Chaos (Phoenix Undercover #2) (14 page)

Chapter 27

Josh

“You still in the doghouse?” Greyson asked as he flopped down in the chair across from me.

“Fuck you,” I said, refusing to even look in his direction. The bastard witnessed the entire altercation between Gabby and me earlier; not to mention Zara was here too. I felt like an ass the moment Gabby handed me the picture of our son. It was a fucking moment I should have been present for, and now the opportunity was gone.

She had every right to be pissed off. Hell, I was pissed off at myself.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened that kept you from being there?” Greyson wasn’t gonna let up.

“I got wrapped up in new information on Leo, and then Zara showed up out of nowhere,” I confessed as I placed the file I was currently going over onto my desk.

“What new information? And dude, I told you a long time ago to let that shit go with Zara. It was a mess in the making.” Greyson shook his head as he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees.

“Do you have to be so smug about it?” Cocky little fucker was having one of those told-you-so moments.

“Hell yeah, man. Do you realize how long I’ve waited to be right about something you weren’t? So now that shit has happened, I just want to sit back and bask in the essence of its glory.” He grinned brightly, and I suddenly wanted to punch his face. Arrogant prick.

“So really, though, how is Gabby?” he asked, wiping away the smile. “She was pretty upset.”

“And she still is, with good reason. I fucked up big, Grey. I should’ve been there. I just hope she can forgive me.” That she wouldn’t was what worried me the most.

“Give her some time to cool off. Gabby loves you. She may be mad now, but she’ll forgive ya.” I know he was trying to be supportive, but I just wasn’t sure.

***

Hours, that was how long I gave her. I stayed at the office, and Trevor and I went through videos and audio interviews with the doormen and security team at the building that held Leo’s apartment. We had determined the female was around five-foot-six, give or take an inch due to the high heels she wore. She had blonde hair that hung just past her shoulders and walked with a slight limp.

No one in the building recognized her, and most said it was the first time they had seen anyone visit the apartment in months. We had already known that to be true due to surveillance we’d set up since they took me into custody. We had placed one of our men inside the security office of Leo’s building and had a second one posing as a maintenance man. Around-the-clock surveillance was hard to handle, but at least one of our men was there at all times. Plus we had men here at the office keeping tabs on the apartment too.

I wanted to make sure I gave Gabby time, hoping that maybe we could actually talk calmly. I fucking hated the sadness in her eyes, knowing that I was responsible for it. When I entered the apartment and found it dark, I was disappointed. Going to bed angry would never solve anything.

I had started to approach the bedroom when a voice startled me. “You’ve been gone a while.” On instinct I reached for my gun at my back before I realized it was Gabby. My heart raced as I looked through the dark room, barely making out the silhouette of her sitting on the end of the couch.

Laying my keys on the counter, I approached her and took a seat at her side. “What are you still doing up?” I was treading softly here. I had no idea what her current mood was, but I hoped the few hours away from each other would give us both the chance to be more rational.

“Couldn’t sleep.” I could tell she’d been crying, and it made me feel sick. “I’m sorry.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What the hell could she possibly have to be sorry about?

“For what?” I asked.

“I wasn’t very reasonable earlier. I’m not going to blame it on hormones, but they do actually enhance my irritability. I just wasn’t thinking straight earlier, and then when I came to your office and found you there with that girl, I got a little Pregzilla.”

She smiled at her description of herself, and it made me smile too.

“Pregzilla?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Yeah, it just seems fitting. I left the doctor upset about you not being there, and seeing you with her only made it worse. I let my mind get away from me and immediately thought the worst.” She pulled the blanket tighter against her chest. “I guess hearing her talk about something the two of you shared wasn’t on my list of to-dos for the day.”

I leaned back and placed my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Her head rested in the crook of my neck, and I took a moment to just feel her nearness; a moment to breathe her in.

“We didn’t share anything, Gabby. It was a job, a show that was forced and a lot less pleasurable than you envision.” She shifted at my side, but I refused to let her go. “It was shortly after I met you, the night after I found you confused over which wine to choose.”

“I wasn’t confused,” she whispered, and I grinned, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. I left my lips pressed against her for a few seconds before I continued.

“It was the first night I was undercover, and Leo brought in three women. Well, girls more than women. They were barely legal and terrified, and the sick son of a bitch used them as bargaining chips. It was sick.”

I hadn’t really planned on giving Gabby any details regarding that time, but right now my professional life and my private life were growing intertwined. I knew she needed to understand, so I would give her the clean version—well, the clipped version I should say, because nothing involving Leo is clean.

“He wanted a show. The asshole told them it was their job to take care of our needs, and they weren’t the only ones being tested. He wanted to see how Greyson, Mike, and I would react to them, and when we were led to a more private setting that was anything but private, we had to think fast.”

