In the Shadow of Vengeance (17 page)

“Marshal Ramon.”

The man let out a heavy sigh. “I hope you are as trustworthy as I have been led to believe. As for Elizabeth, she knows the protocols set in place are to protect her and the kids.”

“And while I have a great deal of respect for the job you do, Ramon, lay off her.”

“I need to know where you are. We need to get her and the kids to a safe place tonight.”

There was no way in hell Noah was going to give the man his location, but he had to at least try to cooperate.

“You have a dossier on me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Your charges are safe for tonight. I take full responsibility. In the morning, contact my brother, Adam Blake. I'll let him know to expect your call. You can work out the details with him. Good night, marshal.”

Noah ended the call and shut down the phone. Anger poured through him, but he had no place to dump it. He removed his arm from Elizabeth's shoulder and got out of bed. He made his way to the large picture window and glared at the acres of forests. “Why didn't you tell him Danny and Erin weren't here?”

“He knows where they are. Noah, you know how this works. The local precinct would have contacted him the instant my name came across the report of the abduction attempt. Derek would have scoured the hotel and seen the kids leave with your brother.”

She grabbed her clothing off the floor and dressed. Noah gave her a couple of moments of privacy. He wanted one night with her, hoping beyond hope that he would think of some way to keep her safe but close. He had run out of time.

“So, what's the plan? How long do I have you?” he whispered, his heart slowly slipping to his gut.

“Noon.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “Derek promised to gather a few essentials for the kids. Danny can't live without his PlayStation. Both laptops will be destroyed, but Erin has a stuffed monkey Derek gave her on her first birthday. I'm taking that with us.” She raised her face to meet his stare. “This is the worst part. Beginning the new without any physical reminders of the old. I would appreciate it if you will ask Raúl to pick up my mother's teapot before the marshals close my townhouse.”

“Why can't Derek do that?”

“The guy who broke in made it impossible for me to keep the teapot.” She again lowered her eyes to the floor. “If you don't mind, I would like you to keep it for me.” Her voice broke. “It will be easier knowing you have it.”

When he took a step closer to her, she held out her hands and he froze.

“I will take good care of it, Elizabeth.”

She moved toward the window. Noah didn't know what to expect, so he remained still. She placed her hands at his waist and rested her head on his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tightly against him. “I needed more time.”

“Me, too.”

“Elizabeth, give me tonight.” He lifted her chin. “Tell me you want me as much as I want you.”

She heaved her T-shirt over her head and placed her arms around his neck. Lifting her body, she brought her lips to his and teased his bottom lip without breaking eye contact. “Does this answer your question?”

She took control of his mouth, demanding everything from him. Her passion rocked him to his core, making his knees weak. He lifted her off the ground and moved back toward the bed. Lying on the cool sheets, they went into each other's arms and his world slipped away. Noah no longer had anything to prove. At that moment, all he wanted was to create a world just for them in the few hours he had left.

• • •

Sweet heaven, this man made her feel.

Elizabeth threaded her hands into Noah's hair, wanting him closer as he took her mouth for yet another devastating kiss. He moved her back on top of him, her body settling over his as if they were old friends. His hand inched down her back to her waist as he rocked her over his hardness, strumming her until she thought she would go mad. His touch, the feel of his lips over her heated skin, the soft, but demanding caress of his hand over every inch of her was killing her. But as much as she wanted him to slow down, give her a chance to catch up so she could brand this moment into her memory, she needed more, so damn much more from him.

Noah was holding himself back, and she hadn't a clue how to break through, force him to stop being so careful with her. He turned the control over to her, allowing her to explore him on her own timetable. How did she tell him she didn't want the control? She was so damn tired of being in control. She wanted all of him to take all of her.

Everything about the man was intense, hot-blooded, and so gorgeous, he took her breath away. He had worked himself through every one of her walls until she lay bare in his arms. She couldn't define what they were to each other, but for this moment in time, she wanted nothing between them. She didn't know how to ask for more, but she had to find the words, the moves, because tonight was it. All or nothing.

