Joseph (10 page)

Ember saw the excitement in his eyes. The same passion she loved and wanted but he’d refused to give when they were younger.
Yes, she wanted this. She wanted him to take her just like this. Why?
Her body once again tightened as the deep pulling of her core clenched around his cock. Each slam drove her closer to release. She bucked against him before she screamed, claiming her own ecstasy.

He buried himself painfully deep. “Oh fuck! Jesus, Ember!

She barely registered his cry joining hers, shattering the silence of the house.

Joseph lowered his spent body on top of her. Shared perspiration formed a slick layer between them. Panting in an effort to catch her breath, she stroked his shoulder, careful to avoid his tender wounds.

He rolled onto his uninjured side pulling her with him, still buried deep within her.

His hand grasped her by the nape and his thumb and stroked the pounding pulse point at the base of her neck. The tender touch struck her as the complete antithesis to his treatment a few moments ago.

“Holy hell, Ember, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”

Her answering chuckle muffled in his chest. “Yeah, that was phenomenal sex.”

“Not bad for a kink novice. You, baby girl, have exceeded my expectations. I’ll have to push the envelope next time.” He grunted and slapped her ass, gripping it tightly, pulling her closer.

“Next time? So you’re keeping me around?”

“Oh, hell yeah, I’m not letting you go.”

She purred and moved closer to him, relaxing. “Hmm…you better be careful, Mr. King. I may mistake that comment for an offer of a relationship.”

He leaned over and kissed her, running his fingers through her curls. His grip tightened holding her immobile. “If things weren’t as they are now, I would be more than alright with that, Dr. Harris. But this is for now. I don’t have a future to give you.”

“I know, Joey. I accept your stipulation that this won’t last.” She lowered her eyes as her hand traveled down his bulging muscled arm. “Do you realize it took us almost sixteen years to make love to each other?”

He leaned forward and traced her jaw with his tongue before he whispered against her lips, “You were worth the wait.” Pushing her onto her back, he pinned both of her arms over her head with one arm. “But I’m done waiting.”

*

Joseph walked out of the bedroom hours later. Starving, thirsty and for the moment, sexually sated, he wandered into the kitchen. Those feelings were a hell of a combination and one he could do over and over again.
Yeah and you did do her over and over again, didn’t you, King?
Shaking off the lingering thoughts of sex, he turned to the mission at hand. Food and drink first, then he needed to call Jacob.

Yeah, right.
His mind wandered back to the woman lying in his bed. He left Ember asleep in the bed after a marathon session of the best sex he’d ever had. Damned if that woman wasn’t everything a man needed. Soft, giving, caring, smart, sexy and if today was any indication—insatiable. Even with the fatigue, stiffness and the nagging pain of the injuries, he felt better than he had in months. He took several cookies from an open pack on the counter and picked up the satellite phone hitting redial. Jacob answered immediately.

“Alpha.”

His mouth full of cookies, Joseph asked, “Were the documents what you anticipated?”

“Joseph?”

“Yeah. Well, were they?” He shoved another cookie in his mouth, walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a half-gallon jug of milk.

“The documents are exactly what were indicated. The Morales Cartel has some extremely influential people on their payroll. The FBI has launched a joint task force with Homeland Security. They anticipate several of the higher ranking people will talk if they’re promised immunity and protection.”

Joseph drank a quarter of the milk straight from the container as he listened. “What is the word on the hit?” He stuffed two more cookies in his mouth.

Jacob paused. “Jared is working it, but it seems the order came from Morales himself. Even though we have the documents, Morales wants the woman who was able to escape his reach. According to intelligence, one has taken the assignment. All others have pulled off.”

Joseph put the cookie he was about to eat down and tensed. “Who?”

“The identity has not been confirmed by secondary sources.”

Joseph paced around the kitchen’s granite topped island and growled, “Damn it, Jacob, who?”

“Indications are the Scorpion has taken the contract.”

