Page 14 of Guarding The Phoenix, Vol. 2 (The Phoenix Duet)

Chapter fourteen

Dark Deeds

Kylie

S ometime later, I woke up in bed alone. The covers were wrapped around my naked form. I yawned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Napping in the middle of the day always made me groggy. It was like seeing the day from the wrong angle.

What time was it?

I shifted and groaned. My body ached. But that wasn’t a surprise after four powerfully built males fucked me blind. It would be more unusual if I wasn’t sore.

I was naked beneath the sheets. The room was dark and gave me no indication of the time. And I had no idea where I had set my phone. The boat was still docked given the gentle sway of the yacht.

Groaning I climbed out of bed and padded quietly into the bathroom. I needed to rinse off before I put clothes on. While we’d picked up a few more items, clothing was still limited. And after the fuck fest, I wanted to make sure my body was clean first before I put anything on.

On my trek I spied the bags from this morning’s shopping spree. At least I had more of a selection than before. After a quick shower, I rifled through the bags, selecting a pair of black yoga pants and a pink sweatshirt, preferring comfort over style. But then, I had always been a woman who preferred creature comforts.

My stomach grumbled.

With all the supplies we picked up, I was itching to cook. But I also wanted to know what happened next. We made it to the harbor and resupplied the yacht. But I didn’t know where we went from here.

I left the room in search of the guys.

The kitchen area was empty. I hadn’t expected them to be here. My gaze strayed to the table and my cheeks heated. I doubted I would look at that table the same way ever again.

It was the site of my first official gang bang. It’d been beyond my wildest dreams. And I couldn’t wait for the next one.

In my humble opinion, every woman should have the opportunity to experience a consensual gang bang.

I headed upstairs. They weren’t on the main level. Which meant they were likely in the command center.

Before I reached the top of the stairs, I heard the low timbre of male voices. Pleasure filled me. These four men had become my world in short order. And I realized how improbable it might be, but I wanted to keep them after Santos had been dealt with.

“The drone will be ready to fly out at twenty-one hundred.”

“Do we have a bead on their location?” Gideon asked, always in charge of the situation. I loved his dominant presence to distraction.

“Fuckers are cloaking their location. But we have their last known locale triangulated. Once the drone loaded with the trackers is on the move, we’ll have a second drone scouting the area behind it for their ship.”

“That’s good. Once we’re certain they are following the drone, we’ll sneak out of the harbor and head north.”

“How was Kylie on the shopping trip?” Axel asked. His deep bass always made me think of bonfires and roasted marshmallows.

“Fine. A little surprised at the size of the haul we made. But she seems to be taking it all in stride,” Chase replied.

“She was rather upset this morning when I went into the panic room,” Gideon stated. In my mind, I imagined him pacing the command room.

Mateo chimed in. “Understandable, given the situation. It’s not every day the mafia tries to sink a yacht. But she seemed alright when you guys returned.”

“That’s because I have a way with the ladies.” Chase joked.

I chuckled at Chase’s comment. He certainly did. With that I finished the climb. “He’s not wrong.”

Four sets of male gazes swung my way.

Gideon lifted a dark brow. “Thought you’d sleep longer.”

I shrugged. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead. Do you think the drones will work?”

“How long were you eaves dropping?” Axel asked, studying me with a frown.

“I didn’t want to interrupt. But long enough to know that you’ve got two drones, and that Santos put tracking devices on the boat.”

The guys grimaced and shot each other wordless glances.

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.” Gideon spoke up first.

I opened my mouth to refute Gideon’s statement. I wasn’t a hot-house flower. Santos coming after me scared me shitless. But that was simply being smart and aware when there was a mafia don stalking me.

“Babe, listen, it’s not that we want to keep you out of the discussion. But we don’t want you to worry about the next steps. It’s our job to keep you safe and determine the best course of action. It’s why you hired us.”