My throat felt tight. Gabby hadn’t spoken. She listened without moving, and not knowing what was rolling through her mind was driving me crazy, but I continued.

“Leo had the room set up with cameras, watching us. So Greyson and Mike each took a girl, and I was left with Zara. Somehow, by luck or maybe because someone was watching over us, we made it through the next hour without doing anything and were able to convince Leo and his men that we enjoyed their gifts.” I let out a breath as Gabby shifted in my arms.

Looking up at me in confusion, she asked “How is that possible? Something like that can’t be faked when you have cameras watching.”

I knew she would want details, and it gutted me that I now needed to give her more. “We told the girls we had no intentions of having sex with them. They were all so innocent, and you could see the relief on their faces. We positioned ourselves in different places around the room where the camera couldn’t see us as well and used the furniture and long, sheer curtains to hide our movements. It wasn’t easy, but I couldn’t do the real thing, for more than just the obvious reasons.”

“Why?” she asked. I knew she already knew, but I understood she needed to hear them.

“Because I met you, and like I told you once before, meeting you changed everything.”

She stared up at me, the back of her head resting on my shoulder, and our eyes locked.

I lowered my lips to hers and prayed the explanation I had given her would be enough.

“How far did it go?” she whispered, and my heart sank.

Closing my eyes tightly, I let the silence set in as I tried to decide how to tell her. “Kissed,” I whispered. “Please don’t imagine something intimate and meaningful, because it was nothing resembling that.”

“Just tell me, please. I won’t understand unless you make me understand. Because I’m seeing the things you’re telling me not to. I’m imagining your hands on her, and hers on you. I’m hearing the—”

“I remained clothed from the waist down, and because we were on the couch and she was on my lap, she did most of the acting. Faking the whole scene between Zara and me was easy; we were hidden for the most part. But Grey and Mike weren’t so lucky. They did have to get undressed. But when you know you’re being watched and if you’re discovered, your life is in the hands of some sick fuck with more weapons than the entire city combined, you do what you have to do. That hour was one of the worst fucking hours of my life.” I wasn’t sure if I should continue, but I needed her to know how much that night fucked with my head. “I came here after, remember? The night I sort of called you out of the blue and we stayed up talking.”

“Yeah, I remember.” When she didn’t say anything else, my mind began to race. Just when I was about to say something, anything to break the silence, she spoke. “You were a mess that night.”

“I was,” I confessed. There was no reason to deny it. That night made me question everything. My ability to do my job, my strength…everything.

“I trust you,” she whispered, and a huge sense of relief washed over me. “I know you wouldn’t willingly hurt me.”

“Never,” I added as I lifted my hand to her face. Cupping her jaw, I tilted her head up and brought my lips to hers.

Our kisses quickly led to more as she crawled onto my lap and straddled me. She was only wearing one of my t-shirts, and I found myself smiling at that. “I love seeing you in my shirt,” I said, and she smiled in return.

“I love you,” she whispered against my lips.

Today had been an emotional roller coaster for the both of us. I just needed to feel her close, touch her, and know that everything would be okay. Gabby was my security, the place I could settle when everything else was fucked up. She kept me grounded and feeling whole.

“I love you, sweetheart,” I said as I ran my hands up her bare thighs and brought them to rest on her hips. “I need to know you forgive me, not just for everything I had to do during that time, but for today too. I can’t say I will ever forgive myself for missing that special moment, but I need to have your forgiveness. I can handle a lot, but you being upset with me rips me apart.”

“I forgive you,” she whispered as she rolled her hips against me, and I hardened beneath her. “I have something for you, but you have to wait to see it.”

“Now you’re just teasing me.” I was trying to focus, but the way she was moving on top of me had my blood flowing to other parts of my body. I had feared coming back to Gabby’s place because I wasn’t sure how things would go. I worried we’d talk and it would only turn into yet another argument, but this was so much better than I anticipated. I felt lighter now that she knew everything—or at least what bothered me most about being undercover. Those memories were always sitting in the back of my mind, making me feel as if I’d wronged Gabby.

“I’m not teasing. I just have other things on my mind right now. The surprise will come later.” She smiled against my lips as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and ran her hands up through my hair.

“Other plans?” I asked, my voice shaking as I spoke, giving away just how much she was affecting me.

“Mmhm,” she moaned as she ground against my now very-hard cock. I grabbed for her shirt and lifted it over her head, baring her breasts. The moment I closed my lips over her nipple and flicked it with my tongue, her body trembled. “Maybe we should move this to the bedroom? Your sisters…” The last thing I wanted was for one of them to find us here on the couch.

