Jacked Up (Bowen Boys #4) (26 page)

She licked her dry lips. “And yet you are going to walk out on me once this situation with Maldonado is over.”

“Yes, I will. It’s exactly because I like you that I will leave.”

She looked puzzled, then hurt, but she covered it fast. “You are going to miss out on a lot, Borg. And I’m not talking only about sex.”

Vixen.

He didn’t know how to answer to that, so he impaled her again, relishing her ragged moan. From that point on he lost control. He no longer could take the time to push in and out slowly. His rhythm increased, as did the intensity of his plunges. He needed to get deep inside her. Deeper than anybody had ever been. Deeper than anyone would ever be.

His cum was poised at the tip of his cock, ready to blow, his balls so fucking hard they were hurting, but he refused to come. He didn’t want this to finish. He wanted to lose himself in her until he couldn’t remember why it was such a bad idea to be together.

When Elle started coming again, all the choice was stripped from him. It was like the floodgates had opened and his own need rushed out, unstoppable. Undeniable. Holding himself flush against her, he climaxed, filling her with his seed. Then, before he finished, he took himself in hand and spilled the last cum on her pussy.

“That’s the reason why I won’t use condoms with you,” he said when he could talk again, gliding his cock along her drenched folds. “I want my cum in and on you. I want you to know that as long as you are with me, you belong to me.” And he wanted to see it too. He wanted to be able to remember it.

“Cum washes off, Borg. There are other more effective ways of getting a woman to belong to you. Like imprinting yourself in her soul. That doesn’t wash off.”

* * * *

Nico smiled at the girl behind the register and walked out of Rosita’s, picking up his cell. Pretty little thing, this Paige. Dressed and made up for scaring kids during Halloween but pretty nevertheless. And smart. He’d spent the whole evening working her, which hadn’t been a burden because she was great company, but he didn’t make any headway. She had that sixth sense that nowadays was missing from so many people, the prickle at the neck warning about predators and danger. Nico could spot victims miles away. They moved and talked and behaved in a certain manner. Stank of fear. Like socialized animals that had lost their instincts and were at the mercy of others’ whims.

Victims were easy prey; people like Paige weren’t. They would put up a fight; it was in her eyes and the way her spine stood straight, radiating self-awareness and security. He’d done his homework before coming to Rosita’s and had investigated her. He knew what that choke collar of hers hid. A girl wouldn’t get a scar like that and live to tell the tale if she weren’t a fighter. And whether she did it unconsciously or not, she’d sensed the danger and ultimately turned him down.

But the visit to the restaurant hadn’t been fruitless. He’d learned a shitload of stuff.

Up until now, he hadn’t been able to wrap his mind around what the hell Elle Cooper, a witness under federal protection, had been doing in the open at the fund-raiser. And it
had
been Elle Cooper; he’d seen the video footage of the security cameras to confirm it. As far as he’d been able to find out from his contacts in law enforcement, the name of the witness in the Maldonado case was kept secret, her location undisclosed. Not running around Boston attending social events with an alleged high-profile arms dealer. Unless the alleged high-profile arms dealer wasn’t an arms dealer at all and she was there by mistake.

He sat in his car and pulled up the copy of the video footage he’d gotten from the security at the hotel, scrolling until he found what he was searching for. There, from the lobby camera, he could see the one with the short Mohawk, the same guy who was in pictures at Rosita’s, going to the event in the other ballroom. A quick Internet search gave him the info he needed. It had been a private party thrown by Patricia Vaughan to welcome her great-grandchild into society. Elizabeth Vaughan Bowen.

Amazing how Elle had gotten Alex to agree to take her to that event. Huge hold she had on him. Judging by what Nico had dug up on social media, this chick was involved in a thousand things although he hadn’t seen any picture of Alex on her profiles. The Bowens, though, were splattered all over them.

Now he just had to figure out where she was.

Where Elle Cooper wasn’t, was at her place or at Rosita’s, which was under surveillance. Too many military guys around for it to be a coincidence. It was not going to be possible to get to her as long as this bunch were on high alert. Not to mention Alex Ayala was with her. Nico had personally checked Ayala’s background when Exxum had started dealing with him; after all, his job was to foresee the unexpected, and everything had added up. Except for the fact that high-profile career criminals did not protect federal witnesses.

