Page 44

Alex

“I never thought I’d say this, but you’re more fun as a civilian,” Thatch chuckles over my Bluetooth speaker.

“Fun or profitable?” I ask as I turn into the parking deck at the Enclave.

“Are these things mutually exclusive?”

Apparently not, based on how successful the match between SilentStorm and GhostW@ke was last weekend. So much so that there’s another one tonight. I barely had a chance to respond to Thatch’s request before Dallas shouted her approval in the background.

“They like that angry shit,” Thatch continues. “It really beefs up the numbers. And when you wrap it up with a romantic ending— mmm, perfection.”

“You can stop now.”

I can live without Thatch’s professional opinion regarding how I fuck my own wife.

“Hey, I’m just as shocked as you are. Apparently, romance isn’t dead, after all.”

I confirm the time with Thatch as I whip into my designated space, Dallas’s Mazda already parked next to it. She’ll never admit it, but she’s just as much of a speed demon as Colson, which is probably why she arrived home from dinner so much faster than I did. I kill the engine, pull my phone off the dash mount, and start clearing notifications. The first one is a text from Dallas.

DALLAS (9:21PM): I have a surprise for you tonight.

I smile to myself. Dallas’s surprises never disappoint. The next one indicates the GPS app updated, so I take a look at it to make sure everything is still in order and that everyone is still where they’re supposed to be.

Bowen’s tracker indicates that he’s far out of range, which is expected because he travels anywhere within a hundred-mile radius for work each day. I swipe to the next map, which shows a purple dot sitting in my location, indicating that Dallas is indeed in our apartment. The tracker on Bowen’s truck wasn’t enough; if I’m going to keep Dallas safe, I need to know where she is, too, and the tiny tracker I got fits perfectly on the back of my mom’s amethyst pendant she wears every single day.

I’m about to close the app when I see something that isn’t like the rest. When I scroll down to yesterday, the list of locations beneath the map includes one that I know well. The problem is that there’s absolutely no reason it should be there. And the longer I stare at it, a steady flow of adrenaline begins to course through my veins. I sit, nearly catatonic in my seat, for nearly 10 minutes before I realize I haven’t moved.

I glance around, making sure I’m still alone in my truck. I must’ve been having a flashback, but I’m not sure. I think I blacked out. At least my muscles didn’t decide to seize up in the process. I try to shake it off on my way inside. Once in the apartment, I complete the daily process of unloading and storing my weapon and changing my clothes. I usually thrive on structure and routine, but now everything is thrown off.

“Good thing tonight worked out,” Dallas’s voice echoes as she emerges from the hallway. “I have to start my project for senior capstone next week.”

I glance around aimlessly, and then clear my throat. “Why were you at Luca’s?”

I don’t beat around the bush.

Dallas looks me up and down, registering the tension in my muscles and sharp tone of my voice. She also doesn’t know about the tracker on her necklace.

Plausible deniability.

“I had to pick up something,” she replies, turning to the mirror and running her fingers through her hair.

“What?” I ask, my tone much harsher now.

She furrows her brow at my reflection. “Why are you talking to me like that?”

“Because I told you not to be alone with him.”

“Like, months ago,” she smiles. “You’re with him and Adrian all the time now. You get along. What’s the problem?”

“Yeah, me. Not you. So, answer me, Dallas.”

“I already told you. And how do you know I was anyway?”

Now she’s just being obtuse and I’m not in the mood to play any goddamn games.

“ Goddamnit, Jor— ”

I try to stop myself, but it’s too late. It’s done.

Dallas whips around, her eyes wide with shock as contempt slowly pools around her sapphire irises.

What the fuck did I just do?

The silence hangs like a cinderblock between us, and the longer Dallas looks at me with what can only be described as utter betrayal, the more dread washes over me. After a few moments, her face relaxes, but only slightly.

“What are you asking me?”

But regardless of her reaction, there’s nothing to quell the rage simmering beneath my skin. “I think you know what I’m asking.”

“ Say it, ” she bites out through clenched teeth.

