Two days later, Sheena was sipping sweet tea on the front porch. She’d been out there for hours. She loved it when one of the herds wandered close enough to the cabin that she could watch the calves frolicking about. Today was one of those days.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hawke signaling her to get inside. She jumped from her rocking chair so fast she sloshed tea all down her shirt. That was when she saw dust billowing along the dirt road that led to the cabin. Someone was coming, and they were moving fast.

“Intruders!” Jayco yelled through a window.

Then she heard the men talking to each other over communication devices she didn’t know they had.

“How many?” Jayco asked in barely a whisper.

“I count at least six tangoes on foot coming from the southwest,” Hawke responded

“Roger that. I have another six coming from the northeast.”

Bast blasted into the bedroom and pulled her toward the bathroom. “Get into the tub and stay down.”

He closed the bathroom door behind him and then she heard the bedroom door shut.

From where she sat the gunshots outside were no more than muffled bangs. She made her way to the door and pressed her ear to the wood. When she didn’t hear anything, she eased the door open and scanned as much of the room as she could see. Okay, it seemed clear. She ran across the room and yanked her dresser drawer open and grabbed a walkie-talkie and the clothing she’d hidden there. Scuttling back to the bathroom, she turned it on.

The waiting was driving Sheena crazy. She paced back and forth in the bathroom that before had seemed so spacious. Now, not so much. If she were a nail chewer, her fingers would be bloody nubs. She paced the eight steps across the room again. She lifted the dang thing to her ear hoping that would help, still nothing but static. As she turned to pace back the static went silent.

 

*****

 

Bast rushed to cover the front door. There were no door or window large enough for entry on the back of the house. Between the three of them, there was no way for Moretti’s men to get to Sheena this time. He saw movement off to his left and took aim, but had to dive behind the truck as a bullet flew past, narrowly missing his head. He rolled and crawled until he could see where the shot originated from beneath the truck. Patiently he waited never taking his eyes from that spot. There! A flash of sunlight off steel glimmered for a moment. Slowly, the hooded face of the man rose. Bast took aim and fired. The shrubbery shook as the man went down.

“I took out one, how many more are out there?” Bast asked over the comm.

“There are two down on the east side. Four tangoes at large,” Jayco responded.

“Three down on the west side. Three tangoes headed your way, Bast,” Hawke said calmly.

Bast army crawled to a patch of low, thick scrub. It wasn’t the best cover, but he was hidden from view.

He could see three dark shapes making their way from the west. As he focused on them, he didn’t see the man coming from behind. A shot rang out, and searing pain tore across his arm. He pitched to the side and rolled bring his gun up. The assassin stood up from his hiding place and made himself an easy target. Bast took the shot, hitting the gunman right between the eyes. Watching for the three men to make a mistake and give him a shot, he took a moment to rip a strip from his shirt and tie a tourniquet around his arm. The wound wasn’t bad. The bullet had only skimmed his arm.

Nothing moved, and there were no sounds to tell him where they were. The men must have dove for cover when shots were fired and weren’t ready to reveal themselves. That was fine with him. He was a patient man.

“I’m making my way toward you, Bast. I have them flanked,” Hawke whispered over the comm.

The firefight continued on Jayco’s side. With each hit, he let out a whispered hoorah over the comm. The man was having way too much fun.

“Jayco, how many tangoes do you have still breathing?” Hawke grunted.

“Only two. From the way they handle themselves, they’re military trained. They aren’t going down easy.”

“Roger that. The Calvary is coming. They should be here any minute. Can you hold them off that long?”

“Not a problem.” Scuffling sounds came over the comm as Jayco made a move. Then he continued, “A few minutes is a walk in the park on a sunny day.”

Shots rang out again from Jayco’s location.

Just as the three tango’s coming from the west started moving again, several cop cars and a heavily armed swat team arrived. Following them were several of the McCoy trucks. Men flowed from the vehicles and fanned out. The Calvary had arrived.

The sheer number of opposing forces had the remaining attack team giving up easily. They must have decided they would have a better chance of survival with the judicial system.

