Leverage (The Brannock Siblings) (13 page)

Montgomery shrugged and lifted his phone to make another
call, "Then maybe you should hand over the case, Shade. Prove it."

Lucas felt his jaw clench and his knuckles tighten. "I
can't do that. I made a promise, Ray. I need to take these guys down."
Plus, handing over the case would go on his record and he didn't want to be
thought of as unreliable, even on the worst cases.

Ray stared at him for a moment, understanding crossing his
face, then started talking to someone on the other end of the phone. It was
more than Lucas had hoped to get out of him. Now he just had to figure out what
exactly those red flags he was talking about were.

He went back to his desk and put his head in his hands after
checking his phone again for any messages about Ash. He had too much to do, too
much to worry about, but he couldn't stop himself from wishing he could go home
and make love to her over and over again.

The two times they had been intimate were enough to prove
that they would be incredible together. She had been made for him and him
alone. When he had found out that she was still a virgin, he had been terrified
of the thought of taking that from her. Now, he couldn't get it out of his head
and it brought out the possessive part of him that he had always felt for her.
She was willing to give him everything and it made him feel invincible.

She had no idea how many guys he had threatened back when
she was still in high school. They had all wanted to take her out on a date,
but he knew how they thought. They wanted nothing more than to get in her pants
and he wasn't going to allow that. If her brothers knew some of the shit that
was said about her in school, they would have gone ballistic. He had protected
her, at least, that's what he kept telling himself.

Now he felt like he had done nothing more than lock her up
the way her brothers and father had. He was sure that she would have found a
man she cared about enough to give that part of herself to in the last seven
years. A part of him hoped she hadn't because she was saving it for him.

A very selfish part of him.

He loved her. He always would. That's the only thing about
his life that he knew for sure. Everything else could take a back seat. Even
his career.

His phone beeped and he looked at the screen.

Gus: Home. Ash upset. Gibbs got to her. Call when you
can.

His heart thudded and he stood up so quickly that his chair
flew back against the wall a few feet behind him and fell over with a crash.

Justin looked up from his desk with his eyebrows stretched
over his forehead in surprise. "Everything okay man?" He started to
stand, but Lucas put his hand up to stop him.

"Yeah, I just need a few minutes."

Justin watched him for a moment while he tried to get his
fury under control, then nodded. "Hurry back."

Lucas stormed out of the offices and toward the elevator. He
needed to know exactly what had happened and he wasn't going to find out over
the phone. He ran to his car and peeled out of the parking lot while dialing
Gus.

"Shit, man, your buddy is a real pain in the ass,"
Gus answered with an edge to his voice.

"What the fuck did he say to her and why didn't you
tell me sooner?" Lucas growled.

"Whoa, calm down. We were with her the whole time and
we were too busy trying to get her back home to tell you. He didn't give a shit
that we knew he was following us. Just walked right up to us and started in on
Ash. Told her that she needed to make sure she went straight to her apartment
back in Ohio and keep contact with you to a minimum."

Lucas felt the plastic on his phone start to crack from his
grip and he dangerously weaved in and out of traffic. "Why does that
bastard care about what she does in Ohio? What else?"

"That was about it, but Ash was pissed. Poor guy nearly
got her fist in his face," Gus said with a laugh. "I mean, he would
have deserved it, but damn… has she been working out lately? Con and I could
barely hold her back."

He felt his lips twitch, so damn proud of his girl that he
wished he could have been there to see it. Or take care of it himself.

"Anyway, man, she's pretty upset. Said that she wants
to go to the station and tell them that she has been in town the whole time.
Tell them she's your alibi for whatever they have against you."

"No! She can't do that. It's too risky."

"I know, I know. We talked her down, but I still think
you should put in your two cents. This Gibbs guy may have worked with my dad
for a long time, but his behavior seems a little uncanny. Sending her in there…
well…"

"I'm almost to your house. I'll talk to her."

"Okay, see you in a minute," Gus replied and
disconnected the call.

Lucas took a few deep breaths to calm himself. It wasn't
helping and if anything it was just making him even more furious that Gibbs had
the balls to confront her like that, or even just show up. Red flag? Yes. He
was going to get one of her brothers to follow him, see what he was up to when
he wasn't trying to put Lucas behind bars.

