Delta: Retribution (13 page)

“Come for me, Mar.” His fingers and his mouth fucked her furiously.

She bucked, arching her back and clawing at the bed. Trace held her body still. Her orgasm spiraled her high to the heavens where fireworks and the stars collided. Mar gasped for breath as his weight rolled away. She heard the foil of a condom wrapper, but her body was too lax to even open her eyes—until he was back on top of her. Then her eyes opened and met his.

“I love you,” he growled, pushing his cock against her entrance. “And you’re the only thing that can save me.”

“Good.” Because she wanted to be his savior. His everything.

Thrusting deep into her, his eyes sank closed, and she bit his lip when he kissed her. That was their thing. Nothing sweet, just pure, driven emotion, hard and harsh. Her legs crawled around him, her arms gripping him. She embraced the flare of pain from her bandaged arm. He gritted his teeth, and sweat dampened his brow. They molded themselves to each other, their connection profound.

Marlena arched back, tearing her nails down his back, moaning and crying out as she came. Her muscles rippled around his shaft, and her mind went numb. Trace’s body rocked over her, the piston motion forcing her to a point of destruction that only he could handle.

He came, groaning as he thrust. “Goddamn, Marlena.”

Then he collapsed on her. His rasping breath burned in her ear, his weight pressing her into the blankets.

With his body covering her, Marlena’s mind cleared. Cleared the crap that’d blurred her past, all the belittling lies she’d been told most her life. But in that clarity was a realization, crystal clear in its obviousness. Her stomach plummeted, while anger bubbled in her veins. She swallowed. She’d been blind, until she realized at that moment that she could love and be loved. How about that for a
what-the-hell
moment?

“I needed that.” The whisper of his voice promised that she could tell him anything, that he would understand, because no matter how different their circumstances were, they both had a dark weight haunting them. Hers had been her damn father.

She nodded. “But you know what I need even more?”

His head lifted on her chest. “More?”

Brian had screwed her. He’d sold her and her secrets. That was the only way he had the money. The man couldn’t stay away from an opportunity to hurt her, especially if he could make big bucks in the process.
Screw him. Just screw him all the way to hell
. “I need payback.”

Faster than she expected, Trace rolled over, pulling her with him. “Say again.”

“Retribution.”

His eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Brian—”

“Your dad?”

She nodded, the anger transforming into cold calmness. “Brian took me home from the hospital in a new car. We didn’t go home to where I grew up. We went somewhere new. Nicer. He was so busy insulting me, pulling me down to the ground, that it didn’t click in my painkiller haze. I don’t know how he did it. I don’t know where he met—”

“Romatar?”

She nodded again. “He did this to me.”

Trace’s jaw flexed. Lines strained in his neck. “Your father?”

“Brian. The sperm contributor that I was stuck with after my mother died.”

They stared in silence, communicating clearly. His eyes darkened, lips flattening. The swell of aggression in her heart lightened when he squeezed her.

“I need a second.” Trace rolled out of bed, throwing the covers around her, and grabbed his pants and phone.

She hadn’t connected the dots until a minute ago but had never been surer of anything. Her piece-of-shit father had sold her out for a paycheck.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“You know, it’s a little early on to call in a favor,” Brock said on the phone.

It didn’t matter. Trace wanted answers. If Marlena’s dick of a father had traded what he knew about her work and her location, then that piece of shit was done in Trace’s book. Proving it required a little more than assumptions, though. That’s where Brock came in, and where Trace was hoping Titan would step in and live up to everything he’d heard.

“Someone at Titan can connect the dots between Brian McCloud and Romatar. They have the resources.”

“Don’t forget, Trace.
You
are Titan. There’s no
they
about it.”

“Fine, whatever. Titan has the resources.”

“I’m not going to give you intel so you can go rogue and off your girl’s old man. Not going to happen.”

“Didn’t say that was my plan.”

Brock huffed. “So what’s your plan, kid?”

Well, that was the plan. How he would do it, he didn’t know exactly. But it seemed logical. All the anger coursing through his system made it feel right.

“Trace? Goddamn it. I didn’t bring you here to—”

“How about this for a plan…”

“Five seconds to make a case.”

“I connect this to Romatar, deal with her old man without killing the fucker. There’s a biological weapon with its dick flapping in the wind. Every agency in the US must be after it. I find it. I bring it home. Titan and Delta get another a gold star from Uncle Sam.”

Brock chuckled. “Not sure we’re after gold stars.”

“Give me the intel and the go-ahead.” He sucked a breath. “Look, if I can’t make shit up for Michael, at least let me do good by this girl.”

“So it’s like that, huh?”

“Yeah, buddy. It is.”

“Never in a million years did I think you’d be the one on the team to pull this shit.”

Trace paced the hallway. “Heard you have a girl at home.”

“Yeah.
A wife
at home. But I’m a decade older than you.”

Well, shit. They were in two different places in life. Brock was older, a family guy—in the tatted-up, warrior-dude kind of way.

Brock let out a long breath. “But fuck. I met her right after college too. Dude, that’s a hard line to go down, if that’s what you want. And you don’t know her.”

“I know what I need to know about her.”

The team leader laughed harshly. “Yeah, and what’s that?”

“She’s the only one who can tame my demons.”

The line hung silent. Finally, Brock sighed. “I’ll send you what you need. If there’s a connection between McCloud and Romatar, you don’t kill him. If you can track intel on that stolen weapon, I’ll take a big shiny star.”

Relief washed over him. “Thanks, man.”

“Don’t thank me yet. If the rumor mill is correct, you’re going to wish you hadn’t asked for this.”

