Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series) (13 page)

“You can take a nap until it’s time to land, if you’d like.  We still have a little while before we land,” Bull offered.

“Are you going to nap with me?”

Bull smiled appreciatively, “If that’s what you want.”

“I do,” Chaise answered before reaching up to kiss him once more before walking away.

Chaise heard the water running and pictured Bull cleaning himself much the way he had cared for her.  The sex was definitely hot, the conversations came much easier, and they got along so well.  She’d tried to keep her distance, tried to keep her heart out of it
, especially knowing what was still to come.  But that lone act of caring for her so intimately, so thoroughly, and without expecting anything in return, had completely wrecked her plans of maintaining her space. 

She knew, without a doubt, she was unequivocally his.

The bed dipped as Bull took his spot behind her.  His arm reached around her and pulled her securely to him.  They lay with their bodies perfectly aligned, close enough to be one, as Chaise cherished the feeling that only snuggling with him could give her.

Stepping off the plane in Mobile, Bull and Chaise were immediately hit with the stifling
heat and humidity of southern Alabama.  While Mobile Bay afforded their accustomed ocean breeze, the airport was located outside the bay area and didn’t have the same attributes.  Their clothes immediately clung to them as the beads of perspiration popped up and glistened in the hot sun.

The vehicle rental was much like Bull’s truck in Miami minus a few of the extra amenities he had personally added.  Chaise took in the sights as Bull mindlessly drove to his old home. 
She asked a few questions about the area and about his family but gave up after his one-syllable answers returned. 

She could feel the tension radiating off of him.  After everything he’d done to help her, she wanted to do something, anything, to help him in
his painful situation.  Chaise unbuckled her seat belt and moved across the center console and to the backseat.  Bull looked at her quizzically but she proceeded with a smile.

Once she’d positioned herself, she reached her arms around the seat and began massaging Bull’s shoulders and neck.  His all-male groan reverberated through the truck and through her body as she felt the tense muscles begin to relax.  Working out the kinks and knots she found in his muscles, she could feel is tension lighten. 

After several minutes of expertly massaging, kneading, and rubbing the sore areas, Chaise knew she had successfully helped him.  When she climbed back into the front seat, Bull took her hand in his, lifted it to his mouth and kissed it.  But this time, he didn’t let go.  He laced their fingers together and held her hand in his lap. 

It felt like another turning point to Chaise.  Another sign that the solid steel walls constructed around Bull may just be bending to allow her to enter. 

She squeezed his hand a little as she asked, “Did that help any?”

Bull smiled and replied with a wink, “Yeah, if I’d known you were a secret masseuse, I would’ve put you to work before now.”

Chaise laughed, “I’m not a secret masseuse, but anytime you need the stress worked out of you, just let me know.”

The heated look Bull gave her revealed he’d intentionally twisted her meaning in his mind.  She laughed and corrected her statement, “
Okay, let’s try that again.  If you need your neck and shoulders massaged, just let me know.”

Bull laughed heartily, “I think I like my interpretation better.”

The rest of the ride to Sandy Bay, Alabama was in peaceful silence.  Bull continued to hold on to her hand, occasionally pulling it back to his mouth to kiss it.  He had a far-away look in his eyes, as if he was remembering his time spent in the area but wasn’t quite ready to share his thoughts. 

The truck stopped outside of a single-story, sprawling ranch-style house with lush green grass and shrubbery in the front yard.  Bull sat motionless as he stared at the house.  His stoic, emotionless mask was securely in place again.

“Colton, are you okay?”  Chaise softly asked.

Bull nodded, “Yeah, let’s get this over with.”

“I can help get the bags,” Chaise offered.

“We’re not staying here.  We’ll stay at my place,” Bull replied.

“Your place?” Chaise asked, confused.

“I have a small place here where I stay when I come to visit,” Bull explained.

“Oh, alright.”

Bull’s mother, Michelle, met them at the door as they approached.  She pulled Bull into her arms for an embrace as she squealed, “My baby boy’s home!  I didn’t know you were coming!  You should’ve called me!”

