Shattered Heart (Z series) (7 page)

Charlotte’s gaze snapped to his. How could he think what transpired between them had been unfulfilling?
As if.
The event was mind-blowing. That was the problem.

“JT it wasn’t you or...” She blew out a breath. “The sex was fantastic. But— I guess I felt like I betrayed my husband. Can you understand that?”

His eyes darkened, and he reached for her wrist, pulling her close. “I do, Charlotte. But Shaun’s been gone for almost two years. You know he wouldn’t expect you to be alone for the rest of your life. Would he?”

She looked away, swallowing a huge lump of emotion in her throat. JT was right. Shaun wouldn’t want her to be without someone to love—to not share her life with a man who loved her.

But JT wasn’t that guy. He’d be gone as soon as Terran was arrested. How could she allow herself to care for him when she knew that?

His fingers clamped onto her chin and forced her to look at him. Charlotte tried to resist but found herself drawn to the man’s luscious lips, which she knew could work such magic on her.

He inched closer, his thumb rubbing circles on the inside of her wrist, causing a ripple of excitement to shoot up her arm.

JT’s head came down and his lips molded over hers in a heated kiss that left her defenseless, unable to move. Then, he deepened their union, his tongue dipping into her mouth, taking her breath. No kiss had ever felt like this, so overwhelmingly sensual.

She crushed her body to his, the feel of the hard planes of his chest driving her crazy with desire.

He turned them slightly, then backed her into the pantry to the wall not covered in shelves.

With impatient hands, she worked his tee up, the heated, taut skin beneath exciting her beyond reason.

His hands cupped her ass, and he ground against her, his guttural groan causing her to gasp.

His lips left hers just long enough to remove both of their shirts, then returned, crushing her mouth, his tongue again working its way inside, tangling with hers.

She trailed a hand down his washboard abs, to the waistband of his jeans and released the button, slowly unzipping the zipper.

Charlotte wanted nothing more than to thoroughly explore him.

She rubbed her hand up and down the shaft of his cock, reveling in how he bucked and grew in her grasp.

His mouth slid away. “Jesus, Charlotte. Could we possibly get naked this time and do this on the floor?”

She needed no encouragement. Charlotte stripped off her remaining clothes, her gaze staying focused on him, amazed at the perfection of his body.

He smiled, then went down on his knees and placed his hands out to her. She took them in hers, then allowed him to draw her down, his hands connecting to the small of her back, drawing her close.

As he brought them to the floor, her lips crushed his in a searing kiss. He then rolled her to his side, his hard cock pressed into her thigh, igniting a fire only he could extinguish.

He skimmed his hand down her belly to the tangle of hair between her legs and worked a finger inside her, his thumb playing with her clit, causing a spasming inside her. Charlotte moaned against his mouth, the pleasure he evoked making it impossible to focus on anything.

He flipped them again, his back to the floor, with her now straddling him. While his fingers still teased her, he reached for his pants, yanked out his wallet and extracted a foil packet inside.
A condom.
He tore it open and slid it down over his cock. “Come here,” he said, moving her to take him inside, the penetration literally sucking her breath.

He allowed her to direct motion and speed, starting slow and easy, each movement more acute, building tension. His hands cupped under her breasts, his fingers twisting her nipples, increasing the pressure.

Charlotte rocked on top of him, her breathing becoming erratic, her womb coiling tight until the dam let go with a force that left her completely drained.

She dropped onto him as he tightened his hold on her ass and thrust upward, grunting with his own release.

The two lay in each other’s arms for what seemed like forever. Charlotte refused to move, intently listening to the thrumming of his heart against her ear. The last time they were together, she ran away. This time she planned to stay and revel in the aftermath.

Sex had never been so fulfilling, and she wanted to enjoy the experience this time.

His arms tightened around her, and he squeezed.

She glanced up into his face and was surprised at his look of total contentment.

Charlotte sighed. She loved that she saw that in JT. Especially since the man always seemed guarded.

