CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Cara
I PACED THE motel room, biting my nails as we waited for Mark to return. It was two minutes away from an hour and every second felt like an eternity. I didn’t know what was delaying him, but I prayed that we didn’t leave without him. I didn’t want to imagine what that meant.
“We can’t wait anymore. I’m calling his boss.” Mark had shoved his phone at Sean as we exited the truck and made him promise to follow through. Sean had nodded and hustled us into the motel.
“No, don’t call yet. We need to give him another few minutes. Please, Sean.”
“Cara, I understand that you want to wait for him, but this isn’t about us. He was protecting Vanessa and that’s who I need to think about. If we wait any longer, we risk someone finding us.”
“I say we wait. Mark’s been good to me and I don’t want to leave him behind,” Vanessa chimed in. I sent her a grateful look, but Sean shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but we have to call it in. Besides, did you ever think that he might need help? His team can’t help him if they don’t know this is going on.”
It made sense, but I had a feeling Sean was placating us. He dialed the phone as we all waited for it to ring.
“Cash, my name is Sean Donnelly. I’m a friend of Mark Sinn. My sister and I were with him when he picked up Vanessa Adams, but he dropped us at a motel when we were followed. He was attempting to get rid of his truck and told me to call if he wasn’t back in an hour.”
He listened to the other end for a minute and I wished he would put it on speakerphone.
“We haven’t heard anything yet. He said I needed to get Vanessa back to Reed Security. I’m a detective with a police department back in Pennsylvania. I can escort her back there, but I need a vehicle.”
I shook my head. This was all so wrong.
“Of course. I understand that.”
His face fell and it brought tears to my eyes. They weren’t going to help us. The door swung open and Mark walked in looking like a wet corpse. Relief filled me as I ran to him and threw myself into his arms. He barely stayed on his feet and I could feel him struggling to keep his arms around me.
“Cash, he’s here. Hold on.”
Sean threw the phone to Mark, who caught it and brought it to his ear. “Yeah, Cash. Just barely made it out. Whoever it was thinks we’re at the bottom of the lake.” I gasped when I realized what he was saying. “I need an SUV dropped at the corner of twelfth and Broadway. There’s a parking lot that’ll be perfect for a drop off. No, I’ve got Sean with me. He’s all the backup I need. Yeah, I’ll be in touch.”
He hung up the phone and tapped my arm. I let go of my strangle hold on him and backed away. He flopped down in a chair and ran a hand over his face.
“Decided to go for a swim, huh?” Sean asked.
“Seemed like a good time of year for it. The weather’s perfect.”
“Have to say, I’m not really much of a swimmer. Glad I wasn’t there.”
“Yeah, I much prefer swimming pools to the lake, but a very nice older gentleman decided to take a swim with me, so it wasn’t so bad.”
“An older man, huh? Does that mean you’re switching teams?” Sean asked with a smirk.
Mark flipped him off and laid his head back against the chair.
“What the hell is going on? You’re talking all cryptic and you’re soaking wet. What happened?” I was on the verge of totally losing it if someone didn’t explain.
“Not much. We got what we wanted.”
“Which is?”
“Whoever’s after Vanessa thinks we’re dead, at least for the time being.” He wasn’t telling me everything, but he didn’t need to. He had almost been killed.
“What’s the plan?” Sean asked.
“We leave after dark. Cash is getting a vehicle for us, but I don’t want to leave until we have better cover.”
“What’s going to happen to me?” Vanessa asked.
“We’re taking you back to Reed Security. You’ll be staying there until we can figure out what your father has gotten you into.”
Vanessa nodded and sat down on the bed. She seemed to be exhausted and I realized for the first time that I felt the same way. I had taken anxiety meds on the plane and it was catching up with me now.
“I’ll take first watch. Sinner, why don’t you get cleaned up? Ladies, you get some sleep.”
Vanessa laid down instantly on one of the double beds and I laid down on the other. It was then I realized that I didn’t have my purse with me. I must have dropped it in the truck. I prayed that everything would go okay the rest of the trip or I could end up causing a lot of trouble for Mark.
✯✯✯✯✯
I was drifting in and out of sleep. The pills always made it a little difficult to wake up all the way, so I laid there in a warm cocoon until my body fully woke.
“So, what the hell happened after you dropped us off?”
“I was just about to leave the truck and I got rammed in the side and pushed into the lake. I almost didn’t make it out of the truck. I passed out on my way to the surface, but an older man saw me go in and waited to see if anyone would come out. He must have seen me because he was the one that pulled me out of the water.”
