Blyssfully Undone: The Blyss Trilogy - book 3 (13 page)

“Looks as if they discovered the tracking device in her hip, and then removed it. After chasing down and scaring the shit out of a Coca-Cola truck driver, we searched his truck from top to bottom. Found your device pinned underneath the bumper.”

There is nothing for me to say. I’m speechless. With my hands beginning to shake, I disconnect the phone call. I close my eyes as my stomach drops to the floor, and a wave of nausea washes over me.

I run my hand over my face in a show of loss and frustration, and lean back in my chair with an untold amount of tension vibrating through my veins.

“What’s the verdict?” Jared asks concerned, still standing beside me.

“I’ve lost her, Jared. I’ve fucking lost her.” My voice is empty and devoid of emotion as I stare up at the ceiling and shake my head in disbelief. I can’t even describe the mixture of anger and loss I feel. It’s causing me to have this massive pain in my chest that won’t go away.

I reach out to grab my computer monitor with both hands, having every intention of smashing it to smithereens, but Jared stops me. He quickly puts his own hands on my monitor, and reassures me with conviction, “She will resurface. She has to.”

“I know better. With Travis in charge, he’s too smart and cunning to let her resurface. They’re headed underground. I can feel it.”

Jared leans down, placing his elbows on my desk, and looks at me through those thick glasses of his. “Travis may want to take her into hiding, but as we both know, if Jules doesn’t want to do something, she’s going to find a way around it. I have a very hard time believing she would willingly go with him and leave everything she’s ever known behind. You know as well as I do that when she gets something in her mind, she can be a hot one to handle. She’s like a dog with a bone.” I rub the scruff on my jawline, contemplating Jared’s words. “And the man is going to run out of Blyss, if he hasn’t already. That sure as heck won’t help his cause.”

“You may be right.” But then again, he might be wrong. At this point, what choice do I have, but to keep my ear to the ground and wait?

“Do you want me to call Lance?” Jared offers.

I shake my head. “I’ll let him know.”

The new trainer steps into my office. “Sir, we’re having trouble in room five.”

“Again?” I ask, put off by the insipid intrusion.

“Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“I’m not running a half-assed operation here. You either need to start learning how to handle this shit, or I need to get someone in here who knows what the fuck they’re doing, and can make things start happening yesterday. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir. Very clear.” He turns on his heel and quickly leaves out my door.

This shit is not going to crumble around me, dammit. I’ve worked too long and hard to get this far in the game. The amount of scientific knowledge and technological security we had to put in place in the very beginning was astronomical, and I’ll be damned if I let this multi-billion dollar opportunity begin to falter, all because I don’t have God’s gift to women here in the facility—Travis, the bastard. I have no one qualified or charismatic enough to work these women the way he did. The motherfucker. Since he’s been gone, I haven’t been able to replace him. Everyone is supposed to be replaceable.

I’m trying to keep a cool head and not lose my shit like last time, but it’s damn hard. All I can think about is him fucking her, and I want to destroy something. Knowing how much she loves her father and Jake, I hope Jared is right. He’s pretty sharp at reading people and understanding the human psyche. I have to hang on to that little bit of hope that she will surface at some point.

“I’m going to need a stiff drink, Jared.”

Jules

I rest my cheek against Travis’ shoulder as he holds me in his lap like a child. He spreads open his legs on the bench seat of the van, and my butt slinks down onto to the soft leather cushion. I’m at the perfect height to rest my ear against his chest, and with the bulletproof vests removed, I can now hear the steady rhythm of his heart. I close my eyes, enjoying the safety of his strong arms. I’m totally spent, too tired to even ask where we’re all headed.

Once the implant was taken out of my hip, Stryker immediately passed it off to Quinn, who apparently stood guard right outside of the van doors. I didn’t ask what he did with it; all I could assume is that he smashed it to smithereens. Then, Stryker had to put a couple small stitches in before he bandaged me up.

All of us have been in the van for the better part of an hour now, and everyone has been quiet except for a few one-sentence comments here and there. I can assume the men don’t want to say too much of anything in front of me. Either that, or they’re coming off an adrenaline high and are now dealing with the aftershocks. I’m not sure who took down the man who held Travis at gunpoint, nor do I dare ask right now. Either way, it’s just another nightmare for me to live with. Those images are permanently etched into my mind, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forget them. I snuggle farther into his broad chest, inhaling his familiar scent, trying to seek comfort for my troubled soul.

Travis slowly skates his fingertips along the length of my arm, leaving goose bumps in their wake, and then gently interlaces his fingers with mine. My belly dips in response to his light touch. I lift my chin to look at him with questioning eyes. He understands I want to whisper something to him, so he leans down and tilts his ear to my lips. “Is it all over now? Are all the bad guys gone?” He pulls away, and rests his head against the seat. A quick flash of remorse flits across his eyes before he closes his lids and softly sighs.

“No…not really, baby,” he whispers back. “But they can’t track us now. We’re one up on them.” I lay my head back down against his broad chest, and I simply want to cry. I’m so wrought with tension, and at the same time, I’m an emotional wreck. Will this never end? Am I going to have to live on the run for the rest of my life?

“Hey now.” He lets go of my hand, his forefingers lifting my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. “Don’t overthink it. We’re sitting pretty right now. They’re not going to be able to find us, and as long as I have anything to do it, that will be the case forever.”

