Deadly Fallout (Red Stone Security Series Book 10) (14 page)

Just like that, he did, his thrusts erratic as he cried out, releasing himself inside her in long, hot streams. It seemed to go on forever as they lost themselves with each other.

As he came down from his high, he let out a protesting groan as he pulled out of her. Her inner thighs were sticky with both their juices, but she was glad when he didn’t rush to grab something to clean up.

Instead, he turned her over, which was good because her limbs were useless noodles right now. Covering her face in sweet kisses, he pulled her close, his big hands sliding up and down her back and settling on her ass as he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him.

Spent, she laid her head on his chest, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck. She could feel his heart beat against her chest, the staccato rhythm steady, if a little faster than normal. “That was amazing,” she murmured, feeling lethargic and satisfied, glad they had nowhere else to be today. Because they were definitely doing that again soon.

After a few minutes passed, he rolled his hips once, his cock already half-hard against her lower abdomen. “Feel like taking a shower with me?”

She grinned against his chest without looking up at him. “You’re a monster,” she muttered.

“You like it.”

That was true. She should be too damn tired but…who was she kidding? If he was up for another round, she was taking full advantage.

Chapter 12

She looked around the grocery store parking lot, making sure no one was paying any attention to her before turning her attention back to Zoe and her new lover. She’d tracked Zoe to Saint Augustine, right down to the beach house she was staying at. It had been so easy, tracking Zoe. All she’d had to do was use the ADM—android device manager—linked to Zoe’s phone. It was Zoe’s own fault for being so stupid, for leaving her email open at work and giving anyone access to her personal information. After that, now she could track Zoe anywhere as long as she had her phone on her and turned on since all her accounts were synced.

So far she hadn’t been able to properly scout the house without getting caught because the street was a dead end and the houses were so far apart she’d be spotted easily if someone looked out a window. She could have gone jogging down the street, but she hadn’t wanted to risk being recognized. Not when she’d come so far.

Instead she’d parked at a gas station at the end of the road where the house was—and waited. It’d been long and tedious to just wait but she didn’t mind being patient. And making sure Zoe paid for all she’d done was worth sitting in her car all day. She wasn’t going to drag this out much longer, not when she had more pressing matters to deal with back home.

With Zoe out of town, she could kill two birds with one stone. Eliminate Zoe and focus on her next love interest. Now that Braddock was dead she needed someone else to fill her bed. Someone better than him. Someone kind and not so narcissistic. While Braddock had had many wonderful attributes, what with being a renowned surgeon and so wealthy, he’d lacked so much emotionally. Her next lover wouldn’t be like that. No, he’d be happy to have someone like her in his life. But only if Zoe was gone.

Now it appeared she’d have the chance to get rid of her sooner than she’d hoped. Just as she’d been about to head back to her motel, she’d seen Zoe’s male friend pulling out onto the street. Now the bitch and he were at a grocery store. Instead of following them inside, even though she desperately wanted to get a peek at Zoe’s face, to see if she was stressed or scared, she wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity.

She knew exactly where they were, and would have a limited time to check out the exterior of the house and come up with a game plan. Well, she didn’t have to decide now. Steering out of the parking lot, she could barely contain the thrill that punched through her.

Soon justice would be done. Zoe would be gone forever. She just needed to decide how she was going to kill Zoe. She’d played out too many fantasies in her head. The one thing she was certain of, she’d have to shoot Zoe’s lover. Maybe not kill him first though. A gut shot so he’d bleed out while Zoe watched. Maybe even make it look like Zoe had killed him then killed herself.

That thought brought on a rush of pleasure. She’d have to make sure she cleaned up all her DNA if she did that, make it appear as if she’d never been there. Once she scouted the house, she’d be able to figure out her exact plan better.

The only thing certain right now was that Zoe was going to die, but she’d watch her friend go first.

