My body was spent, but I was on cloud nine. Erica had fully surrendered everything to me tonight, and I was elated. I knew we’d grown closer over the last couple weeks. Hell, we spent every moment we weren’t working in bed together.
I knew that being intimate didn’t always equate to feelings of love or devotion for one another, but something had shifted about a week ago, and tonight, I wanted to see how completely she trusted me.
We’d been experimenting with various Shibari rope techniques, but I’d purposefully stuck to ones that were basic and not too restrictive. I’d wanted to work up to a level of trust that would either propel us forward or send us crashing to a halt. It was a bold move, but it proved worth it, allowing me to dominate her body and control her every movement.
To see her completely tied to my mercy…damn, I just got hard thinking about it again. She brought out a side of me I thought was long dead: feelings of love and devotion. I’d first worried that being here together in this tropical location had caused the complexity of our emotions to form, but tonight, I could finally see a future, one with Erica by my side, her belly swollen with our child growing deep inside her. I closed my eyes and imagined us on a porch swing out in the country with our kids running around us and playing in the yard. Was it just a dream? Could be, but I hoped to make it a reality.
I’d wrapped myself so tightly around Erica and had whispered in her ear how I’d fallen for her as she drifted off to sleep, not expecting a reply. I wasn’t even sure she had known what she’d said, but the words of a sated woman were words spoken from the heart. “I love you.” She definitely owned me now; she was my world, my everything, and I wouldn’t let any harm come to her.
The food drop had not gone as uneventfully as I’d hoped. I guess the difficulty in getting it arranged was the precursor of events to come—a foreshadowing, if you will.
It wasn’t the plane; it had come right on time and perfectly on target, but the winds had begun to pick up from the approaching storm and had caused the crate’s parachute to drift slightly off course, closer to the edge of the island where the seaplane had been stored. The crate had made it to the ground safely, and we’d managed to stay undetected, or so we’d thought.
Once we had gotten the crate up into the house, I’d left Erica to start unloading the light stuff while I’d called Rick to let him know it had arrived safely. I’d thought the call would be quick, but the ultimate test of the safety of this island was about to commence.
“You’ve got trouble at your back door, Jonas.” Rick stated matter-of-factly. “The pilot radioed me the drop happened and let me know the wind conditions had your package arriving off course enough for the two boats in the area to have enough of a view to know the island wasn’t uninhabited.
“The pilot called in the Coast Guard, who, because of the approaching storm, was checking the area to make sure all the smaller islands were clear of people camping and fishing. They caught up to the boats and forced them back to shore, right as they were about to breach your buoy perimeter.”
I walked out of the room so Erica couldn’t see how panicked I’d become or hear the details of the conversation I was having with Rick. “Do you think they’ll try to make another run out this way in the light of day?”
“Negative.” Rick said coldly. “The Coast Guard has the marina on lockdown not only as a favor to us but also thanks to the hurricane. It’s starting to gain strength, and it’s shifted more your direction. If those jerks have any sense about them, they’ll keep out of the weather and heed the Coast Guard’s warning. As of right now, the hired guns need to find some crazy lunatic willing to go out in the weather, and I don’t know about you, but you couldn’t pay me enough money to put a boat out in the middle of hurricane.”
“Did you get a confirmation on the people in the boat? Are they definitely the hired guns, or are we just speculating right now?” I questioned, wanting to pull at the hope of mistaken identity.
“Cat and Jasper were at the marina when they pulled up. It’s them; the same ones that have been circling the mainland for days. Cat and Jasper will keep an eye on those guys and give me a heads up. At this point, since your position may be compromised already, start keeping the satellite phone switched on. I’ll see if Sophia can come up with some kind of software she can download to the phone to keep the signal from being intercepted. I wish those things were more infallible, but they’re not, and you and Erica need to know what’s going down with both the storm and those jerks. Stay safe, man. I’m out.”
I could hear Rick stifling a yawn in the background before he hung up. Granted, it was four in the morning. We should’ve been in bed hours ago, but then again, we were and got quite the nap. The memory of our earlier rendezvous gave me the strangest feeling of warmth throughout my body. Was this what it felt like to be in love? I didn’t know, but hey, I wasn’t complaining. It was an amazing feeling, and I hoped to experience a lot more of it.
With the two of us working together, Erica and I managed to get all the items put away. We didn’t have a full freezer or pantry like we’d started out with, but at least we had a few more options to choose from.
The signal to the security system went off, causing us both to jump. I pulled up the map to see where the breach had occurred. It was in front of the house with one of the buoys. I instantly pulled up the cameras and rerouted the image to the faux window to see what was out there, which was nothing.
I enabled the cameras on top of the buoy and down below in the water, thankful Mr. Teckraff had the foresight and ingenuity to install night vision in both systems. It was nothing more than a dolphin coming closer to shore, inside the cove, to keep out of the rough waters of the ocean.