I hesitate, but images keep flashing through my mind that I’ve tried to forget, but can’t. And now all I see is the purple dot on that map where it’s not supposed to be. In an instant, I reel back and hurl my phone at the back of the door, detonating it and sending shards of glass and plastic flying.

“ YOU FUCKED MY brOTHER! ”

But it’s not my voice that I hear; it’s Colson’s. Except he’s yelling the same thing at me in his living room—about Dallas. She flinches at the impact, but then straightens up and squares off with me.

“No , I didn’t, ” Dallas growls so deeply that it doesn’t even sound like her voice.

Then she turns and slowly stalks into the closet, not taking her eyes off me until she reaches the doorway. She disappears inside and returns with a white box. Gently, she places it on the edge of the bed and steps back, turning to me again with fire blazing in her eyes. Glancing between her and the box, I approach the bed and lift the lid apprehensively. Layers of tissue paper obscure its contents at first, but when I finally see the object inside, I’m not sure what to think.

It's a blanket, with green and white squares printed with frogs and lily pads— a quilt. I lift it out of the box, letting it unfurl to the floor. But this quilt looks different. The prints are a bit larger, but it’s similar enough to make me think for an instant that I imagined the whole thing, that one of the last pieces of my mom wasn’t obliterated and dumped over the hood of my car.

But it’s whole.

“My mom helped me make it,” Dallas says softly, “a little bit each time I went to their house.”

My eyes wander over every inch until I get to the center of the quilt, where my breath catches and everything stops. The original scrap of fabric, faded and worn, is stitched in the middle inside a bright lime green block of fabric. I lift the section up to look closer, examining the edges that have been neatly trimmed clean. And, somehow, what’s left seems brighter than it was before.

Dallas takes the corner and folds it over, revealing a large black and blue flannel triangle mirroring another pink and black flannel one to make a square. There’s one in each corner of the quilt, and I recognize the patterns immediately.

“They’re from the jackets that belonged to your parents,” she explains. “In Tulum, I told Luca and Adrian that I was going to try and save your baby quilt, but I needed to find more fabric. Luca said that he had these, but you didn’t know about it. He said these were the jackets that your parents wore all the time when they worked on houses together. He had them cut out and ready for me to sew on last night—the final pieces.”

I remember them; the camel brown ones with the flannel lining that was always warm, no matter what.

Dallas lets the fabric fall from her fingers. “He thought that if I put them in here, then you’d see that he’s serious—that he’s truly sorry for what he did to you.”

I press the back of my fist to my lips, trying to still my chin trembling underneath. Gathering my thoughts, I drape the quilt over the box and pull Dallas to me, wrapping my arms around her waist. She remains still, her arms dangling at her sides. I squeeze her tighter, but she still doesn’t move.

No. No, no, no…

“Dal,” I murmur into her hair, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I pull back, brushing her hair away from her face as I look her in the eyes. “I love it, and I love you .”

But her only response is to stare back at me blankly. I pull her tight against my chest again, her body just as loose as before as I move my hands over her back like it’ll jump-start her muscles.

Come back…come back…

I squeeze her tighter, my heart pounding harder as the panic rises. Until, finally, she slowly raises her arms and rests her hands on my shoulders. I tilt her head, scattering kisses up and down her cheek, trying to bring her back to life. Soon, she gives my shoulders a squeeze and gently pulls away.

“Dal, I—” I glance around hectically, my eyes falling on the clock on the thermostat.

Shit. It’s getting late and I almost forgot about the match.

“I’ll call Thatch. I’ll tell Thatch tonight’s no good.”

“No.” Dallas’s voice suddenly turns upbeat. “That’s silly. Besides, I want to go to Tahiti.”

Tahiti?

“I saw a resort on one of those travel shows the other day,” she continues, “all-inclusive with private bungalows on black sand beaches. That’s where I want to go for fall break. Just you and me.”

I blink, trying to decipher her change in attitude. “Absolutely,” I nod, “anything you want.”

I don’t care, I’d take her to Mars right now if she asked.

