MARCUS (Dragon Security Book 4) (9 page)

Marcus

I woke to the sound of a snowmobile engine working hard somewhere outside. There was no telling how far away it was since sound tended to travel quite easily in this kind of snowy landscape. But it was a promising sound. We might be able to get someone to give us a ride into town so that we could check in with our people back in Houston.

I shook Cadence’s shoulder.

“Wake up, babe.”

She peeked at me from under her lashes. “It’s too early.”

“Not so early. And there’re snowmobiles. We might have a way out of here.”

She rolled over, tugging a blanket up over her shoulder. “I’m not in a hurry to go.”

I chuckled as I moved up close behind her. “Me, either. But there are people down in Houston who might come looking for us if we don’t check in soon.”

She groaned. “Don’t speak logic to me right now.”

I buried another chuckle in a kiss against her shoulder. “How about I make us some breakfast first?”

“Slowly.”

She nestled down against the pillows, her breathing deepening again before I even got myself off the bed. I dressed quickly, the cold boring deep into my bones before I was out of the cocoon of the blankets for more than a minute. I threw another log on the fire and then set about frying some eggs on the stove. I was in the middle of food prep when the lights suddenly flickered and came on.

“Hey! We have electricity.”

Cadence mumbled something, then rolled off and was still again.

It was a good thing she was a nurse and not a teacher. She’d never make it to work on time.

The cabin was nearly toasty by the time I was done. I carried a tray over to the bed, presenting Cadence breakfast in bed. She sat up, a wrinkle in the shape of the edge of her pillow across her face.

“Any time.”

We ate in silence, only the sound of the radiator popping to fill the silence. That and the tinkle of the cutlery on the plates. When she was full, Cadence got up and padded naked into the kitchen, taking her time rinsing her plate and cup before setting them in the depths of the sink.

“For a woman who has very little experience with sexuality, you sure aren’t shy,” I said, following with my own plates.

“What makes you think I don’t have much experience with my sexuality?”

“The fact that a tattoo on your lower belly is the wildest thing you’ve ever done.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Yes, but I’ve seen my share of naked bodies. And I don’t really have a problem with it, or showing off my body.”

“You’re proud of yourself.”

“No. I just think that nudity is a natural thing, not a source of embarrassment.”

“How many men have you seen naked?”

She shrugged. “Countless. I’m a nurse, remember?”

“How many men have you seen naked outside of your profession?”

She shrugged. “How many women have you seen naked?”

“Quite a few.” I watched the spark of jealousy flash in her eyes and bit back a smile. “How many men have seen you this way?”

“Are you asking how many men I’ve taken into my bed?”

She moved close to me, her naked body pressed against my chest. I suddenly found myself wishing I hadn’t been in such a hurry to get dressed. Who cared about warmth and health when there was the touch of a naked woman against bare skin?

“I am,” I said softly, brushing hair from her face so I could see her expressive eyes. “How many men have you been with?”

“Does making out in the band room count?”

“Only actual nudity.”

She shrugged a little. “There was the time I blew my English professor in the lecture hall.”

My eyebrows rose. “You didn’t!”

“No. But he asked.”

“He better hope I never meet him.”

She laughed. “Would you beat him up to save my honor?”

“I would.”

“Thank you.”

I ran my hand slowly up the length of her bare back. “I lost my virginity when I was seventeen. In the backseat of my father’s car—as cliché as that sounds.”

“Who was she?”

“The head of the cheerleading squad. We were sort of a thing at the time, but we broke up like a week later.”

“Why?”

“The quarterback broke up with his girlfriend, and she decided he was a better catch in the long run.”

“Smart girl.”

I groaned, smacking her lightly on her bare ass. “Now your turn.”

“Oh, is this a quid pro quo?”

“Something like that.”

“When did you meet the one who broke your heart?”

I tilted my head back, a groan slipping from between my lips.

“Come on,” she said, sliding her lips over my throat. “I want to know.”

“Freshman year of college.”

“Were there any girls in between the two?”

“No. Kelly was my second. We were together three years.”

“And then she cheated with Blake?”

I ran my hand slowly over her ass, taking a handful and pulling her tight against me. She groaned softly, rubbing the corner of her hip against my quickly stiffening cock. But then she twisted away, climbing onto the edge of the counter to put some distance between us. The only problem was, even with her legs crossed, she made a perfect picture of an erotic fantasy perched there like that, her body exposed and ready for a little attention.

“Who came after Kelly?”

“Does it matter?” I went to her, bracing myself with my hands on either side of her petite body. “You’re making it fucking hard to concentrate.”

“I want to know. Isn’t this what responsible lovers do? Don’t they exchange this sort of information before deciding if it’s safe to continue moving forward with the relationship?”

“If it’s disease you’re worried about, the Marines declared me perfectly healthy and STD free just six months ago. And I haven’t been with anyone but you since.”