“Has the storm changed path? I noticed the wind picked up quite a bit since we were outside, and the water looks to be churning.” Erica turned to me, waiting for an answer while fear consumed her face.
I could only nod as I approached her and drew her in to a hug. “Rick asked me to keep the phone turned on so he could update us on the changes in the hurricane. It’s gained strength and has inched closer to us. We’re still safe here, and at this point, all the marinas in the area have been shut down. There’s no getting off this island unless our lives depend on it.”
Erica’s body was trembling, and I tried to soothe her with positive thoughts and words but, somehow, she knew. “You’re leaving something out, so what is it?” I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders, trying to pass it off as nothing, but she called me on my bullshit.
She stepped out of my reach and held up her hand in a stop motion. “Don’t lie to me, Jonas. I thought we’d discussed being perfectly honest with one another. Normally when you call Rick, you stay close by or take it across the hall so as not to disturb my slumber. This time you purposefully left the room and made sure I was too busy to listen.”
I took a deep breath in, not wanting to say what I needed to. “You’re right. I only wanted to protect you, but by keeping you in the dark, I would’ve left you defenseless if something happened to me.”
My words caused her mouth to gape and her eyes to widen. “They’ve found us?” She might have phrased it like a question, but it came out sounding like a statement, one I wanted to adamantly deny, but I couldn’t.
I told her what Rick had said and assured her they were back at the mainland with the marina sealed tightly until the storm passed. I don’t think that reassured her any, but she left it alone.
We were tired but heard the wind whip against the side of the house and saw the waves toss and turn the buoys, so we decided to grab a bite to eat and stay up a while. The water really swirled, which seemed to drive some of the sea life closer to our shorelines, which, in turn, set off the underwater alarms whenever a warm-blooded creature passed. It didn’t happen often, but we jumped every time we thought someone had broken through our barriers.
A few hours passed, and we found ourselves lying on the couch wrapped up in each other’s arms. Sleep overtook our minds and our bodies, not allowing us to push any further.
The phone rang, cutting through the silence. I reached for it, tightening my grip on Erica so I didn’t cause her to roll off of me and onto the floor. “Yeah?” I answered.
“It’s Derrick. Rick is talking with Dad and trying to figure out what to do with you guys after the storm passes. The hired guns are holed up at a hotel. They’re not happy, because Victor’s offered them a bonus if they can get Erica’s phone and do away with her.”
I found my arm gripping Erica closer to my chest. “Over my dead body!” I yelled out, causing her to grip my shirt tightly and look around wondering where the threat was.
I lowered my voice and ran circles over her back with my hand. “Sorry, princess, go back to sleep, everything’s okay.”
“Oh, shit, Jonas. Don’t tell me—”
I didn’t let Derrick finish the statement. I copped an attitude with him, because he was no longer my manager and technically didn’t work for Titan Security any more except in emergencies and in a consulting fashion. “Yeah, so what? It’s not any different than you falling for Jesse—one of your charges—and then marrying her.”
I could hear Derrick take in a deep breath over the phone. “You’re right. It’s not any different, but, dude, you do realize if you hurt her you’ll have to deal with her parents, and you do remember what they used to do for a living, right?”
Who could forget? They were both licensed to kill, which was rare among operatives. They still had the status, but they’d only had to resort to using it twice in their lifetime. I just prayed they didn’t want me to disappear once this was over.
I finally answered Derrick’s question. “Yes, I know who they are and what they’ve done over the years, but I don’t care.” I looked down to see that Erica had fallen back to sleep against my chest. “I love her.”
His laughter lightened my heart. “You don’t know how thankful I am to hear you say that. I’d begun to have my doubts about you, Jonas—we all had—but I see you’ve finally broken through your barriers, and I have Erica to thank for that.
“I’m not going to tell you how to live your life or what to do, that’s all on you, Jonas. However, I will remind you of something you told me when I was scared of the feelings I had for Jesse: ‘Take a chance.’ Your words were the final push I needed to take that leap of faith, and now look at my life. I have a beautiful wife, a child on the way, a job that I love, a half-brother I didn’t know about, and a fucking fabulous extended family with all of the Titan team. Life couldn’t be richer, and you can have that life too. So if you love her, do everything in your power to let her know and hold on with everything you have.”
I’d wondered if I would face repercussions for crossing the line and sleeping with my charge, especially when that person was the daughter of two of our top operatives, but Derrick seemed to have my back and assured me Rick and a few of the others would be happy to know I’d worked past some of my hang-ups. “We won’t tell Sophia or Ivan, that’ll be your and Erica’s job; although, you might want to make sure they’re not packing any heat before you do,” Derrick said jokingly.
“Roger that and thanks, man. So why are you calling?” I asked, trying to get us back on track.