Gideon wasn’t wrong. “I appreciate the sentiment. Truly. Except with everything that has happened, I would feel better understanding the next steps. Simply because he tracked the yacht, and it’s making my anxiety skyrocket. The way around that fear is knowing what comes next.”

Gideon prowled my way until we stood toe to toe. His big body loomed over me, making me feel small and fragile. “I will agree to keep you updated on what we are doing. As long as you understand that when it comes to your safety and that of this vessel, we’re in charge. This is the kind of thing the Marines trained us to handle. And I won’t negotiate on that point.”

It was a small victory on my end. One I would celebrate, if only in my mind. Because I wouldn’t back down. I lived in my husband’s shadow, always afraid of the next slap or punch. Never again. I wouldn’t sit on the sidelines and allow others to make decisions about my life without my input. “I understand and agree. And while I trust you, I might ask questions on why you’re choosing to implement certain tactics, so I understand the logic behind it.”

“I can get on board with that. Anything else?”

Damn. It was good he didn’t know how much I wanted to jump into his arms when he was being all big and bad, because then he would realize he had the upper hand. Instead of jumping his bones, I asked, “How do you guys feel about burgers for dinner?”

A chorus of delight erupted from the guys. Gideon flashed a grin. “You’re incorrigible.”

“And you know you like it.”

He slipped an arm around my waist. “We fucking love it. Burgers sound great.”

***

Gideon

I didn’t like that Kylie overheard us. I hated it. Nor did I care for the fact that she wanted to be kept apprised of the situation. It was better she remained in the dark. As it stood, we’d provide her with the watered-down version. She didn’t need a play-by-play of every maneuver we would make. It had nothing to do with some of it being considered classified. And everything to do with the less she knew, the better.

Once we nabbed Santos, we would confess our secrets and let the chips fall where they may.

Rubbing a frustrated hand over my face. I acted like our relationship would continue once we finished the case. It was doubtful, although not out of the realm of possibilities. But having a relationship as a CIA agent who spent the bulk of their time in the field was difficult at best. And that was the understatement of the century, like saying the sun was merely hot.

Axel stayed down with Kylie after we ate dinner. He was tasked with keeping her occupied while we readied the yacht for our departure. We explained if something happened while we attempted to leave the harbor and Santos found us, Axel would get her to safety. It was one of the reasons he was down with her now. He’d get her onto one of the jet skis and head back to shore. His task from that point on would be to get her into witness protection and be her bodyguard for life. There was no one else I trusted or who was more capable of keeping her safe.

“It’s time. Drone has left the harbor,” Mateo announced, his fingers tapping away at the computer.

I shifted my focus back to the mission. As much as I wanted to nab Santos, without the information from Kylie’s dead husband, he’d walk. We had to reach the Alaska house and gather the information needed to put him away for life. The key and location of the safe deposit box in Nassau where he stashed the diamonds was there too. Diamonds that were part of a collection from Marie Antoinette. They had been on display at the Met before they disappeared. It hadn’t been reported on the news. An exact replica had been put in their stead not to arouse suspicions while we searched for them.

“And?” I glanced over his shoulder at the radar screen.

“Give it time. The drone is flying close to the water at a much slower speed to give it the appearance of a ship. If their boat has radar cloaking abilities like we suspect, we might have to wait until there’s visual confirmation of it following the first drone by the second one. It’s hovering above, using the clouds for cover.”

“Chase, how are we doing on our trajectory north?”

“Course is plotted. We’ll hug the coastline. That way if they try to catch us again or the bait doesn’t work, we can get ashore quickly. It’s the longer trek. I’ve included a stop in Seattle to refuel and restock our supplies before sailing up past Canada to Alaska.”

That was something at least. I nodded. “Good. As soon as we have confirmation that they’re hunting the tracking signals, we head out. Then I want to put as much distance between us and them as possible by morning.”

“Agreed. And if they don’t take the bait?”

“They will.” My response sounded more confident than I felt. Santos was a crafty bastard. He always wound up one step ahead. It bothered the fuck out of me too. Mainly because it didn’t make sense how he continued to evade capture with the best minds in the CIA hunting him.