 

*****

 

Bast watched as the men were cuffed and then turned to head for the cabin. Before he could take a step, he was thrown backward by a deafening blast. He hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from his lungs. He lay stunned for a moment before panic pierced his heart. He rolled to his feet desperate to get to Sheena. But when he started toward the cabin all that lay before him was flaming rubble.

For a moment he stared at the charred remains. Numb disbelief held him frozen in place. From the very depths of his soul, a scream erupted. “Sheena!” He stumbled forward, yelling out her name over and over.

It wasn’t until Hawke laid a gentle hand on his arm that he took a breath.

He glanced at Jayco for help, but the man just looked away and hung his head.

“No!” Bast rushed toward the rubble ready to dig her out with his bare hands. Immediately, Hawke’s strong arms wrapped around him, restraining him from going any closer. Didn’t they understand that time was of the essence? He had to get Sheena out from under the debris. She was counting on him to protect her.

“Let me go!” he bellowed and struggled to free his arms that were trapped at his sides.

Aron rested a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Bast.”

Bast refused to believe there was no hope. Why were they just standing around? He refused to accept the undeniable proof before his very eyes.

“She’s gone, Bast,” Hawke murmured.

When Aron bowed his head, and Jacob offered his condolences, the truth sent him to his knees.

Horrible wracking sobs tore from his throat. He wrapped his arms around himself trying to hold his broken pieces together. A vision of Sheena screaming out his name in terror as she was blown into tiny bits seared his mind. An immense dark wave of grief engulfed his mind, and he rolled to his side, pulling his legs up in a fetal position.

Bast was oblivious to everything around him. The assassins were loaded into the backs of the police cars and driven away. Minutes later the swat team drove off. All that remained were Hawke, Jayco and the McCoy’s. Then cars filled with McCoy women arrived. Not that he acknowledged they were there.

Bast sobbed until exhaustion overtook him. He sucked in ragged breaths, his entire body shaking like a junky that hadn’t had a fix in days. Finally, he struggled to his feet, unable to raise his head and look at the rubble and the incriminations it shrieked at him.

“I’m so sorry, mon amour. I failed you,” he whispered.

Somewhere in his subconscious, he heard a truck pull up, but he was so deeply buried in his grief he didn’t process that unimportant event or care. His mind was blank, and his body was numb. He could barely draw a breath without commanding his chest to rise and fall.

Then a familiar warm, spicy scent floated on the breeze. His mind lurched like a seized engine trying to turn over. Another wave of the fragrance, this one stronger, washed over him. His mind lurched again.

Voices murmured around him, but he couldn’t make out any of the words.

“Bast? Baby, look at me.”

His heart shattered for the second time, and he dropped his face into his hands. He was losing his mind. That was the only explanation for hearing her voice.

“Bast, look at me. Please, sweetheart.”

He lifted his gaze and stared at the mirage before him. His eyes rounded and his face went very pale.

She took another step toward him. “Bast?” Uncertainty colored her voice. When he didn’t respond or take her in his arms, her gaze dropped. Tears rolled down her face as she turned to leave. “I’ll just get my things and go.”

That shook him out of his shocked stupor. “No!” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her roughly into his arms and buried his face in her hair.

Sheena breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” She ran her hands up and down his back. “You’re shaking, baby.”

He pulled back far enough to slam his mouth on hers. His kisses slowly gentled and he eased away to look into her eyes. “Of course, I’m shaking. I thought I’d lost you. How did you make it out?”

Sheena glanced at Hawke and Jayco. “Please, don’t be mad.”

Bast glanced away from her to glare at his friends. That was when he noticed the McCoy’s were displaying an array of emotions from guilt to unease. “What did you do?”

Hawke leaned toward Jayco and mumbled out the side of his mouth. “I told you it was a bad idea.”

Jayco’s brows rose, and he shrugged. “It worked didn’t it?”

