SAFE (12 page)

“If they were locked that tight what makes you think someone else couldn’t have hacked into them?” Ty asked, his skepticism that someone from inside his own agency was responsible for putting those girls in harm’s way eating at his guts. The hurt look Lonnie shot him was almost comical. Lonnie’s moist eyes shot to where Melissa stood with what could only be described as a lost little boy look.

“You didn’t tell him about me, did you?” His soft comment wasn’t lost on Ty but he didn’t have time to stroke egos at the moment.

“What?” Ty looked from Lonnie’s hurt expression to Melissa’s almost motherly one and wanted to hit something. Here was another lost soul she had saved, taking him under her wings to protect and shelter him from the monsters of the world.

“Lonnie, honey, fill us in and I’ll explain it all to Ty in a bit. I just haven’t had time to completely explain to him about your awesomeness or how you came to be with my team.” She walked up to the front of the room, ignoring everyone else but the young man standing there and pulled him close. “But I promise, I will. Just not right now. Ok?” Ty could see she was whispering something else in Lonnie’s ear and the young man nodded with his head down.

It finally dawned on Ty just how young Lonnie must be, how alone he must feel in an office full of seasoned Agents who were always fighting crime, bringing in the bad guys, and asking Lonnie to do the near impossible with little to no recognition. He closed his eyes for a couple of breaths and pulled it together, reminding himself that this team had been together a long time and he was the outsider. Even if he and Melissa had known each other in the past the others didn’t trust him past knowing what Buck had promised them he could deliver.

“Lonnie,” he asked softly but loud enough for the room to hear. Once he got Melissa and Lonnie’s attention, he grinned. “As soon as we can you and I will have a one on one to discuss your awesomeness. Deal?”

Lonnie almost blushed, but it could have been Ty’s imagination. The young man nodded and stepped away from Melissa, squaring his shoulders like the trooper he was and took his position in from of his much older colleagues. Ty caught Melissa’s silent look of what he hoped was a thank you and concentrated back on the briefing at hand.

“The calls all came from this area,” Lonnie clicked a remote in his hand and the huge screen on the wall lit up. What showed up was the string of caves where the captives were found, but spread out from there were dots where the cell towers caught the pings. They came from one end of the Lake Tanglewood Reserve area, all over the Timbercreek and Palisades communities and back to the other, as if someone was searching for something or someone. As Ty continued to look at the patterns it struck him.

“They’re grid marks!” he whispered, walking to the front of the room and standing there staring. “They don’t know the area that well so they were looking for more caves or secluded areas around Lake Tanglewood where they can hide their product.” He took control of Lonnie’s laser pointer, using it to point out two specific areas.

“There are easy egress points on the back areas of the lake. I know because as a boy in Scouts we hiked up there all the time. There is also a small airport on top of this mesa.” He pointed to the airport used by wealthier inhabitants of the Lake area. “It wouldn’t be that difficult to pay off the help or sneak in product to the area then find a hidey-hole in some of the more remote areas in the canyons. That’s why we lucked out with the one we found. No one usually goes down there unless it’s hikers.”

“So how do we find them? Most of that is private property.” Paco was staring at the screen, shaking his head but it was Danny who came up with the perfect solution.

“Departmental Simulations.” Danny’s comment hung in the air for a long time before Melissa started to laugh. When everyone else joined except Ty, you could tell the tension in the room had finally broken.

“You’re shitting me, right?” Ty asked after Melissa wiped her eyes.

“Nope.” Danny’s grin was infectious as he sat back as if he were Santa Clause delivering his bag of gifts. “They hate us down there when we tell them we are pulling simulations and the ravines are the perfect area. It won’t be hard to get the alphabets in on it and keep the ones dark on Intel as we keep eyes on them. We’ll need to keep the specifics close to our chests and see what pops up the quickest. But I say use it.”

“Most of the folks down there will like that their law enforcement is on the job, we get to sneak and peak, and hopefully, we’ll catch us some bad guys.” Paco shook his head, looking at the screen. “Logistics are going to be a bitch, though!”

“That’s because you need a man with a plan,” Lonnie groaned, but he was grinning.

