All is Lost (All Series, Book 2) (3 page)

Damn Breesan, what are you
doing to me baby?

Needing a diversion, I notice the
stacks of boxes lining one side of the attic. Popping the top on
the first box, I find it full of journals, just as Breesan said. I
pick up the one lying on top and carefully flip to the first
page.

May 16, 1980

Dear Diary,

Today is the first day of
stupid summer camp. I really hate that my parents forced me to come
here!!! I'm the only girl on the camp swim team who's also on the
school swim team. That's a relief. I can't stand any of the girls
on my school team. They are all mean and the boys are just stupid.
It's different here though. Some of the older boys are being really
nice to me. At least they talk to me. And one of them is really
cute. I didn't want to come this year, but I'm kind of happy about
it now. More tomorrow diary! XO Julia Madison

This is a young Julia's diary. There's
probably not going to be anything significant from over twenty
years ago in this book so I return it and take out the next book.
It is dated a couple of months after the first one. I groan looking
around the room, realizing that there are at least thirty boxes
stacked in here. Surely, they can't all be packed with diaries. If
so, finding something useful is going to take a lot longer than I
expected.

I drop the book back into the box and
shift it out of my way. I open the next lid and see that it too is
filled with journals dated a couple of years later. When Breesan
said she had journals I didn't think Julia had written down every
damn detail of her entire life. I blow out a loud breath and run my
hand through my hair.

“
Dammit Julia,” I
growl.

I hear a sound and turn to
see Breesan freshly showered, her long hair hanging loose and still
dripping water.
Someone was eager to get
back to me.
I smile at that thought and
because she is my beautiful woman.
She is
wearing a faded Labyrinth tee-shirt and blue denim shorts. She's
petite, but her tan legs look long and sexy today in those shorts
and gray tennis shoes. I bite back a groan as my eyes slowly peruse
every detail of her sweet body.

A sound echoes in the room
again and I realize Breesan is giggling. She walks toward me and my
hand automatically dumps all the shit I’m holding back into the
box. She reaches me and wraps herself in my embrace.
Mine
. I absorb her body
into mine, squeezing her tightly. She is so soft and her scent is
incredibly sweet.

I inhale the scent of her
and moan into her hair, “You smell unbelievable,” I say with a
thick desire in my voice.
Damn I sound
like a lusty teenager
.

“
It's cherry scented
lotion.” She shrugs her shoulders “I love cherries.” She stays in
my embrace, gripping me tightly around the waist.
Mmm
. “Anything good?” She
whispers against my chest.

“
Uh, Hell,” I lost my train
of thought. It takes a moment for me to register what she means and
it finally hits me that she means Julia's stuff. Looking around the
room full of boxes, I laugh mockingly. “I could be here for a while
reading all of these journals. Do you know if there is anything
besides journals in these boxes?”

She looks up at me from under her long
eyelashes and shakes her head. I run my hand down her hair and
stare back. Her teeth begin chewing on the inside of her cheek
working at a nervous pace until she pulls the side of her bottom
lip in, giving it the same torment. I bend down and take the
innocent lip into my mouth intending to rescue it from her assault,
but soon discover that I need to punish it myself.

Drawing that sweet plump
lip between my lips, I drag my teeth over the inside then ever so
lightly I pull the juicy delight between my lips and suck. Liking
my technique she begins to mimic my actions.
Damn I like the way her teeth scrape over my
lip
. Her nibbling is much easier and softer
on my lip compared to the attack I just gave her delicate one. I
break contact, but don't pull too far away. Just like magic, I am
completely flabbergasted by my soul’s reaction when I am rewarded
with my favorite smile.

Placing my lips against the corner of
her mouth, I whisper, “Are we alone?”

“
Yeah.” She nods. “I don't
know where Julia could be. Shouldn't you know?”

I pull away slightly. “Normally I
would, but when I'm not on duty I stay as far away from her as
possible.”

“
I can't blame you on that
one. I get away from her every chance I can too. I guess you also
know that she is supposed to go to Italy for a couple of months
this summer. I thought she would have left already, but apparently
Julia doesn't do anything I expect her to do.”

“
Wednesday was the last
time I spoke with her. She paid me for the rest of the month and
told me that she was leaving next week. I assume that means you are
expecting to stay here alone.” I watch as her body tenses and she
trembles lightly. “Hey, I'm not going to let you stay alone. That
is, if you don't want to stay alone. I won't make you do something
you don't want to do, but I will either be in the house with you or
I'll sleep in my car. I can't have you too far from me anymore,
especially after the shit that went down last night.”

“
Oh yes, I…” Her breath
catches. “I want you to stay. I mean I don't want to stay alone. If
you want to stay, that would be fine.” She sweetly stammers her
reply, but her demeanor shifts quickly. She steps back, moving away
from me and puts her hand on her hips, staring hard at
me.

“
I won't make you stay in
your car either.” She crosses her arms in annoyance. “I can't
believe you would even suggest something so dumb.”

“
Easy killer,” I say
playfully, stepping closer. “I just didn't want to make you feel
uncomfortable.” I place my hand on her delicate neck. “Breesan, I
feel really protective over you. It's good that you want me here
too, but you need to know that I may do shit like sleeping in my
car outside of your house to keep you safe, whether you want me to
or not.”

She sighs, “I know.”

That went easier than I expected. I
kiss the tip of her nose and swing her around directing her toward
the stairs. I smack my hand against her ass causing her to jump.
She lets out a loud whimper, stops and whips around, facing me. I
smile and shrug my shoulder as she rubs her hand over the sensitive
spot. She giggles and I'm shocked once again, not only by her mild
reaction, but that I would do such a thing to her. I've never
smacked a woman’s ass before. I grab two boxes and follow Breesan
out the door staring after the spot my hand made contact with. I
chuckle at my bravery as I place the boxes in my Jeep then walk
over to her car. I give her a soft kiss telling her that she'll get
many more later.