His gut clenched at the revelation. The Scorpion was a ruthless assassin who skillfully used various methods to complete his missions. Meaning he couldn’t anticipate how the killer would do the job. Joseph’s voice became ice cold as he quietly responded, “That Spaniard doesn’t work in the States.”

“True, and as I said, it hasn’t been confirmed, but then again you don’t work in the States either.”

Joseph pulled his hand through his hair and sighed. “He’s an international level professional.”

“Yeah, he’s good, but we both know you’re better. I’ve talked with Gabriel. From what he can find, there may be a family connection between the assassin and Morales. The Scorpion and the leadership of the Morales Cartel have been coded for assassination and targeted through the appropriate channels. We have a green light to take them out. When we get proper intelligence, I’ll send a team in.”

Joseph glanced behind him to make sure Ember wasn’t listening. “Like hell you will. If they’re coded, that makes them mine. Don’t you dare send in a team. They’ll be slaughtered.”

Jacob paused. “Then I’ll send in another shadow operative. I’m not allowing you to go, Joseph. Ember told me about your injuries. You’re on medical hold until I get you cleared. You don’t have permission to work this case.”

“Damn it to fucking hell and back! See, this is why I didn’t write it up. I knew you would pull me out. I’m only going to say this once little brother so get it through your head, now. I. Was. Not. Compromised. I didn’t break and the fucker that messed me up is dead. I’m fine now so what’s your fucking beef?”

Joseph swiped his hand through his hair again in frustration. “This conversation is why I didn’t think it was necessary to report in. Quite frankly, I don’t give a flying fuck if you give me permission to work this or not. Morales and his hit man are threats to Ember and neither she nor I will be free until said threat is eliminated. You and I both know I’m the only one capable of doing this without additional loss of life on our side.”

“Ember said you were going through opioid withdrawal.”

“The operative terminology there is ‘was.’ Yeah, I took pain killers. I ate them like fire consumes gasoline. I stopped the day I landed back in the States. I don’t know if I was addicted, but I’d built up one hell of a tolerance. Believe me, it was
not
fun getting off them. But I’m drug-free now and I don’t feel any dependency.”

“Yeah? Are you still in pain?”

“No more than usual, little man.”

“If you’re allowed to take this case, and that is one hell of a big
if
, it could take months to conclude. How can you protect Ember from the Scorpion if you’re tracking Morales?”

Joseph’s mind had already calculated the first moves of a chess game he knew only too well. He spoke slowly and clearly as his eyes scanned the hills behind his house. “The Scorpion will make his move on her here. It’s what I’d do.”

“How can he find you? You’re off the grid.”

Joseph sighed. “The two I took out called in a possible sighting. When that duo of dipshit didn’t report in last night or … the night before…anyway, when they didn’t report in, we gave away the general location. Would you like to guess how many satellite telephones there are in the Tri-state area?

Jacob sighed heavily into the phone. Joseph didn’t have to tell his brother they’d handed their position over on a silver platter every time they powered on the damn satphone. The Scorpion would pinpoint the location of the calls, eliminate the locally-issued numbers and be on his way. The assassin was one of the elite—not one of the minor league operatives who wouldn’t know how to track a satphone. He’d use the signal like a GPS.

“Two days?” Jacob’s question pulled Joseph back to the conversation.

“Maybe, but I doubt we have any longer.”

“For fuck’s sake old man, take Ember and get out, head to the airport at Rapid City. We will move you out to a secure location.”

A dry, resigned chuckle floated across the room. “Jacob, if I don’t take him out now, he’ll track us. He’ll be relentless. I know because that’s what I’d do. He wants her. It’s a vendetta now. She’s his focus. The silver lining? He doesn’t know who I am. That is our only advantage. Once I take out the Scorpion, Guardian can protect Ember and I’ll go after Morales.”

His voice lowered as he closed his eyes. “I’m going to need Chief for a couple days. The two buttheads who reported me passed on a general description. Chief’s build is similar—a big guy with black hair. I need Chief here, close to Em, to protect her while I do what I need to do. When I go after that son of a bitch Morales, Guardian needs to get her to another location.”