He pulled up to the Brannock's and raced up the steps. The
door opened before he could knock and Con let him inside.

"She's upstairs in Dad's room. Said she wanted to be
alone, but we all know better than to listen to her. At least
this
time
we do."

The guilt that spread over her older brother's face made
Lucas second guess himself. He didn't want to continue to pressure her to stay
invisible, in fact, he didn't want her to have to hide out at all and if he
could do anything to change it, he would do it in a heartbeat.

He climbed the stairs and stepped up to the closed door of
her father's room. He wasn't sure about what he would say to her, but he knew
he would hold her for as long as she needed him to.

He knocked softly a couple times and turned the doorknob,
swinging the door open slowly. She was lying on the middle of the bed staring
up at the ceiling looking deep in thought. He knew she was aware he had come
in, so he shut the door behind him and made his way over to her.

"You know? When I came back to live with my dad, I had
no idea you were still in town. I thought you would have left a long time ago
after all the talk about New York and all the action the cops get to see out
there. When I saw you on the porch that morning, it was like the last seven
years never even happened." She paused and looked over at him. He had
stopped at the foot of the bed watching her as she spoke, his chest tightening
with each word that left her mouth.

He hadn't left because he wanted the chance to make things
right with her and staying close to her father was the only way he could. He
had told himself it was the only way to move on, but now he knew it was because
he wouldn't pass up another chance to be with her. He wouldn't let her go
again.

"I never thought I would still love you as much as I
did back then and I don't. I love you so much more and I can't stand the
thought of you losing everything you have worked so hard for. I know you love
your job, I know you love your freedom, and I know more than anyone that you
wish your childhood would have been different, because I wish
mine
had
been different, too."

"Ash…"

"But I wouldn't change it now. I would go back and do
exactly what I did all over again. All the confinement, all the restrictions…
even that night when I told you I loved you and you laughed at me. I would do
it again if it meant ending up with you right here, right now."

He wasn't sure how to respond, but he didn't look away from
her. He would change lots of things, mainly the things that had to do with
her
.
He wouldn't have kept his mouth shut about his feelings for her. He would go
back and get his ass kicked by her brothers a million times over if it meant
being with her.

"I've never really made my own decisions," she
said slowly, her stormy grey eyes filling with regret. "Even when I was on
my own, I let everyone else tell me what to do. The only decision I feel like I
can make on my own… is my decision to love you unconditionally. But I can't let
you destroy your career because you're afraid you can't protect me if people
know I'm here."

He watched a tear fall into her hair as she turned back to
look at the ceiling again.

"Aislinn, I don't-"

"No," she said firmly. "I'm not going to do
anything you don't want me to do. I'm going to be the weak Aislinn Brannock
everyone expects me to be because I know it will make all of your lives easier
for now. But I swear to you, the minute your life or your career or anything
you care about is put in jeopardy, I'll do what I need to do."

He was relieved and terrified all at the same time. She
thought that she was weak because she had let people tell her what to do and
what not to do her entire life and maybe she
had been
weak when she had
let that stop her from living, but not to him.

He climbed onto the bed, stretching out beside her, and
gathered her in his arms, burying his face in her neck as her arms wrapped
around him in return. "Ash, you aren't weak. Not even a little bit. It
takes guts to do what you're told. To put all that trust in the people around
you without question. I'm honored that you have put that trust in me and I
swear to you, I'll do everything in my power to keep it. Give me a little more
time. It will be worth it."

"Okay," she whispered against the top of his head
and raked her fingers through his hair. "Okay."

He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. Eyes he wanted
to get lost in. He slid his hand up between them and ran his thumb over her
bottom lip desperately wanting to kiss her, but holding back. If he started, he
wouldn't be able to stop and he wanted to take his time showing her what it was
like to be loved completely by him. He wanted to stay buried inside of her for
hours.

He didn't have that time right now, though.

They stayed wrapped around each other for several minutes
until the shrill ring of his phone sounded throughout the room. He released his
hold on her and checked the screen.

Justin.

He was probably wondering where the hell he had run off to.
He needed to get back to work.

"I'll see you tonight," he said and climbed off
the bed, lifting her with him.

