Guild of Truth 02 - Shield from the Heart (25 page)

“So you’re not afraid anymore?”

“No, I’m still terrified, but I have to make my own decisions — including about who I want to be with.”

“And who’s that?”

She fisted her hands on her hips. “It’s you.”

His eyes sparked but he remained aloof. “What about Joel? He’s all you know, you’ve loved him for the past three years.”

He’d thrown some of her own words back at her, but she refused to back down. “He
was
all I knew. But I know you now. And did love him for the past three years — I still love him, but it’s not the same type of love. It’s time for me to move on. I’ve been trying to get a hold of him since two nights ago to break things off. He hasn’t been answering my calls.”

Again there was something in his eyes, as if he wanted to believe what she was saying but couldn’t quite do it. “You’re going to break up with him?” he asked carefully.

She stepped closer to him until they were nearly touching. She rested her hand over his heart. It pounded beneath her palm. “I am breaking up with him. I’m choosing you, Merrick. I want you.”

I love you.
It was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn’t say it.

Merrick’s grin lit up his whole face. He scooped her into his arms and together they fell onto his bed. He slid into her like he was coming home and Sydney moaned as he thrust, slow and steady, as if they had all the time in the world.

And she guessed they did. They had the rest of their lives together.

• • •

Joel pulled out his phone, half expecting to see Sydney’s picture and number. But it wasn’t her. She hadn’t called all day. He swallowed his disappointment and tried to place the area code.

With a jolt he realized that it was the Kratos Corporation.

“Holy shit,” he muttered and hurried into a deserted part of his work building. “Hello?”

“Mr. Johnson? Samuel Johnson?” A male voice answered.

“Yes?” Joel kept his eye on a nearby clock. He wouldn’t stay on the phone longer than necessary in case they were tracking it. Just yesterday someone in Kratos had tried to hack into his own computer. He needed to be wary.

“This is the Kratos Corporation calling because of your impressive resume. We’d like to set up an interview if you are still available?”

Could it be a set-up? Or had the attack on his computer system been because he’d been snooping around too much yesterday?

He took the gamble.

“I’m still available.”

“Excellent. Unfortunately, we no longer have a building in the Southern California area and apologize for our lack of professionalism. Would a meeting over coffee work for you?”

A few minutes later Joel hung up with the time and place for his meeting. It was at a local café — somewhere public, which meant that this had to be a real interview.

Are you sure? Don’t forget that Cali was lured in with a false interview months ago when Vander wanted her.

True.

He eyed his contact list, his finger hovering over Felix’s number. He could call in backup.

An image of himself flying off his feet as Merrick punched him stole through his mind.

He tucked his phone away. He could do this. He didn’t need backup. He’d prove that he could take on Kratos by himself.

He gingerly touched his nose and eyes. His face was still multicolored, he’d need to pick up some cosmetics to cover the worst of his bruising.

He talked to his boss and requested another half-day. Reluctantly his boss agreed. It probably had something to do with the fact that Joel was supposed to be on vacation but had come in when they’d been understaffed. The wonders of guilt.

His meeting wasn’t for a few hours, so he spent that time getting ready. He applied face makeup to cover his injuries. He bought colored contacts and slipped them into his eyes. As far as disguises went it wasn’t amazing. He decided to go with little changes — like Clark Kent. All he needed was a pair of glasses.

Joel slicked his hair back and added some white spray dye to his temples to give the illusion of aging.

He eyed himself in the mirror.

“Not bad.” He pulled at his suit jacket. His eyes were itching like a motherfucker but he pushed through the pain. Grabbing his keys he headed out to start phase one of his win-Syd-back plan.

• • •

“I got something,” Merrick called to Sydney. She was busy brushing her teeth. In his bathroom.

The image of her in his apartment — using his things like she belonged there, like they lived together — was enough to make him hard all over again.

She was his.

The urge to take her again rose up from deep within but he fought it back. No matter how bad he wanted to feel her inner muscles clenching around him, he’d promised to find Kevin’s journal.

They’d agreed to find it and then burn it. There was no point in keeping it if there was any chance of it falling into Vander’s hands.