There was silence at the other end of the line. Finally, Jacob spoke, “We can take her to…”

“I don’t want to know where you take her. I won’t be coming back for her. After I finish this, I’m walking away. No more shadows. No more missions. I’m out of it. All of it.”

Severed throats, sleeping in the filth and cold or enduring days of scorching heat and thirst, living on pain pills only to detox yet
again
—this had become his world. He couldn’t believe it, but he’d reached the end.
Fuck.
Two days with Ember and he’d crash landed. Nothing felt good. Nothing felt right. He wanted out. He wanted to be out and be safe.
With Ember. Fuck
.

“Alright. I understand. But before I release you on Morales, Doc is going to give you a physical. I’m not sending my brother into an assassin’s way without knowing his exact condition.”

“I don’t need—“

“No. I’m your supervisor and your brother, damn it. You can have Morales, but you’ll go through a complete physical, a go/no go evaluation and you
will
follow reporting protocols. Period. Is that understood?”

“When I have eliminated the Spaniard get Doc out here. I’m not sitting on my ass while you get people in position.”

“He’s close by. Keep yourself alive, old man.”

Joseph hung up the phone and took a long drink from the milk container finishing it.
Old man? When did that happen?
Joseph knew Chief had heard most of the conversation. Without turning he spoke, “I’m using you and Em as bait. I’ll leave tomorrow morning and ghost into the hills. If he was overseas when he got the assignment, I should have at least another full day before he’s in the area. I’ll try to stop him before he reaches either of you. Don’t leave her alone.”

Chief walked to the coffee pot and poured a cup. “Got it. Are you going to be able to hang? I mean physically?” The Cherokee nodded towards the remodeling flesh on his ribs and shoulder. “You need to heal.”

“Fuck, man—I got no choice.”

Chief grunted in acknowledgement. “I’ll take care of your woman when you go after the Cartel. I figure you’ll have to trail them and learn the organization before you can infiltrate and neutralize him. Use that time to regain your strength. Call me when you’re ready to go in the morning. I’ll be camping out on the perimeter. You need some time with your woman.” He turned to back the door and looked out at the meadow. “Fury, I got your back, man. I promise I’ll keep her safe until you take out Morales.

Joseph nodded, not giving Chief’s use of his code name a second thought. “I can’t risk waiting. Once the hired gun on her is neutralized, we have to move. It won’t be easy to get into the Cartel and it could take several months or longer to work my way to Morales.”

Chief drank the steaming hot coffee like ice water, finishing the cup before he spoke. “I owe you my life. On that debt of honor, know I’ll keep her safe.”

Joseph turned, put a hand on the Cherokee’s shoulder, and squeezed. Words couldn’t express what he was feeling. Dropping his hand, he walked back to the bedroom.

He’d tell Ember, but not now. Now he needed her. They were going to have a few good memories of their time together. He’d make sure of it. Hell, they both deserved at least that much.

Joseph opened the door and smiled when he heard the shower running. He dropped his jeans near the bed and took off his t-shirt throwing it on the chair as he passed into the bathroom. She was standing under the water with her eyes closed but smiled sensing he was there. “I’m so glad you’re here. I need someone to wash my back for me.”

He walked up to her and pulled her front into him holding her as she bent backwards rinsing her hair. God he could lose himself in her soft warm body. Years of loneliness pulled at him. The emptiness he existed in ceased when he took her in his arms. He lowered his head to her throat and alternated between kissing and nipping the steady pulse of her neck. Her heartbeat filled his senses and for once he allowed himself to pretend he could have something this good. She pulled forward out of the water leaning into him giving him the opportunity he wanted. He’d pay for the emotional attachment he allowed himself, but right now he didn’t fucking care. He lifted from her neck and captured her mouth. Her softness molded against him as he took her mouth forcefully.