“When does Cara usually show up?” he asked in a husky voice that sent shivers down her spine.

“Usually around six-thirty. What time is it?”

He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost six.”

Charlotte reached for her pants, but he grasped her wrist before she could.

“I don’t want Cara to catch us like this.”

“I’ll let you go if you promise me something.”

She studied his face, almost afraid to ask what that was. “What?”

“Not to feel bad about what just happened.”

Charlotte blew out a breath. “I’ll try. Now, can I get dressed?”

He stared at her for a moment, then nodded and released her wrist.

She quickly threw on her clothes, then left the pantry. Watching him put on his clothes would only distract her again and she had to get biscuits in the oven for that morning’s special.

JT drew in a breath, then released it. He needed to get out of the cafe before Cara showed up. He was disappointed that he hadn’t found the lockbox, but being in Charlotte’s arms had made his trip all worth it. He half expected her to abruptly leave like last time, but to have her rest her head on his chest made him care about her even more. Too bad that once this job was done, he’d be leaving her behind. Z was a career that left little time to have a life, let alone be conducive for a long distance relationship. They’d never see each other since they lived on opposite coasts. She had a life here in Oregon and his was in Virginia.

JT shook off the thought and stepped out of the pantry. Charlotte was rolling out the dough she’d been punishing earlier. “I’ll go out the back and stick around until I see Cara show up. I don’t want you to be alone. Maybe we can continue looking for what the key opens after you close tonight. What time do you lock the doors?”

“All customers should be gone by seven. I’ll get Cara out of here early.”

“Okay. I’ll see you around seven-thirty.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

He walked out and closed the door behind him, feeling apprehension about leaving her, but he couldn’t allow anyone to see them together. If Terran got wind of it, he’d know something was up. JT couldn’t afford for that to happen.

He ambled into the alley between the buildings to watch for Charlotte’s friend. Then he’d go to work. He had a list of things that needed to get done while Terran was away, and that would take up most of the day. Maybe he’d even do a little snooping around Terran’s office, though he knew that could be risky. The man wouldn’t leave himself open to a new employee. JT was sure there would be security at the office, even if Terran was gone, especially if he had any incriminating evidence lying around.

Nope. Terran wasn’t stupid, and neither was he. Maybe leaving him to his own devices was some sort of test to JT’s honesty and no way was he going to fail. Not when getting in good with the boss might be the only way to find out what Terran was up to.

Gravel crunching brought JT back to the cafe. Cara was exiting her car. With her here, he could now get going.

He turned to get to the end of the alley where he’d parked his truck. Inside the cab, he started the engine and pulled away, on his way to the Terran Corporation. First thing, he’d get the list of things William wanted finished done, then he’d go out to the Gray Summit site to make sure their crew wasn’t wasting company time and money. JT had been taught work ethics in the service, but not everyone was like him. Without supervision, people tended to do as little as possible, and Terran would blame him if at least a portion of what was expected didn’t get completed.

A ten minute drive and he pulled into the company’s parking lot. At the door, he was greeted by security.

“Morning, Mr. Malone.”

“Good morning.” JT wasn’t surprised Terran had made sure someone besides him was in the building.

“Mr. Terran said you’d be in today.”

“I have a few things to do here before I go out to the site.”

The man nodded then allowed him to enter the building.

Down the long hallway, he ran into William’s personal assistant.

“Morning, Susan. I’m surprised William has you working today with everyone gone.”

“I offered to come in and make a full calls. I’m on my way out right now.”

“Have a good day.”

She smiled. “I will, and you do the same.”

JT went straight to his office, wondering why the woman always seemed to be lurking around. Usually when William was near. Not today though. He was glad she was leaving for the day. He didn’t want her spying on him.

He walked to his desk and sat down, reaching for the list Terran had given him before he’d informed him he’d be leaving town and to make sure everything was taken care of while he was away.