“No one?”

“Not a soul.”

“Why not?”

I groaned, burying my face against her shoulder for a long moment. “Are you jealous of my former lovers, or are you wondering if this is just a passing infatuation?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t quite decided yet.”

I pulled back just enough so that we were face to face, our noses nearly touching.

“I was heartbroken when I went into the Marines, Cadence. Broken and frustrated and disappointed in everything. I didn’t care what happened to me, didn’t care if I lived or died, if I hurt someone else as much as I was hurting. I did things I’m not incredibly proud of.”

“You were with a lot of women,” she said, pain flashing in her eyes.

“A lot. And I wasn’t always terribly kind to them.”

She nodded, a tear slipping from each eye, falling heavy down her cheeks and dripping from her chin. She leaned in and kissed me, her teeth gathering my bottom lip between them, nibbling ever so lightly.

“One,” she whispered against my mouth. “I’ve only been this way with one man. And it was a long time ago.”

I shook my head. “Don’t tell me that. I don’t want to know how innocent you are.”

“Not so innocent that I don’t understand you. That I don’t know what this is.”

“Cadence…”

She reached between our bodies and tugged at my jeans, deftly releasing the fly that kept my hard cock locked away. She reached inside and wrapped her small hand around my shaft, stroking me so painfully kind for a moment. And then she drew me to her, sliding her hips close to the edge of the counter as she wrapped her legs around my waist.

“No, Cadence,” I whispered, aware of the trust that she was showing me, the insane gesture she was making. Offering me her body and her soul all in one movement—her heart. I should have pulled away, should have made her stop. But then I was inside of her and she was kissing me, tears slowly rolling down her face, flavoring our kisses.

I didn’t know this woman, didn’t deserve to know her. And I’d hurt her. Yet, she was doing this for me, healing my heart from things she didn’t know and would likely never understand. I held her ass, pulled her so close to me, returning her kiss until I felt like I was suffocating in the sea of her touch, her essence. And then the screams came and she clung to me, refusing to let me go.

No one had ever done that for me before. Everyone I loved let go much too easily. But she held on. It was new and beautiful and undefinable.

Cadence

The snowmobile motors seemed far away by the time we were dressed and ready to face the thick snow. We stepped out onto the front deck and the snow was no longer up over the steps, but it was still several feet deep. And neither of us had boots.

“I want to check the SUV and see if there’s any possibility of getting it out of the driveway. I can’t imagine the roads are nearly this bad by now.”

“I don’t know. They might not send plows up this high.”

“Well, I’d like to give it a try, anyway.”

I nodded, watching him carefully navigate the steps. I was behind him, but far enough back that he wouldn’t knock me over if he slipped. I was already wishing I could go back inside. The cold was seeping through the heavy jacket I’d bought before coming up here, chilling me clear to my bones.

“Careful. The bottom step is pretty slick.”

Just as he said it, my foot went out from under me. I fell on my ass, hitting my hip hard on the top step. At the same time, a chunk of wood shattered from the side of the house right where my head had been, showering me with splinters. A split second later, a huge discharge came from the direction of the woods directly across from the cabin.

Marcus reacted so quickly that he was at my side as the splinters were still falling. He grabbed my arm and pulled me forward, forcing me down as he led the way around the corner to the carport. Another shot ricocheted through the woods, the sound like canons going off in the middle of the 1812 Overture.

“What the hell?”

Marcus shook his head, his eyes surveying the line of trees that were closest to the cabin.

“We have to get out of here.”

“And go where?”

He turned and pushed me further under the carport. “Go in through the back door and get my gun. I’m going to see if I can get the SUV started.”

I nodded.

“Be careful. Stay away from windows. Keep your head down.”

I nodded again. He kissed me, a quick peck, then turned and ran around the front of the Escape, using it as cover as he made his way to his SUV. I did as he said and ran around the back of the cabin and slipped in through the back door. The kitchen windows were directly across from the door. One window pane, and then another, exploded within seconds of my stepping into the cabin. I ducked, hiding behind the tall counter as I did a sort of duck walk to the chair where Marcus left his holster. I dragged it down just as the cabin was suddenly hit with dozens of bullets, glass breaking and dishes falling, light fixtures exploding and stuffing from furniture flying into the air. I did the only thing I could think of to do: I fell flat onto the floor and lay as still as I could.

The barrage continued for a long time. It seemed like hours, but it must have been just minutes. Marcus was suddenly there, glass still shattering around him, his hands dragging me to the bathtub at the back of the room. We fell in together, our limbs tangled as they had been just a little while ago. The barrage picked up steam, almost as if the shooter had seen him come into the cabin and was pissed that he’d made it unharmed.

When it finally stopped, Marcus’ hands were all over my face, my shoulders, my arms.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so.”

He stared at me for a second longer, then he crawled out of the tub.

