Mercenaries 1 Private Skirmish (3 page)

She felt a smile curve her lips for the first time since she’d realized Wren was gone. “So if you guys want to help look for my sister, I’d really appreciate it. I don’t seem to be making much headway on my own.”

“Might be fun to go looking for an innocent person for a change. Not a lot of them around these days.” Jackson stood, stretching to his full six and a half feet. “Tell us a bit about the sister and how you managed to lose her.” He pulled a tablet out of his pocket, his fingers poised expectantly over it as he waited for her to speak. If information was available anywhere in the Ethernet, Jackson could find it.

“Go ahead.” Kaeden leaned back and stretched an arm along the back of her chair. “Jackson’s been getting bored lately, and you know how obnoxious he can get when he’s got nothing to do. Sic him on someone.”

Dee nodded. “Her name is Wren, like the little bird. She just turned twenty last month and she’s small, but wiry. She has blonde hair down to her ass, and she usually wears it in a ponytail. Says it gets in the way if she leaves it loose. I was tracking down a lead in the Loden Province when I got careless and the feds picked me up and sent me to auction.”

She paused, watching as Jackson’s fingers danced across the tablet. “We were in the market sector, bartering some of the herbs we raised for meat when she disappeared. Wren said she was going to see if she could find some stakes for the taller plants, and I didn’t even see which way she went. They had to be pros to grab her from a public market like that.”

The nightmare threatened to overwhelm her again. The bewilderment when she couldn’t find Wren, then the dawning knowledge that something was really wrong. Her sister wasn’t a toddler; she didn’t just wander off and get lost. Dee had been coaching her on her fighting skills, but they’d left their weapons in the truck, and Wren was still much too trusting.

“Take it easy. You know the drill. Details count.” Kaeden took the glass of water from Trace and handed it to her. “The grunts picked you up two provinces over. What kind of lead was it?”

Dee took a long sip on the water. “I heard about a gang abducting young women. Rumor has it they transport them across the provincial lines so they are harder to locate.” She paused, unable to swallow the lump in her throat. “Then they just disappear.”

“Your sister. What color are her eyes? Any tattoos or identifying marks?” Jackson was all business, and it helped her to pull herself together.

“Hazel eyes, and she has a tattoo on her left shoulder, a bird. A wren.”

“Does she know how to fight?”

Dee frowned. “Not well. I’ve been teaching her but she’s a lousy shot, and can’t seem to get the hang of aiming.”

“How about close quarters? Hand-to-hand stuff.”

“She knows a bit. If she’s not outclassed she can probably hold her own.”

Jackson looked over her head at Kaeden. “Might have something, Sarge, but it’s not pretty.”

Kaeden withdrew his arm and reached for the tablet. “Never is. Let’s see it.” The rough sympathy in his voice failed to calm her.

Jackson handed the tablet over, and Kaeden didn’t try to stop her from reading it over his shoulder. The display panned over an arena where two young women, dressed in skin-tight suits and some sort of harness, were sparring. The style seemed to be some variation of martial arts with a few back alley low blows sprinkled in. As they watched, the taller of the two women swept her opponent’s feet out from under her, causing the other woman to plunge backward, her head smacking hard on the ground. She didn’t move, and the victor stood over her, her hands held up in a victory salute and a vicious grin on her face.

Dee frowned. “That’s disgusting! My sister would never do that.”

“She might not have a choice. It’s a fight block.” Snake shook his head. “They snatch the girls from all over the provinces, give them a crash course in fighting, and then stick them in the arena until one of them isn’t moving anymore. It’s broadcast on private channels and a bunch of sickos bet on the outcome.”

Jackson took the tablet back. “I didn’t find your sister on the competitor list, but she could still be in training, or they could have given her a different name. Give me a minute.” His brow furrowed as he worked, making him look like a grumpy giant. “There. I hacked into the arena feed and pulled up the intake records.” He held the display up. “Any of these look familiar?”

Dee’s stomach churned with dread as she scanned the faces on the tablet. Kaeden’s hand on her back gave her small comfort. “Nope.” She dragged her finger over the display and more pictures sprang onto the screen. “Oh my God! That’s her!” The picture was grainy, and Wren lacked her usual cheerful smile but it was undoubtedly her. Dee jumped up. “Where is this place? How hard is it going to be to go get her out?”