Bull hugged her back but didn’t verbally respond.  He pulled away and dropped his arms from around Michelle.  Her face instantly changed, sensing something was wrong. 

When her eyes met Chaise’s, she smiled genuinely and extended her hand.  “Hello, I’m Michelle Lanier, Colton’s mother.”

“I’m Chaise.  Colton’s….friend,” she said as she cut her eyes to Bull for a second.  She wasn’t sure how to label what she was to him and asking him in front of his mom wasn’t an option.  She also noticed the tick in Colton’s jaw and immediately knew he was thinking about her last name—or lack thereof.  She quickly continued, “It’s nice to meet you.  You have a lovely home.”

“Thank you, dear.  Come in, come in!”

Michelle showed Chaise around her house, including Bull’s old room where she’d kept things much as they were when he last lived there.  His pictures from his youth and some that were more recent hung on the walls and sat out on display.  It was obvious that Michelle was very proud of her son then and the man he’d become. 

When they finally sat down in the den, Bull cleared his throat and said, “Mom, we need to talk.”

“Do you want me to leave?”  Chaise politely interrupted.  The look Bull gave her made her instantly regret asking.  From the look in his eyes, it was obvious he wanted her there with him and he was disappointed that she would even ask.  Chaise moved closer to him and covered his big hand with her small one.  “I’ll stay,” she whispered.

“What’s this about, Colton?” Michelle asked.

“It’s about Dad.”

Michelle’s eyes and mouth simultaneously flew wide open in surprise.  She stuttered and stammered, trying to form coherent words, but none came.  She quickly averted her eyes from Bull and Chaise.  Her face was bright red and her respirations suddenly increased.

“I saw him, Mom.  He was with some really bad guys, who shot at us, and were trying to kidnap Chaise,” Bull continued without remorse.  “I saw the letter he left, the one that said we were better off without him.  Now, I need to know the truth about him because it’s Chaise’s life in danger now.”

Michelle stood and walked over to the end table.  She stood with her back to Colton and Chaise for several long minutes before opening the base of the table and retrieving the letter.

“I wish you’d told me you’d seen this a long time ago,” she finally said as she clutched the letter to her chest. 

“What difference would it have made if I had?  He
abandoned
us without a second thought and you just pretended it was all fine instead of facing the truth,” he spat out in anger.

“No, Colton, that’s not entirely true,” she sighed heavily.  “I was wrong to not tell you when you were old enough to understand, but he didn’t want me to say anything.  He was afraid it would put you in more danger.”

Michelle took a deep breath, “He didn’t
abandon
us, Colton.  He had to leave to
protect
us.  But he’s always kept watch over you and me.  All these years, he’s never stopped loving us.”

“You’re not making any sense,” Colton growled.

“Your dad works undercover with the DEA, Colton.  That’s why he traveled so much when you were young.  He was deep undercover and his cover was about to be blown.  This letter you saw was our secret code, should that day ever come.  His case was big and had he been discovered, it would’ve gotten us all killed. 

“That’s why we moved here.  That’s why you went to the military boarding school for high school.  That’s why I let you, and everyone else, believe he had just left without a word.  It was the only way to keep us all alive.”

Colton stood and started pacing the room.  His hands were drawn into fists.  The emotionless mask was gone and full fury had replaced it.  His muscles were tightly wound, like a rattlesnake ready to strike.  He looked lethal and he was only getting started.

“You really expect me to believe that all this was for
our
benefit?  He could’ve moved with us.  He could’ve taken on a new identity and stayed with us.  He didn’t have to
leave
us.”

“Those were different times, Colton.  He had to make it look like we were dead so we’d have a chance at a life without looking over all our shoulders all the time.  We both did what we thought was best.  That’s all we could do,” her voice rich with grief, regret
, and remorse.

Chaise watched Bull intently to try to gauge his reaction.  The whole conversation was a huge bombshell and she felt like she was still running to catch up to them.  The silence was uncomfortable and the room felt stuffy. 

“Do you still talk to him?” Bull’s eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms across his huge chest.

Michelle drew in a deep breath and Chaise had a very bad feeling about what was about to occur.  “Yes, Colton, I still talk to him.  He’s still my husband.  That’s why I’ve never remarried.  It’s always been him for me.”