* * *

Sawyer looked out the glass sliding door leading to the lower back deck, a frown tugging at his mouth. The sun was now setting and ever since they’d left the grocery store that morning, he hadn’t been able to shake an uneasy feeling. Not the kind where someone was looking at him through a sniper scope, but the kind where something bad was on the horizon.

He could just chalk it up to the whole situation of being in hiding, but something tickled his senses.

“You look way too tense,” Zoe murmured, her arms coming around him from behind as she laid her head on his back.

He covered her arms with his own, linking his fingers through hers. She’d been impressive today, not complaining once that they hadn’t been able to leave except to get groceries. Not that he’d expected her to, but he knew how civilians could be, especially after his last month of training for Red Stone Security. People didn’t like feeling as if they were caged, even if the surroundings were nice, and it could make them react poorly. Not Zoe. “Sorry we couldn’t hit the beach today.”

She laughed lightly against his back. “Stop apologizing for protecting me. Besides it’s cold outside and I’ve had a lot of fun in here with you.” Her voice took on a seductive quality, her grip around him tightening.

Grinning, he reached up and pulled the curtains into place over the door before turning to pull Zoe into his arms. They’d definitely found ways to occupy their time. He’d already fallen hard for this woman. The sex was part of it; their chemistry undeniable, but it was more. Way more. Once they returned to Miami he wanted something serious with her. Hell, he wanted serious right now. “So what did your brother and mom say?” She’d gone up to her room—which he was now sharing with her—to call her family.

“Vincent wants me to come home but my mom’s glad I’m here with you. She likes you a lot.” Zoe paused, watching him carefully, as if debating something.

He liked her mom too but decided not to respond when it was clear she wanted to say more. He’d noticed that she did that sometimes, was silent while she gathered her thoughts. When she didn’t continue, he chose to break the silence, tightening his arms around her waist. “What is it?”

Zoe bit her full bottom lip, her dark eyes filled with too many complex emotions for him to sift through. One of her hands was on his hip but she placed the other on his chest. “You don’t have to say yes, but…if it’s safe enough by then, my mom wanted to invite you over for Christmas dinner. But only if you don’t have plans, don’t feel obligated or anything,” she rushed to add.

Her invitation warmed him, telling him she really did want him in her life. Not just physically. The invitation might have come from her mom, but Zoe wouldn’t have mentioned it if she didn’t want him there. Still, he wanted her to ask. “Your mom invited me? What about you, do you want me there?”

Her cheeks flushed red. “What do you think?”

“I think I want to hear you say the words.”

“You are maddening,” she muttered, a grin pulling at her lips. “Fine, I would like to invite you over for Christmas dinner—and Christmas Eve. It’s not a big deal, but on Christmas Eve we all get together to open one present and play dirty Santa.” For just a moment, a raw vulnerability bled into her gaze before she quickly covered it.

“I’d love to,” he murmured, dropping a soft kiss on her lips. He hadn’t planned to go home this year because it would have been too much travel after just starting a new job, but especially not now when things with Zoe’s stalker were still up in the air. Sawyer had spoken to Carlito a couple hours ago and they were still running down leads. He knew they couldn’t hide out forever and would have to head back to Miami for Christmas no matter if the guy was caught or not.

Her eyes lit up for a second, but then she frowned. “You’re sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

“
Zoe
,” he rasped out before crushing his mouth over hers in a swift, claiming kiss. Though he hated to, he pulled back, his heart rate already kicking up at the simple taste of her. “I don’t feel pressured. I want to date you—and only you.” While his experience with real relationships was limited, he figured he needed to make this clear since it apparently wasn’t.

She watched him for a long moment, her beautiful eyes unreadable. Finally she pressed against his chest. “I’ve got hot chocolate in the kitchen—instant, so don’t get too excited,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips before her expression turned serious. “Let’s drink it while it’s hot and… I need to tell you something.”