Merrick had told Sydney about Vander’s offer to help find his sister. She’d sympathized and promised that after they got rid of Kevin’s journal that she’d talk to Niella. There were no guarantees with Niella, but it was better than nothing. No matter how tempting Vander’s offer, he was not to be trusted. Merrick had to continually tell himself that Vander would never help him find Alyssa, even if he did work for him. Vander would never overlook the fact that Merrick had once been playing for the “good” team. He’d had his chance to accept Vander back when he was a captive in that room in San Francisco. He made his choice long ago and he was going to have to live with it.

Arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind. The scent of vanilla teased him. He groaned low in his throat as Sydney pressed a kiss to his cheek. He turned his head to capture her mouth with his, stroking his tongue deep into her mouth. She tasted like mint.

Her eyes were heated and glazed when he finished kissing her. His cock throbbed, demanding he take relief inside her sweet body. Demanding he make her moan and writhe beneath him.

Merrick clenched his jaw.

“What’d you find?” she asked.

He focused all his attention back on his computer and pulled up the e-mail from the station. “They looked up Collette Lizeroux’s information for me and forwarded all the files. It looks like she lived in Garden Grove. The house hasn’t been foreclosed or resold yet.”

“How much you want to bet that’s Vander’s doing?” Sydney leaned closer to read the address, and Merrick noticed she was wearing one of his old t-shirts. The sight of her in his clothes made his body burn. Her clothes were still dirty from being dragged across the floor of that abandoned house yesterday.

He ran his hand lazily up the back of her thigh, lifting the hem of his shirt to find her bare beneath it.

Sydney jumped at the touch and straightened. The shirt fell back down to her mid-thigh but that still didn’t erase the image of her naked flesh from his mind. His groin tightened painfully.

“Hey, none of that.” She waggled her finger in front of him. “We’ve got work to do.” She made her way back to the bathroom. No doubt to dress.

He caught her before she made it five steps.

“Merrick.” Her voice was shaky — excited. She’d tried for exacerbation and failed miserably.

“Tell me you don’t want it.” He reached down and felt how wet she was.

Her body trembled.

He walked her to the wall and pressed her chest against it. He dropped his jeans, freeing his aching shaft. He gripped her hips and lifted her until she was on her tiptoes. She was panting and when he pushed into her she dropped her head in surrender.

Her body squeezed around him and he bit back his roar of pleasure. She was so tight — so hot. He pulled out to the tip and thrust back in. Sydney whimpered.

Merrick rode her hard and fast, demanding a climax out of her until she was shaking and exhausted.

He’d never tire of her. Every time he took her it only made him want her again, made him want her more. He’d never been so addicted to a woman — her touch, her scent, her flavor.

He felt himself hardening again.

Sydney gasped as she no doubt felt him growing inside her. “You can’t seriously — ”

He took her against the wall again, until the scent of vanilla could be smelled on his skin.

After they had finished he watched her dress on shaky legs, her whole body flushed a becoming pink. He loved taking her out of her comfort zone. He doubted she’d ever had sex anywhere other than on a bed. It made him grin to know that he was the first to take her in a shower and up against a wall. The first to make her peak in a kitchen.

“Do you need to call Felix to let him know what’s going on?”

She had her shirt held up to her face, nose wrinkled. “I figure I’ll call him when we actually find something. Do you have a washing machine here?”

They decided to stop by Sydney’s house to get her fresh clothes.

Merrick took the opportunity to snoop. Sydney’s home, like its owner, was as immaculate as ever. It looked like one big IKEA advertisement. Sydney’s room was painted bright yellow. He felt like he was standing in the center of the sun.

“How can you see in here?” He pretended to shield his eyes.

“Ha ha.” Sydney dug around in her closet. “You’d better get used to it because when we live together I’m not giving up my home for an apartment. No offense. You’re too far from the clinic too.”

Merrick froze where he was looking at the pictures on her dresser. “Did you say live together?”