The line went dead, and he leaned against the wall. A possessive fire stoked him from the inside out. When he turned around, Marlena was leaning against the bedroom doorjamb.

“What do you have planned?” she asked.

“I’m going to fix everything.”

“You mean, together we’re going to fix everything? Because I’m done rolling over and walking away.”

“You’re talking crazy.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m talking like you.”

Then that was bad, because most times he felt crazy. The only time he didn’t was when he was with her. “Mar—”

The smile on her face said she wasn’t going to back down. “Trace.”

“Will you let me take care of you? Of this?”

Her red hair swayed when she shook her head. “I’ve been building my whole life for this moment. To tell him what I think. To tell him where to go.”

“Alright then, Cinderella. Put some clothes on, and let’s give your old man a shout.”

***

It took Marlena a few minutes to remember exactly how to get back to Brian’s new house. But she recognized the flashy car in the driveway and knew her semi-guessed directions were right. She glanced over her shoulder a dozen times and didn’t see anyone.

Trace laughed. “Don’t worry, they’re right behind me.”

“Not worried. Just…” She bit her lip. “This is the right move. Right?”

“If the guy hasn’t done anything wrong, then this will just be a shitty day for him. Given what I know about him, I don’t care too much about him having a shitty day.”

And there was Brian’s big, new house. “Pull in there.”

Trace turned into the driveway and parked. “Porsche? What was he driving before?”

“A rust-bucket of a Jeep.”

“Nice upgrade.” He nodded to the house. “Didn’t grow up in a place like this?”

She snorted her laugh. “Not a chance. Let’s go say hi.”

A broad grin covered Trace’s face. “With pleasure.”

The front door opened, and there stood Brian. He looked like a weasel. Even more than that, he looked guilty and wary as his eyes traveled from her to Trace.

“Brian, meet Trace.”

Her boyfriend ambled up, shook Brian’s hand until he winced, and said, “Yeah. Meet me. We have business to discuss. But—” He let go, and Brian took a visible breath, shaking out his hand. “First, Marlena has a few things to say to you.”

Brian stopped shaking out his hand. A laugh slipped from his lips. “I see. Then come in. This should be good.”

Frustration tickled her mind. It’d be so easy to scream and cry. To kick the bastard and let out the years of pent-up hurt. Instead, she squared her shoulders. “It will be. Trust me.”

They walked through the front door into the living room. There were new chairs and a couch and department-store bags full of things Brian shouldn’t have been able to afford.

“Marlena.” He sat on the couch and leaned back. He pointed to Trace then to her, with condescension dripping off his smug face. “I thought you’d met a real man. But I was wrong. Just like I always said, you can’t do anything right.”

The tension pouring off of Trace was palpable, except Brian didn’t seem to notice. She took Trace’s hand and smiled. “If I so much as sigh funny, he’ll probably kill you. Tread lightly, Brian.”

“
Dad
.” Brian scoffed.

“Never called you that before, and I won’t start now.” She sucked in a deep breath. It was a long shot. But her gut feeling said he’d sold her out to Romatar, and that was why they were sitting on a fancy new couch. There was nothing to go on but instinct and Brian’s propensity to feed off of her. “I know what you did.”

Brian’s greasy smile grew. “And what did I do, pumpkin?”

Pumpkin?
Her stomach soured. “You knew what I was working on. I told you too much, and you sold that information.”

“Not a chance. But I did always say your job would get you killed. Two close calls? Proves my point.”

“You did that to me. That’s where the new car and house came from.”

“Nope.” Brian shook his head. “Legitimate business dealings.”

“Bull! You can’t even hold down a job. I’ve supported you my whole life.” Even when she didn’t want to, he stole from her. Or siphoned money from her, stealing anything her mom had left or that she foolishly trusted the bank to hold while she was a minor.

Brian chuckled. “You didn’t support your old man that well, either.” He stood and turned his attention to Trace. “If you’re looking for a woman worth a damn, I’d keep looking.”

It happened before she could consider if she wanted to say no. Trace hit Brian, sending him onto the couch in a heap. But seeing her asshole of a father on his butt, scuttling back from Trace… that was what she had wanted. Retribution. Retaliation. Even if she couldn’t prove that he was the one who’d tipped off Romatar, he’d screwed with her for years. “Thanks, honey.”

Trace laughed. “No problem, dear.”

She walked over to Brian. “This is the thing. You could’ve had me killed. You are profiting off something that will kill others. It’s wrong. And even if I want to hurt you, that wouldn’t be the worst that could happen.”

Brian wiped at his mouth, smearing a trickle of blood. “And what is?”

The disdain in his words made her want to ball her fists and copy Trace. But instead, her newfound confidence shook that off. “This…”

She stepped to Trace. He nodded, picking up his phone. “Come on in, boys.”

The door opened. Armed homeland security agents marched inside. They wore full tactical gear, at Trace’s request, even though they were only going to bring Brian in for questioning. The look on her father’s face was priceless—100 percent pure
oh-my-fucking-God
.

Marlena nodded to the agents. “I might not be what you dreamed of, Brian. But you sure weren’t what a dad was supposed to be either. Good riddance.”

The men had him up and cuffed and were dragging him toward the door with little problem. Brian’s shocked face morphed into anger.

“You’ll pay for this, you little cunt.”

Trace tucked her under his arm. It only took a few seconds before they were alone in the huge house. “Think I enjoyed that too much?”

“What, having your dad interrogated for selling national security secrets and risking your life? I don’t think you enjoyed it enough.”

She sighed into him. “So now what?”