Brutal Obsession (The Safeguard Series, Book One) (20 page)

Ashlyn had never turned on the lamp positioned on the nightstand, which meant only thin beams of moonlight illuminated the room. It was more than enough to drink in her beauty. Keane gently took the weapon from her hand and set it down by the alarm clock, within easy reach. It was as if he’d pulled the trigger on their passion. Each of them slowly undressed in front of each other, eager for another taste of one another while still taking their time to enjoy the view.

Keane took off his shoulder holster, setting both the leather case and his weapon on the floor in case it was needed. The one thing they couldn’t do without was the condom currently in his wallet. He made sure it was on the bedside table, as well. Within a matter of minutes, both of them stood vulnerable in front of each other. The thing of it was, he didn’t consider himself defenseless with her. He felt invincible.

Ashlyn stood at five feet, six inches in her bare feet. Her breasts were more than a handful and Keane appreciated their sensitivity. He reached out now and brushed a thumb across her nipple, feeling it harden underneath his touch. He heard her quick inhalation and he swore that sharp sound traveled through his body. There was nothing more satisfying than pleasing a woman, although not just any woman.

“Your response to my touch is as breathtaking as it ever was,” Keane murmured, taking his hand and trailing his fingers down the curved side of her breast. He didn’t stop as he traced the valley of her waist and over her hip. Her arms had been by her sides, but it seemed she didn’t want to waste time. Her warm hands rested on his chest as she took a step forward. “I never did get my fill of you and I highly doubt I ever will. You’re like an addiction I can’t shake.”

Ashlyn took matters into her own hands and pushed away from him, lying back against the tousled sheets and reaching out her arms. He didn’t hesitate to slip in between her legs, resting himself against her. He propped himself up on his elbow to give him leverage and leaned in to press his lips softly against her neck. She’d tilted her head to give him more access and he inhaled the fragrance of the shower gel she’d used earlier. It wasn’t what she normally used, but it was still
her
all the same. She was downright intoxicating.

“I missed you,” Keane whispered honestly, pulling back enough so that he could watch Ashlyn’s reaction. She had never truly allowed him inside of her life, but there didn’t appear to be any barriers between them this time. “I never realized how much until this very moment.”

Keane didn’t give Ashlyn time to respond. He began to love her the way she deserved. Every touch, stroke, and caress was meant to convey his feelings. There wasn’t a place on her body that he didn’t pay attention to in some way or another. By the time he was done, he’d left them both wanting only more.

Ashlyn turned them so that Keane was resting on the bed and she was straddling him. Her hair hung over her shoulder, covering and moving lightly across his chest and she, too, had her way with him. She returned the affection and by the time they each had their turn…they were both breathless and in need of more.

“Here,” Ashlyn whispered, sitting up and reaching behind her for the condom he’d set on the nightstand. “Let me have this pleasure.”

“Your touch is all the indulgence I need,” Keane countered, telling her nothing but the truth. “You take what you need from me, Ashlyn.”

Ashlyn’s smile was bright enough to see even in the semi-darkness. They were both shaking with need, most likely having taken too long to reach this point. She was right, though. They had each acquired their own pleasures, but yet there was so much more to be had.

Keane watched closely as Ashlyn tore the foiled package and removed the lubricated disc. She took her time fitting the latex over him, prolonging the exquisite torture he was experiencing underneath her fingertips. She lifted herself and positioned his tip at her entrance.

They both closed their eyes as instinct took over. Ashlyn rested her hands on his chest, using him as leverage as she rotated her hips around and down. By the time she started to lift herself off of her knees, Keane only had to rest his hands lightly on her waist as she controlled her movements, taking both of them to the highest heights of pleasure.

They had spent the rest of the night hours getting reacquainted and taking small breaks in between. They had to improvise since they’d only had access to one condom, but there were other ways to pleasure one another. Morning light was streaming through the shades by the time they were done. Keane pulled Ashlyn close and held her tight, knowing fate had already decided their future. They just needed to stop and listen long enough to get it right this time. It wasn’t every day that people were given a second chance, let alone for those in his chosen profession.

Keane heard the vibration of his cell phone before it woke Ashlyn, so he answered quickly, knowing she needed her rest. He wasn’t so sure she would get the sleep she needed after he’d answered the call.

“Aiden Younger was found dead in his apartment,” Townes Calvert informed him from only one place that could have the incessant whirling sounds in the background. “I’m headed to D.C. myself by the request of the Attorney General. Victor Wright isn’t who we are looking for. He has an airtight alibi for the time of death and has been nothing but cooperative. We’re looking for someone else, Sanderson. Ms. Ellis isn’t safe to return to the city until an actual arrest has been made. See to it that no harm comes to her.”

Keane had pushed himself up on his elbow to take the call, but it had also given him leverage to watch Ashlyn sleep. He didn’t want to tell her that one of her paralegals had been another casualty by the hands of this monster who was after her. He didn’t want to tell her they were no closer to catching the son of a bitch than they had been before.

“Don’t worry, Calvert,” Keane answered in a soft tone so as not to disturb Ashlyn. Her light brown lashes were resting against her flushed cheeks, the first time he’d seen color in them since he’d reentered her life. “I’ll keep Ashlyn safe, no matter the cost.”

‡

A
shlyn wiped away
another tear with the endless stream of tissues Keane had given her, blowing at some strands of hair that were sticking to the side of her face. She ended up moving them out of the way with trembling fingers. All that did was make her mad, because she absolutely hated the fact that she was being made to feel so helpless by this cowardly piece of shit. It had taken most of the morning to digest what had happened to her small world of coworkers, but not being able to be with Gina, Mia, Parker, and Reed to commiserate was the worst of it. She couldn’t even do so much as call them to make sure they were doing all right.