“Ok, let’s get it worked out and we’ll run it by Buck. He can get the other departments to jump on it.” As they finalized their plan Melissa watched her team and how well they worked with Ty.

Lonnie was still reserved and held back as Ty tried to pull the younger man into the conversations about how to set everything up for the operation but she knew Ty would care of her IT Geek no matter what happened. Lonnie was barely twenty years old and had only been with the group a little over eighteen months but he had proven himself in many a tight situation.

A young man from an abusive home, forced to make a living on his own at fifteen by any means possible he had chosen to use his hacking skills to make a living instead of prostitution. Not many knew of Lonnie’s background or the fact that Melissa had caught him during a sting and vouched for him so he would stay out of juvie. She had specifically asked for him to be on her team so she could keep him close and Lonnie was never too far away from his mentor nor she him. It was more than just a caretaker responsibility, Melissa truly cared what happened to Lonnie and wanted what was best for him.

With that thought, she pulled her cell off of the clip at her belt and hit the speed dial number for where they had stashed Gayle. She had been worried about leaving her there and as the final plans came together it was important to keep her on lock down until they closed this case.

“Hello,” the agent in charge answered and Melissa took a deep breath. “This is Agent McKinney. Where is the chaperone that is supposed to be with Gayle and why didn’t she answer the phone?”

“Ah, Agent McKinney, let me let you talk to the Captain.” She heard muffled voices and the phone was hushed as if being passed to someone else. Cursing and a loud growl was the next sound heard and Melissa’s stomach dropped.

“Melissa, this is Chip.” She almost dropped the phone as she heard his voice. He wasn’t supposed to be there, shouldn’t have had any knowledge where they had moved the kids for a reason. “Listen to me before you start screaming, please.”

Chip’s voice had dropped to a whisper as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear their conversation and Melissa frantically looked around for Ty. Catching his eyes, she motioned him to follow her and walked out of the conference room and to her office. As soon as Ty walked in she closed the door and leaned against it.

“Chip, what are you doing at the safe house?” she said it for Ty’s benefit as much as her own. He shouldn’t have known where to go. Putting her phone on speaker, she waited.

“I figure Ty is standing there by now and you’ve put me on speaker. Right?” Chip said through the phone, his voice still low.

“Chip, what the fuck are you doing there?” Ty didn’t shout but the tips of his ears were getting red and his eye brows were almost to his hairline.

“Buck’s orders, but you need to listen to me for now.” Both of them looked at each other, waiting. “I’m undercover and I can’t explain everything for now. But you need to get the other girls out of the Panhandle and out of the areas ASAP. They know where they are and no, I didn’t tell them.”

“How do we know that?” Ty growled, pacing. His right hand rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to wear a hole in front of Melissa’s desk until he came to a sudden stop. “Where’s Gayle?”

“She was gone when I got here. There was a note on her bed and none of us can figure it out.” They could tell Chip was frustrated by the teenage girl’s skipping out of the safe house but right now they had to find her.

“What does the damn note say, Chip? Stop stalling.” Melissa almost shouted the order as she waited, hearing the crinkle of paper over the phone.

“Tell Lisa the monsters are here. Follow the yellow brick road.” Ty stared at Melissa, watching her face go pale. “She signed it with a fancy G.”

“Oh gods,”

Chapter 17

Ty managed to strong-arm his lover into his arms as her body began to shake. She was unable to shield her thoughts from him now and he could feel the turmoil and anger as it raged through her slender frame. If he didn’t get her calmed down soon he was afraid she would have another bleeding episode when she tried to find Gayle and that he couldn’t allow.

With practiced moves he managed to get her out of the office and into his SUV without an argument but it was close. A quick call to Buck and the plan was put into motion as Ty headed for the hotel room where they had left hours earlier. He managed to get Melissa behind closed doors before she finally fell apart, the shaking taking her to her knees as all manner of horrors assaulted her senses and made her stomach role.

“Stop it!” Ty whispered, pulling her close. “Gayle is a survivor and we’ll find her, I promise!”

“You can’t promise something like that! We have no idea where she is being held or why she allowed them to take her again!” Melissa pushed him away, rising to pace the small sitting room area.

“You’re right, but you can find her, babe! Otherwise, Gayle wouldn’t have left a note - just for you.”

