hair. He extended his fingers and ran them through the soft, dark fall.

Sky's eyes opened, and she turned her head to look at him. Her eyes traveled over him, assessing and familiar. "I'm so damn tired, but stopping isn't an option."

"You're going to be fired." He'd read the dossier, he knew the DA was dragging his feet, but she'd violated the trust of the office, and she was all but formally terminated.

"Yeah, I am. I tried to find you every way a normal person would look-social media, the telephone directory. I even called the landlord where you used to live. It was as if you'd dropped off the face of the earth. When none of that worked, I used the tools I had available. Was it illegal? Yes, but it was necessary to find you, and I'd do it again."

"How bad is your situation?" He wondered if she'd sugar coat the truth.

"How bad can bad get? I'm a month away from losing the house. I'm surprised they haven't repossessed the car. I pay utilities on a rotating basis, so they don't get so far behind that they get turned off. But, none of that matters. Kadey is the only thing that matters." Sky reached out and took his hand, clasping it in hers. "And she has that chance now, thanks to you."

Anubis ran his thumb up and down the top of her hand. "If I could have stayed, I'd like to think I would have."

Sky smiled and then chuckled. "We were good together, weren't we?"

Anubis tugged at her hand bringing her attention to him. "No, we were amazing. Every time."

Sky stared at him for a moment and then smiled sadly before she deflected his words with a weak, "Awww… I bet you say that to all your baby-mommas."

"I'm not that man." He wasn't going to let her believe that of him.

"What man?"

"The type to have a woman at every port. After you, there hasn't been anyone." He had to make sure she understood that she was more than a fling to him.

"Excuse me? You mean you haven't had sex since we hooked up two years ago?" Her shoulders moved with suppressed laughter before she pointed a finger at him. "You are insatiable! Nope, not buying that line, mister."

Anubis laughed and tugged her to his side. She fell willingly against him. "No, I've had sex. What I haven't had is a relationship. There has been no one who meant anything either before you or since you."

Sky tipped her chin up so he could see those expressive brown eyes. "Why?"

Anubis traced her jaw with his index finger. "Before, because I never met the right person, and after… well, after was because what we had was special to me."

"But not special enough to stay." Her flat tones held no accusation. She just stated a fact.

"Sky…" She'd never know it ripped his fucking guts out every single time he got dressed in the dark hours of the morning and left her. It was the least he could do for her. "I couldn't."

"Right." She nodded and patted his thigh with a resolved sigh. "But you're here now." Sky licked her lips before she leaned forward and kissed him.

Anubis fell into the warmth of her lips for a moment before he pulled away. "What are you doing?" He wanted to make sure he wasn't reading anything into her kiss, because once he let his desire for this woman loose, there would be no way to stop.

"Dang, I must be out of practice. I was trying to come on to you."

"Are you sure you want to do that? I won't stay, and you are in a relationship, or were until recently." Anubis hated reminding her of the fact, but he wouldn't take advantage of her, not again.

Sky leaned into him. The press of her full breasts against his chest sent an urgent wake-up call to his cock. "I'm tired, not stupid. Of course, I'm sure. And that thing with Trey wasn't a relationship. That was me looking for something I couldn't find."

Anubis pulled away as she moved forward. "Sky…"

She groaned and dropped her head back and sighed. "After you left me alone in that hotel room the last time, I made some hard decisions. I got my life on track, and I decided I would find the exact opposite of you."

"And that would be?"

"Ahhh… I wanted someone solid and dependable, a man who would stay, someone entrenched in the community, someone people knew."

Anubis's fingers continued to move up and down Sky's wrist and hand. He'd own that hit, but fuck… he wished she could know just how solid and dependable he actually was.
"I understand." He did, but he didn't like it. That bastard Trey had done a number on Sky. Anyone who knew her before could attest to that. He took a mental step back. He'd played a part in her decisions so he couldn't excuse himself from blame, but, fuck, he hated being lumped together with that waste of sperm.

Sky stared out into the dark, focusing somewhere near the doorway. "Yeah, well it didn't work out too well. I tried hard to feel for him what I used to feel for you. I never could. Did we hook up over the course of the last two years? Yeah. Was it good?" Sky sat up and turned, so she was facing Anubis. "No. He couldn't hold a candle to the way you made me feel. He never once waited for me to finish before he… you know, but I thought maybe that was the norm and you were the exception." Sky shrugged and folded in on herself once again, sinking into the sofa, making herself small. "I tried. I mean I really tried to be what he thought I should be, what I thought he wanted, but once Kadey got sick, I couldn't deal with his needs any longer. God, that made him so mad. He was always angry at me for one thing or another, but he was always here, too. We haven't been together, sexually, in a long time-not since Kadey started getting sick. He was there when I needed to talk, and he stuck around when everyone else bailed."

"Bailed?" Anubis tried to understand why people would leave her without a support system.