“Keep your head down.”

He led the way and we slipped out the open back door without encountering any more bullets. And then we ran, slipping and sliding through snow that was up to our hips in some places. There were no more bullets, but my skin crawled, expecting one to hit at any moment.

We got lucky and happened on a couple of kids riding snowmobiles at the bottom of a valley, racing each other over the low hills.

“I’ll give you fifty bucks if you’ll take us into town,” Marcus said, holding up a wad of money he’d taken from his wallet.

The boys jumped at the chance, snatching the money and gesturing for us to climb onto the back of their vehicles. I didn’t want to be separated from Marcus, but I didn’t see how I had much choice. I found myself holding on to some stranger with all the strength I could muster, nearly falling off the thing several times as we hit swells that were just high enough to send the machine flying into the air.

It was a relief when we saw the lights and buildings of town.

Marcus gave the boys more money before sending them off. Then he slid his arm around me and walked calmly through the town, his eyes jumping from place to place as he searched for…something.

“What are we doing?”

“We have to get out of here. When that shooter realizes we’re gone, which he probably already has, he’ll come here first.”

“How? We left both our cars up at the cabin.”

“We’ll borrow one.”

He pulled me around the side of a block of shops. There was a large parking lot behind them with any number of cars, both newer models and older, to choose from. He led me to a Ford Bronco that looked like it rolled off the assembly line sometime in the late sixties. Not the most comfortable car in the world, but he was able to hot-wire it without setting off any alarms. We were headed toward the interstate before the owner would even notice his car was gone.

At Marcus’ instructions, I searched through the glove box, trying to find a cellphone or a weapon. The only thing I found was the registration, insurance card, and the original owner’s manual.

“You have your cell?”

I nodded.

Marcus held out his hand and promptly threw the phone out the window.

“What did you do that for?”

“We can’t take the risk that this person isn’t using the GPS on your phone to track you.” He tossed his phone out the window, too. “We’ll stop after we cross the Texas border and buy a prepaid phone. No one can trace those things yet.”

“And then what? Where do we go?”

He glanced at me. “I don’t know. We’ll get back into Texas, then we’ll get a room at a motel and we’ll call my boss. She’ll send a backup team and we’ll figure out what to do from there.”

I leaned forward, shaking the glass and the wood from my hair. The adrenaline was finally wearing off and the aches and pains were beginning to set in. My hip hurt from falling on the stairs outside the cabin. My knees hurt from duck walking and falling to the floor inside the cabin. And my shoulder burned, but I couldn’t remember hitting it on anything.

I reached inside my heavy, dark jacket and rubbed the spot. Pain flashed through me as I put pressure on the spot, the burning increasing threefold. When I pulled my hand out, there was blood on my fingers.

I glanced at Marcus, but he hadn’t seen it. I quickly wiped the blood off on the lining of my jacket, deciding it would be better not to distract Marcus from driving. The further we got from Ruidoso, the better.

The pain quickly became unbearable. I found myself wishing I’d thought to grab my bag before we left. The pain medication they’d given me for my leg was in there.

“Who do you think it was?” I asked, trying to distract myself.

Marcus reached over and touched my knee. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters right now is that we get you to safety.”

We drove for what seemed like hours. We didn’t stop until we were over the border, then Marcus headed north, taking us to Lubbock. It was closer than Abilene and it was big enough that we could find a hotel that would take cash and ask no questions. I waited in the car while he arranged the room, nausea making me wish I was already in the room, already lying between crisp, white sheets.

Marcus smiled when he came back.

“I got us a room at the back. And there’s a Walmart down the street, so I can go get us some supplies.”

“Good.”

He drove around to the back and unlocked the door—thank goodness it was on the bottom floor. He kissed my temple lightly.

“I’m going to go get a phone and some food. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I forced a smile, waiting until he was out of the room. Then I ran to the bathroom, wishing it wasn’t necessary. I made it to the toilet just before my stomach turned inside out. There wasn’t much left of my breakfast, but that didn’t stop the dry heaves from wracking my body. When it finally passed, I managed to pull myself up to the sink. I pulled my jacket off of my shoulder, a little shocked by the amount of blood that had spilled inside. My arm was soaked, all the way down to the wrist. My shirt was damp against my side. It was so bad that I couldn’t tell where the injury was or what it was.

I tossed the jacket aside and slipped out of the t-shirt and bra, putting them both into the sink to rinse the blood away. Then I climbed into the shower, biting hard on my lip when the water hit the wound. If I’d thought all the movement in the car had been bad, this was ten times worse. My vision darkened at the edges. I thought for a minute I would pass out.

I didn’t hear Marcus come back from the store. I was just standing there—maybe I’d gone in and out of consciousness a few times—when the curtain suddenly flew back.

“You’re hurt!”

I didn’t even have the energy to respond. I just fell.