Page 31 of Axel (Reed Hawthorne Security #6)

Axel

Someone pounds on my door. I’m not expecting anyone. I check. Agent Myers.

You’ve got to be kidding me. That man has some nerve showing his face here. I throw open the door. To my surprise, he pushes his way in.

“You’ve ruined my case!” he yells.

I glance upstairs. Savvy is trying to take a nap.

I motion for him to follow me to the kitchen.

“Your case? You almost got Savvy killed! Again!”

“She was safe. Your friend was with her. But Marco is dead. With both him and Bennett dead, I’ll never learn who they were working for.”

I hold up my hand. “Wait. Bennett is dead?”

He crosses his arms. “Yeah. He was killed while awaiting trial in Rikers.”

“When?”

“Three days ago. ”

I take a couple of deep breaths . “And why wasn’t I notified? You know Bennett was a real threat to Savvy.”

“I’ve been a little busy tracking Marco. Can I get some water?” He nods to my sink.

“No. You came into my home to yell at me after all the shit you’ve caused?”

“Seriously? No water?”

I step forward, and the asshole must remember how hard I punch because he backs up.

“Oh, right. Yes, I may have an unorthodox approach?—”

“Unorthodox? You’re reckless at best. Your disregard for anyone but yourself makes you a danger to everyone around you. And as for tracking Marco, obviously you were doing a piss-poor job at that since he broke into my home and shot my coworker!” I point to the broken glass at the back door.

“Yeah, I heard about that. Sorry. I had eyes on him when he approached your front door, but then he took off sprinting around the block, and I lost him.”

“Because he went into the neighbor’s backyard and then mine! You said you would alert me if Marco was coming after Savvy. Coming to my front door is coming after Savvy. Why didn’t you call me?”

He holds up his hands. “Now wait, I never made any promises. I said I would try to let you know.”

The motherfucker is lying. I take another step toward him. “You didn’t try.”

“Assaulting a federal officer is a felony. I didn’t press charges last time, but I will this time,” he says.

“You used Savvy as bait, again! And almost got Moose killed. You think I care about what you will do?” I clench my fists by my side.

The longer I stare at this man, the angrier I get.

“You are responsible for his death because you had eyes on him. I wasn’t even here!

It was that podcast guy, Peter, who hit him with his car. ” I’m shouting now.

“Peter?” Myers asks too quickly. That reaction wasn’t concern. It was panic.

“Yes, do you know him?”

Myers blinks several times and then shakes his head. “Of course not. But if he was there, I will want to question him.”

The man is not a good liar.

“Okay, I’ll leave.” Myers turns and practically runs out of my place.

Yeah, that’s suspicious.

Savvy is standing at the bottom of the stairs as he races past. Once he leaves, I lock the door.

“Was he really trying to blame you?” she asks.

“He was.”

“Asshole,” she says.

“Yes, he is.”

She walks to the couch and sits down. “He did say something interesting.”

I sit next to her. “What’s that?”

“Well, Marco and Bennett are both dead. And Bob is in prison. I think this mess is finally behind me.”

“Maybe,” I say.

“Please don’t tell me someone else is after me. The cartel has to see it doesn’t end well for them when they chase me.”

I suppress a grin. She’s right.

“I don’t think anyone is after you. But the way Myers reacted to the news about Peter was odd. Let me dig into it.”

I call Agent Stevens. It goes to voicemail, so I leave a message asking her to call me.

That’s when I spot a voicemail from Reed.

“Good news. Moose will be fine. The bullet hit his side and missed his organs. They have him stitched up and will keep him overnight for observation.”

Savvy hugs me. “That is good news.” She steps back. “Okay, I need to call my boss and let her know I can come in. And I need to go back to my place. I should call my brother because I’ve been cryptic in my texts with him. And I?—”

I place my hands on her shoulders. “There is time for all of it. But first of all, let’s take a moment to relax.”

She frowns at me. “Relax? We’ve been sitting around most of today already.”

“You really want to go home now?”

“Yes.”

I fight off the disappointment I feel. Of course she wants to get back to her own place and familiar surroundings.

“Okay, let’s get your things.”

“I’ll be right back.” She races up the stairs and is back down within a couple of minutes.

I shove my hands into my pockets, fighting off disappointment. This is what we have wanted, for her to be able to go home and not be in danger.

“What’s wrong?” she asks as she leans against the couch.

“I don’t know how to say this without sounding…” I’m not even sure how to finish this line.

She drops her bag and holds my hands in hers. “What’s going on?”

I take a deep breath and then let it out. She needs honesty, even if it does make me feel more vulnerable than I’m comfortable with.