Nico drove to Elle’s neighborhood and parked several streets over. People were too nosy in that area.

Sneaking into the house was a piece of cake. There were door squealers but they had been dismantled.

He moved methodically through the house. It didn’t look like they had run away or had taken anything with them. The fridge was full; suitcases were still in the closet. There were several bedrooms in the house, but only one seemed to have been used. So Alex, or whoever he was, was screwing this chick.

Elle’s laptop didn’t provide any big clues until he checked the e-mails. She’d deleted them, but apparently she didn’t know enough about computers to erase them permanently, because he retrieved a rather big bunch of them, which confirmed Alex was a covert operative of some sort and totally in love with her. Any respectable agent with half a brain would have severed this relationship long ago. Deleted the e-mail account. Instead, Alex, or the “Borg,” as Elle called him, had allowed this to continue. Which also explained how come Elle was roaming around instead of hiding in a hole.

On his way to the kitchen, he picked up the mail from the floor. Bills, catalogs, nothing worth his time, until he came upon a big, heavy envelope from a photography studio. He opened it and studied the pictures. They were from a christening. Cute kid. Then, in between the shots, he spotted a very interesting one. It was of Elle and Alex holding the baby, and the photographer had inserted a band of some sort on the bottom which read:
Me with my godparents.

Godparents. How interesting. So Alex had been roped into being a godfather, which meant he’d had to sign his name. Catholics were funny that way. They loved bureaucracy.

When he made it to the kitchen, he noticed a calendar on the fridge door full of notes and appointments. Busy chick.

There was this upcoming event circled in red with lots of exclamation marks and hearts.

He might not know yet who Alex was or his whereabouts, but he had a pretty good hunch where he was going to be.

He grabbed his cell and pulled up his boss’s details.

“You found her?” a voice greeted him.

“No, but I got something better.”

Chapter Sixteen

Jack turned into the service area and parked near James’s black pickup.

James stepped out of it, and so did Cole and Max. Shit, Jack knew where this was headed.

“Three of you to bring a duffel?” he asked as he approached.

James handed him the bag. “We’re going with you.”

“No, you are not.”

“Try stopping us,” Max answered with a deceptively easy smile.

He felt Elle behind him.

“Hi, guys.” She greeted each of them with a big hug.

“The part about you waiting in the truck?” Jack grumbled to her.

“Not changing in the back of your truck. And I need to see what a real chocolate bar tastes like.” She smiled at him, her hand out. “Money, sweetie? Or does a kidnappee have to pay her own way too? I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t for the fact that I don’t have a penny with me. Next time you kidnap me make sure I have my purse.”

Smart-ass.

Jack gave her a bill and watched as she sauntered away after taking the bag from him.

“Sweetie?” James asked, lifting his eyebrows.

Jack did his best to ignore him. “The more of us, the more conspicuous we are. If someone is watching, we’ll be spotted.”

“We know how to blend. This isn’t our first rodeo,” Cole said.

Jack looked at the three men in front of him. Blend? Yeah, right.

“Besides,” Cole continued, “if someone is watching, you’re better off with us around.”

“Face it; you need eyes on her. You need backup. We are it,” James stated. “Deal with it.”

“This is too dangerous, for Elle and for you. You don’t have to get involved.”

The Bowens were an easy connection to Elle. And they were too visible. Anyone digging into her life would find them right away.

“We are already involved. How long do you think it will be until Maldonado figures out he can get to her through us? How long until he’ll think of using Tate and Christy and Annie and the kids for leverage? We need her safe, and she’s family.”

“We are going, regardless,” Cole added. “You know it’s better if we are all on the same page than running in disconnected teams.”

True. They would be more effective as a single unit.

“Where are the women?” Jack asked.

“They are at Annie’s grandmother having a sleepover,” James explained. “Kyra and Alexa joined them, which means Mike and Wata are there. They are as safe as it gets. So what’s the plan?”

