Beyond Revenge (The Ransom Series) (22 page)

Her Devotion

∞

I can ask for
nothing more

than I am already
given.

The light she
shines into my life.

The child she
delivered into my arms.

The love she shows
me every day.

My family is
everything.

So much gained,
yet so much to lose.

And I will protect
them at all costs.

Whatever it takes.

∞

It’s a beautiful thing to awaken to the
natural sunlight of day and a silent house.  In the last
few
weeks I’ve become accustomed to Dante’s cries for food and comfort
waking us up in the morning, but today is an exception.  Today I get to enjoy
the feeling of being wrapped around Morgan in bed before we get up to see to
Dante’s needs.

And I’m going to enjoy every minute of
it.

My arm is already around Morgan’s more
normal-sized belly, but I tighten my grip on her just a little, taking in the
warmth of her body next to me and letting her presence
keep
me in a peaceful state.  I have everything I could ever want in
this house between the woman in my arms and the baby in the nursery down the
hall.  I never thought life would feel as complete as this, but it truly does,
and I couldn’t be happier.

Morgan stirs next to me.  I know I
should stay still and let her fall back
a
sleep, but
I’m a little greedy this morning.  I release my grip of her and move my hand to
her hair, running my fingers through the silky
dark blond
strands.

She draws a deep breath and turns her
head around to see me.  Her expression forms a brilliant smile, and I can’t
help kissing her, first softly on the cheek, then harder and deeper and with
more intensity as she shifts the rest of her body onto her back to give me
better access.  My hand cups the side of her face, pulling her to me harder
with each kiss so I can taste her and give her all the love she deserves.

My hand lingers down her neck until my
curious fingers venture out to trace the line of her collarbone and slowly work
down her chest.  When my hand slips under her silky camisole to find her firm
breast, the desire to take her nipple in my mouth to relieve some of that
pressure is almost overpowering, but I leave that task for the baby who I know
will be wild with hunger for his mother’s milk when he wakes up.

My touch finds the curve of Morgan’s
hip before sneaking past the lining of her underwear.  I probe gently, finding
that she
’
s already wet and waiting for my touch.  My
fingers move to the one place I can pleasure her during her recovery from
childbirth, and I take full advantage of it, giving her clit the utmost
attention of my fingers while I continue to kiss her.

The circular motions are soft and slow
at first, causing her to quiver and moan.  Her eyes roll back into her head in
pure bliss as my fingers quicken and apply just enough pressure to keep her on
that brink of ultimate pleasure.  Her hips writhe against my hand until she
gasps out and unleashes a flurry of muffled expletives.

Reluctant to let go, I let my fingers
continue to work her clit until her quick breaths become more even and she’s
able to look me in the eyes like a normal person again.

“Jesus, Leo.”  Her hand reaches out to
the side of my face, but she can’t seem to find any more words to say.

I’ve rendered her essentially
speechless.  I’d call that success.

Her hand on my face quickly works its
way down my neck and shoulder to my arm.  Within moments it’s trailing down my
chest until it finds just how excited I am to see
her
next
to me this morning.

The silence around us is
shattered
as the first cries begin over the baby monitor, a slight whimper
at first that builds to Dante’s signature cry of hunger.

Morgan and I look at each other and
smile, knowing that our intimate moment is over and it’s time for us to get up
and be parents, but we’re not upset about it.  I know she shares my sentiment
that Dante’s needs come before everything else, even if that means sleepless
nights and lack of couple time.  We’d do anything and everything for him.

“I’ll get Dante if you’ll start some
coffee?” Morgan offers.

“Deal.  I’ll even throw in making
pancakes.”

“Spoiling me today.”  She grins and
kisses me briefly before we both roll out of bed.

Morgan can’t seem to take her eyes off
my bare chest and looks disappointed as I throw on a white T-shirt.  She pouts
playfully as she starts walking down the hall in her camisole and underwear. 
She’s going to make it hard to concentrate on making breakfast if she stays
dressed–or undressed–like that all morning.

I hear her speak soothing words to
Dante over the baby monitor as I wash up quickly in the bathroom.  By the time
I make it out to the living room, she already has Dante
dressed
and
nursing in
her arms.

I lean down to where they’re sitting
and kiss Dante
over the soft layer of dark hair on his
head.  “Morning little guy.”  I steal a kiss from Morgan before getting started
on coffee and breakfast in the kitchen.

I’m just about to set the coffee maker
to brew when the cell phone rings on the counter.  I
glance at it and
see
Robert’s cell
phone
number on
the caller ID.

Morgan looks at me questioningly.  I
try to give her a
reassuring
smile as I answer the
call.
 
“Hello?”

“Leo, you have to get out!  They’re here. 
They’re going to break through!”
 
Robert yells
something unintelligible, and a crashing sound fills the call.

Panic surges within me, flooding
adrenaline into my veins.  “Who’s there?  What’s going on?”

“I’ve been compromised.  The fucking FBI. 
They’re trying to break down the door.”  He pauses, breathing heavily into the
phone while I’m frozen in fear and silence.  “They could have followed me to
your house.  They may know where you are.  You have to get yourselves out of
there!”
 
There’s another loud crashing amidst the
sounds of Cindy’s relentless sobs.

My petrified gaze meets Morgan’s
worried face, and together we’re instantly thrown back into the chaos that was
our lives
before
settling down in this house.  Our months
of peace and contentment are over.  We’re at risk again, but even more so
now
with a needy and defenseless baby in tow.