His gut clenched at her words and worried expression. He told her that he wanted to date only her and her response was that she wanted to tell him something over instant hot chocolate. That did not sound promising. “Okay.”

Once in the big kitchen she took a seat at the center island, waiting for him to join her before she picked up her mug. “I didn’t know if you wanted marshmallows,” she said, nodding at the open bag. He noticed she’d added a ton to hers.

“Thanks.” He tossed some in, letting them melt while he waited for her to say whatever it was she needed to get off her chest. He just hoped it wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him, because he wasn’t sure how he’d deal with that.

“I’ve only had one serious relationship, which is probably pretty sad, but there it is. I was with Rubin for a couple years. We had a lot in common and… Well, that’s not important.” Her cheeks flushed slightly as she continued. “We were serious and heading for marriage. Or, I mistakenly thought we were. The day after we graduated from med school, he…” She swallowed hard, but didn’t take her gaze from Sawyer. “He ended things because he was getting back together with his ex. He said he’d wanted to wait until after exams to end things because he didn’t want to affect my finals—which was actually really nice of him. The thing is, he was a decent guy. I wish I could talk trash about him and say how awful he was, but… I guess what I’m trying to say is I had the perfect guy on paper and it didn’t work out because I wasn’t enough—”

“Bullshit,” Sawyer snapped out.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“The fact that you didn’t work out with him isn’t because you weren’t enough.” He scowled, the very thought pissing him off.

“Well, whatever the reason, we didn’t work out because he was still hung up on his ex. I really like you, Sawyer.” God he loved it when she said his name. “I’m falling for you faster than I imagined possible to fall for anyone and, I just…” She trailed off and it took him a few seconds to understand what she was saying—or wasn’t saying.

Hoping he wasn’t completely in left field with his assumption, he took her free hand in his. “I’m not still hung up on Audrey.” Even saying her name after so long felt odd. He hadn’t thought about her in years. Zoe stiffened slightly but didn’t pull away and for that he was glad. “I loved her, or thought I did. Back then all I did was travel and as crass as it sounds, she was someone to come home to.” Things had been purely physical between them, he just hadn’t been able to tell the difference, something he didn’t think Zoe needed to hear right now.

“I was in a different place then, gone out of the country more often than not and…if you’re worried that I’m settling or that you’re second to
anyone
, that’s insane. What I feel for you is different than anything I’ve ever felt before. I can see a future with us.” Putting that out there made him feel so damn exposed but he needed her to know, to understand.

She pushed out a long breath, as if she’d been holding it, before a real smile broke out over her face. The kind that made his entire body react. “I can too.”

Thank God.
“Since we’re in confession mode, you should know that I followed you yesterday. After you told me to leave and ran your errands… I was fucking worried and tailed you to make sure no one else was watching you. Once you made it to your street, I headed home.” Now he wished he’d just followed her all the way to her driveway considering the ‘present’ she’d been left on her doorstep. “After what you’ve been through, I just want it out there.”

Her eyebrows raised a fraction. “You followed me to the salon and everywhere else?”

He nodded.

She let out a short laugh. “I think I’m more embarrassed than anything that I didn’t even notice.”

“If you had noticed then I need to find a new job,” he murmured, thankful she didn’t seem angry at him.

Shaking her head, she smiled then leaned closer to him. His whole body tightened as he moved in to cover the distance between them. His cell phone rang, making them both pause. Zoe let out a soft groan and sat back in her seat, plucking her hot chocolate from the counter. “You better see who it is.”

Even though he didn’t want to, he pulled his phone from his pants pocket. When he saw Detective Duarte’s name on the caller ID, he answered immediately. “Yeah?”

Zoe straightened, watching him carefully.

Carlito’s voice came through crystal clear. “Everything’s fine, just calling to check on you guys and to let you know I’ve put in a call to the Saint Augustine PD to let them know what’s going on and to give them your address. If you see a patrol car drive by more than once tonight, that’s why.”