"I guess most people didn't have a problem at first. However, when she got sicker, and everything got out of hand with… you know… finding you, they all started falling by the wayside. I can't blame them. Who wants to be associated with a criminal?"

"You're not a criminal."

"Not yet, but when the DA completes his investigation, I'll be brought up on charges."

"No, you won't." Anubis had connections. He would make sure things were taken care of for Sky.

"What are you going to do? Get your people to make it go away?" Sky snorted and shook her head.

"I am." Anubis was damn sure going to make all her problems go away.

"You can't, but thank you for being upset on my behalf. I don't deserve it."

"You don't deserve to be prosecuted for trying to save your daughter." His daughter.

"Necessity isn't a valid defense in most cases. Maybe the District Attorney won't bring charges, but I know he'll fire me and make sure I never work with a law enforcement agency again."

Anubis pulled her into his side. "I know you don't believe me, but I will ensure your decisions to save our daughter won't be held against you."

Sky gave him a quick grin and shrugged. "Yeah, you're right, I don't believe it. Most people don't believe in fairy tales and happily ever afters. You've given us hope and that… God, Kaeden-that is everything."

"I'd give you the world if I could."

"And yet you won't stay."

"It isn't an option." He had to make sure she understood that fact.

"Yeah, I know. But I can't help wanting what we used to have. I've tried to forget how good it was between us. It was impossible to do that, though. God, I loved you so much."

"I'm sorry I hurt you." He'd saw off his right arm with a pocket knife if he could take back the pain his actions had caused her.

"I know. You're not a bad man, Kaeden."

Oh, but he was. He was the God of Death, and he was damn good at his job. Anubis lowered his chin to the top of her head. She pushed closer to him. "Can I ask a favor?"

He nodded, his chin moving against her silky hair.

"I want to feel you again."

"I don't want to take advantage of you."

"I want you, and I know it would just be sex. I'm not asking for a commitment."

Kaeden drew a deep breath. God, he was a bastard because he was going to make love to her.

Sky pushed into his solid, warm body. She needed this… him. She couldn't recall the last time she felt desire flow through her veins. That was a lie. It was two years ago in that horrid little hotel in Davis. She raised her chin and zeroed in on Kaeden's lips. She longed to feel the connection they once had. Yeah, she knew it was a bad idea, and yeah, she knew he was leaving. However, she wanted just a little something for herself-something to prove she was still a desirable woman. A few recent memories to help her through the rest of her life. Was it too much to ask?

His strong, rough hand smoothed over her arm and cupped the back of her neck. Yes, sweet heavens above, yes! The feel of his lips against hers transported her back to that stupid one bedroom apartment in Fresno and a full-sized bed that was too cramped and yet so perfect.

The familiar sweep of his tongue against her bottom lip triggered a full body shudder. She opened for him but didn't meet his searching tongue. He pulled back. "Did you change your mind?" His voice had lowered and roughened with desire.

Sky backed away and looked up at him. "No, why?"

"You weren't kissing me." Kaeden's thumb pulled against her bottom lip, his eyes searched her face when he spoke.

"I ah…" Sky blinked and tried to find a way to explain. "He ah… he didn't like it when I ah… so I… I'm sorry." She pulled away from Kaeden, embarrassed that she'd basically admitted Trey thought she was too aggressive in bed. "I should go check on Kadey." But he forestalled her exit with a warm hand on her arm.

"I'm not him." Kaeden stood and extended his hand to her. "Let's go check on Kadey, and then take this into the bedroom." Sky grasped his hand, and he pulled her up and against his rock hard body. He stared down at her for a long moment before he spoke, "We don't have to do this, not tonight, not ever."

"There won't be very many more nights like this for me. The surgery and afterward will be hectic. I'm being selfish, but I want one more night with you."

"You are the least selfish person I know." Kaeden dropped a feather-light kiss on her lips and stepped back. Sky's eyes dropped to his very prominent erection pushing against the denim of his jeans. She reached out and traced the thickness with her finger. His almost subliminal groan brought her eyes back to his face.

"Kadey…"

Sky nodded but palmed his cock into her hand.

He rocked into her and then with a soft curse pulled away. "Sky, I'm walking a thin line, it won't take much to push me over it. Go."

God, she was walking that thin line, too. Her lust sank her like a lead weight, submerging her further and further. She remembered how good this man was in bed. She nodded and stepped back one small step. Kaeden's chest rose and fell at a quickened pace, his hooded golden eyes swept over her as he watched her take another small step backward.

Sky smiled, suddenly happier and lighter than she'd been in… well, in a very long time. She spun on her heel and headed down the small hallway. A soft illumination filtered through the hall into Kadey's room. Kadey had kicked off her blankets. Sky crept in and pulled them up over her daughter. She dropped her head for a moment and whispered a prayer of thanks. Sky leaned over and brushed a kiss on Kadey's forehead before she backed out of the room. She almost closed the door but left it open enough that Kadey could see the hallway nightlight.