She turned from the closet, a bundle of clothes in her arms. Color dotted her cheeks. “I mean — ”

Merrick strode toward her and kissed her hard on the lips. “I’d endure a million yellow rooms if it meant being with you.”

The grin she gave him made her look like a teenager.

Merrick’s heart seized in his chest. How had she wheedled her way into his life so completely?

She disappeared into the bathroom to wash off and change. A box on the top shelf of her closet caught his attention and he pulled it down.

The lid popped open easily. Inside there was a worn baseball cap, a signed baseball, an old blue T-shirt, and pictures. On top of the shirt a photo smiled up at him. Merrick picked it up carefully. Sydney was easily recognizable by the bright smile on her face. It was at a baseball game. She looked to be around nine years old, her arm slung protectively around the boy next to her. He wore a bright blue shirt and a baseball cap to hide the fact that he had no hair. Even though he was smiling, Merrick could make out the fatigued lines in his young face.

It was Sydney’s brother.

He thought of the shrine of things he had of Alyssa’s hidden away in his own closet. Then he felt like a real asshole because he’d gone looking through Sydney’s personal belongings. If she’d found Alyssa’s box without his consent he didn’t know how he’d feel about that. Definitely not warm and fuzzy.

He returned the box to the shelf just as it was. Maybe in time they’d both be able to bring out their boxes and share with each other the horror of losing the siblings they were supposed to protect.

“You ready?” Sydney poked her head through the door. Her blonde hair was damp and fell around her face in soft waves.

“Let’s go.”

“Now this is more like it,” Sydney said as she gazed out the window.

Merrick pulled in front of a large mansion of a house. It was in a posh part of town, complete with expensive SUVs and stay at home wives that walked their little dogs.

Merrick threw Sydney’s car into park and stared at the house through the windshield. He scanned the neighborhood. There weren’t too many people out and about, but there were enough. The cloudy weather from yesterday was gone, leaving them with nothing but bright sunshine. It made them easy targets to spot.

“We’ll need to go around back to sneak in.” He searched the streets for any kind of pool service van. If they could borrow a few things from the company to disguise themselves as they slipped into Collette’s backyard it would make this a whole lot easier. The last thing Merrick needed was the cops to find him breaking and entering into a house whose address he’d gotten from them.

There were no pool service vehicles. Only a dark blue SUV and a motorcycle were parked on the curb. Everything else was safely tucked away into the driveways or five car garages.

“Maybe Collette hid a key somewhere by the front door.” Sydney pointed to the various potted plants that led up to the front of the house.

“I can’t check all of them, that’ll look suspicious.”

“I don’t think so. I mean, look how we’re dressed and look what we’re driving. We’re not exactly thug material here.”

Merrick thought it over.

“Besides, we’re going to have a better chance of finding a key in the front then we are the back.”

“Fine.” He got out of the car. “We need to do this fast.”

“Start with the welcome mat,” Sydney called when she couldn’t keep up with his longer stride. “We’ll pretend to be relatives if anyone comes up and asks.”

He stopped and turned, giving her a chance to catch up. “You look nothing like Collette.”

“No,” she conceded, “but you do. You both have dark hair and Collette had blue/gray eyes. You have blue so it’s close enough. We’ll tell them you’re a cousin or something.”

Merrick shook his head and kept walking, checking his speed so as not to leave her behind.

Her fingers laced through his, startling him. “Thank you.” She eyed his legs pointedly.

He squeezed her hand. “You’re welcome.”

They made it to the front door hand in hand and pretended to ring the doorbell like visiting relatives.

“Now what?” Sydney whispered as they stood there.

He held his hand up to the door. “Now you drop your Shield.”

His neck prickled as soon as she did and he touched the hard wood. He pulled back a few seconds later. “We’ll get nothing there,” he said aloud for Sydney’s sake. “Too many impressions of door-to-door salesmen.”

She stepped off the welcome mat. He did the same and crouched down to pick it up. As soon as his fingers touched it he saw Regina.

She knelt down and tucked a spare key under the mat. “Lead us to the treasure, baby.” She blew a kiss, Merrick’s naked body as she bathed him fresh in her mind.