Forever?
“Forever is a long time, Travis. Just what is that supposed to entail?” I whisper back nervously. I have a feeling I do not fully understand the implications or magnitude of his statement.

He shakes his head and whispers in my ear, “Right now is not the time to discuss this.”

I bite my lip in nervous frustration. I’m sure if we did talk about it now in front of his men, the conversation could only escalate into a major blowout, because let’s face it—I can have an attitude sometimes. I have a feeling he placated me at the hotel, telling me that eventually I could call home, but somehow I don’t see that coming to fruition anytime soon, if ever.
Another lie perhaps?
My thoughts are completely scattered, running from one dilemma to the next, and I can’t seem to focus on any one problem at a time.

“Shh, baby,” he soothingly whispers. He tries to console me by pressing my ear back over his heartbeat as he holds my head firmly against him. He begins to rock me methodically back and forth while keeping his soft lips pressed to the top of my head, whispering over me, “Shh, I’m going to take care of you. We’re going to be all right.”

I want to believe Travis so badly. I want to trust that everything is going to be all right. My gut instinct just knows that everything is anything but all right. The stresses of the previous two days have caught up to me, and all too soon, his rocking, tender ministrations, and the steady thrum of the van’s engine has my eyes growing heavy. I’m sure with everything I’ve been through my body is shifting into self-preservation mode. I let my eyes flutter closed and slip into a dreamless sleep in the arms of a man I don’t know if he’s a good-bad guy, or a bad-bad guy.

“Wake up, baby…” I vaguely hear the words whispered over me. His warm breath fans across my ear as I hear his soothing voice speak again. “Sweetheart, it’s time to get up.” I don’t want to wake up. I grumble unintelligible words as I ignore him and roll to my side, away from him as I pull the covers tightly around my body. He chuckles softly against my cheek before placing a light kiss there.

“C’mon, sleepyhead,” he playfully whispers as he nudges me. He’s making me grow grumpy. I don’t want to get up, so I swat at the air behind me, but miss my target as I will him to go away.

A deep chuckle ensues, and he tears the blanket off my body in one fell swoop. All the warmth and body heat I had going on dissipates immediately. “Seriously?” I grumble irately.

His hand slips underneath my t-shirt as he places his palm on my bare skin below the crease of my breasts. I lose my breath. His touch sends a scorching fire directly to my core.

“It’s time to get up, my sleeping beauty,” he huskily whispers just before he softly kisses the outer shell of my ear.

“I don’t wanna get up,” I whine, half asleep.

“Mmm, I know what will wake you,” he says as he softly and strategically places slow and passionate kisses down the length of my neck.

“You’re not playing fair,” I moan. I know Travis all too well; he’s going to win this one. He always wins. I give a yawn as I roll onto my back and stretch my body, placing my arms above my head while arching my back in a much-needed stretch. I know my hard nipples are protruding from the thin fabric of my t-shirt as I not-so-innocently stretch.

A low growl emits from the back of his throat, and I grin. “Talk about not playing fair.” He slips a hand underneath my shirt as he cups my breast. My heart beats double-time when his thumb softly brushes across the tip of my nipple. I freeze in my stretching position, allowing him free reign over my body, and close my eyes as I bask in his tender touch. God help me, I want him.

He captures both my wrists with his free hand, and my eyes flutter open. “Travis?”

“Shh, just let me touch you.” I know where he’s headed with this. I know he can never stop with just one touch, and the smoldering look he’s giving me is a dead giveaway. I lose my breath as he rolls my hard nipple between his thumb and forefinger. “You’re wet for me already, aren’t you?” His deep, husky voice adds to my wetness.

I shift my eyes away from his, blushing, and I notice we’re not in a hotel room anymore. We’re in somebody’s bedroom. “Where are we?”

“We’re at Quinn’s house.”

“Oh? What time is it?” My brows lift as I wonder how long I’ve been asleep. I don’t remember anything. I thought I would’ve at least stirred awake with Travis having to carry me from the van. He lets out a soft sigh, removes his hand from underneath my shirt, and smooths it out before he leans over me to grab the mini alarm clock.

“It’s a little after six. Are you hungry?” he replies. I shrug, not really knowing what I am at the moment. Horny or hungry, either way, it’s a win-win.

“A few of the guys pitched in and cooked dinner for everyone.” I slant my head to the side, studying him a moment. His hair is damp, he’s in a fresh change of clothes, and he smells amazing. “C’mon, it’s been a long day, and I think you need to get up and eat a little something.”

Reluctantly, I sit up in bed, but apparently, I’m not moving fast enough for Travis, as he takes both my hands, pulls me out of bed, and into his arms. “You’ll feel better after you eat a decent dinner, and then you can take a shower.”

Travis has me holding his hand as we head downstairs. The loud, boisterous chatter of the other men’s voices carries throughout the house. They’re all laughing and carrying on in the kitchen, and for some reason, it relaxes me a little bit.

Someone speaks out over the voices, and says, “I don’t know about you guys, but I sure as hell could use a sweet place to park my dick right about now.”

“Well, Stryker, right there’s the freezer,” I hear Quinn respond as he begins to chuckle. “I’ve got a bag of frozen peas to park your dick on this time,” he says, and then breaks out in laughter.

I can’t help but crack a smile at whatever their inside joke is. Travis brings me to a halt in the hallway, pulling me into his side, and then whispers in my ear, “Shh, I wanna hear this one.”