The Midnight Hour (33 page)

Drake inhaled deeply and she knew he'd caught the scent of her arousal, of her panties suddenly becoming drenched. A curse hissed from his clenched teeth as he adjusted her position against the wall to gain access to what he wanted beneath her skirt. He pushed her outfit out of the way, nearly tore her panties off at the same time she felt him tearing at the zipper of his pants to release himself. And then he thrust against her, easily entering her, his hips moving rhythmically back and forth inside of her. His mouth took hers, fiercely, hungrily, as his tongue mated greedily with hers, matching the same pace of his body as it pumped into her.

Delirious with the passion that Drake had stroked inside of her, Tori wrapped her arms around his neck at the same time she wrapped her legs around his hips, locking him inside of her while he rocked her to sweet oblivion. Pleasure, profound, unadulterated, ripped through her the moment she felt his climax, the moment she felt him shoot his release inside of her. He kissed the scream of an orgasm off her lips and from the feel of his hips undulating against her, trying to push deeper, they both soared over the edge, beyond the stars and straight to heaven.

For a long moment after they had returned to earth, he kept her pinned against the wall, stayed inside of her while she continued to let her inner muscles milk him greedily, even when he thought he had nothing left to give. Then slowly, he unlocked her legs from around him and let her slide to the floor. His breathing was just as irregular as hers and she marveled at his momentary loss of control.

She also gloried in the words he had said. He loved her.

"Drake…"

He lifted a finger to her lips to silence whatever words she was about to say. "Promise me that you will do as I ask, Tori," he whispered, barely getting his breath out. "Promise me."

She opened her mouth, not to make the promise he was asking her to make, but to tell him why she couldn't make such a promise. However, before she could get the words out, someone pounded on the bedroom door. Drake quickly pulled down her skirt and tried to bring order to their clothing before crossing the room to open the door.

Trevor stood in the doorway with a huge smile on his face. "I hate to interrupt such a heated domestic argument, but I thought the two of you would want to know that Cross has made his move. We've been invaded."

When Drake quickly moved to get his gun off the night-stand, Trevor winked at Tori then chuckled and said, "Let's get this show on the road. It's time for a little action, Recon style."

Tori watched as the three men prepared for what they considered an act of war. Their weapons and ammunition alluded to just what Trevor had said. They were ready for action, Recon style.

Seeing them get ready reminded her of the days when the four of them, known as "the Fearless Four" would go on missions for their country. And as she watched, she was becoming increasingly furious that they were leaving her behind.

"I want in, Drake," she implored again, although she knew her words were falling on deaf ears.

Drake stopped after strapping the extra bullets around his waist and met her gaze. Seeing the determined glint in her eyes, he sighed deeply and strode over to her.

She studied his features when he came to stand in front of her. He was combat-ready and it reflected in the hard, cold eyes that met hers as well as the impassiveness that lined his face. "I've told you, this isn't your fight. It's mine. You only became a victim because of me, Tori, and I need you here to man the security room. You'll know what's going on and can give us a heads-up as to what we're dealing with. I'll be at a disadvantage if I'm worrying about you."

She nodded, knowing to argue with him would be useless. She would do what he asked of her up to a point, but then…

"All right, Drake. I don't want you to worry about me. Please stay safe and come back to me and the baby."

A small smile fractured his rugged features. "I plan to."

She looked past him to Trevor and Ashton. She knew they read the plea in her eyes. Drake could get cocky at times and would be quick to take risks; she needed their assurance that they would rein him in when he did. He would be doing more than settling a score with Solomon Cross; he intended to bring an end to everything once and for all.

"I love you, Drake," she whispered softly. She still wasn't sure what the future held for them but she knew she had to let him know how she felt.

"And I love you," he said quietly. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips.

Tori wouldn't settle for just a small kiss and reached out and pulled him to her and took over the kiss, desperately mating her mouth with his. He returned her kiss, deepened it and would have extended it had Ashton not cleared his throat a few times.