"Okay, be careful." She tugged on her hair
nervously and looked up at him. Her eyes were brighter, more understanding than
they had been over the past several days, and they were begging him to kiss
her. He cupped the back of her neck and brushed his lips over hers ever so
softly. She gasped and clutched the front of his shirt, making him ache for her
in ways he would never be able to put to words.

He forced himself to pull back before she got the chance to
really start kissing him because he knew with certainty that he would never get
back to work if he let her. He was hanging on by a thread and any push from her
would make it snap in an instant.

"Call me for anything," he rasped, then turned and
walked to the bedroom door.

"Same to you," she smiled.

He winked back at her and left the room. He called Justin
back, waving to Con and Gus who were sitting in the living room with curious faces.
They didn't ask what happened. That was between the him and Ash.

By the time Justin answered, he was already in his car and
pulling out onto the road.

"Where the hell have you been? Gibbs just got in and he
wants your head. This doesn't look good, you not being here."

"I'm on my way."

"Good, because the big guys are here and they have
something to tell us all."

His stomach rolled. They had all been waiting for word on
who would take over the captain's position permanently. That could be the only
reason they were there.

Lucas pressed down on the gas, "See you soon,
then."

Ash

"I'm going to kill him," I hissed into the mirror
on top of my father's dresser.

Lucas hadn't gotten back the other night until late and told
me to stay with my brothers. Like I would be happy about that. Then he said to
stay there again the next night, and the next, and the next. It was starting to
piss me off and he knew it. But did he change anything about it?

No.

Yeah, I wanted to spend time with my brothers, but I spent
most of the day with them, inside… trapped.

Okay, so he had a lot of work to do. Fine, but at least let
me stay where I feel safe, where he is. Don't make me stay in the house that my
father was killed in with a pair of over protective angry gargoyles. They were
always watching me, waiting for me to break or have a fit. Waiting for me to do
something stupid and stop me before it went too far.

How stupid could I possibly get inside of this house?

It had been five nights already and I was frustrated beyond
belief. I couldn't help with
anything
because it was 'too risky'. I had
accepted that, but when Lucas stopped by to check on me each night and left me
with nothing more than a peck on the lips, it brought out my inner bitch.

He
was the one that started this whole relationship
with me.
He
was the one that just
had
to tell me how he had felt
about me all along and that nothing had changed.
He
was the one that got
me so incredibly turned on whenever he walked into the room that I ended up a
puddle on the floor. Did he want nothing to do with me anymore? Did he finally
realize how much of an inconvenience I had been? I wouldn't have been an
inconvenience if they hadn't
made
me one.

It was after ten on Saturday night, a week after my father's
funeral, and I was pacing around like a caged lion after Conall had gotten off
the phone with Lucas and said he was going to just go home and crash for the
night. He had already pulled into the garage at his house. I had gone all
stalker on him and watched from the window. It wasn't easy either. I had to
pretty much smash my face to the cold glass to see down the street.

He had been working long hours and trying to steer clear of
Gibbs and I was sure he was exhausted, but for every excuse I gave for him, I
had a question to counter it. Why wouldn't he let me take care of him? I had
followed the rules, stayed out of sight, and the only thing that kept me going
was knowing I would see him at the end of the day.

"Okay, Ash, just breathe for a minute. Stop being such
a whiny woman and think for a second."

I sat on the bed and did nothing but breathe and try to
clear my head.

"He's been working his butt of trying to make things
right. He's just trying to make it so you can live your life. He has told you
this, Ash," I tugged on my hair and kept repeating the words to myself.
"He's just trying to make it so you can live your life."

I sat there for a few more minutes, finally calm and finally
acting like an adult about it. I had read countless stories of women putting
themselves at risk when they hadn't done what they were told. All the romance
novels portrayed a woman who was just too stubborn and did whatever the hell
she wanted and ended up in deep shit.

I wasn't going to be that woman.

I wasn't going to do anything that would put me or my family
at risk.

I wasn't going to sneak out of the house like I wanted and
storm over to Lucas and demand that he make love to me.

I wasn't.

It wouldn't be smart.

Oh, but it would be worth it.

I was moving before I had time to change my mind.
I
had been doing what I was told to do. Now,
he
was going to do what
I
told him to do.

