Hearths of Fire (34 page)

“Oh God.” The words slipped past Charlotte’s lips in a moan that came from deep within her. When his teeth grazed the swollen bud that was all it took for her to use her toes in order to lift her body and cause his cock to thrust into her over and over again. “I can’t take any more.”

“Rub your clit, Char,” Neal ordered after he released her nipple from his nibbling teeth. She instantly let go of her breast and slipped her fingers in between their bodies. Again, there was no need to gather her cream as her entire pussy was a puddle. Her clit was engorged and pulsated with each stroke of the pads from her fingertips. “Don’t let up until you come for me.”

Over and over Charlotte rubbed her clit until those previous lights behind her eyelids returned as if she were witnessing fireworks from the Fourth of July. She couldn’t prevent the smile that covered her face as she felt his shaft swell with his own release, finally pumping his seed into the reservoir at the tip of the rubber. Her orgasm didn’t recede until he’d buried his face into her neck and she felt the vibrations of his groans throughout her upper body. There wasn’t a part of her that hadn’t been affected by their release.

Charlotte wasn’t sure how long they stayed joined together this way, but the ringing of his cell phone finally penetrated through the fog that her brain had created. She didn’t want to move, but she knew that it might be important. Using his shoulders as leverage, she moaned as she lifted her grasping pussy off of his enduringly erect cock. The empty feeling inside of her wasn’t something she felt comfortable with anymore. In a pleasant wonder, Neal didn’t walk away. Instead he stood and pulled her into his arms. She was almost afraid to say she felt loved when his warm lips pressed against her forehead. There was a tenderness in his kiss that she hadn’t felt for over eight years.

“I have to get that,” Neal murmured, pulling away and allowing her tingling skin to cool ever so slightly. “Let’s hope it’s something that will take care of Mandy’s problem. Then we’ll worry about ours.”

Charlotte took a step back as Neal leaned down and pulled his jeans back up around his waist. He still needed to take care of the condom, but his phone was still ringing. He sprinted into the living room to answer it, leaving her in the kitchen to sort out the feelings he’d invoked with those last five words. Her English major kicked in as she considered his verb. Yes,
worry
was the correct term. It encompassed everything in her life at the moment. She hadn’t misspoken before though…she’d take this one moment at a time.

‡

N
eal came out
of his room after having taken a quick shower to find Charlotte sitting at the kitchen table in the same chair they’d just had sex in. She’d pulled her hair back into some type of clip, so the strands fell around it in soft waves. Her lips weren’t swollen like he preferred them to be, but that was his fault. He’d been too preoccupied to kiss her properly. He also refused to think about how his decision to continue their intimacy might affect the two of them. He would have to make up for the quickness of their act later tonight, but they had more important things on their agenda right now.

The older member from the cult had been the one to call earlier. He’d finally had a chance to slip into town and from what he’d alleged, the police had missed the trapdoor behind the altar which was the main entrance into the subterranean area beneath the compound. It was hard to make out the man’s words, as they were muffled against some phone. He had to have used some place of business to engage the call for there were no longer any public pay phones in the town of Hearth.

Neal could have taken the information to the sheriff or the state police, but at this point they weren’t likely to take the blame for missing a concealed door that was right under their feet. Besides that, the fact was that none of what he had alleged to the police had panned out and that brought the probable cause for the warrant into question. The only thing passing this intelligence on to the local authorities would do is to somehow leak word to the Ashes that Neal was aware of this hidden access point and possibly alert them to the presence of an informer. If they did have Becky, the Ashes might do something drastic and he couldn’t take that chance.

“Neal, I think I’ve figured it out,” Charlotte said, excitement in her voice that was just as evident in her sparkling blue eyes. When he looked at the table in front of her it was to find the photos he’d taken at the Ashes’ residence. He ignored the rich smell of coffee that he’d yet to have after he’d woken up earlier. “Look here.”

Charlotte stood, the chair squeaking slightly behind her as she did so. She had used scraps of paper to place underneath each name, giving substance to what she’d discovered. He immediately comprehended where she was going with this as he came to stand beside her.

“Carl is a mechanic. Lindsey is a teacher. Frank is a farmer and Mandy is going for nursing. The Ashes even had a photograph of Deputy Bryan. He’s in law enforcement.” Charlotte placed her finger on another picture and pulled it down in front. “David Kozlow is an engineer at the power plant. Each of these people would be able to contribute a skillset toward enabling the cult to be self-sustaining.”

“They’re recruiting different people from various occupations. The police have to have found these photos and the map during their search, which means they are trying to determine the meaning of the same puzzle.” Neal ran through different scenarios through his mind in regards to what the sheriff or the state police would do with this information. Technically they would interview the people but if the cult had yet to make contact with them…there would be nothing to tell them except the same vague story they all knew. It wasn’t illegal to have pictures of people. “You did really good, Char. I’m going to make a phone call and see if I can’t get this situation resolved in a safe and legal manner without further police involvement.”

“What do you mean?” Charlotte looked at him inquisitively while she started to stack up the papers and pictures. “And if it’s that simple, why didn’t you say something before?”

“Unfortunately it’s
not
simple or certain, for that matter.” Neal couldn’t resist kissing the top of her head and inhaling the sweet floral fragrance that her hair never seemed to be without. It fueled him on for what he needed to do. “I’m going to go out onto the porch though. I think it best we show that we’re not afraid of Ashes to Dirt and considering they don’t know that Mandy is gone, it’s best to keep up appearances. I figure once the police gave them the all clear, Robert and Patricia will have their members back out on patrol in force.”