The next hour we waited, watching the drones on radar, the air rife tension. If the ship didn’t take the bait, we needed to employ a different tactic. One option would be renting an RV to drive north. It would take us off the grid. We could pay cash at RV parks and go as off grid as possible. It would be tight quarters and would entail significantly more time on our end to reach our destination. We’d need to finagle our way through the Canadian border with our weapons and that could be dicey.

It wouldn’t be the first time we’d snuck weapons into a foreign country. And it wouldn’t be the last time either.

Time slowed to a crawl while we waited. This was ridiculous. Absurd even. I opened my mouth, ready to abort the mission and fall back on the contingent plan.

Mateo clapped. “Son of a bitch, they took the bait. The ship took the bait. It’s sailing south toward the drone.”

Elation filled me. “About fucking time. How far behind the drone are they?”

“Thirty minutes or so.”

“Still too close for my liking. Keep track of that ship. I want to know where it sails every fucking step of the way. If it’s still following the drone in an hour, then we head out. Don’t lose it.”

“On it,” Mateo nodded, shifting in his seat.

“Start getting us ready to depart, Chase. I want to leave the minute the hour is up.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Chase saluted with a smartass smirk.

Fucker.

But he didn’t miss a beat. He headed down to the engine room to double check everything was in proper working order. Like he hadn’t gone over the engine and fuel lines multiple times today. But it made me glad that he wasn’t taking any chances.

I went down below deck to give Axel a heads up. The door to the bedroom was open. And he was fucking Kylie. The two of them were wrapped around each other, oblivious to the outside world.

I stood outside the doorframe and watched. It was a lot like watching a porno with the gigantic man, screwing the petite woman. I pressed my palm against my hard-on. I couldn’t join them. Mores the pity. There would be time on the sail north to avail myself of her charms.

But at least he was keeping Kylie occupied while we took care of business.

I headed back to the command deck. “Where are we at Mateo?”

“Ship is still following the tracking signals on the drone.”

I checked my watch. “Chase, we leave in ten minutes. I’ll help push off from the dock.”

“Doing a final check of the gages now. We’ll be ready.”

“Mateo, if anything changes with that ship, I want to know immediately. I won’t relax until we’re hundreds of miles north.”

“Understood.”

We were in for a long night.

The minutes slowed to a crawl. When it was time, I headed to the lower deck and removed the dock lines. With the last one removed, I pushed us off from the dock as Chase engaged the engine.

He slowly pulled us away from the marina. Once cleared, he picked up speed, but still kept it slow.

“Update on the ship, Mateo?”

“Just got an image of the ship from two minutes ago. It’s still sailing south, southwest and following the drone.”

“Good. Chase, the moment we’re clear of the harbor, I want you to lay on speed and get us as far north as possible over the next two hours.”

“Not to worry. This big girl is in good hands.” Chase captained the yacht like he had been piloting it for years instead of days.

We slunk out of the harbor, and didn’t pass another vessel. Chase laid on the speed once we were ocean bound. The next two hours, we spent in virtual silence with Mateo monitoring radar and Chase sailing, while I circled the outer decks with night vision goggles, checking to see if we’d been followed by a ship with radar cloaking capabilities.

Before I went up to relieve Chase from command, I brewed a pot of coffee in the galley. Axel and Kylie were asleep in the bedroom. Lucky bastards. Although after everything, I was glad Kylie slept. The last few days had been the most stressful for her. We were used to this type of nomadic, dangerous lifestyle.

I headed back up with coffee for myself and Mateo. We’d be up the better part of the night. But it would be worth it to put as much distance between us and them as possible. I didn’t want us docking for two days unless necessary.

“Get some shut eye. We’ll rotate duties with six-hour shifts. Get sleep. No fucking Kylie, even if she begs for it. I need you alert.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Chase left the deck.

I slid into the vacated seat and took over the controls with a sigh. It was going to be a long night.