Hawke shook his head and looked Bast in the eye. “I want you to know that I’m sorrier than I can say that you were forced to believe Sheena was dead. I just hope you can forgive me for putting you through that. Before I explain the plan, I need you to understand that your ignorance was crucial to its success.”

“Plan?” Bast’s voice rose. “You planned an attack on Sheena?”

Hawk raised his hands and shook his head. “Absolutely not. We controlled the attack, and its outcome. We had a heads up that they had located Sheena and were in the area looking for her. So we set up an ambush and placed charges around the cabin.”

Kane put his hand on Bast’s shoulder. “Revel Lee and I were in charge of getting your lady out safely. We briefed Sheena and gave her a communicator, so she knew when to evacuate. She was never in any danger at any time.”

He nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

Hawk quietly added, “We knew that the only way Sheena would never be safe was if Moretti believed she was dead. So, we arranged a show for them. They had to accept without a shadow of a doubt that she perished in the explosion. They needed to see an authentic reaction from you to believe it. That’s why we had to let you think Sheena had died. I know it was a shitty thing to do to you, but it was the only way we could ensure they would never come after her again.”

Jayco took a step forward. “I’m sorry we couldn’t give you a heads up. But face it, man, you’re a sucky actor.”

Revel reached over and smacked Jayco in the back of the head.

“Hey,” Jayco yelled and rubbed his head.

Bast looked at all the people gathered around him and then gazed into Sheena’s eyes. “Thank you, everyone. You all put yourselves on the line to protect the woman I love. It may take me a few days to forgive your tactics and recover from believing she was dead, but you’re right. It was the only way to end Moretti’s attacks. I hate to admit this, but making him think she’s dead was actually a stroke of genius.”

Jayco rocked back on his heels and grinned.

Bast glanced at the smoldering ruins of the cabin and frowned. “Aron?”

“Yes, Bast?”

“I don’t suppose you have another cabin we could use?”

Chuckles rumbled through the crowd.

“We anticipated the issue and moved your things to the next cabin down the line. We couldn’t take everything without you noticing, but we got most of it.”

Bast shook his head. “I can’t believe you managed all of this without my knowing.”

Isaac McCoy snorted. “It wasn’t all that hard. You rarely came out of the bedroom.”

Bast grinned. “With a gorgeous woman like Sheena, what do you expect? If you all don’t mind, I’d like to take my lady to our new home and hold her in my arms for the next week or two.”

“Of, course. We wouldn’t expect anything less. And if it’s all right, I’d like to drop by in a couple of hours with dinner. The last thing you need to worry about today is cooking,” Libby insisted.

“That would be wonderful, Libby. Thank you,” Bast said as he took Sheena by the hand and helped her into their truck. All he wanted was to get his woman alone and lose himself in her arms.

 

*****

 

Bast couldn’t have missed their assigned cabin if he tried. Streamers and a large welcome home banner festooned the entire front of the structure.

Feeling like he had won a new lease on life, he jogged around the truck to Sheena’s door and helped her down. “I have plans for you,” he growled next to her ear as he pulled her through the front door and straight to the bedroom.

He kicked the door shut and caught Sheena by the nape of her neck and pulled her into him. She met him halfway accepting his frantic kiss. Both, hungry for the touch of the other. She moaned a sound he thought only minutes ago he’d never hear again. That realization shook him to his soul. He devoured her mouth like a starving man. Kissed her, over and over. His tongue stroked, sliding, and sucking on her lips. Her silken heat and spicy taste settled and grounded him. She was his home. For a few hours, he’d lost his mooring. He wouldn’t survive that a second time.

Her hands skimmed down his arms and she stiffened. “You’re injured.”

He kissed her neck and ran his hands over her hips. “Ignore that. It’s a scratch. The bullet only grazed my arm. I wrapped it to keep the dirt out.”

Sheena leaned away from him and raised a brow. “Uh huh. Lose the bandage and your shirt. I want to see it for myself.”

He grinned and waggled his brows. “All Right. I was going to get naked anyway. See, just a scratch.”

He watched her inspect it closely. “Good. I would have been angry if you were badly injured.”