“I can hear you thinking, Elizabeth,” he mumbled as he ran his lips down her jaw to that sweet spot at the base of her neck. “Out with it.”

She rested her elbows on his chest and held his gaze. “If we are in this together, I don't need to be in control.”

“Then let me in, sweetheart.”

“I am.”

“All the way in.”

“This time it isn't me.”

His eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Noah, I want this. I want all of you, including the impatient, rough-edged man who doesn't ask but takes. I promise you I won't break if you let go.”

The confusion in his eyes turned to raw hunger and the hand resting on the curve of her buttocks tightened. Part of Elizabeth couldn't help trembling from what she just unleashed. He brushed her hair back then took her mouth for a quick kiss. “You deserve gentle.”

“I knew who you were the moment we met. You don't do gentle. Tell me what to do to reach you.”

“God, not a damn thing. You got me, sweetheart.”

He captured her mouth and reversed their positions. Drawing a hand up over her head, he held it in his gasp as his free hand roamed down the length of her and brushed over her mound. Heat erupted deep inside, making her toes curl.

His hand began to probe, search, explore the heart of her. Time stilled, and the eruption building in her overwhelmed her senses. She pressed into him, wanting nothing more than to mold her body into his. When the wave flared, there was no way she could keep the whimper of pleasure back as her first orgasm burst through every cell.

“Shit, that's …”

“Yes, it is. You didn't want gentle, right?” he asked with a deep, sexy-as-hell chuckle. “That's a good thing, because I'm far from done.”

Her gaze shot to his as she tried to calm her racing heart. “It's too much. Uncle. You win.”

“No. Nothing I do is too much. Let go, sweetheart. We have all night.”

“It was never like this. I don't know what to do next.”

“I start all over until we both lose control.” He released her hand and cupped her jaw, kissing the corners of her mouth before taking in her bottom lip. “Then we begin again until we are too exhausted to move.” He lifted his head. “Are you up to the challenge?”

She was leaving and he wasn't coming with her. She knew the risks and accepted them anyway. For one night, she would take everything Noah McNeil gave her and give just as much in return.

“Damn straight.” she said, and took back her control.

Leaning his shoulder against the frame of the French doors, Noah couldn't take his eyes off Elizabeth. She sat on a rustic lawn swing with Danny and Erin at the edge of the yard. The scene was perfect: golden light shimmered through vibrant autumn colors as the cool breeze picked up the fallen leaves and sprinkled them over the lawn. But the view was deceiving. Elizabeth's heart was breaking, and he was forced to stand like a moron and watch. He should be down there with her, if only to hold her hand. He had offered. She turned him down.

“Relax. Nothing is going to happen to them in our backyard,” Calista said, standing next to him.

“Safety is an illusion. No matter how much we try to protect those we love, they can be ripped from our lives with a flip of fate's coin.” He shoved away from the door, lifted his mug of coffee off the kitchen table and took a deep gulp. He must have been staring out the window longer than he thought because the brew had turned cold.

“Noah, I need you in the office,” Adam said from the doorway. His voice was calm, devoid of emotion, but his expression held a harsh coldness.

“What's going on?”

“You need to see for yourself, because you're not going to believe me.”

Noah followed him down the front hallway, through the living room, and into a spacious den. He leaned against the back of the brown leather sofa to stare at the four monitors that hung from the wall behind Adam's desk. The right two surveyed the property while the middle monitor was a split screen video feed.

“It looks like we're all here,” he said, eyeing Jared in one screen and Jason and Mac in the other. “I have maybe three hours before Elizabeth's escort gets here. Can't this little reunion wait?”

Adam picked up a remote control off his desk and pointed it at the fourth screen. “Watch the video.”

The image of an examination room and two men Noah didn't recognize came into view. A third man moved into the picture and Noah's body grew cold. Elías Mendoza. “What the fuck am I looking at?”

“It's a video from Riker Prison, the med center, to be exact,” Adam murmured. “The gray-haired man on the right is Dr. Harris. He treated our friend's gunshot wounds three years ago. The other man is Dr. Pegler, a prominent surgeon from Denver.”