“From the security point of view, this event is a nightmare, so we get through it as fast as possible. In and out.”

James studied him, a smirk on his face. “I never thought I’d see the day when a woman would lead you by your cock.”

“She’s not leading me by my cock. We have a deal.”

“Since when do you need to make deals to get your way with women?”

Since the happiness of said woman mattered to him. But he kept his trap shut. James could read him well enough without all the explanations. “After this, she’s going into hiding until this shit is resolved.”

“You got her to agree to that?”

“We have a deal.”

“You going into hiding too?” James handed everyone earbuds. Those were among James’s latest toys.

Jack shook his head.

“Who’s going to make sure she stays put if you aren’t around?” Cole asked. “Because we don’t intimidate her in the slightest.”

No shit. “I reached out to Kai. He will contact his family.” Jack had thought about it long and hard. Because of their meeting at the fund-raiser, when Maldonado found out who Elle was he’d figure out that Alex Ayala didn’t exist. Jack needed to stash Elle with someone that couldn’t be traced back to him. So all his contacts were out. The Bowens and their resources too.

“Oh boy,” James muttered.

Cole turned to his brother, confused. “What?”

“You know the global holding company Shinoda? The one whose assets in the US were frozen for a while but the FBI couldn’t link it to the Yakuza? It’s run by his family. And it’s not linked to the Yakuza; it
is
the fucking Yakuza.”

“Oh boy,” Cole repeated James’s words.

Max grimaced. “She’ll lose all her fingers just in the first day.”

“If Kai agrees to go into hiding with her to keep her company, she might be more accommodating,” James offered, looking intently at Jack.

That was a possibility he couldn’t even consider without seeing red. But her security was at risk and Kai and his people were more than capable.

At that moment Elle came out dressed in a two-piece black costume, the jacket trimmed with yellow and red flames and a hood with two red horns on it. She had a red scarf around her neck.

“Ready. You changing?” she asked Jack, pulling on her sunglasses and then handing him some clothes. “We are running kind of late. We won’t make it to prep.”

“You bet we won’t.” It was madness enough that he was agreeing to this; the last thing they needed was to spend extra time prepping. Then he remembered her question. “Changing?”

“Yes. Into Jonah’s outfit. I suppose it will fit you. You want to shadow me; you’ll have to wear it. You have to blend.”

Man, he’d known he was going to regret this. And what the hell was that long thing hanging from the ass of the pants? A red tail? Shit.

When he came out of the men’s restroom, he threw a glare at the group waiting for him. “First one that laughs, I shoot.” The Bowens had the grace to hold on until they got into James’s pickup before exploding in laughter.

“You assholes, cut it out. I can hear you through the earpiece,” he muttered, but it didn’t help jack shit.

“Let them laugh,” Elle said. “They’re jealous. You’re the best devil in the world. The one with the longest tail too. On account of his height and strength, Jonah always held the biggest pitchfork, the one with sixteen firecrackers on it. You’re going to look fantastic.”

The electronics were good, because the Bowens heard her and broke into more fits of laughter.

Once again, he thanked God for the tinted windows. They were in a rural area. If they got pulled over by the cops dressed like this, they were going into the hole.

They rode for fifteen minutes, while Elle painted her face black and red to the sounds of
Grease
. Jesus Christ, was this record always on one radio station or another?

“What is with these songs?”

“They’re fantastic. I’ve been trying to convince the flash-mob guys to do the one of Travolta on top of the car, ‘Greased Lightning’, but they outvote me every time. I even have the choreography ready.”

Jack had no clue what she was talking about, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

“Love the movie. Don’t you?”

“Haven’t seen it.”

She gaped at him. “You didn’t? We need to remedy that. It’s a must. No self-respecting rockabilly can miss it.”

That he was no rockabilly and couldn’t give a flying fuck about that movie, she didn’t seem to care.

When they arrived at Little Italy, Jack parked as close as possible to their destination and got out of the truck. “This is…” Jack said, looking around.

“Nuts,” Cole finished.

Exactly.

Traffic had been blocked from the main street leading to the square, but it was not clear of people. It was brimming with activity, security fences nowhere to be seen.