“Rick’s still short-handed. The cases come in faster than he can keep up with them. Every time I think I’m away from here, they keep drawing me back in. Anyhow, we’re working on securing you a new location. We’ll have a boat ready and waiting to pick you up once the storm has passed, since the lingering winds and waves will make it too difficult to fly the seaplane. As of now, the hurricane’s eye will pass within twenty miles of your location, so you’ll definitely feel the brunt of the winds, with some possible flooding. Stay safe, and we’ll call again when we have any further updates. All the best, man. I’m out.”
The phone call put me at ease. The jokers after Erica were forced to stay ashore, the storm was too close to us now to go anywhere, so we’d ride it out, and the Titan team was working to get us the hell out of here as soon as it was safe to move. All we had to do was get through the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours and our lives together could finally begin, but only if she’d have me.
The weather deteriorated quickly. The winds pounded on every inch and surface of the house, waking us and keeping us both on edge. Erica and I heard the sounds of falling trees outside and watched on the window-screen monitors as they were uprooted by the winds and crashed down against the surface of the island with resounding thuds.
We decided to talk and share stories about bad storms we’d experienced in the past. I’d gone through a few hurricanes when I was still in Texas with my father and sister. They weren’t that strong, and we’d lived more inland from the coastal waters, so we didn’t get the full brunt of things. But Erica, to my surprise, had been through a couple of heavy hitters. Her family still lived in the Florida Panhandle when Katrina, the monster of all hurricanes at a category five status, rolled in a few states away. They only got the outer bands, so escaped without much damage; but still, those were as strong as the winds we were currently getting. They’d experienced a couple other hurricanes rolling through, but like my family, they had been far enough away from the coastline that the effects had diminished by the time the storms reached their location.
This was an entirely new experience for both of us. We were out in open waters, no mountains or land in sight to try and sheer off some of the upper level winds. Hell, we were on a freaking island just asking for it. I knew the specs of the house were sound and everything should be fine, but seeing the panic on my girl’s face and feeling the anxiousness of what’s coming combined with the sounds outside—that were too similar to those of bombs and grenades going off—let’s just say that if someone came into the room and said “boo,” we each probably would have either shit our pants or jumped right up to the ceiling.
I guess Erica felt the same way. “I wish this would let up. The noise those trees are making reminds me of the raid we had on the safe house.” We were still on the couch, her body shaking up against mine, which wasn’t doing much better.
Her eyes looked up at mine, “I know you said this house is built to withstand wind, but what about a palm tree falling on it?”
I told her the house would stand, though I had my doubts as well; however, I wouldn’t let her know that. I got up and went to our bedroom to grab our backpacks, guns, her phone, and any other items I thought we might need and brought them downstairs. I suggested we might want to stay on the ground floor until the storm passed and, as another safety, maybe take a shower and get some food just in case the water or power went out.
She didn’t argue with me, allowing me to grab us a change of clothes and our toiletry items. She already had the shower going and a nice steam building, which I thought was perfect to help alleviate the stress and tension in our muscles.
The shower did wonders, and while Erica was drying her hair, I started some oven-roasted chicken, rice, and green beans. I was thankful not to have to eat fish today. I was beginning to think I’d grow gills if I continued on.
While she was finishing up and I was waiting for the food to finish, I started looking around the rooms of the house. I found some candles and several board games to help keep our minds off the storm. We had a backup generator that was supposed to kick in, but it never hurt to be prepared.
I placed the games and candles on the dining table, checked on the food, and then headed back to the room where the ammunition was held. I’d put my sniper rifle in there to keep it safe while we were here. I grabbed it and noticed a small metallic box that enticed me to open it. Bingo. Tranquilizer darts. I’d killed enough men on the battlefield. I didn’t relish the idea of killing anymore, not unless they threatened harm to my Erica. My Erica. Those words brought a smile to my face. So I grabbed the tranquilizer gun and darts too. Why not have some fun with the hitmen if they managed to find their way ashore.
To my surprise, that old expression “Time passes when you’re having fun,” held true. We ate our food and played one board game after another, only looking up at the outdoor monitors when we heard a strange noise.
Erica was a formidable opponent in board games, beating me in Monopoly and Scrabble, but not Yahtzee or Chess. She was smart as a whip, and I loved it.
We hadn’t realized how much time had passed or that the storm had finally passed until the phone rang. “Hey, it’s Rick. Just wanted to let you know we persuaded the Coast Guard to let us take Mr. Prescott’s yacht out to pick you guys up. They’ll probably offer an escort service out to the island. Cat and Jasper are with the crew to lend a hand should there be an issue.”
His words grew silent, and his audible swallow filled me with concern. “The hitmen managed to persuade a fisherman to take them out your direction. So you have inbounds headed your way. Might want to take cover or escape to the safe room. Cat will be in touch when she and Jasper arrive.”