Radiant Surrender (CSA Case Files Book 6) (9 page)

Once Crest had Jessie safely inside with a good-sized fire to keep the small interior warm, he returned to the vehicle and obtained his emergency bag. He was grateful that she hadn’t tried to say anything else. As it was, he would have to use a couple of burner phones that he had on hand to clean up the mess she’d made in her old neighborhood. Reentering the cabin, he took his time looking around. The front door was the only entrance and exit with the exception of the window to his right.

“Here.” Crest handed her a bottle of water and a protein bar that he’d packed before leaving the city. It was the best he could do considering they were in the middle of fucking nowhere. “Drink. I have calls to make.”

Crest was aware he was coming across as a prick, but he didn’t give a damn at the moment. If he thought of anything other than the danger she’d put herself in, the delay she’d caused in the investigation, and the across-the-board terror that had gone through him when he realized how she’d gone about fleeing the apartment, his hand would be connecting repeatedly with her ass at this precise moment. Right now he needed to cover the window with a blanket and then contact the people who would clean up this mess.

“Use this,” Jessie said, grabbing the afghan that had been on the couch and holding one of the corners out to him. “We can loop this material around the curtain rod and that should be enough to cover the window.”

Crest compressed his lips and accepted the blanket without a word. He quickly did what needed to be done and then he walked away to where he’d set his bag on the table. Even though his usual 1911 was secure in his shoulder holster, he always kept additional ammunition magazines, MRE rations, a first aid kit, and miscellaneous supplies in his emergency bag. He chose a burner phone and made the first call. After he was done giving instructions, he then shut off the device, removed the battery, and then the SIM card so the cell couldn’t be used to track them down. He snapped the SIM card in half for good measure.

“Um, is there any way to get the car I used back to its rightful owner?”

“The vehicle will be in Nick Klaus’ parking garage by morning.” Crest said the name of the individual she’d refused to say aloud. If she thought it would make him envious that she’d gone to another man for help, she was right in every sense of the word. It wasn’t something he was going to discuss though. She was free to do whatever the hell she wanted with the man who’d become popular at the local club. Masters was upscale and vetted out the fakes and wannabes, although Crest didn’t play there for many reasons. He preferred more of a private setting, but even that wasn’t going to happen in the near future. “Anything else you’d like to request? Maybe the return of the clothes you borrowed?”

“Nick was the only one that I could think of that the FBI or CIA wouldn’t have thought of in connection with me.” It was easy to see that Jessie prided herself on the fact that she’d chosen well. At least Crest had taught her something of value. “I’m sure both agencies figured it out quickly though. There was a street cam located at an intersection close to his ranch. As for the clothes I had no choice. I lost my running shoe when I crossed to the other balcony.”

“Klaus is already in custody, although I’ve seen to it that he was given immediate access to his favorite meat-eating lawyer. I assume he’s already been released, if his lawyer is worth his paycheck.” Crest omitted the fact that Klaus hadn’t been too pleased upon seeing his own lawyer arrive unbidden in the interrogation room. From what Crest’s resources had to say the man had enough wealth to take care of his legal problems without his lawyer. “As for your Houdini attempt, I suggest we not discuss it.”

“Why? Did I hurt Townes’ feelings?” Jessie pursed her cherry colored lips and Crest had to tighten his grip on the second burner phone so as not to reach for her. It was as if she wanted to push his buttons, but she was too damn naïve to know what the hell she’d let loose. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself without a babysitter.”

“Are you?” Crest was a man who could handle a hell of a lot of stress. He’d been in combat zones, led men on dangerous missions, and risked countless of lives in the process of fighting for his country. That was the price of freedom. One would think he could deal with a youthful petite brunette who’d had stars in her eyes for years. The pressure inside his chest was telling him otherwise. “You’re twenty-six years old and don’t have a fucking clue as to who we are actually dealing with. The department within the CIA that wants Ryland is willing to destroy countless lives to get what they want. We’re nothing but scum on the bottom of their boots as they march over us to get to their objective. Once you get that through your head and let me handle this with the tools at my disposal, you’ll actually have a chance at not spending the rest of your life in supermax federal prison. Just in case you don’t get the picture, that’s twenty-three hours a day in solitary and one hour a day in the yard looking straight up to see the sky for the rest of your life.”

“This isn’t only about me, Gavin.” Jessie shifted herself to the edge of the couch, her green eyes sparkling with life. “My parents are going to the same place you’re trying to keep me from. Regardless of what they started out to do a long time ago I can’t allow that to happen. So either you work with me or I’ll do it on my own while you try to obtain the
hat trick
on this one. There is no way you’re going to get that pardon, keep me out of jail, and also save my parents from a fate far worse than death.”

“Ryland
will
get his full pardon in exchange for the information I need to blow apart this plan the CIA has concocted.” Crest held up the burner phone in his hand to prove his point. “You need to follow my instructions to the letter or you’ll never be a benefit to your parents’ cause.”

“You don’t think I’m strong enough to handle what’s happening, do you?”

“I’ve been nothing but honest with you, Jessie.” Crest wasn’t sure where Jessie was going with this but it couldn’t be good. Her personality was like a goddamned tennis match. His head was swiveling in every direction trying to keep up with choices and the behavior that went along with them. “You’re the strongest woman I know.”

“Then why am I not the woman in your bed, Gavin?”

