Through Fire (Portland, ME #3) (29 page)

“What’s that look for?” He wants to know, lifting my chin with his index finger. I try to shrug it off, but he just lifts an eyebrow, obviously not willing to leave it at that.

“Just thinking...this can’t be easy on you.” I watch his surprised face from under my eyelashes, before he throws back his head and lets out a hearty laugh.

“Me?” he asks, still chuckling, before pulling me down on the bed and rolling on top of me. “You shitting me right now?” he adds, starting to piss me off a little. It’s not nice to laugh at someone.

“No, I’m not
shitting
you.” With my temper taking over it sounds more like
chitting
, which only serves to make him chuckle anew. When I try to wriggle out from under him his face turns serious.

“My beautiful, courageous
Abril Rubí Soto
... By the way, that is the sexiest name I know,” he mumbles, sticking his face in my neck and making me forget what I was angry about again. “I won’t deny today wasn’t a cakewalk—having to sit there, quietly, while every word from your mouth was branding my soul like acid. But understand this, I’d gladly go through that a thousand more times, if it meant I could spare your even one second of what you’ve had to endure.” His eyes burn into mine as he lowers his mouth in a soft kiss. Rolling on his back, he takes me with him, so I come to rest completely draped over him. “Rest,” he whispers in my hair.

“I’m too heavy.”

“Quiet, Ruby.”

“Fine, suit yourself,” I surrender, snuggling into his body and finally letting my body relax. Apparently my mouth isn’t done yet, because right before I fall asleep I mumble softly in his chest.

“
Te amo
...”

T
im

We slept straight through until morning that first evening. I don’t even know if they tried to wake us up, but the last thing I remember is those soft words I didn’t need a dictionary to translate. They settled warmly in my chest, right where she dropped them, and I fell into a deep sleep right away.

This morning, maneuvering around the large kitchen downstairs was awkward, as everyone appeared to develop a need for caffeine reinforcements at the same time. Especially strange when three of the four people in there with you are complete strangers. Luckily, that was quickly resolved over breakfast, which Rhonda had cooked for everyone. Buck and Josh were the other two agents. Although Buck, an older man, wasn’t big into sharing, Josh, who appeared the youngest of the team, did enough of it for everyone. Within twenty minutes, we knew all we had to know about all three of them and he’d elicited quite a bit of intel on me too. Ruby was quiet through it all, but she was eating so I left her space. Given that everyone likely read her file, no one bothered asking her questions and focused on me instead.

I haven’t seen Mark since we were hustled out of the FBI offices yesterday. I’m not sure where he took off to. Ruby and I were taken down a service elevator and were shoved into the back of an old cargo van. Two black SUVs in front of us turned left out of the parking garage, rushing toward the highway, while we turned right and casually meandered through residential streets for about thirty minutes before stopping outside the brownstone. I should probably thank him as soon as I get a chance. Having him around these past days helped. I think I might have ended up whisking Ruby off to some remote island, where no one would be able to find us, had he not assured me time and time again that things would work out.

I can certainly feel the loss not having him around. Nice as the FBI team is, they are not volunteering any information about the case, leaving us completely disconnected. We handed off any cellphones before we left the office, and there aren’t any landlines in the house. Nor is there any cable or radio, let alone computer access. Completely cut off from the outside world, even the doors and windows are all locked. We wouldn’t even be able to crack a window for some fresh air. Not that we’d want to, judging by the steady fall of snow outside.

We spend our afternoon watching a few movies on the old DVD player they set up downstairs in the living room. After two movies, Ruby, who’s been very quiet all day, quietly announces she wants to lie down. I follow her upstairs and watch her step out of her jeans before crawling onto the bed behind her.

“What’s going on in your head, baby?” I coo against the shell of her ear. I don’t miss the shiver that seems to run the length of her body as she shimmies her ass back against me. I groan, softly curving myself around her.

“I can’t stop this feeling of impending doom hanging over me,” she whispers.

I slide my hand down her stomach and between her legs, rubbing her slowly. “Want me to make you forget?” Her head turns to search my mouth, and she hums deeply as I slip my tongue between her lips at the same time my hand slides into the elastic of her panties. She’s already wet when I plunge first one and then two fingers inside her. Needy moans vibrate against my mouth, and I can’t stop my hips from pressing into her behind. Sweet and slow, I tease her, occasionally rolling her clit with my thumb as her hips rock against my hand. With deep contractions around my fingers and a long drawn out grunt, Ruby lets go. She turns her head to the pillow, with residual shudders running through her body and my fingers still buried deep inside her, she drifts off to sleep.

Dinner time is announced with a sharp knock on the door. Ruby stirs in my arms, and I reluctantly let her go to make use of the bathroom. By the time I get back, she’s already gone.

She’s sitting at the kitchen table, Chuck and Rhonda across from her, and this time Josh is apparently on kitchen duty, putting some kind of casserole dish on the table. Ruby throws me a smile as she pats the seat beside her in an invitation. A vast difference from the pensive woman earlier this afternoon. I lean down to press a kiss on her mouth.

“Josh made eggplant parmesan,” she says with a hint of excitement, her lips mumbling under mine. “It’s my favorite, and he says he’ll teach me how to make it.”

I pull back and look at Josh, who can’t quite hide the smile on his face as he returns to the counter to grab a bowl of salad. I do my best to curb the flash of jealousy. Had I known the right food choice would put the smile on her face, I would have opted for cooking instead of having her come on my fingers.

“Lucky guess,” he says on a shrug, as he catches me looking. Smug bastard.