Dallas gives me a smile that makes her look more like herself and saunters across the room into the closet. She reappears with a large square of black exercise tape and waits patiently while I peel off my shirt, carefully covering my tattoo as though nothing happened. Then she returns to the closet and shuts the door.

My heart’s still beating double-time, but it seems I’ve averted disaster for now. With a deep breath, I drag my hands up and down my face and turn back to the quilt on the bed. I’m floored, speechless, at a loss for words. Dallas takes all the awful things in the world and makes them good again. Maybe that’s all there is to it. She’s the strongest because of her kindness. Her brother should be ashamed for telling her to be otherwise and Bowen needs to die for trying to take it from her.

She did this for me, and I called her—

I can’t even think about it without nausea roiling through my gut. So, instead, I carefully fold the quilt, lay it across the end of our bed, and walk into the next room to get my head in the game.

I power up the monitors and check out the lobby that’s quickly filling up. One handle glows green, signifying they’re on deck for tonight.

“ That guy?” I murmur to myself.

EomersXspear.

He’s thirsty for more.

I start unbuckling my belt, tossing each item into a pile next to the door. Once I’m down to a pair of black boxer briefs, I move through the room, turning on lights and adjusting cameras before taking a seat and reclining against the headboard.

“We’re live in 10 seconds,” I call out, pulling my black balaclava on.

The clock winds down and I start playing, unsurprised that this asshole doesn’t present much of a challenge. Moments later, I hear the door swing open and gently bounce off the stop. I smile to myself, loving the dramatic touches Dallas sprinkles here and there. We’ve gotten good, light years better than when we started. Now, it’s a creative outlet preying on the urges of faceless voyeurs.

Maybe she’s not too upset anymore.

The carpet silences her footsteps, but I can sense her approach the edge of the bed. The number beneath her handle starts rising. They’re already betting on her—a lot—which piques my interest. And when I glance to the side, I find out why.

Oh, fuck…

She’s wearing a mask I recognize plain as day. Only, the last time I saw it was when I was riding in the back of Mason’s truck. And, that time, Aiden was wearing it.

That goddamn bunny rabbit head.

Already topless, Dallas climbs onto the bed and stands up, towering over me. She steps over my legs, one foot on each side of my calves, and looks over her shoulder at the screen. Then, in one smooth motion, she pulls her black bikini underwear down. After kicking them off, she leans forward, showing her ass to the camera.

Her number jumps dramatically.

She turns around and sinks down on all fours, putting her ass right in front of me. My eyes go wide beneath my mask when I see the puffy white cottontail sitting right between her ass cheeks. She starts bouncing her hips, making the cottontail jiggle at the end of the plug filling her tight little ass.

“Slutty little brat,” I growl loud enough for the mics to pick up.

Dallas takes hold of one of the ears on her mask and tugs the rabbit head to the side. It slides off, revealing her white balaclava with her thick black ponytail spilling out the top. Then she crawls over my legs, reaching beneath the pillows. There’s a crackling sound, and when I glance up, I can’t help but smile.

Dallas stares back at me while she tears open a bag of Haribo bears.

I make my way through the map while she fishes out a few and then tosses the bag on the bed. Then, without a word, she reaches down the front of my boxer briefs to free my dick. She sinks down and starts wiggling her ass at the camera, making her tail shake while she slides me deep into her mouth.

The first match ends and I take the opportunity to grab Dallas’s ponytail and wrap it around my fist. Looking straight at the camera, I hold her head and start pumping my hips, thrusting into the back of her throat. She tightens around me and I let out a deep moan before lifting her head, spit glistening on her lips.

“I liked your surprise,” I taunt her, “appropriate, since you like when I fuck you like a little rabbit.”

A smug grin peeks out from behind her mask, “It’s not over yet, Carino. ”

The second match starts and she pushes my dick down until it’s level. I blink, trying to concentrate on not getting killed while she meticulously balances three yellow gummy bears along the top of my shaft. Her number starts rising as she leans down and runs her tongue over my skin, sucking the first bear into her mouth. I grit my teeth as she moves on to the next, and the next, licking every inch of me before they disappear between her lips.