“Hard enough. It’s back across the provincial lines, which means we all need fake IDs.” Kaeden took the tablet. “She looks okay for now, but we need to move fast.”

“Then let’s go, Sarge.” Jackson got to his feet. “I’ll get the Hummer decked out and meet you around front in fifteen.”

“You heard the man.” Kaeden slid a reassuring arm around Dee’s shoulders. “We’ll need flak gear and as much ammo as you can pack. These guys are nasty.” He dropped a quick kiss on Dee’s forehead before turning her loose. “You too, darling. Your gear’s in my room where you left it.”

He turned to address the rest of the guys. “Let’s lock and load!”

* * *

“Is this really necessary? I feel like I’m naked, and that’s not very reassuring when we’re heading out on a mission.” Dee frowned at her reflection in the mirror.

Kaeden felt the corner of his mouth twitch with the effort not to grin as he admired the way the synthetic material clung to her slender form. She was right. The tight material made her slender figure look even more tempting than if she were totally unclothed. There was something to be said about leaving a little bit to the imagination. Right now he could imagine how the soft mounds of her breasts would feel beneath his hands.

His cock swelled behind the restricting material of his jeans, and he gave an inward sigh. It felt like he’d been walking about with a massive hard-on ever since he’d seen her picture up on that auction site. It didn’t matter how many times they’d had sex in the past week, he still wanted her with the unbridled enthusiasm of a teenager with his first crush.

Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled the soft skin of her neck. “You know it is. These guys don’t see women as anything other than entertainment or broodmares. If you want to come with us you have to look like you belong to the team, and I mean that literally. The target will underestimate you if you look like just another slave girl.”

Dee sighed heavily, leaning back against him and causing his cock to jump eagerly. “I know. I just don’t like it.”

Kaeden nibbled the skin of her neck, just where it disappeared under the bright blue material. “You keep rubbing against me like that, I’ll take this damn suit off myself.”

Dee turned in the circle of his arms and ran one hand down his chest to the waistband of his pants. “You know it’s going to take Jackson a bit of time to get the equipment on the Hummer tuned into the all province system. I bet we have enough time for me to take care of this pesky little problem for you.” She fondled the growing lump through the tough material of his pants, and the curve of her lip was sheer seductive magic.

Kaeden raised his eyebrows. “Little problem? I hardly think that qualifies as little or a problem. I seem to recall you being quite happy with the results last night.”

Dee grinned. “Perhaps I’ve underestimated the issue. Let’s take a look.” She quickly unzipped his pants, and squatted to skim them and his shorts down over his hips.

Kaeden groaned as his cock sprang free. The woman had no scruples, but damn that felt good!

Dee sank back on her knees, tracing a line down his aching shaft from the tip to the tangle of curls at the base. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed this.”

He begged to differ. He couldn’t begin to count the number of nights he’d tossed and turned, unable to sleep without her warm presence by his side. When he had managed to close his eyes, the nightmares had haunted him. Dreams of her being hurt, hunted, abused by the multitudes of monsters that haunted their post-apocalyptic world. Not knowing where she was had been pure torture. She was his whole world, even though he’d never admitted it to her, and he’d failed to keep her safely at his side.

He wasn’t about to let that happen again. He would do whatever it took to make sure she stayed with him. If she needed to go rescue her sister, the team would make sure that happened. “You might have to take that suit off after all.” He tugged the material down over her shoulders.

Without a word, Dee stood and shrugged out of the outfit with a sensual grace that sent his lust spiralling even higher. The soft smile that curved her lips let him know that she knew the effect the sight of her naked body had on him.

Dropping back to her knees, she gently cupped his balls, squeezing the sensitive sac gently. Tongues of liquid heat roared through him. He closed his eyes, winding his fingers in her long hair as waves of lust swept him up. Peeking up at him from under her lashes, Dee wrapped her lips around the head of his cock, her tongue tracing the slit in the center.

Passion flared between them, raw and hot. It had always been this way. Out of control. Flaring instantly at a glance, a touch. She slid her tongue along the bulging vein that ran the length of his cock, and then slid the head into her mouth and began to suck.