The old hardwood floor in the hall creaked and moaned when she and Kadey walked down it, but Kaeden's step hadn't made a sound. Sky had no idea how Kaeden walked so softly.

Sky paused at her bedroom door. Kaeden lay on her bed wearing only black briefs. She let her eyes feast on his body. Wide shoulders, thick arms, a muscled chest and tight cut abs. A dark happy trail ran from the hair on his chest to below his waistband. His cock pushed the material of his briefs out in an obvious statement of arousal. His thick muscled legs flexed as he lifted one knee. "Is she sleeping?"

His words broke Sky's trance-like observation of his body. She smiled and pushed her door closed. "She is."

Kaeden extended his hand and Sky took it. She gave a small laugh. "Is it strange that I'm nervous?"

Kaeden rose to his knees. Even with him kneeling on the bed, he was taller than she was. He pulled her to his chest and took control of her mouth. This time she met his tongue and let herself explore the man she once knew so well. She luxuriated in the feel of his hands against her. He broke the kiss and slid her t-shirt over her head.

Immediate embarrassment flooded her. The old bra she wore was ugly and utilitarian at best-a cheap knock-off brand that had long outlived its purpose. Kaeden dropped the straps from her shoulders and kissed her collarbone as he deftly unhooked the fasteners, dropping the material to the floor. He leaned back on his heels and raked his gaze over her. "My God, you are so beautiful."

Sky lowered her eyes. She wasn't. She was average on her best day. Kaeden reached out and tipped up her chin with his fingers. She met his gaze-barely. His eyes softened as if he understood her reticence. He lowered into another all-encompassing kiss. Sky pushed into his body. He controlled the descent onto the bed and rolled her under him. She arched into every touch. His lips traced the most sensitive spots as he mapped her body, first by touch, then by kisses. Her jeans and panties disappeared, as did his briefs. Their combined need built into a heat that would not be denied, a flashpoint turning the smoldering embers that had lain banked for two years into a blazing inferno. Kaeden moved away and reached toward the nightstand where he'd left his wallet. Sky heard the crinkle of the package and put her hand on his arm. "I'm sterile. When Kadey was born, there were complications, and the doctors had to take everything. I had a complete hysterectomy. Then I was tested for everything under the sun when they assumed I could donate blood to Kadey. I haven't been with anyone since."

"You didn't say anything when we met in Davis." He held himself over her, his eyes searching her face.

"Yeah, well, not sure how I could tell you without telling you about Kadey." Kaeden would never have known about their daughter…

Kaeden dropped lower and kissed her before he spoke, "Our time together cost you so much."

Sky heard the emotion in his voice even though he dropped his gaze and denied her a view into his soul.

"No, our time together gave me everything. Kadey is my world." Sky reached up and wound her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck.

Kaeden moved slightly and centered himself between her legs. She loved the feel of his weight against her. His big frame dwarfed her. She could feel the heat of his cockhead at her core. She arched her hips to encourage him to move. He held his body over hers, and their eyes locked as his girth split and entered her. Sky's eyes rolled back in her head, or at least she thought they did. The heat and size of his cock as he slowly entered her was just as good, no… better… than her memories.

He stopped once he'd thrust as deep as he could, their bodies merged as close together as humanly possible. He wrapped his arms under her shoulders and cradled her into his chest. "I'm not going to last. You feel too good." He lowered into a slow kiss, his tongue mimicking the movements of his cock. Sky wrapped her arms and legs around him, absorbing the blissful feeling that permeated every cell in her body. He leaned to one side and slid his arm down from her shoulder to her waist, and then to her thigh. He gripped it gently and lifted her leg. The change in position sent a shower of sparks cascading through her like an arc of light in an abyss that had been dark for far too long.

"Yes. There!" Sky's eyes popped open, and her hushed whisper was instinctual and unstoppable.

"Yeah, you like that, babe?"

Kaeden's hips moved again as he thrust and Sky gasped. "Yes! Oh, God, please don't stop."

"Not stopping," Kaeden repeated the move and Sky bit his shoulder instead of screaming. That cascade of sparks morphed into a consuming explosion of white-hot heat. She bucked against him, her limbs tightened and her core clenched against the intensity of her orgasm.

She held on as he lost control and slammed into her, chasing his own release. He arched and with his mouth opened in a silent shout reached his climax. The taut muscles of his neck, shoulders, and chest were flush from his effort. Sky wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down on top of her. She couldn't let him see the emotions that were running through her. She wouldn't let him know how much being with him again meant to her. She'd promised him it was just sex. Only it had never been 'just sex' with Kaeden. It was so much more. It always had been… at least for her.

He hefted his weight off her and rolled to his side pulling her against his heated skin. She allowed herself a moment to snuggle into his strength, to pretend that tonight would last forever. Besides, the only person she was hurting was herself. Right?