Fuck. Jessica Marie Miller was literally going to be the death of him and he’d sworn that when it was his time he’d go out with honor. It shouldn’t be at a woman’s whim. She was worse than a veracious fucking shark that got a hold of its prey and wouldn’t let go. He needed this night to be over with so that he could continue the process of guaranteeing her freedom. Otherwise her ass would be sitting behind bars alongside her parents if he didn’t get this mess cleaned up before the CIA nailed the lid closed on their little whitewash operation.

“We’re
not
getting into that now.”

“This is the perfect time to get
into it
,” Jessie argued, standing up from her position on the couch. The determined tilt of her head and the way she’d crossed her arms under her pert breasts told him that she wasn’t backing down in this instance. “You claim that you’ve always been honest with me. Then man up and tell me the fucking truth.”

Man up
? Crest was used to Jessie surprising him and he sure as hell knew she had that challenging effect on most men. But to have her stand in front of him and basically call him a coward was the last straw. He tossed the burner phone onto the couch behind her at the same time wrapping an arm around her waist. He pulled her into him until her body melded with his and he captured her face in the palm of his other hand. The way her eyes dilated and her lips parted, he certainly had her attention now.

“The truth is you’re too good for me, sweet pea.” Crest barely got the words out, but he knew she’d heard them. Her green eyes were riveted to his as if she didn’t want to miss a thing he said. “I like my kink hard and dark, Jessica. I like to see the fear of the unknown in a woman’s eyes when she isn’t sure what I’m going to do to her when she is the most vulnerable she has ever been. I like to see the adrenaline rushing through her body, the perspiration beading on her skin while her carotid artery beats out a brisk rhythm in her twisted neck doing everything to anticipate my next move with her overly stimulated senses. It’s a high that I can’t get enough of in a place you’ve never been. Very few people achieve the first step in reaching the plateau where my adventures begin. It’s treacherous ground and not a place for the weak or innocent to play their childish games. You’ve danced in the flames of the fire at the clubs with your neophyte friends. This is a much darker place where demons tread and the heat sears the flesh from your body. I know the closest slice of reality that generates the same feelings personally from numerous combat zones and I’ve seen and accepted what it can do to a novice trained Marine. The extreme and rewarding rush that’s received from the moment the journey begins is like nothing else ever experienced. It’s a wave that must be ridden throughout the process of self-awareness. A terrified beginner would be fodder before the trip even began to awaken my soul. I’d push your boundaries until there was no place to hide…until you are completely exposed…at the end of yourself. And then? I’d press you for more. You would learn to hate me or to love me—and that is a chance I can’t take with you.”

“I—”

“What, Jessica?” Crest tightened his finger and thumb on her jaw, watching as a little of that fear and pain he was talking about crept inside of her mind. He released his hold on her waist long enough to capture one of her wrists and bring it up behind her back, high enough to cause her a tad bit of discomfort…but not enough to hurt her. “Does the thought of pleasure and pain excite you? Does the thought of you underneath my crop or whip make you wet? I’ll give you a taste of that honesty you like so much…I love what you would call mind games. I love to watch the confusion reign down over your lovely features when you don’t know if you’ll receive pleasure, pain, release, or be left in endless frustration. I can guarantee that you’ll know all four within one moment and then be left with uncertainty because you’re not sure how to process all of it. The drop is like diving off a building and only someone like me can catch you.”

“Gavin, I want—”

“Really? Reality and fantasy are two different things, Jessica.” Crest finally released her face and then used the back of his hand to brush the sensitive skin of her neck. He went lower, caressing her nipple through the thin material of her shirt and bra. Her lashes lowered slightly as arousal started to set in. “In the darkness is a seduction that you’ll find memorizing and addictive. But in the light of day you’ll wonder who you really are because by then—you’ll be mine to do with as I want. That’s when the real struggle comes into play and when the resentment for what I’ve made you want more than your last breath will weigh heavily on your mind. Then the conflict begins and I will have lost you.”

Crest instantly released her, allowing the harsh reality of the truth to come between them. Jessie wanted what she thought the submissives at the club experienced. She didn’t understand that the majority of what went on inside those four walls were nothing but play acting between two consenting adults. Living it twenty-four seven was another ball game all together. The sooner she realized that the better off they’d both be.

“We leave at zero five-thirty for the city.” Crest could see out of the corner of his eye that she wasn’t quite sure what to say or how to act. She’d finally pushed him to his breaking point, but he’d given her one last chance to see things his way before they both did something they would regret. “You have until then to decide if you want to continue down this path you’ve set us both on. If you choose to continue…don’t say I didn’t warn you, sweet pea.”

Chapter Nine

R
yland placed his hands on the sink in front of him and bowed his head in fatigue. The steam from the shower still hung in the air, barely preventing his wearied ethereal image from appearing in the mirror before him. The heated air seeped into his pores as he stood there with an eight-hundred two gram Turkish bath towel wrapped loosely around his hips, wondering if the plan he’d put into place would actually go down as he had intended. He’d always known there would come a time that he’d need to leave the life he’d created for himself, but it had come too soon for his liking. He did hold the title currently and there was something to be said for getting out while you’re still number one. Retirement plans for his line of business were few and he preferred to live out his days in luxury, free of the constant pursuit of the next target and dodging those that would take what he had accumulated.

People thought of him as evil—with no remorse for the killings he’d done. They were right. He had no compassion for the lives that he took, for they had taken his long, long ago. Justice and retribution were wonderful sentiments, but in the end all things created died a certain death. They turned into nothing…a void unaware of anyone or anything. He’d taken steps to end Ryland’s legacy and yet he somehow felt the pain of letting go, as if saying a final goodbye to a loved one. The grief surprised even him, for he wasn’t known for making emotional attachments.