Bane (22 page)

Before long, Maren fell asleep. The progress bar was nearly done. I debated if my decision to not tell Sarge about Hampton was the right one. If I did, that meant I’d have to disclose Maren or lie. Lying was a worse offense than omission. The risk wasn’t worth it. I’d deal with Hampton on my own if he was indeed working for the other side. I hoped to hell he wasn’t.

The screen flashed green.

I clicked and it was one hundred percent confirmed to be Hampton.

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

Scrubbing a hand down my face, I had no idea how far this rabbit hole actually went. Glancing down at Maren, her eyes moved behind her eyelids rapidly. A grimace came on her face, then relaxed. Simply she whispered, “Choose me.”

If only I could.

Another week passed. Eric was either in Missouri, Kansas, or Arkansas.

The more I thought about Hampton, I wondered if they had something on him. Maybe they were forcing him somehow. The only problem was … Hampton hadn’t used any of our code phrases when we talked the last time.

I’d never expected Eric to still be alive, so I guess that proved my judgment lacked in this case. Why after all this time? Putting your faith into anyone always fucked a person over.

Of course, I assumed that Eric and Hampton were still together. It was a gamble, but it was the best I had to go on.

Yesterday, Sarge confirmed they were in Kansas. The team combed through the state to find his exact location. It was only a matter of days before hell rained down on all of them.

Initial briefings were rolling in as the mission was defined. As soon as the location was found, I was going to meet Sarge and a group of Black Division Ops to kill them. There was a no-kill order as the Black Division wanted to question Eric and his team. But accidents happened and I planned on there being no survivors.

Trying to keep Maren unknown to the Black Division hindered my movement. I had to move slower and take fewer risks. If I didn’t survive this, I needed to make sure that Maren was set and able to disappear. Nearly all the pieces were in place.

And maybe, just maybe, part of me didn’t want my time to end with her. I enjoyed this semblance of a life we’d created. Fucked up, I know. Last night, I’d uploaded the possible locations I thought Eric could be to the secure server. It was untraceable from both ends in case someone was compromised.

Against my chest, Maren purred, “Morning, handsome.”

“Morning, angel. I think we definitely have to make it to the grocery store today.” It’d been a week since our attempt to go. I should have waited until we had the food to call Frank, but I wanted answers.

Honestly, I don’t think Maren wanted to leave. She liked the escape the cabin provided. Even through all the stress, I’d been able to provide her what I’d promised. And hell, I was fine with that. She moved to straddle me. “Tell the truth, is it because we noticed we were running dangerously low on condoms last night?” Her tight heat slid down my body.

My dick sought her. “That may be a huge driving force. If I could keep you here naked I would.”

The words were out of my mouth before I thought about them. The tip of her pussy touched my dick. “Would that make me your sex slave?”

Thank goodness she hadn’t gotten those crazy in love eyes with what I’d said. “I think I could make that work.”

Slightly pushing against Maren, I felt the inside of her. Fucking amazing. I needed more. I went deeper.

Maren gasped. “That feels amazing.” Then, she went stiff probably realizing I wasn’t wearing a condom. “I won’t come inside you, angel. But this feels incredible. I’ll stop if you want me to.”

“No, don’t stop.”

A slow rhythm consumed us as I memorized her pussy clenching around me—skin on skin. Hell, I wanted this. Flipping us over, I drove into her harder. Once, just once, I’d have her come around me without a condom on. Maren writhed beneath me.

“Faster.”

I pushed into her at a relenting pace. And then that look of euphoria passed over Maren’s face as she moaned. With my balls drawing up and the tingly feeling spreading out at the base, I knew I was about to come. I wanted to mark the inside of Maren, but I’d promised. Pulling out, I poured my come out onto her stomach.

Best. Damn. Experience. Ever.

I collapsed to the side, completely wrung out. After a few minutes Maren propped up on her elbows. She giggled. “You’re all over me.”

“I like being all over you.”

“Me too.”

Again, we became silent as we approached the precipice that we knew was coming at some point. This would be ending and we’d never see each other again. Stretching, Maren got up. “I’m going to take a shower before we head into town.”

“Sounds good.”

I let her go alone so I could get a hold of all the confusing thoughts going on in my head.

Groceries were put away. Maren was inside reading a book I’d asked the grocer to add. Some new romance book. The grocer said his wife loved it. I knew cabin life had to get old without any entertainment, but Maren was a trooper and never complained. Today, I was going to do something hopefully she’d enjoy.

Picking up the walkie talkie, I radioed Maren. “Hey, angel. Can you meet me out in the shed? Dress warm.”

Within ten seconds, she responded. “Sure thing. Need anything else?”

“No. I’ve got it all.”

About ten minutes later, Maren came through the doors in her heavy gear. She looked adorable as only her nose and mouth showed. “It’s so cold. For future note, you should make any safe houses you have in warmer climates.”

I chuckled. “I do have a couple in warmer climates.” Her mouth gaped open. “It’s harder for someone to check the place out. With the constant fresh snow there’s no way not to leave footprints and because of the echo from the mountain it’s nearly impossible to approach by air without being heard.”

“Yeah … I’ll leave the super-agent stuff up to you. What did you want? My book was getting good.”

Shaking my head, I responded, “I thought we could take the snow mobile out and look around.”

Maren’s eyes lit up like I knew they would. She’d asked several times, but I hadn’t felt comfortable leaving. With things coming to an end in a week, I wanted us to have this memory. She jumped and clapped. “Where do I sit?”

“In front of me. Hop on the right one. I’ll grab the backpack.”

Donning the backpack, I sat behind Maren and pulled her flat against my chest. “Put these glasses on.”

“Okay.” Maren’s face was now completely protected.

Cranking the snow mobile, we left the confines of the shed. The machine roared to life as I let her go full open. Maren chortled as she held on to my legs. We were free of all the bullshit and strings life attached to us. If I could freeze this moment, it would be one of those perfect times to stay suspended in.

Coming to the cliff, the sun crested before its final descent, sending beautiful rays of red and purples across the sky. “Oh, Bane. This is perfect.”

I wrapped my arms around her. “It is.”

“I’ll always remember this moment. Just like this. The sun setting, you wrapped around me. Thank you.”

“Me too, angel. Thank you.”

For the first time in a long time, I felt complete and the memories of the past were at peace.

WE’D BEEN AT the cabin for a month. It had been a week since our snow mobile experience. I was certain in that moment something changed between us, but Bane hadn’t told me that we’d try to make it work after all the drama was over.

It was the middle of the night. Bane left the bed about an hour ago to check some things on the computer. For most of the night, I’d tossed and turned feeling out of sorts and like Bane was withholding something from me. Deep down I knew our time was coming to an end.

Turning over, I looked at the red glowing numbers.

I tried to think warm happy thoughts, but I was jittery. At dinner, I’d barely eaten anything from the weird feeling pulsating through me. Bane read something on the computer this afternoon and became more quiet than usual. For some reason, I hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask him about it. Hell, I knew it was going to be something I wouldn’t like.