“I’m afraid that once you get back home, you will realize what you felt for me was only because I was protecting you.”

She frowns. “You’re insecure?”

My brow shoots up, and I take a step back. “What? No.”

“No, I don’t mean it like an accusation. I’m just surprised. You don’t seem like someone who would doubt themselves.”

“I don’t. Normally.”

She grins as she steps closer. “What I feel for you isn’t simply a product of adrenaline. Over the last few weeks, I’ve gotten to know you, and I can say, without a doubt, I’ve completely fallen for you.”

“What?” Did I hear her right?”

She places her hand on my cheek. “Hunter, I love you.” Then she leans in and presses her lips to mine.

“I love you, too,” I say between kisses.

She tugs at my T-shirt, pulling it up. I yank it off and then pull up on hers. We head up the stairs and then resume stripping off our clothes as I walk her backward toward my bed.

She falls back onto it, and I climb over her, my mouth moving up her body as I go. When I get to her neck, she moans. I stop and stare at her. My heart flutters as I take in this woman.

“I love you,” I say.

Her fingernails lightly scratch up my back and into my hair. My fingers move down her body. I discover she’s already so wet, but I don’t want to rush this. I find her clit and rub it back and forth. She moans. I move my mouth to her nipple as I rub faster.

She pulls on my hair, and I look up. “Please, now.”

I lean over and grab a condom from my nightstand and quickly put it on. Then I line up and slide inside of her. She tightens around me, and it’s almost my undoing.

I pull out and thrust back in as I find her clit again with my fingers. My other arm is holding me up so I can watch her. As I move in and out, she smiles.

“Yes, faster!” she says.

I oblige.

Her fingernails scrape gently into my back. “Oh, I’m almost there!” she yells. “Yes!” She wraps her legs around me, pulling me tighter against her. “Yes!” she yells again.

Her legs relax, and she smiles at me. I slow down and move both arms to either side of her head as I lean down to kiss her.

“I love you, too,” she says as she runs her nails lightly down my back again .

And I can’t hold back any longer. I’m coming harder than I can remember.

I kiss her a few more times before I leave to take care of the condom. When I return, she’s under the covers, waiting for me. I join her, pulling her close to me.

We lounge together, enjoying each other’s closeness for about an hour before we finally get up.

“I’m thinking of ordering us a pizza for dinner. Sound good?” I ask.

“Sounds great.” She gives me a kiss before stepping into the bathroom and closing the door.

I grab my phone. Durango has left several messages. I call him back.

“You won’t believe this,” he says.

“What?”

“Peter Graham, the podcaster, is Stacy’s brother.”

Her brother?

“I thought he looked familiar,” Durango says. “I asked Trip to run a full background check on him. He looked familiar because he was at Stacy and Hawthorne’s wedding.”

“Wait, I was there, too. I don’t remember him.”

“He was a teenager and didn’t have the beard.”

Well, that would explain why I don’t remember him.

“According to Trip, Peter changed his last name after Stacy was convicted.”

“Well, now we know why he’s so persistent about this. Does he really think his sister is innocent?”

Durango sighs. “Not sure, but Stacy lies about everything. I’m sure she’s fed him some story where she’s the victim.”

“You’re probably right. Thanks for digging this up.”

“Yeah, not sure if it will help, but at least now we know Peter’s motivations.”

He ends the call, and then my phone rings again. Maybe he’s calling back. I check. He’s not.

“Stevens,” I answer.

“Yes, I got your message.”

“Do Myers and the podcaster, Peter, know each other?”

“I looked Peter up and recognized him right away. Myers answered some of Peter’s questions last year. It was related to a podcast he was doing at the time. Myers didn’t share anything classified.”

They do know each other. Why wouldn’t Myers just admit that?

“Have you seen Peter meet with Myers since then?”

“Hmm. Oh yes, it was two weeks ago. I went to tell Myers something, and Peter was in his office.”

Two weeks.

“That wouldn’t be the same day you met us at the RHS office, would it?”

“Actually, yes, it was because I wanted to talk to Myers about the case.”

“Did you talk to Myers about the case?”

“Um, briefly, yes. He stepped out of his office.”

Just outside the office? My stomach sinks.

“What are the odds Peter could hear what you discussed?”

She’s silent for a moment. “Well, it’s possible. ”

“And did you mention RHS?”

“Well, of course. I was about to head over to talk to Reed.”

That was the morning Peter came into our office. Before Stevens. He had to have known she was on her way.

My mind is racing. Peter planted an AirTag on my car. Would he be so daring as to plant some type of listening device inside RHS?

I need to talk to Reed and let him know that Peter might be hearing everything that’s said there.