He needed to feel her, skin to skin. His body was on fire with his need to stake his claim. He needed to be buried balls deep in her heat.

“I hope this isn’t your favorite shirt,” he said huskily against her lips. Then he gripped two fists full of cotton camouflage T-shirt and ripped it down the middle of her back. Sheena gasped into his parted lips. He claimed her mouth again as he popped the clasp of her bra and drew it T-shirt and all down her arms.

Bast consumed Sheena with his gaze and pulled her in again. He kissed his way down her neck and moaned. The feel of her soft breasts pressed against his chest was paradise, and she was his Eve. His teeth nipped and scraped across her shoulder, his tongue swirling along the soft, tempting skin. Her soft breathy moans added fuel to his fire.

He chuckled silently when Sheena growled in frustration as she tried to work the button of his jeans, but his hips plastered to hers made it impossible. He eased back just enough for her to slide her hands between their bodies. The button popped, and the zipper lowered. Then God Bless America she reached inside and gripped him tightly.

Two could play at that game. He held her flush to him with one hand and undid her belt and camouflage cargo pants with the other. Silently, he thanked whoever bought the pants two sizes too large. They dropped from her hips like a stone.

He stripped her panties away, gripped her backside, and walked her right out of her pants as he backed her to the bed. Falling to his knees, his hands skimmed up her smooth thighs. He gazed up at the Goddess of a woman he called his own. The love in her eyes and the rise and fall of her breasts held him captive for several heartbeats.

He encouraged her to widen her stance, and he leaned forward. He ran his tongue through her folds, all the while holding her gaze to his. She gasped, her hands going to his shoulders. Bast plunged his tongue deep. Sheena cried out. Her entire body shuddered beneath his palms. Her fingers dug into his scalp, holding him to her.

He responded by suckling her little bundle of nerves, pulling the hard nub into his mouth, using his tongue and teeth to lave and nip. Her breathing grew harsh and ragged. Her hips bucked, and he increased his assault, dipping a finger inside. She moaned his name, and his heart soared. Nothing sounded sweeter than his name on her lips.

He feasted on her. His eager, ravenous sounds arousing her more. No man had ever been so desperate for her. She was nearly sobbing, digging her nails into him, sure she would float away.

The hot and needy sounds he was making, made her knees go weak. Her legs quivered and threatened to collapse. His tongue and teeth teased her clit, his fingers thrust deep, and Lord have mercy, he curled them and rubbed across an erogenous zone she hadn’t known she had. She thrust against his mouth, holding his head to her trembling core. My God, the man had skills. Her abdomen tightened, and her nipples hardened into painful hard peaks as her breasts bounced and swayed.

“Bast, please.” She was desperate. She needed to come, or she’d die.

He bit down gently, curled his fingers, and she flew apart. “Bast!”

Through her haze of bliss, she felt his arms wrap around her waist. Then she was being lowered to the bed.

He helped her wiggle up the bed and knelt between her parted thighs. “Damn, you’re beautiful.”

He soaked in the erotic sight laid out for his pleasure. Her chest heaved, swaying her breasts invitingly. Her heavy-lidded eyes, glazed from the orgasm he’d given her, looked at him lovingly. And her glistening core was open and waiting for him to love her with his body.

His heart hammering, he leaned forward and took his time kissing his way to her slightly swollen lips. Her skin was delicious, salty and spicy from their lovemaking. Lingering at her breasts, he suckled, scraped across her nipples with his teeth, and swirled his tongue around her distended peaks. Sheena sucked in a breath when he gently bit down and soothed her with his tongue.

“I’ll give you three days to stop,” she said as she arched into his marauding mouth.

“Three days isn’t nearly long enough,” he said as he switched to her other breast. She was panting when he finally worked his way to her lips.

Angling her head, he claimed her mouth. She eagerly surrendered to him, digging her fingers into his hair, returning the kiss with an intensity that made him shudder. He dove in, tasting the spicy flavor that was Sheena. Her moan went straight to his cock encouraging him to rock harder against her damp heat. He pressed closer, letting her feel what she did to him. His pulse raced faster with each breathy sound coming from her lips.