“I’ll get them to safety.  Don’t
worry.”

Robert doesn’t get a chance to respond to me. 
With one final crash, the call fills with voice upon voice speaking
forcefully
and yelling in a cacophony of chaotic
sound.  The moment I hear Cindy’s piercing scream, the call disconnects.

I drop the phone on the counter and
smash it with the handle of a knife.  When I look back up, Morgan’s already to
standing with Dante in her shaking arms.  The look on her face is one that I
haven’t seen since the day I got her back.  It tells me everything in that one
expression.  She already knows just how bad our situation is.

I rush to her and grip her shoulders
tightly, forcing her to look me directly in the eyes so I know she
understands.  “The FBI is raiding your parents’ house. 
Your dad
thinks they may know where we are.  We need to go.”

She nods, just barely, and hurries
with Dante
down the hall to the bedroom.  I quickly collect
the emergency bag of weapons, burner phones, and spare cash hidden away behind
some boxes in the pantry before I run to the bedroom and throw on some jeans. 
By the time I’m done stuffing clothes from the dresser into a
duffel bag
, Morgan emerges from the nursery fully dressed with an overflowing
diaper bag and a crying baby in hand.  We stare at each other, lost for a
moment, before we come out of it enough to make it out of the house and into
the Jeep.

I load up the bags in back while Morgan
straps Dante into the car seat.  Her hands are shaking so
violently that
she can’t get the buckle to click correctly.

Touching her shoulder gently, I ease her back from the
car. 
“It’s okay.  I got it.”

Morgan steps out of the way, and within
seconds I have Dante secured in the car seat facing backward in its base in the
middle of the back seat.  We get in the car and slam the doors, the silence in
that moment almost more terrifying than any of the previous ten minutes.  I
take one last look at the house we’ve called home for almost half a year, the
place where we put the broken pieces of ourselves back together, where our love
for each other continued to grow, and where our son was born, then I start the
engine and drive us away into the unknown.

With Morgan’s hand held tightly in
mine, I constantly check the rear view mirror and scan the horizon ahead for
any sign of someone
following behind or coming for us
. 
It takes a good ten minutes before I
’m
sure enough
that no one is there, and I feel like I can finally breathe again.

Then I look at Morgan, and my relief
comes crashing down.

She sits silently in the seat beside
me, her eyes reddened
with
tears streaking down her
face.  It’s only now that I realize through
softening the connection of
our
hands that the tremor in her body remains.  I instantly bring
her hand to my mouth and press my lips to it to give her any comfort that I
can.

While I’m trying to transfer that
feeling of serenity and love to her, internally I’m so fucking angry
with
myself.  I feel like I’ve failed her again.  We finally had a safe
place together, somewhere we thought no one would find us, the perfect home for
our new family, and it was just ripped away like it never existed.  We’re right
back where we started but running from a new threat this time.

“It’ll be okay.”  I squeeze her hand
tighter.  “I won’t let anything happen to you or Dante.  We’re going to be
fine.”

“It’s never going to end, is it?” 
Morgan’s defeated voice absolutely tears me
apart
inside.  “They’re always going to
look
for us. 
They’ll watch my parents’ every move now.  God, we’ll never see them again.”

She pulls away and her
head falls into
her hands as devastation seems to swallow her.  I immediately bring the
Jeep
to a stop along the desert road and pull her into my arms.  She
grasps at me desperately and sobs into my shoulder, and I let her take the time
she needs while I give her what seems like hopeless comfort.

I wish I could believe my own words
that everything will be fine, but right now nothing is right.  We had it all,
then watched it fall apart within minutes.

I try to give her the silver lining,
small as it may be.  “At least we still have each other.  We have Dante.”

Even as the words come out of my mouth,
my mind treads on thoughts of what would happen if the authorities found us. 
They would separate me from Morgan.  They would take our baby away from us.  We
may never see Dante again.

My throat constricts, and I know I need
to push those thoughts from my mind.  I need to
focus and
be strong for my family.  Morgan’s going to need me to be her rock
again, so I solidify my resolve and my belief that we’ll make it out of this
okay.  It’s the only reality and only future I can imagine for us right now,
because anything else means the end, and I’m not ready for this to end.  I won’t
lose my family all over again.

When Morgan finally pulls back from me,
she looks just as much of a mess as I feel inside.  I wipe away her remaining
tears with my thumb before grasping the side of her face and bringing her mouth
to mine in a brief but soothing kiss.
 
“I’ll call
Jack.  We can find somewhere temporary to go, but he can help us get back on
our feet permanently.”

Morgan nods at my suggestion, but
that’s all the reaction I can get out of her.  I can see her attempts to steel
her expression and her nerves.  She’s trying to be strong as she has been so
many times before even though I’m trying to be strong for the three of us.

I quickly get out and go to the back of
the Jeep.  I grab one of the phones from our emergency bag and pull the scrap
of paper with Jack’s number out of my wallet.

It rings and rings
,
but he doesn’t answer.  I get his voicemail and quickly debate
leaving a message.  I know I need to focus on things other than calling him
back
constantly
, so I opt for the message but keep it
brief
. 
I slip back into the driver’s seat and steal a
glance at Morgan before getting us back on the road.

She stares out the window aimlessly for
the next two hours as we drive away from everything we’ve known for the last
six months to find
a place of refuge,
somewhere random
and new.  I stop at a diner just off the main road.  It’s mid-morning, past the
breakfast rush and
before
the lunchtime crowd, so the
parking lot outside is practically empty.