"We have to go, sweetheart," Drake said, reluctantly pulling away from her. "Remember your promise."

She nodded. She would remind him later that she hadn't promised him anything. She watched as the three men headed for the stairs, then Drake hesitated briefly, glanced back at her, winked and then strode up the stairs. She wasn't surprised when she heard the click of the basement door when he locked it behind him. He wasn't taking any chances of her not following his orders.

She looked at the pistols he had left her that had enough ammunition to bring down an army. She walked over and saw the screen whose video scanned the north side of Drake's property, and then she saw the figures of several men, about eight of them, carrying heavy-duty weapons as they slithered determinately toward the wooded area of Drake's property, unaware they were being captured on film.

She switched her attention to another screen at the same time the video camera picked up a helicopter that was landing in a clearing. A few minutes later she watched as three men got out of the helicopter, each heavily armed. Although the thickness of the pine needles of the trees slightly impeded her vision, Tori immediately recognized one of the men from photographs she had seen of him.

Solomon Cross.

A cold chill went down her body. The man looked as demented as she'd heard he was. She sat down and leaned back in her chair, knowing she needed to contact Trevor, Ashton, and Drake to let them know what was going on and where the enemy was located.

She opened her hand and stared at what lay in the palm. She smiled with satisfaction when she gazed at the key she had slipped out of Drake's pocket when she had intentionally taken over their kiss.

If he actually thought she would be pushed to the sidelines while he risked his life for her, he had another thought coming.

Drake wiped his mouth with the back of his hand while his pulse pounded. He, Trevor, and Ashton had split up after receiving word from Tori that they were outnumbered three to one. He scanned the immediate area knowing that somewhere out there were men who meant to kill him and Tori, and he was intent on not giving them the chance.

He was about to make a move toward a group of trees when he heard a zing of bullets, a few coming close to his head. He had been spotted and someone was firing at him.

He quickly dropped to the ground, appreciating the bed of thick pine needles that cushioned his fall, and rolled his body into a massive cluster of pine trees that immediately swallowed him up. Heart beating fast, his Beretta clutched tight and drawn, he waited, steadying his breathing and squinting his eyes against the evening sun to make out the lone figure he saw and wondered where the other cutthroats were. Evidently the three men who had arrived in the copter had also split up.

In the distance he heard more gunfire and knew either Trevor or Ashton had found action. He shifted his body and eased his breathing when he heard not one but two male voices.

"What if Cross is wrong and the woman is not hiding in the big house? This entire valley will go up in smoke when he sets the place on fire."

Fire! Tori was in danger and he had locked her in the basement! With a curse Drake shifted his body once again and picked up a pinecone nearby. Throwing it in the direction opposite of him, he got just the reaction from the men he had expected. They began shooting where the pinecone had landed, and he used the time their attention had been drawn elsewhere to make his escape.

Running hard, he kept his gaze in front of him as more bullets flew past his head, some hitting nearby pine trees. He had to get to Tori. When he saw a clearing up ahead he knew he would become a sitting duck if he didn't take the two men chasing him out. He slowed down running and entered the safety of the tall pine trees. He waited. He didn't have to wait long and with two accurate shots he made direct hits.

He quickly pulled out his remote to contact Trevor and Ashton. "I'm on my way back to the house. Cross plans to torch it and I have to get Tori out."

He began running hard again, refusing to think he would not reach her in time. Suddenly he felt something graze his temple and he tripped and fell. He rolled and tried to get back on his feet but pain and dizziness set in. When he rolled again and tried making another attempt at standing, he glanced up and looked into the cold, dark eyes of Solomon Cross who stood only a few feet away, and the man had a pistol aimed directly at his head.

