Crave (Talon Security #1) (17 page)

“Me too,” I agreed wholeheartedly. It was quiet for a few minutes and I thought he might be asleep already. “You get that I want to move in together, right?” I ventured in an anxious whisper.

He chuckled, the sound low and rich. “I got that, baby.”

“Good.” I sighed, relieved, and allowed myself to drift off into sleep, feeling safe cradled in my man’s arms.

CHAPTER 17

“N
o. I’m not putting her through that shit.” Sid’s agitated voice sounded from the kitchen when I woke up late the next day. “Well, they can go fuck themselves.” He swore.

I was curious who he was talking to as I wandered into the kitchen.

Sid was shirtless, pacing the space with his phone to his ear. His gaze shot to me when I entered the room, growing momentarily soft before hardening again. “Sam’s up. I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up without another word, taking the two strides it took him to reach me and enveloping me in his arms.

“Who was that?” I asked as I stood with my face pressed to his bare chest.

“Travis.” His curt reply surprised me, and I pulled back to look up at him questioningly. He blew out a breath. “The feds want to talk to you.”

I swallowed and took a step back from him.

“See that, that look right there is why they can go fuck themselves.”

I wasn’t sure what expression it was he saw but I knew my belly was churning at the thought of having to relive my nightmare. I also knew deep down that I’d have to.

I stood up as tall as my petite frame would allow. “It’s okay, babe,” I replied, trying my damnedest to look brave. “It’ll suck, but maybe it’ll help them, someone, me, who knows?”

He studied me intently and I resisted the urge not to squirm under the scrutiny.

I sighed. “Sid, I know you can see right through me right now, but just pretend I look super brave, okay?” I pleaded gently. “We both know I’m going to have to do this. Short of you hiding me away in Mexico or something, I’ll have to give a recount of what happened. I’d rather not do it hiding away like a frightened animal.”

He pulled me back into the circle of his arms, looking down on me with such warmth I instantly melted. “I’m so fucking proud of you, sweetheart,” he murmured, surprising me with his line of thinking. I was worried he was thinking about exactly what type of frightened animal I reminded him of. “I’ve always been so fucking proud,” he reiterated firmly.

“Even when I ramble on and trip over my own two feet?” I asked with a shy smile.

“Especially then.” He winked before sighing in resignation. “I get what you’re saying. I’m even getting the sense you feel the need to do this. But Sam, if you don’t want to, I’ll find a way to shield you from it. You know that, right?”

I gave his waist a squeeze. “I do.”

The doorbell rang and I looked at Sid with wide surprised eyes.

“It’s Cade,” he assured me. “Figured you could use a little time with that dog you love even though you don’t like dogs.”

Truth be told, that little ball of fur with her freakishly large eyes was exactly what I needed.

“Thank you,” I murmured, rising on to my tiptoes to kiss his gorgeous mouth before he strode to the door to answer it.

Cade didn’t stay. After delivering Trixie and a hug to me with some worried looks he tried like hell to mask, he left us alone. As much as I loved Cade, I welcomed the time alone with Sid and Trixie, who nearly peed herself in excitement at seeing me.

After a breakfast that I didn’t eat much of, we crawled back into bed with Trixie nestled between us. I was still wrung out and my face hurt, though thankfully, it didn’t look as bad as it felt.

“This is either the best or worst time to bring this up,” I ventured when we’d been lying quietly for awhile. “But Piper’s wedding is coming up fast. It would mean the world to me to be able to go, especially since I’m her maid of honor.”

His body stiffened only for a moment and I soldiered on.

“With Osip locked up, I figure it’d be okay now—or at least a lot better than before,” I rushed to add.

His hand splayed across my back. “I’ll talk to the guys.”

It was more of an answer than I’d gotten before so I nodded, deciding not to press further, at least for now.

“Should we start looking for a place? Brad should be back soon—though he was vague on the details last time we talked,” I added as it hit me, really hit me for the first time, that Sid and I were going to build a home together.

He pulled me closer, kissing my head. “Yeah, babe. I have a few ideas about that.”

I propped my chin against his chest, looking up at him. “Oh?”

“There’s a place right near Danny and Cade’s for sale. I thought we’d go look at it. Figured it’d be best if you were close to them for the times when I’m gone.”

We hadn’t talked much about when life returned to normal—when I wasn’t under threat and he went back to taking dangerous jobs overseas.

“Sid, I don’t have the money to buy a house,” I protested.

He shrugged. “I do.”

I knew he did well, working at Talon, but we’d never talked specifics.

“Sid....” I trailed off pensively.

“Baby, I make really good fucking money—more than I can spend. The trade-off is that my job can be dangerous. When I’m gone, it would put me at ease knowing you’re near my brother and who I hope someday soon is his wife. Just look at the place, okay? Please?”

I bit my lip, thinking about that. Then I looked into his hopeful eyes and couldn’t do anything but nod. “All right. But just to look,” I warned with a severity we both knew was bogus.

He smiled, his dimples on full display. “Just to look.” His gaze grew serious as his eyes swept my face. “Why don’t you sleep a little longer? Do you need anything for the pain?”

I shook my head, realizing how exhausted I was. “I’ll be fine, but yeah, some more sleep sounds good. Will you stay? Just for a little while?”

“Not going anywhere, sweetheart,” he murmured, taking my lips in a close-mouthed sweet kiss before situating himself in a way that told me that no, he wasn’t going anywhere.