“And?”

“It appears that Mendoza has some kind of liver disease and this guy has been brought in by Harris to consult.”

“That's bullshit,” Noah roared.

“Just watch the video, bro,” Jared added.

Noah straightened his stance, his fist jabbed at his hips as he watched a guard unlock the door and escort a prisoner pulling a mop bucket into the room. Harris pointed toward the hallway that must have led to other examination rooms. The prisoner dropped the mop handle onto the floor. The interruption seemed to piss off Harris because he stepped forward and yelled at the man. The janitor lifted the mop and stepped back in the path of his bucket of water, kicking it over. The sudsy liquid covered the floor. Harris jumped back, then kicked the bucket across the room.

“Is there no sound?” Noah asked.

“Patience,” Adam replied. “You won't need it.”

Hell, patience was something Noah had in short supply.

Harris tore several paper towels from the roll over the sink and dropped them onto the floor. With his foot, he pushed the wall of water toward the doorway.

Noah's shoulder's tensed and his heart skipped. He wasn't sure what drew his eye to the janitor's right ankle, but one instant he held the mop handle in his hand, and the next, a handmade shank. The man lunged forward and Harris stumbled back, his hand at his neck. Blood seeped through his fingers before he dropped to the floor. The water turned a deep shade of red.

Pegler shoved the man against the door frame. With a free hand, he hit the panic button on the wall. The janitor gained his footing and swung the rusty shank into the doctor's middle, ripping his shirt and skin. Pegler dodged the next sweep of the knife, using the metal instrument tray as a shield. He tripped back into Mendoza. Before the janitor could jab a third time, Mendoza shoved the doctor out of the way and rushed the janitor, slamming him back against the wall.

In the seconds it took the guards to unlock the door, Pegler pressed his hand against the knife wound on Harris's neck while Mendoza grabbed the man's hand and tried to force the knife from his hold. The janitor kicked Mendoza in the groin, doubling him over.

Several guards stormed into the examination room. Mendoza stumbled over Harris, leaving himself wide open. Before the guards could take down the janitor, he plunged the shank into Mendoza's chest.

Adam froze the tape at the spot where Mendoza dropped to the floor, blood soaking his silk dress shirt. “He bled out on the floor, Noah.”

“That's bullshit. He's not dead.”

“Were you watching the same fucking tape we just watched?” Jason demanded.

“Adam,” Jared interrupted, “play it to the end.”

Noah stood close to the screen as Dr. Pegler pressed a wad of gauze at Harris's neck and ordered a guard to apply pressure while he tried to stop the bleeding from Mendoza's jagged chest wound.

Adam fast-forwarded the tape through to the end, again freezing the image of Mendoza's still body lying on a gurney in a black body bag. “He's dead, Noah.”

“I don't believe it.”

“Looks real to me,” Jared responded.

Noah shot his twin a glare. “When did this happen?”

“Last night,” Adam answered. “One of the guards works for me. He contacted me early this morning. I waited for the video before I said anything. Both the doctor and Mendoza bled out. A sample of the blood on the floor under Mendoza has been collected and sent to a private lab. I should have DNA results in the next couple of hours.”

“And the bastard's body?” Noah asked, swallowing the acid in his throat.

“It was picked up by the medical examiner. If no one claims it, the state will cremate it.”

“I want eyes on him, a positive ID.”

“Watching him die on the floor isn't enough for you, Noah?” Jared asked, his voice hard.

“No, damn it, it's not.”

He turned and glanced at the small clock on Adam's monitor. Ten thirty. Shit, he only had ninety minutes with Elizabeth.

“I want your man on that body, Adam. After the marshals leave with the Merlots, I'll fly to Denver and make sure Elías Mendoza is really dead. In the meantime”—he glared at the frozen image on the screen—“don't believe what you think you witnessed. That scene may look convincing, but something is off. The way I see it, Mendoza could be in the wind for more than twelve hours. We tighten our defensives and get ready for him.”