Bound by Vengeance (17 page)

He made his way back into the kitchen and glanced toward the window bay with a shake of his head. Things like privacy had never been an issue before. He’d lived alone, and his gated p
roperty was isolated at the top of a winding mountain road, but things were different now. He had Taylor to think about, as well as his own wants and needs. Truthfully, he missed seeing her stroll through the house in a sexy scrap of lingerie or, even better, nothing at all. Maybe it was time to start looking into motorized blinds—something to cover the back wall. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. The pressures and worries just kept adding up.

He dragged a hand through his hair, scrubbed his scalp
as he yanked open the refrigerator door, and surveyed the contents. They were going to have to make a trip to the grocery store soon. It was a miracle Taylor had managed to stretch things this far. He glanced back toward the couch and his heart swelled. She tried so hard to make him happy, and despite the occasional screw-ups, she was everything he’d dreamed she would be. As ridiculous as it sounded, he’d known that day in the woods that Taylor was the one. The submission was written in her eyes. He could feel it rolling off her. Sebastian’s mouth curved with the memory. His mythical little unicorn. She’d come to him innocent and untouched with an overwhelming desire to please. He bristled as he thought of Marx, his smile vanishing with a scowl. He’d be damned if anything was ever going to take her away.

Forcing his attention back to the barren shelves, he pulled out a package of multicolored peppers and found them okay. Snaring an onion from the bin, he laid the vegetables on the counter and prayed there wa
s at least one package of hamburger or ground sausage remaining in the freezer. He was in luck. Latching on to the mindless repetition and working as quietly as he could, Sebastian started browning the meat and dicing the rest of the ingredients. Within minutes, a blend of spicy aromas filled the house and the turmoil in his mind had dulled.

He was scraping the last of the chili contents into the crockpot when Taylor finally stirred. Wrapped in the soft folds of the blanket, she leaned against the island an
d regarded him with a bemused expression. He wiped his hands on the dishtowel draped over his shoulder and glanced toward the counter.

“Dinner is taken care of. It just needs a few hours to marinate. Did you sleep well?”

She colored and nodded, her eyes darting to the counter. “You didn’t have to do that. I’m supposed to be taking care of you, not the other way around.”

Sebastian crossed the room and pulled her in his arms. Pressing his forehead against hers, he pinned her with a look of gentle reproach. “L
et’s get something straight here, darling. It is
always
my job to take care of you. We look out for each other. That’s what we do. Love isn’t a one-way street. Not with me.”

“I know, but you need your rest.”

He kissed the pouty swell of her lips and stroked the pad of his thumb across her cheek.

“And you don’t?” he asked softly. Seeing her lost expression, he shook his head. “I slept for an entire week, baby. How much more rest do you think I need? Trust me, Taylor, I’m fine. What I want now is to get back
my strength, go to work, and nail Laychee so we can put this mess behind us and get on with our lives.”

She winced at the steely determination in his voice, but leaned up to steal another kiss. “I believe in you. You’ll get him soon, Sebastian.”

Adoration shone on her face, making the round, delicate features glow. She was so damn gorgeous it took his breath away. Running his hands through her gleaming sable hair, he pressed the tip of his nose against hers and gave it an affectionate rub. “You got that right, baby, and when I do, he’s going to pay for everything he’s put us though. I promise.”

Chapter 8 ~

Sebastian prowled the width of the conference room with his hands clasped behind his back. His hard expression and silence commanded the attention of the men seated at the long wooden table. Chairs creaked as several members of his team shifted in discomfort, waiting for him to speak. His cheeks tightened with disapproval as he fixated Vince with a cold stare. The blond quickly looked away. Several bruises and cuts still mottled the technician’s face. It was the least the man deserved, though Sebastian knew for a fact their conservative uniforms concealed much more than met the eye. Not bothering to hide his pleasure, he donned a callous smirk. Setting his shoulders, he turned on his heels and focused his attention on the rest of the room.

“By now I’m sure most of you have heard about Pellagreeni’s unfortunate decision. I want to make one thing clear, gentlemen. The next time one of you compromises a mis
sion or makes a piss poor judgment call that almost costs one of your teammates their life, I will end yours, and you had damn well better pray that man wasn’t me. I don’t take kindly to having to spend my time correcting other people’s mistakes let alone paying for them. Is that clear?” he asked, dropping his voice to a menacing rasp.

A resounding chorus of “yes, sirs” greeted his ears. Clenching his jaw, he nodded. “See that it is. This is the one and only warning you are going to get. Marx brought me up
to spee--”

“The man had to take a piss, Baas. What do you suggest we do?”

He cocked his head, his eyes narrowing into hooded slits. His chin jutted with a brief bid of fury as he stared at Dominic. “Did you just interrupt me?”

“Not intentionally, but I’m r
equesting permission to speak freely, sir. Seriously, what do you expect us to do?”

“What do I expect you to do?” he repeated. Strolling across the room, he braced his hands against the table and leaned over the man, forcing him to flatten against the back
of his chair. “I expect you all to think and function at the capacity that you’ve been trained. Giving the rest of your teammates a heads up if you need to step away is not too much to ask. There’s no room for stupidity or incompetence at this table. If you still need someone to tell you how to do your job, then I suggest you stop wasting everybody’s time and get the fuck out of this room.”

The man’s eyes flared, as much at the dismissal as his curse. The blood drained from Dominic’s face leaving behind a
ghostly pallor. Glaring at him, Sebastian straightened with a disgusted shake of his head.

“I am done taking it easy on you, gentlemen. The leniency I’ve demonstrated toward this team has given me nothing but headaches and a near trip to the morgue in retu
rn. You can stay in line on your own or SKALS will force you back there with the swiftest, most severe punishment possible. The choice is yours. Do not disrespect or disappoint me again.”