Once I've securely tucked her into her
vehicle I start toward the meeting location for the debriefing.
Last night before she passed out the investigator spoke briefly
with her about the shooting, but I informed them she was just a
random victim like everyone else. Rhys had them divert all other
questions to him, keeping our little case out of the spotlight.
It’s imperative that we don’t expose ourselves during all of
this.

I take the long gravel road
off the main highway that leads to Rhys drive. He lives on a
secluded compound about twenty minutes away from the city center.
It's secured with fencing and an electric gate. I turn onto the
drive and hit the buzzer on the call box outside Rhys’. It only
takes a second for him to buzz me inside. Cameras at the gate allow
him to see without having to ask who I am. I park noticing vehicles
that belong to my team and another I don't recognize. I open the
front door and walk in and I’m immediately greeted by my sister
with a warm hug. My body tensed up once I left Breesan and it seems
the further I get from her, the more agitated I become.
This meeting better move the fuck
along
.

“
Hey,” Sam smirks. “I
wasn't sure if we would see you
today
.” She releases me, turns and
walks down the hallway.

Something about her tone pisses me off
and I snap, “Oh really? Well, I'm here now. No need to
worry.”

“
I wasn't worried.” She
halts her steps at the entrance to Rhys office and turns to face
me. “Just thought you'd be
preoccupied
,” she air quotes with her
fingers. One of my pet peeves, and that's why she does it, but
because it’s her I chill out on my attitude. “I really thought
you’d blow off this meeting. That's all.” She hides a laugh.
“Besides, if your girlfriend really is in danger I can't
believe
you
would
let her out of your sight.”

“
Can't lie, I'm freaking
out, but I followed her to the hospital then Raithe picked up her
trail, following her into the parking garage.” I pause then admit,
“She's safe enough.”

“
I understand. Really I
do.” She leans in whispering, “Try not to worry too much and maybe
the blowhard over there will talk fast.” Pointing in Rhys’
direction, she winks.

I watch as Rhys’ eyes glaze over,
following Sam as she walks across the room. I also didn’t miss the
red color creeping up the back of Sam’s neck as she sits, turning
her body away from him after breaking eye contact with him. The way
they react toward each other reminds me of me and
Breesan.

Maybe I'm not the only one wanting
this meeting to end soon because I have better shit to do. Sam and
Rhys dated for a short time. Once they were placed on the same team
they agreed it would be better for everyone that they didn't date
anymore. It's been nearly a year since they broke up, but it's
obvious they are still attracted to each other. Sam won't talk
about it with me, but I know she still loves him.

Hell, even I know Rhys fell
completely head-over-heels for her. They're both too stubborn to
admit that the job isn't the most important thing in this world, or
that their feelings never went away. I walk across the room and
take the seat next to Rhys’ desk. Kole rolling his eyes
dramatically looks bored with his phone pressed against his ear. I
can over hear the person on the other end. It definitely sounds
work related with several “yes sirs and no sirs” in between long
silent pauses on Kole's end.
Dammit, let’s
get on with this bullshit
.

Chapter Two

Morgan

Seagulls cawing and a swaying motion
are the worst fucking things to wake up to with a hangover the size
of Texas. The heat from the mid-morning sun along with the amount
of alcohol I consumed last night has me pouring sweat while lying
under the covers. Flinging back the damp sheet, I draw both legs
out plopping them on top, and instantly feel the coolness. I groan
loudly at the effort it took just for that small movement and the
sound pierces my brain painfully. I slap both hands over my
face.

“
Oh, mother fucker,” I
whisper to myself. “Shit, my head is killing me. How much did I
drink?”

I roll to the side of the bed and
traipse to the bathroom in search of relief. After attending to
nature’s call, I spot the shower and decide that it couldn't hurt.
I step into the water that comes out instantly heated. One of my
favorite features about my dad's yacht is the endless hot water. I
laugh at the irony. When Barret Walker finds out about the decision
I made last night to leave the family business and do what I want
to do instead, that's exactly where I'll be.

“
Fuck you dad.” I spit
louder than I intend and painfully remember my throbbing
head.

My life is
shit
! There have only been a handful of
people that I have actually given a damn about at some point or
another in my life. Family, friends and one conquest tops the short
list. I do however have a reasonably long list of associates that I
network with, some whose business enterprises are on the nefarious
side. Although I’ve never dabbled in most of their particular
trade, it never hurts to have such contacts. However, all of that
shit is just business–no friendships were formed. Perhaps it is
time to rectify that small detail and get new friends. I am tired
of all the bullshit held over my head by my family. Some sinful
gratification could be my bullshit eraser, making me very
happy.

As of late, the people I
consider actual friends, those that I truly want in my life have
dwindled down to just a couple. Honestly, except for my
grandparents, no one really gives a damn about me. After the sting
my heart took from last night’s revelation, I can’t even commit
to
them
any
longer. So after a short deliberation, I conclude that my life is
ruled by other’s selfish agenda’s, and that completely sucks.
Moving forward from today, the only person I want to give a damn
about is
me
.

Morgan Walker, son of
Barret and Haleigh Walker, heir to the world renowned Walker
Corporation and the future husband to Elise Carrington no longer
exists. I am so done with killing myself piece by pathetic piece,
hoping I live up to my father’s expectations–which would only end
with me being the one who gets shit on. Feeling like my heart has
been ripped from my chest after losing the one woman that I finally
know is
the
one
for me, I have made a decision–I’m done.