“How can you be so sure?” She shook her head, trying to understand a logic that seems misplaced.

“Because I think the two of you are more alike than you think,” he whispered. “Now, you need to rest before trying to locate her. Please, take a nap with me?”

Those puppy eyes pulled at her heartstrings and an ache began deep in her core. Now that she had gotten a taste of him there was no way she would ever be able to let him go again! God help her, but she loved this man more than life, more than the breath she took. With a desperation that bordered on frantic, Melissa pulled Ty’s face to her and latched onto those lips that made her forget her demons, at least for a while.

The kiss conveyed all of the despair and heartache she currently felt, the love she had held for this man for a third of her life, and the all-consuming need to crawl under his very skin for safety, just for a little while. Melissa McKenny may be known as a kickass Agent but right now she was just a vulnerable woman in the arms of the man she loved.

Ty felt her desperation flood his senses as she tried to almost crawl into his lap. His large hands slipped down to her hips, cupping her ass as he pulled her close and held her against his hardened cock as she straddled his lap. He knew there would be a permanent crease on his flesh as it pressed against his zipper, rubbing it in an agonizing pace so that he knew getting Melissa naked and under him was the only way to alleviate the ache. He stood and pulled her tighter against his chest as he maneuvered them into the bedroom and covered her on his way down to put her on the bed. She hadn’t let go, desperate and pleading at the same time as he took her lips, moved down her chin and latched onto the juncture of her neck just at the shoulder. He was a man starved to inhale her scent, her taste and the very essence that was his lover. It took little effort to pull the clothes she had on just a few hours earlier and strip her naked. He stood, silent in the room as their eyes locked.

“Look at me, baby!” he whispered, slowing lowering his zipper to allow his length the extra room it needed. The instant his skin hit the cool air he hissed, pushing the denim down slowly as he kicked off his work boots. “I need your eyes on me, girl. Don’t close them this time, for anything!”

Finally as naked as Melissa, he reached down and spread her legs as his broad shoulders pushed into the apex of her thighs. He blew across her clit, his eyes never leaving the wide open blue ones staring down at him in awe and need. His tongue descended and latched onto the little nub as he pulled it into his mouth, his lips gently sucking and laving as he lapped up the copious amount of juices flowing from her swollen folds and accepted that he would never again be satisfied by anyone else other than the woman now in his arms. Lapping and devouring her like a man starved, Ty DuValle proceeded to drive every thought out of his lover’s head except what they were doing here and now. He hoped to give her some sort of relief before they all descended on the plan to get this kid back, and to tire her out so she would sleep for just a little while.

Her hands gripped his hair, pulling him to her as she twisted and begged for release but each time she got close Ty would back off, just enough. When he was sure she couldn’t take another minutes of the sweet torture he rose, snugging his sex to her swollen wet folds and slammed home. Melissa screamed under him, not from pain but the power of her release as he felt her muscles clench and spasm around him. He held still, waiting for her to open her eyes once more before he allowed himself to move. When she finally looked up, his breath locked in his chest.

“Mine!” he growled, and began a punishing pace to bring both of them to the peak at the same time. He felt Melissa spasm several more times under him but she kept her eyes open until, finally, he could no longer maintain the punishing rhythm as his spine tingled and his balls drew up. The force of his release almost knocked him out as he rocked deep within the soft glove that cradled him and Ty realized then and there this woman owned him. Body and Soul!

When he looked down at her still form, she was asleep, a sweet smile on her lips and her fingers gently locked in his hair at the back of his neck. He had fucked her to unconsciousness for the first time!

* * *

It was several hours later that he finally woke Melissa to put her in a warm bath. They needed to get back to the office and finish planning the “simulations” that would get them onto the lake and into the properties within the tightly knit community of Lake Tanglewood. While she slept, Ty had burned up the phone with calls to Buck, the other Team Leads and Lonnie, ensuring everything was in place. When Buck questioned him about Melissa and her state of mind, he didn’t lie but he also didn’t divulge everything to the older man. Buck was of the old school, deeply entrenched in doing things by the book no matter what the case. Ty agreed with him for the most part but this time a child’s life was at stake and he wasn’t going to rule out using Melissa’s unique talents to find their quarry.