Kaeden growled low in his throat, not even trying to control his reactions as he rocked his hips, fucking her face while she worked her way up and down his stiff shaft. This is what mattered. Him. Her. Them.

“Stop. I want to feel your tight pussy wrapped around my cock when I come.” He gently pulled her to her feet and grasped her hips, lifting her up high before lowering her slowly onto his cock.

Dee locked her heels behind him, her arms wrapped around his neck. Kaeden used his amazing strength to slide her up and down on his shaft. Desire ricocheted back and forth between them. All the trappings of civilization dropped away as they lost themselves in the primal urge to join together, to become one.

He felt his balls draw up tight, his seed gathering before it exploded out of his cock in hot jets. He let out a roar of triumph as the walls of her pussy clamped down hard, milking every last drop of cum from his throbbing cock as her orgasm took her. Kaeden sank to his knees, still holding her tight against him. He was never going to let her go again.

“So.” Dee’s eyes shone softly in the artificial light, reflecting her satisfaction. “Do you think Jackson has that Hummer ready to go yet?”

“Papers, please.”

The border guard looked much too alert for Kaeden’s comfort. Usually they barely looked at the paperwork before waving the team through.

Jackson reached into the glovebox and grabbed the forged documents they’d picked up on their way to the border, handing them over. The guard took it wordlessly, peered into the vehicle to compare each travel pass with the person pictured on it.

His gaze lingered a moment longer than necessary on Dee, and Kaeden had to make a conscious effort to relax. It didn’t mean anything. With the skin-tight suit and a training harness on, she was breathtaking. Of course any male who could still breathe would take a second look.

“Are you going to put her in the arena? Be a shame to mess up that pretty face. Where’s her documents?”

“Right here.” Kaeden handed over the bill of sale he’d received from the auction house. No need for a forgery on that one. “She’s not ready to fight yet, but I figured it would do her some good to see a few rounds. Kind of get her psyched up for it.”

The guard looked doubtful. “You ever been to a live bout before? It’s more likely to scare her to death.”

The men all shook their heads.

“You might change your mind when you see one. I can think of a whole lot of more fun things to do with a pretty bitch like yours than have her beaten senseless in the ring.”

Jackson flicked a look at him, but Kaeden kept quiet. While he utterly agreed, it wouldn’t do their cover any good to let the guard know that.

“Okay, you can go. Enjoy your stay.” The guard stepped back to let the Hummer proceed. Jackson quickly put the big vehicle in gear and pulled out of the checkpoint.

“Well, that went well. Now all we need to do is find the compound and look like a bunch of deranged lunatics who want to see a couple of girls try to kill each other.” Snake grinned. “You guys shouldn’t have a problem but I’m going to have to be careful.”

Trace cuffed him across the back of the head. “You do deranged lunatic better than any of us. Dee, you might want to stay away from him.”

“Hey!” Snake held up his hands. “I’m innocent! I wouldn’t harm a fly!”

“Tell that to the guy you iced in Denver.” Trace snorted. “Oh wait, you can’t. He’s dead.”

Snake shrugged. “I consider that a mercy killing. The man was scum, and the world is a better place without him.”

“True. But that doesn’t make you innocent.”

Kaeden interrupted the friendly banter. “Knock it off. We all know Snake’s a warm and fuzzy kind of guy. Everyone clear on the plan?”

A chorus of yeses ensued.

“Good. Get your weapons on before we get there. Don’t want anyone to realize we’re armed to the teeth, now do we.”

Dee turned her head, a frown marring the clean lines of her brow. “I’m not sure I can hide much in this suit.”

“There’s a wire down the inside leg.” Kaeden pulled the deadly garrote out to show her. “And there’s a pocket for a small pistol in the back of the neck. Your hair will hide the bulge, even in a braid. Those are for emergencies only. I want you glued to my side the entire time we’re in there. Understand?”

She gave him a saucy salute that told him she understood more than he wanted her to. “Yes, sir. Anything you say.”

Shotgun let out a hoot of laughter. “That sounded kind of sarcastic, Sarge. Maybe you should discipline her.”