Item one on the paper was to make sure all materials were ordered from their suppliers for that week. He read over the list and the companies, and one in particular jumped out at him.
Claymont AIG.

Why would they need something from an agricultural company? Unless it was grass seed. On the list were a series of numbers—nothing to tell him what it was.

Would the company become suspicious if he asked when he ordered them?

Would they talk to Terran about it?

JT booted up his computer. Maybe he could find out at the on-line site.

He found Claymontaig.com and glanced at what the company carried, drawing in a strangled breath when he came across ammonium nitrate. He glanced at the series of numbers. They were the same.

Why the hell would Terran need this shit? Was he even allowed to buy it? Apparently in small enough amounts. How many times could a company order it before being red-flagged by Homeland Security?

What the hell was Terran buying it for?

JT couldn’t think of one reason unless the man planned to build a bomb—the worst possible scenario for Z and the government at large if what he feared were true.

* * *

Charlotte finished placing the dishes into the washer and wiped her hands. What a day it’d been. Another crazy, busy one, but she couldn’t have been more pleased. Maybe she could go back to the bank and tell them that her business was making record profits and hope they’d extend her loan for a few more months—give them a little of what was owed to show them good faith. Would they at least consider the offer?

“Do you want to go to Bailey’s for a drink?” Cara asked as she reached for her sweater.

Charlotte shook her head. “I’m going home.”

“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Her friend left, and Charlotte’s heart started to flutter with anticipation of seeing JT again. He’d been on her mind all day, especially when she stepped into the pantry to get supplies.

A knock had her heart rate ratcheting.

She walked to the back, turned the lock on the door and opened it. She wasn’t at all surprised to find JT outside, but the grim look on his face wasn’t what she expected.

He rushed into the cafe and relocked the door.

“We need to get you home. I have to talk to Zack.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you at the house. Get your stuff and we’ll get going.”

Charlotte walked to the front and grabbed her purse, then came back to JT, worried about what he was going to say. This wasn’t about them. She knew that. This was about Terran.

They left through the back door. Charlotte allowed him to clasp her hand once they were in the alley. The gesture helped to calm her nerves. But she knew JT had found something that was troubling him.

At the house, they again entered through the back.

Zack came into the kitchen, the smile on his face slipping. “What’s going on?”

“When I went to the office today I had a number of things on a list that needed to get done, as per Terran’s request. First was ordering supplies. One of those suppliers was an AIG company. I did a check to see what he was ordering from them. Want to guess what it was?”

Zack’s eyes narrowed.” What?”

“Ammonium nitrate.”

“Holy shit.”

JT looked grim. “I also checked to see if this was the first time he’d ordered the stuff. It wasn’t. He’s got a shit ton stockpiled somewhere. Why the hell didn’t Homeland Security catch this?”

“Wait,” Charlotte said, oblivious to what they were talking about. “What is ammonium nitrate?”

“It’s what Timothy McVeigh used in the Oklahoma bombing.”

She gasped. “But surely...”

“I don’t know what the hell Terran plans to use it for, but he needs to be watched very closely. I mean, why is he in Portland? Is he scoping something out there?”

Zack started to pace the kitchen floor. “I don’t like this one bit. We need to contact Homeland and let them know what’s going on. We don’t have the manpower to watch this guy’s every move like they do.”

“You’re right. Contact Z and let them know what’s going on. Dalton can call Homeland’s director. Meanwhile, we need to find what Shaun had on Terran. This is getting more dire by the hour.”

Zack nodded, then left the room.

“You don’t think William would do anything this crazy, do you?” Charlotte stared at him, hoping he’d say no. Nothing could be more horrible than an attack on home soil. This was every American’s biggest fear since the Twin Towers went down—that anything even remotely close to that event would happen again.

“I wish I knew, Charlotte. I don’t know what the man is capable of. Those shipments they’d been watching came from a Middle-Eastern country. Does that make this terrorist related? I can’t say.”