“Is he going to be a problem?”
“I don’t know. I gave him all the money I had left and asked him to keep it to himself, but who knows. That’s why we need to leave ASAP. If it gets out that someone walked away, they’ll be coming after us again.”
“I’ll go find you some clothes. Give me ten minutes and I’ll be back.”
I heard the door snick shut and then felt a warm body snuggle under the covers next to me. Prying my eyes open, I saw Mark looking at me in question. I gave him a soft kiss as I gazed into his eyes.
“I’m sorry I said those horrible things to you.”
“I’m sorry I left,” he said gruffly. My hands drifted over him and I realized that he wasn’t wearing any clothes. He shuddered as I ran my hands over his chest, glad that I finally had him back in my arms.
“What’s going to happen when we get back to Pennsylvania?” I asked.
He shook his head slightly. “Let’s get there first and then worry about what happens next.”
“Are you going to leave?”
“I don’t have a job there anymore.”
“What if I came here?”
“What would you do? My job keeps me busy for days at a time, sometimes weeks. You would be all alone here.”
It didn’t sound as if he was too hopeful about our future, so I kept my mouth shut and just laid next to him. Sean walked in a few minutes later and tossed a bag of clothes on the bed. “I got you new shoes, too. Figured you wouldn’t want to walk around in wet ones.”
“Thanks, man.” He sat up and headed for the bathroom in just his boxers, taking the bag with him. I couldn’t help but ogle his body as he walked away. He was perfectly sculpted. I didn’t know what would happen from here, but I knew I didn’t want to waste another minute wondering what the future held. I climbed out of bed and scrambled to the bathroom. I could hear the shower running already, so I quickly stepped inside and undressed. When I pulled back the curtain, Mark was leaning with his forehead against the shower wall, letting the water cascade over his body.
Stepping inside, I wrapped my arms around his large frame and pressed my cheek to his back. His large hand wrapped around mine and squeezed. Grabbing a washcloth off the towel bar, I added some soap and started washing his body. He had a jagged cut across his bicep that looked like it might need stitches and he had multiple bruises forming across his torso. I washed him as gently as I could, but I didn’t miss the occasional wince.
He turned around and looked into my eyes for a moment. I wished he would say something. I wished he would tell me what was running through his mind, but instead he leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips. I felt his erection against my belly as he pressed himself closer to me. As the kiss grew more heated, I ran my hand down his happy trail and gripped his erection. He hissed as I slowly pumped him up and down, and he gripped my hair tightly as I worked him to orgasm. His breathing sped up when I grabbed his sack and slowly massaged him.
“Damn, Lollipop.” My heart practically burst open at the nickname. It was strange no doubt, but it made me light up inside. He groaned as hot semen shot out into my hand. His hips bucked once more and then he released my hair and pulled me in close. His heart pounded against my cheek and he slowly ran his fingertips along my spine like he was trying to soothe himself.
Then his touch turned sexual as his fingers gripped my waist and he kissed me deep. His tongue stroked mine as he brought a hand to my face to hold me to him. He kissed down my neck and then lifted me so he could take my nipple into his mouth. His hands gripped the backs of my thighs as he held me against his mouth. My pussy clenched as he sucked and teased my nipples. I moaned as he took my mouth once again and pushed me up against the shower wall. I let one foot fall to the floor to support myself as his fingers slid through my heat.
“Oh, God.” I moaned as he pushed a finger inside me and slowly slid it in and out. When his thumb brushed against my clit, I practically screamed, but he swallowed my cries with his mouth. He bit and nipped at my neck and ear as he pumped his fingers harder and harder inside me.
“Fuck, Lollipop. Come all over my fingers.” I was panting as he rubbed my clit with his thumb, so close to falling over the edge. Electricity zapped through me as my body clenched around his fingers. “That’s it, squeeze my fingers. God I wish you were milking my cock right now. I’m already hard for you again.”
I was trembling as we stood under the hot water and I was just about to tell him that we should definitely take care of that when someone pounded on the door.
“Enough fucking, it’s time to go.” Mark smiled at me as I covered a laugh. “Christ, I can’t believe I had to hear that,” he muttered as he walked away.
“Another time, Lollipop.” He gave me a kiss and then handed me a towel. I hadn’t actually cleaned myself, but my hair was soaked. After quickly towel drying it, I got my clothes back on, which felt absolutely disgusting, and stepped back into the room. Vanessa was sitting on the bed smirking at me as I walked out with a red face.