I was only wearing my sleep shorts and a tank top because I
had gotten ready for bed an hour before, already knowing how the night would
play out. Well, plans had changed.

I quietly tip toed down the hall to the stairs, using the
stealth training my father had teased me about. He would be proud of me now. I
was like a ghost tonight.

My brothers were in the office on the other side of the
house, assuming I was already in bed and sleeping like a good little girl.

Ha! We all know what assuming does, right?

I crept down the stairs slowly and when I made it to the
last step, I stopped to listen. I could hear the two of them murmuring back and
forth and the sound of my father's filing cabinets being opened and closed.
They hadn't heard me. I just had to make it through the kitchen and out the
back door and I would be home free.

I stepped lightly, so quiet, feeling like I was invincible
because I was so sneaky. Then the damn spot in the wood floor right before the
kitchen creaked and I froze.

Oh God, they are going to kill me.

I waited. The sound of them rustling around didn't stop and
I presumed they hadn't heard me so stupidly forget about that damn floor board.

I stepped into the kitchen and looked around. Conall and
Fergus were stealthier than I was and knew how to play it off as if they were
completely clueless then catch me before I could get to the door. They had done
it before and I had no doubt they were capable of doing it again. Maybe they
had lost some skills in their old age because I waited and waited and they
never came for me.

Hmmm, I must be better than I thought.

I stepped closer to the back door and turned the deadbolt
slowly and silently. My heart pounded in my chest and I tried to calm it, sure
they would hear the sound of
that
if nothing else. I turned the doorknob
and slowly, carefully, swung open the door just enough that I could slip
through the tiny space. My feet hit the cement of the back patio and I turned
to pull the door shut behind me, the click just a faint tap in the night.

Then I turned quickly so I could start running to Lucas'
house, but I ran into a wall and almost fell back onto my ass. Two arms wrapped
around me and caught me. I was about to scream when a hand moved gently over my
mouth.

"Shhh, they'll hear you and we won't be able to get out
of here."

Lucas?

I finally looked up and saw two bright blue eyes staring
down at me with an amused grin.

"What the hell?"

He chuckled and started pulling me off the patio and onto
the cold grass at the corner of the house. "I have to say, watching you
sneak around that house was probably the sexiest thing I had ever seen."

"What?"

"I was at the front door when you were climbing down
the stairs, Ash. I had been just about to knock when I noticed how slowly you
were moving. You didn't even glance at the front window by the door. Then I
couldn't make myself stop you, I just had to see if you would make it. Your
brothers must be pretty distracted." He was smiling widely and I was
extremely confused. We had made it to the front yard and were walking quickly
towards his house. He lifted me into his arms when we hit the sidewalk and
started walking faster.

"You saw me?" I asked, still in shock that he was
taking me away from my brothers.

"Yeah, you did well, baby."

"But… but I don't-"

"I can't take it anymore," he said, his face going
hard. "Every night I want to drag you to my house and… then your brothers
convince me to give you some space."

"What?!" I shrieked.

"Shhh! We're almost there, just wait until I get you
inside."

"They told
me
you told them to keep me
there," I hissed. "I argued with them and they said it was all your
idea, so I gave in."

He laughed, forgetting that he had just told her to be
silent, and hurried up his front steps. "They told
me
that you said
you wanted me to focus on the case and wanted to stay with them. I didn't want
to pressure you into doing anything else that you didn't want to."

He kicked the door shut and let me down in front of it, my
back against the wood and his hands on my waist. "I'm going to kill
them," I growled.

He was watching me with that amused grin again, our chests
touching, as I stood there processing what he had told me. He had wanted me to
stay with him and my brothers had manipulated both of us into staying apart.

"So you were coming over? To barely kiss me and leave
me even more frustrated?"

He shook his head, "Hell no! I was coming to drag you
out of that house with me. Like I said, I couldn't take it anymore. I've been
miserable the last few nights. I get home from work and the only person I want
to see is you, but I thought you wanted space. It was driving me insane."

I was breathing hard, practically panting, listening to him
tell me what I wanted to hear.

"Wait!" He stepped back and narrowed his eyes.
"What were
you
doing?"

I froze, sure that I would get in trouble for trying to
sneak out of the house when he had clearly told me to stay in there. "I,
umm… I was sneaking out, to go to
your
house and chew you out for
leaving me there every night."