She raised her hips, and his tip slipped inside. “I need you, Bast.”

“You will never have to beg for my loving, mon amour. I’ll always give you what you need,” he whispered against her lips. Then he pushed himself to his knees and tucked his arms under her legs. He held her gaze and drove deep. Making love was always an exquisite experience with his woman. She grasped him tightly, caressing him with every stroke. Loving him without reservation.

He plunged into her over and over. She wiped away the broken man he’d been hours before. Her breathy cries urged him to go faster. She held his gaze, rolling her nipples between her thumbs and fingers. He loved her sexual confidence. Sheena was no shy wilting flower. She knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to take it. To him, no one was sexier than his personal Goddess.

Sheena gripped Bast’s thighs so hard she was sure there would be marks. His cock was a steel rod driving her higher and higher. She could barely catch her breath. The pleasure he could wring from her body was a relentless torment she never wanted to end. The world fell away. There was only Bast loving her with his body. She rocked with him, thrusting up to meet each surge of his hips.

Her body tightened as a wild rogue wave of bliss pushed her closer to the edge. She began to spiral out of control.

“Come with me, mon amour.” Her muscles clamped hard around him, and his balls tightened. Her mewling and moans sent him careening over the edge with her.

He collapsed with his head cradled to her breasts, gasping for breath. “I love you, Sheena,” he whispered, a declaration of the truth that swelled in his heart.

She wrapped her arms around him, holding him to her. “I love you, too.”

He smiled, contentment healing his torn soul. His woman loved him. He would give up everything to be with her. Wherever Sheena was would always be his home. When he managed to draw a full breath, he rolled to his side and snuggled her close with his arm around her.

He kissed the top of her head, his body tingling as her fingers skimmed up and down his body.

Out of nowhere, Sheena propped herself on her forearm and gazed into his eyes. “I’m really, really sorry we put you through that today. Can you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. If I had known the plan, I would have been behind it one hundred percent. But Hawke and Jayco were right. I would have never been convincing if I knew you were alive. You made the correct call.”

She searched his eyes and finally snuggled against him again.

“I do have one question for you, though. Why were you wearing camouflage?”

“Hawke gave them to me. We had to go out the back door and through the woods to reach the truck he’d hidden. He didn’t want the attack team to see me.”

“I’ll have to thank him for that. I still can’t figure out how they knew you were in the cabin.”

“Jayco solved that mystery a couple of days ago. Someone, probably Rick, attached a tracking device under Salem’s collar. We already knew the men were in the area when he found it, so we left in in place to draw them to the cabin. As soon as Revel got me out, he took Salem’s collar and destroyed the tracker. Moretti will believe the cat was blown up too, and that’s why the tracker doesn’t work anymore.”

 

*****

 

Bast wasn’t kidding when he’d said he would need time to get over Sheena’s fake death. They’d been holed up in the cabin for a full week, only coming up for air to eat. He was finally ready to face the world and make a few changes. The first thing he had to do was talk to his boss at WITSEC. He grabbed the burner phone he still had from when they called in Sheena’s testimony and dialed his old office.

“This is Deputy Director Johnson, how may I help you?”

“Hey, Brad. How are things in the office?”

“Bast! It’s great to hear from you. When are you coming back?”

“Well, that’s the thing I wanted to talk to you about. Are you alone and on a secure line?”

“Hold on. I’ll close the door.”

Bast heard Brad grunt and then the shuffle of footsteps. Finally, there was a click and the scuff of metal on metal as Brad locked the door. “All right, speak to me.”

“Sheena is alive.”

“What! I heard she was blown up in the last attack Moretti attempted.”

“Yeah, well that was the plan. We made it look like she was dead for Moretti’s benefit. If she’s dead, they won’t come after her.”

“Genius but excessive.”

“I’d say excessive but necessary. That man wouldn’t have ever stopped until she was six feet under.”