Dallas rises with a sardonic smile, thinking her plan is working, but then I unload a firestorm and race further through the map. The number under my name shoots up and I let out a chuckle. She looks like she’s about to smack me, but instead slides one knee over my lap. She settles in, giving me enough space to move the controller behind her without messing up my flow. Then she reaches down between my legs and feels the tight muscle against her thighs.

“I was going to let you win tonight,” Dallas murmurs in my ear, my eyes still glued to the screen as she starts stroking me, “watch you destroy this motherfucker and then turn me inside out for all of them afterward. But now you're going to pay. I’m going to make you suffer.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the chest, but Eomer hasn’t caught up yet, so I keep going, firing and making my way closer to the finish.

“ Mírame a los ojos cuando te hablo!” Dallas shouts just inches from my face.

I freeze, my eyes darting to her irises like dark oceans. She leans in close, until her nose brushes mine.

“That is the one and only time you'll ever mistake me for anyone else, Alex fucking Barrera,” she hisses with enough venom to take down a grizzly bear.

I give a few rapid shakes of my head, unable to look away. My chest caves at the mere thought. Dallas isn’t the one whose face I saw when I said it, screaming at bygone nightmares. She could've thrown me out of our apartment right then, and I would've deserved it.

Slowly, she starts sliding my tip back and forth over her slick pussy, sending a tremor down my thighs. Then she leans into my ear.

“Open your mouth.”

I glance at the screen, where my character is more or less concealed behind a wall for the time being. Dallas slides her fingers up my scalp to the crown of my head and clenches her fist, pulling my head back as my jaw drops. She positions my tip at her entrance and holds it there while she hovers over my face.

She spits a half-dissolved gummy bear out of her mouth and into mine and, on reflex, my mouth closes and I start chewing, not giving a shit whether it’s candy or a rusty screw.

“Ask for another,” Dallas commands with just as much disdain as before, but this time she says it while slowly rolling her hips, letting my tip dip inside her only to pull back again.

“Can I—can I have another?” I murmur up at her.

“So they can hear it,” she growls.

A moan rumbles through my chest as she toys with me, slipping me further inside her before sliding back off.

“Please, can I have another?” I say louder, every muscle tensing with need.

She holds my mouth open and spits another bear and mouthful of saliva into my mouth. I let out a sharp breath when it hits my tongue, its sugary syrup trickling to the back of my throat. I need to move before someone finds me and I lose the fucking match, but my controller remains idle in my hands.

“Ask me for another.”

The angrier she is, the more desperate I am for her, half-crazed and barely able to see anything except her eyes behind the white mask.

“ I want another, ” I rumble, much louder this time.

This time, she hovers over my mouth and hesitates, letting the camera capture every second while she slowly opens and pushes the last yellow bear over her lip and into my mouth. She lingers there, letting her spit drip over my chin as I chew the candy and swallow hard.

“Are you sorry?” Dallas rasps, her lip twitching with disdain.

My eyes dart to the screen for a brief moment, but nothing moves, even in the split screen. Eomer’s character stands motionless in a dark corner, not moving. And then I realize he’s stopped playing, effectively pausing the game.

So he can watch.

“I’m sorry,” I crackle into her mouth, wishing she were closer so I could feel her lips on mine. “ I’m so fucking sorry. ”

“Are you?” she snarls back through clenched teeth. “Because I don’t believe you.”

My chest heaves as she rolls her hips over me, teasing as she strokes my length pulsing in her grip. I blink in quick successions, trying to focus and keep it together while I clench the controller, threatening to crack it in half.

“ Fuck… ” I moan to the ceiling.

“ Mmm , Ghost isn’t so scary anymore, is he?” she coos up at the cameras.

The more she toys with me, the more everything else melts away.

“ Please, ” I whimper up at her in a voice that’s not mine.

“Please, what?” she taunts back. “You want my slutty little pussy to swallow your big, hard cock?”

All I can do is nod up at her through desperate moans. My jaw drops as she suddenly sinks down onto my dick, only to raise up again and slide it back out. I’m losing it, about to crash and burn.