Trying to breathe through tightened lips, Tori aimed her pistol and shot the man who was coming at Trevor from behind while his attention was focused elsewhere, as he tangled on the ground with one of the cutthroats. The sharp sound of the gunshot so close to him made Trevor lose concentration, almost giving his opponent the upper hand until Trevor gave the man a hard blow to the face, knocking him unconscious.

He shook his head when Tori scrambled from out of the thicket of pine trees. He looked at the man she had just wasted and then shifted his attention to the still-smoking gun she held in her hand. "I see you haven't lost your touch," he said, smiling.

She returned his smile and glanced around. "Where's Ashton?"

"I talked to him a few minutes ago on the remote and he's holding his own, although I think I need to go check and make sure." He then frowned when something suddenly occurred to him. "How the hell did you get out of that locked basement?"

She shrugged. "A woman has her ways."

A flicker of amusement lightened Trevor's dark eyes. "Evidently. But Drake needs to know you're all right. He sent a message to Ash and me a few minutes ago mat Cross was going to torch his house. He was trying to get back there to save you."

Tori immediately knew that something was wrong. "You go and check on Ashton and I'll find Drake."

Drake tried to ignore the pain that raced through his head. The wound he'd received was superficial but he was having a hell of a headache. The evening sun was peeking through the top of the trees, its rays hitting the metal of the gun still

aimed at him.

He hissed a curse as he looked into Solomon Cross's face. The man was wearing an expensive double-breasted Italian silk suit and looked totally out of place in his surroundings. He was a muscular man and evidently in good physical shape since he hadn't worked up a sweat. And he had the audacity to smile as if he already tasted victory.

"We meet again, Warren. Over the past five years I've had several opportunities to kill you, but decided to let you live. I wanted you to go through each day knowing how it felt to have someone you loved brutally taken away from

you."

Drake shook his head as he pulled himself up in a sitting position, fully aware that Cross had tightened his grip on the pistol when he reached up to touch his aching head. "You're a sick bastard, Cross."

"Yes, and you're going to find out just how sick I am. I don't like being made a fool of. So tell me, where is she? Only a cat has nine lives and she isn't one. This time I'm going to make sure she dies and you'll have the pleasure of watching."

Drake frowned. "Tori's not here. I sent her off the mountain before you arrived." He knew he had to keep die man talking while he tried working the bowie knife out of his shoe. Then he would take pleasure in cutting Cross's throat.

"I don't believe you, so tell me where she is."

Drake clenched his jaw tightly. "I'm not telling you a damn thing."

For one brief moment there was a flicker of some emotion in Cross's eyes, a dazed, crazed look. Then angrily, he raised the gun and aimed straight for Drake's head as a smile touched the man's lips. "Then you die first. Too bad you won't live to see what I'm going to do when I find her. It's going to be quite a show."

"You won't get away with it, Cross. We knew you were coming. Whether you realize it or not, by how all of your men are either dead or been captured. Both FBI and CIA agents will be swarming the place in a few minutes. If you're smart you would give up and turn yourself in."

"Never! I have to settle an old score. An eye for an eye."

His hand tightened on die gun he held. "First you, then her, and don't think I won't find her. She's somewhere hidden on this mountain and I plan to find her or burn down every inch of this place. This time she won't escape."

Drake knew that although Cross had die advantage, he didn't plan to just sit and let the man coldly blow him away. He heard the cock of Cross's gun and knew he was about to pull die trigger. He clamped his jaw together hoping his reflexes would be faster than the bullet when he made his move. It was still a possibility he would get hit, but he refused to get his damn head blown off.

Then, as impossible as it seemed, Tori stepped out from behind a cluster of pine trees holding a black 9mm automatic aimed at Solomon Cross's head. Drake's heart contracted and he was too taken aback to figure out how the hell she had managed to get out of the locked basement.

He just stared at her, trying not to let Cross read his face to give away her presence. She was mad; her eyes were narrowing, her chin was tilted upward and her lips had curled in contempt. Her degree of anger was evident and he thought she was the most beautiful sight he had seen in a long time.