“They’re both gone. I’m noticing a trend with that since you brought Grey and Mike around.” Now that she had mentioned it, I did notice the two guys who were more like brothers had been quieter lately. But that thought slowly faded as Gabby slid down my body and positioned herself between my now-parted legs. She bit down on her lip as she began to unbuckle my jeans and lower my zipper. The anticipation of what was to come made my body scream out for her. I fucking needed her hands on me, her mouth wrapped around me.

And the moment she encircled her hand around my cock and pumped once, twice, I was a fucking goner. My head fell back against the couch just as she lowered her mouth over my hardness.

Chapter 28

Gabriella

Being bent over the arm of the couch as Josh pounded into me from behind in the middle of an apartment either of my sisters could enter at any moment should have bothered me, but it didn’t. In fact, I loved it. The thrill only magnified the pleasure.

I could feel myself building toward my release, and from the sounds of it, Josh wasn’t far behind. We were both in a race to finish, seeking the thrill we evoked in each other, driving fast toward that exquisite feeling of the best kind of release.

“So sweet,” Josh groaned as he dug his fingers deeper into my hips. “So perfect.” His deep moan sent chills rolling up my back and along my shoulders.

My body tensed, and heat rushed through my center, causing my toes to curl into the carpet.

“Oh yeah, baby.” He continued to move inside me. “Let go, feel me.”

“Josh.” His name fell from my lips in a weakened whisper, and my insides convulsed around his cock. Within seconds I could feel him releasing inside of me.

I was spent, and he immediately noticed as he pulled back and scooped me up in his arms. I could feel his cum coating my inner thighs, and if I wasn’t so unbelievably exhausted, I would have demanded more. But I could barely hold my eyes open.

He carried me to my room and gently lowered me to the mattress. “Sleep, sweetheart,” he whispered before he kissed my temple.

“Where are you going?” I grabbed his forearm. I didn’t want him to leave, I wanted him close.

“I’m just going out to the living room to pick up our clothes and get my phone. I promise I’ll be right back.” He carefully ran his thumb over my jaw just before his lips touched my head once more. A peaceful feeling washed over me, and I slowly faded away.

***

I woke hours later to find Josh lying next to me, holding his phone out before him as he stared at the screen. He appeared to be mesmerized by whatever he was looking at.

I then remembered the video I had sent to his email just before he came home last night. After our in-depth conversation followed by the most amazing make-up sex I have ever had, I forgot to tell him to check his email.

Earlier today, I had the doctor record the sonogram in progress, then turned it into a video file and sent it to him. I was upset Josh hadn’t been there, but I wanted him to be able to see his child—our son. I wanted him to feel what it felt like to see our boy’s little movements.

His eyes shimmered as he continued to stare at his phone. The sounds of that familiar
swoosh
of our son’s heartbeat filled the silence.

I placed my hand on his arm, causing his gaze to shift to mine. “That was the surprise I was talking about earlier. I forgot to tell you after we…” I let my words fade. He understood where I was going. “I wanted you to be able to see him too.” I smiled as he looked back at his phone, once again hitting Replay.

He was silent for a few moments as he smiled at the screen.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.” The pain in his voice made my throat constrict. “But thank you for doing this for me. I forwarded it to my sister and my dad. They’ll love it.”

“How many times have you watched it?” I asked.

“I’ve lost count,” he confessed.

Seeing a grown man so full of emotion at the sight of his unborn child was so moving. The love he obviously felt for our son only made my love for him stronger. Josh was a man with a heart of gold and that heart showed through in the difficult job he did every day, just like with that girl I’d seen in his office. I had to let go of my worries, because I believed him when he told me it was nothing like I envisioned.

“We’re having a boy,” he whispered, and the way he said it made my heart race.

“Yes, we are,” I replied with a grin.

After the video finished and he placed his phone back on the nightstand, he turned to face me and placed his hand over my stomach. He stretched his fingers across my abdomen as his eyes remained locked on my bump.

“You and our son mean the world to me,” he whispered, still staring at my stomach. “After everything we’ve been through, you’re still here by my side. That means more than you will ever know.”

“I’ll always be here,” I replied.

“Promise?” he asked, and I laid my hand over his.

“I promise,” I whispered. He lifted his head, and our eyes met. “I love you so much.”

Josh leaned over and pressed his lips to mine, offering me a sweet kiss. I had grown to know his moods just by how he kissed. When he feels vulnerable, he kisses me in the most gentle way, so soft and delicate. But when he is ramped up from his day, frustrated and irritable, his kiss is so dominating. He takes control and has the ability to bring me to my knees. I loved and was intrigued by the many sides of Josh.

He slid in closer, wrapped his arm around my waist, and held me close, burying his nose in the crook of my neck as we both slowly faded off to sleep once again.