“How can you still be married if you never see him?” Bull growled.

“I do see him but not as often as I’d like at the moment.  He’s finishing up this current case and then he’s retiring.  He’ll move here to be with me or we’ll move somewhere together,” Michelle explained with a shrug of her shoulder.

“I don’t fucking believe this!  He’s been absent my whole life and you just take him back like what he did is nothing?”  Bull’s anger was reaching a scorching hot level. 

“I love him, Colton.  I knew what he was when we married and I knew this was a possibility.  We did the best we could with what we had.  He watched over you your whole life, Colton.  You didn’t know, but he’s always watched over you and your career.  He’s so proud of you.”

Bull paced the floor, his hands on his head and threading through his hair in frustration.  There were just too many lies, too many things that were kept from him, and a lifetime of regrets caused by an absent father.  The same father who had always been proud of him and would be stepping back into the family like nothing happened at all.

“Chaise and I are going to my place.  I need some time to think this through.”  He stopped and looked her in the eye, “You shouldn’t have let me find out like this.  You should’ve told me.”

“I know, son.  I’m so sorry—we were only trying to protect you.  I love you, Colton.”

Bull nodded but Chaise had the distinct impression that he wasn’t really listening to what his mom was saying.  His mind was a million miles away at the moment. 

In the truck after saying their goodbyes, Bull was still very quiet.  He answered Chaise when she spoke, but other than that, he was very distant.  Chaise reached over and put her hand over his.  Without looking at her, Bull closed his hand around hers and squeezed it lightly.  That was his way of thanking her for her silent support.

Bull pulled into a secluded driveway that was barely visible from the road.  The shrubbery and coconut trees partially blocked the view of the drive, giving the illusion that it was an old abandoned road.  Obviously,
that was just how Bull wanted it to appear to keep unwanted visitors out.

At the end of the driveway sat a small house.  It was immaculately kept and looked like an island oasis.  The front yard was covered with lush, green grass and the backyard was the beach and ocean.  Bull parked, grabbed their bags
, and escorted Chaise into his home away from home.

The house was small and simple, not nearly as elaborate as his Miami home.  But it was the simplicity and the back view that was the true draw.  The house consisted of three bedrooms, two baths, a den, dine-in kitchen
, and a large wrap-around covered porch.  The backyard held the typical manly-man essentials—a grill, a fire pit, and an oversized hammock.

Chaise had always loved the beach and the ocean.  She had grown up living around the water and she loved it.  She was good strong swimmer.  The sound of the waves and the feel of the breeze was her Zen place.  She looked at Bull and quipped, “I call dibs on the hammock tonight.”

Her attempt at humor at least earned her a smile—the first one she’d seen since they had arrived at his mother’s house.  She heard, “humph,” just before she was suddenly picked up and thrown over his shoulder. She squealed with laughter and he playfully swatted her ass.

“Don’t even think you’re sleeping
anywhere
without me, woman!”

“Oh, I do love the
‘demanding Bull’
so much,” Chaise teased.

“You’re about to get all the ‘demanding Bull’ you can take,” he warned with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

“Promises, promises,” she replied sardonically.  While he couldn’t see the huge grin on her face, she made sure her voice conveyed her playfulness.  That was all it took for Bull to want to prove her wrong.  Her plan was actually working much better than she had anticipated. 

Bull deposited her across the hammock and softly covered her mouth with his.  He was unusually tender in his approach and Chaise felt every ounce of her body melting into the hammock.  She felt the thick, rigged length of his shaft bulge against his jeans.  The vibrating sensation was new, however.

“Fuck!” Bull said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.  Glancing at the screen, he saw Rebel’s name just before he answered.  “Yeah, man.”

A few clipped words later, along with no display of emotion one way or another,
Bull ended his call.  Chaise looked at him expectantly as he prepared to fill her in.

“We’ll have to stay here for a few days.  That was Rebel.  The guy you identified on the surveillance tape is not part of the
Tres Sieses
.  He’s actually part of a much more dangerous organization and they are apparently after you,” Bull explained.