“Did you really have to do that with me in the next room?” Sean asked.
“Buy some fucking ear plugs,” Mark said as he walked out of the bathroom. I stuck my tongue out at Sean and he shuddered.
“It’s getting dark out, so we should probably hit the road,” Sean grumbled.
“Can we grab something to eat soon? I’m starved,” Vanessa said as she rubbed her belly.
“Yeah, but we should stick to drive thrus until we put some distance between us and this place.”
As long as we stuck to drive thrus I would be fine. There was no point in telling anyone that my meds were now at the bottom of the lake with my purse and Mark’s truck. There was nothing that could be done about it and I didn’t want everyone watching me, waiting for me to freak out.
“Alright, Sean, stay here with the girls while I go get the truck. I shouldn’t be more than ten minutes.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think we should all go together so we can take off,” Sean said. “We need to stick together now. Besides, unless you picked up some weapons along the way, we only have one gun.”
Mark nodded and grabbed my hand. “Alright, let’s get a move on.” He pulled me toward the door and held up a hand for Sean to stay where he was.
“Lollipop, I need you to stick with Sean and do whatever he says. I trust him one hundred percent, but Vanessa is my responsibility right now. I need to be the one guarding her. Besides, if someone comes after her, you’re safer away from us.”
I nodded and walked over to Sean, knowing that my big brother would protect me. As we walked outside, the fear of everything really started to hit home and I gripped Sean’s hand hard. With every step, my heart pounded faster in my chest. The usual feelings of nausea started to swirl and now I understood what the doctor was talking about. This was nothing like daily anxiety. This was one of those times that my fast acting pill would really be appreciated.
We walked along the littered streets toward the corner parking lot that was just another block away. Someone stepped out of an alley up ahead and stood there for a moment before turning and walking toward us. Bile rose in my throat and spots danced in front of my eyes. This wasn’t the time to black out, but I could feel it start to take over my body. My legs were turning to jelly as the man approached and as he passed, I swore his eyes bore a hole in my head.
Sean gripped my arm under the elbow to try and hold me up, but it was too late. I was going down, but I never actually hit the concrete.
“Shit,” Sean swore as he grabbed me under the legs.
The sky spun above me as Sean hoisted me into his arms and carried me the rest of the way. It felt like we were moving faster now, but my eyes were fluttering open and shut and I couldn’t be sure what was happening. My head lulled back as we seemed to come to a stop.
“Did you find it?”
“Got it.”
I was placed in the backseat and then Sean was there with me, holding my head in his lap as I finally let go and passed out.
✯✯✯✯✯
“Is she okay?”
“She’s fine, Sinner. Just get us the fuck out of here.”
I couldn’t have been out for long because the truck started up moments later and we were driving down the road.
“Is she still out?” Mark sounded anxious and I didn’t like him sounding so worried about me.
“I’m okay,” I mumbled.
I tried to get up, but Sean held me down. “Just relax, Cara. Take it easy.”
“Lollipop, you okay back there?”
“I’m okay, I promise.” I felt ridiculous now and I was sure Vanessa was thinking I was a lunatic. She was the only one that didn’t know what was going on. As if she read my thoughts, she turned around to face the backseat.
“If it makes you feel any better, I pass out if I have to speak in public.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you know, most people suffer from something and if you talk to people about your issues, most will instantly feel more relaxed and open up to you about what bothers them.”
“Cara’s issues aren’t quite so black and white,” Mark said.
“They never are, but everyone has problems.”
She turned around and stared out the window at the dark sky.
“I don’t think anyone’s following us, but we’ll still have to change vehicles when we get out of state.”
“Does Cash have vehicles set up for you along the way?” Sean asked Mark.
“He will, I just need to let him know how we decide to get back home.”
“What were you doing in California?” Vanessa asked. “Are you working out there now?”
“Yeah, I work for Owens Protection and Security.”
“So, you don’t work for Reed Security anymore?”
He gripped the steering wheel tighter as he answered. “No.”
I sat up and held my head as my headache became more pronounced. “What did you mean earlier when you said that you lost your job because of me?”
“Let’s not talk about this now, Lollipop. I really need to concentrate and I can’t do that if I’m ready to murder someone.”
That was ominous sounding, so I rested my head against Sean’s shoulder and let myself drift off to sleep.