****

The distant clang of the doorbell woke me from a deep sleep. Trixie came out from her place buried underneath the covers with a quiet woof.

I rubbed my eyes, feeling groggy as I sat up, noting that Sid’s side of the bed was empty. He stuck his head in through the door a moment later. “Hey, babe, your brother’s here.”

I nodded as Trixie jumped down from the bed, undoubtedly ready to be let outside. “Okay, give me just a minute and I’ll be out.”

I dragged myself to the bathroom, feeling stiff from sleeping so hard. I started the shower, needing the warm water to pull me out of my groggy state before I was ready to face anyone, even Travis.

I knew why he was here. Of course he wanted to check on me; he was a good big brother like that. But no doubt he also needed to finish his conversation with Sid from earlier.

After a relatively quick shower, I got dressed and put on some makeup, needing to feel more like myself. My nose looked much better with just some minor swelling along the bridge and some light bruising under both eyes. With one final look in the mirror, I noted that my green eyes were bright with determination instead of the fear that had been pervasive for the last few days.

“Hi, Trav,” I greeted him when I found both guys drinking coffee in the living room. He rose when he saw me, walking over to wrap me in a gentle hug.

“So glad you’re okay.” He blew out a relieved breath. “How’re you holding up?”

I looked to Sid, feeling as though our bond had cemented that much more following our conversation. “I’m doing okay. I’m in good hands.” I looked back to my brother, determined to appear confident. “I know I need to make a statement. Let’s get it over with.”

“Sam...,” Sid’s concerned voice sounded as Travis looked down at me worry evident in his brown eyes.

“Really,” I reiterated. “I’d rather just do it now rather than feel like I’m moving forward and then have to relive it all again.”

“Are you sure?” Travis replied. “Because you can take more time. This should be on your terms.”

“This is on my terms.” I nodded resolutely.

Travis’s gaze shot to Sid and I watched Sid give a stiff nod before Trav returned his attention to me. “Okay, I’ll set it up. They agreed to come to headquarters. I figured you’d be more comfortable there.”

I nodded in agreement. Talon sort of felt like my turf at least. “Let’s do it.”

CHAPTER 18

S
id wrapped his arm around me as we walked into Talon an hour later. I was surprised to find everyone there, including Trent and Marcus, who’d just returned from an assignment in Cairo.

Sarah greeted me with a hug and a reassuring squeeze as the guys looked on.

None of them seemed to be working and it was getting to be late in the evening. They were all here for
me
, I realized with a jolt. They wanted to support me. The thought warmed me despite the trepidation running like ice through my veins.

“They’re in the conference room,” Theo told Sid gruffly. “The guys and I are going to go in the back to train, but we’re here if you need us.”

Sid took my hand and headed in that direction.

“They wanted to talk to her alone,” Travis informed Sid.

“Fuck no,” Sid growled.

“I figured you’d say as much,” Travis replied easily. “Actually, I thought you’d just tell ’em to go fuck themselves.”

“That works too,” Sid grumbled as we neared the conference room.

Two men, including agent Richards, and one woman stood up when we entered the room. All were dressed in suits, but I had the passing thought that the Russians had been far better dressed.

“Ms. McAllister.” Richards nodded. “This is Agent Bowers and Agent Campbell,” he introduced indicating the man and woman to his left.

“Uh, hi,” I replied, offering a small awkward wave.

“Masters, we won’t keep her long,” he told Sid as a clear indication he should leave.

Sid’s hand squeezed mine reflexively. “I’m stayin’.”

His curt response left no room for argument, and after a weighted pause, Richards nodded, clearly unhappy with the outcome.

Sid pulled out a chair for me and I sat down, realizing I’d never actually been inside their conference room before. The huge glass table took up a majority of the space with a large TV mounted on the wall to the right for presentations. The twelve black chairs around the table were comfortable and sleek, though they may as well have been made of stone for how at ease I felt.

After a few preliminaries, I launched into the tale of that horrible night without sparing a single detail. When I got to the incident with Boris, I felt Sid go solid next to me. I tried to pull my hand away to allow him time to collect himself but he wasn’t having it. His hand remained clasped over mine, providing strength as I recounted my attack.

“I was worried they’d be angry that I killed him,” I recalled. “But Osip almost seemed… amused. It’s strange—for such a violent, horrible man, it was clear he still had some principles. He’d given clear orders to Boris not to touch me. In his mind it was justice served, I think.”

The three agents watched me, their pens poised above their pads.

“They just left his body there. They were completely unaffected by it,” I continued.

“And they never asked you anything? Not about the diamond?” Richards pressed. He’d already asked this several times.

“No.” I shook my head, starting to feel tired and impatient. “It’s like I said, Osip told me they were waiting for someone—someone who’d promised him the diamond. That’s why he took me in the first place.” I shivered slightly at the thought there could have been a far worse fate for me.

“That would be surprising,” Agent Bowers cut in, sounding skeptical. “Ivanov doesn’t wait or take orders. From anyone.”

I sat forward in my seat, staring the man down. “I know what I heard.”

“Traumatic experiences often lead to misinterpretation,” Richards nodded, his tone sickeningly pacifying.

Sid let out a grumble in irritation.

I shrugged, tired of repeating myself if they weren’t going to listen.

“We’ve already given our statements about what happened next. We done?” Sid clipped brusquely.