He heard Brad huff out a breath. “True. I can’t argue that. So what do you want to do about it?”

“I want her given a new identity. It has to be completely hush hush. There’s no telling when Moretti will manage to get another informant in the office. Only you, and I can know.”

“I can manage that. So, is she going to have a handler? We can’t do that without others knowing.”

“That’s the second thing I wanted to discuss. I’ll be her handler and protection. I want to leave WITSEC and take a new identity as well. Moretti knows Sheena, and I grew close, I wouldn’t put it past him to have me watched in the hopes of gaining information.”

Brad sighed. “You fell in love with your witness didn’t you?”

Bast smiled. “Yes, I did. She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

There was a pause, and then Brad asked, “Does she return your affections?”

“Yes, she does.”

He heard a pencil tapping on the director’s desk, a sure sign the man was thinking. “Then nothing else matters. Do you have a new phone number where I can reach you?”

“Not yet. I’m going to take care of that once I have a new identity.”

“All right. Give me three days to create both identities and produce the documents. Do you have any name preferences? My middle name is John. Let’s go with that. And for Sheena, she would enjoy the name, Athena.”

Bast heard a pencil scratching on a notepad as Brad made notes. “Okay, I have those noted. How about a last name?”

“Something easy and generic like Johnson or Anderson.”

“All right. I’ll get this started immediately. Where can I send these?”

“I have a Sherriff friend in Kerrville, Texas. His name is Kane Saucier. Send it to him, and he’ll get it to me.”

“Got it. Take care of yourself, Bast. I’m going to miss having you on the team.”

“Thanks, Brad.”

Bast tossed the phone on the kitchen counter and grabbed two mugs. It was time to wake his Goddess from her beauty sleep, and a mug of coffee was a sure way to earn a few brownie points.

He sat the cups on the side table and leaned over to kiss Sheena’s forehead. “Good Morning, mon amour. I come bearing gifts.”

“Mm. Good morning. I smell coffee.”

“I brought you a cup. As soon as you’re functioning on all cylinders, I have something to talk to you about.”

“Okay.” She stretched and wiggled her way to a sitting position with her back to the headboard. Salem lifted his head and yawned. Then he glared at each of them and went back to sleep.

Bast waited until she’d finish at least half of the cup before he spoke again. “I made a call this morning.”

“Who did you call?” she asked and then took another sip.

Bast played with the handle on his cup. “My director. I asked him to personally make up new identities for both of us.”

She frowned. “You did?”

“Yep. I know you like the name Athena so that will be your first name and he’s going to pick a generic last name. I told him I wasn’t coming back and that he had to keep the fact that you’re alive between us. I also told him that I would act as your handler and protector outside of WITSEC.”

She raised her brows but remained silent.

“We can’t start living our lives without new names and identities. And you can’t go into the WITSEC program without being exposed as still alive.”

Sheena searched his eyes. “But don’t you want to continue your career? I can’t ask you to throw that away.”

He sat his cup aside and took her free hand in his. “I know exactly what I want, and I’m looking right at her. You’re not asking me to do anything. I’m the one who decided this is what will make me happy. I love you, Sheena, and I want to spend the rest of my life having adventures with you.”

A smile tugged at her lips. “You want to have adventures with me?”

“More than anything. But I have one more thing to ask you. After our new identities arrive, would you be willing to change your name one more time?”

She tilted her head and raised a brow. “Is that the way it’s done in witness protection? I have no idea what I’d change it to.”

“I do. Mine. Would you do me the honor of being my wife? Marry me, mon amour.” He took her cup from her hand and pulled her onto his lap.

She smiled and framed his face with her hands. “I’d love to marry you.”

“I love you, Sheena Savoy, soon to be Athena with my new last name whatever that will be.”

“I love you, too…what’s your new name going to be?”

“John.”

“I love you too, John whatever your last name will be.”

He pulled her closer and kissed her passionately. Day eight of holing up in the cabin was looking like a distinct possibility.

 

The End

 

*****

 

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