“I want to do something,” Ashlyn exclaimed in anguish, leaning her head back against Keane’s chest. He’d made her breakfast this morning after breaking the news to her, but she could barely keep anything down. She’d lost her appetite, but that appeared to be the status quo lately. “I want to talk to Aiden’s parents. I want to be with my team. I want this to stop.”

“You exposing yourself to the very person who’s committing these crimes wouldn’t be beneficial in any way to anyone,” Keane responded, resting his chin atop of her head. It amazed her that such a beautiful night could be followed up with such tragedy. She pulled his arms tighter around her waist, grateful he was here with her. “You’d become a target and he would do whatever it took to get you in his grasp.”

“At least Victor’s been cleared of any wrongdoing,” Ashlyn offered up, tracing the edges of Keane’s watch. She glanced down at the black dialed face, noting it was nothing too fancy. He preferred to dress nice and have nice things, but he never went overboard. She wondered what Keane would think of her dad and then pondered if that would ever happen. They’d agreed to take this day-by-day, but having someone out there killing people and targeting her didn’t make that an easy feat. “You mentioned that Mr. Calvert spoke to my father. Are he and my mother doing okay?”

“They’re on their way back from Italy.” Keane reached for the list of names Coen had given them yesterday. Yesterday? It seemed like they’d been here for weeks. “I keep going over the people who had access to Garner who have the knowledge base to pull off what he’s done so far. There are numerous IT technicians on this list, but we know Aiden’s key card was used to gain access to the garage.”

“Which means the person we’re looking for wouldn’t be on the list of those who were there at the time. It’s mutually exclusive. If he used Aiden’s ID to wand into the building, his ID wouldn’t be on the list.” Ashlyn reached out and took the piece of paper from Keane’s hand. She reviewed the names again, noticing that Dennis Paavo wasn’t listed. “You mentioned Agent Coulter looked into Dennis. I can’t imagine he would do anything like this, but did anything ever come of that?”

Ashlyn loathed that she was actually sorting through the people she worked with like suspects in a novel. It wasn’t fair to those who were innocent to have their lives dissected or for them to be interrogated, like Victor, when they’d done nothing wrong.

“Calvert should be in D.C. by now,” Keane replied with an underlying confidence in his tone. “I don’t know my superior on a personal level all that well, but I can tell you that he won’t leave a stone unturned now that he’s involved in the investigation. My job? To stay by your side and ensure your safety.”

“Adam Walker, one of Bishop Vance’s paralegals, isn’t on the list.” It wasn’t that Ashlyn was ignoring what Keane was saying, she was just realizing all the people who could have used Aiden’s key card. “And—”

“Ash, you can keep going over and over searching for who wasn’t in the building, but you and I know it could easily have been someone already checked into the building.” Keane removed the paper from Ashlyn’s hand and leaned forward, so that she had to do the same. She crisscrossed her legs and sat facing forward, watching as he folded the list in half. “What about Reed or Parker? What about Paul and his team of technicians? Or Noah, the man who installed the hardware Victor brought over the other night? He isn’t accounted for. They all could have easily used Aiden’s key card. It could very well be a setup to throw the FBI off of his trail. And you’re assuming you know him. It could very well be someone you see in court or the person who delivers your mail to Gina.”

Ashlyn gave a small growl of frustration, running her fingers through her hair before pushing herself off of the couch. She’d changed into a pair of shorts and one of her favorite lightweight summer sweaters with the colors of the American flag sewn into the material. She pushed up the quarter-length sleeves and had been about to ask if Keane wanted more coffee when his phone vibrated.

“It’s Brody, telling us that Calvert called in Royce. I haven’t had the privilege of meeting him yet, but he’s the fifth team member and very proficient at this type of investigation.” Keane was relaying what was on the display of his phone, using his index finger to scroll through the text. “Well, look at that. It appears Royce worked for the Bureau less than a year back in the day before 9/11. He quit the Bureau and then joined the Marines, serving twelve years before returning home.”

“Your team is heavy on the military experience, as well as some civilian law enforcement,” Ashlyn said, thankful she had so many people on her side. It still didn’t stop her from experiencing guilt for Jarod and Aiden’s deaths. No one could take back what happened, even should the FBI or SSI find the man who did this. “I bet this isn’t how you pictured your first assignment going.”

“No, it isn’t,” Keane replied with a half-smile, looking up to rest his gaze on her. He set his phone on the coffee table and then stood, walking over to where Ashlyn was aimlessly pacing the floor. He stopped her by placing his hands on her shoulders and forcing her to remain still. “But this first mission gave us another chance, didn’t it? We’re being given time together when our normal lives wouldn’t have ordinarily allowed that. Why don’t we spend the afternoon getting to know one another again?”

Ashlyn raised an eyebrow in question, the weight of grief and fear lifting slightly at Keane’s sincere smile. He also laughed at her misinterpretation of his proposal.

“I’m not talking about sex, Miss Federal Prosecutor.” Keane drifted his fingers over the fabric of her sweater until her hands were in his. The heat they’d created just from touching made her think that maybe they should move this into the bedroom. She’d missed this intimacy. She’d missed him. “I want to get to know you again. I want to know what you’ve done since we were last together. I’d like to hear about your family, your work, and how you think this might work between us. Let’s face it, long distance relationships aren’t the easiest.”

Ashlyn was keenly aware that Keane was getting her to think of something other than the fact that two people she’d considered friends had been killed. She’d spent more time with Aiden on a daily basis than she did with her parents. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, finally accepting that there wasn’t anything she could do to change things.