Still fixing the group with a steely glower, he lowered into the cha
ir at the head of the table. He reclined against the padded leather until the seat leaned back, the position helping to ease some of the tension in his shoulders. The creak sounded unnaturally loud against the hushed silence of the room. “Since Dominic saw it fit to interrupt things and prove the ineptitude of this team, one of you is going to tell me where we are at in this situation. For your sakes, I hope I like the prognosis.”

His frown deepened at the stillness that followed. Most of the room refused t
o meet his stare. Brow lowering, he tented his fingers beneath his chin. Josh sat up but snapped his mouth shut at a discouraging shake of Sebastian’s head. Relief mingled with the frustration darkening his partner’s face. He understood the feeling all too well. Things did not bode well for them if the only man willing to speak up was the only one who didn’t have a reason to prove his worth.

Wes cleared his throat. Smoothing a hand across the top of his bald dome, he kept
his gaze trained on the table but bravely broke the silence.

“We’ve been keeping a close eye on the situation, sir. They’ve moved most of the weapons out of the warehouse and have stashed them in various locations throughout the state. One of Laychee’s und
erlings rented a commercial space outside of Flagstaff this week. We’re confident they will try to ship a majority of the weapons there within the next few days. There’s also the matter of Armando Soeleze. The Feds withheld the body as long as they possibly could. His brother’s funeral is tomorrow.”

Sebastian nodded. “Good. That’s why I am here. Make sure every angle of that place is locked under heavy surveillance. Nailing Soeleze is the only way we are ever going to get to close in on Laychee”

“That’s been done, sir,” Vince said.

“I didn’t
ask
if it was done. I said make sure it is done
properly
. Amp up whatever measures you already have in place. I don’t want so much as one person blinking without our knowledge.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Has the BATF been notified of the situation?”

“They have, sir,” Wes said, nodding. “They’re going to pick Armando up as soon as the services come to a close.”

Sebastian cursed beneath his breath. “Why wait?”

“I can only assume it is out of respect for the rest of the family, sir.”

“Who knew other bureaus were so sentimental?” He scoffed then sighed. Raking his hands through his hair, he let his head fall back in a brief bid of frustration. “Okay. There is nothing we can do to speed them along. In the meantime, we are going to make one last move on Laychee. I want the son-of-a-bitch tagged with a micro dermal tracker, that way he’s locked into our sights with no escape.”

“That might be difficult considering his background, sir,” Dominic stated. “The minute he feels so much as a twinge, t
he man is going to get suspicious.”

Sebastian offered him an icy smirk. “Nothing about this job is easy, Agent Chase. That’s part of why you are paid so well.” Turning his attention to the rest of the room, he took a deep breath and stood. “Go home, relax,
and get your heads on straight. Be ready for the call. I want this done tonight.”

Taylor stood at the sound of the garage door rolling into its tracks. Wiping her sudsy hands on the seat of her jeans, her gaze darted to the wet floor with a small frown of worry. For a moment, she pondered grabbing the dishtowel and trying to wipe it dry, but there wasn’t time. The kitchen was too big and Sebastian was already home. Blowing out a deep breath, she swept her hair off her face with her forearm and hurried to the door. She caught him before he stepped out of the laundry room. Her heart faltered seeing the stern expression carved onto his chiseled features. Wincing, she wrung her hands.

“Hi, handsome. You might want to leave your boots on,” she said, squirming i
n place.

“Why is that?” he asked, hanging up his overcoat on a hook before turning to face her.

Taylor swallowed and lowered her eyes. “The kitchen floor is still wet.”

Sebastian scrubbed a hand across his mouth a couple of times and nodded. “Okay.”

“I would have had everything done, but you came home so early.”

“I said it’s fine, Taylor.” His voice hardened with an impatient edge. “Don’t make me repeat myself the minute I walk through the door. It pisses me off. Now come here,” he said, pointing to the spo
t in front of him.

Feeling the blood drain from her face, she crept forward. She pressed her lips together and forced a wry smile that felt way too much like a grimace. Sighing, Sebastian snared her chin in his hand. The bite of his fingers was firm agains
t her jaw, but the kiss he greeted her with was soft and tender. Wrapping her arms around him, she ran her hands up and down his back, drawing a quiet noise of pleasure from his throat. Taylor held her breath and clung to hope as he lifted her with ease and spun her around to sit her on the edge of the washer.

“There’s my little minx,” he murmured, pressing his forehead against hers. “Are you that afraid of me, Taylor? Did you really think I would punish you for cleaning the house?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted quietly.

His brow crept lower and he frowned, tucking the stray wisps of hair behind her ears. “I don’t expect you to have everything finished before noon, baby,” he said lifting his gaze to hers. Confusion and pain lingered in his pale green eyes. “Y
es, I would prefer it if everything was done when I got home so we could just spend time together and enjoy one another, but I’m not that unreasonable…am I?”

She chewed the inside corner of her bottom lip and shook her head.

“No, Taylor,” he said softly. “That’s not an answer. Talk to me. Tell me what’s going through your head.”

Her throat felt dry and constricted, and she battled the sudden, inexplicable urge to cry. She could feel the curious weight of his stare and the hurt rolling off Sebastian in waves
. More than anything, she just wanted to fix it. Reaching up, she tried to run her fingers through his curls and tug him closer. Catching her hands before they reached him, Sebastian gently forced them back down to the washer and pinned them at her sides.

“Don’t,” he warned. “Answer me.”

“I don’t know,” she said, her voice bordering on a plea. “I just—last time you came home and things weren’t done, you got mad. Really mad.”

“It was almost three o’clock in the afternoon and you were too busy yapping on the
phone to come say hello to me. What did you think was going to happen, Taylor?”