Neal could see the numerous questions flood through Charlotte that she wanted to ask, but since he really didn’t have any answers yet he walked out of the kitchen to his destination. He closed the front door firmly behind him, wishing he’d grabbed that damn cup of coffee he’d been wanting since he’d gotten up. He wouldn’t go back inside though until he had made his proposal to Starr and Gunny.

Before he took a seat on the front step of Charlotte’s porch he casually glanced around the neighborhood. It was in the middle of a Monday so he assumed the majority of the residents were at work. There was an older gentleman that sure looked like Mr. Mangus, his chemistry teacher back in high school, down four houses raking the leaves from the large oak tree in his front yard. There was no sign of any strangers roaming the streets wearing black clothing. That sure as hell didn’t mean they weren’t around.

Pulling his cell out of the front pocket of his jeans, he swiped the screen and entered his pin. He selected his speed dial buttons and hit HRT’s operations line. He rested his feet on the step below, relaxing his elbow against his right knee. There was a slight breeze that had a nip in the air and Neal figured it wouldn’t get above sixty degrees today or for that matter, the rest of the week. Perfect weather for what he planned to take place in a few days.

“Talk to me,” Gunny barked into his phone on the other end of the line.

“I figure if I’ve timed it right I’ve got around five minutes to convince you to bring the team to Missouri.” Neal figured it was best to get his request out there, similar to ripping a bandage off in one swipe. He’d certainly done it enough while on his combat tour to know it was more effective. “You got your stopwatch?”

“Why the fuck would you think I would even consider authorizing something like that?”

“Starr tell you about this cult I’m dealing with?”

“That your ex-fiancée’s sister got herself caught up with a bunch of nuts who believe their son is the messiah?” Gunny’s voice had a touch of humor in his words that Neal didn’t appreciate, but then again his lead operator didn’t know the circumstances…yet. “Yeah, Starr mentioned it. That isn’t our concern and you know it. You’re due back here tomorrow.”

“What if I said the same cult you’re referring to kidnapped a seventeen-year-old girl and the police have been unable to do shit about it?” Neal could sense that he finally had Gunny’s attention. “The police searched the property and found no trace of her. I have an internal informant who’s saying that the girl is definitely there. My gut is telling me that the sheriff thinks I’m causing a stink due to Mandy’s involvement. If I push any harder for Plinkton to continue looking he’ll back off indefinitely and fix his sights on another alleged lead. I’m telling you…Rebecca Garson is on that property. I think this is a great opportunity to practice our non-lethal force hostage rescue mission on a live situation. It’ll be a valuable training tactic for the team.”

“Say I were to agree with you, although I’m not saying that just yet. Who would foot the bill for this excursion?”

“I would.” Neal came to the conclusion that it was the only way. Becky’s parents didn’t make enough in a year for what this would cost in flights, hotels, preparation, gear, and anything else that might be needed. It was a small price to pay to find the girl and eradicate any threat that may still pose for Mandy. If that meant putting off that fishing boat he wanted, so be it. “Dock my pay.”

“Son of a bitch, Doc,” Gunny bit out, clearly annoyed that Neal would even make this proposal. It was a damn good one though, and they both knew it. “Do you understand that days of planning would have to go into this before we actually execute a strategy? We have to obtain clearance from federal, state, and local law enforcement. We have to split our time in twelve hours shifts to monitor the comings and goings of the compound. The background checks alone would—”

“Backgrounds are being run on every member that I had the ability to pinpoint.” Neal left out that Daegan had been taking information from him daily. Whomever was helping his friend had created a list of people who’d followed the Ashes to Hearth. She was already compiling dossiers and Daegan should have them shortly. It wouldn’t do to get either of their asses on suspension before this went down, so Neal kept that piece of information to himself. “I’ll have profiles printed out before your feet land in Hearth, blueprints are already sitting in your inbox, and I know the patrol routine of the compound.”

There was silence on the phone telling Neal that his proposition was being considered. The team had yet to work on cohesion during a real world situation. One couldn’t put a price tag on experience and the team unequivocally needed the practice before doing an offshore mission. Neal had continually been looking around the area, and finally one of the members chose to make an appearance. It was even obvious from where he was sitting that the man hadn’t expected Neal to be outside. The man jerkily kept moving, crossing the four-way stop and walking away.

“They want Mandy and although they’ll stop at nothing to get her, the Ashes are being careful now that the sheriff has targeted them. I’ve sent Mandy somewhere safe, but it’s only a matter of time before they come looking for her.” Neal stretched his legs out in front of him, debating on following the member around the corner of the street. He decided against it. “I’ll be stoking the fires this afternoon though when I pay a visit to the school today during Garreth’s credit class.”

“Don’t go fueling any fucking thing until I talk this over with Starr.” Gunny wasn’t happy with this scenario, but there was a slight enthusiastic tone to his voice that wasn’t there before. The team had been training for months, but there was nothing like a live mission to get the adrenaline pumping. It was who they were. “Give me ten and I’ll call you back.”

Neal wasn’t surprised when Gunny disconnected the line without a by your leave. Their lead operator wouldn’t pass up an opportunity like this to see how well the team fit together as a unit. If he read Gunny’s character right, the team would be here by nightfall. Neal’s phone was vibrating within thirty seconds.

“I have to admit, Doc…you had more equipment in that medical bag of yours than I would have thought,” Daegan said, apparently having some extra time to talk now that Gunny hadn’t started their block training. “Gunny and Starr are having an intense conversation in Starr’s office.”

“I don’t need a blow by blow, Einstein.” Neal had picked up on the fact that Daegan didn’t like being called out for his high IQ. Dishing a little dirt back was kind of fun. “You have your girl working on those dossiers?”