“I’ll keep it in mind.” I smile as insincerely as I can, drawing a chuckle from Chuck. I’m being an ass. It’s not even been twenty-four hours and already I’m growing bristles.

“Never mind them,” Rhonda says. “They like to stir the pot.” She serves healthy portions of the dish on each of our plates. I hate that it smells fantastic.

The nap, and possibly the orgasm I gave her, seems to have done Ruby some good. She’s far more animated during dinner than she’d been the rest of the day. In contrast, I seem to have woken up with a chip on my shoulder. This kind of suspended animation we’re in, being at the total mercy of others, is starting to grate on me. I don’t like the feeling of not having a hand in the course of things. It makes me more vulnerable than I’m comfortable with.

Ruby notices my changed mood and leans in. “Are you okay?” she wants to know. I throw her a smile and grab her hand, covering it on my thigh, but I don’t answer. I tell myself it’s because I don’t want to have to lie in front of the agents, but the truth is, I’m pouting like a damn schoolgirl. After that, the earlier excited mood quickly drains from Ruby, and soon she is back to quietly pensive again.

I’m the bastard.

“Boop...” I draw her attention after we finish the meal. A pretty fucking awesome meal, although I hate to admit it. Ruby’s rinsing plates in the kitchen and I really need to apologize. In private. “Do you have a minute?”

With a small nod and a wipe of her hands on the towel, she follows me up the stairs. Once in our room, she walks right by me and sits down on the edge of the bed, her expression weary. I put that there.

“Sorry,” I say, as I walk up and sink down on my knees in front of her, my hands bracing on the mattress on either side of her. Her big shiny eyes take in my features. “I’m being an ass. I don’t like feeling this out of control. It’s making me moody.”

Tentatively her hand comes up, and with her fingers, she starts combing through my hair. “Okay,” she says softly. “But why did you seem angry at Josh?”

On a deep sigh, I put my face in her lap where she continues to play with my hair. “He made you smile—happy. I want to be the one to do that. I want to be the one to cook you your favorite foods and make you smile in excitement and allow you to forget for one damn minute this goddamn prison we’re in.” I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly, before I continue in a low voice. “I don’t like feeling useless. Especially, when it come to you. I don’t ever want to feel useless again.”

I’m surprised at my own words. They come from a place where I thought I’d carefully barricaded the sense of helplessness—the feelings of inadequacy. Starting with the moment I realized Ruby had tried to commit suicide, through the six or so weeks of her recovery, to right now: forced into a situation where I can’t seem to do anything for her. A snort escapes me. How ironic to finally fall deeply, irrevocably in love, and have it not be enough.

“Are you crying?” Ruby’s soft voice makes me aware of the hot tears leaking from my eyes, and slowly soaking into her jeans. I don’t even care. When she shifts, I lift my head from her lap, and she scoots herself back on the bed. “Come here,” she beckons, her hand outstretched. I crawl up after her, where she pulls my head to her chest and resumes the gentle stroking motions through my hair. “Do you want to know what pulled me back from the edge of darkness those first few weeks?” The question hangs for a minute as I press my ear to the steady beat of her heart. “Your tears,” she whispers, wiping at the wetness on my face. “Every time I want to disappear into nothing, I remember the broken sound of your voice, when I just woke up in the hospital. It makes me want to live up to the person you see when you look at me, even when I don’t feel worthy.” Her soothing hands work silently for a while as I let her words sink in. What a pair we are. “You give me the promise of a life I hadn’t even dared dream of,
Mi Vida.
Don’t ever think yourself useless again, because you are the root I want to grow on.”

I lift my head from her chest, and blindly, my mouth finds hers. I am raw with unfamiliar emotion and pour it all in this kiss. A melding of lips that starts out on a hint of bitter salt, but turns into the rich, sweet taste of promise.

R
uby

I’m so lost in the feel of him against my lips and under my hands, I’ve become oblivious to my surroundings.

So I don’t notice Chuck until Tim pulls away from me.

“Grab your shoes and coat. We’ve gotta get out of here,” he says urgently, peeking through the curtains to the street below.

“Did something happen?” Tim wants to know.

“Just hurry,” he hisses urgently.

Before we have a chance to even get out coats, a loud bang sounds from downstairs.

“Goddammit. NOW!” Chuck ushers us into the hallway, but instead of going down, he directs us up the stairs. I’m wedged between Tim at my front and Chuck at my back, flinching at the shots and yelling coming from downstairs. Chuck doesn’t give us a chance to think. He shoves us in the small room on the far side of the landing, closing the door behind him. He pulls on a latch in the ceiling and a set of stairs drop down. Tim heads up first, and reaches down for me. Chuck is the last one up and pulls the ladder back up. Pressing his finger to his lips, we can clearly hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. With only hand gestures, he directs us to walk across a beam to a small round window on one side of the attic space we ended up in. Surprisingly, we all manage to crawl through. I panicked for a second when my hips seemed to get stuck, but a shove from behind had me tumbling onto a narrow ledge, where Tim managed to grab me before I slid off the side.

I can’t breathe, panic is closing off my airway, as my heart is threatening to pound out of my chest. I freeze. The grim determination on Tim’s face as he pulls me along the roof, three stories above the ground, and the fast and furious instructions from Chuck behind me, are the only things that keep my feet moving. The ledge is slick with the snow that hasn’t stopped coming down. More than once I almost lose my footing, but Tim’s firm hand on my wrist and Chuck’s steadying grip on the waistband of my jeans, keep me upright.