"You were?" he was smiling again, revealing those
adorable dimples, and his eyes practically twinkled.

I just nodded in relief. I wasn't in trouble.

"God, that's so sexy." His voice was low and
dangerous and his eyes turned predatory.

Maybe I
was
in trouble.

Before I could say anything, his lips crashed down on mine
in a soul searing kiss. I immediately parted for him and his tongue twisted
with mine, making both of us groan. It had been too long. I wrapped my arms
around his shoulders and pulled him against me.

His body pressed mine into the door and anchored me with his
hips. I felt his hardness press against my belly and my blood burned. This was
it. This is what I had been craving.

One of his hands cupped the back of my neck, holding my lips
against his, while the other slowly moved down my hip and to the back of my
bare thigh, lifting it until my leg was wrapped around his hip, opening me up
enough to press against the spot that had ached for him. He growled, deep in
his chest and pressed harder. Liquid heat shot straight to my core and the
combination of his kiss and his body against mine was almost too much.

My body burned for him. My mind reeled at the thought of him
burning for
me
. I tried to get closer, but couldn't. I would never be
close enough.

He kissed a path from my lips to my throat and I tilted my
head to give him better access. He lightly bit into my skin when I did, making
my hips roll against his.

"You taste so good, Ash. Beautiful," his lips
brushed against my neck as he spoke. "I want you so much. Are you ready
for me?"

All I could do was whimper. Hell yes, I was ready for him.
Had been for years. I wanted this just as much as he did and I would kill him
if he stopped. The hand on my neck moved steadily down and stopped just above
my breast, fingering my locket that rested there and running his fingers back
and forth over my skin. My chest heaved and I whimpered again because he was so
close and I couldn't wait any longer.

"Tell me you are ready for me. I need to hear you say
it, Aislinn."

I groaned and lifted my head so I could look into his eyes.
"Don't you know, Lucas? I've been ready for you my whole life. Every
single inch of me is ready for you. If you want me, take me, because you are
the only one that will ever get the chance."

His eyes burned into mine, blue against grey, mixing
together into a thunderstorm of passion. I would never love another man for the
rest of my life. If I lost him, that would be it for me. I would go on living,
but my heart would forever be brutally nailed to his, frozen in time with him.
I knew it in the deepest part of my soul.

He let out a long breath and moved his hand over my breast,
both of us groaning at the contact. He buried his face in my neck and kissed
me, moving his mouth down to my collar bone and darting his tongue out,
branding me. His hand kneaded my breast while his other moved under my tank top
and lifted it up until my breasts were bared to him. He cupped both of them in
his strong hands, the taught nipples sliding over his palms, then bent his head
further and wrapped his lips around a stiff peak, pulling it into his mouth as
I arched my back.

"I want all of you tonight, Aislinn. I want to taste
every inch of your skin, I want to watch you come apart from my touch. I want
every piece of your heart to fill in the gaping hole you left behind when you
took mine the day you left. I want yours now."

"Yes," I gasped as he moved to my other breast and
flicked his tongue over my aching nipple, making my body shudder.

He tore my shirt over my head and continued to ravish my
breasts as his hands moved to the back of my thighs and lifted me. My legs
wrapped around his waist and he pinned me against the door. He kept one hand on
my ass, gripping it in his hand, while the other rounded my hip and moved to
the inside of my thigh, grazing the hem of my thin shorts. He dropped his
forehead to the center of my chest as if this was a moment he had been waiting
for as long as I had, and now that it was finally here, it was too surreal to
truly process. I knew exactly what he was feeling, because I was still waiting
for that horrid moment when I would wake up.

I raked my hands through his hair, showing him that I was
right there with him and he raised his eyes to mine. It seemed silly, all that
we had done and this was the pivotal moment that changed everything. But when
you have been waiting, hoping, holding back as long as we had, it was epic.

His hand grazed up to the apex of my thighs and cupped me,
feeling the dampness that had seeped through my shorts. I cried out his name,
feeling my body reach out to him and rolling my hips against his hand. He
didn't do more than move his hand back and forth over me and when his eyes
flashed from the detection of my arousal, my body turned to liquid in his arms.