She gazes down at me with a sardonic grin. “Ask me nicely.”

“Please, mmm …” I plead with her as the cameras broadcast my agony to each paying customer, “ please, just fuck me, ” I grind out.

“Tell me to finish you,” Dallas hums into my cheek. “Ask me to destroy you.”

I can barely see anymore, my fucking vision going blurry like I’m about to black out. My heart is beating out of my chest and the dopamine’s hitting so hard it’s painful.

“Fuck it,” I growl, ditching the controller and grabbing her ass with both hands. “ Just fucking wreck me! ”

The controller hits the bed and I slam Dallas down on my dick with a feral grunt. Her number skyrockets as they try to dump all their bids onto her so they have a chance at getting some of it back before Eomer finds me and I’m inevitably eviscerated. I’ve never done this before. I’ve never forfeited—ever. Lost, yes, but never just surrendered.

I pull her close, holding her in a vice grip with one arm while I pump her hips up and down with the other. She’s fucking me like she wants to destroy me and I’m about to lose it. Her number suddenly jumps dramatically. Someone just threw down thousands on her. Then a deep, gritty voice cuts through the speaker in a thick accent—maybe Russian…

“ Finish him, Queen. ”

Dallas digs her fingers into my traps, riding me harder until her voice vibrates with each movement. It starts slow, a hum that turns into a moan, and the harder and faster I move, they give way to gasps and cries that tear at my sanity. My head falls back and I let out a barrage of moans and curses, riding the high while she convulses against me.

When it’s over, Dallas collapses onto my shoulder, stroking my cheek as she moans with satisfaction. I run my hands up the backs of her legs to her ass, spreading her thighs wider. Then I watch on the screen as my cum runs out of her pussy and down her leg for all the faceless spectators to see.

“This is why you’re my wife, and no one else,” I whisper to her, “because your soul finds mine, even in the dark.”

Dallas rests her forehead against mine. “I believe you now,” she whispers back, leaving soft kisses over my mouth.

The game is over, and they should be so lucky, draining their bank accounts to witness this heaven on earth. It’s so goddamn beautiful. She’s so goddamn beautiful, more radiant than all the wildflowers on earth splashed across the hills and valleys. Because Dallas is the color in the vast abyss, the star in the darkest sky, and more than anything, she’s fucking mine.

No one will ever know that when the cameras turn off seconds later, I take out our rings and slide hers back on her finger, followed by mine, and take her back to our bed where I fall asleep to the beat of her heart against mine. No one will ever know that we wake up the next morning, get dressed in the same closet, and walk into the same building to lead our other life together without the masks and cameras and neon lights.

I leave Dallas’s office at 8:55 to head back to the command center, making a mental note to book a flight today.

Tahiti.

I’ll take any opportunity to take Dallas away. Our life here is good, even with the specter of Bowen Garrison constantly lurking in the background. Now that Dallas lives with me behind three locked doors with security detail and goes to work in the same building as me where I am the security detail, I can breathe easier knowing she’s not living in a campus deathtrap anymore. But even so, it’s been quiet. Almost too quiet.

Bowen’s the primary threat, and his lack of proximity to the city makes him easy to track. But there’s still one thing—one person that gnaws at the back of my mind. I haven’t figured it out yet, and I can’t let it go. There’s still one more threat lingering somewhere in the background, and I need to identify it.

The second man.

But I can’t think about it right now. I have to on-board a new employee, which requires half a day of paperwork to make sure they can even get to their office. When I step through the glass door, I see they’re right on schedule, a refreshing change from the troupe of disappointments parading through here lately.

I round the table in the middle of the room, where Nate has taken it upon himself to explain the layout of the building and which break room has the best coffee. It’s the latest buzz now, since we just got a brand-new machine.

“Hi.” She smiles as I take a seat next to Nate. “Dave said I’m supposed to come here first to get my badge.”

I reach across the table to introduce myself. “Alex Barrera.”

“Brett,” she replies, shaking my hand, “Sorensen.”